VintageGent’s Menswear….Hourly?
As you can probably read, I am quite prolific in writing my blog. Actually, it goes in fits and starts. Often, I have something at the tip of my tongue, or more appropriately, at the tips of my fingers that I just need to tell you. Unfortunately, sometimes when that happens, I only have five minutes before walking out the door, or am at the park, or riding in a car and I just am not hear to tell you all. Okay, you might say I should emulate a lot of writers in years gone by in keeping a notebook for such circumstances so that I can jot things down on the run. If you saw what my handwriting looked like, you would quickly but that thought to rest.
What if some miracle were to occur and I could write 3x as fast as I normally can, which is pretty fast already. What I would really like is if there was a way to write while I am trying to get out the door without being completely chained to the computer. I have to do important things like tie my shoes, after all.
Of course, as you can guess from the segue, that I wouldn’t dangle a carrot in front of you and then not talk about something that can do just that, and may be the breakthrough I need. I will have to change the title of the blog, though to “VintageGent’s Menswear HOURLY,” in that case. Here is what Brett Bumeter wrote about DragonBlogger Naturally Speaking. (You can get Save 25% with discount code on Dragon with this link):
Hello my name is Brett Bumeter and I would like to introduce you to Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is a program that enables you to type with your voice by speaking out loud. All you have to do is speak in a normal voice at a normal rate of speed, and your computer will capture every word that you say almost. The program claims to have about 99% accuracy, and it’s been my experience using the program over the last two years through versions nine and version 10 that this claim is extremely accurate.
The program is extremely fast whether you’re using a noise canceling microphone headset plugged into your computer or whether you’re using a pocket MP3 recorder. I actually use both setups and have had great success having my voice and words turned into text by typing them into my computer, as well as using my voice to turn my words into an MP3 file on my MP3 recorder which I can then import into my computer via USB, and have Dragon NaturallySpeaking transcribe those words automatically into text while the computer does something else.
Right now I am writing this particular note to you to kind of show you just what Dragon NaturallySpeaking can do. I say show you because I’m writing this letter with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to write with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10, but it does take a little practice in order to start thinking quickly and thinking out loud with your voice. That the nice thing about it is that you don’t have to stare at your computer screen for long hours anymore.
Typically when we type with our hands, we tend to look at the computer that were typing on. To be more specific we tend to look at the computer screen, and this wears out our eyes and makes us physically tired. The muscles in our eyes absorb all that light from the screen, and the longer we stare at that light the more tired our body becomes. This can even lead to headaches or migraines or just fatigue in general.
So the cool thing about Dragon NaturallySpeaking is that you can look around the room, look around where ever you happen to be, and taken some sights and smells in that you normally wouldn’t have the luxury of doing with your eyes glued to your screen. This really does help to keep your brain moving, and it helps get you thinking outside the box and focused on those things that you need to be focused on.
If you are the type of person that uses a white board quite a bit, you can even stand up and start brainstorming on a whiteboard, while you are simultaneously dictating the thoughts that come to you onto your computer. Now that’s not necessarily the most effective way to capture information off of a whiteboard, but if you need the information copied into text form, it can be very useful and I’m simply trying to illustrate a point.
There are many ways that you can use this particular program to save you a great deal of time, to further illustrate that point, I have written this entire note so far in under three minutes flat! That’s a little over 175 words per minute, and this is actually the fastest ever time that I have recorded with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. When I used version 9, I had clocked the program running at about 167 words per minute, and so with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 and a brand-new laptop, I have just set a new personal record.
That doesn’t include editing time which I will go back and do now, but it’s still amazing to be a laugh your words and thoughts captured so quickly by your computer.
Sincerely,
Brett Bumeterhttp://softduit.com
PS Even with 3 minutes of editing thrown in (which included writing the salutation and a few more lines) this article still only took 6 minutes to write, and that averages out to about 92 words per minute!
Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Discount Coupon Code Details. Use this coupon code to get 25% off either Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Preferred or Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Basic. You can even get 10% of Macspeech Dicate with the same code and link combination.
DNSMSBGThe code only works when you click on one of the links in this article or the clickable image in this article! The discount enables you to save $25 – $50 off the price.
Nuance is allowing us to offer our readers a 25% Discount Coupon CODE Exclusive for Dragon Naturally Speaking, but you must click the image below and use this code (DNSMSBG) Together. Code will not work from other sources.
You will receive:
- 25% off Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred
- 25% off Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard
- 10% off MacSpeech Dictate
If you try it, let me know what you think. It is like the old jorunalists talking into a recorder, only it types FOR YOU instead of having to transcribe it later, or find someone else to do it!
Real Contrasting Collar Dress Shirts Don’t Exist.
Contrast collars are back. I guess they never officially went away, as men who really liked them seemed to always be able to find them. Take hockey commentator Don Cherry, for example, he has been sporting very high tight colors and very startched white collars for years. He must have his own custom tailor. However, big names are now producing them again as parts of their lines. It seems to me that “contrast collar” or “contrast color collar” was always a misnomer. You see, I have really never seen a contrasting color collar in anything but white. If they were truly contrasting, you would see other colors as well. Beige on Navy?
The actual real live color wheel suggests that white is not a contrasting color. Orange’s natural contrast is green, yellow’s natural contrast is purple. There is nothing on there to suggest the true contrast of light blue or navy or black is white. So, I propose a renaming of the shirts. I propose they should be called “white collared shirts.” Maybe “shirts with no-color collars would be more apropriate because white collared shirts have white collared shirts and I am not talking about them right now. Someone might get into a debate with me and say, “What are black colored shirts, then? Why are just white collars considered ‘no color.’”
Well, truth be told, when you are using colors with additive qualities, such as paint or dye, rather than things with subtractive qualities like using gels in lighting, white is the lack of color. When you add all the colors together you get a muddy black/brown, so black is closer to “all colors” as the base starts out as white. In lighting, if you have no light, things are black, but if you add a light of every color, add every color gel to a light, you get white when they are all added up. So you see where my argument lies for them being “No Color Collars.” If you were protesting these shirts, you would hold aloft a sign that would say “No No Color Collars,” and it may make people think you don’t understand double negatives that two “No’s” equal YES, so the shirt is saying you are pro COLOR collars.
Whatever side of the color wheel you are loyal to, there are enough choices out there for either wearing shirts that have collars the same color as the rest of the shirt, or “No Color Collars.” However, REAL contrasting collars I am still waiting to be widespread in dress shirts. How about you? Maybe just I want them made to prove they exist, versus me actually buying some for people as presents. So maybe it would not catch on after all?
Play “As You Wish”
When I was…ahem…younger, I remember watching the Princess Bride over and over again. My family had just gotten cable for the first time, and it was on one of the movie channels in heavy rotation for a few months. I was first introduced to it in school, where our English teacher brought it in as a treat on the half day of school we had before a holiday. Of course, it featured the celebrated acting of Andre the Giant as Fezzik. It was the type of irreverant movie that makes adults laugh and children to have the affectation to their voice which they believed to be their best Spanish Accent and declare to everyone: “I am Inigo Montoya. You Killed My Father. Prepare to Die.”
It has taken quite a few years, but as you wish, someone has imagined up the Princess Bride Game. I have tried the demos for the 5-pack of Princess Bride games for PC/MAC. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun. Are you up to the challenge? Brave the fire swamp and stand up to Vizzini in the Battle of the Wits, and much more. I have to admit that the questions made me think. So many games that are based on other media (books, movies) require you to have seen or read the inspiration source, otherwise you will be lost when playing the game. I think it makes it that much more fun when you already love the movie, but friends who have not, or have not seen it in years can hold their own quite well. In the fire swamp, I was reminded of the game Pitfall! except that this was much more easy to navigate and a bit more challenging. I used to walk into walls and trap myself all the time in that old game. The other good thing about it, is that it is all ages friendly without being over simplistic. The nephews and niece have tried it, have had as much fun as I did with the demos, and they are clamouring for me to purchase the games for them.
The whole experience makes me want to see the movie again. I am going to check my local listings or go ahead and rent it. Not only is the movie a little off the cuff, but it reminds me of being what they now call tweens, and sitting on the couch on a Saturday with my brother and sister.
Viva Las Vegas: A Call for Photos!
Viva Las Vegas will take place from April 9-12, 2009, and is moving to the Orleans hotel. It is the annual Rockabilly music bash that attracts retrophiles and music fans alike. What the event is known for is a time to put on your best duds. Ladies will come in wiggle dresses and wear pinup worthy bathing suits by the pool, while guys will get out the pomade. Many people pack many clothing changes for the weekend. One of the traditional parts of the event besides the music is a car show and a burlesque contest.
This may seem like its a long way off, but the hotels and events that require prereservation book up fast. You need to think about it now.
Have VLV photos from events past? Let me know and, if apropriate, I’ll post them along with your byline and commentary. If you have something, leave me a comment with a way to get in touch with you.
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