Solution Finds Problem

It's nice to be able to talk about something besides the idiots in Washington for a change.

A friend of mine whom I hadn't seen in a while dropped by and told me that he has a job on the municipal limousine service known as Access-a-Ride. This involves picking up and dropping off people confined to wheelchairs and walkers.

It appears that some of the well-retired folks who have limited mobility have discovered that if you can walk a little, a Segway is an improvement over a powered chair for getting around. The problem this creates is that the mini-buses the city uses for the handicapped are not equipped to tie down a Segway on board, as they can with a wheelchair.

A study has been done, and guidelines are about to be issued on how to do this. Myself, I favor a minimalist approach: Simply add a belt or two to a vertical post, have the Segway riders back up to the post, and fasten the belt around both the rider and the machine, much in the manner of preparing a heritic for burning at the stake. Saves adding a seat, and takes up less space. Voila, problem solved.