The 19th Floor

Remembering Kelsey

Oct 282013

A friend and co-worker died suddenly a couple weeks ago. Like me, Kelsey had spinal muscular atrophy; we first met back in 2006 when she interviewed for a job at the Department of Human Services. Kelsey was smart, funny, and adventurous. She was thrilled when she was elected as a Minnesota delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. We didn’t get to talk as often after I changed jobs, but we still found time to hang out in my office and talk about work, finding decent help, and all the inexplicable things able-bodied people do in our presence.

As happens too often to people with SMA, Kelsey contracted pneumonia and she didn’t have the strength to fight back this time. Her friends and co-workers demonstrated overwhelming support for both Kelsey and her family; a final testament to the person she was.

I will miss her. And I have a renewed appreciation for my own continued presence in this world, however tenuous it may be. Farewell, Kelsey.

Good Enough

Tech No Responses »

Oct 252013

The new iPad Air is certainly a svelte and sleek device, but I’m not sure it’s a worthwhile upgrade from my third-generation iPad. A faster processor won’t make a much of a difference when I’m reading or scanning my Twitter feed. The slimmer profile is eye-catching, but my iPad always sits on a stand and is easily portable as is. I’d happily pay for a version with a larger screen, which may come in another generation or two. Apple already convinced me to upgrade my phone to the 5S, so I doubt the ghost of Steve Jobs will be offended if I sit out this product cycle.

Critic At Large: Janelle Monae At The Skyway Theatre

Music No Responses »

Oct 232013

For this brief review, I’m going to write separately about the performance and the venue’s accessibility. Janelle Monae is an artist who loves to perform in front of a live audience. For nearly two hours, her kinetic enthusiasm never flagged as she powered through funk-inspired numbers like “Q.U.E.E.N.” and “Tightrope”. Her best moment of the night came when she performed “Cold War”–a favorite of mine and a song that seems to have a great deal of personal significance to Monae. She also delivered a few surprises, like a pounding cover of “Let’s Go Crazy”.

Now for the bad. The accessibility at the Skyway Theatre is terrible. The only spot that could accommodate my wheelchair was located at the end of the upper balcony, forcing other people in various states of inebriation to trip over my footrest on their way to and from their seats. And because I was sitting in the back, I was only able to occasionally glimpse Monae between the silhouettes of the people in front of me. The Skyway used to be an old movie multiplex, so I understand that accessibility wasn’t a major design consideration back then. But unless the current owners come up with a solution (doubtful), I probably won’t see another concert here.

Oh, and Prince passed within five feet of me on the way to his seat.

A Note To App Developers

Disability, Tech No Responses »

Oct 212013

After using the iOS 7 switch interface for a couple weeks, I’ve gotten pretty adept at navigating various apps. But one element of app design really frustrates me. Some apps include a menu that can be brought up with a tap on the screen. Unfortunately, the menu disappears after a few seconds. Those of us who use switches don’t have enough time to activate menu items before the menu vanishes. This design flaw is prevalent in magazine and reading apps like the New Yorker and Instapaper.

From an accessibility standpoint, it would be better if menus remain visible until dismissed with another tap (the Amazon Kindle app does it right). As app designers become more cognizant of basic accessibility principles, problems like this should disappear. Komodo OpenLab, the maker of my TECLA Shield, has great resources on how to make apps more accessible.

Lesson Learned?

Politics No Responses »

Oct 172013

It’s difficult to understate the pointlessness and utter folly of the Republican-led shutdown and fiscal crisis that has now concluded. For all their bluster and bravado, Republicans achieved none of their stated policy goals. The ACA will continue to be implemented (assuming the Administration can fix the deeply flawed federal insurance exchange) and people will receive coverage beginning next year. They did manage to inflict billions of dollars in collateral economic damage and deprive the country of a functional government, successfully completing the GOP’s year-long rebranding effort. The party’s new motto: “Burn! Burn!”

The only thing that may prevent a repeat of this sad chapter is the dawning realization among more reasonable Republicans that things are different now. Obama and Democrats will not bargain away major policy achievements under threat of economic ruin; not now, not next year, or the year after that. There is a deal to be had on tax and entitlement reform if Republicans can budge on revenue, but it will require abandoning the Tea Party ideologues. I’m skeptical this will happen anytime soon. Perhaps the best we can hope for is to muddle through the next few years until the political dynamic shifts in a fundamental way.

Prepping

Fucked Up No Responses »

Oct 152013

Now that a debt default is more than a remote possibility, I’m trying to devise a barter system for paying my nurses. Lacking any livestock or a hidden cache of gold bars, I may have to pay them in Pringles and electronics, assuming electricity is still a thing in a blighted post-default hellscape. Now, where did I put the spikes for my wheels? I need to get them installed before the roving street gangs get too cocky.

Failure To Launch

Health Care 1 Response »

Oct 142013

Ezra Klein calls the launch of Obamacare a failure. It’s difficult to dispute that assessment, at least in regards to the federal insurance exchange. The Times ran a great article detailing the various missteps behind the failed launch. It’s a discouraging but familiar story involving miscommunication, lack of resources and accountability, and political hedging. Things are going somewhat better in the states operating their own exchanges where they can respond more nimbly to technical issues.

The feds need to fix these problems and hold the appropriate people accountable. But it’s worth pointing out that the fierce opposition to the ACA likely contributed to its rocky implementation. The administration didn’t plan on creating an exchange for 36 states, but the political circumstances gave them no choice. It doesn’t excuse the massive implementation failures, but it does provide context.

There’s still time to fix these issues. The administration can’t afford to dither, though. People already have a shaky trust in the government and screw-ups like this only weaken that trust further.

Reality Bites

Politics No Responses »

Oct 102013

It took Republicans about ten days to figure out that shuttering the government and threatening global economic ruin might not be the best way to earn voter approval. I’m quite happy that Democrats remained united and didn’t blink when the Tea Party took control of the asylum, but we should never have come to this point. Some liberal bloggers are making breathless predictions about retaking the House, which should be regarded with a healthy dose of skepticism. This entire mess might be a faint memory by the time next November arrives and we may be stuck with the status quo for a few more years.

One interesting sidenote: Republicans may have inadvertently made the Affordable Care Act more popular because of their shenanigans. Given the incredibly rocky launch of the insurance exchanges, that’s no small feat. Good work, guys!

Obamacare ticks upward in NBC/WSJ: 38% say ACA is a good idea, 43% say it’s a bad idea. Was 31% good, 44% bad in September.

— Mike O’Brien (@mpoindc) October 10, 2013

Unlocking The iPad

Disability, Tech 1 Response »

Oct 082013

I ordered the new Tecla Shield DOS last week so that I could access my iPad using the switch control function in iOS 7. It arrived yesterday and I used it for a couple hours last night. Here are my initial thoughts.

Setting up the Shield couldn’t be easier. Developer Komodo OpenLabs deserves huge kudos for developing a truly plug-and-play device. It only took me a few minutes to select the proper mode on the Shield, connect my switch, and pair the Shield with my iPad. After a little fiddling with the Switch Control settings in iOS 7, I was up and running.

Apple has done an excellent job creating a switch interface that provides comprehensive control, regardless of how many switches are being used. Even with a single switch, I could open apps, scroll, flick, and perform other gestures. I could also type, albeit slowly, using the on-screen keyboard. The scanning rate and mode can be adjusted on the fly using an intuitive menu. The interface is also surprisingly smart. If I select a volume slider, the pop-up menu gives me the option to increase or decrease the volume. Well done, Apple!

The interface isn’t perfect. Some apps don’t play well with switches, particularly those with pop-up menus that don’t remain on-screen long enough to be activated by a switch. Developers will need to do a better job of designing apps that are accessible to everyone. Apple also really needs to add a word prediction function to its keyboard. I won’t be blogging from my iPad anytime soon.

I’ll post a video of me using the Shield in the next few days. Apple and Komodo OpenLabs have done a tremendous service to people with disabilities who, until now, have been excluded from the mobile computing revolution. Together, the Tecla Shield DOS and iOS 7 are a revolution in accessibility.

Critic At Large: Gravity

Movies No Responses »

Oct 072013

Gravity is a dazzling achievement that should cement director Alfonso Cuaron’s reputation as one of the most visionary filmmakers working today. The story it tells is a straightforward one; two astronauts (George Clooney and Sandra Bullock) must figure out a way to survive after a horrible accident in Earth orbit. That’s it; no aliens, no fancy starships, not even another human. The only company these two have is the Earth itself, which looms in the background in breathtaking resplendence. The rest of the movie is a white-knuckled exploration of zero-gravity physics.

Gravity doesn’t have the emotional or thematic heft of Children of Men, Cuaron’s other masterpiece. But that’s okay because Gravity‘s currency is spectacle. Both Clooney and Bullock deliver fine performances, but the movie could feature Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber and those first 15 minutes would still be awe-inspiring. This is a movie that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. It demands to be seen twice.

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