PapaChester: All I read here is that this mother lets her autistic toddler run around, into strange buildings, and generally all just willy nilly. Oblivious to the fact that danger might lurking around every corner, for a toddler at least. Much more for one with a severe learning and mental disability.

And she is dumb enough to contact a newspaper about the incident, cementing her legacy as an idiotic parent. Is there a Florida type place in NZ where all the inbred morons tend to come from? Are they from this place?

No, she let him walk, he darted in. Jesus, kids WILL walk a few feet ahead of you, it happens all the time. If she had been down the road rubbing one off, you might have a point, otherwise, you're just trying to join the ' I want to biatch about parents' clique.

AFKobel: I had a buddy a bunch of years back who purposefully stayed inside one of the (then new) self-cleaning bathrooms in Boston. It had a floor sensor, so he had to suspend himself in mid-air, with foot purchases on the toilet, the toilet paper dispense and/or the sink so the thing would think no one was it it, and begin the cleaning cycle.

He said when the door closed, the floor of the place dropped out and the cleaning began.

He said it was the most horrifying minute of his life.

Listening to his screams from the outside was hysterical.

/sb

That reminds me of this:



/Have never stepped foot in one of those things.
//You wouldn't either if you knew what homeless people do in there.

Oh crap fireworks in the shower gif too big.

/I has a sad. :(

Nihilist's Guide to Reticent Entropy: "Powder Room" is just too dainty. It's for women who are too ladylike to say "restroom".

The town I went to high school in had a movie theater that was so old, the sign outside the women's room actually said 'Powder Room', and it wasn't some kind of retro touch, it was all original. When they renovated the place, they discovered a secret room under the auditorium that had been a speakeasy during Prohibition... Luckily, they kept the building and turned it into a small regional museum...

IXI Jim IXI: Robots are Strong: This.

Throw in a subroutine and a squeegee to clean the suds off the sensor, and we might have a start.

Of course, we're already past "one, maybe two lines of code" territory...

The squegee may or may not be necessary (i'm inclined to think not) but we're getting into the specifics of low end motion detector technology and i'm not going to pretend to have any experience there.

Robots are Strong: Or maybe it didn't detect the kid at all because he was too short. Or maybe he was tall enough to but the tolerances for an acceptable level of movement were set too high. Or too low. Maybe that's related to the system needing to be recalibrated as the article pointed out.

One would assume that a system advanced enough to include a motion detector would be advanced enough to take into account children and midgets.

Now as link (new window)

/Still kinda sad.

Nihilist's Guide to Reticent Entropy: Walker: Nihilist's Guide to Reticent Entropy: Dear non-Americans:

THIS is a toilet:
[media.treehugger.com image 310x310]

THIS is a restroom:
[www.workersatyourservice.com image 640x480]

When you say someone was "trapped inside a toilet", you're making me think they somehow squeezed into the bowl or tank.

This is one place where U.K. English is just plain WRONG. The toilet is not the restroom; The toilet is an object found in a restroom.

What about the term "water closets" or WC?
And what about lavatories? When I was young I used to think people did experiments in those.

"Water Closet" is okay for a small, personal room in which plumbing is the main feature. I can cope with that. In fact, I wish Americans used it.

"Lavatory" is kind of acceptable, as it literally means "washbasin" or "place to wash". Most public restrooms do have sinks, so yes, by definition you can wash yourself (preferably only your hands and face) in them. In this regard, I'll also accept "washroom".

"Bathroom" is just wrong unless there's an actual bathtub, shower, or bathing apparatus in the room.

"Toilet" is just plain inaccurate, or maybe just too damned specific. The toilet is in the object on which you sit; not the room in which it is placed.

"Loo" is fine. It's a nonsense word anyway, based on "lavatory".

"John", "Crapper", "shiatter", and other colorful words like that are slang but are best used to describe the actual toilet, and not the room. Honestly, I don't know anybody who uses these words, and I hope to avoid a future in which I hang around with people who do.

"Powder Room" is just too dainty. It's for women who are too ladylike to say "restroom".

"Outhouse" is rather specific, and hopefully rather outdated.

And saying "latrine" is very cosmopolitan, or very military of you.

"Head" is just dumb. Plain dumb.

What about referring to the toilet itself as a "commode"? I don't, but I've heard it a few times.

Robots are Strong: The squegee may or may not be necessary (i'm inclined to think not) but we're getting into the specifics of low end motion detector technology and i'm not going to pretend to have any experience there.

So a system including a motion detector might not be so advanced after all? :-D

GreatGlavinsGhost: Now as link (new window)

/Still kinda sad.

I should probably stop laughing, then

ciberido: And it's you're going to complain about euphemisms, why call a lavatory a "restroom" or "bathroom" when it is really neither? There's no bathtub in there, is there? Nor is there a cot or couch for you to take a nap upon.

It's where I often go to rest when I have a my work cut out for me so to speak... Seriously, that term makes sense to me. You sit down, relax, and flush your troubles away, sounds like 'rest' to me...

I really like the idea of self cleaning toilets. Probably should have some kind of sensors in them to make sure no one is inside though. Also, ten minutes to wash? How about shorter more frequent cycles.

As for the kid, mother should probably have watched him better. It's probably good for an autistic kid to be scared of everything anyway.

IXI Jim IXI: Robots are Strong: Or maybe it didn't detect the kid at all because he was too short. Or maybe he was tall enough to but the tolerances for an acceptable level of movement were set too high. Or too low. Maybe that's related to the system needing to be recalibrated as the article pointed out.

One would assume that a system advanced enough to include a motion detector would be advanced enough to take into account children and midgets.

Unless it needed to be recalibrated, which was mentioned as a possibility in the article.

Honest Bender: way south: Twenty people couldnt pry open a door?

/insert bolo knife in door jamb, apply body weight, remove from hinges.

[newspaper.li image 450x311]



Sorry mate, I was busy 'avin adventures in America, thwarting south American drug lords, and something else in a third movie which I can't quite remember right now because I only saw that once on late night TV while drunk.

/Crikey!
//No poofters

IXI Jim IXI: GreatGlavinsGhost: Now as link (new window)

/Still kinda sad.

I should probably stop laughing, then

No, I think you're supposed to laugh at sad things. Wait, sad in american english or sad in Kiwi english?

ha-ha-guy: Although the use case of children using the toilet by themselves does lead me to wonder if a wise move would be a cancel button outside the door.

Except that you don't want it to be easy for a complete stranger to open the door while someone's sitting on the toilet...

hitlersbrain: I really like the idea of self cleaning toilets. Probably should have some kind of sensors in them to make sure no one is inside though. Also, ten minutes to wash? How about shorter more frequent cycles.

As for the kid, mother should probably have watched him better. It's probably good for an autistic kid to be scared of everything anyway.

2000 flushes cleans the toilet every time you flush.

Robots are Strong: Unless it needed to be recalibrated, which was mentioned as a possibility in the article.

My Kinect has a fit if I'm three inches too far to the left. This system can't default to "don't use the spin-cycle on the three-year-old" if it notices it's out of whack?

IXI Jim IXI: Robots are Strong: Unless it needed to be recalibrated, which was mentioned as a possibility in the article.

My Kinect has a fit if I'm three inches too far to the left. This system can't default to "don't use the spin-cycle on the three-year-old" if it notices it's out of whack?

Maybe they should have used more than one or two lines of code.

Abe Vigoda's Ghost: Backwards Cornfield Races: Really? No one has posted this yet?



Why yes, yes they have.

ah crap

oznog, a tip of the hat

A self-cleaning restroom would be a great idea around here. I swear, nobody understands the whole "close only counts in horse-shoes and hand grenades" saying...

You don't let little children go into those rooms by themselves. The boy probably didn't open the door properly.

He probably opened, then let it close, then probably pressed something else.

This was probably all the mothers and boys fault.

Has anyone noticed that almost every single time there is a story about a child being trapped, picked on or something happening to them that they are Autistic?

Am I an untrusting person or do others think this may perhaps be bullshiat?

There is not that many Autistic children.

Abe Vigoda's Ghost: Took three flushes to get him down, so I heard.

That's why you keep a stick in the bathroom!

Was the kid black? Maybe the motion detector was racist. He should find a white friend to go with him next time.

JeffreyScott: [hackedgadgets.com image 500x359]

That shiat is cruel. I say if someone wants their pet washed like that, the owner should go in too.

Robots are Strong: Was the kid black? Maybe the motion detector was racist. He should find a white friend to go with him next time.

I loved that show.

capt.hollister: You sound idiotic

What are you talking aboot?

Yeah. I listen to Q on the radio just to laugh at that accent.

So, basically, the kid was so filthy he triggered the autowash? Twice?

I know it was scary for both kid and mom but, now that it's over, it's pretty funny.

I had to use a pay-potty once during a trip to San Francisco when I was younger. It was the kind that runs a cleaning cycle after every user. Anyway, after I got out, some folks behind me immediately caught the door to get in without paying. My brother and I had a good chuckle about the idea of three people crowded in a toilet booth about to get a soapy surprise.

HAHAHAHAHAH !!!!! Thats HORRIBLE!!! that poor kid is gonna have turlet issues all the way into his afterlife.That,my friends. is what I call a Royal Psychological Scarrin'

Dear, dear what could the matter be
Zachery Wakelin locked in a lav-a-tree
Couldn't get out from Monday to Saturday
Nobody knew he was there.

I like the automated ones where if you take too long, they warn you and then open the door anyway.

You know, so people don't use them as super cheap hotel rooms.

/5...4...3...
//"BUT I'M NOT DONE WIPI-"
///1... *pwssh*

I'd guess that the motion sensor turns off as the cycle starts, without any delay. As to the button, I bet they never tested it. Sounds like poor engineering that anyone involved in coding the system should have covered.

haydenarrrrgh:
if (!sensor.showMotion())
{
sensor.enabled = false;
beginWashCycle();
sensor.enabled = true;
}


You've disabled the sensor and then begin the wash cycle. If someone was, for whatever reason, still inside but motionless (drunk, passed out, etc.) or outside of the things view... yeah.

It's a good first try but you need to break the wash cycle in to it's component parts and have the sensor turn on after each one completes, then turn it off again; it's probable that the first blast of water or machine whirring would disturb them enough for the sensor to register. Also any pressure on the door during a wash cycle should result in the system failing safe and opening the door it has any sort of mechanism for detecting it naturally.

Vaneshi: haydenarrrrgh:
if (!sensor.showMotion())
{
sensor.enabled = false;
beginWashCycle();
sensor.enabled = true;
}


You've disabled the sensor and then begin the wash cycle. If someone was, for whatever reason, still inside but motionless (drunk, passed out, etc.) or outside of the things view... yeah.

It's a good first try but you need to break the wash cycle in to it's component parts and have the sensor turn on after each one completes, then turn it off again; it's probable that the first blast of water or machine whirring would disturb them enough for the sensor to register. Also any pressure on the door during a wash cycle should result in the system failing safe and opening the door it has any sort of mechanism for detecting it naturally.

Of course, the easiest way to get around all this is to establish a baseline of what the bathroom looks like unoccupied. Then, before starting the cycle, compare its current state. You don't need motion to register occupancy.

/Are government computers spying on you in the bathroom?!
//What our investigative report turned up...
///Tonight, on the 11 o'clock news

ciberido: Nihilist's Guide to Reticent Entropy: Dear non-Americans:

THIS is a toilet:
[media.treehugger.com image 310x310]

THIS is a restroom:
[www.workersatyourservice.com image 640x480]

When you say someone was "trapped inside a toilet", you're making me think they somehow squeezed into the bowl or tank.

This is one place where U.K. English is just plain WRONG. The toilet is not the restroom; The toilet is an object found in a restroom.

I'm an American, and I've never found the double-usage of "toilet" to mean the thing itself or the room in which it is contained confusing. And it's you're going to complain about euphemisms, why call a lavatory a "restroom" or "bathroom" when it is really neither? There's no bathtub in there, is there? Nor is there a cot or couch for you to take a nap upon.

That would have come out a lot better if you had read the post I made right after that one, where I discuss each title-- including "bathroom".

Now, "restroom" does fit for a public place with a toilet and sink, because there's nothing about the arrangement that prevents you from resting there. I grant that it's a stretch, but since "break room" means something entirely different, we settle for "restroom".

The best is lavatory, in my opinion.

So let me get this straight.
FIRST the door closes.
THEN the alarm sounds.
THEN a potentially harmful sequence begins with no cancel option, inside or out.


Would like a word with whoever designed this loo.

ProfessorOhki:
Of course, the easiest way to get around all this is to establish a baseline of what the bathroom looks like unoccupied. Then, before starting the cycle, compare its current state. You don't need motion to register occupancy.

That'd work, although... considering what chavs tend to get up to in public facilities would a simple camera and image comparison be able to tell the difference between 'sprinkler attachment' and 'dead body'? I still think the motion detector is the best way to go about it, just with more frequent checks and adjusted to see children and adults (a lot of designers forget that humans come in smaller packages than 5ft).

/Are government computers spying on you in the bathroom?!
//What our investigative report turned up...
///Tonight, on the 11 o'clock news

I LOL'd, then wondered if such an article had already aired somewhere. Then LOL'd again.

Oh correction, there was a cancel option.
It was just unable to detect such a small target- motion detector was built to track a full grown adult, inside cancel button was placed so an adult could hit it. What we had here was an unaccompanied toddler, which was outside of the thing's parameters. Still no override button OUTSIDE, though.

lohphat: ciberido: For that matter, is there ANY English word for a "restroom" that isn't some kind of euphemism?

Crapper?

shiathouse?