Dictating v Typing, and the patience of spiders

I was effectively chained to the computer and laptop today, producing labels and other written material for the weekend's Open Studio. Trivial items that still take up a considerable amount of time. However, from this point on, any additions will be icing in the cake.

The activity was enlivened by the use of a new speech recognition software bundled with an earlier purchase, Dragon 11. It is so reminiscent of futuristic fantasies, that when you speak , the words miraculously appear on the screen – with the odd correction or two. I did note that it is still easier for me to coherently type text than to dictate it. I am inclined to believe that this is due to different paths of the brain being used in verbal delivery as opposed to physical typing, though I cannot immediately find a suitable reference. No doubt increased practice will speed up the flow of dictation.

A small item of natural history has been residing patiently in its web on one of my office windows. The specimen is probably a common garden spider, Araneus diadematus, a well known orb weaving spider with a distinctive white cross on it's abdomen. Set up for over a week and tolerated by Mrs T, albeit reluctantly upon my request, It seemed to be in a region particularly devoid of prey.

Today this changed as an irritating slender bodied house fly entered the office, evading capture and eventually hiding in the paperwork by the window. Five minutes later, I looked to the window and saw a triumphant spider dealing with its already wrapped package of a meal with the same body length as itself!