usually our first "In Studio" episode after convention coverage is the traditional wrap up show where we dissect and discuss a particular event 20 minutes longer than we really should. But, as you already know, these are strange times and we find ourselves amongst the BBQ Crew reflecting on life after CSUN instead of our normal post con conversation. J.J. and Shelly talk about their return travel adventures while Joe remarks what it was like to watch the goings on from home. We do talk some tech this week, however, it is scattered throughout the run time of the show in between tips and musings about what has to be considered for future gatherings within the Blind and Low Vision communities. Sound Off and the Last Word find their way in towards the end of the program. So, we did not deviate too far from the norm. Or at least our version of that.
Links To Information Mentioned
COVID 19: Mask Sewing Instructions
5 Considerations for Running a Virtual National Convention during COVID-19
Aira updates policies after Corona Virus outbreak
Tyler Littlefield creates accessible Covid-19 statistics tracker
Free Basic Scripts for the Zoom Conferencing Platform
Mosen Consulting Offers Free Audiobook about the Zoom Meeting Platform
Hadley Presents: COVID-19 and Vision Loss - Hadley Institute ...
COVID-19 and Vision Loss Part 2
Apple Launches New $399 iPhone SE With 4.7-Inch LCD Display, A13 Chip, and Touch ID
Star Trek Discovery, and Picard, now have Audio Description and are perfect for lockdown binge watching
Zoom Call - SNL
Tip: Our Suggestions For Online Shopping
Depending on the service you utilize locally, build your cart ahead of time that way you can jump on any available delivery times. Joe notes that Instacart tends to be better at finding open slots in the morning, as shoppers log in that day, while J.J. has better luck with Shipt the night before he makes an order.
Think about making an order that will last at least a week with ingredients that can make more than a single meal. Some on the panel talk about how they became spoiled with 2 hour delivery and "in the moment" menu making decisions. You do not have to buy in bulk, unless you want to, if you plan out your food choices in advance and consume your most perishable edibles first.
If using contactless delivery, the more detail you can give a delivery person the better. You can avoid mix ups by describing your apartment complex, home and outside markings in the optional areas in the check out or delivery note sections of the app. For example, "Street numbers are on the curb and our mailbox is missing a door". Remember that the person bringing your stuff needs this information and if your area has bad lighting, a large dip at the end of the driveway or some other hazard, it could impact their ability to provide you with good service.
Loyalty cards can save you money! Sam s Wholesale adjusts their prices if you have a membership number entered in Instacart. And Shipt does the same if you have entered your Costco account info. Local grocery chains may have some benefit as well, but you will need to check which ones are on offer in your app of choice.
Subscribing to the Express, Membership or Delivery Pass yearly membership thing does save money. You can avoid many fees, skip some delivery costs and possibly gain other perks by having a Door Dash, Postmates, Shipt or Instacart subscription. If you plan on using these services more often, beyond say twice a month, you really should break down and join up with that service because it is way more expensive to try and get by with an "as needs dictate" approach.
Tip your shoppers and delivery people. Some services are rating you in the same way you rate their delivery experiences. Just like Uber, you can get a bad reputation and this may cause you to wait longer for an order. Recently Instacart had to address a situation regarding people removing large tips after a delivery was completed so they could jump the line in the customer pool. Shoppers and food delivery drivers do not make much and not tipping them for their time and effort is wrong. Besides, it is way cheaper to tip than take a Rideshare back and forth to the same store.
We discussed these tips on Twitter recently. Some out there feel strongly that announcing that you are Blind can result in better service or a more detailed description of a replacement product for a missing item. Others who do not wish to disclose their vision status state that they can get the same level of interaction if they tell their shopper that they are using a device that doesn't show pictures, like an Apple Watch, when in the same scenario. many of these apps do not have a share sheet option for exporting a picture to Seeing AI or Visual Interpreter services. Go for what seems to be the more comfortable option when it comes to interacting whit your shopper.
Lastly, due to higher demand, these apps are updating constantly to scale up to meet the needs of their growing customer bases. Providing helpful feedback about the app's access, process and experience is really important as you could be helping others out there who could run into the same bottleneck you encountered. For the most part these services work well on PC, iOS and Android. But that does not mean they work well all the time every time.
Sound Off:
Reginald George left these remarks in the Comment Section of ep 206
"Why does no one comment on these great podcasts? And if they are, why don't you post them? I have seen Blind Love, and listened to the interview here. He was very lucky to be able to pull them altogether to be on the show. The movie is absolutely fantastic, and this podcast gives good incite into how five strangers can become friends after working together on a project like this. It was quite a refreshing departure from the typical technology fare, and I commend you for making it happen. Reginald George CATIS Washington Services for the Blind"
We really appreciate the kind words. We were already starting to gear our little podcast to cover topics beyond our original scope pre Pandemic. And now we think we can talk a bit more than tech around here in future. That is not to say we are going to abandon the horse that got us here, we just like to ride a few others out of the stable from time to time.
Last Word:
yeah, what a surprise, its food related.
Polar Pizza Ice Cream Treats | Baskin-Robbins
MY COOKIES ARE POPPING! Trolls OREO Cookies REVIEW
Oreo Tiramisu - 12.2oz : Target
And go back to BBQ 176 for more snack suggestions that J.J. still finds palatable today
We are not sure what, or when, 210 is or will be at the time of this writing. We have a few ideas. In the meantime, may we suggest that you reread your copy of the most infamous book in the galaxy and take some comfort from those friendly letters on the cover by saying to yourself... "Don't Panic"
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Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.
