Hi folks. It's not Friday yet but I have some free time on my hands, and wanted to post an entry. First off, I had a death in the family so wasn't doing much here. But it was sort of expected, and I'm dealing with it okay although I do miss my sister.





Having said all that, I hope all of you who celebrate it have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Though it will be rather difficult, I for one am going to try and forget about the results of the election that took place at the beginning of the month. For the record, I am horrified that the convicted felon known as Donald Trump is once again occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I thought for sure we'd have a female President by now, but that was just not to be. But anyway, happy TurkeyDay to all and don't eat too much.
Well...my wifi went down again last night. But I turned off my phone and Mac, and now it looks like we're back up and running once again. Will keep y'all posted!
And here is test run number 2 with my eReader used in conjunction with VoiceOver.
tes)t entry using ,uncontract:% braille. Not quite ready for prime time but getting there.
Hello everybody. Hope you're all well. There will of course be an entry tomorrow, but I thought I'd take this time to wish the many wonderful staff and volunteers who work to make Dreamwidth what it is, a most happy and safe Thanksgiving. Please don't eat or drink too much, or the servers will all go down. Well perhaps not but who knows, lol! All kidding aside...I've said this before and I'll say it again. Dreamwidth is a wonderful place to call home. I started blogging/journaling on here in April of 2014, and I've seen great progress since then. Among the things I like about Dreamwidth is the accessibility, at least with VoiceOver. This is undoubtedly true with the other available screen readers as well as other technology, so thank you! In addition, the devs respond to feedback quickly and they don't just talk the talk.





That is it for right now. I'm outa here until tomorrow.

Test iOS

Nov. 20th, 2023 10:56 am
This is a test of Dw on my phone.
Hi everyone. I'm going to post this and my other certificates of completion. Those of you who are into meditation, just getting started, or whatever will hopefully enjoy this course taught by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. I completed it earlier today and enjoyed it. Click the following link if you'd like to view my certificate of completion for this course. https://courses.tarabrach.com/certificates/xh3yrdayj7 .
Hi everyone. This is a test image? post about getting children/teens vaccinated against COVID-19. Thank you and please be safe. https://wecandothis.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2021-12/PTN%205-11%20Static%20Image%201%20Eng%201920%20%281%29.jpg
Hi everyone and happy Tuesday. My mom just dropped off a sister's external hard drive, which happens to be identical in brand to mine. I just tried it out on my Mac, but it appears hers doesn't work on here either. So I'm thinking this entire MacBook Air is on its way out the door. Or window, whichever comes first, lol! I'm thinking my solid-state drive has gone caput on me. More at a later date and time, as I have to sort this out at some point.
Hi everyone. I received the following audio file from an email list. Sorry for the slight delay in posting, but I got a bit busy yesterday. I've not yet listened to all of this, but plan to do so in the coming weeks. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RpZhuBtfvlZhtfinqducZ8F6Al2rX1ty/view?usp=sharing
Hey everyone and welcome to yet another Friday. My week has been very fine, and I hope the same is true for you. I'm flying solo this week and at least the better part of next week. Central air is being installed across the way in my neighbor's apartment, so he has been away on vacation visiting family. I'm off to my parents' place again to spend time there, while my central air system is being installed. We are indeed getting both AC and heating. The radiators are going bye-bye, yeah! I've lived in previous places with radiator heat, but the ones here were rather noisy and disturbed the peace. I have yet to find out all the nitty-gritty on the system that is going in over here, but I'm sure it will be good. The landlord and his crew have continued to do other important work in my building too.





I've managed to do other stuff this week that needed doing, and I think I'll have that opportunity back at my parents' place as well. A sister and I attended another gathering of a social group, along with my tutor. That was fine. I've been hanging out a bit with a downstairs neighbor too. Later today I'm planning to start packing for my time away. So until next week, stay safe and stay cool if ya need to do that.
This is just to announce their wedding, and to invite everybody who wishes to join in the fun!
Title says it all. I've got a bit of time before my day begins, lol! So I would like to wish those of us celebrating today a most happy and safe Fourth of July. I for one am so grateful to be an American especially under the current administration. I hope and pray that the previous administration never gets elected again. As hard and harder as Donald Dump might be trying to get re-elected at some point, he cannot win. That's all for now.
Hey everybody. That's right, I can now say with a good deal of certainty what kombucha is. Just yesterday in the late afternoon, a neighbor/friend and I walked to a local brewery and purchased a small bottle of the stuff. Our order taker was friendly and courteous, and we thanked her. We then walked back here and we each had one drink of the stuff. I have to admit it's not bad, but prior to our adventure I did an Ixquick search for "kombucha" and the first result that popped up was an article which you can read by clicking the below link if interested. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha

This article honestly made me question my sanity a bit, since I have to be at least somewhat cautious of these things due to immunosuppression. He is indeed aware of this, and has been very considerate. Ditto for others around here. But I thought why not just plow ahead and see what's my verdict? So that is what I did and while it wasn't bad like I mentioned above, I did experience a tingling sensation in my mouth the rest of the night. I took a bit of water, but the tingling persisted. I knew it couldn't be the turkey dinner I ate last evening, because that was kept in the freezer and I have had them before with no food poisoning. But now the tingling is completely gone. For those of you among the curious, yes I have been brushing my teeth regularly with an electric toothbrush. I'm not going to fret about the sensation unless it comes back. At that point I think I shall notify my healthcare team and my parents.





In other news of the week, I got a new desk chair and like it. It is a swivel chair like my other one was, but this one is different. I am working on getting more furniture in my apartment, but one step at a time right?





The garden out back is looking better and bigger. Hopefully soon I'll have bragging rights, lol.





I think that's it for today. Take care as always and be good. Talk to y'all soon!
Hey everyone and happy unofficial start to summer. I promised I'd be back to check on y'all and make certain y'alls are behaving, lol. So here I am. But I'm about to hop in the shower, so once again I will continue afterwards.





I did a bit more gardening this week and it felt good. This evening my building mates and I are invited to a birthday party so I'm going down. I think that's all for today as I've got things to do again. Take it easy and be safe.
Hi everybody. My apologies for not coming to you on Friday. Once again I got busy and had little if any time for an entry. But I'm back with you this day, and would like to wish everyone a most safe and happy Memorial Day. Hopefully you're doing something fun to celebrate. I'm attending a community celebration this evening here. We're combining it with a neighbor's birthday celebration. His birthday actually occurred earlier this month, but on that day he had a prior engagement and was unavailable. Although I can't discuss specifics, I can say that he is doing fine.





But anyway...last week and the weekend were both very good on my end. Some neighbors and I managed to start our garden, and it is very nice. The landlord and is crew have yet to install the rain barrels, but hopefully that'll happen very soon. I've never really done much gardening before, so this is turning out to be more or less a new experience for me. Whether I'll actually be consuming most of the vegetables that we'll be growing is another story. I'll eat some of them though. After all, I want to stay healthy and live long.





In other news...I might take some online courses being offered through Center for Independent Futures but that remains to be seen. These courses are being conducted on Zoom, so no accessibility issues to worry about and I'm thankful for that. I actually got to meet the instructor briefly when she came to my building, and she seems to be the right person for the job. I believe she is the sole instructor.





Well folks, I think that'll have to do it for today. I'll be back here on Friday with more. As always please take good care, and be safe and kind.
Hi everyone, hope y'all are doing well. Me too. I've not got much going on this week that can be discussed in public, so today will once again be rather quick.





The week has once again been good. I'm told this building might get central heating and air-conditioning, but that's only speculation on my part. I've no doubt cost is/will be a major factor in that decision, in addition to building infrastructure. But it would certainly be nice. As previously mentioned I now have a space heater in my bedroom, mainly for when it's cold and windy outside. The radiator system here in my building hasn't worked like it should, and the landlord and his crew are aware of this. They've tried various fixes, but it's an old building. So hopefully the transfer will go off without a hitch, but that remains to be seen. For now though, I and my neighbor/friend across the hall are relying on our space heaters during these chilly nights.





I think that's a wrap for today. As always, please be safe and kind and take it easy on yourselves.

Troy Hunt

May. 12th, 2021 06:57 am
Hi everyone. I've got a bit of time as I arose just a bit ago this morning to work on some things. So thought I'd post something. Those of you who are, like me, concerned to one degree or another about security of the online world will want to read this. I was surfing the Interwebs as I always do, and came across a website that lets you check whether or not your various accounts have been compromised in any way, shape, or form. Well...upon further investigation it appears that the owner/creator of said website has his own website which includes a link to the security-related site. So without further adieu and fanfare, check it out by heading on over to https://www.troyhunt.com . Thank you all, and happy browsing!
Hi everyone. There will be no FF entry this week as I am busy. More next week.
Good evening/afternoon/morning to all. The article pasted below has been making the rounds during the past few days, and I thought I'd post it here. It was written by Jonathan Mosen whose personal website has a link in my profile on here. I'm happy to say that while I have not had all of the experiences which Mr. Mosen has had, I fully agree on all points made in his article. In addition, I am happy to report that I grew up in a loving and supportive family. For those that don't know me in person, this is the truth. They continue to love and support me, and I have supportive friends. So without further fanfare and adieu, please enjoy the below piece.

Why I am proud to be blind

Jonathan Mosen

I often mention on my Mose n At Large podcast that I am proud to be blind. Recently, I was challenged by a listener and asked how I can possibly be proud of having a serious, debilitating condition.

I am glad to say that disability pride, and blind pride as a subset of that, is on the rise. Yet it is an incomprehensible concept to some.

I keep a gratitude journal, where I write at least 10 things every day for which I am grateful. So it was easy for me to consult that journal, where I have often written of things relating to blindness for which I am grateful and write this piece on why I am proud to be blind. You can hear the audio of this in Mosen At Large episode 119, but here is the text of what I said.

I am profoundly proud to be blind. I am proud of the fact that as a kid, when my older siblings would have been found out for reading at night, I read in the dark as much as I liked, a Braille book tucked under the covers on winter nights.

I am proud to be blind, because it connects me with a proud history. I share a characteristic with a man who gave us the priceless gift of functional, efficient literacy. Louis Braille was an example of “nothing about us without us” in the 19th century, long before we used that phrase. His genius invention was derided by sighted people who were certain they knew what was best for us. He was ridiculed. His code was driven underground and his books were burned. But he prevailed, because he was blind. He devised his code for himself, he gave it, at considerable personal cost, to all of us.

I am proud to be blind, because of all the other blind people who followed in Louis Braille’s footsteps, blind people innovating and inventing for our collective advancement, imagining a better future and making it real. Whether it be Larry Skutchan with his methodical mind and interminable patience, or Ted Henter with his zeal and entrepreneurship, or David Costution and Glen Gordon who believed that Windows could be truly useable and then made it come true, or the blind people now working on the inside of mainstream companies who are our champions, we dreamed it, we created it.

I am proud to be blind, because blind people are the reason the 33 RPM record was developed, initially so talking books could be distributed more efficiently.

And speaking of talking books, I am proud to be blind, because blind people are the reason talking books exist. Now, sighted people are using them too.

I am proud to be blind, because the original reading machine was created for us. We started the journey of digitising printed text that resulted in the scanners that are still commonplace in offices today.

I am proud to be blind, because long before the term PDA was in the lexicon of sighted people, we were taking notes, keeping track of appointments and reading books on devices like Keynotes and Braille’n’Speaks.

I am proud to be blind, because we were one of the reasons computers started to talk. Technology is better because of blind people. There are so many examples of technology when we, proudly, have been the blind who led the sighted.

I am proud to be blind, because I am not influenced by someone’s physical appearance, but instead gain information from the tone of a voice and the words that are said.

I am proud to be blind, because it has made me a more lateral thinker, developing and refining alternative techniques to access a wide range of information so I can thrive in a largely sight-dependent world.

I am proud to be blind, because even though my other senses aren’t sharper than anyone else’s, in fact I have a dual sensory loss, like many blind people I use them well. It makes me smile when I can tell what type of audio processor is being used on a radio station, or when another blind person can tell the kind of car that’s passing by simply by the sound it’s making, or when a blind person gives another blind person an instruction like, “when your cane hits a pole on my street that emits a fifth octave A-Flat, you’re outside my house”.

I am proud to be blind, because of the legacy of great blind civil rights leaders around the world. Often ostracised and branded radical troublemakers, they confronted, and are still confronting today, the tyranny of low expectations and the disabling decisions society has chosen to make. They challenged the damaging, fundamentally flawed notion that we had neither the ability nor the right to achieve self-determination, that it wasn’t necessary for society to be accessible, or inclusive, or accepting. Their belief in a fairer tomorrow unshackled us from institutions and shattered disempowering paternalism. Their tenacity has seen the increasing availability of better training, much of it driven by blind people ourselves, and increased opportunity through civil rights legislation.

I am proud to be blind, because as a subset of the world’s largest minority, disabled people, blind people led the way in the disability movement, securing legislative victories long before they were common for much of the rest of the sector. I am grateful every day of my life for those blind people who took on those difficult causes, displayed tenacity and stated their cases again, and again, and again until progress was slowly but surely made. I am proud of the personal responsibility I feel as a blind person to always cherish and defend, never take for granted, and constantly build upon the legacy of civil rights victories that I have inherited and benefited from. I am mindful that they must not be squandered, and I am proud to stand up, be counted, and do my moral duty to advance that legacy so that the next generation has even more opportunity than I have had.

I am proud to be blind, because it has shaped who I am, it is part of my identity and it has helped define me. I accept that. I embrace that.

I am proud to be blind, because in being blind I contribute to the rich tapestry and the diversity of humankind.

I am proud to be blind, because no matter how many negative signals are sent, I know that being blind makes me no less a person of worth.

I am proud to be blind, because the opposite of pride is shame, and my blindness is nothing to be ashamed of.

I am proud to be blind, and therefore share a characteristic with talented people from all walks of life. Blind people are parents, devoted, loving parents, some of whom have had their babies literally snatched from their loving arms, an atrocity no capable and loving parent should endure, and all for no other reason than people getting it horribly wrong about blindness. I am proud that we as blind people show those parents love, solidarity, and a steadfast determination to get those children back where they belong.

Blind people are in factories and farms, law practices and legislatures, sandwich shops and start-ups. I am proud of the blind teachers, software developers, businesspeople, mechanics, transcribers, musicians and even medical doctors. There is very little we can’t do and there are few professions where you can’t find a blind person, often to many people’s surprise. The only trouble is, the world doesn’t necessarily know that.

And that's the biggest reason I am proud to be blind. Because every day, just by getting on with my life, I defy the odds in a disabling society, we defy expectations where there is little disability confidence. When people tell us we can’t, we show them yes, we can. It can be exhausting sometimes. We may get knocked down, and sometimes we may feel like we’re out for the count. But eventually, most of us get up again. We apply for that one more job. We work around that inaccessible website. We keep calm and carry on when we’re treated like a helpless child in the street, or when walking into a store, or when yet another ride share driver declines to take our guide dog. That takes guts, it takes tenacity. The odds are stacked against us, but we march on, we make progress. Go us!

Yes, I am proud, proud, a thousand times proud to be blind.

May 2025

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