[il-talk] Hawk Talk

Wed May 1 00:50:17 UTC 2013

National Federation of the Blind
of Illinois
Blackhawk Chapter

HAWK TALK

The monthly newsletter of the Blackhawk Chapter,
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois

May 1, 2013

Editor: Jean Rauschenbach
rauschjc at gmail.com

Contact info:
Patrick Olson, President
421 19th St, Apt 1106
Moline, IL 61265
(309) 574-0140
1ofakind26 at gmail.com

It's May and spring is really trying to make itself known!
I hope the rain hasn't dampened your spring spirits. Don't
forget to come to our next chapter meeting on Saturday,
May 11th Get the date marked on your calendar and make
plans to meet with your Federation family - you'll be glad
you did!  We're all looking forward to seeing you there.

NOTE FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
Due to President Lois Montgomery being preoccupied with a
family emergency, Patrick Olson is in charge of the NFBI
Black Hawk chapter. We will continue with events planned
with possible exception of the swim party. I hope to do
many things this summer in addition to our chapter's
attending a Music Guild play and going on the Loop. When
we discussed ideas for what we want to do, we talked about
going bowling, more travelling on the bus to restaurants
and shops like we did two or three years ago. If you have
ideas or thoughts, please let me know. In addition to
bowling, we can do other recreational activities. If any
of you have questions, or ideas, please contact me.

THIS MONTH'S MEETING

Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, May 13th at
Bennigan's Restaurant located at 226 17th St., Rock
Island, IL. from 11:30 a.m., around 3:00 p.m. We will
discuss the amendment to the constitution that was
proposed last month.  

LAST MONTH IN REVIEW
The chapter meeting was a bit short because some of us
practiced our mobility skills by walking to a nearby
restaurant after the meeting. The weather was beautiful
for a little walk. There was a proposal to increase term
limits for the officers and board members. The amendment
to the chapter constitution will be read and discussed at
the May meeting.  

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
Our chapter president would like you all to know that her
family is going through a very difficult time these last
few weeks. So much so that she is handing off her
presidential responsibilities to Patrick Olson, vice
president until further notice. She would like you all to
know that she will resume her responsibilities
intermittently as she tries to get through this family
crisis. Please do not try to ask her what the problem is
because she is not sharing details for a while. Just keep
her in your prayers and give her some space. I wish I had
more to tell you but I do not at this time.

The following are some of the great events we have to look
forward to in the coming months. Some of them are repeats
from last month, but they are worth a reminder.

We will continue our summer activities. Some of which
include traveling "The Loop", attending a musical at the
Music Guild, and a swim party during the summer months.
More info to come soon!

Plenty of pledge forms for Birdies for Charity are still
available until July so please ask Patrick for more if you
need them. Help out the chapter by participating.  You
just might win the grand prize!

Although we've met twice, we continue to seek youth for
Stepping Out, a local program for junior and senior high
students.  A flyer has been completed - would you help
distribute it throughout the QC area? If interested in
mentoring or helping in any way, please contact me.

On Thursday, May 2nd, the chapter will participate in the
2013 Senior & Low Vision Expo.  This event will take place
at the I Wireless Center located at 1201 River Drive in
Moline from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.   

May 10th & 11th is the date for the Parent Teacher Seminar
to be held at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chicago
O'Hare in Rosemont, IL.  This is a great opportunity for
parents of blind children to meet and interact with
others.  For more info contact Pat Olson at 309-593-2692
or moonriver2682 at live.com.

The 2013 National NFB Convention is fast approaching!
Make plans now to attend.  It will be held July 1st - 6th
at the Rosen Center Hotel at 9840 International Drive  in
Orlando.  Reservations may be made by calling
1-800-204-7234.  The room rates are $79/night singles,
doubles, and twins; $85/ night triples and quads plus tax.
There is no charge for children under 17 with accompanying
parent as long as no additional bed is required.
Conventions change people's lives.

The Illinois Affiliate continues to gain momentum in
preparation for the 2013 BELL (Braille Enrichment and
Literacy for Learning) program.  This is a day program
where the primary focus is on Braille. It includes
components of travel, adjustment to blindness and
fostering independence.  This program will run two weeks
from July 29th - August 9th at The Chicago Lighthouse.  It
is aimed for grades 3rd through 9th.

Mark your calendar now for the NFBI state convention to be
held October 25th - 27th at the Park Hotel and Conference
Center in Bloomington.  Room rates are $99/night plus tax
which includes continental breakfast buffet.

We, as a chapter, must work together to accomplish our
goals. There's plenty for each and every one of us to do,
regardless of your interests or skills.  Help with making
reminder calls, transportation, or whatever you see that
needs attention; a few minutes of your time will go far
and would be greatly appreciated.

During Lois's time away, if you have any questions or
concerns, feel free to email me or Patrick. 

PEOPLE REPORT
Larry & Cindy Hines have returned from their winter
getaway to Arizona. Just in time for the hot weather up
here.

 Bob and Nancy Gardner are taking a 2 week vacation to
Greece again. Don't forget to check out "Bob goes to the
Parthenon" YouTube video about their second trip where he
was able to visit the Parthenon. Those of you receiving
the email version can find it by clicking the following
link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cAWTc5sSCE&list=PLVBcTpng8
Az22T2VrOaPsp5AWQBrraEgj&index=1
Or read the Braille Monitor article Bob wrote at
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm05/bm0501/bm0
50103.htm

BIRTHDAY CORNER

Do you believe it? I have no information about anyone born
in May? If I missed you, please let me know.

FUND RAISING
Have you purchased your 50/50 raffle ticket yet?  If not,
be sure to see Patrick Olson for your chance to win the
pot!  $1 each or 6/$5.  The drawing will be held at the
May meeting.  Good luck!

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!  BIRDIES FOR CHARITY IS BACK!

Chip in for your chance to win!
Once again, the Blackhawk Chapter will participate in this
great fund raiser. Our chapter will receive every penny of
pledged donations we collect from this fund raiser -- plus
a bonus (5%) from the Birdies for Charity Fund.

HOW IT WORKS
Make a one-time flat donation, or pledge one cent or more
per birdie.  After the tournament (July 8 - 14), you'll be
mailed an invoice of your pledge amount due.

AND . . .

Guess the number of birdies made by the Tour Pros during
the tournament for your chance to win the grand prize, a
2013 Chevy Equinox!  Other contest prizes will be awarded
as well!

SO . . . BE A BIRD . . . CHIP IN TO WIN!

"Birdies" forms will be available at the chapter meeting.
Those wanting additional forms to give to friends should
contact Patrick Olson. Please talk to your family,
friends, and neighbors about "Chipping in for your
Charity!" This is our biggest fundraiser of the year.
Remember to fill out a pledge for yourself, too!

AND . . .

There will be a prize given to the person who collects the
highest number of pledges, and another one to the person
who collects pledges with the highest $value. 

UPCOMING EVENTS
May 2nd - Senior & Low Vision Expo at the I Wireless
Center in Moline
May 10th & 11th - Parent Teacher Seminar at the Holiday
Inn Express &      Suites in Chicago
May 11th - Next chapter meeting at Bennigan's in Rock
Island
July 1st - 6th - NFB National Convention in Orlando
July 29th - August 9th - BELL program at The Chicago
Lighthouse
October 25th - 27th - NFBI State Convention at the Park
Hotel and      
	Conference Center in Bloomington

TECH TALK
Tech Tip 4
About Microsoft Office, Ribbons, & JAWS
By Bob Gardner
For years, the Microsoft Office suite, which contained
such applications as Word, Excel, Access, and Power Point,
used a menu system for performing operations within the
application.  Those menus contained the familiar "file,"
"edit," "view," etc., and that went back at least to the
Office 95 suite. Well, for better or worse, that all
changed with the Office 2007 suite. All of a sudden, the
menus were gone -- to be replaced by the "ribbons." In
theory, all the operations we used to be able to do with
menus could then be done using the ribbons. But the
organization of the ribbons was totally different, and the
use of the ribbons by blind users with their screen
readers was particularly difficult.  

With the introduction of the "virtual ribbon" in JAWS 12
about two years ago, the JAWS people made a giant stride
to make the ribbons more understandable. Turning on that
feature within the JAWS screen reader made the ribbons
appear somewhat more like the old menus. Well, if the
ribbons didn't really look like the old menus, the virtual
ribbon did make them easier to navigate and to find what
you're looking for.  

I highly recommend all JAWS users with Office 2007 or
Office 2010 turn on the virtual ribbon feature. Here's
how:  
	1.	 hit insert-6 to get to the "JAWS setting
center."  
	2.	hit control-shift-d to get the "Jaws
setting center, default for all applications.
	3.	in the tree view, use the down arrow to go
down to "miscellaneous, closed.
	4.	use the right arrow to open up
"miscellaneous.
	5.	use the down arrow to "use virtual ribbon
menu." If unchecked, use the space bar to check it.  
	6.	hit the tab key to "okay," and hit enter.

Note that if for any reason, you decide you like the
ribbons the way they were before, you can use the above
procedure to go back and uncheck the "use virtual ribbon
menu.

If you have questions, contact me.  
Bob Gardner
rgardner4 at gmail.com
309-236-6606

BOOK REVIEW
Got a book you found rather interesting to read? Why not
share it with others? Contact  Jean Rauschenbach with a
short overview. This month's selection is recommended by
Jean Rauschenbach. It was a page turner for sure.

Sam's Letters to Jennifer, A Novel
By James Patterson
When grieving widow Jennifer returns to Lake Geneva, the
resort town where her grandmother Samantha, "Sam," is in a
coma, Jennifer finds letters addressed to her from Sam
detailing the love of Sam's life, someone not her husband.
Jennifer also rekindles a romance with a childhood friend.
Bestseller. Commercial audiobook. 2004.
BARD annotation

RECIPE CORNER
Help! We need your favorite recipe to share with other
chapter members. Bring it to a chapter meeting, email it
to Jean Rauschenbach at rauschjc at gmail.com or send it by
snail mail to 3527 - 12th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265.
Thanks! We can't wait to test our taste buds!
This month's recipe comes from Patrick Olson. 

Corndog Muffins
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups regular almond milk (can sub rice milk or soy
milk)
2 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1 cup corn flour (not to be confused with corn starch;
used to make tortillas and can be found in ethnic food
aisle)
1/2 cup white flour (or white rice flour for gluten free)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 drops Stevia extract or add 1 more tablespoon honey or
aguave nectar
2 Tablespoons honey or aguave nectar
4 hot dogs chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.

Stir together milk alternative and apple cider vinegar.
(milk will look curdled, but it's supposed to)
Set aside
In a separate bowl, mix together cornmeal, corn flour,
white (rice) flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add stevia extract (if used) and honey to the milk
mixture.
Add milk mixture to dry mixture
Stir the mixtures just until everything is combined.
Stir in the chopped hot dogs
Scoop into prepared muffin tin or muffin cups in muffin
tin. Fill to the top of the cups.
Bake muffins for 20 minutes or 15 minutes for mini muffins

Makes 24 mini muffins or 12 regular muffins.

Enjoy!

Print edition of this newsletter compliments of
Van Hoe Funeral Home, Ltd.
1500 - 6th Street
East Moline, IL 61244
(309)755-1414

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