true

some people may wonder why i have at least one blog entry about the AAC daily…

this is mainly to have a commitment device to try and form a habit. while this ‘project’ may be considered prosocial, this is for the most part the concept of ‘warm-glow giving’ (WGG) where it is essentially out of self-interest to feel good. some may be ‘outraged’ this isn’t rooted in altruism, but how realistic is this: in my over 50 years on this ‘plane of existence’, i only know (knew since one has passed) of two people i’d truly consider as such. although there may be a hint for this purpose, its primarily motivated by WGG. and as i’m only human, although loathe to admit it, i’m sure there”s a degree of virtue signalling.

volunteering with a disability in Australia: experiences and obstacles

i’ve tried looking for ‘non-physical’ paid employment and have ‘not much luck’ so moved on to volunteering opportunities (which I wrongly thought would be ‘easier’). while i see how my disability can impact my physical contribution, it may take a ‘longer time’ to get it out, but my ideas and other ‘information work’ can still benefit an organisation.

i tried enquiring twice already about volunteering but have had no responses. is it my approach? i thought this as when i first migrated to Australia, my resume didn’t attract employers for several months and it was not until i ‘rejigged’ it that i got interviews (and eventually, my last job).

or is it a ‘systemic’ issue? I thought there were more chances to volunteer but this doesn’t seem to be the case (despite making sense to me economically and logically). Here are some issues that i thought of (kindly correct me if i’m wrong):

1. Limited slots. either the government (e.g. additional funding) or organisation (e.g. policy) has ‘imposed limits’,
2. Insurance mandate. a set number of volunteers are only covered by the current policy,
3. Communication overhead. only a particular number can be managed ‘effectively’ by the organisation (this may be from experience), or
4. ‘Ableism’ or some other ‘unconscious bias’. Either they consider it ‘too hard’ (the pandemic has brought to light inequities that exist) or they want to ‘reserve’ slots for able-bodied individuals. this is good article: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210330-the-harmful-ableist-language-you-unknowingly-use?ocid=twwl

i’m not sure if this is only a ‘personal issue’ or aa fairly common one. If it’s the latter then it needs to be addressed IMHO – this is an ‘untapped resource ‘ since the WHO estimates that about 10% of the world’s population identify as having some sort of disability (even if only .01 percent was ‘willing and able to help’, that’s still ~700,000 and even if you ‘equally divide’ it by the seven continents, that’s still ~100k).

Regardless, any insight would be greatly appreciated…

beds are burning: on the recent bushfires at Kangaroo Island

they estimate about half of the island was affected (and it’s only the beginning of our summer). it’s such a shame as it’s a beautiful place that we were fortunate to take my brother and his family (visiting us from overseas) to this scenic place a few years back. for a tourist place, it was not “too touristy” – if that makes any sense. it’s harder for the residents (and the wildlife) as they are on an island and can’t “easily” evacuate.

you know the bushfires were “bad” because i left a window open and we could smell the smoke even in Adelaide (all the way on the mainland). my wife said that sometimes it’s “smoky” in the mornings but never like this. it’s significant because people outside Australia are offering aid and support – it truly is a global community.

we’ve had bushfires in OZ before but according to the people with direct experience fighting fires for years it’s more “extreme” now. thoughts and prayers are welcome but i don’t really know what the right thing to do is…

stop, look, and listen: on the effect of temporarily stopping my daily exercise program and some “interesting: ecounters with taxi drivers

CAVEAT:  you might have noticed that my title format has slightly changed.  i’m still starting it off with what ever comes to mind and after the colon i’ve appended what i think the post is about (you might interpret it differently or have an alternative understanding when you “read between the lines”).  it has been brought to my attention that some readers may not want to go through the entire thing for the title to make any sense.  this is not an egregious attempt to increase ‘likes’  or to act as ‘click-bait’ but shouldn’t it be part of ‘sharing’ to make stuff ‘more digest-able’ – looks like i still have a ways to go.

i underwent a medical procedure recently – recovery time is typically from one to two days –  because of my age it took me three days. so i temporarily stopped my daily exercise program for about two weeks – this affected me but i didn’t notice right away.  it became first obvious to me at a speech pathology session.  i used to get through them just fine even if they were during the afternoons – i didn’t feel winded afterwords but my sound production performance faltered occasionally.  Moreover when i went to my regular neurophysio appointment, she could physically feel the difference – i found out that apparently pain can also cause your muscles to “relax”.  At first i had done this to reduce my anxiety levels (but perhaps because i now take a natural supplement for it it’s less pronounced) but, also very importantly, getting my core strength up not only helps me avoid falls (and minimises potential injury) but also helps my speech.  Suffice it to say i’ve started up again and hoping to get back to the level i once was.

these aren’t directly related but are also from recent “trips” outside my house so…

i want to whinge about the three (let me be clear: not all or even a majority of them) taxi drivers driving skills were really bad:  the sudden stops-and- starts, not slowing down enough to take a round about, or abrupt jerking of the steering wheel.  These gave me a headache despite sitting in front and having the road visible – imagine how much worse i would have felt if i sat in the back.  i was going to complain about another thing but in hindsight one of my drivers was “self-obsessed’ that he would have acted that way to an “able-bodied” passenger.

Despite using my “letter board”, some drivers (not only taxi drivers but one support worker), still misunderstood me.  i suspect it’s either because they’re not patient enough to listen or having a preconceived notion of what i’m going to say (Ding!  Ding!  Ding!:  it’s usually wrong).  i understand that my speech can be hard to understand especially since this is probably the first time we’ve talked (on a few occasions i get the same drivers) but mistakes ca be avoided:  like going the wrong direction, it’s on the other side, that’s the wrong address, accidentally running me over,  etc.

we just want to feel listened to.  here’s a video by Purple Orange (it kind of reminds me of the You Can’t Ask That format on the ABC) about diverse communication shared on Darryl Selwood(Ph.D.)’s blog:  http://darrylsellwood.com/?p=998.  While i don’t  relate to everything said, i agree with the central premise of respect and the underlying theme of “not judging a book by its cover”.

it is very easy for me to accuse the drivers of not thinking: parking too close to the incline, the ramp, or curb so it’s “tricky” for me to get into or out of the car;  dropping me off by an entrance with only stairs ; driving “far” the door so need to cross the street, walk “some” distance, or negotiate a challenging surface (like inclines, uneven surfaces, pebbles, etc.); ask me directions or instruct them where to pass or stop; or turn the meter on while i’m still trying to get in the car (i believe the law states it should be only activated when i’m seated).  sometimes they can’t be bothered or are in a rush but sometimes i think it’s because they haven’t been exposed to or educated about disability – these are tasks they take for granted so there’s a need for more “training”.

FINAL WORD (let me know if these prompt helps with readability or i should go for more “traditional” headings – i know a poll is a more suitable for this but i probably won’t get enough respondents for a truly statistically valid result and, frankly, confronting my readership numbers scares me).  There’s a tension between keeping the post short-and-sweet and making it comprehensive enough to be informative – after all like they say, perfect is the enemy of good. Moreover timing is an issue, some thoughts have an ‘expiry date’ while others not so much.  While Twitter isn’t for me (trolls aside), it take me some time to type – this has the added bonus of letting me reflect and not simply reacting, All-in-all, i’m still struggling with the balance.  Furthermore, i feel the pressure to post frequently – as evidenced by the number of “self-corrections” right after i publish – when i should learn to recheck my drafts first.

 

you teach best what you need to learn the most

as an educator i’ve always kept that saying in mind.  However, it’s not until i became an online student that i fully appreciated it. Having been a Subject Matter “Expert” (SME) on most of the courses i taught, there was a “barrier” of sorts in trying to design it to maximise student learning.  In learning Python i’ve encountered difficulties despite my experience, academic qualifications, and, most recently, having completed a professional certification. There is still much I have to learn in the field of Data Science.  With this in mind i’ve recently made a new Github Repository with a MIT license that’s publicly accessible (https://github.com/LinsAbadia/Python) that i hope to gradually populate – properly structuring it will involve trial and error.  This is to 1.) Develop my “Code Portfolio” and show i can still be productive in spite of my “disability”, 2.)  Help document and assess my progress, and 3.) Helping me understand concepts fully by seeing if i can explain it “simply” to others (e.g. pointing out “gotchas” in learning and the language).

 

 

 

despacito

Maybe it’s just because I’m not a Belieber or due to nostalgia (I grew up watching Sesame Street after all and I am a fan of Ernie and the Rubber Duckie Song) but I really liked El Patito (a parody of Despacito).  I don’t typically share things online but couldn’t resist forwarding it to few people – sorry for the unsolicited e-mails.

Anyway, here it is – enjoy:

words

i could ignore it no longer – I’ve set-up a private blog to workshop my writing: https://linswrting.blogspot.com.au/

relativity

everyone is entitled to whinge about their problems (or physically express them) but you have to know your audience.  Forgive my callousness but originally hailing from the Philippines where 90% of the population live below the poverty line (despite the majority working extremely hard to improve their lot), having a wife who required a kidney transplant after falling pregnant with our son (she was previously on haemodialysis six days a week and was hospitalised several times and had to be brought in to Emergency via ambulance) and living with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI that’s unnamed and resulting in compromised in balance and co-ordination) for nearly a decade some issues seem like “high-class” problems to me.  It’s not that they shouldn’t complain but choose carefully the person(s) to share it with.

I know I should be more empathetic but it frustrates me when people feel entitled – ever seen the film, Blue Jasmine.  It’s just people should learn to adjust and adapt to their circumstances – all of us have our own crosses to bear but, with me, for the most part they’re barking up the wrong tree.

copyleft

i’m reading Emily P. Lewis‘s “Microformats Made Simple” and have finally gotten a Creative Commons license for my blog.  I’ve used them before but for individual works.  Sharing isn’t anathema to compensation.