Uploads from Cobra_11, tagged disabled

New Patterns

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 05:25:30 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

I've been experimenting with macrame patterns again. I kept trying new techniques of tying the knots until I got a nice pattern. These two bracelets are my latest products.

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World Sight Day: 11th October 2012

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 01:36:22 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

"World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness, visual impairment and rehabilitation of the visually impaired held on the second Thursday in October." (World Health Organization)

According to the World Health Organization, 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired: 246 million have low vision, 39 million are blind.

Unfortunately, people often realize how precious sight is only after they lose it...

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Tell me the time...

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 23:26:39 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

I got a new watch yesterday. It's a regular digital watch with an alarm, but it has a special function: talking. If I press the triangular button, the watch tells me what time it is. Another great thing about this watch is that it has 3 different alarm sounds: a digital bell, a cuckoo and a rooster crow (this one's my favourite :-)). I've never had a talking watch before and I think it's cool :-)

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Braille Labels

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 08:54:18 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

I have discovered a great way to make Braille labels: Scotch Magic Tape! It's wide enough to emboss Braille comfortably on it and the Braille bumps don't flatten that easily on it, so you can read the label again and again. I like to fold one end of the tape so that I can easily peel it off the Braille slate or move it to another place.

In case you're wondering what the label on the photo says: It says "brl", which is short for Braille.

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Crocheted Purse

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 04:18:21 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

I have a lot of this paracord-like rope that I use for macrame, so I decided to crohet a small purse (9x7 cm). It turned out quite nicely :-)

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Paralympic Colours

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 07:19:40 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

The Paralympic Games 2012 begin today! These are the colours of the symbol of the Paralympic Games, the Agitos.

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Two-drop peyote

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:55:04 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

This is the first time I tried the two-drop peyote technique and it's great. The sewing is much quicker than with the classic peyote and I like the result very much.

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The Speed of Writing

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:22:53 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

I'm currently working on my next Braille book. I was playing around with long exposure the other day and thought it would be fun to take a 10-second exposure shot of the process of writing Braille. Today was the perfect opportunity to try this out. This is the result :-)

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IN

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 07:15:12 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

This is the word "in" written in Braille. These little dots represent different things to different people. For some, this is just INdecipherable. For some, it's INteresting. And for some, it's INvaluable INformation.

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Sincere love

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 00:53:55 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food." (George Bernard Shaw)

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Wise and Otherwise

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 09:20:25 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

"Some folks are wise, and some are otherwise." (Tobias Smollett)

I'm slowly building my very own Braille book of wisdoms :-)

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Life Is An Adventure

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 01:54:03 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." (Helen Keller)

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f-d-s j-k-l

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 08:01:03 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

I've been learning Braille for quite some time now. Writing with my slate and stylus has become completely natural for me. Reading is still a bit slow, but I'm practicing dilligently. However, there is another way to write Braille: the 6-key style. This type of writing is used on Braille typewriters and on Braille refreshable displays (which are the Braille versions of computer keyboards). So far, I haven't had the chance to practice the 6-key style, but a few days ago I discovered a free computer programme, which enables me to turn my regular QWERTY computer keyboard into 6-key Braille keyboad. I use 6 keys to simulate the 6 dots of the Braille cell: dots 1, 2, 3 are the letters f, d, s and dots 4, 5, 6 are the letters j, k, l. Then, I just have to remember how each letter is built and press the right combination of keys. It's actually quite demanding!

I would love to get a Braille typewriter, or, better yet, a Braille refreshable display, which would enable me to practice reading. At the moment I have to write things first so that I can read them, which is not really good for practicing reading, since I remember what I have written. With a dsiplay I could open a web page and read new things. However, these displays are irrationally expensive and cost anything from 2000 $ to 5000 $ or even more! I think this is absolutely crazy. Many sighted people would learn Braille, too, if they had access to the material. However, the way things are now, you cannot borrow Braille books if you're not blind or visually impaired, you cannot buy the technology because it's so expensive, it's even hard to get the slate and stylus! Why does the wonderful world of Braille have to be so inaccessible?

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Milk is the way to go!

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:14:00 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

It's been a while since I've posted a wisdom, so here's one I heard recently:
"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria."

Stick to milk and you should be fine ;-)

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White Cane Safety Day: 15th October 2012

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 01:12:39 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

When you lose your sight, a white cane becomes an essential tool in your daily life. If you're blind or visually impaired, white cane is a tool that enables you greater independence. However, if you think that it's a very simple tool, think again.

First of all, there are different types of canes: long cane, guide cane, identification cane, and support cane. They can be folding, telescopic, or rigid.

Canes can also be made of different materials: wood, aluminum, graphite, etc.

Then, there are also different types of cane tips that you can choose from: pencil tip, jumbo roller tip, rural tip, marshmallow tip, etc.

Although the cane sounds like a very easy tool to use, it's actually not. To be able to travel with a white cane safely, you need to learn a few techniques. First, you have to know how to hold the cane correctly. Then, there are the techniques of walking:
"The most commonly used techniques are:
•Diagonal technique: The cane is held in front, and slightly diagonally across the body. The tip is in contact with the ground or just above.
•Touch technique: The cane tip is arced from side to side. When the left foot steps forward the cane sweeps to the right, and when the right foot steps forward the cane sweeps to the left. This technique allows safe travel in all environments by clearing the area for each step before it's taken.
•Constant contact technique: The cane is held in front and sweeps from side to side. The tip remains in contact with the ground.
•Shoreline technique: The cane is used to follow a line such as a wall, a fence or the edge of a footpath."
( Cane Q&A / Guide Dogs NSW/ACT)

As a tribute to the White Cane Safety Day 2012, I decided to make a few of these white cane bracelets from Hama beads and give them away as gifts to my friends.

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Tactile Colours

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:13:51 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

What colour is this packet of polymer clay?

There is more than one way to experience colours. One way is to see them. The other way is to feel them. Blind and visually impaired people like to do arts and crafts, too. Beading, polymer clay, knitting, origami and other things all involve colours. Combining the right colours of beads or wool, choosing the right colour of paper or polymer clay is still important even if you can't see. Braille labels can solve this problem very elegantly. Posting a sticker with the description of the colour on a box of beads or on a packet of polymer clay is a great way to feel the colours of the contents.

To answer the question I asked at the beginning: The Braille label on this packet of polymer clay tells me that the colour of the clay is "lemon yellow".

If you want to learn how to make Braille labels, click here.

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Braille Sudoku

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:30:17 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

I love sudoku, so I decided to make a Braille version of this crossword with numbers. I always have some nails, nuts and bolts in my toolbox, so I found my glass of nails with round tops. Then, I found an old Lego box that was just a bit higher than the nails, so that I could put my hand into the box and push the nails out again. Then, I made a model of the grid, which I placed on top of the box. I used an old dart to punch in the holes. Finally, I made the grid of nine main squares from a piece of duct tape. The game is ready to play!

I made one small modification for this game, though. I "shrunk" the Braille cells from six dots to 4 dots, since the numbers 1 - 9 only use four dots. It was also easier to make the square grid this way.

There are two ways to use this Braille board. You can begin with a regular, printed sudoku (if you can't read it yourself, have somebody who can see read the numbers to you), put the starting combination into the Braille version and solve the crossword by touch. The other way to use the board is to make your own sudoku crosswords, which is a little more difficult, so you do need some experience in sudoku solving before you start making your own.

You can also buy Braille sudoku, but those games cost a fortune! This one is practically free: all you need is a bunch of nails (which don't cost that much at the hardware store), a box (although I used an old Lego box, that's not necessary; you can simply use an old cornflakes box or any other such box) and some duct tape.

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My First Braille Books

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 02:01:52 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

These are my first three Braille books, which I made myself. I did everything myself. I used my Braille slate and stylus to write them and my spiral-binding machine to bind them. The first one on the top is my mini dictionary of abbreviations. The middle book is my first book of Braille wisdoms which I've collected since I started using Braille. The book at the bottom is a book of my favourite poems, which I transcribed into Braille. Just to give you an example of how big Braille boks are: the book of poems contains 11 poems and is about 1.5 cms (3/4 of an inch) thick. I'm slowly building up my private little Braille library :-)

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Braille reference charts

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 09:11:38 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

While Grade 1 Braille consists of the basic alphabet, the punctuation and a few other symbols, Grade 2 Braille is much more demanding since it consists of about 300 abbreviations. I know most of the abbreviations already, but I still make mistakes. So, I decided to make myself some reference charts. They function like a mini dictionary and enable me to check the combinations of dots for various abbreviations. Although the abbreviations can be found on the Internet and simply printed out, I transcribed mine into Braille so that I can read them just by touch. This way, I can quickly find the right abbreviation and avoid making mistakes.

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Light Painting in Braille

nobody@flickr.com (Cobra_11) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:20:28 -0700

Cobra_11 posted a photo:

I decided to do some light-painting again. I used Braille to write the word "light".

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