Braille and Why Its Important By Jared Rimer Here at MENVI, we are trying to fight to get braille music available to our kids. You can see the numerous newsletters on our web site at http://menvi.org/newsletters or upon request, you can ask for one by contacting Jared Rimer or Richard Taesch through our web site at http://menvi.org/contact.html or by giving us a call. But, do you guys realize how much braille means to me and my work doing this website? I started this website in 2003 after I thought it a good idea to get MENVI noticed. I was working on my Superior Software Support page at http://www.superior-software.com/support and thought that MENVI should get its presence. I learned HTML quickly, and began the long task of building the MENVI website now at http://menvi.org. The web site took long hours, not looking at any braille at all for older newsletters till I got to newsletter 9 located at http://menvi.org/newsletters/news09.html and boy was I relieved to have saved a copy. It helped with the time it took me to develope the newsletter and get a presentable web copy online. While I recently did newsletter issue 22 at http://menvi.org/newsletters/news22.html, it came to my attention that there was a lot of confusion between my helper, Jessica Oso, myself, and the fact, that when I finally got my braille, a lot of what was getting reported to me was not all that clear to me. Folks, when I didn't have the braille for my news journals, it took me days just to complete the newsletter if not weeks. I used to get Richard by E-mail and I would have to wait for a response before I could continue. Even with 22, I didpretty well, except for a change which I should've detected within the text where a heading should've been used instead of a paragraph marker. Some of the newsletters use complicated lists in which the text version did not implement. One example of a complex sublist is at News Journal 15 located at http://menvi.org/newsletters/news15.html. While I initially wrote the newsletter with no braille, I used the braille to help me construct the newsletter in to a more complex HTML document in which it sits on the web today. Other newsletters use the list format, but you'll need to read them and see what you think. In short, I will now be getting the newsletters in braille to help me with HTML work. It will save the time it'll take me to compose the newsletter, and I can get the text and web versions up and out while everyone is waiting to get their copy. I didn't release 22 out to the web subscribers and E-mail subscribers until I got my copy of the newsletter. Fight to get your braille, whether its literary to help you with your job, or music, to help you with your recitals and performances. While I didn't have to fight, Richard now understands the problems that HTML has when trying to guess at what you want as a presentation. Jared Rimer MENVI webmaster (866) 824-7876 Toll-free U.S. and Canada (818) 703-0741 International contact@menvi.org