www.vixpix.or

Interesting way to raise money for MS

Snakes on a Plane

New Line Cinema
Attn: Theatrical Film Distribution
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019-8016
310-854-5811
I am writing to request, as an accommodation for my disability, that New Line Cinema include Audeo Descriptionin the theater release of,Snakes on a Plane.
Audeo Description
is narration that allows people who are blind or visually impaired to take part in the film by describing the visual effects occurring
on the theater screen. New Line has been a leader in providing audio description services in the past. The studio provided both closed captioning for
people who are deaf as well as descriptive services for people who are blind in its release of, "The Two Towers," part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

It is my understanding that, "Snakes on a Plane," is scheduled to be released on August 18, 2006. Like most of my friends, I am very excited about this
film and have already purchased several, "Snakes on a Plane," t-shirts and key chains in anticipation of the movie's success. In order to ensure that the audio description is released on August 18, Please contact the Media Access Group at WGBH to begin the process of creating the audio description for Snakes on a Plane.
Thank you.
(Reading this blog? How about sending a letter or giving New Line a call... Together WE CAN!)

Be A Better Blogger Part II

This is the second of two posts about Being a Better Blogger
These are my notes from the book 10 Quick Steps to Chris Pirillo's Blog Traffic School. I downloaded it from Audible.

6. Do something different. Everyone writes. How can you do something different with your web space? Use audio, pictures, Geo maps or something to make your blog different.
Provide intermediation. What is your gimmick?
7. Feed the Need Get an RSS Feed. (I am working on this)
8. Go with the flow. Look at the web and what other people are talking about. How can you add your voice to this conversation?

Keep up with Current Memes Internet memes occur when something relatively unknown becomes increasingly popular, often quite suddenly, through the mass propagation of media content made feasible
by the Internet.



9. Work with other drivers. How can you make your community better? Create a community blog or a Meta blog. Link Prolifically!
Another MUST read book about the community changes and the end of business as usual caused by the WWW can be found in the book The Cluetrain Manifesto This is a Great book and it really defines making the world a better place in part through blogging.


10 Don’t drink and blog. Sounding like an idiot due to either poor grammer or because you found yourself in a state of relaxed entoxication and decided to blog isn't likely to change anything.

Goalball Girl 2004

In 2004 I traveled to Greece to compete in the Paralympic games.

I am working on getting both the web site content and the journal I kept during my trip to Greece back up on-line. I still own the domain, goalballgirl2004.net, but I need to figure out the best way to publish the content I procured while in Greece onto it.
You can check out this work in progress at:
Goalball Girl 2004

Why doesn't Victoria dress like Mamma?

Senator Joseph Biden recently gave a speech on Religion, Violence and the Middle East.

I was first turned on to Biden when I read the eulogy Senator Biden delivered at the funeral of Senator Strom Thurmond.

In this recent speech Biden recounts an experience he had while in Afghanistan.
"I remember one instance where we were stopped; it was an unauthorized checkpoint. There was a woman in a full burqa and a man dressed in traditional Afghan
garb, and what looked like a kind of hut that they lived in, but it was an adobe kind of arrangement. And, as I sat there thinking to myself, I watched
and could see a kid sitting there on a portable computer.

And I thought to myself, what happens if that kid punches up the ads for Victoria's Secret? Not a joke. Talk about a culture clash. I mean, here is his
mother dressed in the full burqa. The rapidity of change in the Islamic world is just staggering. What I am trying to say is, I think a lot has to do with
coping not just with modernity but coping … even in the West, with this notion of what do I do so that I can affect and control my destiny, so that I can
control what is going to happen to me?"

"I'm not sure that is the reason why we had a bunch of folks with box cutters take down our two towers. I don't know that. I don't even know that I could
make the case that that is the reason for the kind of rapid response you see to what appear to be relatively minor slights that occur in France, with the
Muslim population deciding that they should burn most of the automobiles in sight from Normandy down to the Mediterranean. I don't know. But something
tells me that this is part of this unsettled terrain we are all operating on right now." --- Senator Joseph Biden

Does everyone need a purple pill?

I came across this interesting article in Forbes Magazine while reading the
BBC Ouch Web Log. Written by Scott Reeves, one of Forbes.com's personal finance editors, Bipolar Disorder in the Workplace explains what bipolar disorder is; examines the pros and cons of declaring the condition to one's employer; and makes sensible suggestions about possible
reasonable accommodations which employers might consider making.


In addition, I listen to Forbe’s audio edition and really enjoyed the following article aboutPill Pushing drug companies. Do you know what happened on August 12, 1997? The FDA lifted restrictions on drug companies ability to directly market drugs and medical devices to consumers without lengthy disclaimers on possible side effects. Does it seem like the amount of comercials for perscription drugs has increased in the last ten years? Well, if it smells like a french frie, it's probably a french frie- lifting these advertising restrictions in 1997 lead to a stream of TV adds for perscription drugs. It has changed both the way consumers demand spacific drugs and the way many companies do their R&D. Big sellers seem more important than innovation. “Discovery is a risky business.” “The easiest profits come from Me Too drugs.”

(Just to be clear, these 2 articles are un-related. I posted them together because I only wanted to make one trip to the Forbes web site to obtain the exact URLs. I was impressed with Forbe's discussion of bipolar disorder in the first article and disappointed by the behavior of the drug companies in the second.)

Ron Santo

Dear Mr. Ron Santo,
I wanted to write you to say thanks for being such an inspiration to me. Now, if your experience as someone with a disability is anything like mine you may find those words to be rather trite. Please know that I mean those words sincerely and I don't use them often.
I was born with Glaucoma- a disease of the eyes. I lost both of my eyes to this disease and now wear prosthetic eyes instead. Yesterday I saw your movie, This Old Cub
and I was touched by the openness with which you discussed the amputation of your second leg. For me, Mr. Santo, the decision to evisorate my eyes was one that I knew was the right one for me. My disease was a rather painful one and I was tired of making trips to the ER to be medicated intravenously to regulate my inter ocular pressures. The disease was getting in the way of my life and having the operation made it possible for me to get on with things. I enjoy life a lot better without chronic pain.
In 2004 I was a member of the US Paraolympic team that competed in Athens Greece. We took the silver metal in my sport, Goalball. This was an incredible experience for me that I might not have had if I had continued to struggle with the effects of my disease.
I have never seen this view of illness represented in the media before. I respect you for telling your story; it's helped me to feel better about myself.

Thank you. You are certainly a member of MY personal hall of fame.

Colbert Speaks to President Bush

Wow! On NPR this morning I heard about the Whitehouse’s Press dinner where comedian Stephen Colbert blasted President Bush. I love John Stewart’s show, but have found Colbert a lot harder to get. My opinion has totally changed however- this took guts.

Read the Transcript or See it for yourself on CSPAN

"The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what
happened Tuesday. Events can change; this man's beliefs never will. As excited as I am to be here with the president, I am appalled to be surrounded by
the liberal media that is destroying America, with the exception of Fox News. Fox News gives you both sides of every story: the president's side, and
the vice president's side.” --- Stephen Colbert

Our Space Podcast

This weeks Podcast is also posted up at Blind Cool Tech. We live with two dog guides, a cat and a 75 Spider. This is a tour of our space. The idea of touring our space came from the BCT Podcast

Be A Better Blogger

I am reading this great book, 10 Quick Steps to Chris Pirillo's Blog Traffic School, by Chris Pirillo and David Lawrence. I downloaded it from Audible.

I am still getting the hang of this blog thing. One thing mentioned in this book are "group blogs," I have never red a group blog before. Know of any good ones?

Here are my notes for steps one through five.

1. Have a reason to blogg- Don’t just post to post. Don’t be a textual exibitionist!

2. find a chassis that suits you- Find the colors you like. Learn the html or the specialized strings. Get your hands dirty to find the “look,” you like.

Check Out Strange Banana

3. know your driving style- Blogger know yourself. Be consistent in your style and be true to your inner voice.

4. remember to signal and watch for pedestrians- What news matters to you? What bloggs have your respect and do you enjoy? Create a blogg roll.
I don't quite get this one yet, but the book says that one can be set up at Blog Rolling

It is also a good idea to go to other people's blogs to comment once and a while. This builds community and encourages people to come to your site to comment on your blog. Remember though--- - be careful what you say, these words may follow you around FOREVER!

5. Watch the Roads- look at the topography of your space. Who is reading your blog? What are others reading?
www.technorati.com
Text America makes your blog mobil
zonkboard.com gives you a semi-live chat for your blog

Perfect Paul hasn't changed in over 40 years?

Want to listen to the very first talking computer? Click this link and either play the file in your media player or download the small file. I had trouble with the media player so had to download it. VERY Funny!
I am surprised how very little the quality of the computer's voice has changed in 40 years!


Synthesized Speech--Bell Tele…