The Motivation in Our Life

"Seek to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you."

James Freeman Clarke

Speech recognition software

I would love to have a Speech recognition software enabled on my computer, which would enable me to carry out hands-free computing. Just imagine how easy it would be for me to open programs and even write my blog posts without using the keyboard or mouse.

It's not science fiction, the technology is actually already here. These systems are also not only about computing. You may not realise it but we are already using these applications in our everyday life. These include voice dialling on our mobile phones. For example, I just have to press a button and say my wife's name to call her on my mobile phone. Some companies are using simple data entry programs to automatically record your data (such as a credit card number) through the phone.

However, I feel that these technologies have benefited the disabled and visually impaired persons the most. They have enabled a lot of them to lead more independent and fulfilling lives.

Sometime back, I once tried out a dictation software which converted my spoken words into words. However, it made so many mistakes and I would have to edit it all over. In the end, I just removed the software. Now, I learn that that people are working on more sophisticated programs that will "remember" your voice and adjust to your accent.

Nuance.com is the largest supplier in the World. Among their big clients is AT&T. The company is using speech automation software from Nuance to automate its new 1-800-YellowPages (1-800-935-5697) Directory Assistance (DA) service.

One very popular desktop product for PC from Nuance is their Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9. It allows you to send e-mails and instant messages, surf the web, create documents - by just speaking into a microphone connected to your computer. The company claims that it is "up to 99% accurate, and often more accurate than typing". Their most astounding claim is that "it actually gets smarter the more you use it!"

You can actually try out the demo on their site. It's pretty amazing.

Egg with two yolks

My daughter was hungry and she wanted the fried "O" eggs, meaning sunny side up.

Heated up the non stick pan and put some olive oil. Took one egg from the fridge and open it up.


It was the first time in my life that I have ever come across an egg with two yolks.

They are free-range eggs but I don't know whether these eggs were fertile. Wonder what would have happened if the eggs had hatched.

Tags: Eggs

Download free fonts

Even if you are not a web designer,it nice to have a lot of fonts to choose from whenever we are designing a banner, a card or even a simple notice.

Found this great site where you can Download Free Fonts. Urban fonts has an amazing collection of free fonts and free dingbats. Best of all, over 8,000 fonts are freeware.

I also got to know some interesting stuff like Fixedsys (which means means fixed system) is actually the oldest font in Windows.

While going through the "Top 100 fonts", I found one that I had been looking for. It's called Base 02 and has that gritty urban look. Really happy that I can download it for free.



Tags: Fonts Review Website

Style for kids

Style Kid is a new Canadian on-line retailer of clothing, accessories, furniture and decor for babies and kids.

Check out their amazing range of baby clothes. They ship worldwide and offer free delivery for orders within the US and Canada for products over $100 (prices in Canadian Dollars)

Among the great gift ideas are the Chopstick Kids. These soft, washable, food-safe hinges that keep the chopsticks in place.

They also have a good collection of kids shoes and slippers. Check out the ballet inspired slippers.

Search engine rankings

Some of you might recall that I had recently joined a challenge, which I call the Melayu Boleh Project. It was really amazing because just two days after I wrote the post, it went up to the fourth ranking in Google search results for the phrase "melayu boleh".

Unfortunately, just a day after that, I found that my blog post was nowhere to be found in the search engine results. I am happy that it is #21 on Yahoo!

I learnt a few things from this SEO exercise. You may get up there quick using some tricks (legal) but it does not guarantee that you can stay up there for long, especially if it is a blog post.

Surprised to learn that searching for "Melayu boleh" and "melayu boleh" give different results.

Anyway, I am contented with the fact that my post is #2 when you search for the phrase on Google for blogs.

UPDATED: As of 18 Jan 2007, my blog post is #2 on Google and #19 on Yahoo!

Tags: Melayu boleh Malay SEO

Property market boom in Bulgaria

One of the newest countries to join the EU is former communist country Bulgaria. It joined on January 1st this year.

This country location is very strategic - at the crossroad between Asia and Europe. It borders Romania to the north, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west. The Black Sea lies on it's east.

The entry into the EU has resulted in the bulgarian property market becoming a very attractive place to invest in.

A report marks Bulgaria "as among the top three European destinations for the overseas property investor in 2007"

This picture is copyrighted: Nikola Gruev

Bulgaria has a lot to offer. From the snowy ski resorts in Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets, all close to the capital Sofia (fast becoming the new European skiing hot spot) to the beautiful sunny beaches along the Black Sea.

Check out BulgarianVenture.com for more news on the Bulgarian property market.

Sponsored post

Tags: Bulgaria EU Property market