Enter the Letters You See in this Box — If You Can See Them

You know that box of distorted letters that shows up when you’re about to submit your comment to a blog post? Or when you are setting up afacebookaccount? Or when you are casting a vote to get your favoriteWhite Sox player onto the2008 Major League Baseball All Star team?

You have to read the text, then enter the characters you see into a form. Then, and only then, can you complete the transaction.

That's Alexis Reed (foreground, left) chatting with me at the AER conference.

But if you’re blind, you can’t see a dang thing in that box. People with certain types of low vision can’t make sense of those distorted characters in the box, either. Same for some folks with cognitive disabilities — dyslexia, for example.

That box of distorted letters is called a CAPTCHA: Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart. CAPTCHAs are meant to prevent robots from spamming or overvoting or whatever it is that computer robots do in their spare time.

Many sites using CAPTCHA have added an audio option. This probably makes them feel good about helping the blind. It might make sighted people who see that link feel good, too, to know those of us who can’t see have an option. Trouble is, those audio CAPTCHAs are impossible!

Wanna see, I mean, hear, for yourself? Go to the Gmail sign up page and click on “Listen and type the numbers you hear.” You’ll hear a woman’s voice speaking numbers, but creepy noises and voices talking backward in the background make it very difficult to figure out exactly what she is saying.

In fact, the next time you get nostalgic for those mysterious backward-talking “Paul is Dead” clues on Beatle albums, you don’t have to get out your turntable and old LPs. Just link to an audio CAPTCHA. A bonus: After the creepy voice reads the numbers out loud, she says, “Once again.” The numbers and nonsense background noises repeat, and you get to be freaked out one more time.

It’s not just gmail that has crazy noises on its audio CAPTCHA. ALL of the audio CAPTCHAs that I’ve linked to sound like this. The background noise is disturbing. It makes it nearly impossible to hear the numbers. To do this on my own, I drag out my tape recorder, record the creepy voice, then play it over and over to figure out what she’s saying. You know, the same way I used to listen for “Paul is Dead” clues on old Beatle albums!

But I’m not a teenager anymore. By the time I’ve listened to the CAPTCHA a half-dozen times, I feel frustrated by how much time I’ve wasted on this endeavor. I don’t leave many comments on blogs. I wasn’t able to set up a facebook account on my own. I wanted to vote for Jermaine Dye to play in the Major League All Star Baseball Game this year, but I couldn’t.

I use a blogging service called wordpress.com to publish these blog posts you read. Why did I decide to use wordpress for my Safe & Sound blog?? Because they don’t make users fill out a CAPTCHA form to sign up for an account. Folks who comment to my blog posts don’t have to pass through a CAPTCHA screen, either. Sure, I get spam from time to time, but the wordpress spam blockers usually weed them out. The few spams that make it past the blocker? I delete them.

Last week I gave a session called Blogging by Ear at the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) International Conference. Alexis Reed, a woman who has commented to this blog before, was in the audience. What fun it was to meet her – and her wonderful Seeing Eye dog Julia – face to face after knowing her virtually through this Safe & Sound blog. ! Alexis wrote a blog post about her time in Chicago –It was her Seeing Eye dog’s first time at a professional conference like this. After reading her post I was tempted to leave a comment. That’s when I found out I had toAt first I thought I’d have to sign up with LiveJournal to do that. But then Alexis commented to this post to let me know I could comment anonymously. Voila! Add LiveJournal to the list of accessible blog services. No CAPTCHA on the comment form , either.
I guess I’m lazy. Or maybe, just old?! I’m hesitant to sign up for all this stuff every time I want to leave a comment – especially knowing I might face a CAPTCHA afterwards anyway.

During the q&a part of my Blogging by Ear session last week, a majority of the comments were about CAPTCHA workarounds. It was reassuring, yet sad, to discover I am not alone in my frustration!

Navigating a New Workplace

Every once in a while I record an essay for Chicago Public radio that, for one reason or another, sits and sits before they ever put it on the air. That was the case with the Navigating a New Workplace essay I recorded for WBEZ back in 2006. The piece was about an internship I did at Easter Seals Headquarters in Chicago.

The internship was part of a federal grant called the Technology Opportunities Project. Easter Seals teamed up with Convio, a software company in Austin, to make their web content program accessible. Translation: the program made it possible for blind people to manage and update web sites, even though we can’t see what we’re doing. That internship led to a part-time job for me – I moderate the Easter Seals autism blog now. Navigating a New Workplace finally aired on WBEZ this morning. Here’s the intro:

Starting a new job can be both exciting and intimidating. You have to learn new computer programs and protocols, get used to the office politics and figure out where the bathroom is. And sometimes there are even bigger challenges to face. Chicago writer Beth Finke recently navigated her way around a new workplace.

But oh, that’s just a tease. If you want to hear the entire essay, you’ll have to link to the story on WBEZ!

Hanni’s Harness

You might remember my blog about seeing a physical therapist — I’d asked her if she thought my rotator cuff injury had anything to do with the way I hold Hanni’s harness. “Well, it’d be better if the harness handle were vertical, not horizontal,” she said. “You know, so your thumb would be sticking up.”

I phoned the Seeing Eye then to ask whether rotator cuff injuries are common among people who use guide dogs. “This week they are. “ The trainer on the phone answered, sounding slightly bewildered. “Strange — you’re the third person to call in the past couple of days with this same problem.”

It’s not just the blind folks using guide dogs who suffer shoulder and arm injuries — Turns out a lot of the trainers end up with problems, too. Think about it. They are training young (STRONG) puppies to pull.

One of the trainers, a terrific guy named LucasLukas Frank, recognized this problem and has patented a new “swivel” harness handle that might alleviate shoulder and arm pain. After a few calls from my physical therapist, LucasLukas has had one of these new harnesses custom-built for me. He’s coming to Chicago this week to speak at the 2008 International Conference of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), so while he’s here, he’ll show me how to use the new harness with Hanni. My physical therapist Patrice hopes to be at this training session, too –she wants to see how the harness works. She also wants to know (from LucasLukas) what she can tell me to do in re: posture and holding the harness without jeopardizing my safety. iow, I have to be able to “feel” Hanni through the harness, so even if it would help my shoulder some, I can’t hold the handle too lightly.
I’m doing a session at that same conference LucasLukas came to town for – my session is called Blogging by ear and meets at the ungodly hour of eight o’clock in the morning on Thursday. I’ll be talking about my job as moderator for the Easter Seals Autism blog and how that job led me to starting this personal Safe & Sound blog. And now, thanks to LucasLukas Frank, it looks like I might be debuting Hanni’s new harness at that session, too!

Henry Has a Home

 

Henry, in safe hands after thumbing a ride from the ASPCA.

Remember my Lucky Dog blog post? It was about Kristen Limbert, the Coordinator for Humane Education at the ASPCA. While chauffeuring the Henry Bergh Childrens Book Award winners to a fundraiser to benefit a southern California animal shelter, Kristen stopped on a busy highway to rescue a puppy.

 

Now, that was one lucky dog. What were the odds of an ASPCA van crossing his path, headed directly to the local Animal shelter?! He had no tags, so was dubbed Henry — for the book award, of course! Kristen vowed that if no one adopted him by the end of the week, she’d take him home.

Many of you commented to that post, wishing the best for Henry. Well, guess what? You get your wish! Kristen emailed this week with this wonderful news:

I thought you all might like to know that Henry, the adorable little critter that let me rescue him off the California freeway has been adopted by a family out there. I had spoken to SEAACA (Southeast Area Animal Control Authority) staff on Saturday, when his stray hold was up, and at that point no prior owner had come looking for him. He was doing well, no longer limping, but still waiting patiently for a family. I was planning on taking him home myself, if he wasn’t able to find a new home easily and quickly. Such a sweet dog. However, I wanted to give him a few days, to see if a new caring person would come forward out in CA, saving him what would surely be a stressful flight to NY.

I called yesterday to check on him, and to begin making arrangements if he was still there, and he had been adopted!!

A smidgen of sadness, definitely, but I know it’s for the best. Hopefully he will have a happy, healthy life in Southern California. Good news for everyone involved!

Winners!!!

 

That's me with Jude and Francine Rich, my favorite publishers.

This is Part Two of, well, a two-part series. To get the appropriate build-up, please read my Practice Run blog post first.

 

During last week’s cocktail reception, Henry Bergh Award winners were invited to give speeches. Joanne Ryder (author of Toad by the Road) thanked her husband Laurence Yepp during her speech. My publisher Francine Rich got so excited hearing Laurence Yepp’s name that I was afraid she’d fall out of her seat. Later on she explained: Laurence Yepp is the author of Dragonwings,a book her son Dominick counts among his favorites. “I got my picture taken with him!” she gushed.

Yepp and Ryder were among the many, many impressive writers at the reception. Mary Alice Monroe was at our table – she’s had a dozen books published already. Maribeth Boelts (her book Before You Were Mine won a Henry Bergh award for fiction) was at our table, too, along with her editor from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Victoria Miles, author of a number of award-winning books for children, sat across from me and complimented my Lana Turner dress.

We all signed books after the ceremony, but the first person who approached my table wasn’t really interested in buying Safe & Sound– he wanted to pet Hanni. I happily relented, unbuckled Hanni’s harness, and let him have at her. After that, many of the 100+ in the audience lined up for a chance to pet Hanni. I mean, c’mon – it was an ASPCA event. They all missed their animals at home. While Hanni enjoyed herself on the ground, Guy Pantangelo (his dad is Animal Precinct’s Officer Joe Pentangelo) assisted me at the table by rubber stamping a dog pawprint onto every book sold. Just like the day before, a portion of each book sale was donated to the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey, CA.

Guy Pentangelo helps me while I sign books.

When the caterers came to clean off the tables and shoo us away, Cheryl, Marilee and I took our wine to the fancy lobby outside the meeting room. Lounging there in a comfy chair, glass of wine in one hand, Hanni’s paw in the other, my sisters sitting across from me, well, that’s when I knew. I was a winner. None of us wanted to leave.

The next morning we all headed back to the exhibit hall for one last visit – and one last free t-shirt. What a kick it was to be recognized by people at the convention center. “I was there last night!” “Congratulations!”

Hanni brought me back to earth by misbehaving on our way home. As we headed to the jetway to board our flight at the John Wayne airport, a child in a stroller caught Hanni’s eye. The kid was right next to us in line, enjoying a sandwich, kind of flailing her arms, I guess. Hanni took that as an invitation to enjoy the sandwich, too, snatching the PBJ right out of the poor child’s hand. It all happened so quickly that the kid didn’t flinch. Her parents didn’t flinch, either. By the time I got my hands on Hanni’s mouth to root out the sandwich, she had swallowed it.

Hanni enjoys her time off work

Ah, well. Even award-winning dogs break the rules sometimes.

Practice Run

 

2007 ASPCA Henry Bergh Award Winners

It’s been a week now since Hanni and I attended the cocktail reception in California to accept our ASPCA/Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award, and we’re both still walking on air. Finally this morning I’m coming down long enough to sit in front of my talking computer and compose a blog post about the big event. Eight writers won the Henry Bergh Award this year, some for fiction, others for non-fiction, poetry, young adult books, and so on. Two illustrators were also recognized with awards.

I was so excited to get to the reception that we arrived early — the room was pretty darn empty when we got there. Our early arrival turned out to be a good thing – it gave Hanni and me a chance to practice getting from our table up to the stage. You know, so we’d be ready when they announced our award! For the first dry run I let go of Hanni’s harness – I held on to her leash as someone guided us and pointed out where the three steps to the stage were. At the foot of the steps, I crouched down next to Hanni and pet her and rubbed her and told her over and over what a good girl she is. When I stood up, I put my foot on the first step. Tapping my foot then, and pointing to the step, I exclaimed, “Good girl, Hanni! Here’s where we want to go. Good girl!” We were led back to our table. I sat down, then helped Hanni situate herself underneath. After that, I pretended our names had just been announced. I pulled out my chair and called Hanni to come out. She did. Standing up, I lined my back against the back of the chair and commanded, “Forward!” Hanni led me right to the stairs. She was perfect.

She is perfect!

 

Joe Pentangelo, me, and Hanni

We tried it a few more times – the practice was more for me than for Hanni – until I felt fairly sure we’d make it without me falling. Or fainting. My Blue Marlin publisher Francine Rich arrived with her husband Jude around that time – they presented me with lilies. The fragrance was sensational. I felt like a star. The whole event was first class, fancy hors d’oeuvres, fancy drinks, fancy people. I even had a police escort! Joe Pentangelo, Special Agent for Humane Law Enforcement at the ASPCA — and one of the stars of the Animal Precinct TV show on Animal Planet — met Hanni and me at the stage and walked us to the podium to receive our award. Find out if we made it without tripping — or fainting! — by reading my next blog post, called Winners!!!

Lucky Dog

Wow. So many wonderful things happened while Hanni and I were in Anaheim to accept the Henry Bergh children’s book award from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) — it’d take an award-winning writer to sum it up in one blog post. Hey. Wait. I am an award-winning writer now! I oughta be able to condense this great weekend into 500 words, right? Let me give it a try. Sunday morning started with a fundraiser for the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey, CA. We’d do presentations there and sign books. Proceeds would go to the shelter.
 
The drive there took us speeding down one of those famous California eight-lane freeways. We were close to our destination when our driver (Kristen Limbert, the Coordinator for Humane Education at the ASPCA) saw a dog crossing the road. “I’ve gotta stop,” she said, merging through deadly traffic to pull over to the side, open her window and make kissy noises. The puppy was understandably confused by all the traffic, but somehow needled his way right into Kristen’s arms. Now, that was one lucky dog. What were the odds of an ASPCA van crossing his path, headed directly to the local Animal shelter?! He had no tags, so was dubbed Henry — for the book award, of course! Hanni stayed calm for the entire ordeal, and Kristen vowed that if no one adopts Henry by the end of the week, she’ll take him home.

My sister Cheryl and I--and Hanni, of course--at the American Library Association conference

After the shelter event Hanni and I joined my sisters Marilee and Cheryl at the American Library Association (ALA) convention center. Marilee had come from Orlando to join me; Cheryl had flown in from Seattle. We visited the Independent Book Publishers Association Booth to make sure the copy of Safe & Sound displayed there was front and center, then did the same at the ASPCA booth. After that, it was time for the ALA World Championship book cart precision drill team competition. From a blog post on LibGig:

What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of such a thing? What is a Book Cart Drill Team? Well, you know what a drill team is, right? And you know what a book cart is, right? Well put them together and you get the single most nerdcore sporting event ever. Presiding over the festivities were Mo Willems and Jon Scieszka. They entertained the crowd, conducted interviews and provided color commentary while the judges tallied their scores…

There were pinwheels, there were catch and release routines, carts were spun on one wheel. Librarians surfed on carts, did splits on carts, wore sequins and lab coats, and the singing was amazing!

I was not a judge, but the Bibliofiles book cart drill team from the Austin Public Library was my favorite. If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you already know how much Hanni and I love Austin. A lot was made of the drill team’s headgear (books that spun!) and I thought it was cool that the team learned sign language, donned white gloves, and interpreted their soundtrack to us. But what really sold me on the Bibliofiles was their grand finale– they rolled out a big banner of a famous Helen Keller quote: “Literature is my Utopia.” It was written in print, and in Braille. They took silver in the competition, and Marilee found a video on YouTube of their performance –check it out!

On Monday we went to an author presentation, signed up for contests, picked up free pencils, post-it notes, books and catalogs at exhibits, fronted Safe & Sound where necessary, then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the ASPCA/Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award ceremony. I slipped on my Lana Turner dress, Cheryl wore sequins, Marilee fluffed my hair and lent me her jewelry. Hanni stood proud as she guided me into the Anaheim Hilton for the event. True to form – I mean, Flo Finke didn’t raise no fools — we were the first to arrive at the party, and the last to leave. Yikes! I’m over 500 words already! I’m sure you are just on the edge of your seat, though, waiting for details of the award ceremony — guess you’ll just have to stay tuned for my next post!