Windows offers several ways for people with disabilities to tweak the software. But a few years ago when Microsoft researched how those technologies were being used they discovered that most people didn’t even know they existed. They’ve now begun trying to make these tweaks more accessible
at least we still have the TV show. As I wrote a few weeks ago, it’s one of the most amazing things on TV.Â
culled from digg:
Syndicate says ‘Boondocks’ won’t return. After six years, a remarkably short run for a strip that found its way into 300-plus newspapers. Universal Press Syndicate told subscribers Monday they should start looking for someone to replace political/social satirist Aaron McGruder who took a sabbatical six months ago to recharge.
although I really don’t like the euphemisms ’special needs’ or ‘differently abled’ the concept being reported on a mainstream level is a good thing. So, from the AP:
By JEFFREY GOLD, AP Business Writer
NEWARK, N.J. - Like most 5-year-olds, Nicholas loves to play. But not every toy is fun for Nicholas, who is autistic.
“It’s hard to find something just for him. It’s pretty aggravating shopping for toys for him, at times,†said his mother, Jennifer Navarro. “Some toys that are meant for his age group are too complicated, but some are too simple.â€
Two years ago, Navarro got some help in finding good choices for Nicholas by consulting a guide compiled by experts at the nonprofit National Lekotek Center and distributed by the New Jersey-based retailer, Toys R Us.
“I thought it was wonderful. I’ve never seen anything like that before,†said Navarro, 32.
The latest version of the free guide will be available today at Toys R Us stores and online.
The family, which lives in Naplate, Ill., did not have good luck with items from catalogs aimed at special-needs children.
“He’s advanced over a lot of those and they don’t hold his interest,†Navarro said. And Nicholas also wanted to play with toys like those used by his brother, Peyton, 3.
AUTISTIC AID
Navarro said the right toys help with the development of Nicholas, an active boy who loves to play outside as well as with laptop computer learning toys such as LeapPad.
“If I gave him a set of blocks, instead of making a building or making a castle, he will line them up from one end of the room to the other,†Navarro said, adding that this is typical of many autistic children. Nicholas also will line up other toys, such as miniature cars.
“He doesn’t play with them (toys) like other kids,†Navarro said, so she has found toys that help him learn to read and speak, including those that play rhyming Dr. Seuss stories.
The 85 toys in the guide are sold nationally, with just six available only at Toys R Us stores, said company spokesman Kelly Cullen.
The company is printing 600,000 copies of the “Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids,†about 100,000 more than last year, and absorbing all costs, which will not be disclosed, Cullen said. Wayne-based Toys R Us started the guide in 1994.
The guide arrives as the struggling toy industry prepares for the holiday shopping season, when most sales are recorded. Children are increasingly turning to video games and other gadgets. Sales of traditional toys fell 4 percent to $21.3 billion in 2005, from $22.1 billion in 2004, according to NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.
Each toy in the 52-page guide includes a detailed description of how it can be used, along with icons indicating whether the toy can stimulate development in such areas as creativity, self esteem, vision or hearing.
OVER 200 TOYS EVALUATED
The guide can be useful to people buying toys for many of the more than 6 million children in the United States who have disabilities, said Diana Nielander, executive director of the Chicago-based National Lekotek Center.
The group, which operates 38 therapeutic play centers in eight states, evaluated some 200 toys over the past nine months to select those included in the guide, Nielander said.
Certified play specialists observe families and children with the toys, and determine which would work, for example, for a child who is blind, or for a child who can’t close their hand, she said.
“A lot of times, people look at play as being very simplistic. And it is simplistic, unless it’s your child that has trouble with play,†Nielander said.
Lekotek chose a variety of toys, including some new toys “because those are the ones that their friends and neighbors are playing with … and everyone wants to fit in,†Nielander said. “We try to get all the fun ones that are going to be on TV and will be hot for the holidays.â€
The criteria include toys that are easy to handle or manipulate, and don’t have a “right way†of being used.
“These are things that are good for all children, but especially good for children with challenges,†Nielander said.
On the Net:
National Lekotek Center: www.lekotek.org/
Toys R Us: www.toysrus.com/differentlyabled
Apple has stepped up its legal crackdown on businesses using the word ‘pod’ in product and company names.
The company sent a cease-and-desist order last week to Podcast Ready, which markets an application known as myPodder that lets users download podcasts directly to a portable music player.
Lawyers for Apple contended that the term ‘pod’ has been used by the public to refer to Apple’s music player so extensively that it falls under Apple’s trademark protection, according to a copy of the legal complaint published on the Podcast Ready website.
Ad-sense is up and running. Not as annoying as I thought and reasonably easy to implement. I should probably automate the process for naming postings to reflect ‘real word/title’ names, but I’m concerned it will hose the site. I should think about more structure and theme-ing in order to drive traffic…but it’s not gonna happen.
I’m content to blog from digg and just post musings on nothing in particular.
Well. It’s getting late and I have much to do tomorrow. Today was a slide from one fire into the next…nothing planned today went as it should. That isn’t to say it wasn’t a good day, many things were accomplished, it simply happened seemingly haphazzardly at every step.
good luck or serendipity? who care i guess.
from the legistorm website and digg:
LegiStorm launched in September 2006. Our web site is dedicated to providing a variety of important information about the US Congress.
Based on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, LegiStorm’s first information product is a database of congressional staff salaries. The information is provided in a strictly factual, non-partisan fashion. We have no political purpose except to make the workings of Congress as transparent as possible. We expect this resource to be useful to journalists, researchers, and current and would-be staffers - as well as regular citizens who simply want to know how their representatives spend public money.
You can be sure that there are more such legislative resources to come from LegiStorm. You may register for updates by subscribing to our newsletter to learn when we launch major new features on the site or when we update our congressional salaries data.
I intended to blog from the road this action with ADAPT, but it wasn’t possible with the workload on the march and the tech stuff in the evening. I’m going to have to try doing things from my cell phone next time so it’s a little raw, but at least more seamless. Some highlights can be found at:
Read the ADAPT Bulletin and Press Releases from DC
ADAPT Action Report - Free Our People
this site is developed by Tim Wheat. Tim works for MCIL and is a rather talented photographer, activist, developer and writer.
The NPR Story - they did a rather nice job of personalizing the issues without pandering to the sentimentality/pity so frequent when discussing people with disabilities.
And my favorite, pictures from Tom Olin. Tom is a famous human rights photographer. I get the pleasure of working to upload Tom’s photos and serve other geek functions…more importantly Tom is a really interesting guy and a great cook. This assures that the food in our room is better than anything in the hotel. thanks tom.
The action went amazingly smooth. We weren’t arrested, the opposition met our demands, no one had any major injuries, there were no tech meltdowns, pretty sweet.
Special thanks to Bob Kafka, Stephanie Thomas,Kevin Reed,Mark Torres, Roland Sykes and the GWC, Ron Foil and Sylvester the DJ.
See you in the spring!
The world’s first specially-bred hypoallergenic cats have gone on sale in the United States.
US biotech firm Allerca says it has managed to selectively breed them by reducing a certain type of protein that triggers allergic reactions.
The cats will not cause the red eyes, sneezing and even asthma that some cat allergy sufferers experience, except in the most acute cases.
Despite costing $3,950 (£2,104), there is already a waiting list to get one.
Allerca first started taking orders for genetically engineered hypoallergenic cats back in 2004.
Makes me almost think about maybe wanting to get a cat, someday. Oh yeah, despite the picture at left, they aren’t hairless.
read more | digg story
I’ve been talking to people making a $100 plus a month on google adsense with 30-40 unique page views per day. Right now I’m doing several expotential increases over that…so I’m thinking about adding Google ads. Gotta do a little more research. If I can’t make back the cost of the site per anum, power/usage on the pc…then it’s not gonna be worth the hassle. Any sources to calculate potential revenue?
I’m continually amazed at the scope of this project, The World , the beauty…and the potential hubris involved. From TEN Real Estate:
The World Islands are a collection of man-made islands shaped into the continents of the world, located off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It will consist of 300 small private artificial islands divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. Each island will range from 250 to 900 thousand square feet (23.2 to 83.6 thousand square meters) in size, with 50 to 100 metres (164 to 328 feet) of water between each island. It will cover a total area of 9 kilometers (5.4 miles) in length and 6 kilometers (3.6 miles) in width, surrounded by an oval shaped breakwater. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by marine or air transport.
Wired had a little blurb that reminded me about the project. They were discussing the ships built for terraforming the islands and other project. They’re made by Van Orrd, a Dutch firm. More amazingly, the price for creating a new island, seems to, after a certain ratio, become much cheaper than a ‘natural’ island…whatever that means…
Very interesting stuff. There’s a long philosophical article in me about this and urban development, planet terrascaping and other digressions on what ‘home’ is…but that’s for later.
Or maybe “Big Brother in a Box”.
Stumbling around online this evening I came across the NSA kids page.
While I’m all about crytography and other esoteric security measures, I’m not sure I understand the aim of the subtle propaganda on this site…or maybe that is the aim?
You too can join the ranks of the fine americans protecting our security by removing our privacy.
I for one am going to teach my children how to create multiple identities, dumpster dive, forge documents and brew a mean molotov. These seem much more applicable as life skills.
It’s been awhile. I’ve been on the road with ADAPT, trying to get staff hired at work and running around like crazy at home. Hopefully, sometime today, I will get an opportunity to post some shtuff. Will see. In the mean time, check out www.adapt.org for pics of the last action in DC.
Jellyfish are probably some of the most unusual and mysterious creatures that you’ll ever encounter. If you can get past the weirdness you’ll discover that jellyfish are pretty fascinating. They’ve been around for more than 650 million years, and there are thousands of different species, with more species discovered all of the time.
Here’s a link to my pup, from youtube and google video
RIOT-youtube
I’d embed it in the page, but wordpress doesn’t seem to like that.
Anyway, it’s my first attempt at Mac video editing. The audio was an afterthought and the transitions/effects are inappropriate where they are….but it’s all to learn.
Will be putting up more as I practice and refine some things.
From the NPR Homepage
Click for the Audio and full story
at about 6:03-6:06 in the audio I’m yelling “Go, Let’s go folks, Go, Rush the door!”. It’s small, but I thought it was pretty kewl.
FREE OUR PEOPLE!
Morning Edition, September 15, 2006
Earlier this summer, federal officials announced what they call the boldest change in the way the government pays for long-term care since the invention of Medicare and Medicaid. Washington will now provide $2 billion to states that help people leave a nursing home - instead of paying for them to live in one.
That decision came because of a highly unlikely alliance between a group of disabled activists in wheelchairs who came to Washington trying to get themselves arrested at the White House gates — and the Bush administration aide who ended up listening to them.
The Wheels Begin Turning
The momentum for change began four year years ago when about 200 demonstrators in wheelchairs rolled into the intersection closest to the White House and shut down all traffic.
“It was really quite a scene,” says Bob Kafka, a leader of the group American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT). “It was thundering and lightning. It was sporadically raining.”
ADAPT uses non- violent direct action tactics to enact policy changes for disabled individuals. Many of the ADAPT protestors are severely disabled and require the help of an attendant to move.
Still, the protestors travel around the country and practice civil disobedience. They want people with disabilities to get out of nursing homes and for the government to pay for personal care attendants. Getting an attendant for a few hours a day makes the difference between whether they can live in their own homes or end up moving into a nursing home.
Four years ago, the protestors tied up traffic for three hours in front of the White House and the police were getting ready to make arrests when a White House aide got an urgent phone call.
“I was working in my office on probably about 15 other issues,” says Mark McClellan, who was at the time a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors. “I got a call from the chief of staff of the White House, saying, ‘Mark, there are some people outside who are blocking traffic at the intersection of 17th and Pennsylvania. It’s coming up on rush hour. Go fix it.’”
McClellan went outside, where he met the demonstrators and Bob Kafka in the middle of the intersection. His clothes and young looks contrasted with Kafka’s long gray hair and wild beard. The two men could not be more different in terms of political beliefs or style. But on that rainy day outside the White House, they found things in common.
The Administrator and the Activist
Both Kafka and McClellan are fascinated by the policy details of how the government cares for the elderly and disabled. Both also believe that individuals often make the best choices about their own care.
McClellan practiced medicine before joining the Bush administration. “Many of my patients had disabilities and chronic illnesses,” he says. “And in those experiences, there were so many cases if you just listen to the patient — if you could get the patient involved in deciding what treatments were best for them — you could get the better results.”
After President Bush appointed McClellan the head of the agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid, he met with Kafka and other ADAPT members four times a year.
Earlier this year, the White House proposed legislation to start a program called Money Follows the Person, which gives states extra money to move elderly and disabled people out of nursing homes and into their own residences. Congress alotted $2 billion over the next five years for the program — still just a tiny portion of what Medicaid spends on nursing homes.
Bob Kafka says it’s enough to move at least 100,000 people. “Mr. McClellan has made us a believer in bureaucrats,” he says, “That they can keep their word and follow through.”
Though some disability and health advocates object to other parts of the Medicaid reform law — specifically the part which allows states to change benefits and charge co-payments — McClellan says those objections miss the historic significance of the new long-term care policy.
“This is the biggest change in long-term financing in decades,” he says.
McClellan recently announced his resignation. Though he’ll be most remembered for setting up the new Medicare drug benefit, he says one of his proudest accomplishments was his work with ADAPT.
Adapt and Move On
For Bob Kafka, the work isn’t over. He was back in Washington this week, where several hundred ADAPT protestors surprised a few security guards at the side entrance of a downtown hotel, where a trade organization for managed care companies was having their legislative conference.
The protestors in wheelchairs and scooters rushed into the ornate hotel lobby and took it over. “We as people with disabilities want the managed care community to understand that we want to live on our own,” says Kafka.
The ADAPT demonstrators held the hotel lobby for two hours and got their meeting with the managed care officials.
But Kafka has one other meeting before he leaves Washington. Today, he and other ADAPT leaders will meet with Mark McClellan to talk about how the new federal program is progressing.
They will take about how McClellan’s agency just started taking applications for grants two weeks ago. Thirty states have recently told McClellan that they want to take part in the new program to help elderly and disabled people move out of nursing homes.
extra thanks to Joe Shaprio for the coverage and to the sound guy shoving the shotgun mike in my face…. 
from digg:
Sources report to Thinksecret.com that Apple’s iPhone is on track to be released in January, this after the company faced numerous difficult technological and engineering hurdles. The phone is said to feature a 3 megapixel camera, 2.2 inch display and complete iTunes integration.
Okay, I’m psyched, but is this gonna be MVNO? What’s the PC integration going to look like? Most importantly, imho, what’s the DRM gonna look like?
The IGN-Tv Top 25 picks for the best peripheral characters on america’s favorite animated show-The Simpsons. Wisely, Phil Hartman as Troy McClure is #1 and #15 as Lionel Hutz. Who’s your favorite ‘friend’ of the Simpsons?
Chimpanzees and two-year-old children are as clever as each other but dogs are not as smart as previously thought, according to a new Australian study.
CAIRNS, Australia (AP) - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44. Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called “Ocean’s Deadliest” when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous bard on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said. “He came on top of the stingray and the stingray’s barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart,” said Stainton, who was on board Irwin’s boat at the time. Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said. Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword “Crikey!” in his television program “Crocodile Hunter.” First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity. He rode his image into a feature film, 2002’s “The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course” and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction. “The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet,” Stainton told reporters in Cairns. “He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, ‘Crocs Rule!’” Prime Minister John Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor President Bush when he visited in 2003, said he was “shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin’s sudden, untimely and freakish death.” “It’s a huge loss to Australia,” Howard told reporters. “He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people.” Irwin, who made a trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles and leaping on their backs, spoke in rapid-fire bursts with a thick Australian accent and was almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots. His ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally. Irwin’s public image was dented, however, in 2004 when he caused an uproar by holding his infant son in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen. Irwin claimed at the time there was no danger to the child, and authorities declined to charge Irwin with violating safety regulations. Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken against him. Stingrays have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, on the top of their tail. The barb, which can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened. Stings usually occur to people when they step on or swim too close to a ray and can be excruciatingly painful but are rarely fatal, said University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin. Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly into his heart. “It was extraordinarily bad luck. It’s not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be killed by one is very rare,” Collin said. News of Irwin’s death spread quickly, and tributes flowed from all quarters of society. At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were dropped at the entrance, where a huge fake crocodile gapes. Drivers honked their horns as they passed. “Steve, from all God’s creatures, thank you. Rest in peace,” was written on a card with a bouquet of native flowers. “We’re all very shocked. I don’t know what the zoo will do without him. He’s done so much for us, the environment and it’s a big loss,” said Paula Kelly, a local resident and volunteer at the zoo, after dropping off a wreath at the gate. Stainton said Irwin’s American-born wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., had been informed of his death, and had told their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December. The couple met when she went on vacation in Australia in 1991 and visited Irwin’s Australia Zoo; they were married six months later. Sometimes referred to as the “Crocodile Huntress,” she costarred on her husband’s television show and in his 2002 movie.
From the