The ACB Braille Forum Volume LXIII October 2024 No. 3 Published by the American Council of the Blind ***** * Be A Part of ACB The American Council of the Blind (TM) is a membership organization made up of more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates. To join, contact the national office at 1-800-424-8666. * Contribute to Our Work Those much-needed contributions, which are tax-deductible, can be sent to Attn: Treasurer, ACB, 6200 Shingle Creek Pkwy., Suite 155, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430. If you wish to remember a relative or friend, the national office has printed cards available for this purpose. Consider including a gift to ACB in your Last Will and Testament. If your wishes are complex, call the national office. To make a contribution to ACB by the Combined Federal Campaign, use this number: 11155. * Check in with ACB For the latest in legislative and governmental news, call the "Washington Connection" 24/7 at 1-800-424-8666, or read it online. Tune in to ACB Media at www.acbmedia.org or by calling (518) 906-1820. Learn more about us at www.acb.org. Follow us on Twitter at @acbnational, or like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/acbnational. Copyright 2024 American Council of the Blind Scott Thornhill, Executive Director Sharon Lovering, Editor 225 Reinekers Ln., Suite 660, Alexandria, VA 22314 ***** ** Table of Contents Convention 2025: Traveling to Dallas, by Janet Dickelman Advocacy in Action: Legislative Updates from the Advocacy Team Advocacy, A Team Sport, by Regina Marie Brink High on the Olympics!, by Peggy Carpenter Trophies, by Ann Chiappetta East Bay Braille Initiative, by Prof. Vileen Shah Legally Blind Cape Coral Resident Conducts a Floating Fundraiser The Game-Changing Prospect of Artificial Intelligence: Limitless Technological Possibilities?, by Melody Holloway Summary of the July 5, 2024 ACB Board Meeting, by Penny Reeder Affiliate News In Memoriam: Joyce Mary Kleiber Here and There, edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins High Tech Swap Shop ACB Officers ACB Board of Directors ACB Board of Publications Accessing Your ACB Braille Forums ***** * How to Submit Articles to the Forum If you wish to submit an article to "The ACB Braille Forum," please send it via email to slovering@acb.org as part of the message, or attached as a Word or ASCII text file. Articles should be between 500 and 800 words. Language should be family friendly. Longer articles may be divided into two or more parts. * Upcoming Forum Themes and Deadlines January 2025: theme: goal-setting/AD Gala wrap-up; deadline: November 22, 2024 February 2025: theme: love; deadline: December 20, 2024 March 2025: theme: spring into action; deadline: January 24, 2025 If your committee or affiliate would like to claim an issue of the Forum, please contact Sharon Lovering, slovering@acb.org. * Are You Moving? Do You Want to Change Your Subscription? Contact Sharon Lovering in the ACB national office, 1-800-424-8666, or via e-mail, slovering@acb.org. Give her the information, and she'll update the database. ***** ** Convention 2025: Traveling to Dallas by Janet Dickelman The 64th American Council of the Blind conference and convention will be held at the Hyatt Dallas, located at 300 Reunion Blvd. in downtown Dallas. Pre-registration pickup will be on Thursday evening, July 3rd; convention activities and tours will be held from Friday, July 4 through Friday, July 11th. Read on for information on how to travel to Dallas. * Traveling by Air Dallas is served by two airports, DFW and Love Field (airport code DAL.) Love Field is serviced by Southwest Airlines; DFW features flights from numerous airlines, including American, Delta, Frontier, Jet Blue, Sun Country and United. For a list of airlines serving DFW, visit http://www.dfwairport.com/airlines/index.phpb. The hotel does not offer a shuttle service. We are working to see what transportation options are available from the airports. You can also take the light rail from both airports. Light rail stops at terminal one at DFW; from Love Field you would take a shuttle to the light rail station. The Union Station stop is connected by tunnel to the hotel. * Rail and Bus Travel Amtrak comes to Dallas' Union Station. Union Station is served by the light rail's red or blue line. There is a Megabus stop in Dallas as well as a Greyhound station, both located within easy traveling distance from the Hyatt. For additional information on Greyhound, visit https://www.greyhound.com/en/locations/terminal.aspx?city=680780. Megabus information is available at https://us.megabus.com/Megabus%20adds%20downtown%20Dallas%20service.aspx. * Staying in Touch The conference and convention announce list will be filled with information. If you received updates for the 2024 convention, you will receive the information for 2025. If you are not subscribed to the list, send a blank email to acbconvention+subscribe@acblists.org. * Hotel Details Room rates at the Hyatt are $99 single or double, $124 triple, or $149 quad, plus applicable state and local taxes (currently 15%). All rooms have refrigerators and K-cup coffee makers. Reservation information will be available shortly. For any convention-related questions, contact Janet Dickelman, convention chair, at (651) 428-5059, or via email, janet.dickelman@gmail.com. ***** ** Advocacy in Action: Legislative Updates from the Advocacy Team At the 2024 convention, we hosted a session where we went rapid-fire through a list of bills currently in Congress that we are following or that ACB has officially endorsed. This was done to connect our members to the work we do as advocates on behalf of ACB. For this issue of the Forum, we will recap several of those bills, along with any work that has taken place on either the Congressional side, or on ACB's side. First up, we have our four (and a half) legislative imperatives: the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act; the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act; the Medical Devices Nonvisual Accessibility Act; the Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefits Act; and the FAA reauthorization. The FAA reauthorization passed and is awaiting implementation, and we are engaging in that process with our federal and corporate allies. We are continuing to advocate for the other four with members of Congress and their staff. We are also working in cross-disability coalitions on the website bill and on the CVTA and participate in weekly strategy meetings on both. We continue to meet with members of relevant Congressional committees on the medical devices bill and on the Medicare and Medicaid bill, including the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. At this point, passage of any of these bills is unlikely, but we are working to build momentum so that they can come out swinging early in the next Congressional session that begins in January 2025. In last month's Forum, there was an article from the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss on the Older Americans Act reauthorization. The OAA needs to be reauthorized for the next five years by the end of September. It provides crucial funding for programs and services necessary for individuals who are aging in the United States. AAVL and others from the rehabilitation world have been advocating for inclusion of older Americans with vision loss and the services and programs they need to live full and productive lives as they age into disability. ACB continues to advocate with them. If not included in this reauthorization, then we will explore ways in which blind and low-vision seniors may receive necessary services and support. This may include advocacy with federal agencies. The last few bills are ones that ACB is monitoring or has officially endorsed but have not been as high of a priority as the above. These also might be bills that our partners in the disability community are working heavily on due to expertise or manpower, or legislative priorities that differ from our own. The first of these is the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act, which provides for increased funding and sets standards for high quality instruction of blind, deaf, and deaf-blind K-12 students. The second is the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, which raises the asset limit, or the amount of money saved up, for SSI beneficiaries. If this bill passes, beneficiaries can save up to $10,000 if they are single and $20,000 if they are a couple. The last two are the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, which among other things, eliminates the payment of subminimum wages, and the Early Detection of Visual Impairment in Children Act, which creates a federal program to provide vision screening exams to children so that visual impairments may be detected at earlier ages for intervention and treatment purposes. The landscape of federal legislation is always a roller coaster, and it can be quite unpredictable. Advocacy is never done, and we hope to see many of these bills reintroduced in the next Congressional session. Stay tuned for more updates from the ACB Advocacy Team. Until next month, and as always, keep advocating! ***** ** Advocacy, A Team Sport by Regina Marie Brink Our whole family gathered in our living room to watch the Paris Olympics this summer. Perhaps, like our family, you fixed good food and drinks, cheered for your favorite athletes, shed some tears when people lost, and celebrated the real joy of this world event. Very few of us put a lot of thought into how it all happened. I started thinking about all the hours of training and preparation on the part of the athletes, all the hours and hours of coaching and mentoring, and all the hours invested by people behind the scenes. Staging the events, housing and feeding the athletes as well as the spectators, and keeping everyone safe while doing it is rarely considered by those of us watching from our comfortable homes. A particular event spoke to me. We were watching the relay races because we all love track and field. Spoiler alert if you haven't watched it: the U.S. men's team lost and the U.S. women's team won. This race involves running and then passing a baton to your teammates to then run the same distance until your whole team has done it. We noticed the men were very fast runners, but they had trouble when they passed the baton to their teammates. We don't know why and there's not enough space here to figure that out, but the U.S. women's team ran fast but also passed the baton gracefully and quickly. It was amazing to watch and hear it described. This reminded me of advocacy efforts. It is easy to say, "here's problem X and it has to change now! Why doesn't someone do something about it?" It's easy to get mad or discouraged. The hard part is to put together a team that can get the solutions through. It's true. Attorneys, legislators, experienced advocates, and proven strategists are all invaluable on the team. However, in my mind, the most valuable part of the team are people who are blind or low vision and have experienced whatever we are trying to solve. They are the friends and family who have seen the effects on real people's lives. They might be you and me. Small acts can help: a phone call, a letter, showing up to a hearing to say you support a bill, written and spoken public comments, filing formal complaints, or reading long lists of facts and picking out which are the best to use. All are part of the ingredients that make a winning team, just like in the relay races. The American Council of the Blind's appointed representatives work hard, and they gladly do so because they believe in what ACB does. However, they can't do it without all of us! We are the element that will make ACB a winning advocacy team. Let them know how you'd like to help. There is always a space for one more! ***** ** High on the Olympics! by Peggy Carpenter As summer winds down and we begin to think about fall, I want to share what a special experience I found viewing the Olympics with audio description. As a kid with some usable vision, I always enjoyed watching the Olympics. There was something special about the events either in the pool or on the track, when one could view the participants racing for the finish line. It was so exciting to see whether the participant in front would go all the way or whether there would be a sudden come-from-behind victory. As I lost most of my usable vision, I still enjoyed the Olympics and found that the commentators did a fairly good job keeping me posted about what was going on. There was still lots of excitement in many of those close races! This year, for the first time, I enjoyed the Olympics with audio description. I know it existed for a couple other Olympics, but for some reason I was not able to watch it. I realized what a true enhancement audio description gave to me over just the commentators' descriptions. This began with the opening ceremony, where the describer talked about everything from the boats going down the Seine in Paris to describing Celine Dion's dress as she sang. My enjoyment of the events continued with wonderful descriptions of gymnastics, including the USA team and fabulous accomplishments by Simone Biles and the other gymnasts. Next, I enjoyed all the events in the pool; the audio description included descriptions of the bathing suits and how far ahead some of the winners were as the races ended. Track and field events are always such a highlight of the summer games. I was fascinated by the audio description talking about the assorted colors of the sneakers and necklaces worn by many of the participants, things that are not covered by the commentators. After more than two weeks, the closing ceremony took place, and it was so cool to hear what was going on in some of the entertaining moments. For most of us, experiencing audio description has generally been done with movies or television shows which are scripted and where the audio description is carefully fit into gaps in dialogue to make a smooth presentation. Obviously, this is not possible in audio describing real-time events. At times, the audio describers and commentators conflicted, and it was difficult to sort out. However, this was a minor distraction in what was a totally inclusive experience. It was wonderful to be able to talk about events with others and feel a part of discussions of things not covered by normal commentary such as descriptions of the venues, clothing, and reactions by the winners and non-winners. It was great to be able to discuss these events with sighted people. I really want to give kudos to Comcast and NBCUniversal and all their describers. It was clear that many of the describers were familiar with the events they were describing and could keep up by describing the actions taking place. This was particularly obvious in the description of gymnastic moves, where the describers clearly knew the terms for many of the maneuvers executed by the athletes. They did an excellent job describing those close races and the nearly simultaneous finishes in many of the events. It was also great fun to hear the little details which I would not have normally known, such as so many of the athletes wearing bright orange sneakers! Many thanks to Comcast and NBCUniversal for providing this service, which could not have been an easy one to do. Audio description of live events could be extremely difficult. I also want to thank ACB for all their advocacy in the arena of audio description and hope that this will serve as a great example of how it can be done! I'm looking forward to the audio description of the Paralympics! ***** ** Trophies by Ann Chiappetta Burnished figures on pedestals Inscribed electroplate Into households they gather, insidious Conniving onto shelf and mantle place They represent childhood paragons Foster a competitive edge; Rally spirits when called upon As we leap and clear the proverbial hedge They possess our emotions, sentiments woven into beliefs A bit of blanket, a toddler's treasure Photos that trigger grief Even in death we cannot escape Carved markers above bones underneath Grassy knolls peppered with maudlin Guardians, trophies the dead bequeath Yet the living tend the reminders While the dead are set free What a breath holds dear Spirits don't need. ***** ** East Bay Braille Initiative by Prof. Vileen Shah (Editor's Note: Professor Vileen Shah is the Director of Braille Education at the East Bay Center for the Blind in Berkeley, Calif.) "If we should look for the greatest benefactor of the sightless -- the individual who has given them a perpetual source of delight and profit, the choice would certainly fall upon Louis Braille. Braille has been a most precious aid to me in many ways. It made my going to college possible -- it was the only method by which I could take notes of lectures." -- Helen Keller, in "Braille, the Magic Wand of the Blind" Deprivation of sight should not result into deprivation of literacy when there is an option available. Learning to read and write in braille is the most viable way of gaining literacy back for blind and visually impaired persons. Keeping this in mind, the East Bay Center for the Blind in Berkeley, California launched its "Learn-at-Home" braille initiative in 2021, allowing blind and visually impaired individuals to learn braille at home. The loss of sight comes with multiple challenges. A number of blind and visually impaired individuals wish to learn braille, but cannot go to the location where this service is available. The "Learn-at-Home" braille project offers a solution to this problem. You can sit at home and teach yourself how to read and write braille by using our four braille courses. We provide audio instructions on a flash drive that walks you through several steps, allowing you to use braille workbooks and learn how to read braille slowly and gradually. Insert our flash drive into your computer or NLS Digital Talking Book device and listen to it. Follow its instructions and move your fingers on braille workbooks that we provide. You will soon learn how to read using your fingers. This magic touch method will, down the road, make you literate, allowing you to read the books, periodicals, manuals, and materials of your choice. It will also allow you to write notes, articles, shopping lists, recipes and more in braille, and the charm is that you can read them by yourself. You will feel a deep sense of greater independence once you start reading and writing in braille. The four braille courses that the East Bay Center for the Blind offers are as follows: * Braille 101 teaches you how to read uncontracted braille * Braille 102 teaches you how to read contracted braille * Braille 103 teaches you how to write in braille using a slate and stylus and/or braille writer. It covers writing words, sentences, paragraphs, articles, notes, shopping lists, recipes, drawings, and more. * Braille 104 is a braille proficiency course that helps you enhance your proficiency in reading and writing in braille. The Center provides this braille education tuition-free, and it's available for all adults nationwide. Any adult interested in learning braille can fill out our online enrollment application and receive the course materials as "free matter for the blind." Use this link to fill out our enrollment form: https://www.eastbaycenterfortheblind.org/braille-class-signup/. If you know basic braille and would like to consolidate your contracted braille skills, you may want to sign up for Braille 102. As of now, we are able to offer Braille 101 and 102. It will be our sincere efforts to make Braille 103 available starting this December or January 2025. We will then design braille proficiency courses. We have received requests for such other courses as UEB braille math code, braille music and more. Once these four courses are ready to roll in, we will surely focus on preparing and offering more courses. The feedback we have received so far for Braille 101 and Braille 102 encourages us to work hard and design more braille courses. Dr. Kathleen King says, "One of the several benefits of the East Bay Braille 101 curriculum is the very terminologies I am using. East Bay provides a full curriculum for Braille 101 which includes numbers and punctuation. The fact that Braille 101 with East Bay integrates this learning provides a more seamless instructional path for the learner, and it has been my experience that it led to being able to read more quickly. The quality of the printed manuals is quite different as well. The dots are clearly more sharp on the Braille 101 materials. They must be using a more high-end embosser which enables the beginner to differentiate among letters more easily, in my limited experience. "Braille 101 also has integrated a great deal more repetition in each lesson book. Not only do you practice what you're learning for that lesson, but at the beginning of the book, you also review what was previously presented. This repetition is essential for new braille learners, as we are learning to identify not only the shapes, but the individual dots of the letters. "There are several instructional aids included in the Braille 101 material as well. These include the use of the dotted lines between words so that learners can identify the separation more easily. In addition, once words are presented, they have extra spacing between letters. This is enormously helpful for the beginner who, like myself, gets very confused when the letters start being 'crunched' together in words with regular spacing. Adult learners look for how they can use their learning in everyday life. Braille 101 is focusing on developing reading skills that can be used in elevators, on signs, and any other reading material that learners will encounter. "I especially appreciated introducing the number sequence right after the letter 'J' in the Braille 101 program. Logically it fits here, but also it integrates the learning so that it's not a set of skills hanging out separately. Moreover, learning the numbers is useful in everyday life and introduced much sooner in Braille 101. At this point, I cannot overstate the value of having a tutor guide you through your lesson evaluation. Getting feedback on my performance is indispensable. Learning what I am doing wrong and being encouraged to adopt additional strategies and tips during such sessions brings the learning to a personal space of adoption." Yet another student, Bette Barford, writes, "Declining vision and the loss of the use and joy of print literacy is just that, a true loss. How fortunate that last fall a friend told me of a course in beginning Braille being launched by you and your colleagues at East Bay Center for the Blind: Learn at Home Braille 101. In a few short months this newbie senior learner progressed from 'why do it?' to 'just do it' to 'I did it.' The mass of white dots was decipherable. I was hooked. I eagerly awaited the brand-new Braille 102 Contracted Braille course which was nearing the end of its development. "It was worth the wait! There is not enough praise for these two thick volumes of strange dots on white. In studying and reviewing and reviewing, I see that the Braille experts have created an incredibly well thought out and doable wealth of practice material. The many, many new symbols of this shorthand Braille are being gradually introduced so as not to be overwhelming. "As a former teacher of reading, I see the adroitness and sometimes humor in the composition of our practice sentences and even the words within. The flash drive included gives both tutorial and valuable feedback on reading the practice material. As an added bonus, there's the weekly I Learn Braille Zoom meeting. Here we get tips and tricks from Braille experts, share experiences with fellow student explorers, and play fun games that make us think in Braille. "Oh, the homework ... its preparation and submitting is both lengthy and exacting. But how it prevents forging ahead with half-formed concepts and inadequate tactile experience!" In addition to offering braille courses, we also run two weekly webinars promoting braille literacy, each on Thursdays and Fridays. Our Thursday webinar is called "I Love Braille," in which participants discuss braille-related issues at all levels. Our Friday sessions, titled "I Learn Braille," are geared to helping beginner learners. We allow participants to practice braille letters and words with lots of fun activities. We have received positive and encouraging feedback for these Zoom meetings. These webinars are available to all, blind or sighted, who would like to participate. Episodes of both webinars are archived on our web site, www.eastbaycenterfortheblind.org. Here are the links to login: Join I Love Braille: Time: Thursdays, 12 p.m. ET, 9 a.m. PT Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86887261556?pwd=ZmlHb1VJS1o5MXJQeTBBaUZNRUtYUT09 One tap mobile: +13126266799,,86887261556#,,,,*123456# Phone: +13126266799 Meeting ID: 868 8726 1556 Passcode: 123456 Join I Learn Braille: Time: Fridays, 11:30am ET, 8:30am PT Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89350428550?pwd=SWR0TnBzK3h6NFFxNUpvbjkzbHdCZz09 One tap mobile: +13126266799,,89350428550#,,,,*123456# Phone: +13126266799 Meeting ID: 893 5042 8550 Passcode: 123456 Our entire "Learn-at-Home" braille project is financed by blind and visually impaired people and their well-wishers. Donations to this project can be made online using our PayPal service or by check to be mailed at 2928 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703. For more information, the call (510) 843-6935 or send email to shah@eastbaycenterfortheblind.org. The East Bay Center for the Blind is a community-driven organization run by, for, and of the blind and visually impaired individuals. Some of its multiple activities include: meditation, exercise, technology classes, braille classes, Bingo games, book club, story writers' group, speaker series, Arduino and more. Whereas the center focuses more on local activities, its "Learn-at-Home" braille project marks a departure from its routine focus and aspires to be international. It is our earnest hope that the blind and visually impaired community will support our miniature initiative to grow giant and continue to help promote braille literacy. ***** ** Legally Blind Cape Coral Resident Conducts a Floating Fundraiser (Reprinted from the Fort Myers News-Press, August 13, 2024.) On a muggy Southwest Florida summer morning, before the sun crested over the tops of the buildings surrounding the courtyard pool at Gulf Coast Village in Cape Coral, Doreen King asked those who had gathered around the pool not to point, but verbally direct her to where she could put her sunscreen and towel. At 87 years old, Doreen has been legally blind for 30 years with only 5% of her vision. She can't see anything below her nose, and she has no peripheral vision. It makes the everyday activities that most people take for granted, like scooping cereal onto a spoon, feeding the dog or finding a place to set down her cane, a daily challenge. But nothing can stop Doreen. Once she settled down into a patio chair at a table beside the pool, she opened a folder filled with papers from the eye doctors, newspaper clippings from 80 years ago and a photo of her holding a check for $1,200 after she floated in a pool more than a decade ago for more than six hours without stopping. "People pledged 10 cents a minute," she laughed. "They told me they'd double it if I didn't talk the whole time." She'd kept quiet and the money from that six-hour, silent float was donated to a blind student going into higher education. The idea of a floating fundraiser was born more than a decade ago from two of Doreen's passions: advocacy for the blind and swimming. It was one of Doreen's many blind friends who first suggested that she float for money. She's been an avid swimmer for most of her life, and once floated for a mile down the Mississippi just for the fun of it. "I think it's the easiest way to make some money for a charity," she said. Her advocacy for the blind began long before she ever started to lose her own vision. More than 80 years ago, in elementary school, Doreen's neighbor, and close friend, was legally blind. She would walk him home from school, serving as his "eyes." It was when she was first introduced to blindness, and it gave her unique insight into the day-to-day struggles that the blind community faces. That was when her personal mission to make a difference began. She wore a shoebox around her neck to collect donations for Tag Day in her childhood hometown of Ontario, Canada for years, determined to win and collect the most money. She did, many times, and proudly displayed several newspaper clippings of her picture in the paper. Unbeknownst to young Doreen in the photos, 50 years later she would develop ischemic optic neuropathy -- the sudden loss of vision due to an interruption in blood flow to the optic nerve. She showed pictures of that, too. Two mostly black circles, divided into fourths by a thin white line, represent her vision. The lower half of both circles are completely black while the upper half is a shade lighter with an almost white dot in the center, representing the 5% vision she still has. Once caught up on Doreen's past, it was time to get down to business. The sun was now shining, and the poolside clock at Gulf Coast Village showed 8:05 a.m. Since moving into her independent living apartment at the life plan community in January, she has spent quite a bit of time in the water, but never as much as she was preparing to do as she entered the pool that day. With sunblock applied and Crocs ditched by the stairs, Doreen pushed off the pool bottom and onto her back effortlessly to begin her second floating fundraiser, and first in more than a decade. Doreen floated for a total of seven hours and 10 minutes that day and raised $4,500 with pledges from her friends and neighbors at Gulf Coast Village, Canada and an anonymous check for $1,000. The money is going to the SWFL Council of the Blind, which Doreen has been a member of for 25 years, to fund scholarships for blind students going on to higher education. Doreen hopes that her floating fundraisers will also help spread awareness. Her cane, and any other white cane with a red tip, is a worldwide symbol for blindness. In Florida, there is legislation protecting the blind community, but Doreen says many people are unaware of the White Cane Act. It states that traffic must come to a complete stop and yield the right of way to pedestrians who raise a white cane with a red tip so that they may cross the street safely. For more information on the SWFL Council of the Blind, visit https://swfcb.org/. ***** ** The Game-Changing Prospect of Artificial Intelligence: Limitless Technological Possibilities? by Melody Holloway The age of AI may be the best time period yet for enhancing independence, productivity, awareness, advocacy, and overall quality of life for the blind/visually impaired community. We have access to more options to receive visual interpretation/information than ever before. From mobile applications such as Be My Eyes and Artificial Intelligence Remote Assistance (AIRA) which give users the option to use both AI virtual assistants and human volunteers or trained agents to read, describe, screenshot, and assist with nearly any task requiring eyesight, to apps such as VDScan, Envision, Seeing AI, and tabs within apps as in NFB-Newsline's K-NFB Reader Basic which provide aspects of visual interpretation from color identification to reading documents, product labels, currency, photo, environment, and facial description via access to smartphone cameras to apps designed to interpret information pertinent to specific tasks such as reading medication information, digital interface panels, food expiration dates, restaurant menus, cash identification, reading laundry care instructions, and light detection. Examples of these task-specific apps include Cash Reader, iNote, Vislens, Laundry Lens, Menus4All, ScripTalk, Light Detector, and Zuzanka. WayAround is an application which allows users to customize our own labels and tag items and locations for quicker, more accurate, efficient identification particular to individual lifestyles. There are global positioning system applications to assist in finding directions, locations, identifying routes, detect doors, recognizing pedestrian signals, indoor navigation, and other aspects of wayfinding. These apps include GoodMaps, Outdoors Explore, Blind Square, and Oko. External visual interpretation devices are also available. Some are task-specific, such as the iBill currency identifier through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and ScripTalk prescription reader. Others such as Stellar Trek can be used as bar code readers and GPSs to aid us with indoor and outdoor travel. The new Biped AI, used to identify obstacles by blind pedestrians, and Glidance with built-in artificial intelligence robotics which move over ground and floors to guide blind travelers to specific locations both indoors and out are cutting-edge, state-of-the-art technologies testing the limits of providing accurate, efficient, clearly understood essential visual information to blind users. We have refreshable braille displays with QWERTY typing and six-dot braille layout keyboards which can be used stand-alone for reading books, word processing, editing files, identifying graphs, spreadsheets, and notetaking. Or we can pair these displays to mobile devices via Bluetooth and connect to computers with USB cables to be used in combination with screen readers. Some displays have no speech output. Others are speech-enabled notetakers. They have calendars, calculators, clock function, and braille translation built in. Most braille displays have multiple language capabilities. Audio description is more widely available in theaters and across multiple platforms, including antenna television, cable providers, and streaming services, allowing blind viewers to enjoy movies, live entertainment, series, and even advertising. AD also provides accessible emergency alert, public safety alerts, and weather warning information. Accessibility/usability of durable medical equipment has also improved. From talking glucometers, blood pressure monitors, thermometers, and scales, to continuous glucose monitors, scales, heart monitors, and sleep equipment with accompanying mobile apps as well as Bluetooth capabilities, visually impaired people can, at times, manage our health conditions and those of loved ones we care for independently with minimal to no sighted assistance. Many of these AI platforms/services are only available via monthly or annual subscription plan, or full one-time purchase. This is one of the main barriers preventing access for those of us living on fixed or limited incomes. Some of the mobile apps are free with the iBill, which people can receive with proof of visual impairment through a doctor or active patron status through National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled along with the NLS eReader braille display. Services such as Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) and Bookshare offer books and magazines in audio and braille formats to be read digitally with braille displays or listened to on mobile devices, external players via thumb drives and SD cards, or in Bookshare's case, using Echo smart speakers. NFB-Newsline offers newspapers, magazines, TV listings, job postings, and local weather reports via automated telephone system, on their web site, mobile app, or eReader. What do we collectively make of all this artificial intelligence enabled technology? AI technology enhances, improves, and increases independence, productivity, further access to lifesaving instruction, healthcare, employment and education opportunities, daily living, parenting, travel, emergency preparedness, etc. But is the recent acceleration/integration of artificial intelligence and electronic access interfering with or minimizing certain aspects of independent living? Is all of our personal information protected and kept confidential? If apps and devices identify location, destination, color, read personal documents such as mail, financial, educational, legal, and medical paperwork, identify cash, medications, describe pictures, faces, and scenes, can sensitive private information fall into the wrong hands? Can daily routines be predicted and tracked? Could Glide in particular replace white canes and guide dogs? Could APS and GPS identification replace accessible pedestrian traffic signals, orientation and mobility training, and cause us to lose previously learned personal skills and not learn new methods of performing tasks of independence? Could these technologies decrease human engagement/in-person interaction, contributing to the global pandemic of loneliness and social isolation? Could O and M instruction, certified vision rehabilitation therapy, independent living training, and guide dog instructor positions be in jeopardy? Many of these technologies benefit people with other disabilities and medical conditions in addition to or besides blindness. People with autoimmune, neurological, hearing, processing, mobility, dexterity, respiratory, sleep, food intake, executive function, speech, learning, sensory, and emotional expression impairments experience enhancements and improvements in daily functioning, engagement, performance, independence, task completion, and self-confidence. While these considerations may seem complicated, complications are not necessarily negative as often viewed. When investing time, money, effort, awareness, and training to implement AI and electronics into our lives, we must think about all positions and outcomes in order to become more self-sufficient and informed while remaining safe, stable, connected with and supportive of our family, close friends, neighbors, employers, co-workers, and peers. I hope that this food for thought sparks constructive discussions, conversations, and adds to our ability to advocate, make informed decisions, and improve access to/quality of services. ***** ** Summary of the July 5, 2024 ACB Board Meeting by Penny Reeder President Deb Lewis called the convention meeting of the ACB Board of Directors to order at 9 a.m. All board members and staff members with scheduled presentations were present, either via Zoom or in the meeting room. The meeting agenda was approved. Minutes from the April 30 board meeting were approved with one correction. Janet stated that 1,071 people had registered for the convention, and 566 were there in person. Another 175 people were expected to attend the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) annual convention, which was taking place in tandem with the ACB convention. Next year's convention will be held July 4-11 at the Hyatt Reunion Downtown Hotel in Dallas, Tex., and the fall board meeting would take place there on Nov. 1 and 2. Janet said that planning for conventions beyond 2025 would begin after convention. Deb then gave her president's report. She explained that many of the staff reports that appeared on the agenda for presentation at this board meeting would not be presented during general sessions, since the board meeting podcast would be made available online shortly after the meeting. Regarding ACB's Leadership Conference, Deb said that Scott and Nancy Becker were able to secure a nightly room rate of $155 at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Va., for both 2025 and 2026. There was some discussion about the dates for 2026. After further research, the board, President Lewis, Scott Thornhill, and the hotel were able to agree on March 6-11, 2026. The board approved the contract, with the $155 room rate, for the 2025 and 2026 Leadership Conferences. For 2025, the dates are March 14-18. Former ACB president Mitch Pomerantz summarized the Prohibited Conduct Complaint Investigation Panel's activities during 2023. Mitch said there was only one complaint that required the panel to conduct an investigation. Scott Thornhill told the board that in the coming year, he anticipates that ACB will focus primarily on three specific areas of concern: accessibility, employability, and health care. However, ACB won't abandon other concerns. ACB has begun to explore accessibility, and to research feasibility, and is prepared to move forward with the development of an Accessibility and Training Services Department as part of ACB. "We would be looking to provide assessments, remediations, and monitoring," he said. "These activities could yield, not just a revenue stream for ACB, but also an opportunity to employ more blind people. This focus would also strengthen our relationships with partners, including those who are sponsoring this very event. A focus on providing accessibility and training services will represent a winning direction for ACB, our members, and our partners, across the board." Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs Claire Stanley told the board that she and Advocacy & Outreach Specialist Swatha Nandhakumar are developing milestones in pursuit of achieving ACB's goals with respect to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. They have met with members of the Multi-Cultural Affairs Committee (MCAC) to seek their feedback regarding how ACB's advocacy goals mesh with the needs of diverse groups within the organization for equity and inclusion. She and Swatha are working to identify other civil rights organizations with whom ACB might want to partner to address shared organizational goals with respect to DEIA. Claire stated that ACB continues to work actively in a coalition with many disability advocacy groups to push forward the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA). (That bill was re-introduced on July 25.) ACB is working on achieving the goals expressed in the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act, including deciding how to proceed after the 118th Congressional session ends. Although ADA Title II regulations requiring governmental web sites to be accessible have finally been promulgated by the Department of Justice, there is still work to do with respect to mandating accessibility of websites and other entities that fall under Title III. In addition, ACB is working with Guide Dog Users, Inc. (GDUI) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to create a pilot pre-check program under the auspices of the Department of Transportation that will allow guide dog users to fly with their guide dogs without having to fill out a separate attestation form for every flight taken. ACB has joined other advocates in attempting to persuade Congress to re-establish a program similar to the Affordable Connectivity Program. Claire encouraged anyone who has been negatively affected by the demise of that program to send their stories via email to advocacy@acb.org. Kim Charlson said that the FCC recently announced its intent to seek input on expanding the use of E-Rate, which may benefit people who had relied on the Affordable Connectivity Program. Swatha shared a report regarding the progress ACB has made toward achieving the goals contained in the 2023 resolutions. To hear the update, visit https://www.acb.org/2024-convention-general-sessions-and-banquet-podcasts-and-youtube. Tabitha Kenlon, Audio Description Project (ADP) Coordinator, briefly reported on planning for the Audio Description Awards Gala, which is scheduled for Nov. 14. She said that award winners have been selected and notified. The gala will be broadcast in English and Spanish, and with captioning, audio description, and American Sign Language. Tabitha also announced that, through a combined effort involving Jo Lynn Bailey-Page, Rick Morin, Dan and herself, ACB applied for and received a grant from the Consumer Technology Association to fund the development of an Alexa skill which will be linked to a new database being created for the re-designed ADP web site. Development Officer Kolby Garrison shared news about successful fund-raising efforts, including the Brenda Dillon Memorial Walk; the ACB Summer Auction; the Monthly Monetary Support program; the Annual Giving Society; and the ACB Strong initiative. The Angel Wall honored seven new ACB Angels this year. Jo Lynn told the board that the organization's success in procuring a number of grants over recent months has depended directly upon productive collaboration among teams made up of ACB managers and staff members. To date, ACB has received $64,500 from foundation grants. Manager of Membership Engagement Cindy Hollis began her report by celebrating the success of the weekly meeting of affiliate presidents, which is known as "Humpday Happy Hour." She said that the ACB Community averages 437 events monthly and, as of May 31, has presented a total of 18,521 events since its launch in 2020. ACB reported a 5.8 percent increase in membership in 2024. State affiliates experienced a 3.9 percent increase, and special-interest affiliates increased membership by nearly 25 percent. ACB's Media and IT Manager Rick Morin began his report by telling the board that the audio-visual team's job is to make things look easy. "My job," he continued, "is to tell you that that ain't the case!" During the first week of virtual convention programming, ACB Media counted 9,000 listener hours. There were about 600 listeners to the ACB Media stream, and hundreds of people were listening on Zoom. Rick praised the ACB Media Support Committee for their hard work in developing content management guidelines and policies. He expressed ACB Media's appreciation to JPMorgan Chase for the assistance that their Force for Good project is contributing to ACB Media's goal of redesigning their infrastructure. "We have made more progress in the last two months toward achieving our goals than we made in the previous three years," Rick said. Nancy Becker, Chief Financial Officer, stated that ACB's collaboration with the Blinded Veterans Association was working out extremely well for both groups, already resulting in first-rate swag for convention attendees, and a remarkably full exhibit hall. She thanked the Minneapolis team for their excellent work. Michael Garrett invited board members to ask any questions they had regarding the financial narrative. He said that the clean financial audit which ACB recently received means that ACB's financial statements fairly represent the organization's financial position in all respects. Rick and ACB Media Support Committee Chair Rachel Schroeder asked the board to approve a policy to bring ACB Media into compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's legal requirements. This policy will require ACB Media to add metadata tags to everything that is played on ACB Media 4. Starting now, any audio file that cannot be appropriately tagged must be excluded from streaming on Channel 4, podcasts, or playing over Zoom. Board of Publications chair Penny Reeder stated that BOP members have been working hard to assure that all of ACB's communications are respectful and acceptable to all. One change for the ACB-Conversation list is the limit on the number of days during which discussion on a particular topic can take place. Each quarter, Zelda Gebhard puts together a meeting for everyone who communicates on behalf of an ACB affiliate. Recently, Jeff Bishop and Zelda presented a session on "Smart Brevity" to help affiliate communicators learn to express themselves in interesting -- and brief -- ways. Other trainings that the BOP had a hand in this year involved two sessions presented by Jeff Bishop to help ACB members understand how to participate effectively on our Groups.io lists, and two training sessions on using the NLS eReaders. The meeting adjourned just after 3 p.m. Eastern. ***** ** Affiliate News * Illinois Council of the Blind First Virtual Auction Mark your calendars! ICB will have their first virtual auction on Sunday, October 20th at 6 p.m. Central time. We will auction things like Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, the new Fifth Generation Amazon Echo Dots, gift cards, baked goods, jewelry, and much more! There is no cost to attend; you will just need to call ICB at (217) 523-4967 by October 17th to register and to receive the Zoom link. Winners will have until October 31st to pay for the item(s) they have won. After that the item will go to the runner-up. Join us to help make this fundraiser a success! * Join Us in Indy for ACBI-ACBO's Convention Where We're "Transforming Attitudes"! ACB of Indiana and ACB of Ohio will be holding their joint convention Oct. 25-27, 2024 at the Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, 2501 S. High School Road, Indianapolis, IN 46241. For hotel reservations, call 1-877-227-6963 and use the code "ACB" to get the discounted rate of $139 per night, plus tax. There is a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel available. The registration form is available at https://acb-indiana.org/2024-convention/registration. There are two attendance options -- in person ($80) and virtual by Zoom ($40). All attendees are included in the door prize drawings! Check out our website at https://acb-indiana.org/ to read the tentative program agenda to find out what our convention weekend will include. It'll be packed with fun and lots of information. Kolby Garrison, ACB's Development Officer, will be our weekend guest and will begin our opening session by singing the National Anthem. She will also speak at our banquet. Questions? Contact Rita Kersh at hoosierrita60@gmail.com or Dee Ann Hart at deeannhart3@gmail.com. * Independent Visually Impaired Entrepreneurs Online Business Expo IVIE is offering a great opportunity to blind or visually impaired business owners/entrepreneurs. When you join in our Online Business Expo shopping experience, you can describe your products and services, pass on contact information, and allow participants to ask questions. For IVIE members, the fee for presenting for 15 minutes is $10; a half-hour, $20; or an hour, $30. If you're not an IVIE member, the fee is $25 for 15 minutes, $35 for a half-hour, or $45 for an hour. Non-members have the option of having $15 of the payment used to pay IVIE dues for 2025. All those participating in the call will use the same Zoom information to connect. The online expo will be held on Saturday, November 16, 2024, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern. At 11:45 a.m., we will introduce all the participating vendors and their specific time slots, along with instructions for those attending. We'll do a wrap-up after all the presentations, and give time for anyone to ask questions of the exhibitors. The deadline for purchasing a time slot to give a presentation is October 31, 2024. To purchase a time slot or ask questions, send an email to info@ivie-acb.org with your request to present/exhibit. Please send your business name, product line, your telephone number, and your email address. You will be sent a link for payment and additional information. If you wish to attend the IVIE Online Business Expo and listen to this unique shopping experience, there is no cost. However, please send an email to register so we can send you the Zoom call details. Send the email request to info@ivie-acb.org, or contact Ardis Bazyn, phone (818) 209-8684. * Minnesota State Convention in January Come one, come all to the ACB of Minnesota state convention! Note: all times listed are Central time. We'll kick off the convention with our virtual auction on Sunday, January 19 at 7 p.m. We will also hold a virtual exhibitor open house on Thursday, January 23rd at 7 p.m. where you can hear from our exhibitors whether they will be joining us in-person or as virtual exhibitors. Join us in person January 24th through 26th at Country Inn and Suites in Woodbury, Minn., or you may join us via Zoom. In-person registration will include all meals, Friday evening dinner, Saturday lunch and our evening banquet. Complimentary breakfast is available for registered hotel guests. Room rates at Country Inn and Suites are $91 per night plus 11.7 percent tax. A hold of $100 will be placed on your credit or debit card to cover any incidentals. To make reservations at the hotel, call (651) 739-7300; use group code American Council of the Blind of Minnesota. If you plan to join us via Zoom, registration is $25; you will receive all convention Zoom links and be eligible for door prizes. We are currently working on our Friday programming. On Saturday we have the following programming: a panel on different cultures; a session on the benefits of AI led by Blind Information Technology Specialists president, Jeff Bishop; plus "can't miss" updates from Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development-State Services for the Blind, and information on a new program in Minnesota for pharmacy techs. After our presentations, our exhibitors will say a few words, and then in-person attendees can visit with our in-person exhibitors, and all convention registrants can visit with our virtual vendors via Zoom. On Saturday evening, join us for our banquet featuring ACB's executive director, Scott Thornhill. The convention will wrap up with our membership meeting on Sunday. To register for the convention, go to https://acbminnesota.org/. For more information, contact Janet Dickelman at (651) 428-5059 or email janet.dickelman@gmail.com. ***** ** In Memoriam: Joyce Mary Kleiber Joyce Mary Kleiber, age 84, of Wayne, Pa., passed away on July 24, 2024, in Philadelphia. She was the loving wife of Martin, with whom she shared 47 years of marriage. Born in Milwaukee, Wis., she was the daughter of the late Marion Smyczek and the late Sophie (Beczkiewicz) Smyczek. Joyce graduated from Alverno College (Milwaukee, Wis.) earning her bachelor's degree, and her master's of social work from Loyola University in Chicago. She helped many in her social work career in a variety of settings, most recently doing family and individual counseling for Community Volunteers in Medicine. Joyce was known for being a great mom, grandma (and baba), and a friend to many who will miss her dearly. She will be remembered for being an inspiration to so many people. She made and kept friends readily with her kind and gentle presence. She was adventurous and loved learning, taking every opportunity to continue her education. She traveled often, to visit her family and friends, and as an active member of the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International. On her travels, she made more friends, as she embraced local cultures; sight-seeing, and even kayaking and camping in recent years. She loved singing, cooking (and eating), sharing food with friends and family, reading, listening to the radio, and keeping up with current events. She was a member of Our Lady of Assumption Church in Wayne, Pa. where she was also a long-time choir member. Joyce is survived by her children, Andy Kleiber (Marisa Muliadi-Kleiber), Sophia Kleiber, Katharine Perrin (Russell Perrin), and Marty Kleiber; her grandchildren, Keane and Nicholas Kleiber, and Gerald and Remy Perrin; siblings, Tony and Mike Smyczek; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband. Services and interment will be held privately. Contributions in her memory may be made to Community Volunteers in Medicine, https://cvim.org/, or to Low Vision Now, formerly known as the Delaware Valley Council of Citizens with Low Vision. Payments can be sent by PayPal to glendasuch@gmail.com, the president, or make a check payable to the treasurer, Karin Surkin, and mail to Karin Surkin, 213 Shady Brook Dr., Langhorne, PA 19047. Please make a note on your donation that it is for the start of the Joyce Kleiber Fund. ***** ** Here and There edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins The announcement of products and services in this column does not represent an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its officers, or staff. Listings are free of charge for the benefit of our readers. "The ACB Braille Forum" cannot be held responsible for the reliability of the products and services mentioned. To submit items for this column, send a message to slovering@acb.org, or phone the national office at 1-800-424-8666, and leave a message in Sharon Lovering's mailbox. Information must be received at least two months ahead of publication date. * NBP Announces the 2024 Touch of Genius Winner Steve Landau of Touch Graphics Inc. has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Louis Braille Touch of Genius Award for T3 Games. He received a $10,000 prize. T3 Games assists blind and low-vision individuals to learn how to read tactile graphics. With T3 Games, players place tactile graphic overlays on a large Android tablet, then try to answer a series of increasingly difficult questions by locating and pressing on tactile features in response to the T3 narrator's spoken prompts. * SFL Celebrates Golden Anniversary Ski for Light, Inc. (SFL) will celebrate its 50th anniversary at Soldier Hollow, January 26 through February 2, 2025. Ski for Light, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization, hosts an annual, week-long event where adults with visual or mobility impairments learn the basics of cross-country skiing. Participants will stay at the Provo Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, and ski on expertly groomed trails at Soldier Hollow, near Midway, Utah. Each visually or mobility impaired participant is paired with an instructor guide for a week of skiing, sharing and learning. Join the celebration by participating as a skier, a guide or a volunteer. Applications and additional information are available at www.sfl.org. * NBP Volunteer Award Winners National Braille Press recently announced its Volunteer Award recipients, for both the Individual and Group volunteer awards. These awards honor a commitment to advancing accessibility and braille literacy initiatives. Lori Tsuruda of Randolph, Mass. received the Individual Volunteer Award. Ms. Tsuruda has played a pivotal role in ensuring the annual inclusion of STEM books in the Children's Braille Book Club (CBBC) program. In addition, she has been an avid NBP supporter and volunteer for over 30 years. Columbia Threadneedle Investments received the Group Volunteer Award. Its employees have collectively dedicated numerous hours to supporting NBP's initiatives over the past few years -- including assembling over 1,500 books. * SSA Adds to Compassionate Allowances List Social Security has added nine new Compassionate Allowances (CAL) conditions and revisions to two existing CAL conditions: Bainbridge-Ropers Syndrome, Costello Syndrome, Adult Heart Transplant Wait List -- Status Levels 1-4, Child Heart Transplant Wait List -- Status Levels 1A/1B (revised existing condition), Histiocytic Malignancies, Histiocytosis Syndromes (revised existing condition), Neonatal Marfan Syndrome, PACS1 Syndrome, Plasmablastic Lymphoma, Renal Medullary Carcinoma, and Snijders Blok-Campeau Syndrome. For more information about the program, including a list of all CAL conditions, please visit: www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances. * New Book by Jeff Moyer Jeff Moyer recently released his latest work: "Underdogs: Heroic Stories." The book is a collection of 22 short stories that delve into the essence of heroism through unexpected and thrilling narratives. "Underdogs" is a testament to Moyer's versatility and commitment to storytelling, from the intensity of Civil War surgeries to the vastness of space walks. Moyer's extensive experience, including roles as an NPR commentator and appearances in major media outlets like National Geographic and PBS, has established him as a formidable figure in the literary and broadcasting fields. The book is available on Amazon. * Point32Health Volunteers Compile Braille Children's Books In partnership with National Braille Press, volunteers from Point32Health helped compile 150 braille copies of the children's book "I'll Love You Till The Cows Come Home." This activity was part of Point32Health's annual Volunteer Week. This year more than 1,600 colleagues served at more than 85 projects across five states. * NSITE Receives Grant from Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation NSITE provides a continuum of employment services that connect employers with talented people who are blind or visually impaired, including veterans. NSITE was recently awarded a $150,000 grant by Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation to fund expansion of its information technology programs. For more information on NSITE, visit www.nsite.org. * EssilorLuxottica to Acquire Supreme (R) from VF Corporation EssilorLuxottica, a global leader in the optical industry (including the Ray-Ban brand), and VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, have entered into a definitive agreement for EL to acquire the Supreme (R) clothing brand from VF for $1.5 billion in cash. Supreme will have its own space within the EL house brand portfolio and will also complement their licensed portfolio. The Supreme brand runs a digital-first business and 17 stores in the U.S., Asia and Europe. * New and Improved Voices Available for the NVDA Screen Reader NV Access is the creator of NVDA, a free, open source, globally accessible screen reader for blind and low-vision people. A new add-on (also free) implements a speech synthesizer driver for NVDA using neural TTS models. As a result, upgraded voices are available. Find the add-on package here: https://github.com/mush42/sonata-nvda/releases/latest. Need help? Contact Michael Bayus at michaelbayus1@gmail.com with "Sonata Neural TTS Voices" in the subject line. * National Braille Press Books Now available is Kathryn Cristaldi's "I'll Love You Till The Cows Come Home." It's a print-and-braille board book for ages baby to 2. New in the children's section is "Ira Sleeps Over," by Bernard Waber. It's available in UEB for ages 4 to 7. Ira can't wait to sleep over at his friend Reggie's house -- until his sister makes him wonder whether it's OK to take his favorite stuffed animal. Another new book is "The Paper Bag Princess," by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko. It's available in UEB for ages 4 to 7. Got a smart preteen who loves riddles and jokes? Take a look at "Difficult Riddles For Smart Kids 2: Another 300 Riddles & Brain Teasers Families Will Love," by M. Prefontaine. It's available in braille for ages 10 and up. In the adult section, there are a few new books: "5-Ingredient Clean Eating Cookbook" by Snezana Paucinac, available in braille and as a BRF, and "Poems for When You Really Need Them," compiled by Cecilia Knapp, also available in braille and BRF. For those trying to make better food choices, check out "What's On Your Plate? Smart Food Choices for Healthy Eating," by Kate Sherwood of the National Institute on Aging. It's available in braille and BRF. For more information on any of these listings, call toll-free 1-800-548-7323, or visit the online store at shop.nbp.org. ***** ** High Tech Swap Shop * For Sale: Explore 8, a light and easy-to-use portable electronic handheld magnifier. This device allows you to customize contrast to better suit your needs and preferences. Simply press Contrast to change the contrast until you find one you are comfortable with. The available contrast modes are: full color, black on white, white on black, black on yellow, and yellow on black. There are several others available on the menu: black on orange, orange on black, black on cyan, cyan on black, black on purple, purple on black, black on green, green on black, blue on yellow, yellow on blue, white on blue, blue on white. It magnifies from 2x to 30x, and comes with USB charging cable and power adapter, case, and HDMI cable. In excellent condition; about six years old. Asking $500 plus shipping. If interested, contact Don Risavy Jr. by email, djrisavyjr@att.net. * Looking For: Maryann Sears is looking for a donation of a braille printer or a Victor Reader Stream. If you have one that you're looking to upgrade from, or that you no longer use, contact Maryann via email, griffithwillow@outlook.com. * For Sale: LVI America MagniLink Vision TTS, a combined reading camera and reading machine. The reading camera includes features such as autofocus, several artificial colors and the potential to set the magnification. The reading machine makes it possible to OCR-process a text and have it read aloud. Ports on the back of the unit allow you to plug in headphones and USB drives. The MagniLink can magnify from 0X to 60X. It comes with the X-Y table, USB flash drive, remote unit, and power cable. It's about two years old, and in excellent working condition. Asking $2,500 plus shipping. If interested in purchasing, or have additional questions, contact Don Risavy Jr. at djrisavyjr@att.net. * Looking For: I am looking for a donation of an Airpod that plays Apple books. If you have any questions, call (269) 221-3769 or write to Tonya Smith in braille at 1632 Paree St., Newport, MI 48166. ***** *** ACB Officers * President Deb Cook Lewis (1st term, 2025) 1131 Liberty Dr. Clarkston, WA 99403 * First Vice President David Trott (1st term, 2025) 1018 East St. S. Talladega, AL 35160 * Second Vice President Ray Campbell (1st term, 2025) 216 Prestwick Rd. Springfield, IL 62702-3330 * Secretary Denise Colley (final term, 2025) 26131 Travis Brook Dr. Richmond, TX 77406-3990 * Treasurer Michael Garrett (1st term, 2025) 7806 Chaseway Dr. Missouri City, TX 77489-2333 * Immediate Past President Kim Charlson 57 Grandview Ave. Watertown, MA 02472 ** ACB Board of Directors Christopher Bell, Pittsboro, NC (2nd term, 2028) Donna Brown, Romney, WV (2nd term, 2028) Peter Heide, Baraboo, WI (1st term, 2028) Gabriel Lopez Kafati, Miami Lakes, FL (1st term, 2026) Cecily Laney Nipper, Covington, GA (1st term, 2028) Terry Pacheco, Silver Spring, MD (1st term, 2026) Rachel Schroeder, Springfield, IL (1st term, 2026) Kenneth Semien Sr., Beaumont, TX (2nd term, 2028) Koni Sims, Sioux Falls, SD (1st term, 2026) Jeff Thom, Sacramento, CA (2nd term, 2026) ** ACB Board of Publications Katie Frederick, Chair, Worthington, OH (1st term, 2026) Jeff Bishop, Tucson, AZ (1st term, 2026) Belinda Collins, Saint Pauls, NC (1st term, 2026) Cheryl Cumings, Seattle, WA (2nd term, 2025) Zelda Gebhard, Edgeley, ND (3rd term, 2026) ***** ** Accessing Your ACB Braille Forums The ACB Braille Forum is available by mail in braille, large print, NLS-style digital cartridge, and via email. To subscribe to the email version, contact Sharon Lovering, slovering@acb.org. It is also available on ACB's web page, and by phone, (518) 906-1820. Subscribe to the podcast versions from your 2nd generation Victor Reader Stream or from https://pinecast.com/feed/acb-braille-forum-and-e-forum. ###