HAWK TALK
The monthly newsletter of the Blackhawk Chapter,
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
June 1, 2005
Contact Info: Robert Gardner, president
(309) 755-8085
Anyone wanting to print out an exact copy of the hard copy version of Hawk Talk should contact Bob Gardner. That version would then be sent to you as an attachment to an E-mail. The hard copy version has a graphical letterhead, does not have the “TECH TIPS” section, but otherwise the content is identical to this version. Be aware that due to the graphics in the hard copy version, the attachment will be around 2.5M in size. That will be a lengthy download unless you have a high speed Internet connection.
Another month has slipped by, and it’s time again for our Blackhawk Chapter meeting. Join your fellow Federationists at our monthly meeting on Saturday, June 11, 2005. The meeting will begin at 1:30 PM at our usual meeting place, the South Moline Township Center located at 637 17th Avenue, East Moline.
The June chapter meeting will be special. Kate Mayer from our NFBI Chicago chapter will be our speaker, and she will give a seminar on the use of the long white cane. Kate will teach the basics, and give some tips to those already using a white cane. This training seminar should be both educational and entertaining.
Need a ride to our chapter meeting? Call Bob or Nancy Gardner at 755-8085 and we will make arrangements. Please let us know your need by Thursday night before the meeting so we can coordinate cars and drivers.
To join the Blackhawk Chapter or to renew your membership for 2005, bring $2 to a chapter meeting, or mail that amount to: Kathy Kelley, 2107 13th Street, Moline, IL 61265.
NOTE: The Hawk Talk will take a summer vacation. No newsletters will be sent out in July or August, but don’t forget to attend our chapter swim party and chapter picnic. Details on those events are given below. The next Hawk Talk will be sent out in September.
LAST MONTH IN REVIEW
Lois Montgomery attended the Chicago chapter “May Tea” meeting on May14 at the Exchequer Pub in downtown Chicago. Student applicants for NFBI scholarships were invited to the meeting, and many attended.
Chapter member, Lori Brown, has been notified she is a finalist for a national NFB scholarship. That’s truly a distinction, with applicants having come from all over the country. As a finalist, Lori will attend the NFB national convention in Louisville in July. There, finalists will be selected for specific scholarship awards. Lori will use her scholarship at Spoon River College where she is working on a degree in history.
Our chapter meeting on May 14 featured a group discussion of the “Ten Courtesy Rules of Blindness.” These “rules” were taken off the NFB national website, and are really suggestions on how we wish the sighted community would act toward the blind. We had a lively discussion, with everyone joining in. We shared our experiences, learned from each other, and made suggestions on how to handle interactions with the sighted around us.
Chapter members, Lois Montgomery and Lori Brown, participated in the “Save Rehab” rally in Washington D.C. on May 26. Over 40 organizations besides the NFB voiced their opposition to proposed federal funding cuts by the present administration in the rehabilitation area. Lois and Lori were among 6 representatives from the NFB of Illinois.
UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS
July 2-8: NFB national convention, Louisville, Kentucky.
July 16: Blackhawk Chapter swim party at the Montgomerys, Moline, starting at 3 PM. Tickets for this event are $5 a person, and entitle you to have a great afternoon of fun and fellowship. Besides swimming in the beautiful pool of the Montgomerys, the day will end with pizza and soda. This event will be held instead of our regular July chapter meeting. Note, however, that this date is the 3rd Saturday of the month, not the 2nd. Those wanting tickets should contact Lois Montgomery at a chapter meeting or call her at 762-3414. We are asking that all children be accompanied by an adult at this event.
August 13: Blackhawk Chapter annual picnic at Millennium Park in East Moline. As usual, people are asked to bring a meat dish to pass, another covered dish, and their own tableware. Drinks will be provided, and we will eat at noon. The picnic will take the place of our regular August chapter meeting, and will be on the 2nd Saturday of the month.
November 4-6: NFB of Illinois state convention. The convention this year will take place at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Rock Island. This will be a great opportunity for chapter members and others in the Quad-Cities to attend a state convention. Be sure to save these dates so you can participate. The Blackhawk Chapter will be the host, and we need a good turnout from our members.
BIRTHDAY CORNER
The following chapter members celebrate July birthdays:
6th: Cheri Jirele
17th: Lois Drichel
FUND RAISING
Remember your pledge forms for the “Birdies For Charity,” the fund raiser associated with the annual John Deere Golf Tournament. The golf tournament this year runs July 4-10th. Birdies For Charity has historically been the largest fund raiser for our Blackhawk Chapter. We hope you will continue to support our chapter by making a personal pledge. By making a pledge, you also make yourself eligible for a long list of prizes awarded by the tournament. Those wanting additional forms to give to friends should contact Lois Montgomery at 762-3414.
You need to get your Birdies For Charity pledge forms in before the end of June. You can do that by bringing the forms to the June chapter meeting, mail a completed form to Lois, or mailing a completed form directly to the Birdies For Charity people. Also, if you call Lois, she would be happy to complete a form for you.
We have several raffles ongoing. An afghan, hand-crocheted by Kathy Kelley, is being raffled, the winner being drawn at our chapter picnic on August 13. There is a second raffle for another hand-crocheted afghan, the winner to be drawn at the state convention in November. Chances for the afghans are $1, available from either Nancy Gardner or Lois Montgomery.
We are also raffling off a Telex Scholar CD player, a player with functions accessible to the blind. The CD player will play all music CDs and also play the new Daisy format electronic books. Chances are again $1, available from either Nancy or Lois. The drawing for the CD player will be at the state convention.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
The Blackhawk Chapter is always looking for volunteers to help with activities, fund raising, communications, and transportation. If you are interested in helping, call me, Bob Gardner, at 755-8085.
Do you, or someone you know, need a long white cane? The Blackhawk Chapter has a “Cane Bank” containing a variety of sizes and styles of canes. These are available, free of charge, to those committed to using a white cane. Contact Bob Gardner or Lois Montgomery if you are interested.
TECH TIPS
Here’s a few extra tidbits for you computer people. These are for JAWS users. If you want the same tips for Window-Eyes, contact me at rgardner@revealed.net.
Web Pages: Where am I?
Have you ever started down a web page, then after minutes of hitting the down arrow key, you wonder where you are on the page? How long is the page, and are you close to the end? The best way I’ve found to answer all that in JAWS is to hit the key, “J.” JAWS calls that the “jump” command.
The idea is you can put in a specific line number on the web page, assuming by previous visits that you know the line number you want to jump to. What I’ve found is that if I hit “J,” JAWS will tell me the total number of lines on the web page, and tell me what line I’m on.
For example, it might tell me the web page has 578 lines, and I’m presently on line 47. Now I have a picture of where I’m at, and what’s going on. Having that info, I then hit the ESCAPE key to get out of that, seldom actually jumping to a specific line.
Web Pages: Flash Movies
Have you noticed in later versions of JAWS that it will announce “Flash movie start” or “Flash movie end” as you go down a web page? I hate to show my ignorance, but I’m not even sure what a Flash movie is. I assume it’s some kind of video clip.
Anyway, I’m not interested, and I got annoyed at constantly hearing those announcements. But. . . JAWS allows you to turn those announcements off. Here’s how:
1. Hit INSERT-6 to get into the configuration manager, then ALT-S to get into “options.”
2. Hit the DOWN ARROW to “HTML options,” then hit ENTER.
3. Hold down the CONTROL key and hit TAB until you get the “misc” page.
4. Hit TAB a bunch of times until you get the checkbox, “ignore Flash on web pages.” If unchecked, hit the SPACE BAR to check it.
5. Hit TAB until you get to “okay,” then hit the SPACE BAR.
6. Hit ALT-F4 to close the configuration manager, then hit the SPACE BAR to save the setting change you just made.
Now that I’ve written that, I’ll probably have someone tell me Flash movies are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and what in the world am I doing.
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