How to describe piano ragtime to a deaf person....

There are certain music I believe that most deaf people, especially those born with a hearing loss or lose it early in life, do not even know it exist or even care for it. One of that music is ragtime. I genre of music that I've come to know and enjoy immensely.

What is ragtime anyway? According to Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime," he aptly described ragtime music as "weird and intoxicating" when played right. Yeah, but that doesn't describe it does it? In ragtime on a piano it is the (melodic) syncopation of the right hand with the accented bass movement of the left hand. Chords do not define ragtime but the syncopated style that makes ragtime music recognizable. Which is why it's called "ragged time." Confused? Ok. The bare bones description. On the piano it combines the left hand bass movements (the "oom-pah oom-pah" feel to it) with the deep bass notes that you can actually feel the vibration. The right hand movements play the syncopated movements that produces the melody with an off-beat sound to it. This is mostly the higher notes which is harder to feel and detect its vibrations. With that combination of sound it gives that particular "weird and intoxicating" flavor of music to it.

It's hard to describe to a deaf person on why ragtime is so enjoyable and pleasing to listen to just as it's hard to describe to a blind person why a particular painting is so wonderful and pleasing to look at. Descriptions can only go so far. Other senses must be used help fill in this gap.

First, if you have a good set of speakers for your computer (or to an even larger, stronger external set of speakers) let's go to John Roache's website where he describes what ragtime is all about and a chance for you to feel (and perhaps hear) what it "sounds" like. John Roache is able to break it down into separate, identifiable music and when combined makes it into a ragtime music. In this case, he uses the familiar tune of "Mary had a little lamb" and turns that into a ragtime example.

All I can say is that as with jazz, stride piano, novelty piano, or even ragtime piano, one has to appreciate the musical qualities behind them in order to truly enjoy these genre periods. I don't expect Deaf people to understand why I enjoy and play ragtime piano except that I find it "weird and intoxicating" whenever I play it. It's a musical art that keeps on giving.

The value of work encounters for deaf and hard of hearing people

In a work setting where you work, how much do you value interaction among your peers or co-workers? Managers? Your supervisor? Boss? Clients? Customers? Ask yourself, how many interactions or encounters do you get in a day with hearing people? Conversational interactions include impromptu conversations, meeting conversations, hall conversations or office conversations. All of these things occur on average 80 times a day. But for many deaf or even hard of hearing people the conversational occurences with hearing people can sometimes drop down to almost zero, which is like having an office with a brick wall around a desk. Yet, barriers are meant to come down.

Not everybody is conversant in sign language, which includes deaf and hard of hearing people. Just because one has a hearing loss does not mean the person is knowledgeable in sign language. But fortunately, we have technology that can easily help bridge this communication gap very well. Not a 100% solution but with technology it can certainly bring up the number of conversational occurences in a typical work day, and boost your ranking and productivity among your co-workers, supervisors, managers, boss, and customers.

My technology is simply my digital hearing aid that I use everyday at work and has helped me use the phone, field radio, meetings, have conversations with my co-workers and customers. I often get stopped (or I do the same thing myself) by my co-workers and supervisor in hallways and discuss impromptu businesses aside from the normal day to day "How ya doing?" kind of thing. Whether if you're socially shy or not, the goal should be to see the number of conversational or interactive occurences go up high enough and be seen as a productive, engaging and independent worker rather than to subconsiously or consciously build that brick wall around you and your office space.

When hearing aids (or cochlear implants) cannot work for you there are means of using technology to boost that interactive communication level. One good example is the use of a face to face communication device such as the UbiDuo. This device enabled Jason Curry, who is the CEO and founder of sComm which is the maker of UbiDuo, see his own number of communication encounters rise high enough to see that his own productivity and successes soared beyond anything he could imagined.

With the UbiDuo, I am able to have about 40 encounters with my hearing staff in my office. The picture below shows me having a conversation with Jill Meyers, the COO of sComm. Jill and I talk about 15 to 20 times a day. We are able to strike up a conversation anytime on the UbiDuo and discuss work-related issues. If I didn’t have the UbiDuo, my encounter number will almost be zero — unless I had an interpreter sitting by me all day!

Jill and I talk about 15 to 20 times a day. We are able to strike up a conversation anytime on the UbiDuo and discuss work-related issues. If I didn’t have the UbiDuo, my encounter number will almost be zero — unless I had an interpreter sitting by me all day!

If you work with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, do you want their encounter number to be 40 or 50 instead of zero? The only time that a deaf or hard of hearing person ideally could have a face-to-face encounter with a hearing person is when they have an interpreter. As I’ve mentioned before, we are not trying to replace interpreters, but we are trying to increase the number of encounters for a deaf or hard of hearing person when an interpreter is not available.

The UbiDuo fills the gap when an interpreter is not available by increasing their number of encounters in professional or social situations. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, what do you want your encounter number to be?

Jason raised a very important point. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, what do you want your encounter number with hearing people be in your work setting? Exactly what kind of communication or assistive technology do you need that would help boost your number of interactive occurrences at your place of work? Each deaf or hard of hearing person's way of communicating varies from one to another depending on work and office settings. So, finding the right technology to suit your communication needs is the most important thing you can do for yourself, and your career.

Deaf pianist to attend Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival

Check out this blog on this deaf pianist who is slated to attend the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri this year June 2 - 6. The attendance to this festival is being sponsored by a communication company based in Missouri run by a deaf CEO.

Thumbs of Fury.... the fastest deaf Blackberry text user?

Do you think you have what it takes to type 75 wpm (words per minute) on a Blackberry phone QWERTY keyboard? Well, Mark Rejhon, a deaf Blackberry smart phone user thumbs his way into YouTube fame (not smashingly famous but you get my drift) my texting out words with his two thumbs at a rate of 75 wpm. Now, my little birdie tells me that perhaps a similar contest may take place later this year using only the Blackberry smartphone's QWERTY keyboard to become the fastest "thumberry" person alive, and win cash prizes. There's a twist to this contest I'm hearing but won't explain until later (if it is true about the contest and all). So, I guess there's time to practice and get your "thumberry" into hyperdrive. Meanwhile, enjoy Mark's "Thumbs of Fury" as he thumbs his way to 75 wpm.


Link to YouTube video

Do I support the Closed Captioning bill HR 3101?

NAD has the latest information regarding on trying to get Congress to pass a Closed Captioning bill this April 15 (HR 3101 -Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009 ) though it does not contain language to enforce YouTube or iPad.

There was a bill before HR 3101 and that is the H.R. 6320: Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008. That bill never became law and died in Congress. Congress moves slowly in passing laws while technology moves even faster and is based on demands, marketing potential, improving technology in the computer chip and programming sector, and a greater understanding of the need for closed captioning by corporate and public entities. Since the introduction of H.R. 6320 technology on closed captioning, especially over the internet, technology moved ahead with its own self-propelling captioning initiatives along with people who are passionate about closed captioning in getting it pushed out into the public mainstream.

Google adds real time automatic closed captioning although not perfect it's a start and they recognize the need and marketing potential as well. Google sets the stage and worldwide example on the importance of investing in captioning of videos whether on television or internet. And that speech recognition technology has now gone mainstream, this will only continue to improve to the point where all videos will automatically transcribed and include closed captioning. This is fast becoming a reality. Law or no law.

Hulu adds captioning to their movies and television shows. The list continues to grow.

Blackberry phones are beginning to have Closed Captioning capability to view videos on your smart phones' screen which is definitely smaller than a 13-inch screen television screen. So does the iPhone.

Captioning is available on digital television as opposed to analog television where a 13-inch screen exempts it from any captioning requirement. A digital television is different set of technology that includes captioning where it continues to improve.

The Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 (“TDCA”) requires, generally, that television receivers contain circuitry to decode and display closed captioning. Specifically, the TDCA requires that “apparatus designed to receive television pictures broadcast simultaneously with sound be equipped with built-in decoder circuitry designed to display closed-captioned television transmissions when such apparatus is manufactured in the United States or imported for use in the United States, and its television picture screen is 13 inches or greater in size.”

The Federal Communication Commission\'s Digital TV (DTV) proceeding incorporated an industry approved transmission standard for DTV into
its rules. The standard included a data stream reserved for closed captioning information. However, specific instructions for implementing closed captioning services for digital television were not included. The Electronics Industries Alliance (EIA), a trade organization representing the U.S. high technology community, has since adopted a standard, EIA-708 (High Definition Closed Captioning for purposes of this document), that provides guidelines for encoder and decoder manufacturers as well as caption providers to implement closed captioning services with DTV technology. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in its DTV proceeding, the FTC proposed to adopt a minimum set of technical standards for closed caption decoder circuitry for digital television receivers in accordance with Section 9 of the EIA-708 standard and to require the inclusion of such decoder circuitry in DTV receivers.

Simultaneous closed captioning companies in finding a niche market that exploit closed captioning needs.

Closed captioning included in DVR via TiVo.

ETV is metadata that cable providers recently began integrating into their broadcasts, and the TiVo patent will allow the company to sync both this as well as closed caption information and display it in an interactive method. This includes closed captioning text, a menu or digital video and sound effects. TiVo also promises more advanced uses thanks to this type of technology, such as marking sections of a program they find particularly interesting and then sharing them with friends who also have a TiVo DVR.

Prior to the patent award on February 9th, TiVo already offered ways for customers to view closed caption data, and viewers can also subscribe to a show or order more product information when watching a commercial.

ABC takes the lead on internet captioning.

HTML5 captioning effort with demo videos of an earlier HTML5 version.




What I've listed so far is just an short example of things to come in the world of closed captioning (or subtitling). Let the market forces send a message to corporate and public entities on providing closed captioning on digital tv, smart phones, and online videos over the internet. The trend is clear and that technology is increasingly making it easier, such as YouTube's automatic captioning service, for companies and businesses to include captioning in their videos, whatever the format.

I have mixed feelings about getting the government involved to force companies to comply, especially when technology continues to leap frog ahead with the embedding of closed captioning as a standard practice. Let the market dictate this direction at this point in time. Consider where we were 2 to 4 years ago for online captioning opportunities. There were essentially none. Currently, the trend in captioning is clearly picking up. It's a matter of time till captioning is done as part of any video programming since advertising and marketing pressures will help ensure that. And that social awareness and consciousness will be another factor in pushing closed captioning to the top of their collective consciousness. Bottom line? It's coming and without the need for government intervention to make closed captioning mandatory for all online videos. Technology moves faster than the government could in trying to pass a bill. And that's encouraging.

Texting and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome...a danger to deaf people?

In a Foxnews story a 16 year girl was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome of her wrists recently lost some feelings in her hands and was unable to pick up certain objects. This was due to excessive texting, constraining her fingers, hands and wrists over a smart phone keyboard which eventually affected her nerves in her wrists. This is known as "Repetitive Strain Injury" (RSI). Along with this affliction, it's not uncommon for many text users to experience thumb pain known as Blackberry Thumb.

Since texting is the number one communication method among most Deaf (or culturally deaf) and deaf cell phone users it comes with an added risk for those who also communicate preferably through signing. This is perhaps true among teens who are among the most prolific group of all phone texting users.

Teenagers sending and receiving an average of 80 text messages each day may be vulnerable to repetitive stress injuries of the thumb, according to the New York Times. As with Blackberry Thumb, compulsive texting can cause cramping, pain or numbness. While previous reports have stated that teens seem largely immune to Blackberry Thumb and that problems (like tendonitis) tend to crop up in patients in their 40s and 50s, the long-term effects of frequent texting are unknown. Ergonomics researchers are just beginning to study texting's impact, according to the Times.

Here are some statistics on texting:

* 72.2% of wireless users have paid for SMS packages. This equates to 203 million Americans.
* 57% of wireless users 13+ are considered regular text message users.
* There has been a 107% increase in text message use in the USA in the past year.
* 2.5 billion text messages are sent each day in the USA.
*More text messages are sent per phone than phone calls. The average
text messages used per month is 357 compared to 204 cell phone calls.
*15 million Americans used video on their cell phones in quarter two, 2008.
*138 million Americans have sent a text message in the past three months.

Not only are short texting popular you have Instant Messaging (IM) that are much more heavily used with longer conversations than short messages seen in SMS. On Facebook alone some 1 billion IMs are sent each day. Chatting or texting gives users greater privacy and are done in silence as opposed to talking on their cell phones heard by anybody within an ear shot.

The number of smart phones sold is rapidly on the rise so will the amount of texting/chatting that will increasingly merge URL linking to videos, music, webpages, and mobisodes/webisodes (and you thought TV soap operas were bad?)into their everyday smart phone communication. Which means more conversations using the QWERTY keyboard on smart phones to communicate.

Will this be a good thing or bad for deaf/hh smart phone users? Will we see an increase on fingers and hands related injuries or pain because of the constant texting that could affect deaf/hh people who signs? Are companies who offfer short text messaging or Instant Messaging be liable for people's hands and fingers injuries? Or are the makers of QWERTY keypads for smart phones be responsible for the supposedly "poor" ergonomics design?

Who is ultimately responsible?

The answer is that the smart phone users are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the health of their hands, wrists and fingers. Whether a person is prone to injuries or not there are ways to reduce the chances of injuries, pain or discomfort when it comes to texting or chatting on their smart phone.

If it's bad and quite painful, take a "Sabbatical" break for a few weeks off. This is almost like going cold turkey but if it's affecting your signing ability and that it is painful, your body is telling you an important message and that is to stop! If that's seems "impossible" then work out a plan to reduce the amount of time you use your smart phone. Include other exercises to help your hands, fingers and wrists.

Virgin Mobile has a website on exercises you can do to help alleviate the pain and discomfort. Or perhaps buy a contraption that supposedly helps strengthen your hands and fingers. But a cheap and simple sure-fire way of strengthening your hands and fingers is to get a bucket of sand and do some sand digging and finger extension exercises, among other exercises seen here.

The responsibility is yours alone on the health of your hands, fingers, and wrists when it comes to texting and chatting on your smart phones. More than likely if you are a smart phone user you will find yourself using the QWERTY keyboard more often as smart phones continue to improve and the desire to reach out and touch someone becomes even more irresistible.

Closed Captioning support for Blackberry Phones

Just like the iPhone, Blackberry fans can access a new version of a "do-it-yourself caption-authoring" tool for digital media. ow buy phones that have captioning support for uploaded videos that come with captioning.

which can be used to create closed-captioned videos formatted for playback on BlackBerry® smartphones. As before, authors can continue to write captions once and export them to formats compatible with QuickTime, Windows Media, RealPlayer and Flash.
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Support for closed-captioned content playback is available on BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry Device Software version 5.0 and newer, including the BlackBerry Storm2™ smartphone, BlackBerry Bold 9700™ smartphone and BlackBerry Curve™ 8530 smartphone models.

Very cool, and very savvy in the marketing sense that takes aim at a potential market of 30+ million people with hearing loss in the U.S. (and even more outside). And if you have a Blackberry Storm2 9520/9550 smartphones then you're in luck since they already come with captioning support.

I'm sure from now on all newer BB phones will have closed captioning support just like the Blackberry Storm2 phones.