The Gunderson Racing Team is seeking more sponsors for the 2007 racing season. Greg Gunderson, a veteran Sprint car driver from Sioux Falls, S.D., has an ambitious plan to become the first ever deaf NASCAR driver. The 2007 racing schedule includes races in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and specific tracks in other states as requested by sponsors.Spread the word and help Greg Gunderson get the needed sponsors.
“Not only do I want to publicize the exciting sport of racing; I also want to emphasize the fact that Deaf people can do anything except hear,” said Greg as he makes plans to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming the first ever deaf NASCAR driver. The 2007 racing season in Sprint circuit is the first step toward the goal. In 2008 Greg plans to race on asphalt tracks in the ASA Late Model Series or ARCA Series before attempting to become a NASCAR driver in 2009.
Short- and long-term sponsorships will be integral part of Greg’s future NASCAR plan and will receive the following marketing benefits:
· Greg has a strong fan base with a wide diversity: 31 million Americans with hearing loss, millions more Americans with other disabilities, racing fans, friends, co-workers, deafness-related professionals and many more;
· Greg has been an inspiration to deaf and hard of hearing children and adults;
· Media enjoys doing stories on Greg because readers and listeners love a great human interest stories;
·For more information, visit the recently redesigned Gunderson Racing Team website at http://www.gundersonracing.com or email media@gundersonracing.com.
Greg has 15 years of racing experience and has consistently been in the winner circle;
· Greg finished 3rd place in popular voting for a new reality TV show, Racin’ for a Livin’, and is waiting to get on the TV show in the near future.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Greg Gunderson's Racing Plan for 2007 and 2008
From Greg Gunderson to all those racing fans out there, be sure to check out the newly revamped Gunderson Racing website.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Identity Politics Gone Wild
The Weekly Standard is out. Just like I said it would a few weeks ago. It has the title "Identity Politics Gone Wild." The author of the article made a reference to my past blog regarding an email response about my blogging Deaf Republicans website.
I warned the author to expect back lashes from the Deaf community (and here in DeafDC) and needless to say when her editors read her article they were more or less "horrified" at what went on out there and how people or protesters, per the article, who constantly portrayed themselves as being the "victims." Or are they? Who are the real victim here?
Good or bad? A matter of difference in perspsective here? A little bit of harsh truth here or there? Incorrect factoids? Or too much of a myth, labeling or painting it with a broad brush here? Was the article a good one? Or a bad one? A bit of both? Depends on who you ask I would guess.
Like black underclass youngsters who diss their more studious classmates as "acting white," some deaf activists denigrate deaf people who use eloquent English as unacceptably "hearing." Mike McConnell, a 1991 Gallaudet graduate and active in the nearly oxymoronic (given the bent of Deaf culture) Deaf Republicans, posted this email he received from a deaf activist on his blog Kokonut Pundits: "Deaf Republicans website is not written by deaf people. its language is too hearing and it is written by Republican party."
I warned the author to expect back lashes from the Deaf community (and here in DeafDC) and needless to say when her editors read her article they were more or less "horrified" at what went on out there and how people or protesters, per the article, who constantly portrayed themselves as being the "victims." Or are they? Who are the real victim here?
Good or bad? A matter of difference in perspsective here? A little bit of harsh truth here or there? Incorrect factoids? Or too much of a myth, labeling or painting it with a broad brush here? Was the article a good one? Or a bad one? A bit of both? Depends on who you ask I would guess.
The Strong Silent Type
Ya'll must be wondering. Where's my Kokonut Pundits fix? If you must know I am putting in more of my time working out in preparation for my strongman competitions this year. I plan to attend a couple of those events and plan to video tape them as well.
I began working out about 7 weeks ago and I'm into my 8th week right now after a 7 month layoff. You can see all the details of my progress over at my Deaf Strongman blog including a subtitled video of my 620lb tire flip I did in my backyard yesterday.
There are so many things I can do and I can't do all them at the same time. If I'm going to devote more time like getting myself prepared for my strongman competitions, it means cutting back on a few things like my Kokonut Pundits blogging. But this doesn't mean there won't be any Kokonut Pundits blogs. There will be. Just less of it for now. I just need less distraction right from all of the silliness (yes, they're getting a bit silly out there now. You know what I mean) so I can concentrate on my working out and practicing with my strongman implements which I am currently ramping up with greater intensity and weight. This includes putting on additional bodyweight to get to 205lbs and eventually to 230lbs perhaps by next year. If I ever going to flip an 1000+ lb tire, I need to get my bodyweight up to 205lbs which I am only 17 lbs away.
And, if you're deaf or hard of hearing and like to lift weights? Do you think you have the "nads" to compete in the first ever North America Deaf Strongman (NADS) Games? Check it out and see the updated website on plans for 2008 with DeafNation.
Also, I have to do my annual pack test to get ready for next week for re-certification of my red card for forest fire fighting where I have been on 4 differents fires so far. But I may have to forego the actual fire fighting this year and next because it takes so much out of you and that puts a damper in my strongman preparation like it did last year when after I returned from fire fighting in August for 3 weeks worth and was totally worn afterwards.
But a few weeks ago I went with a crew for a 3-day prescribed fire down on the Guadulupe mountains in southern New Mexico amongst all the cactuses, prickly pears, and all plant things that have those pokey and painful barbs. And I did get injured by those thorns, too. My right poked-in knee is nearly healed after two weeks. It was my first prescribed fire and I was able to go since my red card for fire fighting was still good until my next pack test.
Arriving at the site to hike out to do some presciption burns.
Watching the line with other crew fire fighters to make sure the fire doesn't escape the fire line.
Can you find a live rabbit in this picture? The rabbit is just sitting there in the cool black burn. Here's a link to a bigger picture. Note the prickly pear cactuses.
Here I am making sure the fire doesn't cross the fire line which would be the road seen here along with other fire fighters. This was where smoke would get so thick you'd have to cover up your face to breathe a bit better. My eyes would water, too. Lots of standing around here and we bump up the line every 50 or 60 feet to monitor the fire's progress. We would watch and listen for the call "Bump Up!" and we move up another 50 feet. Sometimes the smoke would be so thick you'd have to listen for the call. I'd monitor my field radio and listen in to the chatter of the fire's progress.
An occasional torching of fire would happen during a prescription burn and would not last very long. Not a big deal. Everything was a success over the 3 days of prescibed burn.
Now, you may be asking yourself what is a presecription burn? Go here and learn.
Until the next time. Stay strong.
I began working out about 7 weeks ago and I'm into my 8th week right now after a 7 month layoff. You can see all the details of my progress over at my Deaf Strongman blog including a subtitled video of my 620lb tire flip I did in my backyard yesterday.
There are so many things I can do and I can't do all them at the same time. If I'm going to devote more time like getting myself prepared for my strongman competitions, it means cutting back on a few things like my Kokonut Pundits blogging. But this doesn't mean there won't be any Kokonut Pundits blogs. There will be. Just less of it for now. I just need less distraction right from all of the silliness (yes, they're getting a bit silly out there now. You know what I mean) so I can concentrate on my working out and practicing with my strongman implements which I am currently ramping up with greater intensity and weight. This includes putting on additional bodyweight to get to 205lbs and eventually to 230lbs perhaps by next year. If I ever going to flip an 1000+ lb tire, I need to get my bodyweight up to 205lbs which I am only 17 lbs away.
And, if you're deaf or hard of hearing and like to lift weights? Do you think you have the "nads" to compete in the first ever North America Deaf Strongman (NADS) Games? Check it out and see the updated website on plans for 2008 with DeafNation.
Also, I have to do my annual pack test to get ready for next week for re-certification of my red card for forest fire fighting where I have been on 4 differents fires so far. But I may have to forego the actual fire fighting this year and next because it takes so much out of you and that puts a damper in my strongman preparation like it did last year when after I returned from fire fighting in August for 3 weeks worth and was totally worn afterwards.
But a few weeks ago I went with a crew for a 3-day prescribed fire down on the Guadulupe mountains in southern New Mexico amongst all the cactuses, prickly pears, and all plant things that have those pokey and painful barbs. And I did get injured by those thorns, too. My right poked-in knee is nearly healed after two weeks. It was my first prescribed fire and I was able to go since my red card for fire fighting was still good until my next pack test.
Arriving at the site to hike out to do some presciption burns.
Watching the line with other crew fire fighters to make sure the fire doesn't escape the fire line.
Can you find a live rabbit in this picture? The rabbit is just sitting there in the cool black burn. Here's a link to a bigger picture. Note the prickly pear cactuses.
Here I am making sure the fire doesn't cross the fire line which would be the road seen here along with other fire fighters. This was where smoke would get so thick you'd have to cover up your face to breathe a bit better. My eyes would water, too. Lots of standing around here and we bump up the line every 50 or 60 feet to monitor the fire's progress. We would watch and listen for the call "Bump Up!" and we move up another 50 feet. Sometimes the smoke would be so thick you'd have to listen for the call. I'd monitor my field radio and listen in to the chatter of the fire's progress.
An occasional torching of fire would happen during a prescription burn and would not last very long. Not a big deal. Everything was a success over the 3 days of prescibed burn.
Now, you may be asking yourself what is a presecription burn? Go here and learn.
Until the next time. Stay strong.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Article on Gallaudet, the Protest and Protesters
An article will come out soon either next week or the week after that that will discuss Gallaudet, the protest and the protesters in the The Weekly Standard magazine. The magazine is a very popular conservative political magazine whose magazine has a weekly circulation of 83,000 per week where the magazine is published 48 times a year. The article on Gallaudet, the protest and protesters may be available online but for sure will be available in the printed format at your nearest store that carries the magazine.
Several deaf and hard of hearing people who are familiar with the protest were interviewed. Some were interviewed to understand better what Deaf culture was like. Why the protest happened. And what other people on the outside are seeing/reading about the protest. All this boils down to is a matter of perspective. Either you can gripe about it and complain, or do something about it by helping educate people instead and create a better understanding. Despite that, it doesn't necessarily mean that our post-protest, positive pro-active response will erase the pictures or the feelings of what people on the outside saw about the protest that day when the campus was forcibly and illegally shut down. There is such a thing as "first impression". And you cannot blame them for that.
Several deaf and hard of hearing people who are familiar with the protest were interviewed. Some were interviewed to understand better what Deaf culture was like. Why the protest happened. And what other people on the outside are seeing/reading about the protest. All this boils down to is a matter of perspective. Either you can gripe about it and complain, or do something about it by helping educate people instead and create a better understanding. Despite that, it doesn't necessarily mean that our post-protest, positive pro-active response will erase the pictures or the feelings of what people on the outside saw about the protest that day when the campus was forcibly and illegally shut down. There is such a thing as "first impression". And you cannot blame them for that.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Great Global Warming Swindle - Part 1 of 8. CAPTIONED!
This global warming video isn't captioned or subtitled so I decided to do this myself using BubblePLY as part of my own captioning work. And why not? There are some 15 million people here in the United States who are severely to profoundly deaf and having a video with no captioning would prove fruitless and of no use to them. A message would be lost by those who cannot even access the video and learn more about the big global warming swindle by scientists, politicians and activists. Even in the United Kingdom there are a few million people who are deaf as well. Not to mention many more millions around the world who do understand the English language and benefit from captioned videos.
If the producers had the common sense, intelligence and foresight they would've added the subtitle to the video which would have enabled them to reach more people who otherwise cannot hear or are unable to understand the spoken words in the video. It doesn't take much brains to figure out that there are millions of deaf and hard of hearing people out there who prefer to have captioned/subtitled videos.
I spent several hours listening to this video, typing in the spoken words in my digital Notepad and adding them into BubblyPLY as captions for Part 1 of 8 of a video clip found on YouTube called "The Great Global Warming Swindle." It's a 75-minute video that came out recently a few weeks ago in the United Kingdom. My subtitling work took several hours for just 9 minutes worth of captioning. The captioned work produced by me is probably 98 to 99 percent accurate. So, if you spot an error or see that a word need to be added or removed, please let me know and I'll correct it if it matches the audio portion. I plan to add captioning for the rest of the 7 other parts as I go along. Not a guarantee here since it does taxes my time doing this. So, enjoy this Part 1 of 8.
If you want to donate money as show of appreciation for my work go here.
THE GREAT GLOBAL WARMING SWINDLE - PART 1 of 8.
If the producers had the common sense, intelligence and foresight they would've added the subtitle to the video which would have enabled them to reach more people who otherwise cannot hear or are unable to understand the spoken words in the video. It doesn't take much brains to figure out that there are millions of deaf and hard of hearing people out there who prefer to have captioned/subtitled videos.
I spent several hours listening to this video, typing in the spoken words in my digital Notepad and adding them into BubblyPLY as captions for Part 1 of 8 of a video clip found on YouTube called "The Great Global Warming Swindle." It's a 75-minute video that came out recently a few weeks ago in the United Kingdom. My subtitling work took several hours for just 9 minutes worth of captioning. The captioned work produced by me is probably 98 to 99 percent accurate. So, if you spot an error or see that a word need to be added or removed, please let me know and I'll correct it if it matches the audio portion. I plan to add captioning for the rest of the 7 other parts as I go along. Not a guarantee here since it does taxes my time doing this. So, enjoy this Part 1 of 8.
If you want to donate money as show of appreciation for my work go here.
THE GREAT GLOBAL WARMING SWINDLE - PART 1 of 8.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Poll: Death Penalty be allowed for Deaf Person?
Here's a poll question. Should the death penalty be allowed for a Deaf person such as Daphne Wright? This is not about a retarded person but simply a Deaf person who is accused of committing an atrocious murder and dismemberment. If proved guilty, should she be treated like any other hearing person who gets the guilty verdict for murder and face the same death penalty punishment? Why or why not?
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Watch Matt Hamill Fight on YouTube
Grab this 8 minute long video of Matt Hamill's 4-minute fight against Rex Holman before it disappears. At the end of the fight Matt was interviewed by Mr. Rogan where Matt described the techniques he used and how he was pleased with his performance and at the end of the video he says,
Indeed. Let's hope so.
Matt "The Hammer" Hamill will be here for a long, long time!
Indeed. Let's hope so.
Watch Matt Hamill Fight on UFC Demand for $1.99
If you missed the UFC PPV fight a few niights ago or those who paid their $40 bucks hoping to see the Hamill vs Holman fight on PPV (it didn't show) you can now watch the rest of the fighters that didn't show up on PPV for $1.99 on UFC Demand via through your computer. Click here or on the picture above to link to the UFC On Demand video.CFlannagan, who is deaf, said about the fight as he watched the 4 minute long video clip.
Watched the match.. hardly "worst striking ever" at all based on many MMA matches I've seen so that Sherdog guy is an idiot. Hamill dominated the fight. Funny to watch Hamill do some new moves.. spinning back kick for one! Well worth $1.99, IMHO.
So, instead of spending $40 bucks for a PPV cable fight, you can now pick and choose which of the fighters to watch on UFC Demand for only $1.99.
Go ahead and watch it and give me your opinion of Matt's fight. Has he improved?
Hat tip: CFlannagan!
UPDATE: See pictures of the fight.
Matt Hamill doing the "Superman" thing.
Rex Holman in pain.
Matt Hamill punching away.
Matt Hamill slugging at Holman's face.
Matt Hamill's patented "ground and pound" before the fight is called off.
See all of my blogs on Matt Hamill and interviews.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Matt Hamill Follow-up Winning Fight Report
Matt Hamill won his 3rd UFC fight card last night in the first round with 1 mintue left in a 5-minute fight per round. It was supposed to be a 3-round fight but with Matt's wrestling ability he was able to take Rex Holman down and did his patented ground and pound for a win.
This event wasn't televised for those who paid for the PPV event hoping to see Matt though I didn't pay for it this time. Though from reports elsewhere it was reported that it was Matt Hamill who drew the biggest applause from the sold-out UFC crowd of 18,000 fans that night after his win.
Interesting.
Matt's win was probably clinched early on with his "Superman" flying punch to Rex Holman's nose. Enough to slow Rex down and make him realize that he was fighting a serious fighter.
Would love to see the video clip of Matt doing the "Superman" punch thing.
Although in one report it says that Matt is still planning for the 2008 U.S. Olympic (not Deaflympics) hoping to get a spot on the wrestling team.
This is something I'll have to confirm and verify if this is the case because I believe the discussion between Matt and I earlier last year had to do with contract with the UFC which may prevent him from doing the U.S. Olympic with a stipulation that he cannot do other sports which may cause him to injure himself which may prevent him from competiting in an UFC fight. Also, the tryout for the 2008 wrestling team takes place in Las Vegas this year.
But I hope I'm wrong or that things have changed where Matt can do both. Represent the U.S. and continue with his UFC fights. We'll see. In fact, an added factor of being well known in the UFC fighting arena may give Matt that extra intimidation factor when he (and if) wrestles.
See all of my blogs on Matt Hamill and interviews.
This event wasn't televised for those who paid for the PPV event hoping to see Matt though I didn't pay for it this time. Though from reports elsewhere it was reported that it was Matt Hamill who drew the biggest applause from the sold-out UFC crowd of 18,000 fans that night after his win.
The non-televised portion of the card was filled with three submission victories. Jamie Varner, Matt Hamill and Jon Fitch all won via rear-naked choke, with Hamill, the UFC's only deaf fighter, drawing the biggest applause from the sold-out crowd.
Interesting.
Matt's win was probably clinched early on with his "Superman" flying punch to Rex Holman's nose. Enough to slow Rex down and make him realize that he was fighting a serious fighter.
His opponent was former Ohio State Division I national wrestling champion and Columbus native Rex Holman. But it was Hamill who enjoyed the overwhelming support of the 18,000 fans in attendance at Nationwide Arena.
Hamill ignited the action early by landing a flying "Superman" punch that left a cut on the bridge of Holman's nose. Holman countered with kicks to Hamill's thighs as Hamill advanced.
The two former wrestlers clinched only twice, with neither fighter overpowering the other. Hamill pressed his boxing advantage with snapping jabs and straights to Holman's nose, while Holman came up short with awkward upper cuts to counter.
As the first round neared three minutes, Holman, 38, appeared winded. Hamill connected with a straight that dropped his opponent, who clutched onto Hamill from the mat. But Holman couldn't pull the better-conditioned fighter down and Hamill unloaded strikes to the side of Holman's head.
The fight was stopped by the referee at four minutes of the first round with Holman lying prone, Hamill straddling his back, punching Holman's head.
Would love to see the video clip of Matt doing the "Superman" punch thing.
Although in one report it says that Matt is still planning for the 2008 U.S. Olympic (not Deaflympics) hoping to get a spot on the wrestling team.
Hamill also plans to compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic wrestling team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
This is something I'll have to confirm and verify if this is the case because I believe the discussion between Matt and I earlier last year had to do with contract with the UFC which may prevent him from doing the U.S. Olympic with a stipulation that he cannot do other sports which may cause him to injure himself which may prevent him from competiting in an UFC fight. Also, the tryout for the 2008 wrestling team takes place in Las Vegas this year.
The 2007 U.S. World Team Trials will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, June 9-10. This event will determine the 2007 U.S. World Team that will compete at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan in all three Olympic wrestling styles: men�s freestyle, men�s Greco-Roman and women�s freestyle.
But I hope I'm wrong or that things have changed where Matt can do both. Represent the U.S. and continue with his UFC fights. We'll see. In fact, an added factor of being well known in the UFC fighting arena may give Matt that extra intimidation factor when he (and if) wrestles.
See all of my blogs on Matt Hamill and interviews.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Matt Hamill Wins UFC Fight in Round 1
Matt Hamill wins his 3rd UFC fight (2-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC). From Sherdog:
Matt wins it in the first round with 1 minute left to spare. It may have been an ugly one but when it comes to ground and pound, Matt takes it to the ground with punishing results. Though I wasn't able to see the PPV fight but Sherdog pulls it through and give us a play by play update for all fighters. Be sure to scroll down to the see the ongoing results of other fighters.
Congrats to Matt on his continued UFC wins and the first Deaf UFC fighter moving his way quickly to the top.
UPDATE: Read the recent follow-up report in today's blog after this one.
See all of my blogs on Matt Hamill and interviews.
First three minutes displays some of the worst striking from both fighters you will ever see in the cage. Hamill is cut under his eye but it doesn't seem serious. Hollman looks completely gassed. Holman shoots but Hamill stuffs the takedown. Hamil takes down the fatigued fighter and not long after gets his back. Hamill unloads with a series of punches that forces the referee to halt the action at 4:00 of the first round.
Matt wins it in the first round with 1 minute left to spare. It may have been an ugly one but when it comes to ground and pound, Matt takes it to the ground with punishing results. Though I wasn't able to see the PPV fight but Sherdog pulls it through and give us a play by play update for all fighters. Be sure to scroll down to the see the ongoing results of other fighters.
Congrats to Matt on his continued UFC wins and the first Deaf UFC fighter moving his way quickly to the top.
UPDATE: Read the recent follow-up report in today's blog after this one.
See all of my blogs on Matt Hamill and interviews.
Show Me the Captions!
Guest blogger, Curious Eyes (Patty Albee), tells a story that there are some people who will bend over backward for a deaf customer when asked about a television CC quality. Read on.
The other day, I went shopping for a 20” flat screen color TV, the analog kind. After doing my research on ShopLocal.com and Froogle, I decided to head for my friendly neighborhood Target store for a TruTouch TV on sale for $88.
You can tell what’s coming next, can’t you?
It can be such a hassle buying a TV when you’re deaf and only watch it with closed captions. First of all, I have never, ever seen any kind of audio-visual store where the captions were already on display. You have to ask for them. I estimate that at least 8 times out of 10, the salespeople have no idea what I’m talking about, and on the rare occasions they did, they haven’t the foggiest notion how to turn them on. These days, the fancier digital TVs have a remote control that requires a 200-page manual and an engineering degree to operate.
On to my saga. I went to the demo model in Target and turned it on. Nice picture, natural colors. I turned around and said to the salesperson, “May I please have the remote control so I can turn on the closed captions?”
She said, “I don’t have a remote control.”
I said, “I need to look at the closed captions before I purchase this TV, to make sure it works and looks nice. How about if I open the box and use the remote control on the demo model?”
She said OK, and proceeded to open the box with her box cutter. Luckily, the remote control was in a Styrofoam compartment right on top of the box, and she helpfully put in a couple of batteries from her stash under the counter. After pressing a few buttons on the remote trying to find the captions function, she handed it to me and asked if I could get them started.
Right around then, the floor manager came around and asked if he could help. He was a polite, youngish man with his long hair in a braid, a pierced eyebrow dumbbell stud, and the requisite computer-nerd horn-rimmed glasses and Dockers. I’d gotten stalled at the first menu list which did not list captions, so he quickly found the second menu page and turned the caption setting to “C1.”
The three of us waited for the captions to start playing on the demo TV. Nothing happened. No captions. Why? Because all the demo TVs were playing a tape from a central computer. The tape was all advertising, which of course was not closed-captioned.
I asked the manager, “Can you bring a DVD player, hook it up, and play a DVD?” He sent the salesperson to fetch it.
Attach DVD player to the demo TV, seek and find the remote for that too, and press play. Nothing happened. No captions.
Fortunately, the floor manager, Britt it says on his name tag, is a smart guy and good at problem-solving. He detached the DVD player and re-attached the cables to a Magnavox TV/DVD combo set on the shelf above. The salesperson scurried to find a remote for that one too.
Press “play.” Nothing happened. No captions.
I suggested to the manager, “I think you need to set the language options on the DVD itself. Can you go back to the menu of the DVD and select language options?”
Luckily, Britt is a smart guy who can accept direction and not question my every move (subtext: “just because I’m deaf.”). He went back to the main menu of the DVD, clicked language options, and selected English subtitles.
Press “play.”
Finally! Houston, we have captions. Very nice captions too, big and clear, on the movie “Lord of the Rings.” You’ve got a sale, Target. I happily jogged the half-mile to the checkout counters with my 50-pound prize stuffed in the red plastic shopping cart.
I wasn’t keeping my eye on the clock during this rigamarole, but think probably a good half hour was spent on this the transaction. I would call it successful because, due to some patient and creative problem-solving, I actually got to see the captions before I took my new TV home.
As I drove to work in the brilliant February sunshine, I reflected on what went right today. The one thing that probably made the biggest difference was that I went to Target during my lunch hour. I’m lucky that there is one within a 10 minute drive of my workplace. Between 11 and noon on a Friday, the store was practically empty. Less than a handful of customers were wandering around the audio-visual department at that time of day. The salesperson and manager were not busy, and able to give me their undivided attention. I had enough experience with TVs, DVDs, and remote controls that I knew what to ask for and when. I was assertive enough to express my needs. The salesperson and manager were savvy enough to accommodate me. I was polite and gracious. All in all, a win-win situation for me and Target.
Oh, and the TruTouch TV? It’s all right. Remember, you get what you pay for. The best thing that can be said for it is that the picture is nice and clear. It has one annoying idiosyncrasy, though. If you want to get a channel that has two digits, like 24, you have to push a button that labeled “-/--/---“. You have to push that button until “--“ shows, and then push 24. You have to do this every time! What a pain in the rear, because my favorite channels are 12, 24, 41, 42, 45, 50, and 67. Oh well. Good thing I’m not a channel surfer.
The other day, I went shopping for a 20” flat screen color TV, the analog kind. After doing my research on ShopLocal.com and Froogle, I decided to head for my friendly neighborhood Target store for a TruTouch TV on sale for $88.
You can tell what’s coming next, can’t you?
It can be such a hassle buying a TV when you’re deaf and only watch it with closed captions. First of all, I have never, ever seen any kind of audio-visual store where the captions were already on display. You have to ask for them. I estimate that at least 8 times out of 10, the salespeople have no idea what I’m talking about, and on the rare occasions they did, they haven’t the foggiest notion how to turn them on. These days, the fancier digital TVs have a remote control that requires a 200-page manual and an engineering degree to operate.
On to my saga. I went to the demo model in Target and turned it on. Nice picture, natural colors. I turned around and said to the salesperson, “May I please have the remote control so I can turn on the closed captions?”
She said, “I don’t have a remote control.”
I said, “I need to look at the closed captions before I purchase this TV, to make sure it works and looks nice. How about if I open the box and use the remote control on the demo model?”
She said OK, and proceeded to open the box with her box cutter. Luckily, the remote control was in a Styrofoam compartment right on top of the box, and she helpfully put in a couple of batteries from her stash under the counter. After pressing a few buttons on the remote trying to find the captions function, she handed it to me and asked if I could get them started.
Right around then, the floor manager came around and asked if he could help. He was a polite, youngish man with his long hair in a braid, a pierced eyebrow dumbbell stud, and the requisite computer-nerd horn-rimmed glasses and Dockers. I’d gotten stalled at the first menu list which did not list captions, so he quickly found the second menu page and turned the caption setting to “C1.”
The three of us waited for the captions to start playing on the demo TV. Nothing happened. No captions. Why? Because all the demo TVs were playing a tape from a central computer. The tape was all advertising, which of course was not closed-captioned.
I asked the manager, “Can you bring a DVD player, hook it up, and play a DVD?” He sent the salesperson to fetch it.
Attach DVD player to the demo TV, seek and find the remote for that too, and press play. Nothing happened. No captions.
Fortunately, the floor manager, Britt it says on his name tag, is a smart guy and good at problem-solving. He detached the DVD player and re-attached the cables to a Magnavox TV/DVD combo set on the shelf above. The salesperson scurried to find a remote for that one too.
Press “play.” Nothing happened. No captions.
I suggested to the manager, “I think you need to set the language options on the DVD itself. Can you go back to the menu of the DVD and select language options?”
Luckily, Britt is a smart guy who can accept direction and not question my every move (subtext: “just because I’m deaf.”). He went back to the main menu of the DVD, clicked language options, and selected English subtitles.
Press “play.”
Finally! Houston, we have captions. Very nice captions too, big and clear, on the movie “Lord of the Rings.” You’ve got a sale, Target. I happily jogged the half-mile to the checkout counters with my 50-pound prize stuffed in the red plastic shopping cart.
I wasn’t keeping my eye on the clock during this rigamarole, but think probably a good half hour was spent on this the transaction. I would call it successful because, due to some patient and creative problem-solving, I actually got to see the captions before I took my new TV home.
As I drove to work in the brilliant February sunshine, I reflected on what went right today. The one thing that probably made the biggest difference was that I went to Target during my lunch hour. I’m lucky that there is one within a 10 minute drive of my workplace. Between 11 and noon on a Friday, the store was practically empty. Less than a handful of customers were wandering around the audio-visual department at that time of day. The salesperson and manager were not busy, and able to give me their undivided attention. I had enough experience with TVs, DVDs, and remote controls that I knew what to ask for and when. I was assertive enough to express my needs. The salesperson and manager were savvy enough to accommodate me. I was polite and gracious. All in all, a win-win situation for me and Target.
Oh, and the TruTouch TV? It’s all right. Remember, you get what you pay for. The best thing that can be said for it is that the picture is nice and clear. It has one annoying idiosyncrasy, though. If you want to get a channel that has two digits, like 24, you have to push a button that labeled “-/--/---“. You have to push that button until “--“ shows, and then push 24. You have to do this every time! What a pain in the rear, because my favorite channels are 12, 24, 41, 42, 45, 50, and 67. Oh well. Good thing I’m not a channel surfer.
Matt Hamill is to fight on PPV tonight.
Don't forget folks. Matt Hamill, the first Deaf UFC fighter, is to fight Rex Holman tonight at 10 PM Eastern Time on Pay Per View. However, the first 10 main fighters will be the first to fight on PPV guaranteed. The other 8 relatively unknown fighters will fight on PPV only if the previous 10 fighters finished their fight early giving enough time for Matt Hamill and Rex Holman to fight next. There are a total of 18 fighters in this "The Uprising" UFC 68 fight and Matt is in the 6th lineup.
For a larger picture click HERE.
See all of my blogs on Matt Hamill and interviews.
For a larger picture click HERE.
See all of my blogs on Matt Hamill and interviews.
When Stalkers Do Their Thing - A Stark Reality.
Big news item of the day is the Mike "Did you spit on your first wife" Stark nutroot under the radar attack on Michelle Malkin by pretending to be a fan. Number one, anyone who throws questions like "Did you spit on your first wife?" after pushing past guards just to get close to Republican candidate George Allen is simply a sign of a loose canon. Secondly, by pretending to be a fan just so he could get a photograph with her and believes that she likes him is another symptom of neuron synapses not firing all in the right sequence. Perhaps it was Mike's subconscious desire to be a Republican conservative someday or in the fact secretly in love with Michelle Malkin? Then again what we have seen so far is not a good sign if one reads a recent study on stalking.
Not very encouraging information.
There are various forms and ways of stalking nowadays with technology into consideration. One is email. Another is to make use of a person's website or blogsite's commenting section. Or easily set up his/her own blogsite/website to describe the details or success of a stalking event. and describes the encounter with such emblazoned title as "Look who loves me!"
A typical stalker is described as such:
An erotic fantasy of Mike Stark's?
A recent study by the National Institute of Justice found that stalking was far more prevalent than anyone had imagined: 8% of American women and 2% of American men will be stalked in their lifetimes. That’s 1.4 million American stalking victims every year. The majority of stalkers have been in relationships with their victims, but a significant percentage either never met their victims, or were just acquaintances - neighbors, friends or co-workers.
Not very encouraging information.
There are various forms and ways of stalking nowadays with technology into consideration. One is email. Another is to make use of a person's website or blogsite's commenting section. Or easily set up his/her own blogsite/website to describe the details or success of a stalking event. and describes the encounter with such emblazoned title as "Look who loves me!"
A typical stalker is described as such:
The typical profile of delusional stalkers is that of an unmarried and socially immature loner, who is unable to establish or sustain close relationships with others. They rarely date and have had few, if any, sexual relationships. Since at the same time they are both threatened by and yearn for closeness, they often pick victims who are unattainable in some way; perhaps she is married, or has been the stalker’s therapist, clergyman, doctor or teacher. Those in the helping professions are particularly vulnerable to delusional stalkers, because for someone who already has difficulty separating reality from fantasy, the kindness shown by the soon-to-be victim, the only person who has ever treated the stalker with warmth, is blown out of proportion into a delusion of intimacy. What these stalkers cannot attain in reality is achieved through fantasy and it is for this reason that the delusion seems to be so difficult to relinquish: Even an imaginary love is better than no love at all.
An erotic fantasy of Mike Stark's?
These delusional stalkers have almost always come from a background which was either emotionally barren or severely abusive. They grow up having a very poor sense of their own identities. This, coupled with a predisposition toward psychosis, leads them to strive for satisfaction through another, yearning to merge with someone who is almost always perceived to be of a higher status (doctors, lawyers, teachers) or very socially desirable (celebrities). It is as if this stalker says, "Gee. If she loves me, I must not be so bad." As Dean Martin compellingly crooned what could be considered the delusional stalker’s anthem: "You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You." It is not unusual for this type of stalker to "hear" the soothing voice of his victim, or believe that she is sending him cryptic messages through othersYet he get to post on Arianna Huffington's blogsite about his time at CPAC while flying under the radar to report his story. Nothing wrong with that but to pose next to someone by pretending to be a fan while holding up a book that Michelle wrote is not what you'd call being of sound mind.
Friday, March 02, 2007
SLCC - much ado about nothing?
Check out all the links, presentations, visual drawings, plans, pdf files and slides about the SLCC building. To me the building looks to be about strong visual relationships with the people and that includes ASL. Heck, the Video Phone by Sorenson helped many people realize the value of technology and communication just as Marlee Matlin did in her presentation on Capitol Hill a few days ago on the importance of VRS. Where would YOU be without technology?
Also, read, "If you build it, we should come" and The challenge of next-generation on campus technology.
Technology, it's coming and it'll just get better. And it'll greatly add to ASL making it more widespread than ever before.
Also, read, "If you build it, we should come" and The challenge of next-generation on campus technology.
Technology, it's coming and it'll just get better. And it'll greatly add to ASL making it more widespread than ever before.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Lou Ferrigno "Hulk" Stops by at Bloggers' Row
The famous deaf actor known for his role as the mighty and temperamental green guy known as "The Hulk" stopped by today at "Bloggers' Row" where the 34th Annual Conservative Political Action Conference is currently taking place. And guess which booth he stopped by and greeted one of the well known Conservative blogger?
Lou Ferrigno with blogger Michelle Malkin
Are you a Republican or a Conservative? Deaf? Hard of hearing? Have you yet visited the Deaf Republicans website? Have you read the website's excellent article on "The Captioning Hoax Exposed! "? If you haven't then you may be missing out on getting the right info regarding some of the captioning myths you may have heard before.
Lou Ferrigno with blogger Michelle Malkin
Are you a Republican or a Conservative? Deaf? Hard of hearing? Have you yet visited the Deaf Republicans website? Have you read the website's excellent article on "The Captioning Hoax Exposed! "? If you haven't then you may be missing out on getting the right info regarding some of the captioning myths you may have heard before.
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