A conversation elsewhere reminded me that Whisper’s raw transcriptions of dictation can be a bit…alarming, so I am showing three versions of a text chunk below. This demonstrates my dictation workflow but in reverse order. For clarity, the first thing you will see is my final-ish draft, followed by what I was working from: Claude’s cleanup of a Whisper transcription, using the commands I’ve shown in the past. The last thing you’ll see is what Claude was working from: Whisper’s transcription of an audio file I dictated.

Final (for now) Human Prose Draft

Maxim shouldn’t have wasted time worrying about Karl interviewing Bastian. The policeman who accompanied us was determined to prevent that. Once we reached the boarding house, the landlady helped the policeman and myself put Bastian to bed. A messenger boy showed up on the doorstep asking to speak to me, and I soon found out that Maxim had sent him. I left the policeman to take Bastian’s statement and fend off Karl’s attempts to get an interview, and went to meet Maxim at the mustard-colored townhouse.

“Were we not quite done looking at caves?” I asked him once Grennil had let us back in.

“I believe the creature behind those attacks is being kept in the main cave system under Assembly Hill. This complex connects to those caves.”

“Where do we even begin to look for the attack dog though?” I asked him.

“In the vicinity of the Altenbergs’ house.” He told me about his visit with the Countess and Bertram, and the idea that Fang and Saber were reacting to something in the cellar or in the cave system beyond it.

We passed through the cavern where the Armor stood and entered a narrow tunnel beyond it. There were side caves carved into the tunnel, each with a front wall made of iron bars and a locked door.

“What on earth is this place for?” I asked him. “Those look like jail cells.”

“The government installed those, before they gave us control of the Armor and the cave where it’s stored. I believe the cells were meant for holding and questioning unwanted guests.”

“Meaning that your people don’t use them?”

He shrugged. “So far, we haven’t needed to.”

The point where the Stormcrows’ space ended and the main cave system began was pretty obvious. A bank vault type door sealed a round opening at the end of the cave passage, with the door’s wheel lock facing us. Agroup of young Stormcrows stood at attention guarding it. Uncle Jerome sat at a small wooden table beside the door, laboriously copying something out by hand. He did not raise his eyes when we approached.

“How may we assist Your Majesty?” he said.

“I merely want to report that this young lady and I will be entering the main tunnel complex,” Maxim said. “If we haven’t returned in an hour or so, please send out a search party to look for us.” He gave the address of the Altenbergs’ house

“I would do that even if you had not asked me to,” Jerome answered stiffly.

“Thank you for your diligence, Uncle,” Maxim said.

Two of the guards worked the wheel lock on the door. It swung noiselessly open, and I saw that the other side had been made to look like the cavern walls beyond. We walked through the opening, and the door shut behind us with a muffled thud.

The section on either side of the Stormcrows’ doorway was deserted, except for a flickering oil lamp in a wall-niche opposite us. But I could hear sounds in the distance. People were talking and laughing somewhere off to our right, with that shrill, echoing quality that caves always seem to have.

Claude’s Interpretation of the Whisper Output, with Spelling Corrections by Human

Maxim shouldn’t have worried about Karl interviewing Bastian. It was not that long after we reached the boarding house and the landlady helped put Bastian to bed that a messenger boy showed up on the doorstep asking to speak to me. Maxim wanted me to meet him at the mustard-colored house.

So I left the policeman to take Bastian’s statement and Karl to interview him, and I went to meet Maxim.

“Were we not quite done touring the underground complex?” I asked him once {Grenel} had let us back in.

“Oh, we’re probably going to see a bit more of it,” he said. “We have a chance at finding the creature behind those attacks. It’s being kept in the cave system, I believe. Its exact location will tell us a fair amount about {how it’s being controlled}.”

“Where do we even begin to look for it though?” I asked him.

“In the vicinity of the {Altenbergs’} house.” He told me about his visit with the Countess and Bertram, and his belief that Fang and Saber were reacting to something in the cellar or in the cave system beyond it.

By this point, we had passed through the cavern where the armor stood and were in a narrow tunnel beyond it, which seemed to be some kind of jail. Off to either side there were small cells—side caves carved into the tunnel, each with a front wall made of iron bars and a locked door.

“What on earth is this place for?” I asked him.

“The cave system can be popular with somewhat dubious characters,” he said. “If any of them seem to be too interested in the point where this complex meets the main caves—the main circuit of tunnels—they’re liable to be taken into custody and interrogated.”

The point where the Storm Crows’ space ended and the main cave system began was pretty obvious. A comparatively narrow doorway opened out into another cave, and a group of young Storm Crows stood at attention guarding it. Uncle Jerome sat at a desk with a small wooden table next to them, laboriously copying something out by hand. He did not raise his eyes when we approached.

“How may we assist Your Majesty?” he said.

“I merely want to report that this young lady and I will be entering the main tunnel complex,” Maxim said. He added that if we had not returned in an hour or so, to send a couple of people into the cave system to look for us. “And {note} that we were aiming for the {Altenbergs’} house.”

“I would of course do that regardless,” Jerome answered stiffly. “I would do that even if you had not asked me to.”

“Thank you for your diligence, Uncle,” Maxim said.

{As we entered the tunnel}, I said, “I’m surprised they don’t have another bank vault door {blocking} this section.”

“It would be too obvious,” he said.

The section on either side of the Storm Crows’ doorway was deserted except for a flickering oil lamp in the alcove opposite. But I could hear sounds in the distance—people talking and laughing with that trill, echoing quality the caves always seem to have.

Whisper Transcription of Human Dictation

I I If Maxim had been worried about Maxim shouldn’t have worried about I Carl interviewing Bastion The policeman sought to that I It was not that long After we Reach the boarding house And the landlady helped I Put Max put Bastion to bed Though the messenger boy showed up on the doorstep Asking to speak to me Maxim wanted me to meet him at the Mustard colored house So I left the policeman to interview I went to meet him To take Bastion’s statement at Findolf Carl I went to meet him I Were we not quite done touring the underground complex I asked him once we were Once Grenel had let us back in Oh, we’re probably going to see a bit more of it he said I That’s not what I asked you long We have a chance And finding the creature behind those attacks It’s being kept In the cave system I believe it’s exact location will tell us a fair amount about I About About How was that? Where do we even begin to look for it though? I asked him. In the vicinity of the Altenburgs house. He told me about his visit. His visit with the Countess in Bertram. And His belief that Chang and Sabre were reacting to something in the cellar or in the cave system beyond it. By this point, we passed through the cavern where the armor stood. And were in a narrow tunnel beyond it. Which seemed to be some kind of jail. Off to either side there were small cells. Side caves carved into the tunnel. Each with a front wall made of iron bars and a locked door. What on earth is this for? I asked him. What is this place for? The cave system can be popular with somewhat dubious characters, he said. If any of them seem to be too interested in the point where this complex meets the main caves. It’s the main circuit of tunnels and caves. They’re liable to be taken into custody and interrogated. The cave system is a very interesting place. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. It’s a very interesting place to be. There’s a sort of check point. The point where the storm croats space ended, caves ended and the main cave system began, was pretty obvious. A comparatively narrow doorway opened out into another cave. And a group of young storm crows stood at attention guarding it. Uncle Jerome sat at a desk with a small wooden table next to them, laboriously copying something out by hand. He did not raise his eyes when we approached. How may we assist your majesty? he said. I merely want to report that this young lady and I will be entering in the main tunnel complex. He said. He added that if we had not returned in an hour or so, to send a couple of people into the cave system to look for us. And added that we were aiming for the Altenburgs house. I would of course do that regardless. He said. I would do that even if you had not asked me to. Jerome answered stiffly. Thank you for your diligence. Uncle Maxim said. I have entered the tunnel. I hope you get it. I’m surprised they don’t have another bank vault door. I’m walking this section. I told him. It would be too obvious. He said. The section either side of the Storm Crow’s door or way was deserted. That’s only some flickering. It’s only a flickering oil lamp and the alcove opposite. But I could hear sounds in the distance. People talking and laughing. With that trill echoing quality the caves always seem to have. The tunnels always seem to have. I’m walking this section.