Free and Open-Source Assistive Technology for Colleges

The Access Ability blog posted the following, reposted here for your convenience.

Assistive technology used to be a big budget killer for many Disability Service offices, but today, it needn't be such a burdensome service of the DSO. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of assistive technology components which are free.

If you need inspiration, take a look at the example being put in place at Ohio State University.

Funded by a Department of Education grant, the DSO at Ohio State is providing students with USB thumb drives, which load a self voicing menu upon insertion in a computer. The student can then select which assistive technologies they want to use. The thumb drive also maintains all of the student's settings and configurations, furthering simplicity of use.

Aside from just describing the tools that are being employed, the article has links for each of the free assistive technologies being used.

Click this link to visit the Ohio State University Web Accessibility Center.

WordPerfect for DOS and Windows 3.1 Files

WordPerfect for DOS, in the opinion of many knowledgeable users, is still the greatest program ever written. Some of its features have not been matched even by the latest Windows software, and its interface remains unequaled for efficiency and elegance. Its support for multiple font formats has not yet been equaled by any other program or operating system, and its support for multiple alphabets, languages, and symbol sets has only been equaled by the latest versions of Windows.

This site was created as a way to share printer drivers and other files that can be of help to anyone who wants to continue to use WordPerfect for DOS in the twenty-first century.

Every user of WordPerfect for DOS under Windows 2000 or XP should buy a $US20 copy of Tame from www.tamedos.com. This program speeds keyboard input and improves compatibility for WPDOS and other DOS applications under Windows 2000 and XP.

WordPerfect for DOS is no longer marketed by Corel. Fully legal replacement and upgrade copies of WordPerfect 5.1+ for DOS and WordPerfect 6.2 for DOS may be purchased on CD-R discs from Carol Reese at thewp51lady@verizon.net, who has permission from Corel to make these sales. Copies can only be shipped to addresses in the United States; in other countries, probably the best way to obtain a copy is through eBay or a local user group.

WordPerfect is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation. This site is not associated with Corel Corporation, PC Magazine, or any other person or organization. The site is hosted on Columbia University's web server, but the university is not responsible for any of the site's content. Corel Corporation does not support or endorse any of the documents or files on this site, and is perhaps not even aware that the site exists.

This site can almost always be reached at an "alias" address, http://wpdos.org. It can, of course, also be reached at its real address, http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/wpdos.

Everything Windows 3.1

For those interested in programs for DOS and Windows 3.1, you might enjoy a site called everything windows 3.1. It is full of links to all kinds of DOS and early Windows collections.

Click this link to visit the Everything Windows 3.1 website at http://oldfiles.org.uk/lightspeed/main.html.

SEN Teacher: Online Resource

"SEN Teacher provides cost-free teaching & learning resources for students with special needs and learning disabilities." That's how this repository of special education resources sums itself up. (SEN is the acronym from the UK that stands for Special Education Needs.)

SEN Teacher offers a substantial collection of "printable" (and brailleable) downloads. There are links to websites that provide information about a wide range of disabilities, free online resources, and freeware download sites. The free software listed here includes programs to help develop basic mouse and other computer skills that may assist someone with low vision, programs to practice switch use, programs that support curriculum, and much more. There are even a few programs by SEN Teacher itself (1-5 Counting, 3D Shape Venn, Buried 3D Shape, Girl Face Matching). I think you'll find something of use here.

Click this link to visit http://www.senteacher.org.

Large Type Boy Scout Handbook

Message: I am a Scoutmaster in Hickory, NC. I have a new Scout that is visually impaired. He gets all his school text books in large print. I would like to know if there is an official Boy Scout Hand Book in large print?

Yes, APH has the official book Boy Scout Handbook published by Boy Scouts of America (c1998) in large type. This version consists of 2 pamphlets, 494 pages and a font size of 14 point. When ordering from APH Customer Service, please provide the catalog number L-98300-00.

American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
1839 Frankfort Avenue
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
Toll Free: 800-223-1839
Phone: 502-895-2405
Fax: 502-899-2274
E-mail: info@aph.org
Web site: http://www.aph.org

E-file Your Taxes: It Can Be Done with a Screen Reader

Message: Dear Fred,

I know in the last couple of years, they have come out with e-filing for taxes. Are there really any good benefits to doing it that way? Can someone who is blind or visually impaired complete the tax forms online? If so, please enlighten us!

Filing taxes online has become very popular in the last few years and even the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has been known to "push" people into filing their taxes this way. Of course, we can all figure out that e-filing is a big money saver for the government, but there really are some benefits for us too!

First of all, I want to make sure everyone understands the terminology I am talking about. The whole thing is called e-filing. It's basically just a way for all the tax payers in the world to file their taxes electronically through the Web. To some, it's a more convenient and faster way to get their taxes done. If you don't agree yet, you may change your mind after hearing about the following benefits. Below are five of the most popular pros for e-filing.

1. Fewer IRS Errors: You know, when you snail mail in your tax returns, IRS employees have to sit and enter in your amounts by hand. But, if you e-file, you get to do it all yourself and let's be honest, we probably trust ourselves more than any IRS employee. Knowing that your information is entered in as correctly as possible is a great benefit in itself. That way, you can check your work as many times as you deem necessary. No keypunch errors and no IRS notices that your information was entered incorrectly. You can't beat that!
   
2. Fewer Taxpayer Errors: When you have to have someone write out all of your information by hand, it's possible that they could make some mistakes. For example, they could misprint your social security number or forget to write in your last name. If anything like that happens on a paper form, you won't hear about it for several months, but with an e-file, the IRS lets you know about any common mistakes right away. The IRS computers will reject a return like that within seconds, so you won't have to sit around wondering if everything was right or not. This, of course, doesn't protect you completely from being audited, but in general, you will have a faster error return.
   
3. Get a Faster Refund: It's stated by the IRS that tax payers who e-file get their refunds back within 14 days, which is much quicker than the six weeks you may wait to get your snail mail return back. The 14 days isn't a guarantee, but it is generally a faster method of doing things. So, how long would you like to wait for your check to come in the mail? Two weeks or six weeks? Why have it come in the mail at all, use direct deposit and you'll have an accessible way of knowing when the money has posted.
   
4. File Conveniently: One of the biggest benefits of e-filing is that you can do it from the comfort of your own computer chair. You get to use your own computer to file your taxes and you don't have to depend on someone else who's basically doing the same thing you could be doing.
   
5. Send Both at Once: In a sense, with e-filing, you can kill two birds with one stone. In most cases, you are able to e-file both your federal and state taxes at the same time. Even though the returns go to different places, the IRS will forward your state information to the appropriate state tax agency. That way, you don't have to worry about doing them separately and wasting more time.

Now, all of these benefits may sound great and even though you might be more than ready to go e-file your taxes right now, it's best to look into it a little more to make sure e-filing is right for your tax purposes.

e-file with TurboTax Online

My wife and I decided we'd give it a try this year and looked into TurboTax Online. We found the site very speech friendly and the really cool thing about it was that we could automatically import our W2 information, no eye-straining to read a printed document and we could save our information as we went.

We found it to be a time-saver, no tax jargon. Just easy-to-answer, plain-English questions that pertained to our unique tax situation. The site automatically fills in the right tax forms. Their tax preparation products also look for deductions and credits to get the biggest return. All we had to do was answer the questions.

If you try it and have questions, TurboTax provides answers to commonly asked tax questions on every screen. Plus, with their Live Community, (included FREE, live answers from tax experts and fellow TurboTax customers are just a click away.

TurboTax displays your refund (or tax owed) on every screen and updates the amount as you answer questions. They check for errors before you submit your forms to the IRS, so you'll know for sure that everything's right. If there are errors, the site asks you simple questions to fix them.

Screen reader users will have no problem with the site. I was really worried about this when I started but had a very easy time and completed my taxes and had my money in a few days.

Click this link to learn more about TurboTax Online: http://www.turbotax.com.

USB Mini Desktop LED Light

Here's a nice way to light up your desk at home, in a dorm room, or at the office, using only the power from the USB port of your computer to make the three LEDs shine. Features include:

• Mini USB light with 3 LEDs
  
• Powered by USB port
  
• Touch power On/Off
  
• Flexible metal gooseneck
  
• Dimension: 6cm dia x 38cm tall
  
• Weight: 157g

Click this link to purchase the Mini Desktop USB Light from USBGeek.com.

Seatbelts Protect Your Eyes from Airbags

Ophthalmologists from Brown University and Penn State University medical schools wanted to analyze the variety of eye injuries that occur in airbag-deployed collisions. They scoured over 9,000 records from a single metropolitain Level 1 trauma center between 1997 to 2005. They discovered 47 documented eye injuries.

Here's how the numbers broke down with the occupants of the 47 airbag-worthy crashes:

• 21 of 47 occupants did not wear seatbelts and 71% of them sustained serious eye injuries
  
• Only 76% of this group recovered 20/40 vision or better
  
• 14% of this group ended up legally blind

Meanwhile:

• 26 of 47 occupants were wearing seatbelts and only 31% sustained serious eye injuries
  
• 96% of this group recovered 20/40 vision or better
  
• Nobody in this group ended up legally blind

The authors concluded that seatbelt use is associated with fewer airbag eye injuries, less severe eye injuries, and better visual outcomes.

So, now you have two reasons to wear your seatbelt: to protect your life after colliding with other vehicles and to protect your precious eyesight from your own airbag.

REFERENCE: Rao SK. Ophthalmology, March 2008, pages 573-576.

Seatbelt Light

Now, here's something else the seatbelt can do for your eyes, well, your vision more specifically. Just clip this little light onto your seat belt and turn it on when you want to read something and need a little more focused light. Passengers can use it without distracting the driver. Two levels of brightness from 4 LED lights, uses 3 AA batteries (not included).

Click this link to purchase a set of two Seatbelt Lights from the Whatever Works website.

Tips for Wrapping Gifts

Adhesive Gift Wrap

Self-adhesive Gift Wrap is now available. A first-of-its-kind product coated on one side with a low-tack adhesive formulated by Hallmark, which sticks firmly to packages, creating a beautifully-wrapped gift with a cleaner presentation, and apparently, a lot less fuss. Essentially, if you can operate a sticky note, you can wrap like a pro with Adhesive Gift Wrap. Apart from the saving of time, I've read that ribbons aren't required. I know it all sounds a bit devoid of the joy-of-giving ethos, so scoff if you must, but the exclusive Hallmark Adhesive Gift Wrap is the result of requests from consumers who want the act of gift wrapping to be more convenient for their busy lifestyles.

Hallmark has a provisional patent on the product's low-tack adhesion, which is sticky enough to create clean lines and crisp folds without leaving any residue on the gift. There is no backing to peel off, so Adhesive Gift Wrap sticks to itself when rolled up, making storage simple.

There are currently forteen different Adhesive Gift Wrap designs, including designs for baby, weddings and kids, as well as everyday designs. The Adhesive Gift Wrap is available exclusively at Hallmark Gold Crown stores in the United States. The suggested retail price is US$5 per roll.

Make a Ribbon Organizer

Here's a problem, ribbons can quickly get out of hand and become a big tangled mess, something you don't need while trying to wrap a gift. If you are blind, how do you keep the end of the ribbon around so its easy to find again when you need it?

Well, if you can find them, you can purchase ribbon organizers that cost quite a bit, or why not save money and make your own?

This ribbon organizer project calls for the following materials:

• A plastic box with a lid. (Check the dollar store or your local craft store for these boxes. I have found them for 50 cents each.
  
• A 3/8th inch dowel
  
• Your rolls of ribbon
  
• A drill or nail driver that can drill or punch a hole that is 3/8th inch
  
• A small saw
  
• Sandpaper
  
• A magic marker or braille stylus, depending on the amount of vision you have

Here is how you put it all together:

1. Take the lid off of the box and orient the box so that one of the short ends faces you.
   
2. Measure three inches from either side and mark the measurement with either the magic marker or braille stylus.
   
3. Repeat for the opposite side of the box, so you wind up with four marks for hole, two on each short end of the box.
   
4. Drill or punch the four holes and finish them by sanding the rough edges with some sandpaper.
   
5. Take your dowel and cut two pieces from it, each the length of the box plus about two inches. Most plastic boxes will require lengths of about 16 inches long, but check this against your own box.
   
6. After cutting, sand the rough edges of the dowels.
   
7. Assembling each dowel, one at a time, slide the dowel through one hole. Then thread the spools of ribbon through the dowel before sliding the dowel through the hole at the opposite end. Do the same for the remaining dowel.
   
8. Place the lid on the box, and you are done!

Roll Buddy: Your Christmas paper roll holder

Hold, dispense, and store paper - without tape or rubber bands. Snap the plastic wrap clip onto your roll of paper. Pull out the length you need to do the job. Paper is stabilized while you're wrapping. Sets of 3. 3 1/8" x 1 3/4" diameter.

I realize it's meant for Christmas wrapping paper, but that wouldn't stop me from using it for other purposes. Like organizing drawings, plans, posters, large photocopies, tablecloths and other stuff that are best stored rolled up.

Click this link to purchase the Roll Buddy from the Miles Kimball website.

Select Text with the Help of a Macro

From the Top Tech Tidbits Newsletter we learn of a macro that, when using Word, allows you to mark a spot, navigate in the usual way to a destination in your document, then hit a second key, automatically selecting the text between those two positions. These macros work in any version from Word 2000 to 2007. Directions for installing them on your system have been updated to include Word 2007 keystrokes.

You can grab the macros and instructions (in an MS-Word document) at this link: http://topdotenterprises.com/Macros_for_Easy_Text_Selection_in_Word.doc.

Free Unlimited Online File Storage

There are many services that allow unlimited file storage on the net, but not many that are as easy to use as MyBloop. Not only does MyBloop let you upload unlimited files, but you can also search the service for any file that has been uploaded by other users, which makes it a great place to share and to find content as well.

The service is free, and almost any file can be uploaded, although each file has to be smaller than 1GB. Still, that should be big enough for most people. Don't worry, if you want to upload your MP3 collection, you can, and if someone wants a copy of a song you have, they are sent to Amazon where they can legally purchase it. There are other options that make this service a one-of-a-kind, you can check them all out by visiting http://www.mybloop.com.

Online Price Drop Notification

Is there a particular product you've had your eye on for awhile but you want to wait a bit for the price to drop before you buy it? If this is the case, Price!pinx can keep you updated by letting you know when the price of that product drops, saving you time and energy. To start using Price!pinx simply search the internet for the product you want, and enter it along with the price at Price!pinx. The site will monitor a majority of shopping sites on the net and when it detects a lower price than the one you entered, it will notify you. Save money and time while still getting everything you've always wanted.

Click this link to start saving money with http://www.Pricepinx.com.

Custom Workouts on Your Portible MP3 Player

Podfitness.com is a paid service offering custom workouts via podcast, which mixes your personal music collection with workouts from top trainers from Hollywood and across the globe. Podfitness takes your workout preferences, like how, when, and where you like to exercise into account, and delivers a new, customized workout for you every time. Once you fill out a quick Fitness Profile, about what kind of shape you´re in and what your goals are, Podfitness suggests trainers and programs best fit to help you reach your goals. There are about 80 trainers working with the site, so there is plenty of variety to make sure you find the right trainer to guide and motivate you. Once you download your workout you can put it on your mp3 player and take it on the go. Your Podfitness coach walks you through your workout, even counting reps and offering motivation, while your personal music plays in the background.

People who want to get serious about getting in shape will find PodFitness to be much more economical than paying a personal trainer. You can receive up to two personalized workouts per day for a monthly fee, and there´s a free ten-day trial to help the new customers with the site. Taking your workouts with you on your mp3 player offers more flexibility than making appointments with a personal trainer, too.

Click this link to start your personal workouts at http://www.PodFitness.com.

Buy or Post Your Unpublished Books at BookHabit.com

BookHabit.com is a site devoted to those who share a passion for books, and acts as a place to bring unpublished writers together with interested readers. The site includes works of fiction and non-fiction, as well as plays and scripts. Book prices start at $2.50, and increases as a book becomes more popular (as indicated by sales on Book Habit). Authors pay nothing to add their books to the site, and receive 40% of the sale price. Once you download a book, you can enjoy it on your computer, mobile phone, PDA, or ereader. Books are downloaded in the PDF format.

For readers, the site provides a place to explore undiscovered authors or find books on niche or specialty subjects not typically published or promoted by mainstream publishing companies. User reviews provide a means to share your opinion, as well as to learn what others thought of a book before you purchase it.

Authors may benefit from constructive user criticism, and can use the site to gain visibility or sales figures that may help them get published. There are also discussion forums and links for authors to seek insight from professional editors, or professional oration services to turn their work into an audio book. Authors can also create a widget to promote their book across the web.

Click this link to find some new ebooks at http://www.BookHabit.com.

Create a Custom Streaming Internet Station

A new breed of Internet radio stations allow you to create your own custom streaming station, edit it, skip songs at will, share your station with others, and discuss music. Unlike Pandora, which is a veteran in this field and is difficult, if not impossible, to use with screen readers, with no hope for change in sight, Jango, currently in beta, is very user-friendly.

To get you started, here's a little tour of some of their main features:

• Stations: Play your selected artists (plus similar artists we recommend) To create a new station, just type in an artist and press play. To add more artists, just go to "My Home" and click "Add to Station".
  
• Rate which songs to play more (or less): To make your stations even smarter, just click the smilies in your player to rate which songs you want to play more or less. Screen reader users will find three rating links, bad, OK, and good.
  
• Tune in to other stations: The faces in your player are other people listening to similar music as > you are. Just click any song to tune in and listen!
  
• Play more songs by an artist: If you want to play more songs by an artist, just click the orange "Songs" tab in your player - or any artist photo - and you'll see more songs by > that artist that you can tune in to!
  
• More music and people: Don't forget to check out the "music" section, where you can browse by genre and see what's new and popular on Jango. Or click "people" to search for friends and musical like-minds.

Note to people using a screen reader: The site works very well, my only problem is with the volume control. I think they use some kind of slider that JAWS can't access. I have not tried this control with other screen readers, but have no reason to believe that they will work any better. I have emailed a suggestion to the tech folks, hopefully I'll get a response.

Having said that, don't let the volume controls scare you away from the service. It is really cool and I've built one station as of the time of this post. I plan to create others very soon.

Click this link to start building your personal internet radio station at http://www.jango.com.

Robert Krampf's Science Education Company

Robert Krampf is a science educator based in Florida. Mr. Krampf and his wife travel the country giving upbeat presentations about a range of science topics appropriate for students at many grade levels. On his website, he features videos of experiments and demonstrations that students and teachers can do. Each video is accompanied by a list of resources needed to perform each experiment or demonstration.

Click this link to visit Robert Krampf's Science Education Company at http://krampf.com.

Introducing NonvisualDevelopment.org

Darrell Shandrow at Blind Access Journal posted the following announcement about a new website and I wanted to share it with Fred's Head users as well.

As you know, the web page of EmpowermentZone.com has not been updated for years after I began focusing on software projects. I knew the site needed a redesign, but wanted to work on Windows GUI development, so left it there as a community service for whoever still found it useful, and instead posted direct links to program or documentation files that I added to the site. Inthane, Jeff Bishop, and others gathered some of these links on pages of their sites in order to ease finding them -- collaboration I appreciate.

Last year, I agreed to take over a community project, begun by Chris Hofstader, to develop a C# tutorial for JAWS users. I expanded the scope to any .NET language and any screen reader, naming the project Nonvisual Development with .NET. List members suggested a wiki as a vehicle for collaborating on the tutorial, and for months, Pratik Patel and I have been investigating how best to do this.

Recently, I concluded that the content management system (CMS) called Drupal, available at http://drupal.org has the optimal balance of power and friendliness among free, open source choices of a CMS at this time. I decided to try to achieve multiple objectives in a Drupal-based site that provides a complete directory of programs and documentation I have posted, and promotes collaboration on developing nonvisually with various languages and tools. With encouragement from Jim Homme, webmaster of BlindProgramming.com, I am now introducing a site called Nonvisual Development, located at http://NonvisualDevelopment.org.

The site is under construction, and your collaboration is sought to help make it as valuable a community resource as possible. So far, its design is by me, but its coding is by a blind developer, Chetan Bakhru, whose services I have hired and would recommend to anyone interested in working with PHP, Drupal, or other web technologies. Chetan is the webmaster of http://blind-planet.com.

At present, the content of NonvisualDevelopment.org is primarily either mine or links I have collected. I intend to build ways for other developers to add content and collaborate. We are working within the capabilities and constraints of Drupal 6.1 and the Zen theme. Feedback, suggestions, and other contributions can help move this project forward.

Jamal

Give and Receive Items at Sight Exchange

Are you familiar with the Sight Exchange group? It's a Yahoo group that helps people easily give and receive low vision-related items, all for free. From the site:

"The Sight Exchange group is open to all who want to give and receive items that serve the needs of the blind, low vision or visually impaired population. Whether it's a mobility device, cane, talking clock, book or computer, feel free to post it. Or maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself! Individuals and Nonprofit groups are all welcome to participate!"

"Things to remember: Everything posted must be free, legal, and appropriate. Everyone must begin by offering an item before requesting an item. Mail items via "Free Matter for the Blind or Visually Impaired" whenever possible."

When you join, you will receive two email messages explaining the basic's of the group and how to get started. Please be sure to read each carefully. There are lots of cool things offered for those with low vision or visual impairment!

Click this link to visit the Sight Exchange Yahoogroup Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sightexchange.
You can also subscribe by sending an email to sightexchange-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

How About an Extra Set of Hands in the Kitchen?

The Sticky Bowl has been designed to attach any mixing bowl securely to a flat surface. It basically provides an extra hand in all types of kitchens, whether you're working on your own or with others. Sticky bowl can also be applied to plates, bowls and platters. One side has been designed bigger than the other to accommodate a larger range of bowl sizes. On the side are easy to find release levers. Sticky Bowl is dishwasher safe.

Click this link to learn more about Sticky Bowl: http://www.stickybowl.com.au.

14 Best Ways to Use Your Computer's Spare Time

The following article appeared on the Discover Magazine website on February 6, 2008 and is reposted here for your convenience.

14 Best Ways to Use Your Computer's Spare Time

Between YouTube videos, your processor can search for a cure for AIDS.

by Sarah Bates, with additional reporting by Lizzie Buchen

Supercomputers are expensive, so investigators with lots of data and little budgets have turned to distributed computing: relying on free help from volunteers who download programs onto their home computers and run the software to analyze small chunks of data. The results are then sent back to researchers to crunch further. Just what has come from a decade of such homegrown efforts? We look at 14 programs to see if they^D>'re worth your processor^D>'s time.

Stardust@Home What it is: In 2006 the NASA spacecraft Stardust brought back cometary and interstellar dust. This program continues the scrutiny of minute aspects of the universe from Earth.	How it works: Lets users examine Stardust^D>'s collectors in search of bits of cosmic dust. The Web site says it^D>'s like ^D<"searching for 45 ants on a football field.^D>"	Our take: It^D>'s on to phase II for this innovative success.
SETI@Home What it is: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence scans the sky for signs of life. David Anderson, SETI^D>'s cocreator, says beyond finding E.T., he hopes to promote interest in science.	How it works: SETI sifts data gathered by radio telescopes for narrow-bandwidth radio signals from space^DDLthe kind we^D>'d expect from intelligent life.	Our take: Eight years and no contact, but there are 720,000 participants. Use it if you believe.
Folding@Home What it is: This program looks at ways proteins go awry by running? simulations of how the molecules are supposed to fold. Researchers hope to shed light on diseases like Alzheimer^D>'s and Parkinson^D>'s.	How it works: Folding@Home simulates protein folding and its consequences. This group has the most published papers of any distributed-computing project.	Our take: Join the Fold.
Cosmology@Home What it is: Cosmology@Home is run by the Department of Astronomy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The goal: sifting through theories of the universe.	How it works: The program matches theoretical projections to real data and creates model universes. Preliminary results are already leading to papers.	Our take: The number of users^DDL2,900^DDLmay be scant, but it is off to a strong beginning.
FightAIDS@Home What it is: Run by the Olson Laboratory at the Scripps Research Institute, this is the first biomedical and the first humanitarian distributed-computing project.	How it works: Uses computational methods to help identify which drug molecules could best fight HIV.	Our take: It^D>'s a good cause in need of volunteers.
Climateprediction.net What it is: Roughly $2 billion is spent each year on modeling the impact of global warming. This project attempts to vet the varying predictions.	How it works: The program sifts through thousands of climate models provided by researchers, tossing out the nonsense models as it crunches.	Our take: More than 45 teraflops of data is no joke. Finally, software worthy of your computer^D>'s footprint.
Einstein@home What it is: So far none of the gravitational waves that Albert Einstein predicted in his theory of general relativity have been detected. But if spinning neutron stars are creating ripples in space-time, the thousands of home computers chugging away at the data from the U.S. Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory may have the best chance to find them.	How it works: Each computer receives a signal from a massive spinning neutron star to analyze. By searching for deviations in the signal, the computer can flag it for closer analysis.	Our take: Even Einstein had his doubts.
Help Defeat Cancer Project What it is: One of several research initiatives supported by World Community Grid, a public computing grid dedicated to humanitarian causes. By the time Help Defeat Cancer had completed its project a few months ago, more than 2,909 years of work had been completed in eight months.	How it works: The program analyzes and classifies archived tissue samples to improve cancer treatment techniques and diagnostic tools.	Our take::If your computer could help find the cure, isn^D>'t it worth a bit of your processor^D>'s time?
GIMPS What it is: Insomniacs who count prime numbers to fall asleep are in for a treat. The mathematicians behind the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) recently broke their own record to find the largest known Mersenne prime number, a whopping 9,808,359 digits long.	How it works: Volunteers sort through numbers to look for the immense prime numbers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation will award $100,000 to the first person to find a 10-million-digit prime number.	Our take: Counting for $100,000? Let your computer do the work.
BURP What it is: The Big and Ugly Rendering Project (BURP) is still in its infancy, but it's already attracted a close-knit group of 3D animation enthusiasts. According to BURP creator Janus Kristensen, "no lengthy analysis or scientific know-how is necessary to understand the images and movie clips that are produced. They speak their own universal language."	How it works: The project produces 3D animations on its network of more than 1,000 machines, giving artists access to free rendering power as needed.	Our take: It might not be for the greater good, but here is computing dedicated to greater entertainment.
Electric Sheep What it is: If Darwin returned as an artist with a knack for computer science, he might be Scott ^D<"Spot^D>" Draves, creator of Electric Sheep, a collective of computers that renders artwork. Animations, or ^D<"sheep,^D>" evolve into high-definition abstract paintings, spawning off in random mutations. But it^D>'s more science than you^D>'d expect. ^D<"I want people to see the power of evolution,^D>" Draves says. ^D<"I'd like people to accept evolution and randomness as the ultimate creative force in our universe.^D>"	How it works: The program creates sheep whose color, shape, and motion are specified by a "genetic code." If a user sees a sheep he likes, she may vote for it. Sheep that receive more votes live longer and are more likely to reproduce.	Our take: Must scientists get all the distributed-computing love? Perhaps not.
LHC@home What it is: When the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) switches on this year, it will be the most powerful particle accelerator ever built^DDLprotons will zip around its 27-kilomter-long tunnel and smash into one another with an energy of 14 teraelectron volts (that is, rather a lot).	How it works: A program called SixTrack simulates high-energy particles traveling around the LHC to study the long-term stability of their orbits. Users can organize into teams and compete for top ranking.	Our take: You may not be able to find all your old Word documents, but you might be able to help find the Higgs.
Malariacontrol.net What it is: A part of Africa@Home, malariacontrol.net works with population models to determine the best strategy to control malaria^DDLfrom researching vaccines to deploying mosquito nets.	How it works: To measure the way malaria is transmitted, the computers simulate large human populations, varying biological and social parameters that influence the distribution of the disease.	Our take: Malaria affects nearly 500 million people a year, nearly 1,000 times the number of people who contract HIV worldwide.
Spinhenge@home What it is: The group researches nanomagnetic molecules, which may eventually be targeted for local tumor chemotherapy and the development of tiny memory modules.	How it works: This program uses your computer to calculate statistics of the spin dynamics of new molecular structures.	Our take: Now that you (finally) know that nanomagnetics exist, why not devote some computer hours to this worthy, niche field?

Article Source:
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/mar/14-best-ways-to-use-your-computer.s-spare-time

Tips and Resources for the blind or visually impaired traveler

Traveling with a vision impairment can be challenging, but that shouldn't deter you from getting out and seeing the world. Here are some suggestions to make your trip smooth and your stay stress-free.

Consider using brightly colored luggage or high-contrast tape on dark colored bags to make it easier to identify your luggage on the baggage claim carousel.

Invest in a specially designed "luggage locator" that includes a receiver unit (attached to your luggage) and a transmitter for the traveler. With the press of a button, the luggage beeps as long as it is within a five-foot range of the transmitter.

Carry a signature guide for signing credit card receipts. It's a good way to educate others that people with vision impairment are capable of signing their names.

Be mindful of your money and stay organized. If you're traveling in Europe, the new Euro currency can be distinguished by size, color and tactile characteristics.

Fred's Airport Tip

I have found when a blind person travels a route that entails various bus or plane connections, one of the carrier's staff members often promises to help such travelers to make his or her next connection. Over the years, I have adopted the attitude that while such persons might have the best of intentions, life is uncertain and, for whatever reason, they don't always show up at the appointed hour. This being the case, I have learned to pay close attention to the time-of-day so I will know exactly when I should be en route to make the next link in the chain of connections.

Once my connection is announced and my would-be helper still hasn't arrived, I typically wait a few minutes to allow the attendant to finish whatever he or she is doing that has caused the delay. In the event that I receive no word that his/her arrival is imminent, however, I will stand, gather my luggage, and head in what I believe to be the correct direction.

Whether or not I am taking the correct direction is far less important, I believe, than the fact that I am taking some action. This is because I have come to understand over the years that the responsibility for making the next connection is mine--and not that of the carrier or the person who offered help and for whatever reason didn't show up at the critical time.

Also, it's heartening to say that while other travelers may seem perfectly willing to let you sit for hours (probably assuming that you are waiting for your next connection), I have found that once I start to move, it is not long before someone asks if I need help.

Helpful Tips for the Airport Screening Process

The Transportation Security Administration has developed guidelines for the training of airport screeners to make the screening process both comfortable and secure for people with disabilities. If you're visually impaired, take note of what you may ask the screener to do:

• Explain the security process to you.
  
• Verbally communicate to you throughout each step of the screening process.
  
• Provide you with assistance by placing your items on the x-ray belt.
  
• Provide you with assistance by providing you with an arm, hand, or shoulder as you move through the process.
  
• Find someone to escort you through the security process.
  
• Let you know where the metal detector is located.
  
• Let you know when you will be going through the metal detector.
  
• Let you know when there are obstacles you need to avoid.
  
• Perform a physical inspection (in lieu of an x-ray inspection) of your white collapsible cane. This will allow you to guide yourself through the walk-through metal detector. Inspection of your white collapsible cane will be completed after you go through the walk-through metal detector. If your white cane cannot be cleared by physical inspection, the screener will notify you that the cane must be x-rayed.
  
• Perform a hand inspection of equipment (e.g., Braille note-takers) if you are concerned that the x-ray inspection may damage them.
  
• Reunite you with all of your carry-on items and assistive devices after the x-ray or physical inspection of the items is completed, including electronic equipment that has been specially adapted for your use.
  
• Verbally direct you toward your gate once the screening has been completed.

Traveling With a Dog Guide

• If you have a service animal, you are encouraged to inform the screener that the animal accompanying you is a service animal and not a pet. This may result in moving you to the front of the screening line since the screener may need to spend more time with you.
  
• People using a dog for assistance are encourage to carry appropriate identification such as cards or documentation, presence of a harness or markings on the harness, or other credible assurance of the passenger using the dog for their disability.
  
• Advise the screener how you and your dog can best achieve screening when going through the metal detector as a team (i.e., whether walking together or with the dog walking in front of or behind you while you continually maintain control of the dog with the leash and/or harness).
  
• The dog's harness will likely set off the alarm on the metal detector. In such cases, the screener will perform a hand inspection of the dog and its belongings (collar, harness, leash, backpack, vest, etc.). The belongings will not be removed from your dog at any time.
  
• The screener should ask permission before touching your service animal or its belongings.
  
• At no time during the screening process will you be required to be separated from your service animal.
  
• Screeners have been trained not to communicate, distract, interact, play, feed, or pet service animals.
  
• If you need to leave the sterile area to relieve your animal, you must go through the full screening process again. Inform the screener upon your return to the security checkpoint and she/he will move you to the front of the screening line to expedite the screening process.

Additional Travel Tips

When making a reservation, it's a good idea to let the hotel know you're traveling with a service animal. Although it's against the law in the U.S. to prohibit service animals or to assess extra fees, this may not apply to other countries.

When traveling by air, you may want to use a collapsible cane. This is because a regulation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires airlines to stow all carry-on items during air flights.

In order to comply with this regulation, airlines must stow rigid canes elsewhere on the plane because they represent a safety hazard in the event of an emergency. Collapsible canes, on the other hand, can be folded and stowed safely on your person or in a nearby luggage compartment.

When you arrive at the hotel registration desk, ask staff for any assistance you might need, such as orientation to facilities (restaurants, fitness center or gift shop).

Today, most hotel room keys are made to resemble credit cards with magnetic strips. These cards must be inserted properly into a key reader that is positioned on the door handle. This reader magnetically identifies whether the bearer has the proper key prior to releasing the door latch.

As with credit cards, blind persons using these keys may encounter difficulty knowing which way to hold and insert the key card into the reader. To facilitate identifying the correct way to insert the key every time you need to use it, there are several ways to mark them. The important thing is to choose a convenient method that makes a detectable impression in one of the corners opposite the magnetic strip of the card.

One way is to mark a corner of the key card with a bit of tape, or a sticker. Another way is to cut a small edge of the card with a pair of scissors, or a nail clipper. You can also make recognizable marks with other instruments. For instance, punch a hole in one corner of the card with your stylus, or wear out the corner with a nail file. If you do not have any tape or other instrument on hand to make the mark, you can bend the corner of the card using your fingers or your teeth.

Ever had one of those moments when you just HAD to get into your hotel room like NOW? If you had to wait another minute something embarrassing was going to happen?

It turns out that simply rubbing the magnetic side of your key on your shirt prior to inserting it in the door lock gives you hasty access to your room via a key that was, just moments ago, on strike.

It's a good idea to be shown the nearest fire exit to your room. Even if you're traveling with a companion, you may be alone when an emergency occurs.

In your room, ask to be shown the location of the TV remote and in-room service bar, how to adjust heat or air conditioning, who to call to request a wake up call or anything else that's important to you.

Ask hotel staff if newspapers are placed outside of hotel door rooms, as this could pose a hazard. You can request that newspapers be held at the front desk for you.

There's a big world waiting for you out there. And it's filled with interesting and exciting people, places, cultures and cuisine.

Though few in number, there are travel agencies that offer services tailored to the needs of the blind or visually impaired traveler. There are also many online resources that can be of assistance in planning a fun-filled and relaxing vacation, cruise, tour or quick-get-a-way.

Travel Agencies

Campanian Society

The Campanian Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization that fosters appreciation of the humanities and cultural arts of the ancient Greco-Roman world. Among the services the organization offers are travel services for people who are blind or visually impaired.

The society offers travel programs to destinations across Europe and the United States. Tactile and hands-on encounters, audio descriptions and readings give travelers the opportunity to experience each destination. Travel programs are typically limited to twelve to fifteen members each. Sighted guides accompany all programs: sighted friends and family may also travel with the group.

The Society's programs vary from year to year. Past programs have included tours of Key West, Florida; Washington DC; Hawaii; and an Ohio River Cruise.

"Optical Dimensions", the organization's bi-monthly newsletter, contains travel information about Campanian Society activities and tours, and resources for accessible materials. Optical Dimensions is available to subscribers in large print or email formats. To subscribe, send an email to the address below.

Contact:
Campanian Enterprises, Inc.
Address: PO Box 167
Oxford, OH 45056
Phone: (513) 524-4846
Fax: (513) 523-0276
Email: campania@one.net
Web: http://www.c ampanian.org/blindmain.shtml

Access Aloha Travel

Get Hawaii travel information from a locally owned business, with over 30 years travel industry experience! This company offers general travel services as well as specializing in travel plans for the disabled community. Support an agency that donates 1/2 of all profits to the disabled community!

Contact:
Access Aloha Travel
Address: 414 Kuwili Street, #101
Honolulu, HI 96817
Toll Free: 800-480-1143 Phone: 808-545-1143
FAX: (808) 545-7657
Email: info@accessalohatravel.com
Web: http://www.accessalohatravel.com

Traveleyes

Traveleyes is a UK travel company with a difference. It aims to provide holidays for both blind/visually impaired and sighted travellers, journeying together in a spirit of mutual independence.

Whether you come to Traveleyes as an individual or with a group of friends, you will be part of a small cohesive group. Traveleyes offers the customer a flexibility in world travel to a variety of destinations that was previously unavailable or certainly very difficult to arrange for the blind/visually impaired. Whether you want an adventure holiday, a relaxing break or a cultural expedition, Traveleyes is here to help.

Traveleyes offers you a unique experience - the luxury of a customised holiday to suit your needs, and the independence to discover new worlds. We plan each venture with close attention to quality and detail. Their holiday destinations cover Europe, Africa and the Americas, and vary from the unique and exploratory to relaxing sunshine breaks.

There are three simple steps to take before 'jetting off' with Traveleyes:

1. Register to become a member (this is free of charge).
   
2. Choose a holiday from the "holidays" area of their website and then contact them for availability.
   
3. Complete the booking process and send your deposit.

For information on their products, including the first ever range of accessible electronic Lonely Planet travel guides, contact: Traveleyes
PO Box 511
Leeds
LS5 3JT
Phone: 08709 220221
Web: http://www.traveleyes.co.uk

Web Resources

Access-Able Travel Source

Access-Able Travel Source is an online resource that contains general information about travel for people with disabilities, and links to travel-related magazines, access guides, transportation, travel agencies and more.

One of the most helpful features of the Access-Able web site is the Travel Database. Users can search the database country-by-country, state-by-state and even city-by-city to gather info about accessible hotels, attractions, travel agencies and other data that can assist in travel planning. The attraction information, for example, includes mention of the provisions that have been made to make the attraction accessible to blind and visually impaired, or other special need travelers.

Contact:
Access-Able Travel Source
Email: access-able@home.com
Web: http://www.access-able.co m/

Institute on Independent Living

The Institute on Independent Living is a Swedish, not-for-profit organization that promotes independence and participation for persons with disabilities. Via the Institute's web site, users can access a wealth of links to resources for travelers who are blind, visually impaired, or have special needs, including: travel agencies, rights and advocacy groups and destination information. Contact:
Institute on Independent Living
Petersens Vag 2
127 41 Stockholm-Skarholmen
Sweden
Phone: +46 8 740 42 00
Fax: +46 8 750 45 00
Email: admin@independentl iving.org
Web: http://ww w.independentliving.org/index.html

Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH)

SATH, a non-profit advocacy organization, strives to promote accessibility for disabled and mature travelers and increase employment opportunities for persons with disabilities within the tourism industry. The Access Resources section of the society's web site contains a lengthy list of resources for travelers with disabilities, including links to: books, newsletters, magazines, government and private sector resources.

SATH publishes "Open World," a magazine that covers topics of interest to blind, disabled and mature travelers. Past issues have contained travel tips, and info on finding accessible lodging, airlines, cruise and destination services. Contact:
SATH
Address: 347 Fifth Avenue, Suite 610, New York, NY 10016
Tel. 212-447-7284
Fax. 212-725-8253
Email: sathtravel@aol.com
Web: http://www.sath.org/

Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide (WDWIG)

Deb Willis created and maintains this web site that is dedicated to Mickey's home in Orlando, Florida. Among the site's areas of note is a section dedicated to hints and tips for blind and visually impaired visitors to Disney's "Magic Kingdom." Contact:
Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide (WDWIG)
Email: dwills@wdwig.com
Web: http://www.wdwig.com/ visual.htm

Walt Disney World with Disabilities

Walt Disney World with Disabilities contains in-depth descriptions of the physical and emotional "feel" of Disney World attractions. It's also filled with a wide variety of tips for increasing comfort and avoiding problems at Disney for people with a serious health condition or disability. In addition to ride descriptions, the book also offers information on Disney's special services, as well as expert advice regarding: how to get your needs met in the parks, resorts and restaurants; details on handling medication and medical equipment; meeting special dietary needs; transportation; wheelchair use; and dealing with specific conditions in the parks and resorts. Walt Disney World with Disabilities is available on the web at http://www.Diz-Abled.com. It is also available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

Your Guide To Airline Seats, SeatGuru.com

Well the time has finally come. You've finished all the work at the office, your bags are packed, the hotel room is waiting, and flight tickets are in hand. You've planned on this vacation for a long time, and now it's here. You've thought of everything, or have you? What about the seat on your plane? Will it have enough room for you to stretch your legs? What about your dog guide? Can you watch a movie? What are you going to munch on while in flight? Don't call the airline to get the answers to these questions, just keep reading!

In October 2001 Matthew Daimler, a frequent flier and avid traveler, founded SeatGuru.com. Having realized the vast differences between airline seats, he was determined to build a repository of this useful information and share it with other travelers. Over four million unique visitors later, SeatGuru.com has established itself as the most up-to-date and complete guide to airplane seat information on the internet. The site currently provides comprehensive airplane seat information for the following airlines:

• Air Canada
  
• Air France
  
• AirTran
  
• Alaska Airlines
  
• America West
  
• American Airlines
  
• ATA
  
• British Airways
  
• Cathay Pacific
  
• Continental Airlines
  
• Delta Airlines
  
• Frontier
  
• Hawaiian
  
• JetBlue
  
• KLM
  
• Lufthansa
  
• Northwest Airlines
  
• Qantas
  
• SAS
  
• Singapore Airlines
  
• Spirit
  
• United Airlines
  
• US Airways
  
• Virgin Atlantic

SeatGuru.com employs a powerful combination of detailed seat map graphics, in-depth remarks and observations, a color-coded system to help identify superior and substandard seats and icons to denote amenities such as laptop power and audio/video entertainment. This blend of features successfully conveys highly specific seat information such as extra legroom, limited recline, decreased width and obstructed movie screen viewing. All aspects and features of the site are displayed in a user-friendly interface and an easy-to-navigate format. Note that some features may not be compatible with screen reading software.

Benefiting both business and leisure travelers, SeatGuru.com is a tool for anyone booking airline travel. The site helps business travelers locate seats with laptop power and internet access and aids leisure travelers by identifying seats with extra legroom and in-seat video screens. Whatever your travel priorities may be, SeatGuru.com will help you find the seat that best suits your needs.

By using the feedback link located on every web page, site visitors can submit their comments about a particular seat or aircraft. This unique feedback system allows visitors to send their seat comments directly to the SeatGuru.com database. Once verified these comments are incorporated into the site. To date, thousands of comments detailing specific seat and aircraft information have been received. This feedback model ensures that information provided on the site is always current.

Click this link to visit SeatGuru.com.

"Air Travel for People with Disabilities" is a brochure published by Northwest Airlines. It is available free in print, braille, large type and audiocassette versions and can be obtained by calling Northwest's toll free number. There is also an on-line version on their website: Air Travel for People with Disabilities: http://www.nwa.com/services/onboard/special/index.shtml.

TripAdvisor

This site provides unbiased travel reviews, giving you the real story about hotels, attractions and restaurants around the world. Stories, secrets and special places from people just like you. Search, travel, then share your own experiences. Over 2,273,955+ unbiased reviews and opinions were online at the time of this writing.

Select the site you plan to visit, and follow links to articles in newspapers and travel guides, to reader-submitted photos and tips, and to user forums.

Click this link to visit the TripAdvisor home page: http://www.tripadvisor.com.

Search for Cheap Airfares with ITA Software

From the Blindbargains.com website: People are always looking for low-cost airfares. Yes, they do exist, but you need to be armed with the right tools. For me, it's the trip planner from ITA Software. It's a web-based airfare search engine that searches published airline fares for the best deals. You can't actually book tickets from this site, but it will give you all of the information that you need to make your reservation. What sets this site apart from others is its simple interface and highly-customizable search language. Basic searches let you check every airfare within 25 to 300 miles from your own city. The advanced query language lets you limit the search to certain airlines, flights, or even specify that you want your flight from Chicago to Seattle to have a connection in Boise. The tool is free, accessible, and is fully-functional, although it is labeled as a beta.

Click this link to check airfares with ITA Software.

Flight Delay Information: Air Traffic Control System Command Center

Here's accessible help for visually impaired travelers. Search for delays by name of city, or airport code. Note that this covers all commercial airports, not just the ones highlighted on their fancy map.

Click this link to see if your flight is delayed.

Hotline and Websites for Disability-Related Air Travel Problems

In August 2002, the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office), established a toll free number that consumers who experience disability related air travel problems may use to obtain information and assistance. The hotline is staffed from 7 am to 11 pm local time in Washington, D.C., seven days a week, and provides general information to consumers about the rights of air travelers with disabilities and assists air travelers in resolving time-sensitive disability-related issues that need to be addressed in real time.

Unfortunately, many members of the public are still not aware of the existence of the hotline, and as a result the hotline is not being sufficiently used. The Enforcement Office asks that you advise members of your respective organizations about the existence of an aviation consumer disability toll-free hotline and encourage them to call the hotline if they should experience disability-related air service problems. The toll-free number for the hotline is 1-800-778-4838 (voice) or 1-800-455-9880 (TTY).

The Enforcement Office is committed to improving the quality of air transportation for people with disabilities and believes that with your help the toll-free hotline can be a major step towards accomplishing this goal.

The main Department Of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection home page is located at:

http://www.airconsumer.ost.dot.gov

This page has a number of resources including regulations, reports, statistics, complaint procedures, etc. You can file a DOT complaint via email off of this web site.

While most generic complaints are pretty much just logged in the database, if you enter in the subject line "disability complaint Part 382", they should pull it and complete an investigation. FYI the investigation that DOT completes on a disability complaint is supposed to be similar to that which would happen if a Congress person files a complaint :). Basically there is an email address on the above web site that you can use to send in your complaint.

The direct page that has Part 382 (the ACAA regulation) available for download in either PDF or MS Word format is:

http://www.airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/rules.htm

I would also bring your attention to a study that NCD (National Council On Disability) published: NCD - Enforcing the Civil Rights of Air Travelers with Disabilities: http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2003/acaa.htm

Mind's Eye Travel

Mind's Eye Travel creates tours for people who are visually impaired or blind. Itineraries are planned not only for great comfort, camaraderie and enjoyment but also for full sensory discovery, and they offer options for independence.

Click this link to visit http://www.mindseyetravel.com.

TravelBraille.com

TravelBraille.com has Braille travel and tourism information. These Braille Readable-only Files (BRF) are excerpted from popular published guidebooks (such as Lonely Planet and Fodor's), brochures, Tourism Authority websites, and newspaper travel sections such as The New York Times.

Persons who are blind must first register on the website. They must certify that they have legally blind status in their country of residence, that they will use Braille materials for research purposes only, and that they will not communicate the files to others.

Braille files available include Tibet, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Belize, Kenya, Tasmania, Greece, Italy, the City of Rome, Thailand, and an introduction to the World Heritage program.

All Braille format information is provided FREE OF CHARGE, upon request, to persons who are blind under 'fair use' or 'fair dealing' rights afforded by their country of residence and international copyright treaty (TRIPS).

TravelBraille.com will provide Braille travel materials to persons who are blind for special situations. These might include destinations of interest to disabled veterans, athletes who are blind, persons who are blind traveling on tours, etc.

John Edwin Miller, a US Library of Congress Certified Braille Transcriber, has supervised all Braille transcriptions.

For further information, please contact: John@TravelBraille.com or visit the website: http://www.TravelBraille.com.

Emerging Horizons

Emerging Horizons: The Accessible Travel Newsletter, produced by Candy & Charles Creative Concepts, is a consumer-oriented publication that addresses the needs of travelers with disabilities. The publishers offer choices and options to their readership, and cover both domestic and foreign destinations in both group and independent travel. They accept no advertising in order to present unbiased accessibility information. The focus is on overcoming barriers, whether they are architectural or attitudinal.

You can subscribe to the newsletter through their website: http://www.candy-charles.com.

DisabledTravelers.com

This website contains "comprehensive listings of: Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Adventure Travel Companies, Accessible Van & Equipment Rentals, Travel Companions, Home Exchanges, and Access Guides for wheelchair users and other disabled travelers." Click this link to visit DisabledTravelers.com.

Tourism Offices Worldwide

"The Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory is your guide to official tourist information sources: government tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, and similar organizations that provide free, accurate, and unbiased travel information to the public."

That sums up what you'll find here, but it does leave you wondering^DEL How does it all work? Well that's pretty simple too-there are two search engines: one for outside the USA, and one for inside the USA. p>To use the search engine, click in the drop-down box and choose the country (if looking outside of the USA) or the state (if looking inside the USA) and click "Go". This will then search and generate a list of tourism offices and their webpage if they have one.

For instance, if I chose to search inside the USA, and chose Colorado, then clicked go it would generate the list for Colorado. Let me tell you, a lot of these travel sites are beautifully crafted and definitely make you want to hop a plane with your passport and go. Click this link to plan your next vacation by visiting the Tourism Offices Worldwide website: http://www.towd.com.

How to Tell if an Egg is Bad

Food poisoning is one of the worst experiences a person can go through, it can be lethal. Eggs can be the source of some superb meals, but they can also be the source of food poisoning if they are eaten when they've gone bad. How can you tell when an egg is fresh or ready for the garbage can? You use the old floating egg trick, just follow these steps:

1. Place the egg into a bowl of water. The water level should be deeper than the egg is long.
   
2. Leave things alone for a few seconds.
   
3. Observe what the egg does. Gently touch the egg to see if it does one of the following:
   • Fresh eggs will sink to the bottom of the bowl and lie on their sides.
     
   • Slightly older eggs (about one week) will lie on the bottom but bob slightly.
     
   • If the egg balances on its small end, with the large end reaching for the sky, it's probably around three weeks old.
     
   • Eggs that float at the surface are bad and should not be consumed.
4. If you have difficulty observing the egg by touch, smell the egg. With time, bacteria break down the proteins in the whites of the egg and create a gas. This gas is hydrogen sulphide, better known as "rotten egg gas."

The floating test works because the air pocket inside the egg gets bigger with time as the egg contents lose both moisture and carbon dioxide. As the air pocket gets bigger, the egg is more likely to float.

TIP: When a recipe calls for a lot of yolks or whites, separate the eggs in a different bowl then dump the contents with the rest of the egg yolks (or whites). There's nothing more wasteful than cracking open egg number 14 in a 15 yolk recipe and finding out that it is a bad egg. You could also test all the eggs for freshness using this floating technique.

Online Database of Telemarketer Phone Numbers

Want to find out more about telemarketers that spam you? CallerComplaints is a free, public user-powered database of telemarketer phone numbers, harassing callers, debt collection callers, and telephone con-artists. Here you can lookup any such phone number and see if anyone else reported it and learn more about the company behind it.

Aditionally, CallerComplaints offers a free and easy way to file a public complaint against any phone number that spams you. Keep in mind though these complaints have almost no legal power over the telemarketers. For more effective complaints, you might want to try the National Do Not Call Registry at http://www.donotcall.gov.

Click this link to visit http://www.callercomplaints.com.

SusieSays Let's Go Shopping!

SusieSays.com is your guide to shopping. It is always better to go shopping with a friend so bring Susie along. Susie is that friend who helps you find all of those bargains.

SusieSays.com is a site that helps users with online shopping, from coupons to shopping tips. All of the content on the site is well organized into clear categories, from home and garden to kids clothing. Once you choose a category, there are sub categories like sizes and types of clothing. SusieSays.com also has price ranges so you can search for items within your budget. The items on sale have a photo and a brief description of the item along with the brand logo. You can also use the key word search to find the coupons you are looking for. Using the coupons is simple, either click on them to check out or copy the code at check out and paste in the appropriate place.

A unique aspect of the site, separating SusieSays.com from the competitors, is when visitors comparison shop, they offer the option of checking for any additional promotional offers, such as discounts, coupons or free shipping, to help save even more. SusieSays.com can help you shop online and save money.

Free Credit Scores at Creditkarma.com

Would you like to be able to check your credit score routinely and take actions that will help you to improve it? If so, then check out Credit Karma, a free service that allows you to check your credit score on a daily basis and will also provide you with tools and articles that can help you to improve your overall credit score. Credit Karma helps you to raise your credit score and at the same time, provides you with exclusive deals that get better as your score goes up.

"The principle of Karma is common to many beliefs. The general idea is that any action a person takes either positive or negative, will have an inevitable equal effect in the future. Your credit score is kind of an expression of this concept; an index of your credit history: your credit karma. Credit Karma embodies the best parts of these two disparate yet similar concepts to help people stay aware of their Credit Score and gain access to exclusive deals at the same time."

Credit Karma is giving consumers something they've never had before, the ability to access a truly free, accessible credit score as often as they need to, an then to use it to gain preferred pricing on products they desire. Consumers can use Credit Karma to track the improvement of their credit scores and their subsequent appeal to lenders, while at the same time leveraging their responsible financial behavior to gain something in return. There is no one like Credit Karma.

Click this link to visit http://www.Creditkarma.com.

Give Blogs a Voice with BlogBard.com

Listen to your favorite blogs using BlogBard, an online application which gives blogs a voice. This means of course, that you can multitask while listening to your blog roll, and you can take your blogs with you on the go. With BlogBard you'll have your own personalized audio station. You can listen to blogs in your Google Reader or Bloglines account, by logging in through BlogBard. If you don't see your favorite blog, simply type in the URL or RSS feed URL of the blog in the search box. You can also subscribe to blogs from the site itself. For publishers, BlogBard offers an embeddable Flash widget, adding audio to their blogs.

For people who use screen readers, this site is not as friendly as it could be. You can't access the Flash player to control the reading. Once a feed is entered and the reading starts, the only option you have is to sit back and wait until it finishes. Low vision users should have no problems with the site.

Click this link to visit http://www.BlogBard.com.

Giant Golf Set

People often ask me where I find all the things I write about in Fred's Head. Most of the items I list are found on various gismo sites and are not designed for the blind or visually impaired. The beauty of this database is that we find things that blind and visually impaired people can use, even though they were never designed to be accessible or benefitial to our community.

A good case in point is this item, the Large Golf Set. Here is the description of the product from the I Want One Of Those website:

"The trouble with golf is that everything is so darn small. The club heads are tiny, the ball is minute, the holes are just ludicrous (as are the shoes of course), and you begin to wonder what on earth the point is. However, if it wasn't for someone inventing pinhead golf, then some other idiot wouldn't have come up with this super-size, super-stupid Giant Golf. Club, tee and ball are all ludicrously big, enabling even the tragically inept to take a successful swing and watch with smug satisfaction as their ball sails across the garden, beach or fairway. Though we don't suggest trying this on a real fairway as golf clubs are renowned more for their feelings of self-importance than their sense of humour. It's big, it's beautiful and it's a brilliantly fun lawn game."

Now, I say, what if a visually impaired or blind person should want to try golf for fun? Doesn't the large set bring a bit of accessibility to the game? Sure its only for fun, but what a good way to introduce a visually impaired or blind child to the game! Features include:

• A super-sized golf set.
  
• An enormous golf ball.
  
• An enormous tee.
  
• A golf club with an enormous head.
  
• Suitable for ages 8 years+.

Click this link to purchase the Giant Golf Set from the I Want One Of Those website.

Leading to Reading

I'm always looking for ways to bring accessibility into the classroom. Sometimes that means finding sites that teachers can use, maybe with some modification, to assist their students.

Leading to Reading is, "A free resource to help parents and childcare providers develop the language skills of their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Available in English and Spanish."

The site is divided into 3 main sections: Babies and Toddlers (Ages 0-2); Pre-Schoolers (Ages 3-5); Grownups. The collection of interactive options for both toddlers and pre-schoolers is extensive. These include nursery rhymes, games, lullabys, finger plays, songs, art, and exploratory activities.

What I like best here are the books and stories. There are small books that could easily be translated into braille, and a wonderful collection of online books to be read aloud to children. Even for the toddlers, words in the stories are highlighted onscreen as they are read.

It is hard to imagine a more engaging set of early literacy activities than those found here, and the quality is first rate. There is absolutely no commercial advertising on the site.

Click this link to visit the Leading to Reading website at http://www.rif.org/leadingtoreading/en/.

Burn CDs and DVDs with CDBurnerXP

If you're tired of fighting with Nero or any of the inaccessible CD/DVD burning applications out there, this program is for you.

CDBurnerXP is an application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface.

The program will take some getting used to, but I have used it to burn audio and data CDs and I understand what the program needs to burn a DVD, although I haven't done that as of this post. Key features include:

• Burn various types of discs, Audio CD, Data CD, Data DVD, standard DVD and more
  
• Audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks
  
• Burn and create ISO files
  
• Data verification after burning process
  
• Create bootable discs
  
• Multi-language interface
  
• Bin/nrg ? ISO converter, simple cover printing and much more
  
• Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
  
• Absolutely FREE with no addware or spyware

Click this link to learn more about CDBurnerXP: http://cdburnerxp.se/.

Stock Market Challenge

This site offers a free stock market simulation game that lets you play the real stock market without ever risking a cent of your own money. A fun way to learn to invest. From the site:

"Welcome to Max's Investment World Stock Market Challenge. You have come to the right place if you are looking to learn about investing on the stock exchange while having fun."

You can play in two ways:

• Join the open competition where you will be ranked with other members on a weekly, monthly and long-term basis.
  
• And/or create or join a private competition, which only you and those you invite can play. You can create or join a private competition after you register.

The private competitions are ideal for teaching your class about stock market investing.

Click this link to play Stock Market Challenge at http://www.stocks-game.com.

Online Tutoring Service

What's it like to have an educational wizard by your side? Smart, very smart. Eduwizards is a place for students who need a little extra guidance in school.

With Eduwizards, you can choose from a host of qualified tutors in a range of different subjects from kindergarten to college. Eduwizards tutors are not your average tutors either. They're ranked and reviewed by students who use them and most of them hold advanced degrees. This way, students can choose the tutor that's right for them. You can sort your wizard search by grade level, subject area and specific subject, or by feedback and hourly rate. Tutoring works on a one-on-one online basis. Simply check the tutor's available times and schedule an appointment.

"Our website features the world's best tutors, ranked and reviewed by students. To get a feel for our site do a Tutor Search by selecting your Grade Level, then the general Subject Area, and finally the Specific Subject. You will see tutors with profile and other information, and as time goes on, you'll see more and more tutors, with individual feedback by students.

As a student you can create a Free Account and take absolutely free, no strings attached, half hour trial sessions with tutor(s) of your choice."

Click this link to find an educational wizard at http://www.Eduwizards.com.

Tutoring for the Blind

Portal Tutoring offers individualized tutoring in using adaptive computers, braille and specialized equipment for the blind and visually impaired, as well as pamphlets, books and audio classes on these same subjects. In addition, they now offer a program designed to teach basic writing skills for all students from age ten and up.

For more information, visit http://www.portaltutoring.info or call 585-244-0477. For a product list, or to discuss your training needs, click this link to email akp@portaltutoring.info.

How to Safely Answer the Door

Home invasion, the act of forcibly entering a home to commit robbery or other crimes while the occupant is present, is a terrifying and dangerous experience. Unfortunately, federal crime statistics report that this kind of robbery is increasing in popularity and is a common type of robbery. Usually home invasion perpetrators gain entry by posing as legitimate visitors. The key to preventing home invasions is to recognize a potentially dangerous caller, because once the criminal enters the home, it's often too late to do anything about it.

1. Think before you open the door. Too many of us automatically run to the door and swing it open when someone knocks, especially if we're busy around the house at the time. Get in the habit of pausing to ask yourself whether you're expecting anyone or whether this is a logical time for someone to be visiting.
   
2. Use a peephole or security chain when checking who is at the door. If you have some vision, look to see who the visitor is. Look through a peephole or think about installing an inexpensive video camera that can be accessed by your television.

   Make sure your security chain is locked and open the door just a crack. If you don't recognize the person ask them their business and request that they show their identification. If they have a legitimate reason to be on the premises (they work for the utility company or they're a police officer), they'll be happy to show you their ID. If you are still afraid to let them in, tell them to go away and have a friend come over when they are scheduled to return.
   

3. While the door is still locked, ask the person for identification. If the person claims to be from, for example, the electric company, and you've not been notified that someone would be coming, call the company to check on him. Even if he shows you identification, it's a good idea to call and check, because identification cards can easily be faked. Look up the number in your phone book; don't call a number that the visitor gives you.
   
4. Take your wireless home phone or cell phone to the door with your finger near a speed dial that calls 911 automatically. Be careful that you do not push the number accidentally in the event the visitor is friendly.
   
5. Leave the house if you feel uncomfortable after letting someone in. If you've done your best to verify a person's identification but you begin to feel uncomfortable after you've let the visitor in the house, make up an excuse to leave the house and go to a neighbor's home or call the police. If you feel threatened, don't worry about being impolite--run out of the house and call police as quickly as you can.

Teach children to answer the door correctly. Kids are often eager to answer the door, and if you can't be sure they will do it safely and securely, they should be prohibited from doing so.

Security chains are not necessarily all that strong, and will break if the door is hit by someone of sufficient size and strength. They can also be cut using bolt cutters.

Many people who would exercise caution with a male visitor will drop their guard when a woman or girl comes calling. Keep in mind that women have been known to participate in home invasions and other crimes, and they are sometimes used as decoys to gain entrance because people usually feel safer around them.

If someone forces their way in, and you make the decision to fight back, do so right away--it is much safer than waiting. If somebody is going to violently assault you, they will probably want to do so behind the closed door. So fight as soon as they try to force their way in. Be very cautious about making a decision to fight someone; such a decision should not be made lightly. Do not endanger yourself further by attempting to disarm someone wielding a gun or other weapon.

Emergency Numbers Built into Every Cell Phone

World-Wide Emergency Number for Cell Phones

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Go ahead, try it out.

Emergency Battery Power

Imagine your cell battery is very low, you are trying to make a call but the battery just doesn't have enough juice. To activate that dead phone with an emergency charge, press the keys *3370# and your cell will restart with reserve power. The cell phone will immediately show a 50% increase in battery life. This reserve will be recharged the next time you charge your phone.

Leaders and Legends: Mary Elizabeth Switzer

Mary Elizabeth Switzer
Inducted 2002
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

Mary Elizabeth Switzer (1900-1971) was born in Massachusetts of Irish immigrants. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1921 with a major in International Relations. Her first few jobs after graduation were with the Minimum Wage Board, Treasury Department, Public Health Service, and the Federal Security Agency. It was her association with Dr. Howard Rusk who was developing the field of rehabilitation medicine that stimulated her life-long passion for rehabilitation.

At various times, Mary Switzer served as Director of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Commissioner of the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration and the first Administrator of the Social and Rehabilitation Service of HEW. In 1954 she shaped the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, referred to as the Magna Carta in the work for the handicapped. Amendments to this act would put vitality into the State-Federal program for the blind. She handled such varied responsibilities from keeping a lid on germ warfare during World War II to managing a budget of seven billion dollars, and was known as an "accomplished cutter of red tape."

Under Mary Switzer's administration there was a great expansion of vocational rehabilitation service under state-federal matching funds, resulting ultimately in tripling the number of yearly rehabilitation of blind clients. One of the extraordinary aspects of her administrative genius is that she was able to say a good word for the general approach without losing the affection of workers for the blind. During the fifteen years she presided over meetings of the National Advisory Council, 183 projects concerning blindness were approved. Some of these research projects were in the areas of mobility including electronic travel aids, the translation of print to braille, optical aids, artificial sight, and work with the deaf-blind.

The breadth and humanity of Mary Switzer are stamped forever on the passage of Public Law 565 with its research and demonstration features, its concern for rehabilitation education, its mandate to construct necessary rehabilitation facilities, its totally new characteristic of international efforts and cooperation regarding rehabilitation, and perhaps, above all, in its expanded funding base for more personnel and programs for those in need of rehabilitation services. She retired in 1970 as the highest ranking female bureaucrat in the federal government.

Mary Switzer was active in many professional organizations including serving as President of the National Rehabilitation Association (1960-61) and participating in the World Rehabilitation Fund. Among her many national and international awards, she was the recipient of AAWB's Ambrose M. Shotwell Memorial Award in 1962 for her outstanding contribution to the rehabilitation of blind persons, one of the first outside the blindness field to be so honored. Three different buildings have been named in her honor. She was awarded honorary degrees from six universities and from Gallaudet and Russell Sage Colleges.

About the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

These significant professional colleagues of the recent and distant past are a fascinating cross-section of heroes and pioneers who not only shaped our rich history, philosophy, knowledge and skills, but also give us insights into current and future challenges. These giants shared their personal lives and showed us strategies to ensure that services for blind persons remain unique and specialized. Enjoy their lives and contributions and reflect upon your own list of heroes.

Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Visit the virtual Hall of Fame for the inspiring stories of many more heroes of the field of blindness.

Leaders and Legends: Stanley Suterko

Stanley Suterko
Inducted 2002
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

Stan Suterko was born in 1920 in Chicago. In 1947 he graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in Education and later with an MA from Western Michigan. He and Wanda were married in 1948, and they have three daughters and 7 grandchildren.

Stan Suterko started his professional career as a corrective therapist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the V.A. Hospital at Hines, Illinois. With the establishment of the Hines Blind Center in 1948 he was among the first five from the center to be prepared as orientors for veterans who were blind. He helped refine the orientation procedures and cane techniques that had been previously developed at Valley Forge Army Hospital. During the Korean war, he was given the responsibility of heading a unit at Hines that was to triple in size.

When the Western Michigan University program began in 1961, as assistant director Stan Suterko played a key role in the establishment of the O&M curriculum, adapting the Hines program to a university course structure. He participated in workshop courses on the Laser Cane, the Sonic Guide, the Russell Pathsounder, the Tactile Vision Substitution System, and technology on mobility methods. He has been credited as being one of the people who launched the profession of orientation and mobility.

Stan Suterko's international work included conducting a year long training program in 1966 that introduced the long cane to England. During shorter visits he conducted workshops in many countries including Australia, Poland, Denmark, Germany, France, Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. He has been called by the Australian Royal Guide Dog for the Blind Association, the "St. Peter of Mobility". Many agree that he played a key role in spreading orientation and mobility around the world. In 1984 he retired from Western Michigan University.

Stan Suterko shared his ideas freely, presenting regularly at conferences and universities. He was Chairman of the certification committee of Mobility Instructors of AAWB. He also shared his ideas through numerous articles and publications, such as chapters on life adjustment in Lowenfeld's The Visually Handicapped Child in School, and on orientation and mobility in the Hardy and Cull text on Social and Rehabilitation Services for the Blind.

Many awards have been bestowed upon Stanley Suterko for his contribution to people who are blind. He has been the recipient of the Buddy Award from the Seeing Eye, the Lawrence E. Blaha Award from AAWB, Commendation from the Central Blind Rehabilitation Center at Hines, the Alfred Allen Award, the Ambrose Shotwell Award, and had an international award named after him at the International Mobility Conference #8 in Trondheim, Norway.

Photos: 1) Stan Suterko-Lt.Jg 1943 WWII military service; 2) Training St Dunstan's war-blinded veteran-along the coast of England, 1964; 3) Introducing the 'Long Cane' travel method in Australia (December, 1973); 4) Stan and Wanda Suterko on their 50th wedding annniversary, with three daughters and sons-in-law and seven grandchildren (November, 1998).

About the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

These significant professional colleagues of the recent and distant past are a fascinating cross-section of heroes and pioneers who not only shaped our rich history, philosophy, knowledge and skills, but also give us insights into current and future challenges. These giants shared their personal lives and showed us strategies to ensure that services for blind persons remain unique and specialized. Enjoy their lives and contributions and reflect upon your own list of heroes.

Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Visit the virtual Hall of Fame for the inspiring stories of many more heroes of the field of blindness.

Leaders and Legends: Peter J. Salmon

Peter J. Salmon
Inducted 2002
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

Peter Salmon (1895-1981) was born in Hudson, Massachusetts. He was educated at the Perkins School for the Blind as a "partially seeing" student. After completing two years of post-graduate work, specializing in teaching the deaf-blind, he joined the staff of the New York Association for the Blind.

In 1917, Peter Salmon took a position with the Industrial Home for the Blind as a salesman and subsequently served in a number of posts until he was appointed executive director in 1945. IHB of Brooklyn became Peter Salmon's own unique creation as he built it into the most complete voluntary agency service program for the blind in America. Two outstanding service achievements stood out: the first, a break-through in IHB's program for the partially seeing in the form of a workable optical aids program, which brought ophthalmologist and optometrist together; the second was a program for deaf-blind adults. He had begun to show the way in which a private agency such as his could make use of government resources without losing its own identity.

Peter Salmon had a talent for dealing with seemingly irreconcilable forces, a talent which was appreciated and respected by his colleagues. Newly available through the 1954 amendments to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act was a national program of research in rehabilitation of the handicapped and the National Advisory Council had just come into existence. Peter Salmon was the closest thing to everybody's choice to represent the interests of the blind in this program, and he was to use this opportunity to bring into focus the awesome problems of the deaf-blind. He united with Helen Keller to do something for deaf-blind people and was probably the last of the notable allies of her active career, and one whom she perhaps prized the most because he was willing to take on the cause of people with multiple disabilities.

In 1966 he resigned from his position as Executive Director, assuming the title of administrative vice president and he continued to play a strong advocacy role at the national, state, and local levels. Though officially retired, his greatest achievement was yet to come, for Peter Salmon went on to found the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults at Sands Point, NY in 1976.

During his long life, Peter Salmon developed an impressive list of accomplishments. He was responsible for establishing the first social services department to counsel blind people. He also started the first vocational placement service in 1929 and inaugurated programs that placed blind children in public school classes with sighted children. He helped found National Industries for the Blind, was a past president of the American Association of Workers for the Blind, a trustee of the American Foundation for the Blind and of the Helen Keller International. The recipient of numerous awards, including AFB's Migel Medal and AAWB's Ambrose M. Shotwell Awards, Peter Salmon was also the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws by Gallaudet College.

Plaque sponsored by the Helen Keller National Center

About the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

These significant professional colleagues of the recent and distant past are a fascinating cross-section of heroes and pioneers who not only shaped our rich history, philosophy, knowledge and skills, but also give us insights into current and future challenges. These giants shared their personal lives and showed us strategies to ensure that services for blind persons remain unique and specialized. Enjoy their lives and contributions and reflect upon your own list of heroes.

Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Visit the virtual Hall of Fame for the inspiring stories of many more heroes of the field of blindness.

Student Lessons and Ebooks at the Beacon Learning Center

I'm always looking for ways to bring accessibility into the classroom. Sometimes that means finding sites that teachers can use, maybe with some modification, to assist their students.

Beacon Learning Center has some great Student Web Lessons and Online Books (a number with audio) that would be accessible to English Language Learners. They cover English, Science, Social Studies and Math.

Beacon Learning Center is an online educational resource and professional development center currently funded through a Technology Innovation Challenge Grant from the US Department of Education. The resources posted in the Beacon database are products of professional development activities teaching a standards-based planning model.

The mission of Beacon Learning Center is to provide educators throughout the nation with standards-based resources and professional development, thus enabling them to identify, design, and implement quality education.

High quality teachers use standards-based practice as the foundation for all they do. Beacon's focus on the alignment of curriculum, assessment, and instructional activities support the development of sound educational practice.

Click this link to visit http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com.

Create Personal RSS Feed without a Blog

RSS feeds disseminate information, headlines, updates, articles etc, from blogs and news sites. They give you a daily dose of news, culture, sports, recipes, it's your choice what you want to be fed. To create a feed, you had to have a blog or website.

Now, there's FeedXS, a Netherlands based feeder that lets you publish feeds without a website or blog. It's incredibly simple to use. Just create an account on FeedXS. Then make up a name for your feed and start adding articles. Anyone who has a feedreader can get your feeds once they subscribe. You can even post feeds directly from MSN messenger. Think of it as the purest form of feed broadcasting, no strings attached.

The goal of FeedXS.com is to supply millions of people and businesses with their own feed. People who use FeedXS.com have an easy way to inform friends or clients about their news. No need to send email, just update the feed, and that's it!

Click this link to create your own RSS feed at http://www.FeedXS.com.

How to Remove Gum from Clothes

Yuck, you've got gum all over your clothes! You've picked off as much as you can but that dreaded gum is still there. Instead of yelling and throwing a fit, why not try some methods that will often remove the gum from the clothing?

Freezing Method

1. Fold the article so that the gum faces outward.
   
2. Place the article into a plastic bag, making sure the gum does not stick to the bag. If you can't figure out a way to keep the gum from sticking to the bag, place the article of clothing on top of the bag.
   
3. Seal the bag and place into the freezer for several hours (depending on the size of the gum and the garment) until it feels frozen. If you put the fabric on top of the bag rather than in it, make sure there's enough room in the freezer so that the clothing isn't touching anything, except the plastic bag it's sitting on.
   
4. Remove from the freezer, open the bag and take out the contents. Peel the gum off the clothing as quickly as possible with an old, dull knife or a butter knife (to avoid cutting the fabric). Do not allow the gum to thaw out, as the freezing solidifies it and makes it easier to scrape off. If the gum does thaw out before you get it all off, freeze the garment again or use an ice cube.

Ironing Method

1. Place the article with the gum face-down onto a piece of cardboard.
   
2. Set an iron to medium heat.
   
3. Iron the clothing until the gum is no longer on the article, but has been transfered to the cardboard.

Peanut Butter Method

1. Spread peanut butter onto the gum itself. Keep in mind that the peanut butter is likely to get on the fabric and may stain it because it's a very oily substance. In case the peanut butter does leave a stain, use a liquid stain remover to remove the oils left by the peanut butter prior to washing. Alternatively, WD-40 works amazingly well.
   
2. Scrape gently with a blunt knife, exposing as much of the gum as possible to the peanut butter, which will adhere to the gum so that the gum no longer adheres to the fabric.
   
3. Wait until the gum gets softer and loses its sticking ability.
   
4. Gently scrape the gum off the clothing.

Vinegar Method

1. Heat a cup of vinegar.
   
2. Dip a toothbrush in the hot vinegar and then rub the gum with it. Do it quickly, since the vinegar works best when it's hot.
   
3. Continue dipping and rubbing until the gum is gone. Reheat the vinegar as needed.
   
4. Wash the garment to remove the vinegar smell.

Liquid Laundry Soap Method

1. Cover the gummy area in liquid laundry soap.
   
2. Use a toothbrush to rub the laundry soap into the gum, breaking it up.
   
3. Use a blunt knife and gently scrape at the gum.
   
4. Use your fingernail to scrape the remaining gum off the fabric.
   
5. Run it in the washing machine.

Lighter Fluid Method

1. Soak the back of the area where gum is stuck in old fashioned Lighter Fluid, the kind that comes in a can to fill old style cigarette lighters.
   
2. Turn the item over, and you should be able to easily scrape away the gum.
   
3. Use a little more to finish the job, then rinse thoroughly before you launder it or clean as usual. Neither home nor commercial washers and (especially) dryers are intended to dispose of flammable liquids.

If all else fails, or if you don't want to risk damaging a delicate or expensive piece of clothing, take it to a reputable cleaner who can apply special solvents that will not stain or damage the fabric. It will cost you, but it's your best chance at saving a valued garment.

Find a Job with RSS

The Productivity Portfolio blog has a great walk-through on how to create a collection of personalized RSS feeds to show any new jobs that pop up on eight popular or specialized job search sites, including Craigslist, CareerBuilder.com, and Indeed. Even if RSS feeds are old hat for you, you might not know just what each of the major job-finding sites offers in accessible, localized, career-specific searches.

Have you ever found a job through an RSS ping or email alert? Have a better way of not missing that potential next career? Share your story in the comments.

Click this link to read Create RSS Job Feeds from Job Searches from The Productivity Portfolio blog.

Seafood at Fish Watch

This website poses the question: "Are you seafood savvy?" I know for certain that I am not! I am not a huge fan of seafood. I am slowly getting acquainted with it by a bite here and a bite there, but I've yet to find anything I would actually eat a whole serving of. However, I'm very open-minded on the subject, I have to be because my wife loves the stuff!

I am a firm believer in sustainable seafood. So, while this information is based on the US, I think there is still a lot here that anyone in the world can learn about. For example, the side menu is a listing of fish you can get to know better by clicking one you'd like to learn more about. Yes, they are US fish, but I didn't know about half of them.

The rest of the page is divided into feature sections. They are:

• Are You Seafood Savvy? In this section, you'll find a link that takes you to a page where you can learn the 10 national standards that must be met for conservation and managing sustainability.
  
• Seafood and Your Health: Here you will learn how seafood plays into your health. Again, this is information anyone can use! It has a lot of information about how to buy seafood, what you need to know if you're catching it fresh and even how seafood plays into the nutrition of expecting moms. You'll also find an FAQ area. To get to any of these sections quickly, just use the jump links at the top of the page.
  
• Seafood News: Here you will find the latest news about seafood.
  
• Profiles in Fishing: Here you will find a featured profile of someone involved with the fishing industry in some way.
  
• Recipes: This section includes recipes from the Great American Seafood Cook-Off. It's found below the side menu where all the fish types are listed. It opens in a new window and you will find recipes from the contest finalists.

Click this link to Fish Watch: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch.

Leaders and Legends: Louis H. Rives, Jr.

Louis H. Rives, Jr.
Inducted 2002
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

Lou Rives (1919-1986) was born in Virginia and lost his sight at the age of two. He was brought up by his aunt in Norfolk where he attended the public schools. He received his baccalaureate and law degrees from the College of William and Mary. He and his wife Marcie moved to Arizona where he lived until his death in September of 1986.

In 1944 he became a member of the legal staff of the former Federal Security Agency for three years. He then transferred to the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration (VRA) where he held a variety of positions. While serving for a short time in the Dallas regional office, he demonstrated that the government could provide guidance to both public and private not-for-profit rehabilitation programs. He returned to Washington, DC to ultimately become VRA's Chief of the Division of Services for the Blind. Mary Switzer, VRA administrator, brought Lou Rives into the national office because he was a proponent for change and believed that progress for blind persons could only come from cooperative efforts between the state agencies, private not-for-profit agencies and the Veterans Administration. Since he was committed to the premise that blind people deserved the highest caliber of service from well trained professionals, he was a strong advocate for allocating federal funds to support the training of mobility specialists. During the period 1963 to 1971, federal rehabilitation services funded 30 training and demonstration programs concerned with blindness, a tribute to the influence of Lou Rives.

In 1964, he became the chief of planning for all of VRA, which is known today as the Rehabilitation Services Administration. He went from the VRA to the Office of Civil Rights as chief of the Social Welfare and Related Programs Division and assistant director for State Agency Compliance. In this capacity he was committed to being a part of the process of implementing policies to end discrimination under the Civil Rights Act. Upon retirement from federal service, Lou became the Director of the Arkansas Division of Services for the Blind.

Lou Rives was a robust man with a commanding presence. He had a great sense of humor and an uncanny ability to be the life of any party. Yet, on the serious side, he provided wise counsel to all who would ask, and provided consistently sound assistance and encouragement to those who needed it. He was admired and respected by all who knew him.

Lou Rives served as international AAWB President in the mid 60's and guided the organization to start chapters. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Foundation for the Blind. He received numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of HEW. In 1969 he was presented the Ambrose M. Shotwell Award for outstanding professional service to persons who are blind. During his retirement, he served as an influential member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Foundation for Blind Children.

About the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

These significant professional colleagues of the recent and distant past are a fascinating cross-section of heroes and pioneers who not only shaped our rich history, philosophy, knowledge and skills, but also give us insights into current and future challenges. These giants shared their personal lives and showed us strategies to ensure that services for blind persons remain unique and specialized. Enjoy their lives and contributions and reflect upon your own list of heroes.

Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Visit the virtual Hall of Fame for the inspiring stories of many more heroes of the field of blindness.

Leaders and Legends: Alice Geisler Raftary

Alice Geisler Raftary
Inducted 2002
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

Alice Raftary was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1927. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nutrition and Institutional Management from Marygrove College in 1949. She and Raymond H. Raftary were married in 1950 and over the next eleven years were blessed with the birth of four daughters and four sons. Ray and Alice celebrated their fiftieth anniversary in April 2000 with their family that now includes seventeen grandchildren.

Shortly before the birth of her eighth child, the macular degeneration that Alice first experienced in high school caused a substantial loss of vision and she became legally blind. That event rekindled her interest from college days in the field of blindness. While still a full time homemaker, she returned to Marygrove College on a complete grant from the Vocational Rehabilitation Department of the State of Michigan. Alice earned a Master of Education Degree specializing in Blindness and Rehabilitation in 1967.

Her Post-Master's work included a Traineeship in work with the Deaf-Blind at the Anne Sullivan Macy Service, Industrial Home for the Blind (New York, NY 1968) and course work in Ophthalmology and Counseling at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI 1972) Alice's career as a rehabilitation teacher at the Greater Detroit Society for the Blind (Upshaw Institute for the Blind) began in 1968. This followed professional positions at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI; Mercy College, Mount Carmel School of Nursing, Detroit, MI; and The Rehabilitation Institute, Inc. Detroit, MI.

Alice served in a number of capacities while at the Upshaw Institute: Rehabilitation Teacher, Supervisor of Teaching and Personal Adjustment Training, Coordinator of Rehabilitation and Social Services, and lastly, Associate Director. She also authored a number of publications. and scripted and produced audio-visuals. The audio filmstrip, "Valentines for Grandpa Raub" won a Creative Excellence Award at the International Industrial Film Festival in 1980. Her article, "Assessment of Rehabilitation Students During Initial Contact with the Teacher" published in The Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness (November, 1977), continues to be used as a model in university rehabilitation teacher programs. "Modification of Insulin Techniques for the Visually Impaired or Blind", an eight page pamphlet published by the greater Detroit Society for the Blind, 1974 (Revised 1976) was reprinted in Aids and Appliances Review (June, 1982), Diabetes News, and Ophthalmological Nursing, Little, Brown & Company, 1980.

Throughout her career Alice Raftary was in demand as a conference and workshop presenter on the topics of working with the deaf-blind population, insulin management, psycho-social aspects of blindness, funding sources, initial client assessment, aging and blindness, to name a few. She was active in a number of professional organizations including: American Diabetes Association; Association for Diabetes Educators; board member for "Readings for the Blind"; life member of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER); Chair, AER Division XI (1979-80); Midwest Regional Representative on the AER National Executive Committee (1982-83); past president and board member of MACRT, the Mid-America Conference of Rehabilitation Teachers, and Editor of the MACRT Newsletter.

Alice is the distinguished recipient of several awards. In 1982, the American Association of Workers for the Blind honored her with the "Bruce McKenzie Award" for dedication to the field of rehabilitation. The Michigan Chapter of AER named her "Member of the Year" in 1991. She received the Charlyn Allen Award from MACRT in 1992 for outstanding achievement, dedication and leadership in the field of rehabilitation teaching.

Alice Raftary's outlook on her career in the blindness field is best summed up in her own words: "It's exciting to participate in the restoration of life styles. Helping people to progress from hopelessness to confidence and competence is a thrill and a joy."

About the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

These significant professional colleagues of the recent and distant past are a fascinating cross-section of heroes and pioneers who not only shaped our rich history, philosophy, knowledge and skills, but also give us insights into current and future challenges. These giants shared their personal lives and showed us strategies to ensure that services for blind persons remain unique and specialized. Enjoy their lives and contributions and reflect upon your own list of heroes.

Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Visit the virtual Hall of Fame for the inspiring stories of many more heroes of the field of blindness.

Put That in my DropBox Please

I've used all kinds of file-sharing programs, some primarily handle a particular type of file such as Hello the image sharing program, or Grouper used for sending huge files back and forth. Well this program also allows the sharing of files, and like the others, this has its own features and attributes, some of which are quite impressive. The best feature of all is that the program is totally accessible.

Dropbox is a good way to share files with students, friends, parents or coworkers. Dropbox is particularly useful for sharing large files like MP3s or slide shows. Rather than mass emailing an attachment you can share a file through Dropbox and save space in your email application. Using Dropbox, you can access and work on files from any Internet-connected computer and all files/folders stay up-to-date. Files can also be downloaded through a web interface, even deleted files can immediately be retrieved.

Click this link to learn more about DropBox at http://getdropbox.com.

How To Remove Stains

Stains or spots on clothing must be found or identified by a sighted person. The stain should be marked with a safety pin, or if the spot is large surround the spot with safety pins. Use a prewash or stain treatment and let it soak for a few minutes. Then wash the garment with the other laundry in the washing machine.

These tips from Carol Woodward were published on the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired website and are made available by special permission of the author.

Sonic Stain Remover

This device will remove virtually any clothing stain, no matter how stubborn. Try it on all types of stains. All it takes is a few drops of water and some rubbing and the stain will be gone. It utilizes ultrasonic technology-120 vibrations per second. Not a trace will be visible. It'll work better than any laundry detergent like Tide or Cheer. And don't be concerned about the Electric Stain Remover fading color. It won't harm your clothing's color integrity at all. This ingenious gadget utilizes ultrasonic technology and a "sprayer." A small detergent bottle and water refilling pump are included.

Specifications:

• Uses 4 AA batteries (not included)
  
• Note: A/C adapter not included
  
• Measures: 10" x 5" x 2"
  
• Weight: 0.5 lbs.

Features:

• Removes virtually any clothing stain
  
• Utilizes ultrasonic technology-120 vibrations per second
  
• Will not harm clothing's color integrity
  
• A small detergent bottle and water refilling pump are included.

Click this link to purchase the Sonic Stain Remover from Home Innovations.

Stain removing tips and tricks

The School of Fiber Science and Technology at the University of New South Wales have prepared a simple and easy to understand table of good solid tips for removing stains. We have covered some of these tips before, but check it out to see all their suggestions. These people should know what they are talking about!

Click this link to read the Stain removing tips from the School of Fibre Science and Technology.

My Pocket Doctor: A Braille and Audio Diabetes Reference Guide

Pocket Reference Journals, a medical publisher of pocket size health organizing journals has published it's first journal in braille. My Pocket Doctor, a Diabetic Reference Guide and Journal was written by an Endocrinologist, a CDE, and a Registered Dietitian.

The primary purpose of this journal is to be a helpful tool for educating the "newbie". It's a referral piece for information on:

• disease terms, with easy to read descriptions
  
• Emergency ID cards
  
• Information on blood glucose testing
  
• Insulin facts
  
• New medications
  
• Dining out
  
• Illness complications
  
• Travel, leisure and exercise
  ,
• Smoking and alcohol
  
• The ABC's of diabetes
  
• A food plan
  
• Resources by phone and the web

It's 72 pages, and has been transcribed into contracted braille. It's used not only by the blind but given out by diabetes educators, endocrinologists, and dietitians.

Click this link to learn more about this braille reference booklet for people with Diabetes: http://www.pocketreferencejournals.com.

Pocket Doctor on CD

This CD is a helpful tool for educating the "newbie". It's an expanded adaptation of the book for information on disease terms with easy to understand descriptions. Information on blood glucose testing, insulin facts, pills, new medications, dining out, illness complications, as well as such other important topics such as traveling, leisure and exercise, and smoking and alcohol are also included. The ABC'S of diabetes, a diabetes food plan, resources by phone and web, and so much more. Running time is one hour.

It's upbeat, and talks to you as in a conversation with musical dividing lines. Sylvia Hernandez, RD, CDE sounds like the diabetes educator you wished you had. Any newly diagnosed diabetic that's just been informed that they have diabetes should be listening to it.

See, and listen to an online audio sampler at http://www.pocketreferencejournals.com.

Accessible Accessible Diabetes Reference MaterialsDiabetes Reference Materials

Serving Individuals with Diabetes who are Blind or Visually Impaired: A Resource Guide for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors

"Serving Individuals with Diabetes Who are Blind or Visually Impaired: A Resource Guide for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors" is a work produced by The National Federation of the Blind, in collaboration with The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University. This guide is very thorough in coverage of all aspects of diabetes care and is also available in Spanish. This and other publications are available for ordering online from the Center's website.

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision
Mississippi State University
P.O. Drawer 6189
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: 662-325-2001
Fax: 662-325-8989
Web: http://www.blind.msstate.edu/pub.html

Diabetes

by Gail B. Stewart

Discusses the history, nature, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and complications of diabetes. Emphasizes proper medication and a healthy diet. (Grades 5-8+)

Braille -- T-N1374-60

Click here to purchase this book through our Quick Order Entry page: http://shop.aph.org/quickentry.asp

If you need assistance, click this link to read the Fred's Head Companion post "Purchasing Products From The APH Website Is Easy".

American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
1839 Frankfort Avenue
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
Toll Free: 800-223-1839
Phone: 502-895-2405
Fax: 502-899-2274
E-mail: info@aph.org
Web site: http://www.aph.org

Book On Diabetes in Braille

By Carl Augusto

For people who read braille, and just found out they have diabetes, there's a new book you should know about called My Pocket Doctor Diabetic Reference Guide and Journal. According to the information we received, the book is "bound to answer any questions that a newly diagnosed diabetic would ask." With diabetes on the rise, there are a lot of people looking for good resources on blood glucose testing, insulin facts, medications, diet and exercise, etc. Though we haven't yet seen a copy, it sounds like it could be a very useful book.

Article Source:
http://www.afb.org/blog/blog_comments.asp?TopicID=1781

Pocket Doctor on CD

This CD is a helpful tool for educating the "newbie". It's an expanded adaptation of the book for information on disease terms with easy to understand descriptions. Information on blood glucose testing, insulin facts, pills, new medications, dining out, illness complications, as well as such other important topics such as traveling, leisure and exercise, and smoking and alcohol are also included. The ABC'S of diabetes, a diabetes food plan, resources by phone and web, and so much more. Running time is one hour.

It's upbeat, and talks to you as in a conversation with musical dividing lines. Sylvia Hernandez, RD, CDE sounds like the diabetes educator you wished you had. Any newly diagnosed diabetic that's just been informed that they have diabetes should be listening to it.

See, and listen to an online audio sampler at http://www.pocketreferencejournals.com.

Tips for Selecting a Cutting Board

Setting up a first time kitchen can be quite a task. You don't know exactly what you need and when you do look, there are a billion choices.

For a bare bones kitchen here is an item that you will want to have on hand. Please remember when you are making your purchases, don't skimp on the quality. If you spend a little bit more now, you will save a lot of money down the road.

A large cutting board is a must have. Try to select one that is at least 12"x18".

If you select one that is plastic, it will be easier to wash and with proper cleaning you will have less chance of bacteria buildup.

Try to select one that is at least ¾ inch thick so that it will have less chance of warping.

Along with your usual cleaning, try to drop it in the dishwasher at least every 3rd or 4th use. The heat will help to sterilize the board's surface.

3D Cutting Board

If you are setting up a kitchen for yourself or another blind or visually impaired person, this cutting board would be a great addition.

The Chef's - Beechwood Prep Board is sure to become a favorite accessory in your kitchen. With a 1" front lip to brace it securely against the countertop or island surface, this extra-thick board is perfect for chopping vegetables or kneading and rolling out pastry or dough. The built-in 1" backsplash helps keep ingredients in place. Hand-sanded for a smooth finish. Measures 24"W x 18"D.

Click this link to order the Chef's - Beechwood Prep Board.

Color coded cutting boards

These four color coded polypropylene chopping boards are designed to help keep different kinds of foods separated and avoid cross-contamination. The red one is for meat, the white for already cooked food, the blue is for fish, and the green is of course for vegetables. The boards are stored in an ABS plastic horizontal filing unit with a non-slip rubber bottom. Boards are dishwasher safe. Size:^DNBUnit: 9h x 13.5w x 3"d; Boards: 8h x 12w x .75"d

Click this link to purchase the Color coded cutting boards from the MoMA store.

Leaders and Legends: Arnall Patz, MD

Arnall Patz, MD
Inducted 2006
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

Dr. Arnall Patz was born in 1920 in rural Georgia. After completing his undergraduate degree at Emory University, he graduated from Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta in 1945. He now resides in Baltimore, with his wife Ellen. They have five children and eight grandchildren.

After World War II he served at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and trained at D.C. General Hospital. It was there, beginning in 1950 that Dr. Patz noticed an association between incubators and retinopathy of prematurity (known then as retrolental fibroplasia), a leading cause of infant blindness. In one of the first clinical trials in all of medicine he followed premature babies who were routinely given high concentrations of oxygen and others who were given lower doses. Rebuffed by a funding agency, which thought the proposal unscientific and possibly dangerous, he conducted the clinical trial without federal funding. For this discovery and the subsequent saving of vision in thousands of premature infants he was given the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award, one of the most prestigious honors in American medicine. Helen Keller presented him with the award in 1956.

In 1970 he joined the full time faculty of Johns Hopkins and founded the Retinal Vascular Center, which pioneered in the management and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. During this time he made important discoveries about diseases caused by abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye and helped to develop one of the first argon lasers for treating diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. In 1979 he became the Director of the Wilmer Eye Institute and as Director he enlarged the clinical and research facilities and programs in his typical visionary fashion. His colleagues at Hopkins praise him for serving as mentor for more than five decades to scores of today's leading eye specialists.

He has been referred to by one of his colleagues as "one of the greatest ophthalmologists of the 20th century." He holds honorary degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Emory University, Thomas Jefferson University and Johns Hopkins University.

A past president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Dr. Patz is the author of more than 250 scientific publications and four textbooks. He has received many distinguished awards including the Friedenwald Research Award in 1980, the inaugural Isaac C. Michaelson Medal in 1986, the first Helen Keller prize for Vision Research in 1994, the Pisart International Vision Award from the Lighthouse International in 2001, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 2004. In 2005 he received the Lions Humanitarian Award, the Lester S. Levy Humanitarian Award, and the Laureate Recognition Award from The American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Plaque sponsored by the Wilmer Eye Institute

About the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

These significant professional colleagues of the recent and distant past are a fascinating cross-section of heroes and pioneers who not only shaped our rich history, philosophy, knowledge and skills, but also give us insights into current and future challenges. These giants shared their personal lives and showed us strategies to ensure that services for blind persons remain unique and specialized. Enjoy their lives and contributions and reflect upon your own list of heroes.

Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Visit the virtual Hall of Fame for the inspiring stories of many more heroes of the field of blindness.

Leaders and Legends: Abraham Nemeth

Abraham Nemeth
Inducted 2005
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

Abraham Nemeth was born in 1918 in New York City and attended regular public school as a totally blind child. He majored in psychology at Brooklyn College and received a master's degree from Columbia University, also in psychology. In spite of his continuing and growing interest in mathematics he was counseled to pursue the field of psychology. While looking for a job as a psychologist, he took evening courses in math and physics at Brooklyn College and later at Columbia University.

His determination to pursue his love of math and science despite the lack of Braille materials in these fields led in 1952 to the creation of what is now known as the Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science Notation. This unique and revolutionary idea became the official code in the United States, and later Canada and New Zealand. This was a landmark step in the opportunity for blind students to engage in scientific studies. He also developed MathSpeak which is a standard system of reading mathematical formulas out loud.

In 1955 he joined the faculty of the department of mathematics at the University of Detroit, where he served thirty years. He was known for the innovative way he devised to convey mathematical concepts. During this time he also inaugurated the graduate department in computer sciences. He received a PhD in mathematics from Wayne State University. When asked what it takes to be successful in our field he responded, "to expect from a blind child what you expect from a sighted child."

Dr. Nemeth was a man of vision and action, intellectual brilliance and insightful wit. The Nemeth Code is recognized as an indispensable tool for instruction in mathematics and science. In 1972 and 1976 he and his wife were invited by the Soviet Union to come to Moscow and tell about the Nemeth Code and how a blind person can access the computer screen.

Since retiring from the University of Detroit he has been working on a program which converts a computer with a speech synthesizer into a talking scientific calculator. He also spends his time proofreading parts of the Bible and prayer books in Hebrew.

He was the chairman of the Michigan Commission for the Blind from 1991until 1993. In 1999 he received the Migel Medal, awarded by the American Foundation for the blind. In 2001 he received the Creative Use of Braille Award from the American Printing House for the Blind. The Division of Visual Impairments of the Council for Exceptional Children awarded him the Exemplary Advocate Award.

Plaque sponsored by National Federation of the Blind, gh LLC, Family and Friends

About the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

These significant professional colleagues of the recent and distant past are a fascinating cross-section of heroes and pioneers who not only shaped our rich history, philosophy, knowledge and skills, but also give us insights into current and future challenges. These giants shared their personal lives and showed us strategies to ensure that services for blind persons remain unique and specialized. Enjoy their lives and contributions and reflect upon your own list of heroes.

Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Visit the virtual Hall of Fame for the inspiring stories of many more heroes of the field of blindness.

Descriptive Movies on CD at Minds Eye Movies

Most blind and visually impaired people know of Descriptive Movies, or DVS movies. If you're familiar with this format of entertainment, you'll also be aware that with the demise of VHS video cassettes, described films are now only available on DVD; which, as a media, is virtually impossible for visually impaired people to use! The result is that a huge void in entertainment is developing for those with vision impairments.

Minds Eye Movies may be a solution, that not only fills that gap, but also opens up a whole new dimension of entertainment for everyone. AUDIO DESCRIBED FILMS ON CD.

What they're offering is unique, reading through their website shows how easy their products could make a lot of difference to a lot of people. You never know, you may want to give one a try yourself!

You can listen to a 3 minute clip of every film available on the website. All of the clips are in MP3 format.

Click this link to start enjoying movies at http://www.mindseyemovies.biz.

Accessible TV Listings

TV Guide

BlindBargains.com has found possibly the simplest interface for TV listings and it's from an unexpected source. Often times, wireless interfaces to websites are more usable and slimmed down, making them easier to navigate. Try this link to TV Guide's wireless portal, and obtain a list of what's currently on for your cable or satellite provider in a few seconds. The listings are completely uncluttered, with just the channel number, name, and the current show.

Click this link to visit the wireless version of TV-Guide's TV listings: http://wireless.tvguide.com.

Epguides

Epguides is a website where you can quickly lookup TV show episode titles and air dates. The site currently has episode lists for over 4100 TV shows. You can search and browse them alphabetically, sort them by year, check out currently running shows and view a current and fall US TV schedule grid.

Additionally you can subscribe to newly added shows, recently canceled shows (US only) and recently released US and UK TV DVDs, and get updates on your feed reader using RSS.

Click this link to visit http://www.epguides.com.

MyTVRSS

MyTVRSS can track air dates for your favorite TV Shows and notify you when the new episodes are out. Stay on top of the latest episode release dates for your favorite TV shows by creating a special RSS feed that can be added to your feedreader. All you need to do is select the shows you would like MyTVRSS to track, click "Create Feed" and add the feed to your reader.

Click this link to visit http://www.mytvrss.com.

LocateTV

LocateTV is a quick search engine for TV listings, in particular for TV shows and Movies. Find out when your favorite shows or movies are shown on TV, see whether they are available online (both free and paid), and view where you can get them on DVD.

Click this link to visit http://www.locatetv.com.

RerunCheck Notifies You if Your Favorite Show is a Repeat

RerunCheck saves you from the time and frustration of setting aside time for live television, only to say: Wait a second, I've seen that before, man, it's a rerun.

RerunCheck is a very straightforward search, having you type or grab a show name from a list of popular entries. RerunCheck tells you if the next airtime of that show is a rerun or not via email and RSS notifications, and without setting up an account. The only additional feature account registration seems to add is the ability to manage the two types of notifications, although if you use RSS ,all you need to do to manage things is delete the feed when you don't want it anymore.

Click this link to use http://reruncheck.com.

Fiskars Rotary Cutter

The Fiskars Rotary Cutter is a rolling razor blade cutter used to cut fabrics into shapes, strips, and pieces for sewing, quilting, and craft projects. Rotary cutters are designed for left and right handed use and can cut through multiple layers of fabric, paper, felt, vinyl, cardboard, mar board, cloth, leather, and fiberglass material. Great for someone who works with fabrics, or even in postal jobs. I could see something like this being used with a guide, assisting someone who is blind or who has low vision. Product Features:

• Contoured handle design
  
• Long-lasting, razor-sharp blade
  
• Convenient handle loop
  
• General purpose use

Click this link to purchase Fiskars Rotary Cutter from Amazon.com.

Trimming Fingernails

Seki Edge Easy View Nail Clippers

Precise Clipping with A Close Up View. This compact, folding EZ View Clipper makes it easier to see & shape your nails. Oversized (1.5 inch dia.) acrylic lens with 3x magnification is wider, easier to focus & won't break like glass. Nail catcher traps clippings for neat disposal. Finish grooming with the built-in nail file.

Click this link to purchase the Seki Edge Easy View Nail Clippers from the Home Trends website.

Baby Light & Clip

I guess every new parent goes through the same agony of wondering whether they are doing things right where parenting is concerned. One interesting point to consider would be cutting their newborns fingernails, a delicate affair if you're relying on traditional clippers or scissors. Avoiding accidents is the main agenda here, considering how those little ones love to squirm in your grip! The Baby Light & Clip helps make your task easier, featuring an integrated light that aids vision by illuminating the area underneath the nail, showing which part needs to be trimmed as well as revealing sharp nail edges. This prevents the babys fingertip from falling under the cutting blades, while the cut nails will drop into a small compartment to keep things neat and tidy. The Baby Light & Clip is powered by a single AA battery.

Click this link to learn more about the Baby Light and Clip from http://www.babylightandclip.com.

Phishing in a PhishTank

Phishing, in case you haven't either seen it or heard of it by now, is basically a certain type of attachment in which an online entity convinces the user to visit a specially crafted Web site in order to capture personal information.

PhishTank is an online community that wants to expose phishing scams in any way, shape or form. The site is chock full of resources. I spent a better part of the morning looking over the information and tools the site had to offer in its fight against online menaces.

From PhishTank's home, you can quickly access all of the tools necessary to educate yourself about phishing, how and where you report it and even how to verify the scam. You can even see such things as the most prevalent phishing scam of the month, complete with screenshots of the various phishing sites.

If you become a registered user of PhishTank (it only requires a valid email address and username), you can forward any email that you think may be a phishing scam to them for a review and verification. It's very easy to do. You can go directly to the site and submit a potential phishing scam as well, by filling in a few data fields, such as a URL and notes in their "Add a Phish" portion of the Website. It all takes very little time to complete.

In addition to this, PhishTank also has provisions for you, the customer, to view so you can help determine if a submitted site is bogus or not. That's right, the community is responsible for "verifying" whether or not a scam is legitimate. Not sure if you are qualified to help? Well, don't worry about that. You don't have to if you don't want to, but if you would like to take a look at things and possibly get involved, there is a help file on the site that will guide you through how you can spot phishing scams like an expert.

As I mentioned before, there is even an area where you can go and search through the database of potential and real phishing scams that PhishTank has on file. The search page has two filter boxes that you can use to specify your search, which will help produce the results you are looking for. For instance, you can do a search for a certain phishing scam and see if it is still active (online) or inactive (offline), as well as, whether or not the phishing scam is a scam at all. It could just be a "false positive," which is something you have to look out for as well.

Thanks to the statistics portion of PhishTank's Website, you can quickly view what is happening this month in the world of phishing scams. How many sites were submitted? How many of them were verified? All of these questions and more are answered on the site. There is also a blog that keeps you informed on some of the bigger scams that may be going on and the blog offers alternatives and other programs that can possibly aid in the containment of phishing scams. As a matter of fact, that is where I found a utility for Outlook Express and Outlook, which allows you to quickly check your email against the PhishTank database. This helps you to determine what an email is, and how to deal with it.

If you are worried about phishing scams, this is a site that you will want to keep in your favorites. It will not only keep you out of trouble, but it can also better prepare you to spot these online parasites for what they are and how you can stop them. So, are you ready to join the war on phishing? There's a spot waiting for you in the tank right next to me. Let's get 'em!

Click this link to visit http://www.phishtank.com.

Camping in LED Light

I used to love to go camping when I was a child. I'm not talking about camping in the deep dark woods, more like camping in the backyard, near running water and a clean bathroom, really roughing it. Well, anyway, one of the biggest problems for me as a person with low vision was the lighting inside the tent. It was too dark when the sun was out at mid-day, and even darker as the sun went down in the evening. Mesh windows helped a lot during the day, but their ability to shed enough light faded as the day ended.

Now that I don't camp anymore, I'm happy to have found a tent with LED lights and powered by the sun.

Bring tech into camping with a solar tent. The 4 person Woods Solar Powered EZ-Tent with LED Lights is a great way to bring a little solar technology to the camp site. It's an EZ-Tent, so you can't go wrong with the setup. The solar panel is located on top, and on a full charge (direct or indirect light), you can get two to four hours of LED light. Product highlights include:

• EZ-Tent system for simple set up
  
• 7" solar panel is placed on the top of the tent's hub and clicked into place. Fly is then placed on top of solar panel & tent, and sun will charge the panel through the clear PVC window at the top of the fly
  
• Solar panel comes with case to be stored safely in tent duffle bag
  
• Integrated LED rope lights line the top of the tent on the inside and a centre removable hand-held flashlight can be taken down or left as centre light
  
• Automatic function allows lights to automatically turn on as the sun sets, if desired
  
• Solar panel can also be used independently to charge batteries
  
• Also available in a six-person model

Click this link to purchase the Woods Solar Powered EZ-Tent with LED Lights from the Canadian Tire website.

Tent Ceiling Fan with Light

Now, if you already have a tent and you're not crazy about purchasing another one, why not simply adapt the one you have and cool things off at the same time>?

The humid and sweaty nights in the tent are things of the past. This ceiling fan gives you a breeze on those windless nights and even comes with led night lights. Fan runs on six D batteries and can run up to twenty hours on HIGH or forty hours on LOW.

Click this link to purchase the Coleman Cool Zephyr Ceiling Fan with Light from Amazon.com.

ColorTest II: Talking Color Analyzer for People Who Are Blind or Color-blind

ColorTest II is a hand-held device that helps the user distinguish colors independently. It has hundreds of uses at home, work, or school, including selecting your own wardrobe; identifying products from the package color; determining if fruit is ripe; and distinguishing colored folders, forms.

Features

• Uses a clear human voice to announce the color of any object placed in contact with its sensitive detector.
  
• Senses over 1,000 nuances of color. Also detects patterns, brightness, and contrast.
  
• Can provide color analysis with specific values for brightness, hue, and saturation.
  
• Use as a light detector.
  
• Talking clock, calendar, timer, thermometer, and three games
  
• Earphone jack and holes to accommodate a neck loop (earphone not included)
  
• Built-in rechargeable battery with talking battery status

Included

• Carrying case
  
• Battery charger
  
• Instructions on cassette, plus a large print and braille "quick start" booklet
  
• One year limited warranty

ColorTest II:
Catalog Number: 1-03951-00

ColorTest II is about the size of a television remote control and can sense over 1,000 shades of color!

Click here to purchase these items through our Quick Order Entry page: http://shop.aph.org/quickentry.asp

If you need assistance, click this link to read the Fred's Head Companion post "Purchasing Products From The APH Website Is Easy".

American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
1839 Frankfort Avenue
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
Toll Free: 800-223-1839
Phone: 502-895-2405
Fax: 502-899-2274
E-mail: info@aph.org
Web site: http://www.aph.org

Website Accessibility with CaptchaKiller

Have you ever visited a website and been asked to fill out a CAPTCHA? What's a CAPTCHA you ask? Well, its a funny, blurry, textual image that prevents robots from automating the web. People who are blind or visually impaired can't see the image, and can't use the website. Screen reading technology can't tell them what letters and numbers they need to complete the CAPTCHA because the box is an image, leaving them locked out of the site.

I recently heard about a website called Captchakiller.com and immediately went to check it out. With a name like that, I had high hopes that it would allow me to get around all the CAPTCHAs that are popping up everywhere. I can honestly say that if you ever need to use a site that requires CAPTCHAs, you will love this site.

"CAPTCHA Killer is 100% focused on increasing accessibility on the Internet. CAPTCHA Killer can be used to automatically translate an image into the underlying text. (CAPTCHA Killer may only be used in accordance with the Terms Of Service of each website, please read their agreements.)"

The first thing you will have to do is sign up for an account. On the home page, they have a lot of forum posts and comments, but if you look for the create an account link, you should have no problems at all.

Once you have an account, you can upload those bothersome captchas, and the site will process them for you. I had a little trouble at first, but once you realize what they want, it's fairly straight forward. Here's step by step instructions for using the site:

1. Open MS-Word or some word processor like Wordpad.
   
2. Go to the site that has the captcha.
   
3. Find the exact page that has the captcha, and copy the url that's in the address bar to an empty document.
   
4. Find the captcha image on the page, and right click on it.
   
5. Choose the save picture as option and save it to your hard drive.
   
6. On the captchakiller site, choose the upload captcha link.
   
7. Paste the page URL (in your document) into the URL field of the CaptchaKiller site.
   
8. Hit the browse button on the CaptchaKiller page and find the file you saved on your computer.
   
9. After hitting open on the file, hit the submit button on the CaptchaKiller page.
   
10. Choose the view CAPTCHAs link on the page, and find the most recently uploaded one. It should be the one at the top.
    
11. When you go through the table you'll see your result, beside it is what you have to type in to complete the CAPTCHA.

This may sound a little complicated, but it isn't so bad once you get used to doing it. I'm not saying it's a solution to all our CAPTCHA problems, but it sure beats getting sighted help every time you need a CAPTCHA interpreted.

A helpful hint is to keep the CaptchaKiller site, and the site you want the CAPTCHA for, opened at the same time. That way, you can get the CAPTCHA processed quickly and enter it on the site before it expires.

Click this link to visit http://www.captchakiller.com.

Monitor Websites for Price Drops

Ever find yourself shopping online and see something you like but you don't want to pay full price for it? Wish you had a way of knowing as soon as it goes on sale?

Savvy Circle is a web application that watches items you're interested in buying online and emails you when they go on sale.

Sign up for a free account and add items from the online stores it supports, Amazon, Zappos, NewEgg to name a few, to your shopping list on Savvy Circle. Then wait for email notifications when and if the item goes on sale. I've added a few items to my shopping list but haven't gotten a sale notification yet (just my luck)but if you're looking for a deal on something, this site may save you some cash.

Click this link to start saving money with http://www.savvycircle.com.

Monitor Websites for Price Drops

Buy Only from Stores with Free Shipping

Easily find items sold online with free shipping on sites like Amazon, eBay, and more than 500 other online stores with website Free Shipping On. This website sports easy navigation: two tabs that allow you to perform searches for items available on Amazon and eBay with free shipping, and then a third tab takes you to a page that offers free shipping coupons for over five hundred stores, from Apple to Walmart and organized by category as well.

If shipping costs usually cause you to scratch your head and decide to wait for a better deal on retail, you may now want to reconsider.

Click this link to start shopping items with free shipping at http://www.freeshippingon.com.

FreeShipping.org

FreeShipping.org can assist you by finding free shipping coupons to over 600 stores, further helping you save cash on your next online purchases. Similar to Free Shipping On, FreeShipping.org appears to have a slightly broader reach and better navigation. The two sites also appear to showcase slightly different coupons for some sites, so both might be worth a look before you check out and pay for shipping.

Click this link to visit http://www.freeshipping.org.

Alternately, if Amazon is your online retailer of choice, the Amazon Filler Item Finder is a must-bookmark site for getting to free shipping on your Amazon purchases.

Certain items at Amazon.com qualify for free shipping, but sometimes purchase fall short of the minimum $25 needed to recieve the free shipping. Enter the amount you need to get free shipping in the box provided to see a list of products that will get you free shipping. It's not exactly rocket science to figure this out in the first place, but a nice shortcut nonetheless.

Click this link to visit the Amazon Filler Item Finder: http://www.filleritem.com.

Use RSS Feeds to Shop Amazon

If the price were right, and the product page were a little easier to navigate with a screen reader, you'd buy it. As it so often happens, Amazon is just busting with goodies that you would very much like to see in your own hands; however, as you can't spend all your milk money on high tech play things and old Russian books, there's got to be a cut off point, and that is most likely price. That's where Prixfeed comes in.

Prixfeed is a simple, no-nonsense RSS feed for Amazon. Essentially, what it does is grab any Amazon product specified by you using its page URL or ASIN code, and returns a feed of the price. This means you can stay constantly updated as to any price changes. There's also a handy Prixfeed bookmarklet so low vision users can add feeds when they're surfing Amazon.

To get the feed, enter the Amazon product page URL, or the ASIN/ISBN code. The beauty of this tool is its simplicity. There isn't a huge snowballing of features to get you sidelined or off track. Also count in the fact that feeds are getting evermore ubiquitous, which makes this tool even more relevant.

Click this link to start shopping Amazon with Prixfeed.com.

URL hijacking: What Is It?

In getting to websites, neatness counts. If you type in the wrong web address, you might be in for a surprise.

You could be taken to a site run by a business that competes with the site you were trying to find, to a rogue site that lampoons the intended site, to a porn site that tricks you or your children into its seediness, or to a spam or phishing site that steals your email address, your money, or your identity.

This phenomenon goes by the names "typosquatting" and "URL hijacking." A study by McAfee, a maker of computer security software, sheds some interesting light on it (www.mcafee.com/typosquatters). Among its findings are these points:

• If you misspell a popular URL or web address, you have about a 1-in-14 chance of landing at a typosquatter site.
  
• The five most highly squatted categories are game sites such as www.miniclip.com, http://runescape.com, and http://minijuegos.com; airline sites such as www.ryanair.com, www.united.com, and www.lufthansa.com; mainstream media sites such as www.vh1.com, www.globo.com, and http://qvc.com; dating sites such as www.plentyoffish.com, www.true.com, and http://singlesnet.com; and technology and Web 2.0 sites. Sites for children and teens such as www.webkinz.com, http://clubpenquin.com, and http://neopets.com are also heavily targeted. Some of the trick sites are designed to expose children to pornography.
  
• The more celebrated examples of typosquatting have involved, among others, the web search site Google and the user-written web encyclopedia Wikipedia. By mistyping www.google.com as www.goggle.com, users were taken to the site of a rogue software maker that automatically downloaded spyware to their computers.
  
• Wikipedia endured a similar experience. By mistyping www.wikipedia.org as www.eikipedia.org, www.wilipedia.org, or www.wikipedi.com or by mistyping en.wikipedia.org as en.wiipedia.org, en.wikipedi.org, or en.wikipediia.org, users were directed to sites with pop-up ads, spyware downloads, and ad-generating web directories.
  
• Typosquatters bank on the fact that people make simple typing mistakes, misspell words, add an "s" to make a name plural when it shouldn't be, and get the top-level domain wrong by typing "com" instead of "org," for example.

One common technique used by typosquatters is to profit from click-through ad revenue. Legitimate ad syndication services affiliated with Google and other search sites enable typosquatters to make money by tricking people into coming to their sites, where revenue-generating ads are displayed.

Another, more nefarious, technique is to continue the ruse by tricking people into thinking they're at the real site, using copied logos, page layouts, and content. When you then type in credit card, Social Security, and other sensitive data, the criminals use that data to steal your money and your identity.

Typosquatting isn't a new phenomenon, but it is increasing in frequency, judging by the number of cases filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization's arbitration system (www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains). This is one remedial method available to sites whose addresses have been copied.

The United States Association of Blind Athletes

by Sarah K. Bradley

The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) is a community based organization of the United States Olympic Committee and serves individuals who are blind or visually impaired across the United States. Our vision is a world in which all individuals who are blind or visually impaired have the opportunity to discover their athletic potential and pursue their athletic dreams.

USABA emerged in 1976 when a group of individuals met at the Olympics for the Disabled in Toronto, Ontario to discuss their vision of the future of sport for athletes with visual impairments. In the beginning, founder Arthur Copeland ran the organization from his kitchen table on a shoe string budget in Beach Haven, New Jersey. Since then, USABA has evolved into a national organization that provides sports opportunities in eleven sports which impact the lives of more than 2,000 athletes of all ages and abilities each year and has reached more than 100,000 individuals in it's 30 years of operation. The organization has emerged as more than just a world-class trainer of blind athletes, it has become a champion of the abilities of Americans who are legally blind. In fact, USABA athletes have served as U.S. Olympic Team members and won medals against sighted competitors. USABA had thirty-four of its athletes compete in the 2006 Rocky Mountain State Games, the first state games in the nation to fully integrate athletes who are blind and visually impaired into competition. More than 25 medals were earned by USABA athletes from the ages of 7 through adult who were able to showcase their talents and abilities in a competition with more than 5,000 competitors.

Sports Education Camps

Each summer, USABA chapters around the country hold Sports Education Camps for youth ages 5-18. The first Sports Education Camp (SEC) took place in 1988 after a group of adult athletes with visual impairments identified the problem within physical education and sports for children with visual impairments. Their goal was to teach youth with visual impairments basic sports skills and activities, increase the knowledge of parents, teachers and the community regarding adaptations required for participation, and in turn increase access to physical education, sports and recreation for people with visual impairments.

Today, SEC's take place in ten different states around the country, each summer offering youth the opportunity to participate in a variety of sports and recreation activities, including judo, cycling, track & field, swimming, wrestling, goalball, gymnastics, bowling, and rock climbing. Paralympic athletes and elite coaches are involved in these residential programs.

Through an affiliation with Western Michigan University, research has been conducted concerning the outcomes from these camps. The research done at the SEC's has shown that skills learned at the camps have had a continuing positive impact on the lives of these participating young athletes. In fact, more than 45% of students who attended sports camp for two consecutive years participated on their home school sports teams. In addition, 80% of these youth participated in their school physical education programs, compared to 27% of blind and visually impaired youth overall. Research has also shown that participants have also learned how to adapt sports to their needs in a school or extracurricular setting, creating an advocate within the child.

USABA strives to make possible for all individuals who are blind and visually impaired the opportunity to discover their true potential and overcome obstacles and identifying their abilities. With the growth of self confidence, leadership, poise and determination that sport provides, these athletes can become advocates for themselves, role models for others, and help to break down the stereo types that follow "disability." As our US Paralympic teams continue to train every day for the honor to represent Team USA, USABA also continues to support young athletes who are blind and visually impaired in order for them to reach their full potential, their athletic goals, and their dreams!

For more information, contact:

United States Association of Blind Athletes
33 N Institute
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Web: http://www.usaba.org

Sky Scout Talking Planetarium

For junior (and not so junior) legally blind astronomers, the Sky Scout Planetarium comes with GPS technology so that you know what you are looking at and hear an audio description as well. I would question how usable this camera-size, hand-held "telescope" is for steady viewing without a tripod or other mount, but what fun it could bring to a sighted and visually impaired team of astronomers.

This personal, handheld planetarium automatically identifies the location of thousands of stars, planets, constellations and more, no matter where an individual is standing on the planet, just point and shoot. About the size of a camcorder, it weighs just 16 oz. Includes target button, intuitive menu navigation, identity function, locate function, GPS function, LCD display, talking audio with earphones, SD card slot and USB connection. The Sky Scout is a perfect tool to be used in conjunction with the Explora Scope. Galileo would be so jealous. This product recommended for 8 years and above. Click this link to learn more or to purchase the Sky Scout Talking Planetarium from FAO Schwarz.

Discovery Ultimate Star Planetarium

Another product to consider is the Discovery Ultimate Star Planetarium. This indoor planetarium transforms any room into a truly stellar display, allowing you to view the night sky as it would appear anywhere in the world.^DBL Project 88 constellations; 12 celestial objects, including 8 planets, Pluto and its moon, Charon. Features include:

• Uses super bright bulbs to project over 600 stars
  
• Searchable database with over 600 star facts and myths
  
• Interactive talking computer and backlit navigational screen
  
• Features five modes for a variety of astronomy tours and settings
  
• Features a one-hour timer so you can fall asleep under the stars
  
• Includes AC power adaptor and 24-page, full color instruction manual

Click this link to purchase the Discovery Ultimate Star Planetarium from The Discovery Store.

Use a Mason Jar on your Blender

Did you know that many, if not most, blenders can be used with a standard mason jar, or wide-mouthed mason jar? Apparently, about forty years ago, manufacturers used to include a mason jar in the box with the blender. Some even included a booklet that listed the many things one could make with the mason jar blender, including ground spices, whipped cream, and peanut butter.

Here's an example of how to create a spice grinder. We'll use walnuts to demonstrate, but you could use this trick with just about anything you want to blend, chop, or grind.

1. Remove the base from the standard blender container.
   
2. Screw the base onto the mason jar, make sure it is nice and tight.
   
3. Invert the jar and place on the blender.
   
4. Use as you would a food processor. Pulse or blend to desired degree.

This is a great way to make single- or double-serving amounts of smoothies (or margaritas) without having to shove your hand into that tall glass container.

Clean Your Computer With Vinegar

Dust and dirt could become your computer's worst nightmare. Instead of reaching for commercial cleaning products that could damage your computer or irritate your eyes or respiratory system, save a few dollars and clean the eco-friendly way using vinegar.

If your computer is especially dusty, use a vacuum cleaner to clean the keyboard, mouse and the monitor. This will make it easier to wipe away any dirt.

Take your damp cloth and put a little white distilled vinegar on it. A damp cloth will protect your computer from the damaging effects of static. Using white distilled vinegar is safe, highly effective and very inexpensive. Begin wiping down the cables, mouse, keyboard and monitor. Your computer is now dirt and static free.

Profile: William M. Raeder

The Boston Globe wrote an in-depth profile of the retired president of the National Braille Press, William M. Raeder. The Boston-based Press has been printing Braille books since 1927.

Raeder was lauded for numerous accomplishments while president for 32 years: "Raeder has expanded the nonprofit's budget, defended Braille amid nationwide drops in literacy rates among the blind, and been at the front of a battle to improve societal attitudes about the blind."

Raeder discussed the continuing importance of Braille to the blind community: "When you listen to recordings, the machine actively emits sound, and you passively take in the information. But when you read, whether with your eyes or your fingers, you actively seek the information. The pages don't turn themselves. It's a different cognitive process. There's nothing like reading."

Ironically, Raeder could never master Braille himself because the explosion that blinded him left him with only two fingers.

Blindness experts say Braille is an extremely important skill that helps with employment for blind people. Steven M. Rothstein, president of Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass., says in The Globe article: "National studies show that 80 percent of blind people literate in Braille are employed, compared with only 20 percent of those who are illiterate. Braille literacy is the single most important fact in determining a blind person's independence, productivity, and employment."

Click this link to read the entire article He lost his sight but not his vision from The Boston Globe.

Online Quiz and Flashcard Creation

I'm always looking for ways to bring accessibility into the classroom. Sometimes that means finding sites that teachers can use, maybe with some modification, to assist their students. I've found a good one at proprofs.com and realized that this is a great resource for teachers and students alike. I'm going to highlight two sections, but you should check the entire site to see if there's something of use in your classroom.

"At ProProfs.com, we are committed to furthering education and knowledge through our 'educational FREEway', that provides quality study aids."

Find Or Create A Quiz

Find Or Create A Quiz is a free tool to create free educational quizzes and practice exams for students. Quiz school also offers students one of the largest collections of freely available online quizzes, ranging from K-12 education to topics such as technology certification, SAT, GRE and even general trivia.

Click this link to visit the Quiz school.

Flashcards

"ProProfs Flashcards is a free, community-oriented service aimed at providing students and educators with an up-to-date, exhaustive library of flashcards over a wide variety of subjects. Browse our vast collection or create your own flashcards."

Click this link to visit ProProfs Flashcards.

Muchobeets

Muchobeets is an online flashcard service where students can create their own customized "stack" of flashcards. For students preparing for a general exam like the SAT, Muchobeets has a good collection of publicly shared vocabulary flashcards.

The Muchobeets service is very easy to use. If you want to make your own flashcards, simply register with your email address and get started using the very intuitive flashcard creation template. No registration is required if you want to use the publicly shared stacks of flashcards.

Click this link to visit http://www.muchobeets.com.

Adventures in Education

From the site:

"From college planning advice, to financial aid information, to career guidance, Adventures in Education has the information students and parents need to make the right decisions for the future. Get FAFSA help and financial aid assistance, learn about college admissions, and search scholarships for free."

There are sections devoted to middle school, high school, and college students, parents, teachers, librarians, and counselors.

Click this link to visit http://www.adventuresineducation.org.

Easily Find Your Cell Phone at WheresMyCellPhone.com

Have you ever been home alone and lost your cell phone? "Where's my cell phone? I know it was just right here" are the words often muttered as you frantically look for your cell phone only to find it hidden underneath a pile of laundry, in some obscure pocket, or in the family car. You keep looking everywhere and it has seemed to disappear and sadly there is no one around to give it a ring.

This situation happens to everyone, don't worry. Now you can find your cell phone by visiting WheresMyCellPhone.com. Simply enter your cell number with area code and your phone will continue to ring until you find it and hang it up. The site only works with US numbers and does not store your number in any kind of database.

Next time, don't go crazy trying to find your cell phone, visit http://www.WheresMyCellPhone.com.

Trustworthy Medical Websites

Thanks to the Internet, we have the ability to find the answers to many medical problems before we visit the doctor's office. Many medical research websites are now accessible and ready to share medical advice that will help you diagnose your every ailment. The websites with medical advice that you visit could give you valuable information and may help you decide what questions to ask when you visit your doctor.

So how do you know which sites are trustworthy? The last thing you want to do is get advice from someone who isn't qualified. Look for websites where registered doctors are the key source of information. Places like WebMD and HealthAtoZ have specific doctors who approve all of the content, assuring that you get the most accurate information. Here's a list of trustworthy sites for you to check out. Remember, these sites do not replace a professional doctor's diagnosis. Do not begin your own medical treatment without talking to your doctor.

• Alternative Medicine is a great resource for alternative medicines. It includes articles from doctors and medical practitioners and some creative alternatives to common medicines.
• WebMD contains thousands of articles on diseases and how to stay healthy. You can go through a mini-test to check out if that sore throat is really just a sore throat, or if it could be something worse. The test is divided for men and women, to give a more accurate diagnosis.
  
  
• The Mayo Clinic website uses a similar symptom checker and contains an "Ask the Specialist" section, where you can ask doctors specific medical questions.
  
  
• eMedicineHealth.com offers a crash course in first aid treatment for the most common emergencies like choking or bee stings.
  
  
• HealthAtoZ.com is another website filled with medical suggestions, tips and advice. Use it as a resource when you need a second opinion.
  
  
• The RX List website offers current prescription information, including a list of side effects for many drugs.

If you need someone to talk to about your current medical problems, you may want to visit an online support group. Online support groups are there for you if you don't have time to visit a live group, or you just prefer to remain anonymous. You can exchange emails and posts about your questions, get answers, and provide support for others. Support Path provides a list of the most popular support groups that you can find on the Internet. You can also check out Google's Support Groups for a list of some of the more common support groups.

Article Source:
http://www.askbobrankin.com/medical_advice_online_.html

Symptom Checker

Have you ever gotten a sore throat or an ear ache and wondered why? Or even more, what it could be a symptom of? I most certainly have. So, I like to go and look at a symptom checker like this one from the Mayo Clinic to see what's going on.

When the page loads, you'll notice that there is one side for Adults and one for Children. Choose the appropriate side for the person you are checking the symptoms for and then look at the list of symptoms to choose the one that matches.

This will take you to a page for that symptom where you will fill in the checkboxes for everything that applies. It is normally divided up into sections. The most common being: Symptom is, Triggered By, Accompanied by, Relieved by and Pattern. Go through each section for your symptom and be honest in your answers. Then click Submit.

It will then load a page of diseases and conditions that your symptoms match, as well as, information on the disease, what symptoms matched each disease and when you should seek urgent medical care.

Flu (Influenza) Information from the CDC

It's a bad flu season, so check this website from the Center for Disease Control for weekly flu activity reports, ways to prevent flu, symptoms and treatment, and advice for parents, schools and childcare providers, employers, etc.

Click this link to learn more about the flu from the CDC.

Now remember, this is only a guide and it shouldn't serve as a diagnosis for a condition. It's sort of just to point you in the right direction and let you know when to seek professional health care!

Click this link to visit the Symptom Checker at the Mayo Clenic.

Health Hotlines from The National Library of Medicine

The National Library of Medicine offers this searchable, browsable online database of health-related organizations that operate toll-free telephone services.

Click this link to visit the Health Hotlines from the NLM: http://healthhotlines.nlm.nih.gov.

Google Health

Lots of people search the internet to self-diagnose health problems, look up medications, and find doctors and hospitals, and Google hopes to consolidate all that info for you in Google Health. Enter your medical conditions, allergies, medications, test results, and more into Google Health, a personalized one-stop shop for health and medical information. You can even import your medical records from hospitals and pharmacies (like Walgreen's or Longs Drugs), and Google Health will show you drug interactions based on your medicine list and notices from various health organizations based on your profile. If you're willing to hand over your medical profile to the big G in the name of convenient info, Google Health is for you. The more privacy-minded, of course, may refrain.

Click this link to visit Google Health.

MS-Word's got the Blues

Do you go through a lot of documents when you're working on your computer? Doesn't that tend to strain your eyes a little? There are so many people in this world who work with Word documents that complain about eye problems. The main cause of this seems to be because of the white background Word offers. Well, lucky for all of us, Microsoft does have an alternative for that background color. How does blue sound to you?

1. Open a Word Document.
   
2. From the menu bar, click Tools.
   
3. Select Options from the drop down menu.
   
4. The Options dialogue box will open. Select the General tab.
   
5. Now you will find a check box that says "Blue background, white text." Click to select it so that you have a tick mark on the box.
   
6. Click OK to save the changes and to close the options dialogue box.

Now, go back to your Word document. See the difference? Yes, now it has a blue background and when you type, the text will be all white. Try this for a few days and you should see a drastic change on the eye strain you've been experiencing.

Find Promotional Codes and More with RetailMeNot

When you shop online, have you ever noticed that most big websites usually have a little box on the checkout page where you can enter a promotional code? This promotional code primarily gets you a bit of a discount on the total purchase you are making. Most people don't know this, but it doesn't take anything special to get ahold of these promotional codes. You don't even have to know the CEO of the company to get access to these special codes!

Lucky for us, someone came along and consolidated all these promo codes into a single place so that they are easily accessible to anyone. The Website is called RetailMeNot and the concept is rather simple. You visit the site, search for the online store in which you want the promotional code and it will pull up the results for you.

RetailMeNot has a pretty decent collection of promotional codes. I was able to find codes for prominent shopping destinations like Dell, Amazon, GAP, Go Daddy, NewEgg, eMusic, lee and more.

To start, I suggest browsing through the coupons by the keywords that are given at the bottom of the main page. Who knows what sweet deal you might find!

Click this link to start saving money with http://www.RetailMeNot.com.

Coupon Mom

Visit this website to locate grocery coupons, grocery deals by state, online coupon codes and so many different ways to save money. Treat yourself and your family to a nice meal and save when you present the restaurant coupon that you found on The Coupon Mom.

Click this link to visit http://www.couponmom.com.

Valpak

Valpak is delivered through the mail every few months in my neighborhood. It contains valuable savings at local retailers, neighborhood service providers and restaurants. Valpak coupons have saved my family hundreds of dollars in savings through the years and that means a lot. If you don't receive these wonderful coupons, click this link to visit http://www.valpak.com and sign up.

Protect Your Email Address Book from Viruses

We all know that when your email is infected with a virus, it goes straight to your address book. The virus looks for the addresses you have saved and it starts to send itself off to everyone listed. The virus then, of course, infects all of those people as well. So, how can we stop this from happening? Well, here's an idea on where to start.

Open your address book and go to New Contact, just like you would if you really were adding a new friend to your list. For the name, simply type in the letter A. Then for the email address, type in "aaaaaa@aaa.aaa." (Or however you want to do it, just make sure it's in an email address format). Since you used the letter A, it will be the first entry to be listed in your address book, which is where the virus would start when sending itself off to all your friends. Now, here's the catch. Since the email address you entered is not valid, the message the virus sends will be undeliverable. Therefore, it will not be able to go further in your address book.

There's also another advantage to this. If the first email cannot be delivered successfully, you will receive an email yourself notifying you of the undeliverable mail. This will warn you right away that you are infected with a virus and you can do what you need to do to get rid of it. Pretty genius, isn't it?!

APH News: March 2008

APH News

Your monthly link to the latest information on the products, services, and training opportunities from the American Printing House for the Blind.

March 2008

Exciting APH Product Specials Announced!

Read on to learn about these product specials!

• SPECIAL OFFER on Verbal View Tutorial Series!
• SAVE BIG on Electronics from APH Products!
• Close Out Sale! 2008 APH Calendars
• APH Braille Book Corner

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APH Has Noted Scholar of Significance in Residence!

For the next six weeks, APH will have the good fortune to listen and learn from a most accomplished "Scholar in Residence," Dr. Phil Hatlen. Dr. Hatlen, recently retired Superintendent of the Texas School, professor, author, and lecturer, will honor us with his presence from March 6 until April 16. During his time with us Dr. Hatlen will work primary on projects in conjunction with our Department of Research.

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Discussing the APH Braille+ Mobile Manager

The Braille Plus Live Discussion for the month of March will take place on Friday, March 7th at 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time. This discussion will include the four Braille Plus tutorials available in our webcast archives. To participate in the Braille Plus Discussion please send an e-mail to Maria Delgado at: mdelgado@aph.org

About the Braille Plus

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BANA Invites Dialogue in North Carolina

The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) will hold its semiannual meeting of its Board of Directors in Raleigh, NC, from May 13 through 15, 2008. In addition to a full agenda of business items and reports, the BANA Board will continue its practice of hosting an open forum designed to facilitate discussion of relevant braille topics. The open forum will be held on the evening of Wednesday, May 14, on the campus of the Governor Moorhead School in Raleigh. Consumers, teachers, and producers of braille are invited, and indeed encouraged, to take advantage of this opportunity to participate in a round-table discussion about braille and to engage in a dialogue with the members of the BANA Board. In the April edition of the APH News, we will provide details of the time and location of the open forum. We hope to see many of you there!

For more information about BANA, its activities, and its very active committees, please visit www.brailleauthority.org

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Building Independence: An Essay

Those who have seen the previous announcements about our 150th Anniversary Essay Contest are already proofreading or sending in their work. If not, don't despair! There is still enough time to write an award winning paper, but the clock is winding down. Entries are due on our doorstep by -- no kidding -- April 1.

Whether building an outline or drafting the paper about the role of APH products in independent living for people who are blind and visually impaired, it all starts with an idea. Capturing those thoughts in an essay could mean adding a new "building block" in a personal toolbox -- such as a Perkins Brailler or Braille+ Mobile Manager. So what do you have to lose? Get behind your favorite writing instrument and give it your best shot!

The guidelines for eligibility and entry are posted on the APH web site at: www.aph.org/essay.html. For additional copies of the entry form or more information, contact Becky Snider in the Public Affairs Department. Phone: 800-223-1839 or 502-895-2405, ext. 356 Fax: 502-899-2363 or email: rsnider@aph.org

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Accessible Tests Department Survey Launch:
Types of Answer Documents Needed

The Accessible Tests Department has created a survey on types of answer sheets needed in instructional as well as standardized test settings. Since a wide variety of answer document formats is used, this research expressly addresses requests the department receives for accessible answer documents for students who are blind or visually impaired.

The survey, for regular education teachers, teachers of visually impaired students (TVIs), school psychologists, test administrators (TAs), and other educators and assessment professionals, is posted on the Accessible Tests section of the APH website and will be open for approximately two months. Your input is valuable and will be extremely useful in determining the most common formats needed.

Link to the survey: www.aph.org/tests/answer_survey.html

For further information about this study or to request copies of the form in accessible media, see the Accessible Tests Department web page or contact Kerry Isham at kisham@aph.org

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Final Days to Nominate a Legend for the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

To learn more about the qualifications and process for submitting a nominee to join the 40 inductees, please visit: www.aph.org/hall_fame/nominate.html

The annual nomination process will close Friday, March 21. Nominees who were first submitted in 2007 will remain active.

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APH Director of Research Ralph Bartley snapped this photo in Texas, February 28, during a meeting with legendary Hall of Fame inductee Natalie Barraga and Texas School Superintendent and APH Ex Officio Trustee Bill Daugherty.

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Wanted: CVI Field Reviewers

APH is looking for field reviewers who have an interest in examining, using and commenting on materials designed for students who have CVI. Several new products are almost ready for trial use. Professionals or parents who are in contact with children who have CVI will conduct evaluation. Each reviewer will be provided with the newly developed materials and a brief set of guidelines for use of the materials. After a period of field-testing, the reviewer will be asked to fill out a comment form and return the materials to APH. Your comments will be used to help the CVI Project Leader consider any final changes to the product. If you are interested in being a CVI product reviewer, please contact Christine Roman at: croman@cviresources.com

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APH Calls for Field Testing of SAM

APH seeks 12 teams to field test SAM: Symbols and Meaning during the 2008-09 academic school year. This is a 9-month commitment.

SAM is a program to help build the conceptual foundation for successful symbol use including words, objects, tactual symbols, pictures, and graphics. It is for students with visual and multiple impairments and pre-school children with visual impairments who are just beginning to use symbols-the late sensorimotor, early preoperational stage of cognitive development.

Through games, the concept categories of people (the self and others), objects (tangible things), actions (body movements of the self and others), and places (where things are, context for groups of things) are introduced.

Each team is made up of a student, a classroom teacher, a teacher of the visually impaired, a parent, an occupational therapist and/or speech language pathologist (if student is receiving these services), and a diagnostician (optional).

Requirements:

• The team leader must participate in an online training conducted by author Millie Smith. This is a training of trainers workshop. The team leader will be responsible for training the other members of the team. Other team members are welcome to participate in the online training. The training is scheduled for the second week in August, 2008.
  
  
• The TVI or diagnostician conducts the pre assessment of the student.
  
  
• The team uses the product throughout the academic year.
  
  
• The TVI or diagnostician conducts the post assessment of the student.
  
  

Technology requirements for the online training:

• Broadband internet connection
• Windows® Operating System
• Administrative rights to download/use software and stream audio and video

Accessories:

• Computer microphone
• Computer speakers
• Projector (optional for larger groups)

Software:

• Windows Messenger
• Windows Media Player
• TC Conferencing

NOTE: Follow the steps below to download TC Conferencing.

1. Go to: www.aph.org/advisory/webcast.html
   
   
2. In this page click the link that reads: "Live APH Webcast".
   
   
3. Click the "Download Here" button and install the software.
   
   

Questions? Please contact Research Associate Tristan Pierce at tpierce@aph.org or 800/223-1839, ext. 380.

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APH Calls for Art for the 17th Time!

InSights 2008 Competition for Artists Who are Blind or Visually Impaired

APH invites visually impaired and blind artists of all ages to submit artwork for its seventeenth annual international art competition, APH InSights 2008.

There are two deadlines this year: April 1 is the deadline for entries from preschool through high school; April 15 is the deadline for entries from adult artists. To enter, artists must meet this definition of blindness: corrected visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye, or a visual field limited to 20 degrees or less.

The rules and forms are also posted on the web site: www.aph.org/ia2007/2008entry.html

Artists may also contact APH to request a copy of the entry form and rules by calling 800-223-1839, ext. 357, 502-895-2405, ext. 357, or by sending email to rwilliams@aph.org

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Dits, Dahs, & Dots

The APH Museum presented a coding workshop, Dits, Dahs, & Dots, on Saturday, February 16, for the Girls Scouts of Kentuckiana.- "Dits and Dahs" are the sounds created by Morse Code. Dots, of course, are the dots of braille. Participants were split into two groups. APH's Eleanor Pester and Deanna Scoggins led the braille station and APH's Fred Gissoni and Kristen Lutes of the Thomas Edison House in Louisville presented at the Morse Code Station.

Attendees were able to use what they learned at Dits, Dahs, & Dots towards a variety of scout patches including one on disabilities awareness. After the program, participants toured the historic Thomas Edison House. While there, the scouts tried out a real telegraph machine, similar to the one used by Edison when he lived in Louisville. Leaders and scouts commented on enjoying the program, especially the Pop A Cell's and the Braille Writers.

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SLK NIP Event is OK in Oklahoma!

The Oklahoma School for the Blind was the site for our most recent National Instructional Partnerships (NIP) event, held February 12 - 13 in Muskogee. Approximately twenty teachers of the visually impaired, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and others gathered to spend two days with product consultant Millie Smith (TX) as she explained and demonstrated the materials in the APH Sensory Learning Kit. Millie's dynamic presentation sparked lots of interest in the use of the kit and in the use of other APH products like the Expandable Calendar Boxes and Tactile Connections.

Thanks to Ex Officio Trustee Karen Kizzia and to Outreach Director Sherry Holder for partnering with APH to host the event. Thanks also to EOT Teresa Kruta (Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped) who drove over from Oklahoma City to be with us for the training.

National Instructional Partnerships events are designed to showcase the use of APH products across the areas of the Core Curriculum and the Expanded Core Curriculum. If you are interested in hosting such an event it your area, please contact Janie Blome, 800-223-1839, ext 367, or email jblome@aph.org

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The Carroll Center's 8th Annual Braille Literacy Celebration and Northeast Regional Qualifying Event for the National Braille Challenge - And the Winner Is...

There were many winners as thirty-five students from the Northeast Region of the US, grades 1 through 12, gathered at the Carroll Center in Newton, MA on Sat, Feb 9, to participate in the center's 8th Annual qualifying event for the National Braille Challenge. Students participated in a variety of "challenging but non-threatening" braille competition events that included spelling, braille reading comprehension, speed and accuracy, and more!

The National Braille Challenge, developed by the Braille Institute of California, serves as a means for students to "practice their test-taking abilities and to feel pride in using Braille as their primary mode of reading and written communication."

APH's Sandi Baker was also present to talk with parents and professionals about some of the many APH products that promote braille literacy.

EOT Rachel Rosenbaum and Carroll Center Education Director Karen Ross can be congratulated on another successful Challenge event!

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Expanding the Core in NM

New Mexico AER hosted another successful conference, and APH was there! APH's Mary Nelle McLennan teamed with Dr. Rick Welsh to give the Friday morning keynote address, "Laughing Matters: Developing and Supporting Humor as a Skill for Learners Who Are Visually Impaired and the Professionals Who Work with Them", as teachers of the visually impaired from New Mexico and Arizona came together for their annual conference in Albuquerque, Feb 20 - 22.

Additional presentations from APHers included Mary Nelle's "Developing Organizational Skills in Visually Impaired Learners: A Must for Successful Independence", and Sandi Baker's two presentations on "Products from APH That Support the Expanded Core Curriculum".

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APH Meets ICADI and OTs

International Conference on Aging, Disability, and Independence

During one pre-conference and two conference presentations, as well as a poster session - all conducted by APH's Terrie Terlau and Rodger Smith, occupational therapists with interest in the field of low vision and other attendees at the International Conference on Aging, Disability, and Independence learned about APH products with specific relevance to the needs of elders experiencing vision loss. Held in St. Petersburg Florida, February 20-23, ICADI brought together occupational therapists, rehabilitation engineers, researchers, gerontologists, and university faculty and students from around the world. APH products relevant to the needs of elders with low vision were well received by this multi-national audience; Reclaiming Independence, MagneTachers, Sherlock, Money Talks, Talking Typer, and Armadillo Army were particularly popular with occupational therapists specializing in work with older persons with low vision. APH and ICADI staff worked together closely to ensure that relevant APH products came to the attention of this dynamic group of professionals.

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New Textbook Coordinator for Accessible Textbooks

APH introduces Michael Haynes as the new Textbook Coordinator for Large Print! Michael has worked in the Accessible Textbooks Department for several years and brings solid experience and understanding of our goals and mission to this position.

Michael duties will include cataloging all new large print textbook orders, entering them to the database, ordering print copies from publishers, communicating with Ex Officio Trustees and APH staff, proofreading copy, and quality reviewing textbooks.

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New Librarian for APH Resource Services

APH welcomes Kate Herndon to Resource Services and APH! Kate is our new librarian. Her MLS is from University of Illinois Champaign Urbana. Kate comes to us from Xanadu, which offers online course packets of customized, copyright-cleared materials for higher education.

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New Specialist for the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC)

APH welcomes Tiffany Bradford to the NIMAC team as NIMAC Metadata and Support Specialist. Tiffany's MLS is from the University of Kentucky. Her past work experience includes Humana and the Louisville Free Public Library.

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NBA Announces Important Conference

The National Braille Association will host a Professional Development Conference, April 3-5 at the Dallas (TX) Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria.

The conference will provide opportunities for networking and refreshing skills, learning more efficient methods to do our work, and all aspects of braille.

Also, don't miss the pre-conference session, "Hands-On Training for Braille Translation Software with NIMAS Updates" on April 2-3.

Call the National Office at the number below or check www.nationalbraille.org for updates of the schedule and registration details.

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AFB Partners with National Association of the Deaf on Media Project

The American Foundation for the Blind has partnered with the National Association of the Deaf and its federally funded Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) to create guidelines for the description of educational media.

In 2007, AFB worked with service providers and experts in media description to formulate a set of draft guidelines for educational media description to increase the availability of predominantly visual curricula to children and youth who are blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind.

AFB encourages feedback on these guidelines and suggestions for items that may need more explanation. The draft guidelines can be reviewed at www.afb.org/descriptionguidelines.asp

For more information contact Dr. Kay Ferrell at Kay.Ferrell@unco.edu or Mary Ann Siller at siller@afb.net

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APH Welcomes New Ex Officio Trustees

L. Daniel Hutto, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, replacing Elmer L. Dillingham, Jr.

Reggie Clinton, the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, replacing Jane A. Breen.

Zenaida Figueroa, the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind of Puerto Rico, replacing Ruth Otero.

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APH Travel Calendar

March

March 3-5, 2008
Association of Test Publishers: Innovations in Testing Conference;
Dallas, TX

March 4-5, 2008
NIP Event: Sensory Learning Kit;
Las Vegas, NV

March 5-6, 2008
ATP Test Security Summit (post-ATP Conference);
Grapevine, TX

March 7-8, 2008
Board Meeting of Midwest Conference of Rehabilitation Teachers;
St. Louis, MO

March 9-13, 2008
Exhibitor 2008;
Las Vegas, NV

March 10-15, 2008
CSUN;
Los Angeles, CA

March 12, 2008
"Focus" On Vision Impairment & Blindness;
Taunton, MA

March 13-15, 2008
Pacific NW AER;
Tacoma, WA

March 17-21, 2008
Legislative Visits on Capitol Hill;
Washington, DC

March 26-28, 2008
Kentucky AER;
General Butler State Park, Carrollton, KY

March 27-28, 2008
Carroll Center Braille + Training;
Boston, MA

March 28-30,2008
AER Lift Leadership Training;
Irving, TX

March 29, 2008
Perkins School Braille + Presentation;
Watertown, MA

April

April 2-5, 2008
CEC 2008;
Boston, MA

April 3-5, 2008
NBA Professional Development Conference;
Dallas, TX

April 4-5, 2008
Jo Taylor Leadership Institute;
Burlingame, CA

April 7-11, 2008
Legislative Visits on Capitol Hill;
Washington, DC

April 9-10, 2008
NIP Event: CVI - A Further Look at Assessment and Intervention;
Kansas City, KS

April 18-20, 2008
Stepping Into the Future;
Des Moines, IA

April 21-22, 2008
Power Up 2008 Conference and Expo;
Osage Beach, MO

April 23-25, 2008
Penn-Del AER Conference;
Grantville, PA

April 25-26, 2008
NIP Event: Making It Count - Math Skills for Students with Visual Impairment;
Fremont, CA

April 26-28, 2008
Outreach Forum;
Nashville, TN

May

May 5-7, 2008
VAVF 33rd Annual Florida Conference of Volunteers Serving the Visually Impaired;
Orlando, FL

May 7-9, 2008
Dakota AER/Vision Conference;
Grand Forks, ND

June

June 16-18, 2008
Texas Focus Conference;
Austin, TX

June 26-28, 2008
National Braille Challenge;
Los Angeles, CA

June 29-July 5, 2008
NFB National Convention;
Dallas, TX

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2008 Federal Quota Census, Phase One Due March 15th!

At this time, forty (40) Federal Quota accounts have been submitted as complete for phase one of the 2008 Census. Many others have requested district and acuity additions, all of which have been added to the SRS tables, thus allowing Ex Officio Trustees and their assistants to continue to update their records for the year.

March 15th is the census phase one deadline, so mark your calendar! Also, continue to call and/or email Cindy Amback your census questions, etc., in order to keep the census moving forward. You can reach her by phone at 800-223-1839, extension 257, or by email at camback@aph.org

Most importantly, thank you for all you do to make this program a success!

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SPECIAL OFFER on Verbal View Tutorial Series!

Buy all 7, get a 20% DISCOUNT

Great to have on hand in your Resource Center or School Library! The Verbal View tutorial series provides software training specifically designed for visually impaired users and emphasizes the use of the keyboard and some topics omitted from most books are discussed at length.

Verbal View Software Bundle: D-10599-00 -- $280 -- Sold Separately -- $350

• Verbal View of Windows® XP
• Verbal View of Word®
• Verbal View of Word® Advanced
• Verbal View of the Net and Web
• Verbal View of Web Documents
• Verbal View of Web Searches
• Verbal View of the Online Mail

Verbal View of Windows® XP: D-10500-00 -- $50.00
Covers nearly every aspect of Windows XP, with extensive verbal descriptions of new features and programs, simple enough for the first-time computer user.

Verbal View of Word®: D-10510-00 -- $50.00
Instead of focusing on the mouse and visual cues, this tutorial lets the user know how the keyboard and screen reader can be used to accomplish word processing tasks efficiently and elegantly.

Verbal View of Word® Advanced: D-10511-00 -- $50.00
Goes beyond the basics and gives the blind writer the tools needed to perform nearly any editing, collaboration, or publishing task with Microsoft Word.

Verbal View of the Net and Web: D-10512-00 -- $50.00
This tutorial covers such topics as, connecting to the internet and following links on web pages, reading web pages that may seem inaccessible, sending and receiving e-mail and accessing intranets, and much more.

Verbal View of Web Documents: D-10513-00 -- $50.00
The prerequisite tutorial to the new Web Documents tutorial, Verbal View of the Net and Web, covers the internet and the Web and describes the various ways to connect to the Net. This new tutorial focuses more closely on the Web. Covers in detail, retrieving and using documents with common browsers such as Internet Explorer® and Firefox®.

Verbal View of Web Searches: D-10514-00 -- $50.00
This tutorial builds on the information in Verbal View of the Net and Web by focusing on the benefits and uses of the Google® Search Engine. It explains why Google outshines its competitors, and how you will benefit when you become a daily googler!

Verbal View of Online Mail: D-10515-00 -- $50.00
This tutorial builds on the information in Verbal View of the Net and Web, explaining how to use your computer to send email.

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SAVE BIG on Electronics from APH Products!

Braille 'n Speak® Scholar Talking PDA:
1-07320-01 -- WAS $1,275 -- NOW $375

Replacement Items
Serial Interface Cable: 1-07319-00 -- WAS $33.00 -- NOW $19.00
Tutorial Cassette: C-07320-01 -- $2.50

Optional Items
Parallel Interface Cable: 1-07318-00 -- WAS $98.00 -- NOW $79.00
ImageWriter Cable: 1-07317-00 -- WAS $32.00 -- NOW $22.00

"Personal Digital Assistant" (PDA), a super entry level note taker. Small, portable unit with a rechargeable battery.

Features:

• Input with a braille-type seven-key keyboard
• Synthetic speech output
• Advanced word processor with file organizing
• Hard copy output in braille or print. Includes braille-to-print back translator
• Talking clock, countdown timer, stopwatch, phone directory, calendar, and scientific graphing calculator
• Soft leather carrying case
• Battery Charger / AC Adapter
• Earphone
• Serial Interface Cable for connection to a PC (9-pin female to mini-din 8 male)

'K' Sonar Sonic Perceptual Aid:
1-07000-00 -- WAS $710 -- NOW $300

Replacement Item
Headphones: 1-07001-00 -- WAS: $45.00 -- NOW $40.00

This small, affordable electronic device aids users who are blind or visually impaired with orientation and mobility. By listening to sounds produced by 'K' Sonar, users can determine not only the distance and location of an object, but some of the object's features. Users can even learn to recognize certain objects.

Features:

• Attaches to the golf grip handle of a long cane.
• Headphones provide audio feedback, which changes in pitch to indicate the distance to the object being scanned.
• Two range modes: long range (about 16 feet) and short range (about 6 feet).

Includes:

• Headphones
• Rechargeable battery
• Power adapter
• Quick-start tape with sample sounds

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Close Out Sale! 2008 APH Calendars
Going... Going...

Note: All sale items available while supplies last.

Product Number	Description	List Price	Sale Price
1-07899-08	Braille DateBook Calendar 2008	$63.00	$40.00
1-07898-08	Braille DateBook Calendar Tabs 2008	$15.00	$7.00
1-07900-08	EZ Track Calendar 2008	$29.75	$17.00
1-07901-08	EZ Track Calendar Insert Pages 2008	$25.75	$13.00
5-18971-08	APH InSights Calendar 2008	$7.50	$4.00

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APH offers a number of recreational books in braille (Quota funds can be used). Each of these titles was originally transcribed and produced by APH for the National Library Service which has graciously granted permission for this offering. As usual, these titles have been added to the APH Louis Database where you can find thousands of titles produced in accessible formats.

Note: all books are produced upon receipt of orders, therefore, please allow approximately 8 weeks for delivery.

The Year of the Dog
by Grace Lin, Braille: T-N1662-40 -- $26.50
While Pacy's Taiwanese American family prepares the Chinese New Year feast, Pacy hopes the Year of the Dog will be lucky for her. She does make a new best friend at school but "finding herself"-- discovering her own talent--takes longer. Grades 3-6. *(AR Quiz #104901, BL 4.2, Pts. 3)

Killer Rocks from Outer Space: Asteroids, Comets, and Meteorites
by Steven N. Koppes, Braille: T-N1657-60 -- $27.50
Describes the role that collisions with meteors, comets, and asteroids have played in the history of Earth and other planets in the solar system. Examines actions being taken to protect Earth from future collisions. Grades 5-8. *(AR Quiz #101039, BL 9, Pts. 4)

Dark Dreams: The Story of Stephen King
by Nancy Whitelaw, Braille: T-N1668-10 -- $27.00
Biography of award-winning horror writer. Discusses King's difficult childhood in Maine, a setting for many of his stories, as well as his adolescence, college years, marriage, and eventual success. Describes King's struggles with censorship, fame, and the creative process. Senior High School to Adult. *(AR Quiz #103059, BL 8, Pts. 4)

Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams
by Nick Webb, Braille: T-N1634-80 -- $124.50
Writer and personal friend of Adams pens an account of the man who created the Hitchhiker novels. Webb discusses Adams's childhood, schooling, time with the BBC, marriage to Jane, birth of daughter Polly, fascination with gadgets, atheism, and creation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Adult.

The Little Book of Bridal Etiquette for the Twenty-First Century
by Martha A. Woodham, Braille: T-N1662-20 -- $29.50
Concise guide to proper wedding conduct by Elegant Bride magazine etiquette columnist. Offers time-tested, practical advice for brides-to-be to avoid tackiness and social blunders. Discusses invitations, registration, guest lists, ceremonies, receptions, receiving lines, attire, and family issues. Includes marriage myths, budget tips, and cautionary tales of bad taste. Adult.

*Accelerated Reader number, reading level, and point value. For more information on the Accelerated Reader program, see the January 2006 APH News or www.renlearn.com/ar/

APH News Credits

President:
Dr. Tuck Tinsley
ttinsley@aph.org

Designer:
Malcolm Turner, APH Website Coordinator
webmaster@aph.org

Thanks to the following APH staff:

• Cindy Amback, Support Specialist, Field Services
• Sandi Baker, Field Services Representative
• Janie Blome, Director, Field Services
• Scott Blome, Director, Communications
• Jan Carroll, Manager, Contract Administration
• Maria Delgado, Field Services Representative
• Rachel Goodman, Assistant, APH Museum
• Tony Grantz, Business Manager, Finance
• Kerry Isham, Editor, Accessible Tests
• Mary Nelle McLennan, Executive Advisor to the President, BANA Board Member Representing APH
• Julia Myers, Director, Resource Services and NIMAC
• Tristan Pierce, Multiple Disabilities Project Leader, Research
• Christine Roman, CVI Project Leader, Research
• Becky Snider, Administrative Assistant, Public Affairs
• Gwynn Stewart, Support Specialist, Communications
• Terrie Terlau, Adult Life Project Leader, Research
• Jane Thompson, Director, Accessible Textbooks
• Roberta Williams, Public Affairs and Special Projects Manager

Editor:
Bob Brasher, Vice President, Advisory Services and Research
bbrasher@aph.org

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For additional recent APH News, click the following:
February Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2008adv02.html
January Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2008adv01.html
December Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2007adv12.html

Archive of all previous issues - www.aph.org/advisory/advarch.html

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The APH News is a monthly publication from the American Printing House for the Blind:
1839 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
800/223-1839

Please share this web link or any items that appear in this publication with anyone who might benefit.

Thank you.

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It's Easy!

1. Create an email to aphinfo-request@iglou.com
2. Leave the subject blank
3. Type the word 'subscribe' (without any quote marks) in the body of the message
4. Send it.

How to Add Website Links to the Start Menu

Ever wanted a quick way to access a website without having to open Internet Explorer, typing in the URL or searching for the site in your favorites? How about placing a link on your Windows Start Menu? Here's how:

First, you either need to right-click on the Start button or focus your screen reader on the Start button and hit the Applications key and click on Explore.

This will open Windows Explorer in the Start Menu folder under your user profile. If you want to be able to add the website shortcut to the Start Menu for all users, when you right-click, choose Explore All Users instead of Explore. There should be a folder called Programs, don't go into that folder.

Now either hit your applications key or right-click and choose New and then Shortcut. In the box "Type the location of the item", go ahead and type in the URL for the website you want to add. For example, type in http://www.FredsHeadCompanion.blogspot.com and click Next.

Give your shortcut a name in the "Type a name for this shortcut" box. This will be the title shown in the Start Menu and it can be whatever you like.

Click Finish and you're done! There is one thing to remember when it comes to adding website shortcuts to the Start Menu and that is which version of the start menu you're using. If you use the Classic Start Menu, your link will appear at the top, above the Programs group, hif you're using the normal Windows Start Menu that comes with Windows XP, by default the link will only appear when you click Start and then click on Programs.

Tips for Teaching Students that are Blind or Visually Impaired

Pat Lakey, Coordinator of the Students with Disabilities Services Office at University of South Florida-Sarasota shares these tips for teaching students that are blind or visually impaired.

• Speak to the class upon entering and leaving the room or site.
  
• Call the student with a vision impairment by name if you want his/her attention.
  
• Seat the student away from glaring lights (e.g. by the window) and preferably in front of the class.
  
• Use descriptive words such as straight, forward, left, etc. in relation to the student's body orientation. Be specific in directions and avoid the use of vague terms with unusable information, such as "over there", "here", "this", etc.
  
• Describe, in detail, pertinent visual occurrences of the learning activities.
  
• Give verbal notice of room changes, special meetings, or assignments.
  
• Offer to read written information for a person with a visual impairment, when appropriate.
  
• Identify yourself by name, don't assume that the student who is visually impaired will recognize you by your voice even though you have met before.
  
• If you are asked to guide a student with a visual impairment, identify yourself, offer your services and, if accepted, offer your arm to the student's hand. Tell them if they have to step up or step down, let them know if the door is to their left or right, and warn them of possible hazards.
  
• Orally, let the student know if you need to move or leave or need to end a conversation.
  
• When communicating with a student who has a vision impairment, always identify yourself and others who are present.
  
• Do not pet or touch a guide dog. Guide dogs are working animals. It can be hazardous for the visually impaired person if the dog is distracted.
  
• It is not necessary to speak loudly to people with visual impairments.

Article Source:
http://www.delaneykirk.com/2008/03/tips-for-teachi.html

Solar Powered Tiki Light

The Solar Powered Tiki Light will definitely be a welcome addition to any garden, beautifying it without all the adverse effects of using oil. Environmentally friendly, no wasteful electricity needed, no burning lamp oil to cause possible enjury or pollute the air. Light automatically comes on at dusk and casts a realistic, flickering glow. Bamboo pole adjusts from 39? to 59? high.

Click this link to purchase the Solar Powered Tiki Light from Whatever Works.

Accessible Site for Free Software Downloads

The next time you are searching for a free software download why not give Download11 a try. Download11 has over 65,000 files ready for you to download in their database and best of all, everything on the site is free. Because all files are free, you don't have to waste your time navigating difficult sites or downloading a program only to find out that upon installation, it isn't free after all. This is a pretty simple and easy to use site with an easy search box and a clickable list of the most popular downloads. Those of you wishing to upload can also do so in a simple manner. To sum up, this is an easy to use site worth checking out the next time you need to download freeware, and it is growing all the time.

Click this link to search the database of free software at http://www.Download11.com.

Over Eighty File Hosting and Sharing Sites

Are you part of a band? Does your band have a website? Have you thought of sharing a song or two to give people an idea of what you sound like? Maybe you have a weekly radio show like Sound Prints that you want to archive? Mashable.com has put together a list of over eighty websites that can host your files, most of them are free!

Click this link to view the article ONLINE STORAGE: 80+ File Hosting and Sharing Sites from Mashable.com.