Listen toward the end of the video for the cicadas. That’s a slight sampling of the cacophony we hear in our yard every evening.
n.b. The "discs" I refer to are actually called rotors.
Category: Daily Life
Ramblings, often stream of conscious, journaling the events of my life.
Too tired? Too busy? Muster the energy and time. Read a book to your child.
Take a moment and read this story in The New York Times. In short, a doctor tells of a 74 year old patient who couldn’t get his medicines correct.
Mr. M was a typical new patient: 74, with diabetes, hypertension and elevated cholesterol. He had some prostate enlargement and back pain. His bag of pill bottles was depressingly bulky. I spilled the bottles out at our first visit, sorting them by disease. … Mr. M didn’t remember the names of all the medicines … Mr. M was clearly still confused about his medicines…
[Source, NYT, A Problem in Following Doctor’s Orders by DANIELLE OFRI, M.D.]
In the end, we learn that Mr. M is illiterate, unable to read either Spanish or English. The story would be similar to many other stories of illiteracy leaving us emphatic, but emotionally disconnected, had it not been for the last paragraph.
My kindergarten-age daughter is just beginning to read, and she is taken aback with delirious joy each time a few random letters suddenly form a word that matches real life. It’s a painstaking process for her, but as I watch her I think about how this skill has powerful ramifications for her health and longevity. It’s a gift, really, one that I’d long to transfer to Mr. M if I could.
[Source, NYT, A Problem in Following Doctor’s Orders by DANIELLE OFRI, M.D.]
I know that joy! My son has become quite the avid reader. He no longer wants to be the listener; he wants to be the one who reads aloud. And I too wish I could give that gift to Mr. M.
Remember, they are never too old to participate in reading with you; whether you are the listener or the reader, make time to sit with your child and a book.
Evening Project – Personal air conditioner
I’ve been consulting on site for a client and their office gets rather hot in the afternoons. Fortunately they have a large ice machine. I decided I’d try making a cooler air conditioner.
So far the result is that the temperature definitely comes down. Now, will the ice melt too quickly?
I do evening projects too
Knoxville Storm Blows Over Billboard
Hardee’s burgers may have too many calories for its billboard. The storms last night had winds strong enough to knock the billboard over.
One of these two things is not as urgent as she thought
If I am in the men’s room playing Angry Birds and I can hear a woman having a conversation on her phone in the stall behind mine, either she is talking too loudly or the wall between the men’s room and the women’s room is too thin. Oh, her call is done aaaand flush. Bonus, three stars!
n.b Really people. Leave your cellphone at your desk and enjoy the movementmoment.
Sarah Dancing
What did I do this weekend?
From the mouths of babes
So Evan, 6 years old, comes downstairs wearing a terrycloth robe and matching slippers.
Me: "What are you wearing?"
Evan: "A robe and robe shoes."
From the mouths of babes
After poking and probing for a splinter in Evan’s foot, he teary eyed hugs his mother.
Me: "Can I get in on this hug?"
Evan, 6 years old: "No. You made it hurt."
Today’s Shopping List
Want to guess what I’m doing today?
- mower bolt
- bush hog
- lawn mower
- two bicycle helmets
- propane gas
- a rat
How to tell you aren’t as young as you used to be
While donating blood, you ask, "So, do I get a prostate exam with this?"
I’ve had several people explain the difference between prostrate and prostate and the typo has been corrected. I also now understand why when I ask for a prostrate massage, I get a back rub.
Update: For the record, I didn’t really ask if a prostate examine was included. I did ask if they performed a PSA blood test. Medic does PSA tests once a year during their September blood drive.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland. The PSA test measures the level of PSA in the blood. The doctor takes a blood sample, and the amount of PSA is measured in a laboratory. Because PSA is produced by the body and can be used to detect disease, it is sometimes called a biological marker or a tumor marker.
It is normal for men to have a low level of PSA in their blood; however, prostate cancer or benign (not cancerous) conditions can increase a man’s PSA level.
[Source, National Cancer Institute, Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test]
DomesticPsychology.com url shortener
I’m a strong believer in owning your content. URL shorteners like http://bit.ly/ and http://3.ly/ bother me in that if the business changes or goes under, your short links die. http://3.ly for instance has been acquired or changed to http://qr.net which I still feel was a bad business move. If the business becomes unethical, they could sell your short links to redirect your traffic elsewhere. So, just like I believe you should view Facebook and Twitter as temporary places for content (much like a bulletin board on a college campus) and instead host your own site like http://domesticpsychology.com/blog/ (much more like a library or museum…and yes I know Twitter gets archived at the Library of Congress), I believe you should own your own url shortener.
Anyhow, to live by my own words, I thought I’d buy Cathy a domain for her own url shortener for DomesticPsychology.com. My first thought was http://dp.me After two cups of coffee, I rethought that one. I’d say I am not sure Cathy would want to direct people to http://dp.me but then again I haven’t ever broached the subject 🙂
Egad! Another one of driving age.
Happy Birthday Noah! You’ve grown altogether too quickly.
Announcement
Today, I’m busy.
