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Approved-By:  Bill McGarry <wtm@SHELDEV.SHEL.ISC-BR.COM>
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Date:         Tue, 21 Jul 1992 14:50:25 EDT
Reply-To:     Bill McGarry <wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com>
From:         Bill McGarry <wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com>
Subject:      Handicap Digest # 2812
X-To:         LHCAP <l-hcap@VM1.NODAK.EDU>

                             THE HANDICAP DIGEST

                                 Issue # 2812

                           Tuesday, July 21, 1992

Today's Topics:


                                ******

                           Blink Talk Digest # 657

                              Re: Modern canes
                           On the road second day
                             Speech synthesizer
                              Re: Acb/Nfb Feud
                                Modern Canes
                                  T-Shirts
                              Re: Acb/nfb Feud
                             Re: "blind loyalty"
                            Re: B n s and grade 2
                             Re: "blind loyalty"


                                ******


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                              Bill McGarry (Moderator)
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Subject: Re: Modern canes
From: Steve.Bauer@f7.n291.z1.fidonet.org (Steve Bauer)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:291/7 - Union Station, Wichita KS


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Walter,
If it is the same guy I am thinking of who made your canes, he was
retired.  If it is the same one, he passed away last year or early
this year.  A friend of mine had him make a cane special order for
himand it was one of the last ones he made.

Steve

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Subject: On the road second day
From: Tandy.Way@f6.n377.z1.fidonet.org (Tandy Way)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:377/6 - T.A.B.B., Tampa Fl


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

hi gang this is your roving reporter on the road with his trusty
toshiba lap top equipped with qmodem and xpress and boggying around
the country. calling in to his absolutely reliable home system.
anyway this is friday I am at the kitchen table it is around 5 pm
and we went to the johnson space center today. not much there for a
blink to see. there are some big rocket engines out in the front
that you can feel the chrome and pipes and stuff but that is about
it.  there is a guided tour but we did not get there in time for it
and the next one was not until 3-30 pm so we just walked around.
glad it was free because it would not have been worth an admission
charge for a blink. Tomorrow will be a brighter day as the astros
take on the braves and we will be in the stands yelling our head
off. go braves go.

I will check in with a report tomorrow night and tell what we di I
am too far away to get with jeff salsburg. I am even in a different
area code than him 409 or something. some place called jones creek
or something about sicty miles from houston.

 later
 tandy

EVERYONE IS A CRITIC
=== Via Silver Xpress V3.00B09

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Subject: Speech synthesizer
From: Jonathan.Guidry@p3.f7.n3803.z1.fidonet.org (Jonathan Guidry)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:3803/7.3 - Circle of Support, New Iberia LA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

To All:
Does anybody know of a good speech terminal program that works with a
Symphonix speech board?  I'm trying to locate one for my friend.  If
you have a bbs number where one can be found that would also be
appreciated.
Thanks,
Jonathan D. Guidry

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Subject: Re: Acb/Nfb Feud
From: Walter.Siren@p18.f5.n396.z1.fidonet.org (Walter Siren)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:396/5.18 - Pontchippi, New Orleans LA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 WF> (3) The Louisiana Council of the Blind is the ACB affiliate. Its
 WF> membership is older and goes all the way back to the ACB/NFB civil war
 WF> days.

Warren, we don't go back to the days of the NFB as far as the
Louisiana councel goes.  We all stayed out of any national group
for about twelve or thirteen years before forming the LCB.  Also
LCB, and NFB do work together on legislation locally.

Walter

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Subject: Modern Canes
From: Lionel.Trudel@f136.n167.z1.fidonet.org (Lionel Trudel)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:167/136 - Ab.'s Place, Montreal PQ


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Bonjour Walter...

WS>     Lee, I am using a telescoping cane which is very light.  It is made out
WS>of pcp pipe, and is made by a walter Crandell in California.  They cost $15,
WS>and I am very happy with it.

My wife got same as you and the cane is free, the cane roll on bearing.

Ho yeah, we come from Quebec province and the cane is furnish by
l'Institut Nazareth et Louis Braille well know at Montreal area as INLB,
this place is for the persons who get a low vision.

WS>They will come in any length you want.

Normally they give the cane by the tall you have, no ?

A "short" person can't walk with a cane if the cane is to long for him
or her, or a "tall" person can't walk with a cane to short for him or
her.

Lionel

 * SLMR 2.1a * Avant je lisais des livres. Maintenant je lis des .QWK

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Subject: T-Shirts
From: Glen.Sepke@f2.n348.z1.fidonet.org (Glen Sepke)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:348/2 - Man-Net-EC, Winnipeg MB


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Hi I have two more suggestions for T-shirt slogans:

BLINKTALK'ers do it where it ECHO'es.

or

BLINKTALK'ers think TECHTilely

(thats techtally instead of tactilely)

- Glen -

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Subject: Re: Acb/nfb Feud
From: Jamal.Mazrui@p0.f460.n101.z1.fidonet.org (Jamal Mazrui)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:101/460.0 - VI/BUG, Holbrook MA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Mike Freeman castigates you for criticizing the NFB's
undemocratic nature without having investigated it personally yourself.
 Of course, you may do that if you wish and have the time.  However, I
don't think he can discount all of the people who report what the NFB
is like to you.  Is it pure coincidence that NFB has this large and
consistent reputation for undemocratic behavior?  Amy Cuningham, the
author of the "Blind Loyalty" article, apparently felt that there must
be something to it.  That is why she began a three month investigatory
article after originally beginning what was to be a friendly feature
story about a national blindness organization that has its headquarters
in the city of focus of Baltimore Magazine.  My understanding is that
after visiting and being impressed with Jernigan and NFB headquarters,
she felt, as an act of responsible journalism, she should solicit some
viewpoints about the NFB from blind people who were not staff or
committed members.  She discovered a veretable Pandora's Box of
heavy-handed history--a pattern of autocratic rule and and oppression
of differing views that contradicts the spirit of American culture and
process--one that is reminiscent of the communist regimes we have proudly
distinguished ourselves from in this nation.

Bill, I can tell you from my own unfortunate personal experience as one
who tried to think for himself as a dedicated member of the NFB that
the two charastics (free thinking and decication) are internally
contradictory in the NFB and will eventually lead to reprisal if one is
perceived by the adminstration to represent any kind of competent
threat to their hold on the policies and priorities of the
organization.  If one wants inspiration or a felling of security, the
NFB may be the way to go.  But if a blind person wants to participate
in a democratically representative organization of blind people, then
it is surely not.

Regards,

Jamal

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Subject: Re: "blind loyalty"
From: Doug.Coyle@f6.n377.z1.fidonet.org (Doug Coyle)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:377/6 - T.A.B.B., Tampa Fl


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

She was a responsible,
JMindependent journalist who deserves credit for covering what
JMmany of her peers are afraid to do with depth and honesty..

I am a new federation member and as such cannot and will not
comment on your opinions of the federation.  You are entitled to
them especially since you were kicked out of the organization but I
do understand why those oldtimers are criticising the article Blind
Loyalty.

I used to belong to a religious organization which was headed by a
strong Charismatic leader with a heck of an ego which most
main-line churches considered a cult.  From time to time articles
about the organization would appear in the press, and I was always
amazed at the "journalistic spin" which would appear on most of
these.  There is a glaring example of this "english" in that
article which directly involves you.  When she mentioned your
expulsion from the organization she slipped it in that you are
black. What difference does it make that you are black?  Needless
to say she did not assert or state that your being black had
anything to do with your expulsion, and neither did you, but the
mere mention of your racial persuasion in that context consciously
or subconsciously at the very least leads to some interesting leaps
of logic.  If I were you I think I would have been in the woman's
face about that.  It would be a similar situation, let's say, if I
were walking down the street here in my town and somebody snuck up
behind me and hit me over the head and  robbed me.  The paper would
probably say, "Blind (emphasis on the blind) resident mugged on the
way to bus stop."  Anything to get that extra little zizz in
there.  Regarding that other organization I belonged to, the only
"fair" article I ever saw done was a series of articles a reporter
did in the local paper in the city where one of their colleges was.
He spent a week living with us as if he were a student and wrote
five articles about the experience.
The articles were fair even though not everything he wrote was in
the organization's favor. The paper published all five of them, and
the reporter was subsequently fired because the ministerial
association got angry with the paper for giving the college so much
space and not there churches.  That doesn't have anything to do
with anything, but it's interesting how politics works.

d/c
===
 * SLMR 2.1a * Tha theea tha theea tha theea that's all, folks

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Subject: Re: B n s and grade 2
From: Chuck.Hallenbeck@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Chuck Hallenbeck)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/89.0 - BlinkLink, Pittsburgh PA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 TW>> turns the tranlator on and brailles in grade two. then when she
 TW>> prints it she does I think she said a cord b and a cord t and
 TW>> the paper product comes out in grade 2.  so you all figure this
 TW>> one out.
 WW>      If you use the translator when you create your file, it
 WW>  is, of course, in the form of grade 2 braille.  If you then
 WW>  transmit it to a print printer, or want it stored as straight
 WW>  ASCII on whatever source you're sending it to, you turn the
 WW>  translator on in the status menu.  In other words, it "reverse
 WW>  translates" the braille file to an ASCII file. If, however,
 WW>  you are sending it to a braille printer, and you want it to be
 WW>  printed as the braille file it was composed as, you turn the
 WW>  braille translator off in the status menu.  This way, it will
 WW>  be sent out just as you composed it, no reverse translation
 WW>  taking place, and assuming you formatted it correctly, it
 WW>  should at the least be readable grade 2 braille in hard copy.
Hi, guys.

You are nearly correct, Willy. The BNS translator actually only
works on stuff coming out of a file, and not on stuff going into a
file. It only back-translates, and does not forward-translate. If
you write stuff using contractions, you have to have the translator
on in order to hear it in English, and in order to upload it in
ASCII or print it in print.  If you enter stuff without using
contractions, then forget about the translator for reading,
uploading, and printing. The only way to get grade 2 braille out of
the BNS is to enter the contractions yourself, then upload or
output the stuff without the back-translator (the only translator)
turned on. Lots of people use Turbo Braille on their desktops to
create grade 2 for downloading onto their BNS.

 WW>  If I did, I would
 WW>  probably still want to send it to a PC and do a good
 WW>  translation with Turbo-Braille, so I would still probably not
 WW>  use the translator in my creation of the file.

If I am right, you are saying that Turbo Braille does a better job than
you do by hand, Willie, not better than BNS. Turbo Braille has no
back-translator at all. I had a guy call me once in despair because he
deleted his source file and only had a braille file left, and he was
pretty upset that TBRL could not back-translate it for him. I advised
him to download it to his BNS, then turn his BNS translator on and
upload it again. He decided not to take his own life after all. ...

Chuck.

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Subject: Re: "blind loyalty"
From: Chuck.Hallenbeck@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Chuck Hallenbeck)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/89.0 - BlinkLink, Pittsburgh PA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 JM> Hi Tom!  Yes, I'm glad that this exposee of the NFB appeared in
 JM> a mainstream publication.  It's about time sighted as well as
 JM> blind folks started learning the truth about how this
 JM> organization has been operating.

Hi, Jamal.
Thanks for sharing that article. My only problem is that I do not
exactly see it as the exposee that you suggested it is. It seemed pretty
fairly balanced and even-handed as far as I can tell. There have been
rumors about that article circulating for many months, and some of us
expected more facts concerning current high salary levels, current fund
raising abuses, and the like. Amy kept most of those issues relegated to
"alleged past offenses." I have seen some investigative reporting
exposees, but I would not describe this article as one. I guess Amy may
have observed the frequent use of law suits by the organization, and
tried very hard to strike a balance in her profile. Many thanks for
sharing it.. Best regards. ... Chuck.

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                                ******

                  End of Issue # 2812 of the Handicap Digest

                                ******
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU