I go to sleep at night, not wondering if the sun will rise tomorrow. I don’t ponder if there will be a winter next January. I won’t check the night sky to see if the moon is still there. All those seem like certainties – they seem guaranteed. I also...
Assistive Technology & UD, Part III: Hearing Loss
My grandfather, a Russian immigrant, had diminishing hearing as he aged. As a lover of gadgets and an early adopter of technology, he soon fitted himself with a modern (1960’s) electronic hearing aid. He had a microphone concealed as a tie pin, a gizmo in his pocket, and a loudspeaker...
Assistive Technology & UD, Part IV: Vision Loss
“Darn. Where did I leave my eyeglasses now?” This is a familiar cry for many people who use eyeglasses to help with certain tasks such as driving or reading. Eyeglasses are such a simple piece of assistive technology. So simple, we take them for granted. So simple, we even make...
Assistive Technology & UD, Part VI: Top-Ten List
How to do a top-ten list for assistive technology? First, I wanted the list to reflect a universal design focus. Next, I wanted the technology to be new and presently available; I considered not just a technology’s use but also its wider social impact (I know, I am missing some...
Tags: Apple, assistive technology, AT, Dragon, facebook, kaletsch, konrad, Konrad Kaletsch, Microsoft, phone, Skype, top-10, twitter, universal design
Bill Statements: Are They Getting More Confusing?
Today is a rant ‘n rave: bill statements. I’m talking credit card bills, mortgage statements, cell phone, utility bills … all of them! They get harder and harder to read. And, it’s not just me getting older. Account numbers, the ones you copy onto your check, used to be trouble...
Tags: account, bill, Chuck Schumer, design, invoice, kaletsch, konrad, Konrad Kaletsch, statement, universal design
Boomers Know
Baby Boomers have had quit a run and it is far from over. They created civil rights, a sex revolution and aerobic exercise. Their presidents included Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Bush. Their health improved and they are living longer. They are wealthy. In 2007 the first boomer collected...
AARP’s Life @ 50+
I would like to say that a conspiracy took place – at least there’s intention and action in a conspiracy. At this year AARP Life@50+ annual convention in Washington DC, twenty-five thousand attendees left knowing as much about universal design as when they walked in (nearly none). I really doubt...
Am I Too Overwhelmed?
Yes I am overwhelmed! Being overwhelmed is normal and everyone agrees. However, overwhelm doesn’t have to be an unchallenged way of life. Overwhelm is the condition of being a victim, only in this case the perp isn’t some guy with a mask and a gun, it’s the job, the bills,...
Anne Wiesen: The Restorative Garden, Healing by Beauty
The restorative garden can be as simple as a well-situated pot of healthy sage at a window-sill or as sublime as a cathedral forest. It’s how we respond to a garden that makes it restorative. Are there gardens that are universally restorative? Gardens that evoke a healing response in each...
Are Home Improvements UD?
A blog was written, The Best Return on Home Improvements. “Oooo!” I emphatically exclaimed, anxious to read about maximizing the value of my home. If you notice, I was hooked by an opportune distraction from my work. As I read the top 10 tips, I felt as if I was...