Blind Abilities Podcast

FocusOnFitness is a series of basic exercises you can do in your house, in the dorm or during a short break. Using the natural surrounding without having to find the right equipment, the best gym or the perfect time to do a little workout. Focus on Fitness is all about doing it when you can and hey, why not? Maria Johnson, aka Girl Gone Blind, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to Focus on Fitness and how you can incorporate little nuggets of exercise without throwing your schedule off and being able to work out within your own time and space. In episode #3 of 7, of the Focus on Fitness series, Maria and Jeff talk to  us about Walking. Whether using a guide with a tether or on the treadmill, walking is one of the best exercises available. Making a walking routine part of your weekly schedule is one of the best choices one can make when it comes to your heart, your lungs and it can really be a good time to converse and even take in a good audio book. That is, if you are on a treadmill.   Check o

FocusOnFitness is a series of basic exercises you can do in your house, in the dorm or during a short break. Using the natural surrounding without having to find the right equipment, the best gym or the perfect time to do a little workout. Focus on Fitness is all about doing it when you can and hey, why not? Maria Johnson, aka Girl Gone Blind, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to Focus on Fitness and how you can incorporate little nuggets of exercise without throwing your schedule off and being able to work out within your own time and space. In episode #2 of 7, of the Focus on Fitness series, Maria and Jeff introduce us to Squats. This is where you lower your hips from a standing position and then stand back up. Maria and Jeff want you to be safe and suggest hanging onto a stable fixture when exploring the movement of a Squat.  This is to give you an idea of the motion that a Squat consists of and to give you a sense of the group of muscles involved.   Check out  some more Focus on Fitness ep

In this tenth episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, finish up on their talk of depression with a bit on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SADS) and  elaborate on what they think about making New Year's Resolutions. Keeping the resolutions attainable, limited and focused on goals such as professional, themes such as acts of kindness and less on personal challenges. Themes can be for the entire year and whatever you may choose to set out and enhance or improve upon, make sure the goal is something you want for yourself. Episode Web Site we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbilities.com or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 Check out all the Wellness Wednesday episodes.   Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, CAGCS, PLGS             Www.transitioningthroughchange.com   You can message Beth and Robin by calling 612-367-6093 or by ema

FocusOnFitness is a series of basic exercises you can do in your house, in the dorm or during a short break. Using the natural surrounding without having to find the right equipment, the best gym or the perfect time to do a little workout. Focus on Fitness is all about doing it when you can and hey, why not? Maria Johnson, aka Girl Gone Blind, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to Focus on Fitness and how you can incorporate little nuggets of exercise without throwing your schedule off and being able to work out within your own time and space. In this episode, #1 of 7, of the Focus on Fitness series, Maria and Jeff introduce us to the Plank. This is a full core exercise and is something you can build upon over time. Take your time and feel the entire body come together to keep that plank position steady and strong. Start with 10 seconds, drop to the knees if need be, it all counts. Check out  some more Focus on Fitness episodes and if you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to let us kn

Greetings from Blind Abilities, Thank you all for listening and thank you to all the wonderful hosts on the Blind Abilities Network. You all make us what we are and I am so fortunate to be able to work with all of you, I am blessed. Serina, Callie, Seyoon, Robin, Beth, Sarlie, Dacia, Jesse, Serena Olsen, Simon and Chee Chau and Marlon. And all the others who have made an impact to the shows, thank you very much. I wanted to reflect on a memory I have about being a kid and how our perspectives change and the memories seem to be a bit more entertaining than the realities of changing perspectives can have on the good old days of "Yester-year". Enjoy the memories however you embellish or enhance them. Tell them and bring them to life. Story telling is the way history started and you are making history every day. Your story is worth telling so share away! My little story is about a hill in my childhood neighborhood called Gruenberg Hill. Today, the hill remains and so does the memory. Hope you enjoy.    Episode We

Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. held the 3rd Annual Sight Tech Global 2022, Virtual and in-person event.  Kevin Chao attended virtually for the first 2 days and Being just 20 minutes away, Kevin attended the first in-person event put on by  the Vista Center and documented his experience. You can find Kevin's Sight Tech Global 2022 document below. It was a pleasure to have Kevin back in the Blind Abilities Studio to tell us all about the Sight Tech Global 2022. From his hands-on demonstrations to his conversations with attendees, you will learn what caught Kevin's attention and how meeting the  technology pioneers rounded out his virtual and in-person conference experience. Hope you enjoy. Read more: Episode Web Site   we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbilities.com or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093

Apple introduced a new feature called Sing when iOS 16.2 was released. You can now drop the volume level of the vocals in a song on Apple Music so you can take over the vocals of millions of songs. Apple has created some Sing playlist in many categories and genres so you can find plenty of songs to sing along with. The one caveat is that you have to be a subscriber to Apple Music, and have one of the latest Apple devices.   To find out more about Sing check out Apple Support for Sing on the iPhone. Episode Web Site we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbilities.com or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093

In this 9th episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, describe a variety of types of depression, the symptoms and ways one may cope with depression. They stress contacting a therapist for diagnosis if one feels some symptoms coming on. Depression is wide-spread and a lot of depression is undiagnosed. learn about the different types of depression and some coping tips as you become more aware of what may be happening when you are feeling down, anxious and a bit low, especially during the Winter and Holiday season.   Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, CAGCS, PLGS             Www.transitioningthroughchange.com   You can message Beth and Robin by calling 612-367-6093 or by email. Let them know if they can use your message on the show. They are looking forward to hearing from you. Episode Web Site we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbilities.com or give

Our guest today is Dave Epstein, founder of AwareWolf Gear, the home of the All-Terrain Cane. Dave shares the origin of the ATC including all of the steps he took to create the cane, from borrowing tools and pieces from the local hiking store, to adding parts from other traditional canes, through developing three completed prototypes, finally landing on the final version of the All-Terrain Cane that we see Dave present to us today. This cane is currently being manufactured and is ready to be ordered from Dave’s web site. at AWareWolfGear.com. Join Jeff and Pete and their dynamic guest, Dave Epstein as he describes the details and steps he has taken to create and develop this extra special cane that will meet our every travel need and take us where we need to go, safely! Dave also offers other gear besides the ATC on his web site, AWareWolfGear.com You will find appealing T Shirts designed to identify blind walkers or hikers with unique designs and graphics which will definitely help you stand out as a blind t

Serina is back with Callie and Jeff in the Blind Abilities Studio bringing you this lushes Tech Abilities show. Seyoon is hard at the December Grind of College so we let him be and flipped on the microphones and hit the "On the Air" light outside the studio door. Here are just some of the planned items and topics however, in between the Tidbits are little nuggets of priceless wisdom and jewels placed within just for your discovery. Hope you enjoy! Belkin launches AirPods Cleaning Kit, claims to remove earwax plus restore acoustic performance Microsoft Really Is Selling a Cozy Hoodie for Your Shivering Xbox Controller Google Docs and Sheets on iPad Aira: Laying the Groundwork for a Strong 2023 Ring App Accessibility Broken Apple Music Launches New Replay Audible on iOS gets hands-free listening and more thanks to Alexa voice commands Taylor Swift tickets Audio description Serina's Holiday songs from Bob   Episode Web Site we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbilities.com or give

When speaking to businesses ,adding Accessibility to Diversity Equity and Inclusion, an IDEA worth Spreading.is what John Samuel is all about. As CEO of ABLR Works, John talks about a new program that they have developed to teach Blind and Visually Impaired students to become Digital Accessibility Testers. ABLR Works has teamed up with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Services for the Blind (DSB) to kick off the statewide initiative this month. With this model, John hopes the programs at ABLR Works will spread across the States. John talks about his Blindness journey and embracing his disability/authentic self and the release of his new book, "Don’t Ask the Blind guy for Directions: A 30,000-Mile Journey for Love, Confidence, and a Sense of belonging".   Here are useful links from the episode: ABLR Works web site   Article from the web: ‘First-of-its-kind’ program to train visually impaired as digital accessibility testers John's new book: Don’t Ask the Blind guy for D

Shane DeSantis, Transition Coordinator at State Services for the Blind, hosts the College101 Webinar with 3 unique college students giving their unique perspective on how they are succeeding and succeeded in their college journey. learn from their experiences and suggestions as they respond to questions submitted from high school students, college students and teachers. Are you interested in attending college to gain education and training needed to meet your employment goals? Do you have questions about what the transition to college will look like and what skills are needed to be successful in higher academics? In this College101 Webinar you may find the answers you are looking for.   If you have any questions, please contact Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us or 651-358-5205.   Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Pre-ETS Program and Transition Services Coordinator Shane DeSantis by email or

Program Director, Alicia Smith and Training and Program Specialist, Brian Switzer, join Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about the latest offerings at Perkins Career Launch at Perkins is currently offering week-long Tech Bootcamp sessions to help adults use access technology to work effectively and efficiently with the tools most commonly used in the workplace: Google Workspace and Microsoft Suite Career Launch @ Perkins has designed virtual tech bootcamp sessions to teach blind and visually impaired participants how to use access technology to work effectively and efficiently with the tools most commonly used in the workplace: Google Workspace and Microsoft Suite. Each week-long, virtual session costs $250 and includes 20 hours of coursework, including live classes taught via Zoom, independent assignments submitted via email as well as assessments before and after the session.  Microsoft Session 1: January 23rd-27th Google Session 1: January 30th -February 3rd Microsoft Session 2: February

Menus4All Vice president of Marketing, Stephany Jones, returns to the blind Abilities studio to announce the launch of their new app, Menus4All. The largest and most accessible menu for the Blind and Visually Impaired. With over 750,000 unique menus from United States and Canada, this well organized and accessible app is the cat's meow. From the voiceover accessibility, headings, near me list population and ease of use, this is the best thing since slice bread. And yes, you can search for bread or any other menu item or zip code or many other options that will suit your needs. Co-hosting with  Jeff Thompson in the studio is Serena Olsen, aka @BlindBroad from the Facebook Live show, The Blind Grind. Stephany, Serena and Jeff share some experiences, laughs and a lot of information about the development, the usability and the multiple ways a user can buy, subscribe and utilize the Menus4All App. Full Transcript  Here are some links to help you find out more about Menus4All:   Get the Menus4All App on the App St

Jenine Stanley joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about the upcoming changes happening to the retail and community plans at Aira. With the changing economy and needs of explorers, Aira has made adjustments to forge forward into the upcoming years to provide the great service that we all have become accustomed to and use when we need that instant access to information. You can find out more on the Aira web site  and dig into their Newsroom to keep up with all the upcoming news. Here is a blog post from Aira CEO Troy Otillio: Aira: Laying the Groundwork for a Strong 2023 Thanks for Listening! Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Pre-ETS Program and Transition Services Coordinator Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us  or 651-358-5205. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we

In this eighth  episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, explore how they think about gratitude and ways to express gratitude. It's not just the big things, the little things matter, too.   Check out all the Wellness Wednesday episodes.   Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, CAGCS, PLGS             Www.transitioningthroughchange.com   You can message Beth and Robin by calling 612-367-6093 or by email. They are looking forward to hearing from you!   Episode Web Site   we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbilities.com or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093

The crew minus one is back again and filled with gratitude and news from around the community, industry and all parts involved. Callie, Seyoon and Jeff take a dive into the latest news and tech tidbits and give a lot of their personal experience with everything mentioned. We hope you enjoy and here are some useful links from this episode:   Registration has opened for the annual Braille Readers Are Leaders contest!    Guide Dogs for the Blind’s K9 Buddy Program Expands to Include the Entire United States and Adults of Any Age K9 Buddy Program   Emergency SOS by Satellite is activated.   Netflix lets you kick freeloading users off your streaming account   Elon Musk puts Twitter’s Blue Verified relaunch on hold.   It’s already too late to order iPhone 14 Pro in time for Christmas   Apple Reveals Black Friday Deals for 2022   Gratitude   Thanks for Listening!

Apple just released the Emergency SOS by Satellite feature for all the iPhone 14 series owners. In the settings, one can go to Emergency SOS and at the bottom of the screen is a "Try Demo" button. In this iPhone101 demo, Jeff Thompson dives in and goes off the grid to give you an overview of this incredible feature. It is important that one considers setting up their Medical I.D. in the Health App and allows their Medical I.D. to be shared even while on the Lock Screen mode. Jeff covers all of this and more from within the Emergency SOS set of features. You can find all the iPhone101 and QuickBytes on the web and be sure to subscribe to Blind Abilities wherever you listen to podcasts!  Hope you enjoy! Episode Web Site we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbilities.com or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093

In this episode of Job Insights Serina Gilbert, Sarlie Drakos, Dacia Vanalstine and Jeff Thompson talk about your presence on Social Media platforms and how your profile, your presence can influence job recruiters, potential employers, and decision makers during the job interview process. How to clean up your past and build a purposeful and positive presence on social media that may help you land that job you are seeking. Resources   What is LinkedIn?   the Job Insights team shares their knowledge and experience to help you succeed and prepare for the job interview and help you set a pathway to the career you want. Be sure to contact your Vocational Rehabilitation Services in your state and see what they can do for you. Sarlie Drakos is a Disability Employment Coach and you can reach her at SarlieDrakos.com and inquire how she can help you land that dream job.   Be sure to check out all of our Job Insights episodes and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@Bl

Blind Abilities welcomes Shane DeSantis, Transition Coordinator at State Services for the Blind of Minnesota, to the studio to talk about an upcoming College 101 webinar.   Are you interested in attending college to gain education and training needed to meet your employment goals? Do you have questions about what the transition to college will look like and what skills are needed to be successful in higher academics?   What: SSB is hosting a College 101 webinar for prospective blind, visually impaired, and DeafBlind college students to learn from current college students the skills needed for success in higher education. Please join us for the conversation and feel free to ask questions you might have about college. Who: This is open for any prospective college student in high school or recently graduated from high school. A small group of current college students will serve as panelists to discuss their experiences at college and answer questions.   When: Monday, November 28th from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM   Where: