Sunday, November 29, 2009

podcast193 - podcastpaul.com

Download the MP3 of the show direct from here

Loads of music on the show today, mostly inspired by my ambulance driving mate up north; Gaynor!

Man flu and the West end feature along some great artists; courtesy of the podsafe music network

...hey I've been podcasting for 5 years on 30th December 2009, can you believe it?!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

faith musing.

I don't tend to talk very much about my faith on my blog, that is certainly not something that I omit from choice, my head is usually so full of stuff, the thing that is foremost in my mind usually tends to spill out.

Talking to a work colleague who is also a Christian earlier today brought into sharp focus the fact that life, as precious as it is, is really so transitory. We really are here for just a moment in the scheme of things, and if were lucky we may leave a mark or memory that is of some positive benefit. I expect that most of us we will have our "three score years and ten" plus or minus some years and probably vanish into the ether leaving a memory only with our friends and family that will fade like the momentary mark made by breath on a mirror.

I certainly do not wish to sound maudlin, but if you simply believe we're here by chance, stay for such a short while and then simply decay, what would the purpose of all that be? That’s not only a let –down, it’s just seems so pointless.

I can already hear the opposition view now "…There is nothing else, you make the very best of what you have and that's it, religion is simply a crutch to rest a hope upon".

I’m happy and established enough in my faith to knock that old chestnut back. I feel that I have hope that is actually worth living. Without it, I would look towards the end of the game that I’m now over haklf way through and just see hopelessness.

To live the life of a ‘real’ Christian, not just some nominal title given because of birthright or baptism, is to know real hope and to look forward, rather than put the inevitable to the back of one's mind. I am so very mindful of the fact that I am one of 6 billion and not likely to make too much of an impression to the world at large. I am, however, becoming ever more conscious of the fact that I can make a difference to the few people around me who I interact with.

Even if you're not a believer, the Christian code and ethnic is one we should all try to live to. Resentment, anger, bitterness are good to no one. Charity, love and hope are so much more fulfilling qualities. If we are here for such a short period of time in the scheme of things, why not try to make your stay a happy one?

... and if you really think that life is not worth living, or wonder what the point of everything is, why not try an Alpha course at your local church? Walking into a church with your brains, retaining them and asking some sensible questions to make up your own mind is far better than some impassioned radical shouting Bible Scriptures at you. If it's not for you, fair enough, at least you've tried. If you’ve not tried it, you’ve no real basis to reason why it’s not for you.

Best of luck!

Paul

Sunday, November 15, 2009

the continuing saga of DragonDictate

I am continuing to use my software speech recognition program; DragonDictate and I am absolutely delighted with it.

The software is remarkably accurate, so accurate in fact that it picks up on the nuances of your speech and works at the grammar of what you're trying to say.

I find it incredible that I can simply speak and create this entire blog post without using my fingers. I do tend to cheat and insert type when I've forgotten to insert a word or two, with use however I am finding that that is becoming less.

I know of one of the person who has purchased the DragonDictate software since my blog post was created and he is as blown away with the applications as me. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has gone to investigate the purchase of the software, or, even made a purchase since reading my blog.

Equally, I am interested to hear from anyone who uses the software. Please e-mail me at Paul@podcastPaul.com

Paul

PS this entire post was created with the software!

Monday, November 09, 2009

how to update your blog without any typing using DragonDictate Naturally Speaking 10

I purchased the DragonDictate speech recognition software at the weekend.

The programme was quite pricey at £90, but I had seen it in action and was very impressed with it. I had the opportunity to sit with a district judge who was using the program in between court sittings. The judge was producing his own orders using the speech recognition programme, the accuracy was incredible and the results instantaneous. Usually a solicitor will wait for anything up to 6 weeks a time for an order. The district judge was handing them out within minutes of pronouncing judgement. I could see the real benefit of the application and decide to purchase it at the first opportunity.

The packaging tells me that the software is 99% accurate - I think it is probably more accurate than that and I'm astonished at how good it is. I am making this post with the application and so far the accuracy is running at 100%.

What is a bit of a bind is the fact that the software will only run on one computer at a time, I suppose that's fair enough, but I would like to run the package on a number of computers that I own. You can purchase a license, I imagine that that would be quite pricey though.

Installation would have been very simple, in fact, it was, but my little Advent net book did not want to play ball. The net book had been shipped with a faulty audio driver (Realtek), I replaced the audio driver and everything thereafter seemed to work as sweet as a nut.

I would urge anybody interested in the speech recognition application for Windows to purchase DragonDictate Naturally Speaking 10. If you do a fair amount of typing, I imagine that this programme will save a massive amount of time and be an invaluable resource. I am surprised that the application does not appear to have reached a wider audience, maybe the pricetag still makes the average punter blanche? To be fair, I would not have purchased the application if I had not seen it in operation.

I would be interested to hear and anybody else who uses a speech recognition programme to canvass their views. Please feel free to use the comments box below.