I guess it's just another Saturday

I haven't written much in this particular blog because frankly I haven't felt that great. It has been quite some time since I have had persistent bowel problems, but the last week has definitely felt as if it were two or three years ago. Perhaps I am taking in too much fiber once again or maybe it could be the supplement I was taking. Yesterday and today though were significantly better than the past week, so I guess maybe this is just a small bump in the road. A few weeks back I broke out in a very perplexing rash which had the potential of sidelining me in bed for quite some time, but thankfully it resolved itself on my back and rear end, so I ended up being able to spend about the normal amount of time in my chair. The sides are still trying to heal effectively, although I am optimistic it should be okay.
I'm giving serious consideration into taking some sort of writing class next semester. I need to be able to get more effective at communicating with a little bit of levity or at least trying to make more effective use of my writing so that it is creative. Unfortunately I'm not getting the time, or at least I'm not making very good use of the time I have, to do some serious reading. My writing is often very stilted and this probably is the result of many of the news articles and history related books that I read. Maybe I'll start reading some novels again, however, right now I have some HP Lovecraft stories sitting in one of my bookstands and a compilation of short biographies by Plutarch in one of the other ones.
On a completely separate topic, I just realized I failed to mention that my new microphone is working out real well. I initially thought that I would be forced to wear it on the right ear because it seemed to impede my ability to use the mouth stick on the left side of my workstation, but today I discovered that is not the case. I have been wearing it on the right ear and I haven't been able to hear the dictation which is read back to me by the computer as clearly as I would like. Off and on I have noticed my voice seems to be trailing off, but in fact I don't believe it was. I noticed a small irritation on the right ear last night and decided to try to wear the microphone on the left ear today and one thing I have discovered is it is much more comfortable and louder. When I do the test utilizing Dragon NaturallySpeaking, it gives me a far superior rating and I have seen some significant improvements in accuracy. However, the accuracy I was getting on the right ear was phenomenal compared to my other microphones. One thing I do need to keep in mind is that it is vital that I keep my voice on an even keel. It has become more than apparent to me that I have a tendency to raise my voice for certain words and not for others and this definitely affects how the computer interprets what I am saying. Oh well, I can only wish that I would have purchases microphone quite some time ago. I'm definitely going to be putting my Plantronics microphone in a drawer and use it whenever I finally get another computer and decide to put this one into my bedroom.
Well, that's about enough for today.

Can't seem to get anything accomplished

Today has been another one of those non-productive days. It's not that I'm down, depressed, or in a funk, it's simply that for some reason I get distracted every time I get on the Internet to check out a few things. My first intention was to try to work on a blog I had written out and now think it is entirely too verbose and serious for publication here, yet I still may end up posting it anyway. Well, that didn't happen.
I saw a message from a new friend and something popped into my head from my army days. Now I'm off searching the Internet for a story and image I know exists, but I don't know what it's called or the exact context any longer. I remember saving at once on my old computer, but it's probably long gone by now. As I frantically typed different combinations into Google, I didn't come up with anything remotely like what I'm looking for. I know... I can go to the MP website and post an inquiry. Another dilemma solved, right? No! Now they require registration and they have changed everything which was great about the site.
Why is it people feel compelled to change which seem to work? Oh yeah, I do that all the time, but they even deleted the locator, which was one of the best features they had on the MP site.
Anyway, not wanting to be redundant, I try to look through some of the older postings. The next thing I know I'm looking at a completely different entry and thinking about a particular item I used to wear on my uniform that is not in my possession any longer. Thirty minutes later I discovered I have become completely sidetracked and will try again to get back on track.
Several hours later I finally give up and decide to take a break. It is now 7 p.m. and I know there is no way my microphone is going to last much longer. So today is another day I didn't get hardly anything accomplished which I intended. I really need to refocus and get the discipline back I used to possess.

I completely forgot to mention that the rash, which I discussed in two separate entries at my other blog (first entry, second entry), has just about disappeared. It literally has disappeared faster than it appeared. Therefore, there are no more blisters and of this I am absolutely elated.
I wonder if I'm going to post this in Spaces or in Blogger. The topic seems more appropriate for blogger, but who knows.
Billy

Just one of those days

This has really been one of those days and I am seriously considering just shutting down my computer and reading some Lovecraft. So, please bear with me as I ramble in no particular order. For some unknown reason I have not been reading any books lately, but today looks like as good a day as any to begin once again. That isn't to say I haven't been reading. No, it's actually quite the contrary. I have been looking through tons of blogs, in addition to news articles, albeit on my computer.
Focus, I need to focus. Anyway, my day started off pretty decently, but that allusion soon evaporated. First, I immediately noticed my dictation accuracy has gone down significantly since last night. This is perplexing, but what is more aggravating is my central A/C is taking an inordinate amount of time to cool my house down and I believe the Freon is getting low. I unfortunately can't do anything about it right now, because I don't presently have anyone here to turn the thermostat up to my normal daytime setting. Since I usually spend the majority of the day in my office, I had a portable A/C unit installed there and this permits me to turn the thermostat for the central A/C up pretty high. Today would be one of those days I decided to keep my thermostat set on the setting I use during the night. I can see the money swirling down the toilet as I listen to the central A/C droning on and on. On a positive note, at least I have a warranty and will only have to pay 50 bucks to get the A/C looked at.
Today I am suffering from some nasal congestion, which has me feeling a little less peppy. Because I needed a pick me up, I have been drinking more tea and unfortunately this makes my face feel even warmer. These are of course the main factors which lead me to leave the A/C set lower than normal. You see the cyclic situation here, don't you? Now that I think about a little more, my A/C problems could also be due to my ceiling fan in the family room not working properly. My brother had to turn it off last night because the light would not shut off and he forgot to turn it on when he left a little while back. I could have easily had him removed the bulb so that just the fan ran, but my memory just seems to fail at the right time once again.
At least I was feeling like writing today, so I decided to pull out that blog I have slowly but surely working on for the last month and had just made some significant changes to it, when I noticed my UPS (uninterrupted power supply) made a clicking noise. Since I have heard this before, I wasn't too worried. Previously the noise occurs when there is a minor fluctuation in the electrical current, but the UPS is supposed to come on so that my computer is not affected. Well, the first time everything went fine, however, a few seconds later another click occurred and my computer went blank. In order to dictate quicker I almost always use the word processor which comes with my voice software. This processor does not have a backup like WordPerfect or Word, so therefore everything I had worked on was gone. Not only that, now I have fragments to worry about and this power disruption significantly compromised my voice profile. It took me several minutes to reinstall a backup that I had saved about a week ago. It's a good thing I read up on how to do this procedure.
Later this afternoon I found out my DVR didn't get all of an older episode of both Desperate Housewives and The Riches. These shows are both serial in nature and I normally watch them after I have recorded four or five. Now I'm left trying to download TV shows which are three or four weeks old. It's definitely not as easy to get them now as it would be if I had realized this earlier and started the downloading a few days following the original airing of the episodes.
When this many things go wrong, I see it as a sign and this is why I am seriously considering just reading for the remainder of the day. I guess I'll just wait and see if my creativity, which is in short supply anyway, comes back.
As I lie back and think about the little annoying things which have happened today, I am amazed that I am writing anything at all. For that matter, I'm really not angry, just peeved. Perhaps my recent epiphany has given me a little bit more patience than I normally possess. I know I am seriously considering going down to the university and checking on some writing classes. I am unsure whether I want to give a stab at creative writing or some journalistic endeavor. I have recently found a passion for watching and reading about the political intrigues which are going on right now. Maybe one of these days I could start blogging about that, but I know I don't want to do it in Spaces are on Blogger. These are sites where I usually write about nonpolitical perceptions. Man, I had better get going.
Later gator,
Billy