If you have a vision impairment and live in the Houston area, the Houston Area Insight Expo is this Saturday, April 12th, from 9 am – 4 pm. The Expo will feature a keynote address, panel discussions, workshops, and vendors displaying products and services related to low vision and blindness. The Talking Book Program will be an exhibitor at the Expo.

Walk-ins are welcome, but registration is preferred. The Expo is a free event. For more information, view the press release here: http://www.opt.uh.edu/files/cse/VisionExpo2014.pdf
If you have difficulty viewing pdf files, there is some information about the Expo here: http://www.opt.uh.edu/uei/services/lowvision/
To register, please send an e-mail to havin.news@yahoo.com

The event will be held at the University of Houston Main Campus, Health and Biomedical Sciences Building, at 4811 Calhoun Road, next to the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. Parking is free.

If you receive a call from the phone number 347-871-5995 and someone offers to help you remove a virus from your computer, do not follow their instructions. This is a scam.

This particular scam has evidently been in existence for a few months at least. Apparently they are now targeting JAWS users specifically. They are advising individuals to go to a particular web site and input some numbers, which will likely give the scammers remote access to the person’s computer.

Here is some general information about tech support phone scams from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

The Disability Information & Referral Center provides fact sheets on sources for computer and assistive technology training, and software manufacturers and vendors, as well as a funding guide. Please call 800-252-9605, or email tbp.services@tsl.texas.gov for more information.

Individuals who use paratransit service in the Texas cities of Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, and Houston have the ability to track the estimated pick-up and drop-off times, and locations of their rides using the web site http://thebus.mobi

Passengers can log in with their paratransit identification numbers. They will then see a listing of their trips for that day, with estimated pick-up and drop-off times. They can also click on a map which will display the client location with a green dot, the destination with a red dot, and the driver/vehicle location with a blue dot. The map can be refreshed to update the information.

Please be advised that this service is not 100% accurate. Paratransit passengers should not rely solely on this information, and should be at their pick-up locations at the appointed times. However, this web site can help people who use paratransit to manage their daily trip schedule, and to at least have some idea when the vehicle will arrive, as well as when they will reach their next destination.

Disability Rights Texas has produced a video called “Your Vote Matters: The Voting Rights of People with Disabilities” You can watch the video, with captioning, by clicking on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOL7VKIwtcE&list=UUdsDDTBu0zKjNiiKfCEoXkQ

To learn more about the voting rights of people with disabilities, call the Voting Rights Hotline at 1-888-796-VOTE (8683). You can also access information here: http://governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/resources/voting/

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a story about books, technology, typography, and a secret society. It’s about the intersection of old and new, about friendship, and about the meaning of life. The story is a mystery and a quest – there are plenty of twists and turns but the author’s writing style is easy and straightforward. The characters are interesting, engaging, and by the end of the book seem like real people. Sloan also creates a great sense of place, putting you on the streets of San Francisco and right inside the unusual bookstore. Every place the reader visits – Clay’s apartment, Google headquarters, New York City – are well drawn, and help to transport you into the story. If you like fun and quirky books, give this book a try.

MR. PENUMBRA’S TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR BOOKSTORE
SLOAN, ROBIN, 1979- Original Date: 2012
While hunting for a new job, Web designer Clay Jannon wanders across Mr. Penumbra’s Twenty-Four-Hour Bookstore, which sits next to a strip joint. Hired for the night shift, Clay is soon drawn into a world of mystery, intrigue, and kooky customers. 2012.
DB 75599 BR 19723

“Veterans and Bootz’s Law: Service Animals and Persons with Disabilities in Texas,” was a 19-minute panel discussion produced by the State Bar of Texas Disability Issues Committee and Disability Rights Texas.

The discussion was filmed, and is now available on YouTube. Bootz’s Law, officially known as Texas House Bill 489, outlines the rights and responsibilities of people with disabilities regarding the use of service animals.

You can view the video by clicking on this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMHlf7Mc7g0

For more information, you can contact the State Law Library at (512) 463-1722, or go to www.sll.texas.gov. You can also visit this link, through the Texas Governor’s Committee for People with Disabilities: governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/resources/assistance_animals/

Here at Texas Talking Books we celebrate reading every day – and so do you, our patrons! On March 3, we get the opportunity to join with teachers and librarians across the country to celebrate Read Across America, an annual event held each year on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, is sponsored by the National Education Agency in partnership with local schools, libraries, churches, and other community organizations. Through a variety of events and activities in communities across the country, Read Across America encourages children to read regularly and often, both independently and with teachers, parents, and caregivers. This year, take advantage of this nation-wide celebration to try a new author, share your favorite book with a friend, read aloud with someone, or just curl up with a good book, knowing you’re part of a community of readers and book lovers.

To celebrate Read Across America, why not try out one of the following books, voted on by children across the country as some of their favorite books (the full list can be found on the NEA website.)

GREEN EGGS AND HAM
SEUSS, DR                                         1960
Nonsense rhyme about a delightful creature named Sam-I-Am, and his efforts to get another to eat green eggs and ham. For preschool-grade 2.
BR   08956      BR   13450      BR   16721      RC   34056      DX  34056

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE
ROWLING, J.K                                      1997
On Harry Potter’s eleventh birthday, he learns that he is more than an unwanted orphan. The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry recruits him because he has inherent magical abilities. As he purchases his school supplies–robes, wand, and messenger owl—Harry looks forward to attending his new boarding school. Bestseller. 1997.
BR   17774      BT   03288      RC   47260      DB   47260     DX   47260     LB   04656

HATCHET
PAULSEN, GARY                                     1987
Brian, thirteen and troubled by his parent’s divorce, is flying in a single engine plane to visit his father.  As Brian is the only passenger, the pilot casually shows him how to fly the plane.  When the pilot has a heart attack and dies, Brian must take control.  After the plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness, Brian has only the hatchet attached to his belt to help him survive.  Newbery Honor book 1988.
BR   11525      BT   03120      RC   30535      DB   30535     DX   30535     LB   04094

HOLES
SACHAR, LOUIS, 1954-                               1998
Stanley Yelnats IV finds himself in a detention center for possessing stolen property that he didn’t take. While digging holes under the summer Texas sun, he sees a fellow inmate running away–and follows him. Legends, loyalty, and buried treasure are revealed as Stanley learns to survive.   Newbery Medal.
BR   12174      BR   17776      DB   47444     LB   04941

ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET
BLUME, JUDY                                       1970
Margaret Simon (almost twelve) frequently chats with God. She is lonely after her parents buy a new house in Farbrook, New Jersey.Because she is from the city, the new girls expect her to be more grown up than they are, but Margaret’s body hasn’t begun to mature yet and she’s never kissed a boy.
BR   07171      RC   37405      DB   37405     LB   03468      LB   06053

If adult books are more to your taste, try out one of these books recommended by Texas Talking Book Program’s Reader’s Advisory Librarians:
CUCKOO’S CALLING

GALBRAITH, ROBERT                                 2013
The author is J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith. Private detective Cormoran Strike is down on his luck–he lost a leg in Afghanistan, his practice is suffering, he broke up with his            girlfriend, and he lives in his office. Then he is hired to investigate supermodel Cuckoo’s supposed suicide.  Strong language,
DB   76784

OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE
GAIMAN, NEIL                                      2013
Sussex, England. A man returns to his childhood home for a funeral. While there, he is drawn to the farm where his friend Lettie lived with her mother and grandmother. After he enters the property, he remembers the terrifying experiences he and Lettie shared. Some violence. Bestseller.  2013.
BR   20187      DB   77198

STUFF: COMPULSIVE HOARDING AND THE MEANING OF THINGS
FROST, RANDY O                                    2010
Two experts in obsessive-compulsive disorders describe hoarding syndrome and share case examples of their research-study patients, whose homes are overrun by towering piles of found or purchased items they are unable to part with or stop collecting. The authors discuss treatment possibilities and the condition’s effects on family members.
DB   73054

DAD IS FAT
GAFFIGAN, JIM                                     2013
Stand-up comedian and actor describes living with his wife and their five children–all under the age of nine–in a two-bedroom apartment in downtown Manhattan. Bestseller.  2013.
DB   76916

Bender Consulting Services is conducting a Virtual Career Fair on Thursday, March 20th. The fair is free to students and alumni from two and four year colleges in the United States. Prospective employers pay a fee to participate in the event.

Students and alumni can upload their resumes to the site, and then chat with employers on March 20th. Some of the chat rooms will offer video chat as well.

For more information, please visit:
disability.careereco.net/students-alumni/virtual-career-fair-registration/