Alex in the Boston Globe

I hope you all had a great weekend! Please find below the text of a Boston Globe article I was quoted in from Sunday's edition.

New technologies empower the vision impaired
High-tech solutions help blind "see" their way in the business world
March 30, 2008
As technophiles go, Alex Gray is on the cutting edge. With an array of high-tech gizmos at his fingertips, Gray can match his clothing using a portablecolor detector, weigh himself on his talking scale, and check the time on his talking wristwatch. His cell phone talks. So does his GPS system, his digitalbook reader, and his computer, which can convert text into speech. But Gray isn't really a futuristic techno-geek. He is blind.
"I'm certainly lucky," the 24-year-old Quincy man says of the technology that helped him land a job as a liaison for the Massachusetts Housing and ShelterAlliance in Boston. "The more skills I develop and the more technology I use, the more valuable I am as a person" and as an employee. At a time when 70percent of all legally blind, working-age individuals are unemployed, new technologies are improving the lives and the job opportunities for the visionimpaired. "I couldn't have looked for a job if it weren't for this technology," says Jim Denham, the assistive technology coordinator for Perkins Schoolfor the Blind in Watertown.
Like many blind job seekers, Denham uses a screen reader to browse the internet, send emails, and read documents. An optical scanner allows him to converttext documents into speech, and a handheld GPS-equipped computer lets him read text messages, check his calendar, find his location, and take notes inBraille. "It's really empowering," he says of the devices. "If you're going to compete in a sighted world, you need technology to level the playing field."
Gayle Yarnall thinks so too. "Between your technology and your attitude, there's not much you can't do," says Yarnall, the blind president and founder ofAdaptive Technology Consulting in Amesbury, which provides consulting, support, and training to the vision impaired and learning disabled.
While all that technology may seem cutting edge, the future promises even bigger breakthroughs for blind job seekers. This January, Nokia unveiled a cellphone that turns the text on photographed documents into speech. The device allows users to read any photographed document, including menus, newspapers,and money. Ray Kurzweil, who developed both the first software to convert text to speech in the 1970s and the software used in the Nokia phone, predictsa future in which artificial vision systems installed in eyeglasses will allow blind individuals to actually "see" objects. "We're working on softwarethat will recognize objects, logos, and faces," says Kurzweil, noting that the technology may soon also be used to map the interior of homes, offices,and other buildings.
Farther ahead on the horizon, Kurzweil says, are driverless cars that will turn sightless commuters into vehicle owners. Yet even with all those advancesin technology, blind job seekers still face some difficult challenges. Screen readers, which once let users easily scan the internet for jobs, cannot readthe distorted codes needed to gain access to some websites, says Brian Charlson, vice president of computer training services for the Carroll Center forthe Blind in Newton. Web animation, mislabeled photos, and offbeat web designs confound the screen readers even more.
The biggest challenge, however, may be in persuading employers that blind job seekers are as skilled as their sighted counterparts, he says. "There's aquiet discrimination," notes Charlson, who also is blind. The issue is getting employers to understand that with proper technology, there are few jobsblind applicants can't handle. "Employers may wonder how you can use a computer if you can't read the screen. They may worry about the paperwork you needto read or how you will take notes," says Paul Schroeder, vice president of programs and policy for the American Federation for the Blind. That's why it'scrucial to educate employers about screen readers, optical scanners, and handheld note-taking devices.
Gray doesn't wait for employers to ask how he will handle a task. He is eager to explain the technology and quick to highlight his skills. "I'm of the mindsetthat anything is possible when you are blind if you are willing to work at it and realize that you are a capable person," he says. "You have to be ableto see yourself as a person, rather than as a blind person."©

Weekend, Willy Wonka, and Whiskey's

Greetings to all and my apologies for taking so long to post. I hope that everyone had a great work week and that they are looking forward to their weekends!
Here are a few thoughts for now and I hope to once again return to regular posts albeit in smaller portions.

In terms of a quick head’s up both Bruce Springsteen’s concert at Gillette Stadium in August and Dave Matthews Band’s shows at the Tweeter Center go on sale tomorrow morning on ticketmaster.com. Both I promise you will be worth the price of admission.

I got to meet Gene Wilder last night at the Borders Bookstore in the Back Bay. Like all of us, I grew up watching Willy Wanka time and time again so it was definitely a true honor to meet one of the top comedic actors of the twentieth century. It was very interesting to observe Wilder off the camera—to be sure I was not expecting the out going liveliness of Wilder’s on screen characters but he was much more shy and reserved than I would have expected. It is always interesting for me to observe celebrities in the real world and while Wilder did nothing to disappoint me with rudeness it was interesting to observe him—I once again realized celebrities are in the end people first.

After the signing we headed down Boylston St to Whiskey’s for our dinner. I had been to Whiskey’s for drinks before but this was the first time I had eaten there. We decided to split two sandwiches and we went with the Dixie chicken sandwich (a chicken topped with cheddar, bacon, and barbeque sauce on ciabatta bread) and the Cajon Caesar rollup. Both were very good and combined with some of the fresher fries I’ve had in a while the meal was more than solid. The service was a different story—it took us about 15 minutes before we were waited on but once she arrived our waitress was friendly and attentive. The price was fair and the two sandwiches and two sodas came to $21 before tip. I’d give Whiskey’s a respectable 3/5.

Okay that is all for now—I hope you all have a good weekend!

Billy's Brings Delicious Eats to the Waterfront

Billy Tse Restaurant, 240 Commercial St, Boston, MA 4.5/5

If anyone is looking for a great spot to grab Chinese food in Boston they need not look any further than Billy Tse at 240 Commercial St. It is ironic that one can find such great Chinese food in the North End but once you taste the food you’ll soon forget you are in an area more known for pizzas and pastas than it is for egg rolls and rice noodles.

We arrived at Billy’s around 6:45 on Saturday night and were welcomed in with great hospitality and service. About 10 – 15 minutes after arriving at the restaurant we were seated, with drinks, and with food—this was quite an accomplishment especially on a Saturday night.

The prices for Billy’s are quite fair—around $8-9 for noodle plates and $11-13 for those with meat--and considering the large portions one could even consider them a bargain. We tried the Kung Pao Chicken which was extremely fresh and accompanied by crisp vegetables. The sesame chicken was also great and delivered a very sweet option to contrast with the spicy Kung Pao.

The service is friendly and attentive and as mentioned above fast. Its location—smack dab on Boston’s waterfront—is a very scenic one but unfortunately we weren’t able to take advantage of the surroundings this past Saturday because of the flooding rain and early March temperature.

If one is longing for a new destination on their Boston Chinese food map than they should circle Billy Tse as their next stop.

Celtics, Champs, Chills, and More

Here are some thoughts that are rattling around my head this afternoon.
Kevin Garnett is officially back. He might have missed nine games with an injured abdomen but last night against the Detroit Pistons one could hardly tell he had ever missed a beat. Garnett’s intensity is so great that it has the ability to have an early March regular season game seem as though it is a playoff game seven. No matter what Al Jefferson ends up being as a basketball player it will be hard to argue with Ainge’s trade simply based on the life that has returned to Celtics games as a result of Garnett’s presence.

Steve Phillips of ESPN brought up the amazing fact in Thursday’s broadcast of the Red Sox spring training game against the Dodgers that 23 players out of the 25 players from the Red Sox 2007 roster are still around going into 2008 spring training. That is a 92% pretension rate. In the free agent era, I can’t remember when a championship team went into the next season with so many hold-overs.

The contrast of the 2007 retention rate was even more illuminated by the fact that the Dodgers starter Thursday was former Sox hurler Derrick Lowe. With the mass exodus of 2004 that was led by Pedro Martinez and Lowe it is hard to believe that the Red Sox are still under essentially the same exact ownership and management.

During the same ESPN broadcast the fact was brought up that every Red Sox home spring training game since 2003 has been sold out. Every game has been sold out at Fenway Park during this same exact time. It is hard to imagine this streak coming to an end any time soon.

And now for the creepy portion of this post--MSNBC had a special last night entitled “The Mind of Manson” chronicling the the life and times of Charles Manson. The program relied heavily on a 1987 Today Show broadcast which featured an interview with Manson and analysis from a former F.B.I. crime profiler. I have to admit that watching this interview was one of the most chilling, yet gripping, things I’ve watched in a while. People the likes of Manson often seem inhuman and beyond comprehension and while the program did nothing to completely remove this about Manson—it was fascinating to hear the psychological analysis of the interview that was provided throughout the program.

If anyone is looking for something to do this weekend they might want to look into the Harpoon Brewery’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The cover of $15 is a bit steep but it does include a free pint glass and hours of music. For anyone busy the actual St. Patrick’s Day weekend it might be a nice alternative.

One week until I leave for Florida and Red Sox Spring Training!