Blind Access Journal

Latest Episodes:

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree Dec 05, 2020

Show notes

In this approximately 13-minute podcast, take a short break from all the pandemic news and listen to us decorate our Christmas tree. We hope all of you are enjoying happy holidays this year!

Please tell us how you and your family are handling social distancing, feeding yourselves and generally getting along, especially from a blind perspective, in the time of the Coronavirus. Please send an audio recording or a written message to darrell (at) blindaccessjournal (dot) com or tell us about it on our social media channels.

Blind Access Journal, and the Hilliker family, must frequently rely on sighted assistance in order to get important, inaccessible tasks done. In most cases, we have chosen Aira as our visual interpreter. If you are ready to become an Aira Explorer, and you feel it in your heart to pass along a small gift to the journal or our family, we ask that you use our referral link. Your first month of Aira service will be free of charge, we will receive a discount on our bill and we will thank you for supporting the important work we do here at Blind Access Journal.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let's get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Voting the Almost Accessible Braille Ballot Oct 30, 2020

Show notes

In this approximately 48-minute podcast, Allison Hilliker tries to avail herself of Maricopa County's almost-but-not-quite-accessible Braille ballot.

We would like to learn about your voting experiences this year. If you haven't done so already, it is not too late! Please do everything you can to get out to the polls and vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3!

If you encounter any trouble voting as a blind person on Election Day, please contact the National Federation of the Blind's hotline at 1-877-NFB-1940 ( 1-877-632-1940) from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific standard time. Please check out the Federation's Voting Resources page for more information.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let's get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Cleaning Up Our Act: Setting Up the iRobot Roomba E5 Vacuum Aug 23, 2020

Show notes

In this approximately 37-minute podcast, Allison and Darrell Hilliker learn all about their new iRobot Roomba E5 vacuum cleaner.

We would like to learn about your cleaning experiences. Do you use a robot vacuum? What techniques or technologies do you use to keep your house clean from a blindness perspective.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let's get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Lighting the World with the Teckin SP20 Wifi Smart Plug Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

In this approximately 10-minute podcast, Darrell Hilliker demonstrates the use of the Teckin SP20 WiFi Smart Plug for managing the status of lights.

Download: Lighting the World with the Teckin Wifi Smart Plug

We hope the ability to turn lights on and off with our voices will draw attention, and toddler hands, away from cords and switches. This is, of course, our excuse for embracing the laziness that comes with smart home technology.

AccessiLife Consulting, Blind Access Journal, and the Hilliker family, must frequently rely on sighted assistance in order to get important, inaccessible tasks done. In most cases, we have chosen Aira as our visual interpreter. If you are ready to become an Aira Explorer, and you feel it in your heart to pass along a small gift to the journal or our family, we ask that you use our referral link. Your first month of Aira service will be free of charge, we will receive a discount on our bill and we will thank you for supporting the important work we do here at Blind Access Journal.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Finding Balance: Easter in the Time of the Coronavirus Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

In this approximately 24-minute podcast, Allison, Allyssa, Arabella and Darrell Hilliker celebrate Easter in the time of the Coronavirus while putting together the Alex Active Monkey Kids Toddler Balance Board.

Download: Finding Balance: Easter in the Time of the Coronavirus

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Connecting All the Things: Setting Up the Eero Whole Home WiFi System Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

In this one-hour podcast, Darrell Hilliker unboxes and demonstrates the setup of a new Eero Whole Home WiFi system from a blind person’s perspective.

Download: Eero Setup Demo

Although not perfectly accessible in all respects, the Eero WiFi system represents a painless way to easily deploy wireless Internet connectivity throughout your home. If you decide to try one after listening to this podcast, we hope you will purchase it from our Amazon link, where a small commission goes toward supporting our work.

eero Home WiFi System (1 eero Pro + 2 eero Beacons) – Advanced Tri-Band Mesh WiFi System to Replace Traditional Routers and WiFi Range Extenders – Coverage: 2 to 4 Bedroom Home<img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=accessilife0c-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B0713ZCT4N" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, letâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Aira in the Real World: Paper Airplanes Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

In this approximately 32-minute eighth episode in the Aira in the Real World podcast series, Allison, Allyssa, Arabella and Darrell Hilliker work with Aira agent Connor to construct a paper airplane. While sighted people have enjoyed the privilege of learning from YouTube videos for many years now, we blind people have been largely locked out of this opportunity due to a lack of useful description. Thanks to Aira, we explore the creation of a paper airplane using instructions from an otherwise inaccessible YouTube video titled How To Fold A Paper Airplane That Flies Far.

In addition to the verbal descriptions heard in this podcast, Connor also supplied the following written instructions upon our request.

Start with paper laying in landscape (hot dog style)
Fold bottom to top and crease in the middle.
Open paper back up.
Fold top left corner down into the middle and crease.
Repeat with bottom left corner.
Uncrease from the center fold and crease it on the reverse side while keeping the corners creased.
Fold only one flap so that the angle becomes more acute.
Fold a 2nd time making it even more acute.
Flip over and repeat steps 7 and 8 with the other flap.
Throw it and enjoy!

We invite you to listen to our previous podcast, Exploring the World with Aira: A Candid Discussion with Suman Kanuganti, especially if you are learning about this new service for the first time.

If you are ready to become an Aira Explorer, we ask that you use our referral link. Your first month of Aira service will be free of charge, we will receive a discount on our bill and we will thank you for supporting the important work we do here at Blind Access Journal.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Aira in the Real World: The Little Red Sled Jan 28, 2019

Show notes

In this approximately 15-minute seventh episode in the Aira in the Real World podcast series, Allyssa and Darrell Hilliker work with Aira agent Jacob to read a print copy of The Little Red Sled. While we always prefer Braille books, some relatives give our children print books, and it is nice to be able to enjoy them together.

We invite you to listen to our previous podcast, Exploring the World with Aira: A Candid Discussion with Suman Kanuganti, especially if you are learning about this new service for the first time.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

The Twelve Inaccessibilities of Christmas Dec 21, 2018

Show notes

In this approximately 6-minute podcast, Allison and Darrell Hilliker sing their take on the twelve days of Christmas.

The Twelve Inaccessibilities of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: a mouse click only menu tree.
On the second day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the third day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the fourth day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the fifth day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: five undescribed graphics, four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the sixth day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: six focus issues, five undescribed graphics, four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the seventh day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: seven JavaScript frameworks, six focus issues, five undescribed graphics, four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the eighth day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: eight untagged documents, seven JavaScript frameworks, six focus issues, five undescribed graphics, four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the ninth day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: nine map pins dancing, eight untagged documents, seven JavaScript frameworks, six focus issues, five undescribed graphics, four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the tenth day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: ten misleading link names, nine map pins dancing, eight untagged documents, seven JavaScript frameworks, six focus issues, five undescribed graphics, four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: eleven custom elements, ten misleading link names, nine map pins dancing, eight untagged documents, seven JavaScript frameworks, six focus issues, five undescribed graphics, four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: twelve tangled tables, eleven custom elements, ten misleading link names, nine map pins dancing, eight untagged documents, seven JavaScript frameworks, six focus issues, five undescribed graphics, four carousels, three image CAPTCHAs, two unlabeled buttons and a mouse click only menu tree.

Happy holidays from Allyssa, Arabella, Allison and Darrell!

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

Aira in the Real World: Check Out My Nipples Oct 13, 2018

Show notes

In this approximately 14-minute sixth episode in the Aira in the Real World podcast series, Allison, Darrell, Allyssa and Arabella Hilliker work with Aira agent Jordan to identify letters and numbers on baby bottle nipples to insure the correct flow level is selected.

For best success with breast feeding, we recommend use of preemie bottle nipples as long as possible. These typically have the letter “P” or the number “0” shown visually on the inside of the nipple. They are challenging to locate, but Aira agent Jordan was able to get it done easily.

If you use the Dr. Brown bottles, try Dr. Brown’s Original Nipple, Preemie (0m+), 6 count for best results.

As always, your mileage may vary and we disclaim everything. Please seek advice from your child’s pediatrician, a certified lactation consultant or other professional when deciding how to feed your baby.

We invite you to listen to our previous podcast, Exploring the World with Aira: A Candid Discussion with Suman Kanuganti, especially if you are learning about this new service for the first time.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

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