Blog – mattbk.com

Gestalt Language Processing – Podcast Episodes

Here are some podcast episodes about Gestalt Language Processing (GLP). Brain dump for now, but might be better to organize them chronologically across podcasts. Happy to add others, but I am interested in podcasts with dedicated RSS feeds, not videos.

Talking with Tech

Episode 200: Alexandria Zachos: Supporting Spontaneous Speech in People Who Script https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/alexandria-zachos
Episode 239: TWT Live from Oregon (Part 1): Strategies for Improving Virtual Assessments https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/oregon-twt-1 (just the intro)
Episode 250: Marge Blanc & Alexandria Zachos (Part 1): Supporting Students with Echolalia Using the Natural Language Acquisition Framework https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/blanc-and-zachos-1
Episode 251: Marge Blanc & Alexandria Zachos (Part 2): Supporting Gestalt Language Processing With AAC https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/blanc-and-zachos-2
Episode 263: Noah Callan: AAC User, Disability Advocate, and Technology Coordinator https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/noah-callan (just the intro)
Episode 270: Alyssa Hillary Zisk and Lily Konyn: Gestalt Language Processing and AAC https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/zisk-and-konyn
Episode 288: Dr. Barry Prizant (Part 1): Echolalia and Gestalt Language Processing https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/prizant-1
Episode 308: Breea Rosas: Neurodivergent Affirming Practices for School-Based Practitioners https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/breea-rosas (just a little)
Episode 312: Tiffany Joseph (Part 1): Educating and Supporting AAC Users as a Part-Time AAC User https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/tiffany-joseph-1
Episode 313: Tiffany Joseph (Part 2): The Use of Gestalts in Acquiring Language as a Part-Time AAC User https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/tiffany-joseph-2

SLP Now

Episode 191: Writing Goals for Gestalt Language Processors with Katja Piscitelli https://slpnow.com/blog/191-writing-goals-for-gestalt-language-processors-with-katja-piscitelli/
Episode 204: The Journey to Understanding GLP with Jessica Teixeira https://slpnow.com/blog/the-journey-to-understanding-glp/
Episode 205: Gestalt Language Processing Stages: Complete Guide for SLP’s with Marge Blanc https://slpnow.com/blog/gestalt-language-processing-stages-complete-guide-for-slps/

Uniquely Human

Episode 45: Echolalia and Unconventional Verbal Behavior – A Discussion with Barry Prizant, Dave Finch and Rebecca Rosenzweig https://uniquelyhuman.com/2022/02/18/echolalia-and-unconventional-verbal-behavior/
Episode 112: Supporting Communication and Regulation with Declarative Language: A Conversation with Linda Murphy, MS, CCC-SLP https://uniquelyhuman.com/2024/08/16/communication-regulation-declarative-language-linda-murphy/
Episode 114: Gestalt Language Processing and Natural Language Acquisition:
A Discussion with Marge Blanc, CCC-SLP, and Alex Zachos, CCC-SLP https://uniquelyhuman.com/2024/09/13/gestalt-language-processing-and-natural-language-acquisition-marge-blanc-alex-zachos/

Webtrees 2 Slow Image Load

If you ever have to move a Webtrees install to a new server, make sure your data/cache folder and files within are given the right user:group ownership. I was seeing 6-7 seconds per page load with all modules off, because thumbnails etc. weren’t able to be cached and were being rebuilt every page load. Yikes!

For example, on YuNoHost, I ran this command: chown -R webtrees:www-data cache, which aligns with the user:group as installed.

What’s up, Grand Forks and East Grand Forks?

Cory Doctorow explained last month, quoting Aaron Cope (highlighting mine):

The internet was inspired by the end-to-end principle, the idea that the network’s first duty was to transmit data from willing senders to willing receivers, as efficiently and reliably as possible. That principle made it possible for whole swathes of people to connect with one another. As Cope writes, openness “was not, and has never been, a guarantee of a receptive audience or even any audience at all.” But because it was “easy and cheap enough to put something on the web,” you could “leave it there long enough for others to find it.”

This is a variation on the more succinct thing I saw on fedi the other day that ~~(paraphrasing) “a blog post is a query through time to find similar people,”~~ “A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox,” which I thought was nice. I~~f I find the source, I will update this post.~~ Updated!

To that end, here are a few things that don’t warrant their own posts (even though that might be better SEO), but that I’m interested in, if other people locally are:

Community Solar in East Grand Forks
Strong Towns East Grand Forks
Strong Towns Grand Forks

So if you’re into these ideas or something similar, know that I am too! Drop a comment and let’s make something happen.

Update: Speaking of community solar here in East Grand Forks, I ran across this page, with a map that highlights EGF, but with some questionable conclusions:

Hydroelectric
Two of MMPA’s member communities, East Grand Forks and Olivia, purchase a portion of their power from the Western Area Power Administration. Because it produces no waste and causes no carbon emissions, hydroelectric power is a sustainable form of energy.

The WAPA page has this to say (highlight added):

Western is a Federal agency under the Department of Energy that markets and transmits wholesale electrical power from 56 Federal hydropower plants and one coal-fired plant.

Hmm…

Fixing the Ol’ Samsung Dishwasher

Long story short, it was really loud. This post came to the rescue: https://tech.akom.net/index.php?url=archives/132-Replacing-Dishwasher-Circulation-Pump-Bearings-without-buying-a-whole-new-unit.html.

I had to grind down the outside angles on the gear puller so it would grab the stuck-on bearing right (thanks to this comment for the suggestion: “Jeremy on 2022-05-05 14:29”).

Here’s the motor I replaced the bearings on:

Some other resources:

Northern Plains Athletics: End of an Era

From roughly November 2013 (I think I ordered the domain on Thanksgiving) to early 2020 (we know what happened then), I sunk a bunch of time into an endurance event calendar/map called Northern Plains Athletics. It wasn’t used by anyone very much. Soon the website will be gone completely. I’m letting the domain name go free and removing the site from my server. The Twitter account has already been deleted.

This is bittersweet, but I’ve been involved in too many things beyond the time I should have quit them. Maybe NPA should never have happened, but it did let me learn a lot about Drupal and the races happening in the North Dakota/South Dakota/Minnesota/Manitoba region. Perhaps if I’d spent more time traveling and less time with code, I would have been happier–but now I know more about sunk costs.

Because I still have a hard time letting go, I’ve archived the blog posts here, under the Northern Plains Athletics category. It was nice to skim through them again, and maybe some of the contributed race reports will be helpful to someone else.

Finally, here is a CSV file containing the several hundred events (or event versions, because the data structure changed over time) I ended up with. Names, locations, descriptions, date last updated, stuff like that. So if you want some data to play with, or are just looking for a race, this might help. Click here to download.

Get out and race!
Matt

Delete Windows files that match a filename pattern with “Everything”

Everything is a tool I use daily to replace Windows search, which is painfully slow. In addition to indexing files by name, it allows you to run normal file operations on the resulting list.

I ended up with thousands of files starting with “._” after a OneDrive migration. The eventual solution (after looking for CMD commands) was to just use Everything to search, select all the files, right-click, and select “Delete.”

QRP Radio Fun

At some point over the winter, I started reading Thomas’s posts at QRPer.com. It may have been after I listened to one of his guest appearances on Ham Radio Workbench.

Long story short, last week I got a new Xiegu X6100 from Radioddity. I’ve been playing with it and a MFJ-1984LP EFHW antenna in the front yard for a few days now, and it’s been a hoot to chase POTA activators using only 5W. It’s definitely something I can do for 5 (let’s be serious, more like 15) minutes at a time in between other things.

Some early notes, maybe to follow up on in the future:

There are at least two groups.io lists for this radio, either of which might help you find an answer to a question. Please note that if you haven’t bought the radio yet, stay away from posts before Spring 2022–the early adopters had some issues that no longer apply.
- https://groups.io/g/xiegu-x6100/
- https://groups.io/g/x6100/
The thin poly line used by arborists can burn when you release it from your hand, maybe use gloves when tossing (or get a lighter throw bag).
My antenna is allegedly good for a bunch of bands, but I’m also not sure how the tuner will tell me that it can’t tune.
The detent in the main tuning knob is either too small for my finger, or the whole knob is too small. I tend to just roll my finger around the edge to spin fast.
The manual is useful to expand out the menu item names, but you need to know a bit about radios to know what they actually mean.
Some weird “birdies” that swoop in from the sides, on some bands. See notes in the groups.io posts.
CW decode doesn’t always work, but you may have to toggle between CW and CWR by pressing the mode button. Or it’s random chance that I got it to work.
My attic fan dipole, although it covers everything from 40m to 10m bands, is not very sensitive on receive at all (or more likely is catching too much noise from inside the house). Yesterday I could see stations all over 20m when operating outside on the X6100, but only a few of them inside on the IC-7300 (which should have better receive in general).
- I don’t think this is because of bad coax, but it could be. I made some notes on my Mastodon account (that I need to write down somewhere else) about testing the IC-7300 with the EFHW and checking the noise floor.

East Grand Forks: Childcare in the News

Making childcare more available in East Grand Forks has popped up a few times recently. Not sure if this is part of a trend that will accomplish something in the long run, but nice to note.

Mayor Steve Gander proclaimed April 4 will be Childcare Provider Appreciation Day in East Grand Forks, allowing an opportunity to recognize childcare providers. “I urge all citizens to thank and encourage childcare providers for their important work,” Gander said.

Grand Forks Herald, 15 Mar 2022

According to the Exponent, there was an event at Valley Golf Course for the announced day.

And of course it must be something of a deal if the newspaper is writing editorials about it:

Our view: The child care crisis in the Dakotas and Minnesota is bad for business
To us, the growing trouble with child care is among the biggest contributors to the Great Resignation in the Dakotas and Minnesota. It’s why we hope state lawmakers, governors and decision-makers continue to seek landmark solutions.

Grand Forks Herald, 01 Jan 2022

Some info on how short we are (hopefully the growth from January to March does not continue):

“Child care.” East Grand Forks is about 100 child care “slots” short of where it should be, according to Gorte. The city is looking for ways to lure new daycares to town or help existing ones expand via the Rural Child Care Innovation Program, which is run by nonprofit First Children’s Finance and funded jointly by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Michigan Department of Education.

Grand Forks Herald, 31 Jan 2022

“People who are not participating in the labor force have to have access to childcare so they can participate in the labor force,” Kiddoo said.

Paul Gorte, economic development director in East Grand Forks, said the city needs to add more than 200 spots for pre-kindergarten children. Kiddoo said Thief River Falls, where Northland also has a campus, needs to add a similar number of spots.

Grand Forks Herald, 30 Mar 2022

On 14 Mar, the East Grand Forks school district sent out a survey (via ParentVUE) about childcare and notice of a town hall about it:

Good Afternoon, please use the link below to participate in a survey about the child care needs of East Grand Forks. Availability of high-quality childcare is cucial for East Grand Forks to grow and thrive. East Grand Forks needs approximately 200 childcare slots, especially infant and toddler care, to meet our current needs. Help guide our work on this improtant issue by completing a survey and attending a town hall meeeting on April 25th.

Parent Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/parentegf

Town Hall: https://eastgrandforkstownhall.eventbrite.com

Here’s the Town Hall info from the link:

You’re invited to take part in the discussion and solutions at the town hall!
About this event

Child care is an economic driver for rural communities across the United States but many communities are facing shortages of high quality child care. First Children’s Finance’s Rural Child Care Innovation Program is an innovative community engagement process designed to address the challenges of child care in rural America.

East Grand Forks has a shortage of approximately 210 full-time child care slots. A shortage of this magnitude has a dramatic impact on families and the local economy. To address this challenge, a core team from East Grand Forks has come together to lead the process of investigating why there is a shortage of care in the area. The Town Hall meeting is the opportunity to develop solutions to address this child care challenge for our community.

Child care needs to be accessible, of high quality, and profitable for the child care provider. As a community, we can work together to make this a reality.

**DINNER PROVIDED**

Hopefully we can see this community of about 8,000 people come together and get things figured out. I’m not directly involved in organizing any of this, but as a working parent who has had to look for quality childcare in the last several years, I appreciate all the efforts.