Asha Anujeeva

I just recently had surgery on my left hand which makes it difficult to type. I do a lot of typing and I knew that it would be really hard for me to continue with my blogging so I decided to try some speech recognition programs. The first speech recognition program that I tried was a free trial period for something called E. speech something like that and it was not user friendly and it was a terrible program. I ended up uninstalling it after a couple of hours of struggling then I decided to go onto face book and asked my friends if they’ve had any recommendations for a good speech recognition program.

While I was waiting to hear from them about that I found out that there are some speech recognition programs already built into Microsoft word on Windows XP and Windows 7. I have Windows XP so I was really excited to find out about that. I installed it and am giving it a try. This is my first dictation and so far I have only found one error where I am saying the word blogging and instead it is typing blocking so I need to figure out how to fix that particular problem. other than that so far it looks like it’s doing a really great job!

I can always count on finding something on YouTube to make me laugh. This is a video of two puppies playing. One play-bites the other, and the “bitten” one immediately plays dead. I think this is a riot!

Guest post written by Emily Parker

Sometimes when you think about it, Walt Disney World is like a large city. There are the obvious big attractions but then there are the ones that are a little off the beaten (tourist) path. Well, I like to find those little things that not everyone is instantly attracted to. Plus, I’ve found that at Disney, that normally means indoor things with air conditioning.

Whenever I find these places with no lines and air conditioning, it’s such a relief to both me and the people who are with me. Well, I was checking a few nights ago to see if any new things like that have opened up since I last went there. As I was looking that up, I ran across the site wirelessinternetproviders.NET. Once I read through it some, I decided to sign up for the service for my home.

I even saw a TV special on insider Disney a few weeks ago and made sure to take notes of the things that they were talking about. I added them to my list of things that I want to do. This trip is going to be even better than the last!

Well, our country’s 235th birthday just passed.  It was not  particularly spectacular for me.  I guess I was disappointed in our parade down Main Street.  It seemed a bit too short;  there were no marching bands or baton twirlers (like there were in the fireman’s parade around Memorial Day – that parade lasted for 2 hours!) and it seemed like it was mostly for the political venue.

I remember celebrating the 4th  of July back when I was a child.  It seemed bigger, better somehow.  But then again, things you remember from your childhood always do seem that way, at least for me.  I remember the fireworks and how big and beautiful they were and how long the show seemed to go on, and then there was the big family cookout.  But, as we grow up, I guess reality sets in a bit and things just aren’t the same.  The wonder of childhood is gone.

But, my niece did come to visit and she is in the military and stationed about 5 hours from here.  It was so good to see her and spend some time with her.  This will probably be my last chance to see her before Christmas because next month she is being transferred to Florida and will not be able to just drive up to see me any time she wants to.  So, that part of the holiday was great!!!!

Yesterday I took my niece, Tabitha, to the playground at our local park. I love to have Tabitha visit, but she sometimes gets a little bit excited and has occasionally broken things in my house, so I choose to take her to the playground instead for our visits.

As I watched her play on the slide, climbing up the 10 or so stairs to slide down again some 40 or 50 times and then move on to the swings for a bit and then to the merry-go-round, I noticed that the mulch they had on the ground was made of rubber.  I had never seen this before and found it very interesting and different.

After our playground romp, we went to the local ice cream shop for a sundae.  She decided that she wanted a banana split instead of a sundae. She ordered a hot fudge sundae and I  had my peanut butter sundae (my personal favorite).  Of course, being only 7 years old, Tabitha got fudge all over her clothes and face.  Her mother will have an absolute fit!!!  But, that is what being a kid is all about, isn’t it?  You should be able to get messy when you eat ice cream. 

After Tabitha’s visit, dropped her off at her house (after a little clean up in the bathroom at the ice cream shop) and went home and did a little research.  I found out that there is a company called Rubberecycle Playsafer that recycles old used tires and sells this rubber mulch for use on playgrounds and in horse arenas.  It makes a softer place to land if a horse or child falls, it is good for the environment and gives a person or a horse more sure footing.  I think it is a wonderful idea for recycling of tires and lasts much longer than traditional mulch.