I did post one final message on iVillage: a link to an interesting article in our local newspaper about the growth in the hearing aid market as Baby Boomers age along with their Rock 'n Roll blasted ears:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/jul/30/hearing_aid_market_booms/

I am wondering whether to invite "purplecrab" to join us here. Last time I tried to invite one of the people who hang out on iVillage, she narced on me and Cindi threatened to have me banned from the site. It seems that since the board is closing anyway, it shouldn't matter if I get banned from the site, but I just don't like the whole slap-in-the-face feeling when I try to do something nice for someone.

What do you think? Should I try to invite her? Or is it better to leave well enough alone?

I mentioned in my previous post that I hate having to hit the bookmark twice to get it to take me to the deaf board. The first time always takes me to an error page. That happens also when I get an email notification about a response to a message I have posted. I hit the link, and the first time always takes me to an error page so I have to hit it again.

But another thing I very much like about this Yahoo board is the option of having the messages sent directly to my email account, either individually or in digest form, and also the option of responding directly from my email account. It saves so much time not having to go to the site (and trying it twice anyway, since the first attempt takes me to the error page). Of course, that is part of the point--iVillage wants us to be exposed to their ads, so letting us answer from our email accounts would never work.

But iVillage got very inconvenient when it added all its bells and whistles. They figured they could force us to pay for the premium membership simply by making it such an inconvenient pain in the neck to try to navigate the message board threads. I hated having to hit on message at a time and wait for it to load, and I hated having to use preview, edit, preview, edit to post and edit comments.  Their format is probably the most time-consuming, frustrating, and inconvenient I have ever encountered, and I post pretty regularly on a number of message boards.  

When they had a simple format, where we could see everything at once and post easily, ours was a hopping little community. But they made it too difficult to use, and many of our regular members were either never or seldom able to sign on, and the ones that could found it too time-consuming, especially when they had dial-ups. Then they blamed us for not posting enough. Sheesh!

I am still waiting to hear back from Voc Rehab about whether they can help me locate some funding to help pay for my much needed new hearing aids. I doubt they will. I will have to find a way to do it myself, but  unfortunately, that will be hard. Both my (adult) kids are still in need of financial help from me, so I try to maintain enough liquidity to come through for them in an emergency. Also, about 1/3 of my income is from self-employment, and I get seriously nailed on taxes because of that. (I pay 40% in taxes on every penny I earn as a self-employed freelancer. Ouch.) That means I have to save several thousand dollars out of what I earn each year just to pay my taxes in April. I don't really think I will be able to manage $3500-$4000 for hearing aids this year--unless the accountant says I can take it as a deducton enxt year, in which case it would definitely be worth it.

BTW, one thing that article I just linked points out is that the mark-up on hearing aids sold by audiologists is approximately 100%.

Oh, and do try the rich text editor--we can now format our messges on this board--YAY! 

It is in beta, though, so it's not perfect. For example, what you probably will see as boldface font in this message was suppsoed to be italics, but the preview showed it as boldface(though maybe when I post it will go back to italics).

--Tina

--- In deafnessandhearingloss@yahoogroups.com, Doreen Pettipas <dodiepettipas@...> wrote:
>
> I haven't been to the I-Village page in a long time. My main reasons for not logging in were that it loads really slow on my dial-up connection. Then when it is loaded, it is difficult to move around in. I like to see all of one thread of conversation on one page. With dial-up, waiting for each individual message to load takes forever. I also had problems with my link. I would click on my link in my bookmarks and sometimes it would take me right to the group page, but sometimes it would take me to I-Village's home page and I had trouble finding the group page.
>
> I am glad it was there when I first started out. I met many great people there, but I really like the Yahoo group set up much better. I don't have any problems getting to where I need to be. The pages load quicker and I can see all the messages I want to without waiting forever.
>
> I would like to see more activity here, but I am as guilty as everyone else. I think we are just all really busy right now.
>
> Dodie
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: tina blue tblue37@...
> To: deafnessandhearingloss@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 7:43:22 AM
> Subject: Re: [deafnessandhearingloss] Well, it's finally closing
>
> Oh, well--we still have our Yahoo board, so we can keep in touch.
>
> The whole iVillage thing is a bit of a pain anyway. For example, whenever I use my bookmark or click the link from response notificaton emails, I get an error page the first time and have to reclick. My Linda sister won't even go there any more because of the relentless pop-up ads on which it is hard to find an "x" to get out of. Laura, one of the board's founders, can't even get onto the iVillage board. I will continue to advertise our Yahoo board on my deaf site, so that people who want a community can still find us here.
>
> I have never liked the control-freak, exploitative aspects of iVillage, and I only returned to posting there because that is where most of our people were.
>
>
>
>
>
> Braillesign@ aol.com wrote:
> The iVillage DHH board is going "read-only" as of August 1st. Interestingly enough, they refer you to the blog thing (iConnect), which has 4 whole members...
>
> good googly moogly...
>
> Dawn
>
> Takes two to tango, and if one doesn't want to dance no sense whirling across the room."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com.
>
>
>
>
> http://www.grammart ips.homestead. com/index. html
>
>
> Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos more.
>

The iVillage DHH board is going "read-only" as of August 1st.  Interestingly enough, they refer you to the blog thing (iConnect), which has 4 whole members...

 

good googly moogly...

 

Dawn

 

Takes two to tango, and if one doesn't want to dance no sense whirling across the room."

---

Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com.

http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/index.html

Tina,

I already had aids (they were about 4 years old) when Voc Rehab bought these last ones for me.  I just had the audiologist send a copy of their report and audiogram substantiating the need for stronger aids.  This proved that I needed more powerful aids to continue my employment. 
 

Dodie

----- Original Message ----
From: tina blue <tblue37@yahoo.com>
To: deafnessandhearingloss@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 10:55:15 AM
Subject: Re: [deafnessandhearingloss] Re: This was posted on another group I am in

Maybe. I will try. Kansas provided me with an amplified phone, though I was told that it could not be for work, but for life purposes. I don't know if they will provide hearing aids. Maybe. But I DO have aids already--I just need much stronger ones. 

 

Also, I won't lose my employment because of my hearing--it' s just a lot harder to deal with student questions and comments, and almost impossible in meetings with colleagues. But my employment doesn't actually *depend* on my functioning in meetings--it' s just something that helps my status in the department, and since mine is a nontenured position, anything that helps my status helps my merit raises and my future reappointments.

 

I will call the Kansas disabiltiies office to see what they might be able to do.

 

 

Braillesign@ aol.com wrote:

Hey All!

 

Tina,

I have had two colleagues get new hearing aids through Vocational Rehabilitation.  Is that possible in your state?  They had to re-open their cases and meet with a VR counselor, who wrote up that they needed new hearing aids in order to maintain employment.  I don't know how VR works in your state, but I thought I would give you that bit of information.

 

Have joy!

 

Dawn

 

Takes two to tango, and if one doesn't want to dance no sense whirling across the room."

Get a sneak peak of the all-new AOL.com.

http://www.grammart ips.homestead. com/index. html

---

Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel.

http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/index.html

Tina,

Sorry to hear about the changes in your hearing.  I got my aids through Voc Rehab.  They cost $3200 (about 4 years ago).  I have a severe-moderate loss in my left ear and a profound-severe loss in my right.
 

Dodie

----- Original Message ----
From: tina blue <tblue37@yahoo.com>
To: deafnessandhearingloss@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 9:15:02 PM
Subject: Re: [deafnessandhearingloss] This was posted on another group I am in

That's a funny story.

 

I had my hearing retested last Friday for the first time in 3 years. Not so good.

 

I went from severe loss to profound loss in my left ear, and from moderate/severe in my right ear, to severe all across the board in that ear.

 

I need new aids, because they can't boost the ones I have enough to meet my new needs. But the new ones will cost about $4000!

 

I will have to to wait. My adult kids are needing help from me right now, so I need to hold on to money for them. If it turns out that I can deduct them from my taxes next year, though, I will try buy them in late December. I might be able to deduct them, since the only reason I would get them is so I can hear my students in class and function in departmental meetings I have to attend. I am not social enough to really need them for anything else.

Since about 1/3 of my income  comes from self-employment, I lose 40% of everything I earn that way to taxes. If I could get a $4000 deduction from my taxable income next year, that would help a lot! But if I can't get a deduction, I will just wait at least until December of 2008.

 

 

 

 

Doreen <dodiepettipas@ yahoo.com> wrote:

Thought this was kind of funny. Things were dead in here, so I
thought it might start some conversation, lol.

Dodie

DEAR ABBY: I am 55. I consider myself successful and happily married -
- not too many things seem wrong. My wife and I have been married 27
years and have three children.
I have a question for you. I found a behind-the-ear hearing aid in my
bed by the pillow. My wife and I don't need hearing aids. There are
only so many ways that it could have gotten there. Do you think I
should be concerned? -- BURNED UP IN BURNSVILLE, MINN.

DEAR BURNED UP: Unless the pest control man has a hearing problem,
you should consider this a red flag. You are certainly within your
rights to show your wife the evidence and ask her, "Who's been
sleeping in my bed? Goldilocks?"

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
--------
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne
Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear
Abby at www.DearAbby. com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

http://www.grammart ips.homestead. com/index. html

---

Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo! FareChase.

http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/index.html

Hey All!

 

Tina,

I have had two colleagues get new hearing aids through Vocational Rehabilitation.  Is that possible in your state?  They had to re-open their cases and meet with a VR counselor, who wrote up that they needed new hearing aids in order to maintain employment.  I don't know how VR works in your state, but I thought I would give you that bit of information.

 

Have joy!

 

Dawn

 

Takes two to tango, and if one doesn't want to dance no sense whirling across the room."

---

Get a sneak peak of the all-new AOL.com.

http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/index.html

Thought this was kind of funny. Things were dead in here, so I
thought it might start some conversation, lol.

Dodie

DEAR ABBY: I am 55. I consider myself successful and happily married -
- not too many things seem wrong. My wife and I have been married 27
years and have three children.
I have a question for you. I found a behind-the-ear hearing aid in my
bed by the pillow. My wife and I don't need hearing aids. There are
only so many ways that it could have gotten there. Do you think I
should be concerned? -- BURNED UP IN BURNSVILLE, MINN.

DEAR BURNED UP: Unless the pest control man has a hearing problem,
you should consider this a red flag. You are certainly within your
rights to show your wife the evidence and ask her, "Who's been
sleeping in my bed? Goldilocks?"

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
--------
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne
Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear
Abby at www.DearAbby. com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/index.html

Thought this was kind of funny.  Things were dead in here, so I
thought it might start some conversation, lol.

Dodie

DEAR ABBY: I am 55. I consider myself successful and happily married -
- not too many things seem wrong. My wife and I have been married 27
years and have three children.
I have a question for you. I found a behind-the-ear hearing aid in my
bed by the pillow. My wife and I don't need hearing aids. There are
only so many ways that it could have gotten there. Do you think I
should be concerned? -- BURNED UP IN BURNSVILLE, MINN.

DEAR BURNED UP: Unless the pest control man has a hearing problem,
you should consider this a red flag. You are certainly within your
rights to show your wife the evidence and ask her, "Who's been
sleeping in my bed? Goldilocks?"

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
--------
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne
Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear
Abby at www.DearAbby. com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Tina,

What wonderful news!  Congratulations to Linda and to you and your
family!  I'm glad you decided to spill the beans.  :)  It was so nice
to read my mail and see such happy news.

Alea



--- In deafnessandhearingloss@yahoogroups.com, "Tina Blue"
<tblue37@...> wrote:
>
> You may remember that I went back to Pennsylvania at the beginning of
> September last year because Linda's son David was getting married.
>
> Well, David and his pretty bride Vera are expecting a baby early next
> year. My Linda sister is going to be  grandma!
>
> When that happens, I will be the only one of the three Salvo sisters
> who doesn't have any grandchildren. Our brothers don't have any kids,
> either, but our oldest and youngest sisters have two each--a boy and a
> girl for each of them.
>
> (I am jealous like you wouldn't believe.)
>

You may remember that I went back to Pennsylvania at the beginning of
September last year because Linda's son David was getting married.

Well, David and his pretty bride Vera are expecting a baby early next
year. My Linda sister is going to be  grandma!

When that happens, I will be the only one of the three Salvo sisters
who doesn't have any grandchildren. Our brothers don't have any kids,
either, but our oldest and youngest sisters have two each--a boy and a
girl for each of them.

(I am jealous like you wouldn't believe.)

Tina, glad that you are ok and had a great long weekend.  What is  going on with Linda? Hope she is ok too.         -------Original Message-------   From: tina blue Date: 6/11/2007 10:14:05 AM To: deafnessandhearingloss@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [deafnessandhearingloss] Where is everybody?   Yes--   I just go back from my nephew's wdding. It was an exhausting weekend-long event. I slept for 12 hours last night! But he is safely married now, and I am back at my computer.   Our Linda (my sister) has news for us. I will prompt her to drop by and report her good news.   --Tina izangel2001 <izangel@copper.net> wrote: I haven't heard from anyone. Is everyone OK? Randa http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/index.html Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta.

http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/index.html

I haven't heard from anyone. Is everyone OK?

Randa

http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/index.html

I haven't heard from anyone.  Is everyone OK?


Randa

I'm wondering what services are available to HoH in New York City.
Someone told me that depending where you live, the state's
rehabilitative commission may help pay for hearing aids and/or other
equipment or services to help you through college and work. I did some
searching online but it was unsuccessful.

If you know anything about this, please be in touch.

And is there any way to boot out the spammers who keep sending group
messages about immigration and jobs? Once was ok, but come on -- every
day?!

Doing IT certifications are the best way to upgrade yourself, suppose if some
company wants to hire person with bachelor degree and they have 2 candidates, a
person with plain bachelor degree and a person with bachelor degree + have done
certification as well, what do u say?, which person get the job?, answer is
simple.

Regards


To Apply For Job:
http://www.wakensee.com/?aff=0956

For Certification Exam Guide:
http://www.logicert.com/?id=4523
http://www.certgym.com/?aid=4598

For Master, Bachelor, Associate and Phds:
http://www.estudyglobal.com/?mem=3098




























--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
-----------------
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delivery option in this page in "Step 2" to suit your needs. If you are a group
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It seems very quite these days.  Everyone must be busy.  I am trying to
balance my new ceiling fan.  I am really going to need it come next
with the temperatures  107 degrees.  I watched the movie The Terminal,
really was good with Tom Hanks in it.  What ever movie he is in--it is
always good.

:-)
Randa

Let me know what you are doing.