I haven’t really gotten all that much done today. In fact, the past few days have been moving rather slowly.
I’m sleeping at night, which is good. I don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, which isn’t good, I guess. It’s just that I actually feel so good when I first open my eyes…
Even when I screwed up and stayed awake until 3:30 AM yesterday morning and got my act together at 8:00 AM, I slept last night. I crashed at around 9:00 PM or so and woke at 5:20 AM this morning.
How long will this last? I’m not sure. But I’m learning new things all the time so, maybe I’ve finally found something that will keep this ball rolling for the next few years.
I think my better sleep has something to do with the breathing exercises. Sure, part of it is chemical, me riding the positive wave of a cyclical depression cycle. But perhaps when this wave finally crashes the breathing exercises will serve as an override, making the powerful undertow of my depression cycles much more manageable than they have been in the past. “We shall see!”
Dad’s site is coming along pretty good. I’d probably have gotten a fourth post up Thursday if I hadn’t run into a problem with JAWS 2026. It took me quite a while to get it straightened out. But I was successful in restoring things and look forward to getting at least one more post up advertising his Camaro by the end of this weekend.
As far as JAWS 2026 goes, I’ve already discovered that it’s got some issues with the way it interacts with the Windows 11 clipboard that causes things being moved to disappear without warning. But it’s manageable for now. Other unexpected behaviors have come up since they’ve begun integrating AI into the screen reader, too. So, I’d have to say quality control is going downhill again.
If the roomers are true regarding Vispero and the way they seem to intend to gouge the market via JAWS licensing, I’ll probably be telling them to ram it up their ass by the end of 2026 anyway. Combine that with the fact that I hear the new management is treating blind employees like second class citizens, and not only will I be telling them to stick their new licensing agreements up their ass after two and a half decades of doing business with them, I’ll be sending Ms. Rhonda Bassett-Spiers a brand new Hitachi Magic Wand with the appropriate attachments as a farewell gift.
But Rhonda Bassett-Spiers and JAWS for Windows issues aside, I’ve been learning about some of the newer features Microsoft has built into Narrator and will probably be upgrading to IOS 26.1 on my iPhone soon. I’m giving Apple a little more time with that one because I understand that blind users had quite a bit of trouble with the initial release of IOS 26.
I think what a lot of blind people probably don’t understand is, it’s one thing to say an application is inaccessible when you are using a third-party screen reader like JFW. However, it’s quite another matter when a manufacturer’s software is inaccessible when using their own built-in screen reader.
So, when I have trouble with functions in Microsoft office using JAWS, I switch to narrator. If I’m still having a problem, then I contact Microsoft. Otherwise, it’s a Vispero problem Rhonda Bassett-Spiers’s company needs to deal with. “I refuse to blame problems with JAWS on Microsoft when Narrator isn’t failing in its performance with said Microsoft application.”
In fact, with most Windows 11 applications I have in my computer, when I have a problem, I simply switch to Narrator to see if the app works better, even if it’s not an app manufactured by Microsoft. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised when I do.
In other news, I’m glad to hear Dad got his Thanksgiving card in the mail today. The way the post office has been working, I figured he might see it by the end of next week. But it made the trip in four days, which is a good thing.
I’m also glad I decided to go out late this morning and early this afternoon. Lunch at Domonick’s was awesome as always and the bacon egg and cheese from Hayek’s Market hit the spot. I’m sorry I won’t be buying another Pepperoni Sicilian Pizza from Paco’s for a while, but I need to get out of the house more and I suspect that pizza might have been causing me some issues due to its sodium content. I can hit Hayek’s for a sandwich at least four days for every one pizza I order from Paco’s. “Movement wins out over ordering in.”
The reason I’m glad I went out earlier? One hell of a thunderstorm that wasn’t in the forecast hit Newton a little after 7:00 PM. I felt the charge in the air as it rolled in and pulled the plug on the computer, router, modem and everything else most likely to sustain damage in the event of a power surge or lightening strike. Fortunately, though, the outcome of this fast mover wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
I love a good thunderstorm. I’m not afraid of them. That doesn’t mean I lack respect for them. So, when I feel the air is a certain way, I take the extra precautions to make sure there isn’t a problem. “I like my equipment functioning!”
I am glad that walking has gotten easier since the government shutdown ended. People were starting to drive like such dicks for a while.
I’m really getting the hang of things with the new way I’ve been blogging. I’ve been working a lot more in the coding view, using the Classic Editor in WordPress. While having code automatically generated for you when using the block editor is nice, it adds things I question on the coding side of the equation. So, I use the code view in the WordPress classic editor, which I feel has a better interface overall.
I’m getting a really good handle on using the Find and Replace function in VS Code, too, for managing the repetitive coding I want done as a part of my post generation. “I’m getting really proficient with it.”
All in all, it hasn’t been a bad week. I stop work, reading from time to time, check out podcasts I generally like and occasionally ones that are brought to my attention, and my apartment isn’t totally trashed. I can’t honestly say I’m loving life, but it is what I make of it and in that regard, “I’m doing fine.”