macular degeneration, macular, diagnosis TV – My Macular Degeneration Journey/Journal

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Sue’s Toolkit – 2 Years Later – Part 2

Hi. Sunday and the snow is coming down! All day I have been fighting “it’s snowing! I don’t have to do my work! We will have a day off tomorrow!”

That’s me, by the way. There are no school-aged kiddos in this house. I have been fighting procrastination ever since the snow started around noon. Did manage to get some of my ‘homework’ done. One report written. I don’t want to think about how many more to go!

So, taking time to write a quick page before going on to report #2. I got one of my mymacularjournal.com ‘homework’ assignments back from Lin. Full of ‘red marks’! “Did you mention this? How about that?” Good grief!

I told her I would blame my having to do this page on her.? So there. [Lin/Linda: What can I say…we have high standards here. ::grin::]

Here we go…what has survived the test of time redux.

First of all: these are not advertisements. There are plenty and PLENTY of other products that mostly likely work as well. These are the ones I tried and they worked for me. I have no investment in any of this stuff. If you use other things and like them better, make a comment, write a page. We want to hear. Also, caveat emptor. If you buy something and “hate it!”, it’s not my fault. These are not recommendations.

Now that that is out of the way…my CCTV is from Low Vision International. The model is the Magnilink Zip 17. The 17 is for the screen size. Lin wanted me to tell you what I have and like but, remember, there are probably dozens of others. The big selling point for this one is it is portable. Maybe about 20 pounds including the case. It goes to school. It goes to the office. It goes home. Good deal. Don’t need portable? Maybe this one is not for you.

Lin also wanted me to mention the iPad with the Justand. I seldom use it but if you cannot get someone to plop down $3500 for you to get a CCTV?  The iPad on the Justand is a viable alternative. [Sue wrote about the inexpensive Justand that holds the iPad above what you want to look at. You can see the image on the screen and can enlarge it as needed.  Her page Good Stuff Cheap.]

Why do I seldom use it? I have a portable CCTV. Using my iPad as a magnifier means it is not available for anything else.

Like watching TV for example. Lin asked how I watch TV on my iPad. (I think she knows. It’s a test.? She wants to see if I really know!) I went to the app store and searched for some of my more favorite networks. I have CBS, NBC, PBS and FOX apps on my iPad. You have to ‘subscribe’ (read ‘buy’) if you want the good stuff. By good stuff I mean prime time and current, but sometimes they throw you a bone and you can watch your shows for my favorite word: free. Most of them require you watch the commercials, but sometimes the commercials are the best part! [You can also subscribe to services such as Hulu and Netflx and watch their programming on the TV or on your tablet.  If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can also watch TV shows and movies on the TV or tablet many are free, some have a cost.]

And when I say require, I mean just that. You cannot fast forward through them. But you can go to the bathroom or get something to eat if you want.?

Oops. This is getting long. Catch up on the rest of the questions later! I gotta get something to eat. (Bet you thought I was going to say something else!?) Bye!

Written Feb. 1st, 2018

Continue reading “Sue’s Toolkit – 2 Years Later – Part 2”

Downtime

Another Friday night. A little ‘fried’ on a Friday. Not interested in doing anything of substance. I tried watching NCIS (CBS) on my tablet and there is a glitch. It switches me over to another episode with 12 minutes left in the one I am watching. Lin says it does not happened for her and it does not happen when I watch PBS on my iPad. Weird. Anyway, I’m going to watch Nature instead.

I have just started to watch a little TV on my iPad. It is nice because you can practically put your nose on the screen and no one cares. Relative distance magnification at it’s finest.

Apps for CBS All Access and PBS Video are available for free in the app store. A fair number of episodes from prime time series are free. Might help to trim the old cable bill. [Lin/Linda: The apps are free but for access to all of their shows & live CBS in certain areas, CBS All Access offers several subscription options.  PBS does not charge a fee.  You can view both on quite a few more devices than on the iPhone and iPad.  There are TONS of ways to ‘cut the cord’ and reduce or get rid of cable TV.]

I am taking some downtime now because there is plenty going on soon. It seems my nature abhors a vacuum.

In addition to going back to work in earnest, I am participating in the local ‘event’ scene. I got invited to go to a local theater production and my yogini is having a moon salutation practice at moon rise for the full moon.

“When the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars…” Born 30 years too late for her inclinations, my yogini is our resident hippie. And FYI, the Age of Aquarius does not officially start until 2579 so we have some time to hang out.

One of these days I have a Party in Pink. That is the Zumba fundraiser for breast cancer research. Then towards the end of the month I am supposed to go to a yoga fundraiser for Puerto Rico. That is in addition to the hot air balloon festival, which is a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network. Apparently disasters can lead to lots of fun events around here! Ouch. Forget I said that.

But on the topic of disasters, Bascom-Palmer Eye Institute, once again the top shop for eyes in the country, did their good deeds during the recent hurricanes in Florida. Not only did they call all staff in and encourage them to bring family members along, Bascom-Palmer sent out emergency teams to the Keys.

In a press release quoted by healio.com Bascom-Palmer reported serving more than 40 patients for eye problems. Chronic problems with no available medication, broken glasses, injury, infection? They treated it all. Dr. Richard Lee opined how treating eye problems during and after a disaster is essential, a real priority. People who cannot see well are ripe for incurring other injuries.

Speaking personally, I know we who were volunteering in the local flood zone in 2011 were all required to wear eye protection. I came down with a raging case of flood mud crud (hacked so hard I actually put my back in spasms!). How much worse if I had topped that off with a raging eye infection!

I was going to roll right into a discussion of a couple articles I found on eye care during a disaster but I am at 500 words here. That will have to be a new page.

Dang! And you thought you got rid of me! ?

Written September 30th, 2017 Continue reading “Downtime”

Time to Watch Some TV

Hi, guys! Lin is crazy busy with all of the new FaceBook members so she asked me to do some work! I have an assignment. Actually, a couple of them. Oy. [Lin/Linda: ah, who started this project, eh? ::grin::]

My first assignment is to put together a page on watching TV. Now personally, I watch practically no TV. TV watching is something I know nothing about.

Like I am not a domestic goddess, I am not an entertainment maven. However, I do a wicked web search, so let us see what the experts say!

First of all, no matter what your parents said, watching TV close to the screen does not – I repeat, NOT – damage your eyes. I have it on good authority, the American Academy of Ophthalmology says so.

What does that mean for you? Move up as close as you need to. Magnification is just about the best thing we can do to help us see better right now and getting closer is a way of making things appear bigger.

And speaking of magnification, Max TV glasses are called Max TV for a reason. They were made for watching television. If I do have something to watch on a screen, this is the way I usually go.

I realize some of this stuff is expensive. I got my Max TV glasses for free. You may have to pay $170 or about a third of that for the knockoff brand. Either of those sums can be prohibitive.  [Lin/Linda here: I guess Sue forgot that she wrote a page called Comparison Shopping where she talks about less expensive MaxTV-like glasses that she found.

The Near Sighted VR app for your Android cell phone magnifies and it is free. I just tried it again with my cardboard ‘goggles’, however, and I still get a shimmer. As motion sick as I can get, I am not doing a shimmer (Shimmy, yes. Shimmer, no). Since downloading the app and trying it on your cell phone will cost you only time, I would suggest downloading the app and trying it. Lin can give us a link to the cardboard box ‘goggles’ that are needed.

Those are your magnification options. Oh, also remember if you need a new TV, get the biggest screen you can afford. Ask the salesperson about good, not famous brand products.  And in this instance, size really does matter!? Oh, my! Did I say that?

Now for this stuff you may need a teen. Preferably a male, but some girls are excellent at this too. Not sure if that is sexist or not. Oh, well… [Lin/Linda: in my household, it is ME who takes care of the electronics…watch what you say!]

Many, many TV shows and movies now come with audio description. I did a couple of pages on this and Lin can provide the links. Pretty please and thank you! Just like closed captions, audio description is embedded and you have to enable that function. Do I know how? Of course not. That is why I would need to borrow a teen from someone. They could do it in 30 seconds. It would probably take me 30 hours!  [Sue’s pages on audio description: Enjoy the Show! and Wanted: Tech Savvy Teen.]

Just some thought about getting more out of TV even when you have low vision. Anyone have any other ideas?

Oh, PS, remotes. Keep them in the same place at all times! Otherwise, your program can be over before you even find the dang thing.

written August 16th, 2017 Continue reading “Time to Watch Some TV”

Highlight: Can I turn my TV Into a magnifier?

This article describes what might be a good and inexpensive option for many of you.

TV Magnifier

The device is only $65.49 at Amazon right now (no, we still don’t get any money from referrals).

Carson ezRead Digital Magnifiers – Transforms your Television into an Electronic Reading Aide
Accessibility by WAH