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2023 January-July

www.toledotalks.org
Toledo Talks
Low-Vision/Blind Group News!
News Editor, William Brandes Email: williambrandes@gmail.com

Join the Toledo Talks Mail-List. You'll find the link on the Toledo Talks website. The sign-up is easy-peasy. Just requires your email address. Then follow the prompts to complete the process. Stay in the loop.

By News Editor. An Introduction: Hi Veteran! William Brandes here! Putting together the newsletter for TOLEDO TALKS, the Low-Vision/Blind Group that meets at the Toledo VA facility the third Thursday of each month. Visit us online at www.toledotalks.org for each current and archived newsletter!

By News Editor. What's Up. Monthly meetings? With the onset of COVID-19, all meetings are cancelled. Future face-to-face meetings are postponed until further notice per Rich Alden. For the latest news and conversation, I suggest that you, if able, join the mail-list for Toledo Talks. The particulars for signing-up? It is, really, easy-peasy. However, if you have problems signing-up, shoot me an email or call and leave a voice mail. I'll put you on the list personally. All you need is an active email. I guarantee you will receive no junk when on this list!

Contact

The VA has had some difficulty with forwarding &/or retrieving messages on Rich's VA Office number: 734-845-3064. Please DO NOT Leave any messages. Please, call his VA cellphone number instead! Contact him on his VA Cell at: 734-277-2540. For scheduling a VIST Annual Review (VAR) contact Anetria Carter VIST PSA: 734-222-7406. Thank you.

Rich Alden, VIST Coordinator, 2215 Fuller Road (122), Ann Arbor, Michigan. Office: (734) 845.3064, VA Cell: (734) 277.2540, Fax: (734) 845.3234.

William Vrandes, Toledo Talks Editor. Email: williambrandes@gmail.com, Telephone: (419) 455.6484.

The Power of Games to Connect and Solve Problems

Mor than just fun. Why a game in which you look for a real, live pink elephant could help save the world.

Edgard Gouveia believes in the power of games. He stages big communal games to help people connect and solve problems. Dancing together is part of his process. After several minutes of dancing, he asked participants to hug at least 5 other people. Many of them came up to him to thank and hug him too.

Mr. Gouveia Jr., 58, says the key to solving the world's problems is games. "I use games and narrative to mobilize crowds," says the Brazilian game inventor and co-founder of Livelab. He's worked with schools, companies, government offices and slums. And his target audiences keep getting bigger. "For example, games that can make a whole town, a whole city or even a whole country play together," he says.

And now he's developing a global game called "Jornada X" whose goal is to get kids and teenagers to save nothing less than all life on the planet. Gouveia's thinking is that if you can frame a problem as a challenge or epic journey, then kids "can solve a lot of problems that adults can't," he says. "And they're able to mobilize the adults among them."

When I was a kid, we had this game called gincana. In Brazil, it goes back like 100 years. Fewer communities play it today, but you can still find maybe 30 cities in Brazil where it's played.

Here's how it works. Once a year, the whole town or city was invited to play together. We created teams of 500 or 600 people that included kids and adults and grandparents. It was like a big weekend festival. And we played silly, impossible missions. He says that games represent "a kind of collective intelligence ... a brainstorm the size of a city. I witnessed the creative potential we have to solve anything."

I remember the first one that I played in my hometown of Santos. There was this stage in front of the church where the whole town of thousands of people gathered to hear what the mission was. And the guy said into the microphone, "You have three hours to bring a real pink elephant." There are no wild elephants in Brazil. And there's certainly no pink elephant anywhere! But when the guy said we had three hours, the whole town started screaming and running, trying to find a solution. This is an ancestral training system that awakens and strengthens the power of community because you cannot complete the mission by yourself.

After five minutes, someone in the crowd said, "The circus!" Then his team ran and drove to the circus in another city. And the owner loaned them the elephant because everyone knows that the gincana is something sacred. Everyone wants to help you. So he probably said, "OK, take it, but bring it back in three hours! Please! Because I have a show."

This team thought they were going to win since they had the elephant. "Nobody's gonna find a pink elephant. We're the amazing ones!" But another team brought an elephant from another town and they started painting it pink. The first team said, "No! You can't do that!" But the second team said, "Nobody said you couldn't paint a real elephant pink."

So people created these crazy strategies out of nothing. And we did it together. It's a kind of collective intelligence. A brainstorm the size of a city. And then we all laughed. We all celebrated. Even if you lost, you couldn't believe these groups actually brought real elephants to your town.

There's a mindset that leads us to create scarcity in our behavior with our neighbors, with our partners, with other countries. It's the idea that there's not enough for everybody. So we feel like we better collect and save for ourselves and for our families. But this idea of scarcity is crazy. It creates a kind of social sickness. You can be a millionaire but if you have the idea of scarcity in your head, you'll want to collect more and save more.

The people that often share the most are the poorest people. If you give someone who's homeless a sandwich, they will share it. They know that tomorrow, they won't have food. And if they share with someone now, that person may share with them tomorrow. All over the world, the homeless people I've met have a different kind of knowledge.

Most of us in big cities, we see the other as a competitor or a potential enemy. But for many traditional communities, if they see you coming and they never saw someone that looks like you before, they'll find the difference attractive. "Oh, it's a potential friend," they might think. So they want to feed you, learn from you, bring you to their home.

Shifting the mindset of scarcity. It's not about trying to educate people out of it because for them, it feels true. They've experienced that scarcity. You cannot manipulate people's will. But you can manipulate or design the environment so that scarcity isn't important. What I do is help build skills in others that I've learned from traditional communities, Indigenous villages or observing kids in nature when it comes to the scarcity mindset.

I just tell people, "Let's play." And through games and playful activities, we create a field of trust, of safety, of love and empathy. And people wind up wanting to give more and more.

When you create abundance of connection, abundance of possibility, people sense it right away. It doesn't matter if for 30 or 40 years they were living in scarcity. When our biology finds an abundance of love, connection and an acceptance that we can be ourselves, people flourish within minutes.

Collective intelligence is way more powerful than a traditional pyramid or hierarchy. We're trying to tune back into a community's power to bring people together. And we do that through this guiding question;"What if building the world of our dreams could be fast, free, fun and fantastic?"

If you think about inviting the whole world to take on a big global challenge, the United Nations can't do that. But the Olympic Games can. The World Cup can. We have so much knowledge, especially in Indigenous communities, about how to treat the environment and how to build connections among thousands of people.

If you can create a challenge where you invite all of humanity to join a journey that's fast, free, fun and fantastic, everybody is going to join - kids and elders alike. I've done it locally, regionally and nationally. But to take on climate change, we need to go global.

The vision for the global game? It's called "Jornada X" in Portuguese, or "X Journey" in English. And the idea is to save the planet - a forest, a piece of a neighborhood - one block at a time.

It starts with young people. They receive a call that's like a Matrix video that says, "Humanity isn't doing well. Society is violent and nature is dying. But you are one of a group of special kids with superpowers - things like love, helping others, strength, and friendship. In this game, in this journey, you have to awaken and release your superpower.

But here's the key - it has to be a collective superpower. They have to call at least three more friends and convince them to form a team. And anyone who joins that league gets the superpower as well. Kids love playing superheroes as a team.

As soon as they sign up, the team starts to receive missions. For instance, we might say, "Look at your neighborhood around you. What pisses you off about your neighborhood? What's wrong?" Kids and teenagers are all about criticizing. So they choose something like not having trees or having a dirty river or kids not being safe. And the idea is that by the end of seven weeks, they have to find a solution and build it alongside their community. They don't know how to begin, but they try.

We tell them that the whole neighborhood is their game board. We explain that everything that they need to solve the problem is there in their community. So they have to find the local experts, the local materials, the local organizational patterns. And eventually, they come up with something. Like planting trees or cleaning gardens or cleaning the river.

The next mission might be to find allies in your neighborhood - people who know about the problem you're trying to tackle. We ask the young people to choose the best three experts, tell them about the problem they're trying to solve and ask them to share the story of their lives. That's a trick to create connection.

These allies have the wisdom but they sometimes feel stuck and that they can't do anything. But when kids go to them, it energizes them.

Soon, we ask the kids to mobilize the support of as many adults as possible to get them involved in the hands-on work of their solution.

And when the community sees kids healing their neighborhood, they come together and say, "There's something meaningful here. We need to be part of it. We've been waiting for the government or companies to support us, but we are the people who can act to restore our neighborhood."

By belonging to a group that we love and that's doing good in the world - these are ways of energizing our collective power, our collective meaning. When you do some good, you feel like you have an identity. Your neighbor says, "Amazing. How can I support you?" You feel appreciated and so you want to do more. By playing the game, we strengthen our personal and collective portions of confidence, joy, and willingness to do good.

Think this could work? Well, kids play war games all the time. They collaborate to kill people. It's not that they like death, but they want to have this kind of adrenaline. What could be more exciting? My answer is saving the planet in a way that adults haven't been able to.

Our global game is a way to get communities to come together and use hands-on actions to restore the environment. By doing that, they reconnect with nature, reconnect with society and they want to do more. They dance together, they celebrate together, they share food, and it's fun. It restores community.

We've been testing it in Brazil and over 15 countries. And the kids are telling us they want to build this huge network across the planet. So it's coming. It's coming.

Source URL. Link: www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/07/09/1185014763/why-a-game-in-which-you-look-for-a-real-live-pink-elephant-could-help-save-the-w.

VA DigitalVA Expo a Success

"Creating delightful Veteran experiences with VA's digital tools, and meeting Veterans where they are so they can spend more time doing the things they truly love," was the topic of VA's DigitalVA Expo held on June 29. The event attracted a record-breaking crowd with nearly 25,000 tuning in virtually to hear how VA is transforming end-user experiences and what's coming next.

The DigitalVA Expo was held at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Co-hosted by VA's Office of Information Technology and Veterans Experience Office, the Expo served a dual purpose. In one building, Veterans attended a job fair with public and private sector businesses looking to hire tech talent. At the main campus venue, speakers and panel participants shared VA's vision for an exceptional digital experience for Veterans.

The event kicked off with opening remarks by Secretary McDonough, followed by a joint presentation featuring Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer Kurt DelBene, along with Chief Technology Officer Charles Worthington.

They articulated the vision for the Veteran's digital experience, making it easy for Veterans to find, apply for, and use the benefits and health care they've earned and deserve.

Check out the "Source URL" in order to watch and learn what high-visibility and key projects are happening, including a redesigned va.gov website, the evolution of VA's chatbot answering Veteran questions in real time, expanded telehealth technologies deployed during the COVID pandemic (that are still bringing services to where Veterans are), and how and why Veterans are embracing VA's Health and Benefits mobile app, launched for smartphones one year ago.

Underscoring the deeply personal connection VA employees have with Veterans they serve, Secretary McDonough introduced the video trailer of "Beyond the Uniform: Vets Driving VA Digital Experiences." In the video, Veterans share their own stories, giving an up-close and personal view of how increased integration, accessibility and expanded digital options are greatly improving their day-to-day lives.

In the panel discussions, more leaders from across VA and various Veterans Service Organizations explored the many and varied ways technology can improve Veteran interactions; with VA, with their caregivers, and with each other. The open forum to discuss Tech Highlights and the challenges and opportunities of Bridging the Digital Divide gave the audience insight into what initiatives are bringing technological progress and improvements to the Veteran population.

On the Source URL, you will find the DigitalVA Expo recording to watch the presentations and learn more about how VA is using the latest technology, and why that's working to continually enhance and improve the Veteran experience. The complete presentation is 3 hours in length, so bring a cup of java, perhaps a pot. Yes, I watched the complete show to the end!

Source URL. Link: www.news.va.gov/122095/new-tech-gives-veterans-the-gift-of-time-for-the-things-they-truly-love.

The Inexpensive Amazon Fire Tablet

My thoughts? If your expectations for the Amazon Fire tablet are beyond capability, you will be disappointed. I have had Amazon tablets since purchasing a Kindle Keyboard in 2009. Every iteration has gotten better. I currently use both a 6 inch, 4th Generation purchased a decade ago (since discontinued. I love the small size footprint of this device. The 7 inch Fire is now the basic model for Amazon,) and a 7 inch, 7th Generation is also in my tool-box. Although there have been hardware upgrades since, both of these tablets have upgraded software that is auto synced by Amazon.

The voice-view screenreader is dead easy to use. Also is navigation on the Fire tablet.

The Fire works for my needs since I only go through email in the morning, listen to NPR stories with the NPR app plus use Alexa for other tasks including reading Kindle books borrowed from the public library in continuous reading mode. That uses the Alexa voice which is pure joy!

The silk browser is much improved than earlier and tapping on links brings up websites easy to read. It is also quite easy to send those links to myself by email for further perusal on my laptop.

During my stay at the National Disabled Veterans Golf Clinic (2022) I used the Fire tablet connected to my Full-sized USB keyboard which I took with me to write emails back home all about my adventures. Yep, can connect such a keyboard with an inexpensive dongle cable.

In the future, if I want more processer speed, more internal memory and the like, always a newer Fire to contemplate. However, some of my Fire tablets purchased earlier have been bought back by Amazon, giving me credit for future orders. A few bucks is better than nothing.

Veteran Disability Claims Soar. Unaccredited Coaches Profit

As veteran disability claims soared, unaccredited coaches profited off Veteran frustration. Working this story, I thought it amazing someone would create a company with an intention to profit by gaming the system and tugging on Veteran emotions. Many things seem fishy and $8,000 for two hours work seems kinda off the rails to me. What do you think?

Building a claims empire. Brian Reese, 39, built his brand around a narrative of struggle and redemption. He grew up in Pillager, a small town in central Minnesota, and helped win a hockey championship playing for the US Air Force Academy. Upon graduation in 2007, he became a procurement officer and reached the rank of captain. "Basically, I bought stuff," he said in a podcast appearance. The work took him to Afghanistan in 2011, where he secured upgrades to prisons in the city of Kandahar that, according to a citation for his defense meritorious service medal, prevented a "Taliban jailbreak."

In a LinkedIn post, Reese wrote that he came down with post-traumatic stress disorder in Afghanistan following many sleepless nights marked by the booms of indirect rocket fire. The severe mental and physical pain, he says, led to alcohol and drug abuse, a gambling addiction, then divorce. "I was shattered and broken," he says on his website. "I was unwilling to be uncomfortably vulnerable, and therefore, didn't seek the proper help. But during this same season, God put it on my heart that I was created for a greater purpose, to give fellow veterans hope and help."

Reese left active duty in 2012 and moved to Texas in 2014. He served as a civilian contracting officer based at Randolph Air Force Base near San Antonio until 2018.

VA Claims Insider, which he founded in 2017, has no physical headquarters. It is registered to an Austin PO box in a small shopping center. Texas gives special benefits to veteran-run businesses, waiving franchise taxes for five years, or up to $1 million. Reese and his wife, Laurel, own a riverfront home worth $2.2 million with a private boat dock that is similarly exempt from property taxes, thanks to a Texas law that grants such relief to veterans, like Reese, who are rated as 100% disabled.

In a webinar, Reese explained that his disability benefits had given him new "lifestyle options," like a Minnesota vacation and a new Ford truck. "I want this for you," he said. "I want you to get the tax-free compensation."

As his client list grew, Reese boosted online advertising (do an online search and you'll find plenty of them) and hired coaches, many of them disabled veterans he'd helped. He won praise from Texas news anchors and influencers like Marcus Luttrell, a retired Navy SEAL who wrote a bestseller, "Lone Survivor," about a deadly clash with Taliban fighters. He also acquired a website called Military Disability Made Easy, which charges $19.95 a month for video tutorials and other information.

Four former employees of VA Claims Insider, who insisted on anonymity because they feared being sued, said that as the company's popularity spiked, coaching quality degraded. Some coaches were saddled with up to 1,000 clients at a time. (Accredited claims agents generally have somewhere between 100 and 250 clients at a time). "We could hardly keep up," said one former coach. "We weren't providing much service to our clients," another admitted. "I wondered how we could justify these high prices." Other former employees said unqualified coaches were brought on. "They were bringing in anybody they could hire, teaching them real quick and on the fly, then sending them out to the wolves," one said.

Unaccredited companies proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered VFW and Legion posts around the country and exploded following the passage of the PACT Act. Paul Sullivan, a veterans' advocate who served in the Gulf War, compiled a list of what he called six of the worst unaccredited "claim sharks." It included VA Claims Insider as well as another venture, Telemedica, which was formed by Reese's wife, Laurel.

Through Telemedica, her company connects veterans with clinical professionals who provide medical evaluations that can help strengthen a veteran's disability claim. Before Telemedica was founded in 2020, Reese was overseeing contractual relationships with clinical providers in which his company retained $120 out of every $395 evaluation fee, plus a $100 "one-time exam/records review fee."

VA Claims Insider and Telemedica, which shared an address on some business documents, are deeply intertwined, according to a dozen former employees. They said VA Claims Insider employees have conducted work for Telemedica and claimed coaches were directed to push clients to undertake evaluations from the company. "I wouldn't always recommend one," recalled one former coach. "They got upset about that."

In a complaint to the attorney general, Derick Jordan, a veteran from Wylie, Texas, said he was pushed into spending nearly $400 on a Telemedica evaluation in which he was diagnosed with PTSD in just 15 minutes. Jordan claimed that his evaluation was "not accepted" by the government.

In another complaint to the attorney general's office, Michael Warner, a veteran from Tomball, Texas, said the VA deemed his evaluation from Telemedica "useless."

In a third complaint, Florida resident Amy Anderson told the attorney general's office that her partner undertook an evaluation that was a "detriment to his claims due to how many fraudulent claims are submitted by this 'medical team.'"

Jim Peckey was a young Navy petty officer stationed in Bahrain when the 9/11 attacks happened. As the nation went on a war footing, he suddenly shifted from administrative and IT duties to lugging water and equipment 12 hours a day, seven days a week - work that left him with chronic neck and back pain. He retired in 2002 but he put off applying for benefits because, like millions of veterans, he felt overwhelmed by the paperwork required.

That changed in 2020, when he watched a YouTube video in which a fellow veteran, Brian Reese, promised to help veterans navigate the benefits maze and lead "happier, healthier and wealthier" lives.

Peckey signed on as a customer with Reese's company, Austin-based VA Claims Insider. The 44-year-old Abilene resident, who now does IT work for a defense contractor, said he was charged nearly $10,000 for about six hours of coaching, some of which included watching pre-recorded online informational sessions with as many as 400 other attendees at a time.

Although Peckey did get a monthly disability check of around $1,500, he felt he was charged for information he could have found on the internet. To help him qualify for benefits, the company's coach pushed him to emphasize mental distress, Peckey said, even though he considered that to be a "backseat concern" and wanted top-notch care for his chronic physical pain.

"Nothing short of a nightmare," he wrote in a December 2021 complaint filed with the Texas attorney general's office, in which he accused the company of "slimy car sales tactics" and "defrauding veterans out of their benefits." Peckey said he wanted to sue but could not find a lawyer to take on the case. He refused to pay VA Claims Insider, which then hired a collection agency to pursue his debt; he says he felt so strongly about the matter that he accepted the hit to his credit score.

In another complaint, Shana Hill, the wife of a Marine Corps veteran in Houston, said their coach "showed late and was disorganized and did not provide any strategy as advertised and promised." Another veteran, Simon Keller of Tucson, Arizona, estimated that he had paid nearly $8,000 for two hours of assistance and claimed the company was "extorting" veterans.

It turns out that in 2019, the VA's Office of General Counsel told the company in a letter that it "may be engaged in illegal activities, which include the unauthorized representation of claimants for VA benefits and charging them for your service," and that it, absent an adequate response, the company would have to "cease any and all illegal activities." It also warned the Texas attorney general's office that Reese's coaching efforts are clearly intended to "game the system."

Outside Texas, other for-profit claims companies have gotten scrutiny too. In 2021, Louisiana's attorney general secured a permanent injunction against an unaccredited veteran claims company there.

The Federal Trade Commission has reminded veterans that they don't need to pay for help getting benefits. The alert also warned of scammers who emphasize their military service to "gain your trust so you won't stop and ask questions about their pitches."

More than 1.8 million veterans have some form of officially recognized disability as a result of service in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Moreover, a new federal law, the Honoring Our PACT Act, expanded benefits for millions of veterans disabled by military burn pits and other toxic exposures dating back to the Vietnam War. Since the law was signed last August, 560,000 claims have been filed under the act, and there could be up to a million more.

Traditionally, the VA accredits three types of claims representatives; agents, lawyers and veteran service organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. The lawyers and agents charge fees on a tightly regulated scale. The service organizations provide their services for free. It should be noted that Reese himself secured free accredited claims assistance (100% disability) from AmVets.

The VA Office of General Counsel trains, tests and regulates the agents. Accredited claims agents undergo background checks. Before charging for services, they must also submit detailed fee agreements to the government to be scrutinized and approved as fair.

Because Reese and his coaches are unaccredited, they face none of the scrutiny and are free to charge what they like.

For decades, federal law penalized unaccredited actors who charged veterans for "preparing, presenting, or prosecuting claims before the VA." While regulations still prohibit such behavior, all criminal penalties were removed from federal statutes in 2006, leaving the VA essentially toothless to go after bad actors. (Accredited representatives, however, remain liable to be investigated and, if appropriate, disbarred when a veteran complains.)

Accredited representatives are flummoxed as to why veterans are seeking more expensive, unaccredited coaches like Reese rather than their free or far cheaper services. Richard W. Rousseau, a retired Army colonel and an accredited veterans claims lawyer from Harker Heights, in Central Texas, was alarmed by VA Claims Insiders' contract language and fee structure. He calculated the company charges clients roughly $8,000 if their disability rating jumps by 10%. "My fee would be about $1,600," he said.

At a US House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing in April 2022, Richard J. Hipolit, the VA's deputy general counsel for veterans programs, suggested that unaccredited agents could be prosecuted by the Department of Justice for "producing evidence that was fraudulent, or whatever, in support of claims."

Also in April, at the same Congressional hearing, US Rep. Jake Ellzey, a Waxahachie, Texas Republican and a Navy veteran, and other lawmakers invited major for-profit claims companies, including VA Claims Insider, to answer questions about their business practices. Reese did not show up because he was out of the country on vacation.

In his testimony, Ryan M. Gallucci, an Iraq veteran who at the time oversaw 1,900 accredited claims representatives at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said leaders of the unaccredited groups in attendance "should be met at the door by Capitol police, not offered a seat at the same table as hardworking VA accredited advocates who are held to professional and ethical standards designed to protect veterans."

Ellzey, a former Texas Veterans Commission official, and other House members have introduced the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) VA Benefits Act, legislation that would reinstate federal penalties for nonaccredited actors. "I don't think anybody should make any money off of a veteran and the disability that they receive," Ellzey says.

I'll second that thought!

Source URL. Link: www.ksat.com/news/texas/2023/07/05/as-veteran-disability-claims-soar-unaccredited-coaches-profit-off-frustration-with-va-system.

The Man Has No Fear!

This one is for Lonnie Bedwell. Perfect, just perfect!

"Sitting on Top of The World." Cream (1968.) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyyFHmNtwIU.

By a blind Veteran? Absolutely amazing. Mission Accomplished! Lonnie and Team Reach Everest Summit. "Your disability is a part of you, but it does not define you," Lonnie once again reiterated upon reaching and touching a small mountain top known only to a handful of other blind persons.

"We are able to adapt and do so much more than we think if we simply work together, so let's get up and go live our lives to their fullest potential."

The feat culminated on Monday, May 22, at approximately 4:00 PM local time.

Lonnie and the Sightless Summits team faced and endured nearly every type of weather condition and human challenge imaginable as they made their climb, including blowing and drifting snow, frost bite, physical and mental exhaustion, and lack of oxygen at altitudes of 26,000 feet or higher.

This accomplishment earned Lonnie the position of 4th blind person to ever stand on top of Mt. Everest! Lonnie has now climbed 4 of the 7 summits and has ambitions to climb all 7 in hopes of inspiring others with disabilities.

In the future Lonnie hopes to tackle Mt. Vinson, the highest mountain in Antarctica, and also ski to the South Pole.

Sightless Summit website. Link: www.sightlesssummits.com.

What About The Google Chromebook?

The Google Chromebook works best when online, however, there are things you can do offline. Got a Google Chromebook and ready to use it? Simple really. Here are the steps right out of the box.

Getting started on a Chromebook? 1: First, turn it on. 2: Select your language and click "Let's go." 3: Connect to a WiFi network. 4: Then enter your Google Account details. 5: If you don't have one click "More Options" and tap on "Create New Account." 6: You're ready to get started!

What about accessibility? The Chromebook has a built-in screenreader called Google Vox. You can turn it on and off with the following Keyboard command, Ctrl plus Alt plus z (like in victor.)

You can use your Chromebook offline after online registration, however, for full use you must be online. Check out the following for a good rundown.

Source URL. Link: www.chrmbook.com/no-wifi-2.

Cloning Your Own Personal Voice?

Apple introduces new AI-based accessibility features. Soon, your iPhone will be able to speak using your voice, finally using AI for good instead of evil.

For people at risk of losing their ability to speak, this will let them still speak in their own voice. "AI-based voice cloning is a very potent new technology that promises to transform lives in many cases for the better," Dr. Mohamed Lazzouni, CTO of biometrics company Aware, told Lifewire via email. "Imagine being able to create artificial voices for people who are unable to talk without assistance."

Apple has been using AI for years, only it still uses the previous term for AI, machine learning. Whenever your phone camera blurs the background in Portrait Mode or recognizes the faces of your friends and family member and groups them into albums, or identifies a plant in a photo, that's AI.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, and one of its effects is to reduce the ability to speak. If you can capture your voice soon after diagnosis, you can use it to speak using text-to-speech.

Personal Voice is Apple's take on an existing practice called voice banking, but instead of requiring somebody to spend weeks reading thousands of phrases into a computer, Apple's version only requires 15 minutes of audio and is processed locally on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Silicon Mac, for privacy reasons.

Once you have your voice, you can use it with another iPhone accessibility feature called Live Speech. Say you're on a FaceTime call with your family. You can type in your part of the conversation, and Live Speech will read it to the other participants using your Personal Voice.

Other possible uses for your voice would be reading stories to your kids while you're away traveling. Reading your own notes back to you. And, here's one that would be really neat, having incoming text messages read out to you in the sender's voice. Siri already reads messages in its own voice, and, personalized voices would be so much better.

Source URL. Link: www.lifewire.com/heres-why-you-would-want-your-iphone-to-talk-in-your-own-voice-7500302.

When in Doubt, Leave it Out

Lithium batteries, which power everyday devices, can catch fire if damaged or if battery terminals are short-circuited.

Devices containing lithium metal batteries or lithium ion batteries, including, but not limited to, smartphones, tablets, cameras and laptops, should be kept in carry-on baggage.

If these devices are packed in checked baggage, they should be turned completely off, protected from accidental activation and packed so they are protected from damage.

Spare (uninstalled) lithium metal batteries and lithium ion batteries, electronic cigarettes and vaping devices are prohibited in checked baggage. They must be carried with the passenger in carry-on baggage.

Smoke and fire incidents involving lithium batteries can be mitigated by the cabin crew and passengers inside the aircraft cabin. If carry-on baggage is checked at the gate or planeside, spare lithium batteries, electronic cigarettes, and vaping devices must be removed from the baggage and kept with the passenger in the aircraft cabin. Even in carry-on baggage, these items should be protected from damage, accidental activation and short circuits. Battery terminals should be protected by manufacturer's packaging or covered with tape and placed in separate bags to prevent short circuits.

Damaged, defective or recalled lithium batteries must not be carried in carry-on or checked baggage if they are likely to be a safety concern by overheating or catching on fire. Check the FAA's Pack Safe website for the rules on carrying these items and other dangerous goods in baggage.

FAA website. Link: www.faa.gov/newsroom/lithium-batteries-baggage.

An Amazon Pure Book Reader? Accessible? Yes

The Kindle 11th Generation is based on the Kindle Paperwhite, except it has audio over bluetooth with full screenreader navigation. I purchased this device on sale for less than $80. It isn't a tablet, but rather a digital book reader. The power consumption is very low. This eReader will remain on charge for weeks not hours. You have an uncluttered book reading experience without all the interruptions you might get with a tablet since there are no apps to interrupt your reading.

The footprint is small and lightweight. The eReader is small enough that it will fit in your shirt pocket. Try that with a tablet. Won't happen!

The file directory is simplified. Unlike the Fire tablet, it is easy-peasy to add books to the book directory on the Kindle through USB cable connected to your computer. I use this feature differently than most, since I convert all of my Kindle books (most are library loans) to unprotected Kindle with a conversion tool. I use this same tool to convert Kindle books to ePub so I can read with my Humanware VR Stream as well.

This all came about since my wife was visiting Nepal as part of a group. She has a Special Education degree and would spend some of that time at a group home and school teaching.

I wanted to help on the technical end, so I started researching the Amazon eReaders. What I learned made a perfect match, accessibility and reading.

I was able to load 118 books on the eReader for instant reading of all kinds of areas including adventure, sports, science, fiction, history and alot more. With the books already installed there is no need to be online. No need for any type of accounts or passwords. No interruptions. Just read, sighted or blind!

In fact, I found the eReader to be such a wonderful device, I purchased one for my own use. There is absolutely no reason I can use to short change my reading pleasure with several devices at my command.

Bits and Bytes

Got these questions? Forgot if you installed Windows 11? System requirements? Wonder what version of Microsoft Windows you're running on your computer? Here is a quickie. Press the Windows logo plus r (like in Romeo.) Then, key in "winver" (minus the quote marks) in the resultant text box. Simple. What was my result?

Device name William-Brandes
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8650U CPU @ 1.90GHz 2.11 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.9 GB usable)
Device ID 7AA64713-8497-4917-A125-CE40015ACF69
Product ID 00331-20020-00000-AA357
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display
TikTok is expanding its capabilities for its more than 1 billion active users by launching a new text-based option for posts. The character limit is 1,000. Threads is 500. Twitter, 250. You will be able to share stories, poems, recipes and other written content through text posts. Users can diversify their posts by adding sounds and music, stickers and hashtags, as well as tagging locations.

Saying this, it should be noted that Twitter is a slam-dunk to write posts, add descriptive text to images all browser based with my laptop running an audio screenreader with a full-sized USB keyboard for ease of typing. Hope Elon doesn't ruin all of this great accessibility work. To date can't be matched by any other similar resource. JMHO.
Did you know? Carole King and Paul Simon formed a quartet, "The Cosigns" in high school. Take a listen.
"Just To Be With You" (1958.) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_peikJ8FQ1Y.
Something to be aware of. I received the following warning message from Amazon, however it can be more widely applied to all your digital communication. Think twice before you click that mouse or react to a phone call.

Account suspension/Deletion scams. Scammers send texts, emails and phone calls stating that your account will be suspended or deleted and prompt you to click on a fraudulent link or verbally provide information to "verify your account." Customers who land on these pages or receive these phone calls are then lured to provide account information such as payment information or account login credentials, all of which can put a dent on your day. So, beware!
Get that free online"seminary" degree, a website and deliver the goods? With a real schooled Reverend in the house, I really don't think so. However, a church in the town of Fürth, Germany, recently experimented with a service during which a sermon prepared by a chatbot was delivered by an avatar on a screen above the altar. The service was attended by some 300 people.

Many clergy are worried this is what the future might look like if busy religious leaders turn to the likes of ChatGPT for preparing sermons. I don't think so, but what do you think?
Did you know? Metal roofs vs. asphalt? A metal roof on your home can last upward to 70 years. Compared to the average life expectency in the US of 75 years, not bad. Also, metal roofs are fire resistant. What about noise level? Compared to asphalt? 52 db vs. 46. The metal roof db level in a rain storm is the noise level of a running refrigerator. Most of the background noise where you live is probably louder.

We just replaced our asphalt roof with metal. The color is white, so indoor temps are also cooler with that sun in baking mode.
"Kansas City" by The Beatles? Paul? He could mimic anything! What a voice! Guitars? Paul (1963 Hofner 500/1 bass). Harrison (Gretsch 6119 Tennessean) and Lennon (1964 Rickenbacker 325.)
"Kansas City." The Beatles. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xvW-Nf9VAw.
However, our memory is often blank when it comes to the contributions of black performers. That includes Rock and Roll. Did you know? Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the Wilbert Harrison version of "Kansas City" came after the release of the song by Little Richard. The Beatles included the Little Richard version of the song in their early sets in Hamburg, Germany and the Cavern Club in London, England. Later The Beatles would release "Kansas City" on record. Their copy of the Little Richard vocal style can't be missed. But, now, we have a guitar line-up. The rest is history!
"Kansas City." Little Richard. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPWajPpch9M.
Sometimes I can't help but wonder if "manned" flight to the moon and planets as well as deep voyages undersea are really necessary. Today, we can do all this (and, we do much exploration this way) through digital and un-manned means. At the same time, we have all kinds of problems that require our serious undivided attention here on planet earth.
US Goalball Men's Team Wins Nations Cup Title. The US Goalball Men's Team reeled off six consecutive victories to claim the gold medal at the June 9-11 Nations Cup in Berlin, Germany. Led by Calahan Young's 29 goals, the American squad outscored its opponents 78-37 and reached double-digits in goal in five of their seven games.

US Goalball Women Place Fourth at Malmo Cup. The US Goalball Women's Team placed fourth at the highly-competitive Malmo Lady Intercup which featured the world's top-six ranked teams at the May 19-21 event. After losing a tight opening match to top-ranked Turkey, 8-7, the US squad rebounded to defeat second-ranked Japan, 5-3, before losing to fifth-ranked Brazil, 4-2, in the bronze-medal match. Amanda Dennis paced the team's effort with 15 goals in six matches.
Coming in 2024? The NLS DA2, built by Humanware and similar to their Stratus. Except just for NLS Talking Books and other media, much like the Bard Mobile app. However, this is a digital hardware device (includes bluetooth for wireless listening) not an app. I think this device will replace the Talking Book player at no cost to the NLS patron. In fact, if you have a VR Stream, I bet the footprint will be alot like that device.
What were you doing at age 16? Carole King was cold-calling record producers in New York City. That was pretty darn ambitious for a young female in the 1950's. "The Right Girl" (1958). Her first recording. Lyrics, vocal and keyboard. Orchestration by Don Costa. The rest is history.
"The Right Girl." Carole King. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKvWneHbNt8.
Did you know? Ride hailing service Uber has launched a new option for people who aren't as familiar navigating a smartphone. By dialing the toll-free number 1-833-USE-UBER (1-833-873-8237) in the US, customers can speak with an agent in English or Spanish to request a ride on-demand or reserve one for a future trip.
I sure remember it played alot on Columbus, Ohio radio. Jimmy Soul, #1 hit, 1963, "Wanna Be Happy." Whatever happened to him? The Beatles blew everyone else off the charts in 1964, however, I don't think he really had a follow-up.
"Wanna Be Happy." Jimmy Soul. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh9ZZgDqzAg.
More? Standing on the shoulders of others. The 1963, Jimmy Soul, "Wanna Be Happy" is based on the calypso "Ugly Woman," by Roaring Lion, recorded in 1934. Take a listen.
"Ugly Woman." Roaring Lion. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZnNwZyaGf8.
Sick and tired of SPAM voice calls? This is exactly why I use the free Google Voice. I don't have my cellphone on 24/7, not even 12/7. I give out my Google Voice number. You are even referred to that number if you call my cellphone. With Google Voice I get a transcript of any voice mail sent to my email account. Been doing this for years! Apple is finally catching up.

The two standout phone features in iOS 17 are live voicemail transcription and voice message transcription. Never again will you have to listen to another human unless you want to.
"Locomotion?" Grand Funk Railroad (band members from Flint, Michigan) released this song in 1974, a #1 hit. However, although not originally recorded for guitar, I'm working on "Locomotion" as sung by Little Eva. This is a Gerry Goffin/Carole King collaboration. Released in 1962, it also reached #1.

That song is crafted so well and the lead vocal is amazing. Considering the pressed/released record was a first-take demo, WOW.

My VR Stream which I received from the Chicago Hines Blind Center, not only allows me to read (listen) to books and podcasts among other things including recording audio notes. This is what I have already used it for, but the new wrinkle? The device allows me to listen to those audio notes at a slower or faster rate than recorded. So, I am able to record a song off my Amazon Echo and then slow it down without any pitch change. Remarkable.

To continue, "Locomotion" has that great simple drum intro, then a chord blast from a sax that sets up the key of the song. Carole King sings the background vocals with hums to keep establishing the chords/key. I don't know if this is done to keep everyone in key and time, but seems Eva just knows how to phrase the verses. What a voice!

There is hand clapping and the sax also blurts out chords. What great fun working this song. Could use a few more brain cells in memorizing the words though. LOL!
"Locomotion." Little Eva. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKpVQm41f8Y.
Sweet. I remember so well first hearing. How about you? Jimi Hendrix influence no doubt. The Isley Brothers, "That Lady," 1973, a remake of their 1964 single, "Who's That Lady," driven by a modernized solo guitar tone. Guitar tone? Phase shifted fuzz pedal, Ernie Isley, who is a virtuoso in his own right. Rhythm playing fine as well.
"That Lady." The Isley Brothers. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1DDgNCLD84&t=193s.

Music Therapy Offers Time to Heal

We all love music in some form or fashion, like writing, singing or playing a tune with friends and family. It's a way for people to share, express themselves and sometimes heal.

Alicia Chopyk, music and neurologic music therapist at Wilmington VA, talks about music, and she uses song and instruments to help Veterans in the Community Living Center.

"Music therapy is kind of like we're all on a journey. What we look for in music therapy is how do we use music or experience it? Whether it be creating, listening or engaging in music, we recreate that to help our health and mental health in the process," she said.

Music therapy can help Veterans suffering from memory impairments, speech disorders, head traumas and other areas. Getting Veterans to buy in to alternative techniques and letting them know it is a collaboration is only the beginning.

"Buy-in is everything. I think of music as a collaboration, meaning we are in this together. We are equals because I'm not going to force you to do something. You don't want to do this? We can do something else. That's the beauty of music therapy. You must want to do it."

"I never want to disappoint. I always want to be realistic, but I also want to help them redefine what it is to create music. Just because you can't play the guitar the way you want to doesn't mean you don't have a fire to play or you don't need that kind of musical release," she added.

Chopyk is well versed in guitar, piano, singing, classical flute and piccolo, but she also uses her experiences with Veterans to learn other instruments they are interested in as well.

"I had a patient who loved the violin and that's a hard instrument. I had to teach myself how to do it. But I took the approach of being honest, being upfront, saying look, you want to play violin, I'm game. However, I want you to know this is not my strong suit," she said.

Not all music therapy is about playing an instrument or singing. Sometimes it's just about being comfortable talking about music with someone else. She says often Veterans will engage more once they find something in common with someone through music.

"Sometimes Veterans just want to talk. One Veteran and I were talking about Johnny Cash's life, his music and prison. What a redemption story, to be able to look back at your own sobriety, and ask yourself, can I create a redemption story through all my struggles that I've been through?"

Putting music to hard topics that need to be talked about helps support oneself emotionally. It can open minds to explore, as well as help talk about experiences that are difficult. Music helps to decompress the stressors that many are looking for release from.

"I think of music therapy as improv. You never know what's going to happen. I come in with a plan knowing the plan could be thrown out the window, and that's fine. We can adjust everything based on what's happening in the moment. That's one of the coolest things to teach people, just be flexible in the moment."

Source URL. Link: www.news.va.gov/121457/music-therapy-reduces-stress-for-veterans.

The VA? You Can Bank on Them

VA's Veterans Benefit Banking Program converts 250,000 Veterans and their beneficiaries to direct deposit.

Remember those days when you had to wait for your check to be handed out at your job, or for it to be delivered via the mail? If so, you know it was a long, cumbersome process that many of us are glad we no longer must deal with.

Well, thanks to the establishment of the VA's Veterans Benefits Banking Program (VBBP), more than 250,000 Veterans and their beneficiaries have joined VBBP and no longer have to wait. The program was established in 2019 to create bank accounts, convert paper checks to direct deposit, and allow recipients to receive their benefits payments through electronic funds transfers (EFT) quickly and safely.

VBBP benefits also now apply to VA-approved caregivers in addition to Veterans and their beneficiaries. In fact, VA recently updated its mission statement to include caregivers, "To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors."

There are 71 financial institutions participating in VBBP - this includes 17 banks and 54 credit unions. VA started VBBP with the nonprofit Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA), helping connect Veterans with participating banks or credit unions that understand your financial needs. AMBA continues to recruit new financial institutions at a record pace, and their collaboration with VA keeps VBBP growing.

Free credit counseling from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and free financial counseling through the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) are also available through VBBP. These counselors work with Veterans, beneficiaries, caregivers, and family members to develop customized plans to meet their unique goals and needs.

VA mailed letters about the free counseling to nearly 2.5 million Veterans and beneficiaries between August 2022 and May 2023 to spread the word.

The program also sponsors VetCents, a financial education program that covers topics like budgeting, and is specifically designed for Veterans and their families. The Veterans Saves program was also created to help Veterans build financial resilience, save, plan, and budget for the future.

Source URL. Link: www.rallypoint.com/command-post/va-s-veterans-benefit-banking-program-converts-250-000-veterans-and-their-beneficiaries-to-direct-deposit.

Second Look. Script Talk

In a previous article, I wrote about ScripTalk labels, which are placed on your medications and with the proper digital unit the label is spoken back to you when scanned. I never could get this to work with my iPhone 8. It turns out that neither the iPhone 8, nor my android phones have the required RFID and text-to-speech technology although the app was downloaded and installed by me. However, as I learned recently, there were no ScripTalk labels on my medications either when I first gave this a run three years ago.

These labels are super engineered geeked bar codes/QR Codes! How does Scripttalk work? What is the process? And, how did I manage to get these labels to work for me?

A pharmacist places a small electronic label with all your prescription information, including drug name, dosage, instructions, warnings, pharmacy information, doctor name, prescription number, date and more on your medication package. The tag relies on RFID and text-to-speech technology; that's the super-geek stuff.

Use the free mobile ScripTalk App (if your phone is equipped with the proper technology) to hear all the information read out loud. Simply download the App from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (android), click the "scan" button and hold the bottle up to either the front of the screen (iPhone) or back of the phone case near the camera (android).

Alternatively, you can use a ScripTalk Station, which is about the size of an old, portable CD player or phone message machine. Simply place the pill bottle on the machine and press the "Read" button. The two triangle buttons on either side of the oval read button can be used to jump forward or back through the prescription information. There is a small wheel on the right side of the machine which can be moved to turn the machine on and turn up the volume. Easy peasy. Plus, the machine is rechargeable just like your phone!

This machine is the way that I read my medication, which all comes from the VA. There were a few hurdles along the way. The labels are not put on every VA medication. It has to be requested for this procedure of applied labels to happen. I got the Scripttalk machine by having Rich Alden order one for me. Then I had Rich make sure that my name was in the system and the labels would be applied before the medication was sent out. I find this machine to be a great way to have my medication labels read back to me. You might also!

ScripTalk website. Link: www.envisionamerica.com/scriptalk-station-for-patients.

What About Those Digital Glasses?

Perhaps, you have heard of OrCam MyEye PRO glasses for the vision impaired. Maybe you even own a pair. They are a remarkable product and run about $4,250 retail although I know of some Veterans receiving them from a Blind Center or VIST. Still, the price seems unquestionably high considering that this Veteran talks alot about low-cost digital products like the Amazon Fire tablet and android phones including buying reconditioned/used. Not to mention, that would buy alot of pizza. Saying this, I have come across two other firms selling the same product, digital glasses with which the blind user can read text, start video to share in real time, and much more. If you are not connected to wifi, then there is a phone app which allows you to piggy-back on the cellular data.

The first firm I came across is called Envision. Don't confuse this firm with En-Vision (there is a dash between the n and v) which created ScriptTalk. At least I can't confirm that they are connected to the other or not. Suffice to say confusing, since both names sound exactly alike using my screenreader.

Envision. The glasses and app. The app is a free download for both IOS and android. There is scan text, scan barcode, color recognition, object recognition, face recognition, scene recognition and a library where you can store files for further use in the future. This app uses data from the cloud to parse through objects for recognition. I trained it on my guitar, it automatically snapped a picture and got it correct, "looks like a guitar on a stand." That impressed me right out of the box. Plus, again, the app is a free download and there is no requirement to use with their glasses!

Youtube walk-through 1. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWlLfWaWXb0.

Youtube walk-through 2. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Metv9-rBTMA.

Envision Glasses website. Link: www.letsenvision.com/glasses-envision.

Envision including the Glasses product line? All editions (3) have the titanium frames and the camera is located on the righthandle as are the speaker, microphone, power button and the like. Note all three editions have the same hardware, so if you wanted to upgrade, no problem.

Envision glasses, Read edition: This product line has only the two text reading functions and the retail price is $1,899.

Envision glasses, Home edition. This product line includes all the functions found on the app and the retail price is $2,499. There is also a Professional edition. However, the only upgrade I could find is lifetime upgrades, that would be software not the glasses themselves. This line is also directed at commercial and government agencies not the home buyer.

My conclusion is that these glasses are still too steep for most budgets. On to the third firm I came across.

Seleste. Price? More down to earth. That is why these glasses from Seleste got my interest. They are full featured as well and are priced at $1,000 (at least that was the early talk, however over time has changed). Here are a few particulars.

These glasses also have titanium frames. In contrast to others, the camera is mounted center on the nose bridge. Total weight is the same as the Envision glasses, 50 grams. The glasses are designed so that hardware remains constant and all the updates (free) will come by software (the app).

The glasses, in tandem with the Seleste app, offer hands-free video calling with friends, family, and free volunteers. Equipped with built-in headphones and a 8 Mega Pixel autofocus camera which allows one to read everything from the small text on a business card to a large sign down the road. There are AI features such as object recognition, scene description, and a text reader to provide freedom and independence. Recently, car recognition has been added which will tell what kind of car/model is around you.

The glasses work by connecting to your phone's bluetooth and hotspot so you can use the glasses at home and outside. You can control the glasses using the app, the buttons on the glasses or through voice commands.

Pricing? You must make a pre-order/delivery deposit. When the glasses are shipped you are provided them the first month free. You can also return during that month and not incur any other cost. However, it pays to read the "Terms and Conditions." It reads as follows; The deposit will reserve a pair of the Seleste smart glasses for the customer and will allow the customer to purchase the glasses once they are released. When the customer receives the glasses they will not be charged for the first month, if they choose to keep the glasses they will be charged $50 USD every subsequent month they choose to keep the glasses. The customer may return the glasses at any point during the first month, provided the glasses are undamaged.

Considering I have read terms, conditions and the way it works over a period of time, that seems to me to be clear as mud. It reads that in keeping the glasses, you are on the hook to pay $50/month for ever and ever, even though that $1,000 threshold is reached after 20 month. Although the words are not used, this is a subscription, with, as I said earlier, a return clause clear as mud. Listening and reading, I've heard the principals say that these glasses would be sold in the $1,000 range. This is a change. "Purchasing" the glasses? I believe one is really "Purchasing a subscription." There is a difference. SMH!

Because of the above reading, I sent them an email. Yes, it is a subscription at $50/month. Plus, was told that you can return the glasses at any time (on your dime) and the subscription would end.

Verdict? Great promise. However, unless you are willing to pay a monthly subscription, not a good program in my mind. If you figure a smartphone plan (for the average customer) in the neighborhood of $50 monthly on top of another $50 for this plan/device, a bit too high a burden for me to pay (again, I stress average, since my monthly cost for unlimited voice/text/data with Red Pocket Mobile is $15/month). Of course, your mileage may vary.

Seleste website. Link: www.seleste.co.

Youtube walk-through. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylg1_XdKWBc.

Sight Tech Global interview (2022.) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVboo7aOnLA&t=44s.

VA Internship. A Future Changing Experience

Perhaps you, family member or other deserving student? Apply now for the VSFS internship! (2023-2024 edition). VA's digital media engagement team is looking for college interns. DME publishes VA communications to the Veteran community through its digital media channels, including a VA news blog, the Borne the Battle podcast, the live Whole Health app, and through social media channels like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The DME Internship includes hundreds of college students each year, and from universities across the country. The program offers a broad range of opportunities to develop and demonstrate your talents. We're looking for writers, graphic designers, video editors, and those who work in analytics, web development, cybersecurity, project management, human resources, and more.

The interns work in cross-functional teams over a full year to gain practical work experience, develop new skills and build a vibrant professional network. The program also offers leadership roles to high-performing interns, creating opportunities to manage teams, coach other interns, and even evaluate performance.

Started in 2016, the DME Internship has evolved to become one of the US federal government's largest and most successful student intern programs. Our scale enables us to deliver a world-class internship experience, with rigorous onboarding, robust operating procedures, a nurturing environment, and unparalleled growth opportunities.

Source URL. Link: www.news.va.gov/121864/were-looking-college-interns-apply-now.

Escape Opportunity. The Great Outdoors

Summer and year-around fun. Veterans save on access to parks, campgrounds across the country. Discounts offer the benefits of connecting with nature without breaking the bank.

Summer is officially upon us, and for some that means hitting the beach or going on a dream vacation to Europe. But if you would rather put on your hiking boots than have your feet in the sand or gaze at the mountainside instead of the streets of Monte Carlo, the great outdoors offers unique benefits.

Getting outside and connecting with nature has demonstrable health benefits beyond just getting away from the office. In fact, a 2015 study found that outdoor recreation can help Veterans with social reconnection, life-improving change, inner peace and psychological healing. Whether you opt for a peaceful tent-stay under the stars or an extended scenic adventure, as a Veteran you and your family have many options to save when planning your next expedition.

National and state park passes. The US contains some of the most beautiful natural areas in the world. Through the national and state park systems, one can experience the wonders that have inspired authors and artists for over a century.

In 2022, the US National Park Service unveiled a lifetime pass for Veterans and Gold Star Families that provides free access to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks, wildlife refuges and forests. The pass also provides discounts on expanded amenities such as camping and guided tours.

State operated parks also offer free passes and discounts for Veterans and their families, although the military service and state residency requirements vary state to state.

Military campgrounds. The Department of Defense operates campgrounds and recreational vehicle (RV) sites throughout the country on military installations and off-post recreation areas. These sites are open to active duty, National Guard, Reserve, retirees and DoD civilians. The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act also allowed access to DoD campgrounds to Veterans with a service-connected disability. These Veterans may present their Veterans Health Identification Card for entrance to the installation.

Source URL. Link: www.news.va.gov/121728/summer-fun-save-parks-campgrounds-country.

Bard? More Google Updates

More on Google Bard, which now offers more ways to save and share results, plus more languages. In addition, Set the tone for responses, revisit previous conversations, and more.

A bevy of new updates and features are rolling out for Google Bard, with the AI-driven text program now supporting up to 40 different languages and around 230 countries or territories. The update also adds more ways for you to tailor Bard's responses and provides more tools to save or share your conversations.

Four new productivity-enhancing options are also rolling out, such as importing code from Python to Replit and Google Collab. Google Lens is also being incorporated by uploading images as part of a prompt, which Google says will allow Bard to suggest captions or provide info on the subject.

Saving your prompts will also be easier now, with Bard's sidebar now offering functions for pinning, renaming, or returning to your conversations. And the inclusion of shareable links means you can now show your results around to as many (or as few) people as you want.

Source URL. Link: www.lifewire.com/google-bard-more-languages-save-share-results-7560669.

You Like to Doodle? Try This

Clipdrop's new AI web app turns a simple doodle to an illustrated masterpiece. Stable Doodle works with even the most basic drawing.

Using this new tool, even people who can't draw can use artificial intelligence (AI) to turn out the perfect drawing for any presentation, message, meme, or whatever else they might need an illustration for. Simple doodles into full-color and fully-detailed illustrations.

The appropriately-named Stable Doodle is not your average text-to-image tool like Dall-E (although pretty darn amazing) and the rest. You visit the web app and make a doodle, accompanying the drawing with a short text prompt to give the AI engine some direction. After a few seconds, the tool generates a few illustrations based on your original doodle. It works quickly, and the results are amusing, to say the least. The app also gives you 14 art styles to choose from if you aren't happy with the final product.

The free tool is also available for Android and iOS devices if you'd rather not doodle on an actual computer. It's powered by the latest Stable diffusion model, SDXL 0.9. Interestingly, Stability AI is pitching this as more than just a time waster, as the company envisions a future in which this app becomes a crucial tool for professional designers and illustrators. To that end, the company says it could easily be used to create designs for clients, illustrations for slideshows, logos, and more.

Stable Doodle is available now. You can try it without creating a login, but you'll be subject to strict daily limits. The company warns that "the accuracy of the tool may vary depending on the complexity of the scene." There are also plenty of rules in place so kids don't run hog wild trying to draw, uh, less-than-ideal scenarios.

Source URL. Link: www.lifewire.com/clipdrop-stability-ai-stable-doodle-7560651.

More Accessible Dining Out

Slowly, it seems, we are revolutionizing restaurant ordering and payment procedure, which, as a spin-off, makes the whole experience more accessible for the visually impaired customer.

The end result? Waiters will have to spend less time at your table, you can take your time to order, you don't have to wait for your bill, and the restaurant can turn the tables much faster. Again, the hidden benefit? It will make the process much more accessible for people with disabilities.

We now have simple apps allowing you to pick a restaurant, order from the menu, and pay using your phone, although, the basic problem is Getting restaurants to support them.

Several apps available for both android and iPhone? Yes. They are Uber Eats, Door Dash, Grub Hub, and another I have come across, Check Please.

In my case, I don't find passing off my credit card to a waiter to be the most security conscious move I could make. It's either cash or my phone. About six years ago I paid our family bill at a in-town, local-chain restaurant with my credit card. The bank caught a fraudulent few cents purchase shortly after. That was the last time I have used my credit card in that way. And, never a problem since. No one can burn you with cash as your payment, and I consider the apps to be quite safe as well! How about you? Thoughts?

Movies. Video and Audio Description

Today, one can find audio description in participating theaters, from streaming services like Netflix and the like. How did that come to be? TV, movies, video and audio description? A bit of back-side history.

The transition to "talkies" in the late 1920's resulted in a push to make the cinema accessible to the visually impaired. The New York Times documented the "first talking picture ever shown especially for the blind" - a 1929 screening of "Bulldog Drummond" attended by members of the New York Association for the Blind and New York League for the Hard of Hearing, which offered a live description for the visually-impaired portion of the audience.

In the 1940's and 1950's, Radio Nacional de España aired live audio simulcasts of films from cinemas with descriptions, framing these as a form of radio drama before the advent of television.

Today, almost 100 years after that first 1929 proof of practice? Commercial offerings are becoming more frequent. How about free resources? Are there any?

Audio described movies sans the video? Take a look at this free resource called the "Audio Vault." Audio described movies. A volunteer effort and no cost to you. Just download and listen. I have done this with several movies. Really nice resource.

Audio Vault website. Link: www.audiovault.net.

Tactile Paving and Tenji Blocks

Did you know? Tokyo and Seoul are the most accessible cities for the blind and visually impaired in the world. Not only do they put Braille on everything, but the sidewalks have these raised yellow structures called "Tenji Blocks" to help travelers using a white cane navigate around the city easier. Each block has a different textured pattern that can be felt with a white cane to signify a walking path or an entryway.

What does "tenji" mean? Tenji is the word for a Japanese system of braille. Tenji block could therefore be translated as "braille block." These embedded plates allow people to read the environment through touch, rather than sight, the way that braille allows people to read books.

In 1965, Seiichi Miyake spent his own money to invent tactile blocks (or Tenji blocks as they were originally known) to help a friend whose vision was becoming impaired. Then, in 1967, Miyake's design was installed outside a school for the blind in Okayama City.

In 1977, the Japanese National Railway was the first large scale adopter of tenji blocks, placing the grids along station platforms. They became so useful and popular that Japan adopted them in planning by 1985. From there they've spread globally.

The blocks come in two predominant types, one with dots, and the other with bars. The dotted blocks alert the visually impaired when they are approaching danger, and can often be found at the edges of crosswalks and railway platforms. The barred blocks provide directional cues, letting users know that they are following a safe path.

More? There are several types of tenji block. The first type is covered with little raised dots set into a grid pattern. These dots are called "truncated domes," because they are flat on the top to provide good traction. Dotted tenji blocks inform people that there's an upcoming change in the walking surface. Straight grids indicate a change in level, like a curb or a ramp. Offset grids, which line up in only one direction, run parallel to the edge of a subway or train platform.

The second type of tenji block have plates with long, wide bumps. If these bumps are continuous, narrow, and square edged, the bumps are called "rods." They're installed parallel to a hazard as a clear warning. They'll catch a cane and stop it short. These hazard rods are often placed at the top of a stairway. They're often a little bit taller than truncated domes so that they also feel quite obvious under a shoe.

Smooth, oblong bumps with rounded ends are directional guides. They are laid out in dashes with space in between, so that canes can find them and slip into groove from any direction. Such wayfinding dashes take people through an environment via a safe pathway, highlighting routes to places like washrooms, elevators, or exits. When a cane encounters a rounder edged bump it can easily slip into the direction of travel, rather than stopping short like a hazard-rod block might do. These directional blocks may be called guidance or wayfinding tactile paving.

Universal Design? Those with visual impairments must interpret the world through other senses. The lack of intentional communication in their environment can make the world less safe, or simply more challenging to navigate. However, adding auditory and textured elements to the environment not only helps those with visual impairments, but creates a complete experience for all users.

In universal design, awareness of the needs of colorblind and low-vision people is an important design consideration, and tactile paving is useful when building with a universal design approach.

Tenji blocks are so instinctively useful to city planners that it's sometimes hard to remember that they are relatively recent in North America. Curb cut detectable warning plates were not required in the Americans with Disabilities Act until 2000. Japan led the way on warning plates, and is still more advanced at using wayfinding directional plates throughout its built environment. Thanks to Japan's Seiichi Miyake and the urban planners in Japan's biggest cities, we are now creating a built environment a little safer for the visually impaired and a little clearer for all citizens.

ADA and the United States? In the US, tactile warnings systems are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The federal government, through studies and guidance provided by advocates and the Access Board, now mandates detectable warnings in prescribed locations, such as on the surface of pedestrian curb cuts and at the edges of rail platforms. Detectable warnings have been required for the edges of rail platforms in the United States since 1991. Detectable warnings for pedestrian curb cuts were suspended for study in 1994, and became officially required in 2001.

The ADA Accessibility Guidelines require these warnings on the surface of curb ramps, which remove a tactile cue otherwise provided by curb faces, and at other areas where pedestrian ways blend with vehicular ways. They are also required along the edges of boarding platforms in transit facilities and the perimeter of reflecting pools. The raised pattern of domes also known as truncated domes are the preferred design for detectable warning tiles and pavers.

Source URL. Link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile_paving.

ChatGPT vs. Bard. The Difference

ChatGPT was the original AI chatbot, but it now has competition from Google Bard. What follows is a comparison between ChatGPT vs. Bard regarding factual accuracy, conversation skills, and what they can do in the workplace to help you decide which works best for specific situations.

ChatGPT? Developed by OpenAI. Requires an email address. ChatGPT Plus requires a monthly fee. It is better for productivity.

Google Bard? Developed by Google. Requires a Google account. Completely free. Provides more accurate information.

ChatGPT and Bard are both chatbots powered by artificial intelligence. On the surface, they are pretty similar and can perform many of the same tasks. That said, they each have their strengths.

While ChatGPT is more geared toward productivity, you can think of Bard as a mix between a search engine and a virtual assistant. Bard is more helpful if you have a specific question, while ChatGPT is better equipped for generating ideas and content.

Both chatbots are easy to access and use and are equally fast at responding to queries. You'll need to create a Google account to use Bard, but that only takes a few minutes if you don't already have one. With ChatGPT, you can use any email address (including your work email) to sign up and get started immediately.

Factual Accuracy? Google Bard Is More Trustworthy. ChatGPT? It only draws information from 2021 or earlier, and it states facts without providing sources. Google Bard? It draws real-time information from the internet, and it provides multiple responses to questions with sources. Another advantage of Bard is that you can see different "drafts," or variations, of responses. ChatGPT gives a singular (and often shorter) response to queries. Both chatbots rely on the same sources, including Wikipedia, Common Crawl, and reputable articles from the web. Bard is likelier to cite sources in its answers, whereas ChatGPT typically states things as facts without providing a source.

Conversation? Bard Has More Personality. ChatGPT? Gives concise answers to factual questions and capable of more complex ethical reasoning. Google Bard? It gives more detailed answers in general, and gives simpler answers to moral quandaries.

ChatGPT seems more thoughtful regarding complicated ethical questions, drawing upon philosophical concepts to reach its conclusions. Bard gives vague answers to subjective questions about ethics and morality. ChatGPT tends to stick to the facts (pre-2021), yet Bard is more conversational and gives more in-depth answers. Bard's responses are typically better formatted and easier to read. ChatGPT sometimes writes long paragraphs and isn't as consistent in its formatting.

Productivity? You Can Do More With ChatGPT. It integrates with Microsoft Teams and other services, and better at creative tasks and coming up with ideas. Google Bard? It integrates with Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and better at summarizing.

ChatGPT and Bard can be extremely helpful in the workplace. AI chatbots can perform mundane tasks like drafting emails, blog posts, social media posts, product descriptions, and legal briefs. Both chatbots have coding capabilities, but ChatGPT is generally better at creative tasks. Bard is better at summarizing transcripts of meetings, lectures, and speeches.

There are also ChatGPT plug-ins that add functionality. For example, the ChatGPt plug-in for Microsoft Teams can make schedules, draft agendas, send reminder emails, and automatically respond to project related questions. Since Bard integrates with your Google Account, you can use Bard to write emails and even use Bard in Google Docs.

How do I access Google Bard and ChatGPT? Bard is available on Google's Bard website, which you can access while you're signed in to your Google account. You might also find a "Bard" button in apps like Gmail and Google Docs. ChatGPT also has its own chat page, which you'll need an OpenAI account to use.

How much do ChatGPT and Google Bard cost? Generally, both ChatGPT and Google Bard are free. ChatGPT, however, also has a "Plus" tier that costs $20 a month.

Source URL. Link: www.lifewire.com/chatgpt-vs-bard-7504876.

CHUCKLE TIME

Did you hear the one about the guy who invented Tic Tacs? They say he made a mint.
Q: Why does yogurt love going to museums? A: Because it's cultured.
Person 1: I just burned 2000 calories in 20 minutes. Person 2: How? Person 1: I forgot to take my brownies out of the oven.
Q: Why did the dieter go to the paint store? A: He wanted to get thinner.
Q: Why do watermelons have fancy weddings? A: Because they cantaloupe.
Q: What does a grape say when it gets stepped on? A: Nothing, it just lets out a little wine.
Boy, I just got hit in the head with a can of soda. I was lucky it was a soft drink.
I went to a seafood restaurant and slipped. I pulled a mussel.
It was an emotional wedding. Even the cake was in tiers.
Q: What do you call the king of vegetables? A: Elvis Parsley.
Q: You know what's hard to beat for breakfast? A: A boiled egg.
A guy just threw a glass of milk at me. How dairy!
I was going to grow a herb garden, but I couldn't find the thyme.
Every morning I think I'm going to make pancakes, but I keep waffling.
I love when candy canes are in mint condition.
Q: What are hot dogs called in winter? A: Chilly dogs.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Q: Why did the tomato blush? A: Because it saw the salad dressing.
Q: Did you hear the one about the greedy peanut butter? A: I'm not telling you. You might spread it.
Q: Why shouldn't you tell a secret on a farm? A: Because the potatoes have eyes and the corn has ears.

Stranger Than Fiction. Waking After 46 Millennium

A worm that survived 46,000 years in permafrost is a modern day marvel. Scientists have discovered a worm that managed to stretch its short life expectancy by tens of thousands of years. A tiny roundworm was revived after it was frozen in Siberian permafrost 46,000 years ago, when Neanderthals still walked the Earth.

The worm, a previously unknown species of nematode, survived after entering a dormant state known as cryptobiosis, during which the animal doesn't eat and lacks a metabolism. The finding was detailed in a recent study published in the journal PLOS Genetics. The most stunning part of the discovery was the length of time the worm had endured cryptobiosis, said Philipp Schiffer, one of the study's authors and a group leader at the Institute of Zoology at the University of Cologne in Germany.

Nematodes are among the planet's most ubiquitous life forms. Scientists had known that some could survive long periods of suspended animation in subzero environments. One Antarctic species spent over 25 years in frozen moss before resuscitation, the previous longest record of cryptobiosis recorded for a nematode. "Nobody had thought that this process could be for millennia, for 40,000 years or even longer," Schiffer said. "It's just amazing that life can start again after such a long time, in the stage between life and death."

Scientists used radiocarbon dating to determine that the soil from the permafrost sample was 46,000 years old.

"Everything seems to be possible for these animals and that's what makes them so fascinating," the scientist said. Schiffer says his worm lab in Cologne was able to analyze and identify the novel worm, which researchers named Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, using genome sequencing.

The nematode was found about 130 feet deep within the permafrost inside a burrow once home to Arctic gophers. After the chunk of frozen sediment was taken to the lab to thaw, the resurrected nematode crawled out and started making babies. The nematode, a female-only species, reproduces asexually, after about eight to 12 days.

The original worm, found five years ago, has died. Scientists are using its descendants to continue their research on the species, which will primarily involve investigating the genetic machinery behind these organisms to learn how these worms evolve to adapt in extreme environments. That work could reveal how other animals might harbor the genetic superpowers to adapt to extreme environments today, as climate change drives more frequent heat waves and uninhabitable environments, Schiffer says.

One challenge in researching the DNA sequences of this particular species, he adds, is how quickly the nematode evolves during its short life. The lifespan of Panagrolaimus kolymaensis is just one to two months. Unless, of course, it happens to get frozen in time.

Source URL. Link: www.npr.org/2023/07/30/1190950660/nematode-worm-permafrost-discovery-frozen.

Cloudy? Search For That Silver Lining

The following is a recent post from a friend on Facebook. The active ingredient here is "Never give up." Here is David's post. The link that follows is to a 2019 gig. I imagine more will be coming. Pure joy!

Well... Hmm... It's been three LONG years since our band down here in Naples, Florida, "OUT OF SIGHT," has seen each other, much less spent time in the same room together. During those three years, our website designer/maintainer, Ty Thrasher, sadly died from covid pneumonia.

My multiple sclerosis has robbed me of virtually all of the use of my right leg, and naturally the eyesight of our legally blind guitarist and me (thanks, RP) has also gone downhill significantly. Understandably, we all thought the band was finished forever. Very sad, but very true.

BUT... Any of you who know me personally know that I am not a quitter. If there is even an extremely slim chance of coming up with the solution to a problem, then I am just stubborn and crazy enough to see if there is any way at all to do my best to not give up.

Believe me, I don't want to pat myself on the back too much, but, over the past 3 years, I have spent countless hours of physical therapy workouts (strength, balance, resistance training, aqua training, and retraining my brain to play my drums about 80% left handed.) A lot of two steps forward - one step back. Followed by one step forward - two steps back, etc. But, I worked and worked and worked until I felt that there was a slight chance that I might be able to slop my way through a bit of drumming in which I wouldn't embarrass myself too much.

Over the past two weeks, I got in touch with the three other guys in the band, and fortunately, they were all willing to get together today and at least give it a shot. After all, we never aimed to be the best band in Naples, Florida, but we prided ourselves on being one of the most fun (if not the) most entertaining band in Southwest Florida. So, with that said, we got together today, and played straight through for two solid hours without even taking a single break. Truly inspirational and amazing! Facetiously, our lead singer told me that I sounded better today than I ever had before, and that maybe I should have been playing left-handed all along. LOL.

Anyway, we are taking baby steps, and going back to just having fun together right now. Naturally, we all miss Ty very much and as a result, we have no website or anything. But, if anyone is interested in checking out some footage of our gigs from a few years ago, you can find some videos on YouTube by just searching for "OUT OF SIGHT" band Naples, Florida. Yes, it's been a helluva lot of hard work, pain, frustration, disappointment, sadness, you name it, but at the moment I'm feeling OUT OF SIGHT! Dare I say, we're back.

"Play That Funky Music" by OUT OF SIGHT. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ8D9o7rAO8.

NaviLens? A Free Low-Vision Navigation Winner

NaviLens helps people with sight loss, designed specifically with one goal in mind, allowing them to be able to access and locate information and interact with their environment.

NaviLens codes and how they work. NaviLens is free and easy to use. The app works on both the Android and Apple operating systems and is completely accessible.

The app is used to get information from optical codes which can be placed on anything from buildings to packaging materials. Each optical code, called a NaviLens code, is surrounded by a white boarder encompassing a smaller black boarder which surrounds a five-by-five grid pattern of individual squares. Each of these squares are colored either cyan, magenta, yellow or black.

NaviLens codes can be read by a smartphone camera and do not require any power or transmit any signal. The size of the code determines how easy it is to detect; the larger the code the further away it can be detected.

By pointing your phone camera in the general direction you want to scan, the NaviLens app can recognise NaviLens codes in the vicinity. It does this without the need to focus on the code or know exactly where it is situated. Information is then presented both visually, audibly and through haptics; effectively through touch.

Information can be accessed on the move; the smartphone user can be moving, as can the code e.g. it might be a code on the front of a bus. Codes don't have to be in front of you to be detected; cameras can detect codes in a range of 160-180 degrees and codes can provide bidirectional information when detected at an angle.

Codes can share static and dynamic information e.g. signage, points of interest and real time travel information.

NaviLens also provides distance and guidance information through visual, audio and haptic feedback, helping people find a point of interest, such as an entrance or a product.

You can easily manage how much information you receive and can even filter for specific information.

A range of organisations and individuals use NaviLens across the world for different purposes. It is currently used; to help people with sight loss independently navigate and find their way around cities and spaces, by product manufacturers who have incorporated NaviLens into their packaging designs to help customers access on-pack information quickly and easily, and by anyone with a smartphone. You can use NaviLens to create personnel codes and annotate them with relevant information, sharing the code with other friends and family.

From this side of the fence? On a personal level, this application is tops. Everything is freely offered. On the NaviLens website, you will find links to the app for both IOS and android, plus instructions to request the free NaviLens tags. The tags are the heart of the program. Just print them off (the tags come in various sizes and number per sheet) and you are off and running. Cut them out and tape to any object of interest. When the camera/app finds the tag, you can simply give it a description, so the next time the description will be read out to you. I have several around the house. You could also tag personal stuff.

With the app open and running, point and shoot with your phone. The tag will be recognized up to sixty feet away as your phone counts down the number of feet until touchdown.

I plan to use this method at the National Disabled Veterans Golf Clinic. Tape a tag to my hotel room door, "Billywhitecane lives here!" No more strings on the door handle. Going digital!

Source URL. Link: www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/assistive-aids-and-technology/everyday-tech/navigation-and-communication/navilens.

NaviLens website. Link: www.navilens.com.

Music. The Elevation of a Cult Icon?

Are you familar with the song "Hi Ren" by Ren, a young, popular (perhaps even cult) figure of Welsh background? The lyrics of this song (over 8 minutes in length) are delivered and framed by two voices speaking to each other and delivered in a lyrical kinda rap style. Ren finishes with a testimonial of sorts. The voicing is very good, perhaps even magical. Ren has loads of talent, not to mention mastery of his guitar!

His video performance of this song, which was released in December 2022, opens with him wheeled in by a person wearing a pigs head.

The opening and end visual should be obvious for reflection by the sighted. However, I have found nothing speaking to this online. Blind, I required someone to tell me what was happening in the Youtube video. This is performance art. Perhaps, folks should spend some time reading a book. Or, at the least reflect on the visuals.

Ren isn't letting on. He is mum on the subject, again, for obvious reasons. It would slow down the reaction to the musicality. I understand that. Still, find it problematic that a new generation is now channeled by an updated MTV, the "new and improved" digital version. In fact, when searching this video recently on Youtube, the "Official" video no longer includes the wheel-in scene. That required me to use a video with that person making the post and commenting on the video. So, had to suffer through this, but ...

Let me throw out a suggestion here. "Hi Ren" pulling from "Lord of The Flies" by William Holding? What is the main message of the "Lord of the Flies?" The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable. There are also illusions to the pigs head. Haven't read the book? You should. It's a classic.

Continuing, in "Hi Ren" there are mixed messages. A pigs head can represent the devil in theology. So, some have drawn conclusions directly from this symbol. Both, Christians on the left and the right. Now, we have cultural religious warfare. As if we haven't endured enough of that already.

Then, there are those that just say amazing and leave it at that. Yep, "Hi Ren" is amazing. Talent. Memory, musicality, vocal ability, story-telling, screen-writing and a basic use of tension in the story. All designed to tug on your emotions.

Now moving back to visual performance. I find the use of the wheelchair problematic (this wheelchair is known as a transit wheelchair, since it is easier to push if someone is doing that assist for you, plus, those smaller rear wheels make it easier to maneuver.) Blind, I own my disability and wouldfind using a white-cane as a prop in a video problematic as well when not used as intended. That is known as respecting those for whom a wheelchair is their mobile vehicle to experience the world around them. That is their sole means of locomotion. Ren drops the ball here.

I am familar with the back-story of Ren. His tortured journey to get a correct diagnosis of his illness. I know the symptoms of Lyme disease. I have not walked in his shoes but I am capable of understanding what he has gone through.

Ren doesn't need that wheelchair as some require as a necessity to travel the world around them. Why not sit in a normal chair? Why not an office chair with wheels? Maybe a grocery cart? Or, a luggage carrier? Why not ignore the wheel-in? The answer should be obvious. Again, this is performance art.

Additionally, there are those who have given Ren acclaim for going it alone, not using the muscle of the big boys, recording companies. Really? Again, this is performance art, meant to get you to click or buy. With millions of streaming views seems to be working, so more power to him. However, who knows. Might be even bigger with a major recording contract. All about eyeballs. Music? It's a business. A way to make a living, whether you have a big company behind you or go it alone. Can't run away from that.

At the end of the song is the climax. Ren stands out of the wheelchair and walks away on his own power. To be so lucky. Kinda like a "Lazarus/Oral Roberts" moment. Really now Ren. This is a bit too much!

Sorting through the videos to include in the links, I realized that the "Official" Ren video on Youtube no longer included the wheel-in. Just the music. Bait and switch? Who knows!

"Hi Ren" by Ren. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnbXfRACsVM.

"Hi Ren" by Ren (includes wheel-in-intro.) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=keokO_DwOUY.

As Living Memories of The Korean War Fade, Its Consequences Become Clearer

Seventy years ago, the Korean War ended with a cease-fire, not a victory or a peace deal, and veterans marked the occasion July 27 at the Korean War Memorial in Washington, DC, with some even joining activists pushing for a formal end to the war. But as most Korean War vets are well into their 90s, they still struggle with America's perceptions of what has been called "the Forgotten War."

"We don't call it the Forgotten War, we call it the forgotten victory," said retired US Marine Col. Warren Wiedhahn. "We saved South Korea from becoming a communist country." Wiedhahn said it might not have been clear at the time, but it sure is now. South Korea is democratic and among the world's leading economies, while the North is an impoverished, brutal dictatorship. Wiedhahn just wishes the United Nations force, led by the US, had held on to more of the Korean peninsula before the cease-fire. At a certain point they had driven North Korean forces all the way to the Chinese border before being pushed south again. "Now don't get me wrong. The (cease-fire) was welcomed because that meant that the Marines and soldiers were not getting killed anymore. But to me, to us who had fought in the beginning, it was kind of an anti-climactic," he said. At 94, Wiedhahn is president of the Chosin Few, a group of vets who fought at Chosin Reservior, a freezing 17-day battle with the Chinese army.

Membership is now being gradually passed on to the next generation.

"I actually had no idea my dad was involved with the Chosin Reservoir. He didn't say one word about it," said Nancy Weigle, whose father, Gerald, was a Navy corpsman who died in 2018. Like many Korea vets he didn't talk about it much for the first few decades, Weigle said. "The World War II vets had obviously been celebrated. There was a clear victory. And when these guys came back, nobody even knew what Korea was," she said. That came later, as Korean products and culture spread across the globe. Her dad was one of many Korean War vets who were invited by South Korea to visit Seoul. Weigle is now a legacy member of the Chosin Few, carrying on their stories.

Robert Grier, 90, served in Korea just a few years after the US military desegregated, a memory that stood out for him even as he finds it harder to recall many other details of his service. "Black soldiers didn't get promoted very much back then. It was always in the lower ranks," he said. Grier eventually made captain. He has just one memory of the armistice in 1953. "We were not happy," he said. "(We) didn't like to lose things. We thought that we lost that."

Korea was the first of many wars after World War II with, at best, ambiguous endings that most Americans didn't see as success. That includes Afghanistan and Iraq.

"I sympathize with the Korean War vets," said Welton Chang, who served two tours in Iraq. "Their experience was much more intense, and certainly the casualties were higher," he adds. Before Iraq, Chang also deployed to Korea for a year, during which North Korea detonated its first nuclear weapon and tested intercontinental ballistic missiles. His time there showed him the value of what Americans and others did for South Korea. "Older Koreans are still very thankful for US involvement and were often the ones who would come up to us on the street or hiking a mountain somewhere and shake our hands and say 'thank you,' " Chang said. "It was always super awkward because you kind of have to remind them that, like, I wasn't even born when any of this stuff happened," he said. "But they saw it as this long, unbroken line of US commitment in Asia."

Source URL. Link: www.npr.org/2023/07/30/1190557148/korean-war-armistice-anniversary.

Spirituality is Cood for Our Mental Health

I believe each and every one of us is capable of making our own meaning. Some of us do that by living according to a set of religious principles. Or by feeling the beauty and sanctity of nature. Or by choosing to see spiritual connections in what others might call mere coincidence.

I don't need anyone to validate those experiences for them to be meaningful to me. But according to Lisa Miller, a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, having a spiritual life is good for your mental health.

Miller is a psychologist and has dedicated most of her career to the study of neuroscience and spirituality. Her newest book is called "The Awakened Brain," and in it she makes some really bold claims about how holding spiritual beliefs can decrease our rates of anxiety and depression and generally make us most likely to lead happier lives.

It was the mid '90s. Miller was in the early stages of her career and working at a residential mental health facility in New York City. After she'd been there a few months, Yom Kippur rolled around, the day of atonement, considered the most significant of the Jewish religious holidays. One of the older male patients with severe bipolar disorder asked if there were any plans to mark the day. The doctor in charge shrugged his shoulders and said, no, there's no service planned. The patient walked out of the room with his shoulders slumped and Lisa, who is Jewish, saw an opportunity.

Lisa Miller approached the unit chief and said, "I'm certainly not a rabbi, but I've been to two-and-a-half decades of Yom Kippur services. I'd be happy to facilitate if that might be OK with you." So I showed up on Yom Kippur and the patients had arrived early to the kitchen, which was to be our sanctuary. The fluorescent lights were quite strong and as we crowded around the linoleum table there was an extraordinary feeling of specialness.

As we started the prayers that we all knew from our childhood, joining together saying in Hebrew the prayers of Yom Kippur, I looked over and noticed that as the gentleman with bipolar was davening, he could not have been further from explosive. He was holding our group in the cadence of the prayers and we were actually following him.

I took a pause and I said, "I feel so grateful to be here today in our Yom Kippur ceremony. Would anyone like to say anything?" We went around the table and the first person to speak was a very otherwise withdrawn woman with recurrent depression. She said, "You know, I always knew on Yom Kippur we could ask for forgiveness. But sitting here now with you all, I'm aware that we can be forgiven. God can forgive us." And she looked liberated.

As I looked around the table at the patients, whatever their symptoms had been yesterday, they were free in that moment. They were free of suffering. They were free of the characteristic patterns that had dragged them down in a way that was equal and opposite to their main symptoms. And so I thought a mental health system minus spirituality made no sense, and that became my life's work, to understand the place of spirituality in renewal, in recovery, in resilience, and to put this in the language of science.

OK, what happens when you bring these kinds of questions to your peers, to the other people in your scientific community? Like when you say for the first time, "Hey, I think we need to look at the effect of spirituality on mental health."

Well, the vast majority were very respectful, nodded, and didn't pick up the thread. Some of them would say, "That's not psychology, that's not psychiatry." And in fact, I remember early on giving a grand rounds presentation and I opened up saying, "I'm going to speak today about a body of data using nationally representative samples on spirituality and mental health with all the gold standard methods." And about 10 people got up and walked out. It was absolutely not of interest.

If I were to characterize the first five years of my investigation, I would say I used the data sets that everyone else knew and trusted. I only asked one new question, which was, "What's the impact of spirituality on the DSM diagnosis of addiction and depression?" The findings were jaw dropping.

The protective benefit of personal spirituality, meaning someone who says their personal spirituality is very important, is 80% against addiction. They have 80% decreased relative risk for the DSM diagnosis of addiction to drugs or alcohol.

OK, so someone who self-identifies as having a meaningful spiritual life is 80% less likely to get addicted to drugs or alcohol than someone who says they don't? And, can you prove that it is a spiritual life that is doing that and not some external factor?

That's a very important point because in every study we controlled for all of the usual interpretations about this being social support or having resources. So we plugged into our equation every other possible explanation that was generally taken in mental health to explain the road to depression. And nonetheless, it actually turned out that the more high risk we are, the more that there's stress in our lives, the more that we might be genetically at risk for depression, the greater the impact of spirituality as a source of resilience as preventative against major depression.

One of the most beautiful findings in my 20 years as an investigator was from an MRI study conducted together with our colleagues at Yale Medical School. We looked at people of many different faith traditions and the first finding was that there is one neuro seat of transcendent perception and we share it. Now there's human variability of course, and we can strengthen components, but we share this capability.

The very specific prompt was, "Tell us about a time where you felt a deep connection to God, your higher power, the source of life." Everyone had a story like that and as they told their story, we recorded them and it was then played back in their ears while they were inside the scanner.

OK, they heard themselves recounting their spiritual experience, which was tailor made to their own moment, and you see their brains light up.

Connecting to these memories, the bonding network comes up online just as when we were held in the arms of our parents or grandparents. In other words, you can literally see that the brain will respond to spiritual stimuli in the same way that it does to a hug from a family member when you're a baby.

OK, how does this manifests in the real world?

Iliana adored her father, I mean, he was the sun and the moon and the stars to her. They were so close. And one night two men who her father knew, came into his corner store, robbed him and murdered him. And she was devastated. This was a grief that was so deep. She simply could not free herself from the grief that was shackling her heart.

One day, Iliana skips into my office. There's a levity and joy. She plops into the seat and says, "Dr. Miller, you're never gonna believe this. My cousin and my cousin's girlfriend chaperoned me so I could go to a party and I met the most wonderful boy. We talked so long, it must have been 20 minutes. He was so polite and so kind. But here's the best part, his name." Which was the same very unusual name as her father.

She said, "Don't you see? My father sent him. My father is looking out after me." And from that day on she was in the world of the living. What changed everything for Iliana was the awareness that her father walked with her. She maintained a deep transcendent relationship with her father, as most people around the world do.

Iliana trusted her deep inner knowing that this was far too probabilistic to have happened by chance. That this very rare name held both by this new boy and her father could possibly mean nothing.

OK, what are you thinking as you hear this? I mean, are you thinking that is just a crazy coincidence, but if she needs to believe that this is a sign from God, who am I to tell her otherwise? Because it seems to be working.

Well, at the time, that was certainly the most common interpretive framework amongst psychologists and psychiatrists. But I could see plain as day that this was a tremendously sacred moment. This was a living miracle. This was a gift.

For me to have treated it like some kind of cultural diversity variable or that it's just the meaning she makes would've actually taken all of the energy and spirit out of that transformative awakening moment. I joined her. Now I did that authentically because it was my view as well that this is far too nonprobabilistic to have happened by chance, that there are very few people by that very same name and that the first boy she met in a year and a half since her father's passing should have the name of the father. It was a synchronicity. There was a deeper meaning being revealed.

I've given a number of talks to audiences who, prior to seeing the science, would not necessarily consider themselves spiritual people. And, in fact, I oftentimes hear from people who consider themselves skeptics and very left-brained and when they see the peer reviewed science that says we're naturally spiritual beings, that when we cultivate our spirituality we're 80% less likely to be addicted, 82% less likely to take our lives, it speaks to the left side of their brains long enough that it quiets down the skepticism.

You know, at the inner table of human knowing we all have an empiricist, a logician, an intuitive, a mystic, and a skeptic. And the skeptic is very welcome, but the skeptic is not the bouncer at the door.

It is not scientific to put a skeptic as a bouncer at the door. It is not more rigorous to toss out an idea before being examined in every way. We are wired to be able to investigate. So I simply say to the biggest skeptic of all, you are most welcome to your own inner table of inquiry, but be sure to invite everyone else.

Source URL. Link: www.npr.org/2023/07/30/1190748216/religion-spirituality-science-mental-health.

A Book Recommendation and More

"Hello darkness, my old friend: how daring dreams and unyielding friendship turned one man's blindness into an extraordinary vision for life" by Sanford Greenberg. I found this book, a Kindle book, at the Ohio Online Digital Library which I have on hold since the two copies are not currently available. However, if you are connected to the NLS Talking Book program for the print disabled, you will find the book there as well. I recently finished reading this book on the Bard Mobile app installed on my Amazon Fire Tablet. Great read!

Reading time, 8 hours, 54 minutes. The author describes how losing his eyesight as a Columbia junior affected his life trajectory. He went on to Harvard, Oxford, and among many other accomplishments invented a compressed speech machine which speeds up the reproduction of words from recordings without distorting any sound. The title of this book (opening line of "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel) reflects his long friendship with Art Garfunkel. There is one episode recalled in this book which I never knew. a short-handed version follows.

"Hello darkness, my old friend." Everybody knows the iconic Simon and Garfunkel song, but do you know the amazing story behind the first line of "Sounds of Silence?"

It began over 6 decades ago, when Arthur (Art) Garfunkel, a Jewish kid from Queens, enrolled in Columbia University. During freshman orientation, Art met a student from Buffalo named Sandy Greenberg, and they immediately bonded over their shared passion for literature and music. Art and Sandy became roommates and best friends.

Soon after starting college, Sandy's vision became blurry and although doctors diagnosed it as temporary conjunctivitis, the problem grew worse. Finally after seeing a specialist, Sandy received the devastating news that severe glaucoma was destroying his optic nerves. The young man with such a bright future would soon be completely blind.

Sandy was devastated and fell into a deep depression. He gave up his dream of becoming a lawyer and moved back to Buffalo, where he worried about being a burden to his financially-struggling family. Consumed with shame and fear, Sandy cut off contact with his old friends, refusing to answer letters or return phone calls.

Then suddenly, to Sandy's shock, his buddy Art showed up at the front door. He was not going to allow his best friend to give up on life, so he bought a ticket and flew up to Buffalo unannounced. Art convinced Sandy to give college another go, and promised that he would be right by his side to make sure he didn't fall - literally or figuratively.

Art kept his promise, faithfully escorting Sandy around campus and effectively serving as his eyes. It was important to Art that even though Sandy had been plunged into a world of darkness, he should never feel alone. Art actually started calling himself "Darkness" to demonstrate his empathy with his friend. He'd say things like, "Darkness is going to read to you now." Art organized his life around helping Sandy.

One day, Art was guiding Sandy through crowded Grand Central Station when he suddenly said he had to go and left his friend alone and petrified. Sandy stumbled, bumped into people, and fell, cutting a gash in his shin. After a couple of hellish hours, Sandy finally got on the right subway train. After exiting the station at 116th street, Sandy bumped into someone who quickly apologized - and Sandy immediately recognized Art's voice! Turned out his trusty friend had followed him the whole way home, making sure he was safe and giving him the priceless gift of independence. Sandy later said, "That moment was the spark that caused me to live a completely different life, without fear, without doubt. For that I am tremendously grateful to my friend."

Later, while attending Oxford, Sandy got a call from Art. This time Art was the one who needed help. He'd formed a folk rock duo with his high school pal Paul Simon, and they desperately needed $400 to record their first album. Sandy and his wife Sue had literally $404 in their bank account, but without hesitation Sandy gave his old friend what he needed.

Art and Paul's first album, "Wednesday Morning 3 AM," wasn't a success, but one of the songs, "Sounds of Silence," became a #1 hit a year later. The opening line echoed the way Sandy always greeted Art. Simon and Garfunkel went on to become one of the most beloved musical acts in history.

The two Columbia graduates, each of whom has added so much to the world in his own way, are still best friends. Art Garfunkel said that when he became friends with Sandy, "my real life emerged. I became a better guy in my own eyes, and began to see who I was - somebody who gives to a friend." Sandy describes himself as "the luckiest man in the world."

"Wednesday Morning 3 AM." Full album. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwMxBtSOebk.

Post notes. The "Wednesday Morning 3 AM" album was released in October 1964 and was recorded over three weeks in March of that year. This album is totally acoustic; guitar, banjo, harmonica, double bass and vocals.

No electric effects or percussion/drums. Sold only 2,000 copies. However, if you listen with headphones, absolutely stellar! A good representation of the folk idiom at the time as the national taste was moving to a moredriven (rock and roll) beat. In other words, this very quiet album hit at the end of the folk boom. Subsequent offerings by them would reflect the new national taste and sell very well, continuing with great vocals, lyrics and guitar.

A year later in 1965, without the knowledge of Art or Paul, a Columbia Records producer, Tom Wilson, recorded "Sounds of Silence" adding electric effects and drums and this 45 vinyl record, released September 1965 zoomed to #1. In short order, their second album, "Sounds of Silence," released on January 17, 1966, with the reworked song included was released. Gone was the pure acoustic. That's the rest of the story!

"Sounds of Silence." Full album. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgNCNtL3bT8.

That's the news for now. Coming to your web-browser again as well! Until then, stay well --- William