THE
                          Braille Forum
                  Volume XXXIX March 2001 No. 9

                          Published By
                The American Council of the Blind

THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND STRIVES TO INCREASE THE
INDEPENDENCE, SECURITY, EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY, AND QUALITY OF
LIFE FOR ALL BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE.

                     Paul Edwards, President

             Charles H. Crawford, Executive Director

                      Penny Reeder,  Editor
              Sharon Lovering, Editorial Assistant

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Copyright 2001
                  American Council of the Blind

TABLE OF CONTENTS

President's Message: You Can Take a Horse to Water, by Paul
Edwards

Realistic Statue Depicting FDR in Wheelchair Dedicated by
Clinton, by Charles S.P. Hodge

No More Flags for Disabled GRE Test-Takers, Says ETS; More
Research Needed, Says the College Board, by Penny Reeder

Future Think? Not as Far Away as We Might Have Thought!, by
Charles H. Crawford

Cooking on Auto-Pilot, by Kelly Pierce

The BrailleNote: Computing for the Blind on the Go, by Andy
Baracco

Connect OutLoud, by David Goldfield

Pill Bottles "Talk" to Elderly, by Lauran Neergaard

Researchers Locate Gene for Type of Blindness

One Man's Story: Samuel M. Genensky, by Samuel M. Genensky

Affiliate News

In Memoriam: James P. Riley

The Word Is Independence, by Jerry Annunzio

Need Cash? Enter ACBūs Drawing to Win $10,000 and Support ACBūs
Scholarship Program at the Same Time, by Penny Reeder

Glory-ous Travels, by Penny Reeder

Here and There, by Billie Jean Keith

High Tech Swap Shop

*****
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:
YOU CAN TAKE A HORSE TO WATER
by Paul Edwards
    The year was 1976. I was 30 years old and, after lots of
soul-searching and a trip to Miami the year before, I had made up
my mind to relocate to the United States from Trinidad where I
was a successful secondary school teacher. The reasons for this
decision are beyond the scope of this message. It was not an easy
decision for me to make. I knew who I was and where I fit in, and
didn't fit in, in Trinidad. I had friends and a pretty good job
that I did well. I was about to make a very difficult move with a
wife and three small children to a country that I hadn't been
living in since 1953. To say that I was frightened and uncertain
and ambivalent is a huge understatement.
    The only reason I felt I could make this move was the
impression I had received from a meeting I had the year before
with the guy I assumed would be my counselor with the Division of
Blind Services in Miami. He had said that the agency was there to
help me and that a man with my skills and ability would have no
trouble finding a good job. More than that, he made me feel
successful and promised to bridge the gap for me in what, for me,
would be a new country.
    So, right around Independence Day of the bicentenary, a
family of five arrived in Miami, apprehensive but hopeful. My
first call when I arrived was to my expected counselor at DBS.
Well, he had left and, after much discussion, I was given to a
counselor who I was assured was just as good. I will not share
his name because, if I were a member of his family, I wouldn't
want someone like me to share his name. He was every client's
nightmare. I can honestly say that in the nine months I dealt
with him, the only thing he did was to create more hurdles.
First, of course, none of the promises of assistance with moving
or with finding a job happened. Instead, he assured me that I
needed training before he would even consider helping me. I could
not be trained locally. I had to go to the rehab center that was
400 miles away and leave my family alone. No, they would not
allow me to come home for weekends. No, they would not provide
financial assistance for me. No, he did not even tell me that I
could qualify for SSI. Instead he assured me that the
psychological examination and my experience outside the United
States clearly demonstrated that I was an inferior, under-
prepared, fairly incompetent blind person.
    So, as I prepared to go where I really didn't want to be, I
was petrified. Here I was coming from an underdeveloped country
to the greatest country in the world where I had dared to believe
that I could compete with blind people who had access to training
from the time they were tiny and who would make my paltry
capacities as a blind person seem insignificant and irrelevant.
Once I got to the rehab center I found that I was not as backward
as the counselor made me feel and, about halfway through my time
there, I was running the vending stand and helping with braille
and scaring some of the administration out of their minds. I
thought that it might be helpful for people to have the
perspective of somebody who had not grown up in this country and
who could look at the process through different eyes. So, since I
had lots of spare time, I prepared a report that included
suggestions about how some things might change. By then, there
were some students who thought I was pretty weird, too. I would
spend hours during the evening practicing my cane technique. I
asked that I be given more advanced mobility training than they
seemed willing to offer. I asked about careers and about learning
more skills. I was a thirsty sponge wanting to be saturated with
knowledge that Trinidad or Jamaica, the places where I had lived
since I was 13, could not provide.
    The longer I was at the rehab center, the more disillusioned
I became. Students were doing as little as they could get away
with and complained about having to do that much. Teachers were
settling for far less than people could do and were setting goals
that were minimal and praised students who managed to get even
partway to those. Far from being hopelessly behind my blind peers
at the center, I was, in many ways, ahead of them. And, more
important, I was motivated while the vast majority of those at
the center were not.
    I suppose if I had things to do over again, I might have done
them differently. But I was young, or at least younger. And I had
been made to feel like I was inferior. Most egregious of all,
though, people had the opportunity to become excellent and they
were rejecting training that many in Trinidad or Jamaica would
have almost given their lives to get. There was something
frighteningly, heartbreakingly wrong with this picture. What
could account for the indifference of blind people about their
own training? What could justify training where diminishing
expectations combined with abysmal indifference to produce
graduates who were unfit for the real world?
    A quarter of a century later, I still don't have all the
answers. I think I have some ideas but, even now, I cannot credit
the complicity of blind people and those who train them in
setting standards that demand less than the best from teacher and
student alike. I know that part of the problem lies with parents
who expect too little from their children. A part of it relates
to the isolation that mainstreaming creates and the lack of self-
esteem that seems endemic to a system that makes disability
synonomous with inferiority. Part of it has to do with the fact
that too many successful blind people don't feel they owe
anything to those who come after and therefore aren't available
as role models. Part of it is due to the low salaries that are
paid in our field and to training programs that for far too long
focused on process rather than outcomes. And a great part of it
is due to the fact that we blind people simply do not expect
enough of ourselves or our peers. We buy into the notions of
ourselves that the system propagates. One of the things that the
American Council of the Blind is all about is helping to change
our notion of who we are and to build up our expectations of
ourselves.
    In places in this message I have been critical of the rehab
center. I should say clearly and unequivocally that the center
was among the better centers in the country. I should also say
that I learned a great deal there and that I owe a great deal to
those who put up with me.
    Oh, by the way, I got my own job right after leaving the
center with the Division of Blind Services itself. I became a
rehab teacher right in Daytona Beach. Once I found that I was
going to be working there, I got my case transferred up to
Daytona and denied the closure to the idiot who had not been my
counselor but my nemesis in Miami. I am happy to report that he
didn't last long at DBS and I heard an unconfirmed rumor later
that he went to jail. I think I was unlucky in my counselor.
Thousands of blind people have been well served by dedicated
counselors. But there is still a lot of work to be done if
rehabilitation is to truly do what it was created to accomplish.
Most agencies are still not very successful at placement. Far too
many blind people go back to the rehab trough again and again. It
is easy to point fingers at the system. I think that most of you
know that I think we must go much further. We must overhaul that
system root and branch. We must somehow create an expectation of
excellence for blind people. We must demand that more is done to
enable all blind people to become proud of who they are and self-
actualizing participants in their own rehabilitation rather than
automatons who do as little as they can.
    Technology as well as new notions of what rehabilitation is
all about ought to make things better. It begins with blind
people, though. And perhaps it ends there. Rehab allows people
back to the trough and offers them a chance to drink again and
again. Do we make it too easy for blind people to decide they
don't like a job? Where is it written, by the way, that anyone
must like his or her job? Are we devoting too much of our
rehabilitation efforts to people who choose failure? I got very
little out of rehab and many of the most successful blind people
tell the same story. Perhaps the bottom line is that we should
set expectations about rehabilitation that demand much from
counselors but demand as much from blind people. Most written
plans focus on what the agency will do without requiring enough
from the blind people for whom the plans are being written. Yes,
I know that plans are supposed to be written in collaboration
with the blind people they are meant to help, but, too often,
they still are not.
    Rehabilitation is not at all an easy issue. But it is a
crucial one. I truly believe that I was successful because I
spent much of my youth outside of the system that managed to
stifle so many of us. There are new notions of placement abroad
in the land now and, unless our whole community can work to build
a much better system, the word rehabilitation may become as
archaic as the word handicapped. I call on every member of ACB
and every worker in every state agency for the blind to recognize
that the time for change is now. We must build a new rehab
paradigm or see someone else build it for us! The extinction of
vocational rehabilitation will be as calamitous for us as the
asteroid was for dinosaurs. I include every rehab worker with us,
because we are all a part of a community whose intentions are
good but whose results are significantly less than stellar. And
the road that leads only to the workforce destination is paved
with good intentions! They will not be enough. Only fundamental
reform will suffice. Let us all find the courage and capacity to
make it happen. The blind people of the future deserve all that
we can do!

*****
REALISTIC STATUE DEPICTING FDR IN WHEELCHAIR
DEDICATED BY CLINTON
by Charles S. P. Hodge 
    On Wednesday morning, January 10, 2001, at a gathering of
disabled people and other political notables, President Bill
Clinton dedicated the statue which portrays President Franklin D.
Roosevelt in a wheelchair, as a permanent addition to the FDR
Memorial in Washington, DC.  Outgoing Secretary of Labor Alexis
Herman opened the dedicatory ceremony by reviewing and lauding
the Clinton-Gore Administration's record of accomplishments for
people with disabilities. The next speaker was Michael Deland,
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Organization
on Disability (NOD), and a severely disabled person himself. 
Deland reviewed the history of the battle to obtain a statue
which would depict President Roosevelt realistically, in a
wheelchair, and thanked many individuals for their efforts to
make this new addition to the FDR Memorial become a reality.  In
particular, Deland paid tribute to Jim Dickson of NOD who was
instrumental in obtaining approval from Congress for the addition
to the memorial.  Deland also thanked Peter Kovler, the heir to
the Jim Beam distilling fortune, and Gordon Gund, who happens to
be blind, and is an investment financier from Princeton, NJ, for
their generous financial contributions to the Rendezvous with
Destiny campaign, which raised private funds to pay for the
statue.  
    The third speaker was Anne Roosevelt, granddaughter of
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, who told the gathering that the
new addition to the memorial depicts her grandfather as he
actually lived.  She thanked the many members of the Roosevelt
family who had stepped forward to support the new addition to the
memorial and to make the project become a reality.
    President Clinton acknowledged a number of disabled people
who were present, including Justin Dart, whose steadfast efforts
to see this project through had helped to make the presence of
the statue a reality.  Clinton pointed out the bronze plaque
placed just behind the statue which spells out in print and in
braille Eleanor Roosevelt's often quoted remarks about her
husband's disability: i.e., that FDR's constant struggle to
overcome his disability had made him a stronger, more mature
leader.   FDR's daily struggles to overcome the limitations of
his disability in fact allowed his spirit of freedom to soar,
Clinton said.
    After the dedication, I went up and inspected both the statue
depicting FDR in his wheelchair and the bronze plaque on the wall
behind it.  I found that the braille on the plaque is jumbo
braille and is only grade one braille.  Yet the spacing between
dots and cells is proportional, and this jumbo braille, unlike
other braille at the memorial, is legible and quite readable.  In
addition, I found that the lines which form the engraved print
letters above the jumbo braille characters are deep and wide
enough to make the print letters readable for a blind or visually
impaired person (although they do not conform to the Uniform
Federal Accessibility Standards {UFAS} for raised letters
proposed by the Access Board for inclusion in the Americans with
Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines {ADAAG}).
    The dedication of the new addition to the FDR Memorial was
capped off with a gala reception and buffet luncheon sponsored by
NOD in the main reading room at the Library of Congress, Thomas
Jefferson Building, which featured remarks by Senator Max Cleland
of Georgia and newly elected Congressman Jim Langevin of Rhode
Island, both of whom are disabled members of Congress. The event
was a fitting and celebratory conclusion to the entire
day's proceedings.

*****
NO MORE FLAGS FOR DISABLED GRE TEST-TAKERS, SAYS ETS;
MORE RESEARCH NEEDED, SAYS THE COLLEGE BOARD
by Penny Reeder
    In a major victory for disability rights groups, the
Educational Testing Service announced that, beginning in October
of this year, the company will stop flagging the test scores of
students who, because of their disabilities, have been allocated
extra time.  The policy will apply to the four tests over which
the ETS has control, including  the Graduate Record Examination
(GRE), the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), the Test of
English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and the Praxis, which
evaluates teachers' academic skills, subject knowledge, and
classroom performance.  According to Tom Ewing, a spokesperson
for the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ, the company
agreed to alter its long-standing practice of identifying
students who had received extra time as a testing accommodation
as a result of the settlement agreement reached in a bias lawsuit
brought by a California man whose results were flagged after he
received extra time on the GRE.
    Ewing said that the ETS, which administers a number of tests,
reached the settlement agreement only for the four specific tests
over which it has control.  Consortia of law schools and medical
schools control the LSAT and MCAT admissions tests.  The advanced
placement tests, as well as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
and the PSAT are owned and controlled by the College Board, and
although the settlement agreement does not apply to flagging of
scores on those particular tests, a "blue ribbon" panel is being
convened to examine and make recommendations regarding the
College Board's flagging policy.
    Gretchen Rigol, Vice President for Higher Education at the
College Board, explained that the company is in the process of
recruiting members of a panel to investigate and make
recommendations on the policy of flagging the scores of disabled
students.  She said that she expected to be contacting Charles
Crawford, Executive Director of ACB, within the next couple of
weeks to discuss ACB's participation on the panel. The panel's
report is expected to be available in March of 2002, Rigol said.
    Visually impaired students often request a range of testing
accommodations, including braille, large print, readers and
scribes, and according to ETS spokesperson Ewing, the policy
change has no relevance to these accommodations.
    "We haven't flagged for other types of accommodations since
1985," Ewing said.  "Nor does the College Board flag for any
testing accommodations other than extra time."
    On the other hand, Rigol said of the College Board tests, "As
a practical matter, any student who needs the accommodation of
braille, large print, a reader or scribe will need to spend more
time completing a test."  She also stated that she could not
predict whether the College Board would cease flagging the scores
of students who require more time than their non-disabled peers
to complete her company's standardized tests. 
    "Educators have believed that results cannot be considered
comparable if testing conditions are not standardized for all
test-takers," Rigol said.  "We need more research to determine if
that belief is, in fact, valid."
    Rigol stressed that, if a student with a disability has been
taking tests with identified accommodations throughout his or her
school career, then it would be a mistake not to request the same
accommodations on a college-admissions test.  "A kind of
mythology has grown up about all standardized tests," she
continued.  "Whether or not a person gets into a certain school
is based more on sheer numbers than anything else.  We do not
believe that flagging the scores of disabled test-takers has any
real impact on whether or not a person is accepted by a
particular school.  We do acknowledge the need to conduct more
research into the whole subject of testing accommodations on
standardized tests, and that's why we're convening the panel."
Computer-Based Tests Can Be Especially Problematic for Blind
Students
    Ewing said that the Educational Testing Service has recently
been approached by blindness organizations who are interested in
securing accommodations which are specifically applicable to
computer-based tests.  The Graduate Record Exam is one such test.
    According to Melanie Brunson, Director of Advocacy and
Governmental Relations for ACB, the American Council of the Blind
is working closely with the National Alliance of Blind Students
(NABS) to get a better idea of what ETS policies actually are for
determining how to handle visually impaired students' requests
for testing accommodations. 
    "In response to ACB Resolution 2000-45, which was passed by
the 2000 ACB national convention," Brunson said, "we are
attempting to learn how ETS actually determines whether a student
qualifies to receive testing accommodations, and what the
ramifications of those accommodations may be.  This settlement
agreement has dealt with the issue of flagging the scores of
disabled students, and that's an important step in the right
direction.  We hope to get a dialogue going to address these
other issues within the next few weeks." ETSū Ewing said, "We are
willing to do whatever it takes, including paying for readers,
making ZoomText available, increasing the size of fonts or
changing background and foreground colors.  We will completely
clear out a computer center if that's what a blind test-taker
needs to concentrate."
    NABS has compiled a list of suggestions, according to April
Shinholster, a graduate student at Western Michigan University
who is president of the blind-students alliance.  Shinholster
said that the organization believes the way to resolve the issues
surrounding standardized tests is to have a cooperative
relationship with the companies who control and administer them.
    NABS members say their concerns include the excessive time it
can take a visually impaired student, using braille or readers
and scribes, to complete standardized tests.
    Jeremy Johansen, treasurer of NABS, and a senior at the
University of California at Santa Barbara, who recently took the
Graduate Record Exam using a  braille copy of the test and the
assistance of a reader, says, "While non-disabled students
[typically] take 30 minutes to an hour to finish an ETS
computerized exam, it can take visually impaired students as long
as seven hours to complete the paper version.ū  Johansen has
stated that the computer-based accommodation which ETS offered
him was virtually useless.  "The only software they provide is
ZoomText, and that has no speech output," he explains.
    NABS believes that students should be able to use a device
that converts digital data to a braille display, which is
especially useful for reading comprehension or verbal analogy
questions. In addition, GRE scores compiled and reported on paper
often take several weeks to reach colleges, while those completed
on the computer can reach colleges within hours. This kind of
discrepancy can put visually impaired students at a great
disadvantage if they want to attend a college with only a few
slots for incoming students.
    Current test-preparation materials are not very helpful to
blind students, says Johansen.  "A lot of strategies in printed
manuals don't totally apply to working with the reader," he
explains.
    Furthermore, according to Johansen and others, it is
difficult to find out exactly what accommodations may be
available, and the ETS is not exactly responsive to requests for
information from disabled students.  Johansen applied to take the
GRE in October of 2000, but did not receive any responsive
communication from the Educational Testing Service until January
of 2001.
    Both April Shinholster and Melanie Brunson are optimistic
that the ETS will welcome the involvement of blind students and
their advocates as solutions to these and other problems are
sought.  In conversations with spokespersons at ETS and the
College Board, I found a similar attitude. 
    "The Educational Testing Service," Tom Ewing said, "welcomes
the advice and specific suggestions of people who are blind.  We
want to do essentially whatever a student needs to succeed."

*****
FUTURE THINK? NOT AS FAR AWAY AS WE MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT!
by Charles H. Crawford
    Remember that pseudo-psychological game where a person says a
word and a second player is supposed to say aloud the first thing
that comes to mind?  Let's go.
    "Microsoft!" Quick. What is the first thought that comes to
your mind? All those 1950s and ū60s science fiction movies,
right?  Yeah, the ones where the computers take over the world?
Me too! While mere mention of the company's name can cause such a
flight of fancy, it can also astound and inspire. I was reminded
of that recently. The thought of Microsoft gave rise to the
following musing, or more accurately, prediction of reality.
    Did you know that we are just a few short years away from
computers that are smarter than their creators? It's true.  The
processing and memory capacity of computing will exceed that of
the human brain as early as 2007! Outside all the science fiction
scenarios we might conjure up for the future, there are some very
interesting and practical applications of technology that, I
believe, will be commonplace well before 2010.  Would you be
interested in taking a tour of a typical day in, say, 2008? 
Ready?  Let's go.
    There's just nothing like sleeping in a temperature-
controlled environment that suits our needs perfectly, I always
say. Well, after experiencing the luxury of a really good rest,
we are likely to wake up to a pre-set Internet radio station that
we will have pre-selected from about 20,000 selections. If that
is not quite enough to get us out of bed, then our coffee makers
will have brewed the pot 15 minutes in advance of our awakening
and our home computer will have transferred all the overnight
news, filtered according to our individual tastes and
preferences, to our electronic pocket reader, to accompany our
first cup of java -- like the print newspapers of days gone by. 
    A warm shower and then on to the closet to choose today's
apparel. Hmmm, what selections would our electronic personal
assistance device suggest today? Of course, nothing that we would
not have already instructed the device to keep within our own
preferences. Perhaps a second cup of the nectar of the gods and
off to the bus...
    Right there at the ready is our personal assistance device
scanning the environment for information of interest to us. Ah!
There it is. The bus stop and after letting us know that little
tidbit of information, our device continues to scan for any
approaching buses and can even tell us how far away the next one
is and when it might arrive. Here it comes and we are told far
enough in advance to wave it down.
    Once on the bus, we flash our debit or declining balance card
to deduct the fare as our device checks traffic information and
lets us know how much time we can anticipate waiting until we
arrive at our destination. About one or two stops before ours, we
hear the device telling us to get ready so we sleepyheads don't
end up in New York City and we have enough time to get our stuff
all together.  Depending upon the level of information we have
selected from our device, we could have chosen to end the trip to
investigate something our personal assistant was describing to us
en route, or, if we had asked the assistant to refrain from
describing the environment we were riding through, we will have
had the chance to catch a few more zs.
    Again our walk to work or shopping is informed as we pass
stores, office buildings, parking garages and the like. Arriving
at our destination, we enter the building where our device reads
locations of elevators and other points of interest. We follow
the signs and arrive at our first engagement.
    As we leave for a break or another appointment, we check our
device for cellular calls, electronic mail, looking in on the
kids, or simply tuning in our favorite music or news.  If our
plans include any complicated travel for the day, our device
communicates with our computer and makes arrangements for
airlines or trains or whatever we may need. All this in
accordance with our pre-selected preferences.
    Well, the journey home is just as easy as going out in the
morning was. Perhaps a stop at the grocery if we did not already
arrange delivery or maybe a quick pick-up at a store where we 
made an earlier purchase through an interactive communication
with the store's computer. 
    Getting across streets, equipped with accessible pedestrian
signaling, is a breeze. Even if the crossing between us and the
store is particularly difficult, we will be aided by the in-board
computers in all the vehicles traveling on the street.  These
computers, which are monitoring other traffic and checking for
the presence of pedestrians, can even slow or stop vehicles,
overriding the drivers' wants, when safety flags are raised in
response to information received by a kind of radar.
    So looks like a great day has been spent and we won't even
get into the evening entertainment or educational or social
activities that will of course be appropriately described or
assisted by our friendly little personal assistance device!
    No, this scenario is not far-fetched.  All these technologies
exist today and are rapidly approaching convergence and
integration. The only thing left on the horizon is the automated
car that will receive GPS instructions from satellites and take
us wherever we choose. That technology is evolving and may take a
couple of decades to deploy, but it really is coming!
    Where's the hitch? Well, all of these technologies will have
multiple uses in our society. So making sure that we get
accessibility built into them as they are developed and come into
use is our challenge. ACB will certainly be at the table as these
things move forward!
    Oh, one last thing. Sorry, but there are no little green men
-- or women -- with this package!

*****
COOKING ON AUTO-PILOT
by Kelly Pierce
    (Editor's Note:  Kelly Pierce is a co-founder of Digit-Eyes:
the Chicago Blind Computer User Network.  We are happy that he
spent a recent Sunday afternoon at the home show at which this
appliance was demonstrated, and that he chose to share his
impressions of the microwave oven with members of VICUG-L, the
Visually Impaired Computer User Group List, and with readers of
"The Braille Forum.")
    On Sunday, January 14, I visited the International Housewares
Show at McCormick Place here in Chicago where I live.  I wanted
to check out the new microwave oven that automatically cooks food
according to the directions listed on a package.  The oven cooks
the food to precision after the end user enters a code that is
listed on the package.  I learned about the oven from an
announcement sent to various blindness mailing lists.  When I
contacted the company, I found that the oven would be
demonstrated right in my own backyard in a few days.  Being a
geek, I could not resist taking the trip down to the huge
convention center complex to find out more.  After strolling past
indoor rivers, fountains that sprayed water three stories into
the air, a string quartet, space organizers, hundreds of coffee
makers, and cutlery sets, I found the booth of LG Electronics on
the far side of a building that is across Lakeshore Drive.
    LG Electronics produces several home appliances.  They are
the folks that brought us the Internet refrigerator.  Yes,
indeed, there was an Internet refrigerator on display.  There is
a flat panel display on the front door with a microphone and
speakers.  Currently, the refrigerator is only sold overseas and
costs about $10,000.  It will likely be rolled out in the United
States next year.  LG Electronics also had a washing machine
hooked up to the Internet.  It seemed that the manufacturer was
ready for the Internet long before  the Internet had come up to
the expectations demanded by such a device or the imagination of
the typical user of a refrigerator!
    On the other side of the large corner booth was the
demonstration and display of the True Cook Plus oven.  The oven
is like most microwaves: a rectangular plastic box with a panel
of buttons on the right side.  For this microwave oven, the
controls are on a flat touch panel.  The different choices are
spaced far enough apart so that labeling them in braille would
not present a problem.  Jay Leventhal of the American Foundation
for the Blind dropped by the booth to say that he could help
create a braille plate to go on top of the panel for users who
might not have the necessary sighted assistance or braille
labeling equipment.
Here's How It Works
    Food products that we buy from a conventional supermarket
will contain a sticker near the corner of the package with a
numeric code written in 24-point type and in braille.  The codes
on packages which were being displayed at the booth were
generally two or three digits in length but can be as many as
nine digits.  The food manufacturer chooses the code and the
number of digits, according to Bob Thompson, a partner in a
business called Microwave Science.  The end user simply enters
the number and the oven instantly starts cooking the food at the
temperature and length of time called for in the directions.  The
oven can also work as a regular microwave with the end user
entering the cooking time and cooking temperature.
    The oven is a stand-alone solution never needing to be
connected to an outside source for data.  Net geeks might be
confused by the initials of the True Cook Plus microwave.  It
does not need to be connected to the Internet or use TCP/IP
transmission standards.  Instead, the oven is programmed with the
10 million possible permutations that could be used to cook food
in a microwave.  The cooking instructions are fed into the
appliance manufacturer's database and a number is generated.  The
food manufacturer can accept that number or work with the
appliance company to create one that is shorter or easier to
remember.
    If you are intrigued by the potential of this solution, stay
tuned for the next generation of this product.  I am told that
the oven will contain a sensor that automatically reads the code
on the product when the food is placed in the oven.  It starts
cooking when the oven door is closed or after a start button is
pressed. The final design hasn't been worked out yet.  Both kinds
of ovens (the current and future generations) could aid blind
people by eliminating the need to copy or mark down cooking
instructions in an alternate format, and the next generation
might aid people with other kinds of disabilities as well --
since it will eliminate the need to follow an instruction set
altogether.  For people who are blind, the currently available
appliance appears to be an effective tool for making life easier
and the task of preparing food much more efficient.
    Of course, I only experienced a demonstration of the product,
rather than an opportunity to spend a few days testing it, which
would make a more comprehensive review possible.  I look forward
to learning more about the oven and hearing from blind end users
about their experiences with the product.  The future is now and
today is the start of an era where knowledge and information are
built into the products we buy.
    To find out more about the True Cook Plus microwave oven, go
to the product's web site at http://www.TrueCookPlus.com.  You
may contact Bob Thompson of Microwave Science at (770) 967-1234,
or e-mail him, BobThompson@TrueCookPlus.com.

*****

THE BRAILLENOTE: COMPUTING FOR THE BLIND ON THE GO
by Andy Baracco
    I attend several conferences during the course of a year, and
my favorite has always been the Conference on Technology and
Persons with Disabilities, which is held during the third week of
March in Los Angeles, and is sponsored by the California State
University, Northridge.  It is nicknamed the CSUN conference.  At
the 2000 CSUN conference, the buzz was about the BrailleNote, the
new personal digital assistant with both speech and Braille
output, manufactured by Pulse Data International of New Zealand,
and marketed in the U.S. by Humanware Inc. of Loomis, Calif. 
    Pulse Data has a long track record of producing excellent
speech-oriented devices, including the Keynote Gold line of
speech synthesizers, as well as the Keynote Companion line of
speech-oriented notetakers.  The BrailleNote is their first entry
into the realm of portable computing devices that offers both
speech and Braille output.  The two major attributes that make
this particular device stand out are its ability to run under the
Microsoft Windows CE operating system -- allowing it to work
seamlessly with computers running Windows -- and its ability to
send and receive e-mail using Windows-based Internet connections.
    Because of the ever-present mob at the Humanware table, I was
able to handle the BrailleNote only briefly during the CSUN
conference, but my chance to work with the device for a longer
period of time came a few months later at the ACB national
convention in Louisville.  At the convention, Humanware and Pulse
Data held a number of 90-minute workshops where small groups of
people could put the unit through its paces.  I eagerly signed up
for a session as soon as I arrived at the convention.  I have
been a braille reader for many years, but had allowed my braille
skills to lapse somewhat in favor of using synthesized speech. 
Because of this, my spelling skills had eroded to the point where
I felt that I needed a way to see words written out letter by
letter.  I was looking for a portable device, and when I became
aware that there was a notetaker with braille display and clear
speech, offering the bonus capabilities of interfacing with my
other computers and e-mail, I just had to investigate it more
closely.
    The first thing that you notice about the BrailleNote is its
compact size.  It measures 6 by 10 by 2 inches, and weighs about
2.5 pounds.  It comes in 18- or 32-cell flavors.  A standard case
is used, and the braille display is simply a pop-out module. 
Therefore, you can save money by buying the 18-cell version and
then upgrading to the 32-cell module when your circumstances
allow.  
    The BrailleNote has standard jacks for headphones, AC
adapter, and telephone line cord.  It has standard parallel and
serial ports, an infrared port, and a type II PCMCIA card slot,
to which you can attach devices such as a high speed modem, and
mass storage systems such as memory cards and the LS-120
Superdisk drive, which can work with regular 1.44 MB floppy
disks, or 120 MB Superdisks.
    On the front side of the unit as it faces you are four large
keys, referred to as thumb keys.  These keys allow you to scroll
the braille display back and forth, and to exit and enter menus. 
On the top of the unit are the braille display and braille
keyboard.  Above each cell on the braille display is a cursor
routing button.  In any application where there is a cursor,
pressing one of these buttons will take the cursor to the
location you have selected.  The keyboard is a Perkins style
keyboard except that there are eight keys, four on each side of
the space bar.  The unit can operate in either six- or eight-dot
braille modes.  If you have ever used a Braille ūn Speak or
Braille Lite, you are used to the idea of entering system or
program commands by pressing the space bar in conjunction with
other keys.  This "chording" system is used in the BrailleNote,
but when the unit is in six-dot mode, the dots 7 and 8 keys
function as backspace and enter keys respectively, and can also
be used in conjunction with other keys to enter commands.
    When you start using the BrailleNote, the first things that
become apparent are the clear Keynote speech, and the crisp and
bright quality of the braille dots on the display.  I have found
that, for my touch, the braille on other braille displays is
quite mushy, and doesn't really feel like braille. However, the
braille produced by the BrailleNote feels just like a freshly
embossed braille book.
    The BrailleNote uses a suite of programs called Keysoft. 
This is a group of related programs, analogous to the Microsoft
Office suite.  The Keysoft suite contains a fairly sophisticated
word processor, which can handle tasks like cut and paste, search
and replace, indents, different justifications, style sheets, and
spell checking. Documents can be exported in Microsoft Word
format, and even attached to e-mail messages, allowing you to
exchange reports, manuscripts, etc., with sighted co-workers or
fellow students.  There are also a planner and appointment
reminder, an address and phone list, a clock and scientific
calculator, and an e-mail program that conforms to the industry
standard Post Office Protocol.  E-mail can be sent and received
with the built-in modem, or with a modem attached to the serial
port, or PCMCIA slot.  The device is capable of printing in
braille or text formats.
    The BrailleNote also features a book reading program that can
read files in several formats including plain text, word
processor, or even the Library of Congress Web Braille books.  A
recent announcement from Microsoft and Pulse Data indicates that
the BrailleNote will also accommodate any digitized materials
which are accessible via Microsoft Reader. The unit can be used
as a speech synthesizer or braille display for another computer,
and these functions are supported by both JAWS for Windows and
Window-Eyes.
    The BrailleNote uses a series of menus and commands that are
standard to all of the Keysoft programs.  The menu system makes
it easy for new users to start computing right away.  As a user's
confidence grows, he or she can begin to use the commands which
offer faster access to programs and functions.
    After 90 minutes at the ACB convention seminar, we had
already learned to write documents with the word processor, do
some calculations, set the clock, make an entry in the address
and phone list, and to write an e-mail message.  By the end of
the convention, Humanware had my credit card number and an order
for a BrailleNote.
My Impressions as a User
    Because of the unexpectedly high initial demand for the
BrailleNote, I had to wait until September to receive mine. 
Needless to say, I was ecstatic when it arrived.  Included in the
box with the BrailleNote was a soft carrying case, AC adapter,
phone cord for the modem, a serial cable with software that
allows one to swap files with another computer, and the LS-120
Superdisk drive with PCMCIA card.  Only the disk drive was
optional equipment.  The BrailleNote also comes with a Getting
Started tutorial on cassette.  This tape gave me enough
information to begin to use the unit immediately, and to access
the user's manual, which is in the device, and can be read either
with speech or the braille display.  Because I was not used to a
braille input device and did not know any computer braille, I
found the process of learning the command structure to be
somewhat daunting, but the on-line user's manual and the braille
reference card (which was included) helped me to get past the
rough spots.  I currently use the BrailleNote to take notes at
business meetings, and to prepare and read the legislative
reports that I present monthly at my CCB chapter meetings.  I
love the ability to  manage my e-mail when I travel, using the
same Internet service provider that I use at home.  
    For a product in its first release, the BrailleNote performs
remarkably well.  The only problems that I have noticed are with
the performance of the built-in modem, and the e-mail program. 
The modem is said to be rated at 33.6 KPS, but it seems to
function much more slowly than that.  Also, if speech is enabled
while mail is downloading, the quality of the speech is
noticeably degraded.  It is also not possible to reply to a
message that is sent to you as a reply.  Pulse Data and Humanware
are presently beta testing an upgrade to the Keysoft suite and
after this testing, the upgrade will be distributed free of
charge to all BrailleNote owners.  I have been assured that this
upgrade will fix the problems, and it will most likely be
available by the time you read this article.  I am very happy
with my BrailleNote.  With all of the things that we as blind
people must carry around with us, it is really refreshing to find
a device that is so small and lightweight that packs so much
computing power.
    For more information about the BrailleNote, contact Humanware
Inc. at (800) 722-3393.

*****
CONNECT OUTLOUD
by David Goldfield
    As some of you may have heard, Henter-Joyce, now a division
of Freedom Scientific, recently released a new program which they
are calling Connect OutLoud.  This program is a screen reader
which is designed, primarily, to provide access to the Internet
to blind users who need a speech or Braille solution  for screen
output.  From what their Web site says, it sounded to me like a
stripped-down version of JFW, the JAWS for Windows screen reader,
but since the suggested  list price is only $249 I was quite
intrigued and decided to download a  demo for myself and give it
a test spin.  My overall impression is that Connect OutLoud is,
in fact, a stripped-down JFW but that doesn't make it a  bad
program.  In fact, I like it.
    The program is only about nine megabytes and, therefore, one
can download it from the http://www.freedomscientific.com web
site in not much time, even with a  56K dial-up modem.  The
installation program is quite similar to the JFW installer; the
Eloquence engine comes up talking and prompts you through either
an automatic or custom install.  Being the computer geek that I
am, and being paranoid about software which wants to take over my
system  without telling me what it's doing, I chose the custom
installation option so that I could see, or hear, what the
program was going to do to my system.  It actually did no damage
and the installation was trauma-free, allowing me to choose the
names of folders and program groups to store the software.  The
installation ended and the fun began as Connect OutLoud  loaded
up.
    The first thing that happened was a request from the software
to enter my 16-digit authorization code.  Whereas JFW uses a
hidden authorization key to make the program work as a registered
copy, Connect OutLoud doesn't use such a system, which some may
feel is a step in the right direction.  What the program *does*
require is an authorization code.  I'm sure most of you have
installed a program like Office or even Windows  itself and you
remember having to enter a huge code such as j4Y2qXXrZ12 ... 
well, if you purchased the Connect OutLoud software you will have
to enter a code to get the  program running as a
non-demonstration, registered version.  According to the product
information on the web site, the code will be made available in
braille for visually impaired users.  Since I did not purchase
this software, I was able to select the option which said "run as
a demo" and the program happily  accepted this, and ran in demo
mode.
    What are the restrictions of demo mode, you ask?  The demo
will work for 24 hours.  Initially, I was understandably
concerned about this as I thought that I would be able to use the
software for only one day and then I'd be forced to download 
another demo for continued use.  Fortunately, I was wrong in my
assumption.  What you get are 24 hours of actual use of the
software.  This means you could use it for an hour a day for 24
days, six hours a day for four days ... I'm lousy at math but you
get the idea.  Basically, it should be enough time for someone to
evaluate it and make a determination as to whether the program is
worth the magnetic coding it's printed on.
    After telling the program to run in demo mode, I was
presented with the ever-popular, always annoying registration
screen, asking for such  things as my name, address, phone
number, blood type and DNA information.  Well, I'm being a bit
dramatic; sue me.  I discovered that  you can't ignore fields
such as the phone number; if you want this program registered to
Freedom Scientific you must enter information in probably every
field.  Fortunately, there's a lovely cancel button which I
pushed to make the registration screen go away.
    Now I can actually talk about the program itself.  Yes, it
is, as I assumed, a stripped-down version of the popular JFW
software.  Because I've been using JFW since version 1.0 was
released in 1995, the learning curve wasn't steep.  The reading
commands are the same, although there is no JAWS cursor or PC
cursor to activate.
    This program is a bit more than just an Internet access
package.  You are allowed to access and read the desktop, the
start menu, applications in the  control panel, My Computer,
Windows Explorer, many applications in the  Accessories folder
(including Dial-up Networking) as well as Outlook  Express,
RealPlayer and Windows Media Player.  The program is obviously
set to work with all of these applications.  If you try to enter
a program  other than the ones it's set to work with, such as
Microsoft Word, Connect OutLoud gives a warning, descending tone
and you hear no speech.  At all.  I  think that, for new users, a
verbal warning from Eloquence would be nice.  It could say
something like "Connect OutLoud will not work with  this program. 
Please press the alt/F-4 key combination to exit this program."
    If you do use a program which Connect OutLoud is permitted to
work with,  you'll get access similar to what you would get with
JFW.  For example, "INSERT-T" reads the title bar, although there
are no verbosity controls.   There are also no script,  frame,
dictionary or configuration managers available. 
    Connect OutLoud reads and navigates web sites just like JFW;
after all, it  is, more or less, JFW.  The lack of verbosity
controls is a problem on some web sites, however.  Connect
OutLoud is set to ignore all graphical links which do not include
text labels.  Now this is quite nice for new or inexperienced
users who might be intimidated by hearing a link with a 
weird-sounding name, but what if you need or want that
information?  Sorry, you can't get it, as far as I can tell. 
This means that any web site where the standard practice is to
provide links without text labels won't be very usable with this
program, whereas JFW users have the option to hear such  links. 
The "INSERT-F7" command does exist in this program, so you can
conveniently put the links in a list box.  In addition, you can
use forms mode to enter information when you're performing a
search or entering credit card information for online purchases.
    Since Connect OutLoud works with Outlook Express you can also
have access  to e-mail and newsgroups.  Outlook Express's e-mail
client is actually quite  nice.  Although I personally am not
fond of the news reader, it works and it's usable.
    "FS-Editor" (formerly called "HJ-Pad") is included, which
allows users of Connect OutLoud to perform word processing and
includes a spell-checking capability.  I haven't  tried it, but
if it's like "HJ-pad," which comes with JFW, then it's not a bad
little word processor.
    I'm not sure how good of a deal this will be for users who
just need a talking Internet program, considering that IBM's Home
Page Reader sells for $149 and I hear it's pretty good.  However,
Connect OutLoud does include access to e-mail, newsgroups, the
control panel, Dial-up Networking (for setting up that dial-up
connection in the first place) and allows users to do word
processing with FS Editor, which will also save files in Word 6.0 
format.  The $249 price tag does not seem too steep, considering
what you get.  JFW users really have no need to purchase  this
program and it would be kind of  a waste if they did, considering
that JFW does everything this program does.
    A feature I especially like in Connect OutLoud is its tutor,
which  gives information about shortcut keys as one navigates
through menus.  For example, if you're pointing to an option
which says, "FILE," the tutor will say something like, "press
ENTER to open the menu," and you can even set the tutor to
announce the corresponding shortcut key for each menu item.  The
tutor  voice, by default, is the Eloquence voice called Shelly,
and I found the voice itself so annoying I changed it to Rocko
before my 24 hours of demonstration had ended!
    One other complaint that I have is that  currently purchasers
of Connect OutLoud aren't  offered a discount if they want to
upgrade later to JFW.  Tsk, tsk, is all  I have to say.  Can't
the folks at Freedom Scientific give Connect OutLoud  users a few
hundred dollars off the price of JFW if they want to upgrade?  I
know Freedom Scientific is now a huge conglomerate, but can't 
they at least give customers the impression that they care about
their business?
    Overall, I like the program a lot and I think it might be a
nice alternative for folks who just need basic access to Windows
and who want to just read e-mail and Web surf.
    (Editor's Note:  You may contact David Goldfield at his e-
mail address: info@davidgoldfield.com or via his web site at
www.davidgoldfield.com. For more information about Connect
OutLoud, visit the web site at www.freedomscientific.com, or
contact Bryan Carver at (800) 444-4443, or via his e-mail,
BryanC@freedomscientific.com.)

*****
PILL BOTTLES 'TALK' TO ELDERLY 
by Lauran Neergaard
    (Editor's Note -- Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical
issues for The Associated Press in Washington.)
    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The man squints at his medication, but his
dimming vision can't make out even whether he picked up the
Coumadin or Celebrex. So he aims a gadget the size of a deck of
cards at the bottle, and a computerized voice begins reading his
prescription instructions. Call them talking drugs: If pilot
testing goes well at two Chicago hospitals, blind and elderly
Americans could soon begin buying prescriptions with "smart
labels" that read aloud the potentially lifesaving fine print.
Millions of Americans have eyesight so bad they can't read
newspaper type, and thus struggle with medication bottles that
put the drug's name, dosage and important safety warnings in even
smaller print. It's a problem that's only going to worsen as the
aging population booms. 
    Inability to read pill bottles can lead to very dangerous
mistakes: taking the wrong pill at the wrong time; or the wrong
dose; or missing the warning not to drink alcohol or take various
over-the-counter drugs with the prescription. Or even when to
call a doctor about side effects. Enter ScripTalk. Beam a small
voice synthesizer at a prescription bottle with a special
computer chip embedded into the label. The wireless technology
translates the printed label into speech, literally reading aloud
the pill instructions.
    Manufacturer En-Vision America Inc. of Normal, Ill., hopes to
begin selling ScripTalk this summer. First, vision-impaired
veterans at Chicago's Hines Veterans Administration Hospital are
pilot-testing the gadget to learn how helpful it truly is - and
nearby Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center soon begins a
separate study to see if ScripTalk could reduce medication
errors.  "When you're vision-impaired ... it's very difficult to
find the necessary information" to use a drug properly, explains
Rush pharmacist Bruce Gaynes. 
    "Our major goal, and what these systems would allow, is
greater independence," adds Jerry Schutter, chief of blind
rehabilitation services at Hines. Hines so far has taught a dozen
veterans to use ScripTalk at home. Some "are very happy with it,"
Schutter said. Others, usually the very elderly, still prefer
family members to read their pill bottles to them. The pilot test
isn't over yet, but will help determine if ScripTalk provides
enough benefit for the VA to offer it once sales begin. 
    ScripTalk isn't the only such attempt: Hines also has a
handful of veterans testing New York-based Asko Corp.'s Aloud,
where pharmacists record drug labels into listening devices for
patients. ScripTalk, in contrast, harnesses wireless technology
to let computers synthesize the talking label automatically.
Rush's planned 300-patient study, which also will investigate
low-tech solutions such as larger-print drug labels, will examine
whether ScripTalk reduces medication errors, thus saving money as
well as preventing injury. That study could help insurers and
pharmacists decide whether to pay for the device. 
    ScripTalk won't be cheap, Schutter cautions. En-Vision would
send participating drugstores blank, microchip-embedded ūsmart
labels.ū Each drugstore would have to buy a special $1,000
printer that encodes the microchip to read each label once it's
printed.  Patients would buy a battery-operated ScripTalk reader,
for about $250, that works on any smart-labeled pill bottle. A
talking label initially should add $1 to each prescription, a
price that would drop as more were sold, En-Vision says. At
Hines, pharmacists had to write special software so the ScripTalk
printer could read the VA's patient prescription records, a link
retail pharmacies may have to figure out, too. But En-Vision,
which has begun pitching ScripTalk to drugstore chains and
insurers, says don't forget one big benefit: Not every drugstore
will sell talking prescriptions, so those that do could gain
instant loyal clientele among the millions of vision-impaired
patients. Not to mention the technology could be modified to help
people who can't read prescription labels for other reasons, such
as illiteracy or language barriers.

*****
RESEARCHERS LOCATE GENE FOR TYPE OF BLINDNESS
(Reprinted from Reuters.)
    CLEVELAND (Jan. 2) -- Researchers said Tuesday they have
identified a gene linked to the most common cause of blindness
and predicted the discovery will help in the search for a drug
treatment. 
    The gene, called ELOVL4, was found to be the cause of
Stargardt's macular degeneration, an early onset form of the
disease that robs more people of  their sight than any other
cause.
    "This important finding uncovers a new pathway in macular
degeneration and will allow us to create an animal model to test
potential drug therapies for both Stargardt's macular
degeneration and age-related macular degeneration," Kang Zhang of
the Cole Eye Institute and the Cleveland Clinic said in a
statement. Zhang's report on the discovery was published in the
January issue of the journal "Nature Genetics."
    Macular degeneration, which tends to run in families, creates
fuzzy vision, or shadowy areas and blind spots in the center of
vision. Most cases occur because of the aging and thinning of
macular tissues, part of the light-sensitive retina at the back
of the eye, or because of pigment deposits in the area. With 90
percent of the cases, called dry age-related macular
degeneration, new blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak
blood and fluid, causing retinal cells to die and creating the
blind spots. 
    Stargardt's macular degeneration is similar to the dry form
of the disease, Zhang said, and the gene discovery will help
scientists clarify its development.
    Though there is no known treatment to restore vision lost to
the disease, many researchers believe nutrition plays a role.
Elderly patients at risk are sometimes urged to take zinc
supplements and increase their intake of antioxidants such as
vitamins A, C and E.

*****
ONE MAN'S STORY:  SAMUEL M. GENENSKY
by Samuel M. Genensky, Ph.D.
    (Editorūs Note: The following story of Samuel M. Genensky's
life was submitted by Richard A. Rueda, a member of the National
Alliance of Blind Students {NABS}, the California Council of the
Blind {CCB}, and ACB's summer 2000 intern.  We agree with Richard
that this is a very inspiring narrative, and thank him for
bringing Genensky's story of courage and determination to our
attention.)
    My story begins in the Saint Luke's Hospital in New Bedford,
Mass. on July 26, 1927. That was the day of my birth, and that
was the day on which silver nitrate was put into both of my eyes
in compliance with the then existing requirement by the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts to carry out this procedure on
every child born in the commonwealth in order to prevent the
possible passage of syphilis from mother to child. In my case,
unfortunately, the silver nitrate put into my eyes had not been
diluted, and, as a result both of my eyes were badly burned. The
procedures followed in the hospital after this accident also left
much to be desired.
    In the fourth month of my life I was taken to Boston to be
seen by the man who even then was regarded as the father of
American ophthalmology, Frederick H. Verhoeff. Dr. Verhoeff
performed partial iridectomies on both of my eyes to prevent
additional loss of vision due to glaucoma. The result of all this
history was that I was left with no vision whatsoever in my left
eye and a best-corrected visual acuity in my right eye of
20/1000.
    My formal education began in the first of two sight-saving
classrooms in New Bedford's Sylvia Ann Howland School. That
classroom catered to partially sighted students, some of whom
were also legally blind, and covered grades one through four. The
other sight-saving classroom covered grades five through eight.
Fortunately for me and my classmates, our teachers were not
obsessed with saving sight. They permitted each of us to perform
in class using everything that we had going for us including our
remaining eyesight. In these classrooms we were taught to read
ink-printed material, to write with a pen or pencil, to do
arithmetic, to acquire a good knowledge of geography and to learn
some history.  I participated in the sight-saving classes
during the period 1933-1940, and in those days the only visual
aids available to us were simple eyeglasses in wire frames, large
print books with dark bold type and pieces of chalk that were
about 1.5 to 2.0 inches in diameter and about 4.0 inches long
which we used to write on large slate chalkboards. The large
print books and the oversized chalk were helpful to me, but
corrective eyeglasses were of no value to me whatsoever.
    I completed the eight-year program at the Howland School in
seven years, and at the end of the seventh year my mother and I
went to see the superintendent of schools in New Bedford, Mr.
Keith. I asked Mr. Keith for permission to attend New Bedford
High School, and he told my mother and me that he felt that it
would be better if I were to go to the Perkins Institution for
the Blind in Watertown, Mass. So in the fall of 1940, my parents
drove me up to Watertown and thus began my year at Perkins.
    Perkins is a very beautiful school housed on a piece of land
that rolls down to the bank of the historic Charles River. There
I was taught braille and typing and I continued my academic
studies. I learned braille rather rapidly, acquiring a full
knowledge of grade one and grade two in a matter of a few months.
This delighted my teachers, but when they observed that I
continued to read ink-printed material and to write with a pen or
pencil with my nose in the book I was reading or down on the
paper upon which I was writing, they were mystified. One of my
teachers even said to me, "Why don't you act like a well-behaved
blind child?" to which I replied, "Because I am not blind." 
    Little did I know at the time how profound this response was,
because, via it, I placed myself in the camp of the sighted and
not in the camp of the blind. I now became determined that I
would make it in life using everything that I had going for me
including my none too impressive residual vision. 
    In the spring of the year that I was at Perkins, my mother
went again to see the superintendent of schools in New Bedford,
but when she got there, she found out that Mr. Keith was no
longer there and that she was to meet with the acting
superintendent of schools. She met with him, and told him that I
was not happy at Perkins and that I would like to have permission
to attend New Bedford High School. After hearing her request, the
gentleman told her that if I wanted to do this, he would be happy
to allow me to do so. My mother was delighted and expressed her
thanks. The gentleman then said, "My name is Sadler and my sister
Irene Sadler taught your son in grades one through four. Since
she feels that your son can succeed in our high school, far be it
from me to disagree with her."
    So, in the fall of 1941, I entered New Bedford High School.
There I spent four exciting and satisfying years. During the
first year and a quarter, I had no visual aids available to me.
Hence, when my teachers wrote on the large slate chalkboards, I
could not see what they wrote. I was aware that my classmates
viewed the chalkboards and copied from them or took notes on what
was written on them. In the fall of my sophomore year, for what
reason I don't remember, I brought my father's World War I
binoculars to school, and in my geometry class I used them to
look at the chalkboard. Much to my amazement and delight, with
them I saw the triangles and circles, letters and numbers that my
geometry teacher, Mr. Felton, had written on the board. After
class Mr. Felton came to me and asked me how the binoculars had
worked. When I told him what I had seen with them, he encouraged
me to bring them to class every day and to bring them to all of
my other classes. Shortly after this great eye-opening event, my
mother and I drove up to Hanover, N.H. and I was seen at the
Dartmouth Eye Institute. While there I met Dr. Kenneth Ogel, who,
upon hearing about my success with binoculars, suggested that I
put a +3.00, +3.50 or a +4.00 diopter lens over the left
objective lens (i.e. the large lens on the left side of the
binoculars) in order to turn the binoculars into a giant bifocal
system that would allow me to look (with my right eye) at the
chalkboard with the right optical system of the binoculars and
look down the left optical system of the binoculars (again using
my right eye) at the paper on my desk in order to copy down or
take notes on what I had seen on the chalkboard.
    I used this giant bifocal optical system throughout my
remaining years at high school, throughout my undergraduate and
graduate years at college and when employed as a mathematician at
the U.S. Bureau of Standards from 1951-1954 and later at the Rand
Corporation in Santa Monica, Calif.
    It is interesting to note that about three months after I
began using the augmented binoculars in high school, my grades in
my academic subjects rose from three B's and one C to three A's
and one B. No, I had not grown a new neurological network in my
head, but I now had a means to see much more than I could prior
to using the binoculars.
    In the fall of 1945 I entered Brown University in Providence,
R.I., and in the late spring of 1949, I graduated from Brown,
magna cum laude, with a bachelor of science degree in physics.
    While at Brown I asked for only one concession because of my
very limited eyesight. I asked that I be allowed to take my final
examinations in a room determined by me and the college to be
acceptable, that had good lighting, and that was equipped with a
chair and desk or table that were of heights that would permit me
to work comfortably. I made it clear that I wanted no extra time
and I expected to take my examinations at the same time as my
classmates. Such a room was found for me in the oldest building
on the campus, University Hall 1770. It may also be of interest
to know that I did all of my own reading and note taking. It
wasn't always easy, but it sure was satisfying.
    In the fall of 1950 I entered Harvard University in
Cambridge, Mass. and in the late spring of 1951 I was granted a
master of arts degree in mathematics from that university. From
Harvard I went to work for the U.S. Bureau of Standards in
Washington, DC as a mathematician in the Fire Protection Section
of the Building Technology Division. While at the bureau and in
the spring of 1952 I was encouraged to learn to program for the
third oldest digital computer in America, Standards Eastern
Automatic Computer (SEAC). It may turn out that I was the first
legally blind programmer in America. 
    After leaving the bureau in August 1954, I returned to Brown
University and for the next four years worked on earning a Ph.D.
in applied mathematics.
    In the fall of 1956 our nation was concerned with the fact
that the Soviet Union had put up a satellite before us, and the
U.S. was determined that it would compete successfully with that
nation. This led to a frantic search for engineers, physicists,
mathematicians, and chemists, and our government and our private
industry were, as it were, hiring these people by the cubic foot.
Even so, it turned out that obtaining employment in one of these
professions was all too frequently an unavailable opportunity for
severely visually impaired persons. I know of this fact from
personal experience. 
    However, the picture was not entirely dismal. I recall
discussing the problem with one of my professors, Gordon Newell,
and telling him of my negative experience in dealing with
Standard Oil of California. He told me not to be discouraged and
to continue looking.
    Unbeknownst to me, one of my other professors was in the room
and listening to our conversation. That professor, William
Prager, met me the following day, and told me that a friend of
his, named John Williams, would be in town soon and it would be
to my advantage to meet with him. I thanked Professor Prager for
this information, and when Mr. Williams came to Brown, I met with
him. It turned out that he was the head of the mathematics
department at the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica and that he
was looking for young Ph.D.'s in mathematics for his department.
He handed me an application and told me to look it over. I noted
that the fifth question on the application was, "Do you have a
handicapping condition?". 
    I asked Mr. Williams what I should do with that question. He
totally ignored me and went on speaking. Somewhat later when we
had gotten to know each other better, I again asked him what I
should do with the question. This time he said, "Oh! Please walk
over to that window."
    I felt that this was a strange answer, but I complied. He
then asked me to return to my chair and went on talking. Somewhat
later I said, "John, you have a great organization, and if you
were to ask me to join your department I would seriously consider
doing so, but I still really want you to tell me what to do with
question 5."
    He then said, "Sam, if I hire you to be a member of my
department, I won't hire you because you don't see very well, I
won't hire you because you went to Brown, but I will hire you
because I perceive that you have something between your ears and
because I feel that you have something to contribute to what Rand
is trying to do to assist the U.S. Air Force and the Atomic
Energy Commission." That was a terrific answer, and every
qualified disabled person should receive an answer like it when
he/she seeks employment.
    I was hired by Rand and I became a member of the senior staff
of its mathematics department in the summer of 1958. While at
Rand I not only did mathematics, but I also became involved in
other problem areas of interest to the company. It was while
working in one of these problem areas and while slumped over an
inclined drawing board in an attempt to write that I received a
visit from my colleague, Paul Baran.  Paul observed what I was
doing and said, "There has to be a better way for you to read and
write."
    I told him that I agreed and asked if he would join me in
trying to find that better way. He said that he would and
together with other Rand colleagues and professional friends at
Aerospace Corporation and the Polaroid Corporation, we succeeded
in designing and building the first practical and user-friendly
closed circuit TV (CCTV) system for the partially sighted. We
showed that prototype system at the 1968 annual meeting of the
American Academy of Optometry, which was held at the Beverly
Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Via an article written by
George A.W. Bohem, entitled "Sam Genensky's Marvelous Seeing
Machine" that appeared in the January 1971 issue of "Reader's
Digest," the world learned of our work. 
    I received thousands of letters as a result of this article
and hundreds of people came to the Rand Corporation to see and
try our prototype device. From those people I learned that I was
not alone in recognizing that partially sighted people were
receiving services that were at best suitable for the totally
blind or were receiving no help at all. I concluded that neither
of these alternatives was satisfactory, and that a third
alternative was needed. I therefore began working on that
alternative and came up with the design of a center that would
provide partially sighted people with a set of services that were
designed to meet their special needs and that would encourage
them to use all of their sensory capabilities including their
residual eyesight to remain or become an integral part of the
overall society.
    I received an opportunity to turn this thinking into concrete
reality in 1975, when the medical staff of the Santa Monica
Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., invited me to create such a
center at the hospital and to bring my own money to do so. I
moved with two of my colleagues to the hospital in the fall of
1976, and with their help and the help of colleagues back at the
Rand Corporation, obtained funds from the federal government in
the fall of 1977 to create and operate a Center for the Partially
Sighted. This center began providing services in the spring of
1978 and went on its own as a non-profit, tax exempt, public
benefit California charitable corporation in April 1983. The
center has served more than 14,000 individuals since it came into
existence.
    Remembering my years at the Rand Corporation I recall with a
smile on my face the many times I walked down the hall in search
of a restroom. Now in those days the room doors of Rand were
unpainted and blonde in color and the doors that led into
restrooms had, at eye level, blonde plastic signs that were about
three inches long and one and one-half inches high, into which
were cut the word "men" or "women" as appropriate. To read these
signs, I was obliged to bring my right eye to within an inch of
them. All too frequently when I did this, the sign said "women;"
a woman would open the restroom door and I would explain that I
could not see well and had to get very close to the sign on the
door to determine whether the door led into a men's or ladies'
restroom. Sometimes I think the lady believed me and sometimes I
think she thought I was some kind of weirdo. The problem came to
a head when the friendly guards in the lobby said to me
good-humoredly, "Sam, we hear that you are smelling restroom
doors." That did it, and as a result I came up with a scheme for
marking restroom doors and restroom entrances that is now used in
all new and renovated public buildings in California. So the next
time you see or feel a triangular or circular restroom sign in a
public building in California, think of me; I am the character
who had them placed there so that you and I could find the
appropriate restroom without being embarrassed. 
    While I found my years at the Rand Corporation to be very
exciting and stimulating, I can honestly say that the years that
I spent developing CCTV systems, creating and running the Center
for the Partially Sighted, and creating the signage that allows
us to find the appropriate restroom in a public building have
been the most enjoyable and satisfying years of my professional
life.

*****
AFFILIATE NEWS
New GDUI Affiliate in Texas Holds its First Meeting
    From Pam and Winnie deep in the heart of Texas.  Our first
Texas GDUI conference was a smashing success.  We had planned for
somewhere around 60 participants, but over 90 people attended.
    This simply testifies to the need for such an organization in
the Lone Star State.  Reps from The Seeing Eye, Guide Dogs for
the Blind, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Southeastern, Upstate New
York, a part of Pilot, Leader Dogs, and Southwestern Guide Dogs
from Texas were present.  We exchanged a lot of high quality
information.  Thanks to those who participated, especially those
who traveled to Austin from out of town.
State Conventions in April
    6-8: ACB of Colorado; for more information, call Rod Chard at
(303) 730-1353, or the administrative office at (888) 775-2221
(Colorado only).
    6-8: Mississippi Council, Jackson; contact Rita Taylor at
(601) 957-8305 or (888) 346-5622 (Mississippi only).
    6-8: Alabama Council of the Blind, Pickwick Hotel, 1023 20th
St. South, Birmingham; for more information, call Van Fulghum at
(256) 362-4358.
    6-8: Badger Association of the Blind; for more information,
contact Kathy Brockman at the Badger Association, (414) 258-9200
or (877) 258-9200.
    19-22: California Council of the Blind spring convention,
Sacramento Arden West Hilton Hotel, 2200 Harvard Street,
Sacramento; for more information, call (510) 537-7877.
    20-22: ACB of Nebraska, Lincoln Airport Inn; for more
information, call (402) 553-8456 or (888) 218-8061 (Nebraska
only).

*****
IN MEMORIAM: JAMES P. RILEY
by the Long Island Chapter of the American Council of the Blind
of New York
    When the members of the Long Island chapter of ACBNY returned
from the state convention which they had just hosted, they
received a great shock. Jim Riley, a long-time chapter member who
had originally planned to attend the convention, had died very
suddenly at the age of 48.
    Jim lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. He traveled every day to
Manhattan where he worked for a major bank as a computer
programmer, a job that he had held since the late 1970s. Jim was
very knowledgeable about computers and in his spare time would
often help his friends if they were having computer problems.
    Jim had other interests too. He enjoyed collecting old-time
radio programs which he listened to on his Walkman while riding
the subway to and from work. He also liked country-western music
and his favorite TV program was "Buffy, The Vampire Slayer."
    Every year, Jim used a part of his vacation to attend the ACB
national convention. He was also treasurer of his local chapter
for several years.
    During the last few years, Jim's life had become complicated
by increasing problems with his vision. Jim went through several
eye operations including cataract surgery and a cornea transplant
which involved the new procedure of using stem cells to help
decrease the possibility of rejection. Jim faced these situations
very bravely, including the disappointment when his vision did
not improve as much as he or the doctors had expected.
    Although he was kind of shy, Jim enjoyed making people laugh.
He was always coming up with jokes and puns and an occasional
prank to amuse everyone.
    Jim is survived by his mother and brother.  We will all miss
him.

*****
THE WORD IS INDEPENDENCE
by Jerry Annunzio
    As I toured the Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB) I asked
our guide, Jeanie Miller, who is a student there, "In one word,
what does IDB do for the people who get training here?" Her
answer was "independence." 
    "You learn to be independent," Miller went on.  "The freedom
to be independent at your job, in your community and in your own
home, that's the central theme at IDB." 
    The American Council of the Blind's national convention,
which will be held in Des Moines, Iowa from June 30 through July
7, will offer eight tours to the Iowa Department for the Blind. 
The IDB has many interesting stories to hear and lessons to
learn.  The vocational rehabilitation program which is
administered and conducted at IDB  is designed to help people who
are blind achieve self-support.  The independent living rehab
program, which focuses on older blind people and on people who
have multiple disabilities, helps consumers to live more
independently in their homes and to function within their
communities. 
    The IDB also administers Iowa's Business Enterprises Program,
which  allows people who are blind to become self-sufficient,
independent, tax-paying citizens through the  Randolph-Sheppard
Vending Program.
    IDB houses the state library services for the blind. These
services include providing books and magazines in braille, large
print, and recorded formats as well as descriptive videotapes.
There are reference and reading rooms available at the Department
Library.
    Be sure to stop by the wood shop and the aids and devices
store at IDB before you end your tour.  You will see how IDB
helps people who are blind and visually impaired obtain access to
jobs and opportunities ,and full participation as citizens in
whatever roles they may choose.  And that's independence!

*****
NEED CASH? ENTER ACB'S DRAWING TO WIN $10,000
AND SUPPORT ACB'S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AT THE SAME TIME!
by Penny Reeder
    Do you know anyone who would enjoy winning $10,000?  Could
your local ACB chapter, or the school who trained you and your
guide dog, or the organization that provides readers or computer
training to you and other visually impaired people in your
community, or your church, your library, or your friends, family
members, or even you, yourself, use a little infusion of cash? 
Say, an extra $200, $300, $500, or $10,000?  ACB will hold a
drawing for these amounts during the reception just prior to the
annual ACB banquet on Friday evening of convention week.  Tickets
cost $100, and since a maximum of only 300 tickets will be sold,
your chances of winning one of the four prizes (including the big
enchilada of $10,000) are pretty darned good!  You do not have to
be present at the drawing to win, and if the fates are smiling in
your direction, you could win as much as $11,000 -- since we'll
be putting even the tickets of fourth ($200), third ($300), and
second-place winners ($500) back into the hat for the big
drawing.  Up to five individuals can combine resources to
purchase a single hundred-dollar ticket, so for an investment of
a mere $20, you can be benefitting a worthwhile cause (sending
deserving visually impaired students off to post-secondary
training opportunities) while taking advantage of the chance to
win a substantial sum of money!
    Tickets for the drawing which will benefit the ACB
scholarship program are expected to go on sale at ACB's
legislative seminar at the end of February.  The Northern
Virginia chapter of the Old Dominion Council of the Blind came up
with this creative fund-raising idea.  Our hats are off to NOVA,
who, along with the ACB national office are administering this
drawing.  To obtain tickets for purchase or sale, contact Terry
Pacheco, Membership and Affiliate Services Coordinator, in the
ACB national office.  Terry can be reached at (202) 467-5081, or
toll-free between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. at (800) 424-8666.  You may
also contact her by electronic mail, tpacheco@acb.org.
    Don't delay!  Order your tickets for purchase or sale today! 
Next year's scholarship winners will thank you, and so will your
friends and family, when they, or you, bring home a big prize!

*****
GLORY-OUS TRAVELS
by Penny Reeder
    As many of you know by now, I spent much of January learning
to work with my new Fidelco guide dog, Glory.  Just 23 months
old, Glory, who is a beautiful little "gray" German shepherd, has
spent the last several weeks adjusting to a sometimes chaotic
household, often  "peopled" by a very patient husband, four
children, their various friends coming and going, a decidedly
reclusive kitty -- and a new human partner who had never even
held a dog's harness before her arrival!
    Our first week of training with Fidelco's very excellent,
(fortunately for us) very laid back trainer, David Darr, was so
overwhelming, there were times when I wondered if it had been a
mistake to choose in-home/in-community training!  Although my
voice-mail message at the ACB office optimistically indicated
that I would be "in and out," implying that I would stay on top
of items like completing the February ūBraille Forum,ū the fact
was that by the end of every day, I was exhausted and motivated
only by a need to keep all that I had learned in my head, and a
desire for rest and relaxation!  With Sharon's help and
adaptability (we worked via e-mail and phone off and on during
periods of time when I was not actively training), over three
days, with occasional breaks during which I attempted to quiet a
barking puppy, open the door for a terrified yellow cat, or an
exuberant crowd of 10-year-olds, or a bemused mailman who has
"seen and heard it all," we managed to get that February Forum
out only five days beyond our usual self-imposed publication
deadline.
    Meanwhile, Glory and I were learning to travel down sidewalks
and the more prevalent cul de sacs and bike paths in our suburban
neighborhood, how to stop at curbs, execute right, left, and
"right around" turns, how to climb over the snow banks that still
blocked occasional street corners.  On Friday, we took our first 
subway ride downtown, and made the four-and-a-half block walk to
the office.  We practiced that trip on Saturday and Sunday, and
by Monday, Glory and I were making the trip and even stopping for
morning coffee on our own!  We learned the relatively complicated
route I take each month to meetings of the Montgomery County,
Md., Taxicab Advisory Committee, and on Tuesday evening, Glory
and I made the trek solo.  Glory sat under the table while Lee
Barnes, local taxicab mogul, explained to the assembled committee
that he  really has no way to make his drivers comply with the
law that requires them to transport visually impaired passengers
with their guide dogs, and I, in turn, suggested that enforcement
via fine or revocation of a license might go a long way toward
getting the point across!  (I thought that a corroborative growl
coming from my canine companion might add an appropriate
punctuation mark to my remarks, but being the well-mannered young
lady that she is, Glory allowed me to make the point unassisted!)
    By the end of our second week together I knew that my
decision to choose Fidelco's in-community training had been
exactly the right choice.  The training regimen not only allowed
us to learn all the routes I routinely travel and practice over
and over again on escalators, subway trains and Metro platforms,
but it also enabled me to tuck in my 10-year-old every night,
keep up with the comings and goings in the lives of my high-
school-age children, do an occasional load of laundry, and even
make dinner from time to time!  By January 29th, when we took our
last subway ride with David, Glory was able to separate from her
Fidelco friend with barely a second glance, I felt that I was
traveling with the best sighted guide of my life, and we were
ready to take on the world!  Good thing, because before we had
time to catch our collective breath, that's exactly what we were
doing!
The Pooch at the Press Conference
    After having attended a meeting during our first week of
training, where a representative from Hart InterCivic
demonstrated the completely accessible E-Slate voting system to
the Montgomery County Board of Elections, who are anxious to
avoid our state's becoming the next example of under, over, or
uncounted votes, I was eager to attend the press conference which
accompanied the introduction of the McConnell-Torricelli bill,
S.218, which seeks to establish an Election Administration
Commission to study federal, state, and local voting procedures
and election administration and to provide matching federal funds
for modernizing election procedures and systems. 
    On Tuesday, January 30, Glory and Krista Dubroff, legislative
assistant in our national ACB office, and I bounded into the Hart
Senate Office Building.  We zipped through the metal detector,
and Glory and I followed Krista and other members of the press to
the third-floor conference room, where all seats were taken and
there was standing room only.
    Standing at the back of the room, I couldn't figure out how
to hold a guide dog's leash and simultaneously take notes with a
Braille 'n Speak (but I know that I'll either get the hang of it
or come up with an alternate solution before long).  Krista left
us to go pick up literature from the 14 vendors of voting systems
and equipment which were stationed around the periphery of the
room.  While she was gone, Glory inched me up a few feet at a
time until we were standing at the front of all the standees.
    Then, I felt her tugging at the leash.  "No!" I whispered,
snapping the leash back.  Still, she kept inching forward, her
body wiggling with barely suppressed excitement.
    The next sound I heard was the thumping of a big dog's tail! 
It was Jim Dickson's huge black lab, returning Glory's friendly
greeting!  Dickson had directed the National Organization on
Disability's Vote 2000 campaign, and was lucky enough to get a
seat!  When we met him and his big friendly dog a few days later,
Glory greeted them both like old chums.
    Not one of the senators or representatives who spoke in
support of the bill they were co-sponsoring mentioned voting
access for people who are visually impaired, and although my
raised hand waved steadily in the air, no one called on me to ask
a relevant question.  So, the press conference was not itself as
successful an experience as I might have hoped.  Nonetheless, it
was a revelation for me: with Glory, I can walk anywhere, quickly
and competently; sighted help is indeed helpful, but the
difference a guide dog makes in my ability to mobilize is
remarkable!
Meetings, meetings, meetings
    This puppy is going to be a very well-informed citizen, I
believe!  (Or, alternatively, she may become the best-rested
puppy in the DC metropolitan area!)  In just 17 days, we have
been to a meeting of the mother/daughter book club that my
daughter Molly and I belong to, an IEP periodic review at
elementary school, that taxicab advisory meeting, a gathering of
the Legislative Working Group which took place at the
headquarters of NIB in Alexandria, Va., that E-Slate demo in
Rockville, Md., all-day meetings and a reception in Annapolis,
where ACB of Maryland unveiled its model pedestrian safety bill,
to the mall where we shopped for a birthday present for my soon-
to-be eight-year-old niece, out to dinner, and a meeting of
George W. Bush and about 200 members of the disability community
at the White House!  We have ridden in taxicabs, vans, ride-on
buses, city buses, Metrorail's red and blue line trains.  I
travel more quickly down sidewalks and across streets than I ever
imagined possible; it's amazing how quickly I gained confidence
in Glory's ability to guide me smoothly and efficiently around
obstacles and people, up and down curbs and steps, inside and
outside and all over the city!
    In Annapolis, after sitting still for about three hours
straight, I concluded that Glory might need a little break (I
certainly did!).  I woke her up from her snooze underneath my
chair, and she sleepily guided me out of the meeting room, then
through the building, outside, down the steps (There was no
railing, or at least, I couldn't find one, so she stopped
patiently at every step; she already knows how worried I am about
falling down steps).  We sauntered down the block and found a
little plot of grass.  She took advantage of the respite, and
then we sauntered back up the street again -- right to the
building we had left, up the stairs, through the hallway, back to
the meeting room, and (this is the best part of all!) right back
to our seat in the front row!  We didn't need anyone to
accomplish any part of this little excursion!  This ability to go
where I want to go, when I want to go there, and then to find my
way back again is a whole new dimension of freedom and
independence!
Meeting and Greeting at the White House!
    On Thursday, February 1, President George W. Bush announced
his "Freedom Initiative," which, he says, is the centerpiece of
his administration's disability policy, a set of initiatives
which are designed to give people with disabilities essential
tools to participate fully in their communities.  During a White
House reception which preceded Bush's policy announcement, I got
to shake the hand of Justin Dart, whom I had long wanted to meet
and thank for all he has done for people with disabilities.  In
addition, I shook hands with President Bush, talked with his
wife, Laura, about White House dogs, and met other
representatives of the disabled community and supporters of the
administration.  Glory was happy because Charlie Crawford and
executive doggie Ruthie were also traveling with us (Krista
too!), and because she got a glimpse of the Bush's springer
spaniel darting from the residence to the White House lawn.
    I haven't had a chance to investigate the particulars of the
Bush administration's proposed package, but I don't need to
investigate the advantages of traveling with a guide dog through
crowded situations or important federal buildings: this degree of
independence is something that continues to astonish me nearly
every minute of every day!
    Today, Glory is snoozing under my desk as I write this
account and attempt to deal with 778 accumulated e-mail messages. 
Next week, we'll go to another press conference about another
bill which proposes to reform the system by which we Americans
choose our elected representatives and executives.  The
legislative seminar is coming up in Arlington, Va., with a side
trip to the Kennedy Center for a performance of "Shear Madness." 
Then, there are meetings for Chapter Two service providers for
older people who are visually impaired, more discussions of the
Solutions Forum which seeks to make textbooks available to
visually impaired children in accessible formats, the Josephine
L. Taylor Leadership Institute seminars and receptions -- and
then on to Des Moines for the five-star ACB national convention!
    Glory, get your beauty sleep.  Your adventures have only
begun!

*****
HERE AND THERE
by Billie Jean Keith
    The announcement of new products and services in this column
should not be considered an endorsement by the American Council of
the Blind, its staff or elected officials.  Products and services
are listed free of charge for the benefit of our readers.  "The
Braille Forum" cannot be responsible for the reliability of
products and services mentioned.  
    To submit an item for "Here and There," send an e-mail message
to billiejean@2keiths.com. You may call the ACB toll-free number
(800) 424-8666, and leave a message at extension 26.  Please bear
in mind that we need information two months ahead of actual
publication dates.
HELP DESK
    The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind now offers a
Technology Help Desk for consumers.  This service is available from
8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.  To use this service,
call (617) 626-7617.  The help desk currently supports speech,
screen magnification, braille, OCR and notetakers deployed by the
Commission's Adaptive Technology for the Blind Program.  If you
have questions, contact Joe Lazzaro at (617) 626-7575.
EXPANDED GUIDE
    "Disability Information at Your Fingertips" is a guide to
toll-free telephone numbers and on-line resources for and about
people with disabilities.  This guide has quadrupled in size since
its first publication in 1994.  It lists the toll-free phone
numbers and web addresses for more than 500 national non-profit
organizations and government agencies.  There are numbers for
telecommunications devices for the deaf, and numbers for bilingual
services. Single copies cost $10 and must be prepaid.  To order, or
for more information, contact Disability Resources, Inc., 4 Glatter
Ln., Centereach, NY 11720-1032, or phone (631) 585-0290.
TALKING NUMERIC PAGER
    CPR Technology is offering a talking numeric pager that
displays the number and has both vibration and audio alert tones. 
The pager can repeat any message stored in its memory, read the
message number and time received, has a built-in talking clock and
other features.  Users must purchase paging services for the device
to be operational.  For more information, contact CPR Technology,
phone (877) 277-5237, visit the web site,
http://www.talkingpager.com, or by mail from CPR Technology, 640
Dean St., Brooklyn, NY 11238.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS FOR VETERANS
     Veterans should know about an important prescription drug
benefit available from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  A
30-day supply of prescription medications costs only $2 through the
VA.  Disabled or low-income veterans can receive medications at no
cost.  To be eligible for this benefit, a veteran must have been
honorably discharged from military service, must enroll with the
VA, and must be seen by a VA physician.  The VA may charge for a
doctor visit, but your insurance may cover this charge.  Veterans
who are disabled or have a low income can visit doctors at no cost. 
If you would like to find out more about this and other health
benefits through the VA, call toll-free (877) 222-8387.  
    If you are a veteran with a visual impairment, call the Blinded
Veterans Association.  Your vision loss does not have to be service
connected to receive free services from the BVA.  Call toll-free
(800) 669-7079, or (202) 371-8880.
LISTSERV FOR ASPIRING BROADCASTERS
    If you are 15 years old or older, and wish to join a list
called Broadcast Conversations, read on.  This list was formed to
discuss issues for aspiring broadcasters who are blind, and covers
topics such as accessible broadcast equipment and searching for
work in the broadcast industry.  If interested, send a message to
Kevin Wassmer at wasy25@attglobal.net, or call him at (801)
568-9940.
ACCESS TO ON-LINE LEARNING
    Before he left office, President Clinton announced the CPB/WGBH
National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) has been awarded a $1.8
million grant from the Department of Education's Learning Anywhere
Anytime Program to establish a partnership with industry to make
on-line learning resources accessible to people with disabilities. 
According to the press release, the SALT (Standards for Accessible
Learning Technologies) Partnership is a four-year initiative to
develop and promote open access specifications and effective models
to enable people with disabilities to have equal access to the
growing wealth of on-line learning resources.  Initial partners
include Blackboard, Inc., Educational Testing Service (ETS),
Microsoft Corporation, Pearson Education, Sun Microsystems,
PeopleSoft, Saba Software, and the United Kingdom's Open
University.
    For more information, contact Mary Watkins/Media Access Group
at WGBH, phone (617) 300-3700,  TTY (617) 300-2459, or e-mail
mary_watkins@wgbh.org. You may also visit the web site,
http://www.wgbh.org/access.
COMPUTER MANUALS AND TUTORIALS
    A United Kingdom-based computer expert with a visual impairment
has written several manuals and tutorials emphasizing keyboard use
for more effective computer access for people with visual
impairments.
    John Wilson, the author of these manuals, sells them for $18
each, with a special price of $50 for five "From the Keyboard"
manuals (excluding the tutorials for Microsoft Word and the
Internet).  He will be happy to e-mail the table of contents for
any manuals and tutorials listed below, to enable the computer user
to see the comprehensive scope of his work.  Send an e-mail to
jwjw@cwcom.net.  Titles include:  "Using Textbridge Pro 9 and
Textbridge Millennium From the Keyboard With Speech To Read Print"; 
"Using  Readris  Pro  6.0 From the Keyboard With Speech to Read
Print"; "Using TypeReader Pro 6.0 From the Keyboard With Speech to
Read Print"; "Using Textbridge Pro 98 and Textbridge 98 Classic
From the Keyboard With Speech to Read Print"; "Microsoft Word 97
From the Keyboard the Windows Way"; and "Accessing the Internet
From the Keyboard."
BRAILLER REPAIR SERVICE
    An ACB member gives high praise about the repair of his 22-
year-old Perkins Brailler.  According to the endorsement, Mr.
Ackley takes the brailler apart, soaks it in a cleaning solvent,
then in a lubricant.  If you opt to have a full engineering
upgrade, any parts that have been improved since the machine's
manufacture will be replaced to bring the machine up to current
specifications.  The basic service charge is $45.  The total for
the full engineering upgrade was about $100 (including the basic
service charge, new parts, and a new factory carton for shipping
the brailler).  For information, contact Ackley Appliance Service,
4301 Park Avenue #540, Des Moines, IA 50321; phone (515) 288-3931;
e-mail aackley@braillerman.com; web site
http://www.braillerman.com.
FREE ACCESSIBLE SOFTWARE
    Justin Daubenmire, a computer programmer who is blind, has
released two free professionally produced programs designed
specifically to work with screen readers.  The programs will run on
Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000 and are free to anyone.  The free programs
are a screen reader accessible mp3 player and a screen reader
accessible calendar program.  Computer users are welcome to
download either program at
http://public.surfree.com/rdauben/software.htm.
DO NOT PET SIGNS
    We know that guide dogs should not be distracted or petted
while in harness, but the general public does not know.  A guide
dog user tried many different signs to dissuade people from petting
his dog, and after two years trying various signs, he settled on
the international one.  The sign boldly states "DO NOT" and shows
a hand in a circle with a line drawn across the hand.  David and
Pat Caldwell now make and sell these signs.  Choose either an
embroidered sign or one made with permanent paint ironed into the
fabric.  Both models are bright red and white and are washable. 
The cost for either sign is $7, which includes packing and postage. 
Pat Caldwell is a professional seamstress and sews artwork that
looks like stained glass.  To order, contact David Caldwell, 1925
White St., Nanty Glo, PA 15943, phone (814) 749-8998, or e-mail
pavid24@gte.net.
IDEAS FOR NEW PRODUCTS SOUGHT
    Have you invented or produced a gadget that is helpful to you
as a blind person?  For the past two years, the American Printing
House for the Blind (APH) has presented awards to people who have
suggested or developed the prototype of a product to be
manufactured by APH.  There are  no deadlines or guidelines for
submission, since this is not a competition, but an ongoing program
because products can take years to develop.  The award commemorates
the service of Virgil Zickel, plant manager at APH for 27 years. 
    A list of some past recipients and products may spark ideas.
Nancy Rinker designed a lightweight, portable reading easel for
visually impaired students; Marcia Gevers designed MasterPlan
Calendar, specially designed for low vision needs; and Alex Snow
(age 12) devised a binder that helps manage braille paper.
    For more information, call Roberta Williams in the public
affairs office, (800) 223-1839 or (502) 895-2405, or e-mail
rwilliams@aph.org. 
RECIPES BY E-MAIL
    Get great recipes by e-mail.  This free service will provide
many different recipes for any dish you want to prepare.  To get a
recipe, send an e-mail to recipes@recipesbyemail.com, (note, no
hyphen in the word "email").  Write your search term on the subject
line, such as "chicken," or "lemon pie."  Leave the body of the
message blank.  When a list of recipes arrives, note the numbers of
the recipes you want, then send another message with only one
selected recipe number on the subject line.  Send separate messages
for each recipe choice.  In a matter of seconds, you'll have
results.  Now save them or print them in braille, large print or
keep an electronic cookbook of favorite recipes.
MUSIC CD FOR SALE
    The Bloomington chapter of ACBI is selling a music CD as a
fundraiser.  "Light and Shadow" features 18 American and Russian
folk songs performed by ACB member Suzanne Ament.  Checks for $15
should be made payable to: ACBI Bloomington Chapter, and addressed
to Bloomington Chapter, P.O. Box 1131, Bloomington, IN 47402-1131. 
For information, e-mail byron@indiana.edu.
GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS
    The University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR), Department of
Counseling, Adult and Rehabilitation Education (CARE) has a limited
number of graduate student scholarships that pay full tuition and
a monthly stipend to help defray college expenses for students
interested in master's degrees in orientation and mobility and/or
rehabilitation teaching for people who are blind or visually
impaired. 
    The 42-hour master's degree program can be completed on a
full-time basis in 14-18 months and does not require GRE scores for
entrance.  While these are non-traditional teaching disciplines,
they do not require students to have a teaching background for
eligibility.  Potential candidates should call Dr. Bill Jacobson,
O & M program coordinator (501) 569-8505 or e-mail
whjacobson@ualr.edu.  For the RT program, call Dr. Patricia Smith
(501) 569-3169 or e-mail pbsmith@ualr.edu.
E-BOOK TECHNOLOGY
    AFB Talking Books, the audio publishing arm of the American
Foundation for the Blind, and Time Warner AudioBooks have joined
forces to produce the first audio e-book sampler from a major
publisher using NISO/DAISY technology: a brand-new, digitally
synchronized audio and text program, compatible with both computers
and e-books.  This e-book sampler offers unique navigational
features, and displays the book's text on screen or in braille,
fully synchronized with the narrator's voice.  To download the free
demonstration of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., visit AFB's accessible web site, www.afb.org.
YARN INFO IN BRAILLE AND CASSETTE
    Huff Services offers an alphabetical yarn list, containing
brand name, fiber content, ounces or grams per skein (ball), and
how many yards in each skein.  "Types of Yarn" in Braille (28
pages) is $10.25, and the cassette version is $5.  Contact Kathy
Huff, phone (859) 746-0800 during business hours Monday - Friday
from 11 AM to 5 PM (Eastern time), or e-mail her at
huffservices@juno.com.  Orders must be prepaid to Huff Services, 25
Edward Ave., Florence, KY 41042.
LISTSERV FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED CRAFTERS
    This new list is in the category of Crafts/Knitting.  To
subscribe, send a blank e-mail message to
VIP-SHEEP-TALK-subscribe@egroups.com.
INTERNET BY PHONE
    Philmore Productions provides a service that allows access to
the Internet including sending/receiving e-mail, browsing web pages
and retrieving Usenet articles via a touch-tone phone.  Information
is conveyed by a computerized voice or can be sent to a fax
machine.  You may use your own POP3-compliant mailbox or the
company can provide you with an e-mail address.  For more
information, please visit the web site at
http://www.net-by-phone.com, e-mail phil@philmore.net, or call
toll-free (877) 638-2974.
BRAILLE INTO THE NEXT MILLENNIUM
    Braille literacy is a vital concern of advocacy groups of
individuals who are blind and service providers.  A 600-page
anthology of articles entitled "Braille: Into the Next Millennium"
underscores the importance of braille literacy.  The publication,
written by more than two dozen international experts, and edited by
Judith Dixon, consumer relations officer for NLS, has been
published jointly by the Library of Congress's National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH) and the
Friends of Libraries for Blind and Physically Handicapped
Individuals in North America. 
    NLS readers can order the book in braille and recorded formats. 
Single print copies are available at no cost from the Reference
Section, NLS/BPH, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20542.  For
more information, contact Robert Fistick, head of publications and
media, phone (202) 707-9279, e-mail rfis@loc.gov, NLS web site
www.loc.gov/nls
NEW EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE LIST
    The BlindKid-Software list has been created to promote
discussion of educational software and non-violent computer games
for children who are blind.  Discussion of non-computer games, toys
and educational materials useful for working with children are
welcome.  To join, send a message to
BlindKid-Software-subscribe@egroups.com. 

*****
HIGH TECH SWAP SHOP
    FOR SALE: Aladdin Rainbow CCTV.  Cost $2,945 originally; $1,500
or best offer.  (Shipping not included.)  Contact Donald Garrett,
170 Rosedale Dr., Columbus, MS 39702-3118; phone (662) 245-0581.
    FOR SALE: ISDN Diva modem with standard print manuals, cables
and software, $100.  Regency R1070 10-channel programmable scanner,
$50.  Contact Elizabeth or Frank via telephone, (850) 574-6252, or
e-mail, esbowden@nettally.com.
    FOR SALE: Telesensory CCTV.  Magnifies up to 60 times.  Lightly
used. Best offer.  Contact Louis Polish at (330) 792-2122, or write
to him at 3301 S. Wendover Circle, Youngstown, OH 44511.
    FOR SALE: Braille Pad Plus, an Artic notetaker, which can also
be used as a speech synthesizer, and WinVision, the Artic screen
reader, $300.  Willing to trade for something of similar value. 
Contact Anmol Bhatia, 1100 Henderson St., Box 5597, Arkadelphia, AR
71999; phone (870) 230-6397, or e-mail bhatiaboy@hotmail.com.
    FOR SALE: Alva Braille Terminal ABT-380 80-cell desktop braille
display with manuals and soft case.  Rarely used; excellent
condition.  Asking $7,995 or best offer.  Contact Loren Mikola at
(425) 705-3394 weekdays, (425) 558-0131 evenings and weekends.  Or
you may get in touch via e-mail, loren.mikola@gte.net or
lorenm@microsoft.com.
    FOR SALE: King James Bible in braille and on tape. $35 each or
best offer.  Perkins braille writer, $150 or best offer.  Shipping
and handling not included in these prices.  Contact Joe Turri on
tape or by voice pager, (810) 403-2402, or cell phone, (810) 256-
4872.  His address is 21098 Wellington, Warren, MI 48089.  Credit
cards and checks are not accepted.
    FOR SALE: Blazie Type 'N Speak with all upgrades, carrying
case, AC adapter, 220-volt adapter, PC Disk (PC connection
software), all cables for printer, PC and disk drive connection,
tutorial tapes, and a new model disk drive with AC adapter. Asking
$1,200 or best offer.  Contact Edwin E. Staudt III, Center for
Productive Worklife, 6 E. Wayne Ave., Aldan, PA 19018; phone (610)
622-1469; or e-mail edstaudt1@home.com.
    WANTED: RCA audio receiver with TV.  Good condition.  Contact
Mike Ruddy at (602) 944-5076.
    WANTED: Webcor radio with AM, FM and shortwave stereo.  Must be
in good condition and have a good antenna.  Contact Walter Chavira
at (661) 833-3663.
    WANTED: DOS for Windows 95 and DoubleTalk speech synthesizer
software, as well as an Optacon and a Braille 'n Speak.  Contact
Melody Edwards at (941) 723-1363.
    WANTED: September 2000 QST.  Will reimburse tape.  Contact
Colin Blackwood at (781) 585-4803.
    WANTED: Old APH four-track cassette player/recorder in good
working condition.  Call Ray Leonardo at (610) 449-3083.

ACB BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sanford Alexander, Wichita, KS
Jerry Annunzio, Kansas City, MO
Alan Beatty, Fort Collins, CO
Ed Bradley, Houston, TX
Dawn Christensen, Holland, OH
Debbie Grubb, Bradenton, FL
Oral Miller, Washington, DC
Mitch Pomerantz, Los Angeles, CA
Sandy Sanderson, Anchorage, AK
M.J. Schmitt, Forest Park, IL

BOARD OF PUBLICATIONS

Kim Charlson, Chairperson, Watertown, MA
Jay Doudna, Rosemont, PA
Winifred Downing, San Francisco, CA
Mike Duke, Jackson, MS
Charles Hodge, Arlington, VA
Ex Officio: Laura Oftedahl, Berkeley, CA 

ACB OFFICERS

PRESIDENT
PAUL EDWARDS
20330 NE 20TH CT.
MIAMI, FL 33179

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
BRIAN CHARLSON
57 GRANDVIEW AVE.
WATERTOWN, MA 02472

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
PAMELA SHAW
7601 CRITTENDEN ST. #F-2
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19118

SECRETARY
CYNTHIA TOWERS
9422 LINDEN AVE N
SEATTLE, WA 98103

TREASURER
PATRICIA BEATTIE
906 N CHAMBLISS ST
ALEXANDRIA VA 22312

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
LeRoy Saunders
4517 NW 25th Place
Oklahoma City, OK 73127-1911