Meet Michael Colbrunn: Business Enterprise Program Owner/Operator and Advocate for the Blind (transcript provided)

Show Summary: (Full Transcript Below) The Business Enterprise Program (BEP) is a great way for interested Blind/Visually Impaired clients of their State Agency/Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) to own their own business and be their own boss. Michael Colbrunn is a business owner in the BEP and joined Jeff Thompson of Blind Abilities in the studio to talk about the BEP and about his work at his campus location and his work on the State...

What Does White Cane Day Mean to You? Voices at the Capital 2018 (Transcript Provided)

Show Summary: (Full Transcript Below) October 11 is White Cane Day in Minnesota and the Blindness community came out strong to support the awareness of the White Cane. Speakers shared the history of White Cane day and others talked about the freedom and independence the white cane brings to them. The Minnesota State Academy for the Blind shared their voices and sang aloud in the Capital’s Rotundra. With the support of the local Lions Clubs,...

There is nothing stopping you from accessing blind abilities! Blog Post by Jessica Hodges

Blog Post from Jessica Hodges There is nothing stopping you from accessing blind abilities!   You tell me you don’t have time to listen? Or maybe you just don’t know how to find the illustrious gathering of blogs and podcasts that is blind abilities in the moment, when you’ve got a thousand things to do? Well, wonder no more. Here are all the ways you can find us.   Cooking something complicated in the kitchen? Have your hands...

An Evening Read: Using Overdrive for iOS – A Blog Post by Jessica Hodges

A Blog Post by Jessica Hodges   An Evening Read, using Overdrive for iOS   I’m practically spinning as I walk through my door on a late Friday afternoon. It’s been a busy day. I need a break. Fortunately for me, I have just the thing in mind, the new book in a favorite series. One problem, I don’t want to read it in text, Bard, the reading service for the blind through the library of congress, doesn’t have it, and I don’t...

Dr. Amy Kavanagh: Accepting the Cane and Guide Dog Possibilities – The 2nd in this 3-Part Series (transcription provided)

Show Summary: (Full Transcript Below) On White Cane Day, Blind Abilities is proud to bring you part 2 of Dr. Amy Kavanagh: Accepting the Cane and Guide Dog Possibilities. Amy has adjusted to her limited vision since she was born and when it came time for the White cane, she thought it was for other people to understand or recognize that she doesn’t see very well. Never thinking she needed a cane for her own good and never thought about using a...

Meet Trevor Astrope: Computer Analyst, Woodworker and Guitar Builder, at WW4B and the Enchanted Hills Camp (Transcript provided)

Show Summary:   (Full Transcript Below) Let’s board that Blind Abilities airlines jet and head back to the enchanted Hills Camp in Napa Valley, ca., where Jeff caught up with another student of the Woodworking for the Blind (WW4B) workshop. In this interview, we meet Trevor Astrope, a Computer Analyst who works for Morgan Stanley, as the Global Lead for their Private Cloud. Yes, he’s a computer Geek! but Trevor is so much more! He shares...

Just Ask Don’t Grab – Meet Dr. Amy Kavanagh, Blogger, Activist, and Volunteer with a Message – #JustAskDontGrab. (Transcript Provided)

Show Summary: (Transcript Below) Dr. Amy Kavanagh was fed up with the grabbing, pushing, polling from the cited community when she adventured out into the public sphere. All to knowing that the adventure itself was challenging in it’s own right, the unsolicited touching nearly kept her from stepping out of the house. Taking to her Twitter feed, Amy talked about the incidences and created the hashtag #JustAskDontGrab.   People started to...

That Blind Tech Show 22: Amazon Taking Over the World! Facebook Open House, Listen Up Air Pods, IOS 12, Watch OS 5 and A-Lady Hits the Showers

Episode 22 Summary   Welcome back to another episode of That Blind Tech Show (TBTS). Allison Brian and Jeff swap talk about the latest and greatest news in the accessible device world and even more! We dip our toes into the Selfie world of the sighted and rest assured we be smarter than that. Well, most of us. Facebook opens it’s doors and the guest leave with 50 million names and contact info possibly but don’t worry, be happy, no one...

ExcelAbility: Conversation with Jim Gibbons, CEO of Good Will Industries International, who happens to be blind

In collaboration with Jack Chen, Blind Abilities presents ExcelAbility. A collection of podcasts from Jack Chen’s ExcelAbility Team. ExcelAbility, empowering excellence and success for people with disabilities.   Podcast summary In this episode we speak with CEO Jim Gibbons. Jim has served in an executive role at several prominent organizations including Good Will  and National Industries for the Blind.  Jim was the first student who...

John Kay: From Rock Star to Elephants, We Were All Born To Be Wild #Steppenwolf to #MaueKayFoundation #VisuallyImpaired (Transcript Provided)

Show Summary (Full Text Transcript Below)   John Kay reveals his journey from escaping the Iron Curtain, getting on with limited vision, his passion for music and his love and commitment for wildlife and especially elephants. Ironically, I first learned about John Kay being legally blind from Dan Gausman, a librarian at State Services for the Blind of Minnesota. A client requested to have the Communications Center record an audio copy of...