Countdown Clock

Noticed the countdown clock on the left side? It's a reminder to keep an eye on this blog for some major announcements at sComm.  The surprise will be revealed live this Saturday. Also, be sure to go to sComm's Facebook and click on the "Like" button if you want participate on the chance to win some prizes, like a Starbucks gift card, by getting their daily contest announcements.

Winner announced in mystery photo contest

Congrats to Pamela Siebert Maelzer who gave the closest and best answer. The mystery photo below had many people guessing.

And what was the answer to the mystery photo?

The mystery photo is a part of a barn door in the newly remodeled lobby of the sComm headquarters in Raytown, Missouri. The barn doors lead you to the next door space with 5,000 sq feet of additional space for the expansion of sComm. Those barn doors came from somewhere out in the country at some salvage yard. The doors are believed to be over 100 years old. A carpenter was hired to rebuild the barn doors and customize it for the sComm lobby. sComm is focused on doing things in a creative way as we do with face-to-face communication.

Pamela wins a $10 Starbucks gift card.

If you want the chance to participate in more games for more prizes go to sComm Facebook page and click on the "Like" button so you can get the latest contest announcement.

5 Lucky Winners get Starbucks gift cards

Today we have five lucky winners who won a $5.00 Gift Card to Starbucks courtesy of sComm.

1. Mikey Graziano
2. Stacey McIntosh-Storme
3. Dee Gol
4. Jie Yu
5. Dawn Michelle Muth-Rodriquez.

If you want to participate for more chances to win prizes you have to go to the sComm Facebook page and click on the "Like" button first so that you will be notified of any future announcements to try your luck on winning some more prizes.

There is another chance to win a $10 Gift Card to Starbucks. Go and visit the sComm Facebook page and try and guess what the mystery photo is. The winner and answer will be revealed Wednesday, January 23rd after 1pm, Central Time.

When famous people use the UbiDuo

Don't think well known or famous hearing people use the UbiDuo, the face to face communication device, to talk with other deaf people? Think again. How about Benard Pollard, the Baltimore Ravens (2013 AFC champion) talking with Jason Curry (CEO and co-founder of sComm the maker of the UbiDuo) for over an hour? Check out this priceless picture.

Just two guys having a good time talking with each using the UbiDuo.  Not feeling like a 3rd person with an interpreter in tow, the UbiDuo can give a deaf person a real sense of empowerment and control. No waiting for conversations to change hands, taking turns like using a pen and paper that's good only for limited conversation. Using the UbiDuo there is no misunderstanding or missed words when you have face to face real time typing conversation going on. 



Hat tip: Greg Gunderson

Am I an oral/aural success?

That's a matter of perspective and wholly subjective based on experience and ability as a deaf/hh person who grew up speaking and listening.  I grew up with a lot of hearing friends and some deaf friends. I grew up playing sports such as soccer, baseball and wrestling and I excelled in them. My soccer team was a state championship team in 1975. One of my baseball team in early 1970s that I was in was a championship team as well. I placed 2nd in my weight class in a wrestling tournament. I competed in high school marching band competitions as a drummer and competed in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  And so on.

But was I an oral/aural success?

My first words were “bye bye” at 14 months old.
At 18 months - “Jamie,” “Baby,’ “DaDa,” “Bye Bye,” “Car” and “Hot”
By 30 months or 2 ½ years old I had a vocabulary of 20 to 24 words
At 2 ¾ years old I was forming sentences “Dada bye bye,” and “Dada eat.”

At this point after a year and half of oral training with John Tracy Clinic and Birney school I was progressing fast and saying many words.

At 2 ½ years old all of my words were hard for me to pronounce them because of my deafness. I received my new body hearing aid at that point and with the help of my mother and John Tracy Clinic my vocabulary grew. By 3 ½ years old I was forming questions. “Where is Jamie?” “Where is Dad?” I even said to my brother, “No no. Momma pretty” in reference to her hair. By 4 ½ years old I could recognize my own name and names of my classmates in Birney school in Tacoma. By 5 ½ years old I was able to read basic words, identify colors, count number from 1 to 10.

I was in a class of hearing first graders for ¾ of the day. At first I was emotionally upset for awhile with the big change from an oral setting in Birney School to a regular classroom with hearing students. But I finally adjusted and did well. According to my mother’s notes I was above average in most subjects. In March 1973 I received my first behind the ear hearing aid to replace my worn out body aid. I wore my behind the ear much better and was able to get more sound out of it. The miracle of advancing hearing aid technology.

I went regular school from 4th grade to 12th as a hard of hearing student. Did theatrical plays, played in the middle school symphony band, took piano lessons starting at age 7, and I was on the high school marching band that competed in the southeast marching band competitions.  I was your typical middle and high school student.

Am I an oral/aural success?  Certainly.

I still can order my food and listen at the drive through speaker and make sure they got my orders right. I can speak to my family, friends, and strangers in person or over the phone without problems. In a physical setting with people around me the acoustic environment must be conducive enough for me to carry on a conversation.

I've come to think of myself as a person with a hearing loss. A person who is deaf. Also a person who is hard of hearing. Or even person who is hearing impaired with the focus that my hearing is impaired, not just myself.

I'm an oral/aural success? Certainly.

Despite that, I still cannot hear completely and my hearing aid helps me tremendously. I can keep up with conversations in small group conversation but the settings have to be right.

I did well in regular school in a non-mainstreaming setting. I relied on my hearing aid to listen. Sometimes they needed to repeat what was said. I got good grades. I went from high school to a hearing college and then to Gallaudet University as a lark and curiosity to see what a deaf/hh setting was like. I learned how to sign and communicate in ASL. While going to Gallaudet University I also attended nearby George Washington University without the need for note-takers, interpreters or any other support services and did well in those courses.

After Gallaudet University, and George Washington University I attended a graduate school at University of Idaho and successfully got my masters degree in Geology. I did well in classes without the need for note-takers, interpreters or any other support services. I was successful in defending my thesis during an oral thesis defense that lasted almost 2 hours.

An oral/aural success? Certainly.

Throughout my life while attending regular school from elementary, middle and high school I had more friends than I could count on my fingers. I had hearing friends in my neighborhood that we skated together and did a bunch of fun stuff. These friends of mine weren't the "misfit" or "outcast" types. I still have them in my Facebook.

I was never really bullied though a few tried to do that to me but I pushed back and made myself clear. I wasn't worried about being shunned or quietly ignored by the “cool kids” because I learned quickly early on that such "coolness" was highly over-rated.  I never had a mental breakdown because I've always spoken my mind.  I was a good friend to many, and I considered them good friends to this day.

Am I an oral/aural success? Certainly.

But also, because of Gallaudet University, I am successful in sign language. I learned to sign while an undergrad at Gallaudet. I made many new deaf and hh friends. And also learned a great deal the insidious problem of identity politics. I was in the Honor Program. I worked as a math tutor. I spent time focusing on my education but had time to play with my friends, attended a few Rock Festival events, football games, and so on. I graduated from Gallaudet within 3 years. After that I attended graduate school at University of Idaho for 5 years with enough credits for two degrees but only got one degree in Geology and yet made some more hearing friends while there, too.

Now, I have many deaf, hh and hearing friends. 

Today, my working environment involves working with mostly hearing people. I still use the phone to speak and listen with no assistance needed. I still use the field radio when I go out into the field alone in the woods. I still deal with wildfires. I strive to meet other employees who are deaf or hard of hearing.  I strive to help educate hearing people and co-workers about people with hearing loss whether it's mild or profound hearing loss or those who communicate primarily with sign language. It's a win-win situation for me and others when people understand better on the issue of clear communication.

I have never dread sitting at a table surrounded by people who are hearing as long as I feel the acoustic environment is suitable, I'll join. I don't dread meeting different deaf people at bars during deaf nights, either, as we sign away through the night with my wife. I enjoy meeting different people whether deaf or hearing but I do enjoy my solitudes. At work I like calling the shots on when I need CART, a microphone or online captioning for those video conference calls that have a lot of people participating.

Am I an oral/aural success? Certainly.

Am I deaf? Sure.

Am I hard of hearing? Sure.

Am I hearing impaired? Sure. I won't let a little identity politics get in the way. That term doesn't bother me.

But that's not important.

What I like to see today is to help other deaf and hard of hearing people (signers and non-signers) achieve their own brand of success in life with the help of technology whether it's at school, work, play or at home. I serve as a source of inspiration to many deaf and hard of hearing people. Other deaf and hard of hearing people serve as an inspiration for me. I like seeing hard work rather than listen to people complain about how unfair life is. Or hear people make stupid excuses when they are really lazy or ignorant. I like seeing people take the imitative and be pro-active about something positive in their life. Grab the bull by the horns and get busy. Complaining about your past life won't do anything for you or get anywhere. Best you can do is to move forward and make the best of what you got. Me? I take the best of both worlds, hearing and deaf. And I'm making the best of it the best way I know how one day at a time.

I am me.



You are not me.

Don't try and be me but be yourself on the things that you do best at.

Focus on your own successes and what works for you. Success is relative. Success is subjective. I see myself as an oral/aural success. I have never regretted my life and the things that I have done. I continue to go down that path. If you complain about what I do and/or say in this blog then you need to stop focusing on the negative and do something constructive in your life for a change.


Bonus video for hearing people only:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9QwOC4ZxDM

Enjoy.

Scavenger Hunt Video Part III

Here' the final video Part III of a scavenger hunt. A big surprise is revealed in this video. What could it be? What is "Project Black"? Where will this scavenger hunt end up at? Who is that weird looking guy? Be sure to watch this video and find out. If you missed Part I or II video you can watch either one of them near the bottom of the page and see if you missed anything.

Abandoned deaf 8 weeks old puppy needs to be adopted

Here's a breaking story of a deaf puppy, 8 weeks old, that was left abandoned on the side of a road in a cardboard box in Ohio but was saved by the Brimfield Police Department.

Ohio police are looking for the person who left a deaf puppy on the side of the road in a cardboard box. Thanks to the Brimfield Police Department, the dog is getting a second chance. 

According to a lengthy Facebook posting by the chief of police, the dog was found Saturday. Chief David Oliver wasn't shy about calling out the person who abandoned the puppy. 

"I will say that I can tell a person's character pretty well by seeing how they treat animals," Chief Oliver said in his Facebook post. "Whoever did this lacks character, period. It was mopey behavior."

Anybody deaf/hh living in near Akron, Ohio will have the opportunity to adopt this puppy this February. I used to have a deaf white cat that my wife and I adopted when she was a kitten. I spotted her wandering in a parking lot outside of our apartment many years ago and decided to take in her only then we didn't know the kitten was deaf until a few days later when we realized she wasn't responding to sound.

McCaskill speaks

From ABC7 News:

“I’m here back at the university and thrilled to be back here,” she says. “I know there are many challenges ahead for me and I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and students here as we move forward to make Gallaudet a more inclusive university and the area of higher education that shows respect for different points of view.”

But it's strange that university officials would not comment further on why they decided to reinstate McCaskill's position as Chief Diversity Officer saying that it was a personnel matter. Personnel matter? Like president Hurwitz turning it into a circus show by making it public for all to see about their own personnel, Dr. Angela McCaskill?

Dr. Angela McCaskill is correct that Gallaudet University needs to learn to be a more inclusive university that shows respect for different points of view.

Empowerment and Perception

Empowerment.

It's a word that means differently to different people but universally it means enabling themselves the power of choice on their ability to gain their freedom, acquire knowledge, acquire wealth, and even build self esteem and confidence. There are many sides to every perspective on who is taking advantage of who when it comes to obtaining empowerment or losing it. What I have to say here may make some people feel uncomfortable but it is my kind of truth I'd like to speak about though it's not to be construed as an absolute truth but a general truth. Offering a different perspective is good. There is no monopoly here on "empowerment" or truth but just my version.

Let's look at Trudy Suggs' presentation on "Deaf Disempowerment."

Before going further I recognize the fact that there are horrible interpreters, interpreters who are a god-send and those who fall in between depending on the circumstances.  The hope is to have the very best and highly professional interpreters but that is not always the case, sadly, but the United States is experiencing a national shortage on interpreters.  Here I'm offering a bit of constructive opinion regarding Trudy Suggs' "Deaf Disempowerment." Namely it's about true independence versus quasi-independence when it comes to communication choices and how some people deal with them. Sometimes the answer to a difficult or problematic solution can be easily solved. Other times it requires serious intervention and awareness building.

In Trudy Suggs' piece she discussed two kinds of disempowerment: situational disempowerment and economic disempowerment. What I'm about to explain in my blog will show you a simple way to reverse a certain disempowerment scenario into your advantage. You can still have control over certain things in life and not feel helpless in the communication department. Empowerment means you've come to realized certain things about a situation and advantageously learned to move forward independently benefiting yourself as a result. Suggs suggested that people do take advantage of deaf people, and that's true in many instances as in the case of interpreters taking advantage of deaf people by making money off of them. She provided a few examples of that in her piece. But in order to be honest people need to realize that deaf people do take advantage of hearing people. In this case taking advantage of sign language interpreters for their own gain whether it's social, financial, medical or what have you at no cost to deaf people in most cases.

Trudy Suggs explained that she live in a town of 23,000 people with 250 to 300 deaf people (I am assuming they are all culturally deaf people) which represents about 1.3% of the town's population.  A town that is 7 times more populated than the "national average" on the ratio of culturally deaf people to hearing people which is estimated to be about 0.2%of the U.S. population. In Rochester, New York, for example, it has a much higher density of deaf and hard of hearing people. The number of deaf and hard of hearing people make up 3.7 percent (about 40,000) of the Rochester area's 1.1 million people (more here on deaf/hh population). Although no exact figures on the number of culturally deaf people who rely exclusively on sign language to communicate as their preferred mode of communication.  In Suggs' town with 7 times more culturally deaf people one would certainly expect better interpreters.  Interpreters who should be readily available at a moments notice, 24/7. Interpreters who are expected to hold a higher standard of professionalism in a town that have a lot of deaf people. Interpreters' reputations are at stake. If an interpeter fumbles then word gets around within the tightly knit deaf community like a bad gossip.

Let's consider for a moment the fact that there are more deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States that do not sign or know sign language than there are those who do sign (about 50 to 1 ratio or 30 million deaf/hh to 600,000 culturally deaf people). Or for those with more severe hearing loss you have people with severe to profound hearing loss numbering probably about 3 million or so. That would leave you with 1 out every 5 deaf people who know and use sign language.

Trudy Suggs described a story between about herself, her interpreter and a receptionist while waiting in a lobby for her orthopedic doctor for her son's check-up:

After about 45 minutes of waiting in the lobby—very unusual for a town of this size—I asked the receptionist about the severe delay. The receptionist never once looked up from her computer, saying that the doctor was backed up. I asked if we could see the doctor since my children were restless, hungry and my son, in a body cast from chest to toe, needed his medicine—which was at home. She said no. I said, “Could you please speak to the doctor or nurse?” She replied, “Oh, no, I can’t do that,” and I repeated my request. She adamantly refused. 

I finally said, “Could you please look at me?” She looked at the interpreter, and I said, “No, at me.” Once she did, I asked, “Could you please offer a resolution? We’ve been here an hour.” At that very moment, my baby began crying, and the receptionist finally realized the extent of my situation. A nurse came out who was far more courteous and apologetic. After we talked about the delay, I asked how I could make a complaint about the receptionist. 

A few thoughts come to mind.

You have a receptionist who is not familiar with deaf culture etiquette such as looking directly at the deaf person and not the interpreter. Most hearing people are simply not familiar on how to deal with a deaf person with their interpeter in tow. And then you have a situation where a deaf person is either seen as the "third person" or the interpreter as the third person. It becomes a perception issue not mention a certain amount of ignorance and unfamiliarity at play here,too.

Trudy then go on a spiel about "disempowerment" because she wasn't treated adequately by her interpreter and was seen as a "third person" by the receptionist and was not given the opportunity to be seen as an equal.

Let's change the picture here. Like the one below here.

Suppose at the receptionist desk sits a face to face communication device unit called the UbiDuo ready to be used by any deaf person who can use it to converse in real time with the receptionist. The unit is already assembled and ready to go by simply turning it on No third person is involved. Eye contact is easily done because the conversation is now between two individuals, a hearing person and a deaf person. The UbiDuo is a wireless communication technology that allow real time typed conversations between two people facing each other. Just like having two people talking or signing to each other face to face, uninterrupted with more meaningful eye contact, and done directly without feeling like a third person. No worry about having an interpreter carry YOUR conversations for you.

That's true empowerment.

Having the ability to carry a conversation with a hearing person using the UbiDuo, for example, where conversations can be done privately and directly is an example of empowerment. The chance for misunderstanding decreases because words are typed word for word with the UbiDuo. Conversations done in real time seeing what the other person is typing while responding at same time. Just like talking to each other. Just like signing to each other. No worry about the "lack of signing fluency" from interpreters. Face to face conversations take place fluidly.

A deaf person can have a choice between using an interpreter or a face to face communication device such as the UbiDuo. It is there for the taking. You have that choice. That's true empowerment.

DYV...before and after

Totally surreal when it comes to the depth of absurdity.  Six days ago I posted about DYV's dishonesty blogging about a lightning strike saying a deaf man with a cochlear implant was struck but offered no sources or proof that it was the case. In fact, that video was already proven to be a fake.  A week later offered such a banal, dishonest response if not a totally paranoid one leaping into the fire and now into the frying pan.

Notice: This article has been no proven which is no information and none of sources due to the cochlear implant industry possibly cover up of this incidental situation to prevent avoid bankruptcy. perhaps, only a theory which could it be possible happen to everybody like this video.

The cochlear implant industry is in collusion to cover up on sources to the fake lightning video? What an utterly moronic claim. Again, the video has already been shown to be a fake. No need for a "theory."  If a deaf person with a cochlear implant was hit by a direct lightning strike he would most likely be dead or severely maimed for life. Whether the cochlear implant gets damaged isn't really worth writing about.  How about being honest for a change and admit that you, DYV, were just making things up out of thin air on a whim?


Before:

After:

Update: Good grief. Now, he/she is claiming in his/her blog piece was merely an opinion piece. How can it be an opinion piece when it's littered with so called "facts" stating unequivocally that the (fake) lightning victim is a cochlear implant user with no way of confirming it and no sources to support that claim?   Below you can his post-response to my blog response to his first blog piece about the (fake) lightning victim video. His reference to me as "Mickey Mouse" was my old user name during the VAX days at Gallaudet University.  Not afraid to show my face around here.

And lastly, it is in poor taste to list links under the "Surfer Deaf Websites" a link to Candy's blog as "Extreme Radical Gina Sutton" while all the other names linking to other sites are neutral.

UPDATE II. More on DYV involving counter hits. It's easy to see the difference between the visitor map (clickable) and see the hits total and the hits number displayed below the map. This is a similar incident with the DBC's own mess.

Deafened mice hear again

A drug that can regenerate damaged ear hair cells in mice.

Now, Edge and his colleagues have tested several gamma-secretase inhibitors to find the one with the strongest regenerative effect on inner ear stem cells. They then tested that drug on adult mice that had been deafened after 2 hours in an extremely loud sound chamber. The drug prompted supporting cells in the inner ear to become hair cells, and the treated mice regained some hearing, the group reports online today in Neuron. 

The gamma-secretase inhibitors were originally developed as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease, but clinical trials showed little effect on symptoms of dementia and serious side effects in the gut and the immune system. Giving the mice one of the drugs orally triggered similar side effects, the team reports, so they tried applying the compound directly to the membrane between the middle ear and the inner ear. That required minor surgery in the mice, but could be achieved with an injection in humans—a technique already in common use, Edge says. The direct application produced as much hair cell growth as the oral treatment, without significant side effects, the team reports. The drug isn't ready for clinical trials, Edge says, but "it's a foot in the door."

"This is a major step forward," says Yehoash Raphael, an auditory neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who led the gene therapy study in guinea pigs. Although the treatment didn't restore full hearing, the improvement is significant, he says.

This is indeed a major step forward in regenerative medicine for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss. It'd be a matter of time until clinical trials begin.

The McCaskill Saga, Example of Intolerance?

Here's a great article about tolerance when tolerance means learning to agree to disagree such as in the case of the McCaskill/Gallaudet snafu as a result of a very public witch hunt.

Practicing true tolerance requires disagreement; it requires dissension.

But as the administrators at Gallaudet prove, our society has discarded real tolerance and has replaced it with a kind that says, “You disagree with me? Then you’re intolerant.”

It necessitates complete neutrality, and it limits people from picking sides on social issues.

This is dangerous.

It's better to learn tolerance than to automatically brand people as bigoted merely for disagreeing.

Interest on ASL on the Decline?

Not just American Sign Language that has been on the down trend over the last several years in Google search but interest in terms like "deafhood," and "a*dism" are also on the downturn as seen in Google Trends. Check out the graphs below.  

Just a bit of factoid thrown in here I think that would interest you.

Scavenger Hunt Part Deux

Watch Part II of a scavenger hunt. A hunt that will be revealed progressively over the next few weeks every Tuesday by sComm, the maker of the UbiDuo Face to Face communication device. A big surprise will be revealed near the end of January this month. What could it be? What is "Project Black"? Where will this scavenger hunt end up at? Be sure to follow this video each week to find out. If you missed Part I video you can watch it first at the bottom of the page.

Part I - The Scavenger Hunt

Hurwitz Caves...McCaskill reinstated

Yesterday Washington Post reported that Dr. Angela McCaskill was given her job back as Chief Diversity Officer.

Her reinstatement was announced Monday in an e-mail to students, staff and faculty from university President T. Alan Hurwitz. “I personally look forward to working with Dr. McCaskill,” he said.

Hurwitz’s announcement said that many members of the school community had reached out to him in a “clearly heartfelt manner.” Recent weeks were “a period of reflection for all of us,” he said.

He also praised the “overall maturity” shown in the community’s willingness to consider the “differing views others may hold.”

It's no surprise that president Hurwitz backed down on proceeding on the removal of Dr. McCaskill after realizing Gallaudet University had no legal case against Dr. Angela McCaskill for removing her as Chief Diversity Officer. The moment she hired a lawyer in October last year and 5 days later president Hurwitz backpedaled furiously the comment he made earlier about the suspension truly showed which direction the case would go. It's no surprise that Dr. McCaskill retained her original position and title. Gallaudet University/Hurwitz had no case at all to begin with to act upon the faux pas suspension. Dr. Bienvenu had no case to go through this witch hunt in the effort to get her fired. In the end, Dr. McCaskill was most likely well compensated with Gallaudet University settling this out of court on what could've been a potentially expensive lawsuit. That's my guess. And something that Gallaudet University wouldn't have been able to financially afford the lawsuit and all of the continuing negativity - a potential PR nightmare for Gallaudet University. Firing her would've been the worse course of action. President Hurwitz and Gallaudet University's lawyers realized this. Glad this has been resolved before the start of school.

There may have been some "overall maturity" shown in the community but there were enough of them who were quite vicious and very immature rather than to agree to disagree on differing views with respect and aplomb.  We know who they are. Full of hate rather than full of introspection and respect of the situation. Witch hunts do not belong in the age of learning and enlightenment.

Classes will resume on January 22, 2013 with Dr. McCaskill back at work doing what she does best at her job. May the students and staff show their warm welcome for Dr. McCaskill's return.  Time to move past this awful saga and snafu.

See previous blogs on the McCaskill/Gallaudet University snafu.

DYV Disinformation and Fakery

DYV linked to a YouTube video (video seen also at LiveLeak) of a man that was apparently struck by lightning two times in a space of seconds and supposedly lived afterwards with no apparent injury.  I spotted the DYV piece in Deafread. The problem is that DYV claimed the lightning victim wore a cochlear implant. For a victim to put his right hand to the right side of his head isn't proof that he was wearing a cochlear implant. This is nothing more but an attempt to generate misinformation, disinformation and interest on the subject of cochlear implant.  DYV offered no links to sources that the supposed victim is in fact a cochlear implant user or even the fact that he is "hearing impaired."  No links on DYV blogsite to sources that says anything about the victim as a "hearing impaired cochlear implant" user. No interview of the victim. No verification that the implant, if any, was damaged by the strike. Nothing. Nada. Kaput. Pure hokey made up cotton candy fluff that dreams are made of.

I'd say this is a prime example of really bad blogging like a case of bad food poisoning run amok. Now, if DYV attempt to come up with an excuse for blogging about an old, already proven fake video lightning strike and inserting "cochlear implant" as a justification I'll call it BS on his part if that happens. So, don't even bother DYV on producing an excuse to blog misinformation and disinformation claiming the victim to be hearing impaired and a cochlear implant user, and go even further without any supporting evidence or sources saying the cochlear implant was damaged by the strike because it never happened. Pretty wild if not totally irresponsible to pass that kind of junk around. Below is a screen capture of what DYV wrote as proof.

Video is fake, of course. Shadows in front a vehicle that show up shouldn't be there when the lightning bolt should have lighted 360 degrees all around it. The second strike showed shadows to be unlighted just like the first one. All indicative of a fake video. This was an impossibly rare video capture of a man apparently getting struck by lightning two times in a row in virtually in the same spot in such a short space of time, and the guy lived? All that point to an apparent fake video of a lightning strike that was supposedly captured on camera. 

Here is a real and verified video produced by CBS of an (indirect) lightning strike captured on a surveillance camera. The victim was interviewed afterward which add credibility to the story. You have a reputable source that provided tangible proof of a person getting struck indirectly by a lightning strike and surviving it with no permanent or lasting effects. A victim would be darned lucky to survive a direct strike otherwise he'd likely be dead or seriously injured with side effects for the rest of his life. 

The Holism

With my house suddenly quiet, kids off to bed, and TV off I decided to spend some time going over some of the earlier The Holism videos in YouTube that I have not seen before.  Out of curiosity I did some number crunching.   The Holism vlog gets on average over 6,300 views. I believe that is something that no other deaf vloggers can claim when it comes to average viewership.  Even one of his videos is clicking upward to almost 30,000 views, an unheard of number for any deaf vlogger to attain. My best vlog video has over 14,000 views (averaging 5, 177 views) but mine is an altogether different story when it comes to blogging. Yet Barry wins it hands down on getting the most on average viewships for his YouTube vlogs. 

If you don't know Barry you will find out that he provides a lot of useful insight. Watch his videos and you will see him as a down to earth person who is in tune with nature in the outdoors.  Although he has retired from making vlogs be sure to watch some of his videos (many are captioned) and you might learn a thing or two. One of these days I'm sure I'll meet him in person soon.  Who knows?

5 years later cochlear implant baby revisited

Almost 5 years ago a YouTube video of an 8 month old deaf baby boy that went viral when his cochlear implant was turned on for the first time capturing the hearts of millions of viewers.




When this video came out many in the culturally deaf community weren't as welcoming and some were just down right cruel while some in deaf run discussion forums were intent on banning hearing parents of deaf children with cochlear implants. Most others were more understanding and reflectively mature about such procedures performed at such a young age on a deaf baby.

The Today website revisited the baby boy who was implanted is now 5 years old shared with readers on the some of the things that weren't known about the circumstances surrounding the reason to implant Jonathan at such a young age.

He's also a bit of a miracle. On Christmas Eve of 2007, when Jonathan was just four months old, he contracted bacterial meningitis, an infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord that can result in brain damage or death. He was hospitalized and recovered; however, the infection took a heavy toll on the boy and his parents.

The article goes on to explain that Jonathan uses a walker to assist him with the walking since the bacterial meningitis he contracted gave him the equivalent of cerebral palsy. It has also left him deaf as well. The parents were given a now or never decision on cochlear implantation on the basis that Jonathan's cochlea was ossifying.

"We were in the hospital and because of the meningitis, we only had a couple of weeks to decide if we were going to do the cochlear implant," says Mark. "The cochlea was hardening because of the meningitis. We had a limited window to make a decision and if we didn't make it, it would completely ossify and we would never be able to do the implant in the future."

The Breauxs decided to go ahead with the surgery -- and to post videos of the results on YouTube in order to help other parents going through the same experience.

The parents explained:

"We spent lots of time praying about it," says Brigette. "We didn't know the side effects of the meningitis. We didn't know his physical limitations, if he'd be able to sign. We tried to give him the best quality of life."

Both parents say they're now positive they did the right thing. Indeed. If the boy was faced with the possibility of physical limits brought on by cerebral palsy like condition he should be afforded every opportunity on access to communication and language, and that includes having the cochlear implant.

How is he doing today?

Today, Jonathan is in kindergarten, attends speech therapy three times a week and uses both sign language and speech to communicate with others.

"In the last year, we've noticed his vocabulary is growing," says Mark. "A year ago, he was speaking barely one or two words but now he's combining words and enunciating much more clearly because of the speech therapy and just being able to process what we're saying. I think all of the input -- sounds, speech as well as sign language -- have given him multiple elements for communication."

There is another video that has gone semi-viral of baby girl, Marielle, that was implanted about the same time as Jonathan but received received her hearing aid at 3 month, and cochlear implant at 2 1/2 years old.

She is now 6 years old and can speak and read better than majority of her classmates at her neighborhood school. In the YouTube video the parent left a caveat for those haters in the pro-ASL/anti-cochlear implant camp:

Before posting any ill informed comments - she has been exposed to both ASL and cued speech but prefers speaking.

The girl was given three communication options, 1) ASL, 2) Cued Speech, and 3) speaking. It's not a wonder that the girl prefers to speak.  Yet, I think it's good to combine both cochlear implant and sign language at an early age so you have the best of both opportunities and language acquisition.

Project Black - a new year begins

Click on this link to watch a video of a scavenger hunt that will be revealed progressively over the next three weeks every Wednesday by sComm, the maker of the UbiDuo Face to Face communication device. A big surprise will be revealed near the end of January this month. What could it be? What is "Project Black"? Where will this scavenger hunt end up at? Be sure to follow this video each week to find out.

Happy New Year

Goodbye 2012 and the memories. Welcome to the new year 2013 for more fun blogging and new memories. Hope you guys had a great New Year kickoff. And thank you for visiting my blogsite.