All Saints Day

Last night I was speaking with Wendy about a family we met years ago at an Autism Parents' Group. Like us they had 2 sons with autism. During the course of our conversation the mother made a comment about our sons and their sons which have stayed with me for years: “The boys: they are a blessing to each other.”

This morning Wendy saw in the obituaries that one of their sons had died on Friday. Your heart just breaks for the family. We don’t know any of the circumstances. At one point one of our boys was in the same classroom as the boy who died, but it has been awhile. Our lives went in different directions.

We are praying for the family and living in the belief that the boy is enjoying the light of the face of God.

Abercrombie & Fitch fined in MOA discrimination case | StarTribune.com

"The hefty penalty from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights pleased the Maxson family of Apple Valley, which was forced to push hard for satisfaction after the retailing giant refused to apologize for the incident and even questioned whether the girl was disabled."

Abercrombie & Fitch fined in MOA discrimination case | StarTribune.com

What gets me the most is that the company questioned the girl's diagnosis--even though she was diagnosed when she was 2 years old. Abercrombie & Finch even "subject[ed] the girl to an interview with a forensic psychologist."

Wow--what wonderful customer service.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Citizenship in a Republic - Wikisource

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." -- Theodore Roosevelt

Citizenship in a Republic - Wikisource

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Appeals Court Says Ex-Detainee Can Sue Ashcroft, Rejects Legal-Immunity Claims - washingtonpost.com

Appeals Court Says Ex-Detainee Can Sue Ashcroft, Rejects Legal-Immunity Claims - washingtonpost.com

Read this and weep for America. (That might sounds a bit over the top, but this was the Attorney General.)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

9 Things Parents Should Know About District 9 | GeekDad | Wired.com

I was reading through the GeekDad blog on Wired and saw this:

Will I get motion sickness?

Most of movie was shot using handheld cameras. That means lots of jerky movements. I appreciated the visual impact of the camera movements during some sequences. It got stomach wrenching after a while, leaving that giant Slushee uncomfortable in my belly. They really should have spent some of that budget on a few more camera mounts.

9 Things Parents Should Know About District 9 | GeekDad | Wired.com

I loved it. After Transformers I need to know this information!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital

Children's Hospital' Oakland site's future remains uncertain

As a child I remember travelling to Children's Hospital once every 6 months or so. I was born with a heart defect which was fixed when I was in 3rd grade by open heart surgery. It is so odd to hear that the building is now empty.

They have moved into a wonderful new facility in another part of Pittsburgh. It sounds like it is truly state of the art. Hopefully it is also less maze-like than the old building was. Though, maybe, that was part of it's "charm".

I remember the cafeteria in basement. As a kid it was an adventure to get to eat there. I also remember the X-ray department since part of my routine exam was to get a chest X-ray. And then there would be the EKG. I don't really remember much about the operating room except the bright operating light. I do remember various rooms I was in and the play area on the top floor with the roof top outdoor play area.

Cities change. Places change. I'm not really sad to hear that the hospital has moved to another place. It would be nice if the old buildings could be put to good use.

Here is a picture of the new building:

Time to move on

This article on Michael Jackson and psychics is considered news worthy? Wow, is it really that slow of a news day? I'm trying to understand the depth of people's despair over his death. I understand it for his family. But the whole media circus just seems to be an extension of the what makes his life a cautionary tale.

Away too long

I haven't blogged for quite a while. A work project took over my life for a while here. Although it is still in progress, I think I'm seeing enough of a light at the end of the tunnel that I can restore some balance to the force in my life.

I'm trying to clean up my desk a bit. My eternal task. We all had a really nice day--took the kids to the Mall of America. Although it is still one of my least favorite places, the kids had such fun that it didn't matter.

Well, back to the cleaning.

Obey the Inner White Squirrel

Standing out, no fault of his own « The Traveling Monkey

Thanks for Allegra for this posting.  In response to the question at the end of the post:  I seem to like surrounding myself with "albino squirrels."  I like to think that even the "typical" squirrel has their own "inner albinoness".  I like people who are comfortable with that.
 

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Busy Saturday

We woke up to about 3 inches of snow this morning. Tommy and I slept in even though we were the first that needed to leave for his piano lesson. Wendy and Tony were already up. We were a bit late for the lesson, but the lesson went well. Then my Tommy happened to suggest that stopping for breakfast at "The Egg and I" might be a good idea. How could I say no. I love taking him to the one on Lyndale Ave. I told him it reminds me of when I was a kid and my father would take me with him in the morning to run errands on a Saturday and we would end up at a good place for eggs along the way. Later Tommy and I went to see "The Gruffalo" at the Children's Theatre. It is really intended for younger kids, but both Tommy and I had a great time.

While we out for that Tony talked Wendy into taking him to Burger King and Target--so he was a happy camper. Tommy and I got back and I finally got the walks cleared and then stayed in for the night. Tonight is a snow emergency so the cars are parked in the right places so they won't get towed. All in all it was a nice day.

Minneapolis/st. Paul - City Pages - The Blotter - President Bush monument erected in Dinkytown front yard

Minneapolis/st. Paul - City Pages - The Blotter - President Bush monument erected in Dinkytown front yard

Doesn't this kinda of look like the pose that Saddam had for that statue that they pulled down in Iraq?  Just askin'.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Lazy Sunday

I love Sundays--especially when we have nothing planned. So, what have I done today? I made biscuits. I also made coffee. I wrote an entry on my Note Head blog. We need to get the recycling out for the week.

This has been a weekend of Shakespeare for our youngest. He saw Two Gentlemen of Verona on Friday and yesterday he saw Romeo and Juliet. I saw 2GOV but Wendy went with him alone to see R+J. He liked R+J better--it has the better script. The oldest has been mastering his fine art of "Strong Bad--in our house we believe in mixing culture from many different sources.

Well, time to gather the recycling. Oh joy. Oh bliss.