Disaster Area

Freedom from Stupid Religion

What I'd like to know is, if Richard Mourdock's, Todd Akin's or Paul Ryan's wife or daughter were to be raped and become pregnant, would they be happy to let these female relatives and loved ones go through 9 months of gestation and raise the babies in their homes as if nothing happened? And what of the father's, I mean rapist's, rights? Visitation, partial custody? Can you imagine? Maybe they think that would make a great sitcom (I'm sure Fox would jump on that.)

Do these guys even have a half a brain to think this through? Oh, and of course there would be no government benefits, although in this equation the financial strain is a tiny fraction of the anguish.

And even more: Only one third of fertilized eggs even implant in the womb, and there is further attrition from there, so taking steps to ensure a theoretically possibly fertilized egg doesn't implant is hardly "abortion".

Just say no to these clowns and their millennia old religious views which should not be involved in any way in making laws in the 21st century.

Accessible Technology - On the Road to CSUN with Gary and Dan

Some friends of mine, Gary and Dan, who work at Microsoft in their accessibility organization are videoblogging and tweeting their way from Seattle to San Diego this past week on their road trip to the 27th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference aka CSUN (for Cal State Uni Northridge, where the conference originated).

One of the things I have come to appreciate as I have been exposed to it over the years is accessible technology. What is accessible technology? Basically anything that allows people with disabilities or functional limitations to participate fully in society - limited by only their own desires rather than as lack of access to all that life has to offer.

The earliest accessible technologies were things like braille and guide dogs for the blind. These are still of immense importance in the world of accessibility, but the meteoric rise in the capability of personal computers and the internet has created both a fantastic opportunity to connect people and a great challenge to make it accessible to everyone.

How accessibility technology advances in the connected world is a complex interweaving of hardware companies, software companies, advocacy organizations, charitable foundations, government policy making and the sheer determination of individuals coming up with solutions to problems they deal with every day.

Dan and Gary have an itinerary that has them dropping in on many companies and agancies on their way down the west coast. Fortunately, the west coast is ripe with opportunities to find out more about accessible technologies.

From a senior center to Boundless Technology and ViewPlus Technologies to rural communities and guide dogs for the blind, the video snippets do a great job of highlighting the need for assistive technologies and how those needs are being met.

My favorite though is when Dan and Gary visit Yahoo! which highlights how technology companies can collaborate to provide the best possible experience for the end user. Alan Brightman, Yahoo's Chief of Accessibility is a great interview. Biggest takeway -building in accessiblity from the start costs about 2% of the cost of a project. Adding it later the cost is 100% - i.e. you have to spend all that money all over again. The same general principle holds for all kinds of desing - airplanes included. It's best just to get the requirements right at the beginning...

Amy Winehouse Dead - Wow

It was all too easy to make fun of her, what with her amazing propensity for self-destruction and numerous trips to rehab, but it's still sad to see this happen. RIP

Autism Friendly Cinema

An intersting thing I heard about today - AMC Theaters shows an autism-friendly movie once a month. They don't turn the house lights down as much as normal and the sound is turned down a bit too. It's because the sensory contrasts are often too much for autistic kids to handle. It's only one movie once a month in select theaters, but it's a start. This month - Gnomeo and Juliet.

Life saving stations and tow trucks

The phrase "thinking out of the box" nas been grossly overused for a long time now. What it means is looking for solutions to problems in unusual ways, from different angles, that don't involve doing the same old thing because that's the way we learned to do it. Today I stumbled on a fantastic story that illustrates this kind of smart thinking. It's from Tom Brackett, who is the Program Officer for Church Planting and Redevelopment for the Episcopal Church. Quick excerpt from the story...

As the medic and I called the Emergency Room physician to ask for advice, one of the Fire Department personnel started up the engine on their new Jaws of Life. The physician heard it as well and fairly yelled into our ears, “Stop everything! We have to have a plan before you cut him out of that car. We’ll only have a few minutes before he’ll bleed to death once you free him from the car -- it’s holding him together right now!”

via plantingcentral.typepad.com

 

And That's Why We Need Jumbo Jets...

The Telegraph was the first major news outlet to break this story apparently. An "aviation blog" published a picture allegedly taken by an American Airlines flight attendant to highlight the difficulty of dealing with obese passengers. It's a growing problem, no doubt, and getting larger every day.

Now, either this photo is photoshopped (if so it's a very good one), or it was taken while this guy was out of his own seats (notice the two empty ones behind the row he's in) and talking to his buddy in the middle seat in mid-flight. He isn't sitting in the seat, he's sitting on the armrest (and very uncomfortably I can add - it's a good thing he carries his own padding with him.)

There is simply no way the airplane took off with him sitting like that - there's no way he can be strapped to anything like that, and blocking the aisle that badly would simply never be allowed to happen.

More on Knees

Follow up appointment today with the orthopedic clinic. The result? Fabulous. Throw away the crutches (haven't used them for days), throw away the big knee brace (hadn't worn it much the last couple of days, put it on this morning just for show).  Off the serious pain meds, and the pain is peeking through a bit here and there, but overall this is great news. Clear to drive, too, which makes a huge difference.

I went out to run a few errands in the car, just because I could, and ended up wandering around the supermarket looking for stuff to buy but being fairly unsuccessful as I don't really need anything. Then I started to get tired and my knee hurt and I just wanted to be home. Good lesson to learn - no matter how little you can do - don't overdo it.

Off to physical therapy in the morning, so we'll see how that goes.

Knee Update

Well, what with band rehearsal and the the memorial service Thursday and Friday, and going out to dinner with friends (another recent widow and her two daughters) on Saturday night I was pretty wiped out. The painkillers certainly do their job, but I'm so drowsy all the time it's an effort to do anything. Despite all that, when I woke up this morning I found I could walk unaided. Not elegantly, mind you, but my right leg can take enough weight for me to be able to walk unaided if necessary.

The big decision this morning was whether to go to church or not. I'd need a ride, of course, so I thought I'd leave it to chance to see if anyone called and offered me a ride. My friend Dave B did, with about 45 minutes notice, so I thought I'd shower (only the second since Monday) and be reasonably clean. Well, what with the dismantling of the knee brace (see right) and the unwrapping of the dressing and the rewrapping of the knee in clingfilm it took all of that time to shower and get dressed and in the rush to get out I forgot to take my medications. In fact, the last I'd taken had been 11 pm the night before. I have one set on a 4 hour cycle, another on a 6 hour cycle and another on 12 hours.

The useful thing about easing off the pain meds is that you can figure out how severe the pain is and where it's located. By the time we got to the end of the service I was starting to feel just where the pain is coming from. By the end of the service I could tell that the knee itself isn't painful at all - stiff, yes, but not at all sore. The sore part is the hamstring, where they took a piece of tendon to use as the replacement ACL. Even that isn't too painful. Except that the pews at church are curved so that they just manage to cut into the backs of your thighs in such a way as to aggravate any tenderness just like I have.

Last Thursday was the first time I unwrapped the dressing on the knee, and for less squeamish among you, I have some pictures after the jump. They aren't too bad, but if you'd rather not see them, don't click.

So This Is How It's Supposed To Feel...

Last night I began to experience some pain in my knee. Not much, but I got to wondering why.I tried rearranging the brace several times, and couldn't make a difference, so feeling extremely dopey and tired, I went to bed very early. As I woke up this morning it dawned on me that the numbness has finally worn off.

So I basically got three days pain free thanks to the numbness, and now all I have to deal with is a dull ache - somewhat reminiscent of the times I've twisted my knee in the past - very manageable and hardly excruciating. I'd even dialed back the painkillers the last couple of days, so now I can go back to full strength.

OK, back to winning the Premier League for Sunderland today on FIFA '09 on the Wii. We beat Chelsea 8-2 yesterday and Man Utd 5-2, so it's pretty much plain sailing from here.

And the Answer Is:

...numbness is perfectly normal. So basically I get a pretty much pain free period here while everything settles down internally. Follow up with the doctor's assistant next Wed, then first physical therapy the next day.