I have to Dean Kamen inventions which have changed my life.

The first is my insulin pump. Yes, he got his start by inventing the first wearable insulin pump. No doubt patent protection helped him get enough money out of that to fund his later work, including the iBot wheelchair, and then derived from that, the Segway.

I have a neurological condition that impairs my walking. For me, the Segway is life changing because now I can move around freely, doing most of the things y’all do, and some things better.

Well, I can’t skate anymore, and I can’t climb rugged mountain trails, but you’d be surprised by where I CAN go, and what I CAN do.

First, legality: There are no states where they are illegal. There are 45 states which have laws that classify you as a pedestrian when you use one. Some of those states allow local cities to regulate their use on the sidewalk, but they’re not banned anywhere in the US.

Second, utility: I live in Marin, and can get most anywhere in the SF Bay Area, with a combination of Segway and public transit. That’s the mode they were really designed for — local, and extended with transit. I was down on the Stanford campus yesterday, no car involved. Once I was there, I had my Segway for getting around.

I put about 2400 miles on my Segway in the last year. It would be more, but I do have a young daughter I drive around; the Segway doesn’t address that so well. (I can tow a wagon, but Caltrans puts puts barriers between me and anywhere that make that relatively impractical).

It’s a lot more fun, and generally a lot more practical for my surburban trips, than getting out the car.

Finally, this “lazy” meme: This is just crazy talk. I hear it all the time — typically from people sitting on their rears in a gasoline-powered SUV. In the meantime, here I am, standing — got that, bicyclists, STANDING — for distances far greater than most of you would be willing to walk. And I’m carrying a backpack, often with 50 pounds of groceries.

People with Segways don’t walk any less. I get MORE exercise now that I have a Segway, and I think that’s typical. People with Segways drive less, or sit on their couches less.

We’re out there, interacting with other people we meet on the way. Bicyclists don’t do that nearly to the same degree; it’s work to stop, or detour, to talk to someone, and you have this bike between your legs. (But we’re more alike than different, really, compared to the folks in the cars!)

And we’re out there with nature.

Failure is a funny word. I’m sure the initial investors, investing on the basis of unrealistic projections of instant mass adoption, consider it a failed investment. Rightfully so, by their lights.

Those like myself who actually OWN one, consider it a smashing success. As do those who try it. My mother (a 76-year-old great grandmother in a retirement community in a small town in the Ozarks) tried mine — and went out and bought her own.

Yes, there are difficulties. It does tend to attract attention. By far, mostly of the positive variety. The occasional knuckle-dragger comment does come my way, but can be ignored. But if you’re looking to fit in and not stand out from the crowd, a Segway is probably not for you — at this time.

And where to put it? They do come with locks (as an option). And the key is electronic and coded, so stealing a Segway isn’t going to get the thief anything he can use. Thieves have been caught, by trying to get a key made for a stolen Segway. So that isn’t really as big a problem as it seems. (Sure, there ARE places I wouldn’t leave one — the same places I wouldn’t leave an expensive bike locked up).

To my mind, the biggest barrier to acceptance has been ignorant reactions. People look at it, don’t understand it, and make all kinds of knee-jerk reactions. Like the SF City council assuming it would run out-of-control on their steep hills. Not true: I’ve stood on the steepest of SF streets, on my Segway, with both hands on my camera, capturing a photograph of one of those “Prevent Runaways — Curb Your Wheels” signs. Segways do NOT pick up speed going down a hill. They can’t — you’d fall over backwards. They actually slow going down the steep hills!

Or Ronit Bryant, Counilwoman of Mountain View, CA, which recently joined the SF City council in this sort of knee-jerk reaction. Provocation — one Segway using the trails, no compaints, no incidents, no problems. But gotta stop the bad Segways. Meanwhile, bicycles are legal on MV sidewalks. Hello? A device designed for safe use in crowds gets canned?

It is this sort of knee-jerk reaction that has deterred buyers. It’s not surprising, the actual behavior of a Segway isn’t obvious just looking at it of from a description.

But I find that more and more people I meet have actually tried one, typically on a tour, occasionally they know somebody with one, and occasionally I’ll encounter another Segway rider.

Without fail — these people are excited to see someone on a Segway, and eager to tell me how much fun they had and and how much they like them. And how easy it was to learn to use. And they want one. They may not be willing to shell out $5K, but they want one.

So finally, there is the price. That problem is over-rated, but real. People DO spend $5K on a bike. They’ll spend far more than that on a more expensive car than they need — often $20K extra over the price of a new Prius, even. Nobody yells “lazy” at them — I don’t know why! Nobody ridicules them for spending so much money — I don’t know why!

Yet, if economics is your primary concern, then at the current price point, a Segway only wins if you can replace a car with it. Or a wheelchair — power chairs can be much more expensive, especially with similar range and speed.

But when you look at the whole picture — environment, exercise, connecting with people on the street, interacting with nature, ability to extend your range, and just plain fun — the Segway comes out looking pretty good. I would consider mine a good investment, even were it not for my need for basic mobility.

In fact, it far exceeded my expectations. That’s success. Period.