Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

After weeks of other commitments on Sunday mornings, I finally had time alone to watch the Hour of Power this past Sunday. Watching gives me a dose of positive energy that gets me through another week.

I was pleased to see Robert H. Schuller giving the sermon; I still prefer the original Schuller. Part way through his message, something struck a chord – something not in the written version, but is in the video.

Don’t use the word ‘just’. Cut the word ‘just’ out of your life. Don’t ever say, “I’m just this or just that.” Cut that word out. People will put you down, but don’t put yourself down.

Wow! How true!

How many times have most of us said that?

“I’m just a stay-at-home mom (or dad).”

“I’m just a teacher.”

“I’m just a garbage man.”

Or whatever.

Stop!

Stop putting yourself down and watch what happens…

Nineteen months after releasing my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself, I am excited to announce the release of the book trailer!

Yes, I realize the order is somewhat backwards. But, I did not know book trailers even existed until after launching my book. And then there was the process of learning what exactly a book trailer is – similar to movie trailer to create hype for a new movie – and then figuring how to create one.

In the end and with some tips from my wonderfully supportive husband Darrell, I used Camtasia Studios, largely because of its relatively easy of adding captioning – a must for any video! Using my text-to-speech program TextAloud and the voice of Kate, I created the voiceover. The text was then used for the captions. And, I added I brief clip from John Denver’s Sweet Surrender.

I find it amazing that the technology exists to enable me to create such a project, even though it isn’t quite Hollywood style.

So…without further ado…

This weekend, several Vancouver bloggers are spending 24-hours hunched over their computers or laptops and inhaling caffeine in support of a charity of their choice. They are posting every half hour on their blogs to raise money for their charity. That is 48 posts in 24 hours, folks!

Please give these bloggers a big round of applause:

• Colleen Vince – CKNW Orphan’s Fund
• Rebecca Bollwitt – Union Gospel Mission
• Raul Pacheco – BC Cancer Agency
• Shane Gibson – Manjari Sankurathri Memorial Foundation
• Karen Hamilton – David Suzuki Foundation
• Ayeza Garcia – Davao City High School
• isabella mori – Canadian Mental Health Association
• Danny Dang – BC SPCA Paws for a Cause
• Mehnaz Thawer – The Adoptive Families Association of BC
• Jenn Lowther/Nadia Nascimento – Lochmaddy.org
• Barbara Doduk – BC SPCA Paws for a Cause
• Chris Richardson – Lochmaddy Foundation
• Duane Storey – Union Gospel Mission

Show your support by visiting the blogs and leaving a few words of encouragement! Pledges are also greatly appreciated – complete the pledge form and, at the end of the weekend, you will receive an email asking you to follow through on your pledge and donate to the cause. Thanks kindly.

I’m going to start training now for Blogathon Vancouver 2009…

Blog on!

This weekend Darrell and I enjoyed Surrey’s inaugural Fusion Festival – a celebration of music, food and dance. Saturday evening was a free performance by six-time Grammy award winning Irish band The Chieftains. We arrived extra early to ensure we had a space on the raised viewing platform. I parked my scooter beside an elderly Asian woman slumped down in a manual wheelchair.

The woman briefly responded with her sunken eyes when I pulled in beside her, and then her attention returned to wherever it was previously. She was fully covered in a blanket and a scarf, despite the day’s heat. All I could see was her frail face with lines of wisdom. I sensed her eyes had seen much in her lifetime. I felt honoured to sit beside her.

Her daughter, daughter-in-law or niece-type-person returned to care for her. I moved to Darrell’s other side to give the pair more room. The elderly woman did not move; she was moved. Juice was poured into her mouth; she did not drink. She was repositioned and recovered. All was done with gentle tenderness, and without any response in returned.

Then she smiled the purest smile I have ever seen. At her age, she has no need to fake a smile to impress people, to be liked. It was a smile of joy in that brief, fleeting moment; like a light that flickers before going dark for the final time.

A tinge of guilt then crept through me. Without knowing anything more about this woman than what I had witnessed in those few moments, likely a blink of an eye in her lifetime, I assumed that life had ceased to flow in her, that she was down to her last trickle – and that I wouldn’t want to live like that. I had done to her what I wish others wouldn’t do upon seeing my jerky, awkward movements and hearing my unintelligible voice: I had passed judgment.

I then began wondering if it is possible to not pass judgments, if we are truly honest with ourselves. Are we humans that evolved and enlightened not to judge others, even occasionally? Or, perhaps, what really matters is what we do with that judgment? Do we proceed as if that judgment is true? Or do we acknowledge that judgment and look deeper to see beyond?

What do you think? Is it possible for humans not to pass judgment? Or is the key to allow that judgment to continue passing through our mind and right on out the other side?

Adding audio to your website or blog adds another dimension to your content. By hearing your voice, your audience connects with you on another level and their trust increases. However, for the millions of people who are Deaf or hard of hearing (exact numbers are not easily available), this audio information is not accessible. Likewise, in this global economy, we all have accents, which may not be understandable to others. For these and other reasons, providing transcripts for all audio clips is essential to increasing your audience reach, and hence, your market size.

Darrell Hyatt from Enabling Abilities to Appear specializes in finding ways to use computer technology to unleash individuals’ abilities and passions. He offers monthly podcasts on adaptive technology, computing tips and personal observations. He has developed a process for creating transcripts for his podcasts by using the voice recognition program Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 – Preferred Version. Essentially, the process entails:

1. recording your podcast,
2. running your audio file through Dragon Naturally Speaking to create the transcription (Note: a thorough editing of the text for spelling, correct word usage (i.e. their vs there) and punctuation is a must!), and
3. editing your audio file per usual.

Darrell provides the specific settlings required and other important details in his June’s podcast, and, of course, a transcript is also available.

How to provide captioning in video will be covered in a future Accessibility 100 post.

Accessibility 100 is a series of 100 easy-to-implement, free and inexpensive tips for improving accessibility for people with disabilities. This is a community project. Feel free to leave your comments, questions and ideas for future Accessibility 100 posts.

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