A challenge: When the cable box refuses to cooperate

Now, whenever my beloved cable box is in a good mood then there is nothing preventing it from working like a charm.  However, whenever it feels in a mood to be either nasty or that I do not seem to be doing something right, then here is where things can get very testy.

When these moments occur, and because I have no way of knowing what is being displayed on the screen of my cable box, I am practically in limbo. If there is no sighted person around to assist me, then I am truly at a loss.

How I wish that we could have access to talking cable boxes.  What a great thing this could be.  At least for a sighted person it is easy for them to see the display and lights on the box, but alas!  For me it is practically impossible.

Sometimes I get lucky using the methodical approach. I reconnect with my cable box by pressing buttons that others have shown me, but I can tell you that these times are not always there for me.

Ah, yes!  The joys of interacting with my cable box.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. 

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

My talking bathroom scale

I have come to depend so much on my talking bathroom scale.  I have had it now for many years and sometimes when someone comes to visit me, I will introduce them to it.

For most of the time their reaction is very interesting.  They cannot believe that such a device does indeed exist and that they can actually hear their weight spoken to them.  They marvel at the clarity of the scale's voice and that they can hear it in pounds as well as in kilos.

My bathroom scale is pretty accurate and is a permanent fixture in my bathroom.  I keep it ready to tell me how I am doing with regard to my weight.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Being careful with the clocks

There used to be a time when I could change the time on my clocks. Why? Because they were not digital and I could remove the cover to the face of the clock and presto! I could feel the dots that represented the hours and minutes, as well as the hour, minute, and second hands. I was also able to change the time on my Braille watches in the same manner.

That was then and this is now; digital clocks and other time pieces now rule the roost and the landscape of clocks and time pieces. I am unable to change the time on digital clocks and watches but thanks to talking clocks and watches, I am still able to have clocks and watches around. I have to be very careful with my digital clocks and ensure that I have someone sighted standing by to help out.

You may be asking, then why is it I choose to have digital clocks in my world? Well, for two reasons. I like having the digital clocks that chime the hour and the quarter hour and it is also good for sighted family and friends when they visit me.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Visit www.aph.org to learn more about talking clocks.

The challenges of a clothes closet

If I am able to stay on top of it, my clothes closet is just another thing for me to cope with but the minute I fall behind, then here is where the problem starts. In short, I need to ensure that everything is well organized. Not much different from a sighted person but for me, there is the extra mile to go.

My clothes are organized by color, and yes, by occasion. That is, when I would wear them. Casual clothes are off to one side and business wear is off to another side. Blouses are organized in alphabetical order of color. So for example, and from left to right, beige, black, blue, green, purple, red, white, yellow, and so on. The same goes for suits, pants, and skirts.

I use my talking color detector to help me keep my colors in order. It all works well if I am careful enough to keep everything in order but the minute something goes out of order, then all hell breaks loose! You can learn more about this wonderful little device by visiting www.maxiaids.com.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my blogs with others.

Gadgets and Devices That Talk

For the mainstream person living in a regular environment, one can easily say that talking gadgets and devices could be seen as a novelty and for most kids with regular vision, one can also easily say that they would look upon talking gadgets and devices as nice to have toys.  For blind persons however, the story is very different.  Talking gadgets and devices play a very huge role in our lives and I am going to take the liberty of introducing you to just a few of these wonderful inventions. 

 

Starting with my kitchen:  My microwave speaks; allowing me to hear various buttons as I press them.  I can set the time, choose the number of minutes that I need in order to cook my food, and so on.  I use a talking timer, a talking clock, and a talking scale.  In my home office, I use a talking computer that speaks what's on the screen to me; by character, word, sentence, paragraph, and by page.  I can set my parameters to have text announced, spelled, and with or without punctuation. 

 

I also take advantage of other talking gadgets and devices such as:  A talking language dictionary, a talking thermometer, a talking calculator, a talking color detector, plus more.  Last year, I added three new and wonderful talking devices to my arsenal.  A device that doubles as both an MP3 player as well as a book reader, plus a talking CD player and the greatest winner for me was the purchase of a cell phone that contains software that enables me to hear what keys I press, listen to input as I update my address book, listen to music, plus much more. 

 

There are several other interesting gadgets and devices out there that I would like to own some day but for now I would like to make mention of them.  A GPS unit that talks, a label recognition device that can read labels on boxes and cans, a device that can read printed pages and does it through a cell phone that has been outfitted with special software, and a PDA that has been especially developed for blind persons.  

 

You may be asking yourself this question by now:  What does it take to make a device or gadget talk?  Very simple.  Through the development of software better known as access software.  You can learn much more about all of this by visiting www.humanware.com, or www.independentliving.com, or www.nfb.org.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell the rest of the world that yes!  Blind persons do indeed use talking gadgets and devices to help them with their daily lives.