Table of contents
1 Ask the expert
2 Business commentary
3 From the soap box
4 The reader’s choice
5 News and views
6 Helpful tips
7 Accessibility news
8 Editorial
9 Comments to the editor
10 Notes
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the following contributors to this month’s STAE issue.
The Sterling Creations accessibility team, the Sterling Creations business team, the Sterling Creations research team, Scott Savoy our managing editor, Christian Robicheau our assistant editor, our readers, and Donna J Jodhan our president.
Donna J Jodhan is the founder and president of Sterling Creations which was founded in 1994. As a blind woman she has had to overcome mountainous challenges in order to get where she is today. She is a very successful business woman, consultant, and author and she continues to help produce daily blogs that contain weekly features on topics of interest and relevance. She is never tired, always willing to help others, and never gives up when it comes to helping others to voice their opinions. As she puts it: "My undying commitment is to ensure that the kids of tomorrow have a more level playing field when it comes to such things as employment opportunities, equal access to the Internet and technology. I think that if I can do my little part to help someone else succeed then in turn they will help others."
We are all very proud to be part of the Sterling Creations team but above all, we are pleased and delighted to have Donna J Jodhan as our leader.
Message from the president
Dear readers,
On behalf of my very hardworking staff, I would like to personally thank you for all of your feedback and comments. Your feedback is extremely important to us and we hope that you continue to send us your emails with your suggestions, comments, and critiques. We would like to thank those of you who take the time to send us articles of interest which we use for our feature called the reader’s choice.
I hope that you continue to enjoy our magazine and invite you to read our latest newsletter. To obtain a free electronic copy please email us at info@sterlingcreations.ca.
Finally, I’d like to invite you to visit our newest sister website, www.onestopbookcafe.com and there you’ll find oodles of tips on a wide range of topics ranging from consumer tips to healthy eating tips, tips on home business opportunities for women, seniors, retirees, and parents to security tips for home computer users, and tips on how to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression. In addition, we have a wide selection of books that will enable you to spend less and save more, and coming soon will be a collection of e books written by me. These books are designed to help you gather info that will enable you to enrich your daily lives. At www.onestopbookcafe.com, the goal is to motivate you to follow your dreams.
You will also be able to make your own contribution free of charge to our Café Talk page. I hope you enjoy this month’s magazine.
Ask the expert
Senate backs study on quiet cars
August 2008
By the Sterling Creations accessibility team
Hello there! One very frequently asked question is how do blind and visually impaired pedestrians deal with quiet cars? Don’t they depend on the sound of vehicles to help them cross streets safely? The answer is yes and this month we would like to publish an article on a study that is being backed by some lawmakers. Hopefully, their example will be followed by others.
Senate backs study of risk of hybrid cars to blind pedestrians
Concerns from blind people that super-quiet hybrid vehicles pose a safety
danger to pedestrians who can't see has gotten the attention of Maryland
lawmakers.
The Senate voted today to give preliminary approval to a bill calling for
study of how to deal with hybrid vehicles, which run very quietly. Blind
people say hybrids pose a hazard to those who rely on their ears to
determine whether it's safe to cross the street or walk through a parking
lot.
The bill, which requires another vote before heading to the House, would
direct state transportation officials to study the problem. The officials
would be directed to suggest to lawmakers whether it is possible to require
a minimum sound level for cars.
7-Eleven, Inc.'s Upgrade Of Point Of Sale Equipment Praised By Blind
August 2008
By the Sterling Creations business team
Hello there! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. It always gives us delight to publish articles that focus on those companies that go the extra mile when it comes to meeting the demands of their customers who have special needs. We have chosen an article that shines the spotlight on one such company. Congrats to this company! Hopefully others will see the benefits of following suit.
7-Eleven, Inc.'s Upgrade Of Point Of Sale Equipment Praised By Blind
Community:
Washington, D.C. - (March 18, 2008) - Several organizations representing the
blind community today commended 7-Eleven, Inc. for installing tactile point
of sale (POS) devices that will protect the privacy and security of 7-Eleven
shoppers with visual impairments. These new devices include tactile keys
arranged like a standard telephone keypad, and enable 7-ElevenR store
shoppers who have difficulty reading information on a touch-screen to
privately and independently enter their PIN and other confidential
information.
7-Eleven has installed the new devices at more than 2,000 stores in the U.S.
Over the next 18 months, all flat-screen devices in 7-Eleven's 5,500 U.S.
stores will be replaced with the tactile units.
Today's announcement is the result of collaboration between 7-Eleven and
blindness organizations including the American Council of the Blind (ACB),
the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), and the California Council of
the Blind (CCB).
Speaking for the organizations, ACB President Mitch Pomerantz praised
7Eleven, saying, "Blind customers across the country will benefit from
7-Eleven's decision to replace technology that cannot be used by customers
who cannot see information on a flatscreen."
Pomerantz added, "7-Eleven has set an example for other retailers by
recognizing that persons with visual impairments should not have to disclose
confidential information when purchasing products and services."
7-Eleven is also ensuring that the ATMs and Vcom machines in its stores
nationwide are accessible as well. ATMs and Vcoms in 7-Eleven stores will
contain a "talking ATM" function, allowing independent use by blind
customers.
About 7-Eleven, Inc.
7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience
retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or
licenses some 7,500 7-ElevenR stores in North America. Globally, 7-Eleven
operates, franchises or licenses more than 33,700 stores in 17 countries.
During 2007,
7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $46.6 billion.
Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com .
About The American Council Of The Blind (ACB) And The California Council Of
The Blind (CCB)
The American Council of the Blind is a national consumer-based advocacy
organization working on behalf of blind and visually impaired Americans
throughout the country, with members organized through seventy state and
special interest affiliates. The California Council of the Blind is the
California affiliate of the ACB, and is a statewide membership organization,
with 40 local chapters and statewide special interest associations. The ACB
and CCB are dedicated
to improving the quality of life, equality of opportunity and independence
of all people who have visual impairments. Their members and affiliated
organizations have a long history of commitment to the advancement of
policies and programs which will enhance independence for people who are
blind and visually impaired.
More information about the ACB and CCB can be found by visiting www.acb.org
and
www.ccbnet.org.
About The American Foundation For The Blind
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that
expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB's priorities include
broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and
tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting
independent
and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their
families with relevant and timely resources. AFB is also proud to house the
Helen Keller Archives and honor the over forty years that Helen Keller
worked tirelessly with AFB. For more information visit us online at www.afb.org.
To comment on this news release, write to John Williams at
jwilliams@atechnews.com.
Competition bureau news
August 2008
By Scott Savoy
Dear readers, this month I would like to share an article with you that I found some time ago. This article speaks to the continuing challenges of fraud and I hope that you take it seriously. I am not sure what the equivalent of this Canadian agency would be in the United States but I am sure that there is one. We can never be too prepared to face fraud.
Have a great August.
New scams are being invented daily. Scam artists are up-to-date and well
organized. They use the latest trends and sophisticated techniques. An
Environics survey commissioned for the Bureau revealed that in 2007,
Canadians lost more than $450,000,000 to mass marketing fraud (MMF), which
is fraud committed by mail, telephone and Internet.
Education and awareness campaigns such as Fraud Prevention Month are
essential to address the issue of fraud and ensure confidence in the
marketplace. These campaigns provide businesses and consumers with the
tools necessary to recognize fraud, report it to the authorities and stop
the scammers.
During Fraud Prevention Month, Fraud Prevention Forum members hosted
numerous activities all across Canada. The Bureau launched two education
and outreach initiatives: Project False Hope, which targets cancer-related
health fraud online, and the FACT Campaign (Fraud Awareness for Commercial
Targets), which provides businesses and not-for-profit organizations with
the facts necessary to avoid becoming victims of fraud.
At the international level, the Fraud Prevention Forum model has been
adopted around the world. Thirty countries, who are members of ICPEN, the
International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network, hosted various
Fraud Prevention Month activities this year. International agencies working
together in the fight against fraud sends a clear message to scammers that
there is Nowhere to Hide.
The Competition Bureau chairs the Fraud Prevention Forum, which is a
concerned group of private sector firms, consumer and volunteer groups,
government agencies and law enforcement organizations committed to fighting
fraud aimed at consumers and businesses. Through its partners, the Forum
works to prevent Canadians from becoming victims of fraud by educating them
on how to recognize it, report it and stop it.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency. We
contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting
competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.
FRAUD: Recognize It. Report It. Stop It.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Maureen McGrath
Senior Advisor
Communications & Stakeholder Relations
819-953-8982
For general enquiries, please contact:
Information Centre
Competition Bureau
819-997-4282
1-800-348-5358
The reader’s choice
Idaho Turns to Chess as Education Strategy
August 2008
Contributed by Boyd Gardener of Idaho
Dear STAE editor,
Thank you for choosing my submission for this month’s magazine. As an avid chess player, I am just so excited to see that the Idaho educators are doing this.
Dear Boyd, we chose your article because some of us at Sterling Creations including our president Donna Jodhan, are very avid chess players.
Thank you for your submission.
Idaho Turns to Chess as Education Strategy
By DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN
Once a week, Deborah McCoy, a third-grade teacher
in Donnelly, Idaho, unpacks chessboards and
pieces and spends an hour teaching her 20 students how to play the game.
Mrs. McCoy does not do this because she is
passionate about chess; she barely knew how to
play before this school year. But she began teaching it as part
of an unusual pilot program under way in more
than 100 second- and third-grade classrooms across Idaho.
On Thursday, state officials will announce in
Boise that the program will be extended in the
fall to all second and third graders — making
Idaho the first state to offer a statewide chess curriculum.
The state’s $1.5 billion education budget, passed
two weeks ago, includes a guarantee to finance
the instruction. Tom Luna, the state’s superintendent of
education, said participation by teachers would
be voluntary, but if reaction to the pilot
program is any measure, interest will be great.
There are no studies showing that teaching chess
has benefits for children, but there is anecdotal evidence, Mr. Luna said.
“One of the things that we hear is that too much
of what we do is based on rote memorization,” Mr.
Luna said. “The part I really like about this program
is that kids are thinking ahead.”
Mrs. McCoy said she has been pleased with the results.
“So many kids spend their time plugged into video
games, iPods, television and so they are more
isolated,” she said. “They learn give and take in chess.
There are courtesies that you follow. It has been really beneficial for them.”
Idaho has 40,000 second and third graders, and
Mr. Luna estimated the instruction will cost
about $200,000 to $250,000 a year, although it could run as
much as $600,000 “if everybody jumped on it the
first year,” he said. The money is expected to
come from reducing administrative expenses in the school
system, though state officials said they had not
yet identified where the savings would be made.
Idaho is using a curriculum called First Move,
which was developed by America’s Foundation for
Chess, a nonprofit, Seattle-based organization that promotes
teaching chess in school. First Move is now
taught to 25,000 students in 18 states, according
to Wendi Fischer, the vice president of the foundation.
Rourke O’Brien, the foundation’s president, said
the idea to introduce chess into Idaho’s school
system arose out of a discussion between Erik Anderson,
the foundation’s founder, and Roy Lewis Eiguren,
a lawyer and lobbyist who lives in Idaho.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Eiguren sit on the board of
the Avista Corporation, an energy company based
in neighboring Washington. After hearing about the benefits
of teaching chess, Mr. Eiguren set up a dinner
early last year and invited Mr. Luna, Karen
McGee, an education-policy adviser to the governor, and three
Republican state lawmakers — Representatives Eric
Anderson (no relation to Erik Anderson) and Bob
Nonini, and Senator John W. Goedde.
The dinner participants agreed to create the
pilot program, and Mr. Nonini volunteered to
provide $600 of his own money to pay for one of the classrooms
in his district for a year, Mr. O’Brien said. The
rest of the cost, about $60,000, was paid by the state.
First Move differs from some other
chess-in-school programs in that it is taught by
classroom teachers and is intended as a curriculum enhancement for second
and third graders. It incorporates elements of math, history and vocabulary.
Teachers who wish to use it do not need to know
chess. They are trained at seminars over a day or
two before the school year starts, and are provided with
an instructional DVD, a DVD player, chess sets,
boards, online resources and a manual. Every
other week, an experienced player is available to answer questions.
Mrs. McCoy said her town was so remote — Donnelly
is about a two-hour drive from Boise — that the
expert player, Mark Morales, was available only online,
but she had found that was adequate. She said it
was good for her students to be exposed to a sophisticated game like chess.
“Donnelly is approximately 250 people,” she said.
“We are right smack dab in the mountains. Most of
our kids live on ranches or in small towns.”
Some of the benefits of the program, Mrs. McCoy said, came in unexpected areas.
“I actually have one student who is originally
from Russia and two Hispanic students who have
limited English skills, and chess kind of leveled the playing
field, and it kind of helped their self-esteem issues,” she said.
Copyright 2008
The New York Times Company
News and views
Scientists find 'brake' for blindness in mice; Robo4 protein can be
triggered to halt rogue blood vessel growth, Utah study suggest
August 2008
By Christian Robicheau
Greetings everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying summer 2008. This month I would like to publish an article that could bring some hope to those millions of persons around the world who are intently waiting for solutions to their sight impairments. Hopefully, it is a prelude to bigger and better news to come.
Scientists find 'brake' for blindness in mice; Robo4 protein can be
triggered to halt rogue blood vessel growth, Utah study suggests
Joseph hall Health
The Toronto Star , Mar. 17, 2008
In a discovery almost Biblical in scope, scientists from the University of
Utah have been able to make blind mice see again, a paper published
yesterday in the journal Nature Medicine says.
Mice inflicted with both macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy - two
of the most common age-related forms of blindness in humans - were cured
when researchers turned on a natural protein brake in their bodies that
stopped the haywire blood vessel growth causing their eye ailments.
Dr. Dean Li, a professor of medicine at the Salt Lake City school and the
senior study author, says most forms of degenerative blindness are caused by
erratic blood vessel growth on the retina of the eye.
Li says macular degeneration, which gradually destroys central vision, and
diabetic retinopathy, which can bring on total blindness, are both
fundamentally blood vessel diseases.
"The major causes of eye diseases in the developed nations are all due to
... the blood vessels in the eye being too many and too leaky."
Until now, however, most researchers have concentrated on finding and
targeting the substances in the body that cause the erratic blood vessel
growth in the first place, Li says.
"All this paper is saying is that not only is there an accelerator in your
car, there's actually a brake."
That "brake," Li says, is a protein known by the sci-fi sounding name of
Robo4.
"There are many, many other factors in the body that tell the blood vessels
to explore and regenerate and destabilize," Li says.
"Robo4 tells the vessels not to grow, to stabilize, to not explore. The
blood vessels have an instruction system that tells them to do the opposite,
to stabilize."
Blood vessel growth, or angiogenesis, is essential to human development and
to injury and disease repair, Li says.
Thus the body produces many substances, known as netrins, which promote such
growth. But sometimes, as in eye diseases, these growth factors cause
vessels to spread at the wrong time and place, Li says. And these rogue
vessels are often weak and leaky, he says.
Indeed, in macular degeneration, parts of the central retina actually become
soggy with blood.
Using a naturally produced enzyme known as Slit, however, Li's team
reactivated the Robo4 brake, which had been overwhelmed by the uncontrolled
growth.
Turning on Robo4 production not only halted, but reversed the vessel damage,
Li says.
Li says clinical trials on humans are likely five years off. While the paper
does not cite other ailments, Li says improper blood vessel growth is key to
many other diseases, including cancer, arthritis and viral lung infections.
"Central to them (is) the concept that the blood vessels are misbehaving,"
Li says.
He said a bad joint or arthritis are caused by "destabilized blood vessels
that are becoming leaky and giving you swelling."
Also, cancer tumours depend on accelerated vascular growth to feed their
out- of-control cell growth.
Keith Gordon, head researcher at Canadian National Institute for the Blind,
called the findings "exciting."
Helpful tips
August 2008
By the Sterling Creations research team
Hey there! It’s august and here we are with a handful of tips for you. We hope you find them of value and we wish you a great August.
Helpful tips for August:
What's this about the versatility of evaporated milk?
Yes! You can use evaporated milk as a substitute for whipping cream.
You can even use the low fat evaporated milk when replacing your whipping cream.
Okay, how can you tell which type of honey is the most flavorful?
According to some of the chefs on the food network, the darker the honey the more flavorful it is.
How do you know when an avocado is ripe?
If it is a bit soft and a bit easy to the give.
Best time to eat an avocado is when it is a bit soft to the touch.
What's this about keeping your ketchup and mayonnaise safe?
Once you open them, you must refrigerate them.
Never leave them out of the fridge after opening them or else you open yourself to food poisoning.
Looking for a tip on how to cook shrimps?
Those little ones cook fast.
Two minutes on each side is the maximum time for them to be cooked according to the chefs at the food network.
What's this about the goodness of vitamin D?
Well, health experts are now calling this vitamin the sunshine vitamin.
They recommend it for those living in colder countries.
A healthy daily dose is what they are asking us to take.
Hey! Here are some great tips that we found for when you are about to embark on a trip!
Lay all of your credit cards, driver’s license, social security card, insurance card out on a table and photograph with your digital camera. Or copy them on a copier/scanner. Do this for the backside, too, if applicable. ...
Want to learn more?
By Joan Hawley
Visit http://www.lazygirldesigns.com/blog
Hey! With all of those nasty tornadoes hanging around of late, what are some of the safest places to be at when you know they are coming to your neighborhood?
If you have enough time, find your way to the closest basement, bathroom, closet, or smallest room in your home.
Okay, have you been following the latest debates on bottled water?
Well, here's the scoop!
Some cities in the United States have already started to band the drinking of bottled water in public places.
Apparently, they are saying that bottled water is becoming more of a nuisance.
The recycling of the plastic bottles is starting to become an environmental problem.
Watch your newscasts for further developments.
Would you like to know a hot tip about Monk fish?
The chefs are telling us that Monk fish is very similar to lobster in taste.
Never mind their somewhat ugly appearance.
Are you looking for a Healthy Eating Tip?
Store Precut Veggies in the Fridge
... Cucumbers, broccoli, and tomatoes are so full of vitamins and fiber, and they're also low in calories so they help you maintain a healthy weight. ...
Are you tired of wiping dust and dirt away from your glasses?
Then try this!
Soap your glasses regularly in a dot of dish soap and wash with cool water.
Our poor old glasses are constantly exposed to such things as air born particles plus residue from creams that we use on our faces.
Accessibility news
Publishers Phase Out Piracy Protection on Audio Books
August 2008
By the Sterling Creations research team
Hello there again! We’re back and for our second contribution this month we have an interesting article to share with you. This one addresses piracy protection. Hope you find it interesting.
Publishers Phase Out Piracy Protection on Audio Books By BRAD STONE
Reprinted from the New York Times
Originally published: March 3, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO -
Some of the largest book publishers in the world are stripping away the
anticopying software on digital downloads of audio books.
The trend will allow consumers who download audio books to freely transfer
these digital files between devices like their computers, iPods and
cellphones - and conceivably share them with others.
Dropping copying restrictions could also allow a variety of online retailers
to start to sell audio book downloads.
The publishers hope this openness could spark renewed growth in the audio
book business, which generated $923 million in sales last year, according to
the Audio Publishers Association.
Random House was the first to announce it was backing away from D.R.M., or
digital rights management software, the protective wrapping placed around
digital files to make them difficult to copy. In a letter sent to its
industry partners last month, Random House, the world's largest publisher,
announced it would offer all of its audio books as unprotected MP3 files
beginning this month, unless retail partners or authors specified otherwise.
Penguin Group, the second-largest publisher in the United States behind
Random House, now appears set to follow suit. Dick Heffernan, publisher of
Penguin Audio, said the company would make all of its audio book titles
available for download in the MP3 format on eMusic, the Web's second-largest
digital music service after iTunes.
Penguin was initially going to join the eMusic service last fall, when it
introduced its audio books download store. But it backed off when executives
at Pearson, the London-based media company that owns Penguin, became
concerned that such a move could fuel piracy.
Mr. Heffernan said the company changed its mind partly after watching the
major music labels, like Warner Brothers and Sony BMG, abandon D.R.M. on the
digital music they sell on Amazon.com. "I'm looking at this as a test," he
said. "But I do believe the audio book market without D.R.M. is going to be
the future."
Other major book publishers seem to agree. Chris Lynch, executive vice
president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Audio, said the company would
make 150 titles available for download in an unprotected digital format in
"the next couple of months."
An executive at HarperCollins said the publisher was watching these
developments closely but was not yet ready to end D.R.M.
If the major book publishers follow music labels in abandoning copyright
protections, it could alter the balance of power in the rapidly growing
world of digital media downloads. Currently there is only one significant
provider of digital audio books: Audible, a company in Seattle that was
bought by Amazon for $300 million in January. Audible provides Apple with
the audio books on the iTunes store.
Apple's popular iPod plays only audio books that are in Audible's format or
unprotected formats like MP3. Book publishers do not want to make the same
error originally made by the music labels and limit consumers to a single
online store to buy digital files that will play on the iPod. Doing so would
give that single store owner - Apple - too much influence.
Turning to the unprotected MP3 format, says Madeline McIntosh, a senior vice
president at the Random House Audio Group, will enable a number of online
retailers to begin selling audio books that will work on all digital
devices.
Some bookstores are already showing interest. The Borders Group, based in
Ann Arbor, Mich., introduced an online audio book store in November using
D.R.M. provided by Microsoft. Its books cannot be played on the iPod, a
distinction that turns off many customers. But Pam Promer, audio book buyer
for Borders, said the company welcomed moves by the publishers and planned
to begin selling MP3 downloads by early spring.
A spokesman for Barnes & Noble said the retailer had "no plans to enter the
audio book market at this time."
Publishers, like the music labels and movie studios, stuck to D.R.M.
out of fear that pirated copies would diminish revenue. Random House tested
the justification for this fear when it introduced the D.R.M.- less concept
with eMusic last fall. It encoded those audio books with a digital watermark
and monitored online file sharing networks, only to find that pirated copies
of its audio books had been made from physical CDs or D.R.M.-encoded digital
downloads whose anticopying protections were overridden.
"Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent
piracy," said Ms. McIntosh of Random House Audio.
Amazon and Audible would not comment on whether they would preserve D.R.M.
protections on their own audio books, citing Securities and Exchange
Commission restrictions surrounding the recent acquisition.
Greg Kearney
535 S. Jackson St.
Casper, Wyoming 82601
307-224-4022
gkearney@gmail.com
Editorial
Dare to dream
August 2008
By Donna J Jodhan
Dare to dream
In a world where everyone is becoming busier just trying to keep up with all kinds of things around them, I still dare to dream. In a world where it appears that we are a bit too busy to care for each other, I still dare to dream. In a society where we spend more time thinking about ourselves instead of listening a bit more to each other, I still dare to dream.
Yes, I dare to dream and it is the one thing that no one can take from me. I dream that some day soon we as a people will start to realize that there is much more to life than just keeping up with the Joneses and Smiths. I dream that some day very soon companies will wake up and realize that in order to stay in business they will have to change the way in which they offer services to seniors and persons with disabilities. I dream that sooner than later governments will really start to walk the walk instead of just talking the talk when it comes to treating persons with disabilities equally. I dream that some day sooner than later women will be recognized for their abilities.
As a professional woman who is blind and of mixed race, I face many challenges on a daily basis but it does not stop me from daring to dream. So the A & P supermarket in my neighborhood refuses to assist me whenever I go shopping and their head office says that "They are not in the business to help people, they are in the business to sell groceries." That will not stop me from daring to dream. So the R.E.B. Magnetics company refuses to understand that if they offer their Sudoko game to blind consumers they should provide the instructions in Braille. That will not stop me from daring to dream.
So there are those chess clubs in Toronto who just don't seem to have the time of day to accommodate blind chess players. That is not going to stop me from finding other avenues to play chess and daring to dream. So there are those who were afraid to teach me to ice skate but you know what? Thanks to Jan Haney I learned to ice skate and I dared to dream.
I keep on daring to dream because of wonderful people I meet every day during the course of my life. Believe it or not, there are people like the folks at the Hadley school for the blind who offer distance learning courses to blind and visually impaired people around the world at no cost. There are wonderful people like the folks at the United States Chess Association who help to keep dreams alive. There are wonderful small companies like One Stop Internet Solutions that really understand how to provide true blue customer service. There are persons out there who will go out of their way to help me dare to dream and for this I am eternally grateful.
I continue to dare to dream and it is because of this that I continue to be successful. I have always dared to dream and it is why others have been encouraged to help me fulfill these dreams. To the folks at Concordia and McGill universities in Montreal, the Montreal Association for the Blind, the folks at Microsoft Canada and Novelle Canada, and to so many others too many to mention, thank you!
Comments to the editor
August 2008
From the desk of the editor
Greetings everyone! Here are this month's comments to the editor.
From Nicholas Papas of New York:
Donna, I am very proud of how you have decided to challenge the norm. I have seen your comments on various companies and it is time for the consumer to stand up to them when they don't provide adequate service. They treat disabled persons like second class citizens and are not very nice to them. My mom is a senior and we are constantly fighting with supermarkets to provide her with assistance when we can't go with her.
Keep up the good work Donna.
From Ron Booker of New Jersey:
I would like to see this magazine take a more active role in advocacy. It's high time for people to put their money where their mouth is. Time to walk the walk. Stop talking and start acting.
From Michel La Gare of Montreal Canada:
If we don't stand together to voice our displeasures about shoddy services from airlines, then what? If a company can get away with it, they will. So people, time to roll!
From Simon Cretzky of Boston:
I really liked the editorial in the June issue. Yeh, companies have gone a bit too far this time. All they are thinking about is their fat and bulging pockets and the hell with those misplaced workers. Time for the government to force them to bring back their call centers from India. It's an insult for us to have to put up with call takers who can't even speak English properly let alone their crude phone manners.
From Diego Perez of Madrid Spain:
Hello staff, any chance that you would be interested to help us set up a newsletter here in Madrid? For an association for the blind?
Gracias.
From Paul Sunstrum of Sweden:
I think that accessibility needs to be more looked at by all of our governments. I am blind and lost my sight a few years ago in a motorcycle accident. I hope that I can find ways to live a normal life. Thanks for publishing your magazine.
From Jenny Ryan of Dublin Ireland:
Maybe it would be a good idea for us to have an exchange of accessibility consultants. I mean some from here go to North America and some of you come here. This way we can share ideas. What do you think?
If you have something to say, an opinion to express, or anything that you wish to share with the rest of the world, then please send it on to info@sterlingcreations.ca.
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Notes
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