Cued Speech: Your Unasked Questions Answered
Lately, there has been discussion about Cued Speech in the deaf blogosphere. I have refrained from commenting mostly because trying to explain the facts and correct the misinformation being perpetuated would have resulted in a blog-lengthy post. So, instead, I’m here to explain some major myths and facts. Before I delve into this blog, let [...]
Suicide: A Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem
Suicide. One death every 16 minutes in the U.S. Swallowing a bottle of pills. Mixing drugs with alcohol. Driving a car into a tree. One attempt approximately every minute. Hanging yourself from the ceiling. Putting a gun to your head. Cutting wrists with razors. More Americans have depression than coronary heart disease, cancer, and AIDS [...]
YLC Loses 19 Campers During Survival Program
The Hatrak Survival Program (HSP) is one of the oldest traditions of the NAD Youth Leadership Camp. It plunges four groups of campers into the central Oregon wilderness for five days, supervised only by three staff members per group who remain mostly silent (other than evening chats, dispensing prescribed medications, and dealing with emergencies) throughout [...]
When Does A Murder Not Equal Another Murder?
Crime Emergency! Oooo. Can you just hear/feel/see the sirens wailing down the road? Ok, so it’s kind of morbidly useful to count the days since the last murder in the District, as they seem to be happening almost daily. Why.i.hate.dc has come to the rescue with their murder tracker. As of now, it reads: 0 [...]
Tara Rose McAvoy: Our Last Victim
In 2005, 485 individuals were killed on or near railroad tracks while “taking seemingly harmless shortcuts to or from work, school, or elsewhere,” Warren Flatau, a public affairs specialist at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) wrote yesterday. Tara Rose McAvoy, in death, has become another grim statistic and a reminder to people nationwide that walking [...]
Stop Buying Bottled Water
Stop wasting your money, oil, gas, and energy! Stop buying bottled water! I’m stopping today, as of 3:43PM Thursday, March 9. Why? I read this article. Buying bottled water is insane, in the United States. It’s not cleaner than tap water. Oil and gas are burned heavily in its production and delivery. Convenience is its [...]
Cochlear Implants or Hearing Aids?
My only functional hearing aid was just lost or stolen recently. So, now, it’s time for Deaf Bobby to begin his reign of terror at the workplace, replete with oddly fluctuating voice and repeated requests to, “Please write down what you’re saying.” Ok. I’m a working professional like many readers of this website. I have [...]
Gallaudet Muggings Featured on DCist.com
Our very own Bobby Cox has written a story for one of Washington, D.C.’s leading blogs. This DCist story reviews the heady climate of crime around the Gallaudet campus, using last week’s mugging as a jumping-off point. For some perspective, I immediately asked Gallaudetians on my buddy list how they felt about it, and the [...]
District Recycling Program
How sad. Eighteen years ago, DC came up with a grand recycling plan: by 1994 recycle 45% of everybody’s trash. Today that figure is 14% or below. Read more about this at the DC Examiner website. Part of the reason is the city’s lack of enforcement — they have yet to cite a single company [...]
Chesapeake Bay
Yes, Virginia, Washington DC is actually close to the Atlantic Ocean. More specifically, it’s next to the Chesapeake Bay. What happens when lots of people are close together? Waste. Where does waste go? In the bay. Where did the fish you ate from Ceiba last night come from? The bay. Unfortunately, human development must continue, [...]