Archive for July, 2011
The Blind Buzz on Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 30, 2011
Emotional freedom Technique (EFT) or tapping is a method for getting to grips with many mental and physical health conditions, and is growing in popularity. For more on EFT, please also visit
Vince’s Parallax: Emotional Freedom Technique
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Accepting Myself Deeply and Completely – Project X Discussions
[Video] Anger Management with Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) | Motivation Guide
Ask Zoe – Zoe Zimmerman answers readers’ questions about EFT.
Attain Sports Success with EFT | Natural Treatments, Alcohol & Drug Addictions
Attracting Abundance – Carol Look and others present a rich field of material on EFT and attracting abundance. Written and audio items.
Attracting Abundance RSS Feed
[Video] Chakra Clearing with Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) from tapping.com
Discover The Strategies In Emotional Freedom Technique | Self Improvement Tips
EFT- A Natural Way to Beat Fibromyalgia – Health Articles Direct
EFT- An Anxiety Relief Approach | News Fire
EFT- An Astounding Therapy to Enhance Vision | Fitness 365
EFT- The Unique Approach to Stop Food Cravings
EFT, Reiki and All Kinds of Everything – Karen Lewis’ Blog.
EFT, Reiki and All Kinds of Everything RSS Feed
EFT: Does Letting Go Leave A Hole Where The Issue Was?
EFT Emotional Freedom Technique & Tapping For Instant Relief – Health & Wealth
Health & Wealth: Easy, Quick and Simple RSS Feed
EFT Radio Online- Emotional Freedom Techniques, EFT Meridian Tapping for self healling and peak performance – catch up with current broadcasts and past ones you may have missed.
EFT Tapping Can Lead to Health, Wealth and Happiness | Health Wiki information – story quoted here claims that someone paralysed from the neck down started moving again thanks to EFT.
EFT Tapping Group, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Emotional Disturbance And The Happy Tappers: HealthyBodyAnswers.com
Emotional Freedom Technique – Tapping – How Does It Work? – FreedomEFT
Emotional Freedom Technique: The Truth About Emotional Freedom Techniques
Emotional Freedom Technique: The Truth About Emotional Freedom Techniques RSS Feed
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) | What’s On Your Mind Today? – from a Harley Street psychotherapist’s blog. Comments on the effectiveness of EFT.
Emotional Freedom Technique by Dr. Mercola at Sara’s Soup Kitchen (MessageID: 1730290) – useful introduction to EFT.
[Book] Emotional Freedom Technique For Dummies – Helena Fone | Resource Blog
[Video] Everything is Energy World Summit 2011. also visit
Everything is Energy Radio
Everything is Inside of You | Personal Development Coach
Has Social Anxiety Got You by the Short Hairs? Try EFT Tapping!
How to Alleviate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Chronic Pain-Part 1 – emotionalhealthtips
[Video] How to Become an Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner: – Ellie Steele
How To Stop Smoking Pot With Emotional Freedom Technique | The 1st Tap To Be Healthy
Infertility in Women – Can EFT Tapping Banish It? | Submit Articles
Male Health : EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique – DID Articles
[Video] Mind Over Matter Show #31 Part 4 | Realize Your Full Potential – with some EFT demonstrations and discussion.
My Boyfriend Stares at Other Women! – Thriving Now with some advice in reply.
N-Hanced EFT Tapping Support for Auto-Immune Disorders
Short Cuts – Mental Tapping, Inside Secrets to Faster EFT | NLP Techniques
Shred Your Weight Effortlessly | Anti Aging Tips
Tapping – How Does It Work? – FreedomEFT
[Video] Tapping Therapy: Claustrophobia
Tapping.com – huge selection of resources including articles and videos, from beginner to advanced.
The Simplest Method To Lose Weight? « Intuitive Meaning
Thriving Now Podcast
Podcast feed
Using EFT for PTSD and Other Issues
What are the meridian points of the emotional freedom technique?
RNIB Penfriend Audio Label Maker
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 29, 2011
Having bought a Penfriend today I thought I’d give some first impressions, which on the whole are very favourable.
Let’s suppose you have a bunch of items that are hard to tell apart, such as CDs, canned foods, packets of seeds, letters from the tax people… Up to now I’ve tried to struggle through by trying to read the existing labels on items, and, if necessary, scribbling a label of my own in very large marker pen. This doesn’t always solve the problem, as I’m finding it harder to read my own writing, even if it’s in large capitals. I don’t know much Braille, so Braille isn’t an immediate solution. Well, here’s one very easy alternative – audio labels.
The Penfriend looks like a microphone, which is partly what it is. On the side there are controls for power, output volume and recording. There are sockets for a USB cable (which is supplied) and headphones (which are not supplied). The device is powered by 2 standard triple-A batteries.
You attach a special kind of label to an item, then record yourself speaking about what it is. You can include a large amount of detail if you want to, as the Penfriend has a gigabyte of memory. When you swipe that label with the Penfriend, you hear your recording, and so you can identify the item. Your recording is an mp3 sound file, and the label simply has a bar code embedded in it that tells the device which mp3 file to play.
Here’s a neat feature. If you have a set of the same item, say 4 cans of tomatoes, you only need to create one label, then you can cut it into 4 to label the whole set of items.
You could, if you wanted, put some music mp3s on to the device as well, but don’t expect fantastic sound quality, at least not from the built-in speaker.
Although I had a strange problem getting the Penfriend to spit out any audio the first time I tried to use it, the device seemed to right itself after a few minutes, and has been very easy to use since then. I started by labelling my aromatherapy oils, which are very hard to tell apart by sight, and the idea really worked.
Operating instructions are built-in, or can be played over USB on another device, such as your computer.
Frozen food can be marked, which is really good news – no more wondering what that lump of something or other was, or how old it is – you can put all that info on an audio label when you first put an item into the freezer. How cool is that?
Unfortunately, the labels at the moment are not washproof, though the RNIB is looking into labels that can be attached to clothing and survive the wash.
One possible limitation is the lack of a pause button, so while you can record up to an hour of sound on one label, e.g., a meeting, it may not be very comfortable playing it back on the Penfriend itself. However, you can copy files to your computer, or play them with your regular media player via USB. How well the microphone picks up in a room full of people I don’t know, but in principle you should be able to use the device as a regular voice recorder.
the Penfriend is marketed by the RNIB in the UK, but is available elsewhere, certainly in the USA. It also, it won a CNIB award, so I take it that it must be available in Canada.
Links on the RNIB Penfriend
RNIB PenFriend audio labeller – RNIB
Video demonstration of Penfriend
Penfriend Hints and Tips Guide (Word doc)
Download Penfriend manual (doc file)
Suggestions For Uses For The RNIB PenFriend Labeler – Accessible Devices
Penfriend on Trial – Bristol City Museum and Shropshire Libraries put the device through its paces.
The Blind Buzz on Charles Bonnet Syndrome
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 15, 2011
This is a bunch of links concerning Charles Bonnet Syndrome, a condition in which people with failing sight see visual hallucinations, and do not have a mental illness.
For more on Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS), please see
Vinces Parallax: Charles Bonnet Syndrome
A full-dressed Canadian Mountie! – Everyone’s a Critic – some background info on CBS, and a example.
Acute Charles Bonnet syndrome secondary to eye patching. [Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2011 May-Jun] – an unusual instance of CBS where hallucinations declined when an eye patch was removed.
Charles Bonnet syndrome: are medications necessary? [J Psychiatr Pract. 2011] – PubMed result
Charles Bonnett Syndrome leaves visually impaired seniors scared of hallucinations – TwinCities.com – unsettling experiences of the syndrome.
Commentary on visual hallucinations and Charles Bo… [J Psychiatr Pract. 2011] – PubMed result – the author looks at several causes of visual hallucinations, including CBS.
Flashes and Paisley Prints « Kate’s blog – the author experienced floaters and CBS while losing her sight.
Ghosts we see from day to day – discussion topic. Hallucinations experienced by people who have sight loss, dementia, Parkinson’s.
[Video] Hallucinations and Reality – Degeneration X Trailer – Degeneration X is an original multimedia theatrical experience that follows a young man on his journey with a rare and visually stimulating syndrome. The concept of the story is presented through the show’s multimedia aspect using a blend of live theatre, film, motion graphics, illustration, and music to chronicle the different pockets of one man’s neurosystem. With this, we provide the audience a front row seat through a surreal and rousing ride through the human mind, witnessing the battle between hallucination and reality. Some strong language.
Health Talk: Charles Bonnet Syndrome – The Tartan Online
Indifferential Diagnosis #1: Visual Hallucinations – Blogus scientificus: – the author is not a doctor, but tries to explain the differences between types of visual hallucination, and the conditions that may cause them. The author admits that there’s no such word as ‘indifferential.
Musical Ear Syndrome | The Daily Omnivore – the equivalent of Charles Bonnet Syndrome in those who are losing their hearing.
Vision problem has people seeing things | Detroit Free Press | freep.com – Dr. Lylas Mogk, an eye specialist, wants to get the word out that CBS is benign.
The Blind Buzz on Braille
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 14, 2011
Apologies that this is such a lengthy entry. I will try to post on this topic more often, and in proportion!
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Adelaide’s Braille street signs help lead the way | News.com.au – pilot scheme trying 4 signs at intersections.
App designer creates tools to teach Braille – Michael Doise, legally blind from birth, has developed Braille teaching tools for the Apple iPhone.
Bacchus Marsh project’s food for thought – Business – News – Melton Leader – Accessible Menus Project in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia, will offer large print, Braille and pictures on request.
Braille – Free Font – apparently only Grade 1, without numbers, according to comments.
Braille Links on the Internet – Blindness Resource Center – especially relevant to the USA.
Braille Literacy Program « Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind
Braille Sense OnHand 18 portable notetaker – RNIB – 18-cell Braille display, office-style apps on board.
Braille Translation – type in regular text, get a representation of Braille in various formats.
railleways – Braille services, including transcription, in Australia.
BRL: Contraction Lookup Dictionary
[Video] Bruce talks about refreshable Braille – demomstration of using a Braille display, and some comparisons with synthetic speech.
BU to help visually challenged students – Bangalore University to provide equipment and library facilities, including Braille, for visually impaired students.
Charity rescues Sheffield braille course – the course, threatened by funding cuts, has been rescued by a local blindness charity, at least for a pilot period.
Colombia new 2,000-peso note with Braille confirmed | South America | Banknote News
Common Braille commands for VoiceOver navigation
Concept Scanner Converts Images And Text To Braille – PSFK
Convertec to unveil digital Braille printing unit | rfid labels
[Video] Creating a braille book – Telegraph – the processes used by RNIB in making a Braille book.
Creating Braille output from OpenOffice.org » Taming OpenOffice.org / LibreOffice » Blog Archive – how OpenOffice Writer can be made to produce Braille formats.
More information on the odt2braille OpenOffice extension.
Credit Card for the Blind by Kwon Ki Nam » Yanko Design – the card uses fingerprint recognition for ID, has Braille for instructions and speaks the good being bought. Some good ideas for sighted people too? I don’t kinow whether this is any more than a concept at this stage.
CSUN: Braille 2000 and Accidental Accessibility « Blind Access Journal – Darrell Shandrow finds that Braille2000 is accessible to blind people, but this was a mistake! Audio included.
DOTS for Braille Literacy – American Foundation for the Blind – DOTS is Development of Teacher Support. You can subscribe to the newsletter.
EASY INTRODUCTION to BRAILLE – American
Free Books For Kids Now Also Available In Braille : NPR – these come from the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library in the United States.
Free Braille Alphabet Vectors | Signs & Symbols – Grade 1 Braille for download.
Goa govt to make available all info in Braille – Chennaionline News
HooleonBraille Computer Keyboard and stickers to add large print and Braille symbols to keyboards
How to Learn to Read Braille Books | eHow.com
In Zimbabwe, Braille textbooks provide more children with equal access to learning – UNICEF – Zimbabwe – major upgrade to Braille materials for blind students.
Individuals blinded from birth comprehend touch faster than those with sight? | Health Jockey – so this is the group that’s fastest to pick up Braille.
iPhone 4 Braille Display for iPhone blind users – MacMaster’s Blog – well, well, someone realises at last that blind people are part of the mrket.
Jawaharlal Nehru’s book now in Braille – Nehru’s letters to his daughter to be released by Nehru Memorial Library and Museum.
Jurist Association in UAE to publish laws in Braille – Gulf News to give visually impaired people a chance to understand the United Arab Emirates law.
Kester Braille – teaching program for children aged 4-8. American.
Learning Ally, formerly Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic – Accessible materials for individuals with visual and learning disabilities – please update your bookmarks for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.
Life not merely black & white – The Star | IOL.co.za – a report on the Commonwealth and South African Open Chess Championships 2011, where Braille and sighted players are equals.
Louis Braille Translator for the MacOS. Forward and backward trannslation, including Nemeth.
Mac accessibility improved in Lion, the latest OS X – including improved support for Braille.
Malawi government to start publishing HIV/AIDS information in Braille
Math Accessibility Professionals | LinkedIn – online group for those responsible for making mathematics accessible to those with disabilities.
Medicare Handbook now published in Braille.
Moon script preceded Braille system
NBP – Promoting Braille Literacy, Braille Books, and other Braille Publications – National Braille Press, i.e..
New Math-to-Speech Technologies to Help Blind and Visually Impaired Students Master Mathematics
Perky Duck Download – Perky Duck is a freeware program from Duxbiry Systems. Duxbury’s Description: * Free simple braille editor * Perky is a computer based Perkins brailler emulator * Used in distance education to demonstrate your understanding of braille.
Questions about learning braille. « Youtube’s “Living Blind” Blog – for beginners.
Reading Materials In Large Print & Braille – American, from MDSupport.
Refreshable Braille Display with iPhone 4 Tutorial | Yahoo! Accessibility
RNIB Library Catalogue – UK resource offering books in many formats, including Braille and Moon.
RoboBraille.org – email in a text attachment, get back a version in Braille or audio.
Seedlings Braille Books for Children, based Michigan, USA. Provides Braille books at about half the production cost.
State-of-the-art library opens for China’s blind – People’s Daily Online – Chinese National Library for the Blind has opened a new location that features Braille books, audio-books and exhibitions.
Strategies and Resources for Teaching Braille to Adults – American Foundation for the Blind
Tactile Pixels Will Make It Easy To Read Braille On Touchscreens – Braille, textures, buttons could all be made realistic with tixels.
The Benefits of Braille – Fred’s Head from APH by Donna J. Jodhan. The author suggests that Braille still has its place, despite the presence of so much access technology.
The Future of Braille in Developing Countries | Yahoo! Accessibility
[Video] What Braille Means to Me – the importance of Braille, and the Braille literacy crisis.
WHAT IS BRAILLE « Info – the background story.
What’s up today – Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada – canadaeast.com services at Monkton Library, including Braille and other formats accessible by people with print disabilities.
The Blind Buzz on Cycling
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 11, 2011
Bicycling. – Great things about being blind – the author describes getting into cycling as a child.
[Video] Blind Cyclist Metro News Story – Jayne Parsons, champion paralympian cyclist.
Blind rider wants to ride Brighton-Weymouth, 2-3 Oct. Anyone with tandem & 2 days spare for a great cause?
Cyclists prepare for first Gran Fondo in Morristown | Daily Record – Jim Kutsch is the president and CEO at The Seeing Eye. He and his wife, both of whom are blind, are participating in the Gran Fondo, part of the proceeds of which will be donated to the organization that trains guide dogs.
Fundraiser Michael’s inspiring charity ride » North Shropshire Chronicle – Michael McCarthy has been blind since the age of 8. He has completed a London to Paris tandem ride in 24 hours.
Group for Visually Impaired Youth Raises $3.5M, Looks Ahead – Clayton-Richmond Heights, MO Patch – Delta Gamma supports visually impaired and blind children and youth from birth to high school age. a tandem bike team is one of many facilities for older clients.
Kind of Random Musings – Living With War-Related Illness and Injury – Sean faces up to the dilemmas of being newly disabled while doing all kinds of positive things.
The sports we choose. – great things about being blind – Kim Kilpatrick sings the praises of multi-sensory experiences, such as swimming, canoeing and tandem cycling.
Great Things About Being Blind RSS Feed.
World’s best blind triathletes coming to Peterborough – Peterborough Examiner – Ontario, CA – Ironman event coming up. You may also like to read
Blindness doesn’t slow down these triathletes – Peterborough Examiner – Ontario, CA.
cycling disability blindness
The Blind Buzz on Cycling
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 6, 2011
Blind Microsoft Employee Crushes Ironman Records – Patricia Walsh has broken not only the women’s, but the men’s, Ironman records as well.
finished the great blind ride | Jinji Sadan – the challenges and rewards of riding with a blind woman.
Fogbees ride with the Blind Bikers Across America – FOGBEES – 3 captains paired with blind stokers take on a 2-day ride in alabama.
Forthcoming Events from British Cycling – The Blind Buzz
Group gives visually impaired the ability to enjoy outdoor activities – JSOnline – Blind Outdoor Leisure Development (BOLD) provides outdoor activities while enabling visually impaired people to develop their social and athletic skills.
Guide Dogs for the Blind Brings Out the Dogs to Tour de Cure | Find Folding Bikes – cycling event where Guide Dogs (America) aim to raise funds for diabetes and blindness.
Joiner#’s double bike challenge – Community – Pocklington Post – Chris Barnes wil take part in the Great North Run and the Great South Run, also cycling to and from both events. He is raising funds for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and Help for Heroes.
Outdoors for All offers opportunities for disabled adventurers : The Issaquah Press – see also
Outdoors for All Foundation: – based Seattle. Offers a wide range of outdoor activities, cycling included, for children and adults with disabilities. They are also looking for volunteers.
Forthcoming Events from British Cycling
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 3, 2011
This notice arrived from Paul West of British Cycling on 1st July.
Hi Guys
Below are details of the forthcoming events on the Paracycling calendar with info on how to enter etc.
Firstly, though Many Congratulations to Tom Staniford for his win in the 2011 BC National Paracycling Circuit Race Championship
2nd
July Pressick Circuit Race
CANCELLED – Insufficient entries as at closing
date. Shame because I subsequently had enquiries from a number of
riders about riding this event!
9th July CDNw Circuit Races, Preston Arena
Open to all riders
Race Distance – 1 Hour. Time of Start – 2.30pm
Entries to- Paul West, British Cycling, National Cycling Centre, Stuart
Street, Manchester M11 4DQ
Cheques Payable to – British Cycling (£10.00 – Non BC
Members, £15. Add £5 to both fees for late and entries on day)
Entries Close 24th June. Entries on BC Entry Form only (See attached).
Round 11 of BC National Circuit Race/Time Trial Series
30th
July Darley Moor Circuit Races, Darley Moor, Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Open to all riders
Race Distance – 1 Hour. Time of Start – 2.30pm
Entries to- Paul West, British Cycling, National Cycling Centre, Stuart
Street, Manchester M11 4DQ
Cheques Payable to – British Cycling (£10.00 – Non BC
Members, £15. Add £5 to both fees for late and entries on day )
Entries Close 15th July. Entries on BC Entry Form only (See attached).
Round
12 of BC National Circuit Race/Time Trial Series
6th
August BTTC National Paracycling Time Trial Championship and Rudy Project Time Trial Round 5, Great Witley, Worcestershire
Open to all riders who are members of cycling clubs and teams affiliated to Cycling Time Trials. National Championship is only open to British Nationals with a full British Cycling Membership
Race Distance – 16 Miles. Time of Start – 12.00
Entries to-
A.Hart, 15 Dace Road, Worcester WR5 3FD
Cheques Payable to – Worcester St Johns CC (£9.00)
Entries Close 19th July. Entries on Time Trial Form only (See attached).
Clearly mark entry form that you are entering the Disability Competition and your
Paracycling Classification if you know it.
For details on future events its worth keeping an eye on the calendars on www.britishcycling.org.uk
and www.ctt.org.uk
I hope that you find
the above helpful, but any queries do come back to me.
All the best
Paul West
Events Development Officer – Cycle Speedway, Paracycling, Track
British Cycling, National Cycling Centre, Stuart Street, Manchester, M11 4DQ
Telephone: +44 (0)161 274 2021 |
Mobile: +44
(0)7507 641267 | britishcycling.org.uk
Please note British Cycling has temporarily relocated to the following
address: British Cycling, c/o Fujitsu Services, Central Park, Northampton Road, Manchester. M40 5BP
uk, british cycling, paracycling, disability, disabled, sport
The Blind Buzz on Cycling
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 2, 2011
Another mercifully short entry this time!
Famous athlete conquers all odds in Augusta this week – Rachael Scdoris, who is legally blind, and her cycling partner Laura Winberry made a great cycling time in Augusta recently. Rachel’s fame comes from sled dog-racing, however.
Diabetic brothers complete triathlon – ksl.com – the Stevenson brothers, one of whom is legally blind, completed a sprint triathlon on the anniversary of one of them having a kidney transplant.
Cycling Events | Sports | The Bulletin – Central Oregon cyclists competed in national championships in Augusta, Georgia.
Pedalling round the world – Inverness Courier – Hamish Wood’s interest in cycling extends to working with visually impaired cyclists at home and abroad.
Cycling for the visually impaired – The Star Online (Malaysia) – first Asian Bikathon for charity will be at Balik Pulau on September 18th.
