While posting some key information on the discussion board at the Facebook Internet Captioning group, a radical thought occurred to me. If people can illegally download software, why not illegally download caption files?? Anyone can use the tools CCExtractor..ccextractor.sourceforge.net (free) or
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Is the Deaf Community Out of Patience?
And if they are, who can blame them? After waiting for two years for Netflix to add captions to its streamed media, the reaction to Netflix's public statement that they will have captions on their streamed media in "about a year." I admit to feeling some impatience myself because a year seems like a long time! The older you are, the longer a year seems to be.
Here is a sampling of the reaction thus far via Facebook, blogs, and Twitter:
On the Facebook group Netflix Watch-Instantly Needs Closed Captions! someone wrote that they had called to complain, and the people they spoke to seemed "irritated."
On Twitter, @deafpundit writes: might have to make Silverlight more stable for #captions, but a year to do that? Rubbish. @queenalpo wrote: Excuses, excuses. @jaredevans wrote: Silverlight is just a programming platform. It can support captions if you develop it. @jaredevans also wrote: I'm still digesting the Netflix response. One year isn't a reasonable time frame to get started with a few movies captioned.
Marlee Matlin especially seems to be out of patience with Netflix. She has been tweeting her heart out on Twitter, beseeching her 10,000 plus followers to pressure Netflix to add captions to their streaming media (thanks Marlee!).
On Netflix's own blog, the comments clearly reflect the impatience: People urging Netflix to dump Silverlight (which is not likely to happen because Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, is on Microsoft's board!) ; people claiming that the technology already exists to make Silverlight caption-capable, and even complaints from hearing people who want the captions.
In the deaf blogosphere (so far):
Give us a better answer, Netflix. Not looking at the gift horse in the mouth, but the fact you’re letting your own “constraints” affect customer service. - from Meryl Evans
Even the hearing blogosphere seems to reflect some impatience with Netflix:
If Hulu [Hulu uses Flash, not Silverlight] could figure out how to do it, Netflix can. If they didn’t want to re-encode everything, they should have solved this earlier. - Digital Media Bytes
If the deaf community is upset now, just wait until a year from now if Netflix doesn't keep its announced commitment. Meanwhile, the issue is actually broader than just Netflix! We need legislation to mandate captions on the Internet. To promote THAT objective as well as the Netflix objective and helping Hulu to expand their captioning, a companion Facebook group has been set up with a discussion board: Internet Captioning.
Update: Tonight Robert suggested that we adopt the name Caption Action 2 for our fight for captioning on the Internet. The first Caption Action, in late 80s, was for captions on home video. Now it is 2009 and time for another Caption Action - but this time, call it Caption Action 2.
Here is a sampling of the reaction thus far via Facebook, blogs, and Twitter:
On the Facebook group Netflix Watch-Instantly Needs Closed Captions! someone wrote that they had called to complain, and the people they spoke to seemed "irritated."
On Twitter, @deafpundit writes: might have to make Silverlight more stable for #captions, but a year to do that? Rubbish. @queenalpo wrote: Excuses, excuses. @jaredevans wrote: Silverlight is just a programming platform. It can support captions if you develop it. @jaredevans also wrote: I'm still digesting the Netflix response. One year isn't a reasonable time frame to get started with a few movies captioned.
Marlee Matlin especially seems to be out of patience with Netflix. She has been tweeting her heart out on Twitter, beseeching her 10,000 plus followers to pressure Netflix to add captions to their streaming media (thanks Marlee!).
On Netflix's own blog, the comments clearly reflect the impatience: People urging Netflix to dump Silverlight (which is not likely to happen because Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, is on Microsoft's board!) ; people claiming that the technology already exists to make Silverlight caption-capable, and even complaints from hearing people who want the captions.
In the deaf blogosphere (so far):
Give us a better answer, Netflix. Not looking at the gift horse in the mouth, but the fact you’re letting your own “constraints” affect customer service. - from Meryl Evans
Even the hearing blogosphere seems to reflect some impatience with Netflix:
If Hulu [Hulu uses Flash, not Silverlight] could figure out how to do it, Netflix can. If they didn’t want to re-encode everything, they should have solved this earlier. - Digital Media Bytes
If the deaf community is upset now, just wait until a year from now if Netflix doesn't keep its announced commitment. Meanwhile, the issue is actually broader than just Netflix! We need legislation to mandate captions on the Internet. To promote THAT objective as well as the Netflix objective and helping Hulu to expand their captioning, a companion Facebook group has been set up with a discussion board: Internet Captioning.
Update: Tonight Robert suggested that we adopt the name Caption Action 2 for our fight for captioning on the Internet. The first Caption Action, in late 80s, was for captions on home video. Now it is 2009 and time for another Caption Action - but this time, call it Caption Action 2.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Can We Just Say Deaf?
I'm tired of hearing the phrase "ci kids." Do we say "hearing aid kids?" Of course not. Why should it be any different for deaf kids with cochlear implants? Can we just say deaf?
After all...althought they may function differently, hearing aids and cochlear implants serve the same purpose. I can't break the habit of calling my own ci a hearing aid. To me it is a hearing aid. When it is turned off, I am plunged into my silent world...the same as it was with hearing aids.
After all...althought they may function differently, hearing aids and cochlear implants serve the same purpose. I can't break the habit of calling my own ci a hearing aid. To me it is a hearing aid. When it is turned off, I am plunged into my silent world...the same as it was with hearing aids.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Why Do Some Deaf Get More Interpreter Service in Hospital Than Others?
As I blog this, Bob is in the hospital after a knee surgery. He ensured he would have interpreting service - or so I thought. Today after surgery, I found out that he would not have any interpreter all weekend! I asked, no, make that demanded, to know why. They told me something about how they had called Bob, and he allegedly said no to interpreters on the weekend or said something about how he would arrange it himself?
As Sherlock Steve pointed out, this kind of thing needs to be documented in writing. I could not agree more. Before the surgery, I had asked Bob if interpreters were arranged for. All I remember is that he said he would have an interpreter til 3 pm. But I didn't know that meant until 3 pm day of surgery and then no more interpreters after that!
I insisted that arrangements be made for additional interpreting services. The lady who had talked to Bob on the phone through a relay service came and talked to me and insisted that Bob had said "no" to weekend interpreters. But I held my ground and insisted, and the hospital scrambled to call the interpreting agency and try to get services even at this last-minute notice. I had to leave at 3 pm, so I do not know if they definitely secured interpreters for the weekend or not. Update: I called the hospital before going to bed. The nurse confirmed that he would have interpreters all weekend and on Monday as well. The interpreters would be 8 am to 10 pm Sat and Sun, and 8 am to 3 pm Monday.
When Bob woke briefly, I asked him (in addition to how he felt, of course) if he wanted interpreters for the weekend and all he was able to say was "it would be nice." He was not able, in his still drugged state, to confirm whether or not he had requested interpreters for the weekend.
In cyberchatting with other deaf people, I learned that when some deaf people go to the hospital, they actually get interpreter services 24/7! Even when my deaf son had surgery over the summer, he had interpreters daily, but ONLY until 7 pm at night. After 7 pm at night, he was on his own to communicate with the doctors and nurses. Why the discrepancy?? Who pays for the interpreter service - the hospital or the insurance? Is it the hospital limiting the services? Or the insurance companies/insurance programs?
I don't know if I did the right thing or not demanding the interpreting services for the weekend. (When the situation demands it, I can be quite a spitfire!) All I know is that my boyfriend is in a hospital bed in pain, without a hearing aid (his hearing aid is apparently not working), and all the good speech and lipreading skills he has are not enough when it comes to communicating with doctors and nurses. And *I* need the interpreting services so I can communicate with the doctors and nurses about his care and needs.
As Sherlock Steve pointed out, this kind of thing needs to be documented in writing. I could not agree more. Before the surgery, I had asked Bob if interpreters were arranged for. All I remember is that he said he would have an interpreter til 3 pm. But I didn't know that meant until 3 pm day of surgery and then no more interpreters after that!
I insisted that arrangements be made for additional interpreting services. The lady who had talked to Bob on the phone through a relay service came and talked to me and insisted that Bob had said "no" to weekend interpreters. But I held my ground and insisted, and the hospital scrambled to call the interpreting agency and try to get services even at this last-minute notice. I had to leave at 3 pm, so I do not know if they definitely secured interpreters for the weekend or not. Update: I called the hospital before going to bed. The nurse confirmed that he would have interpreters all weekend and on Monday as well. The interpreters would be 8 am to 10 pm Sat and Sun, and 8 am to 3 pm Monday.
When Bob woke briefly, I asked him (in addition to how he felt, of course) if he wanted interpreters for the weekend and all he was able to say was "it would be nice." He was not able, in his still drugged state, to confirm whether or not he had requested interpreters for the weekend.
In cyberchatting with other deaf people, I learned that when some deaf people go to the hospital, they actually get interpreter services 24/7! Even when my deaf son had surgery over the summer, he had interpreters daily, but ONLY until 7 pm at night. After 7 pm at night, he was on his own to communicate with the doctors and nurses. Why the discrepancy?? Who pays for the interpreter service - the hospital or the insurance? Is it the hospital limiting the services? Or the insurance companies/insurance programs?
I don't know if I did the right thing or not demanding the interpreting services for the weekend. (When the situation demands it, I can be quite a spitfire!) All I know is that my boyfriend is in a hospital bed in pain, without a hearing aid (his hearing aid is apparently not working), and all the good speech and lipreading skills he has are not enough when it comes to communicating with doctors and nurses. And *I* need the interpreting services so I can communicate with the doctors and nurses about his care and needs.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Should This Alumnus Sue Gallaudet?
A Gallaudet University alumnus I know personally (let's call this person Unhappy Grad) graduated from Gallaudet University in 2005 (before the protest time) with a degree in Computer Information Systems. After graduation, during a time that the economy was strong and healthy, Unhappy Grad looked for a job. And looked and looked....
No one would hire Unhappy Grad despite having some work history including two internships. It is now almost 4 years later since Unhappy Grad completed the degree that Unhappy Grad worked hard on. Whose fault is it that Unhappy Grad does not have a job? The following year, Gallaudet experienced the Unity for Gallaudet protest and the world learned about the "quality" of a Gallaudet degree.
No wonder Unhappy Grad still can not find a job. Plus Unhappy Grad can not get vocational rehabilitation support to return to another college for a better, more marketable, degree.
Tonight when chatting with Unhappy Grad, a strange thought crossed my mind: Should Unhappy Grad sue Gallaudet University over having received a low quality degree that is not marketable enough to get a job with? Is anyone else in a similar boat to Unhappy Grad (degree earned from Gallaudet prior to recession)? It was bad enough when Unhappy Grad could not get a job during the boom times, now that we are in a recession it is near impossible for Unhappy Grad, who is becoming resigned to a life on social security.
No one would hire Unhappy Grad despite having some work history including two internships. It is now almost 4 years later since Unhappy Grad completed the degree that Unhappy Grad worked hard on. Whose fault is it that Unhappy Grad does not have a job? The following year, Gallaudet experienced the Unity for Gallaudet protest and the world learned about the "quality" of a Gallaudet degree.
No wonder Unhappy Grad still can not find a job. Plus Unhappy Grad can not get vocational rehabilitation support to return to another college for a better, more marketable, degree.
Tonight when chatting with Unhappy Grad, a strange thought crossed my mind: Should Unhappy Grad sue Gallaudet University over having received a low quality degree that is not marketable enough to get a job with? Is anyone else in a similar boat to Unhappy Grad (degree earned from Gallaudet prior to recession)? It was bad enough when Unhappy Grad could not get a job during the boom times, now that we are in a recession it is near impossible for Unhappy Grad, who is becoming resigned to a life on social security.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Gallaudet's Enrollment Drops Below 1,000
"In the past five years, undergraduate enrollment has declined from about 1,400 to just under 1,000, said Paul Kelly, the university's vice president for administration and finance. " The italics were added by me, but this sentence is taken directly from today's Washington Post article, "Gallaudet's New Aesthetics," an update on what is happening with the effort to redevelop the Sixth street area bordering Gallaudet. The redevelopment effort is not really news; there have been articles about it before. What is surprising is how low Gallaudet's enrollment has fallen.
This low enrollment is one reason for Gallaudet's interest in redeveloping the area. Gallaudet recognizes that in order to attract more deaf students in a competitive college world, Gallaudet has to become physically more similar to "hearing" colleges. It would be nice to be able to hop on the Metro, and go on a restaurant date in "Gallaudet Town Center," followed by attending whatever event is at Gallaudet that night.
This low enrollment is one reason for Gallaudet's interest in redeveloping the area. Gallaudet recognizes that in order to attract more deaf students in a competitive college world, Gallaudet has to become physically more similar to "hearing" colleges. It would be nice to be able to hop on the Metro, and go on a restaurant date in "Gallaudet Town Center," followed by attending whatever event is at Gallaudet that night.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Child of Deaf Adults Severely Injured, Family in Need of Help
A cyberfriend from Minnesota (Chris Lex) alerted me to this: a seven year old hearing child, Brynn Duncan, with a deaf father (Cody Duncan; mother Dixie works for Minnesota Relay), was in a car accident in August that left her severely injured, and the family in need of help to get a new home that the child can get around in (the home they are selling is too small, only 800 square feet) once she recovers enough to be able to come home. If what is on the child's CaringBridge website journal is any indication, it could be awhile before she is able to come home.
Brynn has had quite a fight to stay alive, and faces more battles as she is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Chris tells me that he knew Dixie as his interpreter at Communication Service for the Deaf.
Brynn has had quite a fight to stay alive, and faces more battles as she is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Chris tells me that he knew Dixie as his interpreter at Communication Service for the Deaf.
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