[Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!Re: blindtlk Digest, Vol 19, Issue 23

Sat Jan 12 15:28:02 CST 2008

This bathroom is going to start a lot of contraversy when it is put into 
daily use. Although I'm almost sure it'll take awhile for people to feel 
comfortable with a robot potty room... I think it's just a matter of time 
before the company begins to recieve complaints of inaccessibility, 
inconvienance, and the hazardness rushfulness of the bathroom that threatens 
to expose someone in the middle of a private act...
Yes, it's only a matter of time...
Aziza
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <blindtlk-request at nfbnet.org>
To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 1:06 PM
Subject: blindtlk Digest, Vol 19, Issue 23


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> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Re: technological toilet, this is for real! (Jennifer Aberdeen)
>   2. Re: technological toilet, this is for real! (Jennifer Aberdeen)
>   3. Re: technological toilet, this is for real! (GMail)
>   4. Re: technological toilet, this is for real! (Jennifer Aberdeen)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:57:31 -0500
> From: "Jennifer Aberdeen" <freespirit328 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Message-ID: <001101c8555d$c084d770$889be444 at Gateway>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> What if you're blind and for whatever reason, you take more than fifteen
> minutes? The door just opens for everyone to see! What idiocy!
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jamie Rhoads" <jrhoads284 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>
>
>> OH...my....goodness......not only does it sound inaccessible, but creepy.
>> I
>> cannot even believe people put that much work into designing a toylet....
>>
>> Jamie
>> ----- 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.
>>
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> blindtlk mailing list
>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindtlk mailing list
>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:58:35 -0500
> From: "Jennifer Aberdeen" <freespirit328 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Message-ID: <001501c8555d$e6ef96c0$889be444 at Gateway>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> Someone with more than one disability might take more than fifteen 
> minutes,
> depending on what their disabilities are.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "GMail" <davidb521 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 9:50 AM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>
>
>>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.
>>
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> blindtlk mailing list
>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindtlk mailing list
>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:12:13 -0500
> From: "GMail" <davidb521 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Message-ID: <001c01c85557$6f19b2d0$0801a8c0 at dsbouchard>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> Fifteen minutes is quite enough for anyone. I can be in and out in about 1
> or 2 minutes.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jennifer Aberdeen" <freespirit328 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 3:57 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>
>
>> What if you're blind and for whatever reason, you take more than fifteen
>> minutes? The door just opens for everyone to see! What idiocy!
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Jamie Rhoads" <jrhoads284 at gmail.com>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:48 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>>
>>
>>> OH...my....goodness......not only does it sound inaccessible, but 
>>> creepy.
>>> I
>>> cannot even believe people put that much work into designing a 
>>> toylet....
>>>
>>> Jamie
>>> ----- 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.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> blindtlk mailing list
>>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> blindtlk mailing list
>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindtlk mailing list
>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:19:48 -0500
> From: "Jennifer Aberdeen" <freespirit328 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Message-ID: <006201c85560$dd37eb70$889be444 at Gateway>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> Well, I wouldn't use that bathroom even if it meant I'd end up in the
> hospital needing major surgery, but there are some people who take quite a
> while because of mobility issues...I've seen them.
>
> I've never heard of anything so ridiculous! What a waste of money!
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "GMail" <davidb521 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 3:12 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>
>
>> Fifteen minutes is quite enough for anyone. I can be in and out in about 
>> 1
>> or 2 minutes.
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Jennifer Aberdeen" <freespirit328 at gmail.com>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 3:57 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>>
>>
>>> What if you're blind and for whatever reason, you take more than fifteen
>>> minutes? The door just opens for everyone to see! What idiocy!
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Jamie Rhoads" <jrhoads284 at gmail.com>
>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:48 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>>>
>>>
>>>> OH...my....goodness......not only does it sound inaccessible, but
>>>> creepy.
>>>> I
>>>> cannot even believe people put that much work into designing a
>>>> toylet....
>>>>
>>>> Jamie
>>>> ----- 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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> End of blindtlk Digest, Vol 19, Issue 23
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