I got sidetracked doing tech support for a nurse who desperately needs a more capable laptop. I’ll be back tomorrow with something more worthy of your time and attention.
Aug 162011
Aug 152011
I’m trying to figure out which GOP candidate I’d most like to see in a general election against Obama. With Tim Pawlenty finally abandoning his quixotic run for the presidency, three viable candidates remain: Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney. For sheer entertainment value and likelihood of defeat, Bachmann is hard to top. Barring an economic cataclysm, she stands no hope of winning a general election. Yet the prospect of watching her debate Obama could very well be the most stupendously absurd ninety minutes of television ever.
Romney would probably run a competent yet boring campaign that he could very well win if the stars align just right. I have no desire to live in Romney’s America, but he’s probably reasonable enough to resist the worst of the Tea Party’s impulses. Then again, that reasonableness might be the very thing that prevents him from being the nominee.
A Perry candidacy would likely carry echoes of the Bush years and his presidency would thrust this country back onto a belligerent and destructive path. He would do his best to model the rest of the nation on Texas, which a Republican Congress would eagerly facilitate.
I’d better start making plans now to volunteer for Bachmann in the Iowa caucuses this winter.
Aug 122011
Michelle asks about my first kiss.
It may be difficult to believe now, but I was quite the ladies’ man back in the sixth grade. I was a terrible flirt and girls would actually compete with each other to hang out with me during recess. It was probably the high point of my romantic life. Yes, I realize how sad that must sound.
Anyway, I had my eye on a particular girl in my class–Melanie. She had brown hair and big wet eyes. We had taken to spending a lot of time together and I had an inkling that she might like me as well. My friends knew all about this and decided to move things along. One day while my friends and I were in the school library, they suddenly pushed me into a quiet corner between bookshelves. Melanie was waiting there. She didn’t say anything. She just leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. My usual gift for words left me and I think all I could manage was a dreamy “Wow!”
Not much became of me and Melanie. We went to separate schools for seventh grade and I never saw her again. But it seems appropriate that I was surrounded by a hushed audience of books when a girl kissed me for the first time.
Thanks for making the first annual Since You Asked Week such a success. We’ll have to do this again sometime.
Aug 112011
@bolilla asks:
What piece of new or yet-to-be developed technology would you most like to have?
I’ve become more interested in purchasing an iPad for those times when I want to be on-line but don’t want to be stuck at my desk. The New Yorker app alone might be worth the price of admission. However, I can’t justify the purchase until someone comes up with a hands-free interface that allows me to use the iPad independently. That might be wishful thinking and I may just have to invest in a MacBook Pro with a head-tracking system, but I’d love to be able to use a tablet. Perhaps the iPad 6 or 7 will meet my needs. Until then, my custom-built desktop serves me quite well.
Tomorrow is the last day to submit your questions! Don’t make me pose awkward questions to myself.
Aug 102011
Maggie asks:
What did you do that got you past the assorted prejudices and horse-hockey assumptions about people with disabilities … especially to get into law school and to get hired by a big outfit? What should a new kid in that kind of situation be doing?
I’m not sure I did anything particularly different than my able-bodied peers. I was a good student and had the drive and ambition typical of academic overachievers. Of course, my parents were a huge influence on me. They made it clear that, regardless of my disability, they expected me to get an education and find employment. Anything less simply wasn’t acceptable. That’s why I get particularly perturbed whenever someone suggests to me that I really don’t have to work and could simply go on Social Security if I so desired. That’s certainly a valid choice for many people, but it’s foreign to my worldview.
As for any advice I might have, it’s pretty standard stuff. Study hard. Find mentors who can see past your disability and will eventually be willing to extol your virtues to others. Don’t be afraid to talk about your disability and how it has shaped your perspective, but remember that your disability is not the most interesting thing about you. Take every opportunity to demonstrate your competence. Enroll in challenging classes. Volunteer. Get noticed. Once people see that you’re capable in whatever endeavor you choose, your disability will matter much less to others.
Keep the questions coming.
Aug 092011
Joe from Wisconsin asks:
Have you ever been swimming? In an ocean? Is it even something that interests you?
I’ve never been much of a swimming enthusiast, but I did it occasionally as a kid–mostly in pools. After I had my tracheotomy, I shied away from swimming because I worried that water could easily enter my airway. My dad took me in the pool a couple times post-trach, but I was always too nervous to really enjoy it. I’m sure there’s a way I could still do it safely, but it’s not something to which I give much thought.
Joe also asks:
What’s the best band you’ve discovered as an adult?
I’ve written at considerable length on this blog about my love for The New Pornographers. When I discovered them 11 years ago, I instantly fell in love with Neko Case’s voice and the band’s complex pop symphonies. I’ve seen them live several times and they never disappoint.
Remember, you can also submit your questions via Facebook or on Twitter to @mcsiegel19.
Aug 082011
Several of you submitted reader questions in response to my solicitation last week. Let’s start with the easy ones.
Allie from Minnesota asks me to give my personal ethos in one sentence.
Hmm.
“Maintain plausible deniability.”
No, that’s not quite it.
“Han shot first.”
Yup, that about sums it up.
Allie also asks for tips on hair care products for “curly wanna-bes”. I’m afraid I can’t be very helpful as I just wash and go. Well, that and I get regular scalp massages from a lovely young woman who specializes in that sort of thing. I definitely notice increased sheen once she’s through with me.
Remember, there’s still time to submit your questions!
Aug 052011
I need blog material, Dear Readers. There’s only so much I can write about health care reform or fishnets before everyone’s eyes glaze over, including my own. So I’m asking readers to submit questions and I’ll devote next week to answering them. Questions can be on any topic of your choosing. Yes, even those questions. In fact, especially those questions. The more provocative, the better. I’ll also put out the word on Facebook and Twitter.
This could be really interesting or really awkward. Either way, it’s a win for you, the reader.
Aug 042011
I’ve been giving some semi-serious thought to going to Comic-Con next year, but I’m not sure how easy it would be to navigate a wheelchair through massive nerd herds. Yet according to this account from a Comic-Con attendee with a disability, the event organizers have given some thought to accessibility. I’m still not sure I want to camp outside a hotel ballroom for six hours just to watch a 15-minute trailer of The Hobbit, but it’s good to know that some accommodations are available should I choose to go. I might be better off attending one of the many local cons before attempting San Diego.
Aug 032011
I wrangled myself an invite to the buzz-heavy streaming music service Spotify and have been playing around with the free version for the past hour. It’s fairly intuitive to use: type in an artist, song, or album and Spotify will produce a list of matching results available for streaming. And with 15 million tracks available in its catalog, Spotify doesn’t lack for selection (although a few big artists like the Beatles are missing). It’s a great way to listen to complete tracks and albums without actually purchasing them. And it offers all kinds of possibilities for creating playlists for parties.
But Spotify seems to work best if you know what you’re looking for or you want to explore the playlists of friends. It doesn’t offer a simple way to browse and discover new music. And perhaps I’m old-fashioned, but I’m still a little reluctant to stream all my music from the cloud. Streaming is fine for video, but sometimes I want to listen to Gorillaz on a lonely stretch of road that is completely off the data grid. I’ll probably continue to use Spotify to sample music that interests, but I’ll continue to purchase tracks through Amazon and iTunes.