Gadgets

Shoulder Update: In case you missed my tweet last night, I tweeted that my shoulder issue is not bursitis, but a cyst. I received a call from my doctor's office after the radiologist examined the x-ray. I will have to go in for an MRI. I've had an MRI before--tiny space, loud clunks and clangs, very claustrophobic. This time I won't take the two Valium I was told to take--talk about being totally loopy for the next 12 hours! They wondered if I was still breathing many times while in the MRI machine!

Last night I was flipping around on my Kindle because my font size looked a little off.

Yeah, yeah, I know, at my advanced age, I should be thinking of making it bigger, not smaller.

It's not like anyone else uses this Kindle. In fact, my kidlet won a Kindle Fire last year in my hub's company's safety contest--the top 12 pictures/slogans are on a calendar. Here's her picture:

 

This year she drew Scooby Doo and the gang--I think the slogan was, "Safety is no mystery!". We won't find out how she did until later in the year. She's in a new age category now, so the competition is tougher with the older kids.
Anyway, back to my story, I knew there was a text-to-speak option, but I never looked for it. Well, I found it. And for grins I turned it on . . . in the middle of a romantic scene I was reading.

I have never listened to anything funnier in my entire life! Well, I have, so that's an exaggeration! But it was so horribly wrong on many, many levels, with the robotic automation voice speaking in a monologue-tone . . . remember, the 7 AM college chemistry course you had to take because every other time was full? Yeah, that professor.

I won't use this gadget for myself, except maybe to listen to my story on Kindle as I make small changes on my computer.

But this would be wonderful for my mom to use. We gave her a Kindle a few Christmases ago, but since then her vision has gotten so bad that she can't read. Whoops, just discovered a problem. Every time I turn the Kindle off, the text-to-speech disappears. I'll have to figure out how to get Mom to turn it on each time she turns on the Kindle . . . this could be problematic.

I'll figure it out.

But the real question here is, "Will Mom?"

Another gadget that I like, but don't use too often are the gadgets on the right side of my computer monitor. I usually just have a calendar up for quick reference when I need to look for the date or look a head to see what day school starts or whatever.

Just look for Desktop Gadgets.

I like the Countdown Calendar. The biggies are countdown to vacation and countdown to when school either starts or ends.

Though if I ever had a writing deadline, this would be a good gadget to keep my focus!

That's all I have for today, folks! It's errand and Mom day today, so I need to get showered and ready to rumble. No walkies this morning, but maybe tonight after we finish the garden beds.

Later, Peeps!