Discrimination Common For The Disabled

by Julia Metraux Mother Jones    After becoming blind in his late 20s, designer and artist Marco Salsiccia had to learn to navigate the world through assistive technology—like a screen reader, software that speaks digital text and image descriptions aloud.    Leveraging that experience, Salsiccia began work as an accessibility specialist, eventually working part-time at a well-known …

Robot Cane Device For The Blind Being Tested

by Kevin Burton    Researchers are testing what they believe will be a revolutionary robotic mobility device for the blind.    This is not your father’s cane. The device, called “Glide,” was demonstrated Saturday at the sixth annual Robot Block Party, a celebration of robotics, held in Boston.    “The device incorporates robotics, sensors, and …

Laugh Makers, Head Shakers And The Big Fear

by Kevin Burton    I am passing this list of probably true-life anecdotes for the sake of humor – I think.    I got it of from a fellow alum of the Ohio State School for the Blind. There was no attribution so I am not sure who compiled them. These short notes have me …

No Staff, No Problem: Guests Run Hotel

by Amaris Encinas USA TODAY    Three friends took it upon themselves to manage a Nashville hotel for a few hours.    After a late night of partying, the trio was unable to check into their room at La Quinta Inn & Suites because there were no employees in sight.     The saga was first …

Producers Of Braille Are Touching Lives

by Kevin Burton    Today we touch on two stories about braille being produced from unexpected sources.    NBC Connecticut ran a story about female inmates at York Correctional Facility becoming certified as Braille transcriptionists.    Five inmates completed the program Aug. 24. I wish NBC had quoited some of them. But here is part …

Café Owner To Pay Fine For Discrimination

by Lisa Steacy CTV News    The owner of a B.C. café has been ordered to pay a woman, who is legally blind, $12,000 in compensation for discrimination after she was refused service because she had a guide dog.     The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruled on the case last week and the decision was …

How Horse Logic Rules The Whole World

by Kevin Burton    You have to wonder sometimes, why things are the way they are. Who exactly is running the asylum?    Not sure who first came up with the quip that status quo is Latin for “the mess we’s in.”    Later in life I have learned to not ask certain things. If …

Volvo’s Unselfish Act Saved Millions Of Lives

by Douglas Bell Forbes Magazine    Volvo proudly proclaims that: “few people have saved as many lives as Nils Bohlin.” And they are right.     Nils Bohlin  is the little-known Volvo engineer who invented the V-type three-point safety belt in 1959, and saw his innovation through to universal adoption across the motor industry. His new …

It’s All About The Cats At A Cat Café

by Kevin Burton    This is a fun story, filled with cute kitties, but with a serious bummer at the end.    On the first part of our June vacation, we came across Papa’s Cat Café in Columbia, Missouri.  It was easily the most interesting tourist attraction we read about it mid-Missouri.    I thought …

Motown’s Move To LA Stifled The Magic

by Kevin Burton    There is more than a little irony in the 1971 Jackson 5 song “Going Back To Indiana.” That makes for an easy choice to make Indiana a destination for our summer rock and roll road trip, Coast to Coast.    For Coast to Coast we are talking rock and roll history, …