Futon Blog

Usually I don’t go for the whole card giving thing, I have pretty bad handwriting and feel pretty awkward about writing a card for a mostly commercial holiday. But, then I saw the Christmas Photo Cards at Vista Print and thought I might have to try one of them this year for Christmas.

First, I have to say that all my experiences with Vista Print have been very positive. They have a great selection of business cards, address labels, calenders, marketing materials, stamps and more. If it can be used by a business, Vista Print pretty much does it all, at least in the paper work department.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, so today I was browsing Vista Prints website for new business cards, I was never happy with the ones I purchased locally, when I found their Christmas card section. The cards they make look great, very professional and snappy. I could totally see sending one of them out with a picture of my great dane (Jay) in a Santa hat or something. It would be priceless. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to get one.

Every day I swear I see more and more ads on TV and on the radio about chemical free mattresses. On the surface I think this is great, I really like to see more manufacturers making chemical free bedding options available. What I don’t like is how a lot of retailers present a chemical free mattress option.

For instance, I saw an ad the other day stating :

Is your mattress poisoning you?

That one really made me start thinking about the mattress I was sleeping on. I had no idea that mattresses could be so dangerous. But wait, I purchased this mattress from the same retailer who’s now asking about poisonous mattresses. Admittedly that was quite a few years ago, and being green wasn’t quite as fashionable.

What does it add up to?

In many cases this adds up to hype. So many retailers are now jumping on the “Chemical Free Mattress” wagon so fast that they forget just how many of the “poisonous” mattresses they sell every day. To all you retailers out there, selling green / chemical free mattresses is great, I sell them myself. Just try not to make a good case to potential customers as to why they shouldn’t even look at the other mattresses in your store. Better just to shoot yourself in the foot and get it over with.

If you’re interested in Chemical Free Futon Mattresses, feel free to visit my site. I carry a few mattresses that fall into that category. I also carry quite a few regular mattresses as well, so don’t be scared to look at those as well.

Most of you have probably never heard of Dragon Naturally Speaking, but if you;re in the customer care field this might change your daily existence dramatically. You should read the press release below, it will give more insight to the program than I can, but the Dragon software picks up verbal input and translates it into word documents. And, it’ll beat that fastest typing speed out there. If that got your attention, Nuance is allowing us to offer our readers a 25% Discount Coupon CODE Exclusive for Dragon Naturally Speaking, but you must click the image below and use this code (DNSMSBG) Together. Code will not work from other sources.

So, click on the image to find out how you can take 25% off Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred or 10% off MacSpeech Dictate .

Drew of the BenSpark has put together a great little video demonstrating Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10. Drew has been blogging for quite some time and he might just be one of the best mobile bloggers that I know. He is probably more famous for his picture a day work as he is an excellent photographer. But I can’t help be amazed at how much content he creates and the high level of quality in that content.

He’s definitely a blogger that employs best practices when he finds them, and based on this video, it looks like he might see some potential in Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Now I am not trying to put an endorsement in Drew’s mouth. Time will tell, but I do think he is off to an excellent start.

You’ll notice in his video, that the sound quality of his video is excellent. That’s actually an important aspect for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I don’t mean that you need good video quality or sound quality in a video to make Dragon NaturallySpeaking work. However you do need a good microphone, and it should be a noise canceling microphone at that. The better the sound quality, and the better able your microphone is to remove other background noises, the better your system will be able to recognize the words that you say as fast as you say them and transcribe them accurately.

Now Dragon NaturallySpeaking comes with a noise cancellation microphone that works very well when you buy it out of the box. Drew is working with a download version that does not come with a microphone, and so he had to supply his own.

As I write this article, I am using a wireless headset microphone from Logitech. I’ve been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking for almost two years now, but I’ve just recently untethered myself from Dragon NaturallySpeaking and started using a wireless headset microphone with noise cancellation capabilities. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 does have the capability of working with Bluetooth wireless microphones, but my particular microphone runs on 2.4 GHz wireless technology. Now if you live in a household or work in an office environment where there are a number of systems or phones or microwaves, you may experience some interference with this particular headset. In that case, you will probably be better served with either a Bluetooth headset or a headset that is capable of being plugged directly into your computer through the microphone plug or through USB. I don’t have that issue, and so I do get excellent quality with little to no interference at all.

So if you take an interest in Dragon NaturallySpeaking and want to try it for yourself, I highly recommend that you get a boxed version of the software which you can order from Nuance online. You can even get a good deal on a Bluetooth wireless headset and a bundled option from Nuance. If you’re looking for entry level pricing, you can start using the software and get a headset microphone for as little as $75 if you act fast and use the coupon code with our links in this article available exclusively to blog readers.

To put that in context, I’ve taken three typing classes over the years to boost my typing speed and spent essentially three semesters practicing at typing. It wasn’t the only thing that I studied, but I spent a lot of time building up my typing skill. With Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can invest $75, invest an hour installing the software (I’m being very conservative with that time estimate) and as little as 10 minutes training the software to recognize your voice. Then you will be off and running typing at 150 words per minute!

That is pretty amazing, and well worth the value of $75($99 with the exclusive discount coupon code DNSMSBG for 25% off if you use the clickable image in this article, but act soon before the code expires!). Not to mention if you spend a little extra and get a wireless headset microphone, you can pace around your room or your office, you can exercise, or do a number of different things other than sit at a computer desk staring at your computer all day long. $99 basically gives you your freedom with a Logitech headset.

Best regards,
Brett Bumeter
www.softduit.com

My name is Brett Bumeter, and I wrote the article above and 4 1/2 minutes. The article is about 659 words long, and that translates into 144 words per minute. Add in two minutes for editing, and that’s still 100 words per minute!

Normally I like it when a designer or an artist pushes the boundaries between art and functional furniture. But, these pieces are a little too out there. I doubt either piece is in anyway functional, maybe the designer (who will remain nameless) could clear that up for us if an explanation or picture was given. Aside from the obvious, geometrical design additions, these armoires look like Rom Webber pieces that have been butchered.

Now, this might tell all of my readers that I’m pretty well behind the times, at least on the clothing front but here goes anyway. Today I saw a pair of tactical pants and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the difference between tactical and cargo is when it proceeds the word pants? They both seem to have quite a few pockets and look pretty good. Probably both fairly comfy as well. So, if any of my readers can tell me the difference I’d love to know, maybe I’ll pick up a pair to see for myself.

It might just be me, but I have a really weird thing about a nice looking set of office furniture. Corner units especially. While the Ryokan Desk isn’t available as a corner unit desk, I still think it’s a top notch piece of furniture and I’d love to have it in my home office.

Via Inmod:

Add modern elegance and organization to your home simultaneously with the Ryokan Desk. The Ryokan desk, which measures 60″L x 30″W x 36.75″H, features a glass table top and shelf for a sleek, sophisticated look. It also includes a full extension keyboard tray with a built in organizer. This piece is constructed from sustainably harvested oak wood with ash veneer. Keep the look of your home consistent with a desk that’s full of cotemporary appeal.

I was just browsing around when I found some fantastic home theater furniture over at Star Gate Cinema. They have a full selection of everything you’d need to turn your dull TV room into a private theater. The only thing you’ll need to figure out is how to convince you better half.

I know a lot of people who are unhappy with the current state of the economy, and the course of the country. Maybe that’s because I live in the democratic leaning North East, maybe because the last eight years have held one tragedy after another for the American people. For those of you who feel that sentiment, now’s the day for your voice to be heard! Get out and make your voice and vote count.

For those of you who are just fine with the course of the nation, you also need to get out and make sure your opinion is counted. Todays going to be a big day no matter what. Happy election day everyone!

Last month it seemed that everyday the news from Wall Street got worse and worse. The economy was slowing down, banks were folding under bad investment risks made by greedy executives, and job growth was slowing. It’s times like these where people really find out just how much they can save, demand for oil has decreased as people cut back on driving and belts are tightening across the country.

One area that can’t be neglected, however, is eyeglasses. If you have bad eyesight you’ll almost always need eyeglasses, but with a store like Zenni Optical around, you can save a ton. How does Zenni Optical help you keep more money in the bank during tight times? First, Zenni Optical has glasses for the whole family, which is great since their single vision eyeglasses start at $8.00. Second, the bifocal and progressive lense eyeglasses start at $25 and $37 respectively.

If you need a new pair of glasses and want to save, head over to Zenni Optical to see just how much you can save on the eyeglasses you really need.

The Easy Lounger looks pretty cool, but I don’t know if I’d be interested in hanging out on one for a long period of time. There’s something about half lying down, half sitting that I wouldn’t really go for. Well, maybe if I was in a Kurosawa movie or something, but there would have to be more tatami mats for me to really get into it.