timpoindexter

Denver "Live Forward" Meetup

Tim — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:32:00 GMT

Hey all you Denver area Disaboomers listen up!

Disaboom is hosting its first ever Community Meetup next Wednesday evening from 7-9pm at the VSA arts of Colorado/Access Gallery (located in the arts district in Denver off of Santa Fe). Dr. Glen House, founder of Disaboom, will be speaking on what it means to Live Forward. Refreshments will be provided.

This should be an awesome time to get to know one another in person and to connect with new people. Plus there's free food and you'll get to meet Glen!

Limits spots are available, so please RSVP if you plan on attending this event. To sign up go to:

http://disaboommeetup.eventbrite.com

The password to access the sign up page is: liveforward

Details again:

Location: in Denver (Arts District off of Santa Fe)

Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Time: 7-9pm

RSVP - Required!

We look forward to seeing you next week!

Disaboom Chat Suspended

Tim — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:55:00 GMT

What do you get when you put a large assortment of people with different backgrounds, opinions and ideas in a place of public discourse where almost anything can be said without fear of meaningful non-verbal reprisal? What if the identity of these people is masked by distance and arbitrary screen names?

You get a chat room full of people who, despite good intentions, often degenerate into reactionary villains bent on winning arguments and verbally assaulting those who disagree with them or frustrate them. You get selfishness and anger and large amounts of pettiness. I guess that's human nature, but in most cases there are built in filters that check these regretful tendencies, like being face to face with another human being or having the realization that everyone knows your real name and that you have a reputation to protect. However, those two filters will never exist in chat.

But there is a third filter, which is far more important: Sometimes you encounter people who have self-control, a strong sense of responsibility and a great deal of understanding and respect for the people they encounter, regardless of the medium in which these encounters take place. That's the sort of filter that needs to be in place in an online chat room, and seemingly that filter is only tenuously present in the Disaboom chat rooms. I sure wish that sort of person were in the majority.

For now, then, the Disaboom Chat Rooms will be closed.

So, has Disaboom bowed to those who can't control their emotions and their words? Has it given in to people who seem to have no concept of disagreeing with an argument rather than insulting the people with whom they disagree? I don't think so. Think of this as a revocation of privileges. When chat comes back (and that is currently the plan, though it is subject to change) it will only be for those who have won the privilege to participate by giving evidence of the existence of the third filter in their character. Gradually chat will be opened up to more users and hopefully a place of healthy civil discourse can be sustained.

Until then you can carry on in the forums and the blogs, where proof of excess and total disregard for others can be more easily recognized and appropriately penalized.

Have $387,568 to spare? Hook yourself up with this Jet-Powered Wheelchair

Tim — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:18:00 GMT

For the kid who has everything...

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11-yr-old Internet superstore Allegro Medical recently unveiled a $387,568 jet powered wheelchair illustrating that the sky is the limit when it comes to making your wheelchair “beautiful”. Probably not exactly what National Wheelchair Beautification Month founder Horace Knowles had in mind when he invented the July holiday, but Allegro considers its ‘Jet Chair’ beautiful nonetheless.

The image of the supercharged wheelchair, complete with jet engine, fat run-flat high pressure tires, a rear airfoil, windsock and curb feelers (for easy parking) is part of an advertising campaign to encourage savvy wheelchair users to “Pimp Their Ride”. The wheelchair is advertised for $387,568 -- marked down from $755,000 -- and is reported to go 0-300 mph in 4.2 seconds. A safety helmet and fire-retardant underwear are recommended.

(from the product page)

The Jet Chair combines today’s advances in jet propulsion with modern wheelchair design to make a practical, general-purpose sub-sonic everyday chair. The wheelchair finally meets the jet age in this aggressively styled, “weekend warrior” -type chair. Perfectly at home in the Bonneville Salt Flats doing 400mph or cruising to the market, the Jet Chair offers something for everyone.

Designed at the famed Lockhood Martin “Skunk Works”, the jet powered wheelchair was initially developed as a high-speed ground-based escape pod for the legendary SR71 Blackbeard. With the close of the cold war and no apparent use for the jet powered wheelchair, Allegro Medical sought the rights to produce the jet chair. The deal crafted with the State Department allows for limited production of the jet powered wheelchair as a recreational use personal transportation device. The stripped down civilian version of the craft is notably missing rocket launchers and heat-seeking missiles.

Safety first. Always wear a helmet and fire-retardant underwear when operating a jet powered wheelchair. (Underwear sold separately).

Experimental aircraft restrictions apply.

Time out. We're kidding! This is NOT a real product.

TSA Makes Amputee Take Pants off in Public

Tim — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:06:00 GMT

Here's a disturbing article about how the TSA seems to be abusing their power and making unreasonable demands upon passengers that could be averted with a bit of common sense (CBS Chicago, via Boing Boing):

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When travelers go to the airport, they know what kind of security to expect: luggage searches, metal detectors and shoe inspections.

It's all part of our post 9-11 reality enforced by the Transportation Security Adminstration. But as CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports, thousands of travelers have complained that some of these screenings can become abusive and even x-rated.

In Chicago, people like Robert Perry are subjected to exhaustive security checks. He was patted down, his wheel chair was examined and his hands were swabbed, all in public view in a see-through room at the security checkpoint. Perry, 71, is not alone

"It's humiliation," Perry said.

Perry was also taken to a see-through room by a TSA agent when his artificial knee set off the metal detector.

"He yelled at me to get the belt off. 'I told you to get the belt off.' So I took the belt off. He ran his hands down over and pulled the pants down, they went down around my ankle," Perry said.

At that point, Perry was standing in his underwear in public view. He asked to see a supervisor. That made things worse.

"She was yelling 'I have power, I have power, I have power," Perry said. The power to stop him from flying to Florida with his wife that day to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

"It makes you feel like you have no rights," Perry said.

Perry said he always alerts TSA agents about his metal knee and wonders why they can't just check his leg.

"If somebody told me that I would save the people on the airplane by taking my pants off out in public out there, I wouldn't mind doing it, but this was not necessary," Perry said.

TSA officials said that when the metal detectors go off, their agents must resolve what caused the alarm. But experts have said it's important to use common sense when balancing security and customer service.

ADA Anniversary and the National Forum on Disability Issues

Tim — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:08:00 GMT

Disaboom will be presenting a live Webcast of the National Forum on Disability Issues this Saturday from 12:30pm to 4:00pm, ET. The Forum is being held in Columbus, OH.

The event will commemorate the 18th anniversary of our civil rights law, the Americans with Disabilities Act and will feature time slots for the presidential candidates to individually present their visions for the future of disability policy in America followed by questions by Judy Woodruff, news anchor and journalist ("The News Hour with Jim Lehrer"), who will act as the Moderator.

The latest news is that John McCain will be personally participating via satellite. Barack Obama will not be participating personally in the event, but is sending Senator Tom Harkin in his stead.

If you're not able to view the live webcast you can come back and watch it later, so whether or not you're able to view it live be sure to head on over and sign up to view the event.

I will be attending the event along with Dan Lawton. You can expect pictures, live-blogging and regular reports from us (hopefully some interviews too!) to be published on the Disabled Politico blog.

New 'Tongue Drive System' for Wheelchairs

Tim — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:10:00 GMT

Via Wired (read their article for the rest of the story):

Quadriplegics may gain a new degree of freedom via their tongues, if a new control system becomes widely available.

The new system uses that famously strong, agile and sensitive muscle, the tongue, to provide computer accessibility and wheelchair control to severely disabled people.

Designed by researchers for people with debilitating spinal cord injuries and diseases, the tongue-drive tech takes advantage of the nearly direct connection between the tongue and the brain via cranial nerves, which makes it particularly likely to remain functional, even after severe accidents.

What does Community look Like?

Tim — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:39:00 GMT

People join Disaboom everyday. Some of these people get assimilated and involved in Disaboom right away, others take their time and slowly enter into community. Some, for one reason or another, decide that the community on Disaboom is not for them. That's what I'm writing about today.

Sometimes when people decide they're done with community here they send us messages, which I appreciate very much as it gives insight into how we can continue to improve. Many times these messages help us make big steps forward in building a place for better community and interaction. However, there's only so much we can do. The thing about community is that only so much of it is about technology, administration and "authority." Really, what community boils down to is you and me--the very members of community in all our individuality, with all our opinions, quirks and messiness. That's right. Community can be a messy business.

That idea of a "messy" community is not one that comes naturally to some people and it can even be frustrating for some, which is understandable. I'd like to share one line from an email we received recently. I won't tell you who it was from, just that we've received similar emails before and I thought now would be a good time to address the vision and ideal of community as it works itself out in general and on Disaboom. Here's the line:

I had hoped disaboom would be different- a sanctuary where we can go, be ourselves, and keep the negative influences of the outside world at a distance.

I don’t know about you, but that description sounds like one of a convent or a monastery to me. See, the first part is right in line with our vision—we want a place where people can be themselves. The second part of the description is not compatible with the first part unless everyone is the same. Whenever you have a large community of people being themselves in the same location you find friction and disagreements and varying levels of maturity in how people deal with the frictions and disagreements. If life is anything it is bittersweet. Part of the joy that can be found in community comes from making the effort to overcome the inevitable frustrations and disagreements that arise and to finally find genuine relationship with others. That can’t be had without effort and perhaps even some anger.

Community is a gritty business, it’s not airbrushed and shiny, it’s not holding hands and being out of the world—it’s being real and experiencing pain and frustration, but then hopefully accepting and being accepted by others (but that isn’t guaranteed, and it doesn’t happen right away).

There are certainly some simple things we can do that might make it an easier journey for people such as the person who wrote the note above, and we are committed to making the journey as easy as possible. But at the end of the day some people are looking for something that doesn’t exist, and we have no intention of trying to be the first to create such a place.

So what do you say? Are you willing to give Community a shot? I can tell you it's not always easy, it's not always fun (though it is a lot of the time!), but it is always worth it.

Texas Hired People with Abuse Records to Care for Disabled

Tim — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:35:00 GMT

A very disturbing audit just release by the state of Texas (link):

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AUSTIN -- The state institutions for people with disabilities are failing to find community-based homes for many patients who want them, and have hired 10 state school employees who should’ve been ineligible because of previous abuse and neglect records, according to a state audit released today.

While the Department of Aging and Disability Services has gotten better about listening to patients who want to move from state schools into the community, the report indicates 70 percent of patients who asked to leave the state schools in fiscal year 2007 weren’t granted their wish.

The audit also found 10 state school workers listed in the state employee misconduct registry – meaning they had abuse or neglect records that should have made them ineligible for hire. The Dallas Morning News first identified several of these employees in May.

And thought the agency investigates the overwhelming majority of high priority abuse and neglect incidents within one day, as required by law, they’re not so timely with “level two” complaints. Over the last two years, only 41 percent of those were investigated within the required two-week time frame.

Laura Albrecht, a spokeswoman with the Department of Aging and Disability Services, said at the beginning of the year, the agency began “dramatically improving” the process for state school residents to move out into the community. Those changes are underway.

She said all of the unqualified employees the audit found have since been terminated – and that the agency is now doing annual reviews of the state “employee misconduct registry.”

The delay in investigating the “priority 2” complaints has to do with staffing, Ms. Albrecht said. The agency’s employee turnover rate in that area is high but dropping, she said.

Corporations seek out Disabled Athletes for Sponsorships

Tim — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:45:00 GMT

This is really exciting news! Apparently a lot of corporations are turning to sponsor athletes with disabilities because a) the visability and impact of these athletes is growing strongly, and b) many world of able-bodied athletics has been fairly scandal ridden recently with lots athletes relying on drugs to push the limits. Here are some excerpts of an article about this exciting development:

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A Beijing-bound athlete from Maryland is featured on McDonald's beverage cups, but it's not Michael Phelps.

Instead, it's Tatyana McFadden, a wheelchair sprint racer from Howard County who also is featured in a television commercial for Hilton Hotels Corp.

McFadden, 19, a member of the U.S. Paralympics team that will compete in China in September, had limited endorsement opportunities when she competed in Athens four years ago. But since then, she and other disabled athletes have noticed a marked rise in corporate sponsorship opportunities.

McFadden, who will be featured on 100 million 16- and 21-ounce cups in McDonald's establishments across the country, is among a growing number of athletes with disabilities who are being sought out by corporate America for sponsorships.

As unseemly behavior among able-bodied athletes has become more prevalent in recent years, corporate America has increased its efforts to reach out to athletes with disabilities, said Dave Rosenberg, executive vice president of GMR Marketing, a San Francisco firm that matched McFadden with Hilton.

"These athletes truly inspire," said Rosenberg. "They are the ones who are truly engaged in their sports and love of sports, and their support of the team. As a fan, these athletes are striving to support others. They provide that role-modeling."

(link)

New Video Game lets Blind and Sighted Players Compete

Tim — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:50:00 GMT

A joint collaboration between MIT and Singaporean students brought about a brand new computer game designed to provide a fun experience and an even playing experience between people who are blind/low vision and those who are have full vision. (link)

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The game, called AudiOdyssey, simulates a deejay trying to build up a catchy tune and get people dancing. By swinging the remote-control device used by the Nintendo Wii, which senses motion, the player can set the rhythm and lay down one musical track after another, gradually building up a richer musical track.(check out the video)

Eitan Glinert, a graduate student in computer science at the Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab, says that the introduction of the Wii controller attracted many women and older players for the first time to the world of videogames. "Lots of people who had never played video games were now playing them all the time," he says. "I started to think, who's been left out? What groups are left behind even with all the new technology, these new systems?"

Then it hit him. "People with disabilities had been left behind. I began to speculate, how could you bring these people into the fold and have them be able to play these games?" He started by looking up everything that was available in terms of computer games for the visually impaired, and found there were already about 200 titles.

"I thought, oh well, it was a good idea. But then I noticed something: As a sighted player, I was unable to play any of these." The games had been so specifically adapted for sound and tactile play that they gave the visually impaired too much of an advantage, making it impractical for them to play with sighted friends. "There were games for sighted people, games for blind people, and never the twain shall meet," he says. "I thought, maybe I could build a game that could be played by both, equally well."

Amputee Athletes, Heros or Cheats?

Tim — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:16:00 GMT

The Boston Globe wrote an excellent article about the controversy surrounding competition between amputee athletes and able-bodied athletes. I've put some excerpts from the article below. What do you think?

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When amputee athletes compete against able-bodied athletes, they're called courageous. But when they nearly win, as a South African sprinter did earlier this year while trying to qualify for that country's Olympic team, they are accused of cheating. It's a hypocrisy that doesn't sit well with MIT professor and double amputee Hugh Herr.

Inside his biomechatronics lab - devoted to the intersection of biology, mechanics, and electronics - experimental prostheses lie on a table, a collection of metal parts and circuitry engineered to mimic human muscles and tendons. The professor's goal is to one day reach the point where artificial limbs improve upon human design, but he insists that he and his fellow scientists haven't reached that point yet.

That belief is why he became so intrigued by claims that carbon-fiber "Cheetah" Flex-Foot prostheses gave a competitive advantage to South African sprinter and double amputee Oscar Pistorius. In January, the IAAF - the international governing body of track and field - ruled that the Cheetah's springy, J-shaped blade gave Pistorius an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes by allowing him to use less energy as he ran. It then banned him from the Olympics.

Pistorius planned an appeal, and his legal team contacted Herr, hoping the MIT professor could assess the IAAF claim. For two weeks spread over February and March, Herr and a team of experts in biomechanics and physiology performed tests on Pistorius at Rice University in Houston. The tests done in that school's locomotion laboratory showed that the Cheetahs did not enable the double amputee to conserve energy or provide a mechanical advantage when sprinting. When Herr presented the team's findings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland last month, it reversed the IAAF ban, clearing the way for Pistorius to compete at the Beijing Olympics in August if he qualifies for his country's team.

"One thing we're fighting against is pop culture and Hollywood," says Herr. "People believe things exist that don't. I believe one day technology will go beyond what's capable with human legs. But the Cheetah ain't it. There has never been a prosthesis developed that's been shown to decrease energy requirements to walk or run."

For Herr, it was a scientific and a personal victory. Twenty years ago, he was accused of cheating in competitive rock climbing; he had competed wearing prosthetic legs he had designed for the sport. "With Oscar, it was like, 'Here we go again,' " says Herr, 43. He is bemused by the fact that when amputees run or climb more slowly than "intact-leg competitors," their athletic displays are considered courageous. But as soon as amputees prove they can actually compete with able-bodied athletes, accusations of cheating follow, he says.

(go to boston.com for the rest of the story...)

"Disabled parking passes" being sold on eBay in the UK

Tim — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:18:00 GMT

Apparently there's a quite an uproar in the UK over the fact that the blue badges that allow people to park in handicapped spots are being sold surreptitiously on eBay to the highest bidder. They are going for about £5,000. I've included a summary of an article about this problem below. This is definitely not cool. Has anyone heard of this sort of thing happening in the United States?

here's the article:

Scandal of disabled parking 'blue badges' being sold on eBay for £5,000

Blue badges issued to disabled drivers are being sold for £5,000 each on the popular Internet auction site eBay.

The badges allow motorists to park free-of-charge in disabled bays in town centres and leave their cars on yellow lines.

In London, they allow drivers to enter the congestion charge zone without paying. This equates to a saving of £2,000, before parking is taken into account.

The rising cost of parking and using the congestion zone in the capital has led to a flourishing black market in the badges, members of the all-party Transport Select Committee have been told.

According to the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, people were applying for the badge because of its financial value.

It is understood that blue badges have been put up for sale on eBay. There have been occasions where the holder has died and relatives have decided to sell the badge rather than return it.

The committee also found that doctors are wrongly approving badges to people who exaggerate their disabilities.

The number of disabled badges has soared. In 1987 there were only 673,000 in circulation, equivalent to 14 per 1,000 people.

By last year this had risen to 2.3 million or 46 badges for every 1,000 people. It is anticipated that there will be more than three million registered disabled motorists by 2012.

Blogging is cool because...

Tim — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:16:00 GMT

Still waiting to give blogging a go? Check out Laughsum2's blog on why blogging is actually a really good excersise and lots of fun.

After you've read that and set up your blog hop on over to the Blogging Hero group and get some solid tips on how to make your blog one of the best.

Accessible Rock Band Drum Kit lets you Play More Cowbell

Tim — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:57:00 GMT

The people over at Kinetic Communications have a passion for accessibility and a love for video games. Sound like some really cool people right? Absolutely. Kinetic figured out a mod to allow more gamers to play one of today's most popular interactive video games, Rock Band.

Turns out the drum set isn't accessible for people in wheelchairs due to the kick-drum pedal, so Kinetic put $20 and some accessible mod expertise into the kit and came out with rocking solution. All it took was some cheap drumsticks, a doorbell, a Y cable, a pair of pliers and a screwdriver and they made a Rock Band kick pedal that can be activated from drumsticks. Click on through to find out how to mod your own rig.

Kinetic via Gizmodo

20+ ways to learn a new Language Online, or become a linguistic polymath

Tim — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:51:00 GMT

ReadWriteWeb posted a cool article on ways to learn languages online. Click through to their post to see the full list...

Learn:

Mango Languages: 12 different online language courses presented in conversational format with prices starting at free.

Vocabulix: Free vocab building lessons in Spanish, German and English, as well as other languages, with a baked in social network.

Pod Network: Spanishpod - Frenchpod - Chinesepod - Free online lessons in three languages.

BBC Languages: A host of language learning tools and self-contained online courses from the BBC.

eLanguageSchool.net: Free lessons for learning 10 different languages online.

Practice:

Convesation Exchange: Text and voice chat, email, or face-to-face meetings can bet set up via Language Buddy to improve your conversational skills.

Lingozone: Build vocab skills by playing game of Word Ladder and Hangman, while making friends with whom to practice speaking.

Language Exchange Network: Think Craigslist for language learning; this site has super-simple language exchange classified listings.

MyLanguageExchange: One of the oldest online language exchanges (this site was a Yahoo! Internet Life pick in 2001), it claims over 1 million members speaking 115 different languages.

Language Exchange: A language exchange application for the Facebook platform.

Bonus Site: ASL Fingerspelling: Test your American Sign Language chops by watching online spelling demos and guessing the word.