Brian Schnabel's Head Space

Guided meditations for the blind: Mindfulness through sound.

Monday, October 28, 2024: 4:51 PM: I spent the better part of today running through various guided meditation material I have in MP3 Audio format. I realized something with a bit of help from Bernie S. Siegel, M.D., and tracked one of his Mediations for Peace of Mind Album. I don’t remember where I got the album from but immediately realized why it’s been so very long since I last listened to it. While the audio is passible, the sound quality isn’t all that great when compared to other meditation MP3 files I have at my disposal. This time around though, for whatever reason, “I muddled my way through the 30-minute mono recorded track anyway!”

Tech-savvy and focused: Navigating life with IOS 18.

Sunday, October 27, 2024: 3:44 PM: I’m pleased with the progress I’ve recently made. I’ve been working at things a bit differently than I have in the past, me making it a point to stick to something that resembles a schedule. Yup! I’m breaking up the periods of time in which I work so that they coincide with those hours in a day that I know for a fact to be my most productive intuitive timeframes. So, while my round with Cyclical Depression seems to be running for a period that’s a bit more extended than usual, I am managing things efficiently and, “Getting things done!”

Optimizing accessibility: How I’m making my tech work for me.

Friday, October 25, 2024: 7:46 PM: I’m beginning to make some changes to the way I function on a tech level, like taking banking apps and other apps that I absolutely do not need to control a device out of my iPhone. For instance, I do not need remote access to my router from everywhere and anywhere. “Goodbye Netgear and Linksys apps!”

Unlocking better sleep: How body temperature and timing can help.

Over the past few days my sleep cycle has gotten really off kilter. But I’ve noticed something of interest that I think will help me in the long run.

Clint Watts’s Messing with the Enemy: Microsoft Copilot threat?

I finished reading Messing with the Enemy by Clint Watts. Clint Watts is a former Military/FBI counter terrorism analyst type and clearly doesn’t like Donald Trump, his book having been written in 2018.

Festive fiascos: Bracing for impact.

I’m clearly having another round with Cyclical Depression. But I give it another week and a half, if that, before things even out again. “At least I know it’s happening.”

A blind man’s encounter: Navigating paranoia on West End Avenue.

I was walking across the West End Avenue Foster Street intersection on the evening of September 30, 2024, on my way back from dinner at Dominick’s, glancing over at an approaching car as I did so. As I continued walking, I could hear the driver of the vehicle freaking out on the phone because I looked at them. Then the kid pulls up with his car and goes, “How are you seeing me?”

Stealth and steel: A blind man’s Allentown Gun Show experience.

On September 28, 2024, I attended the gun show at the ParkView Inn & Conference Center and hosted by Eagle Shows courtesy of my friends out in Pennsylvania as a part of our awesome weekend together. ParkView Inn & Conference Center is located at 1151 Bulldog Dr, Allentown, PA 18104. I was impressed with the attitude of the dealers there, who didn’t show any kind of concern whatsoever with the blind guy walking through the room handling sharp pointy things. In fact, “A few of them encouraged it!”

Navigating the Woke who ain’t Woke: Blind lives matter, too.

As I work on my website, I’m keenly aware that there are many aspects of my life that aren’t all that pleasant, which most people really don’t care to know about. But I also know that if you are one of the brave souls visiting this site, no one is making you do it. So, it all kind of balances out, “See?”

Cassidy Spohn.

I would like to preface what I’m about to write here with the fact that I can back up at least half of my statements here pretty well with the texts I have on my phone from Cassidy Spone, a licensed therapist and to the best of my knowledge, an employee of Directors Danah Rumble’s – Melissa Pirnos’s Lakeside Counseling Associates, CEO Brian Gragnolati’s Atlantic Health System here in Newton plus Executive Director Margaret Pittaluga’s Center for Evaluation & Counseling in Sparta NJ. While not everything is documented, and there is always going to be room for interpretation in some of this, I at least have a reasonable chunk of the story in writing should it ever lead to a legal challenge.

Unexpected Christmas Bonus: A day in the life of a Web Developer.

For most of yesterday, I was kind of in a mood. When I left here to head to Dominick’s for dinner, I was still in a mood. When I got down to Dominick’s, my mood lifted somewhat. And when I came home, I was at least emotionally neutral. Then I opened my email inbox and spied a payment from my Missouri client plus twenty percent extra tacked on and a note that said, “Merry Christmas.”

Microsoft Copilot: AI inconsistently manipulative as hell.

Some days I can’t believe Microsoft even has the balls to charge for some of their software, Copilot in particular. I do feel sorry for the folks who pay the subscription fee because the free version’s performance doesn’t really inspire faith in the product, “Especially when it starts telling you it cannot do what Microsoft advertises it can.”

Enhancing accessibility in Visual Studio Code with screen readers.

In a recent chat I had with Microsoft’s Copilot, we explored how to set up Visual Studio Code (VS Code) to work seamlessly with screen readers, focusing on Narrator and NVDA. We talked about JAWS two, but you’ll see why setting that one up wasn’t a primary concern here in a few minutes.

From wet paint to wellness: A day in the life.

I ran another remote viewing session today, albeit a bit late. This is because when I settled down to do the session at the appointed time, I was interrupted twice by the non-English Speaking guy painting my stairwell.

Transitioning from WordPress to a static website: A journey back to coding.

I did my analysis on brianschnabel.com yesterday. Spitballing with Copilot certainly gave me a lot to think about. While I do detest the fact that Microsoft seems to think they have the right to use software like Copilot to manipulate the masses into thinking the way they want everyone to think, it still does have its purposes for the moment. “Web development is one of those purposes!”

Old neighbors: Mental Health stalker has help.

My dear sweet neighbor probably doesn’t know it but when she’s at her friends in Hackettstown, or they attempt to surf my sight on her behalf, I am aware. This would be because her friends were old neighbors of mine from 3B who moved out a few years ago. “I used to like them until I found out firsthand the kind of scum they hang out with.”

Good food and good people: Dominick’s is more than a restaurant.

The grilled chicken salad dinner I had at Dominick’s this evening was awesome. Brittany took care of me and for some strange reasons she seems to think I’m a sweetheart.

Trusting my instincts: Ditching my Newtonian Gardens shadow.

Somebody was lurking in front of the Newtonian Garden’s complex when I left for Dominick’s this evening. They were silently standing in between the curb on the edge of the road and the fence in front of the complex, right down by the entrance, and I guess they didn’t think I knew they were there. When I heard feet cross the road behind me very quietly, “I knew right away something was up”! When I got down towards Foster Street they started walking in gravel because of oncoming traffic and at that point I spun and faced them just to let them know that I knew they were there. Then I did what I do best in these situations. “I began moving at a killing pace!”

No more hoops: How Windows 11 made WinZip obsolete for me.

I just said goodbye to WinZip this morning. Once again, WinZip has sent me a code that doesn’t work without me going through hoops to get things activated. But this time around I can’t even activate the software by removing the application and reinstalling it because it would seem that the download for the correct version of the application I need to reinstall doesn’t exist anymore.

Newtonian Gardens prepares for hallway enhancements.

I guess based on the email message that I received in my inbox yesterday, us residents of Newtonian Gardens are set to experience some improvements in our living environment. Goldberg Realty has announced plans for stairwell painting and the installation of new handrails.

Full Force and Effect: Managing the biology of Depression.

It’s been a quiet day here today. I haven’t obviously shattered any records with blog posting or anything else. For those that might have noticed, I certainly have slowed down on my blog posting.

A second encounter: When help feels like a threat.

I wonder if I should be suspicious that yesterday was the second time in a roughly 10 1/2-month period that a Hispanic male has tried to coerce me into getting into their vehicle. The last time that happened was on September 20th, which was a Wednesday, 2023.

Embrace the storm: Become one with nature’s fury.

I love a good thunderstorm, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed by the storms that rolled through the neighborhood today. I wasn’t out on the front porch when the main event took place, which is just as well. Even though the porch has an overhang, “I would have gotten pretty wet!”

Sleep struggles and anxiety: My experience with cyclical depression.

The meditations I’ve been doing over the past few days have been totally kickass. However, I do believe I am now in another downward inflection point with the brain chemistry, as my mood swings have been more towards the negative of late, and sleep cycles are being interrupted again.

Microsoft 365 Tools: Beginning my journey with Dictation in Word.

Today I realized that I need to start making better use of the tools That Microsoft 365 has to offer, like the dictation tool in this application, Microsoft Word. In the short term, working with the dictation tool in Microsoft Word might slow me down with my writing.

Locked On: Cleaning up dirty laundry.

I’m doing laundry in Building 1 here at Newtonian Gardens Apartments on 70 West End Avenue as I write this. I’m one of the tenants who doesn’t have a washer and drier in my apartment and glad for that. I could only imagine what the vibration would be like if I did, especially if my downstairs neighbor and I did laundry at the same time. When she does wash, “The vibration from her machine spinning off can be felt all the way out into my living room at times.”

Today’s achievements: Newark NJ visitor spends 38 minutes here.

I just got done reviewing my server records and saw that someone in the Newark region of New Jersey spent a good 38 minutes on Brian Schnabel’s Head Space. This visit took place between 7 and 8 this evening. They seemed to mostly be interested in the affirmation statements, which is cool. Maybe they even found a few of them to be useful. “One can hope!”

The Queen of Darkness returns: Optimum fixes internet speed.

The Queen of Darkness, otherwise known as my Mental Health Professional Stalker, is home again downstairs. But the good news is that Optimum has fixed their network in this area for the moment. The internet speed I like, especially since it’s the 500 Megs I’m paying for rather than the 35 Megs I’ve been running for the past week and a half. As far as my downstairs neighbor goes, I was hoping she’d go away and stay away, “Her and her friends ending up at the bottom of a lake or something.”

Was my approach to NJ Rental Assistance issues really effective?

I feel relaxed and at ease this morning. Based on what I received in my email thus far today, I’m going to have to say that everything is finally squared away with Goldberg Realty for another year. The message I got from my case manager from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Housing Program on July 16th is still a puzzler to me though. “Thank you for all your help this year?”

Back on track: Meditations, Tom Clancy, and steps to clean house.

I haven’t been posting much over this past week or so. However, I have been getting lots of missed sleep. “This is a good thing!”

Finally free to deal with everyone who has screwed me.

I am done with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Housing Program for this year and this damn sinus infection is nearly out of my system, which frees me to swing my entire focus to the matters at hand that I feel need to be resolved. It’s time to begin the process of dealing with those in my environment that have revealed themselves to be the scum I should have seen them for long ago and begin dealing with them in kind. “Screaming hell will be raining down on more than a few.”