Sh#t People Say to Blind People

"Why is there braille on drive-thru ATM machines blind people cant' drive?"

Response: Have you ever heard of a passenger's seat

"Why is their signs in restaurants saying 'Braille Menu Available', blind people can't see that?

Response: Blind people have sighted friends and family.

"Why would blind people have an iPhone?"

Response: There's an accessibility app for that.

"I'm going to speak slowly and loudly to you so you can better understand me."

Response: So by doing that you're saying being blind means that I'm also deaf and have impaired comprehension.... okay.

"See if I cover my eyes I can see what a blind person sees."

Response: Actually a very small percentage of the visually impaired see darkness. Most do have light perception. 

"You're not blind you're faking it."

Response: Just because I have ambulatory vision (the ability to see around a room) doesn't mean I can see everything. (This is how most people who have low vision see.)

February Update & 111 Things List

Its time for an update!

I don't know if regular followers of mine remember back in November my post A Bump in the Road. I was having a little difficulty with my health insurance, well its resolved now. So I can get a better update on the state of my vision with my doctor. Also I have a question for anyone out there who lives in the New York City Metro Area. Can anyone recommend any good low-vision specialists? Feedback would be so greatly appreciated.

111 Things List

On tumblr which serves as my personal blog I created the 111 Things List. It could be described as a bucket list or even similar to a New Year's resolutions list. Its really based off of the 101 Things in 1001 Days List from DayZeroProject.com. The difference is this list isn't terminating like the previously mentioned list. When you complete one item you create another one, this way you keep creating your life experiences. I came across the 101 Things in 1001 Days list from Amy Schmittauer, who is a YouTuber and social media expert. She also made the video I watched that finally convinced me to buy my digital camera that I absolutely love. So shout-out to her. If you're doing something similar I would love to hear about it. You can visit my list here.

Other Things
I want to thank VisionAware for featuring this blog on their blogroll of visually impaired bloggers. So thanks!

Also I made a collaborative blog on tumblr called These Perspectives. I noticed there is quite a large visually impaired community on the site so I wanted to create a blog for people to share their stories. If you are on tumblr and would like to be a collaborator of the blog you can send me a message through my contact page which is here.

Lastly, if you use Twitter and you or a loved one want to connect with others who are living with Stargardt's you can check out my twitter list here.

Don't be shy to leave a comment on any of my posts. I made responding to my posts easier and you can post anonymously if you would like.

Michael A. Williams, Award-winning artist w/ Stargardt's

Michael A. Williams has Stargardt's Disease and describes himself as an "Inspirational Blind Artist" He's been creating outstanding art pieces since he was a child and was diagnosed with Stargardt's in his teens.

In the above video Mr. Williams talks about living with Stargardt's, his art and his mission to encourage the visually impaired to get involved in the visual arts.

Following link will take you to Mr. Williams website where you can view and purchase some of his beautiful paintings.

http://www.uniquewanders.com/index.htm

AMC Theatres Making Their Theaters Accessible

So AMC Theaters is in the process of making their theaters more accessible for visually and hearing impaired individuals. The company says that the upgrade will be fully rolled out in 2014.
Check out more at the following link:
Hearing-impaired, vision-impaired moviegoers to get help at AMC theaters

This is pretty cool what do you think? Don't be shy to leave your comments below.

Sami Stoner: Teen Cross Country Runner w/ Stargardt's

Being legally blind literally hasn't slowed teen cross country runner Sami Stoner down. The above video titled A Girl's Best Friend is from the ESPN series E:60 showing Sami living and thriving with Stargardt's Disease.

Fleksy - Happy Typing!

I

I love tech gadgets especially my cell phone (HTC EVO 4G) but I don't text message. What I think is cool about the above video is how blind people were beta testers for this predictive text message app. The mobile phone app is called Flesky and is designed to use predictive text technology to send more accurate messages. The company claims that the app is so accurate you don't even need to look at the phone to type.

To be a Beta Tester for the Android App or Spainish App go here: http://beta.fleksy.com/#0

To see the preview for iPhone go here: http://fleksy.com/app

Do you know of any other products where blind or visually impaired individuals helped develop a product for the masses? If you are a big texter what apps do you use?
Leave your comments below.

Some Misconceptions About Blind People

On one of my information seeking journeys on the vast spacial plane that is the interwebs (internet for non nerds) I came across some information about misconceptions about blind people. Many sighted people and even some people in the blind/visually impaired community often believe these misconceptions simply due to ignorance. One article I found was Delco Daily Top Ten: Top 10 Misconceptions about Blind People. The article was by David W. Wannop who "is a music journalist, talent developer, booking agent, and show host based in Center City Philadelphia.

Resources for the Blind

I added a new list of resources for the blind which can be found here. The list has listings of organizations from all over the world. If there are any organizations that you would like to see added to the list feel free to leave it in the comments or the contact page.