The UCB
Flier
A publication of
Utah Council
of the Blind
September
2017
For the latest news
updates call the Utah Connection 801-299-0670 or 1‑800-273-4569. (You may
also leave a message at the end of the announcement.)
Mail
correspondence to: UCB, PO Box 1415, Bountiful, UT 84011-1415. E-mail us at ucb.board@gmail.com.
In This
Issue
Message From the President..................................................................... 2
UCB Annual
Business Meeting.................................................................. 2
Candidate
Statements................................................................................ 3
Tina Terry............................................................................................... 3
Aunilie Hathaway.................................................................................... 4
Sandy Ruconich...................................................................................... 5
TerriLynne Pomeroy............................................................................... 5
Michael Neal........................................................................................... 6
Proposed
Bylaws Amendments.................................................................. 6
Come to the
Utah State Fair....................................................................... 7
Upcoming
Events....................................................................................... 8
Latest
Calendar with Updates.................................................................... 8
Potential
Employment Opportunities.......................................................... 9
Seeing AI, a
New App for iPhones............................................................. 9
Book Review............................................................................................ 11
Mozilla Aims
To Democratize Voice Recognition Technology With ‘Common Voice’ Crowdsourcing
Project.................................................. 12
Crowdsourced Voice Engine................................................................. 12
Narrated
Videos, Taped and CD Books Now Available............................ 13
The Old Dog............................................................................................. 14
General UCB Information......................................................................... 15
Upcoming Board Meetings.................................................................... 15
Disclaimer............................................................................................. 16
Greetings, UCB friends and family,
How is it that summer is almost over? Where does the time go? I hope you are all taking a little time to enjoy the lazy long days of summer.
Last month I had the opportunity to attend the American Council of the Blind national convention in Reno, Nevada. I want to thank everybody who joined me there. I thought we had a pretty good turnout for Utah this year. We took part in passing resolutions that will help in making our world a more accessible place for blind people; we heard from outstanding companies that are improving technology in so many ways. I am excited for Utah's future as we actively strengthen each other and our communities to create a better world for all. Things that we can do to help each other along the way are: be more involved in the legislature, stand up for what we know will improve our community, be an example of the hard work and perseverance, and embrace change for the better good. We cannot do this alone. We need your help, so I encourage you to join with the Utah Council of the Blind and be a part of our community.
Anna Jeffery, President
"Action is the foundational key to all success."
--Pablo Picasso
Saturday, September 16, 2017
The Annual Business Meeting of the Utah Council of the Blind will be held at the Division of Services for the Blind, 250 N 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 16, 2017. Reservations are required so that we can have enough food for everyone. Please call the Utah Connection or email ucb.board@gmail.com with your name, the names of others in your party, and your telephone number no later than Monday, September 11th. When you make your reservation, please indicate whether each person in your party is a member of the UCB, whether you use large print or braille, any dietary restrictions you or a member of your party may have, and if you will need a listening device or any other accommodation.
Absentee Ballots: If you are unable to attend and wish to vote via absentee ballot, please contact Leslie Gertsch as soon as possible at 801-292-1156 Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Absentee ballots must be received no later than Thursday, September 14, 2017, in order for your vote to count.
Membership Verification: In order to vote at the annual business meeting a member’s dues for 2017 must be paid no later than September 9, 2017. If you have any questions about your membership status, please contact our Membership Chair, Aunilie Hathaway at (801) 244-5505 or via e-mail at ucb.board@gmail.com.
Dear UCB members:
My name is Tina Terry. I am running for the office of President of the Utah Council of the Blind. I have been blind since birth. I attended the Nebraska School for the Visually Handicapped until the age of 12, at which time I informed my parents, “I should go to public school.” I attended high school and 2 years of college before moving to Salt Lake in 1989. I have been a teacher trainer for about 2 years and am currently serving on the board. My goal is to help people find alternative techniques to overcome the obstacles of vision loss. My commitment is to show that blindness is a challenge not a disability, and to advocate for our rights for fair treatment. It would be my honor to serve the people in the Utah Council of the Blind and hopefully make a difference in our world.
My Fellow UCB members,
I am seeking re-election to the office of Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Utah Council of the Blind and want to take this opportunity to reintroduce myself. My name is Aunilie Hathaway. I have been serving as Secretary of the Board of Directors since July 1, 2009. I slowly grew into my role as secretary and over the years have taken on many larger projects and responsibilities. Although I am quiet, introverted, and usually found in the background, I am passionate about our members, our programs, and keeping our organization alive to give the blind and visually impaired of Utah a choice. As a member of the board, I have had countless opportunities to serve on various committees within the organization, and I am the UCB representative on the Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired Advisory Council, for which I am the current Chairperson.
Outside of UCB, I have 20 plus years of experience working in the private sector, where I gained customer service and various other office administrative skills. This summer I am participating in a volunteer internship program with the state of Utah which has allowed me to work with the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative Team doing technical writing and other tasks as I am assigned. I am married to my best friend and fellow UCB member, Rob Wiener, who encourages and fully supports my work for the council.
In my limited free time, I enjoy knitting, crocheting, beading, reading, playing card and board games, traveling, listening to a variety of music, especially country and Christian pop, and spending time with family and friends.
I look forward to continuing to learn about, advocate for, and promote programs to assist the visually impaired. I feel I can continue to be an effective and productive member of the UCB Board as your Secretary.
Thank you for your consideration,
Aunilie Hathaway
Dear UCB members:
I have enjoyed very much serving on the UCB board for the past few years. I've appreciated the opportunity to help with conferences, to serve on the UCB Bylaws Committee, and to participate in the development of the UCB policy manual. It's also been good to learn about the UCB's budget process and how the organization works on a day-to-day basis.
I would like to remain on the board in order to continue helping with conferences and serving on committees. If elected to another two-year term, my goal will be to increase the number of participants at UCB activities. At this year's ACB convention we received the Affiliate Growth Award for increasing our membership more than any other state did, but our attendance at activities is not great. I'd like to help figure out why that is and to do what I can to increase attendance at activities.
Thank you, UCB members, for electing me to the board twice. It's said that the third time of doing anything is the charm. If elected, I'll do my best to make my third board term the best yet for you!
Sandy Ruconich
Hello UCB members,
I am running for reelection to the UCB's Board of Directors. Although I do have a busy personal life with family and church commitments, I also enjoy giving time to help the UCB. During the last year, I have planned the activities and been in charge of the tech conference. I have also taken over the editing of the newsletter since our last editor was unable to continue. In addition, I was recently assigned to chair the fundraising committee. This most recent assignment is a bit more of a challenge because it entails finding money raising projects that are worth the time and effort. If anyone has suggestions for this area, I would love to hear about them.
To my way of thinking, the reason you would want to vote for me is that I do follow through on getting jobs done in a fairly timely manner, an important characteristic when trying to carry through projects for an organization. I enjoy the jobs that I do for the Council, and hope that you will support me for reelection.
I consider it a great privilege and pleasure to serve on the board of the Utah Council of the Blind. The last two years have been incredible. I appreciate the opportunity to get to know everyone who served, who are blind. I am very excited about the upcoming election. I feel that I could do a great job serving another term on the board. I believe I can do a great job because I love the Utah Council of the Blind. The programs such as cab coupon program, reader services and social activities are some of the best services we have in Utah. I look forward to serving you and appreciate your vote.
• Section 4.5 Currently reads: "... If any Director shall have unexcused absences from over 25% of regular or special meetings in any calendar year it shall be recognized as an automatic resignation, and he/she shall be replaced at the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors..." Proposed change: "... If any Director shall be absent from over 25% of regular or special meetings in any calendar year it shall be recognized as an automatic resignation, and a replacement shall be appointed by the Board of Directors..."
• Section 8.2 Currently reads: "... Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at least monthly..." Proposed change: "... Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at least ten months of the year..."
Everyone will be pleased to hear that the UCB has, once again, been able to arrange a day at the fair for its members and guides. On Tuesday, September 12, at 5:30 p.m., everyone will meet at the northeast gate on North Temple and 1000 W. We need to get there at this time to collect money, get a head count, and allow for pairing with volunteers where needed. This will enable us to be ready to enter the fairgrounds at 6:00 p.m.
The gate where we are meeting is right at the end of the crosswalk that crosses 1000 West. You will need to be able to pay $1 for you and $1 for your guide. If you have questions, call 801-292-1156. The fair requires that everyone enters together and that everyone is paid for in one check, so if you come late, you will have to pay full price. After entering the fair, you are on your own to have fun and explore.
On Wednesday, September 13, the UCB has been invited to bring 15 people to participate in a fair event starting at 10:00 a.m. Since the number is limited, you will need to make reservations with Anna Jeffery, who is in charge of this event. Call 801-654-3772 to make your reservations. You must be able to meet at 9:30 that morning to enter at 9:50 a.m. There will be free children's rides, limited refreshments, and a circus at noon. Anna says that seating is limited, so if you wish to see the circus, you will need to get a seat by 11:30 a.m. People in the fair grounds are good to give directions, but you may want a guide. The cost is $1 for you and $1 for your guide. The amount must be paid in one check and the group must enter together. If you are late you may have difficulty entering, since this is by special arrangement. After entering you are on your own. No one will be available to look out for you. You can participate in these special events or visit the fair. Things are rather limited, however, until after the circus. When you follow these directions, you will have a great time. Hope to see you there.
In September, as reported in two articles in this issue, we have the trip to the State Fair and our annual membership meeting. Come join us for both!
On Saturday, October 21, we will be taking a trip to Cedar City to see the new LDS temple. The tour is at 1 p.m. which should give out-of-towners as much time as possible to reach the tour on time and then get home again before the day is completely over. If you need a ride from the Wasatch front, the cost will be $10. Let us know as soon as possible to help us plan transportation.
On Saturday, November 25, we have purchased a limited number of tickets to attend the Utah Symphony's program where we get to all join in singing The Messiah. It will be on the evening of Saturday, November 25, the Saturday right after Thanksgiving. Tickets are only $12 per person. Braille and large print lyrics will be available for anyone purchasing a ticket.
Mark your calendars for the annual Christmas party. This year it will be held on Saturday, December 2. See details in upcoming issues.
Mail checks or money orders for any activities to UCB, PO Box 1415, Bountiful, UT 84011-1415. They need to reach us by dates given. Unless otherwise noted, classes and activities listed below are held at the Division of Services for the Blind, 250 N 1950 W, Salt Lake City.
· Tuesday/Wednesday, September 12 & 13: annual visit to the Utah State Fair (see article for details)
· Saturday, September 16, 10 a.m.: annual UCB business meeting, DSBVI (see article for details)
· Saturday, October 21: visit Cedar City and tour the new LDS temple
· Saturday, November 25: The Messiah sing-along with the Utah Symphony
· Saturday, December 2: UCB Christmas party
My name is Michele Repischak, and I am the recruiter at Industries for the Blind, Milwaukee. The mission of ibMilwaukee is to provide and grow opportunities for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. We have several opportunities available in Milwaukee and at military base supply stores throughout the country including two openings at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
To learn more about these positions, please contact me at:
Michele.Repischak@ibmilwaukee.com
Phone: 414-778-3054
Cell: 414-704-5500
Toll-free: 800-642-8778
Fax: 414-778-3391
by Tina Terry
This month I thought I would take time to review an app that is getting a lot of buzz in the blind and visually impaired community. It is a new concept using artificial intelligence to do several tasks that would previously require different applications. It is part of an ongoing research project app by Microsoft that “harnesses the power of AI to describe people, text and objects”.
The app is called Seeing AI. It is currently available for iPhones, but there is no word on the possibility of it becoming available for Android devices.
Currently, there are 5 different channels, or options, with another one in the planning stages.
The default channel when you open the app is called short text. This part of the app works in real time and is useful for sorting mail, reading signs down the grocery isle of the store, identifying cab coupons, reading the computer monitor and much more. It does not require that a picture be taken but uses the video part of the phone to tell what needs to be read.
Document enables the user to take a picture of text and have it read back, much like Prizmo Go, or the KNFB Reader. It does keep the headings and let the user know the layout of what is being read. I have found it a little more time consuming. In the beginning, I would work to get the picture and the app would time out. That bug does seem to have been fixed. I do like the fact that when the camera is centered on the document the picture is taken. I have found that I need to hold my phone a little higher above the page, but the text is mostly accurate.
Bar code scanner allows the user to move the phone over an item and find label information. Previously, I used an app called Digiteyes to identify labels and read directions on products. I spent many hours learning where the bar codes could usually be found, but for me, it was very time consuming and frustrating. Seeing AI gives auditory feedback to let you know that you are getting close to the bar code and a tone to let you know that it is processing. This section is very user friendly and is one of my favorite parts of the app.
Facial recognition guides the user to take a picture and will describe the person's age, gender, hair color, and expression. This is an area that needs much work. The same person may age many years over the span of a few minutes. I was described anywhere from 66 to 86. (Very humbling since I am turning 50). The one advantage of this section is that the user can label who the person is so they will be recognized in future photographs.
Scene recognition is still in beta stage. A picture may be taken and the user will receive a description of what is in it. One picture that I took was of my living room and it did accurately describe it for me. I took a picture of our front yard and it said there were two lawn chairs stacked on top of each other. The scene was actually a tree and I was trying to see if it was in bloom. At this point, I would still find apps such as Tap Tap See or Be My Eyes more reliable.
Another option, currency identification, is not yet available, but is said to be coming soon.
Seeing AI has only been out for about three weeks and has already made improvements. It will be interesting to see how this app evolves over the coming months. I have tried it in many different situations and, for the most part, like it. Microsoft deserves our appreciation for producing this app. It is currently free, and we can’t help but love that. I do have to give one warning and that would be that it is a major drain on the battery while in use, so I would advise that you close it as soon as you are finished with the task that you need it to perform.
Book Review: A Laugh a Day Keeps the Blues Away: Humorous Stories From People with Low Vision, Blindness, and Deaf Blindness
Reviewed by TerriLynne Pomeroy
Bard book number: DBC11031
This book was put together by Rita Thomas Kersh and is 2 hours, 48 minutes long. It is a book which was put online by the Indiana State Library.
This book is made up of incidents written by people who are blind or visually impaired. We all have embarrassing or challenging experiences, and it has helped me to laugh about mine. In fact, I dealt with one of my most embarrassing experiences by writing it down and then reading it to a group of blind people. It was amazing how healing this experience was.
Give the book a try. You may not identify with every story, but I am sure you will identify with some.
by Lucian Armasu July 19, 2017 at 1:25 PM - Source: Common Voice (Mozilla)
The Mozilla Foundation launched “Common Voice,” which is a crowdsourced initiative to build an open source data set for voice recognition applications.
Many technology companies believe that voice control will be embedded into most devices in the future. This is why Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Baidu, and others are all trying to put their own voice-controlled artificial intelligence assistants into as many devices as they can and as fast as they can, in order to gain market share before the competition.
The problem with this, according to Mozilla, is that voice controlled technologies could end up being dominated by proprietary technology and data sets, which aren’t made available to startups and academics. As some large companies already benefit from billion-dollar revenues, it could later become too difficult for startups to catch up with the big players. Through Common Voice, Mozilla aims to democratize voice recognition technology.
Another issue is that the voice recognition systems developed by the big technology companies are also focused mainly on only a handful of the most popular languages, such as English and Chinese. However, the market for devices that need voice control is much larger than the populations that can speak those languages. Mozilla hopes to improve this with its open source project.
Mozilla wants to collect over 10,000 hours of recordings from people reading sentences out loud that can later be verified for accuracy by other volunteers. The organization believes that this number of recordings should make the engine accurate enough for use in production.
The quality of the recording doesn’t matter, and in fact Mozilla suggested reading the text in different environments. The idea is to enable third-party developers to use the open source engine in all sorts of products, so the technology should become advanced enough to work in various real-world environments, too. It can’t work only in a bedroom without any noise in the background.
This crowdsourcing strategy is one that Google Translate has used from the beginning, and although it’s recently focused more on using machine learning to do the translations, people can still “correct” translated words or sentences.
Mozilla said that it will release the open source Common Voice database later this year.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/mozilla-launches-common-voice-project,35039.html
The UCB has for loan to you many narrated videos with many great old movies which have been professionally narrated. These movies can be borrowed for up to two weeks for your viewing. If you have a VHS machine and would like to borrow a video, the UCB will send you a list of the movies in the collection.
For the readers among you, the UCB also has many cassette books and CD books available for your use. If you wish to borrow one of these, please request a list of the titles, and you are welcome to borrow them for up to two weeks.
To request lists of narrated videos or of recorded books, leave your name and contact information on the Utah Connection listed at the beginning of this newsletter.
A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful elderly poodle named Cuddles, along for company.
One day the old poodle starts chasing butterflies, and, before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having him for lunch.
The old poodle thinks, 'Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!' Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?'
Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike; a look of terror comes over him, and he slinks away into the trees. 'Whew!' says the leopard, 'That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!'
Meanwhile, a monkey, who has been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put his knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.
The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans, and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.
The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, 'Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!'
Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, 'What am I going to do now?', but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and, just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says ...
'Where's that monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!'
Moral of this story ...
Don't mess with the old dogs ... age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery. Boloney and brilliance only come with age and experience.
We are always looking for articles or
interesting tidbits of information from our readers or other interested
persons. The deadline for submitting items for publication is the 1st of the
month, e.g. the deadline for the May newsletter is April 1st. You may e-mail
any articles you wish to submit for our newsletter to our editor, TerriLynne
Pomeroy, at tl1@ml1.net, or send Braille or print to UCB Newsletter, PO Box
1415, Bountiful, UT 84011-1415; please allow extra time for processing Braille
or print.
Members are invited and encouraged to
attend meetings of the Board of Directors. These are typically held the fourth
Monday of each month at 3:15 p.m. in the DSBVI Board Room (in the southeast
corner of the building).
· Monday, September 25, 2017
· Monday, October 23, 2017
· Monday, November 27, 2017
· Monday, December 18, 2017
The UCB Flier
is available in large print, Braille, audio CD, as a Microsoft Word and a plain
text file on CD, and by e-mail. If you would prefer to receive your newsletter
in a different format, please call the Utah Connection or send an e-mail to ucb.board@gmail.com and let us know. If you are currently receiving your newsletter on
cassette tape, please call and let us know another format you can use.
Articles and announcements included in
this publication are presented for your information and interest. They reflect
the opinions of the respective authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the
UCB.
FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND AND DISABLED
Utah Council of the Blind
1301 W 500 S
Woods Cross UT 84087-2224