Who?
For those who speak, the correct pronunciation of my Japanese name is Ha-na.

I have been employed by the Appeal-Democrat since December 2001 after I answered an ad in the Appeal-Democrat Classifieds for a Production Assistant. Web maintenance was part of my Production duties.

On October 22, 2006, I passed the exam and received my HTML Developer’s Certificate from W3Schools. I am continuing studies in Web Development for a degree. Maybe the world is next for domination.

Or not.

On December 11, 2006, I became a full-time Webmaster with the formation of the Internet Department. My passion is making web sites work and enjoy sharing my knowledge with others. I also love gadgets and technology. I envision a virtual New Media future which is coming sooner than most realize.

Born and raised locally, I returned after attending CSUN in Los Angeles area (1997 - 1999) and working/living in New York (1999 - 2001). I am happily married to my high school sweetheart and live in Yuba City with our two five cats. I have been profoundly deaf since 14 months old and use ASL as primary language, with English as a secondary language.

Say What? was launched on the same day the www.appealdemocrat.com had its re-launch on March 28, 2007. Say What? is geared towards a broad audience from Deaf/HoH to hearing. Perhaps the first blog for the deaf being operated by a mainstream newspaper, Say What? aims to educate the greater society and advocate Deafhood. The blog came about as an idea suggested and supported by Appeal-Democrat’s former Publisher, Don T. Bricker.

Many thanks to Mr. Bricker for letting me connect Appeal-Democrat to the Deaf community locally.

It’s all in the Name
The name “Say What?” comes from my experiences trying to understand what my hearing counterparts are saying to me. Hence the sign for “say” with the finger to the chin. I also have a tendency to look for the type of news that makes you go “say what?”

My e-mail is hnoda@appealdemocrat.com, so drop me a line if you’re inclined to not comment in a post.

updated April 2, 2009