I've activated my new new BlackBerry, but there are still a lot of issues needing resolution. One problem I've noticed is that the Blogger comments window no longer "wraps" text: the field is already narrow, and when I try to write a sentence, I end up writing right off the screen, leaving me unable to see the text.
Another problem is that I'll have to ask the AT&T folks whether they'll be able to transfer data from my old phone to this new one-- not only all the phone numbers and emails, but also the pics I had taken of my border crossing. I'm hoping the data transfer will be (1) possible and (2) free.
A third problem is that my phone is saying I've got four voice messages, but I'm unable to access the messages because the "call voice mail" number isn't programmed in, and the Setup Wizard on this phone isn't very helpful about where I can find the number. I'm racking my brains about how I accomplished the setup last time around.
I'm in the Super 8 motel not far from Airport Way; the walls are thin and I'm currently surrounded by a large family in at least two rooms. One of the kids has already dialed my room twice, and two have been banging on the adjacent door and running down the hallway, all of which makes me wish I had a baseball bat.
Tuesday was spent mostly resting; the walk to the motel on Monday was largely uphill, and I got a bit turned around when I was close to my goal, adding up to a mile to my walk. I made it to the motel around 6PM that evening, and was too tired to do much of anything. Hence the quiet Tuesday.
As for the future: Wednesday, I'll be visiting the AT&T folks, mailing off some more unnecessaries (as well as mailing off the old BlackBerry, per the conditions of the warranty), and figuring out more about this new BlackBerry. If I have time, I'll trip over to Lewis and Clark College for some serious transcription. If not tomorrow, then definitely Thursday and Friday.
I'll be visiting Metanoia one final time on Saturday before leaving Portland on Sunday morning; my first stop will be the town of Corbett, which I've been told is a fairly uphill walk.
Let me take this opportunity to respond to a criticism voiced in a recent comment re: the general lack of explicitly interreligious writing on this blog. I would like to note first that I have mentioned, several times, that transcripts of my conversations are on the way, but finding the time, energy, and actual computer resources to make commentaries happen isn't easy when you're on the road and usually moving from place to place.
I know from experience with transcription at my previous job that thirty minutes of dialogue takes about seven hours to transcribe-- that's roughly five hours to write everything out in proper format, then another two hours to edit and proofread. This is solid computer time; I'm not counting breaks.
Trying to get seven hours of computer time in a country with no real "PC-bahng" culture (I'm referring to Korean Net cafes, where you can log on to a fast computer for $1-2 an hour) is no easy task. Many public places in the States advertise "Internet," but in reality are only offering Wi-Fi access; you have to bring your own computer to the party. If I were to try transcribing dialogue on my BlackBerry (actually, I did start transcribing on the BlackBerry, but then it conked out), my typing speed would be reduced from an already-slow 65wpm to around 20wpm, i.e., about 21 hours per thirty minutes of dialogue.
My point is that the content is there-- is in fact growing-- but still needs to be put up. All I can do is ask for patience, and I'll also ask that, instead of taking time to voice disappointment (which isn't particularly useful or constructive) as this commenter did, it might be better to relax and adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Let's have faith that the desired content will appear in its own good time, OK? Disappointment often arises from attachment to a preconceived outcome; it's one of the more avoidable and unnecessary forms of suffering. Meanwhile, just enjoy the blog on its own terms, and leave its content up to the author, who needs no prodding. Thanks.
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Marathon
11 years ago
9 comments:
Kevin,
I know your phone #s and e-mail addresses can be tranferred to your new PDA at a AT&T store. If you have the SIM card from your original Blackberry, they can put it into one of their gadgets and transfer everything to a new PDA. Your pictures I don't know about. Your voice mail may be easier to have done at the AT&T store while they transfer your other info to your new Blackberry. Your last voice mail number was probably a VA phone number. I've used AT&T(Cingular/Bell South Mobility) since 1996 and they have always been able to take care of the problems you've mentioned, with the exception of the pictures because I've never transfered pics from one phone to another. The only thing I had to do myself was set-up my Blackberry to accept my e-mail address, which I had to do from my home PC. I hope this helps. Take care and be safe.
Bob
Kev: I do computer forensics. Look for me online or email next time you are near a public library and I can see if I can get the data from your old blackberry.
Kevin,
I apologize that my comment came off as a criticism. I certainly didn't mean it in such a way and although it is true that I used the word "disappointed," I really didn't think you would take it as a criticism. I know you are working very hard on the trascripts since I do read your blog everyday. I just wanted to share with you my reason for reading your blog - "an extended inquiry into my home country religious diversity." My attempt to interact with you seems to have had negative results. Again, I apologize!
Amy
Just wondering...is the interreligious commentary something you could have someone else transcribe? If it is, maybe you could send it to someone who has regular access to a computer and could type it up for you, and you could do the final editing? Just a thought...I know there are people who would be willing to do that.
BTW, your manager contacted me the other day about your trek through my stomping grounds. I emailed him back and am awaiting his response.
Hope you do head through this way; I'm sure you'd get great conversation!
Responding to your July 16 post: I want to second Becky's suggestion that you have someone else do the initial run-through on the transcriptions. I'm not volunteering, mind you--I don't have the skills. But it might be a way someone out there could volunteer to help your trek. You could copy the original recording, then mail a copy to someone, and that person could email the first draft transcription to you for you to do the final polish on. It would save you more than half the time, and the way things are piling up on you, might make your life a lot more doable.
Unfortunately, I'm not able to reply to comments on my new BlackBerry; there's some problem with the "text wrap" in the Blogger comments window on the BlackBerry browser. That new software sure is a nice improvement, eh?
Bob, Thanks for the info.
Tam Gu Ja, many thanks. I wish I got to a computer often enough for this to be feasible; I'll be stopping by the AT&T store on Saturday to work things out.
Amy, the word "disappointed" can't be taken positively except by relentlessly cheerful people-- the kind who wake up bouncy and perky at 3AM and go to sleep at 2AM-- so yeah, I took it as a criticism. It wasn't exactly the best foot forward when initiating a conversation, but don't worry-- I'm not losing sleep over it. No need to apologize, and now that I have some idea what to expect, go right on critiquing (lemme guess: firstborn child, right? usually critical and perfectionistic; I'm a firstborn myself). As you've seen when reading the comments, other people don't hesitate to correct or gainsay me, however much I might wish it were otherwise. Heh. Besides, I'm a critical person myself, so how upset can I be about getting a taste of my own medicine?
Becky, thanks for writing. The problem is upload: the sound files are far larger than can be allowed as file attachments on Gmail, and even though a good friend of mine worked hard at creating an FTP space on his own site for me, his uploader is also constrained to a 20MB limit. Most of my files now weigh in at more than 20MB. Another problem is that converting the files to WAV or something Quicktime-readable takes time: my voice recorder doesn't interface well with PCs; you apparently have to download and install some special program, after which the sound files become readable and can be converted to WAV, MP3, MP4, etc.
None of this would be a big problem if my voice recorder allowed me some proper "play-pause-rewind" functionality, but it doesn't. If I pause five minutes into a recording, I can't rewind and listen to the most recent 20 seconds or so; instead, I have to go back to the beginning. This problem gets worse as time moves forward: imagine having a 30-minute recording, listening up to 00:29:30, and needing to re-listen from 00:29:00.
So I can't do a proper pause/rewind unless I can convert the sound file and have access to a real computer with Windows Media or QuickTime or something like that. Wish I could just do it on my BlackBerry, but the thing's too slow.
Also-- you can email me directly (kevinswalk [at] gmail [dot] com) to arrange CouchSurfing stuff; just please remind me of who you are in your email's subject line.
Addofio,
My control-freakishness won't allow me to add so many untrustworthy steps to the process. I've farmed out such work before and have rarely been satisfied with the results. While my own work is rarely mistake-free the first time around, at least they're my mistakes; I usually find and fix them after a couple passes.
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
This is your project. Do it in your own way, and at your own pace.
If a particular encounter or insight is so valuable that it must be written about at once, and shared in real time, then by all means let us hear about it.
Otherwise: have the experiences, make the recordings, jot down your contemporaneous thoughts for later inspection, and let the world in on it all afterwards with a carefully prepared book and website, created when you have peace and leisure to create them. We'll still be around.
You don't want to be like all those parents who watch their children grow up through the viewfinder of a camcorder.
Malcolm,
Thanks. I wish I could see what I'm writing, but I can't. I appreciate the admonition. It sounds a bit like Baudrillard's warning re: simulacra and simulations.
Whoa-- if I hit the "preview comment" command I can not only see the comment in WYSIWYG form, but can also see the "raw" text in the edit window! Woo-hoo! I can see what I'm writing now!
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Go download the Opera Mini browser for your Blackberry. Opera's generally a much preferred browser for mobile devices as it often does a much better job of rendering webpages than the competition.
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