<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">yes, as far as I know, they did do away with the glasses. Maybe I will call them up tomorrow and ask them if they ever got them back. I think they would've told us so, though. Anyway, have a great evening everyone. Esther<br><br><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 7+!</span></div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Oct 15, 2021, at 9:18 PM, Hamit Campos via CT-NFB <ct-nfb@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<p>Wait they got rid of the glasses?<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/15/2021 8:51 PM, Esther Levegnale
via CT-NFB wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:F0FFCC8D-6388-4D82-99C0-EFF3A51B1DE6@sbcglobal.net">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
hi, Jim, and everyone, I have been using Aira for quite a few
years now and I think it's one of the most wonderful and useful
apps that have come to our attention in many years. I use it quite
often, to find my way in unfamiliar places, and, would you
believe, finding my birds toy which fell out the window when I was
shaking out the tablecloth that I use so that I could hear his
little feet when he comes down the ladder and out of his cage. I
used it when I went into Port Authority in New York to find my way
to my next bus when I was going to Pennsylvania. Anyway, I just
love using this app. I do miss the glasses, though. They gave
those up quite a while ago. I have to keep holding the phone, but
I understand there are lanyards which you could place around your
neck so that you don't have to hold the phone. Anyway, I hope this
helps. Esther
<div><br>
<div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Sent From Esther's
Amazing and Awesome iPhone 7+!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
<blockquote type="cite">On Oct 15, 2021, at 9:27 AM, Jim
McCollum via CT-NFB <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:ct-nfb@nfbnet.org"><ct-nfb@nfbnet.org></a> wrote:<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<br>
<br>
<div dir="ltr">Jim Y. McCollum
<div>Board Member and Legislative Coordinator </div>
<div>National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut </div>
<div>860-581-0430 </div>
<div><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:j.mccollum64@comcast.net">j.mccollum64@comcast.net</a></div>
<div>Sent from my iPhone</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
Begin forwarded message:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> Jim McCollum
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:Jim.Y.McCollum@gmail.com"><Jim.Y.McCollum@gmail.com></a><br>
<b>Date:</b> October 15, 2021 at 9:24:34 AM EDT<br>
<b>To:</b> Jim McCollum <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:j.mccollum64@comcast.net"><j.mccollum64@comcast.net></a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> <b>Fwd: You're Invited: Participate in
the Aira Pilot Program [not-secure]</b><br>
<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<br>
<br>
<div dir="ltr">Jim Y. McCollum
<div>860-581-0430</div>
<div><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Jim.Y.McCollum@gmail.com">Jim.Y.McCollum@gmail.com</a></div>
<div>Sent from my iPhone</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
Begin forwarded message:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> "Ogren, Jeffrey"
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:Jeff.Ogren@ct.gov"><Jeff.Ogren@ct.gov></a><br>
<b>Date:</b> October 15, 2021 at 8:38:40 AM EDT<br>
<b>To:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:ADS_Announcements@list.ct.gov">ADS_Announcements@list.ct.gov</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> <b>You're Invited: Participate in
the Aira Pilot Program [not-secure]</b><br>
<b>Reply-To:</b> List
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:ADS_Announcements@list.ct.gov"><ADS_Announcements@list.ct.gov></a><br>
<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15
(filtered medium)">
<style>@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}@font-face
{font-family:Constantia;
panose-1:2 3 6 2 5 3 6 3 3 3;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}p.xxxmsonormal, li.xxxmsonormal, div.xxxmsonormal
{mso-style-name:x_x_x_msonormal;
margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}span.xxxmsointensereference
{mso-style-name:x_x_x_msointensereference;}.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}</style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN">Dear BESB Client, </span></b><span style="font-family:"Constantia",serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN"> </span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#201F1E" lang="EN">Since today, October 15th, is
Blind Americans Equality Day, the
Connecticut Department of Transportation
(CTDOT) and the Department of Aging and
Disability Services (ADS) </span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN">are excited to</span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#201F1E" lang="EN"> </span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#201F1E">announce
the launch of an 18-month pilot program
offering Aira at no cost to individuals who
are blind or have low vision. Aira is a
service that enables subscribers to connect
with highly trained, live agents in
real-time, for assistance using the public
transportation system and other essential
services. </span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#201F1E">The
Aira service uses a smartphone's camera to
stream live video to an agent who provides
the subscriber with instant access to visual
information about their surroundings. The </span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Aira
Agents use the live video to narrate and
interpret what they see for the customer.
This can include how to use the ticket
vending machine, navigate one of
Connecticut’s busy public transportation
hubs, or access connecting services. </span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#201F1E" lang="EN">BESB clients are invited to
participate in the 18-month pilot program to
access Aira for FREE, a service that would
otherwise cost a subscriber upwards of $500
per year. Your participation and feedback
throughout the pilot program will be vital
to the assessment of the Aira service and
help to evaluate the viability of providing
Aira long-term. </span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN">To get started, we invite you to
participate in a short, important research
survey that is fully accessible. It will
take around 10-15 minutes to complete. At
the end of the survey, you will receive a
code that you will need to activate the Aira
app on your phone. Here is a </span></b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN"><a href="https://uconn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5d5ONyXG118TOe2" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><b><span style="color:#0070C0">link to the survey</span></b></a></span><span class="xxxmsointensereference"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;font-variant:small-caps;color:#4F81BD;letter-spacing:.25pt" lang="EN">.</span></b></span><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white" lang="EN"> </span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#201F1E" lang="EN">For more information on this
program and how to sign up, please visit</span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN"> </span></b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN"><a href="https://ctrides.com/aira-en/" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><b><span style="color:#0070C0">CTrides</span></b></a><b>. </b></span><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN"> </span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN">For more information about the
Aira app, please visit </span></b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN"><a href="https://aira.io/" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><b><span style="color:#0070C0">Aira</span></b></a><b> or
call Aira Customer Care at 1.800.835.1934. </b></span><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN"> </span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN">Thank you in advance for
participating and helping us make travel
more accessible for everyone in
Connecticut. </span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:white"><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Sincerely,</span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Andrew
Norton</span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#201F1E">Bureau
of Education and Services for the Blind
(BESB)</span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xxxmsonormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Aging
& Disability Services (ADS)</span></b><span style="color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<br>
<hr>
<p align="center"> To unsubscribe from this list,
compose an e-mail to <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:listserv@list.ct.gov">listserv@list.ct.gov</a> from the
same email account used when subscribing to
ADS_Announcements.
</p>
<p align="center"> Leave the subject line blank and
in the body of the message type: Signoff
ADS_Announcements Click send.
</p>
--d
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div><Blind Americans Equality Day 2021
proclamation.docx></div>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
</div>
</blockquote>
<span>_______________________________________________</span><br>
<span>CT-NFB mailing list</span><br>
<span><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:CT-NFB@nfbnet.org">CT-NFB@nfbnet.org</a></span><br>
<span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org</a></span><br>
<span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your
account info for CT-NFB:</span><br>
<span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/elevegnale%40sbcglobal.net">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/elevegnale%40sbcglobal.net</a></span><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
CT-NFB mailing list
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:CT-NFB@nfbnet.org">CT-NFB@nfbnet.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org</a>
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for CT-NFB:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/hamitcampos%40gmail.com">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/hamitcampos%40gmail.com</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
<span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>CT-NFB mailing list</span><br><span>CT-NFB@nfbnet.org</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org</span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for CT-NFB:</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/elevegnale%40sbcglobal.net</span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>