This year, I’m acknowledging my gratitude for the following:
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’ve spent far too much time in front of the computer, so forgive me for the insubstantiality of this entry. Besides, most of you are probably busy preparing for tomorrow’s feast. You won’t notice if I slack off this one time, will you?
From the Things that Make Me Happy Department: the trailer for Spiderman 3. That Venom costume is way cool.
If I had to pick a superpower, it would be telepathy. That way, I could confirm all the flattering things I know people are thinking about me.
How is it that I can go over a year without catching a thing and then I get two colds within the space of a couple months? If this keeps up, I’m going to start spraying antiseptic products on anyone who comes within a six-foot radius of me. Fortunately, I don’t feel too terrible and this was going to be a two-day workweek for me, anyway. Hopefully, I can kick this in a couple days.
Oh, look, yet another news bit about mind-machine interfaces. When future versions of the Playstation and Nintendo game consoles start including such technology as standard equipment, i might be persuaded to brave the fanboy stampedes and flying bullets to pick one up. Until then, I’m keeping it old-skool with my PC.
My monitor has some faint yellow burn-in streaks (most likely caused by the first version of the SETI screensaver–my bad for not engaging the monitor’s sleep function) and it’s starting to bug me. It’s a CRT monitor that I’ve had for almost five years, so it’s probably time for an upgrade. I’m actually a little embarrassed to admit that I’m still using such a clunker of a display; it kind of undermines my uber-geek cred. If you have recommendations on a new LCD, let me know. I’m thinking that something in the 19″-20″ range should suit my needs fine. My other major dilemma is where to put my Spock bust and Star Trek miniatures that currently occupy the top of my monitor.
New Scientist is currently running a special where top scientists and thinkers offer their predictions for the next fifty years. Things like this are always an intellectual crapshoot, but there seems to be general agreement that continued research in genetics is about to yield some major breakthroughs. And I wonder how any of this would affect me and people like me. I’ve always assumed that in the years ahead, i might lose a little more functioning or it might simply plateau (as it seems to have for the past several years). If I live long enough, perhaps genetic therapies might offer me some small degree of increased functioning. Perhaps nanomachines could help me breathe without the assistance of a bulky ventilator. An extremely slight possibility, but one worth considering.
Whatever the future brings, I hope I’m around for a while to watch things play out.
On the Consumerist website, a deaf person wrote about how Capital One, a credit card company, would not accept a relay-assisted call from her. For the uninitiated, a relay service provides deaf callers with a communications assistant who verbalizes the deaf caller’s words (which are usually typed or signed) to the person on the other end of the line. I’ve heard stories about phone scammers taking advantage of relay services, which might have something to do with the company’s reluctance to take relay calls. However, is it really possible to verify anyone’s identity over the phone? I’m guessing that relay users frequently run into clueless or ignorant callers. I’ve used speech-to-speech relay a couple times for customer service calls (back when I was a little more insecure about making myself understood over the phone), but I haven’t used it enough to make any intelligent comments on its efficacy when conducting daily business. It’s a great service and I hope that other businesses are more adept at serving deaf callers.
On NPR’s Fresh Air, music critic Ken Tucker gives a glowing review to country singer Bradley Walker’s debut album, Highway of Dreams. Walker has a form of muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, but the review makes it clear that he is worthy of attention regardless of his disability. I’m no aficionado of country music, but even I can tell that he’s the real deal and not just a twangy pop act. Perhaps this will be the break Walker needs and he can quit his day job at the nuclear power plant.
I really should screw up the courage to try out for American Idol. People tell me that my rendition of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” is quite soulful.
Thanks to my friend Ellen for the tip.
Now that the Dems control Congress, I’ve been giving some thought to how they might address issues of concern to the disability community. Clearly, the Iraq war is going to dominate the agenda for several months, but here are a few priorities that we should urge the 110th Congress to take up:
What am I missing? On what issues can we ally with other advocates to make this a better country not just for people with disabilities, but for everyone?