I learned to use the Optacon in my late 20’s when I was a House Floor Clerk in
the Iowa House of Representatives. It allowed me to find the correct place to
cut apart each of the pages and pages of amendments for legislative bills, then
find the correct spot in each bill’s file to place the amendment. Additionally,
I used it to look at statistical characters such as Y-hat and X-bar in the
print book, to examine chemical structures in my textbook, and to read several
books. The Optacon is slow. There’s no way you could read a book quickly with
it. But it can’t be beat for investigating the world of print even now. I only
regret that mine died quite a few years ago, and no one sells or repairs them
any more.
Sandi
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Behalf Of Evan Reese
Sent: Friday, June 5, 2020 11:27 AM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other deranged perfectionists
Well, to my mind, something is not obsolete if people are still using it.
I was fortunate to receive training at the blind school I went to.
I actually described a chart for a book I did for Bookshare using the Optacon
to read it. No synthetic voice is gonna do that.
Evan
From: Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
"rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2020 11:39 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other deranged perfectionists
I don't know about Evan, but the opticon would be useless for me and a lot of
other blind people too. I tried one out in 1989 when I was in rehab and
couldn't make out much at all with it. It was considered obsolete even then and
I don't think they are being made anymore. It is something you have to learn
and the learning is painstaking. To me all I could feel with it was an
unpleasant vibration on my fingers. I understand that if you stick with it then
eventually those vibrations will begin to feel like letters, but that it takes
lots of practice. I think the advent of synthetic voices killed it. I suppose
the rehab teachers were not even thinking about using it to proofread. At least
back in 1989 the Internet did not exist and Bookshare was even further into the
future.
___
Carl Sagan
“Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder
and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to
nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will
prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront
the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the
Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will
penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
On 6/4/2020 10:35 PM, Judy wrote:
Hi Evan,
You could print out pages and use the Opticon with them, couldn't you? My
brother did that with my mom's Opticon, I think. But otherwise, it's an image
pdf intended for sighted volunteers. I was addressing the part of Valerie's
message that asked regarding other sighted volunteers. smile.
Judy
On June 4, 2020 9:05:52 PM CDT, Evan Reese mailto:mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: ;
Hi Judy,
I’m not sure that having an image pdf would do me any good. Unless I am
mistaken, (and I’m sure someone here will tell me if I am), I would have to
have that image OCRed before I can read it. I can do that, but it may well
introduce errors of its own and may not tell me what I want to know.
Evan
From: Judy <mailto:cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2020 9:27 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other deranged perfectionists
So this got sent without the text it was supposed to have, which was:
Finding out there is an option that is free is always nice, isn't it? *grin*
On June 4, 2020 8:24:41 PM CDT, Judy mailto:cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: ;
*grin*
Judy
On June 4, 2020 8:16:44 PM CDT, Evan Reese mailto:mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: ;
Oh well, I didn’t know that.
So I guess my advice to buy the book is kaput. <smile>
Evan
From: Judy <mailto:cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2020 9:01 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other deranged perfectionists
Hi Valerie,
Every wish list book scanned by staff has a pdf available from staff that
contains a scanned image of every page.
Send an email to volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> ,
tell them you are proofreading a wish list book that you'd like to have the PDF
for, and list the title and the author. They will send you a link that lets you
view the PDF online, and that will let you download the PDF as well.
Judy
On June 4, 2020 7:46:44 PM CDT, dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In recent weeks I have picked up a couple of books off the wish list on
checkout. One of them is a YA book set in Hawaii with a lot of dialect. I have
put a ton of work into it already, realizing that the scanning had not only
stripped most of the italics, but had inferred traditional words in place of
dialect words. I guess my question is more often for sighted volunteers, but
how often do people feel the need to have confirmation from the physical print
in trying to achieve high accuracy? I'm debating about the necessity of paying
$6.50 to have the Kindle copy available to continue making corrections. The
first chapter was available as a peek and it made me realize how much was
missing or improperly handled in the scan. Money is tight, and I hate to spend
the money, but I've also already invested so much in getting this to where it
is now that I almost feel compelled.
Everyone's thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Valerie
