[Faith-talk] A praise report

Tue Jun 1 01:27:20 UTC 2010

Hello Peter --
Oh, when I got my degrees in math and computer science back in the 80s, I 
was visually impaired but not totally blind -- I used a cctv to read 
textbooks and a screen enlarger package to zoom in on the parts of the 
computer screen I needed to see. I graduated and worked for 12 years in 
industry, learning new things as technology evolved.  But since the late 90s 
i am no longer able to see to read at all and use only a screen reader.  My 
main one is jaws, but lately jaws has had some problems so I am trying 
others, including window eyes.  The computer science is a bit more 
challenging I must say, but if you have a good grasp of math and algebra and 
a little graphics, you should be ok.  It also helps to understand math 
theory since for a computer science major you will study logic and 
algorithms, which is mostly theoretical and doesn't require much 
programming.
There are also different branches of computer science you can go into --  
there is IT, or information tech which studies I think networking and 
internet technology, MIS, or management information systems -- in other 
words, databases. There is also just a general computer science degree, 
which is the path I took, studying theory and implementing classical 
software like compilers, debuggers, and operating systems.  In all of these 
you will get into hardware and architecture.

As I mentioned above, computer science field has evolved extremely since I 
first started out.  (I hate to admit it, but the first programming class I 
took was in 1979 and used, believe it or not, punch cards....very, very 
old.)
The funny thing about my major: when I chose math and computers as my major, 
it was because it required the least reading, which was hard for me -- just 
a couple of pages of math packs as much information as a long chapter in 
another subject, like history.  I was also good at it.  Now, however, I am 
finding that I am able to read faster than I ever thought possible using a 
screen reader.  (Before now I strained my eye to read just a few words at a 
time.) So now I am signing up for courses in other subjects that I didn't 
have time for as a computer major.

I don't want to dissuade you from getting a computer degree however, just 
because you use a screen reader.  There are many blind programmers.  There 
is a question as to whether a blind person can be successful as a website 
designer, as people expect websites to be visually appealing -- but there 
are blind people doing it, and they are successful because they are familiar 
with ways of making the pages accessible to blind clients. There are also 
many blind programmers doing all kinds of programming, as you will see.

I can direct you to 3 lists to join if you are interested in programming 
with a visual impairment:
programmingblind at freelists.org
program-l at freelists.org
blindwebbers at yahoogroups.com

for the first 2, send email to the name of the list followed 
by -request at freelists.org and put subscribe in the subject line. You should 
get a confirmation.
For yahoogroups, send email to
blindwebbers-subscribe at yahoogroups.com
I hope these resources are helpful and maybe I'll see you on the lists.
And if you decide to minor in computers and major in something else, I'm 
sure you will do well.
--le

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Wolfe" <sunspot005 at gmail.com>
To: "qubit" <lauraeaves at yahoo.com>; "Faith-talk, for the discussion of faith 
and religion" <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 31, 2010 5:46 PM
Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] A praise report

Lee

   Thanks for writing back. Matthew was a good Gospel to read and has
turned some of my former opinions on their heads especially about
alcohol. I'm proud to announce that I have every intention on never
drinking alcohol to get intoxicated again. Also, sorry for not doing
control home cause I forgot and continue to forget due to
carelessness. About my fields of interest cause I love history and
political science and computers it's hard. I have more experience do
to my life of poverty to working class life background that I couldn't
afford a computer for most of my life the history is more comfortable
with me. The thing is that computer programming seems visual to me.
How do you place such and such where it is appealing to the sighted
audience? What do you do when you want to reformat or window-eyes
freezes or just can't read what is on the screen correctly? The other
thing is that competing with sighted people seems difficult in that
case. I am on my junior year and don't want to screw this up and the
commoness of my degree in social science/history education isn't much
needed. Thanks again for any help or further prayers.

On 5/31/10, qubit <lauraeaves at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hello Peter -- glad to hear you enjoyed reading Matthew -- it is good, 
> isn't
> it? My favorite is the gospel according to John, the 4th book in the new
> testament.
>
> Anyway, your major depends entirely on what you enjoy and are most
> passionate about -- what can you do with social science? Does history 
> excite
> you? I got my masters in computer science and it is somewhat of a lonely
> major as you are left alone hacking on programs for long hours, but it is 
> a
> major that you would always find employment in if you are good at it.
> In short, what you like is all that matters, so no one can really counsel
> you any better than that I don't think.
>
> One last thing: I think i have mentioned before that it is hard to find 
> your
> comments because you append them to the end of a message instead of at the
> beginning. When you enter a new message, could you hit control+HOME to 
> take
> you to the top so your message doesn't get ignored? Half the time I pass 
> by
> and don't read it because I can't find it.
> Thank you.
>
> Good luck in college.
> --le
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Peter Wolfe" <sunspot005 at gmail.com>
> To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion"
> <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2010 10:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] A praise report
>
>
> On 5/30/10, George McDermith <george.mcdermith at gmail.com> wrote:
>>   Greetings,
>>
>>   I recently found out that I received a job with the IRS. This is an
>> answer to prayer, as I have been looking for gainful employment for a
>> couple of years now. Please join me in thanking God for His blessing
>> in this regard. The job will entail a move to Denver, so if you would
>> also please include prayers for our safe and quick move I would
>> appreciate it. We are in the process of moving out of our current
>> apartment, and will be moving into the new apartment on 6-7, for those
>> who are interested.
>>
>>   George McDermith
>>
>> --
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> George McDermith
>>
>> Help Change What it Means to be Blind
>> http://www.raceforindependence.org
>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/gmcdermith
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
>
> --
> Peter
> Webmaster
> http://www.darkstruggle.com
> webmaster at darkstruggle.com
> alternative e-mail
> sunspot005 at gmail.com
>
> I prayed for you guys and was wondering if you could do a prayer for
> me in kind? I am trying to pick a major. My name is Peter Wolfe and am
> trying to decide between social science/history education/ computer
> science/software engineering  or foreign language education. I would
> love a sign by a week at the time of an important meeting about my
> education prospects. Thanks be to God. On other news, I just finished
> Matthew for the first time. I've never read the Bible much before and
> am converting to catholicism!
>
>
> cordially,
> Peter
>
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-- 
Peter
Webmaster
http://www.darkstruggle.com
webmaster at darkstruggle.com
alternative e-mail
sunspot005 at gmail.com 