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 →

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 →

How hyper local weather forecasts are especially useful to me as a totally blind person

Walks before Dark Sky I like to go for walks for exercise, but back in the day before apps that had weather information telling-me when it would rain, i often skipped walks if i thought it would rain. I even would go out and ask several random people when it would rain and got answers … Continue reading How hyper local weather forecasts are especially useful to me as a totally blind person →

My explanations about how headphones with noise cancellation and transparency modes work

it's probable that many of you already know about and understand the idea of active noise canceling headphones, (ANC). They've been around for a while. The idea is that beyond natural noise cancellation, more accurately called noise isolation, you get from closed back headphones. Headphone models that offer active noise cancellation have microphones on the … Continue reading My explanations about how headphones with noise cancellation and transparency modes work →

How transparency mode in headphones is important, and should not be discarded as a silly or useless feature.

Posted on July 14, 2021 I've heard people walking, running, or even on bikes blasting their music and in many cases totally unable or willing to hear anything around them. As a blind person, I would be putting my life in danger doing that. When headphones began to come out with transparency mode, or sound … Continue reading How transparency mode in headphones is important, and should not be discarded as a silly or useless feature. →

Thoughts about Groundhog Day, and my realization of how being afraid of one’s shadow is very possible when combining poor vision with a primitive brain

After decades of research, Dr. Paul Bach-y-rita saw them come to fruition with the BrainPort artificial vision device. The BrainPort made by Wicab takes images from a camera worn on the forehead and converts them to shapes felt on the tongue through an array of 20 by 20 electrodes. Very cool, but also in some … Continue reading Thoughts about Groundhog Day, and my realization of how being afraid of one’s shadow is very possible when combining poor vision with a primitive brain →

How headphones have been very useful to me for many years, and what I’m hoping for from headphones in the future

For Christmas just after my fifth birthday, I got a radio. This radio was a bit unique, in that it was round and had a telephone rotary dial on the front, though it didn't move. Shortly after that my youngest sister Andrea gave me an earplug and showed me how to plug it into the … Continue reading How headphones have been very useful to me for many years, and what I’m hoping for from headphones in the future →