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Retirement isn't just a financial equation—it's an identity shift. In this recap, Lesley Logan and Brad Crowell reflect on the conversation with wealth advisor and researcher Gregg Lunceford, who challenges the traditional retirement model by focusing on identity, purpose, and emotional readiness. They explore why longer lifespans have reshaped retirement entirely and why high performers often struggle most when their job no longer defines them. Whether listeners are 25 or 65, this conversation reframes what freedom after work can truly look like. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How increased longevity has made traditional pension models obsolete.The reality of the 20-year life bonus after your career ends.Why high achievers struggle to uncover a non-work identity.How intentional communities support mental and emotional well-being.The importance of creating a shared retirement vision as a couple.Episode References/Links:Agency Mini - https://prfit.biz/miniContrology Pilates Conference in Poland - https://xxll.co/polandContrology Pilates Conference in Brussels - https://xxll.co/brusselsPOT in London - https://xxll.co/potSpring Training: How To Get Overhead - https://opc.me/eventsSubmit your wins or questions - https://beitpod.com/questionsThe Seeing Eye - https://seeingeye.orgMesirow Wealth Management - https://www.mesirow.comGregg Lunceford on LinkedIn - https://beitpod.com/greggluncefordExit From Work - https://a.co/d/fR25gH2 If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Brad Crowell 0:01  He was talking about football players, and he was talking about people who have, you know, high performance people who make a shitload of money, and then they retire and they, he said, they burn through a lot of money trying to figure out who they are.Lesley Logan 0:17  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Brad Crowell 1:01  Take it away. Lesley Logan 1:03  Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, Brad, and I are going to dig into the trailblazing, trail, trailblazing. Brad Crowell 1:12  Wanna try that again?Lesley Logan 1:16  Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, don't laugh at me. I don't want to start again. Brad Crowell 1:22  No. The Welcome back was perfect. It was amazing. Lesley Logan 1:25  Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, Brad, and I are going to dig into the trailblazing convo I have with Gregg Lunceford in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that interview, you fucked up. It's so good. Brad Crowell 1:41  It's a great interview. Lesley Logan 1:42  He's a great educator. He blew my mind.Brad Crowell 1:46  So inspirational. Lesley Logan 1:47  Yeah.Brad Crowell 1:48  You actually, literally said my internal dialog out loud to him towards the end of the interview, because you were like, yeah, after listening to you, I'm so excited for this next chapter of my life. And I was like me too. It was amazing.Lesley Logan 2:06  I know, I know, I, your parents need to listen to this stat. Brad Crowell 2:10  Yeah, he's a badass. Lesley Logan 2:11  So anyways, they won't even be out, and they're making decisions right now, maybe we have to get them an episode early. Okay, so you can come back and listen to it later. You can finish this and you can listen to that one, or I gotta finish the script. You can listen to this one, or you can listen to that one first, whichever you want to do. But just you gotta listen.Brad Crowell 2:28  You did not have to finish the script. You can just let it go. Lesley Logan 2:32  I could also just close the loop on that. Brad Crowell 2:35  That was the only loop that you know. Lesley Logan 2:37  Well, you know what, Sir. Brad Crowell 2:40  Today is January 29th.Lesley Logan 2:42  It's just after my birthday. You can still wish me a happy birthday. It's the anniversary to celebrate Seeing Eye Guide Dogs. So the Seeing Eye Guide Dog Anniversary is an appreciation for all the dogs who act as their owners' eyes and ears. The devotion and taught abilities of these particular canines keep them safe and enable them to operate as a fully functional persons. The day is meant to recognize a school that educates them. Seeing eye dogs go through extensive training to be able to, say, safely traverse the environment and all of its hazards for their person. That's why they're so worthy of this recognition. Okay, so I don't have a seeing eye dog. Obviously, we don't know anyone who in our life who has a seeing eye dog, but I have watched the dog who could tell a girl was about to have a seizure before she had it, and then opened the fridge and pulled out her medicine and gave it to her while she was having this like seizure. Brad Crowell 3:37  That's crazy. Lesley Logan 3:38  Crazy. And I have met people with dogs who can sense if they're about to have, like, an insulin situation, because they have some, like, a type of insulin diabetes where, like, it can change really drastically. I have definitely seen people with seeing eye dogs, and I'm so impressed. And so really, the rest of the days sucked. And this is the best one of all the choices. Brad Crowell 4:00  I like this one, though. Lesley Logan 4:01  I really like this one, because here's the deal. Brad Crowell 4:03  So the organization is actually called The Seeing Eye. Lesley Logan 4:06  Oh. Brad Crowell 4:07  Yeah. And I, I'm just realizing that as well. Lesley Logan 4:10  Okay, well, they got up, they didn't pay for the sponsorship, because they're doing great work out there for people who need it. Brad Crowell 4:14  It's a guide dog school. Lesley Logan 4:16  And I am just kind of obsessed with this. And so if this inspired you in any way you should go donate money to your local no kill animal shelter, because while those dogs won't be a seeing eye dog or a service dog, they certainly need your help. This is really or you could donate to your seeing eye dog school if they need the money like you never know. You might your life could change. You might need a dog that's a service animal. So I just was, you know, anything to help raise money and thoughts about, please don't buy a puppy. Go get go adopt an animal. They have puppies too. Brad Crowell 4:48  You know what is amazing. I'm reading about the school, and I think that my elementary school teacher went to the school, because when we were in school, she somehow lost her vision, and I remember she.Lesley Logan 5:07  You were taught by someone who couldn't see?Brad Crowell 5:10  No, when I was taught by her, she could. But then, like in a year or two later, when I was like, in fourth or fifth grade, we we found out that she lost her vision, and I remember her going to Braille school. And I'm pretty sure she went to seeing eye dog school. Lesley Logan 5:25  That's so cool. Brad Crowell 5:26  Because think about it, if you're like, you know, 5060, years old, and you've never worked with a dog before like that, how would you even know how?Lesley Logan 5:34  Yeah, no, you have to get trained. Okay? But now this opens up a whole thing. So then she couldn't do the thing that she loved to do. She couldn't teach anymore. Brad Crowell 5:41  I'm pretty sure she retired. Lesley Logan 5:43  Oh, that's such a. So wait, this sucks. If you're blind, what are your jobs? You could be a phone sex operator.Brad Crowell 5:52  Yes, you could be a phone sex operator. That's not what I was gonna go, but yeah, you could do that, but.Lesley Logan 5:56  But you can make a lot of money doing this. You could do you could be a 900 psychic.Brad Crowell 6:01  You could be a 900 psychic, or you could just talk on the phone, too.Lesley Logan 6:05  Yeah, yeah. With technology today, I think they probably have more options, but I just realized, like, that would suck, like, all of a sudden she can't teach anymore. What if she couldn't even retire?Brad Crowell 6:15  No, it's, it's very traumatic, you know? I mean, we have a close friend of ours whose husband was, he has a, like a degenerative disease that didn't strike until he was in his, you know, midlife.Lesley Logan 6:31  We do? Brad Crowell 6:32  We do. Lesley Logan 6:33  Oh, is it blind, is he going blind? Brad Crowell 6:35  No, but, but the idea of being able, of being an abled body and then all of a sudden, everything that was quote, unquote normal for you is no longer an option. And that scares, that scares me.Lesley Logan 6:49  Scares the hell out of me. But, okay, Dark tangent, dark comedy tangent. Okay, I think it was the French, it was a European commercial. Do you remember this thing? It came through at my Instagram, and this, like, got this woman and this guy, like, wake up on a couch. They like, had, you know, obviously had sex last night, and like, they woke on the couch, and he's like, no, I gotta go. She's like, you could stay. And then, like, he is, like, getting up, and he like, puts himself in his wheelchair. And then this guy opens up the door to the apartment, and he's like, what's going on here? And so clearly, the woman was cheating on her partner, and the whole thing was like, what, like, you know, just maybe think before you park in someone else's spot, or like using the bathroom, or like using the handicap parking and using the handicapped bathroom, and it I died laughing. I cried laughing because, like, what a great way to get people to go. Oh, I'm fucking using that restroom, or I've never parked in those spots because in LA, one of my girlfriends was just parked there to take a phone call and she got a ticket. Don't do it, guys, they don't care if you don't leave the car. Don't do it. It's for someone else. It is someone else's spot. But just made me laugh. I know this is all about seeing eye dogs, and I thought it was a great advertisement for not being a dickhead.Brad Crowell 8:08  Well, what a fun turn this took. Lesley Logan 8:10  Okay. Well, everyone, look, you, your life could change in an instant. So if there is a charity in your area that is helping people get service animals into the hands of people that need it, this is their I'm sponsoring an ad for them. Go give them some money. Give them some time. Brad Crowell 8:27  Participate. Lesley Logan 8:27  Yeah, you never know. Maybe you could become a really good trainer for one of these dogs. You don't know. You know, they people in prison are training some of these dogs so there's great work going out there. So everyone needs a hobby. This could be yours. Brad Crowell 8:39  I love it. Lesley Logan 8:40  All right, you guys, we are home. Brad Crowell 8:43  Yeah, we are, we are. Lesley Logan 8:44  I know where we are in the world. We are home. Brad Crowell 8:47  We are officially home. And last week was Lesley's birthday. Lesley Logan 8:52  Was fabulous. Brad Crowell 8:52  It was fabuloso.Lesley Logan 8:53  It was so fun. I think it's my new theme every year. I don't know. I'll probably change it next time. I'm an Aquarius, who knows, whatever. But it was great. 43 it's looking good, and we're getting ready for Agency Mini, which is next month. Lesley Logan 9:06  Yes, February. Agency Mini, in fact, it's a good chance it's on early bird right now, to be honest. Brad Crowell 9:11  Could be, could be, yeah. Lesley Logan 9:13  Yeah, possible. prfit.biz/mini is where you're gonna go. It's for Pilates instructors or studio owners who work for themselves or want to work for themselves.Brad Crowell 9:21  Yeah, that's profit without the O dot biz slash mini, prfit.biz/mini.Lesley Logan 9:26  And we are getting ready. Brad has never been to Poland. Brad Crowell 9:30  First time. Lesley Logan 9:31  And we have never been to Brussels. And we'll be with Karen Frischmann. And then we're gonna do a second honeymoon, because why not? And then we're going to be in London. So if you want to see us in Europe, it's the only time in 2026 we're going to be in Europe. xxll.co/poland gets you the Poland information xxll.co/brussels gets you Brussels information, and xxll.co/pot will take you to the London information and. Brad Crowell 10:00  Yeah, come hang out. It'd be so fun to meet in person. Lesley Logan 10:02  Oh my gosh. It'd be so fun. And as of right now, our 2027 calendar does not have anything in it, and it may stay that way. We don't know yet. I don't know. So if you want to see us in Europe, this is it.Brad Crowell 10:16  Sounds good to me. I was gonna say maybe Greece, but we're not sure.Lesley Logan 10:19  We're waiting. We're still at the moment of this recording, which is November of 2025 we think we have an invitation to Greece, and we're just waiting for the dates.Brad Crowell 10:30  We shall see. Anyway, in May, for all of those who aren't in Europe, join us virtually, we're going to do another spring training event with onlinepilatesclasses.com. If you were with us last year, two years ago, we did a summer, summer camp. Last year, we did a spring training we loved the spring training vibes, so we're doing that one again. We're going to do that event again, but the topic is going to be totally different. We're going to do how to get overhead. So it's going to include all of those kinds of exercises where you're upside down and, you know, breaking it down for you, making it feel a little more accessible and safe and all those kinds of things. To get on the wait list for that and get the more information as it as we start releasing it, go to opc.me/events, opc.me/events, and you'll be able to stay in the loop. Oh yeah. Brad Crowell 11:18  So today, we had a question, except we're going to change up our question. Normally, we, we get, we get tons and tons of questions. If they're a business question, we usually answer them in our coaching group, Agency. It's from Profitable Pilates, our coaching group, and but this time, what we thought we would do is just ask a few of the questions so you can kind of see if any of these are resonating with you, and see you know, like, how do we tackle, like, how is it that we support the studio owners and teachers that are inside of Agency? So for, for example, we have, we have a recent one that just got submitted. It said, hey, how much notice should I give that client give my clients about my rate increase?Lesley Logan 12:02  No more than 30 days. You can go as low as three days, but no more than 30 days. I've had Mini people do two weeks. It really kind of depends on, you know, if you're doing a $2 rate increase, you can do that next week. You know, it's not a big deal. Doing a $25 rate increase per session. You might want to give them 30 days notice. But we actually also have a course that tells you exactly how to raise those rates and how to actually how to give the people the notice you're going to give so you don't get you're going to have people who have no filter, and they don't realize what they're saying out loud to you can feel personal. It's not, but yeah, but yeah, that's what I would say.Brad Crowell 12:38  I mean. We've got a lot of different tools to support specifically, like, how much should you be raising rates and why? Why are we doing it this way, instead of it just being a random number out there. So if you're ever wondering, like, am I charging enough? That's why people join Agency, we get to dig into these questions with you. Kind of break down some numbers, think about it, logically, all that kind of stuff. Another question for you is, I'm thinking of changing my currently, I sell packages. I'm thinking to change to an auto renew subscription. So instead of selling a 10 pack, you get 10 classes a month or something. I'm assuming that's what it is. Lesley Logan 13:15  Yeah. I don't mind if it's a limited Okay. Brad Crowell 13:17  Yeah but how do I do this without being too wordy? How do I communicate the change to my clients?Lesley Logan 13:21  You're gonna have to have a contract. First and foremost, you, this is a auto renew, and the FCC, I believe, put some stuff in place recently. Look, it could have changed. Brad Crowell 13:32  They took it away. Lesley Logan 13:33  They might have taken it away. Brad Crowell 13:34  Click to click to cancel, or it's already it's already trashed. Yeah, they did. Lesley Logan 13:38  Fuck those people. Anyways, okay, so guess what? No one's fucking regulating. You can do what you want, but reviews still stand. And so if you would like to what I always believe is go back to your values. We have a course on your values. But I have, I have, if this was an office hours call, I could ask a couple of follow up questions about the person, because I have some reasons for not doing an auto renew. Meaning, if you are a solo teacher, I'm going to say no auto renew for you. What happens if you get sick? What about your vacations? There are ways to set packages up so they almost feel like an auto renew, but you actually don't owe people anything if you get sick or if you go on vacation, if you do an auto renew, you actually owe them whatever the contract states.Brad Crowell 14:16  Right, because, what if you're out of town for two weeks and they're like, well, I didn't get my 10 classes, what do we do then?Lesley Logan 14:21  And then they were out they were out of town the other two weeks. And then you also have to figure out with your scheduling tool, can it handle this? Can it handle this feature you want to change it to? If it does handle it, how easily is it to stop it and start it? Some people want to have 90-day contracts on these auto renews and then a 30-day notice. These are all things you have to talk about with a lawyer, but we can actually talk about that together in Agency, our office hours or coaching call to really make sure what's going to work best for you. And then, and then, if you are a studio with multiple teachers, what are the breaks you want to have? And then, why are you doing this? So the other question like, how do you communicate it? It kind of depends on what your values are and what the benefit are that you're trying to say, for example, if you're trying to say that our auto renew is great ease and consistency, plus our number one priority, which is community, then you would actually make it really easy for people to be on auto renew and really hard to be on a package, right? Because packages are more convenient for the person who owns a package, because they can decide when and if they want to use it and auto renew, they have to use it. And then what you need to understand about auto renews is it's another way of saying membership and once you have memberships, you have churn, and you will actually, you might be surprised how much churn you have with auto renews versus people with packages. Because I don't love to be on auto renews with places, because I travel so much, so I might not choose a place that forced me on auto renew or charges me more to be on a package. Now I might not be your client, so it doesn't matter. I don't want to scare you, but these are the things you have to think about. And where, in Agency, we actually coach you on it, because we don't do templates. What works for Brad's studio for auto renews is not going to work for Katie's or Georgia's, right? Like, we have to actually look at like, how many people are on the team? What is the goal of the studio? What are you what are the services under that? Because don't, don't get me started when I see I have to have a membership for mat and I have to have membership for a reformer, and I get mad about that.Brad Crowell 16:18  Now, that's too many options. People don't know what to do. Lesley Logan 16:20  And then they have to think about it. Brad Crowell 16:21  Well then, they just do nothing.Lesley Logan 16:22  Yeah, and so you just have to know, like, yes, it looks like that's how businesses are making money right now with all these auto renews. I'm telling you right now that bubble is popping. We are watching class-based studios lose clients who are middle class a lot faster than you think. And so there's reasons to explore what the options are. What's your purpose for running this change? Like, what? How is this easier for you? Do you think it's to have predictable income? What's in it for them? And then that's how we sell it to them? We have to sell it to them on how it's in it for them, they don't give a fuck about what's in it for you. I mean, they don't not give a fuck but they don't.Brad Crowell 16:57  You're right, like, really, that's not their concern, and it shouldn't be, right? No, so well anyway. So this is the kind of conversations that we get to have over at, in Agency, our fitness business coaching. So whether you're doing yoga or pilates or, I mean, we've had people in there who are we've had a chiropractor in there. We've had a doula in there. We've had bar boxing, whatever. So obviously the majority of our audience is Pilates. So that's primarily what we're discussing over there. But in the service-based industry, we we love doing this. We've been doing it for eight years now. So yeah, if you're interested in more information about that, just reach out to us or go to profitablepilates.com, and you can find out about the coaching over there, but. Lesley Logan 17:37  Join Mini. Do the Mini thing. Brad Crowell 17:38  Oh, join Agency Mini, yeah, go to prfit.biz/mini prfit.biz/mini.Lesley Logan 17:45  If you can sign up right now, it's $25 if it's on early bird, it's $65 if it's not, oh my God, for three days of coaching, change your life. Brad Crowell 17:52  Yeah. 100%. I love it. Well, thanks for joining us down that. If you have a question for the pod or question for Lesley or me, just text us, 310-905-5534, or submit a question at beitpod.com/questions and you can leave us both a win where we'll we'll probably weave that into our Fuck Yeah Friday episodes or you can submit a question, which we can do on our Thursdays. So stick around. We'll be right back. We're gonna dig into this amazing convo that Lesley had with Gregg Lunceford. Brad Crowell 18:21  Okay, let's talk about Gregg Lunceford. Gregg Lunceford spent more than three decades in financial services as a wealth advisor at Mesirow in Chicago. I'm sure I'm saying that wrong. He said it twice, and I was I wasn't sure. But anyway, alongside his advisory work, he's an academic researcher whose PhD studies at Case Western Reserve University, focused on the social, emotional and financial realities of today's retirement transition. And this was so interesting to me, y'all.Lesley Logan 18:50  Fascinating, fascinating. So.Brad Crowell 18:53  His curiosity about why even high, highly successful professionals hesitate to retire led him to explore how identity, purpose and well being shape this stage of our lives. And he's like part historian too, right? So he's also the author of Exit From Work, and he writes about his journey and insights into retirement. So, but I, I really enjoyed him breaking down just the different stages of our lives. And also, like, he's comparing generations. Lesley Logan 19:24  Oh, yeah. Brad Crowell 19:25  And like, how they got to where they are, and like, retirement package stuff that is not even an option for us. Lesley Logan 19:32  Let's just talk about, like, let's get more specific what the episode is about, just in case I haven't heard it. So we were talking about retirement attitude, in a sense, like in that, you know, the way my grandparents retired. I to this day, I'm shocked they retired. I didn't know they had money to retire. They didn't look like they saved anything, but like they're, you know, one, one side saved everything. It came out of the Depression. The other side could have been their children. So very different life. They're very young, and so they, like I, I have one set of grandparents who were retired when I was born, and I had another set of grandparents that worked the whole for a while when I was alive, right? And then they all had a pension, and then they just and then they just retired and got paid to be not working, right?Brad Crowell 20:18  What I think, what I think is amazing is Gregg's analysis, and I'm sure this is well documented now, but, but his analysis of life expectancy shot everything in the foot. Lesley Logan 20:30  Right. Brad Crowell 20:30  He said our grandparents' generation, and to some extent, maybe our parents' generation, the pension game, the reality is that people weren't living to be 70, 80, 90 years old. They were only living 60, 70, years and so if you're working until you're 55 and then they have to pay you out for a decade more before you're done, then. Lesley Logan 20:55  It's not that much money. Brad Crowell 20:55  Wasn't that big of a deal but when you're living till you're 80, all of a sudden the companies were like, this is a massive burden for us. We can't, we can't do this. And so then what? The retirement age got older, the pension packages started getting slimmer, all that kind of stuff. So like, when we look at our grandparents and they had just like, you said, how was it possible that they could even retire? It didn't make any sense.Lesley Logan 21:17  They always they had actually had money to give when they died. I was like, what? They had, they had money? So, so the thing that was really fun with Gregg is that, like he, you know, we got into this more deeply in the episode. It's worth listening to. But like during the 2008 recession, companies were trying to just fire everybody. And so they were trying to go, here's the money. All I do is take this amazing package, and people weren't doing it, and it's because it was emotional, like it wasn't just knowing the number, which is like, what the ads would say. It was like, who am I if I'm not doing this? And like, you know some, I worry about, like, like, your parents have worked, your dad's worked for a company for 40 something years. Brad Crowell 22:02  41 or 42 years, yeah. Lesley Logan 22:04  Well, you're 43. So, so and so he's gonna retire, right? And it's like, does he know what to do? Does he know what he's gonna do? Brad Crowell 22:13  It's so funny because, and also, he probably could have retired. No, no, he they could have, I think financially, they could have retired a while back. But again, I think you're right on the money. It's not, it's actually an identity, right. It's a it's the way that you see. It's how you define who you are.Lesley Logan 22:32  Well, and he's so, so, so Gregg, our genius that we interviewed, he said, you we now have a 20 year life bonus, where you get to define who and what you want to be, because you have your first 20 years getting 20-ish years getting educated. Then you have 20 something, well, Andrew advocates 40 something years that you're working, but then you probably have another 20 plus years to be anything you want. Brad Crowell 22:58  Yeah, because he was talking about the bucket list where people are, like, I'm old and decrepit, but I want to go see Niagara Falls, right? And basically, now today, because the quality of life is so much better, you're still active and able to do life normally, you know, well into your 70s and maybe even 80s, until you're willing to slow down so at that point. But like, so, so then your bucket list is a bit different, because, like, okay, you can probably travel, travel, travel, travel for five or 10 years. I mean, my grandparents did this. They bought a they bought an RV, yeah, and for a decade, they drove around the United States, for a decade, but they eventually got bored of it, and then they came home and they still lived for another 20 years, you know? So it's like, okay, so the bucket list thing, if that, if, if people aren't looking at the end of life as like, I gotta finally have a good time. Now, what Gregg is saying is, like, you could flip this on its head entirely.Lesley Logan 23:55  Yeah. Well, he, he emphasized that today's retirees have more personal freedom than previous generations. And you're probably like, Lesley, why are we talking about retiring? We're still going to be it until we see it. Because be it till you see it changes. It changes all the time. And also, if you are not considering what you want to do on the other side of whatever it is you're doing, I don't care how much you love it. I fucking love what I do, and I dream of exiting stage left all the time. And it's not because.Brad Crowell 24:19  She, this is what I hear around our house. I can't wait to be the person that people go who is she again and and she's like, something to do with Pilates, I don't know.Lesley Logan 24:31  Yeah, like, so there's a line in Notting Hill where Julia Roberts' character says, like, she, she says it in like, not a, not the nicest way about herself, but like, people are gonna look at her, like, as this person who was once famous for a while. And I see it as, like, a complete amazing thing where it's just like, someday it'll be like that, oh, that's that person who she was kind of known in her industry for a little bit, and it's like, yeah, she's not like, I like, I was once famous for a little bit in a small part of the world, and now I can move like, because why not? It doesn't mean I don't love what I do. And by the way, like, please don't freak out. No one freak out. Your memberships are fine. I'm not going anywhere. You got to tell people this, Brad, you got to make sure they know. We are currently creating two other things right now so no one I'm not going anywhere, but I do constantly think about I want to be able to retire when I have my faculties, to travel the world, to go to Antarctica, to do different things, I don't want to be in my 70s going, okay, now I'm hanging my hat up. No, I want to know who you and I are on the other side of working together like I there's these other things. And so I wanted to have Gregg on because when he told me what he did, I was like, fuck yeah. It doesn't matter how old you are listening to this, you can take some time to think about what is the freedom I want to have in this extra bonus of life I get. Your grandparents didn't get it. None of mine did. They all died young so. Brad Crowell 25:58  Yeah, the the I think it's, I think it's, I think it's just really interesting to look at the the shift of things, right? There's so many factors that that made the Baby Boomer, Boomer generation, like, pretty epic.Lesley Logan 26:12  Man, they don't know how good a ride they had. Brad Crowell 26:14  Yeah, and the wealth that they were able to build without, like, realizing it, and all that stuff has, that whole flow has shifted completely, you know, and so it's interesting, though, because life expectancy is longer, and I just, I just love that. So I think that really shifts into what I what I loved about he was talking about, he said something that I found intriguing. He was talking about football players, and he was talking about people who have high performance people, or make a shitload of money, and then they retire, and they, he said, they burn through a lot of money trying to figure out who they are.Lesley Logan 26:54  Yeah, this blew my mind too, because it's like, oh, hold on you. You have the money, but you don't know what you're gonna do with it yet.Brad Crowell 27:01  Well, or it's not. Lesley Logan 27:03  Or who you are with it. Brad Crowell 27:04  That's what I was gonna say. It's not even, it's not even what they're gonna do with it yet. It's they're trying to find themselves because they've been defining themselves.Lesley Logan 27:12  They weren't listening to this podcast. Every single person tells people to get to know who they are. Brad Crowell 27:16  Yeah, but they've been defining themselves by their job for 40 years. So then what happens when you're no longer able to define yourself? I know what this is like, because when I moved to Los Angeles, I was there to do music, and after two years, only two years of being there, so I'm like, 25 right? I am die hard into this band. We are doing everything and anything we can to make this band go and then the singer of the band is like, I'm going to grad school. And he quit. And he was like, my partner in this band. And I was like, what the hell man? Like, why did I come all the way out to Los Angeles to do this. What, to do what? What am I gonna do?Lesley Logan 27:55  Because you're gonna meet me. But that's okay. You didn't know that yet. Brad Crowell 27:58  No, I did not know that yet. It was down the road. So, so I was really I was depressed, I was angry, I was confused. I didn't really know how to I didn't know what I was going to go do. I still knew I wanted to do music, but I but what ended up happening was I really got into motorcycles, like really got into motorcycles, and that became kind of how I defined myself. It was how I I changed the way I dressed. I literally rode a motorcycle every day. I joined a motorcycle club. I would ride all over Southern California, you know. And so suddenly that became my identity. And it wasn't until I was networking and met some more people in music that I began to shift back into the music kind of things. But like, yeah, for sure, I can understand how people would be like, well, I used to be blah, blah, blah, whatever, and now I'm no longer so what am I?Lesley Logan 28:46  It's so easy to blow through money to figure out who you are. There's people who join Pilates training programs at 60 because they're like, oh, I think I want to do this, but it's like, eight grand, right? Well, what if you don't? Then people feel like, oh, I just wasted all that money. And then they do something they don't want to do with it, or, or they just keep trying out different things. And like, now they've got this now. They bought a kayak, then they bought the ski doo, and then they bought the boat, and they're trying to be retired first. And so, yeah, I think so, I think it's really easy because they don't know who they are. And that's Gregg's whole thing. They you have to know who you want to be.Brad Crowell 29:19  Yeah, he said many people who spent life meeting obligations are now suddenly confronted with, who do I actually want to be? Right? Who do I actually want to be? And he said, if you go into that blindly, you start chasing quick hits to replace the accolades of a job. You know, the team mentality, the psychological part of success, when you achieve a goal, you know, and basically it can feel very scattered. And he said, so what we should be doing is preparing what he calls a retirement identity. A retirement identity. And he said, instead of trying to figure it out when you get there, what if you started processing that now? And I thought, man, that's really interesting, because that's always been a question for me. You know, like, I asked your dad one time, what's it like to be retired? And he goes, I don't know. man, I've been retired since my 50s.Lesley Logan 30:16  Yeah. He's been retired for a long time. So, like, we're gonna live in Mexico and become tequila smallies. I've already figured this out. Brad Crowell 30:22  I love it. I love everything about that. I think that's brilliant, but, but also, he said there was other he said there was other options too. What did he call it the barista? Oh, no, no, that was the last week barista retired, where she was talking about, you know, getting a part time job. She called it barista retired. I think? Lesley Logan 30:41  Oh, I think so, but I. Brad Crowell 30:43  You know, like, and that's what your dad's doing now. And why is he doing that now? Because he doesn't want to sit around and watch a television all day. He wants to get up and be active. Lesley Logan 30:50  Yeah, there's, there's great. There's, he's a, he's a, he's a crossing guard now, he fucking loves that.Brad Crowell 30:57  Gregg was talking about, like he works with these clients who are looking towards retirement, and he helps them sculpt these packages, which are really clever, right? Because it shifts your focus of purpose in the job. If your job has been to manage a team of 50 people, now you might be training your replacement person for a year or two before you shift into part time. And you just do it, because you can do it from wherever you need to be and whatever. You know, lots of options.Lesley Logan 31:24  I am obsessed I'm obsessed with this whole thing because, like, everyone wants to know, like, how much money do you need to live off of? Like, that we even our lovely wealth people were like, how much money do you want to live off of when you retire? And we were like, we don't want to worry about money. That was our answer. Because I want to live in an Airstream sipping tequila. And, you know, coming back home here when the weather is good, and then, I don't know, we have a house in Cambodia, there's a I want to see the world. So we had that, but we no one was like, what is your retirement persona? Brad Crowell 31:54  Yeah, how do you, how do you imagine spending your time participating in the world, you know, as a retired person? Lesley Logan 32:02  I mean exactly. Brad Crowell 32:03  Is your goal to watch every movie in the last blockbuster? Maybe you shouldn't do that.Lesley Logan 32:09  We might have to talk about having different lives. Visit you. Brad Crowell 32:17  Actually, it's funny that you say that. He said, a lot of couples don't talk about this, and they see, I, you know, they see themselves retiring in different ways. It's not something that they've actually discussed. Interesting.Lesley Logan 32:28  Well, and you know what? Maybe I have to if there's an expert listening who does graduated marriages, I would love to have you on because that's what they're called. They're called graduated marriages, where you love the person you're married to. You don't want to cheat on them. You don't want to be married to someone else, but you would like to have some people just do a separate room. Some people have a separate house, like they live in a different place because they want to live over there. Clearly, that doesn't work for us, because I would get lost, but. Brad Crowell 32:57  Fascinating. Lesley Logan 32:58  It's fascinating, you know, like, I mean, you know, there's this one podcast I listened to, and she is been working. She still has her company. She's working. She works like a dog. She's got a really successful podcast, and she wants to travel with that podcast, and her current successful company is something that she can travel with, and her husband can't, and she's like, I love you, and you can visit me. I want to live for this many months in this state. I've never lived there. I want to live there. I want to feel what it's like. And so she got an apartment, and he is visiting her every other weekend. That's cool. And, you know what, maybe it spices things up. I'm not saying that, but that's the thing. But like, I do think that if you're in a relationship and you haven't thought about retirement together, may this be your assignment, you should contact Gregg and or.Brad Crowell 33:42  Or have a conversation with your partner. Lesley Logan 33:43  And if you're solo, yeah, yeah. And if you're solo, then if you haven't thought about this, you should, because otherwise you're just focusing on dollars. And that's where I think people get obsessed about what the stock market is doing, because you're not actually thinking of how it affects the person you want to be. And you get a little weird about it. And we have an episode with Wealth with Tess coming back on when it comes to, like, the stock and our numbers and all that stuff, and this uncertain time. But I just think that this is a way cooler.Brad Crowell 34:08  You're totally, you're totally right, because it does just become about like this, like, mad, mad. Like, focus on stashing cash, kind of the markets or whatever.Lesley Logan 34:18  Well, and there's much fear around that. And then it's like, but then who are you right? Like, I'm just obsessed. Brad Crowell 34:22  Exactly that doesn't actually address anything that Gregg is talking about here with your retirement identity. Lesley Logan 34:28  I can tell you right now.Brad Crowell 34:29  Your retirement identity is not a bank account number.Lesley Logan 34:31  He is the only person talking about this. I haven't heard anyone else talk about this. I haven't had anyone else to talk about this. And I am like, this is the stand still, like, number one retirement episode we'll ever have like I'm saying here today.Brad Crowell 34:43  Yeah, it's great. It's awesome. Well, love it. Stick around. We'll be right back. We're gonna dig into some Be It Action Items that we got from Gregg Lunceford. Brad Crowell 34:55  All right, so finally, welcome back. Let's talk about those Be It Action Items. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your conversation with Mr. Gregg Lunceford. Lesley Logan 35:07  You go first. Brad Crowell 35:10  All right. He said in the planning process of your ideal self, this retirement identity that we've been talking about, he said, what you also have to learn how to do is to replace kinship with friendships, kinship with friendships, which I think is kind of cool. He said today we don't have kinship the way we once did, because families are smaller and they are spread out, right? And also we're not necessarily going into the office to have. Lesley Logan 35:39  Oh, we talked about the Golden Girls. Brad Crowell 35:40  Yeah, you did. Lesley Logan 35:41  Okay,so. Brad Crowell 35:42  Talked about the Golden Girls.Lesley Logan 35:42  Yeah, Sue, just so, you know, Brad, we're on a compound already with Steven Sue and I and a few other people. We're taking applications.Brad Crowell 35:49  We're taking applications. Yeah. So what's really funny, though, is he brought up the Golden Girls and we've talked about this for like, years.Lesley Logan 35:58  Yeah, and I was, like, a wealth manager co signed the idea, I'm in.Brad Crowell 36:04  So he said retirees, retirees must create for themselves on their own, a living setup that supports financial stability and mental well being, and that's where the Golden Girls concept comes in. So it has to include intentional socialization and finding things that create psychological success. So here's an example. He said. It's called an ABRC. It's an academically based retirement community. Or there's another one called a URC, which is a university based retirement community. And basically what he's saying is, if you worked in a field for a really long time, and you connect with other people who worked in the same or similar field, you will have a lot of things to talk about that are the same. Then you'll be able to have those conversations. So that's where the academically based retirement community comes in. Versus a university based retirement community would probably be like, Hey, we're all from the same alma mater, Alma Mater. I may be a year or two before you or after you, whatever.Lesley Logan 36:59  So here's my criteria for ours. Ours is going to be people. Everyone has to who, after Sue Steven, you and I. Everyone has to tell us what young person in their life who is strong on Strapping, who can help move heavy things, because you and Steven aren't going to like, stop doing projects. So we're gonna need help there. And then we just need, we need people who have children to, you know, to help take care of it, because we don't have any. We're not bringing that to this. We're bringing the project management to the community. But we don't have, we're facilitating. We don't have the young person, right? So, so, so sue and Steven have a three nieces on their side. So that's good.Brad Crowell 37:40  Okay, okay, okay. So we, I think we have a couple on our side too.Lesley Logan 37:44  We have, we are, I am the favorite aunt to our only niece, so there's that. But you know what? She might we need extra, just in case. We need to have extras. You gotta have, like, it's like having retirement. You gotta have backup. Brad Crowell 37:57  I remember my grandfather, who recently passed away. He was 94 I think, when he passed away, he moved out of his house at like, 88 or 87 years old into a retirement community. And he did it in, like a snap whim moment, because one of his longest friends for 50 years was like, hey, I just got an apartment at this place down the road. You should come, you should join us there. And he was like, absolutely, hell yeah, literally, called our whole family was like, I'm moving. And everyone's like, what? You're 87 what are you talking about? Lesley Logan 38:34  No, we're gonna find a mid century motel.Brad Crowell 38:36  But the, well, the goal for him here was community. Right? Where he went had, it was a it was like one of those communities that had live on your own, but they're still around, get partial help, and then eventually get full help. So it had three different facilities in one place. And so he moved into that I can do everything by myself, part of the community, and would walk down the hall and go play pool every night with the guys you know. And he did this for many, many years. And the belonging, that communal element that changed the game for him, because he was sitting alone in a house before, and he was like, this sucks. I gotta, I gotta get out of here.Lesley Logan 39:12  Well, I like our compound idea. It's a little culty, but not too much. And I only want the people that we want to be around on this. Like, I like what your grandfather did for himself, it's eally great. But there's also, like, a bunch of people involved that I didn't like, you don't get to choose them. So this is. Brad Crowell 39:30  But he found, like, love late in life too. You know, so there's that.Lesley Logan 39:33  He lived his best life. It's fine. I'm saying it's not ours. And that leads into my Be It Action Item that I'm talking about, which is, like, it's critical that this is a shared vision, yeah, so you gotta create a vision, the shared vision. I understand that I'm telling Brad about this vision a lot. Don't worry. I know what he likes.Brad Crowell 39:49  No, I'm very on board. I love me some tequila. So sign me up. Lesley Logan 39:53  I just think we have our great friends. We have a bunch of DINCs in our life off, but we get all the DINCs together, dual income, no children, all the DINCs together, we can have a cool kick ass compound with, first of all, just the just the red light therapy alone, we're like, already golden, so I'm just so in on this. But okay, so back to what Gregg said to do. Gregg said, create a vision. It's critical that it becomes a shared vision. And he actually said that research shows approximately 40% of couples do not even discuss retirement savings, which is bad, like whole no wonder so many divorces happen. People just don't talk about shit. Like, what is happening? Gonna start talking about your goals. Engage a professional like Gregg, to help you see how you can align your financial wherewithal with those visions. Probably Gregg, because he's the only person who studied this. He's the only, everyone else just wants to know what your fucking number is. He cares about what you want to do. And then, he said you have he wants you to think differently. He wants you to think about being your best self at this stage, not being someone whose society just says it's just time for you to leave. He wants you to, like, really think about who your best self is and take ownership of that, because you're kind of a badass, like people don't realize, like you have so much knowledge that is acquired from the time that you've spent so own that. And he said, in his words, you have more value to offer a lot of people than you think. And I think that that's true. There's like, so many different ways you can prepare, like you can be a big brother or a friend or a, you know, a leader of some kind in some capacity, with all this knowledge you have, you could, you can, you can, you can support people around you who need it. So there's just so much more live 20 bonus years. Plus, you know the way things are going, we'll see how we'll see how this ages by February, considering they're trying to get rid of nursing degrees and stuff like that in July. So we'll see. But I'm just saying there's a lot you can do. And I just really want people, I want people to have all the information. I don't. I don't like that some people have to work until they're 80, or because they either because they need the money or because they don't know what to do other than that, like that makes me sad, both of those. So hopefully this helps you. I'm Lesley Logan. Lesley Logan 41:57  And I'm Brad Crowell. Lesley Logan 41:58  Thanks so much for listening. How are you going to retire? We want to retire? We want to know what that vision What's your retirement persona? Tell Gregg. Tell the Be It Pod, and until next time, Be It Till You See It. Brad Crowell 42:07  Bye for now. Lesley Logan 42:08  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 42:51  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 42:56  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 43:00  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 43:07  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 43:11  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

(Jan 28, 2026) A fraud case in Warren County has stirred up infighting and sparked a blame game within county government; We visit the New York State Talking Book and Braille Library to learn how it helps visually impaired people access reading materials; and we have a conversation with Canadian author Giles Blunt about his historical novel set in the Saranac Lake cure cottage era. 

This month on FSCast: ·       Olga Espinola shares her life story, where learning and mentorship go hand in hand. ·       Dave Williams discusses tactile Braille displays and explains some of the advantages of multiline Braille support in JAWS. ·       Elizabeth Whitaker introduces upcoming training opportunities from Vispero.

Discover the world's first speech-to-Braille label printer with Clint Yun from Mangoslab, creators of the Nemonic Dot. Learn how this innovative device aims to make Braille labelling accessible for both blind and sighted users, and the key accessibility concerns it raises. In this episode, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece sit down with Clint Yun, the mind behind the Nemonic Dot, a portable voice-activated Braille labeller. Clint explains how the device allows users to speak a label into a companion app, which then embosses Braille onto plastic or even metal labels. While designed to help sighted family members, friends, and caregivers create Braille labels, the conversation quickly turns to the importance of inclusive design so blind users can independently operate the device. The hosts also share personal stories about accessibility, usability, and the importance of considering blind people as end users—not just passive recipients. Later in the episode, they dive into listener emails covering topics like the experience of “light shows” for blind people, discussions on eye removal for pain or visual disturbances, and the challenges of dating and relationships with a disability. Relevant LinksNews article on Nemonic Dot: https://www.gambitmag.com/ces-2026-nemonic-dot-is-the-worlds-1st-voice-activated-ai-braille-printer/ Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Come hear the new BrailleNote Evolve from HumanWare speak for itself. During this presentation, Joel Zimba and Rachel Ramos, (Product Specialists at HumanWare), will demonstrate the BrailleNote Evolve- a full-fledged Windows 11 Computer in the form factor of a convenient travel-sized note-taker. You'll hear about why the Evolve was designed, a physical description of the device, a tour of the Main Menu, the enhancements to the full-featured Microsoft Office Suite, and how Windows is taking us into the future with Braille at the center. You won't want to miss it, as this will be an info-packed session! Please register your interest and be the first to know new information about the BrailleNote Evolve when it becomes available here: https://forms.office.com/r/7FV7VAx1Zg Presenter Contact Info Joel Zimba Email: joel.zimba@humanware.com Rachel Ramos Email: rachel.ramos@humanware.com

In this episode of the Freedom Scientific Training Podcast, Liz, Rachel, and Justin share practical tips to help you work more efficiently with Braille and JAWS in celebration of Braille Literacy Month. You'll learn how to use BrailleIn for direct text entry, customize Braille input and output, read notifications using flash messages, and streamline reading with Auto Advance. The team also demonstrates powerful productivity tools like Split Braille for multitasking and content review, plus an overview of the Braille Math Editor for reading, creating, and editing equations. Whether you're a Braille display user, educator, or trainer, this episode is packed with actionable techniques to help you get more done—faster and more confidently—with Braille and JAWS.

Explore the highs and lows of accessibility in everyday life as Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into listener emails, discuss inaccessible gym experiences, and review the Strut EV1—an autonomous mobility scooter that could change the way disabled people navigate airports and public spaces.In this engaging episode of Double Tap, Steven and Shaun open the inbox to unpack listener stories highlighting both the humour and frustrations of living with blindness. From the challenges of inaccessible Fire TV setups to the ongoing debate around the importance of Braille, the hosts offer honest reflections and plenty of laughs. The conversation shifts to accessibility in public spaces, including gyms that hesitate to assist blind customers and food delivery apps like DoorDash failing basic usability tests. The pair also explore the Strut EV1, a self-driving mobility scooter unveiled at CES, and debate whether autonomous technology could improve airport experiences for disabled travellers—while considering the impact on independence and stigma. Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on the Mr. Throwback Thursday Podcast,we bring you a double dose of Fresh in Peace, Kurupt homecoming, 2Pac auctions, Luda rolling out of a bad situation, Flav and Canes, Snoop does horror, and new music from Braille. What else? Let's listen. Fresh in Peace   Fresh in Peace II Welcome Home, Kurupt   Born Busy   Dead Man's Car   Move Bitch, Get Out the Concert 99 Problems, But That Kid Ain't One   RAISING CANES Don't Go In That House, Bitch New School News   Wu Newsa. TU-PAC-AND-THE-METH-OD-MAN  b. THIR-TY-BUCKS-FOR-PAR-KING-MAN  One and Done – Too Much Trouble (The Baby Geto Boys) Record of the Week –  Braille “Sober Minded”  Artist of the Month – Madd Hatta Old to the New – Serial Killers (Xzibit, B-Real, Demrick) Call the Cops Bill Reads Lyrics Check us out on social media. Instagram: @mrthrowbackthursday | @bill_mr_tbtThreads: @mrthrowbackthursday | @bill_mr_tbtX (Twitter): @THE_Mr_TBT | @bill_mr_tbt Facebook: Mr. Throwback ThursdayYouTube: @mrtbt

Inicia modernización de luminarias en el Centro Histórico de la CDMX Edomex invita a Taller Básico de Braille para niñas y niñosSindicato ferroviario convoca a huelga nacional en España tras descarrilamientosMás información en nuestro podcast

Blind Abilities – The Musical reimagines the podcast as a live theatrical broadcast, blending news-style dialogue, personal storytelling, and original music into a fully immersive audio stage. Framed as a newsroom, the episode moves through three powerful themes: wearable technology, progressive vision loss, and the enduring importance of Braille. Original songs are not interludes but narrative engines, giving emotional shape to independence, fear, preparation, and identity. Conversations flow seamlessly into lyrics, turning lived experience into melody and reflection into rhythm. Voices from the field, candid roundtable moments, and musical storytelling create a sense of movement, as if scenes are shifting behind the curtain. At its core, this episode is about transition—technology becoming invisible, vision loss accelerating, skills becoming survival, and Braille standing firm as literacy and infrastructure. Blind Abilities – The Musical is not just heard; it is felt, inviting listeners to imagine the stage, recognize themselves in the stories, and hear blindness through harmony, honesty, and shared humanity. For more podcasts with a blindness perspective check us out on the web at www.blindabilities .com. And if you want to leave some feedback give us some suggestions give us a call at 612 367 6093. We'd love to hear from you. I want to thank you for listening   Full Transcript:  

The NHS Online Hospital will aim to provide patients with the option of a hybrid care pathway, with the option of face-to-face appointments and digital connections with doctors and consultants. In Touch hears about the plans for the service, how it might contribute to bringing down long waiting lists and tacking the so-called postcode lottery of care across England. Blind Paralympic athlete, content creator and guitarist Anthony Ferraro went viral recently when he posted a video unboxing 'the world's first' braille amplifier. It was provided to him by UK-based company Victory Amps as a surprise, and they now offer customisable braille amps to the wider visually impaired community off the back of this experience. Anthony and Chris George, from Victory Amps, provide In Touch with the details.Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Helen Surtees Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio' in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

Struggling with VoiceOver passcodes, buggy Victor Reader Stream 3, or wondering if Braille displays and AI doorbells are worth the hype? Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into tech frustrations, safety tips, and some hilariously relatable blind life stories.In this lively episode of Double Tap, Steven and Shaun start their Monday debating protein shakes, exercise, and why fitness might be overrated. The conversation jumps into home tech safety, including smart power strips, USB chargers, and a fire officer's tips for avoiding house fires caused by cheap plugs and overnight phone charging. Listeners share their experiences with: Victor Reader Stream 3 bugs and whether specialist tech gets too much leeway. iPhone passcode frustrations for VoiceOver users, plus tips for Face ID, Touch ID, and Split Tap entry. Braille displays like the Orbit Reader, their durability, and repair realities. Shaving while blind, pocket obsession, and creative ways to carry everything without a bag. Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Discover how Scribe by Pneuma Solutions transforms inaccessible PDFs into fully accessible formats in seconds. Learn step‑by‑step how to convert scanned manuals into audio, Braille, Daisy, Word, EPUB, and more. Michael Babcock demonstrates the power of Scribe from Pneuma Solutions, showing exactly how to turn an inaccessible 25‑page PDF into multiple accessible formats. Watch as he uploads a scanned user manual for the Tribit Stormbox Blast 2 speaker and instantly creates a version readable by screen readers. The demo highlights key features including browser-based reading, audio and Daisy book creation, automatic image descriptions, and support for multiple languages. You'll also see how to transfer your new accessible file to an NLS digital talking book player for easy offline listening. Relevant LinksPneuma Solutions Scribe: https://scribeit.ioPneuma Solutions: https://pneumasolutions.com Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Over in Ireland, compared to North America, there's braille on prescription medications and other products, standard in elevators (lifts) but go down the halls, to the rooms, and none next to or on the hotel room doors. Happy Braille Literacy Month. The Kijewski siblings (and Barry) are back - new year, let's go. Welcome to the first Mixed Bag episode of Outlook for 2026, with brother/sibling co-host Brian live in studio and sister/sibling co-host Kerry and BF Barry joining from Ireland. Kerry paints a picture of her first Christmas and New Year's away from Canada, including traveling out in the snowy weather, or at least Ireland's idea of what that weather can be. We're all sharing about our most recent holiday season, including staying in a castle in Dublin (more to come on the accessibility of this) before moving on into a brand new year and giving a brief glimpse into what's to come in the months ahead. Recently, at the start of January, a post was made on the Elections Canada social media and on the United Nations Facebook page sharing about Braille and his invention, framing Braille literacy as a right not simply a privilege. We're talking orgs like the RNIB (Royal National Institute of the Blind) not even encouraging the learning of braille, its practical uses in career prospects, and much more including low tech, manual, and technological advancements with braille in recent years including the need to bring down the cost of electronic braille devices. Brian also describes how braille came in useful over Christmas. This week we're talking awareness days/weeks/months, (like came up on a recent invitation on the AT Banter podcast) with January being the month of Louis Braille's birth as we talk literacy and equity - access, geography, training, stigma, misinformation, excuses against offering literacy inclusively when it comes to braille. An outlook, a perspective from a sometimes co-host like Barry is valuable, when the other two of us learned braille as children, but having a different perspective on learning and knowing and using braille illustrates something powerful. Tune in to hear this variety of outlooks on parts of being blind. Check out our end-of-year guest appearance on the AT Banter podcast from December, 2025 where we discuss braille and much more: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/at-banter-podcast-episode-447-real-talk-with-the/id1118496048?i=1000740865070 And check out BBC episodes of the "In Touch" podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxww/episodes/player

The Daily Shower Thoughts podcast is produced by Klassic Studios. [Promo] Check out the Daily Dad Jokes podcast here: https://dailydadjokespodcast.com/ [Promo] Like the soothing background music and Amalia's smooth calming voice? Then check out "Terra Vitae: A Daily Guided Meditation Podcast" here at our show page [Promo] The Daily Facts Podcast. Get smarter in less than 10 minutes a day. Pod links here Daily Facts website. [Promo] The Daily Life Pro Tips Podcast. Improve your life in less than 10 minutes a day. Pod links here Daily Life Pro Tips website. [Promo] Check out the Get Happy Headlines podcast by my friends, Stella and Mickey. It's a podcast dedicated to bringing you family friendly uplifting stories from around the world. Give it a listen, I know you will like it. Pod links here Get Happy Headlines website. Shower thoughts are sourced from reddit.com/r/showerthoughts Shower Thought credits: Careless_Total6045, rotaryspace_59, MehDiosBizarreNut, I_am_unique6435, Xx_Rick_Rolled_xX, KITTYKOOLKAT35, Mr_Adventure_22, , Similor, Rknot, SBBN2254, Doozeyer, Luxuryshite, AmbergrisConnoiseur, psychoxxsurfer, Similar_Set_6582, brooks_jayhawk, Hypnox88, LiamHunter35, , catintoga, stupidcasey, calltyrone416, ElusiveBlueFlamingo, Maximus274, karma-enigma, Averagegirl71, hekatestoadie Podcast links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZNciemLzVXc60uwnTRx2e Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-shower-thoughts/id1634359309 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/daily-dad-jokes/daily-shower-thoughts iHeart: https://iheart.com/podcast/99340139/ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a5a434e9-da18-46a7-a434-0437ec49e1d2/daily-shower-thoughts Website: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/dailyshowerthoughts Social media links Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DailyShowerThoughtsPodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DailyShowerPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DailyShowerThoughtsPodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dailyshowerthoughtspod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Touch, grip, read, dance, gesture — what can’t they do? Our fingers are so vital to our everyday life, sometimes it seems they have minds of their own. This hour, a look at the hidden language of finger gestures, the future of Braille, and the joys and challenges of animating fingers for the movies. GUESTS: Kensy Cooperrider: Cognitive scientist, writer, and host of the Many Minds podcast Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show Sile O’Modhrain: Professor at the University of Michigan studying sound and touch and the ways in which they interact Carlos Fernandez Puertolas: Animator with DreamWorks The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 31, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discover the new AI Guide Dog app for iPhone, explore how LiDAR is finally being used for obstacle detection, and hear listener stories about blind dating, social experiences, and navigating accessibility in everyday life.Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into the AI Guide Dog iOS app, which turns your iPhone into a real-time obstacle detector using LiDAR or the front camera. Shaun shares how the app works with haptic feedback and distance alerts, comparing it to older mobility tools like the MiniGuide and Sunu Band. The conversation also explores practical uses, limitations, and whether apps like this can complement guide dogs or canes. Listener Charles responds with thoughtful insights about dating and relationships within the blind community, discussing personal experiences with sighted and blind partners, and how disability can influence—but not define—our connections. Sarah from the Netherlands shares tips for identifying and buying Nespresso Virtuo pods and highlights the brand's Braille labelling service. Finally, Jeff takes us on a nostalgic trip through early computing, punch cards, and green-screen terminals, reflecting on how far technology and accessibility have come.Enjoying Double Tap? Share your thoughts! Email feedback@doubletaponair.com or send a voice note via WhatsApp at +1 613-481-0144. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and leave a review to support accessible tech conversations. Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join us as we recap and chat about Bob's Burgers Season 10 Episode 19 The Handyman Can and Season 10 Episode 20 Poops! I Didn't Do It AgainDid you know the title of "Poops! I Didn't Do It Again" is spelled out in Grade 2 Braille on the script cover. (⠏⠕⠕⠏⠎⠖⠄⠄⠄⠀⠠⠊⠀⠙⠊⠙⠝⠄⠞⠀⠙⠀⠭⠀⠁⠛)Wiki page for the episode:The Handyman CanPoops! I Didn't Do It AgainLinks, articles, and videos mentioned in this episode:Join our Book Club and get access to exclusive content on PatreonFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokFollow us on Bluesky

In episode 294 of iCantCU, I kick off 2026 by connecting a few things that don't seem related at first: Chinese food on Christmas, audio description on TV and movies, and what happens when accessibility goes mainstream. I share what the holidays look like in our house—with Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year's, and both kids' birthdays packed into a few short weeks—along with stories about a cloth menorah, cookie decorating that didn't go quite as planned, baking classes at Sur La Table, and Ziggy's absolute obsession with his Christmas pickles. From there, I get to the bigger point. Just like Chinese restaurants on Christmas, audio description works best when more people discover it—and start using it. I talk about how audio description helps blind viewers while also benefiting sighted people who want to follow shows without watching a screen. The episode wraps with thoughts on where accessibility is improving, where it still falls short, and what I'm looking ahead to in a busy start to the new year. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/294    Links Mentioned Product links are affiliate links so that I may earn a commission. Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, Wayfarer: https://amzn.to/42EU0Sy Like the sunglasses Jane bought for me? https://amzn.to/4oGWLfx Another big dog toy that may be on Ziggy's list: https://amzn.to/4nWcib1 Federation Focus on the NFB of PA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nfbofpa I edit the show with Descript and love it!: https://www.iCantCU.com/descript/ Be My Eyes app (free): https://www.bemyeyes.com/  Seeing AI app (free): https://www.seeingai.com/  That Real Blind Tech Show ep 195: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-195-ces-26-hard-tech-and-soft-balls/id1526258077?i=1000744724124 Index of That Real Blind Tech Show episodes: https://www.icantcu.com/trbts/  Watch iCantCU episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iCantCU Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 148 In episode 148 of White Canes Connect, we share the powerful General Sessions remarks of David DeNotaris from the 2025 National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania State Convention in Harrisburg. Speaking from a lifetime of experience, David reflects on growing up with Braille, discovering the Federation, and the profound influence of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan on his understanding of blindness and self-respect. Through humor and deeply personal stories, he explores what it truly means to believe that it is respectable to be blind—and how that belief unlocks confidence in using Braille, mobility tools, technology, and advocacy skills without apology. Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/respect-belief-and-action-david-denotaris/id1592248709?i=1000744088201 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/3dHOmknIOgW9R7UEo69EH9 YouTube https://youtu.be/0oawJQcbBkA?si=Y7K-rnaBg6UQx50- White Canes Connect Website https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/148/      My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sony ZV-E10 camera : https://amzn.to/4fFBSxM  GoPro Hero 11 Black: https://amzn.to/3SKI7WX Rode Video Micro (used on GoPro): https://amzn.to/4kVMJWI Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  IHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iCantCU   Connect on Social Media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

Discover how blind and visually impaired people can tackle DIY projects with confidence, explore accessible tools, and make everyday home improvements more independently. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into the world of blind-friendly DIY, from adjusting standing desks to putting up shelves without smashing the wall. Steven shares his journey into cordless drills, screwdrivers, and accessible measuring tools, while Shaun offers practical guidance on using spirit levels, stud finders, and talking tape measures.They also reflect on how blind people approach home projects, the role of technology like the iPhone's Measure app and haptic spirit levels, and how community advice can bridge gaps left by poor online resources. The discussion expands into screen time for young children, the value of learning Braille, and the ongoing balance between independence, accessibility, and responsibility in everyday life. Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Are smart glasses welcome on cruise ships anymore? Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into the growing debate around privacy, smart wearables, and accessibility at sea, alongside a lively discussion on Braille literacy and new autonomous wheelchair tech from CES 2025.In this episode of Double Tap, Steven and Shaun explore whether smart glasses like Meta Ray-Bans belong on cruise ships after cruise line MSC introduces restrictions due to privacy concerns. They debate public perception, assumed innocence for blind travellers, and whether banning smart glasses is fair or effective. The conversation shifts to Braille literacy, with listener experiences from Malaysia and the UK highlighting both the challenges and joys of learning Braille later in life. The hosts also touch on exciting assistive technology showcased at CES 2025, including an affordable autonomous wheelchair that could transform mobility for blind and low-vision users. Packed with personal stories, humour, and thoughtful insights, this episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating the intersection of accessibility, technology, and travel.Relevant LinksBraillists Foundation: https://www.braillists.org Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Noah and Dan return to talk the Dvorak contract, will they fix the center depth, long-term contracts, Ristolainen trade rumors, the 2026 offseason plans, do the Flyers make the playoffs, more!

Explore the most exciting announcements from CES 2026 with Steven Scott, Shaun Preece, and guest Marc Aflalo. From HP's all-in-one keyboard computer to AI-ready laptops, haptic wearables, and Braille label printers, this episode dives into the real-world impact of emerging tech for both mainstream and accessible use.This episode is supported by Pneuma Solutions. Creators of accessible tools like Remote Incident Manager and Scribe. Get $20 off with code dt20 at https://pneumasolutions.com/ and enter to win a free subscription at doubletaponair.com/subscribe!CES 2026 delivered everything from cutting-edge laptops and AI-driven devices to innovative accessibility tools. Steven, Shaun, and Marc discuss why HP's G1 keyboard computer could be a game-changer for blind users, and how Dell's new XPS series is stepping away from the “AI ready” branding. They also explore haptic wristbands for Meta Ray-Bans, Rokid's AR glasses, and the Mnemonic Braille Label Printer, questioning both mainstream potential and accessibility.The conversation highlights how tech marketing often misses accessibility opportunities, and why CES's new Accessibility Stage is a vital step in changing that. Plus, the team debate neural bands, AI in laptops, and the growing overlap between mainstream and assistive technologies. Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In episode 148 of White Canes Connect, we share the powerful General Sessions remarks of David DeNotaris from the 2025 National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania State Convention in Harrisburg.  Speaking from a lifetime of experience, David reflects on growing up with Braille, discovering the Federation, and the profound influence of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan on his understanding of blindness and self-respect. Through humor and deeply personal stories, he explores what it truly means to believe that it is respectable to be blind—and how that belief unlocks confidence in using Braille, mobility tools, technology, and advocacy skills without apology.  David also recounts a pivotal advocacy victory that demonstrates the real-world impact of collective action and organized effort. His message is both a challenge and an invitation: get involved, stay involved, and believe in one another. This episode is a reminder that when blind people work together, barriers fall, opportunities expand, and lives are changed. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/148          Connect with David DeNotaris Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.denotaris LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-de-notaris-237b476/  Sky's the Limit Communications on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/877.TAP.HOPE. Donate to the NFB of PA Like what you hear on White Canes Connect? Please support us and donate to the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, visit http://www.supportpablind.org.  Keep Up-to-date with the Affiliate Learn about chapter and division meetings and fundraisers on Federation Focus.  It's available on the affiliate's YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@nfbofpa. New episodes drop every Monday. We Want to Hear Your Story Reach out with questions and comments, or share ideas! We want to hear from you. Call us at (267) 338-4495 or at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com. Follow White Canes Connect Find out why White Canes Connect is currently ranked as one of the 100 Best Visually Impaired Podcast. Find the show on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast  Visit our website at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/.

In this lively first episode of 2026, Steven and Shaun return from the holidays with plenty to share. Steven discusses his recent guide dog qualification, the life-changing benefits of working with Koko, and how a guide dog has transformed his confidence to go out and explore the world. The conversation then shifts to World Braille Day, sparking a passionate exploration of Braille's future. Steven addresses the controversy from social media, the challenges of declining Braille literacy, and the high cost of Braille technology. Shaun weighs in on the importance of access, while listener Chris Cook offers a heartfelt counterpoint, reminding everyone that Braille's value extends far beyond expensive displays. They close by looking ahead to CES 2026 and the accessibility innovations likely to shape the coming year, including Google's next steps in wearable and assistive tech.Enjoying Double Tap? Subscribe for honest conversations about accessible tech, Braille, and the real experiences of blind people. Share your thoughts by email or voice message — we want to hear your perspective! Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In which Robert & Amy celebrate the New Year and join the movement to make 2026 The Year Of Selfishness! Celebrate your fine self, and make 2026 Your Best Year Yet! Reliving The Me Decade in a year. Looking back on 2025, and looking forward to a new year of virtues, values, and living large! Also, Pooh, Braille, Stipe, how to think about news, trends, war, and general mayhem in the culture. It's the 1980's All Over Again! Let's relive the Me Decade!

Join Rob and Steve for a World Braille Day special where “bumpy paper” takes the spotlight. They're joined by Braille champions Shawn Marsolais, Jen Jesso, and Riane LaPaire to celebrate why Braille is literacy and to ask why, in 2026, access to it is still uneven. The panel shares real‑world stories of how Braille powers education, work, and independence, and digs into both the wins and the roadblocks: creative use of Braille tech and tactile graphics, growing World Braille Day resources and library programs, but also shortages of TVIs and transcribers, funding gaps, misconceptions about how technology can replace braille, and the myth that “audio is enough.” Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/at-banter-podcast-episode-449-a-bumpy-ride.pdf Show Notes NNELS https://nnels.ca/ NNELS World Braille Day Page https://nnels.ca/wbd PRCVI https://www.prcvi.org/ Braille Literacy Canada https://www.brailleliteracycanada.ca/en AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

1146. This week, we look at the history of Braille, from the tragic accident that inspired Louis Braille's six-dot system to the "War of the Dots"—a decades-long conflict over competing reading standards in the U.S. Then, we look at the origin of the phrase "pitch black," revealing how the intensifier "pitch" refers to an ancient, dark wood tar and how the word traces its roots back to Old English.The braille segment was written by Karen Lunde, a longtime writer and editor turned web designer and marketing mentor. Solo service business owners come to her for websites where beautiful design meets authentic words that actually build connections. Find her at chanterellemarketingstudio.com.The pitch black segment was run by Samantha Enslen who runs Dragonfly Editorial. You can find her online at dragonflyeditorial.com.Links to Get One Month Free of the Grammar Girl Patreon (different links for different levels)Order of the Snail ($1/month level): https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/687E4Order of the Aardvark ($5/month level): https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/07205Keeper of the Commas ($10/month level): https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/50A0BGuardian of the Grammary ($25/month level): https://www.patreon.com/grammargirl/redeem/949F7

En este nuevo episodio conocemos juntos cómo son los calendarios en Braille realizados por el Área de Lectura para la Discapacidad Visual de la Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, y por el Instituto Benjamin Constant de Río de Janeiro, en Brasil.

Explore the future of accessible tech for blind users in 2026, from the affordability crisis in Braille displays to the rise of AI-powered wearables and smart glasses like Meta Ray-Ban and upcoming Google Glass. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into a candid year-end conversation about the state of assistive technology for blind and vision-impaired users. They debate the sustainability of high-cost Braille devices, the challenges of funding and access for students and employees, and the potential impact of multi-line Braille displays.They also explore the exciting future of wearables, including AI-driven smart glasses, the open ecosystem of Android XR, and the possibilities for integrating apps like Seeing AI, Be My Eyes, and Aira into everyday life. The hosts discuss affordability, second-hand tech reuse, mainstream versus specialist devices, and why 2026 could be the breakthrough year for practical wearable accessibility. Relevant LinksBe My Eyes: https://www.bemyeyes.comMicrosoft Seeing AI: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/seeing-aiMeta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses: https://www.meta.com/smart-glassesGoogle Gemini: https://gemini.google.com Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Look, we could've done a Christmas Episode but we didn't. Instead, Oaks & Jabs gift you bangers, beats, bars, basslines and banter. Be Merry. In all seriousness, the fellas send peace and blessings as 2025 approaches its end and we head into '26. Playlist: New Blood by Polished Arrow Music & Tae Lamar ft. Griffin, Procyse & Rich Colon BASICS by MARTY, Fern & D'Aris The Passion III by Will Kellum, K Diamond & Zee I Know by Procyse & iNTELLECT ft. m1L Dew by Seron ft. Olss Beats Ain't Hard To Find by Datin ft. T.E.V. Prowler by Braille & YP aka Young Paul Thank You Enough by Young C Hearts & Homes by MotionPlus & A-F-R-O ft. m1L Ears To Hear by William Cata & ATTAM Watch This by Andy Mineo Lose Yourself by Procyse & iNTELLECT ft. Griffin & MotionPlus R E F I N E R by REFVGE ft. Bianca Silver, WAY?, Josh Lecroy & Cyfe II Take The Lead by Ty-Redeem3d Gifts by Young C Hearts & Homes Video: https://youtu.be/_gJa6VojZsQ Vote on the playlist at www.definitionradio.com/show/982 Leave your requests/shout-outs on our socials www.facebook.com/DefinitionRadio www.instagram.com/DefinitionHH www.twitter.com/DefinitionHH www.krosswerdz.com

What happens when curiosity, resilience, and storytelling collide over a lifetime of building something meaningful? In this episode, I welcome Nick Francis, founder and CEO of Casual Films, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, presence, and what it takes to keep going when the work gets heavy. Nick's journey began with a stint at BBC News and a bold 9,000-mile rally from London to Mongolia in a Mini Cooper, a spirit of adventure that still fuels how he approaches business and life today. We talk about how that early experience shaped Casual into a global branded storytelling company with studios across five continents, and what it really means to lead a creative organization at scale. Nick shares insights from growing the company internationally, expanding into Southeast Asia, and staying grounded while producing hundreds of projects each year. Along the way, we explore why emotionally resonant storytelling matters, how trust and preparation beat panic, and why presence with family, health, and purpose keeps leaders steady in uncertain times. This conversation is about building an Unstoppable life by focusing on what matters most, using creativity to connect people, and choosing clarity and resilience in a world full of noise. Highlights: 00:01:30 – Learn how early challenges shape resilience and long-term drive. 00:06:20 – Discover why focusing on your role creates calm under pressure. 00:10:50 – Learn how to protect attention in a nonstop world. 00:18:25 – Understand what global growth teaches about leadership. 00:26:00 – Learn why leading with trust changes relationships. 00:45:55 – Discover how movement and presence restore clarity. About the Guest: Nick Francis is the founder and CEO of Casual, a global production group that blends human storytelling, business know-how, and creativity turbo-charged by AI. Named the UK's number one brand video production company for five years, Casual delivers nearly 1,000 projects annually for world-class brands like Adobe, Amazon, BMW, Hilton, HSBC, and P&G. The adventurous spirit behind its first production – a 9,000-mile journey from London to Mongolia in an old Mini – continues to drive Casual's growth across offices in London, New York, LA, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong and Greater China. Nick previously worked for BBC News and is widely recognised for his expertise in video storytelling, brand building, and corporate communications. He is the founding director of the Casual Films Academy, a charity helping young filmmakers develop skills by producing films for charitable organisations. He is also the author of ‘The New Fire: Harness the Power of Video for Your Business' and a passionate advocate for emotionally resonant, behaviorally grounded storytelling. Nick lives in San Francisco, California, with his family. Ways to connect with Nick**:** Website: https://www.casualfilms.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@casual_global  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casualglobal/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CasualFilms/  Nick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickfrancisfilm/  Casual's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/casual-films-international/  Beyond Casual - LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=6924458968031395840 About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson  01:21 Well, hello everyone. I am your host, Mike hingson, that's kind of funny. We'll talk about that in a second, but this is unstoppable mindset. And our guest today is Nick Francis, and what we're going to talk about is the fact that people used to always ask me, well, they would call me Mr. Kingston, and it took me, as I just told Nick a master's degree in physics in 10 years to realize that if I said Mike hingson, that's why they said Mr. Kingston. So was either say Mike hingson or Michael hingson. Well, Michael hingson is a lot easier to say than Mike hingson, but I don't really care Mike or Michael, as long as it's not late for dinner. Whatever works. Yeah. Well, Nick, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're Nick Francis  02:04 here. Thanks, Mike. It's great to be here. Michael Hingson  02:08 So Nick is a marketing kind of guy. He's got a company called casual that we'll hear about. Originally from England, I believe, and now lives in San Francisco. We were talking about the weather in San Francisco, as opposed to down here in Victorville. A little bit earlier. We're going to have a heat wave today and and he doesn't have that up there, but you know, well, things, things change over time. But anyway, we're glad you're here. And thanks, Mike. Really looking forward to it. Tell us about the early Nick growing up and all that sort of stuff, just to get us started. Nick Francis  02:43 That's a good question. I grew up in London, in in Richmond, which is southwest London. It's a at the time, it wasn't anything like as kind of, it's become quite kind of shishi, I think back in the day, because it's on the west of London. The pollution from the city used to flow east and so, like all the kind of well to do people, in fact, there used to be a, there used to be a palace in Richmond. It's where Queen Elizabeth died, the first Queen Elizabeth, that is. And, yeah, you know, I grew up it was, you know, there's a lot of rugby played around there. I played rugby for my local rugby club from a very young age, and we went sailing on the south coast. It was, it was great, really. And then, you know, unfortunately, when I was 10 years old, my my dad died. He had had a very powerful job at the BBC, and then he ran the British Council, which is the overseas wing of the Arts Council, so promoting, I guess, British soft power around the world, going and opening art galleries and going to ballet in Moscow and all sorts. So he had an incredible life and worked incredibly hard. And you know, that has brought me all sorts of privileges, I think, when I was a kid. But, you know, unfortunately, age 10 that all ended. And you know, losing a parent at that age is such a sort of fundamental, kind of shaking of your foundations. You know, you when you're a kid, you feel like a, you're going to live forever, and B, the things that are happening around you are going to last forever. And so, you know, you know, my mom was amazing, of course, and, you know, and in time, I got a new stepdad, and all the rest of it. But you know, that kind of shaped a lot of my a lot of my youth, really. And, yeah, I mean, Grief is a funny thing, and it's funny the way it manifests itself as you grow. But yeah. So I grew up there. I went to school in the Midlands, near where my stepdad lived, and then University of Newcastle, which is up in the north of England, where it rains a lot. It's where it's where Newcastle Football Club is based. And you know is that is absolutely at the center of the city. So. So the city really comes alive there. And it was during that time that I discovered photography, and I wanted to be a war photographer, because I believe that was where life was lived at the kind of the real cutting edge. You know, you see the you see humanity in its in its most visceral and vivid color in terrible situations. And I kind of that seemed like an interesting thing to go to go and do. Michael Hingson  05:27 Well, what? So what did you major in in college in Newcastle? So I did Nick Francis  05:31 history and politics, and then I went did a course in television journalism, and ended up working at BBC News as a initially running on the floor. So I used to deliver the papers that you know, when you see people shuffling or not, they do it anymore, actually, because everything, everything's digital now digital, yeah, but when they were worried about the the auto cues going down, they we always had to make sure that they had the up to date script. And so I would be printing in, obviously, the, you know, because it's a three hour news show, the scripts constantly evolving, and so, you know, I was making sure they had the most up to date version in their hands. And it's, I don't know if you have spent any time around live TV Mike, but it's an incredibly humbling experience, like the power of it. You know, there's sort of two or 3 million people watching these two people who are sitting five feet in front of me, and the, you know, the sort of slightly kind of, there was an element of me that just wanted to jump in front of them and kind of go, ah. And, you know, never, ever work in live TV, ever again. But you know, anyway, I did that and ended up working as a producer, writing and developing, developing packets that would go out on the show, producing interviews and things. And, you know, I absolutely loved it. It was, it was a great time. But then I left to go and set up my company. Michael Hingson  06:56 I am amazed, even today, with with watching people on the news, and I've and I've been in a number of studios during live broadcasts and so on. But I'm amazed at how well, mostly, at least, I've been fortunate. Mostly, the people are able to read because they do have to read everything. It isn't like you're doing a lot of bad living in a studio. Obviously, if you are out with a story, out in the field, if you will, there, there may be more where you don't have a printed script to go by, but I'm amazed at the people in the studio, how much they are able to do by by reading it all completely. Nick Francis  07:37 It's, I mean, the whole experience is kind of, it's awe inspiring, really. And you know, when you first go into a Live, a live broadcast studio, and you see the complexity, and you know, they've got feeds coming in from all over the world, and you know, there's upwards of 100 people all working together to make it happen. And I remember talking to one of the directors at the time, and I was like, How on earth does this work? And he said, You know, it's simple. You everyone has a very specific job, and you know that as long as you do your bit of the job when it comes in front of you, then the show will go out. He said, where it falls over is when people start worrying about whether other people are going to are going to deliver on time or, you know, and so if you start worrying about what other people are doing, rather than just focusing on the thing you have to do, that's where it potentially falls over, Michael Hingson  08:29 which is a great object lesson anyway, to worry about and control and don't worry about the rest Nick Francis  08:36 for sure. Yeah, yeah, for sure. You know, it's almost a lesson for life. I mean, sorry, it is a lesson for life, and Michael Hingson  08:43 it's something that I talk a lot about in dealing with the World Trade Center and so on, and because it was a message I received, but I've been really preaching that for a long time. Don't worry about what you can't control, because all you're going to do is create fear and drive yourself Nick Francis  08:58 crazy, completely, completely. You know. You know what is it? Give me the, give me this. Give me the strength to change the things I can. Give me the give me the ability to let the things that I can't change slide but and the wisdom to know the difference. I'm absolutely mangling that, that saying, but, yeah, it's, it's true, you know. And I think, you know, it's so easy for us to in this kind of modern world where everything's so media, and we're constantly served up things that, you know, shock us, sadness, enrage us, you know, just to be able to step back and say, actually, you know what? These are things I can't really change. I'd have to just let them wash over me. Yeah, and just focus on the things that you really can change. Michael Hingson  09:46 It's okay to be aware of things, but you've got to separate the things you can control from the things that you can and we, unfortunately aren't taught that. Our parents don't teach us that because they were never taught it, and it's something. That, just as you say, slides by, and it's so unfortunate, because it helps to create such a level of fear about so many things in our in our psyche and in our world that we really shouldn't have to do Nick Francis  10:13 completely well. I think, you know, obviously, but you know, we've, we've spent hundreds, if not millions of years evolving to become humans, and then, you know, actually being aware of things beyond our own village has only been an evolution of the last, you know what, five, 600 years, yeah. And so we are just absolutely, fundamentally not able to cope with a world of such incredible stimulus that we live in now. Michael Hingson  10:43 Yeah, and it's only getting worse with all the social media, with all the different things that are happening and of course, and we're only working to develop more and more things to inundate us with more and more kinds of inputs. It's really unfortunate we just don't learn to separate ourselves very easily from all of that. Nick Francis  11:04 Yeah, well, you know, it's so interesting when you look at the development of VR headsets, and, you know, are we going to have, like, lenses in our eyes that kind of enable us to see computer screens while we're just walking down the road, you know? And you look at that and you think, well, actually, just a cell phone. I mean, cell phones are going to be gone fairly soon. I would imagine, you know, as a format, it's not something that's going to abide but the idea that we're going to create technology that's going to be more, that's going to take us away from being in the moment more rather than less, is kind of terrifying. Because, I would say already, even with, you know, the most basic technology that we have now, which is, you know, mind bending, compared to where we were even 20 years ago, you know, to think that we're only going to become more immersive is, you know, we really, really as a species, have to work out how we are going to be far better at stepping away from this stuff. And I, you know, I do, I wonder, with AI and technology whether there is, you know, there's a real backlash coming of people who do want to just unplug, yeah, Michael Hingson  12:13 well, it'll be interesting to see, and I hope that people will learn to do it. I know when I started hearing about AI, and one of the first things I heard was how kids would use it to write their papers, and it was a horrible thing, and they were trying to figure out ways so that teachers could tell us something was written by AI, as opposed to a student. And I almost immediately developed this opinion, no, let AI write the papers for students, but when the students turn in their paper, then take a day to in your class where you have every student come up and defend their paper, see who really knows it, you know. And what a great teaching opportunity and teaching moment to to get students also to learn to do public speaking and other things a little bit more than they do, but we haven't. That hasn't caught on, but I continue to preach it. Nick Francis  13:08 I think that's really smart, you know, as like aI exists, and I think to to pretend somehow that, you know, we can work without it is, you know, it's, it's, it's, yeah, I mean, it's like, well, saying, you know, we're just going to go back to Word processors or typewriters, which, you know, in which it weirdly, in their own time, people looked at and said, this is, you know, these, these are going to completely rot our minds. In fact, yeah, I think Plato said that was very against writing, because he believed it would mean no one could remember anything after that, you know. So it's, you know, it's just, it's an endless, endless evolution. But I think, you know, we have to work out how we incorporate into it, into our education system, for sure. Michael Hingson  13:57 Well, I remember being in in college and studying physics and so on. And one of the things that we were constantly told is, on tests, you can't bring calculators in, can't use calculators in class. Well, why not? Well, because you could cheat with that. Well, the reality is that the smart physicists realized that it's all about really learning the concepts more than the numbers. And yeah, that's great to to know how to do the math. But the the real issue is, do you know the physics, not just the math completely? Nick Francis  14:34 Yeah. And then how you know? How are the challenges that are being set such that you know, they really test your ability to use the calculator effectively, right? So how you know? How are you lifting the bar? And in a way, I think that's kind of what we have to do, what we have to do now, Michael Hingson  14:50 agreed, agreed. So you were in the news business and so on, and then, as you said, you left to start your own company. Why did you decide to do that? Nick Francis  14:59 Well, a friend of. Ryan and I from University had always talked about doing this rally from London to Mongolia. So, and you do it in an old car that you sort of look at, and you go, well, that's a bit rubbish. It has to have under a one liter engine. So it's tiny, it's cheap. The idea is it breaks down you have an adventure. And it was something we kind of talked about in passing and decided that would be a good thing to do. And then over time, you know, we started sending off. We you know, we applied, and then we started sending off for visas and things. And then before we knew it, we were like, gosh, so it looks like we're actually going to do this thing. But by then, you know, my job at the BBC was really taking off. And so I said, you know, let's do this, but let's make a documentary of it. So long story short, we ended up making a series of diary films for Expedia, which we uploaded onto their website. It was, you know, we were kind of pitching this around about 2005 we kind of did it in 2006 so it was kind of, you know, nobody had really heard of YouTube. The idea of making videos to go online was kind of unheard of because, you know, broadband was just kind of getting sorry. It wasn't unheard of, but it was, it was very, it was a very nascent industry. And so, yeah, we went and drove 9000 miles over five weeks. We spent a week sitting in various different repair yards and kind of break his yards in everywhere from Turkey to Siberia. And when we came back, it became clear that the internet was opening up as this incredible medium for video, and video is such a powerful way to share emotion with a dispersed audience. You know, not that I would have necessarily talked about it in that in those terms back then, but it really seemed like, you know, every every web page, every piece of corporate content, could have a video aspect to it. And so we came back and had a few fits and starts and did some, I mean, we, you know, we made a series of hotel videos where we were paid 50 quid a day to go and film hotels. And it was hot and it was hard work. And anyway, it was rough. But over time, you know, we started to win some more lucrative work. And, you know, really, the company grew from there. We won some awards, which helped us to kind of make a bit of a name for ourselves. And this was, there's been a real explosion in technology, kind of shortly after when we did this. So digital SLRs, so, you know, old kind of SLR cameras, you know, turned into digital cameras, which could then start to shoot video. And so it, there was a real explosion in high quality video produced by very small teams of people using the latest technology creatively. And that just felt like a good kind of kick off point for our business. But we just kind of because we got in in kind of 2006 we just sort of beat a wave that kind of started with digital SLRs, and then was kind of absolutely exploded when video cell phones came on the market, video smartphones. And yeah, you know, because we had these awards and we had some kind of fairly blue chip clients from a relatively early, early stage, we were able to grow the company. We then expanded to the US in kind of 2011 20 between 2011 2014 and then we were working with a lot of the big tech companies in California, so it felt like we should maybe kind of really invest in that. And so I moved out here with some of our team in 2018 at the beginning of 2018 and I've been here ever since, wow. Michael Hingson  18:44 So what is it? What was it like starting a business here, or bringing the business here, as opposed to what it was in England? Nick Francis  18:53 It's really interesting, because the creatively the UK is so strong, you know, like so many, you know, from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin to the Rolling Stones to, you know, and then on through, like all the kind of, you know, film and TV, you know, Brits are very good at kind of Creating, like, high level creative, but not necessarily always the best at kind of monetizing it, you know. I mean, some of those obviously have been fantastic successes, right? And so I think in the UK, we we take a lot longer over getting, getting to, like, the perfect creative output, whereas the US is far more focused on, you know, okay, we need this to to perform a task, and frankly, if we get it 80% done, then we're good, right? And so I think a lot of creative businesses in the UK look at the US and they go, gosh. Firstly, the streets are paved with gold. Like the commercial opportunity seems incredible, but actually creating. Tracking it is incredibly difficult, and I think it's because we sort of see the outputs in the wrong way. I think they're just the energy and the dynamism of the US economy is just, it's kind of awe inspiring. But you know, so many businesses try to expand here and kind of fall over themselves. And I think the number one thing is just, you have to have a founder who's willing to move to the US. Because I think Churchill said that we're two two countries divided by the same language. And I never fully understood what that meant until I moved here. I think what it what he really means by that is that we're so culturally different in the US versus the UK. And I think lots of Brits look at America and think, Well, you know, it's just the same. It's just a bit kind of bigger and a bit Brasher, you know, and it and actually, I think if people in the US spoke a completely different language, we would approach it as a different culture, which would then help us to understand it better. Yeah. So, yeah. I mean, it's been, it's been the most fabulous adventure to move here and to, you know, it's, it's hard sometimes, and California is a long way from home, but the energy and the optimism and the entrepreneurialism of it, coupled with just the natural beauty is just staggering. So we've made some of our closest friends in California, it's been absolutely fantastic. And across the US, it's been a fantastic adventure for us and our family. Michael Hingson  21:30 Yeah, I've had the opportunity to travel all over the US, and I hear negative comments about one place or another, like West Virginia, people eat nothing but fried food and all that. But the reality is, if you really take an overall look at it, the country has so much to offer, and I have yet to find a place that I didn't enjoy going to, and people I never enjoyed meeting, I really enjoy all of that, and it's great to meet people, and it's great to experience so much of this country. And I've taken that same posture to other places. I finally got to visit England last October, for the first time. You mentioned rugby earlier, the first time I was exposed to rugby was when I traveled to New Zealand in 2003 and found it pretty fascinating. And then also, I was listening to some rugby, rugby, rugby broadcast, and I tuned across the radio and suddenly found a cricket game that was a little bit slow for me. Yeah, cricket to be it's slow. Nick Francis  22:41 Yeah, fair enough. It's funny. Actually, we know what you're saying about travel. Like one of the amazing things about our Well, I kind of learned two sort of quite fundamentally philosophical things, I think, you know, or things about the about humans and the human condition. Firstly, like, you know, traveling across, you know, we left from London. We, like, drove down. We went through Belgium and France and Poland and Slovenia, Slovakia, Slovenia, like, all the way down Bulgaria, across Turkey into Georgia and Azerbaijan and across the Caspian Sea, and through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, into Russia, and then down into Mongolia. When we finished, we were due north of Jakarta, right? So we drove, we drove a third of the way around the world. And the two things that taught me were, firstly that human people are good. You know, everywhere we went, people would invite us in to have meals, or they'd like fix our car for not unit for free. I mean, people were so kind everywhere we went. Yeah. And the other thing was, just, when we get on a plane and you fly from here to or you fly from London, say to we, frankly, you fly from London to Turkey, it feels unbelievably different. You know, you fly from London to China, and it's, you know, complete different culture. But what our journey towards us, because we drove, was that, you know, while we might not like to admit it, we're actually quite, you know, Brits are quite similar to the French, and the French actually are quite similar to the Belgians, and Belgians quite similar to the Germans. And, you know, and all the way through, actually, like we just saw a sort of slowly changing gradient of all the different cultures. And it really, you know, we are just one people, you know. So as much as we might feel that, you know, we're all we're all different, actually, when you see it, when you when you do a drive like that, you really, you really get to see how slowly the cultures shift and change. Another thing that's quite funny, actually, was just like, everywhere we went, we would be like, you know, we're driving to Turkey. They'd be like, Oh, God, you just drove through Bulgaria, you know, how is like, everything on your car not been stolen, you know, they're so dodgy that you Bulgarians are so dodgy. And then, you know, we'd get drive through the country, and they'd be like, you know, oh, you're going into Georgia, you know, gosh, what you go. Make, make sure everything's tied down on your car. They're so dodgy. And then you get into Georgia, and they're like, Oh my God, you've just very driven through Turkey this, like, everyone sort of had these, like, weird, yeah, kind of perceptions of their neighbors. And it was all nonsense, yeah, you know. Michael Hingson  25:15 And the reality is that, as you pointed out, people are good, you know, I think, I think politicians are the ones who so often mess it up for everyone, just because they've got agendas. And unfortunately, they teach everyone else to be suspicious of of each other, because, oh, this person clearly has a hidden agenda when it normally isn't necessarily true at all. Nick Francis  25:42 No, no, no, certainly not in my experience, anyway, not in my experience. But, you know, well, oh, go ahead. No, no. It's just, you know, it's, it is. It's, it is weird the way that happens, you know, well, they say, you know, if, if politicians fought wars rather than, rather than our young men and women, then there'd be a lot less of them. Yeah, so Well, Michael Hingson  26:06 there would be, well as I tell people, you know, I I've learned a lot from working with eight guy dogs and my wife's service dog, who we had for, oh, gosh, 14 years almost, and one of the things that I tell people is I absolutely do believe what people say, that dogs love unconditionally, unless they're just totally traumatized by something, but they don't trust unconditionally. The difference between dogs and people is that dogs are more open to trust because we've taught ourselves and have been taught by others, that everyone has their own hidden agenda. So we don't trust. We're not open to trust, which is so unfortunate because it affects the psyche of so many people in such a negative way. We get too suspicious of people, so it's a lot harder to earn trust. Nick Francis  27:02 Yeah, I mean, I've, I don't know, you know, like I've been, I've been very fortunate in my life, and I kind of always try to be, you know, open and trusting. And frankly, you know, I think if you're open and trusting with people, in my experience, you kind of, it comes back to you, you know, and maybe kind of looking for the best in everyone. You know, there are times where that's not ideal, but you know, I think you know, in the overwhelming majority of cases, you know, actually, you know, you treat people right? And you know what goes what goes around, comes around, absolutely. Michael Hingson  27:35 And I think that's so very true. There are some people who just are going to be different than that, but I think for the most part, if you show that you're open to trust people will want to trust you, as long as you're also willing to trust Nick Francis  27:51 them completely. Yeah, completely. Michael Hingson  27:54 So I think that that's the big thing we have to deal with. And I don't know, I hope that we, we will learn it. But I think that politicians are really the most guilty about teaching us. Why not to trust but that too, hopefully, will be something we deal with. Nick Francis  28:12 I think, you know, I think we have to, you know, it's, it's one of the tragedies of our age, I think, is that the, you know, we spent the 20th century, thinking that sex was the kind of ultimate sales tool. And then it took algorithms to for us to realize that actually anger and resentment are the most powerful sales tools, which is, you know, it's a it's something which, in time, we will work out, right? And I think the problem is that, at the minute, these tech businesses are in such insane ascendancy, and they're so wealthy that it's very hard to regulate them. And I think in time, what will happen is, you know, they'll start to lose some of that luster and some of that insane scale and that power, and then, you know, then regulation will come in. But you know whether or not, we'll see maybe, hopefully our civilization will still be around to see that. Michael Hingson  29:04 No, there is that, or maybe the Vulcans will show up and show us a better way. But you know, Nick Francis  29:11 oh, you know, I'm, I'm kind of endlessly optimistic. I think, you know, we are. We're building towards a very positive future. I think so. Yeah, it's just, you know, get always bumps along the way, yeah. Michael Hingson  29:24 So you named your company casual. Why did you do that? Or how did that come about? Nick Francis  29:30 It's a slightly weird name for something, you know, we work with, kind of, you know, global blue chip businesses. And, you know, casual is kind of the last thing that you would want to associate with, a, with a, with any kind of services business that works in that sphere. I think, you know, we, the completely honest answer is that the journalism course I did was television, current affairs journalism, so it's called TV cadge, and so we, when we made a film for a local charity as part of that course. Course, we were asked to name our company, and we just said, well, cash, cash casual, casual films. So we called it casual films. And then when my friend and I set the company up, kind of formally, to do the Mongol Rally, we, you know, we had this name, you know, the company, the film that we'd made for the charity, had gone down really well. It had been played at BAFTA in London. And so we thought, well, you know, we should just, you know, hang on to that name. And it didn't, you know, at the time, it didn't really seem too much of an issue. It was only funny. It was coming to the US, where I think people are a bit more literal, and they were a bit like, well, casual. Like, why casual, you know. And I remember being on a shoot once. And, you know, obviously, kind of some filmmakers can be a little casual themselves, not necessarily in the work, but in the way they present themselves, right? And I remember sitting down, we were interviewing this CEO, and he said, who, you know, who are you? Oh, we're casual films. He's like, Oh, is that why that guy's got ripped jeans? Is it? And I just thought, Damn, you know, we really left ourselves open to that. There was also, there was a time one of our early competitors was called Agile films. And so, you know, I remember talking to one of our clients who said, you know, it's casual, you know, when I have to put together a little document to say, you know, which, which supplier we should choose, and when I lay it on my boss's desk, and one says casual films, and one says agile films, it's like those guys are landing the first punch. But anyway, we, you know, we, what we say now is like, you know, we take a complex process and make it casual. You know, filmmaking, particularly for like, large, complex organizations where you've got lots of different stakeholders, can be very complicated. And so, yeah, we sort of say, you know, we'll take a lot of that stress off, off our clients. So that's kind of the rationale, you know, that we've arrived with, arrived at having spoken to lots of our clients about the role that we play for them. So, you know, there's a kind of positive spin on it, I guess, but I don't know. I don't know whether I'd necessarily call it casual again. I don't know if I'm supposed to say that or not, but, oh, Michael Hingson  32:00 it's unique, you know? So, yeah, I think there's a lot of merit to it. It's a unique name, and it interests people. I know, for me, one of the things that I do is I have a way of doing this. I put all of my business cards in Braille, so the printed business cards have Braille on them, right? Same thing. It's unique completely. Nick Francis  32:22 And you listen, you know what look your name is an empty box that you fill with your identity. They say, right? And casual is actually, it's something we've grown into. And you know it's we've been going for nearly 20 years. In fact, funny enough for the end of this year is the 20th anniversary of that first film we made for the for the charity. And then next summer will be our 20th anniversary, which is, you know, it's, it's both been incredibly short and incredibly long, you know, I think, like any kind of experience in life, and it's been some of the hardest kind of times of my entire life, and some of the best as well. So, you know, it's, it is what it is, but you know, casual is who we are, right? I would never check, you know? I'd never change it. Michael Hingson  33:09 Now, no, of course not, yeah. So is the actual name casual films, or just casual? Nick Francis  33:13 So it was casual films, but then everyone calls us casual anyway, and I think, like as an organization, we probably need to be a bit more agnostic about the outcome. Michael Hingson  33:22 Well, the reason I asked, in part was, is there really any filming going on anymore? Nick Francis  33:28 Well, that's a very that's a very good question. But have we actually ever made a celluloid film? And I think the answer is probably no. We used to, back in the day, we used to make, like, super eight films, which were films, I think, you know, video, you know, ultimately, if you're going to be really pedantic about it, it's like, well, video is a digital, digital delivery. And so basically, every film we make is, is a video. But there is a certain cachet to the you know, because our films are loved and crafted, you know, for good or ill, you know, I think to call them, you know, they are films because, because of the, you know, the care that's put into them. But it's not, it's, it's not celluloid. No, that's okay, yeah, well, Michael Hingson  34:16 and I know that, like with vinyl records, there is a lot of work being done to preserve and capture what's on cellular film. And so there's a lot of work that I'm sure that's being done to digitize a lot of the old films. And when you do that, then you can also go back and remaster and hopefully in a positive way, and I'm not sure if that always happens, but in a positive way, enhance them Nick Francis  34:44 completely, completely and, you know, it's, you know, it's interesting talking about, like, you know, people wanting to step back. You know, obviously vinyl is having an absolute as having a moment right now. In fact, I just, I just bought a new stylist for my for my record. Play yesterday. It sounded incredible as a joy. This gave me the sound quality of this new style. It's fantastic. You know, beyond that, you know, running a company, you know, we're in nine offices all over the world. We produce nearly 1000 projects a year. So, you know, it's a company. It's an incredibly complicated company. It's a very fun and exciting company. I love the fact that we make these beautifully creative films. But, you know, it's a bit, I wouldn't say it's like, I don't know, you don't get many MBAs coming out of business school saying, hey, I want to set up a video production company. But, you know, it's been, it's been wonderful, but it's also been stressful. And so, you know, I've, I've always been interested in pottery and ceramics and making stuff with my hands. When I was a kid, I used to make jewelry, and I used to go and sell it in nightclubs, which is kind of weird, but, you know, it paid for my beers. And then whatever works, I say kid. I was 18. I was, I was of age, but of age in the UK anyway. But now, you know, over the last few 18 months or so, I've started make, doing my own ceramics. So, you know, I make vases and and pictures and kind of all sorts of stuff out of clay. And it's just, it's just to be to unplug and just to go and, you know, make things with mud with your hands. It's just the most unbelievably kind of grounding experience. Michael Hingson  36:26 Yeah, I hear you, yeah. One of the things that I like to do is, and I don't get to do it as much as I would like, but I am involved with organizations like the radio enthusiasts of Puget Sound, which, every year, does recreations of old radio shows. And so we get the scripts we we we have several blind people who are involved in we actually go off and recreate some of the old shows, which is really a lot of fun, Nick Francis  36:54 I bet, yeah, yeah, sort of you know that connection to the past is, is, yeah, it's great radio. Radio is amazing. Michael Hingson  37:03 Anyway, what we have to do is to train some of the people who have not had exposure to old radio. We need to train them as to how to really use their voices to convey like the people who performed in radio, whatever they're doing, because too many people don't really necessarily know how to do that well. And it is, it is something that we're going to work on trying to find ways to get people really trained. And one of the ways, of course, is you got to listen to the old show. So one of the things we're getting more and more people to do when we do recreations is to go back and listen to the original show. Well, they say, Well, but, but that's just the way they did it. That's not necessarily the way it should be done. And the response is, no, that's not really true. The way they did it sounded natural, and the way you are doing it doesn't and there's reality that you need to really learn how to to use your voice to convey well, and the only way to do it is to listen to the experts who did it. Nick Francis  38:06 Yeah, well, it's, you know, it's amazing. The, you know, when the BBC was founded, all the news readers and anyone who appeared on on the radio to to present or perform, had to wear like black tie, like a tuxedo, because it was, you know, they're broadcasting to the nation, so they had to, you know, they had to be dressed appropriately, right, which is kind of amazing. And, you know, it's interesting how you know, when you, when you change your dress, when you change the way you're sitting, it does completely change the way that you project yourself, yeah, Michael Hingson  38:43 it makes sense, yeah, well, and I always enjoyed some of the old BBC radio shows, like the Goon Show, and completely some of those are so much fun. Nick Francis  38:54 Oh, great, yeah, I don't think they were wearing tuxedo. It's tuxedos. They would Michael Hingson  38:59 have been embarrassed. Yeah, right, right. Can you imagine Peter Sellers in a in a tux? It just isn't going to happen. Nick Francis  39:06 No, right, right. But yeah, no, it's so powerful. You know, they say radio is better than TV because the pictures are better. Michael Hingson  39:15 I agree. Yeah, sure, yeah. Well, you know, I I don't think this is quite the way he said it, but Fred Allen, the old radio comedian, once said they call television the new medium, because that's as good as it's ever going Nick Francis  39:28 to get. Yeah, right, right, yeah. Michael Hingson  39:32 I think there's truth to it. Whether that's exactly the way he said it or not, there's truth to that, yeah, but there's also a lot of good stuff on TV, so it's okay. Nick Francis  39:41 Well, it's so interesting. Because, you know, when you look at the it's never been more easy to create your own content, yeah, and so, you know, and like, in a way, TV, you know, he's not wrong in that, because it suddenly opened up this, this huge medium for people just to just create. Right? And, you know, and I think, like so many people, create without thinking, and, you know, and certainly in our kind of, in the in the world that we're living in now with AI production, making production so much more accessible, actually taking the time as a human being just to really think about, you know, who are the audience, what are the things that are going to what are going to kind of resonate with them? You know? Actually, I think one of the risks with AI, and not just AI, but just like production being so accessible, is that you can kind of shoot first and kind of think about it afterwards, and, you know, and that's never good. That's always going to be medium. It's medium at best, frankly. Yeah, so yeah, to create really great stuff takes time, you know, yeah, to think about it. Yeah, for sure, yeah. Michael Hingson  40:50 Well, you know, our podcast is called unstoppable mindset. What do you think that unstoppable mindset really means to you as a practical thing and not just a buzzword. Because so many people talk about the kinds of buzzwords I hear all the time are amazing. That's unstoppable, but it's really a lot more than a buzzword. It goes back to what you think, I think. But what do you think? Nick Francis  41:15 I think it's something that is is buried deep inside you. You know, I'd say the simple answer is, is just resilience. You know, it's, it's been rough. I write anyone running a small business or a medium sized business at the minute, you know, there's been some tough times over the last, kind of 1824, months or so. And, you know, I was talking to a friend of mine who she sold out of her business. And she's like, you know, how are things? I was like, you know, it's, it's, it's tough, you know, we're getting through it, you know, we're changing a lot of things, you know, we're like, we're definitely making the business better, but it's hard. And she's like, Listen, you know, when three years before I sold my company, I was at rock bottom. It was, I genuinely thought it was so stressful. I was crushed by it, but I just kept going. And she's just like, just keep going. And the only difference between success and failure is that resilience and just getting up every day and you just keep, keep throwing stuff at the wall, keep trying new things, keep working and trying to be better. I think, you know, it's funny when you look at entrepreneurs, I'm a member of a mentoring group, and I hope I'm not talking out of school here, but you know, there's 15 entrepreneurs, you know, varying sizes of business, doing all sorts, you know, across all sorts of different industries. And if you sat on the wall, if you were fly on the wall, and you sit and look at these people on a kind of week, month to month basis, and they all present on how their businesses are going. You go, this is this being an entrepreneur does not look like a uniformly fun thing, you know, the sort of the stress and just, you know, people crying and stuff, and you're like, gosh, you know, it's so it's, it's, it's hard, and yet, you know, it's people just keep coming back to it. And yet, I think it's because of that struggle that you have to kind of have something in built in you, that you're sort of, you're there to prove something. And I, you know, I've thought a lot about this, and I wonder whether, kind of, the death of my father at such a young age kind of gave me this incredible fire to seek His affirmation, you know. And unfortunately, obviously, the tragedy of that is like, you know, the one person who would never give me affirmation is my dad. And yet, you know, I get up every day, you know, to have early morning calls with the UK or with Singapore or wherever. And you know, you just just keep on, keeping on. And I think that's probably what and knowing I will never quit, you know, like, even from the earliest days of casual, when we were just, like a couple of people, and we were just, you know, kids doing our very best, I always knew the company was going to be a success act. Like, just a core belief that I was like, this is going to work. This is going to be a success. I didn't necessarily know what that success would look like. I just but I did know that, like, whatever it took, we would map, we'd map our way towards that figure it out. We'd figure it out. And I think, you know, there's probably something unstoppable. I don't know, I don't want to sound immodest, but I think there's probably something in that that you're just like, I am just gonna keep keep on, keeping on. Michael Hingson  44:22 Do you think that resilience and unstoppability are things that can be taught, or is it just something that's built into you, and either you have it or you don't? Nick Francis  44:31 I think it's something that probably, it's definitely something that can be learned, for sure, you know. And there are obviously ways that it can there's obviously ways it can be taught. You know, I was, I spent some time in the reserve, like the Army Reserve in the UK, and I just, you know, a lot of that is about teaching you just how much further you can go. I think what it taught me was it was so. So hard. I mean, honestly, some of the stuff we did in our training was, like, you know, it's just raining and raining and raining and, like, because all your kits soaking wet is weighs twice what it did before, and you just, you know, sleeping maybe, you know, an hour or two a night, and, you know, and there wasn't even anyone shooting at us, right? So, you know, like the worst bit wasn't even happening. But like, and like, in a sense, I think, you know, that's what they're trying to do, that, you know, they say, you know, train hard and fight easy. But I remember sort of sitting there, and I was just exhausted, and I just genuinely, I was just thought, you know, what if they tell me to go now, I just, I can't. I literally, I can't, I can't do it. Can't do it. And then they're like, right, lads, put your packs on. Let's go and just put your pack on. Off you go, you know, like, this sort of, the idea of not, like, I was never going to quit, just never, never, ever, you know, and like I'd physically, if I physically, like, literally, my physical being couldn't stand up, you know, I then that was be, that would be, you know, if I was kind of, like literally incapacitated. And I think what that taught me actually, was that, you know, you have what you believe you can do, like you have your sort of, you have your sort of physical envelope, but like that is only a third or a quarter of what you can actually achieve, right, you know. And I think what that, what the that kind of training is about, and you know, you can do it in marathon training. You can do it in all sorts of different, you know, even, frankly, meditate. You know, you train your mind to meditate for, you know, an hour, 90 minutes plus. You know, you're still doing the same. You know, there's a, there's an elasticity within your brain where you can teach yourself that your envelope is so much larger. Yeah. So, yeah, you know, like, is casual going to be a success? Like, I'm good, you know, I'm literally, I won't I won't stop until it is Michael Hingson  46:52 right, and then why stop? Exactly, exactly you continue to progress and move forward. Well, you know, when everything feels uncertain, whether it's the markets or whatever, what do you do or what's your process for finding clarity? Nick Francis  47:10 I think a lot of it is in having structured time away. I say structured. You build it into your calendar, but like, but it's unstructured. So, you know, I take a lot of solace in being physically fit. You know, I think if you're, if you feel physically fit, then you feel mentally far more able to deal with things. I certainly when I'm if I'm unfit and if I've been working too much and I haven't been finding the time to exercise. You know, I feel like the problems we have to face just loom so much larger. So, you know, I, I'll book out. I, you know, I work with a fan. I'm lucky enough to have a fantastic assistant who, you know, we book in my my exercise for each week, and it's almost the first thing that goes in the calendar. I do that because I can't be the business my my I can't be the leader my business requires. And it finally happened. It was a few years ago I kind of, like, the whole thing just got really big on me, and it just, you know, and I'm kind of, like, being crushed by it. And I just thought, you know what? Like, I can't, I can't fit other people's face mask, without my face mask being fit, fitted first. Like, in order to be the business my business, I keep saying that to be the lead in my business requires I have to be physically fit. So I have to look after myself first. And so consequently, like, you know, your exercise shouldn't be something just get squeezed in when you find when you have time, because, you know, if you've got family and you know, other things happening, like, you know, just will be squeezed out. So anyway, that goes in. First, I'll go for a bike ride on a Friday afternoon, you know, I'll often listen to a business book and just kind of process things. And it's amazing how often, you know, I'll just go for a run and, like, these things that have been kind of nagging away in the back of my mind, just suddenly I find clarity in them. So I try to exercise, like, five times a week. I mean, that's obviously more than most people can can manage, but you know that that really helps. And then kind of things, like the ceramics is very useful. And then, you know, I'm lucky. I think it's also just so important just to appreciate the things that you already have. You know, I think one of the most important lessons I learned last year was this idea that, you know, here is the only there. You know, everyone's working towards this kind of, like, big, you know, it's like, oh, you know, when I get to there, then everything's going to be okay, you know. And actually, you know, if you think about like, you know, and what did you want to achieve when you left college? Like, what was the salary band that you want? That you wanted to achieve? Right? A lot of people, you know, by the time you hit 4050, you've blown way through that, right? And yet you're still chasing the receding Summit, yeah, you know. And so actually, like, wherever we're trying to head to, we're already there, because once you get there, there's going to be another there that you're trying to. Head to right? So, so, you know, it's just taking a moment to be like, you know, God, I'm so lucky to have what I have. And, you know, I'm living in, we're living in the good old days, like right now, right? Michael Hingson  50:11 And the reality is that we're doing the same things and having the same discussions, to a large degree, that people did 50, 100 200 years ago. As you pointed out earlier, the fact is that we're, we're just having the same discussions about whether this works, or whether that works, or anything else. But it's all the same, Nick Francis  50:33 right, you know. And you kind of think, oh, you know, if I just, just, like, you know, if we just open up these new offices, or if we can just, you know, I think, like, look, if I, if I'd looked at casual when we started it as it is now, I would have just been like, absolute. My mind would have exploded, right? You know, if you look at what we've achieved, and yet, I kind of, you know, it's quite hard sometimes to look at it and just be like, Oh yeah, but we're only just starting. Like, there's so much more to go. I can see so much further work, that we need so many more things, that we need to do, so many more things that we could do. And actually, you know, they say, you know, I'm lucky enough to have two healthy, wonderful little girls. And you know, I think a lot of bread winners Look at, look at love being provision, and the idea that, you know, you have to be there to provide for them. And actually, the the truest form of love is presence, right? And just being there for them, and like, you know, not being distracted and kind of putting putting things aside, you know, not jumping on your emails or your Slack messages or whatever first thing in the morning, you know. And I, you know, I'm not. I'm guilty, like, I'm not, you know, I'm not one of these people who have this kind of crazy kind of morning routine where, like, you know, I'm incredibly disciplined about that because, you know, and I should be more. But like, you know, this stuff, one of the, one of the things about having a 24 hour business with people working all over the world is there's always things that I need to respond to. There's always kind of interesting things happening. And so just like making sure that I catch myself every so often to be like, I'm just going to be here now and I'm going to be with them, and I'm going to listen to what they're saying, and I'm going to respond appropriately, and, you know, I'm going to play a game with them, or whatever. That's true love. You know? Michael Hingson  52:14 Well, there's a lot of merit to the whole concept of unplugging and taking time and living in the moment. One of the things that we talked about in my book live like a guide dog, that we published last year, and it's all about lessons I've learned about leadership and teamwork and preparedness from eight guide dogs and my wife's service dog. One of the things that I learned along the way is the whole concept of living in the moment when I was in the World Trade Center with my fifth guide dog, Roselle. We got home, and I was going to take her outside to go visit the bathroom, but as soon as I took the harness off, she shot off, grabbed her favorite tug bone and started playing tug of war with my retired guide dog. Asked the veterinarians about him the next day, the people at Guide Dogs for the Blind, and they said, Well, did anything threaten her? And I said, No. And they said, there's your answer. The reality is, dogs live in the moment when it was over. It was over. And yeah, right lesson to learn. Nick Francis  53:15 I mean, amazing, absolutely amazing. You must have taken a lot of strength from that. Michael Hingson  53:20 Oh, I think it was, it was great. It, you know, I can look back at my life and look at so many things that have happened, things that I did. I never thought that I would become a public speaker, but I learned in so many ways the art of speaking and being relaxed at speaking in a in a public setting, that when suddenly I was confronted with the opportunity to do it, it just seemed like the natural thing to do. Nick Francis  53:46 Yeah, it's funny, because I think isn't public speaking the number one fear. It is. It's the most fit. It's the most feared thing for the most people. Michael Hingson  53:57 And the reality is going back to something that we talked about before. The reality is, audiences want you to succeed, unless you're a jerk and you project that, audiences want to hear what you have to say. They want you to be successful. There's really nothing to be afraid of but, but you're right. It is the number one fear, and I've never understood that. I mean, I guess I can intellectually understand it, but internally, I don't. The first time I was asked to speak after the World Trade Center attacks, a pastor called me up and he said, we're going to we're going to have a service outside for all the people who we lost in New Jersey and and that we would like you to come and speak. Take a few minutes. And I said, Sure. And then I asked him, How many people many people were going to be at the service? He said, 6000 that was, that was my first speech. Nick Francis  54:49 Yeah, wow. But it didn't bother me, you know, no, I bet Michael Hingson  54:54 you do the best you can, and you try to improve, and so on. But, but it is true that so many people. Are public speaking, and there's no reason to what Nick Francis  55:03 did that whole experience teach you? Michael Hingson  55:06 Well, one of the things that taught me was, don't worry about the things that you can't control. It also taught me that, in reality, any of us can be confronted with unexpected things at any time, and the question is, how well do we prepare to deal with it? So for me, for example, and it took me years after September 11 to recognize this, but one of the things that that happened when the building was hit, and Neither I, nor anyone on my side of the building really knew what happened. People say all the time, well, you didn't know because you couldn't see it. Well, excuse me, it hit 18 floors above us on the other side of the building. And the last time I checked X ray vision was fictitious, so nobody knew. But did the building shake? Oh, it tipped. Because tall buildings like that are flexible. And if you go to any tall building, in reality, they're made to buffet in wind storms and so on, and in fact, they're made to possibly be struck by an airplane, although no one ever expected that somebody would deliberately take a fully loaded jet aircraft and crash it into a tower, because it wasn't the plane hitting the tower as such that destroyed both of them. It was the exploding jet fuel that destroyed so much more infrastructure caused the buildings to collapse. But in reality, for me, I had done a lot of preparation ahead of time, not even thinking that there would be an emergency, but thinking about I need to really know all I can about the building, because I've got to be the leader of my office, and I should know all of that. I should know what to do in an emergency. I should know how to take people to lunch and where to go and all that. And by learning all of that, as I learned many and discovered many years later, it created a mindset that kicked in when the World Trade Center was struck, and in fact, we didn't know until after both towers had collapsed, and I called my wife. We I talked with her just before we evacuated, and the media hadn't even gotten the story yet, but I never got a chance to talk with her until after both buildings had collapsed, and then I was able to get through and she's the first one that told us how the two buildings had been hit by hijacked aircraft. But the mindset had kicked in that said, You know what to do, do it and that. And again, I didn't really think about that until much later, but that's something that is a lesson we all could learn. We shouldn't rely on just watching signs to know what to do, no to go in an emergency. We should really know it, because the knowledge, rather than just having information, the true intellectual knowledge that we internalize, makes such a big difference. Nick Francis  57:46 Do you think it was the fact that you were blind that made you so much more keen to know the way out that kind of that really helped you to understand that at the time? Michael Hingson  57:56 Well, what I think is being blind and growing up in an environment where so many things could be unexpected, for me, it was important to know so, for example, when I would go somewhere to meet a customer, I would spend time, ahead of time, learning how to get around, learning how to get to where they were and and learning what what the process was, because we didn't have Google Maps and we didn't have all the intellectual and and technological things that we have today. Well intellectual we did with the technology we didn't have. So today it's easier, but still, I want to know what to do. I want to really have the answers, and then I can can more easily and more effectively deal with what I need to deal with and react. So I'm sure that blindness played a part in all of that, because if I hadn't learned how to do the things that I did and know the things that I knew, then it would have been a totally different ball game, and so sure, I'm sure, I'm certain that blindness had something to do with it, but I also know that, that the fact is, what I learned is the same kinds of things that everyone should learn, and we shouldn't rely on just the signs, because what if the building were full of smoke, then what would you do? Right? And I've had examples of that since I was at a safety council meeting once where there was somebody from an electric company in Missouri who said, you know, we've wondered for years, what do we do if there's a fire in the generator room, in the basement, In the generator room, how do people get out? And he and I actually worked on it, and they developed a way where people could have a path that they could follow with their feet to get them out. But the but the reality is that what people first need to learn is eyesight is not the only game in town. Yeah, right. Mean, it's so important to really learn that, but people, people don't, and we take too many things for granted, which is, which is really so unfortunate, because we really should do a li

France's largest Braille publisher struggles to continue producing embossed books in the digital age. Researchers delve into people's guts with a large-scale study on the French population's microbiome. And Louise Bourgeois, the French midwife who in 1609 became the first woman in Europe to publish a book about medicine. As France marks 200 years since Louis Braille invented his system of raised dots allowing blind people to read by touch, we visit the country's only remaining Braille printing house. At the CTEB in Toulouse, a team of 12 staff and mainly blind volunteers transcribe more than 200 books each year for both adults and children, along with bank statements, brochures and other documents. Despite extremely high production costs, the centre sells its books at the same price as the originals to ensure equal access. Now deeply in debt, it's calling for state aid to survive – arguing that, even in the age of digital Braille and audio books, turning a page is important in learning to read. (Listen @3'15'') Scientists are increasingly convinced that the trillions of bacteria living in the human digestive system also contribute to health and wellbeing. Le French Gut is a large-scale study intended to track the connection between the microbiome and disease. Launched in 2023, it aims to recruit 100,000 French participants, to contribute samples and fill out health and diet questionnaires. Now the scientists are looking to get more children on board. Project director Patrick Vega shows the lab and biobank where the bacteria are being analysed, and talks about the discoveries in the gut that could help predict or even cure diseases. (Listen @21'20'') Seventeenth-century French midwife Louise Bourgeois, the first woman in Europe to publish a medical book, was a pioneer in women's health at a time when only men were allowed to be doctors and women delivered babies according to tradition, not science. (Listen @14'45'') Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

Le directeur du Château de Versailles, Opéra et Spectacles Laurent Brunner a propos de l'époque. L'oeuvre de Beata Panakova au sujet de Louis Braille. Calendrier historique.

What happens when the life you thought was secure… disappears overnight?In this powerful and deeply human episode of Shut Up and GRIND, Robert B. Foster sits down with Gail Showalter — author, educator, nonprofit founder, and relentless advocate for single mothers — to unpack what really happens after divorce, betrayal, and starting over.Gail had what many would call the dream: a marriage, three children, a family business, a beautiful home, and a promising future.Then came another woman — and everything changed.Instead of letting the pain define her, Gail leaned into vulnerability, education, and purpose. With three young children in tow, she returned to college, published her first story Baby Steps, changed careers to become a Braille teacher, and eventually founded Single Moms EmpowerEd — a nonprofit born not from strategy, but from compassion.What began as simply wanting to “give single moms a break” evolved into a powerful mission centered on education, empowerment, and personality understanding — because Gail noticed something critical:Single moms with access to education and self-awareness were far more resilient.In this episode, we talk about:

LEITURA BÍBLICA DO DIA: GÊNESIS 50:15-21 PLANO DE LEITURA ANUAL: OSEIAS 12–14; APOCALIPSE 4   Já fez seu devocional hoje? Aproveite e marque um amigo para fazer junto com você! Confira:  Anne cresceu na pobreza e na dor. Dois dos seus irmãos morreram na infância. Aos 5 anos, uma doença a deixou quase cega, sem poder ler ou escrever. Quando ela tinha 8 anos, sua mãe morreu de tuberculose. Pouco depois, seu pai abusivo abandonou os seus três filhos sobreviventes. Seu irmão mais novo foi morar com parentes, mas Anne e seu irmão Jaime, foram para um orfanato malcuidado e superlotado onde Jaime morreu meses depois. As circunstâncias melhoraram quando ela tinha 14 anos e foi para uma escola de cegos, onde fez uma cirurgia. Sua visão melhorou e ela aprendeu a ler e a escrever. Lutou para se enturmar, destacou-se academicamente e formou-se como oradora da turma. Hoje a conhecemos como Anne Sullivan, a professora e amiga de Helen Keller. Com esforço, paciência e amor, Anne ensinou Helen, que era cega e surda, a falar, ler Braille e a formar-se na faculdade. José aos 17 anos também teve que superar provações extremas. Ele foi vendido como escravo por seus irmãos invejosos e mais tarde preso injustamente (GÊNESIS 37;39–41). No entanto, Deus o usou para salvar o Egito e sua família da fome (50:20). Todos nós enfrentamos provações e problemas. Mas, assim como Deus ajudou José e Anne a superarem e impactarem profundamente a vida de outros, Ele pode nos ajudar e nos capacitar para praticar o bem. Busque-o para ajuda e orientação. O Senhor o vê e ouve.  Por: ALYSON KIEDA 

In this episode, I speak with trainee clinical psychologist Skie Hewitt about the reality of training and working in psychology while registered blind. We discuss stigma at interview, navigating inaccessible systems, working with a guide dog, using technology to adapt practice, identity-first language, the emotional labour of disability, and what supervisors and services need to know to genuinely support visually impaired trainees. Skie shares practical strategies, personal reflections and hopeful encouragement for disabled aspiring psychologists, alongside essential insights for anyone committed to building an inclusive profession. This episode is ideal for aspiring psychologists, educators, supervisors and anyone interested in accessibility, disability and clinical training.Highlights00:00 – Opening reflections on inclusion and the reality of inaccessible systems01:20 – Introducing Skie: her route from A Levels to two master's degrees and AP roles02:34 – Discovering the Snowden Trust and how their scholarship opened doors03:20 – Talking impostor syndrome, resilience and the impact of adversity04:26 – Understanding Skie's visual impairment and what “registered blind” actually means05:58 – Why this episode aims to empower both disabled and non-disabled listeners06:35 – The stigma Skie faced at interview and why it was illegal08:54 – Choosing a workplace based on how people made her feel, not just the offer09:36 – Where guide dogs can and cannot go and why misconceptions persist10:48 – Access refusals in taxis, Airbnbs and public spaces, and the emotional toll11:53 – How Derek, Skie's guide dog, can be an asset and an icebreaker in therapy12:33 – How Skie discusses her dog and visual impairment with clients14:44 – Identity-first vs person-first language and why it varies15:44 – The social model of disability and why systems are often the barrier17:22 – The practical tools that support Skie at work: magnification, voiceover, contrast18:40 – The constant problem-solving required just to get through a day19:06 – How supervision and open communication create real accessibility20:25 – How Skie takes notes in assessment sessions and adapts traditional processes21:37 – Recording sessions as a tool for accessibility and learning22:32 – Braille, literacy and why many visually impaired people don't rely on it24:00 – Technology that transforms independence, including Meta AI glasses25:00 – The braille smartwatch and why subtle timekeeping matters in therapy26:44 – Universal design vs specialist devices28:17 – Audible, audiobooks and the power of accessible learning29:14 – Managing eye health, hospital appointments and disability-related leave31:19 – Caring for Derek on placement and setting him up with his own workspace31:42 – What glaucoma is and how it affects vision32:35 – The challenges Skie's mum faced raising a blind baby33:14 – Childhood independence, confidence and proving professionals wrong34:46 – Hobbies, travel and aerial fitness as a potential new adventure35:36 – Why disabled voices strengthen the profession — and why the work is still hard36:59 – Final reflections on making psychology inclusive and empowering future trainees38:25 – Your post-session reflection about accidentally saying “lovely to see you”39:31 – Subscriber-only content and how listeners can support the podcast40:40 – Information about the Snowden Trust for disabled studentsLinks:The Snowdon Trust - investing in disabled students:

This week, Jan is floating on cloud 9 as his local football team (that's soccer for those of you in the USA) seems to be doing very well. So well, in fact, that they are top of the 'kitchen' league ...better not to ask what that means!  Our good friend Stuart Lawler gives us his own thoughts on the NewHaptics 'Codex' Braille display, which uses compressed air to raise its braille cells. It does this by hooking itself up to an aquarium-like pump. However, we are not sure if fish need to be present while the display is in operation. Once we find Nemo, we will ask him/her!  Mohammed has at last received his Ally Solos smart glasses. What does he think? Well, tune in to find out whether you should spend your hard-earned cash or not. In addition to being a world-renowned lawyer and mathematician, Mohammed is now passing himself off as an orientation & mobility trainer, and has some views on how one should use a long cane. Do you agree? Let us know at blindguyschat@gmail.com.  Clodagh has an email about screen readers from a listener in Poland. What's your preference, JAWS, NVDA or Narrator? Let us know.  So, forget about cleaning out the poo from the aquarium. Slap on a pot of coffee and tune into the most radical podcast this side of a moaning Liverpool football player: Blind Guys Chat. 11 out of 13 guppies prefer it to pushing braille cells.  Links for this show: ·       https://www.newhaptics.com/codex ·       https://www.ally.me/glasses Support Blind Guys Chat by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/blind-guys-chatRead transcript

White Canes Connect episode 147 features a powerful address from National Federation of the Blind President Mark Riccobono, delivered to the NFB of Pennsylvania State Convention in Harrisburg. Reflecting on the eve of the organization's 85th anniversary, President Riccobono shares his personal journey of discovering the Federation in 1996 and how the community transformed his understanding of blindness, leadership, and collective action.  He highlights landmark achievements driven by blind-led advocacy—from advancing Braille literacy and accessible technology to expanding opportunity in education and employment—and reminds us that progress is only possible when blind people speak and act for themselves.  Looking ahead, he calls on members to lead in emerging areas like artificial intelligence, preserve our history through storytelling, and continue building a diverse, unified movement. His message is both a celebration of how far we've come and a challenge to invest in the future we are creating together. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/147         Donate to the NFB of PA Like what you hear on White Canes Connect? Please support us and donate to the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, visit http://www.supportpablind.org.  Keep Up-to-date with the Affiliate Learn about chapter and division meetings and fundraisers on Federation Focus.  It's available on the affiliate's YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@nfbofpa. New episodes drop every Monday. We Want to Hear Your Story Reach out with questions and comments, or share ideas! We want to hear from you. Call us at (267) 338-4495 or at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com. Follow White Canes Connect Find out why White Canes Connect is currently ranked as one of the 100 Best Visually Impaired Podcast. Find the show on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast  Visit our website at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/.

What struck me most in my conversation with author Jennifer Shaw is how often we underestimate the power of understanding our own story. Jennifer grew up sensing she was different, yet never had the words for why. Hearing her share how a late diagnosis of autism and ADHD finally helped her trust her own voice reminded me how important it is for all of us to feel seen. As she talked about raising two autistic sons, finding healing through writing, and learning to drop the shame she carried for so long, I found myself thinking about the many people who still hide their struggles because they don't want to be judged. I believe listeners will connect deeply with Jennifer's honesty. She shows that creativity can grow out of the very things we once thought were flaws, and that resilience is something we build each time we choose to show up as ourselves. This episode reminded me why I created Unstoppable Mindset: to hold space for stories like hers—stories that help us see difference as strength and encourage us to build a world where every person is valued for who they truly are. Highlights: 01:33 – See how early misunderstandings can shape the way someone learns to navigate people and communication.06:53 – Learn how masking and observation influence the way neurodivergent adults move through the world.11:21 – Explore how parenting experiences can open the door to understanding your own identity.12:20 – Hear how finally naming a lifelong pattern can shift shame into clarity and self-trust.20:46 – Understand why self-doubt becomes a major barrier and how stepping forward can change that story.25:57 – Discover how personal journeys can naturally weave themselves into creative work and character building.29:01 – Gain insight into why creative careers grow through endurance rather than rapid wins.30:55 – Learn how creative practices can act as grounding tools when life becomes overwhelming.33:20 – Explore how willpower and environment work together in building real resilience.40:23 – See how focusing only on limitations can keep society from recognizing real strengths.45:27 – Consider how acceptance over “fixing” creates more space for people to thrive.46:53 – Hear why embracing difference can open a more confident and creative way of living.51:07 – Learn how limiting beliefs can restrict creativity and how widening your lens can unlock growth.59:38 – Explore how curiosity and lived experience fuel a deeper creative imagination. About the Guest: J. M. Shaw lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband and two young children. She has been writing for most of her life, though it took years to find the courage to share her stories. What began as a childhood hobby evolved into a passion that, at times, borders on obsession—and is decidedly cheaper than therapy. Though initially interested in teaching and psychology, Shaw ultimately graduated and worked as an X-ray technologist—all the while continuing to write in secret. Through it all, storytelling remained her constant: a sanctuary, a compass, and a way to make sense of the chaos. Her early work filled journals and notebooks, then spilled into typewritten manuscripts and laptop hard drives—worlds crafted from raw imagination and quiet observation. A pivotal turning point came in 2019, when Shaw was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. The news brought clarity to a lifetime of feeling “too much” or “too different.” She realized that her intense focus, emotional depth, and ability to live inside fictional worlds weren't flaws—they were the gifts of a neurodivergent mind. Her unique insights allow her to create characters with emotional realism, while her mythical creatures, societies, and belief systems draw inspiration from both history and modern culture. In many ways, her fantasy series mirrors her own arc: navigating society through the lens of autism, embracing her differences, and discovering where she belongs. Shaw's fiction blends magic with meaning, often exploring themes of identity, resilience, and redemption. Though her worlds are fantastical, her stories remain grounded in human truths. Her characters—flawed, searching, and sometimes broken—feel eerily real. Literary influences like Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, and Dean Koontz helped shape her genre-bending style, while her mother—an English major and blunt-but-honest critic—instilled in her a love of classic literature and the drive to become a better storyteller. In 2021, Shaw released The Ascension, the first book in her fantasy-adventure series, The Callum Walker Series. Since then, she's published three sequels, with dozens of short stories, poems, and manuscripts still in her vault. Though painfully introverted, she attends book signings and author talks to connect with readers—shedding ecstatic tears as they share how deeply her work resonates with them. While these moments can be overwhelming, they remind her why she writes: to create stories that matter. Currently, Shaw is working on the fifth installment of The Callum Walker Series, expanding the emotional arcs and raising the stakes in her imagined realms. Alongside it, she is developing a new dystopian-adventure that blends inequality, rebellion, love, and moral complexity. Whether indie or traditionally published, her dream remains the same: to see her books in bookstores across the world and to keep building worlds for those who need them most. Ways to connect with Jennifer**:** Website: www.jmshawauthor.com Facebook: jmshawauthor Instagram: @jmshaw_author About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson  01:21 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. And we put it that way, because a lot of diversity people never address the issue of or include people with disabilities in their world, and some of us confront that, and I specifically take the approach you either are inclusive or you're not. There's no partial inclusion. So we put inclusion at the first part of unstoppable mindset, then diversity and the unexpected, which is everything that doesn't have anything to do with inclusion or diversity, which is most things, but it makes it kind of fun anyway, and we're glad that you're here, wherever you happen to be listening or watching, the Podcast. Today, we get to chat with Jennifer Shaw. Jennifer is an author, and she's been a a closet writer part of her life, but but she came out of the closet and has been publishing, which is cool, and she has a lot of other stories to tell, unstoppable in a lot of different ways. So I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun talking today, and I hope that you learn some interesting and relevant concepts to your world. So Jennifer, thanks for being here and for being on unstoppable mindset. We really appreciate you coming. Jennifer Shaw  02:36 Thank you so much for having me. Well, Michael Hingson  02:38 why don't we start at the beginning, and why don't you tell us about kind of the early Jennifer, early Jennifer, Jennifer Shaw  02:44 so I was very much of an introvert, very shy. I didn't really know how to talk to people. Kind of was trying to figure things out, and was having, was having a hard time figuring things out, and became more of a misfit. And I needed a way of dealing with, you know, my misunderstandings. I came became very much a people watcher, and for a while, that worked, but I needed an outlet in order to be able to analyze and sort out my ideas. And then my mom bought me a typewriter because, you know, I'm that old. And I started, I know about typewriters? Yeah, and I started writing as a hobby, and then it became a passion and obsession. Now it's just cheaper than therapy. And in 2019 I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, which makes total sense, looking back at all the things that I used to do and the way I felt, it makes sense now, and I thought I never shared any of my stories, but I've been writing by that point for over 30 years. And I thought, well, maybe writing is my special interest. And I got brave, and I sent off my first book in my series. It's now published because I just finished that one at the time to an editor, and I'm thinking, well, the worst they can say is it sucks. And my editor came back and said, This doesn't suck. You should publish. So two years later, I did Michael Hingson  04:05 cool well. So of course, one of the big questions, one of the most important ones of the whole day, is, do you still have the typewriter? No, yeah, I know. I don't know what happened to mine either. It is. It has gone away somewhere. Jennifer Shaw  04:19 Mine was really cool. It was a plug in electrical one had a white out strip and everything. I gave a presentation for grade five classroom, and I told them, I got started on a typewriter, and then I was going into how I got published, and different aspects of fiction writing and and plots and character development, that stuff and that, after an hour and a half, the only questions they had to ask was, what's a typewriter? Michael Hingson  04:43 Typewriter, of course, if you really want to delve into history and be fascinating to learn the history of the typewriter, do you know it? Jennifer Shaw  04:51 No, I do not. Michael Hingson  04:53 So the among other things, one of the first ways a typewriter was developed and used was. Was a countess in Europe who had a husband who didn't pay much attention to her. So she had a lover, and she wanted to be able to communicate with her lover. She is blind, and so she couldn't just have people write down messages and relay them and all that. So somebody invented this machine where she could actually create messages with a keyboard a typewriter, and then seal them, and she could get her ladies in waiting, or whoever to to give them to her, her lover. That was her way to communicate with with him, without her husband finding out. Yeah, so the ultimate note taker, the ultimate note taker, I learned to type. Well, I started to learn at home, and then between seventh and eighth grade, I took some summer school courses, just cuz it was something to do, and one of them was typing, and I didn't even think about the fact that all the other kids in the class kept complaining because they didn't know what letters they were pushing because there were no labels on the keys, which didn't bother me a bit. And so I typed then, I don't know. I assume it still is required out here, but in the eighth grade, you have to pass a test on the US Constitution, and for me to be able to take the test, they got the test transcribed into Braille, and then I brought my typewriter in and typed the answers. I guess. I don't know why they didn't just have me speak to someone, but I'm glad they did it that way. So it was fine. I'm sure it was a little bit noisy for the other kids in the class, but the typewriter wasn't too noisy. But, yeah, I typed all the answers and went from there. So that was kind of cool, but I don't remember what happened to the typewriter over the years. Jennifer Shaw  06:52 I think it gave way to keyboards and, you know, online writing programs. Michael Hingson  06:58 Yeah, I'm sure that it did, but I don't know what happened to my typewriter nevertheless, but oh well. But yeah, I did, and keyboards and everything else. But having used the typewriter, I already knew how to type, except for learning a few keys. Well, even mine was a manual typewriter. And then there was a Braille typewriter created by IBM. It's called the Model D, and it was like a regular typewriter, except instead of letters on the the keys that went up and struck the paper, it was actually braille characters and it and it struck hard enough that it actually created braille characters on the paper. So that was, that was kind of fun. But, yeah, I'm sure it all just kind of went to keyboards and everything else and and then there were word processors, and now it's just all computers. Jennifer Shaw  07:53 Yep, yep. We're a digital age. Michael Hingson  07:55 Nowadays. We are very much a digital age. So you went to to regular school and all that, yep, Jennifer Shaw  08:04 and I was never like I was it was never noticed that I was struggling because, I mean, for the most part, women tend to mask it. That's why less, fewer women are diagnosed than men. I just internalized it, and I came up with my own strategies to deal with things, and unless you were disruptive to class or you had some sort of learning difficulties and stuff, you never really got any attention. So I just sort of disappeared, because I never struggled in school and I was just the shy one. Yeah, taught myself how to communicate with other kids by taking notes of conversations. I have notebooks where I'm like, okay, so and so said this. This was the answer, okay, there was a smile. So that must be what I need to say when somebody says that. So I developed a script for myself in order to be able to socialize. Michael Hingson  08:55 And that was kind of the way you you masked it, or that was part of masking it. Jennifer Shaw  09:00 That was part of masking it. I spent a lot of time people watching so that I could blend in a lot more, kind of trying to figure it out. I felt like I was an alien dropped off on this planet and that somebody forgot to give me the script. And, you know, I was trying to figure things out as I went. Michael Hingson  09:15 Well, maybe that's actually what happened, and they'll come back and pick you up someday, maybe, but then you can beat up on them because they didn't leave a script. Jennifer Shaw  09:25 Yeah, you guys left me here with no instructions, Michael Hingson  09:27 or you were supposed to create the instructions because they were clueless. There's that possibility, you know, Jennifer Shaw  09:33 maybe I was like, you know, patient X or something, Michael Hingson  09:37 the advanced model, as it were. So you, you went through school, you went through high school, and all that. You went to college. Jennifer Shaw  09:45 I did, yes, yeah, I went through I was going to be a teacher, but they were doing the teacher strike at that time, and that I was doing my observation practicum. And I was like, I don't know if that's something I want to go into. I'm glad I didn't. And. Instead, you know, I mean, I had an interest in psychology, and I took some psychology classes, and loved them. It intrigues me how the mind works. But I ended up going into a trade school I went to in Alberta. It's the, it's called an innate northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and I became an x ray technologist, and I worked in that field for many years. Michael Hingson  10:22 Did you enjoy it? I loved it. I love that I Jennifer Shaw  10:25 didn't have to, you know, like, yes, you have to work in an environment where you got other people there, but you can still work independently and, and I loved that. And I love this. I've always been very much a science math geek, you know, things numbers. I have a propensity for numbers and and then science and math, just, you know, they were fun. Michael Hingson  10:45 Yeah, well, I agree, having a master's degree in physics and I have a secondary teaching credential, so I appreciate what you're saying. It's interesting. I would think also, as an x ray technician, although you had to give people instructions as to where to position themselves and all that. It wasn't something where you had to be very conversationally intensive, necessarily, Jennifer Shaw  11:07 yeah, and I mean, people didn't, you know, I didn't spend a lot of time with each patient, and I was able to mask a lot of my awkwardness and stuff and short short bursts, so nobody really noticed. And, you know, I had fun with the science part of it. And, yeah, it just it was never noticed. Although the social aspects, interacting with co workers and stuff, was bit difficult after, you know, outside of the actual tasks, that was interesting. Michael Hingson  11:38 I have a friend who just recently graduated from school learning to be an x ray technician. And I tease her all the time and tell her, you got to really be careful, though, because those x rays can slip out of your grasp if you're not careful, that you just never know when one's going to try to sneak away. So you better keep an eye on them and slap it when it does. Yeah, go catch them. I sent her an email last week saying, I just heard on the news an x ray escape from your hospital. What are you doing to catch it? They're fun, yeah, but, but you, but you did all of that, and then, so how long were you an x ray technician Jennifer Shaw  12:22 a little over 10 years I retired once my kids were born, Michael Hingson  12:27 okay, you had a more, well, a bigger and probably more important job to do that way, Jennifer Shaw  12:36 yes, and I mean, like at the time, we didn't know that both my boys would be, you Know, diagnosed on the spectrum, both of them have anxiety and ADHD, but I just, I was struggling with with work and being a mom, and it, in all honesty, it was going to cost me more for childcare than it was for me to just stay home. Michael Hingson  13:00 How did your so when they were diagnosed, what did your husband think Jennifer Shaw  13:04 my husband was? He says, okay, okay, I get it. Yeah, I can see those things and stuff like that. And I know when from my perspective, because both my boys went through the ADOS assessment, my thoughts were, those are the things you're looking for, because I've done those my whole life. And then, so, like, my oldest was diagnosed in like, June or July, and I received my diagnosis that September, and then my littlest guy was diagnosed the following year. Michael Hingson  13:29 You went through the assessment, and that's how you discovered it. Yep. So how old were you when they when they found it? Jennifer Shaw  13:35 Oh, I don't know if I want to give ages. I was just under 40. Okay. Michael Hingson  13:40 Well, the reason I asked was, as we talked a little bit about before we actually started the recording, I've had a number of people on the podcast who learned that they were on the spectrum. They were diagnosed later in life. I've talked to people who were 40 and even, I think, one or two above, but it just is fascinating to learn how many people actually were diagnosed later in life. And I know that part of it has to do with the fact that we've just gotten a lot smarter about autism and ADHD and so on, which which helps. So I think that that makes a lot of sense that you can understand why people were diagnosed later in life, and in every case, what people have said is that they're so relieved they have an answer they know, and it makes them feel so much better about themselves. Jennifer Shaw  14:36 Yeah, I know for myself, once I was diagnosed, I've never really kept it a secret. I've, you know, I I've given myself permission to ask questions if I'm confused, and then it opens up the doors for other people, like I will, I will tell them, like some things I don't understand, like I don't understand sarcasm. It's difficult. I can give it I don't understand when somebody is being sarcastic to me, and there's some idioms. And jokes that I that just they weigh over my head, so I'm giving myself permission to ask if I'm confused, because otherwise, how will I know? Michael Hingson  15:11 Yeah, it's it's pretty fascinating, and people deal with it in different ways. It's almost like being dyslexic, the same sort of concept you're dealing with, something where it's totally different and you may not even understand it at first, but so many people who realize they're dyslexic or have dyslexia, find ways to deal with it, and most people never even know, yeah, yeah. Jennifer Shaw  15:39 Well, I mean, I've like, not this year, but within the last couple years, I've been diagnosed with dyslexia as well. And then come to find out that my father had it as well, but he just never mentioned. It just never came up. Michael Hingson  15:51 Yeah, yeah. It's, it's pretty fascinating. But human the human psyche and the human body are very malleable, and we can get creative and deal with a lot of stuff, but I think the most important thing is that you figure out and you learn how to deal with it, and you don't make it something that is a negative in your life. It's the way you are. I've talked many times to people, and of course, it comes from me in part, from the being in the World Trade Center. Don't worry about the thing you can't control. And the fact is that autism is there, you're aware of it, and you deal with it, and maybe the day will come when we can learn to control it, but now at least you know what you're dealing with. And that's the big issue, yeah. Jennifer Shaw  16:39 And I think it like you hit it on the nail on the head, is like, the reason so many adults are being diagnosed is because we know more about it. I distinctly remember somebody asking me shortly after I was diagnosed, and they asked me specifically, oh, what's it like to be autistic? And I was like, I don't know. What's it like to not be. It's all I know. You tell me what it's like to not be, and I can tell you what it's like to be. Says it's not something you can really, yeah, people just can't experience it, I guess. Michael Hingson  17:08 Well, people ask me a lot, what's it like to be blind, and what is it like that you're just live in the dark? Well, I don't live in the dark, and that's something that is so unfortunate that we believe that eyesight is the only game in town, or most people do, and the reality is, blindness isn't about darkness. So I don't see, all right, the problem with most people is they do see, and that doesn't work for them. When suddenly the power goes out and you don't have lights anymore. Why do you distinguish one from the other? It's so unfortunate that we do that, but unfortunately, we collectively haven't taught ourselves to recognize that everyone has gifts, and we need to allow people to to manifest their gifts and not negate them and not demean the people just because they're different than us. Jennifer Shaw  17:56 Yeah, and I know I've had I've had people tell me it's like, oh well, you don't look autistic, and I'm like, I don't know what you would expect me to look like, but I've honestly tried really hard not to think of of the autism and the ADHD. I tried really hard not to look at it as a disability. In my own life, I've looked at it as it's just my brain is wired differently. Yeah, I've explained this to my boys. It's, you know, our minds are always open. We can't filter anything that's coming in. And it's like our computer, you know, our brain, if you imagine our brain as being a computer, we've got every possible tab open trying to perform a million different tasks. We've got music playing here, video playing here. We're trying to search for this file. We can't find anything. And then every now and then, it just becomes very overwhelming, and we get the swirly wheel of death and we have to restart, yeah, but we can multitask like nobody's business until then well, and Michael Hingson  18:45 the reality is, most people can learn to do it, although focusing on one thing at a time is always better anyway, but still, I hear what you're saying. My favorite story is a guy wanted to sell me life insurance when I was in college, and I knew at the time that people who were blind or had other disabilities couldn't buy life insurance because the insurance companies decided that we're a higher risk. It turns out that they weren't making that decision based on any real evidence or data. They just assumed it because that's the way the world was, and eventually that was dealt with by law. But this guy called up one day and he said, I want to sell you life insurance. Well, I thought I'd give him a shot at it, so I invited him over, and he came at three in the afternoon, and I didn't tell him in advance. I was blind, so I go to the door with my guide dog at the time Holland, and I opened the door, and he said, I'm looking for Mike Hinkson. And I said, I'm Mike hingson. You are. I'm Michael Hinkson. What can I do for you? Well, you didn't sound blind on the telephone. And I'm still wondering, what are the heck does that mean? Jennifer Shaw  19:52 Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's just, I think, you know, it's a lack of understanding. And. You know, the inability to put yourself in somebody else's shoes? Michael Hingson  20:03 Well, I think we have the ability, but we just don't, we don't learn how to use it. But you're right. It's all about education. And I think, personally, that all of us are teachers, or should be or can be. And so I choose not to take offense when somebody says you don't sound blind, or makes other kinds of comments. I i may push a little hard, but I can't be angry at them, because I know that it's all about ignorance, and they just don't know, and we as a society don't teach which we should do more of Jennifer Shaw  20:38 Yeah, I know that once I made, you know, like I posted on my, you know, with talk to my friends and stuff about the fact that I have autism and that I just, I'm learning about it myself as well. I've had a lot of people come to me and ask me, it's like, well, what, what? What did you notice? How did you find out? And I think I might be on the spectrum. And there's, you know, and it's amazing how many people came out of the woodwork with queries about, you know, questions. And I was like, This is awesome. I can answer questions and educate, yeah, Michael Hingson  21:09 well, and it's true, and the only way we can really learn and deal with some of the stuff is to have a conversation, and to have conversations with each other and be included in the conversation, and that's where it gets really comfortable, or uncomfortable is that people don't want to include you. Oh, I could end up like that person, or that person just clearly isn't, isn't as capable as I because they're blind or they have autism. Well, that's just not true, yeah, and it's, it's a challenge to deal with. Well, here's a question for you. What do you think is the biggest barrier that that people have or that they impose on themselves, and how do you move past it? Jennifer Shaw  21:52 I think that the biggest barrier that people pose on them, pose on themselves, is doubting whether or not they're worthwhile and and I know I did the lat I did that for many years and and, like I said, it wasn't until I received my diagnosis, I thought maybe, maybe, you know, I won't know unless I try. So I got out of my comfort zone, and I surpassed my doubt, and I tried, and then I come to find out that, okay, I should publish. And I've had some, you know, I've had a lot of fun doing that, and I've seen some success in that as well. Michael Hingson  22:24 One of my favorite quotes goes back to the original Star Wars movie Yoda, who said there is no try, do or do not. Don't try. I think that's absolutely true. Do it. That's why I also totally decided in the past to stop using the word failure, because failure is such an end all inappropriate thing. All right, so something didn't work out. The real question, and most of us don't learn to do it, although some of us are trying to teach them, but the biggest question is, why did this happen? What do I do about it? And we don't learn how to be introspective and analyze ourselves about that, I wrote a book that was published last year called Live like a guide dog, true stories from a blind man and his dogs about being brave, overcoming adversity and moving forward in faith, and it's all about teaching people from lessons I learned from my dogs about how to control fear and how to really step back when things happen and analyze what you do, what you fear, what you're about and how you deal with it. But there's no such thing as failure. It's just okay. This didn't work out right. Why? Why was I afraid? Or why am I afraid now? And what do I do about it? And we just don't see nearly as much analytical thinking on those kinds of subjects as we should. Jennifer Shaw  23:49 Yeah, wasn't there a quote somewhere? I can't remember who it was. I think was Edison, maybe, that he didn't fail 99 times. He found 99 times how not to do it right, and he just kept going and going and going until we got it right. Yeah. The other Michael Hingson  24:04 one I really like is the quote from Einstein that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing every time and expecting something different to happen. I think Jennifer Shaw  24:12 they said that at my graduation from high school, you'll get what you got, yeah, Michael Hingson  24:19 and you can decide to look for alternatives and look for ways to do it better, but, but it is, I think you're I don't know if it was Edison, but I'm going to assume it was who said that, but I think you're right, and it certainly makes a lot of Jennifer Shaw  24:35 sense, yes, yeah, and I've tried to live by embracing, because I've told this to my kids as well, and I've embraced the idea that, you know, we learn better from our mistakes than we do from the things we did right, Michael Hingson  24:49 although we could learn if we really thought about it, when we do something right and we go back and look at it and say, What could I have done to even make that better? And we usually don't do that well, that worked out well, so I don't have to worry about that. Well, exactly we should, you know, Jennifer Shaw  25:07 2020 looking back and saying, Well, what would we have done if this had happened? We just sort of stop. It's like when you're looking for your keys in your house. Once you find them, you stop looking. You don't keep looking for possible places it could have been. You just stop the journey. Michael Hingson  25:20 Or you don't look at why did I put them there? That's not where I usually put them. Speaker 1  25:26 Yeah, exactly, yeah. So when Michael Hingson  25:30 you discovered that you were on the spectrum, what did your husband think about Jennifer Shaw  25:34 that? He thought it made sense. Um, that Michael Hingson  25:37 explains a lot about you. Jennifer Shaw  25:38 Yeah, a little bit might be on the spectrum as well. He might be ADHD, because he has a lot of the same traits as me. But he says, yeah, it's kind of not worth going and getting it checked out and stuff like that so Michael Hingson  25:54 well, until he he wants to, then that probably makes sense. Jennifer Shaw  25:59 And there's no reason. There's no reason. Yeah, Michael Hingson  26:03 things go well, and that that's the big, important thing. But you look at at life, you look at what's going on, and you look at how you can change, what you need to change, and go forward Exactly. So tell me about your writing. You have, you have been writing a series. What did you do before the series? What was sort of the first things that you wrote that were published? Jennifer Shaw  26:26 That I wrote a short story for in a classroom assignment, my teacher published it. Wrote a couple poems. I had a teacher, a different teacher published those. But this, the series that I've written is kind of my first foray into publishing and stuff. And then just prior to that, it was just writing stories for myself, or writing scenes that came to to mind that I wanted to explore, and a lot of them had to do with characters overcoming adversity, because that's how I felt. That was what was going on in my life, Michael Hingson  26:57 and it was so what's the series about? Jennifer Shaw  27:03 So it's a magic, fantasy action adventure, some supernatural suspense kind of all sprinkled in for good measure, because I get bored of my series is there's our world, our time, coexisting magical realm, but there's a veil that separates us, and we can't see across this veil because we don't have magic. But these creatures that do can and have and they've been the source of inspiration for our fairy tales and Monster stories. And then my main character, a young man by the name of Callum Walker, is born with the ability to use magic. He doesn't know why. He's trying to make the most of it. We do learn why as we go through the series, but he doesn't know. And because he has magic, he's able to cross this veil into this magical realm. And he's learning about this world. He's learning about the beings in it. Adventures ensue, and we follow him through the series, trying to figure out as he's trying to figure out who he is, where he belongs, because he's too magic for here, but to human care and then master these abilities to survive. Michael Hingson  27:56 So has he figured out an answer to the question of why or where? Jennifer Shaw  28:00 Not yet. No answers as we go, but he's learning more. Mostly it's he's learning to accept himself and to start to trust and open up. And, you know, instead of thinking that there must be something wrong with him, and that's why he has these abilities, he starts to think, Okay, well, what can I do with these abilities and stuff? So in a lot of ways, his journey mirrors mine Michael Hingson  28:23 well, and he's asking questions, and as you ask questions, that's the most important thing you're willing to consider and explore, absolutely. So are these self published, or does a publisher publish them? Jennifer Shaw  28:40 I'm indie, published through press company called Maverick first press. Michael Hingson  28:44 Inc, have any of the books been converted to audio? Jennifer Shaw  28:48 Not yet, but I am looking into it. Michael Hingson  28:51 Some of us would like that I do read braille, and I could get a book in electronic form, and I can probably get it converted, but it'll be fun if you do get them into an audio format. I love magic and fantasy, and especially when it isn't too dark and too heavy. I've read Stephen King, but I've gotten away from reading a lot of Stephen King, just because I don't think I need things to be that dark. Although I am very impressed by what he does and how he comes up with these ideas, I'll never know. Jennifer Shaw  29:20 Yeah, I know. I don't think that it's as dark as Stephen King, but it's certainly a little darker and older than Harry Potter series. Michael Hingson  29:26 So, yeah, well, and and Harry Potter has been another one that has been certainly very good and has has encouraged a lot of kids to read. Yes and adults, Jennifer Shaw  29:42 yeah, we don't all have to be middle grade students to enjoy a middle 29:46 grade book, right? Michael Hingson  29:49 Oh, absolutely true. Well, so if you had to give one piece of advice or talk about experiences, to write. Writers who are trying to share, what would you what would you tell them? Jennifer Shaw  30:05 I would say that writing and publishing, it's a marathon. It's not a race. Don't expect immediate success. You have to work for it. But don't give up. You know? I mean, a lot of times we tend to give up too soon, when we don't see results and stuff. But if you give up, you'll never reach the finish line if you continue going, you may, you know, eventually you'll reach the finish line, and maybe not what you expect, but you will reach that finish line if you keep going. Michael Hingson  30:30 Yeah, we we are taught all too often to give up way too early. Well, it didn't work, so obviously it's not the right answer. Well, maybe it was the right answer. Most people aren't. JK Rowling, but at the same time, she went through a lot before she started getting her books published, but they're very creative. Yep, I would, I would still like to see a new series of Harry Potter books. Well, there is a guy who wrote James Potter his son, who's written a series, which is pretty good, but, you know, they're fun, yeah. Jennifer Shaw  31:07 Oh, I mean, that's why we like to read them. We like to imagine, we like to, you know, put ourselves in the shoes of, you know, the superhero. And I think that we all kind of, you know, feel a connection to those unlikely heroes that aren't perfect. And I think that appeals to a lot of people. Michael Hingson  31:27 I think it certainly does. I mean, that's clearly a lot of Harry Potter. He was certainly a kid who was different. Couldn't figure out why, and wasn't always well understood, but he worked at it, and that is something that we all can take a lesson to learn. Speaker 1  31:45 Exactly yes. So Michael Hingson  31:48 given everything that goes on with you, if the world feels overwhelming at some point, what kind of things do you do to ground yourself or or get calm again? Jennifer Shaw  31:59 Well, writing is my self care. It's my outlet. It's therapy. Aside from writing, I I'm getting back into reading because I'm going to book signing events and talks and such, and everybody's recommending, oh, read this book, read this book, and I'm finding some hidden gems out there. So I'm getting back into reading, and that seems to be very relaxing, but I do go. I do have to step away from a lot of people sometimes and just be by myself. And I'll, I'll put my headphones on, and I'll listen to my my track. I guess it's not track anymore. It was Spotify. And I'll just go for a walk for an hour, let my mind wander like a video and see where it leads me, and then come back an hour later, and my husband's like, Oh, where'd you walk? Because, like, I have no idea, but you should hear the adventures I had, yeah, Michael Hingson  32:44 both from what you read and what you thought Jennifer Shaw  32:45 about, yeah, just the things going through my head. What? And then the same thing when I'm writing, I see it as a movie in my head, and I'm just writing down what I see a lot of times, long for the ride. Michael Hingson  32:55 Yeah, your characters are writing it, and you're just there, Jennifer Shaw  32:58 yeah, you know. And when I'm when I'm in the zone. I call those the zone moments. And I won't know what's going to happen until it starts to happen. And I'm writing a sentence, oh, I didn't know that was gonna happen. I want to see where this goes. And it'll take me to somewhere where I'm like, wow, that's an amazing scene. How could I, how did I think of that? Or, on the contrary, it'll take me somewhere and I'll be like, What is wrong with me? I know that came out of my head, but what is wrong with me? So, you know, it's a double edged sword, Michael Hingson  33:26 but write them all down, because you never know where you can use them. Jennifer Shaw  33:29 Oh, absolutely. I don't delete anything. I can just wind and then start again, see where it leads. And it never goes to the same place twice. Michael Hingson  33:37 That's what makes it fun. It's an adventure. I don't know. I think there's an alien presence here somewhere. Jennifer Shaw  33:44 Who knows? Maybe I'm the next step in evolution. Could Michael Hingson  33:47 be or you come from somewhere else. And like I said, they put you down here to figure it out, and they'll come back and get you Jennifer Shaw  33:57 well, but never know. There's so many things we don't understand. You know, Michael Hingson  34:00 well, then that's true, but you know, all you can do is keep working at it and think about it. And you never know when you'll come up, come up with an answer well, or story or another story, right? So keep writing. So clearly, though, you exhibit a lot of resilience in a number of ways. Do you think resilience is something we're born with, or something that we learn, or both. Jennifer Shaw  34:25 I think it's a little of both. You know, maybe we have a stronger determination or willfulness when we're born, but it can also be a part of our environment. You know, we develop things that we want to do. We develop desires and dreams and stuff. And you know the combination of the two, the you know, the willful resolve and the desire to dream and be better. And I think those two combined will drive us towards our our goals. Michael Hingson  34:53 Now are your parents still with us? Yes. So what did they think when. You were diagnosed as being on the spectrum. Jennifer Shaw  35:03 Um, I think my dad was more open to the idea. I don't think my mom believed it, but then she's kind of, she's kind of saying, like, okay, maybe, maybe it's, oddly enough, she was, you know, more open to the idea of me having ADHD than autism. And I just think there was just a lack of understanding. But as time has gone on, I think she sees it, not just in me, but I think she sees aspects of that in herself as well. Michael Hingson  35:28 And in a sense, that's what I was wondering, was that they, they saw you grow up, and in some ways, they had to see what was going on. And I was wondering if, when you got an answer, if that was really something that helped them or that they understood? Jennifer Shaw  35:46 Yeah, I I think so. Although I did internalize a lot of of my understandings and misconceptions about life, I internalized it a lot, and I was the annoying cousins because I just, you know, said the appropriate things at inappropriate times and didn't catch jokes and didn't understand sarcasm and and I was just the oddball one out. But I think now that my mom understands a little bit more about autism and ADHD, she's seeing the signs Michael Hingson  36:13 well, and whether she understood it or not, she had to, certainly, as your mom, see that there was something going on. Well, I don't know my I'm whether she verbalized it or she just changed it out. Jennifer Shaw  36:28 I think she was just, she was working two full time jobs raising five kids on her own. I think that there just wasn't enough time in the day to notice everything. 36:37 Yeah, well, Michael Hingson  36:40 but it's always nice to really get an answer, and you you've accepted this as the answer, and hopefully they will, they will accept it as well. So that's a good thing. Jennifer Shaw  36:54 Whether or not they accept it is up to them. I'm that's their choice. Yeah, yeah. It's their choice. The most important thing is that I'm understanding it. Michael Hingson  37:04 Yeah, well, and then helps you move forward. Which is, which is a good thing? Yes. So do you think that vulnerability is part of resilience? Jennifer Shaw  37:18 I think it's important to understand where we're vulnerable. It's like accepting your weaknesses. We all want to improve. We don't want to stay weak and vulnerable, but the only way to improve is to accept those and to understand those and to identify those so that we know where to improve. So I think that it is important. Michael Hingson  37:38 I think it's crucial that we continue to work on our own ideas and attitudes and selves to be able to to move forward. And you're right. I think vulnerability is something that we all exhibit in one way or another, and when we do is that a bad thing? No, I don't think it should be. I think there are some people who think they're invulnerable to everything, and the reality is they're not Jennifer Shaw  38:09 those narcissists. Yeah, Michael Hingson  38:11 was getting there, but that's and that's exactly the problem. Is that they won't deal with issues at all. And so the fact of the matter is that they they cause a lot more difficulty for everyone. Yep, of course, they never think they do, but they do. Yeah. Jennifer Shaw  38:30 I mean, if you don't accept the fact that you're not perfect and that you have weaknesses and vulnerabilities, then you're just it turns into you're just either denying it or you're completely ignorant. How do you Michael Hingson  38:41 balance strength and softness? And because, you know when you're dealing with vulnerability and so on, and it happens, well, how do you, how do you bring all of it to balance? Jennifer Shaw  38:50 Um, it's the yin and yang, right? Um, you know, the strength keeps you going, the softness keeps you open to accepting and learning. Michael Hingson  38:59 Yeah, that makes sense. It gives you the opportunity to to go back and analyze and synthesize whatever you're thinking. Yes. Well, autism is, by the definitions that we face, considered a disability, which is fine, although my belief is that everybody on the planet has a disability, and for most people, as others have heard me say on this podcast, the disability that most people have is their light dependent, and they don't do well if suddenly the lights go out until they can find a smartphone or whatever, because the inventors, 147 years ago created the electric light bulb, which started us on a road of looking for ways to have light on demand whenever we wanted it and whenever we do want it, when that works, until suddenly the light on demand machine isn't directly available to us when light goes away. So I think that light on demand is a lovely thing, but the machines that provide it are. Only covering up a disability that most people have that they don't want to recognize. Jennifer Shaw  40:05 And I'd also argue that the more dependent we become on technology, that the harder it is to adjust to, you know, the way we used to live. If you go to the grocery store, everything's automated. And if the power goes out at the grocery store, nobody knows how to count out change now, yeah, Michael Hingson  40:22 they they cannot calculate on their own. I continue to work to be able to do that. So I like to to figure things out. People are always saying to me, How come you got the answers so quickly of how much change or how much to leave for a tip I practice, yeah, it's not magical. And the reality is, you don't always have a calculator, and a calculator is just one more thing to lug around. So why have it when you can just learn to do it yourself? Yeah? Jennifer Shaw  40:49 Or we have a cell phone which has got everything on it. Michael Hingson  40:52 Oh, I know, yeah, there is that too. But you know, the the thing about all of this is that we all have disabilities, is what I'm basically saying. But if you use disability in sort of the traditional sense, and by that I mean you have certain kinds of conditions that people call a disability, although I will submit absolutely that disability does not mean a lack of ability. But how do societal definitions of disability, kind of affect people more than the actual condition itself, whatever it is. Jennifer Shaw  41:26 I think society as a whole tend to focus on the negatives and the limitations, and if you focus solely on those, then nobody can see beyond those to what a person can do, because there's a whole, you know, there's a whole lot out there that people can do. You can, you can learn to adjust to a lot of things. The brain is very malleable. And, you know, we're not just given one sense for one reason. You know, we have five senses, well, arguably more, depending on who you talk to, yeah, to feel out the world. And same thing with autism is, you know, I mean, I had a hard time those things that would come naturally to people, like socializing, learning to speak, even my son at the playground, he didn't know how to approach kids to ask him to play and but those things can be learned. They just have to spend the time doing it well. Michael Hingson  42:19 And I hear you, do you think that autism is under the definition of disability? Jennifer Shaw  42:26 I think it can be very debilitating. I think that, you know, and then some people suffer more severe. They're more ranges than than I do mine, but I do think that the brain can learn to adjust a lot, maybe not the same as everybody else, and there will be struggles and there will be challenges, and there'll be anxieties and and things is it is, in a way, a disability. It'll never go away. But I don't think it has to be debilitating Michael Hingson  42:59 struggles and anxieties, but everyone experiences that in one way or another, and that's, of course, the point. Why should some of us be singled out? Jennifer Shaw  43:07 Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I do know, though, that with there's, I guess we call them an invisible disability, because I don't look autistic, I don't look ADHD, but I struggle inwardly. It's a lot more emotional. It's a lot more mental, you know, analyzing every conversation I've ever had. It's very exhausting and confusing, and it can lead to other things and stuff that, you know, I mean, I don't think everybody else goes around counting license plates obsessively, you know, adding up numbers on license plates and stuff. And if I don't, it can be very anxiety inducing. I don't think everybody else has to, you know, make notebooks worth of conversations to learn to talk to people and watch the world around them, to try to figure out how to act. I think for a lot of people, it comes naturally. And because I had to learn all those things on my own and stuff, it created a lot more anxiety than another person would have in that area, and life is already chaotic enough, you know, more anxiety on top of anxiety and such. Michael Hingson  44:11 Yeah, but some of that we create ourselves and don't need to. And again, it gets back to the fact we all have different gifts, and so some people are much more socially outgoing, so they can do so many more things that seem like everyone should be able to do them. But again, not everyone has the same gifts. Yeah, I think that we need to recognize that. Sorry, go ahead. I was gonna say, Jennifer Shaw  44:34 just like, not everybody has the same weaknesses, right? I learned. I think, you know, if we, if we learned to, you know, share the strengths that we have that might overcome somebody else's weaknesses and stuff. It would be a whole lot better place. Instead of trying to label everybody and segregate everybody based on their limitations, let's, let's look at their strengths and see which ones coordinate. Yeah. Michael Hingson  44:56 How does HD? ADHD manifest itself? Jennifer Shaw  45:00 Yeah, it's some, in a lot of ways, very similar to autism, and that's probably why it's now considered part of the autism spectrum. I have a difficult time focusing on things that I don't find intriguing, like, oh gosh, if I had to read a social studies textbook, I would go stark raving mad and fall asleep. And I've really hard time staying focused. Don't have to read the same paragraph 20 times, but you give me a textbook on physics, and I'm right in there, and I'll hyper focus for like, 12 straight hours, forgetting the world exists and don't eat, don't sleep, don't move, and I will just immerse myself in that. And then there's a difficult time regulating emotions so somebody gets upset about something for the most part. You know, you can calm yourself down and stuff like that. With autism and ADHD, it's really hard to regulate those emotions and come down from that hyper, hyper emotional state down to a normal state. Michael Hingson  46:00 I can see that in a lot of ways, it can look very similar to to autism in terms of the way you're describing it. It makes, makes sense, yeah, which? Which is something one has to deal with. Well, if people stop trying to fix what makes us different? What could we do with the world? How would things be different? Jennifer Shaw  46:22 I think the world be very interesting if we stopped trying to fix people and just started trying to accept people and see how, you know, like, I think that for one we would also be a lot more open to accepting people, but that would have to come first. And I think that would be amazing, because, you know, if we were all the same and we all tried to fit into the same mold, it's going to be a very boring place. Michael Hingson  46:46 The thing that is interesting about what you just said, and the question really is, when we try to fix things, why do we need to fix things? What is it that's really broken? And that's of course, the big issue is that people make assumptions based on just their own experiences, rather than looking at other people and looking at their experiences. Is that really broken? As it goes back to like when I talk about blindness, yeah, am I broken? I don't think so. I do things differently. If I had been able to see growing up, that would have been nice. But you know what? It's not the end of the world not to and it doesn't make me less of a person, and you happen to be on the autism spectrum, that's fine. It would be nice if you didn't have to deal with that, and you could function and deal with things the way most people do. But there are probably advantages, and there's certainly reasons why you are the way you are, why I am the way I am. And so why should that be a bad thing? Jennifer Shaw  47:48 I don't think it is. I mean, other than the fact that I would love to be, you know, not have to suffer with the stress and anxieties that I do, and the insecurities and the doubt and trying to figure out this world and where I belong and stuff, I wouldn't. I like the way my brain works. I like the way I think, you know, very What if, very out of the box, very creative mindsets. And I wouldn't change that for the world. Michael Hingson  48:15 Yeah, and I think people really should be accepted the way they are. Certainly there are people who we classify as geniuses because they do something that we didn't think of, and it catches on, and it's creative. Einstein did it. I mean, for that matter, there's something that that Elon Musk has done that has created this vehicle that no one else created successfully before him. Now I'm not sure that he's the greatest business guy, because I hear that Tesla is not the most profitable company in the world, but that's fine. Or Steve Jobs and Bill Gates created things. Did they do it all? Jennifer Shaw  48:56 Sorry, Sebastian Bach too. Yeah. I mean those prodigies, right? Michael Hingson  49:01 And they didn't do they didn't do everything. I understand that Einstein wasn't the greatest mathematician in the world, but he was great at concepts, and he had other people who who helped with some of the math that he didn't do, but, but the reality is, we all have gifts, and we should be able to use those gifts, and other people should appreciate them and be able to add on to what they do. One thing I always told employees when I hired people, is my job isn't to boss you around because I hired you because you demonstrated enough that you can do the job I want you to do, but my job is not to boss you, but rather to use my skills to help enhance what you do. So what we need to do is to work together to figure out how I can help you be better because of the gifts that I bring that you don't have. Some people got that, and some people didn't. Jennifer Shaw  49:50 Some people are just, they're less, you know, open minded. I think I don't know, like, less accepting of other people and less accepting of differences. And it's unfortunate. Passionate, you know, and that creates a lot of problems that, you know, they can't look beyond differences and to see the beauty behind it. Michael Hingson  50:11 Yeah, and, and the fact of the matter is that, again, we were all on the earth in one way or another, and at some point we're going to have to learn to accept that we're all part of the same world, and working together is a better way to do it. Yeah, absolutely. How do we get there? Jennifer Shaw  50:28 Yeah, I don't know. Maybe idealistic, you know, Star Trek society, or utopian society, you know. And maybe in 100 or 200 years, we'll get there. But if you think about 100 years ago, if you look at us 100 years ago, and then you think of all the technology that we have today, and that's in, like, one century is not a long time, given how long people have been on this planet. And look at all the things we've accomplished, technology wise, and look at all the great things that we have done, you know, and it's just imagine how many more, or how much, how much more we could do if we work together instead of working against each other. Michael Hingson  51:06 Yeah, and that's of course, the issue is that we haven't learned yet to necessarily work together. To some, for some people, that gets back to narcissism, right? They, they're, they're the only ones who know anything. What do you do? But yeah, I hear you, but, but, you know, I think the day is going to come when we're going to truly learn and understand that we're all in this together, and we really need to learn to work together, otherwise it's going to be a real, serious issue. Hopefully that happens sooner than later, Jennifer Shaw  51:39 yes, yeah, I don't think so, but it would be a nice to imagine what it would be like if it happened tomorrow. Michael Hingson  51:47 Yeah, how much potential do you think is lost, not because of limitations, but, but rather because of how we define them? Jennifer Shaw  51:58 I think we use limitations to set our boundaries, but by setting boundaries, we can never see ourselves moving past them, and nor do we try so. I think that setting limitations is hugely detrimental to our growth as as you know, creative minds. Michael Hingson  52:18 I think also though limitations are what we often put on other people, and oftentimes out of fear because somebody is different than us, and we create limitations that that aren't realistic, although we try to pigeonhole people. But the reality is that limitations are are are also representations of our fears and our misconceptions about other people, and it's the whole thing of, don't confuse me with the facts. Jennifer Shaw  52:51 Yes, yeah. And you know there's Yeah, like you said, there's these self limitations, but there's also limitations that we place on other people because we've judged them based on our understanding. Michael Hingson  53:03 Yeah, and we shouldn't do that, because we probably don't really know them very well anyway, but I but I do think that we all define ourselves, and we each define who we are, and that gets back to the whole thing of, don't judge somebody by what they look like or or what you think about them. Judge people by their actions, and give people the opportunity to really work on showing you what they can do. Jennifer Shaw  53:36 Absolutely, that's definitely a motto by which I've tried to live my life. I honestly don't know everybody out there. I mean, I don't think anybody does. And unless somebody gives me a reason or their behavior says otherwise, I'm going to assume that they're, you know, a good person, you know. I mean, if they, you know, if I assume this person is a good person, but maybe they smack me across face or take, you know, steal from me and stuff, then I'm going to judge those behaviors. Michael Hingson  54:02 One of the things that I learned, and we talked about in my book live like a guide dog, is dogs, and I do believe this love unconditionally, unless something really hurts them, so that they just stop loving. But dogs love unconditionally, but they don't trust unconditionally. But the difference between dogs and people is again, unless something truly has been traumatic for a dog. Dogs are more open to trust than we are. They don't worry about, well, what's this guy's hidden agenda, or why is this woman the way she is? The fact is that they're open to trust and they're looking to develop trusting relationships, and they also want us to set the rules. They want us to be the pack leaders. I'm sure there are some dogs that that probably are better than the people they're with, but by and large, the dog wants the person to be the pack leader. They want them to tell the dog, what are the rules? So. Every guide dog I've had, it's all about setting boundaries, setting rules, and working with that dog so that we each know what our responsibilities to the relationship are. And I think absolutely dogs can get that just as much as people do. They're looking for us to set the rules, but they want that, and the fact of the matter is that they get it just as much as we do. And if that relationship really develops, the kind of trust that's possible, that's a bond that's second to none, and we should all honor that we could do that with with each other too. Yeah, there are people who have hidden agendas and people that we can learn not to trust because they don't want to earn our trust either. They're in it for themselves. But I don't think that most people are that way. I think that most people really do want to develop relationships. Jennifer Shaw  55:51 Yeah, and another aspect of dogs too, is they're very humble, you know, they they don't, I mean, they probably do have some, you know, some egos, but for the most part, they're very humble, and they don't dwell on the mistakes of their past. They live in the moment. And I love Yeah, no, go ahead. They do absolutely they do Michael Hingson  56:14 one of the things that I learned after September 11, because my contacted the folks at Guide Dogs for the Blind about it, my diet, my guide dog was Roselle, and I said, Do you think this affected her, the whole relationship? And the veterinarian I spoke with, who was the head of veterinary services, the guide dogs asked, did anything directly threaten her? And I said, no, nothing did. He said, Well, there's your answer. The fact is, dogs don't do what if they don't worry about what might have been or even what happened if it didn't affect them? They they do live in the moment when we got home after the events on September 11, I took roselle's harness off and was going to take her outside. She would have none of it. She ran off, grabbed her favorite tug bone and started playing tug of war with our retired guy dog, Lenny. It was over for her. It was done. Jennifer Shaw  57:06 It's finished, the journey's done, and I'm living in this moment now, yeah, Michael Hingson  57:10 different moment. I'm not going to worry about it, and you shouldn't either, which was the lesson to learn from that. Yes, but the reality is that dogs don't do what. If dogs really want to just do what they need to do. They know the rules, like I said. They want to know what you expect, and they will deal with that. And by and large, once you set rules, dogs will live by those rules. And if they don't, you tell them that you didn't do that the right way. You don't do that in a mean way. There are very strong ways of positively telling a dog, yeah, that's not what the right thing was to do. But by the same token, typica

In this November edition of Apple Crunch, Thomas, John, and Desiree dig into a surprisingly busy month for Apple. We start with the iPhone Air's underwhelming debut and why Apple may be rethinking its strategy after weak sales and confusing pricing. Next, we explore Apple's ongoing talks to bring a Gemini-powered core to Siri—what that means for privacy, how it blends with Apple Intelligence, and how it may finally close the gap with today's leading AI assistants.We also look ahead to iOS 27, which is shaping up to be a major stability-focused update across all Apple platforms—echoing the beloved Snow Leopard era—with an emphasis on fixing long-standing issues including Braille bugs and Personal Voice quirks.From there, we move into Apple's evolving 2026 roadmap, including new release schedules for iPhones and Macs, the long-rumored foldable iPhone, a next-generation smart home device, and early hints of Apple smart glasses. We also discuss a promising Vision AI web app offering detailed grid-based image exploration and real-time scene updates. Finally, we wrap up with our App Pick of the Month, Ramblio, a social audio platform reminiscent of Clubhouse and Vorail.Hosted ByThomas Domville (AnonyMouse)John GassmanDesiree ReneeCrunchy ChaptersAir Turbulence — The iPhone Air Stalls on the RunwayWe examine the disappointing performance of the iPhone Air: weak launch-day demand, pricing too close to the Pro lineup, and confusion around where the device fits. We explore whether the Air should even be a yearly release and what Apple may adjust for the next version.The Siri Shake-Up — Gemini Steps Into the SpotlightWe unpack Apple's potential plan to integrate a Gemini-powered model into Siri. The team discusses privacy protections, how this pairs with Apple Intelligence, and how this hybrid approach may finally bring Siri up to modern AI standards.Stability Surge — iOS 27 Aims to Smooth Out the Rough EdgesReports suggest iOS 27 and all major Apple OS updates next year will focus heavily on stability and bug fixes rather than new features. We discuss the need for accessibility fixes—including Braille reliability and Personal Voice issues—and why a Snow Leopard–style year is long overdue.Future Shock — Apple's 2026 Roadmap Promises a Wild Ride)Apple is restructuring its entire release calendar. We highlight the new E-series iPhones coming early in the year, delayed base-model iPhones, refreshed MacBook Air and Pro models, the pricey foldable iPhone, and an upcoming smart home display. Early signs of Apple smart glasses also enter the conversation.Eyes Forward — A New Wave of Vision AI Assistance)We explore a powerful new Vision AI web app featuring a 6-grid photo mode, zoomable image analysis, real-time live view with two-second refreshes, and smart duplicate filtering—all designed to give blind and low-vision users richer environmental insights.AnonyMouse App Pick of the Month — RamblioRamblio is a simple, audio-based social networking app blending asynchronous rambling with real-time hangouts. Fully accessible and VoiceOver-friendly, it offers a clean, clutter-free…

20251204 I Love Braille Originally Broadcasted December 4, 2025, on ACB Media 5 Lucy Edmonds introduced the Braille Doodle, a hands-on device designed to help people learn and practice braille. Sponsored by East Bay Center for the Blind Contact the Facilitator Join the Mailing List mailto:ebcb-i-love-braille+subscribe@googlegroups.comcomm-live-05-Dec-2100 Find out more at https://acb-community.pinecast.co

Discover how the VoiceOver Learning Lounge empowers blind and low vision users to master the Mac and iPhone with ease. Learn how Charmaine Co's accessible training and audio lessons can transform unused Apple devices into powerful tools for work and life.Steven Scott and Shaun Preece welcome Charmaine Co, an assistive tech instructor from Vancouver, to explore her innovative VoiceOver Learning Lounge. This resource offers flexible, remote training for blind and low vision users who struggle to get started with Mac or iPhone accessibility. Charmaine shares her journey from teaching JAWS and Braille to developing on-demand lessons and live coaching sessions that help learners confidently use VoiceOver, Excel, Word, web browsers, and more—without feeling like they're back in school. She also highlights the importance of practical, bite-sized lessons that prevent expensive tech from gathering dust. The episode also features listener emails about guide dogs, mobility, and PC refresh habits, along with requests for step-by-step TailScale tutorials. Relevant LinksVoiceOver Learning Lounge: https://linktr.ee/volearningloungeEmail Charmaine: volearninglounge@gmail.comDouble Tap Feedback: feedback@doubletaponair.com Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into a hilariously chaotic yet insightful episode, tackling listener emails, dodgy laptops, accessible tea-making, Lady A+ quirks, and the joys and frustrations of modern tech for blind users.In this lively episode, Steven and Shaun take listeners through a mix of tech talk and personal stories. They field listener emails about Dell and Lenovo laptops failing spectacularly, discuss why budget devices often fall short, and share their own laptop-shopping dilemmas. The pair also cover Amazon's Lady A+ complications, the challenges of smart home integration, and the rise of AI assistance like Be My Eyes and Google Gemini. Leannda weighs in on accessible living, from cutting up meals to the “right” way to read Braille, sparking a candid conversation about gatekeeping in the blind community. Meanwhile, CC calls in with frustrations about Dynamic Island and alarm labels on iOS 26, leading to a humorous rant on Apple's design choices. The episode wraps with a listener update on Bard library tech issues and a teasing segue into alien conspiracies, AI curiosity, and the lighter side of blind life.Enjoying the show? Share your thoughts or stories! Email feedback@doubletaponair.com, leave a voicemail at 1‑877‑803‑4567, or send an audio/video message via WhatsApp to +1‑613‑481‑0144. Relevant LinksBe My Eyes: https://www.bemyeyes.comApple Accessibility: https://www.apple.com/accessibility Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thinking about college but not sure what it's really like as a blind or low vision student? In this College 101 conversation, transition coordinator Shane DeSantis teams up with Kira and Mohamed, two blind/low vision college students, to break it all down from a student point of view. They talk about choosing a campus that fits you, connecting early with the disability office, and getting the right accommodations in place — from Braille and digital textbooks to private testing rooms, extra time, and note-taking tools like Voice Dream and iPad apps. You'll hear how advocating for yourself, emailing professors, and actually talking to them before or after class can make or break a semester. They also share real talk on time management, learning new tech, O&M training, riding the bus, dealing with homesickness, and finding free-food events and support programs that make campus life more fun and less scary.   To find out more about the services provided at State Services for the Blind, and what they can do for you, contact Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us or call Shane at 651-385-5205.   Full Transcript thanks for listening!  

Steven Scott and Shaun Preece tackle a lively listener feedback session on Double Tap, diving into blind tech, braille debates, AirPods magic, and the ever-evolving world of mobility aids like Glide. Thanks to Turtleback Low Vision for sponsoring this episode of Double Tap. As a thank you to the Double Tap community, Turtleback is offering 12% off your entire order with promo code DT12. Visit https://www.turtlebacklv.com to shop the full lineup!In this episode, Steven and Shaun kick things off with a humorous chat about cold sores, shaving routines, and the challenges of being on YouTube as blind hosts. From there, the discussion shifts into insightful territory as they respond to listener feedback about the Glide mobility aid, the iPhone action button, and real-world experiences using Apple accessibility tools like Be My Eyes. Listeners share updates on iOS reliability, AirPods Pro 3 noise cancellation, Samsung versus Apple Watch accessibility, and the jaw-dropping Monarch multi-line braille display. Steven and Shaun dig into the realities of braille adoption, assistive tech prices, and the importance of teaching braille to the next generation. Expect laughs, honest opinions, and thoughtful commentary on what truly makes assistive technology useful and accessible. Share your thoughts and experiences! Email feedback@doubletaponair.com, leave a voicemail at 1‑877‑803‑4567, or send an audio/video message on WhatsApp at 1‑613‑481‑0144. Like, comment, and subscribe for more authentic blind tech conversations. Relevant LinksTurtleback Cases: https://turtlebacklv.comAppleVis (iOS accessibility reports): https://www.applevis.com Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2548 Redefining the Modern Braille Notetaker (Nov. 26, 2025) Show Notes Blazie Technologies is reimagining classic notetakers for today's blind users. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with CEO Bryan Blazie and Marketing Director David Goldfield about the BT Speak and BT Braille devices. These Raspberry Pi powered tools blend assistive tech, modern design, and … Continue reading 2548 Redefining the Modern Braille Notetaker (Nov. 26, 2025) →

This episode features Nicky Heckles, Vice President of Global Marketing for Smirnoff (Diageo). Dive deep into the Smirnoff marketing strategy that's fueling its success and discover how this iconic brand is dominating the Ready-to-Drink (RTD) market and authentically connecting with connecting with Gen Z consumers of legal drinking age (LDA). The episode reveals the playbook behind the viral success of the Smirnoff Ice campaign, a masterclass in self-aware humor and Gen Z LDA authenticity. * Beyond Impressions: Heckles shares the secret to measuring genuine impact and consumer resonance, moving beyond surface-level vanity metrics like impressions. The key is analyzing metrics related to brand advocacy, affinity, and acquisition, which demonstrate a deeper connection than just view counts. * The Unpretentious Voice: Discover the surprising Gen Z LDA trend Smirnoff is intentionally not chasing to maintain its unpretentious, real voice. Research shows Gen Z LDA craves authenticity and relatability, rejecting "overly polished perfection." Smirnoff leans into its own history of playful, self-deprecating humor (e.g., "We're called Ice but we're a liquid. We don't get it either.") to stand out. The Ready-to-Drink (RTD) market is the fastest-growing alcohol subcategory. Learn how Smirnoff differentiates itself from the flood of hard seltzers and spirit-based cocktails. * Unmet Consumer Need: Smirnoff's RTD portfolio addresses the critical consumer need for convenient, accessible, and reliably fun drinks for casual, social occasions. It positions itself as the unpretentious, easy choice, focusing on impulse purchases in the convenience channel. * Innovation Opportunity: The biggest opportunity for innovation in the next 12-18 months lies not just in flavor(which remains the most influential factor) but significantly in format and packaging (like the strategic shift from bottles to cans for impulse buys) and diversifying ABV options to cater to different occasions. Smirnoff's challenge is leveraging its "OG" vodka and RTD heritage while staying fresh for new drinkers. * Engaging Millennials: The brand strategically taps into nostalgia by referencing its long-standing playful tone and heritage (it's been around for over a century). The 25th birthday campaign for Smirnoff Ice is an example of celebrating its past while setting up a new era. * For Gen Z LDAconsumers, the brand focuses on cultural relevance, inclusive messaging (such as its "We Do We" platform), and humor/meme culture to ensure the brand remains dynamic, fresh, and aspirational. * The 'Glocal' Playbook Example: Heckles shares an example of a successful local activation, such as the Smirnoff Stage at Electric Picnic in Ireland. This activation was focused on radical inclusivity and accessibility, featuring wheelchair-accessible viewing decks, sign language interpreters, and Braille menus. The lesson for other distinct global markets is that while the creative message (the "G") can be consistent, the execution and cultural resonance(the "local") must focus on a universal value, like inclusion and community, to drive advocacy and market share gains. * Holiday Shift: The single biggest shift in consumer behavior Smirnoff is anticipating this holiday season is the continued prioritization of at-home consumption and gatherings focused on collective joy. The marketing strategy, from packaging to placement, is being adapted to capture impulse buys in the convenience channel and showcase the versatility of Smirnoff products for effortless cocktail creation at home. Gen Z LDA expects brands to champion a clear purpose. * Core Social/Cultural Purpose: Beyond responsible drinking, the core cultural purpose Smirnoff is championing is collective joy and inclusion (e.g., the "We Do We" platform). This purpose directly influences marketing by making Smirnoff the sponsor of inclusive events and influences product development to create options for diverse consumption occasions. This episode is essential listening for marketing executives, brand strategists, and anyone interested in how a legacy alcohol brand achieves cultural relevance, drives innovation, and secures its place in the future of the RTD market. Web: https://www.smirnoff.com Follow: @smirnoff About: Looking for the best vodka? Discover Smirnoff No. 21 Premium Vodka, the undisputed number one best-selling premium vodka in the world. With an exceptional heritage spanning decades and unmatched quality, Smirnoff is sold in over 130 countries, cementing its status as a truly global icon. Smirnoff sets the gold standard for purity. Our vodka is triple distilled and ten times filtered through activated charcoal, resulting in an exceptionally pure-tasting and smooth spirit. This meticulous process ensures a neutral base perfect for classic cocktails. Smirnoff is also a leader in flavor innovation, offering a wide range of expertly crafted flavored vodkas to suit every taste and occasion. Popular choices include: * Smirnoff Citrus: Perfect for a simple Vodka Soda with a twist. * Smirnoff Raspberry: Ideal for fruity cocktails. * Smirnoff Spicy Tamarind: A bold, culturally-inspired flavor for unique mixing. From timeless classics to modern favorites, Smirnoff offers versatility for both spirits and convenient Ready-To-Drink (RTD) products. Smirnoff No. 21 is the foundation for some of the world's most memorable and iconic cocktails: * Smirnoff Mule: The zesty, refreshing combination of vodka, ginger beer, and lime. * Classic Smirnoff Cosmopolitan: The perfect balance of vodka, cranberry, lime, and orange liqueur. * Bold Smirnoff Bloody Mary: The ideal savory brunch cocktail using Smirnoff's clean, smooth profile. For ultimate convenience, explore the full range of Smirnoff RTD products. These perfectly mixed, ready-to-enjoy beverages are designed for social gatherings and on-the-go enjoyment. This portfolio includes: * Smirnoff ICE: The original flavored malt beverage, known for its crisp, refreshing taste. * Smirnoff Seltzer: Low-calorie, flavored hard seltzers for the modern consumer. Meet Ash Brown, the dynamic American powerhouse and motivational speaker dedicated to fueling your journey toward personal and professional success. Recognized as a trusted voice in personal development, Ash delivers uplifting energy and relatable wisdom across every platform. Why Choose Ash? Ash Brown stands out as an influential media personality due to her Authentic Optimism and commitment to providing Actionable Strategies. She equips audiences with the tools necessary to create real change and rise above challenges. Seeking inspiration? Ash Brown is your guide to turning motivation into measurable action. The Ash Said It Show – Top-Ranked Podcast With over 2,100 episodes and 700,000+ global listens, Ash's podcast features inspiring interviews, life lessons, and empowerment stories from changemakers across industries. Each episode delivers practical tools and encouragement to help listeners thrive. Website: AshSaidit.com Connect with Ash Brown: Goli Gummy Discounts: https://go.goli.com/1loveash5 Luxury Handbag Discounts: https://www.theofficialathena.... Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/po... Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSa... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1lov... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashsa... Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog #atlanta #ashsaidit #theashsaiditshow #ashblogsit #ashsaidit®Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ash-said-it-show--1213325/support.

Matt Formston on Facing Fear, Redefining Limits, & Riding GiantsEpisode IntroductionWhat does it feel like to stare down a five-story wave you cannot see? How do you quiet the noise of global doubt telling you "the blind guy is going to die"? In this powerful and condensed episode, Steve delves into the mindset of Matt Formston—world champion adaptive surfer, Paralympian, and Guinness World Record holder.Matt opens up about the two distinct fights of his life: first, the desperate struggle to prove he wasn't disabled, and second, the purposeful fight to become the best version of himself. He shares profound insights on overcoming self-doubt, the practical process for tackling any fear, and why becoming a father changed his relationship with risk forever. This is a masterclass in resilience, presence, and turning perceived limitations into unparalleled strength.--About Our GuestMatt Formston is an Order of Australia member, a multiple-time world champion in surfing and cycling, and holds the Guinness World Record for the largest wave surfed by a vision-impaired athlete. His incredible journey is documented in the film The Blind Side.--Follow Our GuestWebsite: https://www.mattformston.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattformston/Follow Us OnHost Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestevehodgson/Show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharewithsteve/--Episode Highlights00:00 - The daunting global noise: "They're going to kill the blind guy."00:16 - The two types of fear: physical recklessness vs. the fear of being seen as "different."01:01 - The two fights of Matt's life: Proving he wasn't disabled vs. fighting for his best self.01:20 - Refusing to learn Braille and tackling the biggest kid to prove he was "normal."02:34 - The shift: Accepting his disability and starting the internal fight for self-mastery.03:59 - Steve's reflection: If a blind man can surf giants, what's stopping me?04:13 - The household rule: You were not allowed to use the word "can't."05:36 - Learning to surf blind, starting on a bodyboard to "feel" the wave at age five.07:41 - The documentary The Blind Side and surfing a record 51ft wave at Nazaré.08:15 - How you train for the "non-surfing" part of a giant wave: strength and breath capacity.09:48 - The crucial role of his support team and family.11:18 - The moment after a brutal wipeout when the safety team said, "No more."12:29 - Matt's 3-column framework for anyone scared to attempt something big.13:32 - How becoming a father introduced a new kind of fear and responsibility.15:02 - Battling the global media narrative and the doubt it creates.

Flute 360 | Episode 351: "Vision Beyond Sight with Liz Hargest" In today's episode, Heidi sits down with longtime student, colleague, and dear friend Liz Hargest to explore what it truly means to cultivate artistry, perseverance, and purpose beyond physical sight. Liz, who has been blind since infancy, shares how she learned flute through Braille music, how she approaches memorization, and how she continues to grow as a musician and teacher well into her 70s. Her story offers profound insight into resilience, lifelong learning, and the deep internal work that shapes expressive, authentic musicianship. Whether you are navigating obstacles in your own musical journey or simply seeking a renewed sense of clarity and hope, this conversation will meet you where you are. Main Points: Liz's early story and how blindness shaped her approach to learning and independence How Braille music works, how it is formatted, and what it takes to learn repertoire through touch The true purpose of memorization and how it deepens musical expression How patience, long-term memory, and daily habits strengthen artistic growth What Liz's brain injury taught her about teaching, gratitude, and valuing each day Suzuki philosophy and why listening-based learning creates stronger, more intuitive musicians The importance of teaching the whole child—not just the instrument How perseverance, faith, and purpose continue to shape Liz's artistry and life Call to Action: Join us for the next Flute 360 Accelerator LIVE session on Saturday, November 22, 2025 from 11 AM–1 PM CT. Inside this coaching & music space, you'll receive real-time feedback, clarity, and support as you grow both as a musician and as a person. Reserve your seat here! Resources Mentioned: Suzuki Method (British Suzuki Music Association) Mozart Flute Concerto in D Major Liz Hargest's Website Follow Heidi! Follow Flute 360 via TikTok! Follow Flute 360 via Instagram! Follow Flute 360 via Twitter! Follow Flute 360 via LinkedIn! Follow Flute 360 via Facebook! Subscribe to the Flute 360's YouTube Channel! Join the Flute 360 Newsletter! Join the Flute 360 Family's Facebook Private Group! Join the Flute 360's Accelerator Program Here! TIER 1 for $37 TIER 2 for $67 TIER 3 for $97