Magnificent Monday!

Finally, we had a dry weekend in Central Arkansas! I hope everyone had a chance to step outside and soak up a little vitamin D. Remember the ground is very soggy after the recent rains, walk carefully and use your canes! If you are inclined to work outside, be careful. Working muscles that have slept all winter may result in extreme soreness. Pace yourself!

The Healthy Habits series will begin May 18 at the Center. We will begin with healthy meals. I promise you will enjoy the food, fun and fellowship!

I apologize for missing the Sunday post. I felt a little under the weather, so I hope you will forgive me.

Enjoy the sunshine, mark your calendars for May 18 and start your week with a smile.
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Super Saturday!

Thanks to everyone who participated in today's technology training. We had 19 clients working very hard on Apple technology. What a great group! A special shout out to the WSB AT students who gave up their Saturday morning to assist. W appreciate you!

We have 9 of 15 slots filled for our upcoming Healthy Habits Series in Little Rock.  If you are interested, please get your name on the list. I will be posting statewide dates and times soon.

Enjoy the weekend!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Fabulous Friday

Happy Friday! 

I am looking forward to our technology meeting tomorrow and sunshine! Several of you have asked about recipes we will be using in our upcoming training. Here is a taste teaser!

Slow Cooker Cube Steak with Gravy

Ingredients:

1 ½-2 pounds Cube Steak

1 package Brown Gravy Mix

1 package of Au Jus mix

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup, low sodium 

1 Can French Onion Soup, low sodium

1 Can of Water

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine soups and package mixes and mix well. Put cube steak in slow cooker. Pour soup mixture over cube steak. Cover slow cooker and cook steak on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine!

Until tomorrow, 

Dr. Janet

Technology meeting reminder

Technology clients will meet Saturday, April 6 at the Center in the auditorium. Bring your iPad and your thinking caps. Don't forget to bring your passwords and any questions you need answered. The Assistive Technology students will be assisting us on Saturday. I enjoy having the youthful perspective they bring to our group. Please be on time as we have lots to cover!

Our next series of trainings will address domestic goals. Many Arkansans suffer from food insufficiency or poor nutrition. This is especially harmful to our aging population. We will be preparing fun, nutritious and easy meals. Let me know if you are interested. This will be a limited enrollment course so get your name in early!

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments and dedication to this blog experiment. We hope you will make this part of your daily routine. Please let me know if you have questions, comments or concerns we can address in this forum.

Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Tuesday Tech Tip

Hope everyone is having a great week. A little sunshine would certainly help my week and disposition! Thanks to Dick for catching my typographical error. I meant to thank Arkansas Council OF the Blind for the generous donation. Auto correct and my bifocals often have a power struggle! Again, thanks to ACB for the generous donation-the supplies have been ordered and many clients are anxious to receive their aids.

My tech tip for the week involves my affinity for Apple products. The magical Apple TV unit is a simple looking 5" square object about one inch thick. Like other Apple products it is AWESOME!
This gizmo connects to your television set using an HDMI port. It wirelessly (without wires or cables) uses your Internet to connect to your other Apple devices. From my iPad, I can mirror my iPad to my television and enlarge web pages. Why you ask? Because low vision clients tire quickly when trying to read enlarged print. This allows the user to more comfortably read and provides the option of using the iPad as a portable magnifier. Bank statements, credit card bills, anything with small print can be viewed on the television screen.

Another bonus to the Apple TV is the ability to watch streaming video. YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime and other similar services provide more viewing options. Netflix and Amazon are subscription services. For an small fee, subscribers can select and view movies, documentaries, current and old television shows without commercials. Netflix requires a monthly membership fee of approximately $10 and the Amazon Prime is a yearly fee of $79. I enjoy the Amazon Prime because I prefer to watch old television shows rather than movies. Also with the Amazon Prime, I enjoy free shipping on my Amazon purchases. However, Netflix has committed to audio description which certainly has its' benefits for our clients.

If you feel your television cable bill has become a financial burden, it is possible to purchase an HD antenna from Radio Shack, Best Buy, Wal Mart, or similar retail outlet. A good antenna costs less than $50 and will use the other HDMI port to receive signals. I live in the country and pick up 27 channels including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW, PBS for free! This with my Apple TV and streaming service provides far more entertainment options than I have time to enjoy! I caution you to consider the increased data usage if you add a streaming service. My plan charged an extra $10 for my overage limit. I was trying several things so I can't say which activity tipped me over the limit. Regardless, between the ability to enlarge my iPad screen, watch uninterrupted shows and movies and see my beautiful twin grandchildren using face time----I am sold on Apple TV.

I will be demonstrating these nifty tricks at our next low vision meeting and sharing more ideas with you. Let me know how you use technology! I would love to hear from you.

Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Medical breakthrough

I heard about an amazing research project at the Cleveland Clinic on the local news. I have cut and pasted information from the Clinic website below. In short, researchers can detect heart failure using a simple breath test! Many of our diabetic clients are at an increased risk for heart failure. It is very important we stay informed.

Here is the link followed by a portion of the article for your review:
http://www.fiercemedicaldevices.com/story/cleveland-clinic-develops-breath-diagnostic-heart-failure/2013-03-26

As researchers around the world work to develop noninvasive diagnostics to ease patient discomfort, the Cleveland Clinic is testing a diagnostic that can identify heart failure through a simple breath test.

In an early study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers figured how to test patients' unique "breathprints" for volatile organic compounds that signal heart failure, according to the clinic. In a prospective, single-center study of 61 patients, researchers found that patients with acute decompensated heart failure had higher levels of the compounds in their breath, opening the door for a breath-based diagnostic.

"The ability to identify patients with heart failure using a breath test has the potential for broad application due to its noninvasive nature and ease of application," lead investigator Raed Dweik said in a statement. "These exciting new observations may lead to future studies to determine how to best utilize these information to reduce heart failure re-hospitalizations."

Until tomorrow,

Dr. Janet

Monday madness

Good morning! Monday's are always difficult in my world. I never quite finish the weekend to do list and feel rushed on Monday. Today is no exception. As I gave my email the initial quick glance, I remembered a client question. Lonnie asked why his iPad email often looked jammed up and was difficult to read. The answer is because the sender probably cut and pasted from another source. This is especially true if the sender copied from a web site. Try expanding the message to see if that helps. Otherwise, the best option is to follow the link to the original source. I have discovered this problem is less noticeable when emails are viewed on the desktop computer.

Are you using a magnification software? If so, let us know which software you prefer and why. As most of you know, I am a huge Apple products fan. In my opinion, the accessibility just can't be beat! The iPad is portable, has voice over and zoom built in. This makes the unit ideal for low vision or blind users. It does come with a learning curve. I use mine for hours everyday and constantly learn something new. I certainly don't have the knowledge market cornered. Please share your tips and thoughts! I know many of you have discovered tips which work on your iPhone, iPod, and iPad. I would love to hear from you.

Make the day count-do a good deed!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet