[bksvol-discuss] Re: Frustration over missed opportunities for perfection
- From: "Jackie McBride" <abletec@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 16:08:01 -0700
U know what, yall--the AA prayer really comes into its own in a
situation like this. From my perspective:
1) I am gonna turn out the absolute best product I can.
2) I am not gonna waste my time trying to 2nd guess the quirks of the
braille translator & the stripper & Daisy, because I cannot always
predict what they're gonna do & I certainly cannot change them.
3) I control what I can, I leave alone what I cannot, & I always pray
for wisdom to know the difference. I will not waste my energy lookin
back over my shoulder or hopping thru life on 1 leg while kickin
myself in the butt w/the other.
My view is that every1's pretty much doin' the best they can.
Bookshare staff has got their hands full--you'd think money would
solve their problems but it doesn't--it just creates different ones.
They're still understaffed & spendin their time tryin' to get more
staff, while the expectations of the Department of Education are
*huge*. The volunteer manual isn't perfect but it's better than what
we had. Of course, it might be better if there were a wiki or some
such, but for now... These things all take time & resources.
So, guys, let's not get our grundies in a bundle & let's just all
understand that u, me, & every1 else is doing the best they can. Life
will never be perfect here--all we can do is our little bit to make it
better. & if, at the end of the day, we can say we've done that, then
it's been a good day indeed. & I truly believe that all of us on this
list can in fact say that. So easy does it, yall--it just is not worth
getin' upset over--life's way too short & time way too precious for
that. I'll crawl back in2 the woodwork now where I belong.
On 5/29/08, Amy Goldring Tajalli <agoldringtajalli@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> E and others,
>
> Please, please, please do not mistake sighted readers/members of Bookshare
> with people who can read printed versions/editions of books. I can scan and
> validate books and do many that are ones I have sitting on my shelves but in
> which the print is too small for me to read or the book is too big for me to
> hold or manage turning the pages even if I can hold them. There are all
> sorts of reasons why someone cannot use standard printed material.
>
> When I finish writing this letter, I will down-size the print for the
> convenience of Bookshare readers and "freelist" receivers. Then Booksharians
> who have readers can have them at whatever size is convenient. I cannot
> double-check this at a smaller print as I do not have a screen reader that
> reads mail as I write it. The screen reader that came with my computer
> [Dell] reads menus & sub-menus only and not the contents of the pages. The
> only reader I have that reads the text is in my Kurzweil so I have to move
> anything I want read has to be moved to that, including the long, long
> letters from my sister in Cambodia. Other mail I can enlarge if it is not to
> long. My ability to read even enlarged material is limited by the strain of
> reading.
>
> I write this not for sympathy any more than members who identify themselves
> as blind do so for sympathy but to help all of you understand why some
> members of Bookshare do need and appreciate the service but also want the
> books to be as accurate and true to what the author wrote as possible.
> Even the blind can benefit from knowing what they cannot see - that there
> are pictures with captions and what both are even though the sighted also
> cannot see the pictures since Bookshare cannot reproduce pictures or
> sketches. It does help to know that the author felt s/he felt they would
> be beneficial to the readers. I wish I had read The Silmarillion before I
> scanned and validated The Tale of Genji or I would have done a much better
> and more consistent job with the drawings. Then the copy really would have
> been excellent.
>
> I am sorry to have gone one so long but there are sighted people who really
> do need Bookshare quite as much as the blind do.
>
> Amy
> omsm
>
>
--
Jackie McBride
Please join my fight against breast cancer
<http://teamacs.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=1790196&pg=personal&fr_id=3489>
& Check out my homepage at:
www.abletec.serverheaven.net
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