The Dragon Speaks

Well, I'm about to enter a new world of technology.This is the first time I am using Dragon NaturallySpeaking to update my blog.I installed the program on my computer earlier this evening. I've been playing with it ever since. Of course with it being a new technological toy I'm entirely fascinated by it. It's not perfect both the program and I have some learning to do. But for the most part it works very well. Now, I normally update my blogs through Firefox. It doesn't seem as crisp in Firefox as it is in Internet Explorer. For example, it seems to have a problem capitalizing the first letter of a sentence. There is a portion of the program called Natural Punctuation that determines where certain punctuation marks go. It seems to work better in the Microsoft Word and Microsoft office suite programs. Part of it of course is it's a learning program so as I'm learning it, it's learning me. It may take a little while for the two of us to get to know each other well.

But I will on hesitantly say this so far I like what I see. Now, there is always a possibility that to the neighbors I'm going to sound insane sitting here talking to myself. But, that shouldn't come as a surprise to them I think I established that more than once in more than one way. The mad dancing around the living room to Celtic music probably gave me away the first Saturday morning I was here. I really should learn to close the window. But you never know when the voyeurs need something to watch.

I did something I rarely do with new software. I took the time to actually listen to the tutorial. This of course violates the guy code. One of the central tenants of the guy code is that we never ever read the instructions. That also holds true for any tutorials. We must, by law, ignore them completely if at all possible. But, trust me, every now and then in the dark of the night we secretly read them.

Tomorrow is my last day of work before my vacation begins. To say I'm looking forward to it would be an understatement. I've been looking forward to it since last week. This week has passed very quickly as I tried to get as much as I can off my plate.I've been marginally successful. I have managed to close quite a few things and I've managed to get a few other things delayed. I am still going to be going into the vacation about a dozen open items which is more than I'm comfortable with. But, life is what life is! I'm also equally certain that it will all be there for me when I come back including some stuff that's not there now. I've got three projects I want to close on tomorrow and they're mostly just writing. Some going to spend the day writing and weeding and out of meetings. I'm sure that I'm going to end up doing some additional writing over the weekend simply to get closure on a few things. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I am sure I'm going to check my e-mail a couple of times at least one on vacation.

There is basically an ulterior motive for that. It's always rough to come back from vacation and walk into a storm you're not expecting. By monitoring your e-mail when you're on vacation you give yourself peace of mind. You can sleep better at night. Our imagination is the main thing that interrupts our lives. If you're worried about what's going on at work or simply concerned about it then just by all means check your e-mail.

Things seem to be ramping up at work, there are a lot of changes, there are a lot of programs growing and expanding. There is always a level of stress that comes with change. Uncertainty does that to us. It gets inside of our brain and just kind of hangs there, just kind of sits there, just kind of waits. I'm not sure world the changes going at work, I'm not sure of the direction it's heading in. They are doing some things that I don't understand and some of their processes are confusing me. In large part it doesn't seem to me like there's a single guiding principle involved, it seems like they're embracing change for change's sake. I suspect there's a driver behind it but so far, at least at my level, it's a hidden driver. I hope in the near future that somebody illuminates it. But, it wouldn't be a first time in my career that I went to a large period of uncertainty.

In the and we are all children of fate. We like to imagine we have more influence than we do. That isn't said to deny the influence we do have but it's a simple statement. We may be the children of fate but the particulars of that fate are decided by our choice. That holds true in the work environment as well.

Well let me wrap up this entry was the final plug for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I have the home version. I'm not sure if having the professional version would make any difference. I say that simply because I am honestly really impressed with this version. I've been playing with it for probably the better part of three hours now. About 90% of the time when it makes what appears to be a mistake the source of the mistake is me. either I didn't use the words my brain thought I did, or I mispronounce something, or I simply misused a word. There is a feature that allows you to play back which you just dictated and that is a pretty cool thing. You can listen to it and it helps you realize where you're making the mistake. I haven't played with the learning functions of the program yet, but I am definitely looking forward to that. There are a few pieces of slang in my vocabulary that when I think about it I can cut them out of it, but otherwise a keep sneaking in. I say things like kinda and "ennit". "Ennit" is a contraction of "ain't it. It is pure reservation slang and one of the things I've held onto all these years. I also have a habit of saying crick and not creek.I'm sure over the passage of time I'm going to pop up with some other words there to confuse the heck out of the program.

So, from a brave new technological world I bid you good night.

The Laptop Question

When I go on vacation, one of the questions I often find myself wavering back and forth on is whether or not to take my personal laptop. We live in a wired age. Even if I were to leave my laptop behind I have email and internet connectivity via the Blackberry and my back up iPhone/iPod.(1) However, for me, the laptop is a combination tool and entertainment device. I use it to upload pictures and videos from my cameras, which is necessary on long or image intense trips and I use it to do incidental web surfing, play the occasional game, or watch a movie. Where I end up wavering is it seems that about half the time I carry the laptop with me on a vacation, I never really use it. I might flip it open once or twice to play with it, but that is about the extent of it. I often think I am going to use it, but end up not using it – but, the nature of the beast is that if I need or (or perceive I need it), then I definitely want it with me. Of course I travelled for years without a laptop – before they were invented, or before I owned one. I guess what I like is the feeling of having the option to connect with as much convenience as possible. So, as I am getting ready to travel once again, I find myself hovering around the question – do I take the laptop or not. I am inclined to say not – but I am also subject to changing my mind repeatedly in the next couple of days before I leave.

(1) I have an iPhone that I use mostly as an iPod and entertainment device. I often describe the difference between the Blackberry and the iPhone as the difference between a tool and toy. The Blackberry is an excellent tool. The iPhone is a better toy. This distinction has been known to send Apple fanatics into spasms.