blog talk

Can you imagine this? Today I'm blogging with my mouth. It's
amazing what technology can do. I am using Dragon
NaturallySpeaking to dictate my thoughts. This should cut down
on muscle strain and pain in My arms. But it's not as easy as it
sounds.

The first problem is my cat. She is like, "who the heck is my
person talking to?" Look at it from a cat's point of view. If
I'm talking, I must be talking to her. And since she thinks I'm
talking to her, she's all over my computer and keyboard.
Naturally, my cat has to be really weird. When I shoo'd her
away, she farted in my face. Thanks a lot, Bast!

A major issue is the need for Silence. Any Background noise will
mess up Dragon. I live with a 12-year-old boy. Between the TV,
his phone, the Kindle, video games and all his other electronics,
silence is not something that often happens here.

I had to wait until he went to Boy Scouts to start this blog.
Now I'm working on it while he is with his father. Even my space
heater with the fake fireplace is too noisy.

I had to turn it off. Dragon can hear me, but I have to freeze
in the presence.

Then there's the fun part. Some people might find it
frustrating. I can't help but laugh. Oh, the things Dragon
says.

The program is learning my voice. That means it makes a lot of
silly mistakes. One time in training, I forgot to tell Dragon to
shut off before I began talking to my interpreter. She seemed
excited, so I said, "Amanda is happy." Dragon thought I said,
"demand is habit." Sounds like something you'd read in a
fortune cookie, doesn't it?

When I started this blog, I wrote, "I am blocking with my
mouth." Dragon thought I said, "I am walking with my mouth."
Ewww. That sounds painful.

Here's another example: I was dictating a practice blog during my
computer training this Tuesday. I was getting frustrated because
Dragon kept messing up on a word I used frequently. Finally, I
let out a long sigh. Dragon said, "I do not understand." I
had just enough time to turn off Dragon, before I started to
giggle. And I kept on giggling. I think my teacher thought I
had lost my mind

I just figured Out that Dragon also does not understand a gasp of
horror when you hit the wrong button and think you messed
everything up. It does understand swearing, which I learned when
my cat Jumped on the keyboard and made me lose half my document.

I'm going to finish this, before my luck runs out. I'm sure I'll
find lots of funny new errors. At least I'll have the
satisfaction (No, Dragon, I did not say "sad situation( of
having dictated my first blog. Talk to you later.

Angela C. Orlando

January, 26th, 2014

Via Dragon Naturallyspeaking