AI

If there was a way to use dozens of enterprise-grade cloud software tools (that can each cost hundreds of dollars a month) for free (or nearly free), that would be worth exploring, right? Well, let’s explore it! Every couple years I come to a new appreciation for self-hosted software. For the uninitiated, if you have a spare computer sitting around that you’re willing put to work as a server (or if you want to rent a server for like $5/month), there are literally hundreds of programs available for free that you can host on that server, providing really viable alternatives to commercial cloud tools. ...

I’ve mentioned before that I’m currently working as Localization Director for Waha, which is an app and Bible Study curriculum that we are working towards translating into hundreds of different languages. Many of the languages on our roadmap are low-resource languages, meaning that they have very few materials and tools available to help us and our partners in the translation process. Part of my role as Localization Director involves designing workflows that make the best use of the limited time of our volunteer translators. To that end, I’ve been striving to keep up to date with advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) for low-resource languages, as these tools can be really helpful at easing the labor burden of localization projects, when they’re used effectively. ...

I recently joined the executive leadership team at the non-profit Waha, as their Localization Director. I have committed to work with them for the next 3 years with the goal of shipping their app and curriculum in 80+ new languages during that time. This has been a role I’ve been really loving. It has been stretching and demanding in all the ways I love. The role requires a high degree of competence in online-communication, a deep appreciation of nuances in languages and cultures, and a broad understanding of current technologies and how they can be used to help simplify the workflows of our volunteers and partners. ...

I’ve done my fair share of manually creating subtitles over the years. It can be quite a tedious and time-consuming process, so for a while now I’ve been on the lookout for a way to make that process faster. Over the last few days, I’ve also continued to be playing around with Whisper, which I wrote about before. While playing, I found a workflow that I wish I had had access to years ago. It’s a process that allows for quick generation of subtitles using preexisting scripts, without setting a single timestamp manually. I’ve already got several projects I’d like to try this new workflow on, but first I just wanted to share one completed project with that workflow here! ...

This morning, on day 8 of the 2023 Israel—Hamas War, my amazing girlfriend is mediating a dialog/debate between a Muslim and a Jew, about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Last night, she was studying in preparation for the discussion, and we ended up talking a bit about the history of the conflict. I mentioned that a few years ago I had listened to the “Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem” series by the MartyrMade Podcast. That series is a marvelous 23 hours of historical deep-dive on the events leading up to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. It is an INTENSE and DENSE series, with countless names, dates, quotations, and citations. ...