Friday, May 05, 2006

Web sight of my present taste

I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but there is a website with which I am - I can't think of the best adjective here, I'll go with - enthralled. This website is Altavista's Babelfish. This is a useful site for some quick translation work. I have used it several times when I come across a tidbit of information in other than my native tongue, or if I need help with my rusty high school French, like when I got my new bike. The bike was made by a small company in Quebec and the manual is only in French. Some of the more technical terms were escaping me and I didn't want to read, "Proper use of this bicycle requires one to X" when it actually read, "You may die if you try X."

But, there is a much less useful, but much more amusing way to use this wonderful tool so generously provided to us by the folks at Altavista, (by Overture Services, Inc. Owned by Yahoo, (don't they make a search engine, too?)) The hilarity of which I speak is accomplished as follows:

1) Type any English phrase, (or short paragraph,) into the Translate box.
2) Select a foreign language for translation purposes and receive the result.
3) Copy the result back into the Translate box and go back to English.
4) ROFLYFAO (which of course is roll on floor laughing YOUR friggin' ass off)

I can seriously spend upwards of tens of minutes at this, (I was going to say hours but I am not that big a nerd...shut up JWE.) I usually fall back to song lyrics and then try to sing the result along to the music, or I come up with challenges or insults that I can then send off to various friends/enemies. I find the Asian languages work the best, probably because their syntax is so different from English.

Here are some examples using what should be familiar text:

Humpty Dumpty was put in the wall
Not too bad here
Humpty Dumpty passed falling which is large
um, kinda losing me here
As for the person of the horse or all kings of all kings
ok, it's gone
it was not possible for the second time to assemble Humpty
Hey, we brought it back, although it no longer rhymes

Here is a song. Bonus points if you know what it is before seeing the answer, (which I have "hidden" later.)

Keep accompanying me in circumstance.
Keep accompanying me in crowd.
Certain peanut and popcorn buy.
If I return, you do not worry.
We in order to become fixed, become fixed in order to support the foam. [??]
If they do not win, that is shame.
Because of that with you of one and 2 are three assaults which is old circumstance.

And finally, a tongue twister with a unique...ok, twist.

Peter's Piper chose peck of the pepper which makes the pickles.
When it chooses peck of the pepper which makes the pickles which have peck of Piper which makes Peter's of the pepper where Peter's Piper is chosen pickles.

Wow. Ok, I should go to bed before this gets out of hand.

For the present entirely,
Kef...

ps. here is the answer, (highlight this: [Take me out to the ball game])

2 Comments:

Blogger Queenie said...

oh oh oh
toooo funny.

Q

5/05/2006 12:57 AM  
Blogger Joy said...

heh-heh...the song made me laugh.

5/05/2006 9:49 AM  

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