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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Dear Editors, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Not sure why Chris’s attempt to get this document in your inbox failed and mine did not. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Chris wanted this to come to you as a Word document, because of the nature of its construction; has live links that jump you to an article. MMM. Think I’ll both attach it and paste it into this message (gives you the option to see how it may function differently from one media to another.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='border:none;padding:0in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>The Federationist In Connecticut<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>“The Blind Speaking for Themselves”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><h5><span style='font-size:16.0pt'>Chris Kuell, Editor Fall/Winter</span><span style='font-size:18.0pt'> </span><span style='font-size:16.0pt'>2010</span><span style='font-size:18.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></h5><p class=MsoNormal><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
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</v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="A Publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut
477 Connecticut Boulevard, Suite 217
East Hartford, Connecticut 06108
(860) 289-1971
www.nfbct.org
" style='position:absolute;margin-left:90pt;margin-top:4.85pt;width:378.75pt;height:126.75pt;z-index:251658240;visibility:visible;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:absolute;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:text;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-width-relative:page;mso-height-relative:page'>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><span style='mso-ignore:vglayout'><table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 align=left><tr><td width=120 height=6></td></tr><tr><td></td><td><img width=505 height=169 src="cid:image004.png@01CBD0F5.97620720" alt="A Publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut
477 Connecticut Boulevard, Suite 217
East Hartford, Connecticut 06108
(860) 289-1971
www.nfbct.org
" v:shapes="_x0000_s1026"></td></tr></table></span><![endif]><u><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></u></p><br style='mso-ignore:vglayout' clear=ALL><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><img width=120 height=110 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image005.jpg@01CBD0F5.97620720" alt="Description: NFB_ICON_K"></span><u><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></u></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Articles reproduced in The Federationist comply with public law 104-197, the Copyright Amendment of 1996. This law allows authorized entities to reproduce previously published, non-dramatic literary works in specialized formats, for exclusive use by blind or disabled people. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoHeading7>Table of Contents<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoHeading7><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></p><p class=MsoHeading7><span style='font-weight:normal'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoHeading7><span style='font-weight:normal'><a href="#uni">See The Universe</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> <a href="#mill">One Million Books</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> <a href="#cell">Verizon Accessible Cell Phone</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><a href="#olym">Crowd Control And Other Olympic Sports</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><a href="#fish">Lions VIP Fishing Derby</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><a href="#infn">NFB Successful in Infant Case</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><a href="#tom">Blind Newscaster Drives Away Stereotypes</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><a href="#what">What Did You Say?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><a href="#nfb">NFB National Scholarships</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><a href="#misc">Miscellany and Notes</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Reprinted from the Plainville Citizen, March 19, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><a name=uni></a><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Woman’s Mission Helps Sight-Impaired ‘See’ The Universe</span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Author Noreen Grice doesn't just help sight-impaired children see. She helps them touch the stars.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Known worldwide for her innovations in making astronomy accessible to the blind, the New Britain resident makes her way to the Plainville Library once a month to meet with fellow National Federation of the Blind members. She's also donated five of her Braille books and two projects to the library in order to continually serve a population that captured her heart 26 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>When working as a planetarium presenter at the Boston Museum of Science in 1984, Grice spoke with a disgruntled group of blind children who couldn't enjoy the show. “They said ‘the show stunk,’ because there was no way to see anything,” Grice said. "It bothered me so much that I decided I just had to do something about it.” And the rest is history.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Grice soon learned that the pricey cost of Braille books made Braille astronomy books extremely rare. Still attending Boston University at the time, Grice shocked her professors by changing her senior project to solve that problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>She and her professor were soon experimenting with Play-doh to create tactile images for blind readers that would become her first published book down the road. But that wasn't good enough for Grice. She still wanted to improve conditions in museums for the sight-impaired.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>During the next few years, Grice worked against many challenges to eventually make the Boston Museum of Science accessible to the blind, handicapped and other disabled populations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>After obtaining a master’s degree in astronomy from San Diego State University, Grice returned to Boston and asked if she could apply for a grant that would give her a Braille printer to help create inexpensive tactile pictures. She received the grant and was soon printing pictures that allowed the blind to see the wonder of space for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>She then revisited her senior project and used her new printing methods to create “Touch the Stars,” her first Braille astronomy book published by Boston Museum of Science. The book is now in its fourth edition and has been used as a textbook at a school for the blind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>She has since published four other Braille books including “Touch the Sun: A NASA Braille Book,” which was her first book for NASA, and “Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Grice also started a company called You Can Do Astronomy in 2004, focused on making astronomy and space science accessible to people with disabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Becoming a household name in the sight-impaired community, Grice has been a speaker at National Federation of the Blind's workshops and many other conventions nationwide. She also works with NASA to create educational materials for the sight-impaired.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>“Noreen doesn't see blind people as broken-sighted people, she looks at them as people that have capability and how do we give them accessibility to information presented visually, usually out of convenience, not necessity,” said NFB Executive Director Marc Riccobono. “She believes in her work and it's that real belief that's in her heart and in her mind that makes her so effective.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Although Grice is dedicated to helping the sight-impaired see the beauty of space that she's adored since she was a child, Grice's determination doesn't stem from a friend or loved one being blind. Her motivation comes from also being misunderstood, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>"When I was little we lived in the public housing projects and I couldn't go over my friend's house because her parents made an assumption about me, about being poor," Grice said. "So I understood the feeling of hitting a barrier because other people were making an assumption."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>She said some institutions have assumed that visually-challenged people are not interested in visiting a planetarium, which Grice said is not the case.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Grice said although there are an estimated 10 million people in North America with visual impairments, the majority of museums offer little or no accommodations, since most exhibits sit behind glass cases. Grice is working to help museums and education organizations revise their facilities through a combination of design and consulting to allow everyone to enjoy learning.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>And so many already have, Grice said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>“Kids will come up and say somebody gave them ‘Touch the Stars’ and I'm going to be an astronaut now because I know I can do this," Grice said. "I talked to a college engineering student determined to be the first blind astronaut in space, just because he read my book. It's so rewarding to hear that.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Her work at the Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science also included introducing captioning devices to enable the hearing impaired to follow the show. Working her way up to operations coordinator of the planetarium, she recently left her position at the museum. She said she feels her work there came full circle from having no special aids to help visitors with certain impairments to learn and enjoy the museum, to opening a new world for many.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>Grice said she'll have more time to hopefully impact more children by trying to incorporate Braille books into the general school sector. “For some reason I feel this kindredship with them (the blind), and now I'm working on my own and able to do so much more,” Grice said. “It doesn't matter if its science or art, it's just important that they can ‘see’ it too.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#31363E'>To see Grice's work, visit www.youcandoastronomy.com.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><a name=mill></a><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoHeading8 style='line-height:150%'>Project puts 1M books online for blind, dyslexic<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Reprinted from The Washington Post<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By BROOKE DONALD, The Associated Press 5/6/10</span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><br>SAN FRANCISCO -- Even as audio versions of best-sellers fill store shelves and new technology fuels the popularity of digitized books, the number of titles accessible to people who are blind or dyslexic is minuscule.<br><br>A new service being announced Thursday by the nonprofit Internet Archive in San Francisco is trying to change that. The group has hired hundreds of people to scan thousands of books into its digital database - more than doubling the titles available to people who aren't able to read a hard copy.<br><br>Brewster Kahle, the organization's founder, says the project will initially make 1 million books available to the visually impaired, using money from foundations, libraries, corporations and the government. He's hoping a subsequent book drive will add even more titles to the collection.<br><br>"We'll offer current novels, educational books, anything. If somebody then donates a book to the archive, we can digitize it and add it to the collection," he said.<br><br>The problems with many of the digitized books sold commercially is that they're expensive, they're often abridged, and they don't come in a format that is easily accessed by the visually impaired.<br><br>The collections are also limited to the most popular titles published within the past several years.<br><br>The Internet Archive is scanning a variety of books in many languages so they can be read by the software and devices blind people use to convert written pages into speech. The organization has 20 scanning centers in five countries, including one in the Library of Congress.<br><br>"Publishers mostly concentrate on their newest, profitable books. We are working to get all books online," Kahle said.<br><br>Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, says getting access to books has been a big challenge for blind people. "Now, for the first time, we're going to have access to an enormous quantity," he said.<br><br>Maurer, who is blind, said that when he was in college, he hired people to read books to him because the Braille and audio libraries were so limited.<br>"That has been the way most students have gotten through school," he said. "This kind of initiative by the Internet Archive will change that for many people."<br><br>Only about 5 percent of published books are available in a digital form that's accessible to the visually impaired, Maurer said, and there are even fewer books produced in Braille.<br><br>Brad Foss, a San Francisco man with dyslexia, says having so many more books available is liberating. He compares it to a million more ramps being added throughout a city for a person who uses a wheelchair.<br>"For me, it's about access. They have provided flexibility and freedom to get books in a format that I use every day," said Foss, 36, who is the director of access technology in the digital health group at Intel Corp.<br><br>The digitized books scanned by the Internet Archive will be available for free to visually impaired people through the organization's website. The organization does not run into copyright concerns because the law allows libraries to make books available to people with disabilities, Kahle said.<br><br>Jessie Lorenz, an associate director at the Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco who has been blind since birth, said it has been hard to find controversial or edgy titles in a format she can use, and choices are often dictated by institutions or service groups who have selected certain books for scanning.<br>"For individuals living with print-related disabilities, this is ground-breaking," she said. "This project will enable people like me to choose what we read."<br><br>Lorenz, 31, has already decided what she wants: Howard Stern's autobiography "Private Parts," Andrew Weil's "The Natural Mind," and, perhaps most importantly, her grandmother's cookbook.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><a name=cell></a><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Accessible Cell Phone: Samsung Haven from Verizon <br>By Walter Gramza<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><br>It's finally here! An affordable fully accessible phone from Verizon<br>Wireless. As of July 29th, 2010, Verizon Wireless has available in its<br>stores a phone for blind and visually impaired persons which is fully<br>audible via Nuance speech.<br><br>There is no extra charge for the speech package, as it is already<br>installed in the phone and ready for use out of the box. It is<br>important to note here that when you go to the store, please make sure<br>that you tell the person assisting you to be sure to turn on the<br>voices called read outs, located under settings, then sounds, and down<br>to voices. The six items to be turned on are: <br><br>1. Menu read out<br><br>2. digit read out<br><br>3. alert read out<br><br>4. flip open and talk<br><br>5. text message read out<br><br>6. full read out <br><br>In order for the phone to be audible these features need to be turned<br>on. <br><br>Placing a Call<br><br>You can enter the contact list by pushing the right soft key in the<br>upper right hand corner of the phone and then arrow through the<br>contacts or by pressing the letter of the contact you wish to call.<br>For example, "v" for Verizon Wireless. Then you can hit ok to view the<br>contact information and hit send to place a call.<br><br>You can enter into your call list of choice which are: 1. missed<br>calls, 2. dialed calls, 3. answered calls, 4. all calls. After<br>entering any one of the lists, you can edit the list and if desired, <br>delete the specific name and number within the list.<br><br>You can find out how much battery strength you have, signal strength, <br>and how many messages, voice mails, missed calls, you have. You can<br>use the alarm clock, set a time audibly, use the calculator, tip<br>calculator, and send and read texts.<br><br>In short, you are prompted through every one of the functions you are<br>performing. You can even ask it to call someone provided that they are<br>in the contact list. <br><br>A Braille manual is available through Samsung. Remember, when you go<br>to Verizon Wireless you'll need to get the hex number, which they can<br>give you. You then call Samsung at 888-987-4357 and provide them with<br>this number along with your address information and it will take about<br>one month to receive the manual. <br><br>You can also purchase an extended battery which lasts one and one<br>half times longer than the standard battery. This is best as any phone<br>with speech uses more battery power and shortens the life of the<br>battery. By having the extended battery it should bring you through<br>the day safely. I always make it a habit to charge the phone each<br>night so that I begin a new day; the phone also begins a new day as<br>well. When you put the phone into the base charger it says "charging."<br>When the phone is charged it says "charge complete." <br><br>If you are a Verizon Wireless customer and are eligible for an<br>upgrade, you can get the phone for free. If you want to start a new<br>contract with Verizon Wireless, you get the phone for $40.00 complete<br>with speech software included. <br><br>If anyone will need assistance in learning the functions of the<br>phone, they may contact me via email at: <a name="OLE_LINK1"></a><a name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a href="mailto:wgramza1@verizon.net">wgramza1@verizon.net</a>. <br><br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><a name=olym></a><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Crowd Control and Other Olympic Sports<br>By Ryan Knighton<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Reprinted from <a href="http://www.rknighton.blogspot.com">www.rknighton.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>March 3, 2010</span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><br>My pals and readers who live beyond the 4 square blocks I tend to restrict myself to, they've been asking how It all went, life in the Olympic city. To them I can only say this.<br><br>The Olympics were here?<br><br>Wouldn't have known it in my neighborhood. For that I'm grateful. Last thing I wanted to suffer was all the guidance. I can just see it. Crowds of red mittens grabbing at my elbows, trying to exercise some patriotic do-gooderness on the local blind guy.<br><br>But I did venture downtown once. Once. That was enough. Almost didn't make it home.<br><br>One afternoon I took the Skytrain to Granville Station. Wanted to pick up a fancy mixer at the Bay for Tracy for Valentine's Day.<br><br>Before you scoff, before you denounce my dippy choice of romantic gifts - yeah, yeah, nothing says love like a muffin production gadget - let me say Tracy has had it on her wish list for some time now. It ain't just a mixer. This thing is a GPS, editing suite and a mobile surgical facility in a box.<br><br>And my plan was to get it for my gal, all those winter sports hooligans be damned.<br><br>The numbers weren't on my side, though. Sure were a lot of those folks around. Enough so that they packed the Skytrain like never before. So when we arrived at the Granville station, getting off wasn't the usual breeze. The crowd slowly spilled out. Toothpaste-like. Except me.<br><br>I was that last guy, the one who the doors close on. Only the doors didn't close on me exactly, they closed on my white cane. Think of two teeth biting down on a toothpick, but sideways.<br><br>I wrenched and yanked, but couldn't get my mobility aid out. The handle remained inside the car with me, but about 3 feet stuck outside, pointing in the direction I'd meant to go.<br><br>And then the train took off.<br><br>"Hey, that thing stuck?" an Olympic enthusiast asked, tapping me on the shoulder with his red mitten.<br><br>I gave up yanking and instead tried to lever the cane like an oar. No give.<br><br>"Well whaddya know," I said, and wrenched again. "Who'd of thought."<br><br>Three feet of cane continued to jut from our car's door and greet the tunnel we were about to enter.<br><br>"Do you think it'll clear the wall?" I asked.<br><br>"Uh oh," said the red mittens.<br><br>We both stepped back from the cane's handle, and waited to see what would happen. It was sort of like observing a feral animal that might be dead, or could be ready to pounce.<br><br>But the handle just hung there. The outside half didn't seem to graze anything, or spark, or snap off. Not yet.<br><br>"Think you're okay," the mittens finally said.<br><br>As we pulled into the next station I imagined what it must have looked like to folks waiting on the platform, this cane sticking out of the door, cutting along like a scythe.<br><br>But no decapitations followed. Not that I know of.<br><br>Finally the car stopped, the doors opened, the cane fell into my hand, and what had been a scythe now returned to its gentler nature.<br><br>Now I could cheerfully be pissed off, about being lost at the wrong station and all that. Bloody crowds, bloody cane. Wait'll I'm carrying an industrial-grade food processor, I thought. <br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><a name="OLE_LINK6"></a><a name="OLE_LINK5"></a><a name=fish></a><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Impressions: <i>2010 VIP (Visually Impaired People) Fishing Derby</i><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By Chris Kuell</span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Sunday, May 16<sup>th</sup>. 5:58 a.m.—too early for a Sunday. Enjoy Salsa omelette, bagel, brush teeth, throw ice in cooler and go. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Ronnie, my neighbor Cindy’s pseudo-boyfriend, seems irked that I’m late. It’s 7:05 a.m. Theo, Ronnie’s eight-year-old son, gets the front seat. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Over to Galobek-land in no time, we change vehicles to Al’s radio-less van. We find Sage Pond Park in Berlin with no difficulty. Right on time. Thank you Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Meet Bob Christensen from the Berlin Lions Club, the sponsors of today’s event. Really nice guy, everything during the day runs smoothly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Meet Nancy, from Rhode Island. She’s my sighted assistant for the day, although I won’t know that until the van ride home. I just thought she was a nice lady who probably had a thing for Al. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Say hello to Beth and Charlie, Justin Salisbury and his dad. Justin says he’s an experienced fisherman. Oh boy—I’m in trouble. Unbelievable sunshine and me with no sunscreen. Helping my dermatologist pay off that condo in Vale. Must use their poles and bait. No bobber, just a weight and these little pink and yellow balls for bait. Stocked pond. Judged by inches of fish caught. First, second and third place get a free trip to the Lions Club National VIP Fishing Derby in North Carolina this October. Sweet. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>9:05 and Al pulls in the first fish of the day. An Eleven-and-a-half inch rainbow trout—and we’re off. Justin across the way catches a twelve-incher and gives it to us because Ronnie wants to keep them for eating. 9:40 and I think I got a bite. Or more likely, a stick. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>We move at ten o’clock to try another spot. While we are moving, a snapping turtle the size of a dinner plate comes in to where our (well, Al and Justin’s) fish were tethered on a line, and eats one. Theo starts speaking in tongues he’s so excited about the ghastly incident. I stand out on a rock and cast maybe 100 times before we move again. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>The derby will end at 11:45. It’s five minutes to eleven, people are catching fish left and right, but I’ve got nothing but a sunburn. Ronnie runs to his tackle box to get some sort of fish love-scent to spray on our bait. It doesn’t help. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Ronnie searches frantically for a better spot. After a few more fruitless casts we return to the rock spot we’d fished before and Ronnie asks another contestant if he’s sure we can’t try worms. We can’t. Five minutes later, I’ve got a fish. It puts up a little fight, but not as much as I would expect for a big one. Yet, it turns out to be an eleven-and-a-half incher. Theo, who has adopted the position of net boy, helps secure the fish. Ronnie performs a radical tracheotomy on the trout in order to retrieve my hook. I’ve caught a fish. Thank you Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Brian Sigman from BESB comes over to chat, which is nice, but I’m focused on angling more fish. Three-minutes later, I catch another trout. Thank you Elvis. It’s slimy and muscular--a fifteen-inch rainbow, and must have put me close to the top of the leader-board. I think to myself that if I catch another fish, I’ll give it to Al. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>A quarter hour goes by without a hit. Nobody else seems to be catching anything, either. I hear people talking about never catching fish in the heat of the day. We move back to near our original spot. Bam—Al catches a twelve-incher. Bam—he catches another, this one twelve –and-a-half. At 11:40 I get a nibble, give the pole a quick tug and I’ve got one. Fights about the same as the other two, but it’s only a seven inch sunny. After measuring, Ronnie stuns the sunny, then throws it out to the snapping turtle, who apparently ate it in two-bites. Theo did a back flip and wet his pants he was so excited. The volunteer who kept track of the competitor’s catches whispers to us that Al and I are in first and second place. Theo runs around chanting, “We’re goin’ to North Carolina!” in a not-so-bad imitation of a Carolina lilt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Frantically I cast, wanting to assure our victory with another fish. The whistle blows and all poles are called in.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>I ate a hamburger, 2 hot dogs, a bag of chips and a peanut-butter thingee Nancy made that shot my blood sugar straight over 600. Ronnie went to the van to get my cooler of liquid refreshments. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>The scorekeeper comes over to me as I’m shooting up with insulin and whispers that she made a mistake, and a girl named Lexi was first. No problem. First three places are going to national—right?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>First place indeed goes to Lexi, a fifteen-year-old high school student from Bristol with fifty inches of fish. Holy guacamole. Fifty inches. She also won a trophy for the biggest fish, at fifteen-and-a-half inches. A mere half-inch bigger than mine. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Second place went to Allan at 36 inches. Third place went to a guy named Larry from New Milford at 34 inches. Once again, I was a half-inch shy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Ronnie lead me off in the woods to commune with nature, then didn’t wait for me so I had to bushwhack my way back to the group. Lots of hugging and thanking and see-you-next-yearing. We left with a stringer of fish, full bellies, and a mornings worth of solar and fishing therapy. Not a bad catch at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>For information about the Connecticut Lions VIP Fishing Derby, call Bob Christensen at 860-680-7227<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h1 align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:3.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><a name=infn></a><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>National Federation of the Blind Successful in Returning Infant to Her Parents<o:p></o:p></span></h1><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Family Reunited After Wrongful Seizure of Child</span></i></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'> </span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Independence, Missouri (July 22, 2010):</span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'> The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and its Missouri affiliate announced today that they have succeeded in a legal fight to bring a two-month-old infant, Mikaela Sinnett, home to her parents, Blake Sinnett and Erika Johnson of Independence. The NFB of Missouri hired an attorney to assist the couple after Mikaela was taken from them at Centerpoint Hospital almost immediately after she was born. For fifty-seven days the couple, both of whom are blind, were allowed to visit their child in foster care but were not allowed to bring her home. The sole reason given by Missouri’s Department of Social Services was that the couple was blind and could not properly care for Mikaela without the assistance of a sighted person twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. An evidentiary hearing was scheduled for July 20, but at the last minute the state of Missouri dismissed the case against the couple.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that the state of Missouri has dismissed its case against Blake Sinnett and Erika Johnson and returned baby Mikaela to their care. Despite the fact that blind parents are successfully raising children across the nation, blind Americans continue to find that misconceptions and stereotypes about the capabilities of blind people too often result in hasty and unwarranted decisions to remove children from the custody of blind parents. The worst nightmare of parents everywhere—having a child taken away—is sadly part of the lives of too many blind parents. The National Federation of the Blind stands ready and willing to help state officials across the country understand how blind people use alternative techniques to care for their children. But the blind of America will not tolerate our children being taken from us.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>"We were and are outraged at the action of Centerpoint Hospital and the state of Missouri," said Gary Wunder, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri. "Children's services have the job of protecting children from abuse and we have nothing but admiration for that work. Taking a child away because her parents are blind is an entirely different matter which violates state and federal law. We have gotten Mikaela back home, but we must fundamentally change a system that presumes the incompetence of blind parents and operates on a principle of guilty until proven innocent rather than the reverse. We cannot help but think that new parents who are blind in Missouri will avoid seeking medical and social services that they may need for fear that they will experience a similar ordeal. We can never give back the two months this family has lost, nor can we restore to Erika the joy of nursing her child that this separation has made impossible. What we can do is use their adversity to change the system that allowed this atrocity and educate the people who have mistakenly equated blindness with a lack of perception, intellect, and judgment."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>On May 21, 2010, Erika and Blake went to Centerpoint Hospital, where Erika delivered Mikaela. When trying to nurse the baby for the first time, Erika asked for assistance from a nurse when she thought something was wrong. The nurse said that the baby was turning blue and helped reposition the baby, who then began to take nourishment. The nurse assured Erika that it was common for new mothers to need some instruction and that she was doing fine. Blake and Erika were therefore surprised when, some four hours later, they were met by a children's services worker who made inquiries about their vision; asked how they would feed, diaper, and supervise their child; and eventually decreed that Baby Mikaela would not be allowed to be discharged with her mother unless the social worker could be assured there would be constant supervision by someone with sight. On the recommendation of Missouri's Children's Protective Services, Mikaela was placed in foster care and one-hour visits were arranged for several times each week. When the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri determined that blindness was the only reason the child was taken by the state, the organization hired attorney Amy Coopman to handle the case. The National Federation of the Blind now has the option to file complaints with the Missouri Human Rights Commission and/or the federal Office for Civil Rights, as well as at least three options that can be pursued in the state’s courts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:200%'><a name=tom></a><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Blind Traffic Reporter Driving Away Stereotypes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Reprinted from <a href="http://www.wbnh.com">www.wbnh.com</a> September 13, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><br>When asked, "Have you always been like that?" Tommy replies, "Like<br>what? Tall and cute?"<br><br>Tommy Edison is the traffic reporter for popular Connecticut radio<br>station 99.9. He has been informing the state's hoards of commuters<br>for years about the traffic situations in all parts of the state. He<br>does it with no knowledge of what the traffic looks like, either, as<br>he has been blind since birth. By using scanners and an onslaught of<br>constant phone calls, Tommy relays his information across the air<br>waves and gets people where they need to go.<br><br>Now, Tommy wants to inform the public about his condition and dispel<br>the rumors that are so prevalent within the sighted community. With<br>the help of a good friend of his, Ben Churchill, he is making a<br>documentary about living life as a blind person. Ben remarks that it's<br>tough to sit back behind the camera and watch sometimes, especially<br>when people insist on giving aid that really isn't needed. For the<br>sake of the documentary, he has to bite his tongue to get the real<br>picture.<br><br>Tommy and Ben plan to pitch the documentary to multiple TV networks<br>in hopes that it will air and the sighted community can get a glimpse<br>of how blind people don't live any differently than they do.<br><br>As Bob Branco often points out in his Op Ed pieces, the sighted<br>community is wrought with assumptions about the blind. Some are more<br>innocent than others, but they are all a result of a lack of education<br>about how blind people really live. As Tommy said, "Why is it that<br>because I am blind I have to sit home or panhandle in front of Grand<br>Central Station?" By creating a documentary about his life, Tommy will<br>be able to give a true picture of what his world is like, and<br>hopefully reveal that the world he lives in--the world with baseball<br>and picnics and camping--is no different than the world that anyone<br>else lives in.<br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:200%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><a name=what></a><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>What Did You Say? What’s That? Say It Again?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By Agnes Allen</span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Now I ask you to look up at the moon and the stars. How shining and bright they are! I ask you to listen to a Beethoven symphony. How majestic and grand it sounds. Taste a sweet, juicy orange. How succulent! Come smell a lovely, blossoming rose. How fragrant! Pet a soft furry kitten. How silken! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Can you imagine for a moment what it is like to be bereft of any of the five remarkable senses? In the ensuing essay I would like to share with you some of the ways in which I personally have experienced the loss of two of the sentient gifts bestowed upon mankind: total vision loss and partial (but moderately severe) hearing loss.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Most people take sight and hearing for granted, to be without one or both is unthinkable. I have been totally blind since early childhood and have lived with a major hearing deficiency for much of my adult life. Since I lost my sight early on, adjustment to my plight was a relatively simple matter. Training and education made it possible to live normally and actively in my world. But developing a hearing impairment along with blindness in my maturity was indeed devastating. I was neither psychologically or emotionally ready to cope with this double whammy. Nor could I have foretold being adaptable to it in the future. I could not make eye contact with someone, nor would I be comfortable in communicating freely with others. Yes, wearing hearing aids, to a degree, enhances hearing. But that is just watt they are: hearing ‘aids’. I find them to be of very little help in certain situations. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>If a person speaking to me turns his head even slightly, not facing me directly, the words expressed become unintelligible. Nor do I understand what the person sitting across the table is saying if any other noise is occurring simultaneously. This may take place, for example, in a restaurant where talking and clattering music are at fault. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Prior to the change in my lifestyle engendered by the hearing loss, I was a successful student, a productive employee, and a dedicated mother of three girls. But with the onset of hearing loss, I was compelled to meet new challenges. One of the most important of these was to search for employment in which sight or hearing was not absolutely crucial. The skill of Braille literacy had become second nature, and a professional Braille proofreader suggested that I try to find employment as a proofreader for a non-profit agency for the blind in Philadelphia. I followed up on my friend’s suggestion and arranged an interview with the head of the department. After serving in the field of Braille proofreading I found employment as a tutor of two blind students being educated in the Vineland, NJ public school system.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From time to time I am invited to speak to various groups about blindness and Braille. Often audiences wish to follow up with questions or comments, and I am struck by the nagging fear of being unable to hear or understand. To somewhat alleviate this situation I like to ask someone in the front row to repeat what was said when I was not able to hear clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>At a social gathering or meeting, when a joke or funny remark is being passed along, I can’t join in the ensuing laughter; I sit in silence and let the whole episode pass me by. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>There are occasions on the telephone when words or sentences are utterly incomprehensible and frustration begins to build for both me and the person at the other end. When I am listening for an important number, I can come up with a wrong number because a nine and a five, for instance, contain the ‘I’ vowel and can be confused. Vowels are not always clear.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>It would be less stressful, I am certain, to remain at home and avoid the foregoing situations, but then how could I, as a recluse, remain happy? I would become less of a person for doing so. It is so easy to isolate oneself and begin to question “why me, Lord?” and be tempted to feel inferior to thus around me who can see and hear. At such times I must take stock of my own talents and capabilities, focusing on what I can do, not what I can’t.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>A sense of humor lightens the pain of most hardships. It softens the vicissitudes imposed by the condition. This is no less true of deafblindness. For example, Bill, a hearing impaired man said to his friend, “Joe, I just received a new hearing aid and it is simply wonderful! “ To which assertion Joe replies, “Oh, yeah, what kind is it?” To which Bill responds, “Two-thirty.” Then there is John, who said to his wife, “Suzie, go do the bills.” To which Suzie retorts, “Did you say go take a pill?” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>In the foregoing witticism, unintelligible speech is the culprit. Hearing technology seems to be keeping moderate pace with general technology. I have benefitted exceedingly from digital hearing aids, comparatively speaking. Without them the hearing world shuts down. My digitals contain a built-in switch which, when activated, allows my hearing to adjust to different environments. When the switch is on program 1, it sets the tone for normal conversation. When programmed on 2, it reduces background noise. This mechanism reigns on the targeted voice. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>When I am riding in a car or bus, for instance, my digitals can be set to diminish the roaring sound of outside traffic, making it easier to converse with the driver.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Once I attended a wedding reception at which the surroundings were so fraught with noise, that I could scarcely hear what was being said by the woman sitting next to me. I could hardly await the return to my peace and quiet at home. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>If an interesting topic is introduced at a meeting or social gathering, it is difficult to follow the discussion to which I would so like to contribute. In such a situation, I feel isolated and excluded. If I ask a question or make a comment, I do not know whether what I say has any relevance. My tendency is to remain quiet in order to stave off embarrassment. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>The acoustics of a room can affect the quality of hearing. An entire lecture or discourse can be lost or muffled. A sighted and hearing person may be able to salvage some of the information by watching the speaker’s gestures and other visual clues. The pastor of my church has kindly installed a transmitting and receiving system especially designed to improve the auditory quality of the mass or other services. When the system is working efficiently I can hear the homily and other parts of the service. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>When one learns that someone has a hearing difficulty, the tendency of the person talking is to raise the voice when all that is needed may be just a clear, modulated voice. Loudness can distort the sound. High frequencies in some women’s high pitched voices can play havoc with communication.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Although the human ear has never been replicated, the miracles of technology are phenomenal. Hearing technology has really made great strides over the past decades. Gone are the days of old-fashioned hearing contraptions which little improved the hearing of the effected individual. As sophisticated and revolutionary as modern hearing technology has become, it has yet to transform the original and natural hearing function of the human ear. Nor do I ever visualize it doing that. Of course, no one can predict the future, who can tell what miracles may be produced for people with hearing loss?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>I look forward to a time when it will no longer be necessary for me to ask, “What’s that?” Or, “Say it again?” Or, “Beg pardon?” How spectacular that day will be!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:150%;punctuation-wrap:simple;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><a name=nfb></a><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Do you need money for college?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoHeading8 style='line-height:150%'>NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND – <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>The NFB Scholarship Program</span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> Applications are now available online. This national scholarship program is available to persons who are legally blind and living in the United States or Puerto Rico. There are 30 awards, from $12,000 to $3,000. In addition, each winner will be assisted to attend the NFB Annual Convention for 2011 in Orlando, Florida. The annual contest began the first week of November 2010; all documents required from the applicants must be postmarked by the March 31, 2011, deadline. Applications and full details are available online at <a href="http://www.nfb.org/scholarships%3ewww.nfb.org/scholarships">http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>www.nfb.org/scholarships</a>.<br> Questions may be emailed to: <a href="mailto:scholarships@nfb.org">scholarships@nfb.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> <br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><a name=misc></a><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Miscellany and Notes:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Prodigy releases new Count-a-Dose. Count-a-dose is a medical device that allows a blind or vision impaired person with diabetes to fill an insulin syringe independently without assistance. In addition to the release of the count-a-dose, Prodigy is pleased to announce a new <i><u>Low Vision Center</u></i> on their website, this center contains information about the <span style='color:black'>Prodigy<sup>®</sup> Count-a-dose™, Prodigy Voice™ Meter, and soon to be Prodigy IQ Pump information. For additional information or to place your orders for the Count-A-Dose please call: 866-908-9201. You can also order these products from the NFB Independence Market.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Do you love your new Digital Talking Book Player, but don’t like to download books on to a flash drive which sticks out of the side of the machine? Now you can buy a blank, 1 GB talking book cartridge For $14.95, and a 36 inch USB compatible cable for $3.95 from Adaptive Technologies. 1-978-462-3817 <a href="http://www.perkinsproducts.org">www.perkinsproducts.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Have you always wanted to play a musical instrument, but don’t know where to begin? Check out Bill Browns beginner audio series for guitar, piano, harmonica, saxophone, violin and flute. Visit <a href="http://www.musicfortheblind.com">www.musicfortheblind.com</a> or call 1-888-778-1828 for more information.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Movie Theatres with audio description come to CT!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Rave Accessible Theatre Locations (each has one equipped auditorium) <br>Rave Motion Pictures Buckland Hills (Manchester) <br>Rave Motion Pictures Connecticut Post 14 (Milford) <br>Rave Motion Pictures North Haven (North Haven) Rave Motion Pictures Southington (Southington)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>two new online resources for described movie fans. <a href="http://www.describedmovies.org/" target="_blank">http://www.describedmovies.org</a> will get folks to a page which lists DVD and Blu-ray titles that have description, and offers an amazon click through option to go directly to amazon to purchase the movie. A separate page, linked from that URL, lists all the movies Rave has described since DVS debuted in 1990. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Speaking of descriptive movies… you can download free descriptive movies at <a href="http://www.blindmicemart.com">www.blindmicemart.com</a> . You will need to register (which is free) then enter the site, click on the movie vault link, and browse the hundreds of movies which are available for download.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Public Release: 26-May-2010<br>Journal of Neuroscience Methods<br>UCI researchers create retina from human embryonic stem cells<br>UC Irvine scientists have created an eight-layer, early-stage retina from human embryonic stem cells, the first three-dimensional tissue structure to be made from stem cells.<br>Lincy Foundation, private donations<br>Contact: Tom Vasich<br><a href="mailto:tmvasich@uci.edu">tmvasich@uci.edu</a><br>949-824-6455 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Are you frustrated by not being able to read nutritional facts or directions on the food you purchase at the grocery store? Now there is a web site with thousands of product labels available in either large font or in a speech friendly format. Visit: <a href="http://directionsforme.org/">http://directionsforme.org/</a> to see what you’ve been missing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>In September 2010, the Connecticut Office of State Ethics ruled that while employees and Board members of BESB (the Board of Education and Services for the Blind) are public officials, they are entitled to receive services from BESB, and there is no inherent conflict of interest. Members of the Deafblind Advisory Committee, the Agency Consumer Advisory Committee (ACAC), the Statewide Committee of Blind Vendors and the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) were determined not to be public officials as their roles are more advisory in nature.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Robert Leslie Newman<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>President, Omaha Chapter NFB<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>President, NFB Writers' Division</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Division Website</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.nfb-writers-division.org"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.nfb-writers-division.org</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Personal Website-</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.thoughtprovoker.info"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.thoughtprovoker.info</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>