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Braille Monitor

Vol. 55, No. 6 June 2012

Gary Wunder, Editor

Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive (see below) by

The National Federation of the Blind

Marc Maurer, President

National Office
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
telephone: (410) 659-9314
email address: [email protected]
Website address: http://www.nfb.org
NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org
NFB-NEWSLINE^®information: (866) 504-7300

Letters to the president, address changes,
subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature
should be sent to the national office.
Articles for the Monitor and letters to the editor may also
be sent to the national office or may be emailed to [email protected].

Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year. Members are invited,
and nonmembers are requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to:

National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES

ISSN 0006-8829

Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick or USB flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a National Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots--the familiar book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and a second slot located on the right side near the headphone jack. This smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in one position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again. (Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive, the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges, when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.

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Dallas Site of 2012
NFB Convention Listen Now

The 2012 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Dallas, Texas, June 30-July 5, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel at 2201 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75207. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Hilton Anatole staff only, not Hilton general reservations. Call (214) 761-7500.

The 2012 room rates are singles, doubles, and twins $63 and triples and quads $68 a night, plus a 15 percent sales tax. The hotel is accepting reservations now. A $60-per-room deposit is required to make a reservation. Fifty percent of the deposit will be refunded if notice is given to the hotel of a reservation cancellation before June 1, 2012. The other 50 percent is not refundable.

Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2012, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotel will not hold our block of rooms for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon.

Guestroom amenities include cable television; coffeepot; iron and ironing board; hair dryer; and, for a fee, high-speed Internet access. The Hilton Anatole has several excellent restaurants, twenty-four-hour-a-day room service, first-rate meeting space, and other top-notch facilities. It is in downtown Dallas with shuttle service to both the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport and Love Field.

The schedule for the 2012 convention will follow our usual pattern:

Saturday, June 30        Seminar Day
Sunday, July 1             Registration Day
Monday, July 2            Board Meeting and Division Day
Tuesday, July 3           Opening Session
Wednesday, July 4      Business Session
Thursday, July 5          Banquet Day and Adjournment

Vol. 55, No. 6 June 2012

Illustration: Learning about
Braille from an Expert Listen Now (MP3)

Can We Erase Our Mistakes? The Need for
Enhanced Tactile Graphics Listen Now (MP3)
by Al Maneki

From the NFB of Minnesota President’s Desk Listen Now (MP3)
by Jennifer Dunnam

Braille Notetakers—Determining
Your Perfect Fit Listen Now (MP3)
by Amy Mason

Blind Man Experiences Weightlessness Listen Now (MP3)
by Mark Riccobono

Skills Lead to Service Listen Now (MP3)
by Darian Smith

Choices for the Future of Braille
A Comparison between Unified English Braille, the Nemeth Code,
and the Nemeth Uniform Braille System Listen Now (MP3)
by Antonio Guimaraes

Is Reading a Privilege? Listen Now (MP3)
by Ann Wai-Yee Kwong

Getting Information:
Are Human Readers Still Important? Listen Now (MP3)
by Gary Wunder

The 2012 Youth Track:
A More In-Depth Look Listen Now (MP3)
by Meleah Jensen

Wings for Our Stories Listen Now (MP3)
by Donna W. Hill