Daily Archives: November 12, 2014

Quadriplegic athlete is featured speaker at fundraising event for DREAM Adaptive

Joe Stone doesn’t recall much about the speed flying accident that sent him crashing at 50 miles an hour into the face of Missoula’s Mount Jumbo, putting him in a month-long coma, rendering him quadriplegic and nearly ending his life.

But more impressive than his unlikely survival was his resolve, which gripped him the instant he awoke from the dark maw of unconsciousness, to again venture forth into the mountains.

In the Arabian Nights story, whenever Ali Baba shouts “Open Sesame,” the door to the den of the Forty Thieves opens. But for the 10 beta testers of the Sesame phone, uttering that phrase means unlocking their smartphones without the use of their hands. Once the touch-free phone is active, users merely have to move their heads to control the cursor on screen. And yes, they can do anything a smartphone’s capable of, including sending messages and emails, taking/making calls and downloading apps. They can even play games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush by using head gestures. Once they’re done, they simply have to say “Close Sesame” to lock their phones again.

WHEN three-year-old Evander Conroy starts preschool in the New Year he will enter armed with a children’s storybook — all about him.

Evander, from Hunters Hill, is the subject of a new educational book about spinal cord injuries which was launched as part of Spinal Injury Awareness Week.

It tells the story of Evander sitting in a park with his mum having an ice cream when some superheroes from outer space arrive to take him on a journey of discovery about his unique situation.