Staying Observant

The first lesson I can remember from my father was to “Trust your Gut instinct.” The ramifications to this lesson are plenty but I want to primarily focus on the value this has to being observant.

Try this, look at different people in your life and take three that you consider to be either successful, happy, or with whom you share a bond. Ask yourself how do these people observe and react to his or her environment.

To add tangibility to this exercise I refer to three public people that we all share in our lives.

1) The business man: Warren Buffet

2) The artist: Jonny Depp

“I’m deeply interested in human behavior and what makes people do what they do, what makes people tick, why they have they have these little nervous gestures.”

On inside the Actor’s Studio James Lipton asked Depp how do you prepare for a role?
His answer: “I think that one of the greatest gifts that we, as human beings, have is our instinct. That initial feeling you get about something. Generally when I am reading a screen play I get flashes of things, images, visual things people that interested me something that I wanted to explore in a person that I had seen somewhere. For instance with Edward scissor hands the two initial images that came to me were a baby and a dog that I had when I was growing up….I make notes that becomes ingredients of the character.”

3) President and football coach: Bill Walsh (go niners!)
Innovator of the West Coast Offense. Walsh was successful because of his ability to scrutinize detail and plan contingencies for each possible variation of detail. His observation and sensitivity to potential outcomes made him a champion.

How to observe: listen, watch.

What to observe:
-People you aspire to be like.
-People who are displeasing to you.
-Your federal government.
-Change over a period of time.
-Yourself.

Your conclusions and feelings are your own, just like your “Gut Feeling.”

In search of fact! cold, hard, and no curve balls

Heath Care Debate; going in circles.

I can't figure this one out and I'm talking with the most resourceful people in my life to get to the bottom of this debate. I am tired of bilateral politics. The debates I have had thus far are so subject to liberal and conservative media spin that I don't even consider them debates on the Health care issue, but rather squabbling over the time old difference in philosophy of governance as perpetrated by the reds and blues. This inspires me to register as an Independent, but this isn't the issue.

In search of cold hard facts I have decided to focus on what the actual problem is and as a result I have resourced to my friends and family on what their health care situation is. It seems that a pre-existing condition precludes someone from private coverage. From the business perspective of the provider, then if you're sick your a liability. Sure, this makes sense in the short run but something tells me that this model when applied to the aggregate population over a long period of time will ultimately be more costly to the population and business community. I see that as a problem.

What else?

The poor, or the bottom of the pyramid which comprises the a large part of this country can't afford private health care. I can see this as a second problem, but additionally this this raises the argument: is health care a right in the United States of America? And thus the head of that dreaded political debate is raised.....

My conclusion for the time being is to not arrive at a conclusion until I know more fact.

"Here’s the challenge: nearly 40% of all Americans do not have broadband in the
home. And if you are earn less than $50,000 a year, or you are a minority or you live in a rural area, chances are better than 60 percent that you are on the wrong side of the digital
divide."


I am flipping through the FCC documents released on their website for opportunity and inspiration.

As an indirect government employee, that provides a federally sponsored service I believe there is a common intersection in the FCC's broadband goals with the digital (internet based) product on which I work. First of all the Federal Office of Special Education share's obvious funding and civic missions with the Federal Communications Commision. Second transparency is an omnipresent theme in government and internet reality these days, something makes me think that the win win situation (that of making the FCC's success our success) is just right around the corner or barried in a pile of URLs and PDF documents. Third, the obvious similarity to a federal agency sponsoring an internet based educational product and the words of Chairman Genachowski,

"The statute is clear about what our goals must be. We must find ways to ensure that all
people of the United States have access to broadband. We must devise a detailed strategy
to ensure affordability of broadband. We must evaluate the nation’s deployment of
broadband, including via federal grants. And we must ensure that our broadband
infrastructure and services advance national purposes, including job creation and
economic growth -- whose importance was emphasized by today’s new unemployment
numbers -- education, health care, energy, public safety, civic participation and many
others."


I understand the process of my mind, I start conceptually big and widdle down subcategories and and allies of potential direction.

I already have a solid contact in the FCC who is a long time user and champion of my cause.

The question I will focus on answering is ......
well i don't have that yet so let me rattle out a couple subcategories.

Obama style campagning: internet technology leveraged for politics.

Rural/underserved America.

Our goals overlapping with the FCC's goals. What are our goals?

How do our goals overlap with the FCC goals.

what does this mean to Puerto Rico?

Genachowski quote:

"It matters for the same reason that previous generations built systems of canals, and railroads,
and interstate highways, and a telephone network that stretched to every corner of America.
Infrastructure, a clunky word, I know – but infrastructure matters. It is the way jobs and
commerce, innovation and progress of all kinds – in education and health care and energy – are
spread across the country. And in the 21st Century, broadband infrastructure will be the platform
for growth and opportunity for us, our children, and our children’s children."

Libros Digitales en Espanol

Guest blog by Paddy Sullivan
Hola! My name is Paddy Sullivan. I work in membership at Bookshare and I believe in bilingualism. I am lucky to be able to contribute this passion to Benetech by providing outreach and membership support in Spanish to the commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Why shouldn’t visually impaired and disabled students in the United States have easy access to the study of the languages? Why shouldn’t students in Puerto Rico benefit from our technology and services?
These were the questions that inspired my relationship with Marta Sanabria, the supervisor of Special Education of Puerto Rico who invited Bookshare to perform trainings for teachers, parents and agency workers on the island. As an independent territory of the United States, the schools of Puerto Rico are subject to the same federal laws and IDEA initiatives as every school in the 50 states. From the week of March 30 to April 4, five Bookshare training sessions took place in four of the island’s Service Centers for Special Education.

These training sessions, delivered in Spanish and English, were attended by 134 teachers, 14 state employees and 6 parents. They took place in Las Piedras, Bayamon, Hormigueros, and Ponce.
My most notable feeling from this experience was that of respect for teachers. I felt first hand the technological, structural, and emotional challenges of delivering an engaging six hour lesson to groups of 30-40 people. Bookshare, and the overall concept of technology serving humanity, was very well received. One of the teachers enjoyed the training so much that he gave me his Puerto Rican national baseball cap!

In order to serve its population of 4 million, the Puerto Rican Department of Education divides the island into seven regions. Within these regions there are nine Service Centers for Special Education that train and service teachers and students.
The presentation in Bayamon was attended by Igri Enriquez, director of the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Impaired.

Moreover, while in San Juan, Bookshare was able to attend the 11th Annual Assistive Technology Conference directed by the University of Puerto Rico’s Assistive Technology Program (PRATP). This university run program, a very good example of valuable networks in Puerto Rico, takes the responsibility of promoting changes in public and private systems to increase access to assistive technology for people with disabilities.

This photo was taken in a library in San Juan. The text reading, “Toys adapted for children with impairments” is part of a PRATP initiative to develop inclusive learning centers for children with disabilities.
This organization shares many of Bookshare’s philosophies and visions. The conference was attended by 600 people and took place over two days in the San Juan Convention Center.

The significant keynote speaker was a visually impaired man named Manolo who works for the University of Puerto Rico and leads a social network which spans across all nations where Spanish is spoken. His message was centered around social progression and the positive and pervasive role of technology in the inclusion movement. The inclusion and assistive technology movement of Puerto Rico is noteworthy, as illustrated by the brick and mortar formal institutions dedicated to Special Education and the informal social structures which I experienced with parent support groups, national federations, and multiple professionals working in the Special Education field.
As Bookshare experiences growth and success, it will undoubtedly continue to inspire and be inspired by such teachers, students, and organizations as I encountered in Puerto Rico.

Networking Happy Hour

Location:

St Marks Ale House‎ - more info »

2 Saint Marks Pl, New York, NY‎ - (212) 260-9762‎

When: After class Friday, July 17. 5-6pm
and after class Friday, July 24. 5-6pm

Travel Diary website

My main idea was to maximize video technology. The ad space was put in there more for fun and creativity rather than practicality. I really like the idea of a floating weather ticker just like the stock ticker on commercial sites. You guys can take the idea, I won't litigate......

I think in reality this would be a visually overwhelming page, but I enjoyed the exercise.

My First Blog

(not to be confused with My first song)