Monitor Miniatures
Braille Books Needed:
Monitor readers may remember that in the March, 1997, issue we carried a notice from Judith Kramer offering free Braille books while her supply lasted. The response to the notice was overwhelming. Long after the books were gone, she received the following letter from Ethiopia:
November 12, 1997
Dear Mrs. Judith Kramer,
I am a blind teacher of history in Ethiopia. I also study law in evening classes. When I read in the Braille Monitor that you have available books in Braille, I felt great joy, because in my area there is no library, and I almost work and study empty-handed. As a result I determined to write for more information about the books and to request available books of history, law, or English. Hopefully, I expect your quick response.
Sincerely,
Teklay Tesfay
If anyone has Braille books on the requested topics that could be donated, send them to Teklay Tesfay, P.O. Box 211, Mekele, Tigray, Ethiopia.
For Sale:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
I have for sale an electric battery-operated Canon typewriter with three cartridges and manual, $100; Scrabble board game, $50; Checkerboard and checkers, $15; Dominoes, $15; Braille compass, $25; and a Braille watch, $20. Contact Jake E. Miller, 434 N. Washington St., P.O. Box 5001, Millersburg, Ohio 44654, (330) 674-0015.
Elected:
Patrick Comorato, Board Member of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the NFB of Pennsylvania, reports the chapter's recent election results. The new members are Margaret Mason, President;
Leon Conaway, First Vice President; Bernice Johnson, Second Vice President; Marilyn Klein, Secretary; and Lois Holmes, Treasurer. Patrick Comorato and Stanley Ingram are the new Board Members.
Computer System for Sale:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
I have for sale a complete computer system (two years old) including access technology. The system includes a Gateway 2000 p5-133XL computer. The full tower system includes a 133 MHz Pentium processor, 32 megabytes of memory, a 1.6 gigabyte hard disk, 3.5 and 5.25 inch floppy drives, a 3-disk quad speed CD-ROM changer, Creative Labs AWE32 Sound Blaster sound card and speakers, Matrox Millenium SVGA video board and 17-inch monitor, and a Jumbo 1.3 gigabyte tape backup drive. The system also includes Windows 95, DOS 6.22, Office 95, Encarta 95, backup software for the tape drive, and various other CD-ROM disks and other software programs. The system can also be sold with a SynPhonix 215 speech synthesizer, the latest versions of Artic's Business Vision and WinVision, and the SONIXTTS module. I am also willing to throw in a Hewlett-Packard 2p scanner with interface card.
I am asking $2,500 or best offer for everything. I would
prefer to sell everything together but might be willing to sell
the access hardware/software and the scanner separately if no one
is interested in the whole package. You can contact me by calling
(612) 696-1679 or sending e-mail to [email protected]
Correction:
NFB of Iowa member John TeBockhorst of SOS Send Our Silks, a
small company selling silk-flower arrangements, writes to say
that in the Miniature appearing in the December issue the
business Web site address was incorrect. The right address is
http://www.sossendoursilks.com
We regret the error.
Max Woolly Dies:
We recently learned that on Friday, December 19, 1997, J. Max Woolly, superintendent of the Arkansas School for the Blind until his retirement in 1982, died at the age of eighty-three. Until very recently Mr. Woolly, who received many honors in the blindness field, continued to be an influential force at the Arkansas School for the Blind.
For Sale:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Accu-check II Freedom blood glucose monitor with voice output. Best offer. Call Doris at (402) 273-4361.
Elected:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Tina Hansen recently wrote to announce that in April of 1997 the Capitol Chapter of the NFB of Oregon elected the following members to office: Jackie Shepherd, President; Kathlene McGrew, Vice President; Tina Hansen, Secretary; and Donna Henry, Treasurer.
In Memoriam:
Ramona Walhof, President of the NFB of Idaho, reports the death of Ethel Vulgamore, former President of the Magic Valley Chapter in Twin Falls and organizer of the West End Chapter in Buhl. She died on December 7, 1997, in Twin Falls at the age of eighty-nine. Ethel lost her vision in her seventies, took training, and became dynamite in working with other blind people. Although Buhl is a small town (just over 3,000 people), Ethel was determined to have a chapter there, so she built it. When one of our deaf-blind members could no longer live alone, Ethel took her into her own apartment and looked after her. The beginning of her story appears in Walking Alone and Marching Together. Her memory continues in the hearts of those she touched. She lived a full life and continued active and productive through most of her eighties. She will be missed.
Fortune Cookies:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Lucky Touch Fortune Cookie Company is a student-operated
business at the California School for the Blind that sells giant
fortune cookies (about six inches by five inches by four inches)
with combined large print and Braille fortunes, and regular-sized
fortune cookies with Braille fortunes. The standard cookies sell
for 40 cents each and the large ones for $6 each. We can also put
in customized fortunes. For more information please contact
Judith Lesner, Advisor, at (510) 794-3800, extension 300, or e-
mail to [email protected]
Audio Darts Tournament:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Audio Darts of Pittsburgh will hold the first Harold Schledel Darts Tournament during the weekend of April 17 to 19, 1998, at the Best Western Motel, 3401 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The room rate is $69 plus tax per night, and four persons may share a room. For room registrations call (412) 683-6100. The first event will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and the tournament should conclude at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The cost of the entire tournament will be $60. Make checks payable to Audio Darts of Pittsburgh, and mail to Louis Wassermann, 2503 Silver Oak Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15220. For more information, call Lois Briggs (412) 366-2630, Harold Schlegel (412) 921-0172, or Joe Wassermann (412) 687-5166.
For Sale:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Kurzweil Personal Reader with scanner, software (version 2.2) and cassette and print manuals for $1,000 or best offer. Call Cheryl Daube at (312) 236-8569.
JAWS for Windows Needed:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
The Voice of Print of the Northwest Florida Radio Reading Service, Inc., a free service for the blind and physically handicapped, needs the Jaws Screen Reader for Windows 95 at a reasonable price or a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit organization. We will greatly appreciate the help since our organization is run strictly by volunteers. For further information contact us toll-free at (888) 941-2888. Please leave your name and number, and we will return your call as soon as possible.
For Sale:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Jumbo Braillewriter, $400 (negotiable); talking adding machine, $200 (negotiable); and Braille 'n Speak 640, $900, with carrying case and cable. Contact Kathy at (617) 969-3496 (cannot return long-distance calls).
Back Issues of the Braille Monitor on NFB NET:
NFB NET, the National Federation of the Blind's computer bulletin board system, now has over eleven years of Braille Monitors available for on-line reading or downloading. NFB NET went on-line in early 1991 and from the beginning has made available all copies of the Monitor dating from late 1990 to the present. However, users have steadily asked for older back issues.
With the help of Mrs Dyer, who was formerly in charge of the Records Center at the National Center for the Blind and who now serves as Dr. Jernigan's secretary, we are now able to make the Braille Monitor available on NFB NET, starting with the November, 1986, issue.
All issues can be either read on-line using the v (View)
command or downloaded to your own computer. They are available as
both ASCII text files and zipped versions of the same file. These
zipped files are much faster to download but require a special
unzip program to extract the file. This program is also available
from NFB NET. It has the name "PKZ204G.EXE"
Each issue's name starts with the letters BRLM and is followed by a two-digit year code, a two-digit month code, a period, and either a TXT or ZIP extension. For example, the November, 1986, Braille Monitor is "BRLM8611.TXT" or "BRLM8611.ZIP" and the January, 1998, Monitor is either "BRLM9801.TXT" or "BRLM9801.ZIP" All of the Braille Monitors are located in File Area 3.
You can reach NFB NET with a conventional modem by calling
(612) 696-1975. If you have an Internet connection, you can
Telnet to NFB NET free by using the address "nfbnet.org"
Elected:
At its November, 1997, meeting the Greater Long Island Chapter of the NFB of New York elected the following officers:
David Stayer, President; Christine Faltz, First Vice President;
George Dominguez, Second Vice President; Loraine Stayer, Treasurer; Sara S. Berger, Corresponding Secretary; Lynn Juhlin, Recording Secretary; and Brad Greenspan and John Stevenson, Board Members.
Database of Accessible Books and Materials:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) introduces Louis, the Database of Accessible Books and Materials for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired (formerly called CARL ET AL). Named Louis as a celebration and continuation of the work of Louis Braille, this cooperative database provides bibliographic location information for books and materials in Braille, large-type, recorded, and computer disk formats. These materials are available from 200 agencies across North America.
Louis is now available on the Internet at the APH Web site http://www.aph.org Louis can also be accessed by direct dial-in. Contact Christine Anderson, Resources Services Manager, to receive software for direct dial-in access.
There is no charge for access to Louis, but APH asks major agencies and schools submitting titles and searching Louis to make an annual contribution of $300. Contact Christine Anderson, Resource Services Manager, (502) 899-2338 or (800) 223-1839, or Gary Mudd, Public Relations Director, (502) 895-2405. You may write to American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., at 1839 Frankfort Avenue, P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085, or fax a request to (502) 895-1509.
Summer Music Institute:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
The Music and Arts Center for the Handicapped is accepting applications from motivated blind musicians throughout the United States, in high school or beginning college, to participate in its third Summer Music Institute for Blind College-Bound Musicians. This three-week program, to be held in July at the University of Bridgeport, will provide exposure to music Braille, music composition by computer, keyboard, theory, and ensemble as well as strategies for study and independent living in a college setting. Enrollment is limited to fifteen students, who will be accepted based on their applications and over-the-phone interviews. Cost of the program, including tuition, room and board, and materials, is $2,500. Partial scholarships are available. Applications must be completed and returned by May 1.
The National Resource Center for Blind Musicians provides information to musicians, students, and teachers on music Braille and accessible music technology. The Center can provide advice about music systems or put people in touch with someone in its national network of blind musicians with experience in a particular aspect of the field.
For an application to the Summer Music Institute or to reach
the National Resource Center, contact the Music and Arts Center
for the Handicapped, 600 University Avenue, Bridgeport,
Connecticut 06601, phone (203) 366-3300,
e-mail [email protected]
New Chapter:
Robert Greenberg reports the formation of the Orange-Durham Counties Chapter of the NFB of North Carolina on December 9, 1997. The officers are Robert Greenberg, President; Tonia Valletta, Vice President; and Denise Schlosser, Secretary/Treasurer.
Braille Materials Needed in China:
We recently received the following request from Larry Campbell, who conducts international programs for the Overbrook School in Philadelphia:
The Overbrook School for the Blind has been co-sponsoring a leadership development and English-as-a-second-language course for young leaders within the China Association of the Blind. While I have been to China on many occasions in the past, this time I was struck by the large number of young blind persons who are struggling to learn English. Most of them have little or no access to Braille materials in English other than those we are providing in conjunction with this course. Therefore the few magazines that do get there are read and reread until the Braille is virtually worn flat. For example, one young man with whom I spent some time was reading an old issue of Parenting magazine, which I think he must have had memorized from rereading it so many times.
It occurred to me that if NFB members had magazines or literature that they were no longer in need of, the materials could be put to very good use by these young people in China. The China Braille Press has set up a section of its library to accommodate such donations and to arrange for their circulation. In fact, Zhu Ming, who participated in the Overbrook International Program a couple of years ago, is now working in the Foreign Language Department of the China Braille Press. Send your Braille materials to Lawrence Campbell, Administrator, International Program, Overbrook School for the Blind, 6333 Malvern Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19151-2597, or China Braille Press, Foreign Language Dept., 39, Cheng Nei Street, Lu Gou Qiao, Beijing 10072, China.
For Sale:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Zoomtext for DOS, good condition, never used. I bought wrong
version and would like to sell for $150. Contact Ricky Melchor,
593 S. Kam Avenue, Kahului, Hawaii 96732 or e-mail to
New Chapter:
Donald Capps, President of the NFB of South Carolina, reports the formation of the affiliate's fifty-seventh chapter on November 18, 1997. We welcome the Allendale County Chapter into the Federation family. The officers are Robert Thomas, President;
Naomi Johnson, Vice President; and Vivian Durden, Treasurer.
Tactile Map List:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Here is the 1998 book list of tactile drawings and maps from the Princeton Braillists:
Atlas of the Middle East, 69 pages, $20, including shipping.
Atlas of North and South America, three units in four
volumes: Unit 1, Northern North America, 59 pages; Unit 2, The United States, two volumes, 124 pages; and Unit 3, Middle and South America, 51 pages. Price of four volumes is $50, packaging and shipping, $6. Individual volumes, $15, packaging and shipping $4.
Basic Human Anatomy, 31 pages, $15 including shipping.
Maps of Individual U.S. States: Florida, 12 full-page maps
with keys; New York, 13 full-page maps with keys; Pennsylvania, 9 full-page maps with keys; Vermont, 9 full-page maps with keys. Cost of each booklet is $6 including shipping by free mail.
Maps of Morocco, 19-page booklet with seven full-page maps with keys, $5 including shipping by free mail.
Maps of Russia and its Former Republics, 16-page booklet with 6 maps with keys, $4 including shipping by free mail.
Send check or purchase order to the Princeton Braillists, 28-B Portsmouth Street, Whiting, New Jersey 08759-2049. Credit card and fax service is not available. Further information may be obtained by calling (732) 350-3708 or (609) 924-5207.
Choice Magazine Listening:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Free audio tape anthologies of unabridged selections from over 100 magazines for anyone who cannot read regular print. Contact Choice Magazine Listening, 85 Channel Drive, Port Washington, New York 11050, (516) 883-8280, fax: (516) 944-6849.
For Sale:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
New complete Braille Blazer portable embosser and full case of Braille fan-fold paper; new complete DECtalk PC speech synthesizer, both complete and never taken out of packaging. Must sacrifice for $2,750 or best offer, shipped to you. Call Jerry Russell at (303) 769-4581.
Barriers to Employment:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University requests assistance in identifying innovative strategies or practices to assist those who are blind or severely visually impaired in overcoming barriers to employment. If you know of rehabilitation providers or employers willing to share their expertise in overcoming employment barriers, contact Amy Skinner at (800) 675-7782, or write her at MSU-RRTC, P.O. Drawer 6189, Mississippi State University, Mississippi 39762.
NFB PLEDGE
I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.