I received an email from a web designer who designs web sites and tries to make them more usable and accessible. He wants to add closed-captioning to all sites with video and also include a transcript.
He wants to know what is the best file format for the transcripts: rich text format (.rtf), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), or text (.txt). Do you have a preference or know others who may have a preference? I don’t have a preference – I recommended either .pdf or .txt since .rtf doesn’t appear often. Anyone?

I accidentally discovered a feature in the iPod Touch that I didn’t know was there. I copied lyrics into a song’s lyric tab in iTunes and forgot about it. I listened to the iPod Touch on my road trip to and from Austin (of course, I was NOT driving). On the way home, while listening to a song that had an album cover — my finger slipped and hit the screen.
What do you know? The lyrics appeared in front of the album, which faded into the background. Eureka moment!!! From then on, I was hooked on my iPod Touch and went digging through my old CDs to grab anything I enjoyed, but never bothered listening to because I didn’t know the lyrics. I loaded over 100 songs and copied/pasted several hundred lyrics (my eyes hurt forcing me to stop searching for songs and lyrics).
To add the album artwork and the lyrics, right click any song and select Get Info. See the screen shot on the left.
iTunes still doesn’t make it easy to find closed captioned media (meaning music, podcasts, videos, all of them — not just videos). I found a captioned law podcast as well as SpaceGeek and Tecnocato HD videos.
Now my longer car rides are enjoyable! I hated car trips — and still do as they make me miserable — but the iPod Touch makes them bearable. Progress… finally! Next step… captioned popular media. iTunes needs to have a captioned option in its search — not just in the movies, but ALL media search.

I visited with my mom yesterday and asked her about the St. Louis trip that my parents to me on when I was three. My parents received a recommendation to have me tested at Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) to see if there was anything else they could do to help me.
Apparently, I did well on the tests. However, she remembered that I failed one word, “ceiling.” I didn’t know what it was. Mom joked that it wasn’t as if I had use for the ceiling and walking around on it.
After completing the testing, the examiners said I’d be a great candidate for their residential school. Me… THREE YEARS OLD! They wanted to separate me from my family at three. We lived in Fort Worth! Not exactly close to St. Louis. Mom responded, “She’d be a great candidate for staying home with us.” Mom would never send me away to school. If anything, they might have considered moving someplace.
I asked her if they got anything out of the trip. They learned they were doing the right things with me and took a report back to TCU’s Miller Speech & Hearing Clinic where I went for much of my speech therapy. Boy, did I hate repeating non-sensical sounds and words like me-ma, me-ma, mo-mu, blah blah. Of course, I am grateful to have had the help, but as a kid… who enjoys it?
As for my education, I attended Fort Worth public schools for all but nine months and two days of it. I went to a private school in second grade because we bused across town for second grade and my parents were concerned that it wouldn’t be ideal for me. Then for two days, I went to a private school in 10th grade and hated it. Back to public school.
I am sad to report that Fort Worth public schools have fallen apart and lost their shine on their armor. A couple of schools here and there remain strong, but hardly anywhere compared to when I went. I sincerely hope that this changes. Fort Worth is a lovely city.

Employers think it costs too much to hire people with disabilities. But many articles dispel this myth including this one from JobJournal. “In fact, hiring a person with a disability usually costs very little. Seventy percent of workers with disabilities require no accommodations at all. For those who need special provisions, perhaps a custom keyboard, phone, or computer program, the average cost is less than $500.”
Plus, employers who hire a person with a disability gain a bonus. The Job Journal writes, “In exchange for going the extra mile to hire someone with a disability, employers in surveys consistently say they get a worker who is often better than average, with good attendance, punctuality and acceptance of authority. Surveys also find that those with disabilities are less likely to have an accident at work.”
Right on target. You could almost say my slogan in life has been, “Always proving to be as good or better than the everyone.” I’ve been fortunate to have a great career and one that makes me proud. I never thought I could make it as a freelancer because I would be responsible for marketing and finding clients.
Considering relay phone calls take away the “personal touch” factor, I couldn’t imagine how I would get around that. But I did. I couldn’t tell you what one thing worked. When I find new clients, I ask how they found me. Some through people whose names weren’t familiar, some through online searching, and some through networking.
The article also says, “…the biggest endorsement for hiring those with disabilities comes from the companies themselves. Ninety-seven percent of employers who have hired someone with a disability would do it again.” I’ve been lucky 99% of my clients used my services again. It could be 100%, but I can’t be sure of that and I don’t want to be dishonest. I guess I’m doing something right. I’ve made a few mistakes along the way and still do. It bugs the heck out of me, but I try to learn from them and move on.
What about kids? Deaf kids enjoy working at Six Flags over Texas. I loved going there as a kid, but I would never work there since it was a 30 minute drive for me. Hard to believe prices have more than doubled since I went as a teen. We owe my son a trip there for his birthday, but I’ll let hubby take care of that. I can’t ride roller coasters anymore because I black out on them and it was getting worse as I got older.
I got every job I applied for as a kid except one with a giant discount store. Never got a reason, but that’s OK. The jobs (pre-college graduate jobs)?
* University bookstore clerk.
* Toys R Us checker and stocker.
* Tandy Radio Shack filer.
* Data entry for an antique catalog.
* Casa Manana apprentice (we changed the sets between scenes). Most memorable kid job.
* Gift wrapper in my mom’s short-lived gift wrapping booth.
* Babysitting.
* Babysitting in a community center daycare.
* Putting mailing together, stapling, getting paper cuts (really young — was helping my mom’s organization).