Say What?

Accents
Say What? I'm having a new experience with my current online class. I mentioned a while ago that I'm taking classes online and I use real-time captioners in the virtual classroom. It has been working really well up to now. The problem? My current teacher, also the only one that teaches this specific class, has a heavy accent. The [...]
Thu, Sep 17 2009

Online Captioning May Be Coming Here
Say What? I wanted to mention real quick that I got a response from our corporate on having captioning capability included on our Brightcove videos that we offer here on www.appeal-democrat.com and www.colusa-sun-herald.com, and any Freedom Communications Inc. property using Brightcove. Brightcove is our vendor for Internet videos on Freedom Communications Inc. properties. The...
Tue, Jul 28 2009

More about Captioning Online
Say What? I'm feeling hopeful today. I spent about 30 minutes yesterday writing a personal letter to my representative here, to co-sponsor or at least support the Bill which I blogged about yesterday. I also heard from my very good friend in Minnesota this morning, that she wrote to her representative Al Franken, to support the Bill as [...]
Wed, Jul 08 2009

Close Captioned Online
Say What? A new bill in Congress, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009, seeks to make it mandatory to provide closed captioned online and make Internet more accessible to the deaf and others who rely on captioning. The Act can be read here: COAT Web site.Within this article are links to contacting representative [...]
Tue, Jul 07 2009

What do you do…
Say What? This is for deaf and hard of hearing people out there who speak as their form of communication with their hearing counterparts. What do you do if you get interrupted by a hearing person who does not realize you are speaking to another hearing person? For example, I'm talking to my hearing co-worker who sits [...]
Wed, Jul 01 2009

While I was setting up and testing my new home network over...
Say What? While I was setting up and testing my new home network over the weekend (wireless Internet and printer and still a headache to do), I noticed when testing connectivity on my iPod Touch on Sunday that one of the featured apps in Apple's iTunes store was Sign 4 Me. It's an app that would install [...]
Mon, Jun 01 2009

I can’t see your mouth
Say What? It was after hours when a truck delivery man came in looking for someone to sign off a delivery. My desk just happens to be the first one to approach from the side entrance, and there is a half-wall along the side of my desk. So he's there, standing behind the half-wall. I know he's [...]
Wed, May 27 2009

Online Class Experiences
Say What? I wanted to share something that was recently added to my online classes. For those who don't know, I'm currently enrolled in distance learning through online classes with the International Academy of Design and Technology based in Tampa, Florida (I'm in Marysville, California). Up to the third quarter, professors were giving powerpoint presentations...
Thu, May 14 2009

Captioning Survey Available Now
Say What? CSD-DTV Help Center for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind, are conducting a survey to see how the captioning experience is for you. Please click on this link: [link] Let them know if you're happy or frustrated with the closed captioning. Do it! Post from: Say What?
Mon, May 11 2009

Judiciary/Court Interpreters
Say What? Judiciary Interpreters or more commonly known, Court Interpreters, are probably the most sought interpreters next to educational interpreters. These judiciary interpreters are not for only the foreign language speakers but also the deafened. In a nation whose foundation is in civil rights, the constitution and liberty, the civil rights of a Deaf person in the court [....
Thu, Apr 30 2009

My Trip to Yuba College March 31, 2009
Say What? On Tuesday, March 31, I went over to Yuba College to speak to Cari Carter's ASL I and ASL II classes about living and working as a Deaf person in a newspaper industry focusing on the Internet. In ASL I began with a general “who I am” introduction before going into family life experience, mainstreamed [...]
Thu, Apr 02 2009

Audism Free America
Say What? There is a Blue Ribbon Ceremony in Solidarity for Audism Free America taking place at America River College. When: Friday, April 3, 2009 Where: Raef Hall at American River College, 4700 College Oak Drive, Sacramento, CA 95841 Time: 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Download flyer here. I'd like to take a moment to talk about Audism and explain it, because [...]
Wed, Apr 01 2009

It’s Illegal to Discriminate Video (with closed captions)...
Say What? Check this video out if you haven't seen it yet on Facebook or YouTube:
Tue, Mar 24 2009

The Perfect House
Say What? My husband and I were visiting Susan Stacy's home before the holidays. While there, Susan showed us the renovation she did to her kitchen, and pointed out a special feature she had added: quiet cabinets. We laughed and declared it was “hearing-friendly”! Susan Stacy bought those special soft-close hinges for her new cabinets from Home Depot [...]
Wed, Dec 31 2008

“You’re the …”
Say What? I went to the post office in Marysville, during my lunch break, to drop off a bunch of Christmas cards and needed stamps for them. When I got to the front desk, the post office lady clerk recognized me and wrote on a Post-It-Note as I paid for the stamps: “You're the Appeal-Democrat girl.” I smiled. [...]
Thu, Dec 18 2008

Squeezing the Orange - Day 1
Say What? I'm down in Orange County being trained. It's cool and foggy, but I like it just fine. I had my first day of training today and it went real well. The morning and afternoon was spent reviewing the interactive systems I will be working in to develop Appeal-Democrat's content and sites that we operate. Yesterday was [...]
Wed, Dec 03 2008

Could You Please Say Something?
Say What? While I was typing up the previous post about Oct. 11, I kept getting calls from the relay on my account, but every time I answered “Hello this is Hana,” the caller would hang up. After the third call, I was getting annoyed and decided to do a reverse phone number look up using Google [...]
Thu, Oct 30 2008

The Flip Side of the Phone
Say What? Relay Service Using VideoPhone I've been wondering lately what it's like for the hearing person on their side when they communicate with someone who is deaf. What is it like for you to be on the phone with a relay operator? For example, my husband doesn't like using the relay to communicate with me because no matter [...]
Tue, Oct 14 2008

More on Online Classes
Say What? The second half of my first quarter has me in two new classes, and the method these lectures are being done is different from the first class.  If you don't remember, my previous and first class was done in PowerPoint presentation with live text chat discussing what was on the PowerPoint presentation. This is my [...]
Thu, Oct 09 2008

More on Online Classes
Say What? The second half of my first quarter has me in two new classes, and the method these lectures are being done is different from the first class.  If you don't remember, my previous and first class was done in PowerPoint presentation with live text chat discussing what was on the PowerPoint presentation. This is my [...]
Tue, Sep 02 2008

How to tell you are deaf
Say What? more animals I saw this in one of my online deaf communities that I subscribe to. Too funny I had to share! This also reminds me of the several times I accidentally had my tv's volume on and above the medium range on the volume bar, and realized only hours later, that I had been blaring my [...]
Thu, Aug 28 2008

Spotted Online
Say What? Surfing the Internet, some gems to share — please click to read full articles on each: Deaf horse teaches children about disabilities - Cali, a deaf wild mustang that was adopted, responds to commands through hand signals and rope movements.  Young boy saves deaf sister from house fire -  In Kansas, a fire broke out in [...]
Wed, Aug 27 2008

Dear Home … Part 3 The Finale
Say What? The last of Susan Stacy's experience at Grizzly Camp: * A note from Hana: This year's Grizzly Camp, was themed Hippie, so you'll see a lot of tie-dyes, face paint, jewelry craft. I saw the  rope course on [your blog].  This was a great experience for the kids even though they are a lot braver than me.  [...]
Mon, Aug 11 2008

Dear Home …
Say What? Susan Stacy, green shirt on far left, with Eve, Kayla, Simonka, Meg, Brea, Neva, and Jessica, e-mailed me about her time at Grizzly Camp for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing.  She is currently there until the end of the week, as a counselor for a group of girls at the camp.  She reported that there were [...]
Thu, Aug 07 2008

Silence at X Games
Say What? Picked up from Yahoo! news, courtesy of Robert LaHue.  This California 17-year old girl, deaf since birth, is a mortorsports champion.  Her name is Ashley Fiolek, and she debuted in the X Games in the first year of Women's Moto X Racing on Saturday, August 2, 2008. Read more here at the original article. Doing a [...]
Mon, Aug 04 2008

Learning Online
Say What? The last couple of weeks, I've been busy with my online classes.  It's been an interesting experience for me because I've never done online distance learning. It was not an easy decision for me.  Ultimately, I chose distance learning because I couldn't leave my employment and didn't want to, yet needed to continue learning.  It took [...]
Wed, Jul 30 2008

Mistaken Identity of CIs
Say What? After reading this article about thieves mistaking the Cochlear Implant (CI) on a little boy for a Bluetooth headset, I wanted to bop those thieves' heads.  How could they mistake the CI for a Bluetooth headset? I'll admit they look similar at the very least, but there's a major difference: the CI has a part that is [...]
Mon, Jul 14 2008

You have a Phone Call!
Say What? I'm going to leave you with a funny story for the weekend. A little background: I have almost never had a phone call through the office sent to me; my calls are always done on my computer. Still, I get a few messages that I received a call. Usually I can just call them right back [...]
Thu, Jul 03 2008

Put Away That Cellphone!
Say What? Today the new law on cellphones went into effect. It prohibits all drivers from “using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle. Motorists 18 and over may use a “hands-free device.” Drivers under the age of 18 may NOT use a wireless telephone or a hands-free device while operating a motor vehicle.” In other [...]
Tue, Jul 01 2008

Shopping for a new phone
Say What? Hello all, I'm in the market for a new phone. I need a smartphone like the Blackberry, iPhone, or SideKick. What I'm hoping for is one that's on Verizon's wireless network because it has better coverage out in the farm country.  AT&T and T-Mobile provide me with a shaky connection out in the country. I'm tempted by [...]
Fri, Jun 20 2008

Speech Bloopers
Say What? Rose Godfrey's “Happy Farter Day” post reminded me of the bloopers deaf children and people too utter entirely by accident. Sometimes I wonder why we even bother with training deaf children who can't hear themselves well, to speak. Like myself. I'm stone deaf but have a fair speech which came from about 17 years of speech [...]
Tue, Jun 17 2008

Being Slam-less
Say What? I was on my vacation last week and man, it was so good. I needed to take myself off the Internet and spend some time with my family. I celebrated my birthday and my fifth wedding anniversary. My husband and I went camping in a place that was completely isolated from civilization. No [...]
Mon, Jun 09 2008

Interactive Video Dictionary in the Works
Say What? I was reading the Appeal-Democrat newspaper over the weekend when my husband showed me this article titled “Researchers making video dictionary for the deaf.” I found the online version here. The short story: Boston University students are looking to create a sign language resource through the creation of a video dictionary paired with an interactive [......
Wed, May 28 2008

Tidbits
Say What? Update on a previous postThe days fly by so fast for me. I didn't realize how many days had passed since the post “Would Rather E-mail Me,” because I have an update on it. I got his e-mailed consultation on Monday May 5th (the phone conversation was on Friday, May 2 morning). Ironically, his title was [...]
Thu, May 15 2008

“Sweet Nothings In My Ear”
Say What? There has been many reviews on DeafRead.com regarding the movie “Sweet Nothing In My Ear.” It is  about a deaf and hearing couple who struggle over whether to or not to have their deaf son implanted with a cochlear implant. After reading several reviews online, I found one that revealed the history behind the film [...]
Fri, May 02 2008

Would Rather E-mail Me
Say What? I'm puzzled about something this morning and I'm not sure if I should be mad or what. I was scheduled for an online conference with one of our vendors about a project that I wanted consultation on. I had e-mailed them earlier in the week about this and they set me up with a online conference. [...]
Fri, May 02 2008

Life After High School
Say What? Yesterday, I joined 9 other working deaf professionals for a three-hour discussion with Yuba City High School's graduating class of deaf seniors. We shared our experiences as deaf people in the work force and we had a diverse background represented; Sutter County On-Call Janitor, State Department of Rehabiliation Counselor, two NorCal Center on Deafness employee...
Wed, Apr 23 2008

Scams hitting Y-S
Say What? After hearing and reading about scams targeting the Deaf on Deafread.com and elsewhere, it has finally hit the Yuba-Sutter area. In the span of one week, I got two text messages from friends who reported getting the scam Instant Message offering money if they would give their information. The name (surprise) was Deafagent06, aka Walter [...]
Thu, Apr 10 2008

Why the heck did I click that play button?!
Say What? I frequently buy books from Amazon.com and have a newsletter from them. Today I got an e-mail on new books in the Amazon.com store so I clicked on it to go and visit. While on the page I noticed Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. I had read Eragon and Eldest so I clicked on it to [...]
Wed, Apr 09 2008

Deaf Quote of the Day
Say What? “No one is as deaf as the man who will not listen.” Jewish Proverb quotes
Thu, Mar 13 2008

Celebration of Reading Day - Cobblestone Elementary
Say What? Today was Cobblestone Elementary School's first annual Celebration of Reading Day. An invitation was extended to Appeal-Democrat two weeks ago to have volunteers come and read a book to their classrooms. When I saw the announcement on our bulletin, I had to find out if there was a deaf child or more that I could sign [...]
Mon, Mar 03 2008

Spotted Online
Say What? “The Forest” by Jason Stewart - a real feast on the eyes, a short story told in ASL. (There is captioning for those who don't know ASL) I watched it 5 times, just enjoying it. I love the imagery and expression. This is actually an evaluation of “Lifelike Expressive Avatars” being developed. Presidential Candidate Scorecard [...]
Mon, Feb 11 2008

Bob's House
Say What? I've been watching some interesting things on the deaf blogsphere. If you will recall, PepsiCo created a Pre-SuperBowl commercial involving Deaf men using ASL titled “Bob's House.” (Click to view video again) It was created with members of PepsiCo's EnAble group — employees dedicated to creating a more inclusive environment for peop...
Fri, Feb 08 2008

CATE Available in Yuba-Sutter area
Say What? Claudia Hollis at FREED Center for Independent Living wants to let the deaf and hard of hearing community know that FREED has a CATE program now. CATE stands for California Assistive Technology Exchange. FREED is one of 10 community based organizations that is provided funding by CATE. These community based organizations provide direct assistive technology services [...
Tue, Jan 29 2008

Say what? “Cured” of deafness?
Say What? This caught my eye — Boy, 11 “cured” of deafness. I first saw it on disaboom and located the original article. Apparently, he had been living for nine years with a cotton bud (the end of a Q-tip) stuck in his right ear. It suddenly popped out while he was at church and he could [...]
Tue, Jan 29 2008

Special Announcement: Be Part of the Change!
Say What? I received an very important e-mail just now. This is for all Deaf Community Members, Educators, Families, Friends, Students, anyone interested in the education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the state of California. ARE YOU FRUSTRATED WITH YOUR DEAF EDUCATION EXPERIENCE? IF SO… CLICK HERE: NorCal Center Deaf Education Reform Call This is about a push for [...]
Thu, Jan 17 2008

Working Deaf People
Say What? What advice do you have for the young generation when they start thinking about entering the work force? A common thing I hear from is: “Won't my deafness/hard of hearing be an issue with a prospective employer?” I say it's only an issue if someone makes it an issue. I don't think of my deafness [...]
Fri, Jan 11 2008

Captioned Movie Trailers
Say What? You know those movie trailers? Wish they were captioned? Fear not. You can find them captioned on billcreswell, one of the blogs that I visit. Bill Creswell is ideal because he works for a theatre that provides Closed Captioning for those who are deaf and hard of hearing, and Descriptive Audio for those who are [...]
Thu, Jan 03 2008

International Deaf Travel
Say What? I was taking a short break from work when a Deaf friend instant messaged me. She was wondering if there were international travel agencies for the deaf that weren't cruises. She specifically wanted to fly to Italy to sight see and do research on her family's history. I remembered Jamie Berke's post about that and [...]
Wed, Jan 02 2008

Holiday communications
Say What? Holidays can be fun and festive, but also stressful. Not just the gifting and shopping, but communicating with relatives at holiday gatherings. Recently, I watched the vlog of a young girl telling her story of being the only deaf kid in the family. She said she was lonely. Yes, she was involved in activities like [...]
Fri, Dec 28 2007