From jose.martinez07 at gmail.com  Sun Aug  1 18:20:41 2010
From: jose.martinez07 at gmail.com (Jose Martinez)
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 13:20:41 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Fwd: [TPOBC] Support the 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the Pepsi
	Refresh Project!
In-Reply-To: <9217C37AE77B4C43A8BED72033489737@lauradesktop>
References: <9217C37AE77B4C43A8BED72033489737@lauradesktop>
Message-ID: <AANLkTinwX42MaN84yN9hDkDUk4Y=vTjvKkvjWPLH-t0U@mail.gmail.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Laura Weber <weberfam07 at comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 11:30:45 -0500
Subject: [TPOBC] Support the 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the Pepsi Refresh Project!
To: tpobc at googlegroups.com

From: Freeh, Jessica
Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 11:39 AM
To: NCB Staff
Subject: Support the 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the Pepsi Refresh Project!



Attention Federationists, we need your votes!

Text the number 101913 to Pepsi (73774) each day in August to vote for the
2011 NFB Youth Slam!

Throughout the month of August, the 2011 NFB Youth Slam will compete against
other groups and projects for a grant award of $250,000 from the Pepsi
Refresh project, and we need you to vote! The voting process is very
competitive, and groups from across the country are mobilizing their members
and supporters to get out and vote. We need you to do the same. Anyone can
vote so encourage your family, friends, relatives, and co-workers to vote
every day in August. Post it to your Facebook page, Tweet it, just get the
word out!

The 2011 NFB Youth Slam will be a five-day, interactive science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) academy designed to empower blind high school
students to explore STEM subjects. Additionally, this event introduces blind
students to countless successful blind role models, and to the NFB's
positive philosophy about blindness. Your votes will help give blind
students the confidence and the opportunity to be successful!

If you do not have texting capabilities, visit
www.refresheverything.com/nfbyouthslam where you can vote for the NFB 2011
Youth Slam, once per day, throughout the month of August. Please bookmark
that page and be patient with the Web site, as it is slow at times. To allow
for complete functionality on the project site, users' pop-up blockers may
need to be temporarily disabled. After clicking the link above and arriving
at the project page, click the link that says "Vote for this idea." Once
clicked, a new window appears giving options to either "Login with Facebook"
or "Sign in directly with Pepsi." Whichever option you choose, you can skip
to that part of these instructions.

Login with Facebook

Users are advised that if they do have a Facebook account, this option is
much preferred as it eliminates additional security steps required by
signing in directly with Pepsi. After clicking the link to login with
Facebook, a new window appears asking for your e-mail and password for
Facebook. After inputting this information, click Login. The next window
will ask your permission for Pepsi to access your basic information that you
have made available to everyone on Facebook. Click "Allow." If you are not
comfortable with this, you will need to close out and go through the
directions below to sign in directly with Pepsi instead. If you click
"Allow" you will need to return to the NFB Youth Slam project page and click
the vote button. In the future you will simply need to click the vote
button, sign in with Facebook, and once signed in, vote for the project.

While you will have 9 votes remaining for the day, you can only use one vote
per day for our project. As much as you may like other projects in the 250k
category, please do not give them votes as we are competing for the same
prize as one of the top two vote-getters in this category.

Signing in with Pepsi

If you do not have a Facebook account and opt instead for the "Sign in
directly with Pepsi" option, you will enter your e-mail address and then
select the option "No, I'm new here!" under "Do you have a Pepsi password?"
upon your first visit to the site. You must then input a visual or audio
code, depending upon your preference or need. If either the recording or
text is unclear, please use the "Refresh Image" or "Refresh Audio" option
and try again.

What follows is a brief sign up with Pepsi, with fields such as First Name,
Last Name, Password, Re-type Password, Birth Date, and another security code
to input. After you have completed these fields, select "Done." After you
have signed up, you should be back at the NFB Youth Slam project page. Click
the vote button once more to actually log your vote. When successful, the
"Vote for this idea" link should disappear and be replaced with a
congratulatory statement in plain text. In the future when you come to the
site you will need to use the "Sign in directly with Pepsi" option and
simply input your e-mail address, password, and complete the visual or audio
code. After you click "Sign in" you will return to the project page and
click the "Vote for this idea" link. As before, it should disappear and be
replaced with a congratulatory statement in plain text.

Again, while you will have 9 votes remaining for the day, you can only use
one vote per day for our project. As much as you may like other projects in
the 250k category, please do not give them votes as we are competing for the
same prize as one of the top two vote-getters in this category.

A few minutes of your time can make a huge difference in the lives of blind
students, please vote today! If you have questions about the voting process
or if you have accessibility issues, contact Pepsi at
PepsiRefresh at young-america.com.



From pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net  Mon Aug  2 04:33:45 2010
From: pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net (Peter Donahue)
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 23:33:45 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Fwd: [TPOBC] Support the 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the
	PepsiRefresh Project!
References: <9217C37AE77B4C43A8BED72033489737@lauradesktop>
	<AANLkTinwX42MaN84yN9hDkDUk4Y=vTjvKkvjWPLH-t0U@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <008601cb31fb$e5287fa0$4001a8c0@yourfsyly0jtwn>

Hello everyone,

    If this blasted thing didn't require one to deal with a captcha at any
time during the process more of us would participate. I'm getting rather
tired of this organization advocating for alternative methods of spam
control and then turning around and urging its members to use a web site
that requires one to mess with a captcha to register to participate just to
get money for an otherwise worth while project. Well they just lost 62 votes
in support of this funding.

Peter and Mary Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jose Martinez" <jose.martinez07 at gmail.com>
To: <Nfbsatx at nfbnet.org>
Cc: <Members at nfb-texas.org>; <tabs_students at googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 1:20 PM
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Fwd: [TPOBC] Support the 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the 
PepsiRefresh Project!


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Laura Weber <weberfam07 at comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 11:30:45 -0500
Subject: [TPOBC] Support the 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the Pepsi Refresh 
Project!
To: tpobc at googlegroups.com

From: Freeh, Jessica
Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 11:39 AM
To: NCB Staff
Subject: Support the 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the Pepsi Refresh Project!



Attention Federationists, we need your votes!

Text the number 101913 to Pepsi (73774) each day in August to vote for the
2011 NFB Youth Slam!

Throughout the month of August, the 2011 NFB Youth Slam will compete against
other groups and projects for a grant award of $250,000 from the Pepsi
Refresh project, and we need you to vote! The voting process is very
competitive, and groups from across the country are mobilizing their members
and supporters to get out and vote. We need you to do the same. Anyone can
vote so encourage your family, friends, relatives, and co-workers to vote
every day in August. Post it to your Facebook page, Tweet it, just get the
word out!

The 2011 NFB Youth Slam will be a five-day, interactive science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) academy designed to empower blind high school
students to explore STEM subjects. Additionally, this event introduces blind
students to countless successful blind role models, and to the NFB's
positive philosophy about blindness. Your votes will help give blind
students the confidence and the opportunity to be successful!

If you do not have texting capabilities, visit
www.refresheverything.com/nfbyouthslam where you can vote for the NFB 2011
Youth Slam, once per day, throughout the month of August. Please bookmark
that page and be patient with the Web site, as it is slow at times. To allow
for complete functionality on the project site, users' pop-up blockers may
need to be temporarily disabled. After clicking the link above and arriving
at the project page, click the link that says "Vote for this idea." Once
clicked, a new window appears giving options to either "Login with Facebook"
or "Sign in directly with Pepsi." Whichever option you choose, you can skip
to that part of these instructions.

Login with Facebook

Users are advised that if they do have a Facebook account, this option is
much preferred as it eliminates additional security steps required by
signing in directly with Pepsi. After clicking the link to login with
Facebook, a new window appears asking for your e-mail and password for
Facebook. After inputting this information, click Login. The next window
will ask your permission for Pepsi to access your basic information that you
have made available to everyone on Facebook. Click "Allow." If you are not
comfortable with this, you will need to close out and go through the
directions below to sign in directly with Pepsi instead. If you click
"Allow" you will need to return to the NFB Youth Slam project page and click
the vote button. In the future you will simply need to click the vote
button, sign in with Facebook, and once signed in, vote for the project.

While you will have 9 votes remaining for the day, you can only use one vote
per day for our project. As much as you may like other projects in the 250k
category, please do not give them votes as we are competing for the same
prize as one of the top two vote-getters in this category.

Signing in with Pepsi

If you do not have a Facebook account and opt instead for the "Sign in
directly with Pepsi" option, you will enter your e-mail address and then
select the option "No, I'm new here!" under "Do you have a Pepsi password?"
upon your first visit to the site. You must then input a visual or audio
code, depending upon your preference or need. If either the recording or
text is unclear, please use the "Refresh Image" or "Refresh Audio" option
and try again.

What follows is a brief sign up with Pepsi, with fields such as First Name,
Last Name, Password, Re-type Password, Birth Date, and another security code
to input. After you have completed these fields, select "Done." After you
have signed up, you should be back at the NFB Youth Slam project page. Click
the vote button once more to actually log your vote. When successful, the
"Vote for this idea" link should disappear and be replaced with a
congratulatory statement in plain text. In the future when you come to the
site you will need to use the "Sign in directly with Pepsi" option and
simply input your e-mail address, password, and complete the visual or audio
code. After you click "Sign in" you will return to the project page and
click the "Vote for this idea" link. As before, it should disappear and be
replaced with a congratulatory statement in plain text.

Again, while you will have 9 votes remaining for the day, you can only use
one vote per day for our project. As much as you may like other projects in
the 250k category, please do not give them votes as we are competing for the
same prize as one of the top two vote-getters in this category.

A few minutes of your time can make a huge difference in the lives of blind
students, please vote today! If you have questions about the voting process
or if you have accessibility issues, contact Pepsi at
PepsiRefresh at young-america.com.

_______________________________________________
Nfbsatx mailing list
Nfbsatx at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
Nfbsatx:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/pdonahue1%40sbcglobal.net 




From jose.martinez07 at gmail.com  Mon Aug  2 19:04:22 2010
From: jose.martinez07 at gmail.com (Jose Martinez)
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 14:04:22 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Fwd: [nfb-texas members] State Convention Information
In-Reply-To: <20100802154944.P5BXN.49538.root@hrndva-web01-z02>
References: <20100802154944.P5BXN.49538.root@hrndva-web01-z02>
Message-ID: <AANLkTinaKckmw8OeZn=q60s+E=WxrR3kq0DisxSdSdN7@mail.gmail.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: angelawolf at austin.rr.com
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 11:49:44 -0400
Subject: [nfb-texas members] State Convention Information
To: members at nfb-texas.org

Dear Fellow Texans:
 The long-awaited information about state convention is now here!  We
are pleased to announce that this year's convention will be held in
Abilene from October 22-24 at the Hilton Garden Inn.  Room rates are
$75 for singles and doubles and $95 triples and quads.  A continental
breakfast (Muffins, oatmeal, waffles, toast, fresh fruit, etc.) is
included.  A made-to-order breakfast is only $7.95 extra.
The Hotel is located at 4449 Ridgemont Drive, Abilene, 79606.

 Please make reservations as soon as possible by contacting the hotel.
 Our block of rooms will be released on September 22, and after that
date the rates will no longer be available!   You can call (325)
690-6432 or coming soon, there will be a link where you will be able
to make reservations on-line.
There are all kinds of things within walking distance--restaurants, a
mall,stores.

We look forward to seeing you in Abilene!

Best Regards,
Angela Wolf



From jose.martinez07 at gmail.com  Wed Aug  4 02:39:57 2010
From: jose.martinez07 at gmail.com (Jose Martinez)
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 21:39:57 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] August Chapter Report
Message-ID: <AANLkTimJgDcn6H_F3gLz9_JB5qDcfvpp+Z+p5LNk-sMQ@mail.gmail.com>

Welcome to your August report:

In the last couple of months the chapter has been very involved and
working really hard on fundraising and helping with creating awareness
for the Race for Independence. We had a very successful couple events
which allowed us to do just that.

We also reached another mile stone for the chapter as a record
breaking 10 members of the San Antonio Chapter attended this year?s
national convention in Dallas. A convention that was full of great
events and very important information. If you were not able to attend
the convention, or if you just want to relive the highlights you can
do it at:

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/National_Convention_Highlights.asp

Remember, the information for the state convention is now out and it
is as follows:

this year's convention will be held in Abilene from October 22 to the
24 at the Hilton Garden Inn.

The rates are 75 dollars for singles and doubles. To book a room you
can now go to:

http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/groups/personalized/ABIABGI-NFB-20101022/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG

Keep checking our website as more information will follow.

We must now start looking ahead to our next meeting which will be
Saturday August 21. I look forward in seeing all of you all out there
as we start preparing for all of our coming events. Agenda and more
information to follow.

Best

Jose A. Z. Martinez

President



From jose.martinez07 at gmail.com  Thu Aug  5 11:57:51 2010
From: jose.martinez07 at gmail.com (Jose Martinez)
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 06:57:51 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] The 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the
	Pepsi Refresh Project
In-Reply-To: <auto-000165646159@mailfront1.g2host.com>
References: <auto-000165646159@mailfront1.g2host.com>
Message-ID: <AANLkTimvFn7sUCB=mkbsLN-VZbN4OR0zMTX3BTt3S+Ot@mail.gmail.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Lamkin, Seth" <SLamkin at nfb.org>
Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2010 05:40:12 -0500
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] The 2011 NFB Youth Slam in the Pepsi
Refresh Project
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org


A Vote A Day Goes A Long, Long, Way

At this point we should all be getting settled
into the rhythm of voting every day for the NFB
Youth Slam in the Pepsi Refresh Project. If
you?re like many of us though, you'll need some
reminders, because even though submitting a vote
every day is so important, it can slip our minds.
Now you can sign up for those daily reminders
through your e-mail by using this link:
<http://www.nfb.org/Forms.asp?MODE=NEW&Forms_FormTypeID=-175>www.nfb.org/Forms.asp?MODE=NEW&Forms_FormTypeID=-175

Once again, to vote via text message send the
number 101913 to Pepsi (73774), once a day, every
day. Or if you do not have a texting plan, go to
<http://www.refresheverything.com/nfbyouthslam>www.refresheverything.com/nfbyouthslam
and click the vote button to sign in through
Pepsi or through Facebook. Once you sign in,
don't forget to hit the vote button again to log your vote!

For those of you concerned about our current
ranking? Good! You should be, and you should
continue to get the word out to everyone you can
about the importance of voting every day!
However, currently Pepsi is having technical
difficulties with their ranking system, so our
actual ranking is unknown. So it very well may be
better, but it may also be worse, which is why
keeping up the vote is so incredibly important
during this time. Together we can make this a
reality! Sign up for e-mail reminders and vote every day!



From jamessofka at att.net  Sun Aug 15 13:25:06 2010
From: jamessofka at att.net (James Sofka)
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:25:06 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Wood Someone Tell Larry To Be quiet.
Message-ID: <F612D6AE1C564480910F1554DB2D36EA@valuedd37chkj3>

Hi, all.
For your information.
Jim Sofka.
           
     
     
       
     
     

     
     
     
     
       
     
     

     
            SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close  
           
     
     

 


     
       
     
      Guest Voice: Who are the disabled? All of us

      By Larry P. Johnson - Special to the Express-News 

      Web Posted: 08/14/2010 12:00 CDT

        

      Twenty summers ago, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA. But who are they, these Americans with disabilities? Are they the people who work at Goodwill? The people who work at the Lighthouse for the Blind? Those who live in group homes? Those who ride ViaTrans? 

      Well yes, all of these and, perhaps, someone in your family, a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker.

      Some disabilities are visible, like mine. Some are not so obvious, like high blood pressure, diabetes, a thyroid condition, hepatitis, cancer or a history of depression, anxiety attacks or other mental illness.

      Twenty percent of Americans have some type of disability. That's one in five. So clearly that means a lot of you who are reading this have some type of disability. And even if you are temporarily nondisabled, what about your parents or grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, children?

      Why do I ask? Because I want you to understand and accept the idea that when we talk about Americans with disabilities, we're not talking about some special group out there. We're talking about us - all of us, everyone. Because, like it or not, one day you are going to have a disability.

      It's inevitable. As you grow older, your physical body begins to deteriorate - your hearing, your vision, your mobility, your mind.

      So, since you know it is inevitable for you and your loved ones, what should you be doing? Think about what you might need if suddenly you can't see so well, hear so well, walk so well - in your home, your neighborhood, downtown, in a store or restaurant.

      What might be done that would make it easier for you or for your grandpa?

      That's what ADA is about. It's about creating a gentler, friendlier environment for all of us. It's about including everyone in our community. It's about valuing the unique talents and accomplishments of every individual, and blending them together in a rich mosaic of limitless possibilities.

      ADA is a dream yet to be achieved, a daring adventure, a marvelous opportunity to care for and care about one another.

      And so, in celebration of this 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, let me ask you to plan for your future by proactively changing the present environment to make it easier, friendlier and safer for me and for the 54 million other persons with disabilities who are part of this human family we call America.

      Larry P. Johnson, blind since he was 6 months old, is an author, motivational speaker and immediate past president of the Alamo Council of the Blind.
     

 

       
     

     
       
     
     

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100815/a9a5e3cd/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: clip_image001.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 6750 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100815/a9a5e3cd/attachment.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: clip_image002.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 1064 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100815/a9a5e3cd/attachment-0001.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: clip_image003.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 602 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100815/a9a5e3cd/attachment-0002.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: clip_image005.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 73 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100815/a9a5e3cd/attachment-0003.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: clip_image004.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 43 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100815/a9a5e3cd/attachment-0004.gif>

From jose.martinez07 at gmail.com  Mon Aug 16 12:36:10 2010
From: jose.martinez07 at gmail.com (Jose Martinez)
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:36:10 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Fwd: [TPOBC] Reminder - Vote for NFB Youth Slam in the
	Pepsi Refresh Project!
In-Reply-To: <971212.74462.qm@web1113.biz.mail.sk1.yahoo.com>
References: <971212.74462.qm@web1113.biz.mail.sk1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <AANLkTi=TyvcmapgkHsZ4+uj5B-NQFKQh865jN4EyY4c5@mail.gmail.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kim Cunningham <kim at tpobc.org>
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:54:31 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [TPOBC] Reminder - Vote for NFB Youth Slam in the Pepsi
Refresh Project!
To: TPOBC List Serv <tpobc at googlegroups.com>, Texas VI Families
<txvifamily at topica.com>

We are in 24th place this morning. Don't forget to vote - see below.
Kim Cunningham

--- On Mon, 8/16/10, NFB Reminders <slamkin at nfb.org> wrote:


From: NFB Reminders <slamkin at nfb.org>
Subject: Reminder - Vote for NFB Youth Slam in the Pepsi Refresh Project!
To: kim at tpobc.org
Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 12:06 AM


Reminder: Vote for the NFB Youth Slam today!

Text the number 101913 to Pepsi (73774) each day in August to vote for
the 2011 NFB Youth Slam!
If you do not have texting capabilities, visit
www.refresheverything.com/nfbyouthslam and click the link to vote;
then sign in, either directly through Pepsi, or by using the Facebook
option. Remember to click the link to vote after signing in.

Post our link on your Facebook page, Tweet it, Blog it, and e-mail it
to all of your friends, family, and co-workers. Every vote, every day,
counts!


Unsubscribe



From jose.martinez07 at gmail.com  Mon Aug 16 23:38:59 2010
From: jose.martinez07 at gmail.com (Jose Martinez)
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:38:59 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] August Chapter Meeting
Message-ID: <AANLkTikXJFww2LsPs5hYAanf3fbb=bpoBbAevQJ_A7xj@mail.gmail.com>

COME JOIN US!

If you?ve never attended a meeting of the National Federation of the
Blind (NFB), there?s no better time! Come join us at our August
meeting.

Date:		Saturday, 21 August 2010
Time:		1:00-2:30PM
Location:	DARS-Division of Services for the Blind				4204 Woodcock
Drive, Suite 274
San Antonio, TX 78228
(2nd Floor, Trinity Building, just inside NW Loop 410 between
Callaghan and Babcock)

This Month?s Agenda:
?	Nationwide update and announcements
?	Upcoming events September meeting, and Meet the Blind Month event.
?	Recap of national convention.
?	Refreshments will be served.


WWW.NFBSATX.ORG



From jose.martinez07 at gmail.com  Tue Aug 17 12:42:00 2010
From: jose.martinez07 at gmail.com (Jose Martinez)
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 07:42:00 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Fwd: [Chapter-presidents] Blind Driver Challenge Receives
 Top Graphical System Design Achievement Awards at NIWeek 2010
In-Reply-To: <auto-000167317332@mailfront1.g2host.com>
References: <auto-000167317332@mailfront1.g2host.com>
Message-ID: <AANLkTikQL21oL-CkR15F=sSpbsCodQZJhPpqD7zTQbVN@mail.gmail.com>

this is for sure going in the right direction. Great news!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Freeh, Jessica" <JFreeh at nfb.org>
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:40:16 -0500
Subject: [Chapter-presidents] Blind Driver Challenge Receives Top
Graphical System Design Achievement Awards at NIWeek 2010
To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org



Blind Driver Challenge Receives Top Graphical System
Design Achievement Awards at NIWeek 2010



Baltimore, Maryland (August 16, 2010): The
National Federation of the Blind?s Blind Driver
Challenge?an innovative effort to create a
nonvisual interface that empowers a blind person
to operate an automobile?received the 2010
Application of the Year Award at the National
Instruments Graphical System Design Achievement
Awards ceremony held during the NIWeek annual
conference in Austin, Texas.  In response to a
challenge issued by the National Federation of
the Blind (NFB), students and researchers at
Virginia Tech?using National Instruments (NI)
technology?developed a semi-autonomous vehicle
that allows a blind driver to successfully
navigate, control speed, and avoid collision
while traversing a closed driving
course.  NIWeek, hosted by National Instruments,
is the world?s leading graphical system design
conference and exhibition, showcasing the latest
developments in graphical system design, virtual
instrumentation, and commercial
technologies.  The Virginia Tech/TORC Blind
Driver Challenge team project also received the
Graphical System Design Achievement Award in the Robotics category.



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
Federation of the Blind, said: ?The Blind Driver
Challenge is a National Federation of the Blind
initiative to cause the creation of a nonvisual
driving interface for the blind.  We can build a
car that the blind can drive independently and
safely.  All we need is an interface that can
capture information from the environment and
provide it to the blind driver in nonvisual
ways.  The innovations produced in the process of
creating this blind-drivable vehicle will help
the blind gain access to a great deal of
information that has traditionally been presented
only visually.  These innovations will also help
the sighted find ways to learn more than they now
know and operate machines with increased efficiency and safety.?



The paper describing the project was submitted by
Dr. Dennis Hong, director of the Robotics and
Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at Virginia Tech?s
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/>College of Engineering, along with Greg
Jannaman and Kimberly Wenger, two of the
undergraduate students that worked under Dr.
Hong's direction on the first-generation
prototype of the nonvisual interface for a
blind-drivable vehicle.  Dr. Hong and his
students are currently working with the NFB on
the second-generation prototype vehicle, which
will integrate new and improved versions of the
first-generation nonvisual interface technologies
into a Ford Escape.  The vehicle is scheduled to
be demonstrated to the public as part of the
pre-race activities at the 2011 Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 29, 2011.



Dr. Hong said: ?Three years ago we accepted the
NFB Blind Driver Challenge to develop a vehicle
that can be driven by a blind person.  I
recognized this as an opportunity to motivate my
students to challenge themselves to change the
world.  Winning the National Instruments
Graphical System Design Achievement Award is a
tremendous validation of their hard work and creativity.?



Ray Almgren, vice president of marketing for core
platforms at National Instruments, said: ?The
competition was very intense this year, with more
than one hundred applications submitted by
universities and technology companies from around
the world who are using National Instruments
hardware and software to create life-changing
technologies.  The Blind Driver Challenge of the
National Federation of the Blind is truly
reflective of our commitment to provide students,
engineers, and scientists with the technology and
training to improve quality of life worldwide.?



For more information about the NFB, please visit
<http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org.  For our
digital news release about the Blind Driver
Challenge and the planned debut of the BDC car at
the Rolex 24, including audio and video clips for
television and radio, please visit
<http://www.digitalnewsrelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit>www.DigitalNewsRelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit.






###







About the National Federation of the Blind



With more than 50,000 members, the National
Federation of the Blind is the largest and most
influential membership organization of blind
people in the United States.  The NFB improves
blind people?s lives through advocacy, education,
research, technology, and programs encouraging
independence and self-confidence.  It is the
leading force in the blindness field today and
the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 2004
the NFB opened the National Federation of the
Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and
training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.



About National Instruments



National Instruments
(<http://www.ni.com/>www.ni.com) is transforming
the way engineers and scientists design,
prototype and deploy systems for measurement,
automation and embedded applications.  NI
empowers customers with off-the-shelf software
such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective
hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than
30,000 different companies worldwide, with no one
customer representing more than 3 percent of
revenue and no one industry representing more
than 15 percent of revenue.  Headquartered in
Austin, Texas, NI has more than 5,000 employees
and direct operations in more than 40
countries.  For the past 11 years, FORTUNE
magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.



LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com and
NIWeek are trademarks of National Instruments.
Other product and company names listed are
trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.











__________ Information from ESET Smart Security,
version of virus signature database 5371 (20100816) __________

The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

<http://www.eset.com>http://www.eset.com



From rummy_118 at hotmail.com  Tue Aug 17 17:58:47 2010
From: rummy_118 at hotmail.com (Carla valpeoz)
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:58:47 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] August Chapter Meeting
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTikXJFww2LsPs5hYAanf3fbb=bpoBbAevQJ_A7xj@mail.gmail.com>
References: <AANLkTikXJFww2LsPs5hYAanf3fbb=bpoBbAevQJ_A7xj@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <BAY140-W16F3DB88DF7B36C95C7FA2D69C0@phx.gbl>


call if youn like in next hour at 8303318350. carla 
 
> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:38:59 -0500
> From: jose.martinez07 at gmail.com
> To: Nfbsatx at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Nfbsatx] August Chapter Meeting
> 
> COME JOIN US!
> 
> If you?ve never attended a meeting of the National Federation of the
> Blind (NFB), there?s no better time! Come join us at our August
> meeting.
> 
> Date: Saturday, 21 August 2010
> Time: 1:00-2:30PM
> Location: DARS-Division of Services for the Blind 4204 Woodcock
> Drive, Suite 274
> San Antonio, TX 78228
> (2nd Floor, Trinity Building, just inside NW Loop 410 between
> Callaghan and Babcock)
> 
> This Month?s Agenda:
> ? Nationwide update and announcements
> ? Upcoming events September meeting, and Meet the Blind Month event.
> ? Recap of national convention.
> ? Refreshments will be served.
> 
> 
> WWW.NFBSATX.ORG
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Nfbsatx mailing list
> Nfbsatx at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbsatx:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/rummy_118%40hotmail.com
 		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbsatx_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100817/d03c73fd/attachment.html>

From braille at sbcglobal.net  Sat Aug 28 12:41:34 2010
From: braille at sbcglobal.net (Mary Donahue)
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:41:34 -0500
Subject: [Nfbsatx] Temporarily Off List
Message-ID: <2907EFFCDA114C05815E1A191B1C673A@valued3a11ee5d>

Good morning everyone,

    As your moderator, I am sending a message today to let you all know I 
will be temporarily off list, as Pete and I will be busy packing and moving 
over to the new place within the next three days. Lord willing, I will be 
back on list with a different Email address on Tuesday or Wednesday. Hang in 
there while I'm off, and I'll write more when I get back on.

Mary Donahue, List Moderator