Progress: – Brian Schnabel's Head Space

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!”

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?”

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.

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!”

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Navigating the World of Text-to-Speech for Meditation.

In this podcast, TTS AI Ava explores the intricacies of creating personalized guided meditations using text-to-speech technology. Discover the challenges and triumphs in finding the perfect voice and style for effective meditation.

A date with Destiny: My tryst with ‘The Bear and the Dragon’.

I started reading Tom Clancy’s Bear and Dragon yesterday. I figured I’d go with a shorter read this time, something I could get through fast, “This Audible audio book only being 48 hours long.”

Explore Clipchamp TTS: A new era of podcasting awaits.

In this Brian Schnabel’s Head Space Podcast, TTS AI Ava share’s some exciting news about Microsoft Clipchamp’s text-to-speech capabilities that can expedite your podcasting and other audio projects with natural-sounding voices at Brian’s behest.

Astral shifts and earthly drifts: Pressing pause for a day.

I took a break from writing yesterday. I think that after 72 days of posting to this site in a row, “I earned the right to a break!”

Anthem for the underdog: A blogger’s take on Duck and Run.

Ever hear a song that speaks to your soul? As the blind individual behind “Brian Schnabel’s Head Space” the song “Duck and Run” by 3 Doors Down resonates with me rather strongly of late.

back to Clancy’s “Executive Orders” again.

I have begun reading Executive Orders by Tom Clancy again and am up to Chapter 10. I’d stopped for a while because the beginning was turning out to be a real drag.

The Vampire Diaries: Better with less.

I finished The Vampire Diaries series before sunrise this morning and I thought it was pretty decent. I did a little research and found out that L.J. Smith had intended to stop at book three but was encouraged to write one more.

At Dunkin’ Donuts: Sleepless Newton, New Jersey road wanderer.

I had the most incredible dream this morning, me transitioning from Dreamstate to being wide-awake as smooth as you please. Not even so much as a bump in the road, so to speak. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t fall back to sleep after that, “Me feeling rather energized by said dream!”

Navigating silence: A DCA recertification tale.

The good news from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Housing Program is, I’ve been assured that my Rockaway Field Office assigned caseworker will reach out to me if there is anything else she needs. They’ve suggested that I contact her directly if I have any concerns or questions about my recertification.

Sweet farewell: Cutting carbs, doubling health.

It’s a damn good thing I check my spam filters! I got my blood test results back from Labcorp. Based on what I read, I’ve got to get back to carb counting again, “Big time!”

Noisy nights: The unseen melody of darkness.

It was a good night for sleeping. I didn’t sleep for hours and hours at a time. But… “I slept good!”

Health journey: Blood pressure to mental state.

When I went to see the Doctor on Tuesday for my annual physical, I was rather surprised my blood pressure was only 114 over 74 with a pulse rate of 73. They say my depression screening indicates I’ve been mildly depressed, which is an improvement over the last one I took when I still had a therapist; that one indicates I was moderately depressed. I think the difference lies in how I see myself in relationship to other people, “Especially family!”

Those pesky ink warnings? My printer begs to differ! Life’s good!

I don’t know what made me check to see if I could run a power cleaning on the head of my ET-2803 Epson printer. But I was finally deemed worthy enough by Epson’s software to do one this time around and a friend of mine told me via Apple Facetime that my printer is doing all colors again. “It’s a miracle!”

Feeling 5 AM at 3 AM: An interesting sleep glitch.

I actually got some sleep last night, waking up at 3:24 AM. I went to bed before 11:00 PM and it took me a little while to fall asleep. The interesting part about this is that when I woke at 3:24 AM, “I felt like it should have been closer to 5:00 AM!”

Clarifying the confusion: I’m still here.

Apparently, some concern for my wellbeing has arisen from an incident that took place yesterday which has been reported by Michelle Rotuno-Johnson of Patch, as well as other sources. From what I can see, they are saying a serious accident occurred along Route 206 in Hampton Township when a 38-year-old man stumbled onto the road near mile marker 110.5 (which I’m told is near the Hampton Diner, a place I walk from my apartment to frequently) at around 10:30 AM. He was struck by a northbound Chevrolet SUV, resulting in severe injuries.

Blindness perks? More like nightmares: My building’s symphony of slams.

I woke around 3:00 AM and couldn’t get back to sleep. I think I know what’s waking me up and this one’s going to be a mother to override because it involves various outside doors on the building closing at odd hours. It’s a combination of hearing and feeling, “Which is strange!”

The 491 MBPS miracle: A Sunday morning surprise.

I’m impressed! Up until May 14th, I barely had an internet speed of 34 MBPS even though Optimum said I was paying for 500. Since I’ve noticed the uptick in internet speed Tuesday morning, I’ve been averaging around 470 MBPS and figured that would be about as high as it would go.

Cassie Blake: The relatable witch I needed.

As freaking usual, I went to bed last night around 11:00 PM or so and found myself wide awake around 1:30 AM. So, realizing going back to sleep was a pointless endeavor, “I continued my reread of L.J. Smith’s Secret Circle.”

Digital fortification: An update on recent security efforts.

I had a good laugh this evening watching a certain Cloudflare user attempt to access my website for a good five minutes around 6:40 PM. I guess my dirty little secret is out now, as they accessed another site that displays partial posts that are linked to this one in their desperation to see what I’ve written.