The 19th Floor

Training The Trainer

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:02:20 -0600

I was in a meeting today talking about issues related to personal care attendants and the subject of training came up. In Minnesota, there's a fair amount of interest in giving PCAs more opportunities for education and training as a means to enhance skills and possibly prepare them for other health care professions. I'm in favor of anything that gives PCAs the professional regard they deserve. But it occurred to me that we don't give much thought to training the people who actually receive PCA services. We don't advise people on the best methods for training their attendants. We don't give them suggestions on how to make hiring or firing decisions. In other words, we treat them as passive recipients of a service rather than active participants in their own care.

Wouldn't it make sense to focus training efforts on both sides of the equation: the PCA and the person with a disability (or their family)? Doing so would probably create better outcomes for everyone involved. Plenty of states, including Minnesota, are moving towards a more person-centered support system for people with disabilities. But doing so is going to require a wholesale change in our traditional (which is to say, patronizing) views of disability.

I promise: no more policy wonk posts for the rest of the week.

XXXV

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:30:41 -0600

I turn 35 today and I can see my younger, handsomer self in the rearview mirror, waving at me as he recedes into the distance. I'm gonna miss that guy, but not too much. I feel like I'm just starting to figure out this whole life thing and I'm curious to see what happens next. Today, at least, it feels pretty good to be a year older.

Thanks to all of you who have sent me birthday wishes.

Oral Skills

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:25:27 -0600

Wired magazine describes a new technology that enables an individual to drive a wheelchair with tongue movements. A small sensor is placed on the tongue and a headset measures the tongue's position inside the mouth. The system could also be used to control a computer.

My tongue isn't the most limber muscle in my body (although my friends might say it gets plenty of exercise), but I'd be willing to give this system a try. I'm assuming that talking and driving is out of the question, which might be inconvenient. I'm imagining a future where I can control my entire environment with tongue thrusts, blink, and slight head movements. I'll look like I'm tweaked out on amphetamines, but that may be the price of greater independence.

When Pigs Fly

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:14:21 -0600

Before I go any further, let me get one thing straight. I like my life just fine. In fact, things have turned out a lot better than I ever thought they could. Having said that, I'm also someone with an imagination. If I woke up tomorrow morning and discovered that my DNA had somehow patched itself and I was just another able-bodied dude, these are the five things I would want to do first:

Eat a cherry. I choked on one of these as a kid and never touched them again.
Learn to drive. It can't be as complicated as it looks.
Get a tan on both my front and back.
Backpack alone across Europe.
How to put this delicately. Rhymes with "faster rate". Actually, this one might have to go to the top of the list.

Way Cool

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:41:52 -0600

The video for Radiohead's "House of Cards" is all the rage on the youtubes. Instead of using cameras to capture images, the director used various laser-based scanning technologies. The resulting images have a ghostly quality that suits the mood of the song. It's like watching a broadcast from some distant planet. I particularly like how the images dissolve in sprays of pixels.

Critic At Large: The Dark Knight

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:48:54 -0600

Jack Nicholson gave a fine performance as the Joker in the 1989 Batman film, but it's a performance accompanied by a wink and a smile. Nicholson's Joker has a cartoonish quality that detracts from his menace. In The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger's Joker is one of the most nihilistic villains I've seen on screen. Ledger imbues the character with a twitchy, sharp-edged psychosis that is both terrifying and enthralling. It's truly a shame that such a gifted actor is no longer with us.

This movie could easily have become a one-man show, but the rest of the cast is strong enough to hold their own. The complex story elevates the movie above traditional comic book fare and the action scenes are operatic in staging and execution. Director Christopher Nolan brings the same dark, brooding sensibility that he first exhibited in Memento (which you should really should check out if you haven't seen it). He gives us a brave vision of a hero's place in amoral, vicious world.

Enjoying The Amenities

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:14:08 -0600

My building has a pool located on the common deck. However, the building's designers decided it would be a good idea to install a flight of stairs leading up to it. So after six years of living here, I'd never actually seen said pool. But I finally made my way up there a few days ago with some choreographed assistance. And the rumors are true: there's actually a pool up there with a great view of the city. If I venture there again, I might even be so bold as to dip my foot in the water.

Handcuffs Sold Separately

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:24:29 -0600

A new version of the Barbie doll is arriving on storeshelves in September. The doll is clad in leather and...fishnet stockings.

I want to go on record as saying I had nothing to do with this idea. As far as I'm concerned, fishnets should only be worn by living, breathing adult women. I don't appreciate some toy company appropriating my fetish and marketing it to grade-schoolers.

Keep Your Enemies Closer

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:01:13 -0600

Rumor has it that famed physicist and, more importantly, personal archnemesis Stephen Hawking is considering a move to Canada. Excellent. Now, I won't have to travel as far to appear at our joint press conference announcing the official date for our forthcoming zero-gravity deathmatch. And I hear that Canadian living makes one soft, which should only improve my odds with the Vegas bookies.

Tales From The Runway

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:31:02 -0600

The BBC is currently running a reality series called Britain's Missing Top Model, in which eight women with disabilities compete for a modeling contract. I can't judge the series on its content because I'm on the wrong side of the pond and can't watch the on-line episodes. It's no surprise that all of the contestants are quite pretty and telegenic. After all, this is television. While the show's concept strikes me as incredibly cheesy, but it's difficult for me to judge whether it strays into exploitation. The BBC strikes me as an entity that has at least some clue about how to portray people with disabilities. Perhaps someone can send me the DVD collection so I can have a more informed opinion.

I'd make a terrible model. Can you imagine me in some Abercrombie & Fitch catalog, all bare-chested and oiled down? I do get compliments on my eyes, so maybe if I was just photographed from the nose up.

Move Along, Nothing To See Here

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:55:21 -0600

Jesse Ventura has just announced that he will not be running for Senator this fall. I'm quite grateful for this news, not because I thought he would help or hurt any of the other candidates, but because this election will be enough of a circus without Jesse bringing his special brand of charm to the proceedings.

I actually feel some sympathy for Ventura. He was a mediocre governor, but he had a few good ideas (light rail being one of them). The impression he gives in recent interviews is of a man adrift in a sea of peculiar beliefs (especially on the topic of 9/11). However, he's demonstrated the good sense not to attempt to relive his glory years, which is more than I can say for former Packer Brett Favre.

Framing The Issue

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:45:17 -0600

A recent survey commissioned by Disaboom (sorry, but the name just make me cringe) finds that 52% of Americans would rather be dead than severely disabled. The survey also reveals that individuals with higher levels of income or education are more likely to prefer death over disability. Unsurprisingly, older people are likely to be more accepting of a severe disability than younger people.

The only thing that surprises me about these results is that the percentage of respondents favoring death wasn't higher. Otherwise, this is pretty ho-hum stuff. But I'm also a little frustrated with the survey's methodology. Here's how the researchers framed the question:

Which would you choose: Living with a severe disability that forever alters your ability to live an independent life, or death?

I mean, that's kind of a stark choice, isn't it? It doesn't get at the nuances of actually living with a severe disability. Maybe something like this would be better:

Which would you choose:

Living with a severe disability (but you could still live in your own place, hold a job, have friends, catch a movie, take a trip, maybe fall in love),

OR

death?

I realize that's an equally horrible survey question, but you get my point.

Not Enough Gort

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:35:56 -0600

Having just watched the trailer for the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, I'm filled with uncertain curiosity. The original is one of my favorite classic science fiction films, mostly because it tells a good story and Michael Rennie plays Klaatu with such elegant charm. When I think of Keanu Reeves, the word "charming" doesn't come to immediately to mind. Sure, it's fun to watch football stadiums get obliterated and giant spaceships emerge from the water, but I also remember what Tim Burton did to Planet of the Apes. Undoubtedly, I'll buy a ticket for this movie, but my expectations will remain firmly in check.

Unstructured Playtime

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:26:32 -0600

Say you're home alone on a stormy Friday night, sitting in front of your computer and searching for a few minutes of distraction. If you have an artistic bent, you might enjoy this digital sandbox game. You can manipulate pixels of colored "sand" to create your own mandala or whatever else strikes your fancy. And when you're done creating your masterpiece, you can be all Zen and erase it with a single keystroke. My own creation looks like something created by a monkey with slightly above-average intelligence. The visual arts were never my strength.

A Taste Of Home

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:41:34 -0600

After work today, I met my former boss for drinks at a new place in northeast Minneapolis called Red Stag. The restaurant is a hip update of the cozy supper clubs that you find in small towns across the Upper Midwest. The interior decor has a North Woods feel with exposed rafters and earthy tones, but I don't think you'll find many traditional supper clubs that feature a cucumber-and-melon martini on their menus. You also won't find many other supper clubs that are LEED-certified as a environmentally-friendly establishment. I didn't eat anything, but the smelt fries and cheese tray looked quite scrumptious.

MaryAlice, my former boss, said to me, "You should love this place, Mark. It has all the charm of Wisconsin without actually having to go there."