Most Influential Blogger Award

By BitcoDavid

Moorbey’z Blog – who by the way, is celebrating their 3rd anniversary – has honored DeafInPrison.com with the Most Influential Blogger award.

Most Influential Blogger Award

Thanks to Moorbey’z Blog for this honor.

The rules are pretty simple. All we have to do is nominate 12 other bloggers and link to them. Although, I can’t know, I tried to nominate sites that haven’t already been nominated.

  1. AnotherBoomerBlog
  2. Lipreading Mom
  3. BitcoDavid’s BoxingBlog
  4. iPhone Photoblogging
  5. MadMike’s America
  6. 4Ears, 4Eyes
  7. A Public Defender
  8. C’mon People or Sheeple
  9. School Psych Scholar
  10. Deafened but not Silent
  11. Femineach
  12. Glenn Langohr’s Memoirs

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

This Site is Going Blackout 22 April 2013 ~ Protest CISPA

Reblogged from Moorbey'z Blog:

A Quick Plea – No Real Post Per Se

Marsha Graham of AnotherBoomerBlog fame has taken ill, with the post convention bug. She’s at home, sniffling and moaning – drinking honey tea and wishing medical science would finally catch up with a simple retrovirus that has plagued Mankind since Adam. Please go here, and post a get well comment. She needs all the emotional support she can get.

–BD

March at DeafInPrison.com

By BitcoDavid

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

DeafInPrison Nominated for Liebster Award

By BitcoDavid

Wow! When it rains… We have 6 days left in our month-long Birthday celebration, and we’ve been nominated for 2 awards! This most recent, comes from Hands Talk Toothe Liebster Award! We are grateful to Dholiness and Hands Talk Too for nominating us.

The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Liebster is German for favorite. Hands Talk Too

Step 1) Answer the following 11 Questions:

1. What are your 5 favorite books?  Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, Number 4 would be Les Miserables, also by Hugo, and Number 5 – Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath.

2. Where would you like to live? The Enterprise.

3. Winter or summer? Summer.

4. Do you enjoy blogging? Yes, I do.

5. If you could change something in your blog, what would this be? Instead of having papers like the New York Times and the Washington Post as sources, I would rather be the major source for them. “Hey BitcoDavid, we have a deadline coming up, and we wanted your take on…”

6. What do you despise? Stupidity, ignorance, the Idiocracy. 

7. If you could spend half a day with a famous person, who would you choose and why? Beethoven. I figure Beethoven was probably a pretty cool dude. He liked to party, enjoyed the company of women, and wrote some of the most compelling music of all times. Plus, he was deaf (small d), and his music is about pain.

8. What do you do to relax? Work. Write and fight – not necessarily in that order, but I do like bashing it around in the ring. No, really. I’m most relaxed doing what I do.

9. Homemade or store-bought? Definitely homemade. Preferably, actually invented.

10. If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be? Oh, come on. I’d be rich – bitches. I mean, Romney Rich. 

11. What language would you like to learn and why? I have a tiny bit of German, I picked up from studying the Holocaust for the past 3 decades – and yes, one can learn too much about certain things. I’d like to learn ASL, partly because of my involvement with the Deaf, and partly because it’s a non-verbal language so it lights up more gray matter. 

Next, I have to tell you 11 facts about me:

1. I’ve been clean and sober since 1989.

2. I’ve been on a high protein, low carb diet since I was diagnosed with Diabetes in 2006. I’ve controlled the disease so well, that I’ve been medication free for the past 4 years, and my endocrinologist no longer classifies me as Diabetic.

3. When I’m not writing or fighting, I like bike riding and running in 5K races.

4. I used to be a rock and roll soundman during Boston’s Independent Music heyday. I’ve mixed bands that have gone on to become cult legends.

5. I used to teach college level analog electronics. I was one of the more popular teachers – until the particular college gave me the opportunity to teach elsewhere.

6. At one time in my life, I could roller skate the length of Boston in about 30 minutes.

7. My wife and I are set to celebrate our 20th anniversary, this April.

8. I’ve been homeless for 3 different periods during my life.

9. Years ago, I knew this guy who used a tow truck to punch a hole in the wall of a convenience store, and steal their ATM machine. I swear to God, it wasn’t me. Anyway, he wrapped the hook around the machine and plucked it right out of the store. He then drove it up to New Hampshire, where he had a shop. Now, this guy – a master mechanic and experienced welder, couldn’t open the machine. He ended up tossing it into a river up in N.H. As far as I know, it’s up there still.

10. I’m finding teevee to be devolving to a state of even greater abysmal-ness than it used to be.

11. Speaking of teevee, there’s this commercial where a woman is telling us that her neighbor lost everything in a hurricane. The woman goes on to say, that in order to help her friend, she recommended DirecTV. I’m thinking, wouldn’t you have done her more good if you… oh I don’t know… let her use your SHOWER?

Finally, I have to nominate 11 sites:

1. BitcoDavid’s BoxingBlog. I know where my bread is buttered.

2. Moorbey’z Blog. Out of gratitude and mutual respect and assuming they don’t already have it.

3. A Public Defender. Believe it or not, some lawyers actually can write.

4. C’mon People or Sheeple? I think their name says it all.

5. Carpenter’s Cabin. The Misbehaved Woman‘s husband’s blog. I’m told their dog has a site too, but I haven’t seen it.

6. UndergradWoman. Pinky Stanseski is our newest contributor, and we’re anxiously anticipating some great posts from her.

7. Just Cruisin 2. JC-2 has been following us for a while now. He likes dogs and cars. What else does one really need?

8. Lorelle on WordPress. Blogging is 50% your cause, and 50% Geekspeak. Lorelle offers some great tips on the tech end. This award however, is for sites with less than 200 followers, so she might not make the cut. She’s got a zillion (but it’s a metric zillion, so don’t be intimidated).

9. iPhonePhotoBlogging. Marsha Graham’s other site.

10. Glenn Langohr’s Memoirs in Print, Audio & Kindle. Glenn Langohr’s busier than a death row chaplain. Just Kidding! Oooh! You can hear a pin drop! (I’m goin’ to Hell for that one.) He writes for us, has a plethora of books out, and runs about 4 different blogs. This is one of them.

11. WaywardSpirit. WaywardSpirit has also been following us for quite a while. She offers an upbeat and positive message, which is the Yang to our Yin.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

Moorbey Puts Us Up for Dragon’s Loyalty Award

By BitcoDavid

dragonsloyaltyaward

The beautiful Dragon’s Loyalty award, courtesy of Moorbey’z Blog

Moorbey’z Blog, an awesome site that I have a ton of respect for, has graciously nominated DeafInPrison.com for the beautiful Dragon’s Loyalty award. We’re deeply honored that he would think of us, when it came to a nomination.

Here’s what we have to do:

  • Proudly display the award.
  • Post the win with a link back to Morbey’z Blog, with a fist-salute.
  • List 15 overworked, underpaid and highly deserving blog sites to take up the mantle.
  • Comment back to them, so they too will know that they’ve been nominated.
  • Post 7 interesting things about myself.

My 15 sites:

7 interesting things about me:

  • When I’m not reanimating the cadaver that is our vibrant and free press, via the Blogosphere, I’m facing goons in the squared circle. Writing is my calling – technology, my instrument, but Boxing is my passion.
  • My Gravatar – and my dog – is Jack. He was unfortunate enough to be born into a dog-fighting ring in Georgia. We were fortunate enough to save him, but I still wonder, who rescued whom.
  • I can cook like a bastard! My diet is high protein – low carb., but I make all kinds of alternative foods, like sugar free cheesecake, and low carb mac-cheese.
  • I used to be a bike messenger, and for one summer, I did it on roller skates. I could deliver about 20% faster than the best bike messengers, but insurance companies put the kibosh on the whole thing.
  • I modify everything. Give me a gadget and a day, and I’ll figure out how to use it for something the manufacturers never even dreamed of.
  • An awesome Christmas present would be a SteadyCam.
  • I’m a tube amp guru. I’ve serviced just about every model of tube amp there ever was. My favorite is the classic Fender Twin. I’ve built about a dozen of my own amps, from the ground up. Many are still being used by guitarists and bass players, as we speak.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

Directions to Bridgewater

By BitcoDavid

While visiting beautiful Bridgewater, be sure and swing by the infamous Bridgewater State Hospital. Photo Titicut Follies by Reilly Sinanan.

While visiting beautiful Bridgewater, be sure and swing by the infamous Bridgewater State Hospital. Photo Titicut Follies by Frederick Wiseman – 1967.

Last night, as I picked up my wife from work – I may be some kind of high falutin’ cyber-journalist, but if it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t eat. Anyway, as I was driving her home, it occurred to me that after 40 odd years of living in Mass, I haven’t a clue as to where the hell Bridgewater is. I’d be willing to bet that even the Mayor of Bridgewater, doesn’t.

So, without further ado – directions to Bridgewater State University.

Seal of the City, Bridgewater, MA. Image: Town Web site.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

Reminder: Symposium on Criminal Justice and the Deaf

By BitcoDavid

Boyden Hall, the trademark building of Bridgew...

Boyden Hall, the trademark building of Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Just a reminder that on Wednesday, March 27th there will be an international symposium at Bridgewater State University on Deafness, mental illness and the Criminal Justice System with special guest speaker – Dr. Brendan Montiero, M.D.

Marsha Graham of AnotherBoomerBlog will also be speaking, as well as several other luminaries in that sliver of the Venn Diagram, where deafness and law enforcement meet.

Adult Criminal Justice System

Adult Criminal Justice System (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So come to Bridgewater State University – just a stones throw from the wholly dreadful and fearsome Bridgewater State Mental Hospital – drink some free coffee, and listen to some great presentations by experts in the field.

For those who can’t be there, we will be covering this event here, on DeafInPrison.com, so we’ll be able to let you in on what you missed. We are also listing it on our events page. If you know of an event involving the CJS and the Deaf, please forward the details to us, and we’ll list it as well.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

Be Afraid… Be Very Afraid

By BitcoDavid

'E Pluribus Unum', a white Vermont marble scul...

‘E Pluribus Unum’, a white Vermont marble sculpture, 1982, President Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Honolulu, Hawaii (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They’re everywhere, lurking under every rock, skulking behind every dark corner. The evil doers. The criminals, bent on the senseless destruction of all you hold dear. They exist only to rape your daughters, steal your goods – oh, and hack into your identity.

Whether it’s crazed road ragers who will shoot you for cutting them off in traffic, teenaged gang initiates who kill at random, immigrants who dig through your trash looking for credit card numbers or techie geniuses who want to turn your computer into a zombie, you’re constantly being told to live in fear.

E pluribus unum should be rewritten as, be afraid and buy some crap. Build more prisons and cut the school budget. I’m scared, and only a kristallnacht  of prosecution will let me sleep at night.

But Black men with guns aren’t our only criminal problem these days. Hackers. Hackers are everywhere, using their 200 I.Q.s as weapons against us. All we want to do is go on FaceBook – but no. These Gen-Y cyber-terrorists are out to post kiddie porn all over our pages, and use our e-mail addresses to steal our jobs.

Phreaking equipment

Phreaking equipment (Photo credit: pyoorkate)

Speaking as a member of the Hacker community, and as someone with – oh just a smidge – of technical skill, let me explain something to you. There’s Hackers, Crackers, Phreakers, Social Engineers and Script Kiddies. Hackers are people who want to know how things work. We’re equivalent to the Hotrodders of the 1950s. Steve Jobs was a Hacker. So was Bill Gates. Crackers on the other hand, are guys who actually try to break into computer networks – sometimes to do damage, but most often, simply to prove that they can. Phreakers are specific to telephone systems. There was a time when you could access any corporate or government network by simply punching in the right numbers on your phone. As systems grew more complex, Phreaking began to ebb in popularity. however, Phreakers still exist.  Social Engineers don’t use technology. They manipulate wet-ware (you) to get access to systems. A Social Engineer is the guy who calls you at work and says, “Hi, I’m over here in the advertising department, and I forgot Bob’s password. You wouldn’t know it, would you?”

how-to-catch-script-kiddies

how-to-catch-script-kiddies (Photo credit: liquidslave)

Finally, we have Script Kiddies. These are people who simply go to certain Web sites to download Trojans and other malware. They actually know less about computers than you do.

Anonymous

Anonymous (Photo credit: Schuilr)

So on one hand you have a group of people who work towards Internet freedom, citizen journalism, pseudo-Socialist information sharing and flash-mob protesting. And on the other you have the D.O.J. Now, I’m not saying that true cyber-crime doesn’t exist. Nor am I defending it, or trying to say that it doesn’t pose a threat.

You can download a free and very effective anti-virus program here, and none of the above will be able to do anything to hurt you.

But like everything else where the Justice system is concerned, one needs to read between the lines and develop a sense of nuance. God forbid we end up with a War on Hacking similar to our failed and insane War on Drugs.

Personally, I’m far more afraid of Bank of America, than I am of some kid who knows a little perl.

To learn more, go to this article from the NYT, or here on Twitter.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

Today’s the Day! Happy Birthday DeafInPrison.com!

By BitcoDavid

Thanks to gypsygirl278 for this animated gif, and thanks to PhotoBucket for making it available to us.

Thanks to gypsygirl278 for this animated gif, and thanks to PhotoBucket for making it available to us.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

February at DeafInPrison.com

By BitcoDavid

Here’s this month’s update. Since we’ve already posted a number of retrospectives in honor of our upcoming birthday, I chose to go in a different direction with this update. I hope you enjoy it.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

My Pick of the Year’s Best Posts

By BitcoDavid

Here’s an embedded PDF showing some of our best posts over the past year. I’ve tried to mix it up some, and include  – or at least mention – all our contributors and guest posters.

On a side note, I need to mention that Google will be changing their algorithm in the very near future, and the term “guest post” will no longer be used on DeafInPrison.com. It appears that Google will be marking posts with that appellation as spam. If you have a Blog site, and you frequently rely on guest posts, you might want to think about using different terminology.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

Happy Birthday, DeafInPrison.com

By BitcoDavid

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We officially launched this site on Mar 4th, 2012. In honor of our upcoming birthday, I have made several improvements, and would like to take a minute to spell them out for you.

A web page, running

A web page, running (Photo credit: Beantin webbkommunikation)

Immediately, you will notice a difference in our top menu. We no longer have individual pages for the authors. Instead, each contributor receives a bio on our single Author’s page. Here, you can find their contact information, leave comments, view their Gravatars and follow what they’re working on.

Next, we have a page dedicated to recruitment of new contributors – either as guest authors or as regulars. Eventually, that page will be automated. You will be able to view the page, type in a post right there, and it will automatically submit it. Further, there will be an automated script that will allow you to sign up as a contributor, without going through the WordPress rigamarole.

English: A tag cloud (a typical Web 2.0 phenom...

A tag cloud (a typical Web 2.0 phenomenon in itself) presenting Web 2.0 themes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Best of all, we now have an active Calendar page, listing important events – either in RL or virtual - that you can attend. This page is an embedded PDF. Like all our embeds, you can zoom it in for easier reading, or go see it in full size by clicking the link. This is an active page, and will be constantly updated as I receive more events. It will show 2 months at time.

If you are planning an event that you feel would be of interest to our audience, please e-mail me at service@bitcoelectronics.com with the pertinent details as well as a live link to the page or invitation. FaceBook events can be included. I will be only too glad to publish it on our Calendar page.

I have been skulking around the Internet since the bulletin board days, and my goal with DeafInPrison.com has long been one of active content. I know you want more than just text and pictures. Unfortunately, WordPress isn’t too hip to that stuff. But here at the massive DeafInPrison.com Plaza, we have a saying. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” (My apologies to cats, everywhere.) I have been working tirelessly to bring you the latest in Web 2.0 technology, and will continue to do so.

While you’re looking at all the changes taking place, please notice our sidebars. I have removed all the “milestone” widgets. We’re a year old now, and we have had over 30,000 views. I felt that valuable real estate could be better used by bringing you more information – and again – more active content. Look for more RSS feeds from the plethora of great sites we associate with, and eventually, some truly powerful and interactive additions. The sidebars are a source of pride for me. I want them to be a valuable resource for our many followers and fans.

English: Does Your Website Need a Web Content ...

Does Your Website Need a Web Content Management System? This fun flowchart can help you decide which features you’ll need for your website, and whether or not you’ll need a content management system such as Joomla, Drupal or WordPress (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I hope you can make use of these changes as you visit our site. Please feel free to comment on any of them, and suggest others that you would like to see. While I know that DeafInPrison.com is the Internet’s coolest Blog site, I also know that it can always be cooler still.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

January at DeafInPrison.com

By BitcoDavid

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

 

DeafInPrison.com Nominated for Reality Blog Award

By BitcoDavid

An extra special thank you goes out to Moorbey’z Blog for nominating DeafInPrison.com for the Reality Blog Award.

We work hard to be the best blog we can be, and we are flattered to receive this honor.

As part of our acceptance of this reward, I have been asked to answer these questions:

1. If you could change something what would you change?

I would like to be able to change America’s current punitive culture. I was raised to believe that in this country, while vicious crimes were justly punished, the state saw its primary obligation as trying by all means necessary, to keep people out of prison. Furthermore, once an individual payed for the mistakes she made, she was square with the house, and she was given the opportunity to rebuild her broken life. I no longer find that to be the case, and I think that is a tragic situation.

2. If you could repeat an age, what age would it be?

I think that’s a pretty tough question. I could say that any – other than the 9 months I spent in utero – have all been hell. On the other hand, I’ve had a blast during my visit to Planet Earth, and wouldn’t give up a minute of it.

3. What one thing really scares you?

Ignorance. Ignorance and stupidity. I see it everywhere I look, and it’s on the rise.

4. What one dream have you not completed yet and do you think you will be able to complete it?

Oh this is simple. Being a household name. Do I think I’ll be able to complete it? I do – and pizza for everybody, on me – when I win my first Pulitzer.

5. If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be?

Jack. I’ve never known any Human being who possessed the pure joie de vivre that a dog does. Only a dog forgives all transgressions, and only to your dog, are you flawless – even Godlike.

And now for my nominations:

  1. http://inprisonedwomen.wordpress.com/
  2. http://prisonmovement.wordpress.com/
  3. http://www.4ears4eyes.com/
  4. http://anotherboomerblog.wordpress.com/
  5. http://audiobookprisonstories.com/
  6. http://thebrokenphoenix.wordpress.com/
  7. http://handstalktoo.wordpress.com/
  8. http://crimedime.com/
  9. http://lipreadingmom.com/

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

 

 

 

How Cool is This!

By BitcoDavid

I received the following e-mail the other day.

Hello David

I work for OnlineSpeechPathologyPrograms.net, a site that provides info on education and job opportunities for students in speech pathology and relevant fields.

Since American Sign Language and other forms of signed communication are so useful for speech pathologists, we thought it would be useful to our readers to explore some of the best sites on ASL, sign interpretation, and other forms of communication used by those with speech disabilities.

To that end, we’re compiling a list of the Best Sign Language Resources for Speech Pathologists, and deafinprison has been nominated for inclusion!

We’re still open for nominations, so if you know of another great sign language website that would be useful in a speech pathologist’s studies or career, please email me a link!

Warm Regards,

Erin

Well, you know it’s not the award, it’s the nomination – as they say. I’ll have to rent a tux. And there better be red M&Ms in the dressing room.

All kidding aside, I am pleased that they have seen our site, and that they chose it as one of their resources for students and professionals in the field of speech pathology.

If any of you can think of a site that they may also be interested in knowing about, feel free to send a link by clicking “here.”

Again, thank you OnlineSpeechPathologyPrograms.net for the recognition. We here at the massive DeafInPrison.com Plaza are all atwitter.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

2012 at DeafInPrison.com

By BitcoDavid

Although our brief hiatus for the holidays isn’t officially over until Wednesday, I wanted to get this post up before the end of the year. I would like to begin by wishing all our contributors, guest posters, readers and commentators the happiest of holidays. 2012 was a great year for us, and I truly hope that 2013 proves to be orders of magnitude better, not just for us, but for all of youyou who have made DeafInPrison.com possible.

DeafInPrison.com was founded in December of 2011 by our Publisher, Joanne Greenberg. It was at the behest of one of our contributors – Dr. McCay Vernon – after he was moved by the Felix Garcia story. I became Editor and Administrator in January of 2012. We spent about 2 months developing the format and launched on March 4th.

Solitary Confinement by Stan MoodyImage: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/12/03/18701671.php

Solitary Confinement by Stan Moody
Image: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/12/03/18701671.php

During the past 9 months we’ve covered a number of subjects including Deaf culture, Deaf education, the School to Prison Pipeline, prison health care, the mentally ill in prison, prison rape and sexual abuse, overcrowding in our prisons and the War on Drugs.  We’ve managed to bring together some excellent minds as contributors and guest columnists, and enjoyed over 700 comments.

We’ve peppered these great articles with some truly wonderful artwork. Artwork which – speaking as a content creator – is a source of pride for me. We’ve undergone a number of upgrades and format changes since our launch. First and foremost, our ability to embed videos. This feature allowed us to bring you the entire Felix Garcia Interview. And since we weren’t dependent on a hosting site, we could insert those videos fully captioned. I caption my videos manually. That guarantees an error free and accurate representation of what’s being said. Sadly, I have seen other captioned videos – those that rely on autocaptioning software – that look like the mess you get when you let your cell phone autocorrect your text messages.

Our ability to embed videos, in fact, was what gave Jim Ridgeway the confidence to allow us access to the Felix videos, in the first place. An action that resulted in my deepest gratitude and indebtedness to him. He was quite reticent to put these videos up on YouTube, where they would have been unprotected and vulnerable to abuse.

Felix and me 10/28/2012 Image Courtesy of Pat Bliss

Felix and me 10/28/2012
Image Courtesy of Pat Bliss

And DeafinPrison.com has done a lot more for Felix’s all important cause, than simply putting up a few videos. Our contributor, Pat Bliss, has been working tirelessly – for several years now – to obtain Felix’s well deserved freedom. She visits him as often as possible, and corresponds with him constantly. (He calls her Mom.) She has become the go to expert on the case, and has written about it extensively on DeafInPrison.com.

We created a petition site at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/453/783/026/felix-garcia-should-be-granted-a-full-pardon/ and we plan to deliver those signatures to the Governor and several cabinet members in Florida. Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, we haven’t been getting the attention to this petition that it requires. Felix’s clemency hearings are going on now . We need 700 more signatures before we can present this, and we want it to work in conjunction with the hearings.

Please! Please! If you haven’t signed this petition, do so now. And please share it to all your friends.

Felix has already served more time than many guilty people serve for similar crimes – and he’s innocent. He deserves justice.

juvenile girl in prison PBSNewsHour/YouTube Photo by Richard Ross

juvenile girl in prison PBSNewsHour/YouTube Photo by Richard Ross

Other upgrades have included the ability to embed non-video media, such as PDFs and Excel files, and our awesome sidebars – another source of pride for me. Through our sidebars, we’ve been able to provide you with bleeding edge coverage of the latest posts by a host of Web sites and Blogs. Our sidebars are an ever expanding source of additional information and interactive content, and a good percentage of my work on the site is in maintaining and adding to them. I hope you find them useful and enjoyable, and moreover, I hope you will gain a greater appreciation for them as they grow.

We’ve also begun adding interactive tag links to all our stories, as well as related content links to the bottom of each post.

During this first 9 months, we’ve made some wonderful contacts and partnerships. I would like to extend my gratitude to each of them, and extend the hand of friendship to all others who would like to be a part of the DeafInPrison.com experience. Here’s the honor roll:

Human’s in Shadow, National Assn. of the Deaf, Glenn Langohr, Jim Ridgeway, Mad Mike’s America, Charlie Swinbourne, Shanna Groves , PrisonMovement’s Weblog , Marsha Graham, DeafRead.com, CrimeDime, Talila Lewis and HEARD, Diane Lane Chambers, ImageWorksLLC, Maria Dollhopf, Cynthia Dixon, Prison Enquirer, Curi56 and Thousand Kites.

I hope I got everybody, but if I missed you, please accept my apology and feel free to backlink to yourself in a comment. A lot of you have multiple sites, and I, obviously can only create one link per name. You can also backlink to one of your other sites.

Randy Garber Blue Jay Blues. Image courtesy of Jean F. Andrews.

Randy Garber Blue Jay Blues. Image courtesy of Jean F. Andrews.

Now, on to the Stats:

We received 31,000 views in 2012. We created 240 posts and uploaded 493 pictures. Our busiest day was October 25th with 451 views. Our most popular piece that day was Angela McCaskill Speaks Out. That piece was our fourth most popular of all time, with the first three installments of the Felix Garcia Interviews edging it out for the #1,2 and 3 slots.

Our top 5 referrers were FaceBook, Networked Blogs, WordPress, Blog Catalog and DeafRead. We had views from 84 countries.  Our videos – 16 of them, altogether – received 1897 views. We got 778 comments.

I’ve been involved with the Blogosphere and Citizen Journalism since it first started back in the ’90s, and everybody has always told me it takes at least a year to get a site off the ground. Based on that, I have to say DeafInPrison.com is doing exceptionally well. I’m proud of our success, but I’m looking to 2013 to make this past year, pale by comparison. Remember, we’re only 9 months old. That’s still infancy – at least in dog-years.

Now, I don't really get why somebody would want this painted over, but... http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/09/14/tribute-to-graffiti-50-beautiful-graffiti-artworks/

Now, I don’t really get why somebody would want this painted over, but…
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/09/14/tribute-to-graffiti-50-beautiful-graffiti-artworks/

Here’s some of where I see us going. I could die and go to Heaven, if Felix got full clemency, and was finally released. Perhaps we could convince him to share some of his experiences with us, as a contributor or guest blogger. I want to see us at least double - if not triple our posting for this coming year. I also want to add more videos and more non-video embedded media. I want to see our side bars grow further, packed with more interactive attractions. I want more input from our existing contributors, and I would like to bring as many more on board, as possible. I also want to see more guest posts – and of course, I would love the opportunity to guest post on your blog. Shoot me a line or comment if you think that might be something you’d be interested in.

Again, thank you all for being a part of the DeafInPrison.com project and here’s to wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2013.

English: Visitors entrance to the Utah State P...

Visitors entrance to the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

The Complete Felix Garcia Interview by Links

By BitcoDavid

Video editor in digital linear suite. 2002.

Video editor in digital linear suite. 2002. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve received some requests to reintegrate all the Felix videos back into one single interview. The result of that would be a 2 hour long piece. In my experience as a video editor, I’ve come to realize that most people can’t endure watching a 2 hour video.

However, in the name of continuity, I have chosen to provide links to all the videos, in sequence. That way, those of you who haven’t seen the whole thing, will be able to do so – without having to search the whole site. I will also include these links in one of our sidebars, so you will always be able to quickly access them.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

This series represents a massive effort on the parts of all concerned. The Initial interview involved travel to Florida for Pat Bliss and Jim Ridgeway. They were only allowed one hour per month with Felix, so they did the first hour on the last day of one month, and the 2nd hour on the 1st day of the following month. Felix himself was having trouble getting his hearing aids repaired, and getting issued fitting clothes, and was only ready mere moments before the scheduled time.

English: A download symbol.

A download symbol. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our interpreter had to download the files from my private server, because they were too large to e-mail. She would then watch them and record an audio track with her interpretation. Finally, she would upload that file back up onto my server.

Then, I’d take the file, make it into a stereo mix, and sync it to the original audio track. Then I had to add a separate video track, and manually type in the captions. Autocaptioning software is too inaccurate.  And where most Autocaption applications work with one audio track, I was working with 4.

The finished files were over 5 Gb in size. I’d re-render them down to 50Mb, and upload them to the site.

The only actual editing of the original interview is at the end of the 8th segment. Here, Mr. Ridgeway gives Felix his personal contact info, and you can see why we needed to cut that out. Other than that, this is the interview in its entirety.

Again, these videos are the private copyrighted property of Jim Ridgeway and cannot be copied, duplicated, embedded or shared. You are however, welcome – and in fact, encouraged – to share links to DeafInPrison.com. We want as many people as possible to see this powerful and moving interview.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

November at DeafInPrison.com

By BitcoDavid

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

An audio engineer at an audio console.

Just thought I’d throw this in. The boards nowadays make this thing look like a table radio.

 

Update on the #JusticeForFelix Project

Update on the #JusticeForFelix Project

By BitcoDavid

Felix Garcia Should Be Granted a Full Pardon

Let me start with the petition site. We’re currently at 331 signatures, which is where we’ve been for a while now. We still need almost 700 before we can send the petition. But, there’s a silver lining. Our numbers on the page – signatures notwithstanding – are pretty good. We’ve had 389 FaceBook shares and 54 tweets. It has been shared 9 times on Google+ and once on StumbleUpon.

The Petition page has a Google ranking of 6, out of a possible 10. It’s been listed on Google 156,000 times, 91,900 times on Bing and 8,942 times on Alexa. according to Google it has received 149 backlinks. That means that 149 sites other than our own, have posted a link to the page. All things considered, these numbers are really pretty good, and they support the point that there is substantial interest in freeing this innocent man.

Image: Pat Bliss

I received this via e-mail from Pat Bliss.

Felix’s case is now in the hands of an experienced clemency attorney to take it before the Governor and has signed on to do it pro bono for Felix’s sake. However, there will be reasonable and necessary costs such as photocopies, postage,   public records requests and travel incurred. A trust account has been set up. If you would like to help in this last stretch   of Felix’s quest for freedom, please send a check or money order [mention Felix Garcia under memo] made out to: Reginald R. Garcia P.A., P.O. Box 11069, Tallahassee, FL 32302. Thank you!  Pat Bliss

I would like to thank our magnanimous publisher, Joanne Greenberg, for allowing us to post this. When she created this site, and contracted me to manage and edit it, she insisted that it remain non-commercial and that it never solicit funds. However, she understands the need to help Felix, and has asked me to assure that no funds received here will

Image: Pat Bliss

go to DeafInPrison.com. This is funding for Felix’s case, to cover expenses above and beyond fees for the attorneys – who have graciously offered to handle the case pro bono. So, I repeat. No money from this drive will go to DeafInPrison.com, BitcoDavid BlogSites, or any of our contributors. It all goes to Felix’s worthy cause.

It is our intention to submit the petition coinciding with the attorneys case. It will provide the body blow that will support the attorneys in their knock out punch. (Sorry – had to throw a little Boxing lingo in there.) If you can help financially, it will be greatly appreciated, but if you can’t please sign the petition – if you haven’t already – and share, share, share.

Thank you all, and Happy Thanksgiving!

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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