Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind

Hello everybody,

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Not much has changed around here since last week, so this letter will be relatively short.

We’re still working on finalizing everything with Newsline.  It has proved to be a longer process than I had hoped, but I know that it will be worth every bit of effort to get this completed.  As always, updates are forthcoming. 

Those of you who frequent the website may have also noticed that there is now a new Events page up near the existing Special Notices link.  We have tried to compile as many regional events and event resources as possible, as well as some international resources.  As I stated at the top of the events page, I highly encourage anyone to offer additions to the list if you feel that a worthy event or resource has been left out.  Please email me any suggestions at blind@verizon.net.  For now, the events section is only available on the website because it contains a very large amount of information.  For next week’s magazine, I will develop a version that can be easily fit into the email edition.

Aside from that, we are still in the process of offering an audio version of the magazine that will be made available for download both from the site and by email.  I have a few options at my disposal and I’ll be in touch soon to discuss them.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy this week’s magazine.  I’ll talk to you again soon.

Take care, and thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Ross Hammond, Editor

Hello Everyone,

This week I am very pleased to announce that we’ve got a new writer contributing to the magazine.  He specializes in adaptive technology for the blind and his experience is sure to benefit all of you.  His introduction will follow.

For those still wondering about Newsline, I sincerely appreciate your patience.  It’s an ongoing process that requires collaboration and programming strategies between both us and the NFB.  I am hoping that it will be available very soon, and I will give you all and update as soon as I know something difinitive.

Also, I’d like to apologize if this week’s edition seems a little light.  I had to attend funeral services at the end of last week and could not contribute as much as I would’ve liked to as a result.  The next edition will be larger.

I believe that covers all of the updates for this week.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and that you enjoy this week’s magazine.

Take care, and thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Ross Hammond, Editor

Hello everybody,

Another week gone by and more news to pass on to you all. Very soon, we’ll be incorporating a couple new feature writers who will contribute to different sections of the magazine. I won’t get into specifics, but I’m sure that all of you will enjoy what they have to offer.

Also, concerning the pen pal section, many people have been wondering why the submissions contain no descriptions of the person and only have an address instead. In the past, I had decided to post these entries in hopes that people would write anyway, but now I am going to ask that anyone who wishes to post in the pen pal section write a short description of themselves and their interests. You can either do this on our website, or by emailing me directly at blind@verizon.net.

For those of you who would like to post in the special notices section, please email me at the above address with a description of what you would like submitted.

If you’re still curious about Newsline, we’re hoping that it will be available in the next week or so. We are also in the process of developing an audio format which should be implemented sometime this spring.

Concerning the Veale Award, which many of you have also been curious about, we are going to announce the winner in the first March issue.

I think that just about covers everything. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Take care, and as always, thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Ross Hammond, Editor

Hello all,

Things have been very exciting and busy around here lately as we try to incorporate new items and services into the magazine.  Unfortunately, in the midst of all that has been going on, I neglected to inform you all that our office would be closed yesterday for President’s Day.  I came into work this morning to find quite a few emails from some of you who were confused or worried that a glitch occurred.  I want to assure you that everything is fine, that it was an oversight on my part and that I apologize.

I hope you all continue to enjoy the Ziegler and I hope you all like the surprise feature writer that we’re adding to our staff.  His introduction will follow.

Take care, and thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Ross Hammond, Editor

Hello again everyone.  This has been a very busy week here at the magazine and I’ve got a lot to fill you all in on.  So, onto the good stuff.

Earlier this week we sat down for a product demonstration over the web for software called Browse Aloud.  Created by a company called Text Help, Browse Aloud is a great tool for people who have a mild visual disability but can still see a computer screen with the aid of magnifiers.  More information on the BrowseAloud software is in a following article.  We are also going to change the color scheme of the website to make it easier on the eyes than the current black and orange color combination is.

For our readers who are entirely blind, I have been looking into free screen reading software that you would be able to utilize as an alternative to the more expensive programs.  The problem that I’ve routinely run into is that these types of programs are governed by the “you get what you pay for” principle, and while the most popular programs are expensive, they’re costly for a reason.  However, that said, we have found a promising company that develops a screen reader that seems both reliable and very user friendly.  I am testing it with the help of a technology consultant and a company that specializes in accessible software for the blind.  If we find that it will suit the needs of our readers, then I will absolutely come back with good news.  While I desperately want to offer more cost effective software to all of you, I want to be sure that it will be valuable and not just some tool that does some things well, but comes up short most of the time.  So please bear with us as we explore these options.

I’ve also signed us up to be a part of Inclusive Planet, an international web source for accessible information for the blind.  The site is filled with a massive amount of topics, most of which I haven’t had the time to explore yet.  All of the content that is on our site is available there under our the Matilda Ziegler Publishing Company for the Blind channel.  I’m hoping that by becoming a member of this large and far reaching utility for the blind, we can bring in more members from across the globe.  You can visit Inclusive Planet by going to www.inclusiveplanet.com.  To go to our channel, visit http://www.inclusiveplanet.com/en/group/452702.

Many of you have also been asking about when we would sign up for Newsline.  I spoke with representatives for Newsline this week and we should have everything squared away within the next two weeks.  I will give you all an update once it is up and running. 

Well, I think that just about covers everything.  This has been an exciting week for us and I’m looking forward to bringing more value to this magazine and making all of your lives better at the same time as we push into the future.

Take care, and as always, thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Ross Hammond, Editor

Hello Everyone,

In my haste to get the magazine filled with interesting content once all of the upgrades were finished, I neglected to properly introduce myself as your new editor.  So, what follows is essentially who I am in a nut shell.

My name is Ross Hammond.  I am a graduate from the University of Connecticut where I majored in English and minored in history.  I love sports and I recently got into indoor rock climbing as a new hobby.  I’m a big football fan, though my favorite team is the Washington Redskins and they leave much to be desired.  My tastes in college basketball are better, despite UConn’s humiliating loss to Providence recently.  I was born in Maryland, so my favorite food is the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab.  I don’t like the rain, I love the snow, and I become a static electricity power plant during the dryer winter months.  I’m an August baby, so the summer is when I’m at my most comfortable.  If I could meet anyone throughout history, I’d choose Edgar Allen Poe.  Then I’d make him read me The Raven, my favorite poem.  My greatest fear is being completely covered by spiders.  I’m fascinated by cars.  If I could come back as any animal, I’d want to be a falcon, the fastest bird in the sky.  I think that a sense of humor, especially about yourself, is the greatest characteristic that a person can have.  I have watched it heal people.  It has healed me.  I have a very eclectic taste in music and judge songs by how they sound, not what genre they’re in.  I want to learn how to play harmonica.  My cat, Milo, is the loudest domestic animal the world has ever seen.  His favorite time to talk is three o’clock in the morning.  He’s learned to dodge pillows very well.  My sister has begun to make fun of my receding hairline.  I say that it’s simply running away from her.  My mother is a breast cancer survivor.  My father knows more random, yet useful, information than anyone I’ve ever met.  I’ve had more concussions than I care to remember.  I really don’t like the dentist.  It’s been way too long since I’ve gone fishing. 

I hope I didn’t forget anything.       

I’ve really enjoyed writing for you all so far and it’s been really nice getting to know some of you through your feedback on the magazine and suggestions on how to make it better.  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for reading.

Ross Hammond, Editor

Dear Readers,

As some of you have brought to my attention, there were various formatting problems with the email version that made last week’s issue difficult to read at times. I took those into account and fixed them. There will now be a table of contents at the beginning of each weekly email. In addition to that, I have inserted the ## symbol before each article and new section so that you can use your browser or word processor’s search or find function to navigate through the material much easier. I hope that these changes will allow you to enjoy the magazine much more.

As far as content is concerned, I want to let you know what my philosophy will be regarding what type of magazine I intend to offer you. My goal is to give you a mix of general interest articles and blindness related topics to create a well rounded publication that everyone will enjoy. It is also advantageous that I am able to offer this magazine in a weekly format as well, since that will enable me to keep the topics discussed as up to date as possible. I will do my best to steer away from anything that could be seen as stale news.

I will also not write for the sake of writing. It has always been my opinion that anyone who talks for the sake of it generally has something of very little importance to say. It is for that reason that some weeks may contain more material than others. If I don’t intend to give you stale news, I certainly don’t want to start giving you useless news simply to fill space.

I sincerely hope that you continue to enjoy the magazine as it settles into its new form and I welcome any and all suggestions from you so that I can make this publication something to look forward to.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Ross Hammond, Editor

A new year always provides us with the opportunity for a new beginning and the Ziegler Magazine is no different with the unveiling of its new format. 

Let me begin by addressing a common concern among our readers.  Despite what was previously mentioned, we will continue to offer general interest articles.  In fact, we’re branching out into a multitude of different topics like entertainment, sports, travel, lifestyle, cooking, crafts, and much more.  While we won’t be re-printing the original articles, we will offer a detailed editorialized summary of each topic with a link to the original content should you decide to reference it.  Our reasoning behind this is that while our site is optimized for screen readers for the blind, the majority of other websites are created with visually appealing pictures and advertisements, a feature that does not tend to get along well with screen reading software.  By eliminating the need to navigate outside of our site, we’ll be able to offer you the same information without the hassle.  We will also continue to have a reader’s forum and pen pal sections for those interested and a weekly e-mail edition of the magazine will be available to those who wish to subscribe.  The reader’s forum will exist as an extension of each entry in the comments section.  If we see that a certain topic has created a lot of conversation, that particular comments section will be re-printed in the weekly e-mail edition.  The pen pals section will only be available in the e-mail edition due to security concerns.  To sign up for the Pen Pal list, follow the link in the headline bar.  Many of you have also inquired about the addition of Newsline, and we plan on incorporating that service very soon, as well.

As always, we welcome your feedback on the magazine and its content.  This is a magazine for you, and we want to make sure that you enjoy it.  I feel privileged to be able to work with such a great audience and I look forward to writing for you all.  

Sincerely,

Ross Hammond

Editor