Frontpage 
Through the website as pretended comments to the blogposts I am continuously bombarded with “Spams” from the entire world.
This website of the
Pest-Control-Las Vegas
you have to see!!
La cucaracha, la cucaracha… 
Translator BL
Crazy Flash XV
July 23rd, 2012Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part V
July 19th, 2012Frontpage
In Palma Nova there is a very long promenade which is dragging on over three beaches.
Good floor plates, the wheelchair is rolling and rolling and rolling…
On two of these three beaches there is a special roofed
beach area for handicapped like me and …ehhh… babies…
There is a
beach wheelchair
on each in which you get transferred from your own wheelchair by two nice helpers from the Spanish Red Cross and pulled across the beach into the water.
I knew these special wheelchairs already from Tenerife see older blogpost, but with a water temperature of 15°C I deferred a test series of these models for an indefinite time.
If you are only allowed to use this beach area as wheelchair user when you have got a baby with you???
Translator BL
Addendum article Cooling Vest
July 18th, 2012Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
Addendum Technical Aids Tips and Tricks VII
July 12th, 2012Frontpage
I have already reported on 01.04.2010 about a
vertical magnet key holder
It is nothing new that a wheeler is wearing a couple of key chains every now and then.
Slowly this technique gets a little annoying and a bit out of hand…!!!
(picture is not faked!!!)
If the chains are collectively lying around, for no apparent reason a Gordian knot is formed again and again. I explain this by the momentum.
Therefore I have meanwhile established a key chain
hanging board parking place.
Maybe I should sort the key chains by spectral colours.
Translator BL
Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part IV
July 2nd, 2012Frontpage
The hotel complex Ponent Mar in Palma Nova is definitely recommendable. It has 3 accessible one room apartments and plenty of ramps with the known
Spanish 6° gradient.
The hotel is up on a hill on a steep coast from which you have a great view to the beaches of Palma Nova.
A wheelchair tractive like my Minitrac to climb the hotel hill is beneficial.
Alternatively it should be considered to take along a well-trained human wheelchair pusher before booking. The hotel is approached by taxis as well which are available within short time.
Someone has really put good thoughts in the furnishing of the accessible rooms:
On grade shower with separable shower screens, adapted kitchenette, extra wide sliding door with extra ramp to the balcony, clothing hooks in hobbit height and even lowerable clothes rail in the closet.
After we have noticed on the first evening in the hotel restaurant that the tables were not high enough for my wheelchair I was routed on the next day by the good-humoured waiters with several “holas:”
Without further ado they had placed a slightly higher table strategically well and reserved it for us for the duration of our stay.
You can quickly start a conversation with the other hotels guests in the languages Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch and English. German is rather uncommon.
I have been to Mallorca for the first time, but not one of my stereotypes was fulfilled:
The Sangria was only available in glass carafes and even without colourful straws.
Unfortunately I had to do without the battle with the English for the sunbeds at the pool, there were more than enough sunbeds available. Furthermore the other guests were deeply relaxed…
Not even the English rocked the corridor each night until 3:00 h.
As single wheelchair user I was unasked “totally included” in the hotel, even though most of the hotel staff and guests probably never heard the word inclusion before 
To be continued…
Translator BL
Technical Aids Tips and Tricks Part LI
June 27th, 2012Frontpage
As offered on my front page, you can ask me all kinds of questions relating to technical aids, para- or quadriplegia etc. using rollinator@eigude.de.
I always try to answer these questions independently and free of charge.
Depending on the handicap the usually easiest activities become small and big challenges.
There are no problems, there are just challenges and a big challenge is a project.
Recently I received a most interesting enquiry, original text:
Because I am hemiplegic on the right side, you might know how I can stir the contents of a cooking pot on the stove without the pot stirring as well.
Maybe you have FINALLY an answer to that question!
I discussed with highly qualified colleagues to find a possible solution.
After several weeks of intensive research we came up with two solutions.
Option 1:
For e.g. sauce Bolognese you don’t only buy 500g of minced meat, but at least 2 kg, so that due to the gravitational force of the earth and the law of mass inertia according to Newton, at simultaneous roasting of the 2 kg meat with non-excessive stirring, the pot on the stove will not stir as well.
Option 2:
Silicon pot holders
Currently you can buy these again at the big coffee roaster (2 pieces for 4,95€).
You can not only use them as pot holders.
According to manufacturer instructions the pot holders can also be used as trivet.
They would be temperature-resistant until 230 degrees Celsius.
These are referred to in our specially developed
Glass ceramic stove top one arm pot stirring method
Before cooking, one of the silicon pot holders is placed next to the glass ceramic stove top.
If you feel the need to protect the hopefully later delicious food from the roasty flavour and stir the contents of the pot, you just pull the pot on one handle with one arm half or a little more on the silicon pot holder.
If the pot is pulled completely on the pot holder there will be difficulties with pulling it back to the stove later.
Now you can stir, stir, stir,… with one arm to your heart’s content without the pot stirring as well.
Then you pull the pot again back to the stove.
Sounds easy, and it is
Best try it before with the stove switched off.
These silicon pot holders are also perfectly suitable as non-slip mat and allegedly as jar opener as well.
Best technical aid in my opinion to open jars and bottles, see older blogpost.
Security advice:
I strongly advise against placing especially cast-iron and other pans and pressure cookers on the silicon pot holders because they may exceed the maximum temperature of 230° C.
Never place the pot holders on the stovetop!!!
Application of the tip on your own risk, I assume no liability.
Translator BL
Eigude Shame XVII
June 22nd, 2012Frontpage
Wheelchair Ramp Occupier
I have currently started to write a few new blogposts.
But these have to wait to be published, because what happened yesterday has to be told…
When I bought a flat back in 2005 still as pedestrian together with my wife and a friendly bank, a parking place directly opposite the entrance was included for a little surcharge as well.
Awesome… Our own parking place in Frankfurt!!!
Unfortunately the parking place is too narrow for me to transfer from the wheelchair into the car, so that I have applied for and got a disabled parking place in the street (see older blogposts).
I have a lot of visitors like physiotherapists, friends and other people who are helping me with various things.
They probably only come that often to use my parking place…
I have a good relationship with all my neighbours.
One of them owns a couple of taxis which are sometimes parked in our courtyard or street a little unconventionally during driver change, especially when he has new drivers.
Last week at least three times such a beige vehicle was standing on my labelled parking place (see lifter picture), and this even when I had a visitor on Sunday morning, when you don’t know anyway where to park your car!!!
When I met my neighbour on the same day I told him in round terms to tell his drivers that I don’t want to see one of his taxis on my parking place any more.
Yesterday on Friday I descended with my
platform lifter
from my flat in the 1st floor and wanted to leave the house on my Flower Ramp (see older blogposts).
My low blood pressure was healed promptly.
I don’t tend to hyperventilate, but yesterday it was almost the case.
After about 2 minutes and the photo I had calmed down again a little and rang at my
Wheelchair Ramp Occupier:
REMOVE THE TAXI IMMEDIATELY!!!
I should mention as well that no car was parking on my parking place.
Translator BL
Football Euro 2012 Part I
June 14th, 2012
Frontpage
2nd win after 1:0 against Portugal.
My car is of course flagged with the “mirror socks“(see older blogpost).
Germany : Holland
2 : 1
Cheers, and bottoms up!
Go Germany… 
Click on tag Football to read a lot of stories around the most wonderful pastime in the world.
Translator BL
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Eigude Shame XVI
June 8th, 2012Frontpage
Yesterday, after a long time, I wanted to see a movie at the cinema with my wife.
The seat reservation proved to be a little difficult because this was only possible online, and although you could click on the “one” wheelchair place nothing happened.
I tried to call the cinema several times and learned that after around 30 times ringing you get kicked out the line by the telephone system.
We reserved the two seats next to the wheelchair place (apparently the places were next to each other) and drove with the car to the cinema.
Surprisingly there were actually all two disabled parking places at the rear exit vacant, whereas on one two pedestrians with lots of tools were standing who immediately made room for my “parking”.
I turned my car in a one-way-street and parked the wrong way round because at the pavement side getting off the car is hardly possible for me even with assistance, and my wheelchair loading system is not working properly.
For this purpose I made up an additional “permit card” so that our friendly officers hopefully won’t find a new parking place for me.
“Due to wheelchair loading system parking in opposite direction of travel.”
In the meantime a hired minivan arrived, parked on the other disabled parking place, and the two guys stored away their tools. I didn’t say anything, the loading couldn’t last forever.
At the cinema box office I got the explanation that it was possible to book the wheelchair place online, but sometimes it wouldn’t work. Great…!!
Nevermind, we just had to pay for one ticket, and the wheelchair place was still available.
At half height in the cinema, nobody directly in front, that’s quite nice.
The seat numbers were a bit strange, seat 13 and seat 91, but that would be right.
Some construction engineer has excelled himself. It was probably built according to the latest EU directive for inclusion (equal treatment of handicapped and non-handicapped). Ingenious, our own
wheelchair waiting zone in the cinema.
Praiseworthy, the emergency telephone on the wall and the spacious place directly next to an emergency exit.
Please note the especially high raised
Anti-Snogging-Wall,
which also prevents rigorously undesirable conversations with the companion during the movie.
There was actually just a wall between us and a romantic cinema date.
The movie was great, it even had a guy in a wheelchair.
It played in a country where traditionally fried, amputated amphibian extremities are eaten*.
When I was back at my car I was a little bit annoyed that the minivan was still standing on the second disabled parking place.
I know that the fire protection requirements in a cinema are strict, but
TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!!!
I am still a little unclear about what I should actually wait for in the waiting zone, there was not even anybody coming to sell ice cream.
*France, (frog’s legs)
Translator BL
Wheelchair Tuning Part XXXI
June 4th, 2012Frontpage
When I was discharged from the hospital in 2008 I got the same wheelchair type which I used already in the hospital, but I had to realize that I could move significantly worse.
I have to mention that even today each 3-year-old leaves me easily behind with his wooden training bike (see older blogpost).
During the last years I have engaged myself intensively with the optimization of my wheelchair and have noticed in doing so that the exact calibration of the steering fork of the front tyres is extremely important. The axes must not be distorted either. This saves a lot of power of which I don’t have much anyway.
The steering forks are adjustable so that one can individually choose the size of the front tyres.
Although this makes sense it has the negative effect though that they could be shifted involuntarily. This happens e.g. when the taxi service fixes the hooks of the tie-down restraints at the forks of the front tyres instead of the wheelchair frame.
Sometimes even a curb is enough, or “qualified“ personnel at the airport to shift the forks.
No matter why, no wheelchair moves straight with crooked steering forks!!!
It can be referred to in each operating manual of the respective wheelchair how to adjust the steering forks.
Have a look at it, extremely interesting…
Such adjustments may only be executed due to insurance reasons by qualified personnel from the medical supply store.
You may have a look, only screw with your eyes…!!!
I have worked out a method, I call it Lucky Wheel, with which anybody can check the steering forks easily with an even wooden board and a stop angle, or a set square from school times. I cannot recommend a supposed even floor.
You put the wheelchair on the wooden board and twist a front tyre in a 90° angle to the wheelchair frame to the outside.
Now you hold the stop angle or the set square right and left to the tyre respectively the board.
If there is between tyre and angle, like my supervisor in my apprenticeship kindly used to say:
There is more light coming through than through a window…, a slot (see below in the picture), the steering fork is shifted, or something else is defective.
This slot could now be closed by rotating the steering fork which has an eccentric on my wheelchair model.
Of course we leave such adjustment tasks to the qualified personnel of the medical supply store…
When this is done after a couple of days you turn the tyre again by 90° for check-up, this time to the inside of the wheelchair, and hold your angle again to it.
In this case the aluminium has caved in, two big washers can work miracles (see pictures above).
I would like to point out again that I assume no liability for these check-up possibilities of the steering forks and all related consequences!!!
For any questions please contact: rollinator@eigude.de
Translator BL
Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part III
June 3rd, 2012Frontpage
I recommend to each wheeler to ring around 30 minutes before landing for the flight attendant, provided that you can reach the buzzer… and point out that you need assistance at destination to leave the plane.
To be on the safe side I ask additionally that my wheelchair and Minitrac, like officially tagged “Delivery at aircraft” (see older blogpost), should please stay at the plane and not be treated as piece of luggage.
If the wheelchair is lying on the belt for bulky luggage and you are still sitting in the plane the whole thing gets a little annoying.
I also ask for the reason that the pilot can leave some time because he has to wait until I have left the plane.
This can easily take 30 minutes until a kind assistant is coming who might even ask you if you are the “wheelchair“ and able to walk… everything already experienced!!!
During this waiting period you can kill the time by joking with the crew, bumming some nuts and watching the cleaners at work.
Don’t forget to send a crew member down the gangway to look for the wheelchair so that nobody throws it to the baggage cart.
Well, fine…!!!
We were on Mallorca!!!
As usual it took a little longer to leave the plane. I was pleased to hear from a flight attendant that my wheelchair was still standing in front of the plane. Ufff…
I could receive my Minitrac, as “NOT desired” at the baggage claim in the terminal.
A lady from the Spanish handicap service at the airport
sin barreras
with which I already made very good experiences in Tenerife and Lanzarote accompanied me to the baggage belt.
She reminded me a little of the stereotype about the grumpy Spanish waiters…!
The luggage was found quickly, it is anyway always the last on the belt. After the 50th round the sun lotion turns into butter
The lady wanted to back off already, but there was still something missing, where was my Minitrac!!!
There was no real consent where the Minitrac could be.
After around 20 minutes “Gate 2“ opened and I had won, my Trac was found. Yippie…
Quickly got out of the terminal, the taxi service to the hotel was already waiting, and in record time I was in the hotel in Palma Nova in my room!!!
To be continued
Translator BL
Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part II
May 31st, 2012Frontpage
I was standing in the more or less private bus with my Minitrac in front of the plane on an outside position at Frankfurt Airport.
As often before, I was waiting for the
lifting bus
to beam me up to the plane.
Meanwhile my Minitrac was loaded to the plane.
In the meantime also the other passengers had arrived with busses and were waiting on the other side of the plane which I didn’t know.
The lifting bus didn’t have its best day and acted a little stubbornly. It absolutely didn’t want to lift upwards. After at least 10 minutes I finally arrived at the door of the plane.
Then everything went fast. Two strong paramedics lifted me on the small plane wheelchair which is nothing else than a sack truck in chair format and pushed me almost through the whole plane to my seat.
Then they lifted/threw me as usual across two other seats on to the window seat.
I learnt on the return flight from a flight attendant that as of late due to the anti-discrimination-law you don’t have to necessarily accept a window seat even as wheelchair user.
What a nonsense… the seat neighbour on the window seat in the plane would certainly be happy if I had the middle seat and he would have to proof his sportiness in high and long jump when going to the toilet!!!
In each aircraft there are specially labelled handicap seats with pictogram on the wall. My intelligence wasn’t sufficient yet to understand why the seats are so far at the rear end of the plane.
This time I didnâ€t have one of these labelled VIP seats, what a shame!
(photo from return flight.)
After I was finally “stowed away” properly in the plane the other passengers were allowed to board as well.
It was my fault again, we had about 15 minutes delay.
Short before take-off there was as usual an announcement from the cockpit, roughly like this:
Dear passengers,
We are pleased to welcome you on board of the flight from Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca.
I would like to apologize that you had to wait in the busses.
We have a wheelchair user on board for whom the boarding took a little bit longer!!!
Ehhh…… I have been in a plane quite often, but a, let’s call it personal welcome from the captain was new to me.
I was a little sorry for the two pedestrians who were sitting two rows ahead of me on the two VIP seats with handicap pictogram on the wall, they probably got some nice looks
I was briefly considering to ask a flight attendant if they had smoked something up front in the cockpit, but I didn’t, I was in a good mood and had a good day.
I plead guilty as aircraft take-off delayer.
Translator BL
Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part I
May 29th, 2012Frontpage
After I have tested the canary islands for accessibility already several times (see older blogpost), the choice was Mallorca this time.
Although I have never been to “Malle” before the challenge shouldn’t be too big, German is spoken… ok, English and some Spanish are there as well
The number of accessible accommodations seemed rather limited, if you know any please write a comment.
I selected one of 3 accessible studio apartments in a normal hotel complex in Palma Nova. I had the suspicion to be the only wheelchair user in the complex, this could be funny.
ATTENTION, PRODUCT PLACEMENT OUT OF CONVICTION:
I have booked like several times before through a special travel agency for handicapped www.runa-reisen.de, with whom I always made good experiences. They additionally organized a vertically adjustable bed and a shower commode chair.
Should you need an ambulant nursing service on Mallorca the situation gets a little bit tricky.
In the internet you find immediately around 10 addresses of nursing services. Some of these don’t exist anymore for years, but the website is still online. Great…!!!
I talked to a physician in Germany who has sold his nursing service on Mallorca 10 years ago which is bankrupt in the meantime. The doc is still named in the website credits and doesn’t get his name deleted
I had some nice conversations with private persons who had involuntarily taken over the contact phone numbers of these websites, but they have given me other possible addresses of nursing services which they knew.
At some stage even I was successful, German nursing service, top service, address on request.
After extensive planning, I “only” wanted to go for 12 days to Mallorca to the sea and not to climb the Kilimanjaro, we finally started.
Without major difficulties I arrived at some stage after transfer, check-in and security check in the handicap service private shuttle on an outside position at Frankfurt Airport in front of the plane to Mallorca!!!
To be continued…
Translator BL
Back from Wheelchair-Excursion-Mallorca!
May 26th, 2012Next Blogpost 29.05.12
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May 13th, 2012
