Out and About

Today was a very cloudy and cold day. But I had to get out of the apartment , I was getting a bit cabin crazy. Thankfully I didn't have any problems getting around. Here is what I ended up photographing today, it was a perfect day for photography.

Another Long Week

Well this week has been a real slow one for me between the weather and not being up to it I haven't been out much at all. But I do have a new picture for all to see., it's of the Basilica Cathedral of Saint Louis shot in the final minutes of daylight.

The Habitat Company Unresponsive to Disabled Needs

I'm a resident of a St. Louis Housing Authority apartment And for the last 2 years I've been battling to get an appropriate number of accessible parking spaces. I was able to get 21 spaces marked by going through The Housing Authorities Directors office. But was unable to get an assigned space specifically for wheelchair bound drivers.

Now on under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 HUD's web site says under

What is a Reasonable Accommodation under Section 504.

"A "reasonable accommodation" is a change, adaptation or modification to a policy, program, service, or workplace which will allow a qualified person with a disability to participate fully in a program, take advantage of a service, or perform a job. Reasonable accommodations may include, for example, those which are necessary in order for the person with a disability to use and enjoy a dwelling, including public and common use spaces. Since persons with disabilities may have special needs due to their disabilities, in some cases, simply treating them exactly the same as others may not ensure that they have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
In order to show that a requested accommodation may be necessary, there must be an identifiable relationship, or nexus, between the requested accommodation and the individual's disability. As discussed in the next question and answer, what is reasonable must be determined on a case-by-case basis. However, experience has shown that the following examples are often reasonable accommodations.
· A federally assisted housing provider has a policy of not providing assigned parking spaces. A tenant with a mobility impairment, who has difficulty walking, is provided a reasonable accommodation by being given an assigned accessible parking space in front of the entrance to his unit." this info is at.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/disabilities/sect504faq.cfm#top

I gave this information to my leasing office over a week ago and have not been given a responsee.
The Habitat Company at one of our meetings told the residents because our building was originally an elderly building, "They were going to take care of the Elderly before the other people in the building" and under the ADA the Elderly and disabled are considered the same Equally and their can be no distinctionn between the two groups. My next step is to file a federal complaint with HUD, and I'm considering going to the ACLU to do this.

Killer Storm & Stange Lights in the Sky

Last evening we had a very powerful and deadly storm move throught our area, which moved into Ind., & Ky., spawned tornado which killed 8 and injured over 100. This tornado left a path of damage 3/4 mile wide and 20 miles long. The Metro St. Louis area fared much better but we did have one impresive light show, which I was photographed.
Although the lightning storm was impressive in one photo that was a 13 second exposer that did not catch a single bolt of lightning showed a patern of 4 lights in the clouds. I have no idea what these are and will not try to guess what they were. I am posting this image that has had no other image processing other than.

1. I added photo by and watermark
2. I copied and enlarged the area of intrest into the box to the right.

If any are interseted I will send the image out in it's original form. It is a large file since I shot it with an 8 megapixel camera. Also I have shots of the same area of the sky taken last night that did not show this pattern, it was only in this one shot.

Missouri Botanical Garden

I got out early Friday for a good long day of shooting at the Missouri Botanical Garden, 717 pictures 1 Camera battery drained as well as the one's in my chair. I don't think I have mentioned the Camera I use, so I'll do that now. I use an Olympus E-Volt 300 DSLR 8 megapixel with a Zuiko Digital 14-45mm lens, 2gig CF Card. Let me say this is the best camera I've ever owned and I've had quiet a few. My last 2 were Kodak Easyshare 3.2 and a 7630 6.1 megapixel great units. But it was hard to be taken serious with a point and shot. Well The DSLR rocks it boots in less than 1 second, has no shutter lag what so ever. I enjoy a camera that will get 1000 Hi-res pictures at SQ Compression. Well as usual I got so many great shots picking my favorite ones were extremely difficult.
If you are ever in St. Louis the Botanical Garden is a must see, and is quiet accessible for someone in a chair. The colors of the autumn leaves "was like wow Man" just joking but they were beautiful. The Climatron which is on the background of one of my pictures I'm posting today is a wonderful recreation of the rain forest. Their is so much to see you either have to get there early or do it over a couple of days, it's that large.

Why do Wheel Chair user's take to the Street?

The reason I do at times is that the sidewalks are uneven with some sidewalks resembling stairs. For myself I have bad disk degeneration in my spine and neck and dropping off a 1 inch uneven sidewalk is akin to being Pile Driven into a wrestling mat. Broken and or bad spines are what have landed quiet a few people in chairs. These sidewalks in this condition can even cause a person to be thrown out of their chairs.
Who is responsible, and what can be done.
Well in most cities the landowner is responsible for the upkeep and care of the sidewalks including snow removal. In the city of St. Louis there is a 50/50 program where the city will pay for half of the cost of replacement. Also the landowner can be hit with a law suit for personal injury on his property. While this should be a final option, it will get people off their couches and out fixing the walkway.

Another one that suprised me.

This is the Eads Bridge over the Missippi River at St. Louis, this was the first bridge over the river. You can see the yellow from the sunrise at the right. 

The best of the day!

I don't or couldn't tell anyone how many times I taken this photo but until this morning as you see, I finnally got it! It was the picture perfect morning in St. Louis as I watched the sun rise, sitting at the Old Courthouse steps. I had no major problems getting around eccept for people who insist in pulling into crosswalks while waiting for an impossible chance to make the elusive Right on Red! 

Getting Started

Today I'm up bright and early, before the sunrise. I'm getting myself ready to go out on a photo shoot, to catch the morning light. I did this yesterday but one wrong setting on my camera made the shoot one noisy flub. As usual I have to be extremely careful when I go out on my own. Being in a wheel chair makes you look a lot like a weak lamb for the wolves to swoop in a tear you to pieces. But I'm not worried here in Missouri we have a conceal and carry law, so most people don't know if your armed or not. I am between my powerchair and whatever else I carry with me I think I'll be fine.
I'm hoping that the elevator at the Metro Station is working this morning, I've had several shoots that had to be scrubbed because they were out of order. One thing I really dislike about Metro is the elevator's that get used as a public restroom, it's literally sickening and if I were in my manual I would not go into them for my own health. Every thing that my wheels touch end up touching my hands and so on.
Well the sun is starting to come up and I want to get going.