Accessible game design: what disabled gamers want in their game design

Via the igd_access LJ
this article by Meagan VanBurkleo on what gamers with disabilities want in their games
http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/09/28/feature-accessibility_3a00_-creating-games-for-a-diverse-audience.aspx
(for screen reader users, search the page for the word "feature").
A big negative, though: I'm more than a little askance at the way the author frames playing games as escapism--what about the use of imagination? sociolization? problem solving? er, fun?

Why do we blink?

Via MindHacks
http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2009/10/blink_outside_the_bo.html
comes links and commentary on a
Radiolab's podcast about why people blink
http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2009/10/05/blink/
Also, a new useful word: audio velvet.

What I have done with my morning so far

1. Replied to a request from a university administrator that I sign a license agreement for a project I did at MIT. I mentioned that I was blind and couldn't read my student id number from my alum id card, typed my name and dated it and sent it back.
2. The admin. said the sig didn't show up, so I resent the form.
3. The admin then asked that I use a digital sig. I replied that I didn't have one.
4. The admin. then explained to me what a digital sig was, and if I didn't have one I could print out the form, sign it, and scan it then send it back, or take a digital picture with a camera and send that.
5. I replied that I knew what a digital signature was, but did not have one. Because I am blind, I also do not have a printer or a digital camera because I find them of limited use. (Okay, I actually do have two digital cameras, but my use of them is very hit and miss, not useful for taking a clear picture of a legal document.)
6. I have resolved to ignore any further e-mails from this person. I'm having a fibro day and am not up to explaining the obvious to the over-educated.