Dried out...

My rum-and-coke sodden laptop, after spending the last few days in the kitchen in a plastic bag with a load of rice, successfully rebooted this morning!

I'm not sure the delete key is working at all, but it was already iffy pre-soaking, and as the plan was to retire it imminently anyway even before the soaking it's not too serious a problem if it stays that way (there's always highlight and overtype to get around it).

I'm currently making sure I have up-to-date back-ups of all my files in case the resurrection is only temporary, next in line will be a back-up of my mail archives, and then I really should think about logging on and picking up my email for the first time since, umm, before Christmas.

This is doubly good as my shoulders and neck, aggravated by last Friday's hospital appointment aren't at all happy about the amount of time I'm using the desktop, whereas I can use the laptop while lying down on the couch, which is a position they're much happier with.

Disability Linkspam

I've just been catching up with a bunch of disability-related stuff I've missed over the past couple of months.

Sadly that started with the news that activist and disability journalist/writer Lucy Glennon (aka @LucyTweeting) died this morning. I didn't know her well, but we had chatted online a few times. Best tribute is the tweet from a couple of the Guardian journos with a link to her articles. What's particularly poignant is that the first story is about the fear disabled people face of being falsely accused of benefit fraud (been there, done that) and @DWPPressOffice chose this morning to start urging people to shop anyone they suspect of benefit fraud. The last article talks about Lucy's own disability, the little understood (and intermittently derided by DWP as 'blisters') epidermolysis bullosa.

DPAC are challenging Labour to confirm that they will save the Independent Living Fund if they are elected - we've been getting very mixed messages from them: The battle for independent living and political hypocrisy

Meanwhile the Minister for Disabled People, Mark Harper, has been urging shops and sports venues to ensure they're accessible, as improving accessibility is “a no-brainer', only, whoops, his own constituency office is inaccessible: ’Hypocrite’ Harper hides from questions over office access and Minister hides truth over office access

And, whoops, so is that of Lib Dem Minister for Women and Equalities Jo Swinson: Second minister shamed over inaccessible constituency office

And, double whoops, so is that of Harper's boss, IDS, Iain Duncan Smith facing ‘hypocrisy’ claims over inaccessible office (Oh, hang on, it's IDS, hypocrisy is positively expected).

A couple of linked blogs on disability and sickness and the Social Model Sickness and the Social Model of Disability
Misrepresentations of Chronic Illness and Disability

And finally a piece from a leading HR type wondering why there is a shortfall of 2 million people when it comes to disability employment, that manages to avoid even a single mention of discrimination *headdesk* The Business Case for Diversity in Recruitment (with comment by yours truly pointing this out - we'll see if that stays there)