Frontpage 
The fire department in Frankfurt has upgraded and switched to
Emergency vehicles with pedals
Please note the blue fire water bucket on the front.
Translator BL
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Crazy Flash IV Addendum
Friday, October 29th, 2010Eigude Shame Part X
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010Frontpage
I might seem to be a notorious complainer sometimes, but some companies get away with stuff thatâs a bit too cheeky.
The photos were made on 05.10.2010.
Tested âgoodâ by the German product test foundation in 4/2006!
When the DVDs were tested I was still pedestrian.
Translator BL
Signs Part V
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Frontpage
This sign kindly indicates that the way ends 100 meters further ahead on the mole at the sea.
If you are not Jesus of Nazareth, it is also dead end for any pedestrian.
Eigude Shame II Addendum
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
Technical Aids Tips und Tricks XIX
Sunday, October 10th, 2010Frontpage
I think that this special pen might be quite helpful for many fellows who can’t grip very well any more. It is also available rubberized. This pen was probably developed by a concerned person.
I think the
special pen
is great.
If you don’t have much power to write I recommend DVD labelling pens.
Translator BL
Technical Aids Tips and Tricks XVIII
Saturday, October 9th, 2010Frontpage
The market for technical aids is huge.
There is almost everything you can imagine in the broadest sense. The problem is not only that this stuff is unreasonably expensive, but also apparently nobody has ever tested it.
The Taiwanese fabricate a basically ingenious key holder, like a Suisse Army Knife.
This can be found in almost every catalogue for technical aids.
Because of its size the key holder can be grasped even with limited finger functions. If the key is stuck in the lock the holder is bent by 90° so that you can open the lock due to the big lever with your âlittle fingerâ!!!
Attention: If someone else wants to open a door with your key holder please point out to him that a key can be broken off quickly with this technical aid.
The bad thing is that our European keys are a little thicker than the Asian ones and therefore donât fit in. Such technical aids disappear in the cupboard, like the food processer from the home shopping channel. I have adjusted my
Key holder
accordingly (filed the slots and provided with a longer screw), and I am using it daily.
Last year on the rehab fair I have pointed out this deficit to the Taiwanese. Yesterday I was at the Rehacare in DĂŒsseldorf, but I didnât see the key holder any more.
Translator BL
Signs Part IV
Thursday, October 7th, 2010Frontpage
We wheelers are often treated a little childlike.
I am not annoyed with anybody if he is patting my head in the last moment of saying goodbye.
Thatâs just the way it is if you are just 1,38 m small.
But if it will ever occur to anyone to spit on a tissue to wipe a spot off my face then only steel-toed boots protect him from my wheels.
For the city of Frankfurt all wheelers seem to be like children.
In the zoo a playground was built especially for us active wheelers. Actually this signage canât be interpreted differently.
active wheelerâs playground
Translator BL
Wheelchair Tuning Part XV
Sunday, September 26th, 2010Frontpage
Every now and then even I am speechless.
Itâs not a secret that I am football fan of Eintracht Frankfurt.
My cousin has given the official
Eintracht Frankfurt Fan Rucksack
to me as a present. Of course I have positively noticed that the rucksack has plenty of reflectors.
This rucksack has additionally two hangers on the side.
The only logically use of these hangers is to be able to hang the rucksack over the handles of a wheelchair.
Simply great, it fits!
Wheelchair hangers
Was it a manufacturing error, or did they have a wheelchair driver as designer?
This rucksack is of course ânotâ available for other football clubs.
Translator BL
Please keep our disabled parking places free!
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010Frontpage
At this stage I would like to ask all pedestrians NOT to park even only short-time on disabled parking places.
You get a disabled parking permit only when an exceptional walking disability is entered in the handicapped ID. We exceptionally disabled canât walk anymore at all or very bad and thus are reliant on short ways.
Except for the old and frail people it could also be somebody out of the around 100.000 people in Germany who have the neurologic disease MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and are still able to walk a little bit. This disease can hit anybody.
Then there is also the fraction of para- and quadriplegics like me. I had a car accident through no fault of my own.
We para- and quadriplegics almost all can only get in and out of the car when the driverâs or front passengerâs door is opened completely.
This is the reason why disabled parking places are that big.
I totally understand that such a parking place with its wide is quite appealing when you drive with your SUV which is an absolute must in Frankfurt to the groceries.
Please imagine the following situation:
I am driving with the car to the post office at the train station. When the two disabled parking places are occupied itâs tough luck.
It absolutely doesnât matter if somebody is parking 5 minutes
or 3 days on a disabled parking place.
I donât see if there is a disabled parking permit displayed in those two cars and if the drivers might be gone by train to Munich, or if they will walk out of the post office in 5 minutes.
Thus there is nothing left for me except looking for a normal parking place.
I might find one eventually which is wide enough, another car is parking next to mine.
So far so good.
I am coming back to my car, but in the meantime the car next to mine has changed.
It is now parking 5 cm closer to my car, and I canât open the driverâs door completely any more.
So much for that!!!
If it would be my âwayâ I already had abolished all disabled parking places on supermarket parking lots, then I wouldnât get upset that often any more.
On those parking lots everybody can park as he likes. It is private property, and Mr. Aldi or Lidl are not interested who is parking there.
Address the people and explain it to them. Shouting unfortunately doesnât help.
Click on tag Handicap Parking, to read more or less odd handicap parking stories .
Translator BL
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Sometimes you have to be lucky!
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010Frontpage
Some days ago I made a ride on my hand cycle.
(see older blogpost, trade hand cycle off for therapy pony).
My wife accompanied me on her bicycle.
I was more than positively surprised that the city of Frankfurt eventually managed to tar the old gravel path on the river Main after centuries.
It was going downstream, the cycle was rolling and rolling…
Unfortunately there is an express highway between the bicycle path on the river and two districts of the city. Because I canât take the pedestrian bridge with my wheelchair and wanted to go to the street fair in one of the districts I had to ride further until after perceived 20 km, probably really 3 km, there was eventually a traffic light.
I had fairly shot my bolt.
After a bratwurst and a hop blossom ice tea * my motivation for the return ride was shattered.
When I was slowly riding home, I already fancied using the tram, I coincidentally met a former colleague, letâs call him Harald, with his
Didi Thurau – Memory Bicycle.
(translatorâs note: famous German road bicycle racer from the 70âs and 80âs)
We had rather the same destination.
He pushed me sitting on his bike!
Without breaks, we reached a top speed of up to
26 Km/h on the 8 km way home.
My electric wheelchair tractive Speedy-Elektro only makes
max. 6 Km/h, otherwise it would need a license plate.
If Harald should have had a license plate???
Thanks again from this side.
Comment of my wife:
I am not used to such a speed any more as I usually roll with perceived 5 km/h behind the hand cycle and my biggest sporty challenge is not to fall from the bike at this âspeedâ, so that today my muscles are kind of sore for the first time. 
*(In a narrower sense, beer is an alcoholic and carbonated beverage which is gained by fermentation mostly from the basic ingredients water, malt and hop). (Source: Wikipedia)
Translator BL
Apologies!!!
Monday, September 13th, 2010Frontpage
On Sunday a young lady parked with her black New Beetle on my disabled parking place. I have completely overreacted and insulted this poor lady in the worst way possible when she came strutting with her noble handbag around her arm and the car key in her hand.
I would like to officially apologize for my slightly risen voice at this stage.
She explained that she hadnât seen neither the signage nor the labeling, and she didnât understand my reaction at all.
Retrospectively I am sorry that I didnât believe her affirmation of innocence.
She had only parked for 10 minutes.
Kind of strange when shortly afterwards her mother, aunt or so came along and told that she stated at her visit that she was parking with her car on a disabled parking place.
A little suspect!
Perhaps she takes the same pills like me and is slightly confused as well.
When she was driving away she must have accidently slipped from the clutch with her foot, otherwise her racing start is not explicable for me.
As excuse I would like to offer her to please send me an e-mail before her next visit so that I drive away my car on time to make my disabled parking place free for her.
Comments requested!
Translator BL
Technical Aids Tips and Tricks XVII
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010Frontpage
With my
“Buckled Fingers”,
I know politically correct it is of course just an impairment of motor skills of hands and fingers, it is
not possible for me any more
to start a fire with a customary
lighter or matches.
A couple of years ago this was still essential for survival.
Nowadays it is fortunately not that important any more, provided that you are in possession of a functional microwave and central heating.
I had quit smoking a couple of months before the accident so that I didnât bother specifically about making fire in the last 2,5 years.
Rather by coincidence I noticed that these
long gas lighters
can be operated without any finger function.
Now even I can light a tea candle again.
Translator BL
Technical Aids Tips and Tricks XVI
Sunday, August 29th, 2010Frontpage
As wheelchair using quadriplegic rainy weather simply sucks!
With wet rubber hand rims it is hardly possible for me to turn the driving wheels so that I canât move any more.
It would be just a bit inconvenient to take a shower undesirably for the second time in a day, but if I am standing on a hillside the braking gets a bit critical respectively almost impossible.
Such a big
rain cape for cyclists
is in my opinion a good and low price solution.
It doesnât always have to have a medical device number.
My hand rims stay dry to a large extent.
The cape should be shortened appropriately.
Be careful that it doesnât get in the wheels.
Spoke protector discs are beneficial.
Ducks like water, but I havenât seen something like this before.
It is raining day and night there.
This duck probably has
neoprene feathers
Translator BL
Flower ramp
Saturday, August 28th, 2010Frontpage
Also this year, my neighbour has planted flowers at my
2 mÂł concrete ramp
and turned it to a
flower ramp
Simply brilliant, thanks from this side, looks great.
The floridity meanwhile turns into a jungle-like status.
Itâs growing and growing!
Another two weeks, and I need a machete when I want to leave the house.
I was training this situation already in the botanical garden in Frankfurt.
Click on tags “Ramp”. 
Translator BL
Signs Part III
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010Frontpage
Although I am in possession of a valid driving licence for a car adapted with hand throttle (see older blogpost), I have never made a
wheeler driving test,
otherwise I would know this
floor labeling in connection with a parking restriction sign
in the middle of the street for sure.
âexcept ambulance vehiclesâ
I donât understand it.
It is not a labeled disabled parking place.
Could it be the parking position for an ambulance vehicle driven by a wheelchair user?
Is a wheelchair a vehicle for the sick?
Help me, Iâm confused…
Translator BL
