[optacon-l] Re: Yet Another Neat Optacon Story

  • From: "DIANNE B. PHELPS AND PRIMROSE" <d.bphelps@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:17:28 -0800

Saeed,

I found your comments about wanting to read music notation with the optacon 
interesting and touching because way back in 1977 when I was first trained 
with the optacon, I, too, had that hope. It is doable, but very very tedious 
and difficult at best because of the amount of space the musical staff takes 
on the page. Instead of being able to scan straight across as we would do 
with a printed line, you have to scan kind of up and down in peaks and 
across. While I could do it and could recognize the notes and symbols, I 
found it just too tedious and hand intensive to make good use of.

For music, I would look into computerized programs which are very costly but 
which can translate print music into Braille and reproduce it on a Braille 
embosser. This is extremely costly, and I haven't done this, opting instead 
to use my ear, though if you are a professional musician, it might be worth 
the investigation.

Having said all of that, it would be worth your while to try the optacon 
just for the experience, but as a college trained musician, I didn't make 
use of my optacon in that way.

Dianne
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Saeed Mirzazadeh" <saeedm19@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 11:01 AM
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Yet Another Neat Optacon Story


> dear friends,
> I'm Saeed Mirzazadeh from iran. I know Optacon for around 2 weeks and
> i'm so eager to have one.
> I'm a musician and i suppose it will be very useful for reading the
> notes that there's not the braille versions.
> can you help me for finding a way to buy one?
> also, I've understood that there are diferent type of the Optacon. how
> may i know about these diference?
> kind regards,
> Saeed
>
> On 12/19/09, don bishop <w6smb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Yes,
>>
>> I've been reading fortune cookies for years.  It's also interesting to
>> turn them over and read what's on the back.
>>
>> Don
>>
>>
>>
>> On 12/19/2009 9:46 AM, Dan and Bonnie Tonge wrote:
>>> That is a neat story, and I have also had times when I didn't think 
>>> there
>>> was anything I could read on a box or something and then picked it up
>>> again later and found that there was, even on just an electrical 
>>> adaptor.
>>> Has anyone ever read their fortune from a fortune cookie with the 
>>> Optacon?
>>>  I didn't think it would work, but hey, it did.  I thought that was 
>>> pretty
>>> neat reading my fortune with the Optacon.  I thought the writing would 
>>> be
>>> too small, but there it was.
>>>
>>> Dan
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Linda Gehres"<ljgehres@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> To: "Optacon List"<optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 8:31 AM
>>> Subject: [optacon-l] Yet Another Neat Optacon Story
>>>
>>>
>>> Yesterday I received a package which didn't contain any labels that 
>>> could
>>> be felt. I scanned the
>>> package on both sides perhaps too quickly with my Optacon, finding
>>> primarily information about sending
>>> packages via priority mail for a flat shipping rate but nothing as to 
>>> the
>>> package's sender or
>>> recipient. Too curious to leave it at that, I opened the box, thinking
>>> that if there were a note inside,
>>> it would be typed if the package was for me. Alas, the note appeared
>>> handwritten, but I was too tired
>>> and frustrated to try to discern whether the note was printed or in
>>> cursive writing. A friend happened
>>> to call last night, and I was filling him in on this whole story, 
>>> griping
>>> that the post office had
>>> probably, as usual, misdelivered a Christmas package to my address.
>>> I decided this morning when I got up to re-examine the box, and finally, 
>>> I
>>> found a zip code which I
>>> recognized as being that of my brother and his family near Washington,
>>> D.C. And the note turned out
>>> to be in print and in all caps! So, the wonderful and beloved Optacon 
>>> does
>>> it again! All it takes
>>> is a lot of patience sometimes!
>>>
>>> Linda Gehres
>>>
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>>>
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>>>
>> to view the list archives, go to:
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>>
> to view the list archives, go to:
>
> www.freelists.org/archives/optacon-l
>
> To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to:
>
> optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the 
> quotes) in the message subject.
>
> Tell your friends about the list.  They can subscribe by sending a message 
> to:
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> optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the 
> quotes) in the message subject.
>
> 

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