In Real Life Archives - Page 5 of 9

Why I Love the Harbor Freight Experience

Rachele DiTullio19 July 201617 July 2021In Real Life

If you don’t know about Harbor Freight Tools, you’re missing out. In my opinion it’s the best store for anyone needing tools.

Always 20% off

If you go to HFT without a 20% off coupon, you’re not trying at life. They usually have an ad in those weekly mailers that most of us throw away without reading but not to worry; you can always pull one up on your mobile while waiting in the checkout line.

Quality tools at ridiculously low prices

Their motto says it all. It’s hard to beat the value of their products. They aren’t top of the line but most of us don’t need industrial quality tools either. I’ve had really good experiences with all my purchases. Here’s an example that compares prices between the HFT Chicago Electric brand of a breaker hammer at $369.99 ($295.99 with your 20% off coupon) to a Dewalt or Bosch equivalent at $999. Even if it breaks, you can buy three for the price of one.

comparison chart for prices on breaker hammers

We bought one last week to dig up old fence post hole concrete and it has already paid for itself.

man using a breaker hammer on a fence post hole

It’s fun!

I rarely go to brick and mortar stores anymore, but for HFT I make an exception. I enjoy walking around and just looking at what they have. Where else can you easily find a 4 foot long pipe wrench?

boy holding up a 4 foot long pipe wrench — Photo credit: denzien

Friendly, helpful employees

Most of the people working at HFT tools seem to really like their jobs and that makes the shopping experience much more enjoyable. They’re happy to answer questions, pull something from the back, or help you find an item. It’s very easy to do a return or exchange as well. I think people make or break the customer experience.

FREE STUFF

You get something free with every purchase. This incentive makes me so happy, even if it is cheap things like a pair of gloves or a flash light. My favorite item is the blue tarp because you can always find a use for a tarp.

various free item coupons like zip ties, measuring tape, multimeter

This might be one of the oldest ploys in the book to get you to buy something and it sure works on me! The next time you need a tool of any kind, give Harbor Freight a chance.

Why are some toilets still inaccessible?

Rachele DiTullio3 May 201625 April 2024In Real Lifeaccessibility

The other day, I was in an older office building, definitely pre-ADA (1990). I went into the bathroom and saw an interesting and flawed attempt to retrofit it for accessibility.

photo of a double bathroom stall with an outer door to close off the space for a wheelchair user — Inaccessible bathroom

The bathroom has two regular-sized stalls with openings I estimated to be about 30″ wide. In order to accommodate a wheelchair, someone just added a door that would close off both stalls since neither stall is large enough to allow wheelchair access.

Granted the ADA regulations for bathrooms are complex and confusing to the lay person but even so, I’ve seen enough bathrooms to understand this was not cutting it.

Drawing of an accessible bathroom stall with door opening outward, width 35-37 inches, depth 60 inches, and grab bars — *ADA small stall requirements*

This drawing demonstrates some of the features required of an accessible stall. I can’t be sure of the width or depth of the stall, only that it lacks grab bars and the door opens inward.

This kind of oversight might not seem like a big deal to most people; but if you’re in a wheelchair and can’t use the bathroom, that’s an indignity. I’m always disappointed when I see half-ass things like this 26 years after the ADA was passed.

Design Recommendation

Seems like there are two good options:

If you’re going to restrict the bathroom to use by one person only if she is in a wheelchair, remove the other stall and make one, large, accessible stall. The building is not that busy.
Move the door for the first stall to the side wall so it’s usable even when someone else is in the accessible stall. Then remove the door on the accessible stall, turn the commode sideways, and install grab bars.

drawing of a wider, wheelchair accessible stall — *Large, accessible bathroom stall*

Audio Descriptions on Netflix

Rachele DiTullio26 April 201625 April 2024In Real Lifeaccessibility, apps

For the first time last night, I stumbled across a Netflix movie offering audio description in addition to subtitles. According to The Audio Description Project

Audio Description involves the accessibility of the visual images of theater, television, movies, and other art forms for people who are blind, have low vision, or who are otherwise visually impaired. It is a narration service (provided at no additional charge to the patron) that attempts to describe what the sighted person takes for granted—those images that a person who is blind or visually impaired formerly could only experience through the whispered asides from a sighted companion.

The movie in question is Hush, a thriller with a deaf woman as the protagonist. I use closed captions/subtitles all the time, even though I am hearing, because I find them useful for understanding quiet dialogue. When I went to turn captions on for this film, I was surprised to see an option for audio descriptions.

screenshot showing a list of language options for audio and subtitles — Screenshot: Netflix app audio and subtitles menu

Excitedly, I chose “English – Audio Descriptions”. This film is a study in accessibility options! A couple of the characters use sign language and the descriptive audio provides spoken translation for the woman who does not speak when she signs. In a single scene we see sign language, hear audio descriptions and dialogue, both while reading subtitles.

The film has very little dialogue, providing ample time to experience the audio descriptions. I rather enjoyed them because this was a thriller and it felt less scary with someone describing the scene. It also provided a richer layer for enjoying the story since the audio interpretation at times highlighted actions and parts of the scene I might have missed as a sighted user.

It’s good to see Netflix taking accessibility more seriously and providing useful options for non-sighted customers. Netflix provides a list of content with audio description support after signing in to your account.