This was definitely a smart move as I landed my next three jobs because I knew about Section 508. Then something more happened. As I began working on sites to make them accessible to all, I began meeting and interviewing people with different needs and asking them how they use the web and what they’d like to see improved. This led to epiphany number 1: These people were just like me.

I know that doesn’t sound good, but I grew up in a primarily white, upper middle class, east coast community. I went to an expensive art school in college, that despite being in NYC had very few minorities I was exposed to because it was so expensive and offered few scholarships at the time. I thought “disabled” meant “couldn’t do something”. But it didn’t. In fact it’s a horrid word to use.

One person I know can’t see. But he can navigate most of his world through hearing. Can you do that? I can’t. His ear for music justifies headphones and speakers worth hundreds of dollars. Mine can’t justify $50 headphones. He types at least twice as fast as I can because I rely too much on seeing the keyboard. Which one of us is “disabled”? I think we are differently abled.

So with this in mind, I began to reach out to people of this marginalized community to get to know them more. And then I had epiphany number 2: These people are brilliant and amazing. Actually that doesn’t encompass it well enough, the are BRILLIANT and AMAZING. Yes, all caps is needed here.

The people I met are super intelligent, creative, patient, passionate and compassionate. They have discovered methods and tools to accomplish many of their goals, which are usually the same as yours and mine. Yet, despite being able to prove the desire and skill to do what drives them for a living, they are denied employment.

That’s the dream: To build a design and development agency comprised primarily of people that have the skills but are denied the opportunity because something allows the government to call them “disabled”, because they are not. Now I know this is easier said than done. First, it would be a virtual agency as these folks are spread across the country. It would take significant investment to make sure the team would have all the tools needed to do the job and some of those adaptive tools will get expensive. It will take understanding clients because the speed of delivery will be vastly different than that of traditional agency. It will take account managers and project managers that can keep it all on track. But there isn’t a reason why these people can’t work, they just need the tools and the opportunity. If you are interested in helping me build this, contact me, I know developers, designers, and security people I’d like to give jobs to.

*Comments are off due to the amount of trolling and spam I see. Please connect with me on twitter or by email on this post.

I’m not that ambitious, but I am going to use it to kick off a project (and hopefully complete the first draft) I have been wanting to do for close to a year. I am going to write a book on building the web for everyone. The internet, and technology in general, is a great equalizer in our society. Anyone can log on and order food, gadgets, clothes. You can create a blog and become the next investigative journalist. You can meet people around the world and communicate with them without being judged on your appearance or the way ou talk. But not all of it can be used by everyone because if was built with weaknesses. The weaknesses don’t need to exist, we can build it better, faster, stronger.

If you have ever felt that something about the web was difficult to use because of any personal hurdles, I want to talk to you. I want to hear your stories of obstacles, and hopefully how you overcame them. And if you didn’t overcome them, I want to know how you think they might be overcome. If reasonable, we (I mean you, me and anyone else I need help from) will try to build a prototype before the book gets published to see if we can make the web more accessible to you.

So, jump over to my contact page and call me, Skype me, email me (which ever is easiest for you), and we will set up a time to interview you. I’d like to do Skype or in person as I want to record the video possibly for future use and transcribing. Oh, anyone know how to record a Skype video call?

I never knew the man. I never visited the campus he worked at, but I feel a kinship to him and find myself choked up over the loss. I wish his family the best and I while he will be missed in geekdom and beyond, he finally doesn’t have to live with what I am sure was a painful disease. Rest in peace Steve Jobs.

After I finished eating, I approached the gentleman and asked for a moment of his time. His name was Mike and he graciously allowed me to interrupt his reading. I introduced myself and explained what I do for a living. I hadn’t met anyone with his condition using an eReader, so I told him I wanted to learn about his experience.

He was using a Kindle DX, which is Amazon’s deluxe model. And his first thoughts? Mike loved it. He reads a lot and given his limited arm and almost no hand control, using a regulate paper book was very difficult for him. Mike also had limited head control, difficulty speaking, was confined to a wheelchair (he has recently received a motorized chair and “drives” himself everywhere) and had a service dog. In addition to the general love of the Kindle, he went on to mention a few of his favorite features: the large home & previous buttons, and the very large next button for navigation. Despite his limited control, he is able to hit these buttons easily enough to enjoy his books. He also enjoyed that the Kindle displayed a whole page and had a decent font size selection.

However, Mike did have a one complaint about the Kindle. The Tic-Tac sized keys on the QWERTY keyboard below the screen were completely unusable to him. He didn’t have the coordination to hit the keys successfully.

At this point I segued the conversation to web application design. For him, link size isn’t an issue because he navigates websites via a trackball. The trackball gives him control over the sensitivity and speed of the cursor. However, despite this added control, he would like links and buttons to be bigger.

The last thing I asked Mike was if he could have his way, what would he like to have different in technology. His answer wasn’t what I was really asking, but it was extremely eye opening. Mike wanted to sell his Kindle and purchase an iPad. He likes that it isn’t just an eReader. He likes that it offers up Amazon, Barners & Noble, Kobo, and the tons of free books he could access. He also likes the apps. He likes the keyboard in that when he is on a key, he can see it pop-up above his finger. He likes that if he hits the wrong key, he can slide his finger until he is at the right one and only when he releases does the iPad acknowledge it being typed.

In addition, and more importantly for Mike, was the way you interact with the device. The swiping gesture used in many applications (specifically Kindle and iBooks) was much easier than hitting the Kindle’s large buttons. However, the shorter battery life and the display shutting off were things Mike identified as possible problems for him.

The experience of interviewing Mike was incredible for me. As a developer it showed me ways to think that I hadn’t considered before. It will make me a better programmer, and more importantly a better person. However, for me the best part of this 10 minutes & my entire day was the reaction from Mike. The fact that I approached him, respected him, and was genuinely interested in him was evident on his face. By truly caring about his experience in the world and taking a few minutes to talk to Mike, I brightened his day. Most people don’t give him any time. Most people avoid him like they might catch something from him. These are people too, we owe them our time, our respect, and our love. Show a little compassion and they will make your life richer.

My last note on this experience was mike’s t-shirt. He had on it the classic evolution illustration with the final figure being a person in a wheelchair. Inside the wheel was the symbol for equality. Underneath was the quote “Adapt or perish”.  As society I think it is imperative we take both the concepts of equality and “adapt or perish” to heart. We need to keep moving forward making life better for all or we will all suffer the consequences.

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. – Buddha

Of course it goes without saying that even this comes from Buddha, it to should be subject to its own logic and only be taken once experienced.

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere… If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good. – Dr. Seuss, One Fish two fish red fish blue fish, 1960

For me this quote touches base with something the Dalai Lama said yesterday in his speech at Colgate University. Everything can be viewed from different perspectives. In some of these perspectives the situation or object is good and others it is bad. If you take the time and practice to release yourself from the fears and preconceptions you have about all the time and carefully examine everything from all possible angles, you will be able to enjoy more things.

All religious traditions have the same potential, therefore we must respect all tradition. -Dalai Lama

Take respect in each other and each person’s traditions. If you don’t understand them, ask for explanations. Do not argue, but with permission you can discuss the differences between your traditions and theirs. If we work on this as a planet, we can achieve greater things than we already have.

Update

During his Q&A section the Dalai Lama was asked what can be done from the spiritual person to help those without spirituality. He made a very poingant case for leading by example, but most of:

Unless the non-spiritual person asks to be taught about Buddhadharma, do not teach Buddhadharma.

He further explained, that while this is the Buddhist way, it is a truth that all people regardless of religion should follow. This received a very loud round of applause from the audience at Colgate University. For more information and hopefully a link to access the recorded webcast, check out Colgate’s website.

This past year I have been conscious of everything that I do and its effect on my surroundings. As such I have take the following actions and I encourage you to take similar ones for yourself.

I purchased a new car. This car, while not a hybrid, is a compact Chevy Cobalt that averages 32 miles per gallon. In my mind, this still isn’t very efficient, but it did replace a 10 year old Ford Explorer that averaged 16 mpg so I have doubled my efficiency.

I began using reusable shopping bags. I purchased some bags from Trader Joe’s for $0.99 each and have continued to use them for over 8 months now. I have eliminated the the 8 plastic bags per week on average that I used at the grocery store. In addition I purchased some smaller canvas totes that I now use at stores like Target and Walmart eliminating those bags as well.

I am reusing all plastic and glass containers that I purchase from the grocery store. Instead of throwing out that salsa jar or hummus container, I wash it and will use it later instead of purchasing Tupperware. In addition I began buying in bulk. I no longer purchase boxes of cereal or cans of beans, but will purchase them from the bulk containers at the local Whole Foods store. I store these items in my reused containers.

I no longer eat meat and now opt for organic vegetables. By choosing locally grown organic veggies, I am reducing the use of fuels in production and transport as well as the chemicals that are used for growth and pest control. This results in better food for my family and a lower impact on our surroundings. By not eating meat, we are again removing chemicals from our bodies, but also we help reduce the demand for feed crops. these feed crops are often heavily treated to control pests and growth which get into the livestock. The livestock themselves have a large impact on the environment. I am not condoning eradicating cows, but by growing them in large herds in confined spaces is not natural.

I am purchasing natural cleaners that don’t use lab created chemicals and have a low impact on the environment in their creation.

My family has reduced computers down to one from three. This saved on the energy vampires and we recycled the computers and donated the ones that still work to Goodwill.

Some additional small steps to take on a daily basis that I have included: turning the dishwasher to air dry instead of heat dry. Turning the thermostat to only turn the heat on when it gets below 66 degrees and turn the air conditioner on above 75. Air dry as much laundry as possible (this tends to be tough due to the volume we seem to have in my house). Eating as much raw food as possible (this is not only healthier for you, but reduces energy used in cooking). And of course recycling as many plastics, papers, and metals as possible.

Famous Flickrite Thomas Hawk posed that question on his blog today. He has posted two images, one is a painting in a well known art museum, the other was found on a building in the street. He is taking votes and will reveal the answer tomorrow, but I encourage everyone to examine their position on the topic and chime in.

Personally I think that art can only be declared by the creator and what his or her (or I guess Elephant as well now) intention was behind it. If something is created to express a feeling, emotion or message then it clearly is art. However if the piece was done solely to capture reality, well unless the reality delivers a message or feeling, it may not be art. Sometimes the message or emotion is only perceived by the artist. I feel strongly that it is only graffiti anyway when the canvas is someone else’s property.

I wouldn’t want either on my wall, but I think the bottom one (blue) is the graffiti. There are distinct shapes that I see in it resembling the remnants of a “graffiti” like typography.

It is our earth, not yours or mine or his. We are meant to live on it, helping each other, not destroying each other. – J. Krishnamurti

Let’s all take a moment and try to understand each other. If you can not understand, ask for an explanation and do not judge, just listen and inquire. If you disagree, simply state that you understand but disagree and respect the other opinion. If everyone were to take time to do this we can achieve world peace and eradicate racism.

Related: The Right View