Peter Saathoff-Harshfield

@pesh
174 Followers
233 Following
1.3K Posts

Currently working on accessibility at Google Search. Views here are my own. Views through my eyes are only peripheral, as I have no central vision.

I advocate for public transportation and a built environment that's accessible to disabled people and moves us away from reliance on cars. I've spent most of my life in the bay area.

Interests include jazz, other music, trains, cycling, photography, cooking, and Minecraft.

Websitehttps://peter.bike
Location37.867923, -122.382548
YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@AubrieAndPeter
Peter Saathoff-Harshfield2d ago
Caltrain conductor, over the PA as we roll into San Francisco: “Have a great day at work. Make your boss lots and lots of money.”
Show threadPeter Saathoff-Harshfield4d ago
As far as I understand it, filing taxes in the US essentially involves exporting data from some databases into some PDFs, which some software hopefully ingests and puts in another database, unless it fails and you have to enter it manually, and then that data is filled into another PDF, which is ingested by some other software and put into another database. We deserve such a vastly better future.
Peter Saathoff-Harshfield4d ago
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Peter Saathoff-HarshfieldApr 8
Apple covered the frosted glass stairs in the Union Square store with dark grey carpet and black rubber. What if these materials were to be installed on the software?
Peter Saathoff-HarshfieldApr 3
Eric EggertApr 2

It’s not an energy crisis, it’s a fossil fuel crisis. That we use fossil fuels for energy is just a domino, but something that we could have braced ourselves for. We didn’t because it was cheaper and are now paying the price.

It sucks for all the ordinary people who have been misled to invest in unsustainable transport and heating. And I feel with them.

Peter Saathoff-HarshfieldApr 2
That was quite a quake.
Peter Saathoff-HarshfieldMar 31

@SteveFaulkner Hey Steve, I was just poking around on LinkedIn (probably inadvisable), and happened across your page, and noticed that the URL to your website has a typo, and therefore doesn't work.

I've been really enjoying the fireside chats, by the way.

Peter Saathoff-HarshfieldMar 31
“Siri, good night.”
All the lights turn off.
“Good night… I tried, but some home accessories didn’t respond.”
“Siri, which home accessories didn’t respond?”
“All your accessories responded.”
Peter Saathoff-HarshfieldMar 30
Show threadEric EggertMar 29

That's where my skepticism comes from: when we can't see the barriers because disabled people are forced to work around them, then we will not recognize the barriers in the first place. Creating more and more barriers that need more complex workarounds.

And that force to use workarounds already exists in so many places. The entrance through the kitchen, requesting accommodations to use the train, and finding the accessible HTML version of the PDF.

Peter Saathoff-HarshfieldMar 28
THE CITYMar 27

MTA Aims to Teach More Drivers How to Use Wheelchair Lifts on Express Buses

https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/27/express-bus-wheelchair-lift-driver-training/

MTA Aims to Teach More Drivers How to Use Wheelchair Lifts on Express Buses

The city’s fleet of coach buses have lifts, but riders with disabilities say operators are often at a loss on how to use them.

THE CITY - NYC News