When I heard people on a podcast recently bash the new Apple HomePod second generation, I decided a rebuttal was needed. They thought that the new HomePod was a step backward because it used an Apple watch processor instead of an iPhone processor, and only had wifi N instead of wifi 6 or 6E. … Continue reading How using Apple watch processors which only have wifi N in HomePods is not a step backwards.
How the abacus, though low tech, became and still remains a very useful tool for those who are blind doing math
The abacus has had a rich history lasting over two thousand years. Ancient merchants needed a way to count things and make calculations. The Asian abaci are the most well known today, both Chinese and Japanese models still exist. The Japanese model has one row of beads with a separation bar and then four more … Continue reading How the abacus, though low tech, became and still remains a very useful tool for those who are blind doing math
Challenges and frustrations I experience being totally blind, dealing with statuses of devices with LEDs
Because most devices are designed by sighted people, for other sighted people, lights are used to tell the person statuses like on/off etc. For those who can see, it's super easy, quick and efficient. For those who are totally blind, it's only frustrating at best. The device most frustrating for blind users are the … Continue reading Challenges and frustrations I experience being totally blind, dealing with statuses of devices with LEDs
My experience watching the 2017 solar eclipse with the BrainPort
The February 1979 solar eclipse, the last total eclipse in North America during the twentieth century, happened during my third grade year. Of course a good teacher would use it as a learning opportunity, explaining what an eclipse was etc. Mrs. Love was definitely one of those cool teachers, and also taught the class never … Continue reading My experience watching the 2017 solar eclipse with the BrainPort
How trying to find a lunar eclipse totally blind without sighted help got close but didn’t quite work out
About a month ago, I wrote a blog post about experiences I had watching 3 lunar eclipses with the BrainPort artificial vision device. After that the next two eclipses came in the winter, so I played chicken and stayed inside. Last year, there was an eclipse in May and it was the last one for … Continue reading How trying to find a lunar eclipse totally blind without sighted help got close but didn’t quite work out
How current more modern technology, Youtube, helped restore and strengthen a Christmas memory I had from my childhood around 1980
Mom died at age 97 in July 2020, so that Christmas 5 months later during the worst of the covid pandemic found me more nostalgic than usual. I remembered that when I was a kid in late grade school, Mom had an album on vinyl of Christmas songs played on what sounded like large music … Continue reading How current more modern technology, Youtube, helped restore and strengthen a Christmas memory I had from my childhood around 1980
My experiences observing lunar eclipses as a blind person, using the BrainPort artificial vision device
Since I was a kid I've heard people comment on the moon when it was full, and when in grade school my class would take a field trip to the high school I would later attend where the rest of them would be given a show in a planetarium. I thought it was pretty cool, … Continue reading My experiences observing lunar eclipses as a blind person, using the BrainPort artificial vision device
Ways in which cameras help the blind
What I get out of a camera as a blind personI've been politely asked, "how do you read messages or email on a computer?" a less common question is "How did you take that picture?" In the old daysWhen I was a kid, I remember being annoyed because I would have to stand nice for … Continue reading Ways in which cameras help the blind
An inexpensive way to move some air from an air conditioner to another room with little circulation normally
The living-room and bedroom in my apartment have very little circulation between them, a floor plan would look like North and South Dakota on a map with a small doorway in the east end, and the air conditioner (wall unit) on the west end. I don't need air conditioning very often but occasionally at night … Continue reading An inexpensive way to move some air from an air conditioner to another room with little circulation normally
My experiences trying to be more visible when walking at night as a blind person
Way back when I was in 7th grade, I used to stay after school for orientation and mobility classes, and then take a bus home. I would have to walk several blocks home from the bus after dark, so my mobility teacher got me a florescent orange vest that made me visible for drivers to … Continue reading My experiences trying to be more visible when walking at night as a blind person
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