Sponsors Needed for Greg Gunderson

Last week I blogged an exclusive announcement about Greg Gunderson who is to become the first deaf NASCAR driver with Kansas Speedway's full support and committment to Greg's dream of becoming a NASCAR driver. But first Greg must get one year of experience on driving on asphalt either in the ARCA or ASA racing series before moving up to the NASCAR big time racing venue. But before Greg can race, he'll need money to be able to support his racing team and racing car. How much money? Between $1.5 to $2.0 million dollars as a start. But to get into the NASCAR racing the amount of money could easily sky-rocket as high as $20 million as reported in USAToday on racing sponsorships.


Jascon Curry, president of sComm and official UbiDuo sponsor for
Greg Gunderson, pose on the Kansas Speedway track last year.


If you take look at a race car driver's firesuit and the racing car itself, you'll see lots of different company logos. All those companies are sponsors who have paid lots of money to support the driver and his/her racing team.

Now, why sponsor? Consider some of the facts about NASCAR fans and the racing sport.


• 75 million fans (one in three American adults) follow NASCAR.

• Number-two sport on television in the U.S.

• 17 of the 20 highest attended sporting events in the US in 2002 were NASCAR events.

• $2.1 billion in licensed product sales in 2003, among more than 200 licensees.

• More Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.

• NASCAR racing is televised weekly in more than 150 countries.

• Season spans 10 months of competitive, side-by-side racing at events all over the U.S.

• Weekly “Big Event” often drawing larger crowds than a Super Bowl, NBA Finals game, and World Series game combined.

• 75 million fans: 60% male and 40% female

• 40 million “hard core” fans

• Broad age spread: 32% between the ages of 18-34; 58% between the ages of 18-44

• Fan base is more affluent than the U.S. population: 42% earn $50,000+ per year

• Even geographic mix: Northeast 20%, Midwest 24%, South 38%, West 19%

NASCAR fans understand the need for sponsorship. Among hardcore fans!:

• 92% say drivers could not run their cars without sponsors’ support

• 93% say NASCAR is the kind of sport that needs corporate sponsorship.

• 85% know which companies sponsor NASCAR and its drivers.

Fans seek out and purchase sponsors products to support their favorite sport, team and drivers:

• NASCAR fans are three times more likely to purchase sponsor’s products.

• 72% of fans are more likely to buy a NASCAR sponsored product than a similar product not NASCAR related.

• Hard core fans spend more than $700 on licensed products annually, and consume 8 hours of NASCAR programming weekly.

Race Attendance:

• NASCAR reaches every corner of the country with 1,800 racing events in 36 states at more than 110 tracks.

• More than 13 million NASCAR fans attended the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series during the 2003 season. (Source: NASCAR, tracks, Industry statistics)


In short, a heavily favored sports event with lots and lots of television and fan exposures that are ideal to help advertise a company's product.

So far, we have one very good and promising lead of a very large and internationally known company who may do a sponsorship deal but Greg Gunderson will need many more sponsors to make this work. Anywhere from 10 to 15 sponsors depending on how much a company is willing to spend and support a racing team. This is an unique opportunity for sponsorship because of the potential promotional opportunities and national exposure associated with a first ever deaf NASCAR driver. Imagine the additional media coverage on Greg Gunderson which translates into additional coverage for companies sponsoring Greg Gunderson. But remember, Greg must do at least a year of racing on aspalt pavement in the ARCA or ASA racing series before moving up into the NASCAR racing event.

So, pass the word out. Blog about it. Email this blog article to your friends. And if you're reading this and you run or own a company, this sponsorship deal might be the ticket for your company.

Contact Greg Gunderson if you're interested on becoming a sponsor for Greg Gunderson and his ARCA/ASA racing team as a start.

No Students at Vlog/Blog Conference?

Amy Cohen Efron touched upon a topic in her vlog regarding the number of people present at the conference. You can see it on Daveynin's Thing that noticeably shows a picture of some chairs sit unoccupied (or go here at the Flickr site). Although this was shot near the beginning of the conference and I did see a slight increase on those empty chairs becoming occupied along with several more people standing just outside of the conference room. Perhaps the became mildly interested as they passed through the SAC building on their way to their Post Office.

The conference was plainly open to anyone who happened to walk into the main building area of the IKJ SAC. Still, Amy wondered, as well as many of us perhaps, whether the lack of students who did not show up was because of the lack of advertising. Or was it something else that we don't know about? Why didn't we see a chock-full of students sitting in those chairs along with many others standing and milling around just outside of Gallaudet's Sprint Multi-purpose Room trying to see what's being said by panelists where the live webcast conference took place?

I, too, noticed all this but it was before the beginning when I first arrived at Gallaudet's Sprint Multipurpose Room about 45 minutes before it was set to began at 9 AM. Jill was there trying to get things readied. Nearly hyperventilating while she tried line up the rows of chairs with accurate precision. Ok. I'm fibbing here. But I did step in and I was the first person to introduce myself to her in person but she had to guess who I was first. And, of course, she guessed it correctly. Although I arrived on campus a full two hours earlier at 7 AM, I took my time as I strolled across the campus to see what was new and not. Looking back, I don't remember seeing any paper advertisement. If they were on those advertising boards like ones in the SAC building, I didn't see them. Of course, I didn't bother to really take a closer look either.

Now, this observation of mine is not meant to be critical. What's important is that the video of the conference has gotten out to the masses via in a live format reaching out to many, many, many people. No doubt about that. And the archived videos of the four panels are now available and will reach even more people over the next several months until the next Blogger/Vlogger Conference at Gallaudet (keeping fingers crossed). This is a good faith exercise of mine on examining on not what went wrong, which is a negative word, but what we can do so that the next Blogger/Vlogger Conference will be even more successful.

Here are my observations on the possibilities of why few Gallaudet students watched the conference at the IKH Student Academic Center?

1. They didn't know it was going to take place at Gallaudet? Lack of flyers around campus letting them know?

2. Well, the conference did take place on a Saturday. I guess we all can remember what we were like sleeping in on a Saturday morning til about 11 or 12 PM after a long, *ahem*, night of studying on a Friday night. No, seriously. ;-)

3. Not many students at Gallaudet actually read blogs that often (but that might change with the increase on deaf/hh vloggers). Now, this could actually be plausible. Why? Well, I have a Sitemeter on my blogsite (scroll down at the very bottom to see the button) that records the IP addresses of those who visited my blog. I noticed people from Gallaudet do visit my blog but not that many compared to the rest of them from all over the United States and other countries. Very small by comparison with the exception of during the protest period.

4. Although students may have been informed via bloggers/vloggers, forums, IMs, emails and such who talked about the upcoming conference. They may have simply been not interested to spend a *WHOLE DAY* on a Saturday (remember, Saturdays are precious times for a student to spend their time on something better like, again, sleep in. Ok. Maybe that's not the only reason) to watch a bunch of older vloggers and bloggers who are mostly in their 30s, 40s and 50s. There were no younger bloggers or vloggers around at the conference that I could see. Especially of those who are currently a student at Gallaudet University. Although Gallaudet University does have a blogsite for Gallaudet students to participate in although many of the topics are not as sophisticated nor broadly covered on many different issues including deaf and non-deaf issues.

I did a bit more research on this whether there is an apparent lack of interest on blogging by Gallaudet University students. After looking around I concluded that it does appear that there is a general disinterest on blogging itself. Seriously, if you think about this, there are more bloggers or vloggers who older and/or are alumni of Gallaudet Unversity than there are Gallaudet students who do blog/vlog. Why is this so? Perhaps it has to do with having more time, confidence and resources to do the blogging work. I suppose many students would rather spend their time, if I'm not mistakened, on deaf forums, chats, emails and IMs rather than do the actual blogging itself which would be like doing more homework to them. Kind of makes sense if you look at it that way. Not a very glamorous nor exciting to do so. This could all boil down to the simple fact that the younger and older generations have a different agenda when it comes to Gallaudet University.

Yet Gallaudet University tries to get students and educators interested into blogging. I'm sure there'll be an increase on student vloggers in the near term since vlogging is a recent development but I would suggest that computer labs and library install some webcams so students can have a choice between vlogging or blogging. And have special rooms that can allow students to vlog more effectively and professionally (a la Joey Baer). Although I will maintain that encouraging and developing one's own writing skill would prove much more beneficial in the long run.

Now, I don't think this conference message went entirely unnoticed because this was an event that was attended mostly by alumni of Gallaudet University rather than students curious enough to attend. Perhaps the word "blogging" scared students off? But it is nice to know that the four archived videos of the four panel sessions will go not unwatched either. They will be a good source of educational materials for Gallaudet classrooms to have and discuss this semester and the next following semesters for years to come. Gallaudet professors, are you listening? Dr. Davila, are you listening, too? Do students know even how to blog? Do they even know what a blog/vlog is?

All is not lost upon the students on missing the conference. What could probably be more well served right now is to have conference videos uploaded on YouTube and Google videos and have them tagged under "deaf," "conference," and "Gallaudet" and get them circulated out into the public some more.

Regardless of what people may say, I say that this conference was a smashing success out there on the internet and will be discussed for years to come.

The C2I Conference Polls

Below are some polls you can take a part in that are related to the recent Vlog/Blogger Conference that took place at Gallaudet recently this Saturday. Also, videos of the conference are now available online on the C2I website! Check them out if you missed it the first time.

Speakers at the conference used words like "diversity," "deafhood", "technology," "education," "cochlear implant" and even "identity" during the Vlog/Blogger C2I Conference at Gallaudet. All this took place before a live internet camera feed. Imagine that. Nobody got stage fright although right before "Wildstarryskiess" (Katie Roberts) took her turn at the podium I told her that probably a million people will be watching her. Heh he heh... She did well anyway. But it is not clear on how big of an internet audience we had with people tuning in to watch the live conference feed that lasted from 9 AM until 5 PM. Certainly there were more people watching the C2I Conference over the internet than a big roomful of people sitting and standing who watched the conference in person.

Now, there's a good possibility that this could take place again next year but somebody else will have to take the reign since Jill Bradbury will not do this. There were lots of favorable reviews and applause by those who commented on the 2007 C2I Conference. Many asked the question on whether this conference will take place again next year in 2008.

So, we asked Jill on the amount of money it took to bring vloggers and bloggers to campus (e.g. airfare, hotel, food, rental car cost, etc) along with interpreters, captioners, camera equipment and have it set up for a live conference webcast. She said the whole thing cost about $13,000. With that in mind it would be reasonable to expect a cost between $15,000 to $20,000 for a much better and improved "2nd Annual C2I Conference." The question is, how should we set this up for next year and where will the money come from and how?

Now, go and do your polls. I'm sure people are interested in seeing the results.


Poll #1:

What Did You Think of The Conference?
	It was Great!
	It was good.
	I'm neutral on this
	It wasn't really that good.
	Terrible!
pollcode.com free polls

Poll #2:

Would You Like to See "Coalition for Critical Inquiry" C2I Become an Annual Event at Gallaudet?
	Yes!
	Not Sure.
	No.
pollcode.com free polls

Poll #3:

Do you support Mike McConnell's use of his voice to speak at the C2I conference?
	Yes.
	No.
	Not sure.
pollcode.com free polls

Go here to see why I choose to use my voice.

Would you be willing to donate money for next year's 2nd Annual C2I Conference?
	Yes.
	No.
	Not sure.
pollcode.com free polls

UPDATE: Just to make it clear, the annual conference would be the vlog/blog type (ie "2nd Annual Vlog/Blog Conference" just as Jill said) as well as other important contributors like last week. But it certainly would involve the necessary critical thinking and discussion at the next Vlog/Blog conference event at Gallaudet.

Richard's Gone Mad!

Richard, a good deaf friend of mine, showed up unexpectedly at the Vlog/Blogger Conference at Gallaudet recently this past Saturday on his way to London for his business trip. I am sure a few of those who attended the conference had the chance to meet with Richard. His driving, *ahem*, skill on the Autobahn in Germany is known among his circle of deaf and hearing friends. The Autobahn is known for it's allowed high speed driving. Even at 164 mph doesn't faze him (check out the video for proof) while he drives his high-powered V-10 Volkswagen Phaeton on the Autobahn. Too bad the United States does not have such a highway, unless you want to try and count Montana as one which introduced a paradox. It produced one of the lowest fatality rate for the state.

In 1999, after 4 years of no numerical or posted daytime speed limit on these classifications of highways, outside of urban areas, Montana recorded its lowest fatality rate.

Ok. Now, should deaf people be allowed to drive at high but allowed speed?

Note. That was a rhetorical question.

If you thought Richie was crazy. Consider this biker on the Autobahn hitting 300 km/hr which equates to 186 mph! Talk about a human land missile! He'd be a speck of dust in the rearview mirror and by the time you look again he'd whizz by you.

Patty Albee's C2I Conference Notes

Here are Patty Albee's C2I conference notes. She, too, did not have enough time to say what she wanted to say. Plus, her notes may be read by those who have missed the live webcast or could use these notes as a closer inspection on what she was trying to say.

Patty Albee's notes:

I’d like to start by talking about the technology everyone fears most as being possibly the one thing that could extinguish ASL and Deaf culture completely – cochlear implants. After all, now that universal hearing screenings are becoming a reality, Deaf babies can be implanted as early as 1 year of age. Since hearing screenings are done in a hospital, it is medical personnel who identify the hearing loss, that often means they are the parents’ only channel to information about deafness, and more likely to be steered to a CI center instead of the Deaf community. There is concern that the medical field is not being realistic with parents about, and not giving full information on exactly how much benefit a deaf baby can reasonably get from an implant. The success of the implant depends on how early the procedure is done, and the implanted child still needs training on using it. The implant doesn’t make the process of associating sounds with meaningful language as effortless as it is with a hearing baby, but it helps a great deal. Some studies say that only 30% of implanted children are successfully mainstreamed into regular education without services. That means that the other 60% will need some type of services. In the future, hearing technologies will only get better, and include stem cell replacement and the like.

What this means for Gallaudet is that with more and more deaf children receiving implants, it’s more likely that those children will be mainstreamed and then more likely to consider a hearing university than Gallaudet. So Gallaudet could be facing a smaller and smaller number of potential applicants, especially if ASL will be the language of instruction at Gallaudet. On the other hand, since children with implants are still aware of their hearing limitations, they may not totally assimilate into hearing culture, still feel different from the mainstream, and want to seek out others like themselves. Today at Gallaudet there are students who were some of the earliest recipients of implants back in the 80s and it’s amazing that they came here at all! Just goes to show that hearing status is not the only thing that defines Deaf culture. I think just because we have implants does not necessarily mean that the Deaf community is doomed to disappear.

One side affect of mainstreaming is that few deaf students come to an ASL environment not having mastered either ASL or English. This happens because students learn their sign language from hearing adults such as teachers who in turn learned their sign language at a class in college, instead of from deaf adult language models. Many school districts interpret the term “least restrictive environment” to mean fully included in regular education with hearing peers, rather than a deaf institute where the student could have 100% communication access with peers and adult language models. And because 90% of parents of deaf children are hearing, and in most cases have never met a deaf person before, there is a lack of knowledge and misconceptions about how deaf children learn to communicate. Nonetheless, the experience of deafness is a common bond among all, and each individual understands, if not empathizes with, the visual communication needs of others. So what might happen in a classroom is that there could be a mishmash of languages and communication modes, and that might become the norm rather than standard ASL.

Let’s talk about the technology of yesterday and how far it’s come just in less than 20 years. When I was at Gallaudet in 1989, I had never used a computer for anything besides playing games before. The operating system was MS-DOS 3.0. Does anyone here remember MS-DOS? There was no mouse, only keyboard commands that had to be memorized. There was basically one widely used word processing software, and that was WordPerfect 4.0. Mice were coming into use around that time but were not widespread yet. A computer that had a hard drive of 80 MB was considered top of the line! For email we had VAX. That’s what we were using at Gallaudet in 1989.

Let’s talk about the technology we have TODAY. High speed Internet, wireless Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, various types of imaging software and hardware, text pagers, PDAs, instant messaging, Tivo, DV-R, smart boards, and video camera capabilities, to name just a few. However, it’s important to recognize that these technologies are only tools, NOT substitutes for a teacher. Especially because so many of these technologies are visual imaging tech, they can actually make the job of teaching easier since deaf people are visual learners. It still takes a trained teacher who understands deaf learners to put a lesson together, providing that they understand how to use it in the first place.
I can see Gallaudet’s enrollment expanding because of increased use of distance learning (online courses) taught with VPs and Blackboard. Not only that, but parents of Deaf infants, and hearing infants too, can take sign language classes online so that Deaf babies can be exposed to a visual language starting from birth. Deaf toddlers and their parents can take self-paced reading instruction programs using their computers, VP, and a signing teacher that can be either a real person or a simulacrum (is that the right word?). Literacy will increase because of early language exposure. What’s exciting is that the technology is already here, it just needs refining.
Will there even be a classroom? With video conferencing technology, could Gallaudet classes be expanded to students all over the world? Absolutely yes! At the school where I work, we have two Polycom videoconference rooms. The advantage of a Polycom and other systems over a standard web cam is that it has a field of 180 degrees, and the picture quality is so much better. The Polycom also requires a much faster connection speed, something that’s extremely expensive (thousands of dollars per month just for the connection) that not all schools have or can afford at this time. In the future, there will be much less reliance on the traditional educational setup of one teacher and many students in a classroom, staying in classes continuously from 8 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. Instead, there could be one student and many teachers, not limited by geographic location, and class schedules can become more flexible regarding the times and locations. The student would also have the option of selecting a language or communication mode that he/she understands best. This might allow deaf people in the workforce to continue their studies of English and other academic subjects in their preferred mode of communication. I visualize deaf education of the future as having regional centers such as at Ohlone College, physically located in major metropolitan areas, but accessible via satellite and Internet to deaf students anywhere in the country and the world. This makes lifelong learning possible no matter where one lives, whether in an isolated rural area or a big city. Deaf individuals could continue their formal education throughout the lifespan, not just the K-12 or college years. In addition, it can be a means of preserving ASL and maintaining a standard lexicon for future generations of deaf children to use.

Taking that idea even further, do you suppose that if all deaf children were to become literate in English at their grade/ability level, there would be no further need for Gallaudet at all? What if in the future, all education will be delivered by programmed simulacra, simultaneously in sign language, spoken English, other spoken languages, or captions — the “user” selects his/her communication mode at the touch of a key. Seems like kids nowadays spend so much time in front of a TV or computer, it would be the next logical step for them to get their readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic from a video teacher in a massive multiplayer online school.

I’m really excited about the possibilities of technology to reach out to parents who otherwise would never learn of the existence of Deaf culture, Deaf people, and ASL. Through video technology, deaf individuals who would not ordinarily have the opportunity to meet other deaf people and learn about sign language in addition to the shared interests like sports, literature, entertainment, games, crafts, and so on.

C2I Conference - why did I use my voice?

Well. The first Vlog/Blogger Conference at Gallaudet University has come and gone. It was a refreshing sight to see serious and thoughtful discussions, and the exchanges of ideas rather than a debate for a change. I'm sure if you watched the whole live webcast you'd have seen me speak vocally rather than sign. Let me take another opportunity here to explain as I tried to do so that at the beginning of my presentation at Gallaudet. And then I'll toss in some of my notes and further thoughts on this whole C2I conference.

First off. Congrats to Jill Bradbury for pulling this off. This was no small feat and she had to overcome many obstacles to get this one done. Can't wait til next year (?) to see another C2I conference. Will it be an annual thing? Time will tell. Many thanks to interpreters and captioners and everybody else involved in this historic event. It'll be recorded prominently in Annals of Gallaudet University.

Met a few familiar faces. Amy Cohen saw me and looked directly at me and she still didn't recognized me! She said she had to look at my side profile of my face to recognize me. Har har Amy.

Met Jamie Burke. Finally! Hello to her and continued luck with the blogging. Also, Kristi Merriweather was there and met and had a good time and opportunity to chat more with her in person for a change. Chris Huer was there and we got off to a good start on getting to know each other. Take heart, Chris. You did good no matter what people will say. Met my old chemistry teacher, Prof. Michael Moore. He still remembers me and some nice chats throughout the day. I also had a nice chat with Jane Norman who got a kick out of watching me play the piano. Heh heh.... Lots of positive reviews by people who saw me play the piano. For those who voted "No" on whether I should put my video up of me playing the piano on my blog, do you really think that your votes of "no" would've stop me? ;-) Glad to see that everybody had a good time. Meeting up with old friends and makiing new ones.

For those in Deafreedom land, "Wiggums" was there. Nice surprise! He used had a stopover flight in D.C. for several hours before the next flight out to Europe! For those who didn't come to the C2I conference when "Wiggums" was there is now officially on Wiggums' "bad list".

Now, on to my explanation for the speaking part.

I speak all the time. This is what I do at work. My train of thought is better when I speak. I speak at a similar capacity at work in front of groups of people that I deal with the public on environmental issues and water since I do work for the Federal government responsible for 1.1 million acres of government lands. I prepare presentations all the time. I deal with the concerned public on environmental issues either individually or in large groups, which, of course, at times I'm considered to be the target.

:-)

Now, I spoke also only because the C2I conference had voice and ASL interpreters, and a real time captioner available for the audience sitting in the seats before me and for the people out on the internet. Had it not any of the interpreters I would have signed. But in this case my preference has always been to talk and listen because i do well with it. And just as well an opportunity to showcase my point about choice and communication access. Not that I'm trying oppress anybody because of what I just did which would be ludicrous. That was an example of diversity where I am at one end of the spectrum as a deaf person who is hard of hearing. This is my identity. It always has been. And I'm still in the same boat with you and anybody else among the 30 million people with hearing loss in the United States. We all share very similar communication issues and concerns.

Now, this conference consisted mostly of three separate and consistent theme. And those are technology, communication, and education. My notes below consisted mostly about technology and how technology is the key when it comes to interaction and communication. I believe it's important to toss in my notes here because I believe Gallaudet is at a critical juncture in its survival right now. In other words, Gallaudet University must somehow re-invent itself, for the lack of a better word.

Note, some of my notes may be redundant. As always, there are lots of ideas out there that people may have on what to do about Gallaudet's future. In my honest and professional opinion is that technology is the key here for Gallaudet to survive and compete with the outside world. We MUST develop the technology on campus because we know what we want.

My conference notes for my presentation:

1. Technology - take advantage of this!

2. Communication - be involved!

3. Education - spread out knowledge, info, and raise that bar!

Ok. Here are my notes along with some modifications that I tried to convey last night but didn't have time. I will now clarify here on my blog.


"The Futuristic Classroom". What does it mean?

• Is it about the ability to interact?

• Is it about communication needs and preferences?

• Is it about accessibility when it comes to the free flow of information whether coming from a computer or human being?

• Is a “futuristic classroom” on campus only?

• How about off campus?

• Is it always about classrooms? What about outside of classrooms? Can learning take place outside of the classrooms?


What should we expect in a “Futuristic Classroom”?


• Technology seen in classrooms ought to reflect equally well the technology we would see on campus when it comes to communication and interaction.

• It ought to be seamless.

• Intuitive. Of common sense. Completely accessible and very transparent.

• A "no-brainer" (pardon the pun) campus the moment you step in at the front gate.

• The campus should be intuitively clear that Gallaudet is a university accessible to everyone at any time.

• Especially so for a Deaf person stepping onto the campus for the very first time seeing that technology along with service is leap years ahead of everybody's expectation on how a campus should function.

• The front gate is our advertisement to the world that they are invited to come in and without worry when it comes to their and, especially so, deaf people communication need where signing is the preferred mode of communication.


Is technology critical to Gallaudet University’s success?

• Yes. Extremely important.

• Why? Technology is moving faster than ever before. Technology and performance doubles every 2 years.

• Technology will play a major role in how we will interact with anyone on and off campus.

• We must plan 2 to 4 years in advance and take into consideration future technology not quite ready for the market but has been demonstrated such as the flat screen panel that’s thick as a playing card you can put up on a wall.

• We must also plan 5 to 10 years down the road on how technology can be integrated successfully all over the campus and in classrooms.


What area of technology is growing so fast?

• (describe computer chip speed and memory)
• cell phones
• internet connection
• voice recognition – it is widely being used today. Many cell phones have voice recognition features built into them. 
• ASL or sign language recognition later on down the road but potentially critical for Gallaudet survival and propagation and preservation of ASL.


What can we do?

• Gallaudet must RE-INVENT itself!
• This is critical to Gallaudet University’s success and survival.
• Technology is the key.
• Look around the conference room.
• Today’s conference is a perfect example of how technology is helping you, Gallaudet University, and future students to continue to thrive and succeed.
• Technology is key to the preservation and, even, propagation of ASL.
• ASL was never in danger in the first place!


Must have a program established on campus. One idea is to have what you called “Media Lab”. Media doesn’t necessarily mean “news” or “info” but how we use and spread information and ideas by incorporating the value of communication on all levels. An experimental campus. Must establish a core research area on Gallaudet that can become recognized as an important scientific "Think Tank" on campus. Everybody is involved. Even kids since sometime they bring up the darndest and great suggestion.

• Need to keep people who have done computer/technology work relating to communication on campus of Gallaudet. Such as Christian Vogler, who will leave Gallaudet this April, who has done his PhD work on computer ASL-recognition and facial recognition. Lots of valuable time, resources and money were put into him will be lost upon Gallaudet when he leaves. Also, same goes for other people who have done similar work. We need to bring those people on board and begin the real serious research and must have the full support of Gallaudet University.

• Must use technology on campus and develop better technology because we know what we are looking for and want.

• Why wait for technology to happen when the researchers, students and other contributors on campus can make it happen first and earlier?

• There are no engineering program at Gallaudet. Why not?
• Establish computer science and electrical engineering program on campus. Use existing consortium universities and their engineering classrooms to help fill the engineering gap at Gallaudet in the meantime.
• This may lead to the increased potential of retaining engineering students at Gallaudet. Perhaps develop masters program? Use consortium universities?
• Have students develop a need to have this "Media Lab" which may help keep students on campus and not quit early or go home.
• We must employ greater use of the consortium program.
• As a requirement, undergraduates (and perhaps graduates) need to attend at least 2 to 4 classes at one of the 13 universities in and around D.C. as part of their graduation requirement.
• Why?
• Because we will always interact with hearing and deaf.


What’s more is that We are seeing this capability today. Compared to 5 years ago, just think of the kind of technology we didn’t have. And think where we may be in 5 to 7 years from now.

Digital convergence

University of Idaho engineering outreach

Consortium universities – how many of them are wired and accessible. A “webcam” in every classrooms?
universities that are a part of the consortium program


Establish a new program that will support researchers at the graduate and staff level, as well as professors who are in the area of technology and communication accessibility.

For example, Christian Vogler who is deaf and has a PhD who worked in the area of ASL-recognition research where computers would learn to recognize ASL movements and decipher them.

Invent the technology here on campus and patent them which could be a source of revenue in the future.

A “mini-MIT” campus so to speak.

What program would be ideal to start with?

Have a program called “Media Lab”.

It does not necessarily mean “news” or “info”. It is about how information is used and propagated. It is how we interact with each other on the social level is where we get our new information.

Related blog - Voice is way, way better than ASL!

Greg Gunderson First Deaf NASCAR Driver!

Exclusive breaking news! For the first time only, anywhere, on Kokonut Pundits blog I am proud to announce for Jason Curry that Greg Gunderson will become the first ever Deaf NASCAR driver! The KS Speedway is now officially working with Greg Gunderson to help him become the first Deaf NASCAR driver in racing history!

The official announcement came last week on Friday, January 26, during the VIP cocktail party for numerous celebrities, sponsors and committee members at The Cordish Company Offices in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. Celebrities and well known people such as Mayor Barnes, George Brett, some of the Kansas City Chiefs football players, Indy Car driver Vitor Meira, Craftsman Truck Driver Terry Cook, Johnny Sauter and many other NASCAR drivers.




George Brett former
pro-baseball player.



Bernard Pollard of KC Chiefs and Jason Curry using
the UbiDuo to communicate.


Terry Cook, NASCAR driver, and
Jason Curry with UbiDuo.


Greg Gunderson and Terry Cook, NASCAR
driver, communicate using the UbiDuo.


Greg Gunderson and NASCAR driver Johnny Sauter.


Metro Sports televised this historic racing event when Stan Tate, Public Relations director for the Kansas Speedway, made the official announcement to a large crowd of fans, football stars, celebrities, race car drivers, the mayor and several media crews who introduced Greg Gunderson to the crowd.

"The KS Speedway is working with Greg Gunderson and the UbiDuo to help Greg get to his dream to become the first deaf NASCAR driver

Stan was just about the most excited person he has ever been about the discovery of Greg Gunderson. This was done with the help of Jason Curry last week during a personal meeting with Stan while using the UbiDuo. After a few more meetings Stan Tate finally made the decision realizing that NASCAR needs a person like Greg Gunderson to help their image just like Danica Patrick helped the image of INDY racing by being the professional woman INDY driver which helped increased attendance and interest in the INDY racing. Greg Gunderson will be the perfect match for NASCAR improving it's image. Lots of opportunities for Kansas Speedway to help advertise Greg Gunderson and for him to become a household name once he hit's the professional NASCAR circuit racing. This is an extremely rare event to put a Deaf person in such a national spotlight soon by becoming a professional NASCAR race car driver.


Greg Gunderson on stage with Stan Tate making the announcement at the podium.


After Stan Tate made the announcement Greg Gunderson headed to "Autograph Row" to take a seat and sign autographs. Those autographs of Greg's after the historic announcement will no doubt be worth a lot of money in the future.



Greg Gunderson in "Autograph Row" with his UbiDuo to
communicate with passing fans.

It was the hours long worth of conversations using the UbiDuo between Stan, Greg Gunderson and Jason Curry, president of sComm and maker of UbiDuo, that inspired Stan Tate to decide to help Greg Gunderson to become the first Deaf NASCAR driver in the history of NASCAR.

This was a dream and a goal of Greg Gunderson that someday he would become the first Deaf NASCAR driver. It was last year that Greg mentioned his dream for The Kansas City Star newspaper . His dream is now fast becoming true.

Greg Gunderson has had over 400 races during his professional racing career mostly in the Sprint car races which takes place on a dirt track (read Greg Gunderson 3-part series interview). Although the NASCAR races take place on the asphalt and is considered as the king of professional racing, Greg will have to do at least a year of serious asphalt racing at either the ARCA racing series or ASA racing series to get enough experience and feel driving on an asphalt pavement. With his natural racing ability, this should not be a problem for Greg Gunderson.

All this was made possible with power of communication and independence through UbiDuo!


Jascon Curry, president of sComm and official UbiDuo sponsor for
Greg Gunderson, pose on the Kansas Speedway track last year.


Congrats to Greg Gunderson! And many, many thanks goes to Jason Curry, CEO/President of sComm, who helped made it possible for Greg to achieve his racing dreams. The above picture of the two on the Kansas Speedway is simply prophetic!

Be sure to watch here on Kokonut Pundits blog for more stories of Greg Gunderson with his UbiDuo as he tackles against the best NASCAR drivers in the very near future. Don't miss out on this historic racing event. The first Deaf NASCAR driver, Greg Gunderson.



For all past Kokonut Pundits blogs on Greg Gunderson go here.




UPDATE: Check out this first historical event ever to take place in the ARCA/NASCAR industry to bring the first deaf racing driver to the racing scene. See photos of this historic news.

Mike Plays Ragtime Piano - Vlog #1

Ok. The verdict is in. Overwhelmingly so, percentage wise. I ask Kokonut Pundits readers to submit their answers in a poll. Should I put out my video with me playing the piano. 19 out 22 said "Yes." The other 3 who voted said "No" at the time I put this blog out. For those other three voters who said, "No," don't bother watching. But most likely you will.

The vlog is captioned even though I signed some. Talked some. A mix of both. I talk slower when I sign and use my voice at the same time. Not my normal talking speed. I don't like that. Plus, I wasn't sure how the camera would pick up the sound or my voice being that the camera was several feet away. After seeing the video clip I realized I can just simply talk in my normal voice the next time. Though the lighting could be better. I took it with my Sony 6.0 Megapixels Cyber-shot camera. Handy little piece. It's smaller than the palm of my hand. About the size of a deck of playing cards. The original video format was in WMV and I converted it over to MPEG. Some picture quality seemed to have been sacrificed though it was probably lighting since I took it at nighttime. I did video tape it earlier in the day when the sun was out and it was noticeably brighter and clearer in my earlier versions. Anyhow, enjoy the show.

A Poll vote: Play the Piano or Not?

I made video shot of me playing Ragtime music on my piano last week and was looking around for a good subtitling program (free hopefully) that I could use. And I came across BubblePly. So, my problem is solved for the moment. Just a few more cropping to do. I have the transcript ready since I signed some and talked some. And now, before I go further, I'm putting out a poll vote if you would like to see a video tape of me playing the piano. And, yes, I play just like this guy here below in the video clip playing the Maple Leaf Rag of which I've already taped myself doing it. Here's the Maple Leaf Rag music sheet for you to see what it looks like (Page 1, Page 2 and Page 3). I play page 1, 2 and part of 3. Now, how many deaf or hard of hearing persons do you know that play the piano? Or any musical instruments? Not very many, eh?

The problem with my playing is because of my piano. It has a shorter keyboard which prevents me from playing the deeper octave notes and some of the keys stick on the keyboard which messes up my playing from time to time. So, I can't play like I want to nor do I enjoy playing on that piece of..., well. You know. Hence, my goal in getting a good piano somebody. Preferably a baby grand piano.


Maple Leaf Rag played ultra fast.


Now, here's the poll vote. In my video clip I play "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer." Both written by Scott Joplin.

Want to see a video clip of me playing Ragtime piano?
	Yes
	No.
pollcode.com free polls

BubblePly - Easy to use Subtitling!

Whoever created Bubbleply is a genius! If you are a blogger or vlogger and would like to add subtitles/captions to your video. This is an extremely, extremely easy and versatile but free online software you can use. This is a boon for deaf and hard of hearing people everywhere and this is perfect for many of the 30 million people with hearing loss who access the internet for video news and whatnot. Especially in light of YouTube, Google and MetaCafe's downloading and uploading popularity.

I haven't used it yet but seeing how it works by watching the demo makes me a believer. Not only does it add bubbles but it also adds the traditional "captioning" seen at the bottom of the screen as well.

Give it try folks!!


Hattip: DEAFBIZ !

UbiDuo Story to be on National Foxnews?

Another UbiDuo tv news story by Fox 4 news in Kansas City! According the reporter who did this story says there is a very strong chance that this local Fox 4 news story will get picked up by the National Foxnews station due to its unique success story. This is a story about a deaf entrepreneur, Jason Curry, who owns and runs an extremely successful company called sComm, Inc.

Click on the picture above to access Fox 4 news website to watch the video clip. The transcript of the show is seen below provided by yours truly who did the work while listening to it.


TRANSCRIPT for "Device Gives More Independence To Hard of Hearing" by Mike McConnell:

Voice over: In health news...


Susan Hiland: It's said that necessity is the mother of invention, but for one metro dad and son, it was frustration. Fox medical reporter Maryl Lin McKean shows us how this invention could help people everywhere who are deaf or hard of hearing.



Meryl Lin McKean: Jason Curry carries a briefcase to appointments and family gathering. He was often independent. Appropriate to the device inside is designed to give more independent to himself or others who deaf or hard of hearing.

*typing and communicating on UbiDuo*


Meryl Lin McKean: Jason and I typed to chat in realtime. No need for lipreading. No writing. Or an interpreter. Although one was present just to read to you what Jason typed to me. The device is called "UbiDuo". "Ubi" short for "ubiquitous" - being everywhere.

Voice over by lady with red shirt sitting in chair next to Jason and reads what he wrote for the camera: "My father said, (short laugh), 'I am frustrated.' "

Meryl Lin McKean: One day Jason's Dad, who could hear, had trouble communicating with Jason in a restaurant. He went home and drew a design.

Voice over by lady reading what Jason is typing for the camera: "I jumped up and down screaming at the top of my lungs. And said, 'Dad! That is going to change the world for millions of people who are deaf and hard of hearing!' "


Meryl Lin McKean: 5 years and many test runs later. Jason's company, sComm, has begun selling UbiDuo. The price? $1795.00. The first several hundreds UbiDuo are being shipped out this week. To government agencies, police departments, schools, and businesses, and individuals.

Also hospitals. Lynn Garretson has used UbiDuo to communicate with doctors when her husband and daughter needed care.

*Lynn typing on UbiDuo*

Meryl Lin McKean: Conversations on UbiDuo can be saved, printed and emailed. When I interviewed Jason I focused on the screen with little eye contact with him.

*Meryl Lin McKean typing on UbiDuo*


Meryl Lin McKean: Jason believes that the UbiDuo will become an important link between the hearing and deaf world. Meryl Lin McKean Fox 4 news.

Susan Hiland: The Missouri Department of Economic Development named Jason's company, sComm, the Governor's Technology Company of the Year. For more information go to myfoxkc.com seen on "tv section."



For more inspirational blog stories on UbiDuo in Kokonut Pundits by Mike McConnell, go here.

Blog Awards….an Ego Trip?

Ok. I’ve kept quiet long enough about the Deafread blog awards since the voting period is now over. I was going to blog about this a week or so ago but decided to go ahead and get this one out of the way. I’ve got other blogs lined up to worry about.

Bottom line, I'm wary about these kinds of awards whether it's for hearing or deaf, or both despite the supposed good intentions that go into these award ceremonies. Are these awards, any award ceremonies, about artistic validation or a validation of time and effort well spent? A way to help boost blog traffic or a chance to lord it over your blog peers? What does it really prove? What are the purposes? And what would the net results be from these awards from people getting the awards? A self-flagellation of pure ego and pleasure along with loud trumpeting about their own awards over the internet? Or will it be a show of humility and humbleness? Ego is the one territory we need to be careful how we tread into. Especially how we present ourselves when it comes to these awards. And that is why I don’t bother to watch the Golden Globes and Academy awards ceremonies in the first place. It just reeks of something else.

But as Tayler Mayer said about all bloggers, "....everyone is a winner!"

True.

They are winners whether they’ve blogged a few times or thousand of times. They are by definition a blogger. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Still, the Deafread blog awards will go on and I won’t attend. I have better things to do. Though I still appreciate to whoever nominated me for the vote in the first place. My “award” is knowing that people from all over the world read my blog. And to get an appreciative handshake or an acknowledgement from an unknown Kokonut Pundits reader or a fan is good enough for me.

Matt Hamill to Fight a Different Opponent

Matt Hamill (2-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is now facing a different fighter, Rex Holman (4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), for the upcoming March 3rd UFC #68 PPV card. Two weeks ago the scheduled fight was Matt Hamill vs. David Heath.

Sherdog forum is discussing the latest shake-up on the fight roster list. Though this time it's between two long time wrestlers. Hamill's a three-time Division III wrestling champion while Holman is a 1993 NCAA Division 1 National wrestling champion at OSU. Though Holman who is approximately 35 years old is older than Matt at age 30.


Hat tip: C.F.

The Obama Connection Conundrum

The latest furor over Senator Barack Hussein Obama isn't, so far, about his relative inexperience in politics by going from 1st term Senator to president. Rather it's Obama's tenuous ties to Islam. But not by the fact that he attended Government Elementary School Number 4 in Indonesia from ages 6 to 8. But the fact that his late father was a Muslim. However, Debbie Schlussel raises some interesting points she discovered in Obama's books that in actuality he could really be a Muslim.

More important, in his own two autobiographies, Obama writes that his teacher at the school sent a note home to his mother that Obama made trouble by making faces while the class was studying the Koran. Uh, sorry, but public schools DO NOT study the Koran. Islamic schools do. And which suras was Obama studying? How about the many suras that preach deception and killing of Infidels? It's doubtful that the school didn't teach those. It's more likely that they did. And which violent Hadiths did the school teach? We'll never know. And Obama won't be trumpeting them.

So Christians and others are welcome at the Muslim school Obama attended. That proves nothing. Everyone (except women) would be welcome in most Islamic schools around the world--a great opportunity to indoctrinate and convert them. How do you think Adam Gadahn a/k/a Azzam Al-Amriki learned about Islam before he became a fully converted, educated Muslim? It wasn't by osmosis.

The beef I have isn't about the school. In Islam, any Muslim male with a wife who have a baby son, the son is considered, I believe, automatically a Muslim. According to ABCNews Barak's late father was a Muslim. If that's the case then Senator Barak is a Muslim, too.

"In Arab culture and under Islamic law, if your father is a Muslim, so are you. And once a Muslim, always a Muslim. You cannot go back. In Islamic eyes, Obama is certainly a Muslim. He may think he's a Christian, but they do not."

What's more telling is Barak's middle name and that's "Hussein." That is an Arabic-Muslim, not African, name. Though Obama claims that he is a Christian with "deep faith rooted in the Christian tradition."

I have a simple solution for Barak Obama.

All he has to do publicly is:

1. Disavow that he is not a Muslim but a Christian first.
2. Not accept Islamic cultural views regarding sons born into Muslim families.
3. Make a claim that Islamic cultural views do not apply to his case.
4. Deny once more just to make clear to the Muslim population that he is not a Muslim.

Do all this and Obama will clear the air and this whole Muslim thing will simply become a non-issue. Just in time for 2008.

Or will it?

Mighty big conundrum there for 2008, Senator Obama Hussein Barak. Lie if you have to.

White Homeless Cat, Possibly Deaf Needs Loving Home

A cat named "SNOWBALL" was dumped off on a busy road either in or near St. Helena, California I believe. He is described as a "loveable, playful, big boy" who is looking for a new home. The article states that this cat may be deaf which is a common trait among many white cats. I, too, adopted a white kitten who was found lost wandering around a parking lotbut didn't realize that she was deaf at the time until I did a test one day. She was sleeping on our bed and I snuck up to her and then I screamed as loud as I could. She didn't move one inch. However, this is one here is an adult cat and if you can provide a loving home, call (963-7044) or contact We Care Animal Rescue. They are located in St. Helena, CA which is north of San Francisco.

Sorenson to Host Deaflympics EXPO

It isn't any surprise that Sorenson communications made the announcement a few hours ago that they will host the 16th annual Deaflympics EXPO. They are the most recognized company among deaf and hearing people so this make good business sense. What's more, Sorenson will offer a free Internet Café for EXPO visitors where many vendors will be displaying their wares or services. Of course, nothing is said whether java brew will be served at the Internet Cafe'.

Upcoming Vlog/Blogger Conference Important?

Less than two weeks away before the first ever Vlog/Blogger Conference regarding the future of Gallaudet University. The poll below has the question, "Do you consider the upcoming Vlog/Blogger Conference Important on Addressing Gallaudet's Future?" How important would this conference be perceived as? Will it help? Or will it confuse the issue presented before Gallaudet University even more?

Do you consider the upcoming Vlog/Blogger Conference Important on Addressing Gallaudet's Future?
	Extremely important
	Somewhat important
	Neutral
	Not important
	Unnecessary
pollcode.com free polls

UPDATE: Also, I did a poll a few weeks ago on who will be going to the conference or Deaflympics. Check it out if you haven't voted.

.

Matt Hamill Visits CSDF

Last week Matt Hamill visited California School for the Deaf Fremont. Joey Baer video-taped the visit last week where Matt spoke to the crowd and inspired wrestlers with some inspirational speeches before the Deaf Prep National Wrestling Tournament. His mantra? Never give up!

The beginning part of the video shows Matt's earlier wrestling years in a championship wrestling match. A career record of 89 wins and 3 losses. Then the UFC/TUF fight follows next. And the rest of the tape shows him while visiting CSDF and doing his inspirational speeches.

Who knew that Matt would become the first Deaf UFC fighter and go pro? Matt and I had some discussion last year via AIM about his indecisiveness on whether he should continue with his Olympic wrestling dream or try and hopefully turn pro as a UFC fighter. I even set up a poll which may have helped him decide. We talked about 15 or 20 minutes privately on this subject. It was a trying time for him to try and decide what he wanted to do. This was done after TUF3 was shown. I simply suggested that he think hard on this matter and follow his heart and feelings, and which area would show him to be a role model. His passion is still wrestling and the video shows it. It's the one thing that he can reach out and inspire younger kids. It was his 27 years of wrestling that helped establish a strong foundation for Matt that will certainly help him turn pro in the UFC circuit.


Hattip: Of course, Joey Baer.

Check out all the latest blogs on Matt Hamill in Kokonut Pundits.

Technological Inclusiveness at Gallaudet University

Seamless. That should be the operative word when it comes to the interaction between a deaf and hearing person. Or even between a deaf person and another deaf person. Or even more so among groups of deaf and hearing people in the same room conversing and interacting. Whether it's speaking, signing, texting, or writing the communication gap shouldn't even be there. The interaction is supposed to be automatic when it comes to communicating. It should be immediately understood by each party regardless of the mode or choice of communication used whether it's ASL, SEE, CUED speech or voice.

Just as Jeff Han and Phil Davidson demonstrated how a multi-touch driven computer screen will change the way we work and play. A completely seamless, touch-driven screen action. Watch the video and be wowed by it. It's all intuitive technology driven only with common sense. Watch the video before reading further.

Now, the question is this. Do we have that desire to see on having complete control in the direction of our future to ensure that seamless communication become accessible to everyone someday into the future for the campus community of Gallaudet University? How much resource, time, and committment would we be willing to invest to see this become a possibility sooner rather than later? How much of this technology do we want to invest that will enable us to completely shatter the communication gap? If you look at technology today and compare to what we had 5 to 10 years ago, we've come along way. How many years ago was it when we had those big, bulky computer screens that gave way to thin, large computer screens of today? And how soon will we see it become that ultra-thin but extra large computer screen that becomes a wall? If you had seen the video link you'd understand the word "seamless" and how it would apply to us.

"There is no reason in this day and age that we should be conforming to a physical device..."

Indeed. Why should we conform when we can immerse and be interactive?

You need to think expansively on how technology will help deaf and hard of hearing in the very near future. What would the ability to communicate with anybody be like by then? In five years a lot has changed. What will the next 5 to 10 years be like for us? Do we want to be left behind or take the bull by the horns and help advance technology by ourselves? What would you prefer Gallaudet Univesity be known as when it comes to technology on campus? Do we want Gallaudet University to mimick and be something like a little Harvard University or M.I.T.? - (click on the link and you'll see what I mean or go here to an alternative site to get the pdf info on Media Lab). Or perhaps a little bit of both? What about in classrooms? What will the interaction be like 10 or 15 years from now? Or god forbid 25 years from now? How will students, professors, staff, and campus police with various communication skills and fluency interact?

Are we to be the pro-active bunch and see things happen or instead blindly follow somebody else and wait until something better comes along when it comes to taking advantage of technology? How will ASL survive? Evolve? Propogate? Believe it or not, technology is the key. It has always been that. The demise of ASL was never in danger.

Technology seen in classrooms ought to reflect equally well the technology we would see on campus when it comes to communication and interaction. It ought to be seamless. Intuitive. Of common sense. Completely accessible and very transparent. A "no-brainer" (pardon the pun) campus, if you will, the moment you step in at the front gate.

Now, many of you know I will be at the Vlogging/Blogging conference concerning the future of Gallaudet University. I will be participating on Panel 3: "The Futuristic Classroom" from 1:15-2:45 pm on February 3rd at Gallaudet University. I presented this blog as a way for you to start thinking about the future. And if you plan to come, I'm sure you'll be interested on what Panel 3 will have to say.

When it comes to technology on campus of Gallaudet University and in classrooms we either have to lead, follow or get out of the way. What would you prefer us to do?

Communication Freedom and Independence

For UbiDuo fans the communication device is off to a smashing start. Among the nearly 100 “pre-orders” for the UbiDuo communication device the company, sComm, began its delivery today out of their Independence, Missouri office. What better place for a communication device to come out of a town called “Independence”?

Pre-orders came from all across the United States from individuals, companies, non-profit organizations, schools, hospitals, and many more. A simple word of mouth over the past year helped spread the word to interested parties about the value of having a UbiDuo. The hard work includes getting UbiDuo noticed at expos such as Deaf Nation and many other places.

The wide-spread interest in this product is just a start. Among the 10 to 15 million potential consumers, clients, or patients who have severe to profound hearing loss in the United States, there is in fact an interested market for such a versatile communication device that individuals, companies, various organizations, schools, colleges, hospitals, doctor and dentist offices, and so forth could use or even clamor for. A virtually untapped market when consumer loyalty and communication independence are greatly sought after.

Communication Needs at Hospitals

Recently there has been more and more cases of deaf people or parents suing hospitals for not meeting their communication needs such as providing a live sign language interpreter. This has been an age old issue. Even when communication technology is advancing with such things as the new video remote interpreting technology but is not considered adequate enough by some to meet the needs of those who depend mostly on sign language during hospital visits, especially during emergency situations.

This is an interesting issue since nearly 30 million people in the United States have hearing loss with almost half of them with severe to profound hearing loss. Approximately 900,000 people are Deaf (ie culturally deaf) in the United States. So, not all of the 10 to 15 million people with severe to profound hearing loss signs but rely on a variety of ways to communicate. And technology nowadays is helping fill the communication gap.

There is no one single answer that will solve all of these communication problems. With emergency situations communication needs become doubly pressing while regular hospital or doctor visits could require less "stringent" communication needs.

One hospital, the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, will buy two UbiDuo communication devices, which meet ADA compliance requirements, to help communicate with deaf patients or deaf parents who bring their children at the hospital. Sometimes it takes up to an hour until an interpreter shows up but with a communication device the conversation with a doctor or nurse can begin immediately. Whether it'll be used during an emergency situation with a d/Deaf person is an unknown but at least they'll have something to help facilitate communication with a deaf person. Regardless, whenever a technology helps reduce the communication gap between deaf and hearing people it's always a plus and step closer to greater independency. But sometimes even a human element in certain circumstances cannot simply be replaced when it comes to having an interpreter.

A Realist, Not a Pessimist

Lately several analyses were done regarding the latest discussion on anonymous commenters (presumably deaf or hard of hearing) who attack other mostly deaf and hard of hearing people or the blogger him/herself over an opinionated blogpiece. People who discussed the petulent bashing and anonymous commenting like Amy Cohen Efron in her vlog appeal, the ever so seemingly obdurate blogger Surdobitch on her blogpiece "Boiling Crabs - theoretically" which links to Cy's analysis piece "Social Context and Anonymous Bashing" that links to the quintessentially happy David Eberwein's vlog piece where you can imagine him in a smoker's jacket and pipe while he lobs a few pieces of his social context and bashing theory as to why these things happen.

David's not the Deaf savior. Nor will anyone else's somber and wise words will get these people to stop attacking or bashing those who have alternative opinions they do not like. Why do I say this? Well, just look at this past Gallaudet University protest as a shining example of people running amok and going into personal attack modes along with conspiracy theories brought in by the truckload. People just live for gossipy information and rumours rather than to try and seek the truth without resorting to personal ad hominem attacks. You know who those people are, folks.

Commenters who purposely use the anonymous feature in order to specifically attack a single person are, in my view, simply cowards and/or have insecurity issues in many cases. Examples of that can be seen repeatedly here. But the bashing and anonymous posting isn't a "deaf thing." It goes on everyday over the internet by hearing people as well. Nothing unique about this but I certainly don't have any faith in the attempt to appeal to the deaf/hh blog masses to stop the anonymous posting or attacking. We know there are some people who will never change their behaviors who like to hurt others by attacking people repeatedly or use anonymous features to bash. Why? Well, it's because they are what they are in the first place.

I have always instituted a commenting policy in my Haloscan comment regarding bashing with these rules - "Observe the rules. No personal attack or foul language allowed on premise." And the reason is simple. If you cannot debate or discuss even-handedly without resorting to ad hominem or personal attacks then your comments do not belong there. Keep coming back with the same modus operandi and the person will find him or herself banned. It's better to keep an honest and forthright debate than to watch a discussion become mired in petulent and infantile bashing. These things will simply continue because human nature says that it will.

UbiDuo at Deaflympics

For those traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah, to watch the Deaflympics (Feb 1 - 10) and are planning to stay at one of the four hotels, Little America Hotel, Sheraton Hotel, Embassy Suites or Red Lion Inn, will be able to have the opportunity to use the UbiDuo to communicate easily with the front desk hotel staff and concierge. The UbiDuo will be placed on the front counter just like it was done last year at the Marriott Resort Hotel during the NAD convention at Palm Desert, California. Only this time practically everybody from around the world will have a chance to use (and see) the UbiDuo and see how it can make communication between deaf and hearing people that much more easier. It's the new communication technology made easier and efficient rather than resorting to the old and slow pen and paper standby. A much more professional and efficient way of communicating between deaf and hearing people. All four hotels will be using the UbiDuo from February 1 - 10. And be sure to check out the UbiDuo picture slides to see what it looks like from various angles.

Also, from February 1 - 4 the UbiDuo will be at the sComm, Inc exhibit booth at the Deaflympics EXPO for those who may have missed it at one of the 4 hotels where the communication device will be used. Here is your chance to meet a deaf president of sComm, Inc, Jason Curry, who will be there to present the UbiDuo. Ask him for a demostration while your there and let him know about the Kokonut Pundits blogsite.

Now, if you haven't participated in the survey poll and see how many will be going to the Deaflympics in Utah, the B/Vlogger Conference on Gallaudet's Future in D.C. (Feb 3) or not at all, then this is your chance to put in your vote.

And lastly, if you had the chance to use the UbiDuo communication device at one of the four hotels or even at the EXPO, please stop by here on Kokonut Pundits and give us your opinion about your UbiDuo experience.


Go here for all Kokonut Pundits stories on UbiDuo.


UPDATE: Some email responses and a clarification. The above information was relayed to me by the president of sComm, Inc, Jason Curry via IM. We both are very good friends and continue maintain close contact over the details of UbiDuo. The details in my blog piece are approved (and verified) information for me to distribute and inform Kokonut Pundits readers about the UbiDuo communication device. The UbiDuo communication devices WILL be at the hotels during the Deaflympics events at Salt Lake City, Utah.

To Donate or Not to Donate, That is the Question.

I’ve gotten some responses (as in opinions) regarding my “donation page” about getting a piano seen near the top of my blog page. But most of the responses came from Jamie Berke’s blog “Berke Outspoken” and elsewhere such as Deaf Tea Time and few other places. It seems to boil down to one big misunderstanding over the differences when it comes to donation. But who am I to say?

I don’t really care if people ask for donation on their blogs or websites when done passively, however. Asking for donation by active means such as Instant Messaging, phone calls, being approached by a person or getting text messages is although another matter that I don’t really care for. It's like getting email spam in your email box or having telemarketers hit you up for a sale like a shady automobile salesman. Your personal space gets intruded when people do those things. For a person to ask for donation or hit up actively through IM like this guy has done (if the story is true) or have a supposedly deaf person peddle his ABC signing cards in the airport to get money is a bit of an, um, awkward process in my view. Of course, any kind of active begging for money is awkward when one has to grovel for money constantly.

Around town I often see several few beggars on key corner streets while holding up their signs about needing money for food or whatever. And they are a common sight where I live, often with a small dog in tow which begs the question on where the money is actually going for food. The beggar or the dog? A nagging question would stick in the craw in the back of your head wondering whether these beggars are telling the truth on why they need the money. I guess it boils down to the old rule that one shouldn't question a beggar's motive on needing the money just that you shove that money into his hand and get out of the way. Though done in a nice like way. We should try and understand the less fortunate by helping them.

Just to clear the air for all to see about my own donation page which was put up in a half-jokingly way not expecting much of anything. It was my way informing the masses that there are deaf and hard of hearing people who are in fact musicians. And I'm not alone and among deaf/hh people like Beethoven's Nightmare. I am a pianist. Though, I'm curious, how many of you would like to see a digital video of me playing a ragtime piece on my piano?

Again, thanks to those who did buy my products. It was nice but totally unexpected to see a few buy my products. It was really my case on seeing what the reaction would be like if I put up a "donation" page. If you did donate, thanks. If not, that’s fine, too. No biggie. But I will continue to play the piano and someday get a better one and attend the ever so popular Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri one of these days. This is just one of the many but small personal goals of mine.