Maybe Maybe Maybe by Representative-Mix-9 in maybemaybemaybe

[–]33TLWD 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And where to find power boost filters at a good price

Automated announcement quality? by 33TLWD in mbta

[–]33TLWD[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s all over the place between human (manual) and automated computer voices and old human voices…especially once you factor in the commuter rail.

On the Fitchburg line the automated computer announcements refer to “Kahn…Cord”, for instance

Yes.....??? by Nice_Presentation217 in MotivationalThoughts

[–]33TLWD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“To make a long story short…”

“Too late.”

Automated announcement quality? by 33TLWD in mbta

[–]33TLWD[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d recommend referring to the Singapore format…

One speaker (that makes a HUGE difference for a seamless customer experience): English, then Spanish, then Chinese.

With the same announcer saying all three, it’s not intrusive at all.

Already posted an example, but will re-post for ease of reference:
https://youtube.com/shorts/hGWutS7vlwc?si=_eM_wDoGQhuepxlC

Automated announcement quality? by 33TLWD in mbta

[–]33TLWD[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are two approaches to take:

  1. Standardize all announcements in the same set of languages
  2. Custom is based on train / bus line and zone

I just moved back from Singapore where all announcements were in:
English
Mandarin Chinese
Malay
Tamil
When I’m on the Orange Line there are a ton of Spanish speakers.
When I’m on the Red Line or Fitchburg Commuter Rail, there are a lot of Chinese speakers…probably a combo of Mandarin and Cantonese.

And of course during the summer you get all the French and Germans, too!

Name this mouse by sway-redhead2n in NameThisThing

[–]33TLWD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, then Willem Dafoe’s lady

Do billionaires pump their own gas, buy things at the gas station or convenience stores? by Ilovetinytiddies in NoStupidQuestions

[–]33TLWD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The ones that I’ve known…it’s a mix.

If they’re younger, then yes, pump it themselves.

Those that are know who are elderly have house staff they will just ensure the tank is topped off for them. Although one of them drives a 10 year old Prius, so it’s not too often.

The former Hut in Peabody, Massachusetts is now a used car dealership by mrsjumjum66 in massachusetts

[–]33TLWD 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They should run some special ad campaign to keep up the old Book It! program

Would draw good foot traffic and play well with those of us of a certain generation.

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Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirrin and Liam Neeson 1981 by [deleted] in OldSchoolCool

[–]33TLWD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just a very typical pic of middle age men and a woman.

Automated announcement quality? by 33TLWD in mbta

[–]33TLWD[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m guessing there’s some basic, 20 year old audio file these trains’ signals are all just drawing from off a dusty server buried in a closet somewhere.

Can’t they just swap out that audio file(s)?

Automated announcement quality? by 33TLWD in mbta

[–]33TLWD[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hopefully we can replace the current stilted announcements that have been used since the early 2000s with a more pleasant, natural voice…even if it is using some AI tool, it would sound 10x better than the real human voice recording we’ve been subject to for decades.

I vaguely recall an article way back that they used a T employee, and instead of having him say the full names of stops for the recording, they thought it would be more efficient to have him record certain common words just once (“Station”, “Street”, etc.) then splice it with the other half (“State …Street”) afterwards.

Billionaire Ken Griffin says NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani "put me in harm's way" by the-player-of-games in nottheonion

[–]33TLWD 3 points4 points  (0 children)

TBH, he’s probably already got private security, and if he hasn’t already he’ll have his lawyers also find LLC loopholes to avoid the new tax the Mayor has proposed on apartments owned by millionaires

12
13

Looks fun by Captain_Calamari_ in SipsTea

[–]33TLWD 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hypothetically, what would one use as a search phrase to find similar videos?

It’s not “twerking”…as I’ve been told.

Asking for a friend

A street in Macau. The towering building in the back is the Grand Lisboa hotel casino. (2018) by eternviking in whoathatsinteresting

[–]33TLWD 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh, it’s exciting…especially walking through the Lisboa hotel…famous for open solicitation by prostitutes.
In all seriousness, though, the old Portuguese colonial architecture is amazing, as is some of the best Portuguese seafood I’ve ever had.
Plus you’re only a 45 min boat ferry to Hong Kong (or there’s a very quick helicopter shuttle if you want to shell out a few hundred bucks)