Consider This

This is another post on how we as blind people are being tailored to, unnecessarily. We appreciate that technology has open doors for us, but we do not wish to have everything designed specifically for us. I will get more into that below, with a post on Facebook from an anonymous person and I had found this post hours before being able to download iOS 17. I will have a post on the software coming up shortly, but in the meantime here is this.

Technology has changed all of our lives in profound ways. As a blind person it has opened up opportunities I’d have never had access to before. I can access printed content by taking a photo of it on my phone and running it through some software. I can read ebooks with ease, browse the news, order groceries, and access audio described films.

But even as all of these things have become available to me, the Web, and technology in general, feels like it gets less and less accessible by the day. Websites become overly complex and filled with ads which I can’t easily pass by with my screen reader. I want to buy a ticket at a train station, or purchase products at the supermarket, but I can’t find any staff and all of the machines are touchscreens without any accessibility features. I’m moving house and everywhere I look is fitted with cookers, washing machines, and microwaves that are touchscreens and impossible to access.

I can’t buy a printer or a coffee maker without having to dedicate huge amounts of time to figuring out if I’ll be able to access it. I may have to call my bank and explain that the latest update to their app does not work with VoiceOver. It’s a never-ending cycle of wondering if this new development in tech will change my life in an incredible way, or be yet another door slammed in my face.

Designers don’t think about disabled people. If they do they are determined to make a product specifically for us, completely misunderstanding the barriers we face. They aren’t considering the reality that we want and need access to the products everyone else is using. Trying to make these products and services accessible at the end of the design process doesn’t work, and so they decide accessibility is just too difficult. They don’t consider the truth that if they’d made it accessible from the start, it wouldn’t be nearly so complex.

This is the reality of disability in 2023. We live in a world that has the wealth and tech to make so many things accessible to so many people, but the willingness isn’t there.

I had experienced some of that through the use of my laundry machine in my apartment buildings laundry room and on some of the machines, there is braille labels on the places where the buttons are for the various options for doing laundry and for me, that’s fine as long as a memorize Each button and the function to performs if I have to use a machine without braille on it. This includes both washers and dryers, but not the machine which loads money onto our laundry cards.

About the machines, there is a bill acceptor in my building’s laundry room, which allows one to put in money such as $5.00, $10.00, or $20.00 in order to load up the laundry card with funds so we can do our washing. Our building has this, because we have enough seniors in it (according to The City Of Toronto) but other buildings do not have machines with this feature and to my way of thinking, they all should. If not, the machines which allow us to top up our laundry cards should have another way to do this for those of us who cannot see for example: how about Bank machines or as we call them now ATMs where you can go into the bank, plug-in headphones and a voice will come on and tell you what to do, in order to complete the transaction. Is that so hard for the big brains at these companies to figure out?

So far, Apple has got it right in that way. The products are useable for all, but not specific to us, thanks to the accessibility features, with their own option in the settings app, where as it used to be in general settings. It’s probably too hard for the big brains at these large corporations to consider what has been said here, but if they have an iPhone, or an iPad and they take a deep dive into all of the settings they will realize that there are Waze to get around making something which is specific to us and making it so we can all use it the same way. An app does not cut it, because some apps do not take certain cards such as debit cards from various banks and they may not be accessible to us all.

Speaking of Bank applications earlier on in this post, I had no problem with the app from my bank as I use it for specific reasons and I don’t play with things, to see what this can do and what that can do. This is unfortunately something which blind people do all the time and they get into trouble because of this and they don’t realize it, or they don’t care. It’s just like social media, in that you use it for whatever you need to use it for and otherwise, leave it alone. It’s great to explore, but remember how you got into it when you want to get out of it to get back to homebase, which includes applications of all kinds.

If any bigwigs at corporations who make things which we use every day are reading this, do consider everything which has been said here. It will help a lot and it will also help your bottom line. Those of us who are disabled may be a small group but we are just as important as those who are able bodied in keeping the economy going and we want to be able to do everything that you do and in my case, this includes driving. I want to find a way to drive a car, or any vehicle which does not look like it is tailored specifically to me, to look like a blind person is driving. If smart phones have GPS, why not put in GPS which talks in vehicles and not just a GPS which a person who drives installs on their dashboard? Surely GM, Ford and other manufacturers can find a way to build in GPS with a feature like VoiceOver on iPhones and iPads, which can be accessible to those of us who know where to find it and how to activate it and deactivate it. Most people who own iPhones may not know about this feature, but I do and it’s obviously because I use it every day. Again, if you have an iPhone or an iPad take the time to go into the settings and look at the accessibility features and you can see how it works and why I could use your iPhone if I wanted, but I won’t and the same goes the other way around by turning off VoiceOver and doing whatever you want to my device. That last part is a moot point, because I do not let my iPhone out of my sight for one second and I hold it close to my chest at all times.

I certainly hope that anybody reading this will see not just the company side, but our side of the fence as we need things tailored to us, but not in a way that is specific. We simply want to be able to do what you do and at the same time, access it Without making modifications which may be noticeable to those who use such things as Bank and laundry machines. Surely, the headphone jack is as ubiquitous as most other things because people use headphones of all kinds to listen to music these days. Am I right? Besides, it is out-of-the-way of other settings and it does not distract from anything. So, consider what has been said here from myself and the anonymous guest blogger before either trying to make something accessible, or giving up and let those of us who are blind figure it out on our own.

2023 Toronto mayoral by-election

Well, it looks like Toronto has gone into a by election as of April 3rd, because former Mayor John Tory had an affair. I’m of two minds on this, in that he should have stayed on regardless of what he had done and who he had done anything with. He was elected to a third term as the Mayor of Toronto and he was well-liked, for the most part. Sure, he has his faults, but who doesn’t? He may be a softy, but so am I and I know that I am. For those who don’t like that, fuck off. On the other hand, a lot of what I am talking about has happened on his watch and also, on the watch of at least 1 or more mayoral candidates. One was a chief of police and others were/ are city councillors.

So, now we have to elect a new leader to keep the city of Toronto humming and we have some interesting candidates, who range from the clownish to the quite serious. Among the more dangerous ones is Blake Acton, who wants there to be free public transit in Toronto. So, anyone can hop on and off of the TTC, including anyone who is homeless and who may also have an addiction problem. Hasn’t he learned anything from what has happened on the TTC, with the various stabbings and some of them resulting in the deaths of innocent citizens? Who’s to say that those same people who have no home and may have a drug problem won’t ask anyone, including those who are children or disabled, for money, in order to feed their addiction? Rather than make the TTC safe again, he proposes to have it become a haven for homeless and or, addicts.

Others who are running have other ideas, including raising taxes as a part of their platforms and one, has a proposal I can get behind. Ripping out the bicycle lanes, including the concrete ones. When I had heard Anthony Furey mention this on the radio a few weeks ago, I had thought that this may be the guy I am hoping to become our new leader. However, it is a question of whether he actually will do what he says, or just say that in order to get votes. Now that Olivia Chow is running, this will be an interesting campaign and she may have interest, in most of what I wish for our new mayor. I wonder if George Smitherman will throw his hat into the ring. I hope not because I just don’t like him, because he sounds like an unprepared bad student. He also sounds angry all the time and I don’t want my leader to be filled with rage, or sound like they are when ever they talk, or sound like they are making things up as they go along. I’m liberal, but it doesn’t mean that I will reflexively vote for someone of the same stripe for mayor. It all has to do with how they deliver themselves and whether they are willing to do as I and the rest of Toronto will want. I won’t vote unless I am almost guaranteed, to deliver on their promise to me and the rest of Toronto.

What do I want out of our new mayor? As someone who was born in Toronto, I basically want the city to function well, with all the essentials, including the TTC and if there has to be extra security, I’m all for it unless they could be potentially power hungry and assholes.

I hope that we all get cell phone service in the subway tunnels and in all subway stations, no matter where the hell you are and my provider is helping out with that. However, they have said that they will allow others to jump on and use their cellular infrastructure, which we all should do. I believe that if one service provider goes down, others should allow usage. Besides, I know this all too well as Rogers had gone down on July 8th last year. I am a customer and experienced the outage and I was luckier than others in my position, in that when I went to attempt to pay for groceries, the store wher I shop allowed me to pay for them next time I came in, along with new groceries I would buy that day. It should also be free usage, at least for a day as outages don’t normally last longer than that.

As I had stated above, I hope that the bike lanes are ripped out, especially ones which interfere with the TTC, in that bus stops were removed. I have talked about that before in past posts and if I don’t get my stop back, I will settle for the bike lanes being gone. Those who ride toys will just have to find somewhere else to play and be more adroit add riding their bicycles on the streets, in order to get where they’re going. To me, bikes are vehicles which should be in the same lane as other larger tons of steel and those who choose to ride them on the road, should become more skillful, at riding down the street with everyone else and not have their own designated lanes, especially in areas where public transit vehicles stop.

Otherwise, I am happy with how the city is running and if and when I get the knock on the door, by someone looking for votes, I will be mentioning the bike lanes and how I want them gone. If whom ever wants my vote, that has to happen and also be guaranteed to take place. I know it may not happen right away, but I am hopeful that it will result in the concrete platforms and white lines being removed from my area and as a bonus, I want our bus stop back. I will settle for nothing less than this and if whom ever says that they won’t go that far for me, you won’t get my vote on June 26th.

As for crime, get those who have addiction issues off of the TTC and put them somewhere, they can get off of what ever drugs they are on. Also, let’s keep any homeless people and panhandlers out of the subway stations and put them in a shelter, as well as out of city parks. Let’s do what we can, to stop any criminal activity on TTC property and put anyone who breaks the law, behind bars. Those who have mental issues need to be communicated with, by social workers and this can probably be done, through the police and that is before, it gets to the next level, of charging a person with committing violence, or any other type of crime, including robery.

Also, the issue of Accessibility is another thing which should be looked at, particularly for those of us who are blind and visually impaired and I have talked about some of that in an earlier post. There may have been work done on that, but it’s not good enough, as I will state below and Olivia Chow may also take to heart, as she fights for the underdog and sometimes, the underdogs are those of us who are disabled, in one way or another.

Some of us live in community housing and any and all pieces of paper dropped in our doors has print and not brail on them. I don’t expect brail, but what I do expect is that all building Supers be required to notify any and all residents by email. They should have access to our email addresses on our rental lease, along with our phone numbers and this should go for everyone, no matter whether you are blind or sighted.

The other issue is that any machines we use to do laundry should be more accessible to everyone, especially the blind. Currently, there is no accessible way for anyone who can not see, to use their debit card to load money, onto their laundry card and this can be done, like ATMs have, with a headphone jack and a voice coming out of it as the input, to a persons earbuds or headphones. If it requires Bluetooth, that might be a different issue altogether and I’m not sure that’s possible. However, if Bank machines have the headphone jack why doesn’t machines which load our laundry cards have the same? It would be better for everyone and the only person who will hear the voice is the one doing the transaction. Plus, if there is an option to blank the screen, that’s all the better for me. There are other issues, but they don’t seem to affect me as much.

Like I said, the city is generally doing fine, but let’s get rid of bike lanes where they shouldn’t be and let’s keep potential criminals off of public transit, off of public transit’s property and in a safe place, away from everyone else, who is just trying to get around peacefully. I’m sorry to see John Tory go, but I’m afraid he may have played a part in some of what has happened as of late. Good luck to all candidates and if you promise what I want, you may get my vote in June. If not, you simply won’t.

Violation

Hi folks. I haven’t written since August 28th because I have had nothing really to write about until now. This will not be a typical sparkling post from me, because something has happened to really piss me off. However, it won’t be an angry post either.

I was born in Toronto Ontario Canada and have lived in the province of Ontario all of my life. I have also lived where I currently reside since April 1st 2000.

As you know (from reading these posts I have been blind since birth and for the most part, I have had no problem. I am independent and I pride myself on living this way. I have also been happy living here (among the sighted) with most people being quite helpful to me, when I need help. However, something has changed and it has nothing to do with my interaction with other humans.

I have something you should know about, which could be seen as a violation to the accessibility to Ontarions With Disibilities Act of 2005. I will explain and I have a large chunk of an email which I’ve included here, which has questions and answers about a change in how those of us in Toronto Comunity Housing, do our laundry.

I had expressed concerns to the current mayor of Toronto about new machines being installed in the laundry room in my building, which I found to be completely inaccessible to me as somebody who is blind from birth. Further more, it’s a lot more complicated than simply putting cash into a loading machine to top up a laundry card and there has been no consultation, along with nobody walking me (or any of my other fellow tenants who are blind) through how everything works. Basically, we are being left to stab in the dark and as far as doing laundry, this seems to be a violation of the “Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005”. Like I said, I had fired off an email to the mayor, expressing my concerns about the change of laundry machine contractors, as I know it now. He had brought the same concerns up to TCHC and this not only affects where I live, but all of us who live in buildings, under the Toronto Comunity Housing Corporation banner. Here are some of what could be frequently asked questions about the change in contractors.

Why is the laundry service provider switching from Sparkle Solutions to Coinamatic?
Toronto Community Housing’s commercial laundry service provider is switching as we recently completed a Public Competition through a RFP. Sparkle Solutions has been our provider since 2005, however Coinamatic was successful in the RFP process.
 
When does implementation take place from Sparkle Solutions to Coinamatic?
The transition from Sparkle Solutions to Coinamatic takes place beginning Friday, October 1, 2021.
 
How long will it take for the transition from one laundry contract to another?
The transition will begin in October and will last until February 2022 as the machines and equipment are slowly replaced across the entire portfolio. When the laundry facilities such as machines and equipment are being changed in buildings, it may take up to two (2) business days and laundry rooms will be closed during this time.
 
How will the transition impact tenants and their ability to do laundry?
Laundry rooms may be closed for up to two business days while the machines and equipment are being removed and replaced. A notice will go up on the laundry rooms well in advance to let them know when the service disruption will be. 
 
Where are the laundry services being switched from one provider to another?
This change will take place in all buildings across the entire TCHC portfolio.
 
Will Sparkle laundry cards work on Coinamatic machines?
No, Sparkle laundry cards will not work in the new Coinamatic machines.  If there is a left over balance on a Sparkle laundry card, tenants can request a refund.
 
What if tenants have leftover money on their Sparkle laundry card?
Tenants are encouraged to use the funds they have on their Sparkle laundry card before the change in laundry facilities. Sparkle laundry cards will not work on Coinamatic machines. If there is a left over balance on a Sparkle laundry card, tenants can request a refund.
 
How do tenants get a refund on their Sparkle laundry card?
Tenants can request a refund for the leftover funds on their Sparkle laundry card by filling out a blue form and placing the form along with their laundry card in a return envelope. Blue forms and return envelopes will be available in superintendent’s offices.
 
Who can tenants contact about their Sparkle Solutions laundry card refund?
If tenants have a question or inquiry regarding a refund to their Sparkle Solutions laundry card, they can contact Sparkle Solutions Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1-866-769-0680 or service@sparklesolutions.ca.
 
Do the laundry rates change with the new contract?
No, the laundry rates remain the same with the transition from Sparkle Solutions to Coinamatic.
 
How will tenants get information on the new laundry equipment and a new laundry card?
Tenants will receive an information package in the mail. The information package will include details about the new laundry contract, a laundry card, and information on how to load money to the card. 
 
Are there any changes to processes with the new laundry contract?
No, there are no changes to processes with the new laundry contract. Tenants will receive a Coinamatic laundry card to load funds the same way they did with Sparkle Solutions. Coinamatic also has an app that tenants can download to their mobile device that will also allow them to upload funds and do laundry.
 
Attached is also the notice that was placed in the common area of your building.

At least I know and I now know, that the new laundry machines are a violation of an act, which had its first reading in 2004 and was last reviewed in 2014. How could our provincial and municipal governments allow things to go backwards? I have no problem with technology and I am glad we have things which talk, like Bank machines, clocks and watches, iPhones and even The thermostat in my apartment, to name but a few. However, the pandemic has complicated things because people are afraid (or think I’m afraid) of getting or receiving help with walking those who are blind and visually impaired through how to use the machines and explaining what to do, in order to even get a sniff at doing a load of laundry. Basically, a chunk of independence has been taken away from myself and others who will be affected by the change.

As far as the app is concerned, I have it and it’s complicated for me and it requires patience. Most of us who are blind and visually impaired don’t have the time, to be farting around and once again, stabbing in the dark, as to how to navigate the app and how it will communicate with the new washers and driers, along with the card loading machines. It’s not simple and once again, this is a violation of an act, which is supposed to be making sure that everything is accessible to everybody with physical and mental disabilities by 2025 and clearly, we’re going backwards. https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/coinamatic-cp-mobile/id1318073129

There are those who argue that people can help those of us who are disabled and particular, those who are blind and visually impaired. I say, that’s not true and especially during the pandemic, because of physical distancing. Most people are afraid to get close and there are some people who need closeness, in order to learn how to navigate new things, such as applications and even things as important as washers and dryers, which operate on technology, as opposed to the human pushing a button or two, to start the machines. As far as the brochure, it’s in print and not in the form of an email, which would’ve sufficed. However, it seems that Toronto Comunity Housing doesn’t care about accessibility that much and especially, when it comes to the printed word. Basically, we are being treated almost as poorly as indigenous people, but without being sent to residential schools to be taught to be white, or to get lost. How could a government allow things to go backwards, when we were supposed to be well on the way to having everything being accessible to everybody. I could go on and on, but I don’t want to write a novel here. Anyway, here is the link to the Wikipedia article about AODA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility_for_Ontarians_with_Disabilities_Act,_2005