English Recordings

People become quite illogical when they try to decide what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten. If you lived in the Mediterranean， for instance， you would consider octopus a great delicacy. You would not be able to understand why some people find it repulsive. On the other hand， your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat —— the normally accepted practice in many northern countries. The sad truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives.
No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail. Cooked in wine， snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world. There are countless people who， ever since their early years， have learned to associate snails with food. My friend， Robert， lives in a country where snails are despised. As his flat is in a large town， he has no garden of his own. For years he has been asking me to collect snails from my garden and take them to him. The idea never appealed to me very much， but one day， after heavy shower， I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants. Acting on a sudden impulse， I collected several dozen， put them in a paper bag， and took them to Robert. Robert was delighted to see me and equally pleased with my little gift. I left the bag in the hall and Robert and I went into the living room where we talked for a couple of hours. I had forgotten all about the snails when Robert suddenly said that I must stay to dinner. Snails would， of course， be the main dish. I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantly followed Robert out of the room. To our dismay， we saw that there were snails everywhere： they had escaped from the paper bag and had taken complete possession of the hall！ I have never been able to look at a snail since then.

Field Methods in HCI part 2

Companies closing doors and charging for what was once free content is exacerbated by increasing competition in the online advertising environment. Facebook touts the power of the trusted referral to sell ad-dollars, but the traditional wisdom predicted that social networking sites wouldn't be able to generate profits from these revenues. However, the emergence of games like Farmville, Mafia Wars, Sorority Life - Facebook is finally in the black.
Intellectual property laws are becoming more complicated, especially as Facebook is rumoring to introduce an in-house payment system. This concept of online currency will again cause a ruckus among users not only because it's a touchy subject, but the usability of the platform will be changing again. It's becoming apparent to me that it's impossible to please every user and every developer in a first release. I wish I could be a fly on the wall at a product development meeting - does Facebook use agile project management strategies?

Considering the pervasive nature of Facebook, I figure my content for this feed format will be focused as a creative rehashing/insightful mini-ethnography.
Today I'm thinking about peripherals. It's far easier to post content frequently with a device that's portable. This allegedly improves relevance of content, according to Facebook's algorithm. This relevance has marketing impact. Unfiltered streams tend towards feed distribution, keeping users returning to the applications again and again. Growth of the ground swell is facilitated by the synthesis of the usability of the device it's variety of applications.

Field Methods in HCI part 1

Bentley University's HFID graduate program has immersed me in a world that I could have never imagined existed. Not only are my classmates some of the most intuitively insightful individuals I have ever had the pleasure to meet, but the professors are approachable and down-to-earth - something I rarely had experienced in my undergraduate career. Universal usability is awe-inspiring, as is the professor for my Field Methods in Human Computer Interaction course. User research is fuzzy and complicated, and even more difficult its implementation in a particular set of circumstances rather than discussing it just in theory. It's curious how the UX professionals tend to pit themselves against marketing gurus - especially when I'm aiming at a synthesis of both. It's also very curious that the class doesn't say much about agile project methodologies when so much of the user research is centered on aiding the product development process. It seems like the nature of user research suggests a waterfall or plan-driven methods that don't require as much schedule planning up-front. Yet, as my education suggests, the iterative capability of an agile method would be far more useful to any UCD approach. Not only can a team can react more quickly to new findings the emerge from the research, but could more easily slipstream these findings into design and development phases. I always find it disappointing when a particular organization "drinks the Kool-Aid" of usability research, but won't consider an agile environment to allow the research to be conducted optimally.

(2012.1.28)Dictinary/ sample sentences:
<장기 자랑>
Sometimes they have talent shows. 때로 학생들은 장기 자랑을 벌인다.
Then they perform in the talent show. 그리고 학생들은 장기 자랑을 한다.
You know what her pageant talent is? 걔 장기자랑이 뭔 줄 알아?
<강요당하여 >
by[under／on] pressure 《from》／under compulsion.
복종을 강요하다 exact obedience from 《a person》.
노동을 강요하다 force labor 《upon a person》.
자백을 강요하다 extort a confession from 《a person》.
당신은 내게 복종을 강요하려고 하는가 Are you trying to force me to obey?
그는 자기 생각을 아들들에게 강요했다 He imposed his will on his sons.
그는 내게 술을 마시도록 강요했다 He insisted on my drinking.
그는 꼼짝 못하고 그 일을 강요당했다 He was made[compelled／forced] to do it willy-nilly.
그는 그녀에게 즉각 사직하도록 강요했다 He demanded that she (should) resign immediately.
그들은 그에게 기부금을 강요했다 They coerced him into donating money.
나는 백과 사전을 사도록 강요당했다 I was pressured to buy the encyclopedia.
나는 자발적이기보다는 강요되어 기부금을 냈다 My donation was more forced than voluntary.
그는 강요당하여 굴복했다 He was forced[compelled] to submit.
그는 빚을 당장 갚으라고 강요했다 He put pressure on me to repay my debt at once.
그녀는 사직을 강요당하여 그만두었다 She has been forced out of office／She was compulsorily relieved of his post

Once a year a race is held for old cars. A lot of cars entered for this race last year and there was a great deal of excitement just before it began. One of the most handsome cars was a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. The most unusual car was a Benz which had only three wheels. Built in 1885, it was the oldest car taking part. After a great many loud explosions, the race began. Many of the cars broke down on the course and some drivers spent more time under their cars than in them ! A few cars, however, completed the race. The winning car reached a speed of forty miles an hour--much faster than any of its rivals. It sped downhill at the end of the race and its driver had a lot of trouble trying to stop it. The race gave everyone a great deal of pleasure. It was very different from modern car races but no less exciting.

Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently. A new machine called 'The Revealer' has been invented and it has been used to detect gold which has been buried in the ground. The machine was used in a cave near the seashore where--it is said--pirates used to hide gold. The pirates would often bury gold in the cave and then fail to collect it. Armed with the new machine, a search party went into the cave hoping to find buried treasure. The leader of the party was examining the soil near the entrance to the cave when the machine showed that there was gold under the ground. Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep. They finally found a small gold coin which was almost worthless. The party then searched the whole cave thoroughly but did not find anything except an empty tin trunk. In spite of this, many people are confident that 'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly soon.

Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end， In many ways， this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years. In the last act， a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance， he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
One night， the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if， after so many performances， he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then， the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his bands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly， anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then， squinting his eyes， he said： 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me'. And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either， the gaoler replied： 'The light is indeed dim， sire， I must get my glasses.' With this， he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement， the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter with he proceeded to read to the prisoner.

Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days， boxers fought with bare fists for prize money. Because of this， they were known as 'prizefighters'. However， boxing was very crude， for these were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.
One of the most colourful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza， who was born in 1764. The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860， when the Marquis of Queensberry drew up the first set of rules. Though he was technically a prizefighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prizefighting into a sport， for he brought science to the game. In this day， Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.
Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old. This attracted the attention of Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England. He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn. In fact， Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him. The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held at Stilton， where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza， but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion and he lost for a second time. It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England. Meanwhile， he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord Byron became one of his pupils. He earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as $100 for a single appear one of his pupils. He earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as $100 for a single appearance. Despite this， he was so extravagant that he was always in debt. After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson， he was quickly forgotten. He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died in poverty in 1836.

Would You Consider Sharing an Okinawan Meal with Me?

I am planning to be in Okinawa from the 4th February to the 8th February.
私は２月４日から８日まで沖縄に滞在するつもりです。

Actually, the place I really wanted to go to was Tasmania.
ちなみに、私が最も行きたかった地はタスマニアです。

However, I decided to put off going there until I can catch what native English speakers are saying when they speak at normal speed.
しかし、私はネイティブの英語話者がナチュラルスピードで話す内容を聞き取れるようになるまでその地へは足を踏み入れないと決めています。

So, then, I planned to go to London or New York but I now find myself unable to visit either due to unavoidable circumstances.
そのため、今回はロンドンかニューヨークを訪れる予定だったのですが、止むを得ない事情でそれが出来なくなってしまいました。

In Okinawa, I'm thinking of roughing it, like a student with no money."
沖縄では貧乏学生のように行動しようと思っています。

So I've booked a hotel where there aren't any private bathrooms.
そのため、私は風呂もトイレもないホテルを予約しました。

And, I’m only going to travel on the monorail, “ゆいレール”, which is the only railway in Okinawa.
また、沖縄では当地唯一の鉄道である「ゆいレール」のみを使って移動します。

I'm going to get off at every station along the way as that has been a dream of mine ever since I first went to Okinawa a few years ago.
数年前に沖縄に足を運んだ際以来の夢だったため、私は全ての駅でモノレールを降りてみようと思います。

In Japan, a trip like this is called “ぶらり途中下車の旅” which is the title of a long-running TV program.
日本では、テレビの長寿番組に因んでそのような旅を「ぶらり途中下車の旅」と呼ばれたりもします。

What’s more, the 4th of February is the cheapest day of the year for travelling from Tokyo to Okinawa.
さらに、２月４日は東京から沖縄への旅費を年間で一番安く抑えられる日でもあるのです。

So,should you find yourself in Okinawa at the same time as me, would you consider meeting up with me and having a conversation in English and Japanese over an Okinawan meal?
ところで、私が滞在する期間に沖縄にいらっしゃるようであれば、日本語と英語で会話をしながら沖縄料理をご一緒しませんか。

Entrepreneurship in Practicum

Isn't how funny how a journey can change lanes right before your eyes? After the realization that Human Factors at Bentley simply wasn't my gig, I was left wondering whether Entrepreneurship would be enough to diversify my profile. Then, I had a thought - it's not a title or a certification or a piece of paper with the name of a degree on it that makes the difference. It's the skill set and the tool set that I've aquired along the trip. Failure is indeed a powerful teacher. I have learned that attempting a challenge for the wrong reasons is like the old adage: can't see the forest for the trees. I didn't truly believe that was the career path I would have liked to pursue. In hindsight, I can hardly imagine spending hours on end in front of a computer screen clicking and keystroking. Discovering that I'm "cut from the cloth" as a saleswoman is not shocking. Suspending disbelief to sell a conceptual product is not something I thought I'd be able to do at the outset. Working at a startup has opened my eyes to the negativity that plagues management and leadership on a daily basis. Implementation of change has been a rocky road, even for someone who has faith in the eventual success. Due diligence has been given to the original processes that had been created to drive revenue growth. According to my senior colleagues, change is imminent and typically misguided. In the past, I'd kept my head down, rolled with the punches, and done my best to adapt. Now for the first time I'm being given the change to voice my opinions, insights, and thoughts from the 'front lines' - skills I plan to implement one I gear up to put entrepreneurship in practicum. Step 1: Forget everything I think I know about running a business.