I will never forget how much more freedom I experienced all of a sudden when I got my guide dog, Baldwin from guiding eyes for the Blind. That was approximately the time when Guiding Eyes started to train running guides. This means that a blind or visually impaired person can take up running as a …
Category Archives: Blindness
How my 3d buildings have changed my perception
Recently I wrote about my new 3d building project. Today I would like to talk about how it has changed my entire perception of what buildings are. Unlike in most of my posts, I cannot talk about blind people in general, because each person is their own story and background and education. I can only …
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Miniature 3d printed buildings for blind people
Miniature 3d buildings for blind people It has always fascinated me how to explain what a building looks like to a blind person. But as they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, a tactile experience is also definitely more accurate than a thousand words. For that matter, the two together is the …
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The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland, book review
Andrew Leland, a journalist, audio producer, editor and professor, in “The Country of the Blind” writes about how he gradually lost his vision due to retinitis pigmentosa. But this book is much more than his story. One can view it as a history book about blindness and blind people.
Why should you make the physical environment inclusive for blind people
I often hear the argument that making something accessible for blind people is not worth it, because there aren’t many blind people using it. My argument usually is that if it was accessible, you would have more blind people taking advantage of it. It is even more difficult when we don’t just make something accessible …
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First blind man to complete Race Across America
Dave Wilkinson, a blind 30-time marathon runner and Ironman, is planning nothing less in 2024 but to join the Race Across America bicycle race event. He will ride on a tandem bike with Jim Trout who has done this race several times before. They will ride 3000 miles in 12 days, across 12 states.
ChatGPT helps blind people in travel planning
I was curious if ChatGPT has any ways to help with travel planning that I couldn’t do with any other tools, so I put it to the test. I tried a few things where I had challenges previously, and overall it was able to help me in two specific ways: finding more efficient ways to …
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I almost lost my friend to a preventable accident
The other day my friend was walking home from work using his white cane. All of a sudden he stepped into a hole, dropped 8 feet, and submerged into mud and water covering him all the way. It was the middle of the winter, the water was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. He survived, due to …
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Describing yourself during meetings
Over the last few years you may have noticed that many meetings and conference presentations start by people describing themselves. The idea is to make the meeting as inclusive for visually impaired people as possible. But is it for visually impaired people only? Does it make a meeting more inclusive? Is it mandatory? There are …
Trip report to Scotland with a guide dog
I recently read a post on a mailing list from Eric Caron, who explained the difficulties of traveling with a guide dog to Scotland. He wrote about the days of travel arrangements, paperwork, and expenses. I asked Eric if he would be willing to share his story with you. I have to say I had …