The Perfect Voice

There is nothing worse to hear, at 7:40 am in the morning- on a relatively quiet commuter train – when you are trying to get some sleep, than the ring of the cell phone and then the annoying voice of someone planning out her nail salon appointment and talking about last night’s American Idol results. But I wonder if I would mind it less if the person had a “nice” voice? I think I would prefer someone with a subtle Southern drawl. I won’t enjoy the abhorrent acoustic craziness of a hillbilly, but I think I wouldn’t mind the amble pace and round sounds of the Southern land. I know for sure I would rather listen to that then the long ounnn sounds of lounga island [Long Island] accents or the sharp ahhh of the Baastan [Boston] accents. I even prefer the Southern drawl to the supposed “neutral” tone of the West Coast.

But what do I know? It looks like the Brits have the best voice. Recently, in a study commissioned by British Post Office Telecom, linguists have compiled the perfect male and female voice. Besides having British accent the voices were created “based on the combination of tone, speed, frequency, words per minute, and intonation.” After, listening to the voices I can confirm the voices are indeed a pleasure to listen to.

So are you wondering what this voice sounds like? Well find out for yourself though this bbc.com article. And next time you are trying to sleep on the train, bus, subway, or plane and you hear someone talking about his/her botox procedure gone wrong just imagine they are speaking in the perfect voice and things may not be so bad.

Go green or Go home

People are always bashed for being bandwagon fans. It seems that the society we live in gives tremendous respect to those who can spot a good thing before anyone else knows about it. In business foresight helps turn a profit; in sports it helps you win your fantasy league; and in food you get to be labeled with the sought after term “foodie”. But what good is it to be avant-garde if there is no one to follow you? Without bandwagon fans innovative ideas will be like a Milan Fashion show- yeah the cloths have never been seen before, but no one wants to see them ever again. So three cheers to the bandwagon fans and three cheers to the people whom you have made great.

And in case you are wondering what about the next wagon to jump into?  Well the super bowl wagon is gone and the NBA payoff’s wagon has not arrived yet. So May I humbly suggest we all jump into the global warming wagon.

Al Gore, it looks like your cause has reached bandwagon status. From multinational companies to multinational terrorists it seems like the best thing to do is jump on the wagon.

Here is a quick sampling of the new green Hybrid-bandwagon:

Green in the corporate world:

GE’s ecomagination campaign : I was watching Sunday night football on NBC in November and they actually turned off the studio lights and did a broadcast in the dark in an effort to go green.

Green’s brings harmony: Liberal Rev. Al Sharpton and conservative Rev. Pat Robertson sit down for a friendly chat to encourage you to care about the earth. wecansolveit.org

Even terrorists care about the environment shouldn’t you?

Al-Zawahri, Al-Qaida’s number two man, stated that global warming would “make the world more sympathetic to an understanding of the Muslims’ jihad against the aggressor America.” The link to the original AP story on yahoo.

Consider this a warning from osama and me: recycle or face jihad!

goog

So google shot up today, and apparently it was due to: google’s tremendous drop before, a large short positions on the stock, and google beating estimates. the rise in earnings had people buying the stock. this repurchase probably caused a short squeeze- further raising the stock. just to show how much money you could have made: an april option, that is now in the money, went up 40 dollars a batch. if you bought 2 contracts you would have made $8,000 overnight, but this stuff is boring. This attached blog, however, is not so boring. somehow the blogger was able to put google, crazy college kids, eliot spitzer, “tricycles”, and california into one post:

“Ok, I’m a stupid college student. I shorted 100 shares of Google before close today and don’t know what to do. I just blew all my money and don’t have enough for my margin call tomorrow. I won’t be able to sleep tonight. My parents will KILL me if they hear about this.

So, for those of you who made tons of cash today and live in the Los Angeles area:

I’m willing to sell myself to you tonight. I will even bring my girlfriend so you can have TWO girls. I’m asking for $5,000 for a night you will never forget. You can have both of us anyway you want. You can even do us without a condom (if you aren’t showing any signs of a desease). You can have us all night long until 7:00 am tomorrow.

I need the payment in cash. See my pics. My girlfriend and I are much better than the whore picked up by the NY governer. And we don’t do this for a living, we are safe. Please don’t waste my time with BS. Just post your e-mail address and I’ll get back to you if you can help.”

original yahoo finance post

The MTA’s response

This is the MTA’s response to my email. It is actually not a bad response. They didn’t commit themselves to anything, which is to be expected, but they didn’t make it seem like a “canned” answer either.

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

Subject
——————————

———————————
Courtesy Matters

Discussion Thread
—————————————————————
Response (Kevin Kade) – 03/27/2008 03:59 PM
Dear Mr. ****:

We have received your email detailing your impressions of the MTA Long Island Rail Road’s Courtesy Matters campaign. We appreciate your having taken the time to write.

We regret the impression you have formed about our efforts to improve the level of courtesy and simple good manners on our trains … and we appreciate the suggestions/ideas you have shared with us.

We were happy to hear that you take Ms. Bartiromo’s requests to heart … and want you and your acquaintances to know that she, and all of the other ‘celebrity’ announcers have donated their time and efforts to this effort.

Your description of disputes between customers who are boarding … as well as those between customers trying to exit trains while others are trying to board at the same time … ring true. We are addressing this kind of behavior and encouraging better behavior … but are not able to enforce courtesy or good manners.

Regarding the fliers/brochures/publications you mentioned … all of these items are designed to share/provide information that we know many of our customers either need or want. Subjects like upcoming track work, schedule changes, ticketing information, etc., will be covered in these informational items.

We hope that you accept our apology for the chatty crew members. They should be aware of their surroundings and “tone it down” when in a car that is quiet.

If you would like to discuss these matters with us, please feel free to call the Public Affairs office at 718-558-8228.

Sincerely,
K.Kade/PublicAffairs

This is the MTA reminding you: Courtesy Matters

After only two short years of commuting to work I already have things I hate about the train.

An email I wrote to the MTA / Long Island Rail Road:

“The MTA needs to give more direction than just signs and station announcements. After hearing Juliet Papa and Al Roker telling me to be courteous on cell phones I would expect LIRR employees to follow the advice also. Instead the other day I was on the train and the two conductors were chatting away. It was worse than a cell phone as we were now listening to both parts of the conversation. The worst part was that the train was completely quiet before the conductors were on it, and the conductors could have just closed the door of the large conductor’s booth. Yes the MTA has no power to enforce “quite cars”, just like Amtrak has no power to do so, but if the MTA helped designate these cars common sense people would get the idea- people who want to talk will seek another car and those who want quiet will go to the QC. The MTA always shoots the idea down, and I don’t understand why the MTA can’t give it a try on a test basis. Honestly, I think trying QCs is better than my current experiences when half the train yells at someone on the phone.

Here is an article to help you see how some other countries do it (not saying the LIRR should do it this way but it’s just an idea): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7312672.stm

Another thing is when Maria Bartiromo tells me to watch the gap- I do! The problem is when people push me from behind and there is nowhere to go in the vestibule because people are backed up trying to get into seats. The MTA needs a simple and practical solution to manage waiting for trains, entering trains, and exiting trains. I have witnessed, when waiting for trains, near fights when people are waiting for a train on the platform and someone else steps in front of him. An easy fix, which I have seen in another country, is to paint a “V” on the platform where the door opens (where the “watch the gap” sign is now painted). The people waiting for the door line up on either side of the “V” and the center is clear for egress from the train. This is a simple way to control the crowd, and create space for people to leave. This way the ones who get there first line up first and don’t have the need to “box out” other others pushing those trying to navigate the platform onto the yellow bumpy edge.

Excuse this next bit of sarcasm, but I feel the LIRR and MTA would be better served if the people running it came up with practical and easy fixes to enhance the commute instead of spending time recording news anchors mocking me about an ideal that will never happen. I could also go without the the “train talk” fliers strewn all over my seat, that I have to brush off, and end up on the floor like those cards the Flash Dancers Club gives out on 46th and 8th ave. In one smart move by the MTA the extra recycling bins on the Penn Platform has greatly encouraged people to throw out their newspapers, but now there are more MTA fliers littering the train than newspapers and other trash. It seems like the people running the LIRR are a bunch of Frat boys promoting a party: throwing flier all over my seats, putting up colorful signs on stations and trains, and putting up posters. My view is best summed up one morning when the Maria Bartiromo recordings first started playing. That morning her voice came over the PA system in Hicksville and some commuter next to me goes, “they are wasting money on this “bull***t”? “

If the MTA responds I will post it here.

It’s about time! Obama’s speech on race.

Here is a link to the “Cliff’s Notes” of Obama’s speech on racism which was given in response to Obama’s pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s controversial and inflammatory sermon.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/03/cliffs-notes-fo.html?cid=107448942#comment-107448942

After reading it I am convinced Obama is good at what he does. Throughout Obama’s time campaigning he has been accused of style without sustenance, and this speech is probably an example of that. I think if he was sincerely interested in the topic he would have made it an issue from the beginning, but you got to give Obama credit for his ability to address the situation in way that in intelligent and non-divisive while still bringing attention to the matter. Instead of sweeping the issue “under the rug” Obama decides to directly address the problem and offer his “solution”. That Obama is able to pull off this save, I believe, is a good indicator of his ability to navigate tricky situations – an invaluable asset for the political arena.

For insight into the white side of the race debate: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Arnold, control your people!

In response to a CNN story: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/12/berkeley.marines/index.html

Code pink and the Berkley city council are the left equivalent of Fred Phelps- a pastor who picketed military funerals saying God allows soldiers to die because the U.S. supports gays. People like these let their emotions act out in a strong and irresponsible way. Like a moment of road rage, some members of the Berkley city council acted in error and abused their first amendment rights. Even though their actions are protected by the first amendment, and limitations like “clear and present danger” probably don’t apply, these statements and actions are misdirected, benefit no one, and serve to cause great division and hurt.

Luckily, people like councilman Worthington help show that being progressive doesn’t just mean be as far left as you can be- you must unite people for change. To the rest of the members of the council I can say this: you will be glad the military recruits if you are ever stuck in the middle of a war, like in Lebanon, and there is a Marine carrying your, most likely crying, self to safety.

The NYT on it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/us/12berkeley.html

In a quest to clear his family’s name…

So it looks like Roger Clemens is locked in a battle with public opinion. The Rocket emphatically denies bending over, pulling down his pants, and getting infused with HGH and steroids. In a press conference, that mirrors the plot line in National Treasure when Ed Harris’s character accuses Nicholas Cages’ character’s great great grandfather of being a conspirator in killing Lincoln, Clemens bemoans the tough battle ahead as he tries to clear his name. And while I would like to believe the Rocket – man I honestly think he probably took steroids, HGH, or both.

Some Evidence:

• My Centrum Multi Vitamin is a good way to get B-12 in a non-injection form
• Yes, on his tape McNamee never said Roger was juicing, but McNamee also never retracted his own statement
• 6-8 record before allegation of roids and 8-0 record after the allegation
• Andy Pettitte
• Dumb jokes during the press conference like asking if drinking water would make him look guilty or Roger’s lawyer saying he advised Roger not to do the poly and then saying the only way Roger would take a poly was if Roger hit the lawyer over the head with a 2×4

I was listening to some commentary from Mike and the Mad Dog on 660 and I think what they said was right: Clemens knows there will be no evidence and he is trying to get more attention than McNamee in an attempt to discredit the trainer. I think in reality a lot of Clemens’s arguments don’t make sense. At this point perhaps the only way for Clemens to save his family name to find the lost legendary native American city of gold, Cíbola. Stupid roids are messing up baseball. Maybe congress will get the answers out, or maybe only the President’s book of secrets has the answer.

And I guess his wife needs it now also, since she needs to bulk up to look proportionate with him.

Back for a little bit

Ok so facebook now has notes, and other things that make occasional blogging easier there, but I  am back for a little with these next few posts.

Hello world!

After years of silence I have now entered the blog scene.  This is not my personal therapy session, and sorry potential employers this is not a legal way to screen me without my knowledge.  What you will get is my opinions and views about events that impact my life. 

–Wishing you good readings, Matt