June 30, 2007

Joining The Web 2.0 Herds

Because my thirst for self-promotion will never be slaked, I now have a profile on Facebook. Stop by and write something clever on my Wall. I only have three friends so far, which is making me feel marginally inadequate. But I really wish something like this had been around back when I was in high school and college. My inherent shyness, while not debilitating, made it somewhat challenging for me to seek out new friendships. I could have used a Facebook to help me break the ice.

Do any of my readers have the new iPhone? Is it really all that and a bag of chips, as most of the reviews seem to imply? If I was a heavier cell phone user, I might be tempted, but I think I'll wait until the implantable nanoPhone comes along.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 03:22 PM | Comments (1)

June 29, 2007

Let's Keep It Down

According to some scientists, we may be tempting fate in our efforts to find other intelligent life in the universe. All the metaphorical jumping up and down and hand waving we're doing on the radio spectrum may attract the attention of an interstellar Big Bad. Could be aliens. Could be planet-killing robotic berserkers. Could be fake instructions for a warp drive that turns out to be some kind of mass mind control device.

The Supreme Prefect of the Great and Everlasting Zarl Empire had a good chuckle when I showed it the article. It waved its articulated forelimbs in mock terror and said something like, "Oooh, we better stop or the evil, genocidal alien conqueror will come for us!" It launched some more and told me to get back to work on those plans for the slave camps or it would personally come down from the mothership and impregnate me.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:46 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2007

Pointing Out My Flaws

The latest Disability Blog Carnival is up at Planet of the Blind. Someone submitted a couple of entries of mine, along with the following comment:

Even when Mark Siegel is trying to be cranky, he's still funny, in that Minnesota kinda way.

How devastating. I've been trying so hard to get a jump-start on the years of cranky middle-aged bachelor-dom that lie ahead. I went out to the mall and bought a whole stack of Dockers. I've been watching lots of golf on TV. I have a ginormous leather sofa on backorder at Macy's. But it just isn't taking. Maybe if I force myself to listen to an entire Norah Jones CD...

Also, please define funny as it pertains to the "Minnesota kinda way". And don't you dare utter the words "Garrison Keillor". Because that kind of shit just is not cool.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:48 PM | Comments (4)

June 27, 2007

Young Folks

Whenever some particular bit of news leads me to despair over the wreckage after six years of conservative rule, I try to take the long view. In general, I think this country--and human history--is always trying to extend a hand towards its better angels. Attitudes and mores change in ways that almost always favor acceptance and inclusiveness. As little as ten years ago, a serious debate over gay marriage wouldn't have even seemed remotely likely. Five years ago, global warming was the sole concern of dedicated environmentalists. Things change, and usually for the better. That's why I was encouraged when I read that a recent study shows that young people seem to lean left. Not exactly surprising, but I'm willing to bet that this generation will remain slightly left of center, as opposed to previous generations that drifted to the right as they grew older (I'm looking at you, boomers). And that's a good thing, because we're going to need their help to clean things up.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:39 PM | Comments (2)

June 26, 2007

Fresh Faces

The BBC's Ouch! website had the fine idea of featuring several guest bloggers for the next couple months. You can can read the guest bloggers' profiles and find links to their original blogs here. And the BBC isn't the only media outlet looking to give greater exposure to bloggers with disabilities. New Mobility magazine is highlighting several people who are currently blogging or trying their hand at it for the first time (although I'm not sure why no new content hasn't been added in over a week). It's good to see lots of talented gimp bloggers starting to get some recognition. Go give them some love.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2007

Inbox

I've been experimenting with using Gmail as my primary e-mail client for the last week or so. Thus far, I like it. I have three different e-mail addresses (not including my work account) and I like being able to manage all of them with a single interface. I'm also a big fan of how Gmail organizes e-mail exchanges using its easy-to-read index card format. Most of all, I like being able to access my mail from anywhere. I suppose it's possible that a webmail service could lose my messages, but I trust Google to back up its data on a more regular schedule than I could ever hope to achieve. Unless I discover some major shortcoming in using Gmail on a daily basis, I'll probably never touch Outlook again.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:42 PM | Comments (0)

June 24, 2007

Mistaken Identity

There is something about having a disability that seems to serve as an invitation to certain people; an invitation that says, "Please, come on over and be socially inappropriate with me." I was at a restaurant last night with my family to celebrate my mom's birthday when a server showed up unbidden at our table. She asked me if my name is Peter because I look like this guy named Peter who was once a student at a school where this woman worked as an aide. And boy, does she have a funny story about the first time she had to change Peter...

I caught my sister's eye and quickly looked away before either one of us began to laugh mercilessly at this woman's magnificent cluelessness. Who are these people who seem to confuse me for some other gimp from some indeterminate point in the past? Are we really that difficult to tell apart? And I can't tell you the number of times complete strangers have approached me (or more often, the person I'm with) to share some story about a cousin/neighbor/student/whatever with a disability that resembles mine in only the vaguest terms. It's like I'm one of Proust's madeleines; the sight of me stirs up memories about Peter or one-legged Uncle Walt or the kid with CP who used to live down the block. Which is all fine and good. But, people, write it down in a journal and leave me alone.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 02:56 PM | Comments (3)

June 23, 2007

To The Rescue

My parents are in town and my dad is struggling with the remote control. I'd better go help him. More soon.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2007

All Gone

I would have written an entry yesterday, but it would've been something boring like "ohgod ohgod my head my head mommy my head". Things are under control now and the cause of my discomfort has been eliminated. I'm a little disappointed that nobody followed up on my request for a sensual massage, so I'll remind you that my birthday is coming up next month.

I came across an interesting photoessay from the New York Times magazines that compares the images of real people to their avatars in on-line role playing games. I'm 99.8% percent sure that this gamer has spinal muscular atrophy. It's kind of like gaydar. You know it when you see it.

Thanks to Xeni at BoingBoing for the tip.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

June 20, 2007

Kiss It And Make It Better

Right now, I'm really wishing that medical marijuana was legal. The minor discomfort that brought me to the ER last weekend hasn't completely resolved itself. I expect things will be sorted out soon, even if I have to get Michael Moore to march back into the ER with me holding a videocamera, demanding to know why this poor, brave gimp hasn't received appropriate treatment. While I work to get Moore's publicist on the phone, gifts of alcohol, quality narcotics, and sensual massages will be graciously accepted.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2007

Objet d'Art

This would look so cool sitting on my desk:



If you happen to be at ComicCon next month, pick one of these up for me. Not only will I give you the requisite thirty bucks, you'll get a signed, mimeographed, stapled copy of WTF?: The Best of The 19th Floor 2002-2007.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2007

Videocracy

This thread on Slashdot points out that Web video isn't subject to the same closed captioning standards as regular television. Granted, captioning of a the Zen-dachshund-in-a-kiddie-pool video is probably superfluous. But I just looked at some of the TV shows I downloaded from the iTunes store and it doesn't appear they have any captioning encoded in them. And a quick test of ABC's streaming episode website reveals that it doesn't have a captioning option either. The cost of adding captioning can't be particularly prohibitive (especially for the likes of Disney or Fox), so why not make it available? It can only generate more traffic and/or more downloads, which I thought was the whole point.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:03 PM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2007

Emergency Medicine

Just for fun, I paid a visit to the local ER this afternoon. The problem turned out to be reassuringly minor and I felt a little sheepish about wasting everyone's time on little ol' me. Being the conscientious health care consumer that I am, I try to make use of my primary care clinic as much as possible and I really don't like going outside of that system. As I was waiting in the exam room for someone to look at me, I thought about what it must be like for people with no insurance to rely on the ER for all of their health care needs. My ho-hum (as it turned out) medical issue still kept me tied up in the ER for over three hours on a Sunday. And I have the advantages of pretty good health coverage and fairly complete medical records. ERs have become one-stop providers of both complex and basic care, a function they serve remarkably well given their limited resources. It's not ideal, of course. But until we gather the political courage to fix our completely botched health care system, the ER docs and nurses are the ones keeping this rickety ship afloat.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 05:53 PM | Comments (2)

June 16, 2007

A Face Only A Mother Could Love

I took this picture with the iCamera on my sister's MacBook:



If I ever run for office, this is what's going on the posters.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2007

Public Works

The Minneapolis municipal wireless broadband network is beginning to go live across the city. Construction on the Downtown portion of the network is already complete. The promotional brochure claims that residents will be able to get download speeds of up to 6Mbps, which is comparable to what I get now with Comcast. I'm dubious that I can pick up a wi-fi signal from up here on the 19th floor, but I read here that residents in high-rise buildings who are beyond the reach of the wireless signal can get a wired connection for a price that's still cheaper than cable. I'd be happy to give Comcast less of my money, but I need to investigate further before committing to anything.

Incidentally, I was at an event yesterday at the Central Library to celebrate the launch of the wireless network when someone approaches me and asks, "Aren't you that guy with that blog?" You know you've arrived in the exurbs of celebrity when people start referring to you as "That Guy".

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:48 PM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2007

The Revolution's Orphans

I've written before about the hardships facing people with disabilities in isolated, authoritarian countries like North Korea. Radio Free Asia has a report on the extremely harsh treatment of people with disabilities by the North Korean regime, including the forced expulsion of people with disabilities and their families from the capital city of Pyongyang. The government has also expelled most of the non-governmental organizations that provide critical aid and assistive technology to North Koreans with disabilities. Of course, life is bleak for most North Koreans, but this report paints a dire picture for its citizens with disabilities.

I wonder if anyone has done a study of the quality of life of people with disabilities in totalitarian societies. Do people with disabilities fare any better in Iran or Cuba? What about quasi-authoritarian states like Russia or China? Someone do a lit search and let me know if you find anything. And thanks to the BBC's Ouch! website for pointing me to this link.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:13 PM | Comments (2)

June 13, 2007

Footlights

InterAct Center provided a performance during the lunch break at today's conference. InterAct feautures performers with a range of disabilities (cerebral palsy, Down's Syndrome, mental illness, etc.) and this was the first time I had the opportunity to see them perform. Much of their material touches on the stigma attached to disability and the daily frustrations of confronting prejudice from an able-bodied world. They also don't shy away from satire (a couple of their skits poked fun at religion) and themes of sexuality. Some audiences are probably offended or confused by a group of actors with Down's gyrating their hips suggestively, but what struck me is how much fun the actors were having. How many other performing arts venues would offer these guys the opportunity to perform as professional artists? One more reason why I'm proud to live in the Twin Cities.

I'm off to help my sister buy a Macbook. I've decided it doesn't make much sense for me to switch to a Mac, but maybe she'll let me tinker with hers from time to time.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)

June 12, 2007

Hello. My Name Is ________

I'm attending my second conference of the week tomorrow. I have to get a few things ready for the morning, so come back tomorrow for your full-strength dose of me.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:50 PM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2007

Face To Face

I've received several e-mail messages from the makers of ooVoo, which is apparently what all the kewl kids will be using for IM and video chat. The final release launches this week and I'd love to give it a try. Except I don't own a webcam. I guess I always assumed that nobody out there would want to look at my ugly mug when conversing with me. But perhaps I should reconsider.

One thing about ooVoo's marketing efforts made me smile. A cute British woman from ooVoo named Molly sent me a video message to inform me of the software's official release. In the course of doing so, she referred to me as a "leading blogger". Really? 60 hits per day makes me a leading blogger? I suspect you're making a blatant appeal to my ego, Molly. But, please, do go on.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:34 PM | Comments (0)

June 10, 2007

Survival Skills

I was walking back home from doing some errands earlier this afternoon when I walked past a military surplus store. A sales clerk rearranging some of the discount merchandise on the sidewalk was wearing a gas mask. And I thought, "Does this guy know something I don't?" I glanced around for signs of impending doom, but everything seemed normal enough. Maybe he was just doing some kind of drill.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)

June 09, 2007

Know-Nothings

According to this survey,  approximately 20% of Americans must've been absent from school on the day they taught that the Earth orbits around the Sun. Or maybe these are the unfortunate souls who were home-schooled by well-meaning but completely deluded fundamentalist parents. And you know what's sad? These statistics don't even have the power to shock me anymore. When the grand opening of a creationist "museum" gets oodles of press coverage and three major-party presidential candidates proudly declare their belief in magic, it's folly to pretend that a good portion of Americans don't share these medieval worldviews. I blame the Europeans. If you guys hadn't been so eager to deport your religious fanatics a few hundred years ago, the majority of decent and informed Americans wouldn't have to contend with their irksome and embarrassing descendants today. Thanks a bunch.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 01:25 PM | Comments (0)

June 08, 2007

Cahiers Du Cinema

I'm busy reshuffling my Netflix queue. In an effort to bolster my cineaste credentials, I've decided to explore the French New Wave movement. I figure that my knowledge of Francois Truffaut should extend beyond his appearance in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Any recommendations?

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:27 PM | Comments (1)

June 07, 2007

Moving Violation

From the Department-of-No-Fucking-Way, here's a story about a young man in a wheelchair who was crossing the street when his handlebars somehow became embedded in the grille of an oncoming truck. He was carried along at speeds of 50 MPH before the police finally managed to inform the oblivious driver that something was amiss. Remarkably, nobody was hurt.

I will not be at all surprised when this incident is recreated in the next Jackass movie.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:32 PM | Comments (1)

June 06, 2007

Overcast Days Never Turned Me On

Who has tickets to see Prince next month? Why, that would be me. After living in Minneapolis for almost twelve years, I figured it was about time that I experienced the spectacle of the city's most famous son in a live performance. From what I've heard, Prince's concerts can be either puzzlingly experimental or unabashedly pop. I don't mind some surprises, but I would like to hear "Purple Rain", "Raspberry Beret"--songs that I strongly associate with a wasted youth spent watching MTV whenever my parents weren't around.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:12 PM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2007

Daily Chronicle

In the New Yorker a couple issues back, they ran a profile of a Microsoft engineer who is attempting to record and preserve every aspect of his daily life. Every e-mail he's written, every photograph that he's taken or appeared in, he even records his conversations with a small digital recorder. He seems to think that before long, everyone will be documenting their lives on the fly.

I think I've previously mentioned my compulsion for saving old e-mails and archiving my college papers and atrocious poetry. And I have sometimes daydreamed what it would be like to have some sort of brain augment to capture, store, and catalog every second of waking life. Think of all the facts I could harvest from such a record. How many hours of my life have I spent in front of the computer? How many kisses have I received and from whom? Did I really say that awful thing to you that one time? Imagine if each one of us was constantly and subconsciously compiling a personal almanac that could be referenced at any time. It could be a great way to correct misunderstandings ("See, I did return that tennis racket I borrowed from you."). But it might also drive home the unceasing and cumulative tedium of existence (I've spent how many hours of my life in the bathroom?").

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:45 PM | Comments (2)

June 04, 2007

Musical Interlude

Time for another look at the songs I can't get out of my head:

• "Easy" by Tracey Thorn: Thorn's cool, sleek vocals make the mirror ball inside my head go round and round.
  
• "Habeas Corpses" by El-P: Hip-hop for the coming dystopia. Moral of the song: falling in love with a girl named Prisoner #247290Z is probably not going to end well. 
  
• "I'm Not" by Panda Bear: This song makes me feel like I'm floating in a warm, fizzy, rainbow-colored ocean and every once in a while a blue dolphin swims by and tries to tell me about the secrets of the universe or something equally cosmic, but I'm way too blissed out to pay it much attention.
  

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:49 PM | Comments (1)

June 03, 2007

Live Free Or Die

For people with severe physical disabilities like mine, the fear of institutionalization is never far removed from our thoughts. It looms at the periphery of our daily lives, an ominous reminder of the precariousness of our independence. The closest I've come to institutionalization is when I was thirteen and first put on the ventilator. Hospital officials suggested that I be put in a facility for medically fragile children, which would have required my parents to surrender legal custody of me. My parents refused and that was the end of the discussion.

Through luck or circumstance, I've never been in serious danger of being placed in a facility since then. But I recognize that my comfortable living situation hangs by a tenuous thread. If I suddenly lost a couple nurses, I would be in serious trouble. I don't have much family in the area to provide backup and it takes time to find replacement staff. I'm fairly confident I could figure something out, but it would be touch-and-go for a while.

Remaining independent and keeping myself out of a facility is probably one of the primary driving forces of my life. It takes precedence over any other long-term goals I might have. I can't have a career, I can't see the world, I can't have a relationship if I'm warehoused in a nursing home. Fortunately, it's not an immediate concern at the moment. It's more of a low-level anxiety that can usually be ignored, but it will most likely never go away.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 02:55 PM | Comments (3)

June 02, 2007

Le Fin

Battlestar Galactica will be ending after its fourth season airs in 2008. As much as I will miss my weekly dose of Gaius Baltar's pompous sniveling and Caprica Six's icy hotness, the producers are probably right to bring the story to an end before inertia sets in (I'm looking at you, Chris Carter). Ideally, the success of BSG will foster the development of more intelligent science fiction, although the Darwinian economics of television typically don't select for intelligence. In the meantime, I suppose I better start saving up for the inevitable Super Exclusive Collector's Edition DVD Set (Ultimate Super Exclusive Collector's Edition DVD Set sold separately).

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:39 PM | Comments (0)

June 01, 2007

Publicity Hound

Tell me if I did a bad thing here. I've been mulling ways to increase the number of hits to the blog. One day, I was looking at the Wikipedia entry for spinal muscular atrophy. I noticed that it included a mention of Ami Ankliwetz, who is featured in the the horribly-titled documentary 39 Pounds of Love (I've commented on the film previously). And I thought, I'm at least as interesting as far as external sources go. So I did a little editing and added a link to here. And ever since, I receive about 5-10 hits daily from the Wikipedia link.

Shameless self-promotion or an appropriate contribution to a body of knowledge? You decide.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:08 PM | Comments (2)