30 March 2006

Quote of the Day

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend, and inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
-- Groucho Marx

29 March 2006

Get ready for 30 minutes of AWESOME

Click here for "Heat Vision and Jack."

Wow.

Just... OK... wow.

28 March 2006

26 March 2006

Gratitude...

Today I took the kiddos to a playground next door. There were three kids already there, probably somewhere between six and ten years old. The girl (and the oldest) noticed the boys and asked if they were deaf. When I replied that they were, she said her brother was deaf, too.

The little boy was named Joshua, and although he wasn’t wearing it at the time, he had a cochlear implant, just like Ben. It was sitting on a table right next to where he was fumbling with a kite string. Joshua’s implant equipment looked to be an older model, so I can only assume that he’s had it for longer than Ben’s had his.

Joshua couldn’t have been older than six, and it was obvious that the other two kids didn’t really know how to play with him. Joshua was out doing his own thing, away from the others, trying to get a kite to fly. His sister was riding her bike around, and kept asking the other boy to keep an eye on her brother.

When I heard Joshua was deaf, I signed to him, “Hello, how are you?” His eyes widened a little, and he signed hello back. He was playing with his kite, and I signed to him that I liked it. He signed that it was his. I signed, “Cool, I like the colors!” He smiled an adorable, great big smile.

Interesting thing for a kid with a cochlear implant to not speak at all and revert to signing, especially when his sister had already told me earlier that he was “lazy” with his signing. Now, maybe this is just how those particular siblings play, each doing their own thing. Maybe Joshua only plays by himself because that’s the way he likes it. Felt to me like he may not be used to so much personal attention from someone who speaks his language (albeit slowly and not very well).

As I was watching the triplets play on the slide, I noticed that Joshua was kicking his foot out. His shoe had come untied and he was trying to figure something out. He looked up at me and caught my eye. I signed to him, “Can I help you out?” He ran right over to me and stuck out his shoe. I quickly tied it for him and signed, “OK, all finished,” and his signed “thank you” with the biggest smile yet.

Shortly thereafter the wind turned quite cold and I gathered the rugrats to take them inside. I signed “see you later” to Joshua, and he signed “bye” back. Cute boy. I can’t say how Joshua’s family treats him, because of course I haven’t any idea, but I hope his family gets him.

While I’m sure Ben’s implant, Colin’s aids and Abby’s mere presence will guarantee that my boys have an easier time in a hearing world, I can’t help but be grateful that my kids have parents who care to learn and love how their kids live, parents that know that not speaking isn’t the same as not communicating. I’m grateful that my kids have resources around them at school and at home that “get” them. (Granted, I’m a slow signer and could use a lot more practice, but I’m trying every day.) I am in awe of the Deaf culture and am honored that I get to try to understand and be a part of it through my children.

25 March 2006

Kids and coloring

Ben loves to color. He hasn’t learned to stay in the lines, and I don’t care if he ever does. I don’t want them to perform the mundane and be overly praised for mediocrity. I hope the kids learn to “color outside the lines” in lots of ways. The world lacks original thinking. Having a great idea can be a very real way to contribute to society in an outstanding way.

Abby loves to color. She’s the only one of the kids that uses different colors on a page. She already appreciates that although she has a couple of favorites (pink and yellow), every color can have a place in a beautiful drawing. I hope she’ll come to understand the same about people, regardless of where they come from, how they speak or what they believe.

Colin loves to color. He’ll pick one color that he’s in the mood for and color everything on the page with it. His confidence in his selection is obvious, and whatever the others are doing doesn’t influence or bother him in the slightest. I hope he’ll continue to do what he feels to be right, and what looks good to him, regardless of what others around him may do.

21 March 2006

Mom's wisdom... at least the ones I remember...

Don't sweat the small stuff... and by the way, most of it is.

Kill 'em with kindness.

(Sing-song) There is beauty all around, when there's love at home.

Use soap.

Clean that pig sty.

Just unload the dishwasher... is that too much to ask?

Not in your school clothes!

Forgive and forget.

Before you try and change someone, change yourself.

Look both ways.

Do your best.

Tuck that shirt in.

Stay by the cart.

Get a haircut.

Eat your beets. (NEVER!!!)

Kiss the babies for me. (Always.)

C'mere, you've got something on your face...

Go to sleep.

Get up already.

Don't make me start charging you for laundry.

Love one another.

1776

I'm currently trying to finish 1776. I got it for Christmas. And it's not that it's a tough read or anything... I just can't find time. Anyway, it's brilliant, and I must recommend it. Highly.

I just read about Washington's crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night. The way they made the crossing and the circumstances under which they retook Trenton on December 26 make their victory all the more impressive, and elevated "His Excellency" General Washington's status to the near-divine. The fact that the Americans lost only TWO men in the campaign is downright miraculous... and those two died of exposure on the march from the Delaware River to Trenton. They retook the town in all of 45 minutes and had only four men wounded while killing about 100 Hessians, taking about 900 prisoner, chasing off the rest, and changing the course of the war. Now, the British retook Trenton soon thereafter, but Washington's retreat was masterly and instead of taking refuge, he swung around and marched the colonials to Princeton and won another stunning victory there before the end of the year.

God blessed America. Seems like the only way to look at it. The way they won at Trenton is much like the English beat the French at the battle of Agincourt in 1415. Shakespeare may have glorified things a bit in Henry V (the Olivier and Branagh films are both quite good, personally I prefer Branagh), but by all accounts the English victory was a miracle.

One of the most amazing facts about the battle was the extraordinary lopsidedness of the casualties. Shakespeare tells of ten thousand French dead versus 29 English dead (Act 4, Scene 8). More modern estimates put the number of French dead at between 4000 and 11000, with best estimates about 7000 (including the murdered prisoners), plus another 2000 prisoners. Estimates of English dead range from Shakespeare's 29 to a high of 1600. (The high number probably represents all deaths for the entire chevauchée [the 15th-century equivalent of a strategic bombing, or in this case, the destruction of everything in Henry's path on his way to Calais] including deaths from dysentary.) The best estimate is about 400.

Thanks to aginc.net for the above info.

U - S - A ... U - S - A ... U - S - A ...

Don't you just love an underdog?

20 March 2006

Quote of the Day

"What we do in life echoes in eternity."

17 March 2006

Cochlear update...

Ben is doing GREAT! In just FOUR DAYS since having his cochlear implant activated, he no longer fights against wearing the device, he wears it over six hours a day, he's upped his electrical impulse level, and he's beginning to distinguish vowel sounds! According to one of Ben's therapists, this sort of progress in such a short time is practically unprecedented - she's never seen anything like it. Some adults have such a hard time adapting to an implant that it takes months just to get to where they can use it for ONE hour per day, and Ben's up to SIX! That's my boy! I am SO PROUD of him. (As if you couldn't tell.) He's an extraordinary soul, to have had these sorts of trials laid out for him, and to be not only coping, but excelling in the way he handles them.

Told ya he's a fighter.

March Madness

For anyone who's ever filled out a bracket... my sympathies.

I, however, am doing great so far, with 13 of the 16 games yesterday called correctly... and I've only lost two of my Sweet 16 teams so far.

For anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about... also, my sympathies.

You see, March Madness is the greatest athletic event in North America. Maybe the world. Soccer fan can just go and die. Only the Olympics come close for me. That, and whenever my kiddos play Memory, which becomes an athletic event in very short order.

Now, if we could just get the Utes back in it...

"Confessions for the Holidays"

I'm posting this now because I recently received this in an email, and the email version that's going around has a few little errors and some additional commentary that could mistakenly be attributed to Mr. Stein (and make his points seem diluted and preachy, and they're not)... and... because Ben Stein is as hilarious as he is insightful. You may recall his role as the monotone economics teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." You know the scene...

"Bueller?"

"Bueller?"

"Bueller?"

Enjoy!

"Confessions for the Holidays," by Ben Stein, as featured on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, December 18, 2005. Read the original TV transcript, or check out Mr. Stein's website.


Here at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart. I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are.

I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I'm buying my dog biscuits. I still don't know. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores who they are. They don't know who Nick and Jessica are, either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they've broken up? Why are they so darned important?

I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I don't care at all about Tom Cruise's baby.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I'm a subversive? Maybe. But I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young? Hm, not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish, and it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautifully lit-up, bejeweled Christmas trees.

I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are — Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they're slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. I shows that we're all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.

It doesn't bother me one bit that there's a manger scene on display at a key intersection at my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, fine. The menorah a few hundred yards away is fine, too.

I do not like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way. Where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and aren't allowed to worship God as we understand him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we used to know went to.

15 March 2006

Quote of the Day

Some eternal optimism from the recent past...


"Since I came to the White House, I've gotten two hearing aids, had a colon operation, a prostate operation, skin cancer, and I've been shot. Funny thing is, I never felt better."
--Ronald Reagan, March 1987

I think I would have really liked working for or with Mr. Reagan... rest in peace, sir.

14 March 2006

The Haircut - March 2006

All's well...


Ben's implant is a complete success!

Well, almost. Except for the fiesty recipient, everyone's very happy.

But before I get going, a few basics on the implant and how it works... a series of three microphones in the "over-the-ear" part pick up sound in the room. The mics are connected to a speech processor that converts useful sound into electrical impulses. Those impulses are transmitted over a short wire to a receiver at the back of the head. The receiver is magnetized to part of the implant. The receiver then sends the impulses across the magnetic connection, down another wire & into the series of 22 electrodes that were implanted directly into the cochlea, stimulating the auditory nerve directly. It looks a bit like this...


The device is actually powered by batteries, either in a small power pack that connects behind the ear, or a belt pack with a thin connecting wire that's hidden under his shirt. Imagine... all this stuff, this motley collection of plastic, metal & wires is going to change our boy's life.

So, after being introduced to all of the "gear" in person, we wanted him to get used to just wearing it, not even turned on yet. So, we stuck it on Ben. And he freaked. We really had to struggle to get him to simply wear the device. After several minutes of reassurance, the audiologist hooked the device up to her PC, powered it up and began testing the individual electrodes via the processor's software. (That's just one of the amazing this about this technology... it's designed to last his entire life, and it's completely upgradeable via any future improvements in the microphones, processing and software.)


Ben's only four years old, so he couldn't tell us whether it was working or not. We relied on his behavioral responses to let us know when the impulses were at a level he could hear - a hand rising to his ear, a tilt of the head, etc. By all accounts, the device is working!

When the device has been calibrated appropriately, we turned it on. Ben stopped what he was doing, looked at his mom and began to sob. He was hearing things he'd never heard before. His entire frame of reference for the world was turned on its head, and it really shook him up. He clung to mom for a while and cried - softly, unusually so, as if he knew that his normal screaming and crying would interfere with the new sounds he was both scared of and fascinated with. He quieted down when we turned it off. We tried to have him wear it again at different times throughout the rest of the day, but it was a struggle. He fought us really hard, signing that he didn't want to be like Stratten (the boy in his preschool class with an implant), that he didn't want to hear. We know from his reaction that it's not about pain, but rather being uncomfortable with his new "surroundings."

So, physiologically, medically, a big success.
We knew it would be rough on him - getting him accustomed to hearing aids took months - but he'll come around. He's been a scrapper his whole life - from the womb, through the NICU and previous surgeries, he's a real fighter, a real stubborn kid. (I've no idea where that comes from.) His prognosis is great and we're all excited and very grateful for our modern-day miracle boy.

Thanks to all of you who shared thoughts and prayers with us!

Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa!

Yes, Big Rog (rodge) turns 56 today. Congrats, young man!

Here's a short list of other March 14th birthdays:


1983 Taylor Hanson (singer)
1961 Kirby Puckett (baseballer)
1947 Billy Crystal (actor)
1945 Walter Parazaider (musician)
1942 Rita Tushingham (actress)
1933 Quincy Jones (composer, bandleader, record producer, arranger)
1933 Michael Caine (Micklewhite) (actor)
1928 Frank Borman (Apollo astronaut)
1920 Hank Ketcham (cartoonist)
1919 Max Shulman (novelist)
1918 Dennis Patrick (actor)
1912 Les Brown (bandleader)
1879 Albert Einstein (theoretical physicist)
1854 Paul Ehrlich (medical doctor - founded chemotherapy)


Pretty cool, old man. Pretty cool. Especially Einstein. I seem to remember you've always been rather proud of that one, and rightfully so.

Thanks for always being there for me and my own little family. I admire you so much and I'm grateful for your personal strength and example.

Happy 56th! We love you Bum-paw!

13 March 2006

The big day

Today's the day! Ben had cochlear implant surgery a few weeks ago, and today the doctor's turning the device on!

Now let's get some things straight. We don't see ourselves as needing to "fix" Ben, or "cure" his deafness, because it's so much a part of who our boys are. We love their voices and love the fact that they sign. Colin's hearing aids are working well for him, and Colin's learning to speak with therapy. Hearing aids don't work so well for Ben and his speech therapy has been rendered essentially useless. Both our boys are learning to speak and already sign quite well... and if you didn't already know, Abby's hearing is just fine... but Ben's situation is a bit unique. In fact, he's been the subject of at least one major conference of doctors and surgeons.

It's unique for two main reasons: First, Ben has a genetic condition called Usher syndrome that may lead to a loss of his sight when he reaches his twenties. This cochlear implant will hopefully allow Ben to hear more of the world around him, hear it properly. Also, the speech therapy that has been useless to this point would begin to do him some good and he would be able to learn to speak. If he loses his sight, Ben would still have four of his five senses to rely on, and hopefully his speech will be improved to the point that he'll have a voice in the world that he can use to communicate (in addition to ASL). Second, doctors suspect he has a degree of auditory neuropathy - basically the sound in the world isn't the sound in his brain - and a cochlear implant can often correct that problem.

What the deuce are you talking about? ...you might say... :)

You can learn all about Ben's situation by checking out the following links:

Cochlear implants
Usher syndrome
Auditory neuropathy
ASL Browser (must have Quicktime Player installed)


We appreciate your thoughts and prayers today!

10 March 2006

The only thing constant is change

Today I learned that my coworker Matt is leaving for a competing station. VERY sorry to see him go. I have learned a lot about writing and editing from him. He's hopefully on to bigger and better things (including a bigger paycheck), moving up the corporate ladder, etc., etc.

Unfortunately for me and my little ones, it also means that I'm back working nights until a suitable Matt v2.0 can be found. RATS. Sorry babies... I'll have breakfast with you whenever I can. Still, it's a nice opportunity to meet new friends and work with others in the field. (Read: another chance to steal skill sets and writing techniques in my attempt to control ALL of TV! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!)


Best o' luck, Long Limbs. Best o' luck.

09 March 2006

Good old SLC

I've lived in Salt Lake City for most of my life, and yet the weather here can still surprise me. Anyone who's been here for any length of time knows about the frigid, snowy winters and the summers of hellfire and that "dry heat" that's so singularly Utahn. The snow hit hard and fast today - over 200 accidents throughout Utah this morning. We had a nice little blizzard today, too - March freaking NINTH - that dumped over an inch of snow in about 15 minutes. That was between 9 and 10 a.m. - now it's nearly 5 p.m. - the roads are nearly dry and the sky is clear and sunny.

I think it's a good thing the Mormons were the first large group of white people to settle in Utah. It's easier to be "grateful for the moisture we have received" than to hold grudges against our Creator.

Can't wait for the lead news story on the weather - as if we didn't know it snowed today - with the obligatory sound bite from the Utah highway patrolman saying, "Er, it'd be nice, if, uh, folks could, um, slow down..."

(Actually, I think this bite has been around since the 70's and we just throw it up on TV every time it snows. Saves archive space.)

Hey, if Utah drivers would learn, we'd spare everyone the tasteless flashback.

Quote of the Day

"You don't have to make something that people call art. LIVING is an artistic activity... there is an art to getting through the day."
--Viggo Mortensen

08 March 2006

Triplets in February 2006


Man, they really are the cutest things on this planet.

The kiddos in January 2006

01 March 2006

Aren't they the cutest?

Benjamin (Benner, Curly, Ben-Jammin', Ben-German, Benny & the Jets)


Abigail (Abby, Kinz, Kinzee-May, Princess, Dolly, the Preciousssss)


Colin (Coll, Honnin', C-Bug, Coll-Da-Bug, Bug-a-boo, Bug-a-lish)


Here they are... my punkin-heads... my not-so-little bundles of joy!

They turned FOUR years old this past December. They make messes. They occasionally scrap. They love each other and are fiercely protective of one another, so much so I feel proud of them to see it. They do make me feel old sometimes. They love to learn. They enjoy the simplest things so fully, I oftimes wonder if I wouldn't be happier seeing the world through their eyes more often. They always make life worth living.

God be praised for allowing me to have a hand in bringing a few of His most choice children to earth, and for allowing this confused & bemused parent the chance at experiencing (and hopefully, more often than not, recognizing) the absolute wonder of it all.

Reading material

I bought a book on speedreading at Barnes & Noble today.  Yes, Mom, it was on clearance, no big deal.  I did have a major epiphany though.  It occurred to me today that Barnes & Noble is one of the few places where when you use the restroom you can't take anything with you to read.

It's just ironic, that's all.

Speaking of reading, I'm finishing a little collection of quotes by Ronald Reagan.  It seems to me that Reagan brought more honor, poise, dignity & respect to the presidency than any man since Lincoln.  Say what you will about his party affiliation, his politics or his personal life - from what I know of the man, he was a great President.  The kind of man that has people come up to him and beg him to run for office.  The sort of chap that's easy to admire.