Enlarge image i Alex Blaszczuk used Google Glass to shoot this self portait.
Here are the basics about Alex Blaszczuk: She lives in Manhattan. She's 26. She has a 20 pound cat. She's a third year law student at Columbia University. And about 18 months ago she broke her neck.
Blaszczuk sometimes jokes that she wishes she'd done it bungee jumping. At least then she says she would have a better story.
"It was interesting. In the rehab floor I was on, I was the only woman because everyone is usually injured doing some kind of fun, extreme sport or diving," she says.
Blaszczuk was rear-ended by a car.
Spinal injuries are quirky. And in many ways, Blaszczuk says she's lucky. She isn't on a ventilator. She can move her shoulders. Still, the accident left her unable to do some of things she used to take for granted — things she loved, like taking pictures, turning the pages of her law school text books, writing with a pen, walking.
"I'm not that techie, but I have a lot of friends who are, and especially since my injury I feel like I get 15 e-mails a day that are like 'Have you heard about this crazy new thing that might help you?' " Blaszczuk says.
Many new technologies today promise to give us all superhero-like powers. We live in a world where endless facts and figures are at our fingertips. Self-driving cars promise that soon even your spouse could have an unerring sense of direction.
For the disabled, this kind personal, high-tech augmentation could open up new worlds — but only if the technologies are designed to be accessible. And many companies have yet to embrace the commercial opportunities.
Still, for Blaszczuk, technology has at times been liberating, like when she got an iPhone.
"It opened the world for me because the touch screen technology is the only way I read books, the only way I read anything," she says.
Touch screens and voice controls have allowed her to continue working toward a law degree. Next year, these devices will help make her legal practice possible.
Apple has made a huge effort to make all of its products from the smallest iPod nano to the Mac accessible. And for Blaszczuk, that's made an enormous difference.
When Google started selling Google Glass to a select few "explorers," Blaszczuk's friends came over and insisted she try to get a pair. And she did.
"Right after I got it, I went to London," Blaszczuk says. "I went for a wedding, and I actually caught the bouquet. I had Google Glass on, and the bouquet landed in my lap." She filmed the entire thing.
The voice activated controls have allowed Blaszczuk to start taking pictures again. She filmed a what she called a "rolling" tour of Brooklyn. Google encouraged her to take Glass on a camping trip.