I have been finding some things quite challenging as of late. They aren’t new difficulties. They are old difficulties that resurface again and again and again. I can make progress on learning to live with them and I have, but I’m not sure they will ever fully go away. Even so, I always try and…
Accessible voting
I’m planning a workshop on voting for the young people I work with. When I went to vote for the first time, I had no idea what the process would be like. I’d never been able to get my hands on a tactile voting device and was unsure how exactly it should be applied to…
A silly video about expressing your anger in English
I made a video. Not anything to do with blindness, just having fun talking about the English language. Languages are great, and I love how they allow us to use them in really creative and varied ways. A group of people can speak the same language, but depending on where they are from, the way…
Running
Ten months ago, I couldn’t run a 5k without having to stop and walk. It wasn’t even my fitness that was the barrier. My legs would hurt so much as the muscles were really tight. I would start running, and within about 500 metres be in so much discomfort I didn’t want to carry on….
Low Expectations
Blind young people objectively face many barriers. But one of the greatest barriers a blind person can face in life is low expectations. When a person grows up being told they can never achieve, they will begin to believe that message once they hear it enough times. “You cannot climb a tree” can easily turn…
Writing
I was inspired to start writing on this blog again. It’s been such a huge part of my life for a long time, but I have also spent a long time neglecting it. I might start writing and post regularly for a couple of months, but inevitably I stop and move on to doing something…
New White Cane: the Urban Xplorer from Awarewolf Gear
I recently picked up the Urban Xplorer white cane from the RNIB shop. I am becoming increasingly unsatisfied with Ambutech canes. In general, I think they are a solid choice of cane. However, a redesign means the joints are a lot shorter than they used to be, so I find that a joint will start…
Technology Tip: Speech and Sounds Schemes in JAWS
In my previous job, I had to create a lot of very structured reports. This meant using a template that was standard across the organisation. Certain bits of text needed to be in bold. Other bits shouldn’t be highlighted, even where they were in the template as a reminder. Essentially, I needed to stay on…
Living in chaos
Who would have thought that having a chunk of flesh from both sides of your chest removed would hurt? Everyone except me, apparently. I went in for a small revision to my top surgery yesterday. It was a comparatively small process, when you consider the original surgery. I was awake for this one, and because…
Impermanence
I’m in the process of moving to the other end of the country. Not my first move, and as my nephew pointed out, at least this one is in the same country, which they haven’t always been. But somehow this one feels a lot bigger. Perhaps it’s because over the last four years, I’ve built…