Victober 2020 ~ In Memory of Vivianne ~

[Lemon Cheesecake]

Ah, "Bleak house" I saw that a few years or more ago...that's why the Inspector Buckets name sounded so familiar!

And "Mr. Brumble" sounds familiar as well but can't place it.

[MissAutumn]

Inspector Bucket was the first fictional detective. Dickens found the police and detectives. I think he tried to figure out who was Jack the Ripper.

Vivianne - Bleak House (2005) is a good adaptation to watch.

I think Mr Bumble is from Oliver Twist? I haven't read it and I saw the musical years ago. It rings bells.

[Vivianne]

MissAutumn I’ve actually read Wuthering Heights for high school, and possibly an abridged version of The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but outside of required reading, my reading has been limited to “oh that’s an interesting blurb/cover, I should read it.”

I adore humor, but the effect may not be the same if I don’t immediately get it.

I may just wander around the Internet for titles and see what piques my interest.

[MissAutumn]

That's the best way to find a book for you. I find YouTube is a good place for recommendations - there's a growing community of book lovers on there.

[Vivianne]

I’m deaf with eye issues that make captions difficult, so videos and movies are out. But the internet is a great resource!

[MissAutumn]

I had no idea your eyes were affected as well. Sorry about that.

I linked to Project Gutenberg earlier in the thread and there's also archive.org that's a good place to find open source old books. I find so many out of print books on these websites. :3

[Vivianne]

Oh, that’s great! I really should be broadening my horizons and reading more. Thanks!

[Lemon Cheesecake]

oh no Vivianne! but if you can't see so good how is it you can respond to our posts so good? You are amazing!

Can you read braille? Our office at work jut got remodeled and they put up signs in braille. I tried learning braille when I was a kid because it was intriguing but you have to develop quite sensitive fingertips to distinguish the bumps and I am afraid I have always had rough hands so I found it difficult.

[galled]

Vivianne, you are AMAZING!!

I too would love to know about your tech and techniques you use.

[Vivianne]

Oh, my vision problems are limited to nearsightedness, dry eyes, and legal blindness in one eye.

I do type with a single finger on my iPad, currently. In a few weeks (hopefully), I’ll have a surface pro with two buttons called jellybean switches to type and navigate. It will be much slower.

I’ll be using a software by tobii dynavox called comminucator 5 to make this all possible!

I frequently zoom in on text to reduce eye strain, or make use of the iPad’s zoom accessibility feature.

It may seem like I’m fast, but I’m just online very frequently because I’m unable to work due to the extent of my various disabilities.

[galled]

I have severe myopia as well, so I know how debilitating it is. (I joke that if I was alive 300 years ago or earlier (before glasses), I'd walk off a cliff or get eaten by an animal!)

Thanks for the descriptions. I wonder why are you going to the jellybean switches if they're slower?

[Vivianne]

Because I type with one finger and only have vision on one side, typing gets painful and imprecise. It’s also looking likely that I’ll someday lose function in my good hand.

It’s possible I won’t immediately use the switches, but the software will definitely make my life easier.

[galled]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that... the way technology advances, it doesn't sound like it'll be that long before you'll be able to interact with a computer without having to physically touch it. I know that tech like Steven Hawking used (visually hunt and peck) has improved a bit, but there's been a big push to have devices read your mind. Haven't kept up with it lately, but the first devices will be your cell phone. It seems crazy wonderful and crazy scary at the same time!

Of course there's all kinds of voice to text programs that seem to do a pretty good job. I'm sure that'll improve too. Have you kept up with any of those technologies?

[Vivianne]

Stephen Hawking used a switch with his cheek in his final years. Eye gaze software isn’t an option for me due to my eye issues.

I’m a bit of a pessimist when it comes to mind controlled computers. The mind is very complex. I do have a brainstem implant for my hearing, but I don’t use it because it is so far from natural hearing, and I have the fifth or sixth generation. This hearing technology is at least a decade old, and it’s not great.

I’m also concerned about privacy and the possibility of invasive brain surgery.

In February, google released a beta of a voice to text app called live transcribe. It’s not perfect, but it’s very helpful.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I hope there will be some technological advances soon for you but in the meantime I am blown away with the amount you type and how quickly you seem to post!!

And to get back to Victober...I watched another couple episodes of Dickensian...ewww some of the characters on there are soooo nasty!! It makes me want to see them get found out...I wonder if they will! And Cratchett, such a lovely man and family he has!