[nfbwatlk] Fw: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!

Sat Jan 12 12:32:42 CST 2008

And we worry about accessible DVD players!

Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Sherri
To: Multiple recipients of NFBnet Blind-Talk Mailing List ; 
nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 7:38 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
-------------- next part --------------
And we worry about accessible DVD players!

Mike

----- Original Message -----
From:
mailto:flmom2006 at gmail.com Sherri
To:
mailto:BlindTlk at nfbnet.org Multiple recipients of NFBnet Blind-Talk Mailing List
; mailto:nfbf-l at nfbnet.org nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
Sent:
Saturday, January 12, 2008 7:38 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
mailto:sbrun at cfl.rr.com 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
mailto:blindtlk at nfbnet.org blindtlk at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: vd-button.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 3621 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbwatlk/attachments/20080112/f4cf08b5/attachment.gif 