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I would be toast right now without my Dragon
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I recently wrote about experimenting with Dragon, software that enables the user to dictate text into nearly every computer application. At that time, I reported that Dragon increased my writing speed by about 30%. Well, because I'm currently struggling with my right hand, which is wrapped in a cumbersome bandage after successful hand surgery, my writing speed (dictating to Dragon) has increased by at least 400 percent. I can type only with my left hand, which is annoying and painfully slow. Without Dragon, I would have lost more than two weeks of productivity. There's been a learning curve, of course, but that was nothing compared to the agony of typing and trying to capitalize with one hand.
Dragon does make some maddening mistakes: Every time I say "Deb," Dragon types "doubt," and I can't seem to train it on that word. Nevertheless, I'm grateful for Dragon and I see how it could help my friend Steve, who had a stroke last year that paralyzed his right arm and hand, or how it could help someone whose carpal tunnel syndrome makes keyboarding painful.
I'm looking forward to regaining full use of my right hand soon, but I'll probably continue to use Dragon to dictate at least my first drafts.
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Grammar lesson:
When should you use the word "that"?
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One of my loyal readers sent me a question about the use of the word "that"; she said, "I am used to seeing the word 'that ' in all instances shown below" and provided four examples. Here's one:
COPAS guidelines require that the initial billing of joint account charges occurs within a 24-month period.
Her boss had removed the word "that" from all the examples, saying:
". . . please be aware the word "that" seldom adds value and can be a major distraction. I have made adjustments both in the attached file and in life. My college English professor told me if I didn't stop using it, I would get an F. I quit using it and I got a C."
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