[Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!

Sat Jan 12 13:58:32 CST 2008

However Mike, the question is, after touching ourselves, do we then touch 
the buttons or after? LOL!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 1:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!


> Waaaaait a minute here. Let's curb our indignation for a moment and use
> our noodles. What is one of the greatest complaints many (especially
> females) have about public restrooms? Lack of cleanliness. So everything
> is disinfected (whether this really works is, perhaps, another story).
> And we don't want people touching anything (except, of course,
> ourselves) so there's an incentive to have pushbuttons. And automatic
> doors are a consequence of those with mobility impairments asking for
> accessibility. Yes, the thing will probably be a pain for us, the blind.
> And yes, it probably costs more than it ought. But there *is*
> rationality behind many of the features.
>
> Mike
>
>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>  From: Constance Canode
>  To: NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List
>  Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 9:50 AM
>  Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>
>
>  I wouldn't look at this stupid contraption if they paid me the
>  quarter!  What a waste of good financial resources.  When I think of
>  all of the good that money could have done, it really makes my blood
>  boil.  Disgusting, disgusting.
>
>  Connie Canode
>  At 08:50 AM 1/12/2008, you wrote:
>  >I imagine that we could use this ridiculous contraption. I mean,
> who's going
>  >to be in the bathroom for fifteen minutes, and someone could tell us
> about
>  >which button is which beforehand, but this is just astounding on what
> some
>  >people will design.
>  >David
>  >----- Original Message -----
>  >From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
>  >To: "Multiple recipients of NFBnet Blind-Talk Mailing List"
>  ><BlindTlk at nfbnet.org>; <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
>  >Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:38 AM
>  >Subject: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>  >
>  >
>  >Okay, just another device that's going to be user unfriendly to the
> blind.
>  >
>  >Sherri
>  >Subject: Technology?
>  >
>  >FACILITIES REVIEW. Greetings, Earthlings.
>  >Your New Restroom Is Ready.. NY Times Metropolitan Desk2008-01-11
>  >By MICHAEL WILSON. When New York City's open-armed embrace
>  >of tourists finally extends beyond the boundaries of Earth to
> creatures from
>  >outer
>  >space, these visitors will find themselves right at home in Madison
> Square
>  >Park's
>  >sleek, shiny new public toilet.
>  >Indeed, the toilet calls to mind not a port-o-let, but rather the
> sort of
>  >room one
>  >imagines adjoined the personal quarters of Capt. James T. Kirk on the
>  >Starship Enterprise.
>  >It is a 25-cent journey to the future -- and, almost secondarily, a
> not
>  >unpleasant
>  >restroom.
>  >The restroom was unveiled on Thursday, the first of 20 planned for
> the city
>  >after
>  >more than 30 years of false starts and frustrations. It faces Madison
> Avenue
>  >just
>  >north of 23rd Street, and at first glance looks like a bus stop
> shelter.
>  >There are two architectural flourishes, both on the roof: a small
> pyramid of
>  >glass,
>  >like a little model of the Louvre, and an anachronistic metal
> stovepipe,
>  >reminiscent
>  >of a cozy shanty or an old outhouse with a crescent moon carved into
> the
>  >door.
>  >But no one goes to a bathroom to look at it. When the green light
> marked
>  >'vacant'
>  >is lit, 25 cents -- coins only, no bills -- starts the visit.
>  >What follows is possibly the longest and most awkward 20 to 30
> seconds of a
>  >person's
>  >day. The door slips open like an elevator, but then it stays open, to
>  >accomm    odate
>  >those who need extra time getting in. Meanwhile, men and women in
> suits walk
>  >past.
>  >It is very difficult to look inconspicuous in a bathroom on a
> sidewalk in
>  >New York
>  >with the door open. There is just nothing to do but stand there. And
> the
>  >delay will
>  >not please those who are in distress.
>  >Finally, the door closes, and the first surprise is the quiet. The
> walls are
>  >padded
>  >to dampen street noise, leaving just the hum of a little fan
> overhead.
>  >Six little lights and the skylight in the pyramid cast a neutral glow
> over
>  >the user's
>  >home for the next 15 minutes, the maximum time limit.
>  >This toilet, which cost more than $100,000, is very spacious, large
> enough
>  >to accommodate
>  >a wheelchair. One cannot touch the side walls with arms outstretched.
>  >The floor is rubber and, more strikingly, very wet, but not in a
>  >bus-station-men's-room
>  >way. There is an antiseptic, fresh smell to the place.
>  >Sadly, these little surprises are forgotten with the first look at
> the
>  >toilet itself,
>  >an imposing, metal, cold-looking receptacle in the corner. There is
> no
>  >little stall
>  >around it, and so it looks exposed, like the facilities available in
> many
>  >prisons.
>  >It, too, is quite damp, for perfectly good reasons explained later,
> but the
>  >image
>  >first evokes a dungeon or a scene from one of the 'Saw' pictures.
>  >There is no seat to raise or lower, just the wide rim of the bowl,
> with
>  >covers made
>  >of tissue available in a dispenser to the side. Sitting down is a
> leap of
>  >faith,
>  >like falling backwards into a stranger's arms at a corporate
> team-building
>  >retreat.
>  >Turns out, it is cold. But once settled, the visitor finds the seat
> the
>  >perfect place
>  >to take in the room's other amenities.
>  >There seem to be as many buttons as on Captain Kirk's bridge. Red
> buttons,
>  >blue buttons,
>  >yellow buttons, black and green buttons. The red ones near the door
> and
>  >toilet call
>  >the company for help in an emergency. The yellow calls for
> 'assistance,'
>  >presumably
>  >something less dire than an emergency, but nonetheless, a situation.
> Blue
>  >flushes.
>  >Black dispenses toilet paper. One will quickly familiarize oneself
> with that
>  >button,
>  >because the designers have deigned a little 16-inch strip the
> standard
>  >helping of
>  >paper. A word to the wise: There is a maximum of just three helpings.
>  >Another tip:
>  >Do not tarry. A grim yellow light turns on when there are just three
> minutes
>  >remaining,
>  >and after that, the door will open.
>  >The sink is across the room. The big shocker here is the soap
> dispenser,
>  >which actually
>  >emits not a little squirt of soap, but a jet of warm water, with the
> soap
>  >already
>  >mixed in. Everything is motion-activated. No knobs anywhere. The
> warm-air
>  >hand dryer
>  >seems somewhat slow and weak, especially with that yellow light
> blinking by
>  >the door.
>  >Assuming one finishes before the 15 minutes are up, the big green
> button
>  >opens the
>  >door. The horns and sirens and chatter of the city return, jarringly.
>  >When the visitor steps out, the door shuts again, but the 'occupied'
> light
>  >stays
>  >lit. Strange hisses and spraying sounds come from within -- did
> someone slip
>  >past?
>  >No, actually, the room is cleaning itself. A robotic arm swings out
> over the
>  >toilet
>  >bowl and hits it with disinfectant, while similar jets spray across
> the sink
>  >and
>  >the floor. Then, dryers fan hot air over everything, but like the
> hand
>  >dryer, they
>  >seem to need more juice.
>  >This is all taken at the designer's word, for it is impossible to
> see. The
>  >cleanup
>  >cannot happen with someone in the room, with sensors below the floor
> to
>  >detect any
>  >weight.
>  >After 90 seconds of cleaning, the green light outside comes back on.
> Next?
>  >. PHOTO: Three officials, Janette Sadik-Khan, Adrian Benepe, center,
> and
>  >Daniel L.
>  >Doctoroff, consider the city's new toilet. There's no seat to raise,
> just
>  >the bowl's
>  >wide rim, with covers of tissues to use. (PHOTOGRAPH BY G. PAUL
> BURNETT/THE
>  >NEW YORK
>  >TIMES) .
>  >Sherri
>  >
>  >sbrun at cfl.rr.com
>  >
>  >TO DONATE YOUR USED CELL PHONE AND CHANGE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLIND
> IN
>  >CENTRAL FLORIDA go to:
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  >Whether we succeed or fail in what we do is not the essential thing.
>  >
>  >What is important is the heart with which we live our lives.
>  >
>  >
>  >
> 
>  >--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  >
>  >
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>
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