Author: Serena Date: 24/09/2023

Introduction

Braille can be a lifeline to the visually impaired, providing them with access to written information and a means of independence. However, what many people don't realize is that Braille products can be significantly more expensive than their standard print counterparts. In this post, we'll delve into the concept of the “disability tax” and its impact on accessibility.

The Expensive World of Braille Playing Cards

Let's start by examining a simple yet telling example. While scrolling through Amazon one day, I stumbled upon a deck of Braille playing cards. The deck, designed for the visually impaired, can be found here: Plastic Braille Playing Cards, priced at $38 AUD.

At first glance, $38 might not seem excessive, but let's take a closer look. Curiosity led me to search for standard playing card decks for those with no visual impairment. I found a similar set made of plastic and designed for durability, available here: Playing Cards Professional Poker Cards. Surprisingly, this deck is only $16.11 AUD.

That's already a notable price difference; the Braille deck costs approximately 1.35 times more than the first standard deck. But it doesn't end there. I also came across another similar product, Playing Cards, Poker Cards, which is priced at a more reasonable $11.99 AUD.

To put this in perspective, the Braille deck costs approximately 2.17 times more than the second standard deck.

Understanding the “Disability Tax”

The term “disability tax” refers to the extra expenses that people with disabilities often incur to access products or services on an equal footing with their non-disabled counterparts. This concept parallels the more widely recognized “pink tax,” which describes the tendency for products marketed toward women to be priced higher than similar products for men.

In the context of accessibility, the disability tax can manifest in various ways. It's not limited to Braille products but extends to essential items like talking devices. Consider the example of a talking microwave. You could easily purchase a conventional microwave from your local department store for anywhere from $30 to $100, offering standard functionality and accessibility for most users.

However, if you require a talking microwave that ensures complete accessibility, you'd have to place a special order with a specialized company. This might entail waiting several months for delivery and paying a staggering price range of $600 to $1200 for the same microwave.

To put this in perspective, you'd be paying approximately 19 to 39 times more for a talking microwave compared to a standard one, simply because it's designed to meet the accessibility needs of individuals with disabilities.

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In conclusion, the “disability tax” sheds light on the often substantial financial burden that individuals with disabilities face when seeking equal access to products and services. It's a reminder that while accessibility should be a fundamental right, it's not always affordable. As we strive for a more inclusive society, addressing these cost disparities is a crucial step toward making accessibility a reality for everyone.

As I’m gearing up to rebel my way through NaNoWriMo (am going to write a novel but also edit several smaller non-fiction projects), I want to start to get into the rhythm with blogging, and that means that in October I will post daily on weekdays and occasionally on the weekends.

In November I want to rewrite and post a series I’ve had on a previous blog, all focused on writing and tips to stay healthy etc.

It’s been years since I looked at this series, but it’s going to be fun.

If you’d like to see what I post, you can either follow me on Mastodon or subscribe below!

Wonderful fan made music video of Christina Perri's “A Thousand Years” and Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Goblin) — which in my opinion is the best kdrama I've watched so far.

Note that if you were planning to watch the show, there's going to be spoilers in this music video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbwXIdCtaeI&ab_channel=ElsieRacite

#Kdrama #GuardianTheLonelyAndGreatGod #Goblin #FMV

Hey friends, Apple Notes is one of the best note-taking apps for iPhone and iPad, with features like nested folders and tags for organization, support for rich-text formatting, Apple Pencil support on iPad, a built-in document scanner, and more. With the iOS 17 update, the Notes app has received several new features you will love but there are four that I'm really looking forward to using:

• Notes Linking: This will help me keep my notes organized and interconnected.
• PDF Editing: Annotating and marking up PDFs right in my notes is a game-changer. I'll no longer need a third-party app.
• Undo/Redo Buttons: Making corrections will now be a breeze. No more three-finger swipe.
• Block Quotes: Perfect for emphasizing important text or citing sources.

For an in depth review of all the new features, I recommend watching Christopher Lawley's How I Use Apple Notes: iPad Productivity YouTube video.

Cartea are un website Despre – Identitatea Virtuală (identitateavirtuala.ro) de unde poate fi cumpărată online

review pentru GoodReads:

“Virtual Identity” is not a typical book. It's a multimedia journey into the realms of philosophy and technology. At the end of each chapter and throughout the book, QR codes lead to a podcast co-hosted by Măruță and tech entrepreneur Dragoș Stanca in which they delve deeply into some of the chapter's topics, making the entire reading experience very “new”. The “Virtual Identity” project defies traditional borders, enabling readers to ponder the dynamic convergence of technology and philosophy, making it a comprehensive exercise in contemplating the meaning and implications of social media. Within over 200 pages, the author explores how our interaction with social networks affects our thinking, prompting us to consider the effects of the virtual world on our physical lives. It is by far the most comprehensive and fascinating book I've read about social media and virtual identity, and I hope an English version is on the way.

Jasmine Grandiflorum Jasmine Sambac Orris Root Ruh Khus Cedarwood Bitter Orange Lime Lavender Black Pepper Jojobaa

Really pleased to be doing a few bits of work with Interrobang, helping out with content- and communications-type things. Jaye Hackett gave a talk at Service Design in Government during the week. Here's the blog post of that talk. Super stuff. Most organisations don't talk this way.

US Copyright Office issued US Copyright Registration TX 9-307-067, which was the only thing left for Open RPG Creative (ORC) License to be considered final.

Here are the license, guide, and certificate of registration:

• ORC License
• ORC Answers & Explanations
• ORC License Certificate of Registration

As a brief reminder, last December Hasbro & Wizards of the Coast tried to sabotage the thriving RPG scene which was using OGL to create open gaming content. Their effort backfired and led to creation of above ORC License as well as AELF (“OGL but fixed” license by Matt Finch).

As always, make sure to carefully read any license before using it.

#News #OGL #ORC

Haideți să ne aplecăm puțin asupra conceptului de autoritate într-un stat democratic. Autoritatea nu e doar despre cine deține puterea; e și o chestiune de legitimitate, responsabilitate și contabilitate. Dar când începem să vorbim despre disoluția autorității, lucrurile devin și mai interesante.

Unul dintre cele mai mari semne că autoritatea începe să se erodeze este lipsa de încredere în instituții. Dacă oamenii nu mai au încredere în justiție, poliție sau guvern, atunci e clar că avem o problemă. Și să nu uităm de polarizarea politică; când societatea devine tot mai divizată, ajunge să fie din ce în ce mai greu să se ajungă la un consens. Cam cum este acum în România, nu?

Dar de ce se întâmplă toate acestea? Ei bine, corupția sistemică și incompetența administrativă sunt de obicei la rădăcina problemei.

România este una dintre cele mai corupte țări din Europa, conform indicelui Transparency International. În ultimii ani, au fost dezvăluite numeroase cazuri de corupție la nivel înalt, implicând politicieni, oameni de afaceri și funcționari publici. Acest lucru a dus la o pierdere semnificativă a încrederii în instituțiile statului.

Autoritățile române sunt adesea acuzate de incompetență și ineficiență. Acest lucru este evident în numeroase domenii, cum ar fi educația, sănătatea și transportul public. Incompetența administrativă duce la o deteriorare a serviciilor publice și la o creștere a insatisfacției publice

Când instituțiile și cei care le conduc eșuează în a rezolva problemele publice, autoritatea începe să se dizolve.

Și ce impact are acest lucru asupra societății? Oamenii devin apatici și își pierd interesul pentru procesele democratice. Mai mult, lipsa de încredere în instituții poate duce la creșterea extremismului, deoarece oamenii încep să caute soluții mai radicale.

Dar nu e totul pierdut. Există soluții și recomandări pentru a restabili autoritatea. Transparența și responsabilitatea sunt esențiale, iar implicarea cetățenilor în procesul decizional poate face minuni.

Disoluția autorității într-un stat democratic este un subiect complex care necesită o analiză profundă dar parcă este mai vizibilă în ultimii ani și nu văd soluțiile care să corecteze această situație.

 

 

Hi me. Sweet lord am I stressed right now. I just found out I have a mandatory grad student orientation, exactly at the same time as a doctor’s appointment on Monday morning. I don’t know if I can cancel or move the doctor’s appointment in time, as the office is closed so I am very worried if I will be able to make it to the mandatory orientation. I also am faced with the potential decision of reapplying to UCSB as a computer science masters student, as currently I am doing computer engineering – the same as my undergrad. The problem I didn’t foresee was for masters, the departments are fully different so I am unable to realistically take CS courses – which is the thing I am interested in. I can either tough it out for two years and get a masters in a field that I am not that interested in compared to CS – or I can somehow reapply as a new master’s student next year and restart my master’s program – adding on another year.

I shut down often with decisions like this, and I don’t know what to do. I’m leaning towards just toughing it out, as it is the path of least resistance, but I’m afraid of regretting it down the line. I’m pretty scared at my own incompetence, especially since growing up I was never the one to make decisions as I had a helicopter mom. This is a huge anxiety trigger for me, but thankfully over time I have gotten better at it; it still sucks a ton.

While sitting at the lookout point at the end of my walk the other day, I was thinking about which is worse. Being depressed, or being anxious – two big things therapy helps me with. Anxiety to me is feeling too much, and depression is feeling nothing good. At the moment, while I had been depressed for the last few months, I felt anxiety or stress was trivial compared to an overwhelming lack of pleasure in life. I also was aware that it was biased due to me forgetting what stress was like – I, unfortunately, can no longer say it’s a forgotten feeling.

One of the last things I asked my therapist last session was for her to tell me that things were going to be okay. I know this isn’t something she can necessarily tell me, and she did the thing of asking me to answer my own question (and I said yes things will be ok). I sometimes wish someone would give me that reassurance on it.

It’s been a while, might as well do some CBT with the whole doctor fiasco

Situation: Doctor's appointment on Monday morning, and just found out a mandatory orientation is on Monday morning and the office is closed – so I don’t know if I can reschedule in time.

Thoughts: I have no more options, it is over. There is nothing I can do, I am going to be faced with a huge cancellation fee that insurance will not cover.

Feelings: I feel hopeless, overwhelmed, and ultimately like my life is falling apart. I feel impending doom and dread filling my body.

Behavior: I increase stress levels to an unhealthy amount, constantly panic and freak out, and do not allow myself to enjoy anything or feel ok for the next few days.

Now for something better:

Thoughts: It is what it is. I can try to contact the doctor’s office, and I have already emailed to see if I can skip the orientation. Worst case, I call at 8 am on Monday morning to tell them the situation and try to reschedule the appointment to another day or to later.

Feelings: I feel stressed, but I also feel a bit more reasonable. I feel more okay, as I am doing as much as I can do, and excess stress doesn’t help me.

Behavior: I calm down, don’t put up a mental block on doing anything to help the situation, and act through it reasonably. I don’t stress excessively.

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That does sound better, doesn’t it? Also more rational – a big point is excess stress doesn’t help here. I love you QWERTYsuman 💟

Moss gathers ephemeral, perennial, steady as the glaciers cut clear through this land. Boots sink acidic into carpet of Hylocomium splendens. Cushion of Pleurozium schreberi. Tufts and tufts of Dicranum scoparium.

Fired soils crack as ancient stoneware. Amputated boughs slump to heat-kissed orchard, pale dirt. Each day another scorched earth policy. The garden blooms its pallid clumps. An open wound of chronic maladies. At least the rugged weeds in fervour, and by god the all fermenting stench! I shrug off blistered skin, but Words cannot convey my faith in ruins.

I shadow through the meadow and loom through the wood. An inky Mervyn Peake skeleton. The mountain a ghostly heap of bones.