DeafDigest Gold – October 30, 2011

The Alarm Clock Pro wakes you with high-intensity LED lights and a powerful bed shaker that also emits sound from directly under the pillow. The clock’s audible alarm spans multiple frequencies and slowly gets louder and louder until you shut it off. This feature-rich clock includes a “smart snooze”, a built-in phone ringer amplifier, and a nightlight function.

The Alarm Clock Classic is for the price conscious and has fewer features than the Pro. The Alarm Clock Visit has all the features of the Pro and connects to the Bellman Visit[tm] alerting system.

Find all three clocks at Harris Communications. The Alarm Clock Pro retails for $99.95, the Classic model for $69.95, and the Visit model for $149.95.

For more detailed information on all these clocks, go to: http://bit.ly/HarrisComm_DDB103011

or contact us at: mailto:info@harriscomm.com

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DeafDigest welcomes unique deafnews tips; mailto:barry@deafdigest.com

sources of unique deafnews are never revealed; always anonymous

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weekly DeafDigest Blue & Gold editions also posted at:

http://deafdigest.com/ (updated every Monday)

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Use Hamilton Web Relay® along with a locally-based, 10-digit Hamilton HomeTown Number[tm] to make and receive calls without the interruptions that come from using instant messaging programs! Don’t have a HomeTown Number?

Visit http://www.hamiltonrelay.com and click on the

“Make & Receive Calls Now” icon to check it out.

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Wireless IP-Relay for BlackBerry TM, go to: http://www.ip-relay.com/wireless_blackberry.html

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AT&T INTRODUCES VL5

In April AT&T Video Relay Service launched VL5 for Mac, PC, iPhone 4, iPod Touch, and iPad 2.

AT&T VRS partnered with Yellow Pages to provide new search features in video calling.

The AT&T VL5 app for the iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4th Generation, and iPad 2 allows Deaf and hard of hearing individuals to place and receive VRS and Point-to-Point (P2P) calls – wherever WiFi or mobile broadband is available. The VL5 app includes one-click calling and direct access to YPmobile.

Learn more about VL5 at: http://www.att.com/vl5

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The Z offers the best in videophone technology, providing equipment options to meet customers’ individual needs and offering features not available through other VRS providers.

Professional, nationally certified interpreters follow standards of service excellence above and beyond FCC requirements.

Dedicated to a spirit of innovation and commitment to excellence, The Z continues to set the industry standard as the nation’s premier VRS provider.

Go to http://www.zvrs.com for more information on all of our products, services and features.

Don’t have a Z phone?

You can still join The Z Life by calling 888.888.1116 to connect to ZVRS from any videophone!

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The DeafDigest is divided into Blue and Gold sections, both ranked equal in contents, features and ads. This is the Blue section.

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– Dedication

DeafDigest dedicates this edition to Bruce Bedford that departed us. While he was deaf he was never part of the Deaf Community. Anyway he was a professional photographer for 40 years for the Carroll County Independent and the Conway Daily Sun, two small town newspapers in New Hampshire. His bosses allowed him to roam elsewhere to take pictures that he felt were the best fit for these newspapers. He was one of the few full time newspaper photographers as most newspaper budgets would not allow full timers in this profession!

– What the stories are saying about the deaf?

Andrew Parry, a deaf Australian, has made his debut as a clown at a circus performance, and he is hoping to make it with the TV show Australia’s Got Talent. He grew up as a figure skater, this skill which came in handy while learning how to be a clown.

Zimbabwe has come up with a sign language dictionary which is quite an accomplishment. Reason is that different sign languages exist in the country. And the dictionary tries to involve these different signs for the same word. This project involved deaf leaders from different parts of the nation. And it took a year for their efforts to bear fruit.

– Very Hot News

The Employment Appeals Tribunal (UK) ruled against deaf diplomat Jane Cordell. She requested an oral interpreter for her diplomatic assignment to Kazakhstan and was turned down. She sued the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, accusing the agency of discrimination.

– Sunday October 23rd

The Ontario Camp for the Deaf would not allow two town councilmen from entering the premises. This stems from the camp’s expansion plans coming into conflict with the community. The council was going to review the proposal, and the camp did not want the councilmen looking around on the property.

– Monday October 24th

Cathal Thompson, a deaf man from Ireland, has lost over 70 pounds in the local Biggest Loser contest, and is in running for the Unislimmer of the Year honors.

– Tuesday October 25th

Time.com’s Techland has given a Tech Humanitarian Award to Universal Subtitles for captioning over 25,000 videos in less than a year. Universal Subtitles is an on-line open source program that allows users to caption their videos.

– Wednesday October 26th

An era is coming to an end, thanks to today’s changing society. The last Miss Deaf America pageant will take place at the NAD Conference in Louisville, Kentucky next year. After that, no more. In its place will be the NAD Miss Deaf America Ambassador Program, which will promote goodwill among the deaf. Why is this era ending? Possibly because it has become more and more difficult to recruit young deaf women to compete in state pageants. Many of these pageants only had maybe just a few participants, sometimes just as many as two!

– Deaf Miscellaneous stuff

Abraham Glasser, New York, won the US Chess Association of the Deaf championship, which took place last week at St Paul, Minnesota. This organization has changed its name and it is now the United States Association for Deaf Chess Players. Finishing runner up is Dale Nichols of Minneapolis.

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(Thursday-Saturday Hot Deaf News will be in the Gold edition)

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For postings, announcements and employment ad rates, please email mailto:barry@deafdigest.com

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weekly DeafDigest Blue & Gold editions also posted at:

http://deafdigest.com (updated every Monday)

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ALL ULTRATEC TTYs ON SALE!

No “Tricks” just “Treats” at WCI in October! All Ultratec TTYs are 25% off! Choose from several different models all with superior quality and state-of-the art technology. You’re sure to find a TTY that is right for you. Call us at 1-800-233-9130 (V/TTY) or visit us at or online at: http://www.weitbrecht.com/onsale.php?utm_source=dd for more details on our TTYs and all our other products.

We’re on Facebook and Twitter!

WCI. Your Single Source for Assistive Technology

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VOICE OR FAX OR EMAIL OR RELAY Before a deaf man started his successful business, he was employed in hearing workplaces. He said that hearing bosses were not patient with him because of slow communications. The deaf man was using fax, emails and relay to communicate with hearing clients, but the boss was not happy. The boss wanted faster communications, and that means voice only – without fax or emails or relay. The deaf man quit and started his own business, and he is much happier.

– for ASL News version with captions, please visit: http://deafdigest.com/videos/slow-deaf-communications/

(for your convenience, video links are posted on top of each DeafDigest edition)

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Pre-Registration For Career Expo For People With Disabilities The Ronald Reagan Center Washington, DC November 18, 2011

visit: http://deafdigest.com/job-seeking-expo-for-the-deaf/

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DEAF WATCHING OR NOT WATCHING SPORTS Many deaf people love to watch sports, the same as hearing people. But do these deaf fans really watch the football game or a baseball game at a stadium? Many of them talk to each other with ASL and do not really watch the action closely. Yes, hearing fans talk a lot with each other, but their eyes are on the field and their ears listen to friends’ voices. The deaf fans cannot watch ASL hands and the action on the field at the same time!

– for ASL News version with captions, please visit: http://deafdigest.com/videos/deaf-sports-fans/

(for your convenience, video links are posted on top of each DeafDigest edition)

DEAF COMMUNCIATIONS AND HEARING COMMUNICATIONS One season during the 1970’s, the quarterback with the Long Beach State University football team used ASL to communicate with his coaches. Reason was that crowd noise prevented normal voice communications. Anyway, the 5th game of the World Series between St Louis and Texas was an example of serious problems with voice communications. Because of stadium noise, the St Louis bullpen coach could not clearly hear the telephone instructions from manager Tony La Russa. As a result, wrong pitchers entered the game, and St Louis lost the game for that reason. It should not have been a problem with the deaf. We use sign language to communicate. And ASL always wins over voice in noisy conditions.

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2011/10/26

DeafDigest Mid-Week edition, October 26, 2011

— Our deaf NFL cheerleaders

A big story broke out last week of Melissa Adams, a deaf woman, becoming a cheerleader with the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. She is not the first deaf cheerleader in the NFL. The others before her were:

Lisa Fishbein, Miami Dolphins

Christina Murray, Dallas Cowboys

Mona Vierra, Oakland Raiders

— What is normal? What is disabled?

A deaf student, attending Georgetown University, said:

If you say “disabled” you usually mean that the person is unable to function in society like normal people. I am normal. Deaf people are normal. We just have a different language, different culture, and a different way of viewing life.

— European “911” number not accessible to the deaf

Europe’s 112 emergency number is supposed to function the same as our 911 number. There are already complaints that this 112 number does not work with the deaf. Even though the European Commission has mandated the use of the 112 number for Europeans in need, there are still problems. A lot has to do with delays in getting the equipment set up everywhere in Europe. And this is hurting the deaf the most.

— A $215,000 diamond engagement ring or $12,000 hearing aids

New York attorney Ira Schacter, not deaf, going through a divorce, was dating Playboy-bunny Lace Rose Allenius. He gave her a $215,000 diamond engagement ring, but refused pay $12,000 for hearing aids for his deaf daughter. It backfired because the fiancee broke off the engagement and returned the $215,000 ring to him! It was a big story in the New York Post, a popular tabloid.

— A lot of work involved with Wonderstruck, a novel with a deaf theme

Brian Selznick wrote the novel Wonderstruck. It took him three years to complete it. To learn about Deaf Culture, he went to New York, and researched Deaf Culture at the 47 School for the Deaf. A deaf archivist Lloyd Shikin helped him with the research. The story weaves back and forth between two parallel characters of different years. Rose, a deaf girl, of the year 1927 and Ben, who became deaf because of a lightning hit, of the year 1977.

— Position Announcement (closing date Friday, October 28th) Information Office Supervisor Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Frankfort, KY

go to http://deafdigest.com/information-office-supervisor-deaf-kentucky/

Deaf Digest Gold – October 23, 2011

DeafDigest Gold – October 23, 2011

Gold edition Barry Strassler, Editor http://deafdigest.com – updated every Monday

America’s Unique Deaf Stories; subscription at no cost to you

Serving the Deaf Community since 1996; 15th year

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Deaf Digest Blue – October 23, 2011

DeafDigest Blue – October 23, 2011

Blue Edition Barry Strassler, Editor http://deafdigest.com – updated every Monday

America’s Unique Deaf Stories; subscription at no cost to you

Serving the Deaf Community since 1996; 15th year

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2011/10/19

DeafDigest Mid-Week edition, October 19, 2011

— A hearing educator of the disabled said deafness is a bad disease

When an educator works with the disabled, then she should show sensitivity to the needs of the deaf, but Dimity Dornan, didn’t. She is the director of Hear and Say, an organization of the disabled in Brisbane, Australia. In a speech, she said deafness is a “scourge in our world” during a banquet event. In other words she is saying that deafness is something bad and is a “disease”. Already the deaf Australians are demanding that she be legally prosecuted for her sickening comment.

It is the same as the comment “the deaf are not yet ready to function in the hearing world” that Jane Bassett Spilman, the former chairperson of Gallaudet board of trustees, made in 1988. She was trying to tell us that Elisabeth Ann Zinser, a hearing candidate was more qualified than two deaf candidates for the Gallaudet presidency. The Deaf Community anger over that comment ultimately led to her resignation from the board.

— Will the federal government allow the deaf to drive trucks?

During the seventies, few articles appeared in the Deaf American magazine complaining about the government not allowing the deaf to drive trucks. Yet, there was another article that contradicted the complaint. The January 1978 edition featured Harold Roach, Mexico, NY, a deaf trucker that completed his 30th year on the job. He drove these long trailer trucks. The article, however, did not mention if he was able to drive trucks across state lines or if he drove only in New York. Last week there was a request filed with the government to allow the deaf to drive trucks. And over the years, there have been few deaf truckers telling DeafDigest editor that they drove across state lines.

Deaf American magazine? It was published by the NAD years back but not any more.

— A most popular Deaf video not captioned by Netflix

We, the deaf, all love to hate Netflix. This big video provider would not caption the videos that we want to watch. And we are forced to sue them. But what makes us even angrier is that they do not caption the most popular program in the Deaf Community. It is the “Switched at Birth”

— A surprising use of sign language

Wall Street protesters are using sign language for communication purposes. It is because the police do not allow the protesters to use amplifiers to reach the audience. The speakers have signs for such words like approval, disapproval, a point of order, silent applause, a big disagreement, get it done, etc, etc. While these signs are not ASL, sign language is sign language!

— Is Harkin movie captions settlement a joke?

Harkin, which is Arizona’s #1 movie theater chain,
agreed to install captions in half of its 25 state
theaters. Is it a joke? Probably because Harkin
also owns movie theaters in California, Colorado,
Oklahoma and Texas. And the Harkin agreement
is for for Arizona only. Deaf people in these other
states are out of luck!

Deaf Digest Gold – October 16, 2011

DeafDigest Gold – October 16, 2011

Gold edition Barry Strassler, Editor http://deafdigest.com – updated every Monday

America’s Unique Deaf Stories; subscription at no cost to you

Serving the Deaf Community since 1996; 15th year Continue reading …

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Deaf Digest Blue – October 16, 2011

DeafDigest Blue – October 16, 2011

Blue Edition Barry Strassler, Editor http://deafdigest.com – updated every Monday

America’s Unique Deaf Stories; subscription at no cost to you

Serving the Deaf Community since 1996; 15th year Continue reading …

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

deaf-shoulder-tap

2011/10/12

DeafDigest Mid-Week edition, October 12, 2011

— A deaf person on a TV talk show that was not captioned!

Kayla Stubbs, newly crowned Miss Deaf Utah, was a guest on a recent local Utah TV talk show. There was a video of her appearance, and yes, it was NOT captioned! It is a big time shame.

— Steve Jobs and the deaf

1. Steve became late-deafened and people complained that loud iPod made people deaf!

2. Sarah Palin has thanked Steve for the iPad which will help her disabled deaf child communicate later in few years.

3. A TDI board member visited Apple headquarters in early eighties to see if the Apple II computer could be TTY- compatible. Steve was not interested.

4. AMRAD, an organization of radio and electronics hobbyists in the Washington, DC area, asked a deaf woman to program the Apple II to function as a computer TTY. The deaf woman was successful. It was during the early eighties.

5. Steve Jobs was wealthy. Did he donate money to deaf organizations? No. He was tight with his money.

6. Steve had Apple come up with many devices, which greatly helped the deaf with their communication needs.

7. A deaf business owner said: I don’t use a TTY thanks to Steve Jobs

— Captions on smartphones?

A husband-wife team of Michaela and Robin Nachtrab has founded a company, called VerbaVoice. It is based in Munich, Germany. This company wants to develop software that will produce captions on smartphones – without sign language and without interpreters! When a deaf person needs captions, he will press on a button in smartphone. A captioner, from a remote distance, will type in captions. A perfect example is an appointment with a doctor, without notepad, and without interpreters. Will it work? Time will tell.

— A Personal Care Attendant was fooled

In South Australia, a Personal Care Attendant was hired to take care of an individual that needed constant attention at home. No one told the Attendant that the individual was deaf and needed to communicate by sign language. The shocked Attendant then tried to communicate with the deaf man via gestures and body language but failed. She gave up but had to fight her way out of the house since the deaf man grabbed her and would not let her go!

— World’s best deaf scrabble player?

This coming December, Malaysia will be hosting the World
Youth Scrabble Championship. This event will involve
champion players from 33 different nations. One of the
participants is Amir Andi-Abdoerrachman, of Trinidad &
Tobaggo. He is deaf.

Deafdigest

America's Unique Deaf Stories; Established 1996; 23rd year

Monthly Archives: October 2011

2011/10/26

2011/10/19

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2011/10/12