Accessible living environments promise that your entire home can be adjusted to meet your needs. Many basic devices can be adjusted to function on voice commands. With a simple command like “Turn on the CD player” you are ready to hear your favorite music. There is no need to wait for someone to find a moment to help you chose your favorite artist and enjoy the latest recordings. In Christopher Reeve’s wonderful production of the classic Alfred Hitchcock mystery, “Rear Window”, you can see all the marvels of modern architectural science. At the same time, you see how nothing works without the courage of the human spirit and the creative human mind. An environment that responds to voice commands is a thing of the present. And, if you think your voice is not understandable, think again. Computers can be programmed to analyze vocal strength and clarity, recognize your speech, and respond to your commands. There are wonderful things developing in the science of robotics, architecture and communication. We will look into them on this part of our site. Feel free to contribute. Keep your eyes and ears open. Ask questions. If you don’t see something you want to know about let me hear from you. I’ll get that information as quickly as possible.  Remember, if you find something of interest share it with the rest of us. Sometimes the most interesting information can be found in one of those little columns at the margin of the newspaper.  It might be something the rest of us missed. Just contribute whenever possible. 

       Speaking of Christopher Reeve brings to mind the wonderful advances made in the field of rehabilitation. Mr. Reeve keeps his body in top form, making good use of the new techniques in muscle stimulation creating movement in paralyzed limbs. Exercise of muscles, enabling weight bearing, guards against loss of bone and muscle mass. Anyone with limited use of muscles knows the importance of maintaining good range of motion, balance and circulation. These new devices enable rehabilitation to be a corrective, and a preventive, medicine. Overall health is improved and life is enhanced by the use of this new equipment and therapies. They are keeping Mr. Reeve prepared for the advent of spinal cord regeneration and repair. When the time comes, and it won’t be long, he will be physically in top form to accept the greatest medical advance of all time. But you must stay in good health and make good use of all that science has to offer. 

      We will be reviewing many things that will surprise and excite as well as inform. We tend to get hung up in our own needs and never learn about other human differences. How many of you have friends who are Deaf? Do you know why I used a “capital” D to spell Deaf? Have you ever seen a TTY, the telephone used by Deaf people to communicate?  There is also a system called a “Relay” through which a hearing person can call a person who is hard of hearing or Deaf. An operator types the call through a TTY to the Deaf person and reads the response to the hearing caller. Most hearing people never think of these means of communication. The easy availability of American Sign Language training tapes makes sign language available to everyone. They also teach about the culture and society of Deaf America. America proudly claims the first University for the Deaf in the world. It is Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. We will talk more about this wonderful institution later, in places like Gumbo Yah-Yah, the Book Worm and a section that will include film and movie reviews. The term “equipment” covers more than nuts and bolts. We have much to investigate. This should be fun!