Colors of the fruits...

...
And the sleeping blog in the heartland awakens again...


Had the camera with me ...wifey stopped at the grocery store ...killing some time...

All unedited, 'natural' grocery-store light.

Big fun.

...tom...

Gentle Willow...

...
"Gentle Willow is a book for children who may not survive their illness. This comforting story ... will also help all children with the death of friends, family members, or even pets."


Pretty heavy task for a kid's book. But too often the specter of death intrudes into a family and into a child's life.

Gentle Willow is a thin, full-size children's storybook written by Joyce C. Mills, a marriage and family therapist. We meet Gentle Willow, a beautiful tree as sweet and friendly as her name suggests. Across the pond lives her friend Little Tree. Cavorting through the branches of Gentle Willow is her friend Amanda, the happiest, care-free squirrel you could ever imagine.

Photo credit: Amazon dot com product page

Life is good. Amanda likes to "chase the big yellow butterflies who (dance) within Gentle Willow's long and graceful branches."

One day Amanda noticed her friend "looked different. Her bark was lumpy and bumpy. Her leaves were turning brown, and her branches were turning droopy."


Read the rest of the review at my review page at Epinions dot com.



...tom...
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A sad day in Wrigleyville...

...

Photo credit: flickr user wfbakker2 via Wikimedia Commons

Rest easy Mr. Santo, rest easy my friend.



...tom...

Free Hugs...

...
Yes . . .I am way behind the curve on this one.

But I still like the idea, the video, the music.

Hate me if you must . . .though I would prefer a hug. ...:minism:...






...tom...

Pink Glove Dance...

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Something fun and catchy, just because.

. . .and because it is for a good purpose...





If only my 'hospital employer' was this fun..!!


Hat tip to dianapinions at Epinions dot com.



...tom...
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RIP Wayman...

...

Yet another great human being passes too soon due to cancer.

Image source: www.champoli.com

Wayman Tisdale, first team All-American in basketball at the University of Oklahoma. Olympic gold medalist in 1984. NBA player for a dozen years. Public Servant. Prolific smooth jazz bass guitarist.

You will be missed.






...tom...
.

In my mailbox...

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Detecting Pancreatic Cancer Before It Begins was the subject line of a recent e-mail I received.


I was a subscriber to Newsmax magazine at one time and one of the 'benefits' is a seemingly endless stream of 'infomercial' e-mails from them. Along with financial and medical news, you get links to various products sold through the magazine. Certainly something you can 'opt out of' (I believe) if you like. But harmless enough and easy enough to delete as they are received.


This one caught my eye though. 'Detecting cancer before it begins'.

Huh..?? Would that not be like knowing the next card dealt at the blackjack table ...before it is dealt..?? Or knowing the tomorrow's Dow Jones Average closing number ...today..??

I know what they mean. Reading the accompanying article in e-mail confirms my thought.



The new technology information they are sharing is about 'partial-wave spectroscopy', a method for looking for subtle changes in the intracellular, the "nanoarchitecture", of a cell. Changes in the 'order' of components inside the cell could be early indicators of possible cancerous processes beginning. These changes might be visible some time before visible microscopy or other methods would indicate the possible presence of cancer.

Image source: xmatt via flickr dot com

So yeah, the thought and the intent of the message are well founded; just poorly expressed by an attention-seeking subject line.

Not like that is the first time that has ever been tried..!!


...tom...
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Sadness redoubled...

...

My previous post spoke to my worst fears for an online 'friend' and her son.

Unfortunately, my worst fears were confirmed and I learned shortly afterward that her son had indeed succumbed to his illness.


I would encourage any who care to do so to check the Dr. Smak link blogrolled at my page.

Reading a few or many of the previous posts at her blog will afford you an intimate glimpse into the heart of this mother and her son and family. Her courage in sharing his ...their story has not gone unnoticed by many.

I am sure the message of strength and love and family evident in her posts and in her readers' comments will echo across the lives of many friends and readers.


...tom...
.

I am so sad...

...

It has been a long time since I felt compelled to post, since I really had something personal and of import to me to share.


I have been reading a fellow blogger here at blogger dot com for some months now. Not because her blog is fun or informational. But perhaps more because I found great value in her blogging the experience of her son dying of cancer.

Yes ... it sounds weird to say that ...to think that one might find value in the great sorrow of another. But I really do ...did.

Over the months I have been following her she has spoken of both the joys and sorrows of such a diagnosis. She speaks so lovingly of her son ...so intimately of her own reactions to the whole 'thing', the whole situation. She speaks so strongly and from the heart about her own doubts about today, tomorrow, the future. She speaks so strongly of the unknown and fears and unanswerable questions we all would have in a similar situation.

In my many years online I have never found a blog that spoke so freely and intimately of matters of great importance to the human condition. She was always one of my first stops when I hit the web. I never failed to find inspiration or value in her posts.


Today I found her blog blocked, available only to 'invited readers'.

Perhaps her son has finally passed and this is a reaction to that. Perhaps the comments on her blog have become too challenging to read. Perhaps the growing attention I have seen her blog draw over the last few months, perhaps she is drawing back from that. Perhaps she has lost her ability to continue to tell her story coherently and clearly.


I am literally at the verge of tears thinking of the worst that might have happened, at the pall of grief that might be hanging over her and her family as I write this.

At the same time I am almost embarrassed to think that my being able to see her blog (such a minor concern...!!) should be of any importance now.


It seems silly to worry about a name on a computer screen. But we all come to know, to value, to cherish the names, the words, the thoughts we see every day online. We become drawn into their lives intractably, knowing that we can pull back at any time while they continue to meet daunting challenges and tasks.


Anyway . . .to my friend and her son ...my fervent hopes and prayers that things are going as well as they possibly can for you and yours. My thoughts mean nothing in the here and now. But I humbly and hopefully offer them regardless.


...tom...
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Chillin' with the lettuce ladies...

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I am sure you all have your own ideas about the actions and goals of PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Myself, I enjoy the meat thing: steaks, grilled hamburgers and brats, sausage pizza. All the stuff that is surely killing me. Here in Iowa, where the hogs outnumber the people, the meat-eaters definitely outnumber the vegans and vegetarian.


Today, two young PETA representatives were in town doing their part to raise awareness of the rights of farm animals. I think all the meat-lovers in Central Iowa embraced them. The animal rights ideas I mean.

To call attention to their ideas they dressed in 'lettuce wraps' (essentially a bikini with a wrap skirt) and stood on a downtown corner in Des Moines to hand out free 'tofurkey' and lettuce sandwiches. This on a day when the January temperatures in Iowa were in the twenties and the windchill temps in the teens.




From the pics here you can easily see why this 'event' caught my eye.







Unfortunately, I was not able to get downtown and grab my free, and surely tasty, 'tofurkey' sandwich. Yum.


Here is the link to a short video by the local newspaper and an mp3 link to a local talk show that had the young ladies on as guests. You can imagine the friendly reception they got from the livestock farmers of Central Iowa.


I applaud the young ladies efforts and beliefs. Not sure they or their organization are getting to the real truth of animal farming or accomplishing anything substantive . . .but such is the American way.


...tom...
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Read the label stupid..!!

...

Some people think it must be hard to find stuff to 'blog about'. Well, not if you set the bar low enough.

For example, a fundraiser product my wife brought home from work today. Always nice to help the kids with ... well, whatever they are doing with our money.


This fundraiser featured assorted nuts, fruits, and candies from Terry Lynn fundraising, products that I do highly recommend.



I had to laugh though at the packaging of their 'Colossal Natural Pistachios'. Nothing too unusual about the front:






But check out the 'warning label' on the reverse:





Ya know, ya got be sharp as a 'consumer' these days..!! And we must protect the 'food-challenged' among us. Next will be warning labels on banana peels...



...tom...
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What I learned today...

...
I learned today the reason eye doctors, be they optometrists or ophthalmologists, recommend you have someone available to drive for you after an eye exam that includes dilation of your pupils.

I had my annual (read: every 15 months, for some reason...) eye exam today and did not think about the fact that my eyes would probably be dilated for my normal vascular and and other checks.

Well once I was there it was a wee bit late to arrange someone to drive me soooo...



Ouch. What happened to all those cloudy, rainy, and dark days we had been having lately..?!?

Yowzy..!! How painful was that 15 minute drive home..?!?



You really come to appreciate what a complicated instrument the human eye is; how finely controlled, regulated, and powered it is. Normally the pupil easily constricts and relaxes to control the amount of light entering the eye. Use of topical eye drops allow the pupil to be artificially opened. The effect takes a few hours to 'wear off'.



Anyway... luckily no changes in the eyes and an uneventful drive home. I am now sitting in our darkened den/PC room while the effect wears off. Still squinting a bit, due to the ambient light and the monitor's glow.


An interesting chapter in what I learned today.


...tom...
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'Beer goggles' and 'looking good..!! '

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We have all heard the term 'beer goggles'. Indeed some of us kept a pair of 'em handy all through our college days.



Turns out that the effect is real, at even lower levels of alcohol than previously suspected. Certainly at levels much less than those required at the college bar:

I am not taking her home ...she has a mustache..!!

British scientists gave small, measured doses of an alcoholic drink or a placebo drink to the subjects. They then measured the subjects ratings of the 'attractiveness' of photos of males and females.




They found the effect of finding the faces more attractive was consistently higher for those who had consumed the equivalent of a large glass of wine or a pint-and-a-half of beer. It was also noted that the increase was not related to a general increase in a 'happy' mood.

Chelsea Cooley, Miss USA, 2005
Shelley Henning, Miss Teen USA, 2004
Some lucky military stiff
Source: Wikipedia Commons

Published earlier this month in the Oxford Journals Alcohol and Alcoholism, the abstract (available here) of the published article notes that the 'he/she looks great..!!' effect is not only at work for the opposite sex but also has a measurable effect on . . .hey, quit looking at your buddy like that..!! ...the perception of same-sex faces.

Perhaps even better (or worse, depending on your point of view) the study noted the 'increased attractiveness' effect lasted up to 24 hours ...but only for the males in the study.

So, when you wake up in the morning ...well, just remember guys, she probably looks better to you than your ugly mug does to her..!!


Cheers..!!



...tom...
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' Alphabet for Beginners ': letters to live by...

 
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William Hone was a political firebrand in the early days of nineteenth century merry old England. While his efforts in promoting the goals of the London Corresponding Society in parliamentary reform and other political efforts have faded over the years he did publish some works of long-lasting value.




In addition to a number of political pamphlets authored and published, Hone also produced some general consumption literature. One of his books is titled:

The Year Book of Daily Recreation and Information, concerning Remarkable Men and Manners, Times and Seasons, Solemnities and Merry-makings, Antiquities and Novelties: forming a Complete History of the Year

Yes, that is quite the mouthful. Perhaps that is why 'Poor Richard's Almanack' is remembered and this one not so much...


Included in 'The Year Book' is an "Alphabet for Beginners", perhaps best described as a secular credo for living based on traits identified by the 26 letters of the alphabet.

Such homilies as:

B e just to others, that you may be just to yourself.

N ever take credit; and, as far as possible, avoid giving it.

R evenge a wrong by forgiving it.

and other familiar and not so familiar advice are included.


It is pretty amazing that so many of the ideas might still be found applicable today, nearly two hundred years later. Perhaps basic human nature changes little over the years and through the generations.


hat tip: Neatorama


...tom...
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Beating the Reaper: Randy Pausch, 1960-2008

 

...

" But we don't beat the Reaper by living longer. We beat the Reaper by living well. "
—Randy Pausch


A true teacher left his final classroom Friday. Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Randy Pausch finally succumbed to the ravages of pancreatic cancer.

But he certainly did not go meekly into the night.


The entire mushroom of attention about his health 'problem' and his philosophy of life really began as he sought a way to leave a permanent mark in the lives of his three children, to create a touchstone for them to always find the presence and love of a father taken too, too early from them.

He did so by documenting his life goals and how he worked to reach them. The methods and drive that worked for him will serve his children well in the decades that follow.


That he chose to share this personal story with his students, his colleagues, with us is a gift that we may never be able to re-pay. Except, perhaps, by living our lives as he lived his; sharing our energy, our optimism, our dreams and goals with all those around us to craft a better world and life for all.


You must see the video, you must read the book, you must absorb his message. If you take full measure of it you will find it greatly enriching your life and those you love.

There could be no better fitting gift for any of us to leave for those who will follow in our footsteps.



The Last Lecture video can be found here.
The Last Lecture book can be found here.
My review (and others) of The Last Lecture can be found here.


...tom...
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