Tomorrow is BADD (Blogging Against Disablism Day)

Inviting everyone to join in! You can click below to go over to the Diary of a Goldfish to leave a comment that you're participating by writing a blog post. For more information on how to participate, click below.

Article on swine flu outbreak and International Health Regulations 2005

An interesting article about the swine flu outbreak and human rights concerns about the right to health (i.e. "nondiscriminatory access to health care services and antiviral drugs") is available online.

David Fidler writes about the IHR 2005 (the International Health Regulations 2005 adopted by WHO) which mandates in article 32 restrictions for travelers, noting limits on "any intervention that infringes on civil and political rights". In his conclusion, he writes that this crisis presents an opportunity to "strengthen compliance with and implementation of the IHR 2005".

David Fidler is a law professor and director of the Center on American and Global Security at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

The art of voice recognition

As a person with a disability who relies on a lot of assistive technology, I've always felt frustrated by the choices that are within my budget for voice recognition.

I think if I could afford the Legal version of dragon naturally speaking, I might feel less frustrated. I've spent many hours training other versions of dragon to try to turn them into a Legal version, but I've been unsuccessful. This is not to fault the company or the product, but they charge for phone calls, so it gets pretty expensive asking questions.

On the other hand, I've been very happy with my free copy of the built in vista speech recognition program. It's proven useful for desktop navigation, switching applications and web browsing. After doing the training, I found it required more correction then dragon naturally speaking, but over time it's picked up on accuracy. In fact, it's my program of choice when it comes to web browsing, emails, blogging and navigation. One caveat is that I've found that Vista voice recognition can't match dragon naturally speaking when writing documents.

Former boxing champ and advocate Greg Page dies

Page, 50, and his wife worked toward better medical protections for boxers after he sustained a brain injury and paralysis in his last fight.

The former World Boxing Council heavyweight champion died after a fall.

Page's knockout at the hands of Dale Crowe in Erlanger, Ky., in 2001 left him in a coma for nearly a week, and during post-fight surgery he suffered a stroke, paralyzing him on his left side, the newspaper said. Page won a $1.2 million settlement from Kentucky state boxing authorities, whom he said failed to provide an ambulance or medical personnel at the ring.

In addition to the financial settlement, it was agreed "to name the regulations it enacted in 2006 the “Greg Page Safety Initiative,” among them a provision that a licensed ringside physician conduct a thorough physical examination of all fighters after bouts".

Page, who began to fight professionally at the age of 17, also won the US Boxing Association heavyweight title.

Why We Need the Community Choice Act, part two

I've written a number of posts over the years about the Community Choice Act, that can be found here.

My thoughts on why this is vital legislation are here.

Here are many stories from people with disabilities who have been institutionalized and placed in nursing homes.

It's heartbreaking when you know young people with disabilities who are placed in nursing homes and never get out. It's a slippery slope. A friend of mine who spent many months rehabbing his spinal cord injury so he could live independently was placed in a nursing home because he had no way to get care at home. He was not out of bed in the nursing home and lost the function he had. There was no way to get him the kind of intensive, expensive help he had for his initial rehab and his disability is now worse. Had he stayed in community care, he could have maintained the level of independence he fought so hard to acquire.

There are many others like him. Many who could live at home, in their communities, need legislation like the Community Choice Act passed to make that happen. When the USCCB wrote a letter supporting the CCA, it said that

In recent decades, our Church has come to a greater understanding of the needs of our brothers and sisters with disabilities. In 1978, the bishops issued their Pastoral Statement on People with Disabilities. In that statement, the bishops called upon all people of good will to work with people with disabilities to improve their living conditions and ensure that each individual is able to achieve the fullest measure of personal development of which he or she is capable. It is in that spirit that we are pleased to support the Community Choice Act. With the services that the bill would make available, more people with disabilities will be able to move from institutional care to lives of independence in their communities."

Nursing homes are for those who are sick and are far from being a home for someone who has a disability. It is so easy to ignore the stories of those who are in nursing homes, to turn from their voices. What they say is sometimes hard to hear. The very nature of what's going on means that those of us out in society and community are distanced from those in nursing homes.

Once again, I'll let Nick tell you himself.


Nick's Crusade Blog - April 28, 2009 from Alejandra Ospina on Vimeo.

If you want to contact your representatives, click here.

ABC reports on ADAPT protest at White House

Police are arresting ADAPT protesters who are asking President Obama to give fuller support to the Community Choice Act, ABC reports.

They're here from all over the country -- Texas, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania -- to protest what they see as President Obama not sufficiently supporting the Community Choice Act, a bill that would amend the Social Security Act to provide those with disabilities and older Americans the ability to use federal funding for community-based attendant services instead of just for nursing homes.

ADAPT wants the Community Choice Act to be included as part of the overall health care reform package. White House health care czar Nancy-Ann DeParle told some members of ADAPT this morning that President Obama as a candidate supported CCA, but not as a part of the overall health reform effort. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Illinois, introduced the bill last month.


An Action Alert outlines the need to tell your representatives and the President that the Community Choice Act must be part of healthcare reform.

This morning, ADAPT met with Nancy-Ann DeParle, the Obama administration's healthcare czar (Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform). Despite featuring the Community Choice Act (CCA) prominently in the presidential campaign, President Obama's administration, including Ms. DeParle, has again demonstrated that they are unwilling to take leadership and capitalize on the promise of healthcare reform to pass CCA. ADAPT has been part of prior meetings with the Obama administration which also failed to yield any commitment to call for CCA to be part of healthcare reform.

In response to the Obama administration's refusal to demonstrate leadership, ADAPT activists have chained and handcuffed themselves to the Whitehouse fence. They are refusing to leave until President Obama fulfils his campaign commitment to support passage of the CCA. ADAPT is demanding that President Obama create the change that Americans with Disabilities need: the Community Choice Act!

It's important that our leaders in Washington DC hear from you! Send a letter to the Whitehouse, your Senators and Representative in Congress right now.


Visit the link to add your voice in support of the CCA as a piece of vital legislation that is needed. You can read more about the CCA by clicking here.

Related:
91 Protestors Arrested - AP
USA Today article on arrests, see also Five from Congress, 94 others arrested in protests today (covering the CCA protest and Darfur protest)
FoxNews coverage, Houston Chronicle
Coverage on The Oval along with a photo of protesters in wheelchairs lined up.

You Tube coverage of the protest


UPDATE over at Media dis&dat:

UPDATE: Harkin communications director Kate Cyrul emails us to say: "Discussions about what will and will not be in the health reform package are currently underway, and no final decisions have been made. Senator Harkin has made clear that any health care reform package is incomplete if it does not address the right of individuals with disabilities to choose to live in the community and receive supportive care, services they are currently entitled to only in an institutional setting. Senator Obama was a cosponsor of the Community Choice Act in the 110th Congress, and made support for the legislation a key part of his disabilities platform during the campaign."

Trying out Flock

Have you seen Flock, the social media browser? Am giving it a try to see if its organization works for me. It has shortcuts to newsfeeds, blogging and social media sites.

A Poem of Epic Proportions

-a poem dedicated to all those heroes and heroines who sally forth fearlessly

I.

In which our heroine is introduced

Our heroine wanders forth on her Wheeled Steed
Clasping only a clay tablet cracked after battle
On which to record her journeys
As she encounters creatures of the dark and light
On a mission to procure Vitamins,
An elixir designed to strengthen and preserve Health
Pills that are hidden in Round Containers
Located deep within the aisles
Of large vaulted places
Where fellow travelers wander aimlessly
Nay, passing by the elixir
Whilst our heroine,
Single Minded of Purpose
Strays neither left nor right
To the Bagged Crunchy Food or Dark Liquid called Cola
But first she must overcome the Obstacles
Both Physical and Otherwise
That block her way
As she ventures forth in her wheeled steed.




II

In which the heroine encounters the dreaded SUV monsters

Outside the Vaulted Building
Lies a criss cross of white lines on black steaming tar
On which the dreaded SUV monsters sit idly
Waiting, biding their time, their front grills cool and quiet
Whilst others of their kind roam, their metal grills
Higher than the heroine's wheeled steed.
Their encounters are swift and deadly
As she approaches the front of the Vaulted Building
Some back into her, casting off red lights
As they emit terrible honking noises
And various types of cursing
Aimed at the heroine who dashes left and right
Only to arrive at the road surrounding the building
Where SUV's travel with a speed so terrible
It makes her wheeled steed shake.
Yet she holds her ground, aiming to cross
No matter that her life is in mortal danger
Knowing that upon the appearance of a smaller
Black and white rolling apparition that has
A red dome on top the SUV's stop all movement
Allowing her to cross.




III

In which our heroine is rendered Invisible by those of the High Countenance

Our heroine must first enter the Vaulted Building
Sometimes there is a Button one may push that magically opens the doors
Or she can rush in behind another who has set the doors ajar
Otherwise she must find a way to ram the entrance open
A piece of wood, nay, any object works with the weight of her wheeled steed behind it.
Once inside, surrounded by rows of Objects meant to distract her from the elixir
She follows a well studied path toward the Vitamins
Avoiding those who wander from Object to Object,
Stopping in front of her only to stare blankly
Their journeys sadly gone astray
But this is of no concern to our heroine who sallies forth
Toward the aisle of the Elixir and seizes the rounded container
Hiding it as she goes to barter
With those of the High Countenance
Who stand behind Counters so High and Frightening
That one may not glance upon their visage
Nay, they stand in a world apart, Unseeing and Unfeeling
As our heroine takes her place in a line of those purchasing other Objects.
Predictably, one of the High Countenance speaks to the man behind her in line
Intoning "May I help you?"
Our heroine bravely utters "I am next", fearless and forthright
Unabashed by the casting of the Invisibility Spell.
"I did not see you," is the expected and dreaded response
And thus the bartering commences.

IV

In which our heroine recounts her Deeds and Battles after safely returning Home

Do not imagine that our heroine's battles are over
As she must once again escape the dreaded SUV's outside the Vaulted Building
And endure their squealing sounds as they stop, left and right,
Their heated grills rising above her head
Their curses loud and frequent
These are the memories of battle that must be recorded on the clay tablet
Our heroine has now strapped to the back of her wheeled steed.
Once home, she finds it is dark
Her fellows greet her,
Offering her solace and companionship
By the light of an Object called Ever-Ready
Our heroine casts shadows on the walls to show the SUV's dreaded attacks
From which she escaped unscathed
Showing her companions her journey through the Vaulted Building
And her safe passage home.
It is all good, they intone in one voice,
Whereupon our heroine passes around the elixir, the Vitamins
Before they all climb, crawl or are lifted into their bedding
The last one keeping watch and immortalizing our heroine's tales
On the cracked clay tablet,
A Journey that Must be Told, passed down
Generation after generation
In defiance of the SUV's and those of the High Countenance
And all others who would keep our heroine on her wheeled steed from her purpose-
To find Life's elixir and bring it back to those in need.

Sleep well, our heroine, until you journey forth yet again!

12 year old NJ girl pitches perfect Little League game

Mackenzie Brown also had 12 strike outs.

She plans to play softball next year. She is also a point guard in basketball. (A future Lady Vol?) Highlights from her game are shown in the video below.

In the meantime, this talented and hard working young athlete won the honor of throwing out the first pitch at the Mets game today.

Highlights from Mackenzie Brown's perfect game in Bayonne

UPDATE: Here's an article and video of Mackenzie throwing out the first pitch at the Mets game.

Dove commercial: man made disability

Just saw this Dove commercial about how low self esteem, which they call a "man made disability", affects a young woman named Katie. A woman in a wheelchair goes to pick up Katie, who has spent three hours getting ready. Katie decides not to go out, doesn't answer the door and then texts her wheelchair using friend that she's sorry she couldn't make it. The wheelchair user is shown as being active , out and about and less disabled. What's your reaction?

Surprises happen

I woke up to a nice surprise. Some seeds blew over from an adjoining yard, leaving flowers growing on a patch of grass outside my window. It reminded me that surprises happen.

I had a few discouraging things happen this month with a group of people with whom I've invested a considerable amount of time trying to form a mutually supportive alliance. The problem is that, as time has gone by, there's very little effort - to none- on their part and more expected from me. As a result, a few situations have arisen that are unacceptable and needed to be addressed, with the result that those who don't want to do their part - a necessary component to having a mutually supportive alliance, by the way - have planted their feet even more firmly and stubbornly. It's a reactionary response to change - and sometimes even bringing up disabilty issues. I can't - and won't -invest my time, energy and effort into a group where it's a one way street.

I used to think, when these things happened, that I was "handling it wrong" or it "needed more time". Those are always possibilities, but I've found that in certain groups, the people are just not ready to see disability issues or a person with a disability as an equal. They lack respect. They come to the table with what in equity is called "unclean hands" - meaning they aren't willing to deal fairly. No negotiation. Their way or the highway. In groups where there's been eventual success, these attitudes certainly don't predominate and usually aren't tolerated, much less encouraged, by the group.

The highway can be a better alternative when you're seeking to form a workable, manageable alliance that is turning out to be one sided. As a result of experience, I've learned to spot when I'm wasting my time. I've also learned that I can, so to speak, shake the sand of some villages off of the tail end of my power chair and move on to another. There's much work to be done and yes, there are people who want to form alliances, rather than perpetuating old and unworkable attitudes toward disability.

Those flowers in the yard may have grown from happenstance, seeds that flew by, but the soil where they landed was receptive to growth. What a nice surprise to remind me to move on.

The Brain Twitter Project

The Brain-Twitter project, started by Adam Wilson, a doctoral student, is based on the idea that paralyzed people can send messages on Twitter by thinking about it, using electrical impulses.

That's right, no keyboards, just a red cap fitted with electrodes that monitor brain activity, hooked up to a computer flashing letters on a screen. Wilson sent the messages by concentrating on the letters he wanted to "type," then focusing on the word "twit" at the bottom of the screen to post the message.

The development could be a lifeline for people with "locked-in syndrome" -- whose brains function normally but who cannot speak or move because of injury or disease.

The video below shows a user wearing a cap, sitting front of a screen, "typing" letters with the method. The alphabet and numbers appear on the screen and in the bottom right corner is the word "Twit" which is used to send the completed message. The video shows the user concentrating on each letter, which is added to the message that appears at the top of the screen.

Disability in the Hebrew Bible: new book

A new book, Disability in the Hebrew Bible: Interpreting Mental and Physical Differences, by Saul M. Olyan, has been reviewed here.

via the site:

Description: Mental and physical disability, ubiquitous in texts of the Hebrew Bible, here receive their first thorough treatment. Olyan seeks to reconstruct the Hebrew Bible’s particular ideas of what is disabling and their potential social ramifications. Biblical representations of disability and biblical classification schemas – both explicit and implicit – are compared to those of the Hebrew Bible’s larger ancient West Asian cultural context, and to those of the later Jewish biblical interpreters who produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. This study will help the reader gain a deeper and more subtle understanding of the ways in which biblical writers constructed hierarchically significant difference and privileged certain groups (e.g. persons with ‘whole’ bodies) over others (e.g. persons with physical ‘defects’). It also explores how ancient interpreters of the Hebrew Bible such as the Qumran sectarians reproduced and reconfigured earlier biblical notions of disability and earlier classification models for their own contexts and ends.

h/t NJCIM list serve

Southern Poverty Law Center files suit against Mississippi children's detention center

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a federal lawsuit this week against Mississippi County to stop "shockingly inhumane" conditions for children at the Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center, which is run by a private company.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on behalf of a 17-year-old boy who, despite attempting suicide while in the facility, has received no mental health treatment. He has been subjected to physical abuse and filthy conditions, and has been forced to sleep on the floor in an overcrowded, insect-infested cell.

Filthy conditions, assaults by guards and inadequate medical and mental health care are cited in the complaint.

Mississippi Protection and Advocacy Inc., a congressionally authorized nonprofit organization that enforces the civil rights of people with disabilities, is also a plaintiff in the suit. It is demanding access to the facility, to which it is entitled under federal law.

Trying to find a sibling who was institutionalized?

National Find Family might be helpful to a reader who emailed me looking to find a sibling who was institutionalized years ago. Located at TheArcLink.org, the page contains links to other resources.

This article also contains a link to state agencies that provide services to the developmentally disabled.

The Community Choice Act: - Why we need it

Nick, who made this video on Day 236 in the hospital, will tell you.


Nick's Crusade Blog - April 21, 2009 from Alejandra Ospina on Vimeo.

The Community Choice Act provides less expensive alternatives to institutionalizing people with disabilities, and is supported by the USCCB. You can read more about it here.

Stephen Hawking cartoon

This tasteless cartoon about Stephen Hawking, who is in hospital right now, made my stomach turn. It appears in Metro.

It's hard enough getting the medical concerns of a person with a severe disability attended to in this country without putting images out there that further dehumanize us.

Sibling support

There's a great interview of Don Meyer in DisabilityScoop about siblings of children and adults with disabilities, called Inside the World of Siblings. There's a link to send questions to him.

Here's an excerpt:

Disability Scoop: What should parents remember when it comes to raising siblings?

Don Meyer: There is a paper we have called What Siblings Would Like Parents and Service Providers to Know. That outlines many concerns that sibs have, but when I talk about sibling issues I talk about them having unique concerns but I also talk about the unique opportunities. I’m of the belief that sibs have as many unique opportunities as they do concerns.

Visit the Sibling Support Project for more help and information. You will find information for SibNet list serve there, where siblings can connect with other sibs for support.


Don Meyer, the director of the Sibling Support Project, has a new book coming out in May 2009 entitled Thicker Than Water, Essays By Adult Siblings of People with Disabilities. It's available for pre-order on amazon.

He is also a speaker and has written and edited five other books.

Not that anyone asked me, but....

Just another reminder this morning when I read about a former policewoman who has a spinal cord injury named Kris Gulden that none of us with disabilities can speak for all of us. It's also a reminder that media coverage of stories like this are often skewed by concentrating on the melodrama surrounding the state of being disabled, rather than our abilities. Sometimes, no matter what you say in an interview, the final result can turn out to be something you shudder at having your name in.

So I'm just going to add a few of my thoughts and reactions here. Kris reports that it doesn't get easier, it just gets different. What I would add is that I found there's an enormous difference between the stages when first adapting to a new disability and the ongoing adaptations that have to be made. The article mentions the increased risk of depression, as if that comes from the state of being disabled. I find that it's a number of other factors, such as society's reaction to the disability, that dampen my mood on any given day.

Which means I agree about some of the attitudinal and architectural/physical barriers she speaks about.

I noticed the article mentions the very high unemployment rate of people with spinal cord injuries. Kris is now teaching high school, a job she apparently found out about through friends at the police force. She also taught three years at the academy.

The article says:

Relatively few Americans with spinal cord injuries are employed, the new survey suggests. It found that 42% have an annual household income of less than $15,000, while that's true for only 13% of the general population. More could work, says Joe Canose of the Reeve Foundation, but they'd lose Medicare coverage if they earned too much.

What's interesting is that this low unemployment rate is solely attributed to losing Medicare coverage. Certainly it's very true that our programs are antiquated and are "work disincentives " to people with disabilities. But it's also true that discrimination still exists with employment and the physical and attitudinal barriers just referred to remain when it comes to getting a job. I'd also like to mention that colleges have a long way to go regarding accessibility and creating good programs for students with disabilities. Many campuses lag behind in these areas. In a world where more, rather than less education, will be key to obtaining and retaining a job, we need to do better.

We need to start seeing what works for individuals that have jobs and are working and put those resources in place for others.

Those are my thoughts. Not unique I'm sure. And not in agreement with everyone either. But - hey- if you're feeling unique this morning, a new survey shows that more people are paralyzed than previously thought.

Anyone else out there have thoughts about what they would have said in an interview?

Easy Stow demo

Here's a few videos showing the Easy Stow device that via remote lifts your manual wheelchair into your vehicle. According to the description, it will work on a variety of vehicles.

The first video shows a male wheelchair user transferring onto the driver's seat, which has been extended outwards with an attached board that flips down and out of the way when driving, but is pulled out for transfers. It appears to have a safety strap. He then attaches the wheelchair to the lift and it is brought up into the rear door of the van. He shuts the rear door via remote control. The driver then transfers fully onto the driver's seat, flips up the attached board and closes the door. The second video reverses the process. The lift in the back of the car can apparently be removed easily in case you need the cargo room for other purposes.





For further questions call 520-292-8769 or email lfinman@specialneedsvehicles.com. Their website is http://www.specialneedsvehicles.com.

Let Jordie run

There is a petition to Let Jordie Run.

Jordie, who has physical and cognitive disabilities, is in his fifth year of high school in Amherst NY and has been denied the right to participate in track this year due to a four year rule.

A column in the Buffalo News tells Jordie's story. He is a sprinter, who worked hard to compete, and loves track although he's never won a race. He is in his fifth and last year of high school, but now faces a rule most likely designed for reasons other than the way it applies in this case. His parents say the rule was not designed for disabled students.

The article says:

They have a good point. Are the rules about eligibility written to serve the sport or the student? If the real goal here is the personal development of young people, wouldn’t that be best served by an exception for Jordy?

Learning how to sprint has been a long journey for Jordy, just like other developmental milestones, say his parents. Running has improved Jordy's breathing and leg muscle. He's learned to participate in a group sport, with lessons from being on a team and reaps social benefits from that. It seems like a win-win, until we get down to the fact that there's a four year rule and it means making an exception.

If you think Jordie should be allowed to run, you can sign the petition here.

An athlete spotlight web page on Jordie with a photo can be found here.

More on the Abilities Expo

First of all, let me provide the schedule. This weekend it is in Edison NJ, ending today. It will be in Anaheim, CA the weekend of May 29-31; in Chicago, IL the weekend of June 26-28 and Atlanta, GA the weekend of November 4-6, 2009.

This year's expo seemed to have more accessible vehicles on the floor, with different variations. There was a crossover from Toyota, with a turny passenger seat and scooter lift in the back, as well as the rear and side entry vans, a Honda Element and others. Quickie, Colours, TiLite, Permobil, Rascal, Pride, Top End and Invacare were all there with wheelchairs and scooters.

I purchased a TeleStik reacher because,for the first time, it was quad friendly. It came with a cuff that requires no hand movement. The TeleStik has an adhesive disk to pick up items (washable when it loses its sticky power), a magnet and a hook and can be used extended or while shorter for things like elevator buttons, etc. I plan on attaching it to my power chair now that I can use one with the adaptation. It cost $25. They can be found online at www.telestik.com or reached toll free at 877-299-2982.

There was a fashion show by a company called Lega Wear, which tailors clothes for those with disabilities. If you send them your measurements, choose colors and a design, they will deliver the clothes to you. They can be found online at www.legawear.com Their business suits were very nice, but out of my price range at $450.

I'm happy to report that the accessible bathroom situation improved. There was a handicap stall with a door. They did keep the double toilet with a curtain set up as well, which was used for those with scooters who couldn't fit into the handicap stall.

The expo is under new management. There seemed to be more exhibitors than last time I went, with more of an emphasis on senior products as well as disability products. There were still more people with disabilities and their families than seniors, but we did run into an older couple who goes every year to check out products. So if anyone has a product that falls into these categories, it's important to remember that as baby boomers age, these events will cover both markets.

The special events included a job fair on Friday, a fashion show and wheelchair sports exhibitions. There are also valuable workshops offered by professionals.

On a personal note, I met Mark from Wheelchair Junkie and thanked him for all of his work on behalf of power chair users, writing articles that educate and inform and also being kind enough to answer questions to keep people rolling. He also blogs here. author Gary Karp was there signing autographs, but there was too much of a crowd for me to say hi. He does, however, have a great smile. I ran into a few wheelchair tennis friends, which is also fun. And I got to see the accessible racing car I blogged about last week, yellow hubcaps and all.

There were a few offerings that stood out in my mind. See and Be Safe offered reflective safety products by Drive Master. I definitely put those on my wish list. I was also interested in the Quadriciser, from which you can exercise on a padded seat or from your own wheelchair (depending on the model). It puts you through a range of motion exercises and would enhance overall health. I watched folks trying it out over the course of the day and was amazed at the number of individuals and disabilities it addresses. I wish more gyms and health centers would buy these items and provide usage at an hourly rate since so few are able to get them.

So here's a video from See and Be Safe. I hope some of you get to go to the expos near you.

Everybody understands

I went up to the disability expo today with a friend. And even though it would be laughable to expect to find a van access spot free at a place where so many people bring vans with ramps and lifts, there was no problem with parking.

Because everybody understands.

I parked in two spots so I'd have room to let the ramp down and up. I didn't have to leave a cone to remind people not to park just as crookedly right next to me, concerned they might think I'd started a new parking pattern.

Because everybody understands.

And when I went into the ladies room, I was able to get into the handicap stall. No able bodied family members or visitors were using it. In fact, a woman held the door for me as I backed my power chair in so it didn't swing at me.

Okay so I'll stop saying it.

But I have to add that -

when kids in power wheelchairs zipped around, no one said to them "You're breaking the speed limit" or "watch out!" In fact, it wasn't a big deal at all because they were kids - playing - with each other.

What a community we have when we get together, those of us who journey through this life with a disability, a loved one with a disability, and those who are allies.

The people-I-used-to-know

I've noticed over the years that I now react very differently to something that happens in my life since I acquired my disability.

I'm talking about the flight reaction of people-I-used-to-know.

It happens when I run into old friends who don't know about my accident. As the years go by, I've seen every reaction from initial curiosity to a shrug of the shoulders, to running away.

Shortly after I acquired my disability, one used-to-be-best-friend visited me from out of state, told me that my disability was "pretty bad" , and cut off communications afterward. I was at a point where I'd worked very hard for the function and physical ability I had and really disagreed with her assessment. (An interesting aside here is how people reacted to the movie A Man and his Dog, where French star Jean-Paul Belmondo, after having a stroke, appeared in the film that showed a realistic portrayal of his disability. Poor ticket sales were, in part, explained by the fact that audiences wanted to remember him as he was.)

I used to feel quite upset when flight reactions happened. It felt sickening sometimes, as if I was no longer the person I was expected to be, as if I had somehow let these folks down.

Then I realized that I was internalizing their reaction. Their fears and assumptions about disability were overriding their ability to be present with me. They were running away from what they imagined, I suppose, was a ruined and doomed life.

They certainly weren't seeing me. And if they were more invested in remembering me as I was than who I am, I realized, that was about them, not me. This is who I am now.

My life is good. I work and have a full and productive life. I have friends. I'm busier than many able bodied people. And my ability to be happy is linked to my choices in life, just as it is for everyone else.

This is what the people-I-used-to-know would have found out if they hadn't run away.

The ripple effect of mass transit cuts on people with disabilities

Arizona.

Connecticut.

Twin Cities

St. Louis

Wichita

Boston

Albany, Reno, Niles Michigan.

And now Utah.

Just some of the places where rides for the disabled are being cut and further cuts are being wrestled with, eliminating the only source of transportation for many to work, the doctor, church, the grocery store and to get out of their homes. In some places, fare hikes are in effect eliminating the use of services by those on fixed incomes already grappling with the prices of food and medication.

At the Utah Transit Authority, people with disabilities cried as they spoke about the effect of cutting their only means of transportation. Many have been there before and know what it's like to not have a way to get anywhere.

"Please don't keep us prisoners in our homes," Patricia Williams, a disabled 40-year Reno resident said at a recent hearing. "Let us get out and see our family. Let us go to the grocery store.

The mass transit cuts also affect those who work with people with disabilities, who receive low wages and rely on bus routes. In St. Louis, about half of a care center's kitchen and housekeeping staff have no other way to get to work. Aides caring for those in their homes also can't get to some places, cutting off individuals who need services.

The ripple effect of mass transit cuts, including paratransit cuts and fare hikes, affects those least able to find alternatives, at the lowest income levels. There isn't any wiggle room in their household budget, nor do they have access to other forms of transportation. Many live alone and receive no rides or financial help from families. And, in some cases, even if a friend or family member could give a ride, their car can't hold a heavy wheelchair.

As the number of cities cutting these vital services increases, more people are left without transportation, without care, without a way to get health care and food. Some will be forced into nursing homes, unable to sustain themselves in the community, costing the government far more in the end for their daily care. Others will live as virtual prisoners in their homes. Many will lose jobs or have to stop volunteer work. Even more cut off, they will have fewer chances to get rides from anyone in the community.

Yes, they cried at that hearing in Utah. And how many are crying behind closed doors?

My cat wants me to call him Bo

And it's my fault for leaving the news on too much. He's seen all the stories about the First Dog. The interviews. The walk on the White House lawn. The attention by the First Family, the press, the nation. Now his simple life seems unfulfilling, beneath him.

Fine.

So last night when he meowed for food, I told him to ask the White House staff to do it. When he tried to climb into bed with me, I told him to go sleep with Malia. Or Sasha.

I think he's starting to come down to reality now. He crawled into my lap this morning and responded, albeit reluctantly, to his own name.

There was a sad look in his eyes so I told him about Susan Boyle, the singer who rose to fame overnight. I explained that she could always sing, but the fact that the world didn't get to hear it on the big stage left her in obscurity. Maybe she's luckier for that, because the world often judges on appearance. No one expected much from her, except maybe a joke, a chance to laugh at what they thought was a middle age foolish dream.

He blinked at that. He could relate, not being a kitten anymore.

And then I told him that Bo would be up against the same kind of thing. Sure, now they think his barking is cute. But fame isn't necessarily easy, I told him. Bo had to go to training and has to behave to live in the White House. And there would be times he might miss a nap to do a press conference.

That did it. My cat snuggled up to me for the first time in days, grateful for his obscure existence.

By the way, he's cuter than Bo. Although Bo is very cute.

[image description: Bo, a black Portuguese water dog with white markings on his chest and legs, faces microphones at his first press conference on the White House lawn.]

Brett volunteers

Meet Brett Carmody, a teen with Asperger's, who volunteers to get skills for future jobs.

Right now he works at the Department of Public Safety detailing fire apparatus and at Our Daily Bread, which serves lunch to low income people. Those he works with see his potential for future employment and work with him to expand his skills for future jobs. His high school teacher put him in touch with the opportunities.

Fontaine said that the public safety department is planning a major inventory project to sort through the fire equipment and make sure everything is where it's supposed to be and in good condition.

She's planning to move him into that role once she can find a mentor. He already does a similar job in the patrol cars when the weather is inclement.

Help for homeless vets

This letter in the Baltimore Sun online explains benefits available to homeless vets. It's written by the executive director of the Homeless Persons Representation Project Inc. and the co-chairman of the Maryland State Bar Association's Military Law Committee.

One third of the homeless, it is estimated, are vets. These programs are underutilized and, the authors claim, improper denials and lengthy waits occur.

Highlights:

The Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program can provide a rent subsidy to veterans that allows them to pay approximately 30 percent of their income for rent. This program is a major tool to end homelessness

Some veterans may be eligible for service-connected disability compensation, which can pay them more than $2,600 a month, depending on their disability rating, and can more than cover the cost of housing

Theology of Invitation

Archbishop Dolan speaks to the NY Press prior to his installation Mass today. Part of his answers address the theology of invitation in the Church. He also talks about the "prominent pulpit" of being the Archbishop of New York.

Hostels and way stations

I was reading about hostels this morning in the travel section, touted as a cheap way to travel and not be lonely. It left me smiling from memories of the cross country trip I took after college with a Dutch friend I met at a camp where we were both counselors.

We stayed at a hostel near the Rockies in Denver, Colorado run by nuns. The nuns were wonderful hosts. They asked the guests to do a few chores and provide their own breakfast and lunch (a refrigerator to store your food in was available), but did the laundry, cleaning, cooked dinner and provided tourist information and, at the same time spiritual sustenance and help to all the young (and not so young) people passing through for five dollars a night (or less if you didn't have it.) They had lists of doctors and bicycle repairmen. Their phone miraculously allowed anyone who was homesick to call home for free, back in the days when we all knew long distance cost money. Generous of heart and spirit, the nuns ran a hostel that provided an unforgettable experience of hospitality and community.

On top of that, one of the nuns really knew how to play a guitar. Every night, after a family style dinner, we all gathered in the front room and sang and shared stories of our mountain hiking. Hiking became a shared spiritual experience, which wasn't difficult considering the natural beauty of the Rocky mountain area.

So if there's a trip you can afford, but the hotel and meal costs put it over the top, don't hesitate to try a hostel experience. It's great for single travelers as well as couples and friends,especially if you go prepared to meet new people. Some have larger rooms to accommodate families. Just staying in the hostel provides you with the best guided tour of the area and local information.

[I also found a list of accessible hostels in the U.S. and Canada. There are probably more and it's worth researching which hostels to go to anyhow. See also The Hostel Handbook online and pilgrimreservations.com]

Wanna race?

Accessible Racing offers a chance for those with disabilities to drive - a race car! They are also introducing video games at hospitals to offer a virtual driving experience.

Check out their web site for more information. For their chat room and contact information, click here. And be sure to catch them this weekend at the NY Metro Abilities Expo at New Jersey Convention Center, Edison, NJ.

Following a raised savior

I've been blessed by meeting many people of faith in my life. And they have taught me that "mere survival is not the vocation of Christians who follow a raised savior", as Kyle Kramer wrote in America.

Kyle writes that even the desert "saguaro, those tall, emblematic, almost anthropomorphic cacti", is not a plant that survives as an individualist, but is one rooted in "community, hospitality and generosity". It starts under the shade of a nurse tree, then harbors birds who perforate it, and gives off fruits and food, adapting to life in the desert.

The article says that Jesus during his 40 days in the desert gave himself over to divine care rather than "grasping for the food, protection, possessions and power with which he was tempted," noting how tempting it is during tough economic times "simply to hunker down amid earthly concern."

How true this is. All we have to do is look around us to see the effects of the economic downturn, yet if we look a bit further, we can see people who continue to volunteer and help others, who ignore their own precarious financial situations and keep giving of their time,energy and resources. They are the people of faith I talk about. I know many are around, but they are often quiet people doing what may seem like small things that keep everything running. They are adapting to the desert times.

And they say things like this, promoting community:

"We'll get through this, but we have to help each other" and "Finding different, less expensive ways to do things has been a gift for our family".

They are generous and often say"I'm not using [fill in the blank], why not pass it along to someone who can?", knowing others have it harder.

They are hospitable, welcoming those in need with as much enthusiasm as those who are well networked.

Their lives are rooted and, because of that, they attract others to their strength and quiet dignified way of life. As I say, I've met many of them and I bet if we spent more time looking around, we'd find more.

People who know life isn't about mere survival, who aren't living in daily fear and temptation by material things do "embody beauty and transcendence ".

BADD is back and everyone is invited!

When is it? BADD (Blogging Against Disablism Day) 2009 will be held May 1.
What is it?
For those who don't know what BADD is: This is the day where all around the world, disabled and non-disabled people will blog about their experiences, observations and thoughts about disability discrimination. In this way, we hope to raise awareness of inequality, promote equality and celebrate the progress we've made.
How can I join in?
Go over to Diary of A Goldfish and post a comment that you want to join in. (or you can click on the colorful logo below)
While you're over there, pick up the link and/or logo and spread the word.
Then write a post on the topic for May 1 and leave another comment after your post is up.



It's easy, it's BADD and you know you want to do it, so join on in!

"Voice of the Phillies" Harry Kalas dies

Harry Kalas collapsed in the press box today before a game between the Phillies and the Washington Nationals. He was rushed to the hospital but died at 1:20 p.m.

The team won't visit the White House tomorrow as planned.

Mr. Kalas, who turned 73 on March 26, has broadcast Phillies games since 1971. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. He is entering the final season of a 3-year contract that he signed in December 2006.

via phillies.com

See some great videos and interviews of Harry at this article.

So glad he saw the Phillies win the World Series again.

Social security benefits to disabled delayed by state cuts says official

The nation’s top Social Security official says benefits for tens of thousands of people with severe disabilities are being delayed by furloughs and layoffs of state employees around the country.

The official, Michael J. Astrue, the commissioner of Social Security, said Sunday that “governors are hurting their own states, their own citizens, and increasing the backlog of claims” by furloughing workers who make disability decisions. via nytimes.com

He argues that, since states are reimbursed for the salaries of the state employees doing those jobs, as well as the benefits paid to people with disabilities, no money is saved by furloughing or laying off the employees. The backlog, causing years of waiting, was addressed by $500 million included in the stimulus bill.

Hope you had a nice Easter

I know everyone, uh, celebrates in different ways. The weather was beautiful here and I was able to have a nice meal out at Whole Foods.

I didn't see anyone wearing anything like this.

[visual image: A woman wears a very tall hat covered in rows of marshmallow peeps of different colors. ]

Happy Easter!

Resurrection is a daily celebration over fear; man's greatest and most powerful enemy. Fear of tomorrow, fear of our yesterdays, fear of what shall become of our young our old our unborn. Resurrection is replacing fear with physical action.

This alone, the most touching and profound of Your signs that fear is dead and belief in You brings, not just hope but life.

from the Easter Morning Prayer

Easter Vigil Mass online

I received a few requests for a link to watch Mass online from some readers who are homebound.

CatholicTV is showing Easter Vigil Mass online at 8pm this evening from Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

You can watch it here.

Easter Sunday schedule: Easter Mass from Notre Dame at 10 a.m. and Easter Mass from Rome Pope Benedict XVI at 11:30 a.m.

Leave your wheelchair outside

Yesterday I met a few friends at a club, which recently instituted a policy banning bicycles and scooters from going inside. Upon my arrival, an older member told me she checked and it was okay for me to bring my wheelchair in.

Since I belong to this club, I thought it was a good idea to explain that wheelchairs and mobility scooters can't be excluded under the ADA, not wanting to have this discussion repeatedly or when someone on a mobility scooter shows up.

She then made a general announcement to everyone present, brought up the bicycle and scooter ban vis a vis my wheelchair, and said I was allowed in because the "office was making an exception for me".

What is it about the ADA that people ignore its very existence 19 years later and still act as if we're allowed in places by some kind of noblesse oblige?

African slang may be undermining efforts to discuss AIDS

Slang terms used in Africa about HIV and AIDS which are "almost uniformly negative" and reinforce stigma "may be undermining African efforts to promote candid and caring discussion of H.I.V. and AIDS," according to IRIN/PlusNews. Advocates who have worked for 25 years to educate about the disease are concerned.

The slang ranges from "Tracker" (If you are suspected of being H.I.V. positive people say God is tracking you, like the popular southern African service that tracks and recovers stolen ve (South Africa,) to Eedi- "Curse" to Shuramatongo - "A bad omen for relatives".

A longer list can be seen here.

Today is a Via Crucis

Pope Benedict XVI gave special dispensation for a funeral mass held earlier today on Good Friday, a day when Mass is not held, for those who died in Italy's earthquake. The death toll has reached 287 people. Thousands of survivors are in tent camps, facing difficult conditions.

"Today is a 'Via Crucis' for each of us," said Stefania Pezzopane, one of the top officials of this medieval city in central Italy. The "Via Crucis," or "Way of the Cross," is the procession held on Good Friday in commemoration of Jesus' suffering before crucifixion. The 6.3-magnitude quake struck Monday at 3:32 a.m., catching many in their sleep. It collapsed buildings and reduced entire blocks to piles of rubble. L'Aquila was among the hardest hit, but the quake damaged some 26 towns in the central mountainous region of Abruzzo. via msnbc.com

Please keep all those grieving in your prayers.

A New Kind of Listening

via You Tube:

The story of a visionary director, a one-of-a-kind theater group, and a young man who could not speak, yet found the voice he had been looking for all his life.

A New Kind of Listening is feature documentary that takes us inside the creative work of the Community Inclusive Theater Group, as director Richard Reho inspires cast members, some with disabilities, to be writers, actors and dancers in an original collaborative performance. Together they prove that a small community arts project has the power to transform lives.




This documentary will be available in screenings soon.

Henri Nouwen's Good Friday prayers

Henri Nouwen's Good Friday prayers, (a shorter version online here), refer to Christ's broken heart:
Your heart is broken, the heart that did not know hatred, revenge, resentment, jealousy or envy but only love, love so deep and so wide that it embraces your Father in heaven as well as all humanity in time and space. Your broken heart is the source of my salvation, the foundation of my hope, the cause of my love. It is the sacred place where all that was, is and ever shall be is held in unity. There all suffering has been suffered, all anguish lived, all loneliness endured, all abandonment felt and all agony cried out. There, human and divine love have kissed, and there God and all men and women of history are reconciled. All the tears of the human race have been cried there, all pain understood and all despair touched.

In Show me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings, Nouwen writes:

...with my minds’ eye I saw large crowds of isolate, agonizing individuals walking away from the cross together, bound by the love they had seen with their own eyes and touched with their own lips. The cross of horror became the cross of hope, the tortured body became the body that gives new life; the gaping wound became the source of forgiveness, healing and reconciliation.

And, finally, a prayer for Lent by Henri Nouwen:

How often have I lived through these weeks without paying much attention to penance, fasting, and prayer? How often have I missed the spiritual fruits of the season without even being aware of it? But how can I ever really celebrate Easter without observing Lent? How can I rejoice fully in your Resurrection when I have avoided participating in your death?

Yes, Lord, I have to die — with you, through you, and in you — and thus become ready to recognize you when you appear to me in your Resurrection. There is so much in me that needs to die: false attachments, greed and anger, impatience and stinginess.... I see clearly now how little I have died with you, really gone your way and been faithful to it.

O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Let me find you again.

Amen.

The Quadster- a demo

Here's a device invented by Franklin Butts and David Gowan of Auburn University to attach to the front of a manual wheelchair called the Quadster.

via YouTube:
This versatile device easily attaches and detaches to a variety of manual wheelchairs to provide the option of an easily controlled electric assist motor. Contact Auburn University OTT (ott@auburn.edu) for technology and licensing information.

How can there be pity?

How can there be pity
In a world where resurrection
Points toward hope, even unto death?
There's no room for pity
Where souls dance everlasting
And it all begins on earth.

Needing friends

A young boy I was teaching wheelchair tennis to once told me he was upset about all the kids in school who would never be his friends because they treated him differently due to his disability.

I told him that I found, after acquiring a disability, that I lost some friends, but met many more. I also told him I met friends and people I never would have met otherwise, including many friends I was closer to.

His eyes widened. "Really?" he asked. "So it's a better gig?"

I nodded. "Sure," I said. "And I got to meet you. I wouldn't be coaching wheelchair tennis otherwise, would I?"

He laughed. "Nope. And I got to meet you."

Two tennis players walked by, obviously businessmen, their faces furrowed with frowns. Neither spoke to the other and they dropped their bags at the side of the net and began to pound the ball at each other, with occasional cursing.

"How happy do they look?" I asked the boy.

"Not very." Then he added "They look like they need better friends to talk to."

Adam's tour

Adam, who has cerebral palsy, taped his neighborhood in Toronto and talks about living there.



Adam also blogs.

NothingButNets

Instead of writing about March Madness and nothing but net, I'd like to draw attention toward a drive for providing bed nets for refugees to protect them from malaria. The cause is called Nothing But Nets. Ruth Riley of WNBA Cares speaks in the video below about the devastation caused by malaria that she saw on her trip.

Each net protects a family from malaria, lasts four years, and costs ten dollars. It can prevent transmission up to 90 per cent. Malaria is the number one killer of children in Africa.

Nets are distributed through the Measles Initiative, a "partnership of the American Red Cross, the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the UN Foundation, the World Healt Organization, and UNICEF. Since this integrated campaign began in 2001, nearly 400 million children across Africa have been vaccinated against measles and the number of measles cases reduced by 68%."

To purchase a net, please go here. To learn more about it, please watch the video below.

You people

I always know when I see emails that start with "you people" that my eyebrows, which still work, are going to go up.

The phrase "you people", when directed at any minority, including people with disabilities, is never persuasive to use in an argument.

The phrase "we the people", however, sounds really nice. You'll notice that our founding fathers did not put "you people" in the Constitution. Nor did they use the phrase "those people" or "people who look/sound/dress like that".

I first heard "you people" from a teacher. He used to get up and say "you people are lazy" and "you people will never amount to anything". I went home and told my grandmother who said "people like that" shouldn't be teachers.

Of course, it wasn't the last time I heard "you people". I learned that there were others who used the phrase, in much worse ways. They didn't stand in front of a class and call a group of students lazy or worthless, but singled out minorities. "You people" was the preface to discrimination, because it assumed things about a group as a whole, without getting to know those in the group. It was a way to put people deemed not to be as worthy of respect in their place. It was a way to dehumanize people.

"You people have a sense of entitlement."

"You people want everything."

"You people think you're as good as everyone else."

Ugly words like this have nothing to do with "we the people". Such phrases are full of assumptions about the other person and his or her situation. Sadly, there's no room for "we the people" in there, or what kind of solutions we as a country will find together.

Nowadays when I hear the phrase "you people" followed by judgmental statements or assumptions , the sound of a door closing rings in my ears. It is like a parent saying to a child that this conversation, this dialogue is over because their mind is made up.

How many times have we the people in this country allowed some of us to talk to minorities like children? How dare people do that to other adults? I find it laughable some days when one moment I see a person with a disability patronized like that and in the next moment that same person is expected to overcome insurmountable odds because of barriers that we, as a society, perpetuate.

Every day for the past month I've gone past a strip of road where a friend of mine who has CP works tirelessly to clear away leaves and tree branches. It's a side job he does every year to supplement the money he gets. He can only do it for a few hours at a time, because he has difficulty walking and standing for too long but nevertheless he does it to pay his rent and buy his food, even though there are people in town who offer to help him with those costs. He doesn't "want everything", just what others have - the ability to live independently in the community.

Like the story the First Lady tells about her father, who worked with MS, there are many people with disabilities who work. Some work full time. Others work when they can, as they can. Many work for low or no pay, but we don't hear about that often. I hope others get a chance to tell their stories too, so that "we the people" learn it's not an exception that people with disabilities are hard workers. More would be, given the opportunity. And many people with disabilities do work tirelessly as volunteers, when and if they can. I thank the First Lady for opening the door on that dialogue and encourage others to continue it. It's important to hear about how productive people with disabilities are every day.

But it's also important to note that some people with disabilities can't work. Judging someone's innate worth on the basis of whether he or she is productive is based on the same belief system that condoned the euthanasia of those who were seen as burdens on society. This is a dangerous and slippery slope in our society still - one that we haven't had a dialogue about out in the open. It results in poor health care for many, poor housing, poor transportation and hunger.

When we forget that we are all part of "we the people" and think of others as "you people", it is everyone's loss, no matter what words come after those first two.

Teaching empathy

At Scarsdale Middle School...

English classes discuss whether Friar Laurence was empathetic to Romeo and Juliet. Research projects involve interviews with octogenarians and a survey of local wheelchair ramps to help students identify with the elderly and the disabled. A new club invites students to share snacks and board games after school with four autistic classmates who are in separate classes during the day.

Other schools are running similar programs to combat bullying and fighting.

Ergonomic wheelchair

My titanium manual wheelchair is squeaking its last breath and, since I primarily use a power chair, it's not practical to replace it with another ultralightweight chair due to cost. At this point the manual chair is a secondary chair and the power chair is where my budget has to go.

I'm still paying off the power chair and I've noticed that the prices, even on online stores, of ultralightweight chairs has gone up since the economy got worse. I've been checking ebay for more than six months now and haven't really found anything there. I also checked our local resources for used wheelchairs and their lightest chair was 36 pounds.

So I started looking around for a manual chair in the next price range down in a chair weighing more like 27 to 35 pounds. This increase in weight has me concerned since I'm in a power chair due to pushing issues, but I'm pushing the chair very little in a small area so this is a concession it looks like I'm going to have to make.

I discovered the Karman ergonomic line of wheelchairs. They fold, which would be good since I'll be using it in situations where someone was assisting me, and have an "S" style type of seating which takes stress off your knees, which is good since my accident caused multiple injuries. Better yet, the price range for the Karman chairs range from as low as $399 to the $600 range, rather than from $1100 up. (The GPV/GP used to be available at a starting price of $875 new and has shot up to about $1100 and that's before you add anything to it.)

I'm not quite sold on this idea yet and hope to get up to the disability expo to see if any vendors have used wheelchairs that are lighter in a price range that's do-able.

Or I can just ride my titanium into the ground, which has been Plan A and, due to the lack of used chairs on ebay, I'm assuming is a lot of peoples' Plan A.

Wheelchair Diffusion blogs about the Tailwind Power Assist Wheelchair

I wanted to share information with my readers about a power assist wheelchair that Ziggi wrote about over at his informative blog Wheelchair Diffusion. He provides an excellent explanation of what power assist wheelchairs are.

These are power systems that are added to a manual wheelchair or come as a matched component of a manual wheelchair. They are used to improve mobility for people who have marginal pushing ability, to avoid shoulder injury or rest injured shoulders, and for those wheelchair users who require powered mobility in a compact transportable form.

The Tailwind is, apparently, the rebirth of the iGlide, with some important changes based on consumer feedback. It has more customization, for example, but go over and read about it on Wheelchair Diffusion.

Here's a few YouTube Videos of the Tailwind going up a steep hill.

I, Robot Scientist

Off topic, I know, but I saw this article on Adam, the first robot scientist who does hundreds of repetitive experiments this morning as I, too, was doing hundreds of repetitive tasks and was intrigued. I thought maybe some other folks would be interested too.

Adam, who works at Aberystwyth University in the UK, is the "first machine to have independently "discovered new scientific knowledge". He can do up to 1000 experiments a day, working out the roles of genes.

It has already identified the role of several genes in yeast cells, and is able to plan further experiments to test its own hypotheses.

[Photo via BBC Science shows the robot. In the foreground are cylindrical columns that surround a taller cylinder and what appears to be a chute coming off the side. Behind that is a black table surface holding a white box about the size of a computer. To the left of that is another white box on a table which looks like a printer and there are more cylinders next to it that are cut off in the shot.]

Even if you have a handicap placard, it's illegal to park in the hash marks

I ran into a situation a few days ago where a woman who had a handicap placard was parked in the blue hash marks that were part of the handicap spot my van was in . Luckily she was still in her car, since I would have been stranded waiting for her to return if she had gone inside. I asked her to move her car and she pointed to her placard and said because of it she had the right to be there. She wasn't correct.

The hash marks (striped area) next to a handicap spot are illegal to park in, whether you have a handicap placard or not. They exist for the purpose of loading and unloading wheelchairs. Unfortunately, it is not common practice when distributing placards to people to emphasize this to them, nor are these spots marked with a sign. As a result, I see many violations by those with placards as well as the run of the mill violation by those who have no placard.

I've needed the hashmarks for years now. When I had my Saturn, I had to open the extra long door very wide to get my wheelchair out and would get stranded when someone parked in the hash marks. Same with the van. When someone parks in the hash marks, it turns the handicap spot into a single space. This undoes the entire purpose of having extra room to load or unload a wheelchair and folks can't get in or out of their vehicles.

It's a very common violation. At one of the local store lots, I've begun to park in a regular spot at the end of the row because I've come out so many times and been unable to get into my van. I do report the violations, but don't have the time to wait around for others to do their shopping before I can get back to work, so until there's more education or enforcement of the handicap parking laws, we all need to pass the word to those with placards that they, too, can get a hefty fine if they use the hash marks as a free space.

Medicare in the news

From the NY Times, two stories in the health section about Medicare.

Doctors are opting out of Medicare.

Many people, just as they become eligible for Medicare, discover that the insurance rug has been pulled out from under them. Some doctors — often internists but also gastroenterologists, gynecologists, psychiatrists and other specialists — are no longer accepting Medicare, either because they have opted out of the insurance system or they are not accepting new patients with Medicare coverage. The doctors’ reasons: reimbursement rates are too low and paperwork too much of a hassle.

When shopping for a doctor, ask if he or she is enrolled with Medicare. If the answer is no, that doctor has opted out of the system. Those who are enrolled fall into two categories, participating and nonparticipating. The latter receive a lower reimbursement from Medicare, and the patient has to pick up many on Medicare are returning to th more of the bill.

A study found that many patients on Medicare are returning to the hospital.

As many as a fifth of all Medicare patients are readmitted within a month of being discharged, according to the study, and a third are rehospitalized within 90 days.

Half the patients who returned to the hospital within 30 days of undergoing treatment other than surgery apparently did not see a doctor before they went back.

To read the entire articles, please click on the links.

Tired of answering your email?

Check out Google AutoPilot. Works on chat too.

Happy April Fool's Day.

Paratransit services : raising the fees and cutting services

Hard fought progress that's been made in transportation for people with disabilities is being lost as paratransit services are cut back and the fees are raised. Yet the need for such services continues to grow.

The raise in fare is too steep for some who don't work and can't afford it. For example, the article states that in Niles, Michigan, where the fare was raised by a dollar a trip, "ridership decreased by 53% after that from 6,154 trips in 2007 to 2,896 in 2008."

Statistics show that ridership has gone up and more people are in need of paratransit service.

At the same time that partransit systems are struggling with funding, ridership is up. There was a 5.8% increase in national paratransit ridership last year, according to APTA's "Public Transportation Ridership Report" released in March.

Many Dial-a-Ride passengers are upset with fare increases because the service is their only way to get to work or medical appointments. "Please don't keep us prisoners in our homes," Patricia Williams, a disabled 40-year Reno resident said at a recent hearing. "Let us get out and see our family. Let us go to the grocery store." viaUSAToday.com