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Robot Shopping Carts Follow You Around Aug 10, 7:18 AM (ET) By RON WORD GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - It looks almost like any other shopping cart, except sensors allow it to follow the shopper around the supermarket and slow down when needed so items can be placed in it, and it never crashes into anyone's heels. Gregory Garcia dreamed up the robotic cart to solve a childhood peeve of being accidentally hit with shopping carts by his sister. His cart, also known as B.O.S.S. for Battery Operated Smart Servant, was one of about 30 robots on display Wednesday by students at the University of Florida, who worked the past semester on the projects using their engineering backgrounds. "The immediate thing that jumped to my mind was all those times as a kid when my sister would accidentally hit me with a cart," Garcia said. "It seems like the public would really want this since everybody shops. Jeremy Greene, 23, of Panama City, created a robot named Atlas, which balances a blue ...

Yesterday was a good day, so we went to Walmart and got the hubby some new sneakers. The same greeter from hell was at the door when we left. This time she smiled and politely said hello. Me thinks she's been schooled.

I bought fruit. I bought a few shirts. I bought 9mm ammunition. I heart Walmart.

I have a new favorite store: TJ Max Not because they have great prices. Not because they have a very eclectic selection of goods. Not because they have a large selection of clothing. Not because they have hidden treasures. Not because I spent a bunch of $$ there yesterday. Did I mention they have great prices? But because they have no rugs! A Wheeler's Paradise!

Since I'm sitting here, in Austin Texas, looking at icicles hanging from my house's eaves... I thought I'd write about winter's effect on wheelchair users. Getting around in a wheelchair is difficult. There's the obstacles, there's the dirt, there's the stares. Add to that the perils of winter and you've got a recipe for frustration and pain. Pushing a wheelchair thru snow and ice is nearly impossible. The wet snow tends to build up on the tires like a snowball rolling down a hill. Snow that melts and re-freezes creates lovely ice ruts. These slippery ruts are like wheelchair speed bumps. If you ever do make it from your car into a store, be prepared for dirty wheels that track dirt and muck around the store. Oh, and wet wheelchair wheels squeak like the bad wheel on a shopping cart. I usually stop on any available rug or entrance mat and literally "spin my wheels". I grab the wheels and spin them quickly backwards so that the wheels spin but I...

Since I've taken over the training (and bonding) of Frankie, I've primarily taken him out to only two places: Petsmart and another pet store called Pet Connection, which is a small pet store with reptiles, rodents, fish and birds. Both of these stores are chock full of distractions, smells, sights and sounds. Frankie is highly distracted at these places, and unfortunately I found myself getting very frustrated with him. And as we all know, these frustrations go right down the leash to the dog. It's just not a good training environment to start with. Finally a lightbulb went off in my head. Why am I making this so hard? Why am I starting my training with the most difficult places? Because I'm a dummybell, that's why! Doy! So, yesterday, I took Frankie to a nice, normal WalMart. And it was great! He pulled consistently, his turns were spot-on, his down/stays were solid. The overall experience was one of happiness and fun for both of us. And I actually was able to do ...

As someone who wasn't "born" disabled (altho technically, I probably was, if my disorder is found to be a genetic defect), I had lived a relatively normal life up until I was about 29 years old. Up till then, I was an active, productive female in society, doing all the things I was supposed to be doing to contribute to my family. One of those activities was grocery shopping. That was my job in our household, and one I thought I did well. I mean, how hard is it? Eggs, milk, bread, tampons, chocolate... anyone can do it, right? Wrong. Turns out, it's a skill that one hones over time. When I started getting too sick to continue the grocery shopping, the hubby took over. Now, this is the same man that lived on his own from college to age 26. Obviously, he had to grocery shop sometime for himself. But apparently he was just buying meat, Kahlua, and popcorn. I remember sending him off once with the list. On that list was Kiwi. Small, green, tart fruit, right? He came home ...

Since Frankie has been with us (he was 9 weeks old when we first got him), The Hubby has been his primary trainer. He's been the one doing most of the exposure and socialization training, and most of the formal obedience training. That training entailed The Hubby taking Frankie everywhere he went. He would take Frankie to work once a week for the afternoon, and he would take him shopping whenever he went out. Frankie's been to Home Depot, HEB, Wal-Mart, the mall, a tire store, Subway... you name it. The dog got out way more than I did. Last weekend, The Hubby and I took Frankie out to do some training. Here's the story. It didn't go well. But it turns out that the experience was an indicator to us that it was time to begin The Transition. Time to start the process of transitioning Frankie from being The Hubby's dog to being my Service Dog. It doesn't mean that Willie is retiring anytime soon, it just means that we need to start forming a bond between me and F...

Once, in Wal-Mart, I met a pretty cool family. I was wheeling down an aisle, and the mom, dad and daughter were standing there shopping. They started asking me some of the usual questions . But then the dad asked me something unusual. Dad : Do you like it when people offer to help you? Like, to hold open doors, or help you onto the bus? Me : Oh yeah, I take any help I can get. Dad : I drive a city bus. We have a lot of handicapped passengers who ride and I find that some HATE being asked if they want help. Sometimes, though, if I don't offer help, someone will get mad and say "can you PLEASE help me?". I never know what to do. Me: That's interesting. I do know there are disabled folks out there that just want to be treated normally. They don't want to be asked if they need help because they just want to do everything themselves. Dad : Good to know. Me : I guess my advice would be to continue to ask first, but don't just grab someone's arm to assist th...