Like a ‘Price Is Right’ Cadillac Without an Engine

You know you’re not having a good day when you  go down to the laundry room to retrieve your clothes from the dryer and  you discover that someone (that old gaga fart from the 3rd floor) has opened your dryer at least a  half hour before time was due to elapse, and  she ‘forgets’ to shut it, thereby allowing the drying time to tick down to zip. She does this a lot.  I can never quite pin it on her, but I KNOW it’s her …What are you doing opening my dryer in the first place, you old ditz ?!!  It’s not like you can’t tell it’s in use. Laundry basket on top, warm rumbling coming from the machine… and seven other machines empty and idle. Old age is no excuse for downright rude, insane and disruptive behaviour! Not to mention the health risk you created by forcing me to  wear damp clothing  outside in October… because  gee, I hadn’t anticipated laundry sabotage today!  I want security cameras! And guards…with Tazers!… and some big mean dogs on patrol!  Then, just to add some nuts to my banana spit, I  discovered that the damp pile of clothes that I had just hauled up to my apartment, had an unusual smell coming from them. This continues to baffle me. They smell worse now than they did  before I washed them…much worse. Did the old biddie hurl a stinking potion onto them too?   It gets worse.   I had a few minutes to kill before leaving for the movie (‘Blindness’ day), so I thought I’d try out the HRM voting site on the Net.  Yes, it’s the first day of electronic voting in HRM.  I’ve been feeling all happy and victorious about accessible voting for weeks now,  ever since I heard that HRM was testing electronic voting for  the Halifax Municipal election.  Woa! Not too quick with the democratic process happy dance!  My joy fizzled out when I got onto the HRM voting web site start page and discovered that the security ‘descramble’ of letters and numbers DID NOT HAVE AN AUDIO OPTION!!! Good going guys. What are people with screen reading software supposed to do?  It’s like winning a big honking Cadillac on The Price Is Right and discovering that the car has no engine. Sheesh!  Being ever resourceful, I asked my neighbour to come look at my computer monitor and read the scramble for me.   She was ‘visiting’ anyway, at least, just long enough to complain about the ‘thunking’ noise against our adjoining wall.  “Oh that”, I said. “It’s just Opal getting settled in her recliner.”  I apologized and promised to move my dog’s favourite chair from against the wall,. I  gave my neighbour a cookie as she left, shaking her head and muttering all the way back to her lair.    Sigh. Yes, my dog has her own recliner. But it’s VERY old and I WAS going to toss it out back in July…except Opal wouldn’t let me.

Hey Operator!

That’s right, I mean you, the  Bell Aliant operator on duty yesterday afternoon. Watch out lady, ’cause you’re in store for some deep doo dah. Did ya think I’d just ‘let it go’? Not a chance, babe. Sure, it took 30 minutes to go through the complaint process with the customer service department, but at least I have the reassurance that you will be ’spoken to’. Maybe you will think twice before you say something stupid when a PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER dials and asks you how to go about making a conference call. Maybe you won’t say, “the number for the conference operator is in the phone book” in reply to a PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER who has told you that the Aliant web site is INACCESSIBLE and won’t cough up the information she needs. Maybe when that PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER says, “I can’t read the phone book” , your smart ass sarcastic reply will not be, “You can’t read?”  Maybe you won’t mutter to the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER, who tells you in frustration (even though it is none of your bloody business) that she is blind, “ok, wait a sec”  and follow that up by shouting, “What did you say?” when the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER says “thanks for that”.  Maybe you won’t proceed to grumble and send the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER into her own voicemail system instead of linking her to the conference call operator.  Yep, maybe you will just do your job in the first place and provide the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER with information instead of going down that murky road by asking, “can’t you read?”. Maybe the reprimand will include reading a fact sheet with statistical information about the 6,000,000  or more Canadians who can not read print because of a visual, perceptual or intellectual disability. Maybe your boss will tell you that it doesn’t matter why the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER can’t READ a phone book, or why they don’t HAVE a phone book, or why they don’t WANT to use their phone book…you just do what the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER requests.

STOP PRESS!!! This just in: Aliant Customer Service Management tippy-toeing very carefully all over an apology to Wise advice. It seems that the Aliant operator in question is going to have that informative talk with her supervisor this afternoon….

More on Web Accessibility

I have not heard back from our city’s web master since I suggested they test the HRM (Halifax) site using a screen-reading software download. I suggested last week to our web master that he/she download a free version of Jaws and attempt to use the speech output program (with the computer monitor turned OFF). I have an image in my mind of this person sitting at their desk, with hands covering their ears, and shouting… “Shut up you stupid Jaws voice!!!! I can’t find anything on this site!!!!”

If only it were true. Did our web master extraordinaire actually have the hutzpah to follow through with my wise advice? I doubt it…. But hey! if you did, ‘K’, how about trying out the audio ‘captcha’ options for security letter de-scrambles?  You know what I’m talking about…. often you are asked to enter the swirly letters, words or numbers on the screen in order to move on to your next step. These are used on many web sites as a security measure before you can access the  ’contact’,  ’access our site’, ‘ make payment’,  ’apply for ‘  or ‘order’ applications. The audio option  often turns out to be a total mess of garbled nonsense which no one can understand, no matter how many times they try to listen to it. How’s that working for ya, eh?

Wise Advice For Web Masters….on ACCESSIBILITY

Call me wishful. I had an inspired moment yesterday. The web master for our city’s web site contacted me after I had sent in a complaint about not being able to ‘read’ a lot of stuff on the HRM site with my screen reading software. Screen reading software (like Jaws or Guide) enables someone who cannot see their monitor (like blind folk), to listen to a mechanical or synthesized  voice reading whatever is on the screen;  e-mail, web page etc.  At least, that’s what is suppose to happen in  theory. In practice, many web sites are ridiculously difficult or impossible to navigate with Jaws. There is a movement afoot towards web accessibility standards. Retail giant, Target in the USA is in a legal battle with the NFB (National Federation of the Blind) over their inaccessible web site. Hmm.  Here’s my wise advice today for web masters (so that they can  ’test’ their own sites for accessibility): go to the Freedom scientific site…

http://freedomscientific.com/fs_downloads/jaws.asp

 and download a FREE trial version of Jaws software. Learn to use it. Then turn your computer monitors OFF and navigate your own site using Jaws. Try the links, the documents, opening pages etc.  Have fun!

ACB Radio For the Blind

I discovered ACB radio yesterday. Where have I been?!  ACB radio provides 5 channels of internet radio, streamed live through free players (You can download Winamp or others). This is radio by the blind, for the blind and for anyone interested in blindness issues. ‘Cafe’ channel provides music by blind musicians. On ‘Classic’, you can listen to classic comedy and drama programs. ‘On Demand’ will allow you to listen to programs such as: ‘Cooking in the Dark’, ‘Disability Nation’, ‘The Sound of Sight’, ‘Blind Handyman’, ‘Eye on Employment’ and more. You can also download a ‘tuner’ so that you have quick access to ACB from your computer desktop. You must check this out. I will link it to my blogroll.  It should be the first on the alphabetical list….The web site is: http://www.acbradio.org

I Love…Like…Tolerate a Parade

Actually, traditional parades do not appeal to me. They are loud and crowded and frighten Opal. (We accidentally wandered into the Pride parade last year and she was blasted with silly string and streamers. The whistles and loud music didn’t help either.)  A parade we do enjoy, or at least tolerate, is the monthly shopping expedition at our local grocery store. Shopping for groceries when you unable to read labels or locate items, can be hard. It is even more complicated, when you have a guide dog.  I like to rest Opal after 40 minutes in harness. It’s only fair.  Here’s how food shopping works for us. I call ahead and ask the manager if someone will be available to help us shop. I always chose a quiet weekday morning. We arrive on time and present ourselves to customer service. The manager normally has booked Dewayne, the produce manager to help us through the bulk of the shopping. Dewayne pulls the shopping cart from the front. I hold the cart handle and follow. Opal is in harness, and I have only her leash in hand, with the handle down. She is on my left side as we meander around, looking very much like a little parade.  Opal obediently keeps up, and I am cognizant of any attempts to dive for food items on the floor. Dewayne tries to use the wider spaces in the Quinpool Road Superstore and tells me if we are going left or right. We wait in place in quiet spots while he goes off to collect a few items. I thwart off the customers who want to impede the flow of the parade (looking to pat Opal or run over her).  Fortunately, most of my shopping is done within the perimeter of the store. That’s where the produce, bakery, and dairy are located in all grocery stores. (We bypass the meat department aka. ‘dead animals’ also located in the perimeter.) In the interior aisles, we avoid the crap over- packaged and processed food, and find our tea, and the odd package of pasta or rice. When efficient Dewayne is unavailable to lead the parade,  grocery shopping can become a long and arduous ordeal.  If the clerk does not know where items are located, we are in for a rough ride. I have been known to abandon a clerk and cart, when I feel that the Odyssey has been too much for Opal. “Sorry, but we’re not wandering around like Bedouins anymore. It’s not fair to my dog…we’ll be back when she’s rested, and you find someone who can get us out of here in a timely manner”. Here’s the way to re-enforce good service for customers who are blind or have similar shopping needs: If the clerk does a good job, make a point of speaking to the manager of the store, preferably at the cash, in front of him or her and praise them up. I point out, that if I am dropping $150.00 in their store, I enjoy and appreciate doing it quickly. I also point out shortcomings; poor choice of produce, too much time spent wandering around, etc.  I make use of the customer service 1-800 number that most food chains have and report good and bad service. I make suggestions about accessible on line flyers, and anything else I think they should be aware of.  I  do my bit, by being prepared when I go to shop, knowing what I want to buy, and the sequence it will be picked up…natural food sections, produce, bread, sundries, groceries, dairy, frozen food. Get familiar with a store and the manager and staff. It is the only way you can hope to have consistent and reasonably acceptable service when shopping if you are blind.  If you are fortunate enough to have a friend or family member help you shop instead of requiring assistance by store employees, be sure to respect their time and effort by being prepared. 

Alternate Format Billing

I had time on my hands yesterday, so I phoned up my power company (Nova Scotia Power) and asked them if they could start sending me my statement in Braille.  I also asked them if they provided other options to customers who are Blind or partially sighted, such as Large Print, audio cassette or disc.  I mentioned that I was not certain, but I thought they might have a legal obligation to do so.  The clerk seemed confused.  She said she would call back after she checked with her supervisors.  Seven hours later, She did call back to tell me, “we don’t have the technical means to provide Braille or large print bills and statements”.  I then asked her to send that statement to me in writing.   I have no idea what our laws say about utility company requirements to provide alternate format billing, though I would bet that it’s in the books.  If it is not, it will be eventually  (grin). I will be a thorn in Nova Scotia Power’s side, until they ensure that alternate format billing options are available. The CRTC (Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission) has issued all sorts of rulings for telephone, cell phone and cable companies, directing them to provide alternate format billing to customers who request it.  If you don’t know what your local telephone, mobile phone, and utility companies provide in the way of alternate format billing, ask.  Be specific. Ask if they provide Braille, Large Print, audio cassette, or computer disc.  while you’re at it, ask them if their web site is ‘accessible’.  They might not know what you’re talking about.  Their web site designers should. I don’t think people who are Blind or partially sighted should be expected to pay a utility bill they can not read themselves. 

Why Blind People Get ‘Freebies’…Rights or Charity?

People who are legally Blind (20/200 vision or worse with best correction), get a lot of free stuff, or perks ( or so it appears). This has led to great misconception by the general public. Other groups of persons with disabilities have expressed discontent with particular ‘advantages’ given to the Blind community. In addition, I sense  that a pervasive guilt trip is going on with many blind people.  Let me explain the kind of freebies that are at the root of  the whole issue.  While some countries have very similar policies, I will only speak to the situation as it affects most Canadians who are ‘registered’ with the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind). What sorts of ‘advantages’ or freebies do blind people have, and why do they have them? Books. Talking books and Braille books are available (usually with a free device to play the audio material on) from the central CNIB library.  Books, major magazines, and newspapers in audio or Braille format, travel back and forth, POST-FREE to people in Canada. In fact, ‘free matter for the blind’ is stamped on many items, including all BRAILLE matter, including personal letters, bank statements,  utility bills, government documents, and Braille paper stock. Other audio correspondence material travels post-free as well. These might include course tapes to a school such as Hadley  School for the Blind,  tax assessments on cassette from Revenue Canada, or the like.  All items mailed ‘free matter for the Blind’ must be mailed in unsealed envelopes or containers.  Blind students requiring textbooks, or anyone doing research or wanting specific information can request it of the national library for the blind, and they will eventually receive their information in audio, Braille, or computer disc format.  The process takes time and students often end up paying people in their community to do the job because of school project deadlines.  Why do blind people get free books and postage of same? This has to do with the right that recognizes that everyone must  have ACCESS TO INFORMATION.  The core of this right centers around other human rights, including the right to equitable  education, employment, and fair and responsible participation in the democratic process.   The reality is, that the number of people who are blind, remain disproportionate in university enrolment,  and employment.  Interestingly enough, the internet may be changing all that. Technology has given everyone more information. It is making life much easier, in some respects, and much more complicated in others, for all of us.   The Right to Information Access,  is extending into the area of web accessibility. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is suing retail giant, Target, because their web site is not accessible to people who use screen reading soft ware.  This case is drawing a lot of attention because the issue of web accessibility for the blind, in a world that has created a “digital divide” in its rapid growth, could prove to be pivotal. It might  ensure that there is universal access to services, commerce and entertainment on the web, in the same way that physical access is mandated in the ‘real world’.  The second area that gives alleged ‘perks’ to the blind, is transportation. In most urban centers where public transit exists,  registered blind people normally receive a pass for free transit. Why? For some of the same reasons the blind have Access to Information. In order to get to work, school, health care, government offices,  or to go shopping, voting, or anywhere else, blind people must rely on transit. Blind people are not permitted to drive, therefore the free transit pass was introduced as a means of protecting the right to access employment, education etc.  This is a very sensitive issue.  Other groups representing people with disabilities argue that they should have free transit too.  Indeed, in some European cities, they do. However, the argument that supports limitation of free transit to the blind, is that people who  are deaf, and some wheel chair users, are permitted to drive modified vehicles and theorectically have access.  The reality is that a large number of ALL people with disabilities,  live in poverty and will never be able to afford a vehicle of any kind, let alone one that requires expensive modifications. Many blind people never exercise the availability of this free pass, because they do not travel independantly and choose to use a form of para transit which they must pay for. Others travel with friends and family members, or they simply don’t travel at all. In the city of Halifax, the free transit pass is negotiated between the CNIB and Metro Transit. The current pass was re-issued in 2005 after a two year period when blind people were caught in a ‘negotiating’ period and were told to just carry their expired passes.  The pass issued in 2005 expires this year (2008). The air is now rank with apprehension  again, as new negotiations continue for renewal. I am disgusted by the tactics employed. Many blind people express feelings of  intimidation when they encounter unacceptable service from a Metro Transit driver. They choose not to formally complain or report drivers because they are afraid of ‘losing the pass’. There is a prevalant sense that they should feel ‘grateful’ that they have a free transit pass and should ‘just suck it up’. This is partly because they do not know their rights,  do not understand that there is recourse available to protect their rights (Human Rights complaints),  or they do not possess a sense of  full ‘entitlement’.  In the area of air and train travel,  passengers with disabilities are sometimes permitted to have an ‘attendant’ travelling with them at a free or reduced rate.  Some movie theatres provide  free admission  for ‘attendants’ accompanying a disabled person.  

Access For the Blind: Top Resources

Would you like to read some terrific articles online?  Discover Blind World Magazine. www.earthlink.net/~blindworld  Also, learn about Web Accessibility at: www.web-4-all.ca