The Life and Times of Me

This is just a quick entry to wish everyone a very happy and safe one, whichever you celebrate. I'm currently back at my parents' 2-flat. But this time it isn't cancer-related. Although, like I mentioned in a previous entry I refuse to blame myself nor anybody else for this. It's nobody's fault including mine, and I fully support that claim. Well, perhaps we shall blame the lymphoma on the idiots currently occupying the White House? I think that is a wonderful idea. But I'm here to help celebrate a sibling's birthday, and Easter Sunday. That's all for now folks!

Hi everybody. It's not Friday but I thought why not post another entry. I've not really got much on the docket for today, and I do believe it's been awhile anyway. So on with the show!





Christmas with the fam was very nice, as it always has been and no doubt will be in future. I of course got great gifts. Tbh I'm not sure who bought for me this year. I say that because I got snacks from one family member, and a blue-tooth keyboard from another family member. The keyboard has yet to be set up but I'm sure I'll hate it, ROFL! Stay tuned right here for more on that. Perhaps several family members conspired on my behalf, lol. In any case, thanks everyone for all the gifts. I was a bit under the weather, but now I'm feeling better.

Hey everybody. I hope this finds y'all well. I'd like to wish everyone for whom it is applicable, a happy and safe Halloween. For those of you on the SNAP/Link program and living here in America, I'm so sorry. But it seems our dear criminal-in-chief has done it again. That's all I'm gonna say on the matter, as I'm not on food stamps myself and therefore don't know much about them. But additionally, I'm out of time.

Hi everybody. I wanted to come back here and give a brief update on registering for the CareerConnect Job Seekers' Toolkit. In a prior entry I stated that I was unable to complete registration due to the CAPTCHA situation. Well...I had some more time to kill today so thought I'd attempt that registration form again. This time however, I was able to submit the form and am now set. The random audio CAPTCHA which I got today worked for me, and I received confirmation via email. I haven't yet begun their training, but it looks interesting and pretty extensive. That is all for right now.

Hi everybody and welcome to the end of July. I hope you're all keeping cool or warm or whatever. As I write this my HVAC is churning out cool air and it feels great.





I'd like to start this entry off by letting everyone know about my latest toy. I got a diffuser for my birthday back in January, and finally set it up with the help of a neighbor this month. This neighbor happens to have 2 of those in his apartment, but mine is a bit different. I have used it a bit, and my mother helped me a little with it too. It is actually somewhat accessible because both buttons beep, but that's about the extent of that. She sent me the user manual in .pdf format, which is accessible with my screen reader but honestly the guide is rather poorly written. But I have used this diffuser a bit and like it.





Speaking of accessibility, I'm having difficulty registering for the Job Seekers' Toolkit. Yes indeed, I'm thinking of starting up my job search again. Well kinda sort of. I heard about CareerConnect several years ago from my mother, and at that time it was just getting up and running and was administered by the American Foundation for the Blind. But it has since transitioned to the American Printing House for the Blind, who has partnered with NSITE. It is now supposedly all free, but I'm encountering one of those pesky CAPTCHAs. Even the audio option seems not to trigger for me. I honestly wish all registration forms and other stuff like that were the same as or similar to Dreamwidth. But such is life I guess, and I'm obviously going to need working eyeballs for this one. I could try it on my smartphone, but for some reason there has been an issue with some of the on-screen keyboards. I think Braille displays are even being affected by this, but any Braille user on here please correct me if I'm wrong.





Update: I did try out my iPhone with my eReader, and I think it'll work.

Hi everyone and welcome to all. I hope this finds everyone well and behaving themselves. Well...I'm guessing most of us know who is *not* behaving himself? That's absolutely correct, our dear asshole-in-chief! The one who has returned to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for his second--and hopefully final--term. I'm hoping and praying he actually gets impeached and literally thrown out on his not-sorry ass, but perhaps that's just me. After all, I'm a nice guy who cares and I think people know that by now.





It's been a few weeks, so I think some updates are in order. First off, I've been using my free eReader a bit more. Ya know, the one from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. I've not used it yet to read any material from BARD, BookShare or NFB Newsline but those accounts are configured on there. I have however, used the device as a Braille display alongside my trusty MacBook Air and I'm starting to use them together. I'm happy to report that the device works well, and apparently I got lucky because the other brand of eReaders which were sent out by the National Library Service have a lot of problems. At least this is what I've read. This other company is one which I'd never even heard of before, so I therefore cannot comment further. But the HumanWare devices seem to be doing the trick for me and the other patrons who received them. The other thing about my eReader is that I can have it work in English Braille American Edition as well as the new Braille code. This is a big plus, since I grew up on EBAE and have yet to learn the new code. But there appears to be information online concerning the new code, so that's going to come in handy.





I started attending a Friday-morning Bible study with a neighbor at his church. It's a lot of fun. This is my first Bible study in years. I'm currently not able to follow along with them unless this neighbor reads me the passages, but I found an online resource that appears to be very usable and accessible. I'd like to thank Richard Turner for including a link to this resource on his website. Those who want to can check him out at http://www.turner42.com , and the Bible resource is at http://www.optasiaministry.org . It seems to be a lending library with a ton of Bibles as well as various Biblical reference material. I've tried out Blue Letter Bible and YouVersion, but the Optasia Ministry seems to better fit the bill for me.





Finally, I'd like to inform readers that I'm having a medical procedure done next month, so you might not hear from me again until after that is complete and I've healed up. It is an out-patient procedure though, and the surgeon who is performing it did a hernia repair on me several years ago. He was trained by none other than my father, and is very good. So in the meantime take care all, and stay out of trouble.

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.

Hi folks, I hope this finds you well. I just received the following exciting news, and wanted to share it with everybody. Interestingly enough, today is/was my parents' anniversary. So happy anniversary Mom and Dad, and many more. You're the bestest!





In a prior entry I mentioned that AppleVis was probably going to close their doors for good if a deal hadn't been reached by the end of the month. Well...the month hasn't quite come to a close but it looks like AppleVis isn't going bye-bye after all. I for one couldn't be happier, and I look forward to things to come. I admit I'm a bit skeptical though. Not because of who has acquired this most valuable website but given the past negativity on the site. I recognize that people have their likes and dislikes, and I'm no exception there. However, flame wars are just not acceptable in my books and the site became infiltrated with those. As mentioned in my prior entry on the subject, this was cited as one of the reasons for the impending closure.





At this point I think it's too soon to speculate what is all in this deal, but here is the announcement: https://www.bemyeyes.com/blog/be-my-eyes-applevis . I've been a user of Be My Eyes for a little while now, and have to say that it is one of the coolest apps I've come across since becoming an iOS user. I for one am so looking forward to what this new ownership will bring.

Hi everyone. The following are links to this year's Democratic National Convention with audio description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySzrZCmbsbw . I'm posting them here for your enjoyment. If you are not aligned with this, I recommend not watching it. I'm not responsible for any nightmares that might occur due to watching something which may cause people distress. I will admit I only watched the first one so far, but it was very enjoyable. Rumor has it that Stevie the Wonder made an appearance at some point during the convention, and I'm so looking forward to hearing him once again. Anyway, listen and enjoy! This is by no means an endorsement. That said, I myself want Kamala and Tim to win big. I'd like to thank members of the Audio Description project discussion list for providing these links free of charge. Interestingly enough, I've not found audio description for the Republican National Convention.