Blind Abilities Podcast

Program Director Jon Marin joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about the Career Discovery Project and his upcoming book release of, “See Us”. With his new book due out soon Jon talks about students and employment and the opportunities created through the Career Discovery Project and the awareness that his new book, See Us, will bring to people around the world. Jon talks about job coaching, resume building, job experience and preparing for interviews, all from a blindness perspective. You can find Jon on Twitter @Author_Marin If you want to find out more, here is a link to the Career Discovery Project From the web: The Career Discovery Project is designed to provide assistance and the opportunity to work at cultural institutions throughout New York City and Westchester County for blind, visually impaired, and low vision high school and college students. The CDP features a person-centered internship program, employment planning, and support services. Our goal is to assist high school and

Talk Description to Me Christine Malec and JJ Hunt Where the visuals of current events and the world around us get hashed out in description-rich conversations. J.J. Hunt is an innovative Audio Describer and a natural-born storyteller. Christine Malec is a perpetually inquisitive member of the blind and partially sighted community who’s always wondering about something. In Talk Description to Me, their discussions plunge into current events and topical issues to explore the content of important images, and help place vivid descriptions in their cultural context. Lively, hard-hitting, witty, vibrant, and fun, this is conversation with a view! Join Christine Malec, JJ Hunt and Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio for a great descriptive discussion surrounding the creation and relevance of the new podcast, “Talk Description To Me”. Available on Apple Podcast, Spotify and all your favorite pod-catchers of choice. You can find out more about the Talk Description To Me podcast on the web  . Contact Your Stat

Ilse, Head of Growth and Marketing at Envision, joins Scott and Jeff in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about Envision Glasses, the EnvisionAI app on iOS and Android, and what may be coming down the line from the hard working team at Envision. You may be familiar with the EnVisionAI app that has a free 14 day trial and is one of the most accurate optical Character Recognition(OCR) applications available to the Blind and Visually impaired. However, OCR may be the best feature in this one-stop shop for turning the printed text into speech, EnvisionAI lets you import PDFs, images and documents from mostly anywhere and lets you export the text anywhere as well. Other features include color detection, scene detection, and the ability to recognize people that you taught the app yourself. Yes, the app is trainable! With that said, the EnvisionAI app can now be loaded directly on the new Envision Glasses. With a couple of gestures built into the frame, you have fully independent use of the EnvisionAI app right fro

Every day we turn on the  news to see and hear the news with statistics, cases, test rates and more  reports about COVID-19, to the [point of saturation.  We hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but we rarely if ever hear specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals. In this ongoing Blind Abilities series, Around the World with COVID-19 from a blindness perspective, we have spanned the globe, introducing blind guests from Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and the US. Today we hear a first-hand report from Tim McIsaac with yet a different perspective on how the coronavirus has affected him in Winnipeg, a city in Manitoba, a sparsely populated province in Canada. Here the Corona virus hasn’t taken quite the toll as it has elsewhere in Canada and the world, partly because of its size, but partly a result of the commitment of its citizens to social distancing and other precautionary measures

Full Transcript Show Summary: Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but we rarely if ever hear specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals. Thus far we have spanned the globe, introducing blind guests from Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and the US. Today we hear a first-hand report from Jo Fishwick in England with her unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected her and her family. Jo Fishwick lives in Teignmouth, in Devin, a seaside town on the southwestern coast of England.  She is a guide dog owner, married with an 18-year-old daughter and Speaks about working in an eye clinic in Exeter, and her transition to working from home at the outset of the pandemic. Jo says it was difficult to focus on her work, and then have to shift her working day to her family time, as her hu

  Full Transcript Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but we rarely if ever hear specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals. Thus far we have spanned the globe, introducing blind guests from Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and the US. We stay in the US as we hear a first-hand report from Michael with his unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected him and his family in one of our western-most states. Michael is a production Assistant living in Coquille Oregon. He joins Blind Abilities to share his perspective on how the Corona virus and COVID-19 have impacted Oregonians, his employment, and subsequent furlough from a company that owns multiple radio stations in his area, and his recent experience with collecting unemployment benefits from the state and federal government

Full Transcript Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  In this tenth episode in our series, Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we hear from Jeff Bazer in South Carolina in the US. Thus far we have spanned the globe  with  blind citizens Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada. Now we hear a first-hand report from Jeff with his unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected him in the states. Jeff Bazer is the South Central Regional Sales Director for Vispero Freedom Scientific and lives in South Carolina in the US. Jeff shares  his viewpoints on Corona and  its impact on his employment,  his life as a citizen in South Carolina and as a blind person. . Jeff speculates that “… because COVID-19 c

Full Transcript Show Summary: Apple Accessibility has never been better and the team at Apple has delivered again. In the studio today we talk to Sarah Herrlinger, Apple Director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives, and Dean Hudson, and engineer on the Apple accessibility team. Learn about the new features coming to the latest iPhones and join in the excitement as we roll through the Apple Orchard and pick a few apple features to highlight. There is much more deeper in the orchard and you can find out more about what is new for iOS14 on the web at www.Apple.com.  You will find some resources to help schools, teachers and parents create engaging learning experiences from home. Check out, Teach and Learn from Any Distance. And share with your community. With the advances in accessibility and a hint of the possibilities with the hardware, APIs and Screen Recognition, just to mention a few, And with what Apple is doing to educate teachers and students with the Swift Playground and XCode accessibility,

On this show we got the developer of the Downcast App talking about accessibility and the importance of providing access by developers. George Cox joins Brian and Jeff in the studio to talk about the Downcast App and how the app has progressed and what may be coming in the near future. The Downcast app is one of the most accessible and customizable apps in the Pod-Catcher field. Brian and Jeff use it as their workhorse podcast player and believe me, they both have it set up differently and exactly how they want to download and listen to podcasts. Here is a description of the Downcast app: Description A powerful, complete, and easy to use podcast player that will help you manage and listen to podcasts the way you want to. Now with CarPlay support! "Downcast: Probably The Best Podcast Downloader for iPad and iPhone" - Wired Gadget Lab Subscription Features • Search, subscribe to and download audio and video podcasts of any size • Manually subscribe to podcasts via URL  • Download podcasts automatically • Contin

Jeff Bazer returned to the Blind Abilities studio to share with us the latest news out of Vispero Freedom Scientific. Jeff gives us a quick look at the Optelec Compact 10 and the L-Braille with all the specs, bells and whistles. And since it is summer and Vispero always has some summer specials, go to Vispero.com/events/NFB or Vispero.com/events/ACB and find out all the summer specials available through July 2020. You can contact Jeff Bazer by email at jBazer@Vispero.com or give him a call at 727-244-3726. You can always find out more about Vispero and all of their services and products on the web at Vispero.com and by calling 1-800-444-4443 Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. To find your State Services in your State you can go to www.AFB.org and search the directory for your agency. Contact: You can follow us on Twi

Full Transcription   Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  In this ninth episode in our series, Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we hear from Lori Thompson in Minneapolis Minnesota. Thus far we have spanned the globe  with  blind citizens Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada. Now we hear a first-hand report from Lori with her unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected her in the states. Lori Thompson lives outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. As an essential worker for the state of Minnesota, Lori shares details about how corona and COVID-19 have impacted her work life. Specifically, she speaks of how she has had to abandon public transportation and Para-transit,

  Full Transcription Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  In this eighth episode in our series, Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we hear from Sherry Molengraft in Jacksonville, Florida. Thus far we have spanned the globe  with  blind citizens Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada. Now we hear a first-hand report from Sherry with her unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected her in the states. Sherry lives in Jacksonville,, in the northeast corner of the state of Florida. In this episode, she walks us through the evolution of the Corona virus, beginning with the first positive patient in March, the influx in COVID-positive cases and the increasingly restrictive measures imposed by th

The Gang of 4 return to the studio to take a good look at the news and happenings around the technology world with a blindness perspective. From Aira stating the Free 5 minute policy clearly to Bose and Microsoft Stores closing for good. Oh, yes, the Bose Frames are still pumping out the sound but the Virtual Reality gets put on the shelf and may not be a reality in the Bose labs. Twitter goes audio with Tweets, or at least, the feature is rolling out but without accessibility? What? Access may be coming. But, is Audio Description getting yanked around? What about Brian’s new Ultra-Violet Wand? Yes, he is lighting up his world! We hope it is a cleaner world when he is done. Believe me, we do. Privacy from tracking the COVID-19 peeps and Browsers locking up your passwords and permissions?  What is all this Back Tap talk? Can you hear better now? Apple may have the answer in iOS14.  The Gang takes a look at heading back to work and getting about now a days and just how things are shaping up around the states. J

Full Transcript Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  Thus far we have spanned the globe  with  blind citizens Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada.  In this seventh episode in our series, Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we hear from Brian Fischler. Brian comes to us from New York, the City that never sleeps. but we may have witnessed an exception to that age-old moniker as New York has been through an ordeal that almost brought the Big Apple to its knees… into a deep sleep! But as in the past, the big city seems to have bounced back and is rallying in recent weeks. Brian shares his unique perspective on Corona and its effect on New Yorkers, their adherence to social distancing rules and how al

I was so glad when Satauna Howery joined me in the Blind Abilities studio this time to talk about her journey, her work as a Voice Artist and to converse about blindness and bits and pieces of life. Satauna has been doing professional voice work since 2013 and her voice can be heard around the world on TV, movies, commercials, promotions, audio books and anywhere a client needs a voice. As her slogan says, My Voice, Your Message, Bullseye, and from what I’ve heard, Satauna hits the bullseye every time. Satauna gives us a look at her childhood, growing up and how she came into doing the voice work that lets her run her mouth and get paid for it. Believe me, those are pretty much her words. She loves to talk and has such a great personality that it is clear that the work she is doing is something that Satauna really enjoys and takes seriously. Satauna talks about her “space” where she works and how she accesses materials while acknowledging that her voice work all started back in pre-school with a piano. Well,

Full Transcript Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  In this sixth episode in our series, Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we hear from Brooklyn Rodden Kelly from California. Thus far we have spanned the globe with Blind citizens Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada. Now we hear a first-hand report from Brooklyn with her unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected her in the states. Brooklyn lives in Sacramento, the capitol of California, located in the northern part of the state. In this episode, she walks us through the evolution of the Corona virus, beginning with “patient Zero” entering the area in early February, the influx in COVID-positive cases and the increasingly restricti

Full Transcript Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  In this series from Blind Abilities, we hear from blind citizens Around the world about how they have experienced and adapted to COVID-19. from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and the United States, we hear firsthand reports from individuals with their unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected them as blind citizens.  In this 5th episode in a series, we hear from Nick D’Ambrosio. Nick hails from Montreal, Canada, located in the province of Quebec in the eastern part of the country. With ten provinces in three territories the impact of COVID-19 varies greatly across this vast country, but Nick points out some basic precautionery measures which are in place nationwide.   Listen too as Nick also desc

Full Transcript Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  In this series from Blind Abilities, we hear from blind citizens Around the world about how they have experienced and adapted to COVID-19. from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and the United States, we will hear firsthand reports from individuals with their unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected them as blind citizens.  in this fourth episode in a series, Marlon Parieaho reports from the caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago. With a relatively small population of 1.3 million people, T&T has about 29 positive cases of COVID-19 as of early June 2020.   Marlon explains that T&T demonstrated similar behavior early-on to that seen in recent weeks around the globe, includ

Full Transcrip Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. We hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  In this series from Blind Abilities, Around The World with COVID-19 from a blindness Perspective, we hear from blind citizens about how they have not only coped with, but adapted to COVID-19.  in this second episode in our series, Steve Wicketts, a professional entertainer  relays his experiences with the coronavirus in England. We learn about the effect on his business with cancellations at his shows, and the broader impact that Corona has had on blind individuals: will supermarkets provide phone or online assistance, “click and collect service,” or delivery. We hear that Steve is awaiting a decision whether he will benefit from the British government’s widely popular "wage compensation” assurances, since he is self-employed. We wish him luck

Full Transcrip Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?  In this new series from Blind Abilities, we hear from blind citizens Around the world about how they have experienced and adapted to COVID-19. from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and the United States, we will hear firsthand reports with their unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected them as blind citizens.  in this second episode in a series of reports, Chee Chau relays his experiences with the coronavirus in Malaysia. We learn about the Movement Control Order which restricts who can go out and for what; how NGOs rather than neither the government or other organizations provide any degree of training to its disabled citizens in assistive technology,, including that needed for