Waspish Wednesday: New Wrinkle on Captcha Problem

Howdy.

I have posted before about how Captcha interferes with internet access. It seems like almost daily I hear from a friend that she can’t access a website, a forum, or other resource because of Captcha, also known as word verification or image verification. It is a scourge on the landscape! It is an access-blocking nightmare! And it seems to be spreading everywhere you turn.

An example of some Captchas -- making the internet inaccessible to many people! Grr.

It has come to my attention that Blogger has made it harder (but not impossible!) to disengage this “feature” in the comments section of blogs. I discovered this when I went around to the various blogs that participated in the huge and amazing PFAM blog carnival I just hosted at my other blog, Bed, Body & Beyond to thank the bloggers in their comments. Almost everyone who used Blogger had Captcha. I was feeling quite frustrated.

Then I found out from a couple of them that there is a new Blogger and that with new Blogger, you cannot disengage word verification! They had tried but didn’t know what to do next. Augh! In particular, Kelly at Fly with Hope, was gracious and tenacious at informing me of the situation and running down and fixing this problem. Thank you, Kelly!

I tweeted my friends for information on any workarounds, and L-Squared of Dog’s Eye View informed me that there is a way for bloggers to deal with this:

They can report it using the Send Feedback option in the Nav bar & for now they can switch back to “old Blogger” to disable it.

No, it is not an ideal solution, but for those who are willing and able to jump through these hoops, we salute you for helping to make the internet a slightly more accessible place!

Please, website designers and software developers, do not be seduced by the popularity of Captcha. It hurts people. It really does. There is a better way, I promise you.

I am completely exhausted. I’m going to tick check the dog and myself, eat, and go back to sleep.

– Sharon, the muse of Gadget, and Barnum, SDiT

P.S. Barnum is actually starting to be useful on random occasions. Today, one of my slippers was not nearby, and I asked him to retrieve it, and he did it perfectly! Woohoo!

Interlude: Gadget Wins Posthumous Recognition

Hey everyone.

Sorry for the lag between posts. I’ve been focused on the following:

1. Learning how to make After Gadget more accessible and then going back to revise all previous pages and posts to get them up to scratch. (Almost, but not quite done. I should be done when the next “real” blog goes up.)

By the way, if you blog, too, you can get great info on making your blog accessible at FWD/Forward — feminists with disabilities. It’s also a really excellent blog.

P.S. Even if you have not received a complaint about your blog’s inaccessibility, please do not assume it works for everyone. For example, I haven’t had any complaints about After Gadget, but I’ve learned some ways to improve it.

Personally, I flee many a website or blog because it’s not accessible to me, without ever telling the webmaster or blogger that there are problems. Aside from it being a pain in the butt to constantly fight for access, it’s not alway even possible if you can’t access the site to begin with. Stepping off my (fragrance-free) soap box now.

2. Sleeping. You know, it turns out that sleep really can be excellent. I don’t think I’ll make it into a lifestyle or anything, but now and again, it’s very refreshing. I recommend it.

3. Puppy preparations!

A. Which puppy?

The breeder has narrowed it down to two boys as the best candidates for what I’m seeking in a future SD. (The latest puppy photos are at legacybouviers.com, an inaccessible site. Click on “New Arrivals.”) They sound unbelievably adorable and sweet. They both love to be held, and you can pick them up and rub their bellies and paws, and they just go limp! Isn’t that the best? And, although they like to play, they are good at settling down and are super mellow, which I need, because when we are aren’t training or working or exercising, we will be resting a lot. They also are curious and bold, but not overly obnoxious. Of course, it’s still too soon to tell. The final decision won’t be made until formal temperament testing is done between weeks seven and eight.

B. How to get the puppy here?

I’ve been working on getting Monsieur le Petit Chien here. I’ve decided to book flights for Betsy to fly in, pick up the puppy, and fly back. I have not booked a flight in fifteen years, if that, and never before booked a pup as “carry on,” so I’m a bit nervous about making it work out. Anyone with experience in this, feel free to post suggestions or soothing remarks and encouragements.

C. When should I take leave of my senses, before or after the puppy gets here?

Most people probably think that getting a puppy in the first place requires taking leave of your senses to a certain degree. I’m not going to argue.

In my case, there are also predictable occasions (and some unpredictable ones) when I have what I affectionately call, “the crazies.” This usually happens when I start a new antiparasitic or antibiotic medication to attack one or more of the tick-borne diseases (TBDs) that have damaged my brain. It’s part of what’s known as a “herx” or a Herxheimer reaction. Herxes can last for days or months. When I was adding new treatments every few months, I essentially herxed for over two years. That was brutal, but I’ve learned a lot from it.

One thing I’ve learned is that it’s better to be honest with myself and others about what’s going on. This helps me handle it better; it helps the people around me handle it better; and it allows my doctors and me to make better decisions about my health care. It also makes me less secretive and ashamed of it, which contributes to all of the above, as well as, in my opinion, making the world a better place (and delusions of grandeur are not even one of my symptoms; I come by them naturally). That’s why I’m taking you on this tangent: one of my roles in life, and in this blog, is to destigmatize and demystify stuff about disability so that disabled folks will have to put up with less oppression. For example, I am certain I’m not the only one taking steps to address psych issues before I get a puppy.

Case in point: I don’t want to be in the middle of a new, big, flaming psych herx when I welcome my puppy into the first home he will ever know after leaving the nest!

So when I talked to my doctor yesterday about which protocol we’re switching to, I had the pup in mind. My doc and I agreed that it’s time to attack my Bartonella infection because it’s been undertreated, and it’s caused me loads of problems. She suggested adding a new IV medication. While all my TBDs can cause psych symptoms, the worst are probably related to Bartonella.

“Would this be likely to kick up a psych herx?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah,” she replied with gusto.

“Let’s start that now,” I said.

I told her that I’m getting a puppy in a month, so I want to get “the crazies” out of the way before the puppy arrives. She seemed delighted that I was getting a puppy and asked if it would be the same breed as Gadget. Apparently, I now have medical approval for puppy-lovin’! (Not that disapproval would have deterred me, at all.)

4. I wanted to post some more celebratory blogs occasionally, to keep you all from burning out on my grief, but my computer has been refusing to cooperate.

A long time ago I wrote an essay for my Sick Humor column called, “The Hindrance Dog.” It details an incident wherein a rambunctious new rescue, who is young but strong, teaches his naive handler the dangers of attaching his lead to her mobility device.

I thought this would make for a quick-and-easy post while I worked on items 1, 2, and 3 above, but my computer is refusing to allow me to translate it from its old format. I’ll get there soon, though. Humor is in store, I promise ye.

Instead, here is a different bit of celebration.

I received the email below last night from the Service Dog list on Dogster. I was very honored. Everyone there was very supportive of what Gadget and I went through. (I joined less than two months before he died, though I didn’t yet know that he was dying.) So, it really means a lot to get this posthumous recognition of Gadget — and of our partnership. Thank you, Dogster SD list moderators.

[Accessibility note on the link below: I know guide-dog partners who use Dogster, so I assume it’s text-reader accessible. However, it’s graphically intense, with lots of colors, flashing and moving things, and very small print.]

Congratulations to Gadget’s mom for Gadget being service dog of the month in memory for February!

Gadget was a male Bouvier des Flandres whose page can be seen here:

http://www.dogster.com/dogs/1051350

Gadget passed away in November, but his mom made a wonderful blog about his life and work, and how to cope with the loss of one’s service dog. He was a truly special dog, and continues to impact people today. He knew over 100 commands, and helped his mom not only with her disabilities, but also with greyhound rescue.

So congratulations to Gadget’s mom, and Gadget, we miss you!

Thanks for bearing with me. Another blog will be out soonish.

Peace.

-Sharon and the muse of Gadget