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

[Gloria Whipple]

That is also good! 


Gloria Whipple
Corresponding Secretary
nfb
of WAInland Empire Chapter

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 9:13 PM
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Fw: [Blindtlk] technological toilet,this is for
real!

Of course you do know that I'd never do that.  But now that I've calmed
down, what I would propose is placing a port-a-potty next to each of these
100 thousand dollar inaccessible toilets, with a sign saying, "Toilet for
the blind".


----- Original Message -----
From: "Gloria Whipple" <fairyfoot at dc4pc.net>
To: "'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 7:51 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Fw: [Blindtlk] technological toilet,this is for
real!


> Carl,
>
> I like that!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 11:27 AM
> To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Fw: [Blindtlk] technological toilet,this is 
> for real!
>
> 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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