--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00000Date: 05/29/97 From: MICHAEL GOREN Time: 11:58am \/To: ROBIN BROWN (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Chat Hi Robin, I would love to email with you. Write to me at this echo, or my internet address which is goren@ime.net this assumes you have internet access thaniks. -=> Quoting Robin Brown to All <=- RB> Hi there, RB> I live in Edinburgh Scotland and would love to make new friends RB> on this echo. RB> I hope to hear from someone soon. RB> Best wishes RB> Robin RB> ... I'm not disabled - Just inconvenienced! RB> -!- <--- PLACE YOUR AD HERE ---> RB> ! Origin: Darren's Little Castle BBS - 33.6 - (+44-1462-621049) RB> (2:257/71) ... "What?!? This isn't the Files section?!?" --- Blue Wave/Opus v2.12 * Origin: BlinkLink - Perceiving is believing! 412-766-0732 (1:129/89.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00001Date: 05/29/97 From: MICHAEL GOREN Time: 12:15pm \/To: BOBBY DARIN (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: NEED HELP IN TESTING Hi Bobby, I am a blind systems design engineer, I build and sell, as well as train people on computers. Please feel free to allow me to help you in your testing. You can contact me or call me voice at 207-469-7565. Thanks and it s great to be back. ... My other computer is a VAX. --- Blue Wave/Opus v2.12 * Origin: BlinkLink - Perceiving is believing! 412-766-0732 (1:129/89.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00002Date: 05/30/97 From: ANNE PAGE Time: 08:29am \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Blind News I don't think two posts ever got out of my BBS in Houston after I uploaded them on May 17. This first article came from the May 12, 1997 edition of the Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas, entitled "Six Graduates Share Their Stories of Motivation and Triumph", written by Ron Nissimov of the Houston Chronicle. Among the others were the stories of a set of identical quadruplets graduating from Baylor University, a successful sports agent and former basketball star who went back to school to get his degree in memory of his deceased father whom he had promised years before that he would do. So this one, written by Ron Nissimov of the Houston Chronicle, was part of a larger article. At 13 years of age, Horace Lyons lost his sight, but he gained a vision. As a child in the Acres Home and Fifth Ward areas of Houston, Lyons, now 29, was headed down the troubled path that ravages the lives of many young men in poorer urban areas. "Blindness was a blessing," Lyons, an African-American, said last week from his Spring Branch home. "Had I not lost my vision I probably would have experienced what my brothers experienced: prison and drugs." Instead, on Saturday Lyons graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Houston-Downtown and plans to attend law school this fall. He is one several spring graduates who shared their moving or unusual stories with the Chronicle. Lyons, who suffered from epilepsy when he was young, lost his sight in 1982 after reacting badly to the phenobarbital drug used to treat his seizures, he said. It was unclear if the dosage was too strong or if he had an allergic reaction, but he received a small settlement in 1987 after suing his doctor, he said. Doctors told Lyons that they might be able to restore his vision with a cornea transplant, and he started dreaming about becoming a lawyer after getting his sight back The operation was a temporary success. His new corneas quickly scarred over and he was blind again. "For about two months I became more bitter, but then I thought, 'Wait a minute, what's stopping me from doing those things now?"' he said. Lyons went to Austin to attend the Texas School for the Blind, giving him the opportunity to turn his back on the negative influences of his family's neighborhood. He graduated in 1987 determined that he would not get into any trouble, but he was not motivated enough to start a career. In 1988, while attending church in Austin, Lyons met what would become his inspiration: Julie, a blind white woman. Ironically, even though she had been blind from birth, Julie was at first reluctant to go out with Lyons because he is black "Julie was raised to believe you don't marry outside of race. She kind of went along with wnat her parents told her," Lyons explained. "Racism is not so much about the color of someone's skin, but the attitudes you have as to what makes that person up." Still, because of Lyons' persistence and positive outlook Julie, 28. agreed to go out with him a few months later, and in April l990 they married. Julie's parents did not attend the ceremony because they were so angry. "I had two choices," Julie said. "I could just let life pass me by or take a chance." She took the chance, and her parents eventually became more accepting, especially after the first of their three children was born in 1992. The marriage gave Lyons all the motivation he needed to start putting his intelligence and persistence to productive uses. "She gave me the reason; I had the will and wherewithal," he said. "Also, if nothing else, I'm cocky and I was going to prove to her parents they were wrong" They both attended courses to become certified as medical transcriptionists, and in 1991 Lyons started working at a Houston rehabilitation center. Julie did not work because she was busy raising their two sons and daughter, born between 1992 and 1994. Their children, who frequently touch the parents as a subconscious way of communicating their whereabouts, are exceptionally patient and understanding for their age. "Wnen the kids want to show us their new shoes or something they put our hands on them so we can feel them," Julie said. Lyons stayed at his job for more than two years, but he was laid off in July 1993 because the hospital started using contract labor, he said. Instead of becoming depressed, his faith in God helped him realize that there would be something better ahead. Julie's sister convinced him that he had the intelligence to pursue his longtime dream of going to law school, and he enrolled at UH-Downtown in January 1994. With his hard work the help of a scanning machine and readers, he graduated with a 3.4 grade point average. He applied to three law schools. He is confident he will be accepted by at least one of the schools, but he has not yet heard any official word. Lyons anticipated that he'll have to spend about twice as much time on course work as sighted students to get through law school. He has inspired his wife to attend college part time, and she plans to eventually teach or go into social work "It'll be a struggle, but it'll worth it in the end," he said with his typical optimism. This second article was also from the Houston Chronicle but appeared a few days later. It was entitled FEDS SIDE WITH PASADENA WOMAN and had a subtitle STATE AGENCY MUST PAY ITS BLIND EX-WORKER BACK WAGES, DAMAGES. It was written by Ruth Rendon, a Houston Chronicle reporter. The Texas Commission for the Blind must pay a blind Pasadena woman back wages and compensatory damages after the U.S. Justice Department concluded that she had suffered discrimination because of her disability. In a 25-page report sent to Pat D. Westbrook executive director of the state commission in Austin, Justice officials also found the commission discriminated against two employees in its San Antonio office. "Our investigation has revealed that the commission failed to make reasonable accommodations to the known disabilities of individuals, and that it maintains a practice of failing to provide certain employee manuals and information in accessible formats (such as Braille or audiotape)," said the report from Isabelle Katz Pinzler, acting assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's civil rights division. Pinzler also said the investigation found that Joanna States of Pasadena suffered harassment, which created a hostile work environment, and that she was unjustly discharged from her job as a receptionist at the commission's Houston office. Westbrook said late this week that the Texas Attorney General's Office had advised him not to comment. Ron Dusek, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said his office would respond on behalf of the commission but will not make any public comment. States, 47, filed a complaint in March 1993. States, who began working at the commission in August 1988, alleged that her supervisor, Catherine Fontaine, verbally harassed her by criticizing her use of a Braille machine, a cane and a talking clock, which Fontaine called "stupid." States said Fontaine also expressed concern that she was going to be tripped by States"'stupid cane." The commission did not categorically deny the comments but said they "were made in a tongue-in-cheek manner or were taken out of context by Ms. States." It is not an adequate defense to argue that disability-based insults and comments of the kind experienced by Ms. States, when they create a hostile work environment, were made in a 'tongue-in-cheek' or joking manner," the Justice Department report said. States also said she was ridiculed by Fontaine for wearing mismatched shoes to work and harassed by Fontaine and other employees for bringing her guide dog to work. She also lodged a complaint that Fontaine restricted her use of a Braille machine that she needed to perform her job. "While Ms. States complained both to her immediate supervisor and to higher-level supervisors about these matters, the commission either failed or refused to take prompt remedial action," Pinzler said in her report. States took a leave from her job in June 1992. When she informed Fontaine that she could not return to work until conditions improved, Fontaine and her direct supervisor, Barbara Martinez, took States' statement to be a verbal resignation, according to the Justice report. States has not worked since. Fontaine could not be reached for comment Friday. Westbrook, the commission's executive director, said Fontaine left the commission several months ago after declining to accept another position. Justice officials said limiting States' use of a Braille machine "went overboard" and prevented her from fully doing her job. The Commission for the Blind was ordered to give States back pay and to pay "appropriate compensatory damages" to her and the two San Antonio employees. Among other things, the commission also must designate an ADA compliance officer to handle complaints of discrimination on the basis of disability and provide training for supervisory employees in all commission offices on the rights and needs of persons with disabilities. Pinzler said the Justice Department is willing to work with the commission to secure the voluntary compliance. If compliance is not met, the Justice Department may sue the commission under the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. * SLMR 2.1a * Say it can't be done, but don't interrupt those doing it. --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Texas K9 Police Association On-Line Library (1:124/4220) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00003Date: 05/30/97 From: ANNE PAGE Time: 08:33am \/To: ANN SABONAITIS (Read 1 times) Subj: Hi It was good to get a note from you again. I wondered why you weren't here but figured it was because you are spending so much time on the Internet these days. I'm glad the SYSOP fixed your account back up after the hacker crashed it so that you can access the echo again. How is your new study course? Are you still doing the BL Round Robin? Anne * SLMR 2.1a * Tough times don't last, but tough people do. --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Texas K9 Police Association On-Line Library (1:124/4220) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00004Date: 05/30/97 From: ANNE PAGE Time: 08:34am \/To: ANN SABONAITIS (Read 1 times) Subj: Congratulations I don't think my mail has been getting out from my Houston board. This is what I uploaded to you on May 24. If it's a duplicate, I apologize. Thanks for writing me to tell all of us here the wonderful news about the arrival of David Benjamin. What are they going to call him as an everyday name? -- David, Davey, Benjie? This inquiring mind wants to know. At 8 lbs. 6 oz., he's a BIG boy! Half-grown already! Did he have hair on his head when he was born? What color? I'm glad the delivery went well for your niece, Sharon. Please tell her I offered my best wishes for a wonderful life for her son. Was this her first baby? Now, as for you, how is the study course coming along? What are you taking right now? Or are you having a break while you play on the Internet? Anne Page * SLMR 2.1a * A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered drawer. --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Texas K9 Police Association On-Line Library (1:124/4220) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00005Date: 05/29/97 From: CARL OWENS Time: 02:01pm \/To: WILLIAM WILSON (Read 1 times) Subj: telnet access For the past few months I have been reading about troubles uploading using telenet for qwk packets. I have found that use of the kermit protocol works quite well. it worked with the Project able bbs and it has worked with several others. This protocol was designed for different conditions than was the zmodem protocol. Good luck to all and let me know how it turns out. it will be a little slower and thus works best for uploading. * OLX 2.1 * Basic Airline Flying: Keep the pointy end forward! --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 * Origin: FIDONET * Spirit of St. Louis BBS * (215) 742-6606 (1:273/946.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00006Date: 05/29/97 From: EVERETT HERTENSTEIN Time: 10:38pm \/To: DAN (Read 1 times) Subj: YOUR SUGGESTION Regarding a message from Lillian Ackley, Dan wrote in a message to All: D> as far as blinktalk on gbx, the guy who is working on our D> feed is out of town for a couple of weeks and will continue D> to work on the feed problems. remember, this is an D> experimental project over the internet and we're still D> encountering glitches. D> regards, dan It sure is nice to run into a guy who is aware that he doesn't know everything. It's even nicer to find that the same guy actually admits it! Hang in there, Dan! Everett Internet: evhert@juno.com --- * Origin: My Point -=- Nashville TN. (1:116/17.2) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00007Date: 05/30/97 From: EDUARDO GOMEZ Time: 11:22am \/To: WALTER SIREN (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: i p number? Walter: I'm copying just any message from the skyclub-l list that I mentioned. Hope there is enough info. on there for you to subscribe. It's a great list (I think). In this case, the person was asking about ip, and this is just one of the answers received. * msg originally in Internet E-Mail and Listserv Mailing Lists Quote from skyclub-l@icomm.ca message to Eduardo Gomez: @INTL 86:100/114 86:100/86 @MSGID: 86:100/86 DA0BA6D4 @REPLY: 86:100/86 BEC1C78C @REPLYTO 86:100/86 UUCP @REPLYADDR skyclub-l@icomm.ca @REPLYALSO owner-skyclub-l@icomm.ca @REPLYALSO kenburg@gold.interlog.com @PID: WaterGate 0.93.PRE8/b @CHRS: IBMPC 2 @From: Ken Burgess @To: "J.V. Asuncion" @Subject: Re: i p number? @Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 17:56:25 -0400 (EDT) @Message-ID: @From icomm.ca!owner-skyclub-l Sun May 18 20:17:44 1997 remote from ftnnet Well, I don't know much more about Ping than you. It seems to be a program that querries a given server a number of times and then waits for a reply. The time between each querry and response is noted, and a mean is calculated and given to you when the program ends or when you terminate it with control-c. You can type man ping for more details. Ken On Sun, 18 May 1997, J.V. Asuncion wrote: > I'm glad you brought up Ping, because I've heard of it, and don't quite > understand what it is. As you can probably imagine, I am pretty new to > the net as well (only about seven months). I am under the impression that > it is some sort of reflector program, or am I incorrect with that? Could > you send me a brief descriptive on the infamous ping command? > > thanks > Jennison > > -!- WtrGate+ 0.93.PRE8 beta sn 54 @Via Squish 1.11 1:163/128, Mon May 19 1997 at 03:00 UTC --- Blue Wave v2.12 [NR] * Origin: Vision Information Systems (1:163/266) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00008Date: 05/30/97 From: EDUARDO GOMEZ Time: 11:29am \/To: BOBBY DARIN (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: NEED HELP IN TESTING Quote from Bobby Darin message to Eduardo Gomez: > I may not be the brightest programmer, but I am willing to listen and > learn. I hope you did not take my message the way it sounded! I think that programmers who are willing to listen and learn are the brightest ones. Our local BBS Sysop uses Opus (I think), and his board is quite accessible. Sometimes the menues are all in one line and may require a second listen or third. Hope you are doing well in the development of your board. Eduardo --- Blue Wave v2.12 [NR] * Origin: Vision Information Systems (1:163/266) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 238 VISUAL DISABILIT Ref: E5^00009Date: 05/29/97 From: LILLIAN.ACKLEY Time: 12:14pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: PACKING CHARACTER? Willie, Willie wrote to Lillian the following advice, "Depending on theeditor of the respectivesystem, you may need to define a pacing characterto look for in your comm program." . Willie didn't realize he was talking to a nearly computer illieterate when he gave that advice in telling me how to make uploading prepared messages by ASCII. Would he please tell this dummy what it is, and how to do it? . Thanks. . Lillian --- WtrGate 0.91.p1 beta Unreg * Origin: GaiaNet * 310-724-8965 (1:102/735) (1:102/735)