Thanks Rick I'll really think about this. Bob
Robert Acosta, President
Helping Hands for the Blind
(818) 998-0044
www.helpinghands4theblind.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Roderick [mailto:rickrod@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 6:52 AM
To: bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: Bob Acosta service to Bookshare readers and
others reading adapted books
Lissi,
I think Bob does an excellent job with all of this. My only recommendation to
him is that when he send these meeting announcements to Bookshare-discuss and
DBB-review, he put them together in one daily message, describing the
activities of the various groups and archived programs.
-----Original Message-----
From: Estelnalissi [mailto:airadil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 7:42 AM
To: bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Bob Acosta service to Bookshare readers and others
reading adapted books
Dear Booksharian Friends,
While Bob Acosta heads and works with other organizations, he didn't originate
the Book clubs. They were started by enthusiastic Booksharians who thought book
clubs would be a way of encouraging Bookshare members to download and read more
books and to enjoy social contact with each other.
Actually Bob saw the value of the idea and provided safe, easy to access
meeting rooms and the willingness to publicize the meetings and to record them
for interested readers who couldn't attend the meetings. More clubs were added
by people who have book centric internet radio programs.
Bob donates his time to this nonprofit project and neither makes or charges any
money for his time or the computer platform which facilitates the meetings. His
publicity of meetings on various lists is an effort to make sure no one misses
the chance to attend a program for lack of knowledge about it. I'm astonished
he manages to keep so many ducks in a row!
I'm not familiar with all of the clubs but have attended some where I had the
thrill of hearing talks by NLS narrators like Roy Avers and Erik Sandvold. At
other meetings there were author presenters like one of my heroes, Mr. Food!
Some meetings feature company representatives who present and described new
technologies for reading adapted books. I'm always grateful to learn about
what's developing in the world of refreshable braille readers, I pads, Androids
etc. As for the Book clubs, I've attended the mystery, fantasy and science
fiction groups. They have been around for over five years with loyal members
and a slow but steady influx of new comers.
I've attended the science fiction club most regularly so I know the most about
it. It's attendance recently peaked at a dozen readers. No one there dominates
the discussions which are fascinating and full of differing but intelligent,
well thought out ideas. The group chooses what to read together, taking
suggestions from different members. They have an email group where discussions
continue and diverge between meetings. Members often mention new books that
turn up in the Bookshare collection and on Bard and discuss books not chosen as
the book of the month there. While they usually pick books available both from
Bookshare and NLS, they've chosen books only available from Bookshare when the
book is really tempting and isn't available anywhere else.
All of the groups are well moderated and are really dreams come true for people
who love to read and talk about books. I'm surprised they aren't better
attended.
The members have good manners and there's never any pressure to read the
month's book. All views are respected and encouraged. Attendees don't have to
participate, Everyone is welcomed and invited to participate, but people can
just listen if they like. No one is expected to read every selection.
I'm skipping this month's SF choice because though I know it's a terrific book,
I'm afraid the dark elements will depress me.
In my view Bob, who keeps very busy with his projects that educate, assist and
entertain blind people, is very generous to keep booklovers on several lists
informed of meetings to come and those archived for reviewing at anyone's
convenience. Visit the groups and have a great bookish time and make new
friends, or skip the announcements with your delete key that only takes a
second to tap.
Bob, I don't know you and am no expert on your activities. I hope my
explanation describes your work well enough, and thank you for your friendly
invitations and for the rich experiences you arrange with your team of well
chosen group facilitators.
Always with love,
Lissi
-----Original Message-----
From: Allison Hilliker
Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 12:35 PM
To: bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: Science Fiction Meeting, Thursday July 9,
2015, 9 pm EDT, Book Nook: www.accessibleworld.org
Hello,
Robert Acosta does not work for Bookshare or for Benetech in general. I'm not
sure which organization he is associated with. His emails seem to list several.
I think he just posts his book clubs to the list because he thought Bookshare
members may like them. That's all I know.
Best,
Allison Hilliker
Bookshare Support
-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Lewellen [mailto:klewellen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 8:15 AM
To: bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: Science Fiction Meeting, Thursday July 9,
2015, 9 pm EDT, Book Nook: www.accessibleworld.org
I had wondered why we were getting so many emails from Robert, does he work for
bookshare, and are all these meetings somehow tied directly to the function of
the service?
Just wondering,
Karen
On Tue, 16 Jun 2015, debra goodmam wrote:
Please remove me from further emails: shdowsafetyproducts@xxxxxxxxx.N ry uj j z m r jn {v ~ n
On Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 6:17 PM, Robert Acosta <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
*NEWSWIRE: THURSDAY JULY 9, 2015*
*SCIENCE FICTION MEETING, 9 PM EDT, BOOK NOOK ROOM:
WWW.ACCESSIBLEWORLD.ORG <http://WWW.ACCESSIBLEWORLD.ORG>*
*Hello Folks,*
*Well, we had a smaller than usual turnout at our most recent
meeting. Bad weather kept some of our regulars offline. But everyone
who was able to make it liked our book, Ventus by Karl Schroeder. For
our next book, we’ve selected a tale of first contact by one of the
best author collaborations in SF history: We’ve chose The Mote in
God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry
Pournelle.*
*The next meeting of the Science Fiction club will be on Thursday,
July 9,
2015.*
*Place: Book Nook at:*
*http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e*
<http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e>
*Time: 9 PM Eastern, 8 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain, 6 PM Pacific, and
01:00
UTC.*
*Our book, The Mote in God’s Eye is available from both BARD and
Bookshare.*
*The Bookshare version is at:*
*https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/29134*
<https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/29134>
*and the link to the downloadable BARD version is at:*
*http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.45438*
<http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.45438>
*The NLS annotation reads as follows:*
*In the thirty-first century, humans make initial contact with
another intelligent species. Though the aliens seem candid, they may
be concealing their true and dangerously cunning nature.*
*Here is a review from Amazon’s page for Mote:*
*Amazon.com Review*
*In the year 3016, the Second Empire of Man spans hundreds of star
systems, thanks*
*to the faster-than-light Alderson Drive. No other intelligent
beings have ever been*
*encountered, not until a light sail probe enters a human system
carrying a dead alien.*
*The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust
cloud, and an expedition*
*is dispatched.*
*In the Mote the humans find an ancient civilization--at least one
million
years*
*old--that has always been bottled up in their cloistered solar
system for lack of*
*a star drive. The Moties are welcoming and kind, yet rather evasive
about certain*
*aspects of their society. It seems the Moties have a dark problem,
one they've been*
*unable to solve in over a million years.*
*This is the first collaboration between Niven and Pournelle, two
masters of hard*
*science fiction, and it combines Pournelle's interest in the
military and
sociology*
*with Niven's talent for creating interesting, believable aliens. The
novel meticulously*
*examines every aspect of First Contact, from the Moties' biology,
society, and art,*
*to the effects of the meeting on humanity's economics, politics, and
religions. And*
*all the while suspense builds as we watch the humans struggle toward
the
truth.*
*--Brooks Peck*
*Come join us next month to talk about what many consider one of the
best first contact novels ever written, and anything else SF
literature related.*
*Evan*
*Host: Evan Reese*
*E-Mail: **mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx* <mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Date: ThursdayJuly 9, 2015 *
*Time: 6 pm Pacific; 7 pm Mountain; 8 pm Central; 9 pm Eastern*
*And elsewhere in the world, Friday 02 pm GMT*
*Approximately 15 minutes prior to the event start time; go to The
Book Nook Room at:*
*http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e
<http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e>*
*Or, alternatively Select The Book Nook Room at:
http://www.accessibleworld.org <http://www.accessibleworld.org>*
*Enter your first and last names on the sign-in screen.*
*All programs are recorded and archived so if you are unable to
participate live at the above times then you may download the
presentation or podcast from the Tek Talk archives on our website at
http://www.accessibleworld.org <http://www.accessibleworld.org>*
*If you are a first-time user of the Talking Communities online
conferencing software, there is a small, safe software program that
you need to download and then run. A link to the software is
available on every entry screen to the Accessible World online
rooms.*
*All online interactive programs are free of charge, and open to
anyone worldwide having an Internet connection, a computer, speakers,
and a sound card. Those with microphones can interact audibly with
the presenters and others in the virtual audience or text chat with
the attendees. To speak to us, hold down the control key and talk;
then let up to listen.*
*Accessible World uses News Wires, like this one, to inform people of
the topic and times for the many Discussion Groups on Accessible
World. The lists are announce only to keep the traffic to a minimum.*
*You can join the Accessible World Announce List, the Tek Talk
Announce List by sending an email to subscribe to our one-way
announce list at:
awannouncements-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<awannouncements-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>.*
*Accessible World also provides a Tek Talk Discussion List. This list
is intended to give you an opportunity to ask computer related
questions, suggest topics to be used in the weekly Monday training
programs, or just to interact with others interested in using
assistive devices to access computers. You may sign up for this list
by going to:*
*http://mail.accessibleworld.org/mailman/listinfo/tektalkdiscussion_a
ccessibleworld.org
<http://mail.accessibleworld.org/mailman/listinfo/tektalkdiscussion_a
ccessibleworld.org>*
*You can also sign up for the Tek Talk and other lists accessible
world has by going to:*
* http://accessibleworld.org <http://accessibleworld.org> and
clicking on the "News Wires and Discussion Mailing Lists" link.*
*Accessible World Contacts:*
*Robert Acosta, Chair*
*Accessible World*
*818-998-0044 <818-998-0044>*
*Email: boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx>*
*Web: www.helpinghands4theblind.org
<http://www.helpinghands4theblind.org>*
*Randi Shelton, Events Coordinator*
*Accessible WorldPhone:*
*412-221-0821 <412-221-0821>*
*Email: rshelton820@xxxxxxxxx <rshelton820@xxxxxxxxx>*
*Steve Hoffman, President*
*Talking Communities*
*Email: steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>*
*The Accessible World, a division of Helping Hands For The Blind, a
501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, seeks to educate the general
public, the disabled community and the professionals who serve them
by providing highly relevant information about new products,
services, and training opportunities designed specifically to
eliminate geographic and access barriers that adversely affect
them**.*
Robert Acosta, President
Helping Hands for the Blind
(818) 998-0044
www.helpinghands4theblind.org
