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It was only after I published my last post that I realized there was something very different about the font – which is supposed to be fixed in this WP template. So how did it get so humungous? No, WP isn’t to blame – it was the Windows Speech Recognition program on my new Lenovo G550 BAQ laptop. I had been breaking it in, training the computer (that makes it sound like some kind of wild beast, don’t it?) by dictating to it - and I had what I thought was a bright idea… I’d dictate the post!! I had a niggling doubt whether it would work on the WP platform – perhaps it was configured only to MS Word? It worked alright – but with a bloated font as you can see!!
Raw unedited speech recognition looks like garbled gibberish – no kidding! The Help section assures me that the software program gets better with practice. Until then, Speech Recognition can be considered the twin of the perverse Spell Checker – you need a firm hand and agile brain to rein both in. Here is a short verse (that could have well been produced by Speech Recognition I reckon).
OWED TO A SPELLING CHECKER
I have a spelling checker
It came with my pea sea
It plain lee marks four my revue
Mix steaks eye kin not sea.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I’m shore your pleased to no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My checker told me sew.
– Sauce Unknown
After a bit of research on the Net, I found the original version of the poem: Candidate for a Pullet Surprise by Jerry Zar.
© Sosha Srinivasan
I’d decided that I should post at least twice a week - like most good intentions, mine was found lacking in implementation. Now I’ve found a way (I think) to ensure I do post regularly – like I mentioned earlier, I have a huge collection of quotes, and I have now decided that if I cannot find anything to write about, I’ll cull some of my favorites and post those.
Here are a couple from a woman with awesome attitude – and a fantastic sense of humor: American writer, actress and comedienne Rita Rudner.
“When I eventually met Mr. Right I had no idea that his first name was Always.”
“I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.”
And here is a live performance of hers you can enjoy!
© Sosha Srinivasan
This is according to Indiblogger, a site that ranks Indian blogs using a host of criteria – and I have been ranked 32/100 as you can see from the widget on the left! I assumed that meant I was 32nd from the top, but Indiblogger has turned that idea on its head – their top rank is 87 and the bottom, 1 – so I seem to be trailing a bit!
I was especially amazed at my ranking among the top 100 (of 7000 registered blogs on their site) because I haven’t exactly been very active over the past six months or so!
This has me all fired up and gung ho – I’ve got to be posting regularly now. Also I don’t have an excuse any more since we obtained a PC with broad band at home last month. Yes! Believe it or not, I had been blogging from an internet cafe prior to this…
Never mind the numbers though – the question is will this bring my blog more traffic? Remains to be seen…
© Sosha Srinivasan
Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”
- Kevin Arnold.
When I first read about blogs/blogging – I thought what could be less interesting about reading about someone’s life? Fiction, to me, had always seemed more interesting than life. (Confessions of a “bookmad” individual – to quote my son.) I have since come across the pits – dull as ditchwater meandering treatises, but also, happily blogs of the prolific, well traveled Mark Moxon (though www.moxon.net is not, technically speaking, a blog) and India’s very own Mrs. Fife – wonderfully humorous turn of phrase (jeete raho beti!)
I also decided my schooldays were interesting enough fodder for a blog… memories from my years at Cathedral & John Connon, Bombay (sorry Mumbai – old habits die hard) – Std 2 to Std 6 (1972-1976) – any CATs reading this? – and then at the International School of Tanganyika (IST) – Grade 7 to Grade 11 (1977-1981). Both schools have been catalysts - I owe a great deal of what I am – my personality, outlook, philosophy, call it what you may – to the influence of teachers there, as well as friends I made at both schools. Unfortunately it has been over a quarter of a century since I’ve been in touch with them….
I’d been trawling the Net for familiar names and a month or so ago I got lucky. I had tried a Norwegian study buddy’s name, Morten (from IST), got several matches but none that I could be certain of. Then in a, if I may say so, brilliant piece of detective work (though jealous critics may call me devious) I keyed in his kid sister’s name, and bingo! there she was, larger than life with photo ID to boot. She forwarded my mail and …
The truth is, I sat on it for a month. Why? I wasn’t sure of the reception I’d receive after 26 years – and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep up a regular correspondence… but I finally did, mostly on impulse.
I have tracked down a couple of other close friends from IST, one in the UK and one in the US of A – Anna, you are not going to believe what hit you! DuBois will have to make do with a phone call since I could only trace a telephone number with the means at my disposal…
The suspense builds up – will I get the cold shoulder – have I got the right number… ? Don’t go away, I’ll be right back with the most recent update of the breaking news…
While you wait, here’s a lovely poem called ‘Sometimes’ to think about – and remember …
Across the fields of yesterday
He sometimes comes to me,
A little lad just back from play—
The lad I used to be.
And yet he smiles so wistfully
Once he has crept within,
I wonder if he hopes to see
The man I might have been.
- Thomas S. Jones, Jr.
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