S1E132 - 20230912 - Tuesday Topics - Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, and Unions.

September 13, 2023

We have a habit on this program of biting off more than we actually chew. This happened with our last program. We ended up spending a lot of time talking

about going back to school and really did not get to Labor Day. Even though it's a little late, we thought it might be of interest to see what people think of Labor Day as a holiday. Is it something that folks value because of unions? Have you been a member of a union? How did that go for you? Did Labor Day become a day you spent watching telethons for folks with disabilities? Probably the most famous one was the one done by Jerry Lewis! Was Labor Day just the day that heralded the beginning of the pro football season. Were there special family activities that went on on Labor Day? Last week we looked at going back to school. Usually just after Labor Day college semesters used to start. If Labor Day doesn't take all of our time it might be interesting to talk about how ready you were for the college experience. Was the service you received from your college good? How was getting books? Was going to college a little scary? How was living in a dorm? Were your professors understanding and helpful? What was the worst thing about college for you? What was the best thing about college for you? Is college easier or harder today than it ", say, twenty years ago? Why so? Obviously we may well find ourselves going in entirely different directions where post-secondary education is concerned and that's just fine! It also may happen that we will be talking about college on the show that follows this one if our Labor Day and Fall discussion prospers.

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S1E131 - 20230905 - Tuesday Topics - going to school.

September 6, 2023

What memories do we have about going back to school? Many people who are blind went to schools for the blind. Was going back a happy thing or was it sad?

If you were mainstreamed, was the end of the Summer a good thing or a bad thing? What was your Summer like when you were growing up? Were you lonely? Were there things you looked forward to each Summer?

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S1E130 - 20230829 - Tuesday Topics - Remembering ACB President Oral Miller.

August 30, 2023

It is our intention to make this edition of Tuesday Topics an occasion where those who knew Oral Miller who died on August 6 could come and share some memories of his life and work.

Oral lived to the age of ninety and made contributions to people who are blind in a variety of ways. He was the fourth President of ACB. He served only one term because he chose to go to work for ACB as its national representative where he served till 1998. During the last of his tenure he was ACB'S Executive Director. He was active in the Blind Bowling Association, Ski for Light, the United States Association of Blind Athletes and as part of the International Blind Sports Association. Many members of ACB can tell us stories about Oral and we hope that many will join us to share your memories of one of ACB'S most important figures.

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S1E129 - 20230822 - Tuesday Topics - explores a final rule and more.

August 23, 2023

We will spend time exploring some Federal actions. Most of our time will be spent exploring the

adoption of a final rule by the Architecture and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB). This Board has been operational for more than half a century and is responsible for overseeing regulations that assure that people with disabilities are fully included in society through the adoption of rules and regulations that determine how buildings will be built and how access through roads and other elements of the built environment will be made usable. This particular final rule goes into effect on September 7th and is known as a final rule. This final rule governs how people who are walking or using wheel chairs get access to sidewalks and roads and roundabouts and street crossings and so on. The rule is commonly called "PROWAG" which stands for Public Right Of Way Accessibility Guidelines. I am certainly not an expert on this subject but we have invited two people who are much more knowledgeable than the Tuesday Topic team to join us. Becky Davidson and Chris Bell will join us to help us understand this new rule. We have also invited a representative of Polara, a company that manufactures accessible traffic signals to bring us up to date on their products. What does it include that specifically involves people who are blind? What problems does it seek to solve? Has it made things perfect for pedestrians? Is there more that we need to do? Who do the regulations cover? How are they enforced? What else do we need to make things better? We will also, if we have time, talk about some other Federal developments that could well be significant for people who are blind and we will spend a little time telling you how regulations work and how you can do your part to make them better!

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S1E128 - 20230815 - Tuesday Topics - Internet radio.

August 16, 2023

It is a common thing for Tuesday Topics to bite off more than it can chew. We did it again last night! We thought we were going to spend an hour talking

about our experiences with radio and then move on to other things. Not so much! We spent a truly fun two hours romping together through the past of radio and us! If you missed the show, catch the repeats or the podcast! It was great fun! However, oh dearly beloved as Kipling would say, we have unfinished business! There is an amazing resource out there called internet radio and there are an amazing number of ways to access it. We want to spend some time talking about this phenomenon that makes tens of thousands of radio stations from all over world available to us! Of course, among the many available options are the ten channels of ACB Media! There are apps that aggregate huge collections of radio stations. Some do it by country; others by genre; and still others collect everything to do with their topic! You can use a note taker, Alexa, Google Home, or apple's smart speaker! You can use your phone, your computer or actual internet radio receivers! What are your favorite internet radio stations? How do you listen? What apps do you use and why? The Victor Reader Stream is about to change how it handles internet radio. Is that a good thing? Will Humanware come onto our show and give us a sneak peak at what they plan? Probably not but, of course, they are welcome! Is there a particular kind of music you like? Do you miss old time radio? Is our media three not enough for you? Would you like to hear news from other countries without the static of short wave? The internet has created a space where people can and do run their own stations and where people who are blind have become proprietors of radio empires and disk jockeys on larger stations developed and run by blind and visually impaired folks. We hope to learn lots from you and may have a few things to teach you as well.

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S1E127 - 20230808 - Tuesday Topics - Radio Needs You.

August 9, 2023

This week we are going to discuss a topic that we hope will be of some interest to many blind and visually impaired people. From the time I was three years

old in 1948, radio had become a critical part of my life. I don't think I am alone. I lived outside the United States for many years and listened to short wave radio even more asiduously than I had listened ! AM radio in the US and Canada before. I spent time listening to distant AM stations at night and became a fan of presenters in cities I had never visited. How did radio impact your life? Were you a listener from the time you were a child? Do you remember the days when radio had dramas instead of music, news and politics? Do you view radio as an entertainment medium or just an information source? Did you listen to stations from other countries on short wave? Do you use internet radio now? What stations do you like and recommend to others? Has changing technology made you less likely to listen to radio? Help us explore what many might believe is the most relevant medium for people who are blind or have low vision!

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S1E126 - 20230801 - Tuesday Topics - heat and summer.

August 1, 2023

Tuesday Topics will explore seasonal issues on ACB Media One and live on zoom.

We are hearing a lot about the heat! How is that affecting people who are blind! Does climate change have special issues that apply ! people who are blind or have low vision? What are the issues and what should ACB be doing about them? Hotels are more expensive; plane fares appear to be higher; Covid has impacted the way hotels operate. How has that affected people who are blind or low vision who often need a little more help? We often used to see Summer as a time to be outside swimming or camping or going places. Is this still how people who are blind are spending their Summers? How has your Summer altered?

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S1E125 - 20230725 - Tuesday Topics - How Many Words Is A Picture Worth.

July 26, 2023

It is really crucial that many of you join us because we are going to explore an

issue that will become increasingly important over the next few years. During the ACB convention just completed the Braille Revival League sponsored a session that allowed those who were there to at least get to touch a new device that is being developed by the American Printing House for the Blind and Humanware. The device is called the Monarch and is the latest in a series of devices that will eventually make the inclusion of tactile graphics in education a commonplace. Starting this Fall devices will be made available to teachers who agree to train in their use. At our presentation and in other places, APH has said they would like to see these devices in the hands of all blind students in the United States. The devices will allow braille reading and, eventually, audio reading. They will allow tactile graphics to be created. APH already has a library of such graphics but it appears that there will need to be the production of lots more "pictures" that are not too intricate for people who are blind to understand the representation the Monarch can bring. Clearly a decision has been made that children who are blind, if properly introduced to the subject, can comprehend and benefit from tactile graphics. Is this true? Can people born without vision understand pictures? The issue is broader than just these machines! Museums, art galleries and art classes are trying to create tactile representations of great art. There are audio descriptions of great art that attempt to explain why a painting or a sculpture has appeal. How effective have these efforts been? Audio description, the electronic depiction of pictures in the class room and perhaps even a discussion of whether the absence of vision makes understanding the visual arts impossible are all parts of the question of people who are blind "seeing" pictures. Where do you stand? Do people with partial vision have the ability to bridge the gap? Can totally blind people who lose their sight later help us understand the many questions that surround making the visual comprehensible? We need your opinions and, after the program is over, we need your continued involvement in coming to terms with one of the newest and most innovative options to emerge for people who are blind.

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S1E124 - 20230718 - Tuesday Topics - Tech, Talks, and Travel.

July 18, 2023

Last week Tuesday Topics took a look at the convention as a whole. We think there is more to cover from ACB 2023 and propose considering three specific

concerns surrounding this event. First, what was the new tech that was shown at the exhibit hall. What should folks look for in the future from some of our more established companies? We will review some of the new stuff and look ahead to a couple of cool things that were hinted at during meetings or at the exhibit hall! What were the highlights of the program? What podcasts do we think you should try to get as soon as they are available? Third, there was what we think is a pretty serious problem that occurred this year that did not appear to be as much of a problem in the past. Particularly United Airlines seemed to be canceling trips all through our convention period. Clearly we cannot do much about the fact of cancellations but what happens afterwards? Should we ask ACB to make available the access numbers of all the airlines before convention next year? Are there other things we can do? Clearly, it was United's turn this year! Last year Southwest seemed to have the most problems. Two years in a row of issues suggests we must consider how we can help our members with this problem! Were you one of the many who had blights go away? What did you do? How successful were you? Could you fix it on your own? So here are three topics surrounding the convention that we hope will persuade many of you to make our next edition of Tuesday Topics a must on your calendar on May 18.

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S1E123 - 20230711 Tuesday Topics - The 2023 ACB Convention.

July 12, 2023

After a period away, Tuesday Topics is overjoyed to be back. You can probably guess what our topic will be. Every year we utilize our first presentation

after the convention to provide our sense of how the convention went. While our opinions are important, your views as our listeners are even more important. Brian, Maryann, Larry, Rick and Paul all attended the convention in person. We want particularly to invite folks who came to Schaumburg virtually. What were the strengths of our convention? What can we do better? how did the break out sessions on the general agenda work? What changes seem to be necessary? Is the convention too long or too short? How did the Zoom links work? Did people know where they needed to be and how to get there? What subjects should be included in the program next year that were not there this year? Obviously there are loads of other issues that %we are sure will come up! This will be your first chance to react to ACB twenty-three! Did "the winds of change" create balmy breezes or hurricanes?

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