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If there's one steady market for wristwatches, it's astronauts. Omega watches, for example, have flown on manned space missions since the Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph was carried on Project Mercury in the early 1960s. Now the latest version, the Speedmaster Skywalker X-33, is seeing service on the International Space Station (ISS). Based on a patented idea by ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy, the timepiece is not only made to withstand the rigors of space, but also to carry out functions useful to space travelers.

The Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 is an advance on the Swiss watchmaker's Speedmaster Professional X-33 and uses Omega's calibre 5619 advanced multi-functional quartz chronograph movement with a thermo-compensated integrated circuit and upgraded software. This is encased in a 45-mm, Grade 2, brushed titanium case with brushed crown and pushers, a ceramic bezel featuring a chromium nitride scale, and a 60-minute indicator marked by luminescent white Super-LumiNova with green emission.

The dial is a digital/analog readout with skeletonized black and white hour and minute hands coated with Super-LumiNova, and a red second hand. The dial itself is black with white indexes and hour markers, and an LCD readout with grey characters. One problem is digital/analog displays is that the analog hands tend to get in the way of the digital display, but the Skywalker disengages the hands on command to clear the display.

Jean François Clervoy on STS-103 (Photo: NASA)

Having flown in space three times in the 1990s, Clervoy came upon an idea for improving wristwatches so they could track mission events in a way suitable for astronauts. The Skywalker's Mission Elapsed Time (MET) and Phase Elapsed Time (PET) allow astronauts to set mission time or the time for a task for any date in the past or future and calculate how much time remains or has elapsed. In addition, there are 19 functions including multiple alarms with different ringtones, time zones, perpetual calendar, chronograph, and countdown functions.

ESA holds the patents on the Skywalker, and though it is not involved in the watch's manufacture or sale, Omega is operating under license, and the space agency did subject the timepiece to rigorous testing to see if it was suitable for space duty. Carrying out tests at ESA's ESTEC technical center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, and at a nuclear testing facility in Sweden under the supervision of France’s ONERA/DESP aerospace center, the Skywalker was subjected to vibrations and accelerations simulating a space vehicle launch, vacuum, temperatures from minus 45° C (minus 49° F) to 75° C (167° F), and simulated space radiation.

"We are delighted that our friends at the European Space Agency have tested and qualified the Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 for all its piloted missions, which is a natural extension of our long relationship with NASA and its space programme," says President of Omega, Stephen Urquhart. "ESA’s abilities and ambitions are extraordinary, as demonstrated by their recent high-profile successes with Rosetta and Philae, and we are proud that their name and endorsement grace the back of this iconic chronograph."

The Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 sells for US$5,900.

Source: ESA

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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Transformation Tuesday: Ben

This is one of those Transformation Tuesday posts that where it seems like the child has not changed one bit, in a really good way.  The Ben (or 'Nelson', his first English name) that we first met had the wonderful chubby cheeks and hilarious expressions that we now know and love.

He had his trademark cool 'moves' even back then!

It's easy to forget though, that the children who come here to New Day don't come because they are super-cute, but because they are in urgent need of medical care.  Ben became an orphan because of heart disease; he was abandoned when he was already a year old, so Down Syndrome seems unlikely to have been the reason.  He had his heart surgery in the first month that he was in our care.

It has been our great joy to watch Ben grow from a one-year-old into the amazing three-year-old that he is today.

He is so much fun to have around, and so much fun to write about; this blog, and our Facebook page, have featured so much Ben but there was always more to post than fairness would allow!

Ben has been so loved here, but he's about to experience the love that he truly needs...the love of his forever family.  We'll miss him, but we are incredibly happy for him, and for the family that he will bring great joy to.

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Made for You

Fresh by Karlanne Clothibg Boutique is located in Medford New Jersey, on the corner of Hartford Rd. & Old Marlton Pike.
You can also contact Karlanne in my Boutique“ Fresh by Karlanne”, located in Medford New Jersey   Ph.609.975.8229
Ref. Blog Made to Measure , Suits, Shirts, Skirts, Dresses, Slacks, Tops, Pants, Jeans, Jackets, Scarfes
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News & Media

Official News From the Office of Communications

Christianity Today Interviews Alums in Denver & The Mile High Orchestra

dmho.jpgChristianity Today has a new interview online today with Belmont University graduates Denver Bierman and Jared Ribble, vocalist and drummer, respectively, for Denver & The Mile High Orchestra, a swing jazz band formed by a group of friends at Belmont that has just released its third album.
The band “has enjoyed gradual success by combining Christian lyrics with a lively big band sound reminiscent of Harry Connick Jr., Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Michael Bublé,” says Christianity Today. “But they haven’t stopped there. Determined to be stylistically eclectic, Bierman and his drummer, Jared Ribble, told us how they’ve broadening their sound to include fusion funk, pop, and worship … and how audiences are responding to their approach.”


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Chubb Sets Sights on Small Technology Firms with New Business Owner's Policy

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb has expanded its business owner's policy, Chubb BOP, to the technology industry by crafting specialized insurance features and benefits to meet the unique risks faced by small businesses in the technology segment.

"Expanding our recently launched Chubb BOP into the rapidly growing technology industry makes perfect sense," said Jim Williamson, Division President, Small Commercial Insurance, Chubb North America. "Chubb has a long history providing technology companies with insurance solutions tailored to the industry's specialized needs. We have taken that expertise and applied it to the development of a business owner's policy that offers agents an outstanding solution for their small business clients in the technology segment."

Chubb BOP for the technology industry includes more than 80 property and liability features and benefits beyond industry standard policies. It also provides a unique automatic blanket limit of insurance that ties together 13 essential property coverages, allowing business owners to use their insurance dollars where they need it the most following a loss. Chubb BOP for the technology industry also includes the following for small technology companies:

  • Automatic blanket limit that includes electronic data and research, as well as development property
  • Business personal property that includes computer hardware
  • Tailored property insurance for mobile communications, electronic data recovery costs (computer virus), installation, and personal property off-premises, including transit and utility services direct damage
  • Crime insurance for computer fraud and funds transfer, identity theft expense, money and securities, as well as employee dishonesty
  • Business income insurance that includes actual loss sustained, business income from dependent property worldwide, alternative power generation, business income extension for websites, and utility services
  • Valuation that includes green standards, removal of insurance to value provision, replacement cost, and selling price on finished stock

Chubb BOP for technology companies includes broad protection for property and liability exposures, as well as umbrella, workers compensation, commercial auto, overseas travel, technology errors and omissions, and cyber liability insurance. Chubb BOP is now available to the following technology classes:

  • Computer programing and software
  • Computer-related services
  • Technology manufacturers and wholesalers
  • Telecommunication services
  • Broadcasters
  • Technology research and development start-ups

The award winning Fast TrackSM online underwriting platform will let agents quote and issue a Chubb BOP technology segment policy in minutes.

Catering to the Technology Industry's Small Business Needs

Chubb BOP for the technology segment is part of a growing suite of innovative insurance products for small businesses being released by Chubb. Available in over 43 states, with plans to be in all 48 contiguous states by year-end, Chubb BOP is sold through an exclusive network of independent insurance agents and brokers. Chubb BOP is now offered to more than 530 classes of business including clubs and associations, cultural institutions, financial services, healthcare offices, real estate, retail stores, service businesses, technology firms, and wholesalers.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at:

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For further information: Jodi Dorman: (908) 903.2608:, Laurie Taylor: (908) 903.2611:

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Friday acca: £5 pays almost £400

Frank Monkhouse | 3 March 2017

Follow our Friday night football acca

There’s a few games dotted around the major leagues in Europe on Friday night to give Coral punters a chance to get the weekend’s football off to a winning start. Getting an acca home tonight would set you up nicely for a thrilling few days of sport.

We have run our expert eye over the matches that matter and return with our idea of a worthwhile five-fold, designed to swell your wallet. £5 on our Friday night acca pays £397.85, with prices and returns mentioned correct at the time of publishing. Read on as we glance through each selection.

Leeds beat Birmingham

The Blues are an easy side to oppose at the minute and have lost three of their last four league goes, including 4-1 to lowly QPR on their penultimate start. Leeds are pushing hard for a play-off finish and will fancy their chances of a dramatic return to the Premier League in the summer. They are unbeaten in three and scored a massive win over Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday. Our 6/4 on The Peacocks looks massive.

Tranmere beat Chester

Rovers are flying high in the National League, and will be playing League Two football next term, that much looks nailed on. All that’s left to be decided is how they will go up, and a win over Chester on Friday night would move them up into second in the table, just two points off league leaders, and FA Cup heroes, Lincoln. They are unbeaten in four, and should do the business again at even money.

Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner have been leading lights this season.

Real Sociedad beat Real Betis

We stick our noses into goings on in La Liga, where Betis host Sociedad in front of the Sky Sports cameras. An away win would strengthen The Royals’ bid for a top-five finish. Sociedad beat Betis 1-0 in the reverse of this fixture, and have won each of the last two meetings between these sides. They look well worth a go for the hat-trick, especially with Betis winning just one of their last seven. 9/5 makes perfect sense to me.

RB Leipzig beat Augsburg

Free-spending Leipzig are second in Bundesliga and can get a jump on leaders Bayern Munich here. They refuse to go away and a Friday win would pour the pressure on and move them to within two points of pole position. They have won their last two, while their opponents have lost two of their last three. The favourites at 5/6.

Bordeaux beat Lyon

The bold call of the lot, and we are siding with home comforts in this massive clash from the French Ligue 1. Fifth plays fourth, and there’s just four points between the pair going in. Bordeaux have been more consistent of late however, and go looking for three wins in-a-row, while Lyon have lost half of their last six. 21/10 gives us something great to aim for.

Get more football acca betting tips here

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FBI's Comey Confirms Russia Investigation

  • Tue, 21 Mar 2017 00:47
FBI Director James Comey publicly confirmed on Monday for the first time that the FBI is investigating Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Photo: Getty Video - World

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Managing the damage of disease

By Connie Orcutt • Published: January 1st, 2014
Category: Animal Airwaves

Chagas [SHAH-gas] disease is caused by a parasite that invades a dog’s blood cells. Widespread in Central and South America, Chagas disease has also made its way to parts of the United States, including Florida.

The disease is usually spread by bites of the bloodsucking triatoma (try-AT-uh-muh) or “kissing” bug. Infection also spreads when dogs eat droppings from other infected animals, like raccoons, opossums or armadillos, or receive contaminated blood transfusions.

The parasite eventually travels to other organs, especially the brain and heart. Chagas disease can remain silent for years while the heart is being damaged. Chronically infected dogs often tire easily, are weak and have a rapid heart rate, while dogs with acute infections may also have diarrhea, trouble walking or seizures.

Chagas disease can’t be cured, so the focus is on management. The sooner that gets started, the better.


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Class Diagrammer for Java

Class Diagrammer 2.0 is now available for download, written in Java & JavaFX and designed to reverse-engineer Java JAR files into UML class and package diagrams. This is mostly a direct rewrite of the previous version which was written in C# and operated on .NET Framework assemblies. The download page still offers the final .NET release, too.

The new Java version relies heavily on the excellent open-source libraries of David Gilbert’s JFree. Diagrams are internally drawn using AWT, then published to JavaFX for the interactive executable via FXGraphics2D, to SVG for web pages via JFreeSVG, and to print-quality PDF documents via OrsonPDF. Check out these libraries if you need any of those output formats in your own applications.

The Class Diagrammer download package includes a small sample project based on its own JAR files. Rather than inlining a blurry bitmap or a ton of SVG code, I direct you to this PDF document (633 KB) comprising three sample diagrams. Please see the download page for a compact overview of Class Diagrammer. The rest of this post explains the rationale behind this application.

Why Class Diagrammer?

The purpose of Class Diagrammer is to create structural diagrams from computer code for documentation purposes, with as much automation as possible to ensure these diagrams stay up-to-date regarding the underlying code – the usual problem with documentation. I ended up writing my own application for this purpose because I couldn’t find anything (affordable) that handled this job properly. All existing software had one or more of the following issues:

  • Primarily intended for screen work, and thus can only export pixelated bitmap diagrams that look rather awful in otherwise crisp PDF documents.
  • Reverse engineering is not supported, or destroys much of the current diagram layout which must be laboriously recreated after each code import.
  • Reverse engineering cannot be restricted, creating a useless mess of irrelevant classes and criss-crossing relations that must be manually sorted out.
  • Reverse engineering cannot be automated, so you have to fire up some GUI application and manually redo it whenever you want to update your documentation.
  • Specific to Java: reverse engineering was implemented prior to Java 5’s reflection API, and therefore relies on unofficial tricks that break with newer Java code. This is why I had to stop using yWorks UML Doclet, an otherwise attractive solution: it was last updated for compatibility with Java 7 and does not work with Java 8 bytecode.

While overall rather limited, Class Diagrammer was specifically designed to solve all this. It relies only on the official reflection API, with no version-dependent low-level tricks. Its output formats include SVG and PDF, for crisp scalable vector graphics with perfect text rendering in HTML and PDF documents, respectively. And it can dynamically combine the Java type information found in JAR files with layout directions previously recorded in a project file.

You use a JavaFX GUI application to create a project file with your desired diagrams and output formats, then run a console application to recreate the diagram output files whenever the JAR files change after a new build. UML element contents are adjusted dynamically, and likewise UML relations which are always defined relative to element borders. You only need to manually adjust a Class Diagrammer project if you wish to add or remove elements or relations, or if your Java type information has changed so much that elements become too small or too large for your diagram design.

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Obama Scrubs NASA's Manned Moon Missions

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NASA's Ares I-X test rocket, intended for moon missions, launches from Florida on October 28, 2009.

If U.S. astronauts land on the moon again before 2020, it won't be aboard a NASA spacecraft.

The space agency's 2011 budget, released today, reveals plans to scrap the Constellation program, including the rockets and spacecraft that NASA has been developing over the past four years to replace its aging space shuttle fleet.

Constellation's demise would mean that NASA will have no plans for manned space flight beyond the final shuttle launch in fall 2010. Instead the U.S. will have to rely on other governments, such as existing Russian craft, to ferry people to the International Space Station.

The news has actually been expected since last September, when an independent panel known as the Augustine Committee determined that Constellation would require large budget increases to land even a handful of astronauts back on the moon before 2020.

U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to scrap the program is based on Constellation being "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation due to a failure to invest in critical new technologies," according to a statement posted on the White House Office of Management and Budget Web site.

No Moon Mission, But More Money for NASA

When former U.S. President George W. Bush announced the Constellation program in 2005, the plan included designs for a new launch vehicle and crew capsule, a new moon rover, and eventual construction of a moon base at one of the lunar poles. (See pictures of the planned Constellation spacecraft.)

Since then NASA has flight tested the Ares I-X rocket, built a full-size moon buggy prototype, and crashed a probe into the moon in search of water to sustain a lunar outpost.

But even with the loss of resources already poured into Constellation, NASA's new proposed budget would see the space agency get more funding than it did in 2010.

As of 2011, NASA would receive an additional six billion dollars over the next five years, officials announced, for a grand total of a hundred billion dollars by 2015.

"This budget gives us a road map to even more historic achievements, as it spurs innovation, employs Americans in exciting new jobs, and engages people around the world," NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said at a press conference today.

The money saved by halting Constellation would instead be used to fund robotic space missions, to help commercial companies develop manned spacecraft, and to develop new engine technologies that could eventually take astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit and into deep space.

"Imagine trips to Mars that take weeks instead of nearly a year, people fanning out across the inner solar system, exploring the moon, asteroids, and Mars nearly simultaneously in a steady stream of firsts, and imagine all of this being done collaboratively with nations around the world," Bolden said. "That's what the President's plan for NASA will enable."

NASA "More Sustainable" Without Moon Missions

Responding to initial reports of the budget changes leaked last week, Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a former astronaut, wrote in a statement that the Obama Administration is "replacing lost shuttle jobs in Florida too slowly, risking U.S. leadership in space to China and Russia, and relying too heavily on unproven commercial companies."

Florida Representative Suzanne Kosmas also condemned the White House's decision, saying in a statement that "the President's proposal lacks a bold vision for space exploration and begs for the type of leadership that he has described as critical for inspiring innovation for the 21st century."

Meanwhile, supporters argue that the new budget is more realistic and creates better opportunities for advancing space exploration.

"I think it puts us on a much more sustainable path than we've been on for the past ten years," Ray Williamson, executive director of the space advocacy group Secure World Foundation, told National Geographic News.

And former astronaut Buzz Aldrin said in a statement that he strongly endorses NASA's new direction. (Related: "Buzz Aldrin, First Man (to Pee) on the Moon, Sounds Off.")

"As an Apollo astronaut, I know the importance of always pushing new frontiers as we explore space," Aldrin said.

"The truth is that we have already been to the moon—some 40 years ago. A near-term focus on lowering the cost of access to space and on developing key, cutting-edge technologies to take us further, faster is just what our nation needs to maintain its position as the leader in space exploration for the rest of this century."


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Accessible Florence

Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower, Florence, Italy

I’ve just returned from a short city break to the beautiful Italian city of Florence.

What made this trip so special was the fact that we’d managed to find an accessible apartment, right in the city centre, whose history went back to the 14th century. Most wheelchairs users don’t get much choice when it comes to accessible holiday accommodation, although this is slowly changing. Normally I have to stay in square box modern hotels with as much character as a drawing pin.

The accommodation we rented in Florence began life as an open market in the 14th century and was later converted into housing, and then more recently into seven apartments, our accommodation was on the ground floor and wheelchair accessible. Many of the period features have been

Searching for Utopia
Bronze of a man riding a turtle in Piazza delia Signora

retained, most noticeably the vaulted ceiling and exposed brickwork. To gain access from the street, we had to use the supplied split fold ramp but once up the only step, the accommodation was all on the level. We spent a very enjoyable and comfortable four nights in this historic apartment and would recommend it to anyone. Here’s the link

If you’ve ever been to Florence, you will know that there are some things about the place that make it unique. The first is that it’s stuffed full of the most extraordinary art, sculptures and historic buildings. Second, it has some charming restaurants, and other eateries and third the

Me in my chair with the bike attachment
Me in my chair with the Batec attached. Near the Pitti Palace in Florence

pavements and the roads, particularly in the pedestrianised centre of the city, are an absolute nightmare if you are on wheels. Fortunately, I took a manual wheelchair with a Batec bike attachment fitted to the front. Here’s the link With the bike attached
the small front wheel casters are lifted off the ground, and this meant that I was able to negotiate uneven and potholed pavements relatively safely and easily. If you are thinking of going to Florence, I would certainly recommend you use a wheelchair or scooter with big wheels.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, every gallery and exhibition we visited in the old city were wheelchair accessible and free, so my wife and I were able to enjoy just about all that Florence has to offer without breaking the bank. Another thing that impressed me was the fact that in a number of galleries there were tactile replicas of some of the paintings, which enabled sight impaired people to get a sense of the works of art on display, it would be good to see more of this in the UK.

Be warned Florence is an overwhelming experience so you will need to pace yourself. Fortunately, there are plenty of places to sit and relax, and the food and wine make relaxing an even more pleasurable pastime.

Have a good week and here’s some news which might be of interest to you. Supplied by John Pring Disability News Service

Government agency ‘blocked attempts to expose abuse of bus access loophole’

Lib Dem conference: Party picks first Westminster candidate from all-disabled shortlist

Premier League clubs ‘will break access pledge’ despite billion pound transfer spree

Grammar school plans ‘ignore impact on disabled pupils’

Author: PhilFriend

Dr Phil Friend (OBE FRSA) himself a wheelchair user, is acknowledged as the UK's foremost consultant on disability matters. A powerful and highly popular communicator, his company – Phil & Friends – provides consultancy to many of the country's best-known companies. In addition to his professional activities, he is also a respected champion for equal opportunities and diversity in general, where his special blend of humour and direct speaking has won admirers from around the world.

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NY AG offers guidance on ‘sanctuary’ immigration policies

NEW YORK (AP) – New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is offering local governments guidance on how they can put laws and policies in place to limit their participation in federal immigration enforcement activities under the Trump administration.

Schneiderman issued the guidance on Thursday.

He says public safety depends on trust between law enforcement and communities. The Democrat says no local law enforcement agency should have to put that trust at risk to carry out Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s “draconian immigration policies.”

The guidance says local New York law enforcement agencies can take several steps. They include refusing to enforce non-judicial civil immigration warrants and denying requests from federal officials to hold onto people in custody who haven’t been charged for more than 48 hours.

The Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately comment.

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Friday, October 19, 2012

Squirrel Facts: The Alpine Marmot

The Alpine Marmot is a ground squirrel that lives in high grasslands of the Alps and other European mountain ranges. Their range includes parts of Alpine France, Switzerland, and Italy, Austria, southern Germany, and Yugoslavia. It is one of the largest squirrels, measuring about 18-21 inches in length not including the short tail, which is slightly more than an inch long. The coat is thick, reddish-brown or gray.

Like many ground squirrels, the Alpine marmot is highly social, living in colonies of four to around 50 members. The colonies consist of a dominant pair along with their offspring from several years. Typically the male offspring will leave the colony after their first or second winter, as will some of the females, but other females will stay with the group. When the dominant female dies, one of the female offspring will inherit the dominant position.

Members of the colony live in a system of interconnected burrows. They spend the spring and summer months gaining the weight that they will need to survive their long winter hibernation, which lasts more than half of the year. They feed on seeds, grasses, flowers, and bulbs, but will also eat insects and sometimes birds' eggs. In the spring, just after hibernation, an adult Alpine marmot may weigh only around seven pounds, but by the beginning of the next hibernation in the fall its weight will increase to as much as 18 pounds.

Mating takes place immediately after the end of hibernation, and usually three, but sometimes up to seven, young are born in the spring. At the beginning of the winter hibernation, usually in October, the marmots in a colony will retire to their burrow network. Adult Alpine marmots huddle with the young to keep them warm. The last marmot to enter the burrow will plug the entrance with grass, dirt, and feces to keep the cold air and predators out.

Alpine marmots are extremely powerful diggers. Using their fore and hind feet they can penetrate earth that even a pickax would have trouble breaking. Burrows are continually expanded over several generations and can become quite complex, with large "living areas" and other dead end tunnels that are used as "toilets."

Alpine marmots are usually very shy and wary of intruders. One member of the colony will usually stand watching for signs of danger, and if a predator or intruder is seen, will give a series whistles, sending the entire colony running to the burrow for cover.

Remarkably, one human, a young boy named Matteo Walch, seems to have gained the trust of a colony of Alpine marmots in Austria. As reported by the Daily Mail of the UK, this eight year old boy befriended the colony during a family vacation four years ago, and ever since has been welcomed by the marmots during his family's annual two-week summer holidays.

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Today we started off practicing “How He loves” then followed the path from microphone to speaker and learned about all the potential roadblocks on the way.  After lunch we studied the story of Abraham and Isaac and discussed how much God loves us.  Then we went and sang more about it with the song “Furious” followed by some small group prayer time and ended on a serious note 😉 with nicknames.  See video below:

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NextGen Gaming Casino's

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NF-2 Fact Sheet

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF-2)

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF-2 or bilateral acoustic NF) Is estimated to occur in 1 of 25,000 births. The gene for NF-2 is on chromosome 22. NF-2 can be characterized by:

  • Vestibular schwannomas on both hearing nerves, often resulting in hearing loss and/or balance problems
  • Cataracts or other visual problems at an early age
  • Symptoms can appear as early as 2 years, but usually during or after puberty
  • Other tumors of the central nervous system including the brain and spinal cord tumors of the skin


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The mid – late 70’s

I had finished my second homebuilt. The first was from drawings this one was from an idea that I could do something better. Deflectors were the order of the day (struts and wire on the leading edge for strengthen and shape) and methods to enhance billow shift were evolving. (Including ‘pulley system’, many already in use). My idea was to just extend the cross tube a bit and put a small pulley wheel on the ends. This and a ‘normal’ pulley wheel on the nose plate gave one continues cable running from wingtip to wingtip around the nose plate. There were no deflectors as such. As one wingtip flexed in the other flexed out. For strength there were also two additional flying wires going from wing tip to ‘A’ frame corner.
This flew ok and the billow shift mechanism worked fine.
There was nothing particularly innovative here, but it was a slightly unusual configuration.

I had tested this to the point of flying from Cromer but after flying a while I thought the ‘A’ frame base bar was really too far back and needed adjusting. Like a fool I did this on site, and in an adrenaline filled flying state of mind.
I tilted the ‘A’ frame forward a bit by lengthening the rear wires and shorting the front wires (as a prototype It was all easily adjustable). What I forgot to do was lengthen the additional flying wires. The effect of this was to put unacceptable amounts of camber on the leading edges giving a glider configuration that enjoyed going into a dive…
I prepared for a cliff takeoff.
GO …..and I was up and away.

I immediately knew there was something wrong and a second later I knew exactly why. The glider started to speed up as the nose pitched down. My god I thought and for some inexplicable reason I started to sing loudly. The nose down tendency was already starting to make my arms ache and I was heading out to sea. I tried to wrap my feet around the rear flying wires to ease the pressure on my arms but this made me lose what little control I had.
I had to make a turn and as I did the glider sped up even more and started to side-slip for good measure.
This was not good so I sang even louder interspersed with OH SH**.
By the end of the first verse of ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ I was flying very low very fast and heading along the beach pushing out for all I was worth. One Herculean effort got the nose up a bit. Fortunately as there was a bit of cross wind and I was heading directly into it I managed to make a perfect but very fast running landing….
Piece of cake.

This problem was easily fixed but this glider came to the end of its life when a slightly out of control bonfire damaged the sail. I was not as disappointed as I should have been. Glider design is best left to the experts.

Mike Lake

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License


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Sunday, September 7, 2014

Deadlines in a Leather Bar

I'm not quite sure how I missed it. It was on the syllabus since day one, along with all the other assignment due dates.  "Saturday, September 6th. Outline for the big research project." Due at midnight, Saturday night. As this is for my online history class, I had logged in several times over the last couple of days to complete other assignments, yet somehow missed this deadline. Until noon Saturday, right as I left for work. In a panic I emailed the professor to tell him that I would miss the deadline. That, however didn't sit well with me. I grabbed my computer bag and headed into the office, knowing that I wouldn't be done until ten that night.

If all went well, I would be able to kick the kids out of work at ten. Knowing that all coffee houses within the tri-county area close way before ten on a Saturday I would show up at Jim's bar and use his office for a study hall. This was for his wifi and his comfy recliner. I chose this because I knew that if went home to write an entire paper in two hours it would never work, dogs to be walked, doughnuts to eat. If I were to pull off his major cue of ignoring a paper, then cramming it into the very last second, I'd need seclusion.

At ten the plan started to move. I hopped into the Jeep and headed to Denver's finest leather bar. At 10:20pm I walked through a field of leathermen in a Polo shirt ( I blended perfectly with my school bag and khakis) to make my way to the office. Right at 10:30pm, behind schedule, I cracked open the MacBook. A proposal for my history research project fell onto the computer screen. The topic will be how Catholic monks saved classic Greek philosopher's works be transcribing them and saving them from obscurity.

As the security cameras displayed the Saturday night craziness of a leather bar ramping up to full swing, I clicked away. Attempting to ignore the party going on right out side the office door. Until 11:55pm when I  clicked SUBMIT on my paper outline. I was in the Professor's dropbox before the deadline.

anne marie in philly said...

cutting THAT close! now did you go have some fun after hitting SUBMIT? (heh heh heh)

cb said...


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16 Following

Hot Head

Hot Head (Head #1) - Damon Suede This book was a great introduction into the world of m/m for me. I enjoyed watching Griff and Dante's relationship change from friendship to something more. It saddens me that people can be so mean to others who are different from them and this book made me realize how painful and upsetting words can be. I respect everyone's right to their own opinion, but that doesn't change the fact that we are all humans and words/fist can hurt us all the same. That said, this book was not super heavy on the negative aspects of m/m relationships, but it was definitely a theme of this book. Griff and Dante had great banter and Dante's family is one you would want to belong to. I would recommmend this book to those interested in m/m relationships.


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Monday, September 7, 2015

21 Days of AAC Challenge (the whole thing)

This post is the summation of the 21 Days of AAC Modeling Challenge that I just finished. This link will bring you back to the post that introduces the challenge and explains the logic behind it. Below I am copying & pasting my daily Facebook status updates so that I'll have it all in one spot. The hyperlink for each day will take you to the original Facebook post, in case you'd like to see the conversation and sharing that happened each day.

I've been increasing my modeling for the past 3 days (Maya's summer break started on Wednesday, which kind of inspired the timing of this challenge) so I have a bit of a jumpstart. On day 3 my kids are responding in a noticeably different way, somewhat intrigued when I reach for a talker. They are pausing to listen and watch more, which is great.
I'm sharing the modeling that I did while playing Memory with the kids this morning. We are just introducing contractions, so you'll see that the screenshot I'm sharing says "It's your turn." Other things that I said included:
-It's my turn/his turn/her turn.
-That's not a match
-Awesome match
-No match
-Whose turn is it
-No stealing my match you little thief
Simple. Easy. If I were modifying for a newer user, I would drop "it's" to model "my turn/your turn." That could be further simplified by asking "Whose turn?" verbally and then modeling "mine" or the players' names. Modeling for matches could just become saying "Yes, a match!" or "No match" and modeling the yes/no buttons. That also could be verbally asking "is there a match?" and then model using the yes/no to answer.
For more advanced users, the possible targets are kind of limitless if you think creatively. If you wanted to focus more on social language, you could skip modeling the game play and stick to things like "Awesome!" "Good job" "You have a great memory" "Nice teamwork" etc. Adjectives could have been targeted by describing the items on the card ("that looks like a FRIENDLY dragon"). Verbs could be targeted by narrating the actions used in the game (OPEN the box, FLIP the cards, PUT them back in the line, TAKE your turn, etc) and more advanced verb forms could be modeled as well ("I just flipped over 2 cards but didn't see a match").
The point is kind of that you can pick any activity and model simply or model more complicated-ly . . . but don't get overwhelmed by the possibilities. I kept things simple (there was some card stealing and refereeing that needed to be done along with modeling) but I was actively engaged with a talker, and that's fantastic.

One thing that I've noticed about modeling more is that the simple act of wearing/transporting the iPad around makes me much more likely to use it. The difference between having it in the stroller vs. having it on my body, or having it in the room vs. having it at my fingertips . . . it's a big difference. It's kind of like instead of needing a reason to cross the room and get the iPad to model, I would need a compelling reason NOT to model, since it's already right there ready to be used.
(picture 1) We went for a long walk and to a playground this morning, and the kids didn't want to hold the talkers in the stroller while they were having a snack. Usually I would stick them both under the stroller . . . but today I wore one instead. As it turned out, there were two times that we paused on our walk and I could quickly model ("Are you going to use your spray bottles?" and something that I don't remember). Also, the act of wearing the talker had me (strangely) thinking about whether I knew the locations of the words that I was saying. So when I was pushing the stroller and said "We're going to have fun!" I was mentally tracing the path through the talker to build that sentence. We also added the words "cicada" and the name of a new playground to the talker smile emoticon
(picture 2) Later in the afternoon we went out with spray bottles to squirt things in the neighborhood, and I wore the talker to model again. Nothing profound, but again---having the talker right there made me feel like "if it's hanging around me I may as well use it."

The Good: We hit the farmer's market this morning, as we do most Sundays. We always have the talkers with us, but I don't usually wear one around while Maya and I shop (Dave and Will usually wander to kick a ball around in the back). Today I wore a talker, and had a chance to model "the biggest beet" (seriously, it was the biggest beet ever), to talk about Maya's yellow vegetable selections (she picked yellow carrots and yellow tomatoes) and to comment "so many colors!" (shown in the picture below). We also noticed that we needed to add "nectarine" and "overflowing"-due to an overflowing garbage can. When I programmed that in Dave pointed out that overflowing is also a verb, so we also added the other forms (overflow, overflows, overflowed).
The Bad: Later in the afternoon we went to Target, and I confidently entered the store with a talker around my neck. And then I didn't use it once. Because crowds and noise and blocking-the-aisles and things-to-touch and things-to-see and chaos and I'm-not-stopping-right-here-to-model-because-you-don't-care-that-much-and-we-just-need-to-get-out-of-here. But maybe I'll try to bring the kids back on a weekday morning, when things are quieter, and I'll try then.
The Numbers Don't Lie: As I added more words tonight (fake, fakes, faking, faked, faker, and +rooni---- that last one is because I like to add -rooni to words, and now she can too. Ex: fakerooni, stinkyrooni, sillyrooni, etc) I thought to myself "I really wish I had thought to keep count of how many new words I open/add over the course of this challenge" . . . and then I realized that because of the word counter in our app, and the frequency with which I save back-ups, I may actually have a count. I looked back to Tuesday night (the start of Maya's break) and I had saved a vocab file. On Wednesday I started to up my modeling game, so today is kind of day 5 for me (it took me two days to think up the challenge).
In the past 5 days, I've added or opened 60 words. 60! It's so easy to see what words aren't there when you start to use a talker yourself.
This isn't to suggest that everyone start adding words as-fast-as-you-can, or that success = adding more words, but it's been eye opening for me. Maya isn't overwhelmed by the addition of words, and she really enjoys helping to add them, pick a location for each one, select and image to go with it, etc. And it's great to keep adding words that are kind of fun and colorful, which are sometimes much more motivating for kids to jump in and use than the run-of-the-mill wants-and-needs stuff.

Today's update really comes from Maya, not from my modeling. I kept up with modeling throughout the day (at home, the library, the grocery store) but the more interesting parts of today were when Maya decided to talk. After nearly a week of upping my modeling work, today brought a jump in Maya's talker use as well. I started modeling contractions 6 days ago, and I haven't seen much interest in using them from Maya-until today. This morning I heard her talking in bed a bit, so at breakfast I opened up our history feature and saw . . . well, some interesting things (pic 1). First, I saw that she had independently formed a great sentence that included a contraction: "Sulley it's me." Next, I saw that she formed this sentence at 3 in the morning. She actually used the talker from a bit before 3am until 4am, and then went back to sleep. She told me that she was talking to Sulley (the monster from Monsters Inc). Once I got past the completely creepy idea that Maya was talking to monsters at 3am, I was psyched about the contraction. (Further inquiry yielded that it wasn't real, it was pretend, and that Sulley said "I love you Maya", so at least he's friendly . . .)
At lunch Maya made a few nice sentences, too. One was about this morning's activities (pic 2) . . . we walked to the library and read some books. Reading is a great modeling activity---so easy to talk about the books (verbs that the characters are doing, attributes that describe them, sight words or new words in the text to add).
She also made this amazing one about Sulley the monster returning tonight (pic 3). "He'll" = future tense contraction! Amazing! "Visit" = I had no idea where that word was, I was so impressed that she did. (Also, really creepy.)
So that's two spontaneous contractions after 6 days of not seeming to pay too much attention to how I modeled them . . . big win today smile emoticon We also added the word "diarrhea" (which we read in the book "Today I Feel Silly") . . . which the kids thought was hilarious.

Today was a sloppy day. We spent the (very hot) morning at the playground, where I added two new words (breeze and breezy) and modeled a bit, but not much. Despite knowing that having the talker on my body increases my modeling, I shoved it under the stroller while walking because it was 90 degrees, over 90% humidity, and I was pushing 100 lbs of double strollerness up and down hills. The pull of the talker strap on my sweaty neck was the last straw for me.
In the afternoon we played at home. We worked together to make a menu for the kids' play restaurant (that involved lots of AAC use) and then I narrated while the kids' played. At one point I realized that new-to-modeling families (or families currently in a am-I-even-doing-this-right place, where we all end up from time to time) may imagine that other parents are cracker-jack-modeling-wizards . . . but we all have our highlights and lowlights.
So I grabbed my phone and recorded a few minutes to show what modeling often looks like when my kids are otherwise engaged (in this case, eating pretzels and playing with toy food)----I'm talking to myself, they are occasionally glancing my way. This is no pressure modeling----at best, Maya is gleaning something from what I'm saying, or may turn and use the talker spontaneously because I'm holding it out and ready and interacting with it. At worst, I'm showing respect for the talker by choosing to use it, and practicing finding words (upside down, in this case).
I'm not forcing her to engage, making her use it, or saying "look here! look here!"----all of that, to me, would make AAC feel like work, an obligation, something that makes her stop playing and forces her to do something else. Sometimes I'll call out "Hey, look, I found that word!" or something, but if she doesn't look I just move on . . .

First, let me say that I am really enjoying this challenge. I am reaching for the talker more, partially because I know that I am coming here to report out at the end of the day, which keeps it near the front of my mind. Aside from my own increase in modeling, I love hearing your stories---which keep me motivated and also help me think of new things to try, new words to add, etc. I find myself checking FB on my phone more often between posting and going to bed, anxious to see if anyone else has shared smile emoticon
I took the kids to the mall this afternoon and managed to say some new stuff, including the phrase "this way." I'm not sure I had ever used the word "way" before, but "this way" "that way" "which way" "out of my way" "you're in the way" "way over there" are all really versatile and conversational, and I plan on targeting "way" more tomorrow (particularly since, as I write this, I'm struggling to recall which screen "way" is on*).
I had grand plans of going on the ferris wheel and modeling during the ride about how it was fast and fun and high, etc. Instead, Maya had a bit of a sensory overload, which led to us programming the new button "too much". Since I'm not sure whether it's too exciting, too scary, too overwhelming, or too . . . I don't know what . . . "too much" seemed like a safe bet. Now I just need to remember to model it during those overloaded times.

Today was a challenging day. I spent the morning in an orientation at Will's preschool, and returned home in the middle of lunchtime. Then came rest time, during which Maya did not rest, and the afternoon was filled with some behavioral stuff and some hands-on parenting that made modeling challenging. I know, in theory, that challenging medical and behavioral times are exactly when modeling is extra meaningful and essential (teaching to use language to work through challenges rather than behavior) . . . but I also know, in reality, that sometimes one's hands are just too full, and one's mind just too stretched, to deal with also managing an iPad and speaker and strap and don't-step-on-that and wait-now-you're-twisted-in-the-cord and argh-let-me-lift-you-here-and-put-you-over-here-and-I'm-throwing-this-gd-iPad-over-that-way-because-I-just-can't.
Then we went to a barbecue for Dave's work folks. Maya loves learning people's names, so leading up to the bbq, in on the car ride there, we practiced asking people what their names were, and introducing ourselves. She was ready! She was excited! She didn't use the talker at all the whole time we were there!
Tomorrow is a new day. No guilt here :)

We went to the zoo today, and I had some fun in the petting zoo area modeling what the animals were thinking (primarily "I'm hungry" "We're hungry" "I need food" etc). I took picture #1, of Maya feeding the goat and the modeling iPad hanging down at goat-speaking-level, thinking that that would be my AAC modeling pic for the day. But then things got interesting smile emoticon
Maya fed an alpaca and then turned away from him, which he apparently did not like, as he stretched out and bit her arm. There were tears, and I quickly said that we should yell at the alpaca with the talker and tell him that he wasn't nice. (Picture #2) The text reads "No biting you stinky alpaca. You are not nice." (Picture #3)
Then things got really ridiculous, as apparently alpacas don't appreciate being called stinky. The biter's buddy ran over, sniffed the iPad and listened to the sentence, and then bit the talker! (Picture #4 and #5---you can see the bottom blue bar of the Gripcase being pulled down in the last picture) Maya thought that this was hilarious smile emoticon
From Maya: Today at dinner, she used the talker to make a few big spontaneous interesting sentences with Dave---about a friend from school, a favorite song, and the fact that she wanted a "long" bath (in response to him mentioning that he would fill the tub for a quick bath). He said to me, "This might just be a coincidence, but she just said a lot . . ." Not coincidence, most likely, probably the increased talker use around here. Yay modeling!

The goat said "I'm hungry" so Maya fed him.

 Talking back to the biter.

"No biting you stinky alpaca. You are not nice."

A friend runs over to investigate. "Hey lady, did you just call my buddy stinky?"

"Then I will bite this thing." (You can see the bottom bar of the Gripcase being pulled down.)

Two weeks ago we attended the AAC Institute Camp in Pittsburgh. One of my biggest take-aways from camp was the somewhat unspoken, but universally accepted, idea that modeling is normal and is happening all the time. In a hotel surrounded by other AAC families it was really easy to model, but it really hit home for me when we took a group field trip to the mall. I modeled on that mall trip in Pittsburgh like a pro, but realized that I tend not to model at all when we are at our own local mall.
I thought about why this was the case, and I realized that it's because I tend to favor a low profile. Wearing an iPad is unusual (sometimes I think nothing of it, sometimes I see some glances and step outside of myself and realize just how strange it must look). Bending over and drawing the attention of my children to an iPad, rather than pointing out things around them or just chatting, must look very odd. Am I tutoring them? Are we playing some sort of video game? Why aren't we just enjoying our surroundings? Why are people so addicted to their screens these days?
(By the way, professionals, I think that this may be a big difference for families: if you're modeling out in public you may not feel awkward, because it's your job. I think it may be easier not to feel weird when it's your job, not actually part of your identity. When I think about modeling for other kids I don't feel self-conscious at all, but in our local playgrounds and grocery store and on the street and at Starbucks and when I run into parents from Will's playgroup and everywhere, I am becoming that-lady-who-wears-and-is-constantly-playing-with-an-iPad.)
Once I realized that my modeling was being negatively impacted by my desire not to draw attention to myself, the solution was obvious: to surrender any last bits of self-consciousness that I had and go for it.
So here I am today at the playground, being the lady-who-wears-and-plays-with-the-iPad. The kids are filling up cups of water from the sprinkler and carrying them to dump down the drain and stairs that are to my left. When they walk by me I modeled things like "You filled the cups" "Don't spill them" "Dump them over there" etc. We added the words dump-dumps-dumping-dumped.

Halfway through, officially, and the changes here are undeniable across the board. Here's an update, family member by family member:
-My AAC vocabulary has seriously jumped. I'm fast, my finger hovering above the next word and waiting for the screens to load and catch up (I'm still using an iPad2 and Maya has the original mini---unfortunately, these processors are a bit older and slower than is ideal). Sometimes when I talk I find myself thinking through the sequences to form the sentence via AAC in my head, and I wonder (a lot) if Maya does that, too.
-Will has increased his overall talker use (greatly) and is trying to remember and repeat sentences that he's seen used earlier in the day/week.
-Dave's AAC use has increased significantly. At dinner for the past 2 nights more than half of his "speech" has been via AAC.
-Maya is watching now, a lot. She's not ignoring my AAC use or fighting it---she's come to accept, I guess, that this is just a thing that I do now. She watches me when I'm using new words or saying something she she might not expect, and other times she does her own thing until I activate the sentence strip and then she'll look (either at the icons I've chosen or reading the sentence or both . . . I imagine that, like me, she may read the words and then examine the icons for the ones that she may not know the location of, but that's only a guess). When she uses the talker I can see bits and pieces of things I've modeled, and I see more sophisticated sentences, but I would say that the difference in her use is in quality, not quantity. That is pretty par for the course for Maya----she is always always learning, but we often sit for a while without much evidence that she's absorbing and applying all of it until--whammy--we unexpectedly see it some day.
Today I was gone for half the day with Will (first day of preschool), then she had speech, then the day was hit or miss. There was some modeling at the playground, a bit at the grocery store, some around dinner time. Nothing really noteworthy, just plodding along.

Will started preschool (for real, without mommy) today. I need to be on campus when he's in school, but Maya doesn't start school for another week and a half--so today was the first of several fill-time-on-campus days for Maya and me. We spent a lot of time in the lounge for speech students, which was lovely and quiet and empty (classes don't start for a few days) and we colored, made lists, read books, walked around, took pictures of things, and had lunch. She loved the college . . . primarily because she thought it was like the school that Mike and Sulley go to in Monsters University, and I think she was hoping to spot a monster on campus.
I modeled throughout the day, she made some sentences that she wanted me to add to a list. We added the word "calm" (Will calmed down quickly after we left) and the name of some cartoon airplane. She's way excited to return tomorrow, and she wants to do some tracing and writing and I think there are some fun opportunities to use the talker to share some story ideas.
Nothing exciting, but good consistent modeling . . . and I think she's ready to teach a class :)

Maya and I spent another day on campus while Will tackled preschool. We had a great morning doing something that is *highly* motivated for her: writing. She really, really loves it when people write things for her: lists, sentences, anything. While her AAC use for communication favors speed (as in, she will often use minimal words to get her points across), she will actually make phrases and sentences if she knows that I will write them down. I found a workbook of writing prompts and questions for preschoolers-2nd graders and she was dying to get at it.
I used the talker to ask the questions or get her to expand upon her answers (by adding "why" do a lot of questions). She used Mini to answer me, and the questions. I loved doing this activity with her because it centered not around functional communication, but around imaginative communication---which, I think, it something we don't do nearly enough. I'd venture to guess that a lot of AAC users could use more imaginative talk, both at home and at school (although maybe I'm just falling shorter than usual on that front). I'm going to make sure increase the number of imaginative discussions that we have.
I think my favorite one today was about the sad zebra (see pictures).

Me: What do you like to do in the winter?
Maya: Go have fun.

Me: What do you like to do in the spring?
 Maya: Ride a bike.

 Maya said her favorite zoo animal was a zebra (hence the stripes) and then drew a sad face on him. (She loves sad faces). I wrote "a sad zebra", she thought it was hilarious.

After drawing the zebra:
Me: Why's the zebra sad?
Maya: Because he wants to eat
Awesome answer. I'm pretty sad when I want to eat, too.

We spent the first half of the day at the zoo (no alpaca bites, although a goat got Maya's finger). I had the talker on and available, but we were moving at a good clip (and it was a bit hot to stop and model too often) so most of the AAC use was when we stopped for breaks, or during shady exhibits. At a snack break I modeled "Next we're going to see the dog" . . . and the kids laughed. So I deleted 'dog' and said "Next we're going to see the cat", etc etc until I said the correct sentence (tiger). Then Will came over and wanted to join in, while Maya and my mom looked on.
While walking through the gorilla exhibit we passed a few waterfalls, and I checked and saw that the word 'waterfall' is missing. It's so easy to quickly check and add words if I'm already wearing the talker . . . and wearing the talker, in and of itself, is a steady reminder to check for the availability of words that I am speaking. We've now added or opened 101 words since I increased my modeling. Waterfall is a word that we've said to Maya tons of times (it's hard to even guess at quantifying that) . . . how did I never think, before now, to check if it was in her talker? I know she understands the word. I'm pretty sure she can read it. In an emergency, she may have thought to combine 'water' + 'fall' . . . but she shouldn't have to. She should have all of the words.
(Again, your mileage may vary, but at this stage I'm not very worried about visually overwhelming Maya with crowded screens. If I notice that she's taking longer to find things I can always use color to break up/highlight/clump words.)

Today was an errand-running day: a haircut for Will, dropping stuff off at the thrift store, Target, a grocery store trip, etc. Modeling happened a few times at Target, at home over lunch, while on a walk, and at the store . . . so, again, frequently but not constantly . . . which seems perfect for me right now.
Committing to the 21 day challenge gave me the opportunity to really sink my teeth into modeling and figure out how to make it realistically work---which can be tricky for families, I think. When Maya first starting using AAC I was overwhelmed by modeling--when do I do it? How do I do it? What if I modeled wrong . . . would I mangle her entire language development?
Then, over time, her vocabulary knowledge mostly outpaced mine. When asked, she could find words that were impressively obscure. She became possessive of her device, and I wasn't used to having the modeling iPad on hand. Our AAC dynamic shifted, and I began, again, to overanalyze my place and the best way to support her. Also, honestly, I felt like I had permission to be lazy since she clearly 'knew more than I did.'
But that wasn't quite right, either. She may have known where 'cubicle' was, but she didn't often use sentences or long phrases. How could I know what her inner grammar was? Maybe it was fantastic, but maybe it had gaps . . . and either way, I should be modeling. It's part of my responsibility. But I would alternate between too busy and too unsure (don't get me wrong, I modeled, but not religiously) and get stuck.
Now I'm in, for 21 days, and it just has to happen. It doesn't have to be amazing, it doesn't have to be perfection. Sometimes I pick a focus (like contractions or pronouns or verbs) sometimes I just say whatever comes to mind. But it's happening and it's changing things and it's a big-but-not-big deal.
Highlight of today: opening the word 'naked' after seeing that our sticker from the grocery store said naked. Much giggling and delight when we saw that word was already in there. Also added: lean, leans, leaning, leaned.

We spent the day in NJ, visiting my parents and enjoying the perks of having a yard (grilling, playing with a baby pool and buckets of water and mud, etc). Most of my modeling happened in the first half of the day, chatting while playing with some toys and looking at magazines, and then modeling during the hour or two we spent outside.
I love these pictures smile emoticon For me, they really show life in an #AACfamily. The kids were playing with bowls and spoons and water and grass and dirt, making 'soup.' I was modeling things about their soups, holding cups, catching water, pouring water, and being silly. In some of the pictures you can easily see a tan dish towel across one of my legs, which was there so that wet fingers could quickly be swiped dry if someone with a wet hang wanted to jump in and say something. I think in these pictures I was mainly modeling things like "Oh my goodness (that's a 1 hit phrase for us) all of the soup spilled!" or "That soup tastes delicious."
New words today: blast off, blast, blasts, blasting, blasted

"Oh my goodness, all of the soup spilled on Mommy (+'s foot)"
*The words in ( ) were being put in here

I think this was immediately after Maya dumped soup on my foot---I was acting shocked that more soup fell and Will was refilling my cup so that I could refill Maya's bowl.

"Oh my goodness, all of the soup spilled on the octopus"
I was trying to entice him to go feed an octopus toy across the yard.

This was a light modeling day. We visited with out-of-town family for breakfast, went to a birthday party, and then had kind of a lazy afternoon. There was some modeling, but it was nothing particularly special. My favorite modeled phrase was about being a "party pooper"---which was fun and also gave me the chance to model using the '+er' word ending. I like getting to use the word ending buttons because it's nice to show her how to play with words as units.
Tomorrow is my first day of classes (6 hours of class tomorrow---send coffee! or a seat cushion!) and Maya will spend the morning on campus with me (classes start at noon) so I anticipate much modeling in the morning.
*Also, in a few minutes I'm going to post a little survey question about this modeling challenge, so please go look for that in case the mysterious FB algorithms only show you my posts with pictures attached.

Holy cow, guys, it's already Day 18. Thanks to the folks who shared their thoughts on last night's opinion poll (if you didn't chime in, it's not too late---I'd love to hear from you, too). I'm going to continue sharing modeling snippets and reflections after the close of day 21, although I need to think more about how/when/what-it-will-look-like.
Today was my first day back in class, so I was with Maya, and modeling, in the morning. We did some coloring and writing and tracing, and I modeled thoughts about the pictures and stories. We added: trace, traces, tracing, traced.
When I started this I thought to myself "even if I forgot to model for a day it would be easy to lie and make something up" (I imagine that I just would have confessed, but the ease of lying did flit through my mind) . . . . however, I didn't anticipate how much this little project would impact me. I don't want to miss a day, and I find myself thinking "ok, what does this day look like, and where is modeling going to fit in?"
This is important to me. I want to make sure I model everyday. I want to make sure that it is a (high) priority not to let a day go by without Maya seeing someone else using a talker, too. This matters.

21 Days of AAC Challenge: Day 19
(the good and the confession)
First, the good. Maya spent the morning at school with me again, much to her delight. She now knows where all of the buildings are, has favorite hang-out spots, and delights in going on as many campus errands as possible (today we had to visit tech support, use the giant stapler at the library, and hit the bookstore). We used the talker on campus to talk about a few different things, mostly when we sat to have snack. Maya was carrying around a huge children's cookbook and we talked about what we could make this afternoon (after my class). We settled on chocolate chip cookies
smile emoticon
The pictures below were taken during cookie making, which was a great modeling activity. We talked about the ingredients and the verbs that went with them: measuring, filling, pouring, dumping. stirring, and mixing. When we used the mixer (which is old and loud) Maya jumped in to say "stop" and "go." (pictured below)
Words added/opened: tablecloth, ingredients, eyelash
Now, the confession. I left Mini at home this morning. Maya's talker. I left it. I had my school bag, Maya's travel bag, Will's backpack, everyone's lunches, and the blue talker----and I had put the travel strap on Mini and put it by the door---but neither one of us grabbed it. I realized midway to campus that it wasn't there.
So, real life. #AACfamily

Nothing profound here (besides exhaustion). After two days of class, my arm hurts a lot tonight, so I'm keeping this brief. Today I modeled in between rounds of hide-and-boo (which is like hide and go seek, except that I hide and then jump out and scare the seekers): things like "I'm going to hide again" or "I got you."
More modeling during pretend play with babies (about what the babies wanted, how they felt, what they needed), and chit chat at mealtimes.

It's been a good run, and ended on a high note. Maya and I spent the morning on campus, hanging out in the shade of the speech building. I introduced her to a color-by-number book, and we talked about how it had a key, just like maps. There was tons of modeling about the colors, following the key, directions, commenting, etc. Then we moved on to playing with category cards and talked about features that the items had in common and also differences. It was basically constant modeling for 2 hours, and it was great. We added/opened several words, but I can't remember what they were.
The numbers: Over the course of this increased modeling period, we added/opened a total of 136 words.
My (brief) reflections: Modeling makes a difference (I know, I know, we all knew this already). The ways in which it made a difference for us, however, were perhaps not the ways that a novice would hope to see . . .
-Quantity of AAC talking time: I didn't quantify the talker use (mine or Maya's) but if I had to venture an educated guess, I don't think that there was a huge increase in the amount of time that Maya spent using AAC. There was, of course, a huge jump in the amount of time that I (and Dave, too) spent using AAC . . . and Will showed a renewal of interest as well.
-Quantity of AAC listening time: Humongous jump for my kids. They were used to only seeing me model briefly on any given day, and now I was wearing a talker every time we walked out the door. Big jump.
-Quality of AAC talking: Huge jump for me---I am solidly fluent now, rightside up/upside down/sideways. I'm as fast as the system allows me to be. I still use the search feature daily (because I like to say what I'm really thinking and because I'm happy to take the extra time and model the search feature) but I'm happy with that. Maya's quality is great, as usual----and she's gained a bunch of words through these 21 days.
-Quality of AAC listening: Huge jump for Maya. She used to be indifferent to my modeling, often leaving me (literally) talking to myself. Over the course of these 21 days she has become undeniably and considerably more interested in watching me talk. She hasn't wanted to talk about my increase in talker use (sometimes saying that she likes it, sometimes that she doesn't, most often ignoring the line of conversation) but everything about her behavior says that this has been so good for us.
-Family Culture: We became a more genuine #AACfamily. I wasn't just supporting or encouraging Maya to use a talker, I used one myself (or wore it, at least). I paused to say things. Our communication rate slowwwweeeedddd down, allowing for my pauses to tap out sentences, and probably settling in a space that was easier for her to keep up with.
-For me: I really feel like this has deepened the connection between Maya and I. It also effectively erased any sort of self-consciousness that I may have had about wearing the iPad and modeling everywhere, simply by making it my job ("I have to do this! I'm in a challenge!"). And I can't really imagine leaving the house tomorrow without wearing the blue iPad anymore than I can imagine leaving without my shoes. Rather than feeling like I have to make the conscious choice to bring it, I feel like I would now have to make the conscious choice to leave it at home.
It all feels like success.

 "Can you find another 9?"

We did 9 cards at a time and cleared them when she grouped and talked about the categories. These were the last two.

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28 March 2010

Mum is here!

My mum is here to visit for 2 weeks!  Its great to have someone from my family here to actually seeing all the things I have talked about for the last few years!  I have asked my mum to do some blog entries so watch this space!!

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Oct 22, 2016

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In which Nina forgets it is Saturday

I’ve been very good lately about actually putting my butt down to write a blog post to be published every Saturday. Today I am still traveling but that doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to stop. Except that I forgot that today’s Saturday. I’m neck deep in writing work, trying to translate back the changes I made during the editing of my recently published short story (I’m not sure I’ll ever actually tire of saying that), writing/editing a new short story for a Viable Paradise alumni thing with the prompt “Snail Rodeo”, trying to figure out what my novel needs to say next etc.

So instead of agonizing about trying to come up with a cool post, I’m just going to make a list of things that are making me happy today.

Cute dreamer boy playing with a cardboard airplane. Childhood. Fantasy, imagination. Retro style.

  • My knitting. I’m making an Aibrean sweater out of Madelinetosh Pashmina yarn in the color Flashdance. The pattern is easy to just knit while doing anything, the yarn is soft and pliable and lovely, not to mention that the color warms every cold cockle of my heart and it’s starting to look like I’ll have the sweater done and ready to wear by the time I get back to Finland.
  • Eat. Sleep. Knit. Yarnathon. Eat. Sleep. Knit. is one of my favorite yarnstores, if not the favorite and it’s largely because of the Yarnathon they’ve been running at least as long as I’ve been a customer there. Basically, the idea is that every contestant buys a marathon’s worth of yards in yarn and you get various prizes (extra skeins, store credit, that kind of stuff) at specific intervals so you get nice things even if you don’t actually finish the marathon. I especially love it this year because everything is space-themed. The levels are the planets of the solar system, the teams have mascots inside flying saucers (GO RABBITEERS!), several dyers have special space-themed colorways etc. I would probably buy a lot of yarn at ESK even if they didn’t have the Yarnathon, mostly because they carry wide selections of all my favorite dyers (Madelinetosh, Nerd Girl Yarns and Dream in Color for the curious) but the Yarntahon is just a bit of silly added on top that makes me happy.Magic Book with super powers - 3D Artwork
  • Tom of Finland coffee. What can I say? I like my coffee bold. Also, it’s a taste of Finland in my extended American escape.
  • Hanging out in the same room with my friend Jay, introverting/working. There’s a fair number of people who will not believe that I’m an introvert, mostly because they’ve more or less only seen me in circumstances where I’ve been making an extra effort to not appear introverted. But the fact is, I am introverted. So while I’m happy to hang out in groups of people, being loud and even bombastic, it also really makes me happy to just be in a room with someone I love, all of us silently doing our own things on whichever medium we’re working in. Today is the latter kind of day and it makes me happy.
  • The bath I’m going to have later. For all that I keep complaining that Americans do not understand how showers work, I actually sometimes like taking baths. Especially when it’s a proper bath instead of a half-bath where you can barely get your waist underwater without some serious acrobatics. And, dear reader, Jay has a proper bath. I am armed with a Lush Bath Bomb (Frozen, I think) which I’ve always wanted to try but never got the opportunity before now. I’m very much looking forward to it. Now I just need to choose the audiobook that is going to accompany me.

What’s making you happy today?

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Swamiji Ananda GnadhaParamahamsa Nithyananda is the founder of the Nithya Yoga system. He was born on January 1st 1978 in Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India. From the young age of 3 up to 14 years, the young Nithyananda studied and practiced under the care of a great yogi, YogirajYoganandaPuri, also lovingly known as Raghupati Yogi. He was the teacher responsible for preparing the child’s body and mind for the experience of enlightenment through the time-tested yoga techniques and the experience of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

When he was around 12 years old, Nithyananda had a profound spiritual experience while sitting at the feet of the holy Arunachala Hill in Thiruvannamalai. After this experience, his longing to pursue the spiritual path greatly intensified. For years, he practiced intense meditation, wandered all over India as a sadhu during his spiritual wanderings, parivrajaka, and finally realized the state of enlightenment or inner bliss, nithyananda.

With a special love for the Temples and Sacred Arts, Paramahamsa Nithyananda initiated a global mission to revive the Great Vedic Tradition and share the inner science of enlightenment with the world. He established the headquarters of his international mission, Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, near Bangalore, India.

It was only in mid-2005, in a small hut called the Laughing Temple, Paramahamsa Nithyananda suddenly revealed some of the deepest truths and secrets of yoga to a small group of devotees. This was the birth of Nithya Yoga, which has evolved till the present time and is still evolving as Nithyananda continues to reveal the truths in updated words.

Nithya Yoga is not a new yoga system. It is a rebirth of the oldest system which has its roots in the tradition of Patanjali, the Father of Yoga.


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…and then it hits me.

I’ve been nominated or shortlisted for (or won) nine major awards. Nine. Awards. Nine.

  1. The Hugo (Nominee)
  2. The Tiptree (Shortlist)
  3. The Prix Imaginales (Nominee)
  4. Gemmell Morningstar Award (Finalist)
  5. Locus Awards (Finalist)
  6. Nebula Award (Nominee)
  7. Goodreads Readers’ Choice Awards (Nominee)
  8. Romantic Times Book Reviews Award, Fantasy (Winner!)
  9. Crawford Award (Shortlist)

::bogglety:: I kinda don’t know what to think about this. I’m astounded. Awed. Humbled. A little scared. A lot giddy. (And the Virgo in me keeps wanting it to be ten, just to make it a nice round number.) It’s an honor to be nominated for even one of these things, but all of them? Holy guacamole.

I’m leaving tomorrow for the Nebula Awards weekend down in DC, which is already in full progress — but since I’m off to Imaginales after that, I’ve got to husband my vacation days carefully, so only doing an overnighter. The ceremony is tomorrow evening, and I don’t think they’re doing an online simulcast this year (which they did in NYC last year, and which I attended), so I’d recommend watching Twitter for a play-by-play on who’s winning what.

But looking at the list above, I think I’ll have a hard time being disappointed if I lose tomorrow. I mean, ’cause… wow. (Also ’cause the other nominees are kickass folks, and I love many of their works and voted for them myself.) So anyway, wish us all luck!

13 Responses »

  1. Luck!

    The good kind, I mean.

  2. Good luck! I really hope this works out well for you. :-D

  3. All much deserved. Good luck in DC.

  4. I’ve been nominated or shortlisted for (or won) nine major awards. Nine. Awards. Nine.

    This is because you are heckuva grand writer and someone who’s making the world sit up and take notice. Good luck in DC…

  5. Good luck.

    Hope to see you in Seattle for the Locus awards…

  6. Hee!!

    I think this is fabulous. Ten would be a great number. I’m just saying.

    Have a great time at the Nebs!

  7. Congratulations. It’s not like we didn’t know that you’re a talented writer.

    If you run into Bill Gibson, try talking to him about it. He’s had that experience.

  8. You Virgo, you! (-: Congratulations on all the nominations–you deserve them!!! Best of luck!!

  9. This is so awesome!! Best of luck!

  10. You deserve every award! You are truly talented. Best of luck!

  11. btw, I didn’t realize you’re a Virgo. So’s my daughter.

  12. Congrats on this awesomeness, and good luck. Truly hope you win, I just finished reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and just could not stop reading it. You have a compelling voice, and deserve this.

  13. To repeat — you totally deserve this, and best of luck!


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Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate: Modeling, Fabrication, and Nonlinear-Optical Performance

Periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) has become the nonlinear-optical material of choice in many infrared optical parametric oscillators (OPO's) due to its high nonlinearity, readily engineered tuning characteristics, and repeatable fabrication. The domain periods required for these OPO's are typically between 15 um and 30 um, and are made by a process already well developed. The domain periods required for visible light applications are typically between 3 um and 10 um, and are more difficult to fabricate repeatably. The focus of this research was to understand the nature of this difficulty, to develop strategies for repeatable device fabrication, and to demonstrate the nonlinear optical performance of the material.

This thesis presents a model of the periodic-poling process in lithium niobate, a repeatable PPLN-fabrication process developed using this model, and the nonlinear-optical performance of PPLN fabricated with this process. The model combines ferroelectric properties of the material, measured as part of this research, with the electrostatics of periodic electrodes. The fabrication process developed using the model was used to periodically pole two 75-mm-diameter wafers of 500-um-thick LiNbO3 with a 6.5 um domain period. These wafers yielded 53-mm-long samples, more than five times the length previously reported. Second harmonic generation experiments performed with these samples produced 2.7 watts of 532 nm radiation output with 6.5 watts of continuous-wave 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser radiation input, corresponding to a record 42% single-pass conversion efficiency. These samples were also used to operate the first reported continuous-wave 532-nm-pumped PPLN-based singly-resonant OPO, with a record-low 0.93-watt threshold (relative to other 532-nm-pumped OPO's), 56% conversion efficiency, and continuous tuning from 917-1266 nm. Finally, data are presented that indicate the presence of 532-nm-induced 1064-nm absorption.

Gregory David Miller

July, 1998


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Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

Another Speech

Someone else gave a speech last week. As far as I know, President Bush’s speech on the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war has received no comment on this blog yet. It also did not make a big splash in the news, in part because it said nothing new. The President repeated that we are fighting terrorists or al Qaeda in Iraq so we won’t have to fight them here. A short time before the speech, a review of 600,000 documents captured in Iraq appeared, concluding that Saddam’s regime had links to regional and global terrorism but that there was no direct connection between Iraq and al Qaeda.

I happen to be reading the memoir of a CIA case officer and high-ranking CIA official published in 1997 who reports a visit he made to Baghdad in 1986. The purpose of his visit was to get Saddam to live up to his part of the bargain he had made with the United States. We were giving him intelligence to help him in his war with Iran. In return, he was to sever his contacts with terrorists and expel them or turn them over to us. The former case officer lists many of the groups that have shown up in the recently published review of captured Iraqi documents. He mentions in particular that we wanted Abu Abbas who had been the mastermind, as they say, behind the hijacking of the Achille Lauro (1985), which resulted in the death of an American. Abbas was still in Iraq at the time of the 2003 invasion. By the way, the case officer, who by 1986 had about 30 years experience in the Middle East and South Asia, reported in his 1997 memoir that Iraq was known to be riven with factions and competing tribes and sects and that Iraqis were known throughout the Arab world as thugs.

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