i've got a helper class for generating DRK (Dictation Resource Kit) grammars now, and have used it to re-generate all the n-gram grammars used by /eva as 'dictation language models'. i still need to think about what process i want to generate the grammars and where they will live. but as a sanity check, i wrote the code to make sure /eva could use the new grammars. still need to check it Windows 7.

SemanticResultValue srvSearch = new SemanticResultValue("search tracks for ", "search tracks for ");
GrammarBuilder gbFilenameGram = new GrammarBuilder();
string topic = "grammar:dictation#DrkFilename";
gbFilenameGram.AppendDictation(topic);
SemanticResultKey srkFilenameGram = new SemanticResultKey("valSearch", gbFilenameGram);
GrammarBuilder gbSearchForX = srvSearch.ToGrammarBuilder();
gbSearchForX.Append(srkFilenameGram);

the problem with not being able to load conversational grammar (.cfg) files on Windows 7 is related to the main issue with /eva to begin with. the problem is i've had to manually generate n-grams using the conversational grammar builder in Speech Server 2007. instead, this process should be automated so the n-grams can be recreated nightly or as new music files are added.

Nick (MS) tipped me off to the Dictation Resource Kit. its not pretty, but it looks like it will work for generating the grammars that i need. and it'll take some grunt work, but i think it can be automated. finally, i would have to create the grammars differently in code, and that might mean they would work in Windows 7. the one ugly part is that the grammars have to be registered ... and i'd rather my app didnt touch the registry to avoid the security hassle.

another fallout from the lightning strike is it killed the harddisk on the /eva server. so i swapped out the harddisk and upgraded it to windows 7. but now 2 of grammars will not load. the problem is when i reference an n-gram (conversational) .cfg grammar from a dynamically built command-and-control grammar. so the user would say 'search tracks for gabriel and dresden'. 'search tracks for' is command and control, while 'gabriel and dresden' would match an n-gram utterance. the code follows (works on System.Speech on Vista, but not on Windows 7):

SemanticResultValue srvSearch = new SemanticResultValue("search tracks for ", "search tracks for ");
string musFold = SettingsImpl.GetGramDir();
string ngramPath = musFold + "NgramFilename_EN-US_UntitledCommand1.cfg";
GrammarBuilder gbFilenameGram = new GrammarBuilder();
gbFilenameGram.AppendRuleReference(ngramPath, "#UntitledCommand1");
SemanticResultKey srkFilenameGram = new SemanticResultKey("valSearch", gbFilenameGram);
gbSearchForX = srvSearch.ToGrammarBuilder();
gbSearchForX.Append(srkFilenameGram);

electrician came by, actually the same guy that helped me out about 2 years ago, and is confident that it was an electrical surge that crossed over to my data line; and that my UPS would not be able to protect against it. his suggestion is to install a power conditioner, at the circuit panel, that will protect my entire house. based on the number of problems i've had with electricity in this condo ... i'm sold. on the plus side, it might lower my electricity bill too. that should get installed next week.

aside, i just noticed that one of my newer UPS already has ethernet protection. the only problem is its not gigabit. so i'm going to move that to protect the ethernet coming out of the cable modem (since its not gigabit), and then i might install one of these for gigabit protection on my LAN.

that leaves NetGear, who is taking too long to get back to me about repairing my ReadyNAS. and now i need to get with APC to see if they will cover some of the damage to my equipment.

still trying to find out how my equipment was damaged, and what i can do to keep it from happening again ... so i called the cable company to send somebody out to check. they say that everything on their end was grounded properly, and the house looks grounded properly too. i showed him how my TV was on an UPS with coax protection. he said that wasnt even necessary. anyway, i'm not removing it because the TV survived. on the data side, the coax going to the cable modem is on an UPS (without coax protection). he said that the cable modem would be fried if that is where the spike got in. that makes sense to me too ... but i'm still going to put that coax on a newer UPS with coax protection. on the other hand, the UPS seemed to work and everything stayed powered on ... plus only ethernet ports were damaged ... which makes me think it got in through the coax. anyway, the technician admitted he didnt know much about electricity ... so i've got an electrician coming by tomorrow.

my cable modem, router, and hubs all seem to be working fine. i have no clue how they were not knocked out but 5 of the ethernet ports on my devices were? anyway, i found a long ethernet cable that had a good connection and ran it to the 5 devices, and they're all dead. sucks! so now i'm trying to rebuild the network.

1) the ReadyNAS is dead to the world. without ethernet, i cant get to the data. nor can i plug in a usb-to-ethernet adapter. all i can do at this point is send it off for repair. i dont have critical data on this drive ... but this is bad. i'm assuming the data is fine, but there is no way for me to know for sure.

2) my dev notebook is now on a usb-to-ethernet 100 Mbps adapter. i've ordered a gigabit usb adapter to try out next week. i found an ExpressCard gigabit adapter, but then i realized the ExpressCard slot is positioned exactly where i place my wrists, so it would not be usable.
this is kind of weird. the ethernet port that was hit stays lit up (orange) even when a cable is not plugged in. software-wise, the computer no longer even sees it as a usable device.

3) server - gigabit pcmcia card.

4) xbox 360 - for now, i just put it on wireless, and that is working fine. ultimately, i want to get it wired again for netflix streaming, so i'll wait to see about rumored price drops on the elite model.
this one is also a little weird. there are no lights on the ethernet port to check, but if i have a cable plugged in and run the network test, then it notices that there is a cable and keeps trying to switch between LAN and wireless, although the LAN has no connection.

5) xbmc - i'm going to check today to see if there are even any used xbox1 available. this also gives me an excuse to check out the Sage HD Theater or the Xtreamer. I'm leaning towards the Sage because it has an SDK that I could write some custom apps with. but i'm not in a huge rush to fix this because i can also stream with the 360 and Popcorn Hour; although the 360 has minimal features and the Popcorn Hour has a crappy UI. i'd check out getting xbmc running on an AppleTV if they had a windows boot loader, but they are still working on it.

finally, i have to look for a new UPS. i'm still assuming that the strike got in through the coax of the cable modem. i've seen UPS that have coax input and output, so i'll start there. also saw that there might be some UPS with ethernet jacks. so i'd run the coax through the UPS before going to the cable modem, and then have the ethernet out also go back through the UPS ... just in case.

condo was hit by a bad lightning storm last night. knocked out the power and set off all my UPS in the middle of the night. when i first moved in, i had an electrical problem between the street to my house ... so i bought tons of UPS at that time. anything and everything computer-related is on an UPS. but that didn't seem to help at all, because it looks like i lost 5 ethernet ports from the hit : ReadyNAS, xbox 360, xbmc, server notebook, and my main dev notebook. all of them seem to have a dead ethernet port. i'll send the NAS off for repair. the xbox and xbmc are disposable. server notebook is now on a pc gigabit card. and dev notebook is on an ethernet-to-usb adapter because i could not find a pc 'express' wired ethernet card in-store. serious PITA.