455th Friday Blog Roundup

My cousin was checking something on her iPhone when the Wolvog walked through the room and immediately came over because he is like a moth to flame when it comes to screens.  It doesn’t matter if he is holding the very same device; he needs to see yours too.  Somehow it came up that he had set up his iPod to read aloud passages of text in Siri’s voice.  But he informed us that you don’t have to use Siri’s voice.  You could have a robotic British man or an electronic Australian woman.

“How do you do that?” we asked him.

You go under General Settings and click on Accessibility.  Turn “Speak Selection” on, then tap “Dialects.”  Under English, you can choose from the follow accents: US, Australian, British, Irish, or South African.

I like the British man, but he sounds a little uptight.  Like the sort of guy who enjoys wearing a suit.  Whereas my Australian woman — I call her Kylie — sounds like the sort of person who would be a good travelmate.  She’s fun without being flighty.  She’s a good conversationalist.  She has ideas… I mean, no, she doesn’t actually share any ideas with me since she’s a robotic voice simply reading what I highlight on the screen.  But you can just tell from her voice that there is a lot going on behind the screen.

I really love my phone.

Thanks, Mr. Jobs.

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Speaking of Mr. Jobs, I really want to see the new Steve Jobs biopic.  I’ve heard that I’m one of the only people in the world to say that, but I read Walter Isaacson’s biography when it came out for the Wolvog. (I would read it at night, and then tell him about it in the morning.)  And it sounds as if the movie is simply the book as a motion picture.  So… I’m going.

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August is halfway over!  Amazon chose Measure of Love to feature as one of the books of the month for the entirety of August.  Which is all kinds of cool, and they’re offering it as a $1.99 deal on Kindle.  I’d still love any help in getting word out there about the promotion.  And a massive thank you to everyone who has already Facebooked and tweeted.

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And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “This Is…” (Kmina’s Blog)
• “Trying” (Tales from the Waiting Room)
• “Mind and Heart” (Bébé Suisse)
• “The Tightrope of Life” (It Is What It Is (or Is It?))
• “What Comes” (My Lady of the Lantern)
• “When I Look at Him” (Unparalleled Love)
• “Help, My Sister Had a Baby!” (Here’s that Bad Advice You Were Hoping For)

Okay, now my choices this week.

MissConception has a deeply honest post about how the past doesn’t control her, but it has changed the person she’s become, and that extends to her role as wife.  She admits, “I feel bad about the wife I’ve been for the last couple of years. I feel like I should be ready and willing to get back to who I was, especially with finally reaching my goal of becoming a mom. Shouldn’t happiness lead to more intimacy?”  It’s about seeing the problem but not knowing how to change it.  I love that people chimed in within the comment section.  Blogging lets you know that you’re really not alone.

It Is What It Is (or Is It?) also has a post about marriage.  I was also touched by the raw honesty of this one, especially how she processes that flatness.  And follow up posts are about how blogging about it has moved her toward treating the problem.

The Misadventures of MissOhkay has a post about coming out of the blogging closet with a new site and the way she writes (hint: she is not worried about things).  She writes, “I used to blog because I really NEEDED IT. It was my therapy. I think it was better than the actual therapy I did. Now I blog because I like to blog. I am introspective. I enjoy thinking about things and hearing what you think about things.”  I just love that.

Lastly, The Great Big IF has a post about the research she is doing into various paths of family building.  As she points out, obsessions demand attention.  And her research makes her feel as if there is forward momentum, even if she knows rationally that they’re still far away from starting a donor egg cycle.  I love the end of the post, comparing it to the two ways people approach looking at real estate.

The roundup to the Roundup: My phone speaks to me in an Australian accent.  I want to see the Steve Jobs biopic.  Measure of Love is on sale (and I’d love your help continuing to get word out).  And lots of great posts to read.  So what did you find this week?  Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between August 9th and 16th) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week?  Read the original open thread post here.