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

Sat Jan 12 13:27:21 CST 2008

And we blind folk think we're making headway in changing public attitudes?
As I've said before, it ain't our playing field.  So why do we think we can 
level it?
Frankly, as a blind person, I will carry a doggie poop bag around with me, 
step into a doorway, use it and leave it in front of the green light with a 
note, "deposit when you enter".
Carl Jarvis

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:32 AM
Subject: [nfbwatlk] Fw: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!

> 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.
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
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2:04 PM