Guest LilBambi Posted June 7, 2014 Posted June 7, 2014 Go to a "Dollar" store and get some reading glasses. They cost about $1. An optometrist told me they will not degrade your vision. I keep three pairs around the house in various locations because I got tired of guessing where I last put them down. Already have a pair of these at 2x. They work OK, but not great. Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted June 7, 2014 Posted June 7, 2014 The smaller magnifiers that can be used across a single hard cover page, or paperback page is best for me to read. One that can double as a bookmark so much the better and lighted even better yet. Not a bad idea to scan the pages, but that's a lot of work plus, the resultant pdf would be a bit large don't you think? If it's gonna be decent quality to enlarge.... Quote
Capt.Crow Posted June 7, 2014 Posted June 7, 2014 The cheaters are a good workaround . And I get the prescription glasses free. Don't need glasses to read if I'm out in bright sunlight. But the optometrist maximizes her payoff by doling out a pair for reading and a pair for distance at night . However a good introduction to James Joyce 's writings would be Dubliners. Not too long and full of humor , (humour) There is one thing that bothers me .No offense intended here ,But the Americanization of the English language takes a lot of the subtlety away leaving the prose a little dry. The exception to this is the writings of the great American writers. Quote
ebrke Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 Already have a pair of these at 2x. They work OK, but not great. I have a couple of pairs of 2.5x, and I've seen them up to at least 3x in the drugstore up here. Maybe something a little stronger would help? Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 Americans are masters at butchering up the Queen's English. 1 Quote
abarbarian Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 (edited) Hmm do not know what it would look like, but you should be able to make text and size to suit. The process is a little fiddly.Of course a simple script would make life easier. A lot of work perhaps for a read but then you would have a copy for a e-reader as well. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/OCR Edited June 8, 2014 by abarbarian Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 eBooks are no worries. That's why eBooks and Audiobooks are still great for me but normal books are harder these days. It's also why I started subscribing to the digital version of 2600 Hacker Quarterly I get every edition and can make the size as big as I need. Can also get the year in epub or pdf format too. And the normal print edition subscription is also still available for those with really good eyes/magnifiers (tiny print edition so they can fit more in! Not complaining! I got this version before i went to the digital version). 2600 is great reading. I like the digital version because I can make the type as big or small as I need. Quote
abarbarian Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 Americans are masters at butchering up the Queen's English. Si thi nows ta'kin sense, nowt laik truth ter git cat 'mongst pijins. 3 Quote
amenditman Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 I really started to love eBook format when I was getting my SysAdmin A.S. The textbooks were all O'Reilly and other professional training manuals, not college textbooks. They were around 1000 - 1200 pages, heavy, hard to read near the binding. Real neck and shoulder pain problems. eBooks, put 'em up on the big screen, blow up the text as big as you want, change the font and background colors to suit, and computer searchable to boot. How did we ever live with "real" books? Quote
abarbarian Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 “What do you mean, blindly? That baby is a very sentient creature… That baby sees the world with a completeness that you and I will never know again. His doors of perception have not yet been closed. He still experiences the moment he lives in.”― Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test An they say drug takers are crazy. 1 Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 Si thi nows ta'kin sense, nowt laik truth ter git cat 'mongst pijins. Huh? Some in my heritage have a very heavy accent and do not conform to the Queen's English either; Irish and Scottish... I also have English heritage as well as German, Dutch, French. A real Heinz 57. Quote
amenditman Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 The Queen's English, spoken only by the Queen. The rest of us pretty much butcher it. 3 Quote
Capt.Crow Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 The Queen's English, spoken only by the Queen. The rest of us pretty much butcher it. Now hold up there pardner . It's not hers .no way Jose. It belongs to all of us Its our heritage and ours alone . The regals base lingo is French. While ours is Saxon .German and a few other bits and bobs thrown in for good measure. By Americanization I actually meant the differences in spelling . It's turning the business into a huge clanjammerie. Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 Actually, English is a Germanic-based language. It has incorporated a lot of stuff from other languages, though... French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, Native American Indian, even that Canadian lingo. Quote
abarbarian Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 Actually, English is a Germanic-based language. It has incorporated a lot of stuff from other languages, though... French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, Native American Indian, even that Canadian lingo. Spot on but you missed out Greek and Old Norse and a bit of Indian(asia), Aboriginal and Celtic etc etc. http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/english-language-history.html Britain was an Empire for 200 years between the 18th and 20th centuries and English language continued to change as the British Empire moved across the world - to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, Asia and Africa. They sent people to settle and live in their conquered places and as settlers interacted with natives, new words were added to the English vocabulary. For example, 'kangaroo' and 'boomerang' are native Australian Aborigine words, 'juggernaut' and 'turban' came from India. (See more borrowings from different languages.) English continues to change and develop, with hundreds of new words arriving every year. But even with all the borrowings from many other languages the heart of the English language remains the Anglo-Saxon of Old English. The grammar of English is also distinctly Germanic - three genders (he, she and it) and a simple set of verb tenses. oh and of course english has assimilated some american words aswell. Huh? See now your talking sense,there is nothing like the truth to put the cat amongst the pigeons. 1 Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 We are a melting pot of peoples so why not have a melting pot of language integration. Capt.Crow I mix and match all the time with words like humour/humor colour/color, meter/metre, theatre/theater, etc. ... course words that are exactly the same except for one letter that is changed ce/se for instance are interesting. And ones like liquorice/licorice ... and I have to tell you, both those words seem wrong. Licorice is one of my favorite flavors/flavours. But I think we likely have the most fun with dual meaning words like vehicle words; bonnet and boot (which make sense by the way) and our hood and trunk (which also make sense) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 There was a PBS series and an accompanying book (which I have around here somewhere) called The Story of English. It was excellent. Catch it if you can... http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/story-of-english/ Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) Sounds like a very good companion book and series. Edited June 9, 2014 by LilBambi Quote
Capt.Crow Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 We are a melting pot of peoples so why not have a melting pot of language integration. Capt.Crow I mix and match all the time with words like humour/humor colour/color, meter/metre, theatre/theater, etc. ... course words that are exactly the same except for one letter that is changed ce/se for instance are interesting. And ones like liquorice/licorice ... and I have to tell you, both those words seem wrong. Licorice is one of my favorite flavors/flavours. But I think we likely have the most fun with dual meaning words like vehicle words; bonnet and boot (which make sense by the way) and our hood and trunk (which also make sense) http://en.wikipedia....ing_differences Humour means a state of fun etc .Humor is a state of health. Meter is a device a machine . metre is a unit of measurement .Theatre is where one is entertained . Theater is the blood and bone room. Every time I see the word color .My dyslexic mind juxtaposes the final consonant for an *n*. Maybe I'm crazy ,but if only we could standardize spelling we would all benefit . After all Mark Twain and Truman Capote Used the olde world spelling . Now this is all for fun . No messin!device Quote
abarbarian Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 Maybe I'm crazy ,but if only we could standardize spelling we would all benefit . An so the wheel turns ! We have standardised spelling and language, it is called the Queens English. Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) Humour means a state of fun etc .Humor is a state of health. Meter is a device a machine . metre is a unit of measurement .Theatre is where one is entertained . Theater is the blood and bone room. Every time I see the word color .My dyslexic mind juxtaposes the final consonant for an *n*. Maybe I'm crazy ,but if only we could standardize spelling we would all benefit . After all Mark Twain and Truman Capote Used the olde world spelling . Now this is all for fun . No messin! device Yep, I know the meaning of each of the words. I meant I mix the spellings. Words are wonderful fun! It's where comedians like George Carlin and Firesign Theatre (yes, they do spell it that way) get some of their hilarious content. Oh, also, theater/theatre has a double triple quadruple (or more) meaning though ... not just the blood and bone room but also the place where actors/actresses perform plays, a place to go to watch a movie, and the staging area of a war mission as well. Edited June 10, 2014 by LilBambi Quote
abarbarian Posted June 19, 2014 Posted June 19, 2014 The Humble Audiobook Bundle 2 featuring Recorded Books Eleven audiobooks to enlighten your earholes. Humble Audiobook Bundle 2 features 11 brilliant audiobooks from Recorded Books, one of the largest independent publishers and distributors of unabridged audiobooks in the world. Pay what you want for The Perfect Storm, Strip Tease, Red Rising and Grave Sight. If you choose to pay more than the average price, you’ll also receive How Music Works, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Hollow World, Rules of Prey, Baudolino and Bearing An Hourglass. Pay $10 or more to receive all of the above plus the critically-acclaimed Fight Club. Grab this bundle and listen to these captivating stories on the go in MP3 format. Click on the icons above for descriptions of each audiobook. Pay what you want. These 11 audiobooks would cost you more than $1,000, but you get to name your price! Just bought these and am going to get a set for a friend too. OK so they are listen to not reads but jolly good stories all the same. How they work out that a audio book is worth nearly 100$ is beyond me Quote
Capt.Crow Posted June 19, 2014 Posted June 19, 2014 Just finished two of Nevil Shute's novels. No Highway. No pace and a book to put you to sleep. Landfall slightly better at least this one has a modicum of plot. Next ,An old captivity. Let you know the critique when I've finished it. I enjoyed On the beach . 1 Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted June 30, 2014 Posted June 30, 2014 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/888179.Computing_Across_America Quote
abarbarian Posted July 10, 2014 Posted July 10, 2014 https://www.humblebundle.com/books?utm_source=Humble+Bundle+Newsletter&utm_campaign=fa41a30097-Humble_Sci_fi_eBook_Bundle&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_990b1b6399-fa41a30097-96436093 Eleven digital literary works. The Humble Sci-Fi eBook Bundle Presented by Open Road is here with eleven titles that are out of this world. Pay what you want for The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, The Reluctant Swordsman by Dave Duncan, Freehold by William Dietz, The Time of the Dark by Barbara Hambly, and Wingman by Mack Maloney. Beat the average price and you'll receive all of the above as well as Spellsinger by Alan Dean Foster, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison, The Forge of God by Greg Bear, and Song of Kali by Dan Simmons. Pay $12 or more to receive everything previously mentioned as well as Encounter with Tiber by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes and Blackcollar by Timothy Zahn. Pay what you want. Separately, this instant eBook library would typically cost you more than $86, but we're letting you set the price! Compatible with computers and mobile devices. These books are available in multiple formats including PDF, MOBI, and ePub, so they work great on your computer, eBook readers, and a wide array of mobile devices! Full viewing instructions can be found here. Support charity. You choose where your money goes: between the authors and/or to two charities, First Book and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America Emergency Medical Fund. If you like this bundle, a tip to Humble Bundle would be greatly appreciated! Doubt if anyone will like this but I posted as it is a barnstorming deal. 1 Quote
ebrke Posted July 13, 2014 Posted July 13, 2014 I guess I'll have to think about an e-book reader someday. I'm just leery of losing access to something I've paid money for. Quote
amenditman Posted July 13, 2014 Posted July 13, 2014 I make sure that I can download any digital content directly to my computer and back it up in the cloud. I manage all my ebook reading in Calibre application. 2 Quote
abarbarian Posted July 13, 2014 Posted July 13, 2014 As amenditman suggests Calibre is an excellent program to use. It will convert almost any format to one to suit you. So once you have a file on your pc you can keep it forever. If the Nook e-readers are still dirt cheap then they are a neat reader. I have the Glo Nook and am really happy with it, all I use it for is reading and it does the job well. 1 Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted July 13, 2014 Posted July 13, 2014 I have a ton of books in various readers, including Calibre. If all else goes away, I will still have that. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.