An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: California regulators on Thursday approved allowing utilities to cut off electricity to possibly hundreds of thousands of customers to avoid catastrophic wildfires like the one sparked by power lines last year that killed 85 people and largely destroyed the city of Paradise. Utilities’ liability can reach billions of dollars, and after several…
Tag: Disabilities
Why Are Some Wealthy Kids Getting Extra Time To Finish Their SAT Tests?
Students from wealthy high schools are more than twice as likely to qualify for extra time to finish their SAT or ACT college entrance tests than students from poor schools — and in some cases, they’re getting 50% more time. An anonymous reader quotes CBS News: About 4.2 percent of students at wealthy high schools qualified for a 504 designation, a…
Uber and Lyft’s Rise Tanked Wheelchair Access To Taxis
A new San Francisco city report details the devastating drop in on-demand rides for the disability community after the rise of Uber and Lyft. From a report: The financial blow to the taxi industry, the report alleges, was also a blow to the availability of on-demand trips for anyone who uses a wheelchair. The report also points a way forward for…
Comcast Is Reportedly Developing a Device That Would Track Your Bathroom Habits
Comcast is reportedly working on a device designed to closely monitor a user’s health. “The device will monitor people’s basic health metrics using ambient sensors, with a focus on whether someone is making frequent trips to the bathroom or spending more time than usual in bed,” reports CNBC. “Comcast is also building tools for detecting falls, which are common and potentially…
This YouTuber Has Designed a DIY ‘Full Automatic Virtual Sex System’
With a couple of VR headsets, controllers, and this device, two users can simulate sex.Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/mb8a4a/this-youtuber-has-designed-a-diy-full-automatic-virtual-sex-system…
Nintendo Updates the Switch With a Critical Feature for Visually Impaired Gamers
Every major console now comes with the ability to zoom in, a critical feature for many users.Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/7xg9bx/nintendo-updates-the-switch-with-a-critical-feature-for-visually-impaired-gamers…
In India, a Renewed Fight Against Leprosy
Health workers thought they had vanquished the disease in 2005. But it lived on, cloaked in stigma and medical mystery. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/health/leprosy-india-disease.html?partner=rss&emc=rss…
8 things everybody should know about measles
In an unvaccinated population, one person with measles can infect 12 to 18 others. The measles virus is one of the most infectious diseases known to man. A person with measles can cough in a room and leave, and hours later, if you’re unvaccinated, you could catch the virus from the droplets in the air the… Continue reading 8 things everybody should know about measles