tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post2918347638656164548..comments2023-05-24T23:33:57.516+10:00Comments on My Unwelcome Stranger: Reality bites 3: playing chess with Mr CheatDenis Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-50710566152484114102012-05-19T13:03:07.695+10:002012-05-19T13:03:07.695+10:00I wrote a reply to this and then lost it for a dum...I wrote a reply to this and then lost it for a dumb reason I won't go into - so, back to the drawing board.<br /><br />I was saying how costly it must be to add on Disabled Access after buildings have been completed or are old. A few at the UNE must have cost a fortune to add and are as ugly as sin. And you're right - Access was never designed by someone who has to use it, so it seems.<br /><br />I didn't know the PK story but I applaud it - of course politicians of all sorts are on a hiding to nothing no matter what they do.<br /><br />I also gave a link about a terrible make-up exercise that has a creepy fascination to it. It came via a friend, Jan Whittaker, but you really need faster access than your satellite to view it. For others, here's the link:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojYBcMFkdfY&feature=youtu.be<br /><br />No further comment! It was checking that link that made me lose the browser last time - but that was for a problem unique to my setup.Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-58463057617930402492012-05-19T10:56:08.984+10:002012-05-19T10:56:08.984+10:00The world is a lot more wheelchair-friendly than i...The world is a lot more wheelchair-friendly than it used to be. The new university building in Saskatchwan (1975) had one of the first disabled toilets. Problem was, you had to go up three steps to get to it. Duh. If "disabled" people were employed to work with architects on buildings, etc., or be architects themselves, then the concept of "disabled access" would be redundant.<br /><br />Didn't Paul Keating refuse to take out private health insurance for himself and his family? And wasn't he criticised for taking public health services away from the public?<br /><br />On bath-hogs. Actually, Denis, I was impressed that you take only 3/4 of an hour to shower and dress in your predicament. Well done. I've known fully able people who hog the bathroom for far longer periods of time, putting on their face. At one point my poor brother would stand outside the bathroom door, in a hurry to dress for work, complaining that I must have the cleanest teeth in Canada.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-53135273333390924952012-05-18T07:59:21.335+10:002012-05-18T07:59:21.335+10:00I think the best exercise in that department is wh...I think the best exercise in that department is when some politicians agreed to use nothing but a wheelchair to get about for an entire day. They found it was a whole new and frustrating mode of transport, as you can imagine. [I know someone who reads this blog is permanently wheel-chair bound, and could say much more about that.]<br /><br />I've also said that when people get elected to parliament they and their families should have to forgo their private health fund for the duration and rely on the public system. I suspect that might result in an improvement in both the quality of health care and of politicians.<br /><br />But then I'm both naive <i>and</i> cynical, which is a very bad combination.Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-59170456928512163542012-05-18T07:38:38.570+10:002012-05-18T07:38:38.570+10:00Heh! I knew I should have written three-quarters o...Heh! I <i>knew</i> I should have written three-quarters of an hour or 45 mins. instead of 3/4....Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-33652405802765668242012-05-17T18:20:20.969+10:002012-05-17T18:20:20.969+10:00Joan!!!!!! I do NOT spend 3-4 hours in the bathroo...Joan!!!!!! I do NOT spend 3-4 hours in the bathroom and I bet you don't either, LOL! In fact there is a bath hog in our house and it's not female.(yes..then it'd be a 'bath sow' oh dear, where is this going?)<br />A friend who is a counsellor had to do a course to understand ability 'from the other side'. She had to be in a wheelchair and request help for every little thing. A bit like those exercises where students have to mind an egg as if it is a baby:) She was suitably humbled.<br /><br />Julie xxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-76766007066409373782012-05-16T15:59:50.760+10:002012-05-16T15:59:50.760+10:00I think my friend with the blind husband might be ...I think my friend with the blind husband might be tempted to draw the line while watching him wash the best china and crystal after a well-lubricated dinner party, but 3/4 of an hour for a shower and dress up, well Denis, you're definitely in training to be a woman in your next life, where it will take you 3-4 hours to do that to your satisfaction.<br /><br />I'm delighted to hear you haven't yet sprayed tea or coffee all over the room. More excitements await you :). I'm also delighted that I haven't done that either, and in future intend to keep my arms more under control.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-24639884296288352072012-05-14T21:29:43.313+10:002012-05-14T21:29:43.313+10:00Who cares about the carpet. It's a thing. When...Who cares about the carpet. It's a thing. When your brain is still brilliant, as yours and my mum's are, the person is all that matters. I'm saying that you are giving and sustaining in ways you may forget to appreciate.<br /><br />JulieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-83653421914869657652012-05-14T13:03:03.060+10:002012-05-14T13:03:03.060+10:00That advice to carers is good. My b-i-l John passe...That advice to carers is good. My b-i-l John passed it on to me by way of a friend of his and truly, it is nice to emerge from the bedroom having showered and dressed myself. All by myself. It could take >3/4hr all up. Less if the shoelace bow goes right first time.<br /><br />I toyed with the idea of writing about it but – we'll see. People might be shocked if I invite them into my shower. It's not a pretty sight but they'd see how I have to do stuff like manoeuvre to wash under my arms. Quite a challenge!<br /><br />So far, I haven't actually sprayed tea or coffee all over the room or table. I'll look on it as a challenge. You'll just have to keep those talking arms down!Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-20340173225184289392012-05-14T12:40:36.173+10:002012-05-14T12:40:36.173+10:00I've heard that the advice to carers is always...I've heard that the advice to carers is always to allow the disabled person to do as much as they can regardless of how painful it is to watch them take 3 hours to tie their shoelaces. I have a friend with a blind husband, and she is the one who told me what this is like for both of them. Scary and frustrating for her; empowering for him.<br /><br />While recently in Canberra at a ceramics workshop, I had beside me a full cup of coffee in one of those tiny thermos-like cups with a lid. One of the other students was giving her presentation, and I responded enthusiastically to something she said with a sweep of my hand which knocked the cup clear across the table. The lid did not come off. By some miracle of design, I did not jettison the speaker's flight by disgracing myself in front of the class. Perhaps someting like this is a solution to the treachery of cups of tea.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-47855179930581272982012-05-13T10:45:12.097+10:002012-05-13T10:45:12.097+10:00That part is hard on both. What's hard for me ...That part is hard on both. What's hard for me to do is so easy for Tracey or Christian or the girls, but it's so <i>hard</i> to let that go. I feel like your Mum, sitting here like a useless log while being made cups of tea or coffee, and Tracey may be tired but she prefers to do it for obvious enough reasons.<br /><br />When I <i>do</i> make a cup and she's in the lounge and sees me wobbling painfully slowly towards her with the cup in none-too-stable hand, it's all she can do not to jump up and take it from me – potentially for the sake of the carpet and the cleanup if nothing else! <br /><br />Yet I feel as pleased when I manage it as the kids who've made a terrible breakfast for their mother on Mother's Day that she is now condemned to eat in bed whether she likes it or not.<br /><br />My poor old Mum was the same. Towards the end she'd hobble round her kitchen with <i>her</i> gammy arm and leg, and insist on making the tea, and it was painful all round. <br /><br />It's a terrible irony that I am now doing so many of the same things; even more so that in her 80s she could do them better than I can now.<br /><br />It's Mother's Day. Bless them all in reality and memory. <br /><br />And bless others who are doing mothers' tasks, like so many whether they have children or not [or who may not even be women.]Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-89654254671243823982012-05-13T10:12:23.710+10:002012-05-13T10:12:23.710+10:00Maybe 'Beginner Fred' was really Brian lea...Maybe 'Beginner Fred' was really Brian learning his tricks. Programmer fail!<br /><br />Good old Brer Rabbit. "An' the tar baby, he lay low...."<br /><br />That was one of the funnier stories in our reading book, along with Tom Sawyer getting all the other kids to whitewash the fence. <br /><br />You must remember this.... :)Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-63764624571674093012012-05-13T09:56:35.548+10:002012-05-13T09:56:35.548+10:00The lack of independence is one main reason that I...The lack of independence is one main reason that I questioned a while ago whether it is harder on the 'carer'. One of my mother's main upsets is that she can no longer make ME a cup of tea. Even such a simple thing. That distresses her. I'm the strong one, who can do anything, though I try to 'allow' her do whatever she can. No matter how tired or upset I may be, I see that I am capable and independent. I tell her that she is still giving me a lot by just being there with all her love. And it's true.It's the biggest 'doing' of all, the being the special person that you are.<br /><br />Julie xxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-47719023800252411552012-05-12T19:25:03.589+10:002012-05-12T19:25:03.589+10:00When I still had time for such luxuries, I downloa...When I still had time for such luxuries, I downloaded a computer chess game on to my PC. I started at level 10, with an opponent who was called something like 'Aunt Agatha's Cat' and, when I had finally had a couple of wins, I moved up to level 9, where my opponent was 'Beginner Fred'.<br /><br />It took a long time, but finally I played a game where I forced Fred into a corner. I had him in check twice but he wriggled out of it. Then I had him beaten; nowhere to go. "Check Mate" I told the computer in triumph.<br /><br />Guess what? ... Fred castled. <br /><br />"You can't do that," I said. "It's against the rules".<br /><br />But like old Briar Rabbit, Fred just lay there and said nuthin".<br /><br />It was like dealing with bureaucracy.Bob Lakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-75348022377420257212012-05-12T09:45:42.729+10:002012-05-12T09:45:42.729+10:00Maybe it's that I feel wimpy. It's a part ...Maybe it's that I <i>feel</i> wimpy. It's a part of the process of reaction to losing independence – and authority – in so many ways. After a lifetime of these, dependence doesn't sit well. <br /><br /> Kings in many cases are rather weak creatures, if history is any guide. They may have heads chopped off, but it's others who do it – and often it's others who make the suggestions the king accepts.<br /><br /> I look at the Tudor monarchs [except Liz], or the Mughal or Ming emperors – or the US President. They were all <i>weakened</i> in some ways by becoming the apparent top dog. <br /><br /> They might be at the top of the mountain, but when it gets foggy they only see those in a ten foot radius.Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-35010927201770019152012-05-11T00:03:19.060+10:002012-05-11T00:03:19.060+10:00There's nothing wimpy about you, Denis - pleas...There's nothing wimpy about you, Denis - please let it be that your opponent has met his matchzmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.com