Four Links on a Disability Theme

You’re So Brave I’d Rather Be Dead

I love Barry Deutsch (aka Ampersand)’s cartoon style: ligne claire with bodies that look real, including many fat folks like him. Most recently is his excellent 6-panel cartoon on the endless theme of non-disabled people telling us "I’d rather be dead than live your life."

https://amptoons.com/blog/?p=25717
Images with full description as well as DVD commentary on how he came to create it.

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NYTimes Sunday Magazine in Paper Braille!

Since August 2016, the NYTimes has published a Disability op-ed at least monthly.§ The vast majority of contributors bring a social justice perspective on living with impairment in a disabling society.

The NY Times’ Sunday Magazine this week is an all-disability issue, celebrating the ADA’s 30th anniversary. Thanks to yourlibrarian for letting me know they’ve been making a newspaper-wide push for accessibility, including producing braille editions of the Sunday special. (I was pleased to discover that they’ve been captioning all their videos for the last few years.)

https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/07/the-new-york-times-special-section-on-disability-is-available-in-braille-and-audio-and-has-its-own-style-guide/

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Mighty Painters Tape

One of the joys of working on WisCon access was deploying blue painter’s tape to create a reality that worked for all of us. Blue tape marks wheelchair parking spaces in program rooms, front row seating for those who need it, and keep-clear aisles to improve traffic flow.

My favorite podcast hosts an article on painter’s tape creating physical distancing in public spaces

Absent context, images from the Tape_Measures feed on Instagram could look like a series of art interventions. In light of a global disease outbreak, though, they are clearly signs of the times showcasing how a low-budget tool can help reinforce social distancing practices.

https://99percentinvisible.org/article/roll-tape-documenting-ad-hoc-measures-to-encourage-social-distancing/

tape_measures

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Better Batteries, Better Wheeling

New Mobility magazine focuses on wheelchair users, particularly power. I published an article there in 1999! Now published by the United Spinal Association It’s free, it’s got lots of detailed information, and stories from wheelers around the world. (Sadly not a lot of service-journalism on wheelchair manufacturers. They would be the #1 advertisers, of course.)

This article explores the fundamental differences between the very heavy deep-cycle marine batteries in traditional powerchairs, and the much lighter laptop-like lithium batteries powering the Whill CI, SmartDrive, and the new under-60 pound folding personal mobility devices.

[gear hacker] Mackay estimates he gets 30 miles on one charge, which is about the same distance he expects from his supplemental 24-volt, 75-amp-hour, lithium-ion marine battery — but the similarities stop there. The lithium-ion one weighs 70% less than its lead acid counterparts. Additionally, the two power sources deliver their charges very differently.

Lithium-ion batteries maintain max power output until they are depleted, whereas lead-acids put out less power as they near empty, resulting in a noticeable slowing of the chair. “In my experience, the lithium-ion battery gives me the same range as lead-acid. But because it puts out full power until it quits, it gives me an average of 1 mile per hour extra speed over a course of 20 miles,” says Mackay.

https://www.newmobility.com/2020/07/better-batteries-better-wheeling/

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§ Marking a welcome 180° swerve away from the Times I grew up with — where the only disability coverage appeared in the heart-breaking inspo-porn-fest that was the NYTimes Neediest Cases.