The Associated Press says the rising price of fuel and better design are increasing the number of electric bicycles being sold in the United States.

The nice thing about an electric bike is you can pedal and use your muscles to get a workout and then switch to the electric assist when you face some insurmountable hill.

Wired.com has this list of its favorite electric bikes, while Marty favors this electric bike - decided upon after several months of research and road testing. (Marty tried so many the poor bike shop owner thought she never was actually going to buy one.)

Eds. Note Marty figures her bike didn’t make Wired.com’s list because it’s a little too comfortable and middle-aged looking for the boys at Wired - who until recently frowned on electric bicycles as wimpy.

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The Home Safety Council estimates that only 30 percent of households have discussed and created an emergency plan outlining how loved ones would stay in touch during a major weather or disaster event.

Even if you live alone it’s important to have such a plan so you can let others know you are OK or in need of help. Below are a few of the things you need to do in order to be prepared. (They may seem basic, but many of us don’t even have the basics for an emergency.)

Compile a “Ready-to-Go Kit” in case your family needs to leave home and a “Ready-to-Stay Kit” in case your family needs to stay inside your home for an extended time. Kits should contain water, canned food, can opener, flashlight, battery-powered radio, extra batteries, change of clothes and first aid.

Designate a safe meeting place outside your home and out of harm’s way, and designate a safe place to stay in your home in case of severe weather.

Update wireless phones with “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) contact information. And be aware that land-line phones with cords attached to the handset will continue to operate if the power goes out in your home. Cordless phones will not.

Click here for a form that you can print out and then fill in with important emergency numbers and information. (It’s going to appear on your computer screen upside-down, but will print out just fine. And you do want to print it out because your computer won’t be operating if your power goes out.)

Eds Note: No more than 20 minutes after we wrote this post, we lost all electricity in a widespread outage in our city. The only thing that kept working was Cait’s kitchen wall phone that has a cord attached to the handset.

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Thumbs up on the signs for accessible toilets at the National Stadium in Beijing!

It’s refreshing to see something other than the traditional white-on-blue sign with a wheelchair - especially since it seems to be a little space dude the Chinese are using for their Olympic bathroom signs.

The imagery is clear. In any language you know these loos are equipped for people with disabilities and we like that the little space dude is looking at you.

(via tvnz)

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“They distinguished themselves by going from reasonably normal to unquestionably insane without ever pausing at peculiar.”

From T.R. Pearson’s “A Short History of a Small Place.”

Eds. Note: It may be stretching it to think we were ever “reasonably normal.” But all the people who last winter asked us, “What do you do with all those garbage cans?” now know because the many cans of the Gimpy Garden are overflowing with fruits and vegetables. It’s heavenly eating tomato sandwiches anytime we feel like it.

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Jana was raised Mormon and now is a hippie Quaker living in Southern California with her husband, John, and their two teenage children.

Twenty-five years ago Jana lost her right leg to bone cancer. Recently she got an antibiotic-resistant infection in her lower left leg, and is doing everything she can to heal and keep that leg.

Jana is smart, beautiful, likes gardening, an afternoon cup of tea and has wise words for us all on her blog “Pilgrim Steps: Taking Life One Leg At A Time.”

(via Dooce)

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As the concept of Universal Design matures, so do the many ways to make it more attractive while sticking close to the basics.

My Home Ideas has some terrific examples of rooms that are accessible to everyone - regardless of their age or personal architecture.

From seating to smart shelving, these ideas benefit children, aging parents and those of us with limited mobility. Even small changes that incorporate Universal Design make the entire home more comfortable for everyone.

For example, if you’re thinking of updating your plumbing fixtures and cabinet hardware, think of fixtures that are shaped like a “D” or a “U” - which makes it easier to operate faucets and open doors.

Click here to see some beautiful Universally Designed rooms from My Home Ideas.
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Thanks to Elizabeth E. of South Portland, Maine - winner of a Mr. 7 Hands for alerting us to these ideas for safer and easier living in our homes.

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Cait has this Planet Bike Handlebar Tape on her adult tricycle and says it reduces the hand pain and fatigue that can come from gripping the bars of a bike.

Planet Bike calls the tape a gel but its really more a spongy foam backed by cork. The soft tape, which comes in fourteen colors, is easy to apply and becomes tacky when wet for a better grip.

Cait likes the Planet Bike tape so much she’s thinking of applying it to the bar of our gas mower to reduce the vibration to her hands.

Eds. Note: Cait has a teen-age friend who says this tape “screams Baby Boomer - the older crowd seems to put it on every thing.” To which Cait replied, “Just like young people and ketchup.”

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Cait long has been an advocate for people with disabilities. Here she’s pictured in 1995 on the Great Wall as a Canadian delegate to the United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing.

Cait spoke at a leadership conference on disability in Beijing and she’s been regaling Marty with memories of the trip - prompted by the Olympic focus on China this month and the Paralympics next month.

Cait could have joined other women with disabilities for a bus tour where the bus actually got to park on the Great Wall and let people off to explore.

But Cait, being Cait, wanted the best view of the Wall so she crammed in a small van with non-Gimpy tourists, was deposited at the bottom of a steep cobblestone road and hiked — s-l-o-w-l-y — up seven flights of stairs to reach the Wall, the faster tourists pushing her aside and inadvertently whacking her with camera equipment.

She says the spectacular views were worth the huffing and the hassle and she liked what the humidity did for her hair.

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Tropic Thunder, a new big budget Hollywood movie, has sparked a fierce campaign against the damning way in which it depicts people with intellectual disabilities.

Made by DreamWorks/Paramount, Tropic Thunder was written, directed and acted in by Ben Stiller. The movie’s early promotional materials carried the tagline “Once upon a time … there was a retard.”

And it just gets worse from there. Much worse.

Consider this: The word “retard” has become so commonplace it has even spawned new words: celebutard, a famous stupid person; debutard, a rich stupid person; e-tard, a stupid Internet user. The r-word has gone mainstream, used by young and old alike - many of whom do not understand its pain and discriminatory impact on people with disabilities.

So we’re asking you to join the Special Olympics campaign to eliminate the perjorative use of this word from everyday language. It’s an important effort aimed at creating a world of dignity, acceptance and inclusion for people with disabilities. Help create that world, please.

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Write Cait and tell her of a tip or a product you find useful in your home, garden or out and about. We’re especially interested in ideas that make your life safer and easier.

If we pick your tip or gadget to post about, we’ll send you a Mr. 7 Hands - in our opinion one of the best household Gimpliments out there!

Cait’s address: Cait(at)TheGimpyGirls.com

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If you have arthritis or limited hand strength, these neoprene grips with Velcro closures will give you a more secure and comfortable grip.

Machine washable, they wrap around tool handles to absorb shock and vibration and can be easily removed to shift them from shovel to rake to wheelbarrow to lawn mower handles.

Users of these grips say they love the cushioning, which makes tool handles larger and, therefore, easier to grip. Each set includes two grips.

Eds. Note: Cait also recommends these Bionic Gloves which have reduced her hand pain during much gardening and yard work this year.

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