How that modern technology is a life changer for the blind in educational settings cannot be overstated

I have written before about how for people with disabilities, a smartphone is way more than something cool, or a convenience, but a real life changer in how people can interact with the world, be productive, and live their lives. For me, technology truly narrows the gap caused by blindness between me and the sighted … Continue reading How that modern technology is a life changer for the blind in educational settings cannot be overstated →

How back in 2014 I pulled some April fools pranks on my FourSquare followers

Back in 2013 I learned about and began to use the Foursquare social network. It was cool, you could check in to your current physical location, and your friends would see where you were. Although there are some very potentially significant problems with doing that, some times it was actually very helpful. If you saw … Continue reading How back in 2014 I pulled some April fools pranks on my FourSquare followers →

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 →

A conceptual introduction for sighted readers on how VoiceOver works

On January 9th, 2007, Steve Jobs first announced the iPhone. Many people including my friend Dr. Nathan Klapoetke were very excited about it and couldn't wait to buy one. That day, Nathan was reinstalling windows for me as there was no real practical way to do that yet with a screen reader. While Nathan ranted … Continue reading A conceptual introduction for sighted readers on how VoiceOver works →

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 →

My thoughts on how productivity is way more portable than in the past, but how annoyingly some non-visual features only appear on products with larger screens

Posted on December 13, 2019 Johan Sebastian Bach probably wished he'd had a better way to work on his "Musikalisches Opfer", "A Musical Offering" when he traveled back home to Leipzig from visiting King Frederick the great of Prussia near Berlin in 1747. Ok, he probably instead really wished for something faster and more comfortable than a … Continue reading My thoughts on how productivity is way more portable than in the past, but how annoyingly some non-visual features only appear on products with larger screens →