AI meets Health Care

Cool scholarship to consider as school years open

Professor Olga Troyanskaya shares why she is standing up for Princeton 

Join the Taskar Center at the Seattle Design Festival August 16-17 and other upcoming events.

 Shameless repost: Mark your calendars for future Taskar Centerevents even if it's too short notice for the Seattle Design Festival

August 16-17 | Lake Union Park (Stall A1) We’re thrilled to return to the Seattle Design Festival this year with our interactive installation, Mapping Belonging. Come explore how sidewalks data, lived experiences, and community design intersect and come together to improve accessibility in our communities. We will have games, real-time feedback displays, and prizes for participants for all ages. Don’t miss these HIGHLIGHTS: August 16th and 17th at Lake Union Park. AND August 18th at Carnation HopeLink covered area Pedestrian Access Walkabout with the AVIV ScoutRoute app (Pop-Up Experience Zone, Stall A1) August 16 (Sign up here)  Join Realtime Feedback installation: See your feedback light up in real-time on our feedback ticker! Mainstage Talk: "Mapping Belonging: Placemaking & Data Futures," on the Mainstage on August 17th, from 2:00–2:30 PM PDT. Carnation HopeLink Walkabout: Continue the conversation in Carnation WA on August 18th! Join us under the covered area located at 4620 Tolt Ave, Carnation, WA 98014 Mark your calendars and sign up for the walkabout through this form! Heads up for travelers! I-5 northbound will be closed from August 15–18 between the I-90 interchange and NE 45th St. Express lanes will be open 24/7 northbound — or better yet, take public transit! View the full event map here: https://tinyurl.com/SDF25Map Let’s Keep Growing This Movement Together We’re so glad you’re here! Please help us bring even more voices to the table. Forward this email to a friend who cares about accessible, inclusive communities. Invite them to sign up for the TCAT newsletter here and stay connected all year long. Start an OpenSidewalks Club at Your School! Do you know a high school student who wants to make a difference? We’re launching OpenSidewalks Clubs through DemocracyLab this fall to empower youth to collect sidewalk data, share community stories, and explore urban design with real-world impact. Clubs receive access to tools, mentorship, and a growing network of peers working toward mobility equity. Sign up here to learn more and be the first to know when registration opens! In Case you Missed it: OpenThePaths 2025 In March, TCAT proudly hosted our annual OpenThePaths mini-conference. We were honored to bring together an outstanding lineup of transportation and disability justice professionals, community leaders and transportation data experts who presented on the future of pedestrian accessibility. A huge thank you to all our community members and guest speakers for contributing to this important conversation! Catch up on conversations that lit up the room in this YouTube playlist. OS-CONNECT- Statewide Sidewalks Inventory & Mapping Project Thanks to your advocacy, and a strong push from our legislative champions, we’re proud to report that as of July 1 2025, we completed mapping all Washington sidewalks that were in scope for the first biennium. This is a major international milestone and you can view and comment on the data in the OS-CONNECT viewer. Our work continues as we collaborate closely with our Specialized Community-Led Impact Opportunities (SCLIO) partners to ensure the OS-CONNECT dataset is as robust and impactful as possible. New Grant opportunities will be open in fall. Application materials found here. We deeply appreciate your continued support in building a more accessible world. Please don’t hesitate to reach out or use AccessMap to support your non-motorized travel!  We can’t wait to see you at the Design Festival, in Carnation, in classrooms this fall, or in SCLIOs throughout this new biennium!

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, August 5th, 2025 Dr. Anat Caspi will be giving a presentation at the APTA Technology Conference, from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT View Dr. Caspi’s speaker page and agenda here.  Sunday, September 21st, 2025 TCAT will be at the 12th Annual Paralysis Meetup & Resource Expo at the Tukwila Community Center, 12424 42nd Ave S, Tukwila, WA 98168 Follow us on social media: Instagram LinkedIn

Get involved!

Get paid to test out our accessible routing application, now featuring more cities!  Join AccessMap Multimodal Beta Join the AccessMap Multimodal Study for BLV Users Donate to the Taskar Center

Tsunami Advisory for Washington 8pm update: with place names and ETA

#tsunami

RantWoman definitely approves of this tsunami advisory report for one very important reason:

The report lists out loud estimated arrival times at different cities tonight. No squinting at impossible to interpret maps, just a nice clear explanation of how big the wave is expected to be, clear advice to avoid low lying areas for several hours, and assessment of the low likelihood of impact far into Puget Sound.

And here is a nice explanation of tsunami dynamics

Tsunami watch issued for Puget Sound area after magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia

Officials close Washington beaches as tsunami approaches

Only one wayfinding oops.

 Hah!

Remember RantWoman's angst about construction at the UW Medical Center

Adventures of RantWoman: A wholesome alternative to World Events anxiety: CONSTRUCTION at UW Montlake.

RantWoman is VERY happy to report things turned out to be much simpler than RantWoman was fussing about.

RantWoman arrived on her usual Northbound bus on NE Pacific. Lo, there were both stairs and an elevator. RantWoman is a wimp about stairs, especially poorly lit ones but a friendly human helped RantWoman find the elevator.

Friendly Help told RantWoman to go down and there would be a walkway right from the elevator.

RantWoman did find the walkway on her second try.

First RantWoman just automatically pressed the button for the lowest floor. 

Oh fabulous. Parking garage. Hot. smelly, dimly lit. RantWoman foggeed around a little bit. No walkway.

So RantWoman decided to get back on the elevator and see what was what. This time the elevator stopped on the level that went straight to the walkway. Phew.

The walk to RantWoman's appointment was a bit of a maze, but especially after the procedure the walk was especially helpful in shaking out back spasms. And the exit through the Surgery center toook RantWoman straight to the stop for her bus home.

As an aside,Tips for mapmakers:

make it easy to print just the map on a whole sheet of paper, perhaps automatically landscape mode if possible.

consider using graphics instead of lines for paths. Maybe little round circles for wheelchair friendly and, say, triangles for the pedestrian route. And where they overlap alternate the little icons. Make the graphics different colors but realize that the routes still need to be identifiable if printed in black and white.

Big Shout Out to the Jeanette Rankin Foundation GREAT FORCE campaign

Rankin GREAT FORCE Campaign

"It's not a handout. It's an investment" referring to the Jeanette Rankin foundation scholarships for women over 35 getting their first associates or college degree.

Full Disclosure: anything that says Jeanette Rankin is guaranteed to get RantWoman's attention--eve if a mailer from the Jeannette Rankin Foundation had inspiring pictures and narrative but NO WAY to connect electronically.

Thank you Google: 

Great Force Campaign - Jeannette Rankin

But OH NO!

RantWoman read lots of inspiring text. RantWoman did not watch every cool sounding video. At a certain point, Ranchwomen was more than ready to Click the "Give Now!" button.

One Problem: the Give Now button did not work. RantWoman imagines there is some problem related to her screen reader. Maybe RantWoman will come back and troubleshoot. Maybe RantWoman will reach out by email. In the meantime, RantWoman enthusiastically recommends that anyone not vexed by screen reader issues support the Jeanette Rankin Foundation's unrestricted grants for women in need.!

And now a word from an alumni interviewer

 RantWoman will soon hit a major decade anniversary of her graduation from Princeton, just as private colleges with large endowments, #DEI, and campus protest are all over the news. RantWoman has Things to Say.

RantWoman has never considered it likely that she would be in a position to endow even, say, a drinking fountain or an endowed professorship. Maybe RantWoman is thinking too small, possible a thought for future alumni. 

One of RantWoman's ways to give back is to serve as an alumni interviewer for people who have applied to Princeton. Now that admissions results are out, people are making choices among their options, RantWoman has opinions, with thanks to all of this year's cohort of interviewers.

The giant alumni interview machine
who this year collectively interviewed over 500 students
who applied to join the Princeton Class of 2029

RantWoman finds interviewing applicants an extremely rewarding way to give back. Things RantWoman finds rewarding:

"Meeting" young people who will make great contributions wherever they wind up. 

--A lot of the time meetings are on Zoom. So RantWoman sometimes gets to see uneven internet even in WA.

--RantWoman is really direct about her parameters for meeting in person: RantWoman does not drive so applicants get to figure out how to come to RantWoman if they want to meet in person. RantWoman thanks several branches of the Seattle Public Library for space for in-person meetings.

Learning about a lot of different high schools, high school experiences, student opportunities and challenges.

Giving students an opportunity to ask questions. Sometimes something comes up in the Q&A that tells RantWoman the student won't be too disappointed if they do not get admitted to Princeton. Sometimes RantWoman talks to a student who will be the first person in their family to go to college. Many times, RantWoman learns something interesting or easily relates to an experience the student shares.

Imparting such wisdom as RantWoman has to offer. Please listen, especially if RantWoman repeats the same advice in response to multiple questions, for example about realism in coursework choices.

Reassuring students that "because Princeton has an amazing financial aid program" is perfectly reasonable as one factor in their decisions to apply. RantWoman spends a lot of time in Elon's sandbox. PResently it is very fashionable in some corners to scream that no federal dollars should go to schools with large endowments. RantWoman strongly begs to differ. Some students, such as the embattled Secretary of defense go through Princeton on ROTC scholarships. For other students, financial aid includes some kind of campus work study job.If people need financial aid and otherwise qualify to be admitted to Princeton, they darn well should be able to use their federal financial aid at the schools where they are admitted. RantWoman also considers it extremely appropriate that people graduate from Princeton with WIDELY varying views about and approaches to issues of the day, with a further note about all the different ways the country gets its money's worth from Princeton alumni.

Odds of admission are low. Princeton admits 4-5 % of students who apply. This means a lot of students with 4.0 GPA, phenomenal test scores and striking extracurricular activities do not get admitted. RantWoman has a pretty standard set of questions and tries to listen for unique energy the student will bring to Princeton and personal qualities that will help them succeed. RantWoman also tells students she is just a cog in the admissions process, wishes the students success, and sometimes says it would be cool for our paths to cross sometime in the future.

Most of the time, RantWoman has no trouble answering those questions, but some years one or two students pop straight to the top of RantWoman's guesses. In fact, for a while, rantWoman was beating the odds in terms of the percentage of students she interviews who get admitted. Some years, RantWoman's list includes lots of people with something to offer but nothing that massively distinguishes them from other applicants. RantWoman always encourages other interviewers not to get discouraged when that happens.

Ahh, but interviewing is not all daffodils and roses. Here are a few further tips.

RantWoman does the best she can to listen for special family circumstances such as difficulty finding a place to study because of housing challenges or family duties that get in the way of too many extracurricular activities. RantWoman realized it matters to talk about these things after she reckoned with the point that she herself often was the one putting the family dinner on the table because of RantParents' work schedules.

Please try to avoid annoying your interviewer. For example:    

Please respond promptly when an assigned interviewer reaches out.

Please keep enough track of your interviews to NOT ask an interviewer "which school are you calling about."

Do not mention other schools applied to by name, but RantWoman is just fine with comparisons such as "I want to study a specific language available at Princeton" or I am interested in a specific student activity or this aspect of the Princeton campus really appeals to me.

Please do not act entitled. RantWoman has no interest in people's test scores, but other notes of entitlement also peeve RantWoman. Admission rates are widely publicized and "very competitive" is always a standard. Princeton admissions are indeed very competitive. RantWoman talks to about a dozen students a year. Everyone RantWoman talks to brings valuable gifts to wherever they go to college, even if it is not Princeton.

A special note about test scores: RantWoman is not interested in test score details. RantWoman is not even  keeping as much track as might be reasonable about testing requirements. Recently another Princeton alumna spoke about her test scores being only 10 points shy of perfection. Percentagewise, RantWoman's deviation from perfection was bigger than 10 points, but RantWoman's scores were the second highest in her high school, with an asterisk because many students took a different test.

 

If you are interested in a specific topic, maybe use the search bar on the website to see what academic presence there is or is not. RantWoman usually does not say something even if she forms an opinion that Princeton might not be the best fit for a particular program, but RantWoman has a time or two formed that opinion. RantWoman also finds it annoying when a student has a clear idea of a strong interest but has not checked the Princeton website for further information.

 STEM skills and computer science are extremely important in any future workplace. However, RantWoman's life has involved considerable experience working in IT roles with people who have both humanities degrees and more technical backgrounds. Sometimes at receptions for admitees, RantWoman is really tempted just to blurt out "Not everyone here who says you want to major in Computer Science will get degrees in computer science but y'all will have many opportunities to use any technical skills you have.

A large percentage of students graduate with degrees other than what they mentioned when they applied. Get help when you need to. Keep things in perspective.

PS a lot of the advice here applies to lots of other schools besides Princeton.

How authoritarian is we?

Lawrence on Trump attacking the rule of law: We are all Harvard. We are ...

RantWoman is not a lawyer. That fact does not prevent her from asking questions and asking questions. And laying fingers to keyboard cuts the possibility that RantWoman's head will explode.

RantWoman's comment

Thank you for the recitation of Harvard contributions.

People MUST start litigating which of the Velveeta Voldemort outrages fall outside the boundaries of "official acts."

Part of what was gross to me about the conversation with Bukele was Bukele saying, based on ZERO due process in either The US or El Salvador that Mr. Garcia is a terrorist and why would he send a terrorist into the US?

I hope to GOD there are people in El Salvador who can and will call BS on the prisons for hire topic for exactly the same reason. Why should El Salvador let the US send thenm Venezuelans? The MS 13 issue is different but people in the US accused of being MS 13 are still entitled to due process.

Mr. Garcia's wife is a US citizen. The US DOES IN FACT, at least sometimes, help the family members of other US citizens unlawfully detained abroad and that should absolutely happen in this case.

In other words, horrific reality notwithstanding, I refuse to believe the whole mess is hopeless

And from Rachel Madow

Trump exposed in hot mic moment planning further abuse of power

and of course with a RantWoman comment.

So aside from playing silly games with the wording of #SCOTUS rulings, wanna bet that part of the point of this drama is to distract everyone from all the disastrous fallout from his tariffs, or to take everyone's eyes off the markets and a bunch of insider trading and financial market shenanigans?

That said, when asked about returning Mr. Garcia, Mr Bukele made some comment about "why would we send our terrorists to the US?" Terrorists according to whose due process???

BUT if he is going to play that card, shouldn't the people of El Salvador have a choice about which "terrorists" they are willing to receive in their government's prisons for hire gig?

And, serious question, what is Mr. Bukele going to do when all the people working in the US get deported and stop sending money home to prop up the economy.

Jon Stewart on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Deportation and How Trump Fails to Deliver | The Daily Show

Supreme Court Creates ITS OWN MESS With Trump

RantWoman's questions

I keep saying in human rights terms, there is a straight line from Abu Ghraib to this case. I hesitate to ask what if anything the concept of "due process" means in El Salvador, but what possibility is there for Mr. Garcia to petition the salvadoran government for release? If the US really cared, shouldn't someone under normal diplomatic order be able to hire a Salvadoran lawyer to assist with petitions. That would definitely be a step to FACILITATE release. What I saw of Trump and Bukele comments: "Bukele was saying but why would I send a terrorist to the US???" And if the US is going to try to send citizens to El Salvador, is there any basis under Salvadoran law for citizens to call BS on this prisons for hire scheme? I know the political atmosphere in El Salvador makes this difficult, but I figure it's worth asking. Mr. Garcia's wife is a US citizen. He will have a US citizen child. (The part of my brain that finds Stephen Miller disgusting half suspects that one more brown baby probably sticks in his craw. I DON'T CARE) Anyway, is there anything Mr. Garcia's wife can do either in the US or in El salvador to facilitate further progress? What finally won people held at Guantanamo to get legal representation? Is it just that people were finally in a US base or something else? Is any of it applicable here?

Madow: Hundreds of protests planned as Trump's abuses generate ...

RantWoman still hasn't collected the black pussy hat with pink ears that a friend promised to knit RantWoman for the worldwide women's march at the onset of Trump 1.0 but BOY is RantWoman glad people are willing to take to the streets now.

True confession: RantWoman has a long list of activities she may need to handle instead of rushing out in the pollen and glorious sunshine to stand around in visible outrage. Trust RantWoman on this: RantWoman will still be protesting but probably just no in the streets.

State Attorneys General and responsible law firms vs Elon and his DOGE boy hackers.

'Blatantly Unconstitutional!' How Trump CAN be legally STOPPED

RantWoman of late has been watching a lot of legal-themed YouTube channels, including a few that just get ranty, even by RantWoman's pro-rant standards. This channel and this video go on RantWoman's list to come back to.

As an aside, RantWoman has decided a number of times not to go to law school. Nothing is making her rethink that decision but it has shaped comments she might offer if someone she knew where thinking of a career in law.

Dinner and Plague

RantMom at Christmastime
proudly in a new chair

RantWoman has been meaning to offer up a #Pandemic plus 5 years piece. RantWoman would prefer NOT to be offering up today's post.

Yesterday the RantSisters received a normal conscientious email from RantWoman's new abode: a small number of residents and one staffperson had tested positive for #COVID.

RantWoman did not immediately pick up the phone and demand "Mom, are YOU all right?" Instead RantWoman decided that either RantMom would share news herself or it could wait until the RantWomen's nightly phone chat. On the call, RantMom definitely sounded drippy and congested. She also mentioned knowing of the cases among her neighbors. AND she mentioned another common COVID onset symptom, as well as plans to stay home from a Tuesday volunteer gig. At this point, RantWoman had to say "MOM, GET TESTED."

Tonight, when the RantWomen chatted, RantMom sounded a little worse than yesterday. RantWoman's experience from her own long-avoided encounter with "the 'rona" is that the cough and effect on a person's voice are different than a regular cold. That was definitely true for RantMom who ruefully acknowledged what RantWoman suspected. RantMom tested positive and this time has symptoms!. RantMom also said she had eaten dinner with one of the other cases that tested positive a few days ago. 

Bah! It's not like RantMom would ever let anyone tell her not to eat dinner with her neighbors. RantWoman also considers it a blessing that the dining companion this time is alive and recovering, not falling over dead.

So now RantMom is isolating. Meals come to her. She puts on a mask to run out and get mail or toss out trash. RantWoman would SO like to run over and give RantMom a hug. RantWoman is scratching her head about whether she can and should deliver something supportive. The RantWomen also talked about masks. Neither of us is crazy about paper masks. Cloth masks are imperfect but some mask is always better than no mask.

Maybe another day RantWoman will go on some about:

--the assortment of different masks still lurking in coat pockets and bags

--how good it felt to move along some mail order shoes that never fit right to their destiny in the rest of the universe.

--assorted meditations about cooking and technology

--the colorful but not always perfectly fitting blouses RantWoman spent some of her #Pandemic stimulus payments on.

--the new bed from Amazon and why RantWoman is definitely peeved with Jeff Bezos on Constitutional and political grounds.

Tonight, though, it's all about RantMom. If you pray, prayers would be appreciated.

THANK YOU Broadband Breakfast. Celebrate 5 years of Broadband Breakfast Live online Wednesday march 12 at 9 am Pacific

Pandemic 5 years on. RantWoman is not exactly nostalgic for the onset of the #Covid19 #pandemic. Besides, with cratering stock market, out of control President and tech bro zillionaires, as well as measles, monkeypox and bird flu all knocking at the door of, charitably, a brainworm afflicted Secretary of Health and Human Services, the current world environment feels just as unsettled if not more so. 

That said RantWoman wants to offer appreciation for one weekly breath of technological, policy, and business insight that really helped RantWoman stay sane: Broadband breakfast.

Broadband Breakfast Live online is a series of weekly one-hour zoom sessions featuring clumps of people from across the telecommunications sector. Each show featured several speakers with varied perspectives on a common topic: local dimensions of broadband deployment, fixed wire vs wireless, urban vs rural considerations, middle mile telecom markets, household budgets, the affordable Connectivity Program, federal budgets and federal regulations just to name a few topics.

All of the presenters were knowledgeable and respectful of each other's perspectives, as well as respectful of questions such as RantWoman who rather frequently asked some question about how are the needs of people with disabilities addressed.

RantWoman has learned a great deal from all these sessions. RantWoman has also forwarded links to others and has heard appreciation for that.

Well done Broadband Breakfast: Better Broadband, Better Lives.

For more information and to help celebrate Five years of Broadband Breakfast Live Online please see

Broadband Breakfast on March 12, 2025 - 5 Years On: Where Is Broadband Now?

RantWoman unfortunately has to miss the live event because of a medical appointment that cannot happen by telemedicine but will definitely keep following. 

Other #pandemic survival lifesavers spawned by internet access and the proliferation of accessibility measures

The American Council of the Blind Community calls. RantWoman does not remember exactly how many calls happened per week or per month in the early days of the pandemic. Now though, there are dozens of facilitated calls, some weekly, some monthly, initially on Zoom and also now edited for podcasts. The Community calls series offer vital community connection, religious, mental health, guide dog care, and daily living as wellas  technical training for facilitators and attenders alike.

Telemedicine: RantWoman at one point had a recurrence of a skin infection. Previously the infection had been easily treated with antibiotic. RantWoman was able to photograph the affected area with her phone, upload it to her medical record and get the needed prescription without needing to venture out.

Not so great:

All the parents with disabilities struggling to work with inaccessible online learning platforms.

All the kids suffering through the isolation of trying to do school online.

Blog tips for #pandemic commentary: RantWoman seeds her pandemic related posts with the #Pandemi hashtag and somethings with #COVID or #COVID19

Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart on the Los Angeles Wildfires

Another evening of blog as electronic scrapbook.

California, America Is With You | Stealing Greenland | A Medal For Pope Francis | Tennis Drama

Jon Stewart Calls Out GOP Hypocrisy with L.A. Wildfire Disaster Relief | The Daily Show

Eagle S Seized by Finland for Severing Cables Between Finland & Estonia

For readers who are not total shipping nerds, some key points:

--The Baltic sea is full of undersea power and communications cables as well as pipelines.

--There have been a series of anchor drags and other ways to damage these vital pieces of infrastructure.

--The cable drags can be partially explained by vessel age and poor maintenance, but geopolitics also enters the picture.

This YouTube channel is a massive resource for shipping and maritime vocabulary.

Lloyd's list article about spy equipment found on board the Eagle S with links about other cable drags

Boxes

a celebratory Christmas Cactus

 Happy Birthday RantDad.

If RantDad were still alive he would turn 90 today, one of those time horizons one hardly imagines, whether the celebrant is alive or not.

30 years ago, RantWoman flew back to MT to surprise RantDad on his birthday. That year his birthday fell on Thanksgiving. RantWoman missed out on Thanksgiving dinner but collected a nice incentive to take a later flight than the one she originally booked. The whole trip was the best birthday surprise ever.

35 years ago was a terrible tragedy RantWoman still smarts from.

But let us talk RantDad memories:

Bassoon music

Postcard collecting

Stacking boxes in boxes.

RantDad was frugal in a style that definitely did not permit throwing away all the boxes that crossed his path.  In fact, even though some kinds of math definitely were not RantDad's favorite, he made sort of a hobby of stacking boxes in boxes and then figuring out how to rearrange things to stack even more boxes in the boxes. 

When RantMom was getting ready for downsizing 1.0, we discovered that the garage of the family home still held boxes stacked from the 1960's, before the RantFamily moved from CO to MT.: All of these spatial reasoning masterpieces started going out the door during Downsizing 1.0 for RantMom. RantMom sold the home where she lived for 30 years, loaded her life behind a bulkhead in one of those we will move your stuff in our semi on our timeline deals and moved to Seattle.

And two downsizings later, RantMom's apartment still has a FEW boxes stacked in boxes remaining.

RantWoman smiles ironically every time she flattens an Amazon delivery box. The flattened boxes go to the recycle. RantWoman would be thrilled if the charming drivers who bring boxes of things to her door could, on subsequent trips. In the meantime, RantWoman strives to move the boxes along in the universe more elegantly than RantDad did.

And speaking of boxes, one of RantMom's recent excursions into boxes turned up this memorable phot of RantDad, probably from early college because RantWoman thinks RantDad played the baritone horn until he went off to college and fell in with the woodwinds.

RantDad with his bassoon in performance clothes

The making of Black Barbie | Official Netflix Trailer

RantWoman has a Mean To Read List.

RantWoman also has a Mean to Watch List.

This looks like a COOL documentary. Enough said.

Update from Paul of Matthew and Paul and his guide dog service denial story

 Paul tells story of meeting with Restaurant Manager

A previous Rant with link to the original news story

And still another rant--with holiday spirit even

a further short rant, just to gild the lily:

Dear owners of poorly trained hounds in Service dog vests,

If that waggy thing you are putting that vest on is not crate trained enough to leave at home, it is NOT going to do well in situations that properly trained service and guide dogs take in stride. DO NOT embarrass yourself or stress out your pet by presenting the dog with things it is not trained to handle.

There. RantWoman will now resume sowing confusion among the sight dependent with her glasses and Ambassador Thwack the badly behaved white cane and Anger Management Consultant.

Yes, sometimes RantWoman can do something approximating eye contact, but her pupils still will not do the same dilate and constrict vibe that some rely on as cues for social hierarchy.

Yes, SOMETIMES RantWoman can independently read things like restaurant menus, grocery store signs, food labels, street signs. And lots of time she cannot. RantWoman strives to be nice about this but every once in awhile a Customer Service Moment erupts.

Yes, SOMETIMES RantWoman can see where she is going and navigate among vehicles, pedestrians with their faces in their devices, and bobbing and weaving crowds. But lots of times she cannot. Ambassador Thwack's job is to say, POLITELY, "please get out of my way and don't say I didn't warn you if we bump into each other."

This is a year-round problem, in summer, winter, heat warning and cool breezes, but Happy September all.

Barbie's 65th year with shameless fundraising from from the American Foundation For the Blind

 Reprinted as is from a fundraising email. AFB is always a worthy cause.

Have you heard about the latest Barbie? It’s the first blind Barbie Fashionista doll! It ranked as the #1 selling doll on Amazon and among the hottest news releases of the week. From The New York Times to People, Barbie is prompting people to talk about blindness and low vision. In its first 24 hours, the blind Barbie had over 2 billion media impressions.

AFB’s team of experts has advised Mattel at every step. From Barbie's white cane to the braille on the box, we aimed to make this launch an inspiration to blind and low-vision children. The result is an authentic representative product that has already begun a conversation about what it means to be blind. With your support, we can turn our vision into reality. Through initiatives like the Blind Barbie, we aim to break down barriers and promote understanding and inclusion in society. Your contributions play a crucial role in making these initiatives possible.

This is already among our milestone achievements, including work on the first audiobooks and a uniform braille code to be adopted worldwide. The consistent factor throughout it all has been the power of the AFB community. We’re working hard every day to continue this legacy of innovation and inclusion. You can help us change the national narrative about blindness—and so much more. Please donate today. P.S. Our 2024 Leadership Conference (AFBLC) will be held in Minneapolis, MN, this Sept 23-25! This is a pivotal platform where we bring together our corporate partners, advocacy groups, government representatives, and the blind and low-vision community to share information that propels our mission forward. Explore our exciting conference agenda and register for AFBLC to join us in leading the way for an inclusive future.

Project 2025 on Maritime Policy?

For readers who are not maritime policy nerds, RantWoman offers a couple comments:

Pay attention to both the Project 2025 document gets things WRONG and the well actually reforms are needed threads.

RantWoman has no opinion about whether and how these comments might apply in the Pacific NW

Look MAGA. No pooping on the walls! Netanyahu's people DO demand he call elections.

RantWoman here collects reactions to and coverage of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the US Congress.

Dempcracy Now: leading israelis speak out against Netanyahu visit

'Sometimes you need a foreign made washing machine to clean your dirty laundry."

"Collaboration is the essence of science."

Novara Media: Mehdi Hasan on Harris snub of Netanyahu

Democracy Now: 400 JVP activists arrested in sit-in at Cannon Building

Please note very articulate statements from people about why they are there, clear demands, and the STUNNING absence, compared to #J6, of assaults on police, gallows, bear spray, body armor fashion statements....

NBC: Patty Murray on why she watched but did not attend Netanyahu's speech

The Real News Network covers July 24 protests

TYT: Congress gives standing ovation, applauds Netanyahu's anti-american speech

CBS News: Netanyahi wants total victory

Military people in both US and Israel say there is no military path to victory.

Youtube has an abundance of additional clips.

RantWoman here notes a couple comments from Protest Curmudgeon.

--Somewhere in the protest an AMerican flag was burned. RantWoman is NOT a big fan of flag burning: frankly, anyone mad enough to burn a flag should TRY to find a more constructive way to deal with what one is PO'ed about. RantWoman herself has a complicated relation to flags: they matter and something in the Sunday school RantWoman was steeped in as a child still half regard flags as idols. So, no flag burning, and not quite the same veneration as others might express.

And from X, a protest at Union Station, not far from the Capitol involving a replica of the Liberty Bell placed by veterans.

Children being murdered in Gaza every day for nearly a year: *silence*

A replica Liberty bell, not even the real one, gets vandilized with magic marker: My heart is broken 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/RhmjrCIhrM

— Fright👽they/he (@FrightNite52) July 25, 2024

There were several comments similar to the one here. There also were calls to arrest, jail, deport the "artists." RantWoman imagines that people who spread graffiti all over the bell might expect to get arrested, fined, and perahps asked to make restitution. RantWoman does not consider that inappropriate. RantWoman also has the impression that the graffiti should be easy to clean up, but RantWoman is no expert. 

PS

TYT: hostage families arrested and scorching views of vandalism

Shameless reprint: New Barbies! Representation!

 

Barbie® Introduces the First Blind Barbie Fashionista Doll and Black Barbie Fashionista Doll with Down Syndrome, Allowing Even More Children to Tell Stories Through Play

Released as part of this year’s global Barbie Fashionistas lineup, Barbie partnered with the American Foundation for the Blind and National Down Syndrome Society to ensure doll designs accurately reflect the community they are designed to represent EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 23rd, 2024 – Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) announced today the addition of a blind Barbie doll and a Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome, created to allow even more children to find a doll that represents them and inspire all children to tell more stories through play.  “We recognize that Barbie is much more than just a doll; she represents self-expression and can create a sense of belonging," said Krista Berger, Senior Vice President of Barbie and Global Head of Dolls. “We proudly introduce a new blind Barbie doll and Black doll with Down syndrome to our Barbie Fashionistas line, reinforcing our commitment to creating products that represent global belonging and inclusivity in the doll aisle.” Barbie partnered with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), an organization dedicated to creating a world of endless possibilities for individuals with blindness and low vision, to ensure details of the blind Barbie doll, including face sculpt, fashion, accessories, packaging experience, and e-commerce communication, accurately depict individuals with blindness or low vision. Counseled by AFB, Barbie was committed to represent individuals with blindness and low vision throughout all stages of the design process, from the doll’s sculpt to the dress pattern:

Accessories: The doll comes with a white and red cane with an identifiable marshmallow tip and includes stylish and functional sunglasses. With some blind or low-vision individuals sensitive to light, the lens provides additional eye protection. Elbow Articulations: The blind Barbie doll includes elbow articulations to ensure comfortable cane use. Textured and Vibrant Fabrics: Barbie conducted testing with blind and low-vision children to ensure that the doll provided an accessible and satisfying play experience for kids with blindness or low vision. With AFB’s guidance, Barbie designed the doll’s fashion to include a satiny pink blouse with a textured ruffle skirt for tactile interest. Additional details include a brightly colored high-contrast hook and loop fasteners for closure on the back of the doll’s top, as well as an elastic skirt waistband to make swapping outfits easier. Packaging and Design: Barbie worked with AFB to create accessible packaging for the doll, including the placement and writing of ‘Barbie’ in braille on the package. Eye Gaze: The doll is designed with an eye gaze facing slightly up and out to accurately reflect the sometimes-distinct eye gaze of a blind individual.

"It was an honor to collaborate with Barbie on the development of the blind Barbie doll,” said Eric Bridges, CEO and President, American Foundation for the Blind. “By increasing representation and promoting awareness about the experiences of blind individuals and those with low vision, our shared goal is to inspire boundless opportunities for everyone, ultimately leading to a world of greater accessibility and inclusion." In 2023 Barbie introduced the first-ever Barbie doll with Down syndrome, which won the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year award presented by the Toy Association. This year, Barbie once again partnered with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to introduce its next doll with Down syndrome to the Barbie Fashionistas 2024 lineup. Throughout all stages of the design process, Barbie and NDSS worked together to ensure the Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome accurately reflected and resonated with members of the Down syndrome community. NDSS connected Barbie with a focus group of Black individuals from the Down syndrome community, including a young Black woman with Down syndrome, to review the doll’s sculpt, hair, fashion and glasses:

Sculpt: Barbie collaborated with the NDSS to accurately represent physical characteristics of people with Down syndrome including a shorter frame, longer torso and low muscle tone. Additionally, the doll’s palms include a single line, a characteristic often associated with those with Down syndrome. Special care was put into the face sculpt, featuring a rounder shape, smaller ears, and a flat nasal bridge. The eyes are slightly slanted in an almond shape while white dots can be seen in the iris. Hair: The doll has a braided hair texture which was one of the key features asked from the Black Down syndrome community. Fashion: Symbols are incorporated throughout the doll’s outfit, and the blue and yellow color palette represents Down syndrome awareness. The three arrows in some of the hearts on the dress, represent the third 21st chromosome that individuals with Down syndrome have. Glasses: The doll also wears pink eyeglasses, representing individuals with Down syndrome who often experience difficulties with their vision.

"NDSS is thrilled to introduce a second Barbie doll with Down syndrome. Having this doll launched alongside the new Barbie doll with Blindness marks another important step in expanding representation for the disability community,” said Kandi Pickard, President and CEO, NDSS. “We are proud to partner with Barbie as they grow to reflect our diverse and beautiful world." “We are delighted to introduce these dolls in partnership with the American Foundation for the Blind and National Down Syndrome Society to further our mission for every young girl to feel represented and celebrated through Barbie.” Berger continued. Doll play has proven to help develop empathy and social processing skills among children, fueling social skills needed to excel in their futures as they imagine they can be anything. As the brand's most diverse doll line, the Barbie Fashionistas series offers more than 175+ looks in a variety of skin tones, eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disabilities and fashions. This includes dolls with vitiligo, dolls that use a wheelchair or a prosthetic limb, a doll with hearing aids and a doll without hair. The 2024 Fashionistas dolls aim to advance Barbie’s continued goal of reflecting a multi-dimensional view of beauty and fashion, allowing more children to see their world reflected through play. The 2024 Fashionistas dolls, including the blind Barbie doll and Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome, are available online now and in store this Summer at major retailers for $10.99.

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