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E97: What does accessibility mean to you? Part 1 - Juan Olarte

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2022 43:29


Today was Global Accessibility Awareness Day. I had a great chat with Juan Olarte about his work to make digital information (websites and documents) more accessible as well as what National Park Accessibility means to him. Near the end he highlights an event he hosted to mark this important day including a keynote talk from the co-founder of GAAD, Jennison Asuncion.

E96: COVID-19, Part 72 - Omicron, the Fifth wave

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2021 21:37


Tonya and I discuss how cases are increasing rapidly and what the province needs to do. Yesterday evening (when we recorded this) the number of new cases was just over 2400 - today it is just over 3100.

E95: What's next? Part 2 - Vicki Komisar, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2021 46:55


Vicki shared her journey through her undergraduate and graduate studies, applying for jobs in and outside academia and how to give a good job talk. In particular, she gave some great advice on how to deal with imposter syndrome. You can find her contact info here: https://engineering.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/vicki-komisar/ Here is the products she worked on during her PhD are here: https://hartmobility.com/products/easy-range-600/ and https://hartmobility.com/products/easy-range-500/ Here is a video that demonstrates the impact one of her products is having on end users: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwq4EilsXEY

E93: What's next? Part 0 - Introduction to a new series

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2021 1:59


This is a quick introduction to what this podcast is about.

E94: What's next? Part 1 - Ahmed, Biomedical Engineer, Founder of Hellamaid

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2021 39:39


Ahmed took the time to share advice for deciding what to do after school for undergrad and graduate students. He also describes his plans for the next phase in his life as the Founder of Hellamaid. The Reddit article that helped Ahmed launch his business: www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/5lfy6n/4_years_ago_i_wrote_a_case_study_on_reddit_on_my Ahmed's website with pictures and videos including his undergrad project, masters project and DEEP experience: ahmedmezil.com/portfolio The psychology tool that helped him with important decisions (Ahmed is ENFJ): www.16personalities.com/personality-types

E92: COVID-19, Part 71 - Fourth wave

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2021 18:46


This was recorded over a week ago. Tonya and I talk about how worried we should be about a fourth wave.

E91: COVID-19, Part 70 - Third wave

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2021 45:37


Tonya and I discuss the record breaking COVID-19 case numbers happening now in the third wave.

E90: COVID-19, Part 69 - 1 year later

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2021 28:56


Tonya and I both went back and listened to our podcast from 1 year ago (Friday March 13, 2020) and reflected on it.

E89: COVID-19, Part 68 - Variants

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2021 22:11


Case numbers are going down but variant numbers are creeping up.

E88: COVID-19, Part 67 - Numbers going up again

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2021 23:03


This episode was actually recorded a few months ago on November 29th when case counts were going up.

E87: COVID-19, Part 66 - Good things come in threes

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2020 36:19


In this episode, Tonya and I discuss three pieces of good news: the Pfizer vaccine, Drs Lo and de Villa push back and Joe Biden becomes President Elect.

E86: COVID-19, Part 65 - Second wave, second lockdown?

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2020 30:14


Tonya and I discuss the second wave and the likelihood of another lockdown in Toronto.

E85: COVID-19, Part 64 - More back to school planning

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2020 38:33


This episode was recorded on August 3rd. Tonya and I talk more about the plans for school reopening.

E84: COVID-19, Part 63 - Back to school planning

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2020 27:27


Tonya and I discuss the province's plan for September for getting kids back to school.

E83: COVID-19, Part 62 - Two vaccines showing promise

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2020 17:30


Tonya and I talk about the news today that two COVID-19 vaccines released findings and are showing promise

E82: COVID-19, Part 61 - Things are looking up

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2020 22:58


Tonya and I talk about how things are looking pretty good in Ontario right now. This episode was recorded on July 7th.

E81: COVID-19, Part 60 - What returning to school could look like

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2020 33:27


Tonya and I discuss the SickKids report on how schools should handle kids going back to school.

E80: Black Lives Matter Protests - Police violence is a public health issue

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2020 51:33


This episode was recorded on June 7th. Tonya and I touch on COVID stats but talk mostly about the Black Lives Matter protests and how some horrific events have gotten people around the world talking about the issue of police violence and racism and could lead to real change.

E79: COVID-19, Part 59 - Testing asymptomatic people, park shaming, and are we in the second wave now?

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2020 24:11


Tonight Tonya and I talk about the decision to start testing asymptomatic people in Ontario, how people in parks getting shamed.

E78: COVID-19, Part 58 - Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? No.

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2020 19:39


Tonya and I talk about how we're starting to get antsy and we're ready for the lock down to be over...but we're not there yet. We also talk about how the Micheal Warner, a critical care doctor at Michael Garron hospital, thinks Ontario public health's target of completing 90% of contract tracing within 24 hours of a positive COVID test is a mediocre target. His team has started doing their own contact tracing as soon as they think they have a likely COVID case.

E77: COVID-19, Part 57 - Are we ready?

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2020 20:53


Tonight we talk about why we think the public health leadership in Ontario is not inspiring confidence as restrictions start to be lifted. Here is the article we discuss: https://nationalpost.com/news/lockdown-and-release-how-ontarios-imperfect-wall-against-covid-19-is-about-to-be-tested

E76: COVID-19, Part 56 - Flatten or stamp out?

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2020 18:06


Tonya and I talk about how we need to discuss the potential for stamping out COVID rather than just flattening the curve. Here's the article by Irfan Dhalla we discuss: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-elimination-not-adaptation-is-the-courageous-covid-19-choice-for/

E75: COVID-19, Part 55 - Ontario to open up more after the long weekend

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2020 22:53


Tonya and I talked about Ontario further easing restrictions on businesses, plan for Ontario schools still unclear and Montreal schools will not open until September.

E74: COVID-19, Part 54 - Mixed messaging

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2020 37:56


Tonya and I talked about how the Premiere's inconsistent messaging around physical distancing may have set us back in Ontario but that it may reflect what much of the public is feeling.

E73: COVID-19, Part 53 - COVID may have been predictable and how this is feeding into conspiracy theories

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2020 16:41


Tonight I talked about how experts have been predicting an outbreak for many years. In November 2019, an Expert Panel released a report on the Potential Socio-Economic Impacts of Antimicrobial Resistance (https://cca-reports.ca/reports/the-potential-socio-economic-impacts-of-antimicrobial-resistance-in-canada/) that predicted much of what we are experiencing including dramatic shifts in the way people now behave in what used to be mundane interactions such as taking a flight (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/05/is-flying-safe-coronavirus/611335/).

E72: COVID-19, Part 52 - Happy Mother's Day

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2020 26:08


Tonya shares some thoughts on Mother's Day.

E71: COVID-19, Part 51 - Amazon COVID-proofing, Ontario moving as a unit to ease restrictions, and risk in public is still high

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2020 26:55


Tonight we talked about how things are about to start opening up but the risk of getting COVID-19 for us isn't really any less than it was 3 or 4 weeks ago, Amazon's plans for reinvesting their profits to deal with COVID, and Ontario will move as one on easing restrictions.

E70: COVID-19, Part 50 - More conspiracies

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2020 23:12


Tonya and I discuss even more COVID conspiracies that are out there and how youtube and facebook are taking them down.

E69: COVID-19, Part 49 - Sweden not doing too bad, cottages part 2, and Ontario starts to open up

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2020 33:16


Tonya and I discuss how Sweden is not doing too bad considering they didn't shut down as hard as we did here, whether people from the GTA should be going to cottage country and Ontario starts to open up.

E68: COVID-19, Part 48 - Sweden, cottages, and how the power of story can be used for evil

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2020 30:58


Tonight Tonya and I talked about how Sweden is doing pretty well considering they didn't lock down, the difficulty in keeping people from going to their cottages and how the power of stories isn't always a positive thing and can lead society in a bad direction at times.

E67: COVID-19, Part 47 - Stories are the superpower of our species

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2020 20:26


In this episode, I discuss stories and why they are so important to us as human beings - perhaps they are what makes us human. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e80BbX05D7Y https://jamesaltucher.com/podcast/yuval-noah-harari/ https://play.acast.com/s/akimbo/cheapplacebos

E66: COVID-19, Part 46 - Tired:Masks, Wired:Faceshields

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2020 29:02


Tonya and I talk about, faceshields, Ed Yong, and bylaw officers in Toronto going too far.

E65: COVID-19, Part 45 - More questions than answers and evidence that processing events

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2020 16:41


Tonya and I talk about how there are still so many questions regarding COVID-19, how silly banning window visits at long-term care facilities seems and how there is evidence that regularly processing our feelings in journals at difficult times leads to better outcomes for people in the longrun and how there are groups that are interested in archiving these entries: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-april-23-2020-1.5542275/we-want-it-all-keeping-a-covid-19-diary-it-could-help-future-historians-and-your-mental-health-1.5542907

E64: COVID-19, Part 44 - Vaccine by September (?!)

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2020 24:12


Tonight I talk about the news that a vaccine could be out by September (?), a handwash prompting device for home idea, and Apple/Google are working together on an API that could help with contact tracing.

E63: COVID-19, Part 43 - Healthcare workers not allowed at TD banks and what happens to those that slip through the cracks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2020 13:17


Tonya and I did a short chat tonight. Among the topics of discussion were the fact that TD bank wasn't allowing healthcare workers in to their banks and what happens to those that slip through the cracks in our society.

E62: COVID-19, Part 42 - Plans for returning to normal life

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2020 23:47


Tonight we talked about Ontario's plans for loosening the lockdown along with a comparison of plans from a few other provinces.

E61: COVID-19, Part 41 - COVID spread outdoors, Christmas planning

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2020 30:03


We discuss how well does COVID spread outdoors and whether things might be back to normal by Christmas.

E60: COVID-19, Part 40.5 - One small practical reason we all need to do more art

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2020 5:04


On my own tonight - just a quick thought on art and why I think it's important.

E59: COVID-19, Part 40 - Tilak goes to the bank again, the results of antibody testing, and Ontario to release plans to end lockdown

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2020 33:56


Tonight Tonya and I talked about my trip back to the bank, antibody testing show that the numbers of people getting COVID-19 are 5-50 times higher than the numbers reported in the media and a number of jurisdictions are now starting to talk about planning to end the lockdown.

E58: COVID-19, Part 39 - How will things reopen and antibody testing

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2020 34:38


Tonya and I talk about serum testing for antibodies and the first signs that jurisdictions are starting to think about opening things up again.

E57: COVID-19, Part 38 - Sweden's approach

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2020 31:24


Tonight Tonya and I talked a little about our feelings, how Sweden's alternative approach is working and how the phrase evidence-based may be used inappropriately at times.

E56: COVID-19, Part 37 - Shooting, Ontario peaks and Tilak takes a trip to the bank

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2020 31:16


Tonight we discussed the shooting in Nova Scotia, the Ontario press conference where they announced the good news that Ontario had peaked, and my trip to the bank.

E55: COVID-19, Part 36 - Mask bidding wars in the US, curve flattening in Ontario and we cut my hair

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2020 34:28


Tonight Tonya and I talk about how there are bidding wars for personal protective equipment among different states in the US, there is good news from the Ontario hospital data on patients with COVID-19 in ICU and on ventilators and we cut my hair today.

E54: COVID-19, Part 35 - Time travel and science funding in Canada

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2020 17:22


On my own today. I discuss how we could all build a time machine for our kids and future generations as well as why it's more important than ever for us all to understand how science if funded in Canada and how we might be able to encourage more people to go into science.

E53: COVID-19, Part 34: Eileen de Villa is awesome

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2020 38:40


We talk about Eileen de Villa creating a new COVID-19 tracking system for Toronto because Ontario's is outdated and the outsized impact COVID-19 is having on individuals with disabilities for a number of reasons.

E52: COVID-19, Part 33

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2020 29:55


Among other topics, we talk about a couple of studies that show that there are a lot of people infected with COVID-19 that are asymptomatic out there.

E51: COVID-19, Part 32

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2020 15:49


Tonight Tonya recounted her experience taking our 2 year old son Cayden to SickKids during COVID-19.

E50: COVID-19, Part 31

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2020 15:44


Cayden went to SickKids today following a couple of days of having a fever, high heart rate, and breathing rate. His fever is gone and he's nearly back to baseline. Looking forward to getting him home tomorrow.

E49: COVID-19, Part 30

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2020 15:32


The number of patients with COVID-19 in the ICU has been flat for a number of days now - a good sign that we are flattening the curve! https://howsmyflattening.ca/

E48: COVID-19, Part 29

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2020 16:29


Our main topic of conversation was this article/video Tonya showed me: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-hospitals-bronx.html

E47: COVID-19, Part 28

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2020 23:36


Tonya vents about David Williams and the people behind #endtheshutdown

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