This is slightly off topic but alludes to one statement below. Where does one get info on National conventions for blind folks featuring different kinds of all type products?
thanks Al -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Robert J. Moore Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 6:02 PM To: Blind Handyman Subject: [BlindHandyMan] returning to work. Hi Group I am going to be starting a sales job very soon, working from home making calls selling trash hauling service. This job will require a lot of emailing back and forth to the company. I have been a part of a number of blind related lists and I have to say this one has been my personal favorite. Some time soon here I am going to have to unsubscribe from the list to mimimize the traffic to my inbox. I will miss the group but Will try to keep up with the blind handy man show. I can't remember if it was on this list or the blind talk list that I posted about my experience with my brother in law and his doubting that I could change a radiator because after all I am blind. Well as a result of that post I was contacted by the Braille Moniter. And they asked me to write an article so I did. And it got published. That was the first and only time in my 45 years on this rock that I ever had any thing published. I hope no one minds too much but I would like to paste it here for you all to read. Aside from braging I think it turned out OK. I would sure like to make it to a blind handy man convention down in Dallas some time and meet some of you guys and gals. A couple of notes about the article 1 I have since used gasket sealer and I am no longer afraid of using it. 2 2 I have also since aquired some wood working tools like a table saw and a chop saw and intend to learn how to do some basic wood working projects around the house. I have also added a water pump replacement to my list. 3 And plan to find another pick up truck that needs a 4.3 v6 and pull the one I have in a jimmy and plant it in the pick up that I am looking for. 4 And last I was at the time working as an appointment schedualer but am starting a new job in sales. Thank you for allowing me to ranble on. Robert The Radiator, the Washing Machine, and the Gas Pump by Robert Moore ************ From the Editor: Bob Moore and his wife live in a rural area outside of Rochester, Minnesota. He works at home as an appointment scheduler, but he finds time to make home repairs and keep the couple's car running smoothly. He recently mentioned car repairs on an NFB listserv, so I asked him to recount some of his war stories as an inspiration to other blind people who might be a bit nervous about tackling the kinds of repair jobs Bob takes in his stride. When I asked what kind of car repairs he has undertaken, this is the list he reeled off: replaced front brake pads; changed oil, timing belt, and radiator; and installed radio, brake master cylinder, windshield wiper motor, power steering pump, alternator, starters, belts, hoses, spark plugs and plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, throttle body base gasket, and batteries (every winter). Reading through that lists persuades me that he probably even understands the guys on Car Talk. This is what he says: ************ As far back as I can remember, I loved to take things apart and figure out how they work. I took small engine classes in high school and went on to Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind to earn certification in small engine repair. Although I didn't manage to make a career in the field, I never lost my passion for mechanics in general. My wife and I got married in the summer of 1992. At that time I had very little experience with auto repair, but I figured that, if I could learn to fix small engine equipment, I could learn to do basic auto repair. I concluded very quickly over time that the price of not learning and having to pay someone big money every time the car broke down or needed basic maintenance was more than I was willing to pay. However, to this day I would rather leave some things to the professionals, even though I am sure that I could learn to do them. To my mind the care needed and the risk involved are not worth the savings. One such thing is replacing gaskets that require applying sealer. I worry about getting some of the gasket sealer in the oil or antifreeze. Don't get me wrong: I am not saying it cannot be done safely and properly. It just isn't worth the time because it needs to be done so seldom. My wife drives, so, in financial self -defense and a love for tinkering with things, I have learned how to do most basic car repairs myself. I am not a trained mechanic, but I have become pretty good at it. One day I was standing around the shop with the guys, and I mentioned having changed the radiator on my wife's car. Her brother told me that I could not change a radiator on a car because "You have to see what you are doing." I told him that I knew I could because I had just done it. He still did not believe me and asked, "How can you do that if you can't see?" I simply held up my hands in front of him, said, "I have 20/20 vision right here," and explained that I do it all by touch. He continued to maintain that I was lying, so I let it go. Knowing what a smart alec her brother is, my wife had a better answer. I wish I had thought of it. Here is what she would have said: "Well first I drained the radiator, then I unplugged the fan and removed it, then I took off the hoses and transmission lines and removed all the bolts. Finally I removed the radiator. How would you have done it?" I am always astounded that people who work on cars for a living do not understand how a blind person can work on cars. After all, when mechanics work on cars, they often cannot sea what they are doing because what they are working on is tucked behind some other part, and they have to get their hands in there and feel what they are doing. The first time it occurred to my wife that I do not use the little bit of sight I have while working on a car was when I was changing a timing belt outside on a friend's car. It started to get dark, and my wife came out and said, "Why don't you come in now?" I said that I wanted to finish up since I was almost done. She said, "But it's getting dark." I said, "That doesn't bother me; does it bother you?" To this day she still chuckles at that answer. Another memorable time we took a trip to visit her parents. Her dad, her brother-in-law, and I were working on the car. Her dad and her brother-in-law were trying in vain to locate the one bolt that was keeping the bracket we needed to move from budging. I said, "Let me get in there and find it for you." Since I was blind, they were not going to have any of that. Then came the moment of truth (or maybe opportunity). They both went into the garage at the same time to chase a wrench. I climbed under the car, and when they got back, I had identified the bolt and was able to point it out to them. I have also tackled other mechanical projects such as washers and dryers. We had a washing machine that was leaking, actually dumping water out the bottom. This called for drastic measures, and fast. Without thinking twice, I took the top completely off and pulled the drum out into the middle of the floor. By the time my wife arrived home, I had the washer fixed. I explained exactly what I had done, and she assured me that she was glad it was fixed and very glad that she did not have to see the machine all over the floor. She has since become completely comfortable with my working on the car and doing some appliance repairs and other small repairs around the house. Now carpentry is another matter.... I would like to learn some carpentry basics, but most of it I will leave to the pros. I know lots of blind people do carpentry, but it's just not my thing. But here is one last subject that I do feel pretty strongly about. When I am with my wife in the car and it is time to fill the tank, I always get out and fill it for her. So, to all you blind men who think that, just because you don't drive, you don't have to fill the tank, I say, be good to your wives. Get out and fill the tank. True, gas pumps today are not blind-friendly, but that's okay. Have her make the appropriate selections on the screen, such as grade and payment type. Then she can climb back into the warm car while you fill it. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.4/644 - Release Date: 1/22/2007 7:30 AM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! 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