We encourage folks to suggest ideas for Tuesday Topics and have, in the past, used some of those that we have received. This week we are once again availing ourselves of a suggestion made by two ladies who both happen to have similar names. Both Debbie (Hazelton) and debbee (Armstrong) have suggested we take up a topic that we think is very important. Both of them will be a part of our panel either the deb duo or the double Debby or the larger than little Debby program. Their suggestion and our topic involves technology. They ask why many people who are blind seem to be technologically challenged? Are they technophobic? What can we do about it? There are other people who are blind who seem amazingly tech-savvy! Is there a reason? Clearly there are people with no disabilities who are technologically incompetent but there is more at stake for people who are also. If folks who are blind want to work, they must be technologically effective! If they want to avail themselves of the range of options in terms of mobility, literacy or social interaction, technology is just as crucial! The Blind Information Technology Specialists are trying to do some exciting things with technology and we hope that Jeff Bishop will be here to talk about some of them. Whether he is with us or not, we want to explore with you what creates technophobia for people who are blind and what we can and should do about it! Though I have not actually previewed what these ladies will say, I suspect their view is that this "affliction" is treatable and maybe even curable and they will help us explore some of the steps all of us can take to help those who feel challenged by the time we are trying to survive! Ms. Armstrong works at a community college where her job involves making technology available to students with disabilities. Ms. Hazelton is currently teaching sociology at a college in Alabama and has a background in psychology and technology. Jeff, if he can join us, works to make computer technology accessible at a college in Phoenix. Within ACB all three of these folks work in areas where technology is crucial. I think they bring to this issue both experience and insights that I am looking forward to having as a part of our Tuesday Topic. You, our listeners, will have insights as well! Share your tech comfort levels with us! What approaches have you used to become techpetitive?

It is Tuesday Topics' plan to see if members of the employment committee want to join us! In fact I can now confirm that at least one member of that committee will be with us! There was a lot of debate in early resolutions committee meetings this year about a proposal put together by the Employment Committee. A resolution was passed and Tuesday Topics will be asking the committee what it says and how it may affect how ACB opera'tes in the employment area!

In addition to their input, we want to explore some elements of employment. The level of joblessness is lower than it has ever been. Less than four percent of our working age population is "unemployed". Yet data demonstrates that at least forty percent of people who are blind do not have jobs. We have looked at some of the reasons and we will do that again! However, we want to explore what we think ought to be done about unemployment for people who are blind! Whether you are working or not, you have ideas! Call us and tell us what we need to do! Vocational Rehabilitation thinks they know what to do! Organizations for the blind and perhaps even organizations of the blind think they know! But we are asking you! Why do you think folks aren't working? What do you think should be done about it? How much is unemployment of people who are blind our fault as blind people? How much of a role does prejudice and discrimination play? How will artificial intelligence affect our chances of work?

Tuesday Topics will focus on how AI is being used by people who are blind! This was planned for last Tuesday but the ACB Board of Directors preempted our discussion! We will be expanding our second topic from last week!

I wonder how many of us are using artificial intelligence to describe pictures and other things. I saw a long article almost a year ago about a blind person who was using A i to describe coins he was collecting! Are there other things you are using these programs to accomplish? How well do they work? Have you noticed "hallucinations" much? Are they becoming less common? Are there things you can't do now with artificial intelligence that you would like to be able to do?

There are lots of ways that we can access artificial intelligence! How should we do it? Should we use AIRA? Should we concentrate on the approach of Be My Eyes? Should we expect that entities like copilot will become the way we implement AI.

Should the use of AI become part of the curriculum of rehab agencies? Should ACB, perhaps through BITS (Blind Information Technology Specialists), consider doing some training for us?

Are we making AI more important for people who are blind than it needs to be? Should we be concerned over what has happened to Orcam? What are the implications of this development for those who own Orcam products? There are lots of questions and lots of issues!

We are getting closer to elections and I am curious about where we get information about politics, current events and breaking news! Are there podcasts that people enjoy? Do folks use the usual news outlets? Are people tuning into news from other countries? Is there a reason why people do that? Do you read newspapers? How much of a role does National Public Radio play in your information gathering? Are there other ways you acquire information about what's going on that I haven't mentioned?

Whether we like it or not, all of us have to buy things. We get groceries, food deliveries, stuff from Amazon and lots of other online places. We watch and buy from TV channels. Many of us actually venture out into the community to stores where we buy things!

How do all these methods work for us? Has online shopping gotten easier or harder? Has covid changed the way we shop forever or are we going back to brick and mortar shopping? How helpful are folks in stores? Do we usually take someone with us when we go shopping? Do we return lots of what we buy online because it's not what we thought it was going to be?

What would we like to change about our shopping experience? How are the apps? How are the stores? Is there a role for the telephone? Do we use AIRA to help us shop? How does that work?

Ultimately there are lots of questions. We look forward to your answers. Clearly shopping ain't what it used to be folks! We look forward to exploring just how much it's changed the way people who are blind operate!

Tuesday Topics will explore voting. This time we are not looking at ACB elections but are instead interested in looking at registration and actual casting of ballots for primaries and the general election coming up all too soon. There appears to be a good deal of disagreement concerning which presidential candidate will be best for our country. I hope there is no disagreement about how important it is for each of us to exercise our right to be a part of the decision we will make in November or in primaries before then.

We know that the 2020 elections saw some progress in a few states. In those states folks could use a mail ballot and could return it electronically. In other states the ballot itself could be made accessible but it had to be mailed back. New machines were launched which, according to most experts, made our election the least vulnerable contest ever.

We hope to have a guest who will bring us up to date on where we are in various states. Otherwise we will rely on folks from states who will tell us what's going on. In Florida, for instance, the news is bad and we will talk about that! We are going back to using webinar this week so note that we have a new link. This link will work in the future so save it!

There were still a few hands on Tuesday and I received a couple of messages indicating that folks had more to say about the convention. So we will do one more program about the ACB meeting. We will focus on what we might want to change. How did folks feel about elections? What other changes would we like to see! We will be in Dallas next year! Are there elements you would like to see included there? Do you know about good tour options? We haven't said much about the way that resolutions and the bylaw amendments were handled. What do we think of getting them completely out of the way virtually before we meet? How about information about what was happening? Were you up to speed with what was happening when? Do you have suggestions about other publicity approaches?

Talk with us about the convention that has just ended on Tuesday Topics tonight!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

More than half of the people who are blind in this country are over the age of 55. For many seniors with vision loss, the only funding that is available for service delivery comes from a source which has not seen an increase in funding for two decades and is estimated to meet only 3 percent of the resource needs. Services to seniors without vision loss are provided under the Older Americans Act. That law is scheduled to be reauthorized by the end of September of this year. Right now it does not do a lot for people who are blind. How can we change this? What do we want to see in the reauthorized law? It is expected that the population of people who are seniors and legally blind will double by 2040 or so! What will that mean and what can we do about it? Tuesday Topics is excited to welcome folks from ACB'S special interest affiliate the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss (AAVL) to bring us up to speed on where we are and on what ACB and other organizations of and for the blind are trying to do. It's urgent that you tune in so you can help to make a difference in a variety of ways. The Florida affiliate of ACB just passed a resolution and every state can do what Florida promised they would do!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

We spend lots of time talking about people who are blind and include everyone who has a vision problem. We don't usually distinguish between people who have no vision and people who have some. This week we want to invite folks with low vision or better than low vision to join us and tell us what it’s like when you can’t completely see but you aren’t completely blind either.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co