Broadband contest

By DAVID FAUCHEUX

Today, I received the following e-mail. Just when i think I should stop blogging entirely, I get something like this or the e-mail about the audio-puzzles, and I decide to then go on a little longer. I may try to enter the contest myself but am not sure as I barely have broadband and can’t say that it has changed my life that much. Maybe, if I figure out how to make broadband work for me and use it to telecommute…

By the way, I did receive the double CD set of the puzzles and plan to review it soon. Also, I found a magnetic Sudoku board. (I wished for somethinglike that in a recent blog item), and found it interesting. Indeypendent Living Aids imports this product from Germany. My only concern is that for me to get the special sale $70 price, $9 dollars off, I had to order it online as the telephone customer service people could not take the order via phone. I think 9x9 Sudoku puzzles make my head hurt toomuch so I better try to find a Braille book with 4x4 puzzles--are you listening, NBP?

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From: Joy Howell

To: triviaguy@bellsouth.net

Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 4:26 PM

Subject: The "Broadband Changed My Life" Campaign

Hi David,

My name is Joy and I am the director of a new public awareness campaign called "Broadband Changed My Life." Being a blogger active in disability issues, I am sure you can appreciate our mission – to encourage broadband deployment and adoption in the United States and to raise awareness of the benefits of advanced broadband in today's world. I blog about the topic frequently at the Alliance for Public Technology blog.

I think Blind Chance readers will be very interested in participating in a contest we are running. The Broadband Changed My Life Contest

is an opportunity for folks to share their personal stories about how high speed internet access has improved their life and thereby earn a chance to win up to $1000.

Thanks for your consideration and all of your hard work!

Joy Howell

DirectorBroadband Changed My Life Campaign

www.broadbandchangedmylife.org

202-302-5932 cell

jhowell@apt.org

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IMAGINE That!

Katrina Video Archive launched on the Web

By DAVID FAUCHEUX

The second anniversary of Katrina is nearly upon us. Much has been written about who did what, who did not do what, and what they should have done. I won't attempt to sort out the blame game here. I recently received this item from a friend and thought I'd post it on my blog. I hope special attention is considered for the stories of Katrina survivors with disabilities as they can often get lost in the floods of ink and miles of video utilized to bring the macro picture to America.

I am not sure I'd want to return to New Orleans. The August 2007 issue of National Geographic suggests that it's just a matter of time before the entire scenario replays again; implying that each time the city has been hit by hurricanes and subsequent floods, the damage is worse because more and more people are living there. Reminds me of a skip in an old vinyl record.

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We all know the headlines dominating the public conversation around Hurricane Katrina: politicians making declarations but doing very little, levees not being rebuilt, and thousands of people who want to return home but can't.

But we rarely get a chance to hear Katrina survivors speaking in their own words, talking about where they are today and how they are moving forward to rebuild their lives. On the second anniversary of Katrina, we wanted to connect folks around the country, as directly as possible, to Katrina survivors -- creating a window into their lives. And we wanted to provide a platform for Katrina survivors to make their stories heard, now and into the future.

The result is VoicesFromTheGulf.com. Check it out and participate here.

Hurricane Rita devastated Southwestern Louisiana a month after Katrina, and I issue a challenge to someone out there! Do for Rita survivors what these generous people have done for Katrina survivors.

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IMAGINE That!

Virtual Mobility, anyone? Let your fingers do the walking in a virtual environment

By DAVID FAUCHEUX

Recently, while reading an email from KurzweilAI.net, I let my mind take a flight of fancy. Not a virtual flight. Though that may come sooner than you think. I envisioned a world where chemistry could be taught haptically to blind students who could examine atoms and arrange them virtually, morphological concepts would be a touch away, and studying design and architecture would be around the next click. Perhaps, virtual haptic Web Braille could be downloadable into a library. Imagine reading Braille on your fingertip, with a sleeve that used technology not as delicate as the tiny pins that tend to want to weaken and die.

Could be the start of something wonderful. Your treadmill walk might be thru an exciting virtual cityscape. You might learn to play haptic piano, sculpt in a haptic medium, or develop an environment never before dreamed of. Perhaps, a strange Jell-o-like world with spheres and parabolas.

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New devices promise touchy-feely
computing

NewScientist.com news service August 20, 2007

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Haptic technology, which exploits
the sense of touch, could have a
range of applications, researchers
say, from telesurgery and robotic
remote control to more immersive
computer...

Boudin: More than a Sausage

By DAVID FAUCHEUX

Say the word boudin to most people; and if they know anything, they think of eugène Boudin, the 19th-century painter famed for his Norman seascapes. But that is not the boudin we, in South Louisiana, know and love.

I was up too late today or too early and caught a segment on NPR-affiliate radio station, KRVS, www.krvs.org, and learned about The Boudin Boys. They seemed to be the Cajun version of Good Ol' Boys with a mission. They have gone around the Acadiana area reviewing and ranking the output of local boudin purveyors.

Their Web site, www.boudinlink.com discusses this spicy, rice-based pork sausage concoction that is a hallmark of Cajun cooking!

I like to squeeze it, hot, right out of the casing. Most of us don't eat the casing, a surprising factoid as most Cajuns eat most things. I often eat the hot spicy mixture on bread with a little mayo as a kind of sandwich.

Bon Appétit, Cher

IMAGINE That!

Audiopuzzle , anyone?

By DAVID FAUCHEUX

On Sunday, July 29, I received an interesting email from a Donna August. She had this to say:

Hello Mr. Faucheux,

I understand from various web postings that you enjoy audio-oriented content, and I would like to introduce you to a new audiobook genre. We have created what we believe is the first Audiopuzzle game--a collection of 40 brain teasers, logic puzzles, and lateral thinking puzzles that are presented in an audio format. Some of the puzzles cannot be presented in print because they include audio sound effects. Others are variations on what you might find in printed puzzle books, but challenge the listener to visualize what is being described--an alternative mental workout. I have posted three audioclip samples from our Audiopuzzle game on our website, which is www.audiopuzzles.com .

I thought it was a clever idea and nice to get a visitor with such a unique product. I hope everyone can take a moment to visit the site and check out the samples. This book would make a cool gift for a blind person as we don't always get included in puzzles. Puzzles are supposed to keep our brains young, too!

Now if only someone would publish all the 4x4 Sudoku puzzles in Braille and invent a magnetic board with number tiles for us to play the 9x9 puzzles, too. Are you listening National Braille Press?

IMAGINE That!

Speech software on the Web

By DAVID FAUCHEUX

I have heard mention of Web 3.0 which as I understand it will use Web-based software packages as we now have the bandwidth to handle same.

Recently, I emailed a blind tech type, Chris Hofstader, and was told about Serotek's Web-based speech software. Mike Calvo is the last blind CEO of a company in the screen reader business.

It's easiest to use the software if you quit out of your currently running screen reader, and then type WindowsKey+R which launches the Windows Run dialogue. Then just type:

www.satogo.com

and you will soon hear a little tune playing. The web site will tell you what to do next and, after that, it's all very easy.

Interesting concept. One need never worry about whether speech software is loaded on a computer again.

IMAGINE That!