eepyfaggoth

[eepyfaggoth]

Think of my mobility aid and I as Cain and Abel

I have a cane so that I am able to walk

Also because if you say something mean about me I will kill you with a rock

[eepyfaggoth]

Not a Wheelchair Paradox Adventure

Vent/Rant/Review

This was going to be my backup or maybe even main wheelchair, as my Ti Aero X, affectionately called El Dorado, is my current daily. All the measurements came from El Dorado and the Permobil website when I looked up my serial number. I did adjust a few things, as I would like to change a few aspects of my chair experience. However, the changes I made did not impact me or the issues I’m about to discuss.

Ordering the chair and talking to support was 10/10. The estimated wait time was right on the money. The price was great, and getting a whole chair for this price should have been a red flag for me mentally.

On the day of arrival, the boxes survived, but make sure you have an able-bodied friend with you to bring them in and open them. The wheelchair used big staples to close the box, and I don’t have the hand strength to remove them. The wheels came in a separate box and were packed nicely, also with staples.

I greased up my axles, assembled the entire chair, and was excited to try it out. I put in my cushion, but it felt like it didn’t really fit, so I sort of wedged it in. I was so excited that I immediately tried my seat and encountered a problem. It was too thin and I was too fat. The sideguards bowed out into the wheels. I was super confused, as I had taken my measurements from the Permobil website and El Dorado, and I knew that the seat width would work for me. I wanted 18 inches. I received a seat pan measuring 17.5 inches, and from bar to bar, it measured 17.75 inches. The seat depth was also off, but it was less of an issue for me personally; I ordered 16 inches and received 15.75 inches. I was so heartbroken. I didn’t understand how this could have happened and honestly still feel like it shouldn’t have.

I contacted support, thinking that they messed up and would take the chair back to fix it or give me a refund, since it seemed obvious that they made a mistake. When I reviewed the PDF files of the drawings of my chair, it specifically called out an 18-inch width from bar to bar. This was the reply from that email:

“The area of the seat pan is sized for an 18"x16" but it doesn't mean that the pan will hit that mark exactly, just so it won't rub on the wheels and side guards. We do this for all of our chairs, so that there is usable space, and clearance for adjustability. The seat is the correct size, but the pan may not be exact for this reason, but the cushion should fit.

I would love to see what else we can do, and we would appreciate feedback on why this is important to you and what issue you may be having that it is 17.5" instead of 18". We would love to know your thoughts and if it would be beneficial to us to explain this to other customers. Let me know what feedback you have, and we will then see what we can do exactly for you as well.

Thank you so much for letting us know, and we are so sorry that this was an issue for you. Please let me know what you think and we will do what we can to help!”

This reply made me very upset as my cushion was wedged in and the fact that I was having the side guards bow out was a problem. I also had been treated really well up to this point, so it took me a little off guard that they would be like *shrug* should be good. After that, we went back and forth over photos as proof that my issues were happening and that the size was wrong. It felt like with each email, they were wishy-washy on how to fix my issue and not taking me seriously. So I started asking for a return label. The support team set up a call with the engineers. The call went well; however, it still felt like the engineers were like, this is a you problem and not an us problem. They told me that 17.75 is within spec and that they can't control the variables during welding. I asked again for a refund. They said it would be a 10-20% restocking fee or that they could send me wheel spacers and side guard spacers. I told them I needed to think it over, as I really wanted the chair that I ordered.

I decided to keep the chair, as I would like to have a backup or a chair I can fly with, and I wouldn’t have enough money if I sent it back and lost 20% of the value to buy a Quickie chair—the one I probably should have gotten. So I asked them to drop the parts in the mail. It took about a week for the parts to arrive. They kindly provided videos on how to do the work myself and also sent the thin wrench needed to install the axle spacers.

Installing the spacers was a struggle. I don’t have the strength to remove axles with the amount of lock-tight they put on them. It took my wife and me todo the job and ended up rounding the corners of the axle holder and generally scratch the heck out of the black finish of the powder coat to get that part off. Then, when I tried to put the spacers on, the amount of lock-tight on the bolts made it impossible. I scraped off so much lock-tight to get the spacers to fit. However, after installing the parts, I could finally use it and roll around! It felt good and is much easier to pop a wheelie in :)

My first day out with it, I went to a few stores and took a short outside walk. Things I’ve noticed now that I can use the chair: the metal hand-rims they use suck. Don’t get me wrong—all basic hand-rims kinda suck, but these suck so hard. For example, my Ti Shadow wheels came with basic hand-rims, but they had the tabs cut off and little plastic tubing put on the tabs to help make it a slightly better experience. The “not a wheelchair” ones did not have any of that and also have odd round holes that are sharply cut into the back of the handrim. I feel like a tool to round that edge wouldn’t be too expensive, but I keep trying to tell myself you paid under $1500 USD with shipping for the chair.

That’s sort of where I am with this chair: it feels cheap because it is. I was expecting El Dorado level quality when I wasn’t paying for it. That’s not what this is. Don’t get me wrong—you get a WHOLE lot for your money. But expect some measurements to be close, not spot on. Expect to have to buy new hand-rims or live with cut-up fingers. I would like to buy another chair from them in the future if they figure out a way to inform customers of the tolerances. However, without that, there is no chance I would buy another one.

Here’s a bunch of photos for proof!

[eepyfaggoth]

i forgot to post this but which one of you lame ass nerds works at my dentists old office

[eepyfaggoth]

ok im going to #seriouspost for a second here. I don't think Harry Potter is a manifesto. I think it was a flawed passion project that millennials latched onto because of the fantasy of sticking it to their mean teachers and arbitrarily categorizing themselves (hogwarts houses; it's the thinking millennial's astrology). I think the fact that the series got popular when and how it did was very much a product of its time.

I don't think Harry Potter is the biggest symbol of JKR's bigotry. I think the most flagrant sign of that was how she responded to critics. I watched her become radicalized in real time. I watched how she doubled down on her racism when she was called out for the ways she promoted her tragically mid fantastic beasts movies. I watched her chase marginalized teenagers with a double digit follower count off of twitter for daring to criticize her thought process, and no one with any kind of power standing against her because she was the one who was paying them. This isn't to say Harry Potter is without flaws. This is to say she really didn't give a shit about that. Getting rich and powerful is a hell of a drug, and she had enough sycophants that she had no reason to care about what her critics were saying.

She was convinced that she was a martyr; a voice for the unheard; a leader for the ages, so of course her detractors were the bad guys. And I think we should take this to heart. We should see this as an example of how easy it is to get radicalized; if you think of yourself as a paragon of virtue, you are going to think that whatever you see as good and right is an objective fact. Most people don't know this, but the majority of terfs start out as trans allies. You are not immune to propaganda! You are not immune to falling into dangerous ideologies!!!

This is why the most important thing you can do as an activist is to listen. Do NOT think you're above being wrong; do NOT develop a god complex; do NOT form an identity out of being right all the time. Involve yourselves in the groups you claim to speak for. Listen to trans women; share resources that help trans women; familiarize yourself with the diversity of experiences that trans people have and the struggles they face.

No, none of you are as bad as JKR because you don't have her money or her power. You will likely never have the capacity for harm she does. But check yourselves. Do not affirm yourselves into thinking you always have the moral high ground. Watch yourselves; humble yourselves; check yourselves for signs of cult behavior and internalized prejudice. You are always learning. You will always be learning. Do not allow yourselves to get a power trip from brushing off marginalized voices.

[eepyfaggoth]

i have a new theory called alive internet theory where i propose that the internet is full of real people and you can befriend some of them even and maybe actually kiss them and more

[eepyfaggoth]

In my experience, a big reason that people tend to struggle with the concept of “no good cops” is that they only see police as being violent when they are actively beating or killing us. I think if more folks understood the scope and the breadth of the violence that policing engenders in and inflicts upon our communities, more people would agree that a better world is one without it.

[eepyfaggoth]

Cardinal singing outside my window just fucked up his call and had to start over. Lmao

[eepyfaggoth]

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[eepyfaggoth]

I just found the spelling of fatigue “fatagie” in my notes and like I kind of like the vibes u kno

If fatigue was a cute little fat faggot

[eepyfaggoth]

I really dislike the way people say "be normal about" in regards to bigotry. Like "it's not hard to be normal about trans women" 1) the norm is transphobia 2) I just hate the idea we want people to be "normal," break the status quo, be gay or trans, be interesting, be weird.

[eepyfaggoth]

I HATE MORAL OCD. well i shouldnt say hate thats a strong word. and i dont want to sound like i hate people WITH moral ocd because i dont of course. i just hate having it. but i shouldnt think that, i do like having morals, its just stressful to be thinking about them so constantly and scrutinizing every little thing i do or think. but really thats the least i could do so i should at least try, right? just because i suffer from— no, struggle with moral ocd doesn’t mean i should just stop thinking about things all together, thats not what im saying and i should make that clear, but i

[eepyfaggoth]

We are at the arresting opposing Federal Judges stage of Fascism.

[eepyfaggoth]

me impatiently to the little french cat boiling me in a stew: chat am I cooked

[eepyfaggoth]

i listened to my body and it's asking for substances