Congratulations to the University of Connecticut Huskies on winning the 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

CBS Sports’s “One Shining Moment” gives me goosebumps every year. Enjoy this year’s production.

Did you know that in this country, the global positioning system (GPS) by TomTom can be programmed to feature a variety of famous voices? That’s right, instead of the standard, far too animated female voice that comes with most GPS devices, TomTom allows you to pick the source of your turn-by-turn directions.

I have talked about Google’s Voice Transcription service many times. In fact, I have often picked on the service for its habit to translate a voice message into something incomprehensible or verging on insulting. However, I obviously enjoy the service or I wouldn’t continue to use it and there are many others that feel the same way. This is likely the reason why the service is continually being spread into other venues. Most recently Google’s voice recognition has been put to use by the Android version of the Kindle App.

There are many reasons to love the wide variety of Google internet applications, but if you are the parent of a teenager, then it is likely that the number one reason for you is the cost savings.



Remember the days of your youth when your parents were forced to endure endless hours of arguing about your use of the phone? Then, in the not so distant years, it was not uncommon to see parents forking over extra money each month to pay for a second phone line. Today that is no longer necessary. Granted many kids now tote their own cell phones, but even that cost can be kept at a minimum thanks to Google Voice.

It is that time of year when thousands of children around the country get dressed in their best clothes, don their giant backpacks and prepare for the year ahead. Meanwhile, aside from those first time moms and dads, the parents are saying a silent cheer for the saved daycare funds or peace at home.

After that fateful time on 9/11, millions of people throughout this nation came together as one voice in support of the victims, and to cry out against the horror that was committed by the so-called, “Evil Do-ers.” Yet, now, ten years later, it is odd how little our voices have become.

Right now I am writing a book for a client and the male character that is the main character of the novel begins his life in England, thus, had he been a real person, he would have a British accent. As a result, I find myself speaking, in my head, the phrases he says in a British Accent. Ok, so it is not really a British accent, but the closest thing I can manage. Nevertheless, I find the character to be even more appealing because I picture him speaking in such a way, which makes me wonder (not for the first time in my life) why are some accents so sexy? And, do people from other countries find our accents to be such?

I think it has been rather obvious in past posts that I am in support of everyone having a voice and having the opportunity for that voice to be heard, but I also believe that that opportunity should be embraced and executed well should that person wish for anyone to truly listen. A person should practice self-censoring. I bring this up because of an article that I recently read on a well known medical website.

This morning I was watching the Today Show and the topic of the blog for the day just came to me. Typically, I enjoy the more “newsy” portions of the show, but today I found their segment on maintaining friends throughout adulthood of interest. It made me consider how very difficult it can be to find oneself- to find one’s voice- in the clamor of day-to-day life. There is all of this talk about not defining oneself by the job he or she does, and not on the fact that he or she is a parent, but how realistic is it to think that a person that is balancing a career and a family can have enough time left over to defining him- or herself as anything else.

Let our voices be heard, let them determine the future of this great nation, and let them not be hushed by racist, sexist, or ethnocentric views. It is this way of thinking that has brought our nation to a point much nearer an equal playing field for all. That movement reached a new turning point on August 18, 1920. That date, ninety years ago, marked a momentous occasion for American women everywhere.