The Evil Dictator

It is not natural or healthy to be sitting at a desk in front of a computer day in and day out. Working full time and going to school has taken a toll on my body, and has caused a repetitive stress injury in my arms. To remedy this situation I have made some lifestyle changes, one of those being using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 speech recognition software. This is my first blog post through voice dictation, and I can tell you there is a steep learning curve.

To illustrate the challenges of using the software I thought it would be funny to leave all the errors on the blog post, but I didn't want to fail my course for poor writing skills. If the software is working properly, I should be able to do everything with voice commands that I normally do with a mouse. Unfortunately, I have not yet mastered these commands and am struggling with a hybrid method of typing whenever the software fails to recognize my commands, but of course it somehow understands all of the expletives I've spewed at it trying to get it to complete simple tasks like highlighting a word. I've read that smoother roads lie ahead, the more you work with it the better it gets to know you and your speech patterns but I might need an anger management course by then.

I've been feeling sorry for myself having to use this software, but feel even more sorry for my colleague who has to sit next to me and listen to my dictation at work on Monday (ha!) Wish me luck...

Worth my while-time, money, and energy? I sincerely hope so!

Your Brain on Computers

A few days ago, The New York Times featured an interesting article, Your Brain on Computers: Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price, that highlights the Campbell family, especially Mr. Campbell, who is overly dependent on technology and is starting to notice some negative effects. Mrs. Campbell complains that her husband is often distracted, forgetful, and has a difficult time disconnecting and being in the moment.

This families reliance on technology seems somewhat extreme to me, but the scary thing is that it is the norm for many. If you are anything like the Campbell's, you may want to check out the warning signs of tech overload.

Researchers confirm that constant multi-tasking can be addictive, and is changing the way people think and behave, and not necessarily for the best. Multi-tasking used to be thought of as a great skill to have, but new research shows that multitaskers may actually have more trouble focusing and may experience more stress (test your focus and how well you can juggle between tasks with these cool, interactive quizzes).

Advances in technology that allow people to work anywhere and anytime, can be great for managing work and life, but not if you don't set boundaries for their use and unplug often. I know there are some great benefits to being connected, but living life in the moment is a real joy, and it would be sad to lose touch with that.