Let me start this episode of Blind How with a heads-up. I will be talking some about walking outside and in unfamiliar inside places. The tips I include will be minor and only intended to suggest a few things to keep in mind.

Walking from place to place outside and in new places without a helper who can see, requires a skill set that all of us who can't see need, but should only develop with the assistance of a qualified mobility professional. Additionally, I don't know any way to develop those skills without learning how to use a white cane or guide dog.

Where you live and spend most of your time likely is doable, whether you live in an apartment or on a farm. The key is that you have a good mental map of the area and are aware of any risky areas or hazards. Also, when you become disoriented – and you will – there is minimal risk of getting hurt.

I mentioned in an earlier episode of Blind How that I don't know how to use a white cane. I'm a guide dog user. My current guide dog is my seventh, so I have been trusting my mobility to a dog for a long time. Like most other strategies for doing what we want to do without seeing, getting out and about by ourselves requires high motivation, determination and practice and then more practice. On any given day, it's easier to just stay home. The important thing to know is that going wherever you want to go is possible; and there are people who can't see who have already been there and done that.

That's it for the heads-up. Let's get back to moving around in our personal living space. In the last episode of Blind How, I suggested leaving a radio or TV playing as an orientation device. The sound is a known landmark on our mental map. But it gets even better. Here's where the fun starts. Those of us who can't see have what sometimes seems like unlimited technology out there to help us do what we want to do.

Does thinking about all that technology get you excited, or does it cause you to shrug and turn away? If technology is something that interests you, you are ready to ramp up your skill set for doing what you want to do. If instead, you aren't interested and don't think technology is for you, you have made a life altering decision, although you may not know you are making it. You have decided to be satisfied with the status quo. You already have all the help you need or want, to do what you do, and things as they are is sufficient for you. – No problem. It really is your choice.

Sure, I'll be getting to cell phones and computers; but for starters, I'm very impressed with the Amazon Echo and the Google wireless speaker. You need the little speaker for either. I suspect you already have one or the other. The cool part isn't so much the gadget, but rather the assistant that talks to us. For Amazon's Echo, she is Alexa, and for the Google gadget, I call him the Google Guy.

We'll come back to both devices from time to time, but for now, let's get back to walking around our living areas. Alexa and the Google Guy are great orientation helpers. Since I know where they are located in my living space, I can just ask anything – It doesn't matter what I ask. – I get a response and immediately am oriented to where I am in relation to the voice. It's better for me than a radio or TV, especially when I don't want them on all day.

You are undoubtedly getting the idea. Listening is, for those of us who can't see, our most important orientation device. If you can't see and also can't hear, you have two serious issues; and I don't know how to help with the can't hear issue. But there are people who can help. The first step is to identify someone who can't hear or knows how to help people who can't hear. They likely can head you in the right direction to get some assistance.

There are a lot of sounds in our environments and ways to add sounds. Radios and TVs are good,