The EMVIA Blog

BEACH ROAD by James Patterson

2011-10-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

The SAZCB Book Club just read and met over BEACH ROAD by James Patterson.

Tom Dunleavy has a one-man law firm in East Hampton, but his principal clients make a living serving the rich. The billionaires swarming the beaches already have lawyers on their payroll. Then a friend of his is arrested for a triple murder near a mansion. Tom knows in his gut that his friend is innocent, and he asks him to represent him. Tom recruits a super-lawyer who is his ex-girlfriend, but she agrees to help. In their search to find who really killed the three locals, Tom orchestrates a series of revelations to expose the killer.

Everyone in our club liked it, both men and women. If you like a good mystery and
surprises and who-dun-its, this will be for you. Most of the group feels that this is one of the best James Patterson books that they have ever read.

It’s available in Daisy format from Bookshare, on tape or cartridge from the Talking Book Library, and from BARD. On Saturday November 19 at 1:30 Arizona time we’ll talk about Tony Hillerman’s THE BLESSING WAY. Write me if you want more details.

Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews Edwards

2011-08-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

HOME: A MEMOIR OF MY EARLY YEARS, by Julie Andrews

I am really looking forward to reading this book. She has been a favorite of mine for a long time but I have never read anything about her. I have heard that this is a book that goes back to when she was first getting started, so it will be enjoyable for me. I hope. Two weeks from now is when the book club meets and I’ll get to see what everyone else thinks about it.

From her web site: Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews Edwards has received Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, People's Choice, Theater World, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors. She has starred in Broadway musicals such as My Fair Lady and Camelot, as well as musical films like Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music.

THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE by Ken Follett

2011-08-21T22:42:00.002-07:00

The last book we read in the book club was THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE by Ken Follett. It had a very mixed reaction there on who liked and who did not like this book. We are trying to bring in more books that men will enjoy and we will continue to do that. There was much death in this one but because of it being about war and spies you had to expect that. Of course many did not like it, but a few liked it very much and got a lot out of it.

The next book up is an autobiography about Julie Andrews’ early years in show business. It’s titled: HOME, A MEMOIR OF MY EARLY YEARS. We are all looking forward to that one and will bring it up at the next book club meeting on September 10th.

I am looking very forward to reading the next Sue Grafton book: V IS FOR VENGEANCE and that one is coming out on November 14th.

Mitzi

From Ken Follett’s web site: “It is 1944 and weeks before D-Day. The Allies are disguising their invasion plans with a phony armada of ships and planes. Their plan would be scuppered if an enemy agent found out, and then, Hitler's prize agent, “The Needle”, does just that. Hunted by MI5, he leads a murderous trail across Britain to a waiting U-Boat. But he hasn't planned for a storm-battered island, and the remarkable young woman who lives there.”

The Cedar Cove Series of Debbie Macomber

2011-07-30T14:14:00.002-07:00

One of my new favorite authors now is Debbie Macomber. She’s been on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestseller lists combined over 140 times.

There are 10 novels and a cookbook in Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, a humorous romantic genre about ordinary women in a small town. She has a good sense of humor that can be appreciated by young, middle aged, and older readers. her books jump among vignettes every 15 minutes or so, but all these different people are acquainted and the novels keep the core story intact.

These are the series books with their library numbers.
16 Lighthouse Road: RC055515
204 Rosewood Lane: RC055516
311 Pelican Court: DB57922
44 Cranberry Point: DB59237
50 Harbor Street: DB61163
6 Rainier Drive: DB63684
74 Seaside Avenue: DB65373
8 Sandpiper Way: DB67608
92 Pacific Boulevard: DB70205
1022 Evergreen Place: DB72330
Cedar Cove Cookbook: DB71541
1105 Yakima Street: not yet available

Just one more thing: on ths Cedar Cove web site there’s “a virtual Cedar Cove Scavenger Hunt to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series.“

Those Happy Golden Years

2011-06-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

Our book club picked Laura Wilder's Those Happy Golden Years for the talk this month. It was unanimous! We all really liked it. Of course, the book is a lot different from the show.

If you like books that take you back about 100 years in all and how they did things you will really like this one. If you were a fan of the Little House on the Prairie television series you should give this book a try.

Mitzi

A Book Club Book

2011-06-09T13:55:00.002-07:00

I just finished Those Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I love old time books a lot and this is one that really takes you back, and if you like that type of thing you will really enjoy this book. As someone who grew up listening to the “Little House on the Prairie” television show, I was a bit surprised at how different the book is from that show, especially in how differently portrayed the characters were.

Mitzi

Another Series of Humorous Novels

2011-06-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite authord these days is Janet Evanovich, so I was checking out some books she co-authored with Charlotte Hughes. They worked together on a series of six novels called the FULL series, and they'e just about as funny as the Stephanie Plum series.

The reading flow seems to point to the series going on after the sixth book, but there are no more mentioned and the Hughes web site is stale by two years. The only sour point I saw in this group was with the readers. The first four books were read by Colleen Delany, a very good reader who inflected well and who changed voice for each character. The last two were read by another good reader who just didn't follow the style of Delany.

By themselves, the last two were fine, but the first reader set the bar high.

The books are Full House, Full Tilt, Full Speed, Full Blast, Full Bloom, and Full Scoop.

Mitzi

Interested in starting a book club?

2011-05-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

If you’re interested in starting a book club you need to get with the rest of the people who might find starting a club to be a good idea, and discuss the different types of books you might all find readable. There’ll be a lot of give-and-take there because nobody likes exactly what any other person likes, so be prepared to have a wide range of titles suggested.

Talking Books has over 70,000 titles to choice from. One important thing is to see how many copies they have of that book. The newer best sellers have more copies. The people in the group who find it easy to use their computers can download from BARD, but many don’t, so call them when you have chosen a book to check availability.

It is helpful to have at least a six month schedule if you can, so each time you meet for your current book discussion you can agree on one more book to add and then you will always be 6 months ahead. That just really helps if you are adding in new members plus you just know upcoming books that way. That also gives people time to propose picking a different book if you’ve just selected a read dog.

At our club everyone comes up with at least one question or comment. It helps get the talking going about the book.

Next month we’re going to be talking about These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. That follows Olive Kitteridge, To Kill A Mockingbird, and My Sister’s Keeper, so you can see we jump around a bit.

Mitzi

Book Clubs views on Olive Kittredge book by Elizabeth Strout

2011-05-15T12:27:00.002-07:00

Well, our book club met and talked about this book. Interestingly, not one person finished the book and not one person liked it. That’s all.

Schwan’s lemon pie.

2011-05-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

For those of you who love lemon: I was visiting my Mom in the White Mountains this last weekend and had a Schwan’s lemon pie and it was great. It has the gram cracker crust that I also love. If you get Schwan’s you have to try it.

I also just found out that now and I guess it has been for awhile they have a delivery charge of $1.

If you do want to get Schwan’s or already have it they also send you email letting you know your delivery date and they are great about just giving them a call and ordering right over the phone.

Reminder they have Braille catalogs! www.schwans.com, or 1-800 724-9627, or 1-888-SCHWANS

Mitzi

Olive Kitteridge

2011-05-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

The book for our book club this month was Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.

This was not one of our books that I really cared for, I did hear that it was a series of short stories so thought it might be interesting but did not care for it much at all. Olive is a character who is very hard to like. Instead of writing a cohesive story tied together with some continuity and logic, Strout gives us thirteen erratic short stories with Olive in each of them and leaves it to us to form an opinion of whether we like her or not, or whether we know her or not. Each story tells of a different facet of Olive, and these facets compete with each other for our opinion.

This is not a feel-good book; it has no real humor. I will be very interested in seeing what my book club thought about it. Of course it won a Pulitzer Prize, so who knows...

Patricia Cornwell’s wrote eighteen Kay Scarpetta books, if you don’t count the cook book. BARD has thirteen of them, which is expected because BARD seems to take any series like that and scatter its offerings randomly.

I thought I would try other books of Cornwell’s so I tried the three part Andy Brazil series of Hornet’s Nest, Southern Cross, and Isle of Dogs. Naturally, BARD had only the first and last one. Totally different style of writing and I found myself skipping through it as they go on and on. Was just a bit surprised that I did not like it; I thought it might be similar to the Kay Scarpetta books but it is not.

Sad books and bad movies

2011-04-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

For anyone who has not read My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult, it is very well written but sad. From BARD: “When a child is diagnosed with a rare leukemia her parents create test-tube baby Anna to save her life. After years of medical procedures Anna, now thirteen, is expected to donate a kidney. She files for medical legal emancipation and throws the family into a fundamental moral crisis.”

One of the worst movies I have seen in a long time was Paul. It was my son’s birthday last week and it sounded like a movie he would like, and it was showing at the theater in descriptive movie, so I was happy to be able to go see it with my son. No plot really, just a series of sketches and, to me, just a dumb movie.

Want to mention a book that I have enjoyed in the last two months. I have read a lot in the last couple of months and this was my favorite. I really liked The Lucky One. I think that even men would enjoy it. I like other Nicolas Sparks books but am not real crazy with the ones that have a good amount of death in them, especially the one where the main character dies. However, really found this one to be good. It’s available from BARD and Talking Books.

Starting out with Braille

2011-04-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

I have been talking to a number of people lately asking if they know Braille. I’m finding that a lot of people start it and don’t pursue it because it’s hard to learn.

They’re mostly correct. It is not the easiest thing to learn, especially if you could see at one time. Even though all it really boils down to is being a new alphabet for their familiar daily language, it seems like it is all a completely new language.

All I can say is keep trying and don't push your self. Just like typing it takes regular and orderly practice. That’s all it takes.

It can be so helpful to you even at the basic Grade One level. Grade One is basically a letter by letter substitution with the printed alphabet. Most text written by others for you to read is Grade Two, which can be thought of as having lots of abbreviations. It puts many common letter combinations and even shorter words into a shorthand that reads faster. You can also think of it as the difference between reading each letter in a word and each word in a sentence verses scanning the sentence and understanding it just as well.

This is a very, very simplified description, but Grade One is the start, and it’s yours. It can help you with being able to label your favorite things, help you write down numbers, and do other little things that will be helpful to you and give you more independence.

Just an opinion on a book

2011-03-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

I am really not into books where one of the main characters dies, but I have read a good number of books over the last two months and I think that The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks is a good one. One of those all-around good books that a number of different people would like, just not a good one for guys. I could go into a lot of detail about it but don't want to give anything away.

If someone has read it or does let me know what you think?

Mitzi

Upcoming conventions

2011-03-23T17:32:00.002-07:00

The four 2011 ACB & NFB Conventions, both Arizona state and national, are coming up. Here is some quick info on them.

acB National Convention

The ACB 50th anniversary conference and convention will be in Reno, Nevada from July 8 to 16 at the John Ascuaga Nugget Hotel Resort Casino. Rates are $87 single/double with an additional ten dollars per each additional person in the room. You can make reservations on line or at 800-648-1177 using code GBLIND to get the lower conference rate.

NFB National Convention

Each year the National Federation of the Blind holds its national convention which is traditionally the largest disability conference of its kind. More than 3,000 blind people from across the United States participate. This year's convention will be held in Orlando, Florida, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. Make your room reservation now by calling (866) 996-6338. Preregistration is also now open, so visit www.nfb.org/registration to register for convention and secure your spot at the banquet!

AzCB State Convention

On the theme of “Celebrate our past and Launch our future”, the Arizona Council of the Blind holds its convention April 14 to 16 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Phoenix. The Scholarship and Awards Banquet will be on Friday evening. The fees, which include Continental Breakfast and Box Lunch, are $20 per member and $30 for non-members if registration is completed by April 1. Remember the price at the door will be $40. Contact Sharon Carpenter by email at carpensharon@yahoo.com or phone her at 602-472-8704.

NFB of Arizona 2011 State Convention

Details are still being worked on for the NFB of Arizona state convention, but we do know that it will be in eastern Maricopa County the first or second weekend In September. More information as soon as we get it or check their site at http://www.az.nfb.org.

LookTel Two Dollar Money Reader

2011-03-19T12:44:00.004-07:00

I downloaded the LookTel Money Reader from the Apple iTunes store. It cost two dollars! I'm used to free apps performing terribly, and this one is nearly free, so it has one particular quirk that you need to know about: it works. Here's a demo of theirs.

It recognizes U S currency and speaks the denomination. Point your iPhone's camera at any U S bill and the application will tell you the denomination in real-time. I tested it over and over on one, two, five, ten and twenty dollar bills front and back, folded in half front and back, and folded in quarters every which way. It didn't miss a beat. They say it works also on fifties and hundreds, but I haven't had one of those in my hands since forever so I'll just take their word for it.

This also works at an angle and while being very unsteady. No buttons, no switches; it just starts reading and shuts up when you turn it off or if it doesn't see a bill. Don't get carried away when you use this thing. The existing expensive dollar bill readers do a pretty good job of identifying fakes. This thing is happy with an oversized ink jet picture. This reader requires trust. Keep that in mind and you'll be tickled pink with this app. It's quick. It's three to four stars. It's a keeper.

The Note Teller 2 and the Franklin Bill Reader are priced at three hundred dollars each, the Magnifying Aids reader is two hundred dollars, and the iBill at MaxiAids is a hundred. This puppy sells for two dollars. Unfortunately it only works on the iPhone and iPod Touch, seems to be a real sucker for counterfeit bills, and I don't see any support for non-American bills. Enough negativity; I see a lot of good with this company.

It's produced by LookTel Products, who say they're working also on identifying packaged goods such as items in your kitchen or grocery store, organize money, quickly identify a medication bottle, easily find a CD in your music collection, and more, without accessing the barcode. This links directly to more features underway such as identifying landmarks and making a database of other images. "Remote sighted assistance" is planned to send your phone's camera images in real time to someone else. Wave the camera around and the sighted person you called can tell you where you are, what a sign says, which road to cross at the corner you're on, and so on. That's something that's already available but when this one comes out we'll do a comparison test.

Another tool they're getting ready is a server-based camera text reader. Use your phone to take a photo of any printed text and the system will read it back to you. I don't know if this will work anywhere near as well as other (very expensive) camera readers, but we'll see! Check them out at LookTel Products.

Justice Department’s New ADA Rules Go into Effect

2011-03-17T16:22:00.003-07:00

Revised regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) took effect March 15. The revised rules are the department’s first major revision of its guidance on accessibility in 20 years.

The regulations apply to the activities of more than 80,000 units of state and local government and more than seven million places of public accommodation, including stores, restaurants, shopping malls, libraries, museums, sporting arenas, movie theaters, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, hotels, jails and prisons, polling places, and emergency shelters. The rules were signed by Attorney General Eric Holder.

They also have a new document, “ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business,” to help small businesses understand the new and updated accessibility requirements.

“The new rules usher in a new day for the more than 50 million individuals with disabilities in this country,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “The rules will expand accessibility in a number of areas and, for the first time, provide detailed guidance on how to make recreation facilities, including parks and swimming pools, accessible.”

The new ADA rules adopt the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which have been retooled to be more user-friendly for building code officials, builders, and architects, and have been harmonized with state and local accessibility codes. The 2010 standards also include, for the first time, standards on making swimming pools, parks, golf courses, boating facilities, exercise clubs, and other recreation facilities accessible for individuals with disabilities.

Entities covered by the ADA have one year to comply with the new standards. The amended regulations contain many new or expanded provisions on general nondiscrimination policies, including the use of service animals, the use of wheelchairs and other power-driven mobility devices, selling tickets for wheelchair-accessible seating at sports and performance venues, reserving and guaranteeing accessible rooms at hotels, providing interpreter services through video conferencing, and the effect of the new regulations on existing facilities.

For more information about the ADA, call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301, or accesses the department’s ADA website at www.ada.gov.

The Audio Book Club

2011-03-13T19:55:00.002-07:00

At our last book club meeting we talked about The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. She describes the rise of Wang Lung, a poor Chinese peasant. The story begins with his wedding day, as he ponders his good fortune that now he will have a woman to take over the chore of lighting a fire to heat the water for his bath. With the help and patience of his new wife, O-lan, Wang Lung becomes a rich landowner. DB37294. This was very interesting and opened my eyes to the way the culture in China used to be. If you've never read it, check it out.

The next Book Club meeting will be on April ninth and we'll talk about My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. When Kate is diagnosed with a rare leukemia her parents create test-tube baby Anna to save her life. After years of medical procedures Anna, now thirteen, is expected to donate a kidney. She files for medical legal emancipation and throws the family into a fundamental moral crisis. DB58402

Here are four other books I've enjoyed recently: not my normal bloody violent mysteries but something lighter. Incidentally, they're all read by Mitzi Friedlander.

All That Matters by Stef Ann Holm, is a romance based in Boise, Idaho. Plans for a new megastore chain grocery threaten the lease on Chloe Lawson's gourmet bakery. Widowed attorney John Moretti, who is struggling to raise two surly teenagers, agrees to help Chloe come to terms with the corporation. DB68555

The Black Sheep's Daughter by Carola Dunn is an old-timey Victorian romance. Teresa Danville has grown up on her father's coffee plantation in the jungles of Costa Rica. Her father decides she must go to London to learn the social graces. Sir Andrew Graylin is to accompany her. At their first meeting she shoots a deadly snake at Andrew's feet; later, she escapes from a jaguar, and at sea she rescues the human cargo of a slave ship. Can London society tame this woman? DB32627

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, my favorite yet, is a stalker romance. Or is it? While serving in Iraq, Logan Thibault finds a photo of a blonde woman wearing a "lucky lady" T-shirt. Oddly, the picture brings him luck--first with cards and then in battle. Still mystified about her five years later, Logan tracks down the lady--a single mom. DB67541

Comfort Food Kate Jackson has successful TV chef "Gus" Simpson about to turn fifty. Her show's format is changed and she has to share the stage with a former beauty queen. As Gus's daughters help Gus during a special live episode, Gus becomes attracted to the show's new producer. DB67901

Mitzi

Series Gaps at Talking Books

2011-02-12T21:55:00.002-07:00

I stepped in a hole a few weeks ago and sprained my ankle enough

to have to wear an ortho boot for two months, so I have been off

my feet and have never read so many books in my life! I love to

read books that have sequels and am finding out that not all of

some very popular series in the Talking Book Library or BARD

systems have decent continuity.

If you get books from Talking Books or BARD and you like

novels that are a part of a continuing series or theme, make

sure you find out up front if they have the whole series.

I keep finding, the hard way, that they do not usually have all

of them. There are ways to get them but those ways usually

cost money. Hang up the computer and phone the library

directly for the status of missing books. The Library of Congress

is aware of such gaps and is supposedly working to plug them.

Mitzi

Grocery Delivery Without a Computer!

2011-02-12T21:41:00.001-07:00

Been checking on some grocery deliveries but am finding that you have to get on your computer to do the ordering. You are not able to get on the phone and have someone help you do the ordering, so that was a little bit upsetting to me. I'll keep checking to see if something a bit more helpful comes up for those who do not use a computer.

So far the best I have found is Schwann's. You can have a special delivery date and when they come to the door you can tell them exactly what you want or you can tell them in advance. They are a bit expensive but it is high quality and you do not pay extra for the delivery; it is included in the price. They also have a Braille catalog and a cassette catalog too, but you have to choose one or the other. That is pretty nice and they send you updates whenever their catalog changes.

If anyone know of a delivery that I do not know about please let me know. Of course all the local stores will have someone help you shop but you have to actually be able to make it to the store.

Mitzi

NFB'S Newsline and job service

2011-01-17T12:08:00.001-07:00

NFB is doing very well. Besides their Newsline continuing with a wonderful grant they have a new way to look for jobs through the news line now. It is nice when more services are added to help out people with low vision.

I think it is wonderful that they have this new service. At the radio reading service I work at we get a number of calls about jobs in the area so this new service is really needed.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "We are pleased that we can restore NFB-Newsline ... with this funding. This vital service, which offers the blind and other print-disabled people unprecedented, round-the-clock access to news and information, continues to grow, regularly adding new publications and new features. We remain hopeful that the additional $60,000 of funding needed to support the service for the rest of the year can be found."

it also offers a new job-listings feature that allows subscribers to search through job listings from all across the country by category and keyword, and may be a help to reduce the estimated 70 percent unemployment rate among the blind.

With the addition of content from a national job classifieds provider, NFB-Newsline subscribers can conduct searches for job openings in dozens of categories such as banking and education, and if desired, can narrow the search to look for certain keywords within the listings. Subscribers can save their searches and request that a particular job listing be sent to them via e-mail; the e-mail will contain the listing as well as a link that will provide a web page with the position's application form.

Mitzi

Foundation Fighting Blindness at SAAVI

2011-01-15T17:29:00.001-07:00

Foundation Fighting Blindness is hosing a seminar on "Latest Research on Retinitis Pigmentosa and Age-Related Macular Degeneration" by Dr. Martin Worrall. It'll be at SAAVI, 3767 E. Grant, from ten in the morning until one on Saturday, January 22. Free lunch provided. RSVP 310-207-2089.

FFB is an outstanding non-profit funding clinical trials to find treatment and cures for retinal diseases. Help start a new FFB chapter. Come join them for this informative day.

Talking Books and BARD

2011-01-01T13:08:00.001-07:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The new digital Talking Books player is great. Not only is it far easier to get around in a recording, there's no keeping track of which cassette side is next. To top it all off with an inexpensive blank cartridge or even a USB thumb drive, you can get your books in just a few minutes download time from the National Library Service's BARD site. BARD stands for Braille and Audio Reading Download, and they're never out of stock.

For all those reasons I'm listening to books now more then ever. I was always so busy so did not read them that often but I'm really enjoying them now, even to the point of starting a book club with other members of our ACB chapter in Tucson. We even have our discussion books picked out nearly a year in advance!

I am adding the book club selection and if anyone is interested please give me call or email me and I will let you know how to get started.

Besides the club books, I am listening to Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone books. They start at "A"is for Alibi, then "B" Is for Burglar, and so on. "P" Is for Peril is next for me. These are really interesting with believable characters; if you have not listened to them try listening to the first one for just an hour or so. The series might be for you.

I am adding the book club selection and if anyone is interested please give me call and I will let you know how to get started.

Mitzi

Descriptive Movies

2010-12-18T21:14:00.001-07:00

I am enjoying them more then ever and I go to the movies more than I have in a long time and are enjoying them more. One of the latest I saw was Secretariat, which I did enjoy a lot. I was raised with horses and remember well the Triple Crown race that Secretariat was in. I also went and saw part one of the latest Harry Potter movie. It was the first one that I have seen with the descriptive video. I enjoyed that one the most since they let you know every little detail that was going on so I could really get into the movie that way.

When my vision first went and I could not see the TV any more I still watched and enjoyed it. Now that I am listening much more frequently with descriptive video I like that more and more. I am very happy to be hearing that it has become a law now for stations to be increasing their descriptive video offerings as the years go by. With their broadcast second audio channel they would tend to use it for a second spoken language rather than a description track.

Talking books is getting more of them all the time, which is really nice. To ask them about such things, call them from anywhere at 888-657-7323. That's their national number and they'll answer your questions and help set you up locally.

Mitzi

CALL FOR VOLUNTEER READERS

2010-12-15T20:58:00.001-07:00

If you love to read and help people at the same time, then SAAVI, the Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired needs your help! They need volunteers to help blind and other visually impaired college students in three areas.

1. reading handouts and other course materials

2. Proofreading

3. Scanning print into data files, usually Microsoft Word doc files.

To help or just to get more information please call SAAVI at 520 795 1331 and ask for Shannon Kemlo or Stephanie Decker.

Exercise: ugh!

2010-11-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well just 5 pounds in a little less than two months. Ugh. I sure would like to hear the scale say a little bit less but I am feeling better, and those flabby arms that I never thought I would get are getting firmer, and I am feeling muscles that I forgot that I had, and the soreness is going away from walking those hills in the canyon.

The hardest part of such a workout is still the need to turn around and get back out over those same miles that drag on you going in. The last mile is always longer than science can explain.

I still do my exercise tapes. They help in between the days of going for the longer walks.

Talking Scales

2010-09-22T20:35:00.007-07:00

There are so many talking scales out there for you to choose from if you are interested. They speak your weight aloud and are a lot of fun. They all take batteries which should last a year or so. Some come in languages other than English, and the one I have can be switched between English and Spanish, and between pounds and kilograms.
I mostly have fun with mine. I bring it out and show it to people but it seems that nobody wants to get on it though. Some have an adjustable volume control. I control the loud embarrassing blast from mine with a slathering of duct tape across the speaker. If you keep one in the bathroom and have the shower running hard, you won't broadcast your weight to everybody nearby. It sure is nice to not have anyone stand there and tell you how much you weigh.

It is great for me right now while needing to know how I am doing with my weight loss try. The weight is going down slower than I was expecting, but it's still going down. My husband is, or so he says, trying to lose the pounds too and it is nice to be able to hear how he is doing. Especially since he doesn't want me to.

I went to my son’s birthday celebration and did not watch it; I went to my daughter's and did not watch it. I swear food and goodies are everywhere! If I would just stay at home I could eat less by paying attention to how big the servings are because I have a talking kitchen scale too.

These kitchen scales are just as numerous as the bathroom ones. The one I have, the VOX 3000, seems to be very accurate. When you push the ON button, it automatically calibrates itself so that gives you an easy tare weight adjustment.

That makes measuring amazingly easy. It measures to the tenth of an ounce, so I can also use it as a reliable postal scale too. Both of these two scales have exactly the same clear voice. This is just a coincidence but it's good to have two appliances that work so well.

Time To Lose Some Weight and Get Exercising!

2010-08-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Are there many of you out there like me: now in my fifties and you watch your eating and do some exercising but the weight doesn't just not fall off like it did when you were in your twenties? I am much more tired than I used to be and would rather sit and watch a repeat of the Gilmour Girls with a drink or some chips or cookies.

I'm just a few pounds lighter than when I had my first child, and I gained 50 pounds with him. I used to be thin, could wear white and look fine. Now I like to wear red and black.

My husband is also getting heavy. When we got married we were both in great shape but that was nearly twenty years ago. My husband has decided to go on a diet and I did that with him. He lost ten pounds, I lost two, and that did not make me happy. He is a dozen years older then me so it's really not an age thing.

I am already getting fed up and thinking of settling for losing only fifteen of my original goal of thirty pounds. So, as embarrassing as it is, I am putting it out in public to give myself the will power to do it. I am the world's worst dieter and this is my fortieth or so try. People laugh at me when I tell them I am going on a diet because I never follow through. I keep gaining weight. I love to eat. I don't like to exercise that much either.

I need to start taking very long walks again with my friend. It's over a hundred degrees for about a hundred days each Summer, but we talk all about everything you can imagine on the walks so that really helps. Because I know she wants me to join her it makes me get up and get going or I know I wouldn't do it.

I have an incentive for myself. I am hoping it makes me really do it. I am hoping to feel better. I am hoping to get back into some of my clothes.

I'm going to see if I can find some exercise videos (exercise non-videos?) that don't depend on watching the video portion on a television in order to know how to do the moves right.

Mitzi

Described Video Without The Video

2010-08-15T21:01:00.001-07:00

WGBH in Boston started the Described Video movement and has been a major producer of video tapes with descriptions added to the sound track. It is fairly easy, aside from the work of recording a description, to add a recorded voice over to an existing tape. It is very much harder to add a description to a DVD, and VHS video tapes are dying out right now.

One other problem with DVD movies is the absolute lack of a consistent menu structure. Pop in a disc and you have absolutely no idea how to turn on the description track unless you can see the screen. The studios treat these set up menus as artistic creations, and the inability of a non-sighted person to operate one of their products seems to matter not one single little bit to them. They have a fully visual product and they seem to want to keep it that way.

However, if you don't care your own single little bit about the visual part of any movie, there is a kludge. Blind Mice Mart has a movie section with a list of 130 or so titles that have the movie sound track and the description track stripped from them and converted to MP3 audio files. You can read the list at www.blindmicemart.com/assets/product_images/movies2.html and each title holds a link to a service called SendSpace. It's a file downloading service that makes it's money by offering faster downloads for a subscription payment of about nine dollars a month, and much slower download rates for free. A sound track will take, pretty much, twenty to thirty minutes to download.

But it's free, and you get to watch a movie on any MP3 player.

Dear Abby

2010-08-09T21:23:00.003-07:00

Here's an excerpt from a recent "Dear Abby" letter. You can read her column on line and other places, but this bit should suffice to bring up reasonable criticism. That is criticism needed all around; everyone mentioned (Abby, the theater management, the disturbed patrons, the disturbers) deserves criticism here. We need to educate all these folks:

DEAR ABBY: My son and his girlfriend decided to go to an afternoon matinee. Two older women sat down behind them. When the movie started, one of them began a loud, running commentary to the other.

...He turned around and made a shushing sound, and in a loud voice she responded, "My friend is blind and I'm explaining what's happening on the screen."

My son understood how a blind person might want to enjoy hearing a movie, but ... this was a public place and she would have to wait until they go home to have it explained in full, or wait for the DVD to come out so they could talk at home while it was on.

Abby, wasn't it rude to destroy everyone else's enjoyment of the film? -- SUZANNE

DEAR SUZANNE: Yes. Your son should have taken the problem to the theater usher or manager. Many theaters are equipped with special descriptive audio for blind patrons. If that accommodation was not available, the blind person and her companion should have sat toward the front of the theater or in an area that was less crowded so they didn't distract other audience members. Also, movies with descriptive audio can be obtained at the local library.

It feels like theaters are making descriptive video available just about as slowly as possible. We have a list of movie theater chains on the site. Look at it and make some calls! Write to Abby too, either at the site link mentioned up at the beginning or at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Braille Menus in Tucson

2010-08-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here is our meager list of restaurants in Tucson that have Braille or large print menus. If you know of others, please let us know here or at info@emviatucson.org

Applebee's
Cheesecake Factory
Claim Jumper
Coco's
Denny's
Macaroni Grill
Mimi's Cafe
Olive Garden
Outback Steakhouse
PF Chang's
Red Lobster
Red Robin
T.G.I. Fridays
Texas Roadhouse
Zivaz

American Council of the Blind National Convention

2010-07-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

The national ACB convention was held this year in Phoenix from July ninth through the seventeenth. That's right. Mid July. No rain for three months. Low desert. Arizona. A whole lot of hot. I went for a few days and still enjoyed it very much.

It was at the Downtown Phoenix Sheraton. The Sheraton had many staffers standing around waiting to be helpful. Some were very active, piping up if a conventioneer looked or acted lost or uncertain, and some didn't get clear on the concept and just stood there, smiling and waiting to be spotted.

There were about 70 vendors there so that was really neat seeing and trying out all the different things. Everything was really neat to check out. I really liked seeing that you could get body lotions and things like that in factory Brailled bottles. I always have to mark things so it was neat to see that there was something out there like that.

We looked at bar code scanners. The I D mate from Omni was being remaindered out for half price but still about six hundred dollars. It is being replaced with a smaller lighter model for about thirteen hundred dollars. Both have internal memories of zillions of bar codes. Then we came across a company called Digit-Eyes at www.digit-eyes.com/blog. They have a color scanner app in development, but right now they are selling an Internet enabled app for smart phones that will read bar codes for thirty dollars. That's a one time cost but you will have to bear the ongoing monthly cost of Internet service on your phone.

The big difference is that the app looks up the code on their server with a few second delay, and we can't yet say how good it is at finding a code that the user is trying to locate on a package somewhere. It will also do custom labeling like the other code readers and the Pen Friend.

Some things are very expensive and most of us cannot afford them. The stand alone dedicated technology is definitely better, so comparisons often have to be made on enormous price differences. Technology is really getting better so we are going to be getting things now that are not so expensive. That sort of thing makes me happy. When my cell phone contract expires in a few months I will definitely be getting a smart phone.

We took a tour to the Foundation for Blind Children in northern Phoenix and enjoyed it very much. It was very informative; I did not realize they did so much there. They are Brailing maniacs. Contrary to their name, they work with people of all ages. The oldest person using them is over a hundred.

Finally, I went to the movies with my daughter and saw the third Twilight movie in descriptive video. Not bad. If it had not been descriptive I would not have enjoyed it much because there was a lot of action.

Mitzi

2010 A.C.B. CONVENTION

2010-07-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

I am going to my first ACB Convention ever. That's the American Council of the Blind. This is the annual national convention and I am looking very forward to it. Luckily, since I live in Tucson Arizona and it's just a little over a hundred miles up the road in Phoenix; it won't be far for me.

This year there are over 70 vendors and I know we'll have a ton of fun going to each table and seeing all the different things they have to show us. I wish I had lots and lots of money to spend as it promises there will be a lot of neat things calling my name.

Some of the classes look really interesting. I am going to a number of them just to see what new things I can learn and after the convention I will give you all the details.

Mitzi

SCHWAN'S FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE

2010-06-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

I really love Schwan's. I have had many different delivery people and they are always nice and not pushy. Yes it is a little bit expensive but I feel the quality is top notch good and what I love the most is that it's easy cooking. My husband is the main cook in the family because for some reason I never enjoy cooking. I just don't. So Schwan's is for me!

You can order over the phone, on-line, or in person when the driver shows up on your door step, but then you'll have to chance that they have what you want on the truck. All the food is hard frozen. If you order on line, there's a discount of 5 to 12 per cent, depending on the size of the order. They're at http://www.schwans.com or you can phone them at 1-888-SCHWANS, which translates to 1-888-724-9267.

I just found out that they will send you a catalog in Braille or on cassette, and they'll send you updates every two months just like they do with their printed catalog. It'll take 4 to 6 weeks to get that started. They also have a Braille cookbook, organized around their products, that's sort of a secret. Companies that do this sort of thing need some positive feedback. I don't understand why they make no effort to publicize these things. Call them. Tell them it's a good idea. Order a catalog.

They are all over the United States. If you don't use them you might want to give them a try. They come every two weeks, always on the same day. Since they deliver groceries and not junk food, you can even pay with EBT electronic food stamp cards.

Mitzi

Restaurant Menus

2010-06-21T21:59:00.002-07:00

Every time I go to a restaurant I ask if they have a Braille menu. Most do not, but it is very interesting to see how they react. Sometimes I have to repeat what I am asking them because they have never heard of one before, but if they do have one, they seem very happy to be able to give you one.

Braille and large print menus are very slowly catching on. On The Border (http://www.ontheborder.com/location-search.aspx) and Mimi's Café (http://www.mimiscafe.com/Locations.aspx) have good supplies of combination Braille and large print menus that are clearly marked and dated so the staff is able to manage them. Claim Jumper (http://www.claimjumper.com/locations/map.aspx) has Braille only menus.

A few months ago I was in a Black Angus Steakhouse (http://hosted.where2getit.com/blackangus), a western U S chain and asked for a Braille menu. The waitress did not know if they had one so she went to check, and when she came back she said sorry, and then asked me if they were in trouble! She was very serious about it. I did not want to laugh at her but I did find it amusing.

This is another one of those things: if restaurants get asked enough times they will get them. Just like descriptive movies, wouldn't it be neat if it was just the normal thing when you went in a restaurant that it was just the norm to have large print and for those of us who do read Braille to have a Braille menu at all restaurants.

Mitzi

Described Movies

2010-06-06T20:42:00.002-07:00

I would really like to talk to the movie theaters about descriptive video. If you don’t know, that is a system in a theater that takes a second audio track that the movie studios put on a film that describes the movie to someone wearing headphones. It is also called descriptive narration. We are lucky that theaters do that but I wish they would advertise it more. A lot more people would go to them if it was just more known. When I go myself, the theater staff often does not even know that they do it. The managers know but not other workers, and the theaters that offer it seldom promote it properly. If we as visually impaired people ask often for it to happen, they’d get better at it.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the film companies included the availability of descriptive video in every ad they run on television, in the newspapers, on web sites, and everywhere else they run ads and trailers? Hopefully with some work and time that will happen. I know that I am going to work on it.

Mitzi

The EMVIA Blog

BEACH ROAD by James Patterson

Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews Edwards

THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE by Ken Follett

The Cedar Cove Series of Debbie Macomber

Those Happy Golden Years

A Book Club Book

Another Series of Humorous Novels

Interested in starting a book club?

Book Clubs views on Olive Kittredge book by Elizabeth Strout

Schwan’s lemon pie.

Olive Kitteridge

Sad books and bad movies

Starting out with Braille

Just an opinion on a book

Upcoming conventions

LookTel Two Dollar Money Reader

Justice Department’s New ADA Rules Go into Effect

The Audio Book Club

Series Gaps at Talking Books

Grocery Delivery Without a Computer!

NFB'S Newsline and job service

Foundation Fighting Blindness at SAAVI

More About Reading

Talking Books and BARD

Descriptive Movies

CALL FOR VOLUNTEER READERS

Exercise: ugh!

Talking Scales

Time To Lose Some Weight and Get Exercising!

Described Video Without The Video

Dear Abby

Braille Menus in Tucson

American Council of the Blind National Convention

2010 A.C.B. CONVENTION

SCHWAN'S FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE

Restaurant Menus

Described Movies