My Tangent – Christmas Lights – Google Ngram Viewer: Use For Genealogy

Morning,

It has been raining this morning… and I am so, so glad. And the prediction is that there is another cold front heading our way.

Yesterday I decided to get into some sort of Holiday spirit and decorate the front yard of our house. I am so glad that it was a beautiful day, cause if I had waited until today, which is wet, and damp, and cold, and overcast, you would never have seen any type of electronic Cheer emanating from this house.

Google Labs has just introduced a great, great new tool, the Books Ngram Viewer. It is a very handy and good tool if you are a bibliophile and/or a logophile.

This tool is a must for this genealogy researcher. In the due course of my work, there are times when I find that understanding the meaning of a word or phrase from a specific time or period can help me narrow the scope of a search. As I comprehend the usage of a word or phrase, and when it was used, I am able to construct a scenario of the events based on time and meaning of the same.

Given a specific word, it may have a particular meaning today, that is now in 2010, but it could have had a different meaning in 1810.

Having this tool assists me to pin-point the use of a word or phrase by providing literature, cross-referenced to Google Books that may have published at the time. This in due course helps to discover associations of my ancestors and/or connections.

Enjoy,

Jim

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My Tangent – Speech Recognition and My Genealogy Transcription Project

Morning,

I have been asked a number of questions regarding my transcription work in my search for the genealogy and ancestry of my family, and especially about my Transcription Project in the search for the origin and birth location of my ggg-grandfather James Smith.

Going forward and every so often, in My Tangent I will jot down few notes as to how, and what, and what does not work for me. Today I will touch on Speech Recognition and my genealogy Transcription Project. And no, this does not have anything to do with communicating with those family members who have passed on.

I just discovered that Windows 7 has a hands-free dictation function. It’s called Speech Recognition. That is, I talk into a microphone and the computer transcribes my words directly into the compatible software, usually a word processing software that I’m working with. But for me it’s like learning another new language… especially since I’ve been using Dragon Naturally Speaking for many years. Dragon Naturally Speaking is a speech recognition software.

Now I have two choices. But learning the two different applications is sort like speaking Italian and Portuguese and Spanish at the same time. It does get a bit confusing, since a number of the commands are different between the two programs.

In the process of my genealogy research here’s how I use the Dictation software. My setup is to have two monitors which allow me to open multiple programs and have them up and running simultaneously. I open and position a document, a record, or an indenture on one of my monitors, usually the right monitor. I then open my word processing software on the second monitor, that is, my left monitor. (Right or left is just my preference.) I lastly open my dictation software, position my microphone, and then get to work.

Making sure that my dictation software is turned on and that my cursor is resident in my word processing software, in my case MS Word. I read the document, record, or indenture word by word using the microphone. The dictation software takes over and begins to type and key my words directly into the word processing software. It is amazing. It is great especially since I speak much faster than I can type.

This tool combination is certainly a must for anyone doing genealogical transcription of old documents. The configuration of your monitors or the position of the software on your screen is certainly your choice. One further note, I have my two monitors programmed as a continuous screen. That is, I only have to use one mouse and I have the ability of moving my mouse cursor immediately between both monitors. Another word of advice, unless you have super magnification vision ability this process may not work too well on the little bitty monitors of a cell phone or small tablet.

Enjoy,

Jim.

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