Enjoy the weekend, everyone. I’ll be catching up on comics and having my own little Halloween-themed movie marathon. Let’s see, should I start with Alien or The Thing?
Oct 282011
Oct 272011
The Star Tribune reports on the rippling consequences of last summer’s budget cuts to health care. A group of people with disabilities and their families are suing the state to block a wage cut to family members who work as personal care attendants. In another development, cuts to Medical Assistance for noncitizens may force some severely disabled individuals out of nursing homes. The article’s headline characterizes these events as “unforeseen”, but that’s letting the Legislature off the hook much too easily. Anyone with a good grasp of these programs could have predicted the fallout of those cuts. Unfortunately, many legislators are either too new or too disinterested to possess that working knowledge. And let’s not forget that the final budget was passed in a flurry to end a three-week state government shutdown, leaving little time for debate. The resulting bad policy mires the state in legal action that could diminish any planned savings those policies were designed to achieve.
The notion of citizen legislators who govern for a few months and then return to their other jobs is a fine and noble one, but perhaps the job of setting policy for a 21st-century state is becoming too complicated to be left to part-timers.
Oct 262011
Once again, I put off finishing my book club selection until the night before we meet. I believe this is what is known as a first world problem. I’ll do my best to be more interesting tomorrow.
Oct 252011
As a companion to its Steve Jobs retrospective, last Sunday’s 60 Minutes aired a segment on the iPad and its usefulness to some people with autism. The segment profiles kids with autism who interact with the iPad with an enthusiasm that can’t be matched by more low-tech stimuli. It also introduces us to a young man with autism who uses his iPad to effectively communicate despite being nonverbal. The piece does a good job of emphasizing that the iPad isn’t going to suit the needs of every person with autism; an important point that can sometimes be neglected in gee-whiz human interest stories about technology. It also demonstrates that the consumerization of technology–particularly portable technology–is a real boon for people with disabilities.
Oct 242011
The American space program may be in a moribund state right now, but smart people are still thinking big about the future. A recent conference examined various theories for achieving interstellar travel, such as solar sails and fusion drives. I’m skeptical that I’ll even see a return to the moon in my lifetime and the logistical challenges of traveling to another star are colossal, but it’s reassuring to know that people much brighter than me continue to dream and imagine the possibilities. And in a hundred years, Apple and Google may be in a position to jointly subsidize the first starship.
Oct 212011
The next World of Warcraft expansion will feature…pandas? Pandas living a fantastical version of medieval China? I generally trust Blizzard on these matters, so I’m going to withhold judgment until I play it. Perhaps it will be charming and engrossing and the cuteness factor will be kept dialed comfortably below stomach-churning levels. Perhaps.
The trailer for the second Starcraft 2 chapter, on the other hand, has AWESOME written all over it. I’ll definitely pick it up as soon as I get around to playing the first chapter.
Oct 202011
The disability rights movement has long gotten short shrift in history books, documentaries, and the like. Most Americans aren’t even aware that such a movement has and continues to exist, despite its significant impact on our nation’s laws, institutions, and citizens. That’s why I’m excited to learn that PBS will be airing “Lives Worth Living” as part of its Independent Lens documentary series beginning on October 27th. “Lives Worth Living” looks at the disability rights movement from its inception to the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Jeff Shannon’s enthusiastic write-up for the film in the Chicago Sun-Times only adds to my excitement.
“Lives Worth Living” doesn’t air in the Twin Cities until December, but I’m guessing it will be up on the PBS website well before that. I’ll post my thoughts on it once I’ve had a chance to see it. It might be interesting to convene a group of disability bloggers and share our collective impressions. Email me if you’d like to participate.
Thanks to Roger Ebert’s eminently readable Twitter feed for the tip.
Oct 192011
Recent polls find that the Occupy Wall Street protests attract the sympathies of not just iPad-toting vegan hipsters, but also blue-collar white men. While this may seem a little surprising, it really shouldn’t be. For all the Tea Party’s success as a political movement, it has never been very good at recognizing ordinary people’s legitimate grievances with corporate America and its role in laying the foundation for the Great Recession. The Tea Party wants to place the blame at the feet of government (more specifically, Democrats in government), but most people recognize that the private sector must be held accountable as well. The Occupy movement is an effort–a sometimes inarticulate effort–to bring attention to the yawning class divisions that the recession has laid bare. Why wouldn’t working people be sympathetic with that?
The protests could still fizzle and be quickly forgotten, especially as winter approaches. It needs to start attracting a broader base that is both older and less white. It needs to figure out how to harness the energies of people who work and may not have the time for traditional protesting. But if its organizers can become a little savvier, it could become a true grass-roots movement with wide appeal.
Oct 182011
I think I’ve blogged previously about this wheelchair that can be controlled via facial muscles. The video accompanying the article shows a demonstration of the chair and it seems to work quite smoothly. The electrodes on the face are a bit unsightly, but the designers have plans for adapting the interface to a pair of goggles. The chair also has a proximity sensor that slows the chair down when an obstacle is near. I’m not sure this feature completely addresses my concern that a speck of dust in the eye could send the user careening into the street, but it’s better than nothing. This interface might have promise for other environmental controls as well, like turning on a television or opening a door. Until true neural interfaces are ready for prime time, this could be the next best thing for people with the most severe physical disabilities.
Oct 172011
Remember how I said that I was pretty happy with my iPhone 3GS and would likely hold off on upgrading? That didn’t stop me from joining the four million other tools who purchased a 4S over the weekend. It all started with some innocent browsing on Craigslist to check the resale value of my 3GS, which turned out to be more than I thought. Then I realized that an Apple Store was only a few minutes drive from downtown. You can figure out the rest. It only took me a few hours to sell my old phone for a cool $160, so this iPhone purchase actually cost less than my 3GS.
And now my new phone is sitting on my desk, looking all sleek and polished. As I predicted, Siri can’t make heads or tails of my speech, but that’s okay. The screen is brilliant and I’m sure I’ll get some good use out of the improved camera. This will do quite nicely until the 5S comes along in a couple years.