Archive for the 'Medical Parlor' Category

Anthony Loeff nonprofit worker is testing digital tools for blind people

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

Recent versions of Microsoft Windows come with the rather basic Narrator. Screen readers can be assumed to be able to access all display content that is not intrinsically inaccessible.

While Apple Mac OS X includes VoiceOver, a more feature-rich screen reader. Screen reader choice is contentious: differing priorities and strong preferences are common.

Access technology such as screen readers and Screen magnifiers enable the blind to use mainstream computer applications. Comming month medical volunteer Anthony Loeff is writing about screen readers for people who are blind Screen readers are a form of assistive technology potentially useful to people who are blind, visually impaired, or learning disabled, often in combination with other AT such as screen magnifiers. Linux distributions for the blind include Oralux and Adriane Knoppix. Later versions of Microsoft Windows include an Accessibility Wizard and Magnifier for those with partial vision, and Microsoft Narrator, a simple screen reader. The console-based Oralux Linux distribution ships with three screen-reading environments: Emacspeak, Yasr and Speakup. Increasingly, screen readers are being bundled with operating system distributions. This interpretation is then represented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a braille output. Near 9 percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. The open source GNOME desktop environment long included Gnopernicus and now includes Orca. Experimental approaches in sensory substitution are beginning to provide access to arbitrary live views from a camera.

Only a small fraction of this population, when compared to the sighted community, have Internet access.

There are also open source screen readers, such as the Linux Screen Reader for GNOME and NonVisual Desktop Access for Windows.

Most legally blind people 78 percent do not use computers. The latter developed in part by Knopper who has a visual impairment. A persons choice of screen reader is dictated by many factors, including platform and the role of organizations like charities, schools, and employers.

The movement towards greater web accessibility is opening a far wider number of websites to adaptive technology, making the web a more inviting place for visually impaired surfers.

A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen. The Macintosh OS also comes with a built-in screen reader, called VoiceOver. Nevertheless, using a screen reader is, according to some users, considerably more difficult than using a GUI and many applications have specific problems resulting from the nature of the application. The primary audience for such applications is those who have difficulty reading because of learning disabilities or language barriers. Further functionality remains limited compared to equivalent desktop applications, the major benefit is to increase the accessibility of said websites. Web browsers, word processors, icons and windows and email programs are just some of the applications used successfully by screen reader users.

Gaining Energy And Losing Weight By Forming Habits

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

Lets face it. Very few of us really want to go out and get the exercise that we really need, and the excuses are limitless.

  • I don’t have the time today.
  • The car just broke down.
  • I just haven’t had enough sleep.
  • Aunt Mae is coming over for Dinner. Or;
  • It’s just not that much fun.

Well, sometimes those things that are really good for you are not always all that fun. But they should, and could be.

For many, the average American lifestyle today consists of sitting in the office for eight hours a day, skipping breakfast, maybe even skipping lunch, going home and eating a large meal, and then sitting in front of the television for the rest of the night before finally going to bed. This is the perfect recipe for a wide variety of poor health conditions, including obesity. The perfect remedy to this is a little bit of exercise on a regular basis.

Just think what you could do for yourself if you just crawled out of bed an hour earlier each morning, and went for a good long walk. Getting a little exercise in the morning prepares your body for the challenges of the day, and a walk in the morning will wake your body up, as well as your mind, and give you a good start to your day. Getting exercise in the morning also boosts your metabolism, and gets it on the right track, so that you continue to burn calories the entire day.

One of the keys to weight loss is, exercise. The human body was designed for physical work, and far too many people now days get much too little of that. Combine that with a diet rich in refined sugars, over processed foods, and far too few fruits, vegetables, and fiber, and you have the perfect recipe for obesity.

Now I am not saying that you should stop eating those foods that you have grown to love. I personally love to eat red meats cooked on a barbecue, and that is something that I will probably never give up. The object is to eat these things in moderation, and get the right amount of exercise. This will counteract the bad influence of these foods, and allow your body to rid itself of the fats and other things that these foods introduce to your body.

Eating Before Going To Bed

One of the things that many people do is to eat a large snack before going to bed. This puts a large amount of fats, carbohydrates, and other things with high calorie content into your body just before going to bed for the night. If you think about it, you don’t burn many calories when you are lying in bed. Those calories are not going to be burned, but will accumulate and be stored as reserves (fat). That is what the body does when not in motion. Eating without physical exercise is a good way to add on the pounds instead of removing them.

Another strategy to consider adopting is instead of eating large meals; eat five, or six small meals throughout the day. This does two important things. First, it keeps food in your stomach most of the day thereby helping to keep you from feeling hungry. Second, it helps to keep insulin levels at a more constant level reducing those shaky, and lethargic moments, and helps to keep your energy levels up.

If you are going to have a large meal, consider allowing time for a long walk around the neighborhood afterwards. This will help your body burn the calories you have just consumed, thus eliminating the opportunity for your body to store those calories as reserves, or in other words fat. A good brisk walk of a half hour will burn a couple hundred calories in itself. If you eat a large meal, and then sit on the couch and watch the television for the rest of the night, you are not going to burn those calories very quickly, and they will be stored as reserves.

Now I know, going for a long walk after a big meal sounds like something only a lunatic would do, because I feel like taking a long nap after a big meal. This is where the discipline comes in. There are very few things in life that are good for you, and easy at the same time. But if you want to lose weight, it may take a little work.

After that big meal, get the family (or fido the dog), and just get out and start walking. You will notice in a very short time that once you start, it becomes more and more easy. The first five or ten minutes may be hard to get used to, but after that your body begins to adjust to it, and it actually becomes enjoyable. Continue to do this day after day, and it will become something that you enjoy doing, instead of a burden.

Diet Supplements And Weight Loss

If you, like many, find it hard to curb those cravings we all feel, consider a supplement like real Hoodia extract, which is extracted from a cactus found in Africa and used by the natives to boost energy, and curb hunger. Another product people have used to boost their metabolism, and curb hunger to improve weight loss is the diet patch.

To sum things up, there are a wide variety of weight loss supplements out there that can help you achieve your weight loss goals, but the deciding factor is your willingness to do what it takes to achieve them. There are no end all remedies to do that, you have to make a conscious effort to do that yourself. The weight loss supplements will help, but you have to make a commitment to do what it takes to reach your target goal yourself.

I hope that this has at least been an inspiration to you, and that you will go out and try to improve your health and well-being. Good health to you, and long life.

James Kelly is a health, beauty, and wellness writer. Specialty topics are weight loss, skin care, mental health, ADD, ADHD, anxiety, and digestive health. Visit us at VBYX for more information.