Re-Blog: Three blind Maryland residents and the National Federation of the Blind are suing Walmart, alleging that the company violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because its self-checkout kiosks are not fully accessible to blind customers.

Hi GTT Participants. Have any of you tried to use Self-Help Checkout Kiosks? Is this something for the Accessible Canada Act?

Advisen Canada Front Page News

advisen.com

Advisen Canada Front Page News

4-5 minutes

——————————————————————————–

Oct. 29–Three blind Maryland residents and the National Federation of the Blind are suing Walmart, alleging that the company violates the Americans with

Disabilities Act because its self-checkout kiosks are not fully accessible to blind customers.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, also claims that an employee at the Walmart in Owings Mills allegedly attempted to take money from

one of the plaintiffs while she was checking out at the store.

The suit claims that a staff member at the Owings Mills store on Reisterstown Road was assisting Cynthia Morales with a purchase at a self-checkout kiosk

in July 2017 when the employee selected an option for cash back from her debit card and took $40 without her knowledge.

“It’s important for blind people to be able to use the machines independently … so that people are not stealing from us,” Morales, a Parkville resident,

said in an interview. “We should be treated like everybody else — when we come into the store we would like to check out at the self-checkout quickly

just like everybody else, and I know that the technology is out there.”

In addition to Morales, other plaintiffs include Linwood Boyd, a Pikesville resident who was shopping with Morales when the alleged incident occurred;

Baltimore resident Melissa Sheeder; the National Federation of the Blind Inc. and the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland.

The plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction that would require Walmart to make its self-service kiosks throughout the U.S. accessible to blind customers;

a declaration that Walmart has been violating the ADA; and court costs and attorneys’ fees.

According to the suit, Morales and Boyd were checking out at a self-service kiosk when Morales handed an employee her debit card and instructed the employee

to enter her pin number on the keypad. She expected to pay about $80 for her items, according to the suit. During the transaction, the screen prompted

the users to take money from the machine, the suit claims. When Morales and Boyd left the store, they asked a bystander to read the receipt and realized

Morales was charged about $120.

They re-entered the store and called police, and the $40 was ultimately returned, according to the complaint.

“Money was stolen from one of our members and certainly we deplore that,” said Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind.

Danielsen said that even without the incident at Owings Mills, it’s “unacceptable” that sight-impaired patrons can’t serve themselves. “The technology

exists for Walmart and other entities that are using these kind of self-service kiosks,” he said.

Sheeder claims in the suit that she shops at Walmart at least once a week, and she and a friend attempted to use a self-checkout kiosk in July 2018. When

they were unable to operate it, they were directed to a full-service checkout lane, where they had to wait in line.

“We don’t tolerate discrimination, and we believe our checkout procedures comply with applicable law,” Randy Hargrove, a spokesman for Walmart, said in

an emailed statement late Friday. “When we learned of this specific situation with Ms. Morales, we looked into the matter and as a result, the associate

is no longer with the company. We take this matter seriously and will respond as appropriate with the court.”

Danielsen said he’s not aware of any large retailers that incorporate self-checkout kiosks that are fully accessible to blind people, but he pointed to

self-service software for machines such as ATMs, Amtrak ticket booths and taxicabs that allow blind people to operate the devices independently.

“We know that it’s possible to make a self-checkout kiosk accessible. It just has to be thought of at the design stage,” said Jessica P. Weber, an attorney

who is part of a team from the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy representing the plaintiffs. The lawsuit says the National Federation of the Blind

attempted to work with Walmart to address problems with the kiosks prior to filing suit.

“The civil rights of blind people can’t wait indefinitely and so we’re going to forge ahead,” Weber said.

smeehan@baltsun.com

twitter.com/sarahvmeehan

___

Visit The Baltimore Sun at

http://www.baltimoresun.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, Meet the Talking First Aid Kit, October 29, 2018

October 29 2018

Meet the Talking First Aid Kit

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to talk about the Talking First Aid Kit

Meet the Talking First Aid Kit

Carl Augusto of theAmerican Foundation for the Blind Blogposted the following about this great product.

I think it’s always important to keep safety in mind, so I thought I’d let you know about a new product from intelligentFirstAidT, the First Aid “talking” Kit. The Kit includes nine injury-specific packs to help treat common injuries, including Bleeding, Head & Spine Injury, and Shock. The packs are individually labeled and color-coded, which I love because it would help someone with low vision easily distinguish the packs. The best part, though, is that with the pressof a button, the audio component attached to each card provides step-by-step instructions to manage the wound. Situations often become chaotic when a loved one, an acquaintance, or even you,experiences a minor injury. With this tool, people with low vision can remain calm and have an idea of how to handle things without worrying about reading any print.

Check out the intelli gent FirstAidT website to purchase the product or get more information:

http://www.intelligentfirstaid.com/index.php

The site even allows you to listen to a sample of the audio component of the kit.

That’s it from me for this week.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to either of the following libraries.

Recipes –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-recipes.html

Audio mysteries for all ages –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-audio-mysteries.html

Or you can subscribe to both for the price of $20 annually.

Now you can subscribe to “‘Let’s Talk Tips”‘ which is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable

informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media,

Business, and Advocacy.

http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, A scam alert, October 22, 2018

October 22 2018

A scam alert

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to my scam alert.

A scam alert

A phone call asking you to verify your credit card details.

This is probably one of the most common types of phone scams and no one can never be reminded too many times as it is so very easy to believe these types of requests.

The one thing to remember is that these types of phone calls usually come in the form of voice recordings. You will probably never receive this type of call with a live person at the other end.

Here are some facts for you to keep in mind.

You are told that your credit rating needs to be updated.

You are presented with a list of options to choose from.

You are asked to verify the type of credit card that you presently own.

You are asked to give your credit card number either by entering it using your phone’s keypad or by speaking it.

You are asked to give the 3 digit security code at the back of the card either by entering it on your phone’s keypad or by speaking it.

You are asked for your date of birth and given the choice of either entering it on your phone’s keypad or by speaking it.

Do not respond to this!

Hang up immediately.

What happens if you fall into this trap and provide information that is being requested?

Well! Much sooner than later your credit card will be hijacked and before you know it someone will be using it to make unauthorized purchases.

That’s it from me for this week.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to either of the following libraries.

Recipes –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-recipes.html

Audio mysteries for all ages –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-audio-mysteries.html

Or you can subscribe to both for the price of $20 annually.

Now you can subscribe to “‘Let’s Talk Tips”‘ which is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable

informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media,

Business, and Advocacy.

http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

GTT Victoria Summary Notes, BrailleMe, Be My Eyes and Aira, October 3, 2018

Get together with Technology (GTT) Victoria

A Chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind

In Partnership with

Greater Victoria Public Library

Summary Notes

Wednesday October 3, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 1:00 pm by Tom Dekker.

Attendance, there were 15 individuals in Attendance.

Tom Decker welcomed everyone to the meeting and opened the session with a presentation and demonstration of a new low-cost Braille display. The item is called BrailleMe and is produced by Innovision Tech

www.innovisiontech.co/brailleme/

Tom is quite impressed with the item, especially in relation to what it can do based on the very attractive price point. The unit sells for around $575 (USD). the item can produce .BRF and .TXT files, and can read from an SD Card, but holds no internal memory. Tom went around the room with the item and let everyone have a look/test,

Other low-end Braille products were discussed including the Orbit, however their seams to be some serious issues with that product and people not having much luck with it, even if they are able to get their hands on one.

During the second half, Albert Ruel presented a demo of both the Be My Eyes App

www.bemyeyes.com

and the Aira service

www.aira.io

Albert is a subscriber to the Aira service and wanted people to see the differences while highlighting the unique services offered by both apps.

First, he demonstrated BeMyEyes. it uses the camera on your phone. You connect via the app, cost is free, and you are connected to a volunteer who will assist you with whatever vision challenge you present. Today Albert spoke to a volunteer (randomly selected by the app) in Calgary. Albert asked her to read several cards he held in front of the camera, she did so with great ease and accuracy.

Then albert did the same test utilizing the Aira service. Although a cell phone camera can be used, Albert used the provided Austria glasses with an attached camera that one gets when subscribing to the service. Lining up the cards was a bit more of a challenge using the glasses due to a bit of a field of vision limitation. Albert also asked the Aira Agent to provide a brief description of the clothing being worn by some of the people sitting across the room, as well as to have some of the room described. Interestingly enough, there is a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall across from where Albert was sitting, a fact not previously known by the blind people who attend GTT meetings monthly. Aira is a “user pay” service and there are four plans available with varying prices based on the number of minutes you wish to purchase. They also have some referral promotions if people sign up from a referral from an existing user, who is referred to as an Explorer.

In closing a brief discussion was held about both the province-wide October 20, 2018 civic election, and the provincial referendum on Proportional Representation that will conclude on November 19, 2018. Albert said that CNIB will be contacting clients with particulars about the braille information and templates that can be requested for the latter, seeing as it is a mail in ballot. For accessibility features available for the Civic Election, please check with your City or region to ask about their what they’ve put in place for blind and partially sighted voters.

Albert also provided some sense of the poor intercity bus service available on Vancouver Island, particularly for communities North of Nanaimo. If one is travelling beyond Nanaimo the last intercity bus leaving Victoria is at 2:55 PM. Also, the first bus heading for Victoria leaves Parksville at 9:15 AM and doesn’t arrive in Victoria until after 1:00 PM if riding with Tofino Bus, and the IslandLink Express Bus leaves Parksville at 9:40 AM and arrives in Victoria at about 12:30 PM. Sadly, if intercity bus riders have occasion to visit Victoria from Up Island communities their work/social day will last no more than 2- and one-half hours in total.

Finally, a topic for an upcoming meeting was discussed, that being “how do we feel about asking for visual help and how might technology play a role in how we answer that in a changing world. How will we maintain our independence when accessing information in our home activities, work tasks and during our recreational pursuits?

The next meeting will be held on November 7, 2018, and it will have us receiving a presentation from Stephen Ricci from Frontier Computing in Toronto. They are one of the largest assistive technology resellers in Canada, and while Stephen is in Victoria attending the Foundation Fighting Blindness Vision Quest the previous day he is pleased to stay one additional day to attend the GTT Victoria meeting.

Meeting was adjourned at 3pm

Next meeting, Wednesday November 7th, Same bat time, same bat channel. Happy Halloween everyone!

Meeting notes submitted by Corry Stuive

GTT Victoria Overview

GTT Victoria is a chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB).
GTT Victoria promotes a self-help learning experience by holding monthly meetings to assist participants with assistive technology.
Each meeting consists of a feature technology topic, questions and answers about technology, and one-on-one training where possible.
Participants are encouraged to come to each meeting even if they are not interested in the feature topic because questions on any technology are welcome. The more participants the better able we will be equipped with the talent and experience to help each other.
There are GTT groups across Canada as well as a national GTT monthly toll-free teleconference. You may subscribe to the National GTT blog to get email notices of teleconferences and notes from other GTT chapters. Visit:

http://www.gttprogram.wordpress.com/

There is a Follow link at the bottom of that web page to enter your email.

National GTTSupport Email distribution List

CCB sponsors a GTT email support list to provide help and support with technology for blind and low vision Canadians. To subscribe to the email list, send an empty email to:

GTTsupport+subscribe@groups.io

[End of Document]

GTT Edmonton Summary Notes, BlueSky TV and iPhone Training, October 15, 2018

Summary Notes

GTT Edmonton Meeting October 15, 2018

The most recent meeting of the Get Together with Technology (GTT) Edmonton Chapter was held October 15 at 7pm at Ascension Lutheran Church 8405 83 Street in Edmonton.

19 people attended.

Reading Tip: These summary notes apply HTML headings to help navigate the document. With screen readers, you may press the H key to jump forward or Shift H to jump backward from heading to heading.

October Topics – Blue Sky TV, JAWS Tutorials and iPhone

Blue Sky TV

Russell provided a recorded 33-minute thorough demo of using all aspects of Shaw Cable’s Blue Sky digital TV service including navigating the talking menus, browsing the talking program guide, using voice commands to find channel or programs, accessing Netflix, Accessing YouTube, and configuring the voice assistant settings.

Activate this Drop Box link to download Russell’s seven zipped recorded MP3 files so you can listen to this excellent presentation on your computer or DAISY player, for example placing the files in the $VROtherBooks folder on the SD card of the Victor Reader Stream.

The Drop Box will open with a window to sign-in or create an account. Just select close and then find the More Options choice which has a direct download link to get the zip file.

JAWS Built-in Training Materials

Russell worked with a member of GTT to show him how to get to the Jaws training materials by going into the Jaws window, going to the help menu, and choosing “Training” from within the help menu. He then demonstrated how to arrow through the list of training materials and press enter on the desired material to get it to download and install. After that he showed how the training material can be either read with Jaws using the usual Jaws reading commands, or listened to by pressing CTRL + P.

Aside from these training materials, Freedom Scientific has also archived many of their past webinars and offer them free of charge from their web site:

https://www.freedomscientific.com/Services/TrainingAndCertification/FreeWebinars

You can access these webinars in any of the following three ways:

A link to the recorded archive, including text, audio, and chat history
A link to an audio only file in MP3 format
A link to the text of the lesson in HTML format

iPhone Training

Gerry took a group of members to a separate room for training on basic iPhone navigation gestures using the built-in Voice Over screen reader. The following table lists only 12 gestures that allow you to do almost everything on an iPhone without being able to see the screen.

Use this Gesture	To DO This
Single finger touch	Select the item under your finger. VoiceOver will announce it.
Single finger double tap anywhere on the screen	Activate the selected item
Single finger flick left or right.	Select previous/next item.
Single finger flick up or down	Select previous/next item from a menu of additional choices.
Two finger rotate left or right.	Select previous/next rotor setting.
Two finger double tap	Start and stop the current action such as answering or hanging up a phone call, playing/pausing music, or video, start and stop the timer etc.
Two finger flick up	Read page starting at the top.
Two finger flick down	Start reading at selected item to end of screen.
Three finger flick left	Scroll right one page.
Three finger flick right	Scroll left one page.
Three finger flick down	Scroll up one page.
Three finger flick up	Scroll down one page.

Note that these gestures work only when VoiceOver is turned on. Sighted people who might share your phone use different gestures. The phone will not respond to the gestures sighted people are accustomed to unless you turn off VoiceOver.

The app switcher was also discussed. It lists all the open apps on your phone. You reach the app switcher with a double click of the Home button.
You move between the apps on the list by flicking left or right.
In the app switcher a 3 finger scroll up is a shortcut to close the app. It is a good idea to close apps from the app switcher as this reduces memory usage and improves battery life. Also, if an app is misbehaving it may help to go to the app switcher and close that app then relaunch the app.
Be careful with the 3 finger gesture because if you accidentally double tap with 3 fingers this turns off speech. If your speech goes silent, try double tapping with 3 fingers to turn speech back on.
The gesture help screen is a good place to practice gestures. Each gesture you perform will be announced as well as its purpose. This helps you to confirm that your gestures are interpreted correctly by the phone. To quickly reach the help practice screen, tap twice with 4 fingers. To leave the help practice screen again double tap with 4 fingers.

Next Meeting (Monday November 12 at 7pm)

We will focus on the AIRA live-agent system for providing visual assistance to blind and visually impaired people.
As always, for help with technology bring your devices and/or questions to the meeting.

Meeting Location and Logistics

Ascension Lutheran Church 8405 – 83 Street NW, Edmonton.
We meet in the basement hall. There is elevator access.
Enter the church from the back door. There is parking at the back and drop off space for taxis, DATS.
Meetings are every second Monday of the month at 7pm.
If you have someone helping you your assistant is welcome to remain for the meeting.

GTT Edmonton Overview

GTT Edmonton is a chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB).
GTT Edmonton promotes a self-help learning experience by holding monthly meetings to assist participants with assistive technology.
Each meeting consists of a feature technology topic, questions and answers about technology, and one-on-one training where possible.
Participants are encouraged to come to each meeting even if they are not interested in the feature topic because questions on any technology are welcome. The more participants the better able we will be equipped with the talent and experience to help each other.
There are GTT groups across Canada as well as a national GTT monthly toll free teleconference. You may subscribe to the National GTT blog to get email notices of teleconferences and notes from other GTT chapters. Visit:

http://www.gttprogram.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, use the form at the bottom of that web page to enter your email.

National GTT Email Support List

CCB sponsors a GTT email support list to provide help and support with technology for blind and low vision Canadians. To subscribe to the email list, send an empty email to:

GTTsupport+subscribe@groups.io

[End of Document]

Jaguar is Outfitting its Electric Cars with Spaceship-Like Noises, TheDrive.com

thedrive.com
Jaguar is Outfitting its Electric Cars with Spaceship-Like Noises
Rob Stumpf
Regulations all over the globe are calling for electric cars to emit noise as they creep along the road at low speeds in order to protect those with visual impairments. The Jaguar I-Pace will begin to be fitted with an Audible Vehicle Alert System in order to alert pedestrians that the SUV is in motion. Jaguar revealed the noises that its newest lineup of electric vehicles will emit, and it sounds out of this world.
Like all electric cars, the noise emitted while under certain speeds can be difficult for pedestrians to hear, and people who are visually impaired will have a greater difficulty discerning that a vehicle might be traveling in their direction. Because of this, regulations in the United States and European Union have become the key focus of automakers looking to outfit the future with electric mobility. In the United States, vehicles have until 2020 to comply with the legislation, while the EU has adopted a starting point for 2019.
While traveling at speeds less than 18.6 miles per hour (or a slower 13 mph in the EU), the I-Pace will emit a noise above 56 decibels, somewhere between the volume of a refrigerator and an air conditioner.
“The absence of traditional engine noise from electric vehicles creates a problem for vulnerable pedestrians, such as the blind or visually impaired,” said Iain Suffield, a technical specialist at Jaguar. “This is especially true at low speeds in town centres and car parks. We developed the Audible Vehicle Alert System for the [I-Pace] to ensure the safety of all road users. Our potentially life-saving technology cannot be switched off and as the leading charity for people with sight loss, we are pleased to have the support of Guide Dogs to ensure real people are at the heart of our product testing”
Jaguar said that its staff worked for nearly four years to develop the perfect noise for its vehicles. It claims that the noise, which is emitted from a speaker nested behind the vehicle’s front grille, is audible to those outside of the car, yet cannot be heard in the cabin. Sound engineers tested the car in urban environments and even special echo-free chambers to ensure that the noise would be effective.
According to Jaguar, initial tests caused pedestrians to look to the sky out of confusion (instead of watching out for oncoming traffic), it dropped plans to implement noises that sounded like they were emitted from sci-fi space crafts. Instead, it modified the noise and programmed the car to shift the pitch and volume as the vehicle sped up or slowed down, similar to a car’s engine producing different noises based on load. Still, it’s hard to say that this doesn’t sound like a spaceship.

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, Privacy protection, October 15, 2018

October 15 2018

Privacy protection

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to my tip on privacy protection.

Privacy protection

We are constantly striving to protect ourselves from scams and scammers, but most of all we need to ensure that our privacy, confidentiality, and independence are kept safe from prying eyes and those who thrive on destroying our right to these precious commodities.

2. Completion of an application for CPP or Old Age – done

Sure! You are told that you can do this online but as of now the website is not user friendly enough for you to do this.

So what do you do?

You need to go to your nearest Service Canada office.

Take a trusted friend, family member, or neighbour with you.

Upon arrival, let the agent know that you wish them to assist you complete your forms.

They may ask the one accompanying you to assist but be firm and let them know that you wish them to help you.

Take your Social Insurance Number card so that you can show it to them and any other photo ID in case you are asked for this.

Take your cheque book along with you so that they can take the info from your cheque to complete the form.

You would need to provide a void cheque and ask them to assist you with this.

They are usually very good at rendering assistance.

As of now, the website may not be completely usable for those who are vision impaired and the forms may still not be in electronic format.

Call 1-800-277-9914

CALL 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232), from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

That’s it from me for this week.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to either of the following libraries.

Recipes –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-recipes.html

Audio mysteries for all ages –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-audio-mysteries.html

Or you can subscribe to both for the price of $20 annually.

Now you can subscribe to “‘Let’s Talk Tips”‘ which is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable

informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media,

Business, and Advocacy.

http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

CCB National Newsletter, Visions, October 2018

VISIONS

Canadian Council of the Blind Newsletter

October 2018

“A lack of sight is not a lack of vision”

President’s Message++

1Louise Gillis – CCB National President

Welcome to the fall season! If weather is like what the summer was we should expect lots of sunshine.

The Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) chapters across the country will have all started up preparing for activities and events over the next number of months. As 2019 is the anniversary of the CCB I anticipate many are considering ways to celebrate in their communities and demonstrate to everyone our “abilities” rather than our disability.

It is now the season for all sports activities to get started. Have fun, get exercise, socialize, and learn or assist in the GTT program so that we can lead a more productive lifestyle.

September has been very busy at the National level as well. Meetings were held with the Biosimilar Working Group (biosimilaroptions.ca). The Biosimilars Working Group is a key collaboration of diverse organizations, registered health charities, and health care advocacy coalitions who are dedicated to ensure that good outcomes for patients are at the center of health policy in Canada, specifically in the biologic medication treatment. These medications are used by many of our members for the disease processes that we need to deal with on a daily basis. This, the reason for our participation, as per our mandate –“improving the quality of life for those who are blind and in the prevention of blindness”.

Both our Advocacy and Membership committees met in September which will continue throughout the fall. Should you have advocacy items you would like the committee to look into contact Pat Gates at advocacy@ccbnational.net. Some of the current topics of discussion were the possibility of a National Pharmacare Program urging members to take part in consultations in communities over the next while. Also the concern of Greyhound service in Western Canada was a hot topic. Regarding ideas of how to attract new members may be sent to Co-Chairs Heather Hannett (hjhannett@telus.net) or Jim Tokos (jtokos@ccbnational.net).

The Bylaws committee continues to work toward making required changes to comply with the CNCA. This process does require a great deal of work and thank you to Mike Vrooman for leading the committee.

We continue to work with other groups of and for the Blind to help improve the quality of our lives, the prevention of blindness and awareness of the organization. This involves meeting with government officials at all levels, community organizations, letter writing to ensure we continue to receive reading material of our choice plus much more. We continue to work with the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) on the Eye See You campaign, as we all know blindness has no limits of age, gender, etc.

There are lots of interesting articles in the newsletter. We encourage good new items, photos, or interesting articles that your chapter (such as dinners, awareness tables, sporting events,) are doing for the newsletter.

Louise Gillis, National President

Announcements

Two Important Days++

October 11, 2018 – World Sight Day

The World Sight Day is the most important advocacy and communications event on the eye health calendar. Observed annually on the second Thrusday of October, it is a global event meant to draw attention on blindness and vision impairment.

Around 253 million people live with vision impairment worldwide, of which 36 million are blind. The vast majority live in low-income settings. More than 80% are aged 50 years or above. More than 80% of all visual impairment can be prevented or cured.

During this World Sight Day celebrations the World Blind Union provides the following advice and call for action:

It is important for all to have their eyes screened once a year in order to avoid preventable causes of blindness.
Governments should allocate appropriate budgets across the world for vision health.
WBU also encourages radio and television campaigns to sensitize the public about eye conditions and interventions.

October 15, 2018 – White Cane Day

The mission of White Cane Day is to educate the world about blindness and how the blind and visually sighted persons can live and work independently while giving back to their communities.

On this year’s White Cane Day, October 15, the World Blind Union emphasizes that trainings and awareness campaigns towards the promotion of mobility and orientation using the white can guarantee autonomy to blind and partially sighted persons to choose places they would like to go to and to participate effectively in their communities.

You can read the WBU’s entire press releases here. http://ccbnational.net/fresco/wbu-statement-on-the-world-sight-day-2018/

http://ccbnational.net/fresco/wbu-statement-on-white-cane-day-october-15-2018/

If you would like even more information please visit www.worldblindunion.org

GTT at the Annual CNIB Technology Fair++

On Thursday September 27 members of the blind/low vision community, family and friends, educators, vendors and community partners gathered for the annual CNIB Technology Fair. This event took place at Ottawa’s City Hall. The room was filled with booths, offering everything from technology solutions that assist people living with vision loss and beyond. Ottawa’s blind/low vision community was also well-represented with a host of services, as well as the Ottawa CCB Chapter and Get Together With Technology Program.

2Kim Kilpatrick at the 2018 CNIB Techology Fair

Kim Kilpatrick, GTT Program Coordinator and some GTT program participants were on hand to answer questions and provide information about this innovative, peer-driven group where people could learn to use all kinds of technology for increased independence. For example, those who stopped by the booth saw how any iPhone with Voiceover enabled would assist a blind person to read mail, find a bus stop, read short printed text aloud, take a picture, access the internet, use Social Media, attend school, and send a text. Whether blindness/low vision was life-long or recently-diagnosed, there was something for everyone! Other kinds of technology (both high and low tech) were also demonstrated. Many visitors felt encouraged and said that they would follow up on what they had learned about GTT’s blog posts, one-to-one drop-in sessions, monthly evening meetings and/or monthly conference calls. For more information, please contact 613-567-0311 or (toll-free) 1-877-304-0968

By Shelley Morris and Kim Kilpatrick (Picture from Fran Cutler)

Picture shows a very large GTT sign with GTT program Coordinator Kim Kilpatrick using a keyboard paired with an iPhone.

CCB President Advocates for Patients at International Conference ++

In August, longtime Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) partner, the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) hosted delegates from 75 countries at the 14th Global Conference on Ageing, in Toronto. The conference focused on critical issues facing older people today and for future generations. A diverse range of topics on ageing, which included a focus on vision were addressed and debated, guided by insights from thought leaders, new research, and real-world examples.

CCB President Louise Gillis was invited to participate in a panel discussion with experts from the World Health Organization, the IFA, and Canada’s leading ophthalmologists. Rooted in ageism is the false and problematic myth that vision deterioration is just a part of ‘normal’ ageing. Vision loss is not an ‘ageing issue’ yet among adult at-risk populations there is a relatively low-level awareness of the need for regular eye screening, symptomatology of eye diseases and access to safe and effective treatments.

The panel discussion explored the relationship of vision-loss and declines in the health and the wellbeing of older populations, while focusing on important access, screening and policy issues that are threatening an individual’s ability to optimize vision health.

“Ensuring the voice of the patient is heard loud and clear is always an objective for me,” says Louise Gillis, CCB President. “With such a high profile conference, this was an important opportunity to not only highlight concerns and issues from the vision community, but to help establish an actionable framework that in collaboration with various stakeholders, we can achieve.”

3Louise Gillis at the IFA 2018 Conference

The vision symposium at the conference was a marquee event that put ‘vision health’ on the priority list for Canadians. Through their ongoing work on the Eye See You campaign, the CCB and the IFA are a driving force, advocating for the rights of all patients. New advocacy initiatives are underway and the groups encourage you to visit http://www.eyeseeyou.care to ensure your voice is heard.

CCB Health & Fitness October Update!++

Thanks to everyone who participated in our September Mindful Eating Challenge. We received some great feedback from across the country.

What have you learned from examining your own eating habits? Have you made any tweaks? Have any questions?

As always, it isn’t a one size fits all answer, it is about being self aware and making little changes over time. Small changes in our lifestyle habits can have huge payoffs!! What’s the old saying? Slow and steady wins the race!! Keep being mindful and looking for opportunities to make healthy choices.

FITNESS TRACKERS

As we turn the page on a new month, I got thinking about the number of CCB members out there that either:

-use their smartphone’s GPS or accelerometer and an app, to measure their activity -use a dedicated activity tracker or fitness wearable, such as a gps watch, heart rate monitor, fitness tracker (fitbit, garmin, polar)

We all love technology and CCB Health & Fitness will be looking at this a bit more in depth as we move forward.

We would LOVE and appreciate your feedback.

Please send Ryan an email letting him know what technology you use to keep track of fitness; you phone, a dedicated fitness wearable, or none at all?

ccb.healthandfitness@gmail.com

As always, we welcome feedback and suggestions on topics and challenges moving forward!

CCB Chapter Update++

Hands of Fire proudly welcomes you to our third annual fundraising event: It’s in the Fingertips – A Night of Art and Music! Hands of Fire is a not-for-profit organization and a chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind which offers sculpture classes to blind and visually impaired individuals. We are a Toronto-based group comprised of a number of talented blind and visually impaired artists who are thrilled to showcase their amazing and diverse works of art to the greater Toronto community in this fundraising event.

4Kangaroo by Susanna

This year’s fundraiser will be hosted at Jumblies Theatre, located 132 Fort York Boulevard, Toronto, ON M5V OE3. This downtown gallery space is steps from public transit and easy to access. Sculpture made by the artists will be on display and for sale, with the artists present to socialize and speak about their art. We are excited to announce that this year’s fundraiser will include live musical performances by members of the blind and visually impaired community as well! With great art, music, a sociable and friendly environment, as well as food and drinks, this night promises to be one to remember.

On behalf of Hands of Fire, we cordially invite you to come visit us this November 10 at Jumblies Theatre for a night of art and music, and all for a great cause!

CCB Chapter News:++

CCB Chatham/Kent Chapter: The past 14 months have brought about the establishment of a new Chapter, customized Chapter logo, creation of our Mission Statement “providing support, information and social activities for all our members”, the recruitment of the current 40 members, both blind or visually impaired and sighted, grant writing including budget development and submission, 3 fundraising events, 2 of them very successful and the other one I’ll classify as a learning experience while maneuvering through the Municipality rules, regulations and bi-laws.

Every Chapter member had the opportunity to participate in the following events – golf, lawn bowling, self-defense classes, mini golf, horseback riding, game day, trivia night, pot lucks, BBQs, monthly bowling, Christmas get-together, Pizza party, Elmira Maple Syrup Festival bus trip, volunteering at the information booth for RetroFest, and manning the information table at various senior awareness events.

Our Chapter meetings have had guest speakers from the Canadian Mental Health, Police Department, Hydro Rebate Program representative, Heart and Stroke and Self Defense instructors.

It’s been quite a ride!

Kathie & Dave

US House of Representatives Passes Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act Treaty Now Awaits Presidential Action ++

Washington, DC (September 25, 2018): The United States House of Representatives has passed the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559), which makes modest changes to copyright law that will bring the United States into compliance with the terms of the Marrakesh Treaty. The Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the treaty and passed the implementing legislation on June 28.

“For almost a decade now, the National Federation of the Blind, our partners, and other advocates have worked to bring the Marrakesh Treaty into being and into force,” said Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “Today we applaud the United States House of Representatives for its passage of the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act. We now urge President Trump to sign this implementing legislation, and to order the State Department to deposit the instrument of ratification with the World Intellectual Property Organization as soon as practicable. We are closer than ever to the day when blind Americans will have greater access to the world’s knowledge, in many of its original languages, than we have ever had in human history.”

Assistive Technology

Introducing the Doro 824++

It’s the smartphone designed to make mobile more accessible. And it’s available exclusively at Bell.

Simplified user interface

With specially designed apps and an easy-to-read 5” HD screen, it’s easy to use email, access your camera, browse the Web or message your contacts. Plus, the Google TalkBack feature helps low-vision users navigate. The Doro 824 is intuitive and understandable with larger fonts and a simplified menu.

Safety and support features

Stay safe with a dedicated emergency assistance button that dials a predefined contact. Step-by-step guides and videos will coach you through the basic features, helping you understand your new phone. The My Doro Manager app lets your relatives or caregivers remotely manage settings, share photos, set up accounts, add calendar appointments and more – all done remotely.

Modern design

The stylish, accessible design combines the simplicity of basic phones with the more advanced features of smartphones. Ergonomic and grip-friendly, the Doro 824 comes designed with physical buttons, including an emergency button.

HD camera and sound

Take beautiful pictures with the 8-megapixel camera. It’s easy to capture the moment by pressing the physical camera button. Plus, with the 2-megapixel front-facing camera and the Google Hangouts app, you can stay connected through video chat.

Need some extra help? The Doro is hearing aid compatible and provides loud, crystal clear sound.

Doro 824 customers who self-identify as having an accessibility need qualify for an $8.54 monthly bill credit. Please let your Bell customer service representative know when activating your phone, or contact the Bell Accessibility services centre.

Accessibility add-on: complimentary 2 GB of data per month for qualified customers with hearing, speech or visual accessibility needs.

For more information, please visit: https://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Products/Doro-824?INT=MOB_mobdevpg_BTN_poplink_Mass_051016_mb_details

Bank Note Reader Update++

Today, the Bank of Canada announced that it will begin to phase out the bank note reader program. The bank note reader is the handheld device that identifies denominations through machine readable codes.

As technology continues to evolve, the Bank has determined that there are more modern devices that can be used. For those with a smartphone or tablet, the Bank has evaluated apps currently on the market, and both Seeing AI and NantMobile Money Reader quickly and reliably denominate Canadian bank notes.

There are several benefits to using apps: they are free and easy to download and try out; they are easy to update as new bank notes enter circulation; and instead of a single function device like the bank note reader, smartphones and tablets have built-in accessibility features that can be used for various needs.

The bank note reader will continue to be available for a time, but no further upgrades are planned and the reader will not be compatible with the next generation of vertical bank notes.

A number of bank note accessibility features will continue to help the blind and partially sighted recognize all five denominations with confidence. They include: the tactile feature, large high-contrast numerals and use of distinct colours for each denomination.

The Bank is also issuing a recall of the latest model of the bank note reader to upgrade and improve its performance with the polymer notes currently in circulation.

Those who’ve received this model of the bank note reader will be contacted by telephone and offered an upgraded device. A “swap” approach will ensure that individuals are never without a reader.

Donna’s Low Tech Tips: A scam alert++

Today, I’d like to introduce you to my scam alert.

Those emails asking you to login and verify your username and password that appears to be coming from your bank or insurance company.

If the email in question that you have received seems to be from a bank or insurance company that you do not do business with then you are okay. Just delete it and move on.

On the other hand if the email in question is from a bank or insurance company that you do business with; then by all means you can read it but my advice would be to also delete it.

No bank or insurance company would ever send you this type of email.

Not sure? Then just visit your bank.

Ask them to verify that they never sent you such an email. You could also call to verify as well.

Some of these types of emails may also go as far as to ask you to provide such details as your date of birth and account number.

Just delete this email and move on.

What would happen if you were to respond?

The simple answer would be trouble, lots of trouble, and now you have given a scammer out there carte blanche to hack into either your bank account and/or your very own computer system.

In the News

HoloLens can now guide the blind through complicated buildings

The headset’s ability to map a space and talk people through it may prove more important than the mixing-imagery-with-reality stuff. ++

HoloLens, Microsoft’s pricey face computer, is made for mixing digital images with the real world. But a group of scientists found it’s really good at a totally unanticipated application: helping blind people find their way through buildings and offering a better sense of where objects are around them.

The researchers, at the California Institute of Technology, created a new guiding app for HoloLens by taking advantage of the device’s real-time room and object mapping capability, as well as speakers that can make audio seem to be coming from different points in three-dimensional space. They used these features to map a complicated path through a campus building and created a virtual guide that helps a blind person navigate it, calling out directions like “Follow me” from what seems like a meter or so ahead of the person, according to work recently published on the bioRxiv website.

An accompanying video shows how this plays out in reality. A female voice directs a HoloLens-wearing study subject, who is blind, by saying things like “Railings on both sides,”

5 This render show the actual paths taken by the users in the navigation tests (image from techcrunch.com)

“Upstairs,” and “Right turn ahead.” The man follows the commands, walking easily from a first-floor lobby up a set of staircases, around several corners, and past a few doorways until he arrives at a room on the second floor.

He’s one of seven subjects who tried the application. All got to their destination on the first try, though one briefly got off track. Markus Meister, a professor at Caltech and coauthor of the study, thinks the research could eventually lead to a device that could be offered to visually impaired visitors at places like hotels or malls, helping them get around unfamiliar areas more easily. There are already some tools that can be used this way outdoors, such as turn-by-turn mapping apps—but indoors, as Meister notes, there aren’t as many options.

The World Health Organization estimates that 253 million people are blind or visually impaired, so the potential market for such an application could be huge. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. For now, any routes from one point to another must be scanned in advance, and there isn’t a way to track other people who might walk through the space as the HoloLens wearer is navigating it.

But the study subject in the video, at least, was impressed with the work thus far. “That was pretty cool,” he says, chuckling, at the end of the clip.

By Rachel Metz

Hope for new macular degeneration treatments buoys patients++

Sometimes it starts with wavy vision. Objects appear distorted. Familiar faces go blurry.

Sean Teare, a 48-year-old health care consultant from Duxbury, struggled to read menus in dimly lit restaurants. After a battery of tests, his optometrist told him he had age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, an eye disease that afflicts more than 9 million Americans and can cause serious vision loss. “It came as a complete shock,” said Teare.

The prevalence of the condition is rising as the population ages. The number of early-stage cases for those 50 and older is projected to nearly double to 17.8 million in the United States by 2050, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For baby boomers, who are living longer than past generations and fiercely prize their independence, it’s a dreaded diagnosis that threatens to rob them of everyday functions such as reading, driving, cooking, or watching television.

With the increase in cases has come a burst of research activity. There’s currently no cure for the disorder, and no treatment for its most common form, which accounts for 85 percent of cases.

But scientists in Massachusetts and around the world are experimenting with dozens of drug candidates, including about 20 in clinical trials that work to preserve vision and, ideally, restore sight. They include not only well-established drugs, such as repurposed statins, but also new approaches such as gene therapies, stem cell treatments, and medicines tailored to the genetic makeup of patients.

“We’re close to seeing some important findings,” said Dr. Joan Miller, chief of the ophthalmology department at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston.

The disease, considered the leading cause of blindness in older Americans, is triggered by fatty deposits that damage a spot in the retina called the macular, which lets the eye see fine detail. Its rate of progression varies. Some patients don’t experience vision loss for many years; others lose sight in their central field of vision, inhibiting their ability to see straight ahead, but retain peripheral vision.

Patients with a more severe form of the disease can receive periodic injections of an antibody into the eye that can slow progression of the disease by blocking leaky blood vessels.

Miller, who helped pioneer the science behind Lucentis, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006 as the first treatment for age-related macular degeneration, hopes to see a new generation of treatments emerging in the next five to 10 years.

Some of those new treatments could be less uncomfortable and time-consuming than today’s injections. The emerging field of gene therapies, for instance, promises “one and done” procedures that could stop the disease in its tracks by inserting healthy genes into cells in place of defective or missing ones. Another approach involves stimulating cells in the retina to act as mini-production factories that generate proteins to protect the macular.

Such advances can’t come soon enough for such patients as Laura Brennan, 64, of South Boston, who gets shots into her eyes every two months to stabilize her vision.

Brennan, who first experienced wavy vision when she was in her 50s, is determined to keep living her normal life. The injections and other adjustments have enabled her to continue walking, swimming, and working as a chef for Foodie’s Markets in South Boston and the South End.

“When I first noticed that I couldn’t make out someone’s face across the room, that was very difficult,” said Brennan, who recalls her father also developing macular degeneration late in life. “But I’ve been able to adapt. I know who people are by their steps or their voice. At this point, my goal is to preserve the vision that I have, not to have it decrease anymore.”

Hemera Biosciences, a Waltham startup, is seeking to develop a kind of vaccine that would make treatments easier and less invasive for patients like Brennan.

“Patients in their 60s and 70s will go to their ophthalmologists,” said Hemera chief executive Adam Rogers. “If they’re diagnosed with AMD, they can receive a shot and keep it at bay during their lifetimes. I think that’s something we could see in the next five to seven years.”

Biopharma giants such as Genentech, Novartis, and Regeneron are also working on experimental medicines. So are a raft of biotech startups ranging from Cambridge’s Gemini Therapeutics to Regenxbio in Rockville, Md.

For drug makers, the tens of millions of people with age-related macular degeneration are a potentially lucrative market. Sales of current medicines, mostly first-generation treatments including Lucentis, totaled nearly $5 billion in 2016, and the expected new drugs will expand the market to $11.5 billion by 2026, the British analytics firm GlobalData projects.

The approval of the first-ever gene therapy for any disease last December galvanized eye researchers. The new drug, Luxturna, treats a rare genetic retinal disease in children by replacing a mutation with a corrective gene. In March, Mass Eye and Ear performed the first-ever procedure to administer the drug to a patient.

“It opened up the avenue for other gene-based treatments, and some of that might be applicable to AMD,” said Miller.

While macular degeneration is thought to be influenced not only by genetics but by environmental factors, such as smoking, “gene therapies have incredible potential” to treat the disease, said Luk Vandenberghe, cofounder of Odylia Therapeutics, a Boston nonprofit working to commercialize retinal disease research. Decades of research to understand diseases is now helping to power the new approaches to treatments, he said.

There’s also hope that the success of gene therapies for maladies of the eye could help launch similar kinds of treatments for other diseases.

Ben Shaberman, an official at the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a patient advocacy group, said the retina – a thin tissue lining the back of the eye – is emerging as an ideal proving ground for the young gene therapy field.

“The retina is accessible and a really good target,” he said. “If you get things to work in the retina, there’s a good chance you could apply them to neurodegenerative disorders of the brain or the central nervous system.”

Gemini, based in Kendall Square, is trying to bring the precision medicine model being deployed in targeted cancer treatments to AMD. Unlike drug developers that try to make one-size-fits-all treatments for macular degeneration, it’s focusing on treatments tailored to subsets of patients with distinct genetic variations that put them at risk.

“We believe that genetics plays a key role, and we’re spending a lot of time trying to understand these subpopulations,” said Gemini chief executive James McLaughlin.

Sometimes patients themselves aren’t sure what role genetics has played in their disease. Teare, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2016, doesn’t know anyone in his family with it. He wonders if his exposure to sunlight while boating or skiing was a factor.

Teare feels lucky to have the less severe form of the disease. And he’s been quick to embrace lifestyle changes – eating a diet rich in fish and vegetables and wearing sunglasses with ultraviolet eye protection – in an effort to keep it from progressing. Last year, he ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., to raise money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

He’s counting on his healthy diet and lifestyle – and his upbeat attitude – as he awaits the progress of research programs.

“This isn’t a terminal illness,” he said. “I feel I can make lifestyle changes that will keep it from progressing until there’s some kind of treatment.”

By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff September 09, 2018

REMINDERS

Membership Madness++

Hi Everyone! Becky from the office here. All chapters should have received their membership packages. Independent membership will be sent shortly.

Early Bird Draw – November 2, 2018

Chapter Rebate Deadline – December 7, 2018

All 2019 Memberships Due – December 28, 2018

White Cane Week Orders Due – January 4, 2019

WCW Insurance Requests Due – January 4, 2019

DON’T FORGET DONATIONS!++

Donations Received in the office in 2018 are the only ones that can be receipted for 2018. Remember to send those donations if you want receipts.

www.ccbnational.net 1-877-304-0968

ccb@ccbnational.net

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, Apps round up, October 8, 2018

October 08 2018

Apps round up

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to my apps round up.

AirRead, listen to flying text (iOS, Free)

Would it be amazing if somebody reads aloud articles for you?

If your answer is “Yes”, AirRead is for you.

You can “read” web pages, news, and books while waiting, walking, driving, exercising

…whatever!

AirRead reads aloud text for you.

Listen to web pages

* in-app browser for reading aloud web pages interactively

* skips advertisements and menus while playing

* one tap to play multiple linked articles inside a web page

* save web pages and read aloud later in offline mode

* select web pages first and later on play them all together

Listen to books

* create your own audio books (on iPhone/iPad or PC/MAC)

* convert ePub, PDF, text, rtf, doc files to audio books

Listen to news

* speak aloud news article one-by-one automatically

Listen to text

* type and speak

Copy and play

* Copy a web address or text onto pasteboard and speak it aloud

Other features

* designed for fragmented-time operations

* supports Apple Watch

* one tap to continue last reading

Current Version: 8.2.3 (June 24, 2018)

Read AirRead, listen to flying text’s AppleVis App Directory entry for more information

https://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/reference/airread-read-aloud-text

Visit AirRead, listen to flying text’s App Store page

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id1021049789?ign-mpt=uo%3D8%26amp%3Buo%3D8

___________

Travelear: Listen to the World (iOS, Free)

Travelear promises to take your ears on an adventure like never before! You can finally

go to a variety of destinations and environments with a pair of headphones and the click

of a button. With Travelear you can hop across the pond and experience the hustle and

bustle of London’s famous Flower Market or even take a trip down to New Orleans jazz-

filled streets. If you’re not in the mood for a new city sound then you can always get up

close and personal with forest wildlife or simply sit back and relax on your porch as a

summer thunderstorm passes by. Let our sounds immerse you into an environmental

narrative and make you feel like you are actually there.

Features:

* 3D experiences created exclusively for Travelear

* Organic recordings designed to tell a story

* Captured with the latest in 3D microphones

* Recorded and composed by Professional Audio Engineers

* HD sound quality

* HD images provide a visual for the experience

* Map View allows you to choose your destination

Take a break from your day, go somewhere fun. Sit back, relax, and choose your

destination.

Current Version: 1.2.3 (May 25, 2018)

Read Travelear: Listen to the World’s AppleVis App Directory entry for more information

https://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/health-and-fitness/travelear-listen-world

Visit Travelear: Listen to the World’s App Store page

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/travelear-listen-to-the-world/id1159408401?mt=8

That’s it from me for this week.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to either of the following libraries.

Recipes –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-recipes.html

Audio mysteries for all ages –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-audio-mysteries.html

Or you can subscribe to both for the price of $20 annually.

Now you can subscribe to “‘Let’s Talk Tips”‘ which is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable

informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media,

Business, and Advocacy.

http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

Reminding of corpus luteum problems or ovulation disorders.

* [Sleep monitoring for eugenics] Monitoring on total length of sleep and length

of deep sleep all night.

Core functions of smart Himama pregnancy preparation doctor:

Reporting ovulation everyday: telling you whether you are ovulating, the

likelihood of pregnancy and your high/low temperature zone based on your BBT

of the day;

Drawing up BBT curve automatically, to intelligently observe the status of

pregnancy;

Cause analysis on the difficulties in getting pregnant: reminding of and analyzing

on corpus luteum problems or ovulation disorders;

Sleep monitoring: monitoring the accumulated length of sleep, length of

deep/light sleep; determining the quality of sleep, and monitoring the time of

going to sleep and waking up;

Current Version: 1.9.2 (June 21, 2018)

Read Himama’s AppleVis App Directory entry for more information

https://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/health-and-fitness/himama

Visit Himama’s App Store page

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/himama/id1116020094?mt=8

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, The Super Compact Record Player, October 1, 2018

October 01 2018

Meet the Super Compact Record Player

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to talk about the Super Compact Record Player

Meet the super Compact Record Player

Document source:

http://www.aph.org

from Fred’s Head

In this day of high-tech gadgets and MP3 players, it’s nice to see an old favorite still has a chance to be cool. I have a deep love for record players, my parents got one for me when I was a very young child and I’ve owned one all my life. I have tons of records and wouldn’t give them up for the world. I’m thinking I may have to have one of these too.

The Crosley Revolution turntable truly fits the word in every way. Where other turntables take up space, this one dances around a desk without ado.

Where other record players must be kept in their designated place, the Revolution practically begs to join you on every journey. And where other turntables tangle you in a web of wires, the Revolution effortlessly pairs with any FM radio for cordless, clear sound.

It is a turntable of firsts-the first battery-powered Crosley turntable, the first with a platter smaller than a teacup saucer, and the first with a wireless transmitter for cord-free enjoyment. Users can tote this two-speed turntable with them to vinyl swaps or to a friend’s house. Featuring a USB hookup for easy analog-to-digital transfer, the Revolution will allow users to free their favorites from the grooves for digital enjoyment across a variety of devices. This small but mighty turntable also features a headphone jack, passive audio out, and a dynamic full range speaker.

Includes a software Suite For Ripping And Editing Audio Content Belt Driven Turntable Mechanism plays 2 Speeds, 33 1/3 And 45 RPM Records.

Now if we could only do something for packing all those records around!

the cost is $149.95.

Click this link to visit the Crosley Radio website to purchase the Revolution turntable:

http://www.crosleyradio.com/Product.aspx?pid=1869

That’s it from me for this week.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to either of the following libraries.

Recipes –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-recipes.html

Audio mysteries for all ages –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-audio-mysteries.html

Or you can subscribe to both for the price of $20 annually.

Now you can subscribe to “‘Let’s Talk Tips”‘ which is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable

informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media,

Business, and Advocacy.

http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

I am yet to meet

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, Scam alert, September 24, 2018

September 24 2018

A scam alert

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to my scam alert.

A scam alert

Those emails asking you to login and verify your username and password that appears to be coming from your bank or insurance company.

If the email in question that you have received seems to be from a bank or insurance company that you do not do business with then you are okay. Just delete it and move on.

On the other hand if the email in question is from a bank or insurance company that you do business with; then by all means you can read it but my advice would be to also delete it.

No bank or insurance company would ever send you this type of email.

Not sure? Then just visit your bank.

Ask them to verify that they never sent you such an email.

You could also call to verify as well.

Some of these types of emails may also go as far as to ask you to provide such details as your date of birth and account number.

Just delete this email and move on.

What would happen if you were to respond?

The simple answer would be trouble, lots of trouble, and now you have given a scammer out there carte blanche to hack into either your bank account and/or your very own computer system.

That’s it from me for this week.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to either of the following libraries.

Recipes –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-recipes.html

Audio mysteries for all ages –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-audio-mysteries.html

Or you can subscribe to both for the price of $20 annually.

Now you can subscribe to “‘Let’s Talk Tips”‘ which is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable

informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media,

Business, and Advocacy.

http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

GTT Toronto Summary Notes, Music Apps, September 20, 2018

Summary Notes

GTT Toronto Adaptive Technology User Group

September 20, 2018

An Initiative of the Canadian Council of the Blind

In Partnership with the CNIB

The most recent meeting of the Get Together with Technology (GTT) Toronto Group was held on Thursday, September 20 at the CNIB Community Hub.

*Note: Reading Tip: These summary notes apply HTML headings to help navigate the document. With screen readers, you may press the H key to jump forward or Shift H to jump backward from heading to heading.

September 2018 Topic: Music Apps and Services

GTT Toronto September 20, 2018 Meeting Summary Notes can be found at this link:

Thanks again to Chris Malec for taking these awesome notes! People may not realize it, but she writes these in real time!

Ian opened the meeting.

Next month’s meeting will be on accessible TVs, and we’ll be joined by Kim Kilpatrick, the founder of GTT.

Jason took over to give some updates. It’s possible that next month, we’ll also be joined by a representative from Rogers, to demonstrate their new accessible cable box. It’s called Rogers Ignite TV. It’s based off of the U.S. system from Comcast, which is largely accessible as a set-top box.

CNIB just announced a new program called Phone It Forward, this week. People or corporations can donate used cell phones, and CNIB will be distributing them to clients who need them. The phones will be stripped, then loaded with accessibility aps. It’s meant to be a no-cost deal for the client. We don’t know what the cut-off is for the age of donated phones. A tax receipt will be issued for any donated phone, but an employee said they’ll only be using iPhone 5 or higher. At this point there’s nothing in place about data plans, but they’re trying to work that out. The push right now is to get donations of phones. The phones will be unlocked.

Jason raised the topic of rearranging the structure of our meetings. We want to encourage discussion back and forth about whatever topics people want to share information about. This will comprise the first part of meetings, and a presentation will be the second part. The idea is to bring problems or something you’d like more information about, and draw on resources from the group. Also, bring any new information or tips that you’ve discovered.

Tips that arose from discussion

When using a touch pad, curl all your other fingers inward to avoid accidentally activating something you didn’t intend.

Turning off the Reading Pain in Outlook will prevent or avoid many annoying problems. Do this by pressing Alt V, P, N, arrow down to Off, and hit enter there. The Thunderbird keystroke is F8.

Talking Tuner is an ap for tuning instruments or your voice. It’s accessible and voice-activated.

For success with the Seeing AI ap bar code reader, try laying the object on a table for stability, then hold the phone 8 inches or so away. Bar codes on boxes are often on an edge or the bottom. Light levels can matter too. It will use the flash, but it might help to have a light on. Try rotating the object slowly and incrementally, not continually. On cans and jars, the code is often at the seem of labels. Cans are more challenging, so if you’re learning, try starting with angular boxes.

Tap Tap See and KNFB Reader have both been updated recently.

The Identify ap is an alternative if you’re not fond of Seeing AI. Both aps are free. There’s an ap called Envision AI that has a small cost associated with it, that’s available on iPhone and Android.

The advantage of having the Microsoft Office subscription version is that it gets updated very often. There have been issues around instability with Excel. The problems come and go, but having the subscription version is the best way to keep current with updates that solve problems. Microsoft has a Disability Answer Desk, at 1-800-936-5900. They know about screen readers, and are a great resource. If they can’t answer your question, they will escalate it.

Apple also has an accessibility desk. 1-877-204-3930.

The topic of Libre Office was raised. It’s the free version of Microsoft, and is the descendant of Open Office. It doesn’t use the ribbon structure, but it seems to have some accessibility issues. It works better with NVDA. It can be used with files created in conventional Microsoft products.

A risk in continuing to use old versions of mainstream software like MS 2007, is that, as you update your screen reader, things might become incompatible, because the AT companies aren’t making their products with older mainstream software in mind. If it works, keep using it. Also, if you have files sent to you from other people who are using newer versions of mainstream software, you might have trouble reading them. For example, if you receive a document created in pre-2007, and it has tables, Jaws won’t read them. You have to save them in the new format.

For anyone using tables and a screen reader, one piece of advice is to make your heading titles short, as the screen reader will have to read the whole thing each time you move within the table.

For advice using Jaws with very specific software like SPSS, stats management, the best advice is to contact Freedom Scientific. SPSS may have their own accessibility team.

The ap called, Transit, was recently updated, and works well. Their release notes are thorough and amusing.

The Triplynx ap is also very good.

Main Presentation

Jason took over to talk about music aps. Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music are the main three. Most of these services have a free and a paid version. They’re all about $10 to $12 per month for an individual membership, and $15 or so for a family membership. These are streaming services. Spotify’s free version will let you search for an artist. It will then put together a playlist of artists including that one, plus others. You can’t play an entire album, and it will advertise at you. Go to Spotify.com and download the free trial. It can run on most playing services. It has a program that you can install on your PC that works well. The client looks like a regular web page with search functions. Spotify is known for discovering new music, which is a great feature of most music services. It generates a playlist each week based on what you’ve chosen recently. This is a great way to find out about music you’ll probably like, based on your tastes. The iPhone ap works well, and so does the Android ap. You can connect your Amazon Echo or Google Home, to your Spotify account, and play music on your device. You can download music, but can’t take it out of the Spotify ap. The free version has a time restriction, a certain amount of play per day. If you load the ap on your Apple device, there’s an option to pay using your iTunes account. There may be a small fee associated with doing this.

Jason loaded the ap on his phone and demonstrated what the screen looks like. It doesn’t integrate with Siri. It’s the most versatile of the services. The artist gets $0.001 per play.

Apple Music is exclusive to Apple, but there is an Apple Music ap for Android. It’s new within the past three years, and around the same price. The great thing about it is that it’s integrated into Siri. The Spotify trial is 30 days, but the Apple Music trial is 3 months. Apple Music has a “for you” tab, which is its way of introducing you to new music it thinks you’ll like. All three of these streaming aps have radio stations based on genres. These aren’t the way to access generalized regular or internet radio stations, you’d need TuneIn or your smart speaker to do that. Apple Music allows you to upload your personal music collection of MP3 songs into your ap using iTunes. It will also replace poor quality versions of songs with a better quality version if it has one. One caution here is that improperly named or tagged files will give you trouble in playback.

Google Play Music isn’t particularly differentiated from the other two, it’s really more about which devices you’re using. Apple and Google both allow you to download music and play it from other aps. All three aps are accessible. Google Play offers a 30 day trial.

Other smaller services exist, like Amazon Music, but their collections tend to be smaller. Tidal is a service for streaming high quality music. It’s around $20 per month, but the quality matters to some people. The interface can be tricky. The files are much bigger, so keep that in mind regarding data use. They don’t tend to have as big a selection. HD Tracks is a service where you pay by track, rather than a flat subscription fee.

Spotify allows you to set the quality that you get, and you can choose to get lower quality when you’re using data verses y-fi.

YouTube is another source for free music. YouTube Music is a new service. It’s a downloadable ap. It’s got an enormous selection. The auto-play feature will essentially make a playlist. Playing it through the Apple TV gives you a lot less ads. Creating actual playlists with YouTube and Voiceover is quite difficult.

The Sonos ap will perform a search on all the services you’re subscribed to.

If you’re subscribed to more than one service, you can specify to your smart speaker, which service you want to search on.

Apple Music gets updated whenever you do an IOS update. Spotify updates every few weeks. Accessibility glitches usually get addressed pretty promptly.

Upcoming Meetings:

Next Meeting: Thursday, October 18 at 6pm
Location: CNIB Community Hub space at 1525 Yonge Street, just 1 block north of St Clair on the east side of Yonge, just south of Heath.
Meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month at 6pm.

GTT Toronto Adaptive Technology User Group Overview:

GTT Toronto is a chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB).
GTT Toronto promotes a self-help learning experience by holding monthly meetings to assist participants with assistive technology.
Each meeting consists of a feature technology topic, questions and answers about technology, and one-on-one training where possible.
Participants are encouraged to come to each meeting even if they are not interested in the feature topic because questions on any technology are welcome. The more participants the better able we will be equipped with the talent and experience to help each other.
There are GTT groups across Canada as well as a national GTT monthly toll free teleconference. You may subscribe to the National GTT blog to get email notices of teleconferences and notes from other GTT chapters. Visit:

http://www.gttprogram.wordpress.com/

There is a form at the bottom of that web page to enter your email.

GTT Edmonton Summary Notes, Apple Pay and JAWS Built-in Training, September 10, 2018

Summary Notes

GTT Edmonton Meeting September 10, 2018

The most recent meeting of the Get Together with Technology (GTT) Edmonton Chapter was held September 10 at 7pm at Ascension Lutheran Church 8405 83 Street in Edmonton.

22 people attended.

Reading Tip: These summary notes apply HTML headings to help navigate the document. With screen readers, you may press the H key to jump forward or Shift H to jump backward from heading to heading.

September Topics –Apple Pay and JAWS Built-in Training

Apple Pay on the iPhone

Lorne demonstrated using Apple Pay on his iPhone 8 to pay for items. He had access to a Square wireless card reader for small businesses to accept Apple Pay transactions, which he used to demonstrate purchasing an item using Apple Pay, the same way one would in a store.

Apple Pay is a quick, secure and accessible method for making purchases that allow a blind or partially sighted iPhone user to avoid the need to figure out the various layouts of debit/credit pin pads in stores. It works with iPhones going back as far as the iPhone 6, with an Apple Watch, or newer Macs that have the Touch ID fingerprint reader.

Most stores may not know if they support paying for things using Apple Pay, so instead ask if they accept tap cards; if the accept paying with tap, it will accept Apple Pay.

Advantages of using Apple Pay verses tap is that it’s more secure, you know for sure which card you’re using, and there will be a record of each transaction, so you can go back and confirm that you were correctly charged.

If you’ve set up Apple Pay on your phone, and you hold your phone up very close to the pin pad at a store after the cashier is waiting for you to proceed, the Apple Pay screen will pop up automatically on your iPhone. It will not proceed however, until you type in your pass code or touch your home button with your fingerprint registered with Touch ID. If it does not pop up for any reason, you can bring it up anytime from your lock screen by double tapping the home button and hold after the second tap.

Links for More Information

A demonstration of setting up Apple Pay from AppleVis, it’s a few years old but most things are similar still:

https://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/quick-tip-setting-your-iphone-use-apple-pay

Settings you can change for accessing Apple Pay right from the lock screen: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/10/02/how-to-wallet-apple-pay-lock-screen/
Apple’s official guide for using Apple Pay:
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201239
All major Canadian banks support Apple Pay. here is the complete list of 28 Canadian banks in Canada that support Apple Pay: (second heading is Canada): https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT204916
For those concerned about what Data, including credit card numbers that Apple is storing, the following was taken directly from Apple Pay security and privacy overview – Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT203027

“Apple doesn’t store or have access to the original credit, debit, or prepaid card numbers that you use with Apple Pay. And when you use Apple Pay with credit, debit, or prepaid cards, Apple doesn’t retain any transaction information that can be traced back to you. Your transactions stay between you, the merchant, and your bank or card issuer. When you add a credit, debit, prepaid, or transit card (where available) to Apple Pay, information that you enter on your device is encrypted and sent to Apple servers. If you use the camera to enter the card information, the information is never saved on your device or photo library. Apple decrypts the data, determines your card’s payment network, and re-encrypts the data with a key that only your payment network (or any providers authorized by your card issuer for provisioning and token services) can unlock.”

JAWS Built-in Training Materials

Anthony asked a great question about how to access the built-in training materials that come with JAWS. Many JAWS users forget these DAISY formatted materials are available right on their computer through the FS Reader DAISY book reader that is installed with JAWS. There are two ways to access the FS Reader app either: from your desktop or through the JAWS help menu.

Access JAWS Training from the Desktop

Hold down Windows key and press M to reach your desktop.
Press key F repeatedly until the icon for the FS Reader app is announced. Then press Enter and the FS Reader app will open.
You may hear, FS Reader untitled, meaning there is no current book open to read. Press Alt+F to open the File menu.
Press down arrow to read the items in the File menu. The first one is Open which allows you to open and read any DAISY book on your computer regardless of whether it was created by Freedom Scientific. Press down arrow again and you will find the item to open the JAWS Training table of contents. Press Enter to activate this item.
You can now arrow up and down the training books in the table of contents. Simply press Enter to read the topics you want. If the selected topic is not installed FS Reader will automatically download it from Freedom Scientific so be sure your computer is connected to the Internet.
To get help using the FS Reader itself, simply press F1.

Access JAWS Training from the JAWS Help Menu

If you prefer, the training materials may also be accessed through the JAWS menu as follows:

Press JAWS key + J to open the JAWS menu.
Arrow down to the Help menu and press right arrow to open its submenu.
Arrow down to Training and press Enter.
FS Reader will open with the JAWS training table of contents already loaded.
You can now arrow up and down the training books in the table of contents. Simply press Enter to read the topics you want. If the selected topic is not installed FS Reader will automatically download it from Freedom Scientific so be sure your computer is connected to the Internet.
To get help using the FS Reader itself, simply press F1.

Next Meeting (Monday October 15 at 7pm)

The second Monday of October is Thanksgiving, so we will have our next meeting on the third Monday October 15.
As always, for help with technology bring your devices and/or questions to the meeting.

Meeting Location and Logistics

Ascension Lutheran Church 8405 – 83 Street NW, Edmonton.
We meet in the basement hall. There is elevator access.
Enter the church from the back door. There is parking at the back and drop off space for taxis, DATS.
Meetings are every second Monday of the month at 7pm.
If you have someone helping you your assistant is welcome to remain for the meeting.

GTT Edmonton Overview

GTT Edmonton is a chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB).
GTT Edmonton promotes a self-help learning experience by holding monthly meetings to assist participants with assistive technology.
Each meeting consists of a feature technology topic, questions and answers about technology, and one-on-one training where possible.
Participants are encouraged to come to each meeting even if they are not interested in the feature topic because questions on any technology are welcome. The more participants the better able we will be equipped with the talent and experience to help each other.
There are GTT groups across Canada as well as a national GTT monthly toll free teleconference. You may subscribe to the National GTT blog to get email notices of teleconferences and notes from other GTT chapters. Visit:

http://www.GTTProgram.blog/

To subscribe, use the form at the bottom of that web page to enter your email.

National GTT Email Support List

CCB sponsors a GTT email support list to provide help and support with technology for blind and low vision Canadians. To subscribe to the email list, send an empty email to:

GTTsupport+subscribe@groups.io

[End of Document]

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, Privacy protection, September 17, 2018

September 17 2018

Privacy protection

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to my tip on privacy protection.

Privacy protection

Completion of income tax forms

In most cases we need to provide our accountants with such things as tax receipts and statements from our banking institution and we need to ensure that we provide the correct and appropriate paper work to our accountant.

How do we do this if we are vision impaired?

If we have a scanner, then for much of the time we can use our scanners to read our statements but what if the print on these documents is either faded or sometimes there is handwriting?

Well! We need to find a trustworthy person to help us out. It must be someone that we trust; friend, neighbour, or family member.

What if we do not have anyone to help us?

Try going to your banking institution and explain your situation to them. You would be amazed to find that help is there.

Other actions:

You could ask your banking institution for electronic versions of your statements.

You could also phone those who have sent receipts to you to see if they can also provide electronic versions to you.

Try calling 1800 622 6232 and explain what you are seeking.

This is the Federal Government’s toll free number – 1800 ocanada.

That’s it from me for this week.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to either of the following libraries.

Recipes –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-recipes.html

Audio mysteries for all ages –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-audio-mysteries.html

Or you can subscribe to both for the price of $20 annually.

Now you can subscribe to “‘Let’s Talk Tips”‘ which is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable

informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media,

Business, and Advocacy.

http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, Apps round up, September 10, 2018

September 10 2018

Apps round up

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to my apps round up.

Chirp for Twitter (watchOS, Free With In-App Purchases)

Chirp for Twitter is the best way to use Twitter on your Apple Watch.

You can browse your, timeline, lists, like and retweet things, and even post your own

tweets.

Sent and view direct messages, catch up on the latest trends in “Trending”, or search for

your favourite hashtag.

Chirp lets you see quotes, pictures, hashtags, mentions, and so much more.

Current Version: 1.1.5 (July 28, 2018)

Read Chirp for Twitter’s AppleVis App Directory entry for more information

https://www.applevis.com/apps/apple-watch/social-networking/chirp-twitter

Visit Chirp for Twitter’s App Store page

https://itunes.apple.com/app/chirp-for-twitter/id1397430041?mt=8

___________

4. Himama (iOS, Free)

The device supports the data sharing with Apple’s Health App. Authorized user can

obtain data from your BBT, ovulation test, sexual behavior, menstruation, petechial

hemorrhage, the quality of cervical mucus, sleep analysis, height and weight, so as to

have a more comprehensive understanding of your health status.

What could smart Himama pregnancy preparation assistant do for you?

* [Finding the ovulatory date to determine the best timing for pregnancy] Input

your body temperature, then you will immediately know the status of your

ovulation of that day.

* [Earlier detection of pregnancy, superior to any LH kit] Automatically detecting

whether you are pregnant 18 days after conception.

* [Earlier diagnosis of gynaecopathia, earlier detection for earlier treatment]

Reminding of corpus luteum problems or ovulation disorders.

* [Sleep monitoring for eugenics] Monitoring on total length of sleep and length

of deep sleep all night.

Core functions of smart Himama pregnancy preparation doctor:

Reporting ovulation everyday: telling you whether you are ovulating, the

likelihood of pregnancy and your high/low temperature zone based on your BBT

of the day;

Drawing up BBT curve automatically, to intelligently observe the status of

pregnancy;

Cause analysis on the difficulties in getting pregnant: reminding of and analyzing

on corpus luteum problems or ovulation disorders;

Sleep monitoring: monitoring the accumulated length of sleep, length of

deep/light sleep; determining the quality of sleep, and monitoring the time of

going to sleep and waking up;

Current Version: 1.9.2 (June 21, 2018)

Read Himama’s AppleVis App Directory entry for more information

https://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/health-and-fitness/himama

Visit Himama’s App Store page

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/himama/id1116020094?mt=8

That’s it from me for this week.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to either of the following libraries.

Recipes –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-recipes.html

Audio mysteries for all ages –

http://www.donnajodhan.com/library-audio-mysteries.html

Or you can subscribe to both for the price of $20 annually.

Now you can subscribe to “‘Let’s Talk Tips”‘ which is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable

informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media,

Business, and Advocacy.

http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

CCB National Newsletter, Visions, September 2018

VISIONS

Canadian Council of the Blind Newsletter

September 2018

“A lack of sight is not a lack of vision”

President’s Message++

1Louise Gillis – CCB National President

I hope that all have had a great summer with lots of sunshine, activities with families and friends and now fired up to begin the fall season of CCB activities. I am aware that there have been many wild fires in several provinces and hoping no one has been affected.

As noted in the newsletter below we are all very saddened on the untimely passing of Michelle Anfinson. Michelle will be missed greatly by her family and friends in Regina and also by the many curlers she has assisted over the years at all the curling championship events that Team Saskatchewan attended. Our condolences to all her family at this difficult time.

Over the summer members of our committees have continued to do some work. In regard to advocacy we have been asked by CNIB to provide input on Wednesday, September 19, they have extended an invitation to our members to participate in a teleconference call hosted by CNIB. The most important items are – Accessible Pedestrian Signals and Non-Signalized Pedestrian Crossings. Contact Lui Greco, National Manager of Advocacy CNIB: lui.greco@cnib.ca. See more info in this newsletter.

Also, it is time to talk to your local Members of Parliament to ensure Bill C-81, An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada passes through the legislature this fall keeping in mind any thoughts you may have for improvement to the act into the future.

As we realize that making Point of Sale (POS) devices more fully accessible does not exist alone within any one sector of either the disability community or the financial/payment services industry. Therefore it is necessary to do this collaboratively by bringig together payment processors, banks, stakeholders from within the disability community to move this initiative forward. This is a process that we are working on with other disability organizations.

A letter has been sent on behalf of CCB to The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, Government of Canada regarding the recent news on Greyhound services. This service affects all of Canada and is very important to our community.

The Bylaws committee continued to meet over the summer and will increase meeting times during the fall season. Also, the membership committee will be in full force in September.

It is now time to be thinking of what our chapters will be planning for 2019 in celebration of our 75^th anniversary. CCB is becoming a more active organization in the prevention of blindness as well as developing programs for those of us with vision loss so we have lots to celebrate.

Enjoy this edition of Visions.

Louise Gillis, National President.

Announcements

CCB HEATH & FITNESS++

September Challenge!

After a successful 150 challenge in July, where we focused on getting everyone a bit more aware of how much activity they are doing…we want to launch our September Challenge.

Being healthy is a balance of many factors, being active, living as stress free as possible and being mindful of what we are eating.

For September we would love you to join our challenge and take part in “mindful eating”. We don’t want you to count calories but what we do want you to try and do, is to write down what you eat on a daily basis.

Keep a list on your phone, on the fridge, wherever is easy and convenient. The goal is to take an honest look at what we eat/drink on a daily basis.

Don’t judge yourself too harshly if you see a trend of maybe a bit of unhealthy eating, but rather use it as a motivator to introduce healthier choices.

If you already eat well, great, keep it rolling!

How do you know if you are eating well?

Best to keep tabs on our podcast, Facebook and Youtube channels and subscribe to our email list. Here we will continue the discussion and give tips/ideas on best ways to eat more mindfully.

See below on ways to keep track of all we do!

HOW ARE WE DOING AFTER 1 YEAR?!!

CCB Health & Fitness is turning 1 year old! Roughly a year ago we transitioned from our successful local Trust Your Buddy Program, over to our Nationally reaching health & fitness education program.

We want to get your opinion and thoughts on where we are now and what we can do better!

Some questions to consider and provide your feedback on:

a) Have you learned anything in the past year?
b) Do you find it easy to follow us and consume all the content we are putting out there?
c) How do you best keep track of us? Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Podcast, Email list, Blog, Newsletter?
d) What would you like to see Health & Fitness do either Nationally, Provincially, Locally, on an Individual basis or with chapters?

We NEED YOUR HELP! In order to grow and to serve the CCB membership better, we want your honest feedback.

Ryan is excited for open, honest feedback….don’t worry you won’t hurt his feelings!

Simply email Ryan and let us know how the program has affected you, how you would like to see it grow AND any other programming you’d like to see us take on?

Do you need more info on general topics? Things like employment, travel, general coping skills, socialization, or life skills? Perhaps we can incorporate this if the feedback shows a need.

The CCB is here to help you live your best life….so let us know how we can do better.

Thanks in advance!!

All the contact info is below.

RYAN VAN PRAET (R. Kin)

CCB Health & Fitness

National Program Manager & Coach

ccb.healthandfitness@gmail.com <mailto:ccb.healthandfitness@gmail.com>

226-627-2179

Go to our page: https://ccbhealthandfitness.wordpress.com

to find links to Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Podcast & Email Chat List

Get Together with Technology (GTT) Victoria++

A Chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind

in Partnership with The Greater Victoria Public Library

Theme: Tom’s NFB Tech Round-up – Accessible Voting in the Fall

Date: September 5, 2018

Time: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Where: Community Room, GVPL, Main Branch 735 Broughton St

First Hour:

Tom Dekker will give us 2 or 3 wonderful technology nuggets he picked-up/learned at the NFB Convention in July, then we’ll discuss the accessibility of the upcoming fall referendum on Proportional Representation and the Province-wide Civic Elections.

Second Hour:

During the second hour Corry Stuive, Albert Ruel and Tom Dekker will lead the group in discussion on any other assistive tech topic participants want to raise. Please bring to the meeting all your other assistive technology questions, nuggets and frustrations for discussion with the group.

For More Information:

Contact Albert Ruel at 250-240-2343, or email us at GTT.Victoria@Gmail.com

News from the Hill++:

We at CCB are very pleased to see Minister Carla Qualtrough be appointed to the accessibility portfolio. The appointment of Minister Qualtrough to this portfolio bodes well for the country. Accessibility is a top priority not only for individual provinces but for the country as a whole. Congratulations!

Golfing for the Blind++

Our very own British Columbia Blind Golfer from Langley, B.C., George Thirkill, Won the Overall championship at the Western Canadian Blind Golf Championships in Winnipeg the week of July 9th to 12th. There were 21 players from all over Canada.

The championship consisted of 2 rounds Stableford matches with 4 divisions.

B1 –B2 – B3 & Seniors. The weather was some sun with winds on both days and some rain. The course was very challenging for a Blind golfer, but they managed to get some assistance from their guides on some of the tricky holes. By the way, I was George’s Coach and guide. George shot a 91 on the first day and a score of 85 on the second day, due to some excellent putting to win by 2 strokes. The junior winner B3, Keifer Jones, 24yrs old from Calgary, shot a 75 & 76 to take the Junior division. Keifer is the top blind golfer in the world. George represents Blind Golf

2Gerry Nelson, George Thrikill, and Darren Douma

British Columbia and at age 79 is the Top senior golfer in the world. George along with our other top golfer from B.C., Darren Douma (member of the CCB VIBE Creston Chapter), from Creston, will be heading to Rome, Italy this year to compete in the World Blind matches and Team play competition representing Canada.

Gerry Nelson, President of Blind Golf Canada, said we are always looking for people that are visually impaired or Blind, or Disabled to come out and learn how to golf. We have a Blind Training facility at the National Golf Academy in Langley at the Tall Timbers Golf Course and we can be reached at Nitrogolf@shaw.ca. There is No Cost for the blind or disabled.

Chapter News++:

Members and friends of the Pembroke White Cane Club gather to celebrate two important birthdays.

The Pembroke CCB White Cane Club held a Birthday Party for two of our senior members on August 15th at a popular local bake shop. The two guests of honour were George Foss, who will celebrate his 95th Birthday in September, and Marion Jackson, who turned a young 93 on the 15th of August. Both are active members of our club providing wisdom mixed with humour to the group. Of course there was a very yummy cake served up with a choice of beverage.

Lots of laughs with numerous photos taken, including this group shot.

As we all departed we all agreed that we should do this more often.

A big thank you to the staff at the bake shop.

3Members of the CCB Pembroke White Cane Club

Submitted by Gerry Frketich on behalf of the CCB Pembroke White Cane Club.

In Memory++:

On the morning of August 10, 2018 Michell Anfinson lost her fight with cancer, at the age of 46. Michelle was very active in the CCB Regina Chapter, the Saskatchewan Team for the CVICC, and the Western Bonspiels.

She will be missed, and our thoughts are with Marv and the rest of their family.

Assistive Technology

Demo of Accessible Audible Traffic Signal in Peterborough Ontario++:

Devon Wilkins interviewed a CNIB/Vision Rehabilitation Ontario Orientation and Mobility Specialist as they demonstrate the use of an accessible Peterborough intersection. Wach here: https. //www.dropbox.com/s/s966rq25bwdxfm1/Audible%20Traffic%20Signals.mp3?dl=0

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips: Cleaning & laundry++:

Today, I’d like to talk about cleaning & laundry.

Wear an apron with large pockets when cleaning. The pockets may be used to hold cleaning materials such as a dust cloth and polish, or may be used to hold small items you pick up along the way and plan to return to their original storage places. Likewise, put cleaning materials in a basket or bucket and carry it around the house with you so all materials will be handy as needed.

Avoid spot cleaning! Clean the whole surface to ensure no spots are missed. When cleaning counters, start at one end and work to the other in overlapping strips. Use your free hand to check areas just cleaned for extra stubborn spots. Also work in overlapping strips when dusting, vacuuming, washing floors, etc. In large areas, you may find it helpful to divide the surface into sections such as halves or quarters, with overlapping boundaries. Use pieces of furniture (for example, a chair in the middle of the kitchen floor), or use permanent fixtures to mark the boundaries of each section you are cleaning.

Transfer liquid cleaners into containers with pumps for easy use.

Containers can be filled with a funnel. Remember that flat-sided bottles upset easily.

To fill a steam iron use a turkey baster, a funnel, or a squirt bottle.

Safety pins or Sock Tuckers (available in department stores) can be used to keep socks in pairs during washing and drying. Some people find it helpful to buy socks in different colors, patterns or textures for sorting purposes.

Wash small items in a pillow case or small mesh laundry bag to keep them from getting lost.

To measure laundry detergent use the scoop provided. Avoid pouring directly from the box.

Advocacy

Let’s Get It Out There++:

Tele Town Hall Committee Consultations

The goal of the “Let’s Get It Out There” project was to take a holistic view of issues around advocacy, respect and working more closely together. Although there have been previous efforts at coalition building, this was an opportunity through a Tele Town Hall consultation process to receive feedback and suggestions at a grass roots level. See the Tele Town Hall Committee Mission Statement appended to this report.

In Canada, our history of people who are blind, partially sighted and deafblind working together is not that different from other countries. The main thing that makes Canada different is the small population spread over a vast distance that makes ongoing collaboration and communications difficult. When looking at advocacy, we have many different organizations and individuals working on issues sometimes together, but very often in isolation not knowing or trusting what each other is doing. Even today with more communications options available, because of accessibility issues of some current technology and the lack of assistive technology training, many times we are not aware of what each other are doing.

Although this discussion was meant to cover all ages, economics and other demographics, no effort was put into ensuring that all were adequately represented. To recruit participants the communications avenues employed were through discussion mailing lists, Facebook Groups, Twitter feeds and newsletters known by the committee members and the organizations they interact with. In short, we relied on word of mouth to promote the Tele Town Hall meetings, and by copying representatives of the blindness, low vision and deafblind organizations on our radar it was hoped that news of this initiative would be circulated to their respective networks. It was noted that the first meeting had the largest number of participants, with numbers decreasing as we moved into the final two gatherings.

This report looks at the discussion that occurred during each of the town hall meetings and attempts to put forward some suggestions and challenges to individuals and organizations working in the sector and what that might look like. It should be noted that even though the role of service providers like CNIB was not the main goal of this discussion, it does factor into the ongoing relationships between people and organizations representing people who are blind, partially sighted and deafblind.

Here is a link to download the final report in MS Word format.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v7pb3krn6lxzhks/Tele%20Town%2Hall%20Final%20Report%20Protected%202018Aug17.docx?dl=0

Pedestrian Crossings and Accessibility++:

The emergence of new traffic signaling devices at a growing number of intersections are creating concern for pedestrians with sight loss. When is it safe to begin a crossing, how will marked cross walks be delineated and will drivers know how to respond to new signaling mechanisms?

In recent months, CNIB has witnessed a growing number of requests for advocacy support to address concerns regarding these new or different devices.

Clearing our Path, online since 2016, has been CNIB’s go to resource on accessible environments since it was first published in 1999. The guidelines under review for this project can be found at:

http://www.clearingourpath.ca/4.2.0-street-crossings_e.php

This section of Clearing Our path contains guidelines on:

Curb Ramps and Depressed Curbs
Islands
Raised Pedestrian Crossings

*4. **Accessible Pedestrian Signals*

Roundabouts

*6. **Non-Signalized Pedestrian Crossings*

*Of these, items 4 and 6 will be the primary focus of this initiative.*

Request for input

A working group has been struck to consider these as well as other issues surrounding accessible pedestrian signals and intersection design.

On Wednesday, September 19, we would like to extend an invitation to your members to participate in a teleconference call hosted by CNIB.

The questions we would like to have feedback for include:

What are some of the new intersection and mid-block crossings tactics, structures, or devices being adopted in your area at either controlled or non-controlled intersections?

What are any accessibility challenges posed by these tactics, structures or devices?

What recommendations would you have that would better ensure accessibility and safety for pedestrians who are blind, deafblind or who have sight loss;

Any additional information you wish to share relevant to Audible Pedestrian Signals, pedestrian intersections and mid-block crossings?

Comments from this conversation will be collected and reviewed by a national working group and any comments for change will be reflected in the sections of clearing our path sited above.

Alternatively, any written comments or suggestions would also be appreciated. These should be sent to lui.greco@cnib.ca no later than September 28.

Submitted by Lui Greco, National Manager of Advocacy

CNIB

Visually-impaired Victorians need design change to life-threatening bike lanes++:

Support our BC Human Rights case to insist that the City change its ill-conceived, life-threatening design of floating bus stops, such as along Pandora Street, that require transit users to cross a separated bike lane to get on or off buses in Victoria, BC.

The blind/ visually impaired have already experienced several serious incidents in Victoria (ones we know of) while crossing bike lanes. Imagine the sudden whiz of a bike past you and your guide dog’s nose or tires screeching in front of you as you step out to cross a bike lane.

No one wants to see the inevitable–a crash causing bodily injuries or death as a result of the City not changing this dangerous inaccessible design. Imagine your sense of confidence shaken by uncertainty and fear, knowing you cannot hear oncoming bikes as you step out to cross a bike lane. It’s Russian Roulette.

People ask: What’s the difference between crossing a bike lane versus crossing a street as a blind or visually-impaired person? We cross city street intersections all the time by listening to traffic flow and pedestrian signals. Vehicle traffic on roads can be heard. Bikes, on the other hand, are silent, stealthily silent, so you cannot judge when it’s safe to cross a bike lane.

For more information on this initiative, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/cfb-bike-lanes

In the News

How Running Can Help Protect Your Eyesight++:

Find out how many miles a week you should log to reap the benefits.

Your heart isn’t the only organ that can benefit from regular running: The more fit and active you are, the less likely you are to develop glaucoma, a serious eye disease that can damage your optic nerve and even lead to blindness, new research set to be published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise finds.

In the study researchers analyzed data from more than 9,500 people between ages 40 and 81 enrolled in a long-term study at the famous Cooper Clinic in Dallas. The researchers compared the subjects’ aerobic fitness (measured by treadmill tests) and weekly amount of exercise (reported by the subjects) to how many of them developed incident glaucoma during a nearly six-year follow-up period. The researchers specifically looked at incident glaucoma, the more common form of the condition, rather than traumatic glaucoma, which is caused by direct injury to the eye.

The researchers found that those who were the most active and the fittest had only half the risk of developing glaucoma as the least-active, less-fit group. Running 10 miles per week at a 10-minute mile pace would be enough to rank in the study’s fittest, most-active category.

This isn’t the first time scientists discovered a vision benefit to running.

This new research builds on a study published in 2009. In that study, which involved only runners, those with the highest mileage and best 10K times had the lowest rate of glaucoma, compared to lower-mileage and/or slower runners. The new study strengthens the pro-running evidence by including sedentary people as well as casual exercisers who are less active and fit than runners, and by showing that modest mileage appears to bring significant eye-health benefits.

So why might running lower your risk for glaucoma?

As the new study states, “intraocular pressure is the primary modifiable risk factor for glaucoma.” When pressure in your eye is too high, it can damage the optic nerve in your eye, potentially leading to glaucoma.

Other studies have found that a single workout reduces intraocular pressure, which the reduction is greater following more intense workouts, and that higher levels of fitness are associated with lower underlying intraocular pressure. Taken together, these findings suggest that exercise that’s frequent and intense enough to boost fitness, such as regular running, should lower intraocular pressure enough to make a significant difference.

And the glaucoma reduction might not be the only eye-related benefit to

running: Separate research by the 2009 study authors found that the more people ran, the less likely they were to develop cataracts during a six-year follow-up period.

Although few people probably take up running to help their eyes, you have to love research like this that shows just how profoundly regular running improves nearly all aspects of your health.

By Scott Douglas

On-line Training++:

Please find info below about some free online training courses coming in the next couple of months. Explanations and descriptions are below. Matt’s email is at the bottom of the message.

Hi everyone, first off, please share this with others, as I’ll explain later on in the message. Many of you may remember, or may have taken, the iPad training course I offered this past spring. I was really humbled and appreciative of all the positive feedback from that course, and I felt that the response to it was overwhelming.

I’m now excited to announce that I will be offering more free training courses for 2018-19 training season.

First off, I’ll be offering four major courses over the next year. They are as follows:

Replacing Your Traditional TV with Apple TV: four sessions, one session per week, beginning Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Living the Connected Digital Life: Four sessions, one session per week, beginning Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Learn Voiceover In and Out: eight sessions, two per week, beginning Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Learning Voiceover In and Out, Section B: Eight Sessions, two per week, beginning Tuesday, February 19, 2019

IPad for All Computing: 12 Sessions, two per week, beginning Tuesday, April 16, 2019

The courses which have two days per week will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All courses will be held in the afternoon, with exact start times to be decided. Plan on somewhere around 2PM or 2:30 PM Eastern.

Sessions will last for two hours.

As with prior courses, each course is completely free and is available to everyone, sighted and non-sighted alike. As before, courses will be held in Zoom, with an accompanying set of materials, offered as iTunes U courses, with the exception of the Apple TV and Connected Digital Life courses, which will require only small handouts rather than complete iTunes U courses.

I’ll provide descriptions of each course below. What I’d love is if people would start sharing this with your friends, family, co-workers, etc, and on any other relevant lists you may belong to.

Additionally, please let me know which courses interest you.

The Apple TV course was sort of requested by several participants in this year’s iPad course. It will be designed to offer participants an overview of what the Apple TV can do and how to use it. We will then get into various options for making the Apple TV your complete living room device, cutting the cord, streaming, etc. what about local channels? How about sports? What does it cost? How many people can watch at the same time?

On and on. We’ll answer all the questions we can, with a particular emphasis on Voiceover use as well. You do not need to own an Apple TV to benefit from this course. Even if you are just mildly interested in it and want to explore what’s out there, we’d love for you to join.

The Connected Digital Life will explore in-depth how to make all your devices work for you no matter where you are. We will spend lots of time on all the iCloud features and services, such as iCloud Photo Library, iTunes in the CLoud, iCloud Drive, and many more. We’ll discuss iCloud Keychain for password and credit card autofill, Apple Pay, continuity, multiple devices together, HomeKit and home automation devices, and much more. Anyone with an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, Apple Watch, HomePod, Mac, or any combination of these devices should benefit from this course.

The Voiceover In and Out course is something I believe many are looking for. You’ll notice I’m offering two sections. This is because I intentionally want to keep enrollment small and look at the students to best tailor the course to individual needs. This will be perfect for anyone who has never used an Apple device and wants to learn about it, or anyone who has just gotten their first Apple device. Additionally, those who have been using Apple products for years but want further Voiceover help will also benefit. Finally, if you struggle with certain gestures, fingering, or just want advance tips and tricks, this course is for you as well. Note that as of right now, this course will primarily focus on Apple iOS including iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, TVOS, Watch OS, and HomePod. Though we wil indeed explore keyboard commands and Braille displays, our primary mode of using these devices will be gestures. My most recent certifications are on the iOS side of things, and that’s what I use, so I’d prefer to not do Mac OS for now.

Finally, for the iPad course. You’ll notice I’ve renamed it. You’ll also notice that it’s longer than the one we did this past spring – 12 sessions instead of 8. This is because I really want to go deeper. We will be spending minimal time on learning Voiceover. If you want that, choose both this iPad course as well as the Voiceover course. In this course, we’ll do what we did last time, except much more involved. Instead of just talking for a short time about Messages, we’ll practice sending and receiving messages, use screen effects and iMessage apps, attach photos, record audio messages, and more. Instead of just discussing the calendar, we’ll create test events, modify events, use features like travel time, shared calendars, and much more. We’ll actually create short movies in Apple Clips, view a Keynote presentation together, and we will spend one whole session on file management and two entire sessions on nothing but Pages.

This course is for everyone, though having an iPad is strongly suggested, though you will be able to complete most of the course on your phone. We will have a prerequisite this time though – a strong familiarity with Voiceover. If you do not feel comfortable with Voiceover but would like to take this course, just also take the Voiceover In and Out course, and you’ll be fine. Even if you took the 2018 iPad course, you may wish to take the 2019 one, as it will as I’ve stated, go much deeper.

Again, please contact me with any questions, and please let me know which courses you’d like to take, and please share. Even though some of these are quite a ways off in the calendar yet, please start letting me know what you’d like, because creating course materials and course structure will be much better the more time I have. Shortly I will respond to those who have actually chosen specific courses, and I’ll keep in touch with you from now through the start of the courses. Thanks again, and I look forward to hearing from you. Take care.

I can be reached at m.jvollbrecht@comcast.net

REMINDERS

Hi Everyone! Becky from the office here. Membership season is here! Here are the important dates that are listed in the package.

Early Bird Draw – November 2, 2018

Chapter Rebate Deadline – December 7, 2018

All 2019 Memberships Due – December 28, 2018

White Cane Week Orders Due – January 4, 2019

WCW Insurance Requests Due – January 4, 2019

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

DON’T FORGET!

Donations Received in the office in 2018 are the only ones that can be receipted for 2018. Remember to send those donations if for your receipts.

www.ccbnational.net 1-877-304-0968

ccb@ccbnational.net

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, Odds and ends, September 3, 2018

September 03 2018

Odds and ends

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to talk about odds and ends.

ODDS & ENDS

To identify keys, put a piece of brightly colored tape, which can be easily seen or felt, around the key. Similarly, put a colored plastic hood (available from hardware and department stores) over the key top. Most laces which copy keys have them available in a wide variety of colors.

Each household item should have a specific place and should be returned there immediately after use. Don’t just drop something! That way you won’t have to spend a lot of time looking for it when it is next needed. Encourage other family members to also return items to their proper place. After all, organization makes it easier for everyone to find things!

It is not necessary to rearrange furniture in a special way in your home, but some changes may be helpful. For example, a coffee table with sharp edges may be moved out of the main circulation area. Also, remember to keep doors, closet doors, and cupboard doors all the way open or all the way shut. Half open doors are dangerous!

Stairs can be hazardous! Mark the leading edge of each step with a paint or non-skid material of a color which contrasts with the stairs themselves. Paint the handrail in a bright contrasting color. It should extend past the top and bottom steps as a guide to know where the steps begin. Use a contrasting color and/or a different texture floor material, such as carpet, on the top and bottom landings.

Good lighting is important for many people who are visually impaired. Incandescent lighting is usually best. Attach lights to the underside of cabinets, over work areas, above the stove, or above your favorite chair. If you find you don’t have enough light, move the lamp closer or try a stronger bulb. Three-way bulbs and dimmer switches provide flexibility when more or less light is needed. A goose neck lamp often comes in handy, and a battery operated flashlight to look at dials is another useful idea.

Low vision aids such as hand held magnifiers, telescopes or binoculars often allow persons to continue many tasks that they did prior to their vision loss, for example: reading print, knitting, watching television and locating street or bus signs.

Low vision aids do not restore vision!

However, they do make things appear larger, closer, clearer or brighter. Using your low vision aid(s) requires some patience and practise, as well as good contrast and lighting. And remember, low vision aids will not harm your sight, they enhance it.

Large print numbers, raised numbers, and/or Braille on elevator panels and outside the elevator doors (marking the floor number) are helpful, especially in large buildings. If you live in an apartment complex, place an identifiable marker such as a decoration or door knocker on your apartment door. In a hotel, place an elastic band or twist tie around your door handle to ensure you are at the right room.

To easily identify baggage when travelling, place several large strips of contrasting colored tape on your suitcase.

When walking with a sighted person, use the Sighted Guide Technique. Hold onto the sighted person’s arm just above the elbow in a C-grip, with your thumb on the outside of their arm and your fingers on the inside. You will be able to feel and follow the motion of the sighted guide’s body, making this a safe and comfortable method of travel.

When walking alone, plan the easiest and safest route to take. Think of landmarks that are easily recognized to assist in keeping travel bearings.

When taking a bus, ask the bus driver to announce your requested stop, and sit near the front so that the announcement can be easily heard.

When grocery shopping with a sighted person, it’s easy to manoeuvre through the store if you stand behind the grocery cart, holding the cart handle, and let the sighted person lead, guiding the cart from the front. If you plan to grocery shop alone, call the store in advance and request assistance. Most grocery store managers are more than willing to arrange a mutually convenient time for a clerk to help you find the items you require. Some individuals prefer to have a volunteer do their grocery shopping. Also many grocery stores (and drug stores) deliver for a small fee.

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you

will receive unlimited access to any of the following libraries.

Recipes – A collection of hard to find recipes

Audio mysteries for all ages – Comfort listening any time of the day

Home and garden – A collection of great articles for around the home and garden

Or you can subscribe to all 3 for the price of $30 annually.

Visit http://www.donnajodhan.com/subscription-libraries.html

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

HoloLens can now guide the blind through complicated buildings – MIT Technology Review

The headset’s ability to map a space and talk people through it may prove more important than the mixing-imagery-with-reality stuff.
— Read on www.technologyreview.com/s/611197/hololens-can-now-guide-the-blind-through-complicated-buildings/

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, SpeaksVolumz Talking Measuring Cup, August 27, 2018

August 27 2018

Meet the SpeaksVolumz Talking Measuring Cup

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to talk about the SpeaksVolumz Talking Measuring Cup.

Meet the SpeaksVolumz Talking Measuring Cup

Here is a product that I myself am looking forward to meeting some day soon. Maybe you would like to go out there and make friends with it?

+++++++++++++++

SpeaksVolumz Talking Measuring Cup

Talk about convenience! The SpeaksVolumz Talking Measuring Cup is convenience personified! This measuring cup SPEAKS the measurements. If you want the volume in cups, ounces, milliliters, or grams – push a button. If you want the weight – push a button. If you want the density – that’s right, push a button. Tare function enables you to add ingredients without emptying the cup. The SpeaksVolumz Talking Measuring Cup is composed of three parts: detachable lid, measuring cup, and speaking base.

Product Features:

Speaks measurements

Push-button operation in English

Easy-pour spout

Measures both weight and volume

Measures cups, ounces, milliliters, and grams

Programmed conversion for water, oil, milk, flour, and sugar

Tare function “T” enables adding ingredients without emptying the cup

Auto shut-off

Cup is dishwasher and microwave safe (clear cup only)

Uses 2 AAA batteries (not included)

Click here to learn more or purchase the SpeaksVolumz Talking Measuring Cup:

http://www.independentliving.com/prodinfo.asp?number=756972

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you

will receive unlimited access to any of the following libraries.

Recipes – A collection of hard to find recipes

Audio mysteries for all ages – Comfort listening any time of the day

Home and garden – A collection of great articles for around the home and garden

Or you can subscribe to all 3 for the price of $30 annually.

Visit http://www.donnajodhan.com/subscription-libraries.html

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

CCB Tech Articles, Donna’s Low Tech Tips, Leisure time, August 20, 2018

August 20 2018

Leisure time

Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.

Today, I’d like to talk about leisure time.

When playing board games, visually impaired people may find it helpful to use dice that contrast with the color of the board. Black dice are easier to locate on a white board and vice versa. Also, don’t be afraid to substitute larger or color-contrasted objects for game pieces that are difficult to locate. For example, use a thread spool in a color that contrasts with the board for a game piece.

A variety of adapted tools such as large print and raised line rulers are also available.

Public Libraries have a wide selection of books and magazines in electronic formats.

When hand sewing, use a small bowl to keep track of your needle, thread, thimble, etc.

Keep a few needles threaded for quick access or use Self Threading Needles (available from sewing shops).

Adjustable seam guides that screw onto the flat bed of your sewing machine provide a tactile guide to measure seams. People with low vision may find it useful to place a brightly colored piece of tape on the seam guide.

Keep a magnet in your sewing basket to pick up pins and needles.

Many people are not aware of all the recreational and leisure resources available in their own community. Contact your Recreation Department, YWCA, YMCA, Adult Education Association, Church, Women’s Club, Specialty Groups, and Leagues in your area to find out about the programs and activities they offer.

With any leisure time activity, from wood working to knitting, begin with very basic techniques and continue to build on your skills. People with low vision may find it helpful to use contrasting color and/or larger materials, additional lighting and/or magnification. Take your time and remember, a little patience goes a long way!

If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you

will receive unlimited access to any of the following libraries.

Recipes – A collection of hard to find recipes

Audio mysteries for all ages – Comfort listening any time of the day

Home and garden – A collection of great articles for around the home and garden

Or you can subscribe to all 3 for the price of $30 annually.

Visit http://www.donnajodhan.com/subscription-libraries.html

To contact me, send me an email at info@sterlingcreations.ca and I’d be happy to respond.

Have yourselves a great day and see you next week.

Donna

@GTTProgram

@GTTProgram

@GTTProgram

Get together with Technology (GTT) Victoria

Summary Notes

GTT Victoria Overview

National GTTSupport Email distribution List

@GTTProgram

October Topics – Blue Sky TV, JAWS Tutorials and iPhone

Blue Sky TV

JAWS Built-in Training Materials

iPhone Training

Next Meeting (Monday November 12 at 7pm)

Meeting Location and Logistics

GTT Edmonton Overview

National GTT Email Support List

@GTTProgram

@GTTProgram

2. Completion of an application for CPP or Old Age – done

@GTTProgram

VISIONS

Canadian Council of the Blind Newsletter

October 2018

“A lack of sight is not a lack of vision”

President’s Message++

Announcements

Two Important Days++

October 11, 2018 – World Sight Day

October 15, 2018 – White Cane Day

GTT at the Annual CNIB Technology Fair++

CCB President Advocates for Patients at International Conference ++

CCB Health & Fitness October Update!++

FITNESS TRACKERS

CCB Chapter Update++

CCB Chapter News:++

US House of Representatives Passes Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act Treaty Now Awaits Presidential Action ++

Assistive Technology

Introducing the Doro 824++

Simplified user interface

Safety and support features

Modern design

HD camera and sound

Bank Note Reader Update++

Donna’s Low Tech Tips: A scam alert++

In the News

HoloLens can now guide the blind through complicated buildings

The headset’s ability to map a space and talk people through it may prove more important than the mixing-imagery-with-reality stuff. ++

Hope for new macular degeneration treatments buoys patients++

REMINDERS

Membership Madness++

DON’T FORGET DONATIONS!++

@GTTProgram

@GTTProgram

@GTTProgram

@GTTProgram

Summary Notes

GTT Toronto Adaptive Technology User Group

September 2018 Topic: Music Apps and Services

Tips that arose from discussion

Main Presentation

Upcoming Meetings:

GTT Toronto Adaptive Technology User Group Overview:

@GTTProgram

September Topics –Apple Pay and JAWS Built-in Training

Apple Pay on the iPhone

Links for More Information

JAWS Built-in Training Materials

Access JAWS Training from the Desktop

Access JAWS Training from the JAWS Help Menu

Next Meeting (Monday October 15 at 7pm)

Meeting Location and Logistics

GTT Edmonton Overview

National GTT Email Support List

@GTTProgram

Completion of income tax forms

@GTTProgram

@GTTProgram

VISIONS

Canadian Council of the Blind Newsletter

September 2018