My name is Eric and I am a Catholic Geek
Every day I pray the Angelus with my family; it is one of the best parts of my day. Sometimes, however, our schedules are such that I cannot pray with them.
Recently I set up Speech Recognition on my MacBook to respond to voice commands such as “Save this document”, “Open my browser” and “Get my mail.” It is pretty cool and definitely brings out the inner Geek in me.
How are these two things related? Watch this video to find out:
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Eric, I’m really impressed. As a fellow Mac user, I really want to put this together! You should share your secret.
Nick,
It’s not too hard to do.
First, set up the Speech Recognition. In my normal use, I set it up to listen for a keyword (mine is “Thomas”), but to do this video I just had it listen constantly so I wouldn’t have to say Thomas before each line.
Next, create an Applescript with what you want your Mac to say. All you need to program is:
say “Hello”
and it will say whatever you type in the quotes (“Hello” in this instance).
Then save the script as follows:
a) as an application (not a script)
b) in the /Library/Speech/Speakable Items directory
c) and make the name of the file the phrase you want it to listen for. For example, the script I mention above is named “Hello Thomas”. When I say that phrase, the MacBook will respond with “Hello”.
That’s it! The trick is clearly enunciating your words. My MacBook had a hard time understanding “Let us pray” – I think because it thought I was saying “Lettuce pray”.
Good luck!
What next? ‘Hal’ the computer ordering you to confession? A Catholic Space Odyssey . . .Come to think of it, a computer with a conscience might not be such a bad idea. : )
When you share your secret, don’t you need to start with step #1: Be a huge tech geek?
Great stuff! It’s so cool to find another Sammons who is a Catholic blogger!
interesting.. but for a catholic icon… i am surprised you have some many icons.. as you can see i am an orthodox geek*
I hail from a Catholic Church next door(St. Martin’s). Regarding the Angelus and missing it – that’s just like when my boys and I miss the Divine Mercy Hour – no prob! We “do” the “Chicago Divine Mercy Chaplet” (It’s always 3:00 somewhere, pick the city!) and do it at 4:00EST…..or the “Denver Divine Mercy” at 5:00EST….keep the prayer going, He’s awake listening to some Uber-Catholics somewhere or keeping planes from slamming into 144 foot Mary statues….that’s if you’re of a sub-Really/Uber-Catholic class called “Jailhouse Canon Lawyer” Catholic: placing dead last is OK, just gotta get over that line!
Awesome! Another reason for me to get a Mac! Where did you get your t-shirt with the icon on it?
Cheryl,
Yes – one of many reasons to get a Mac!
The T-Shirt was from a pro-life group I belonged to in the early 1990′s that we made for World Youth Day in Denver. (Yes, I still wear a t-shirt that is over 16 years old). Alas, they are no longer available.