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Why does Apple charge so much for its iPhones?September 12, 2013: 8:23 AM ET
The key, Horace Dediu says, is to think of the iPhone as a data services salesperson.
FORTUNE -- The short answer for why Apple (AAPL) charges so much for its iPhones -- e.g. $549 for the new iPhone 5C that most analysts expected would sell for somewhere between $300 and $400 -- is that it can.
"Anybody would if they could," writes Horace Dediu on his Asmyco blog. "That's a poor question. So the right question should be: why does anybody pay this much?"
Dediu's answer reveals much about underlying workings of the mobile phone business -- and indeed, the whole Internet economy. His key points:
- Consumers, by and large, aren't paying those high prices. It's the operators -- 270 mobile phone carriers -- who pay the full freight.
- The decisions operators make on whether to carry the iPhone are driven not by fashion or fanboyism, but by hard economic realities: ARPU, churn, network costs, depreciation, ROI, etc.
- For many operators -- about two thirds of them -- the iPhone doesn't fit their business model. Verizon held out for years. DoCoMo just came around. China Mobile may soon as well.
- Following the money, Dediu concludes that the operators who pay Apple's steep prices do so because the iPhone helps move users to higher revenue data services.
- "These are more profitable services for operators," he writes, "and the subsidy model creates more loyalty and thus reduces churn and creates a stable cash flow which can then be leveraged through debt to upgrade networks and attract yet more loyal iPhone users."
- But that's not the end of the money trail. Consumers end up paying most of the iPhone premium in the form of higher monthly phone bills. It's not itemized in the invoice, but Dediu estimates that $10 to $15 of every monthly bill in a subsidized plan goes to paying for the phone.
- "So in a way," Dediu writes, "Apple has managed to place itself on many people's monthly phone bills. It's a nice place to be."
- Some consumers see that transfer of payment as a thinly veiled con. It smacks of misdirection. The value of the iPhone is apparent to the user, but the payment for that value is not.
- "In fact the whole Internet and all business plans that are built on it depend on a subtle 'something for nothing' type of misdirection," Dediu writes. "The Internet runs on the arbitrage between a consumer service market where everybody consumes but nobody pays and a separate data market where nobody consumes and everybody pays."
His conclusion:
"The iPhone could thus be finally understood as a complex service business. It captures value through the phone bill but delivers value through a screen. A misdirection magic trick which many have tried to pull off. It's essentially tapping into the $1.3 trillion communications market, skimming profits by delivering the 'content' which lights up the wires.
"It's great except it does not work everywhere. Not yet at least. The complexity of services means that they are usually found in more advanced so-called service economies and rare in less developed so-called goods economies."
Now that's what I call smart analysis. Why don't we get more of it from the guys who are paid to do it on Wall Street?
Link: S is for Service at Asymco.com, where much of the value comes from the quality the conversation in the comment stream.


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Using Normalized Message Properties With HTTP Binding Component
Normalized Message properties are commonly used to specify metadata that is associated with message content. javax.jbi.security.subject and javax.jbi.message.protocol.type are two examples of standard normalized Message properties defined in the JBI Specification.
Normalized Message properties are used to provide additional capabilities in Open ESB, such as:
Some of the use cases mentioned above require protocol/binding specific properties, typically used by a particular binding component. Other properties are considered common or general purpose properties that all participating JBI components make use of, for example, the message ID property, which can be utilized to uniquely identify or track a given message in the integration.
The Normalized Message properties are accessed from the BPEL Designer Mapper view. When you expand a variable's Properties folder it exposes the variable's predefined NM properties, as well as the regular BPEL specific WSDL properties used in correlation sets, assigns, and to build expressions . If the specific NM property you need is not currently listed, additional NM properties can be added.
Predefined Normalized Message properties are ready for use, from a variable's Properties file.
To use predefined normalized message properties in a BPEL process:
If the specific NM Property you want is not listed, you can add additional NM properties.
There are two options available when adding NM Properties:
To add a Normalized Message Property Shortcut to a BPEL process:
Data copied from an NM property or an NM property shortcut generates code that is similar to the following:
<from variable="inputVar" sxnmp:nmProperty="org.glassfish.openesb.file .outbound.dcom.username"/>
Data copied from WSDL properties based on NM property generates code that is similar to the following:
<from variable="inputVar" property="ns3:DemoNMProperty"/>
When properties and NM properties are used to build an expression, code similar to the following code is generated:
<from>concat(bpws:getVariableProperty('inputVar', 'ns3:DemoNMProperty'), sxnmp:getVariableNMProperty('inputVar','org.glassfish.openesb.file.outbound.dcom. username'))</from>
An NM property used in a condition generates code that is similar to the following:
<condition>sxnmp:getVariableNMProperty('inputVar', 'my.nmProperty.boolean')</condition>
Normalized Message properties are either General, available to all participating JBI components, or protocol/binding specific, used by a particular binding component.
Table 19 General Normalized Message Properties
|Property Name
|Description and Use
|Uniquely identifies a message with the group to which a message belongs. For example, it applies the RM sequence group number for SOAP messages, or a time stamped file name (where the file record message comes from).This property is optional.
|Uniquely identifies a message. For batch processing this might be a record number (for example, a particular record in a file), or a GUID.This property is mandatory.
|The value is a string representation of boolean ("true" or "false"). This property can be used to signal the last record in a group, e.g. the last record in a RM sequence for SOAP messages, or the last record in a file when multiple record processing is turned on for File BC.This property is mandatory.
|The value a string representation of the endpoint name set on the exchange. This represents the endpoint name of the "owner" of the message, and could be made available by JBI runtime.
The following properties are specific to the HTTP (SOAP) Binding Component.
Table 20 SOAP HTTP Binding Component NM Properties
|Property Name
|Description and Use
|The map contains a list of SOAP header elements. The key is the QName of the SOAP header.The value is a DocumentFragment object. The DocumentFragment has one node in it, the header element itself.
|The map contains a list of HTTP headers. The key is the HTTP header name.The value is the string representation of the HTTP header value.This property provides all of the HTTP headers that the HTTP BC receives in the incoming message. The map also includes two additional properties that the HTTP Binding Component populates based on the transport context: ClientHostName and ClientPortNumber, which provide the information about the client's host IP address and port number
|The map contains a list of HTTP headers. The key being the HTTP header name.The value is the string representation of the HTTP header value. This property is used to allow any custom HTTP headers to be propagated to the outgoing service invocations.
|The map contains a list of custom properties*. The map key is a string.The map value can be any Object.
|On the receiving (server) side, this property is populated by the HTTP Binding Component with the server address URL (for example, address URL on soap:address)
|On the sending (client) side, this property is used to dynamically overwrite the default address defined in the SOAP or HTTP binding WSDL. The HTTP Binding Component does a basic URL validation on the address set on the property before using it to invoke an external service. If it is an invalid URL, the HTTP BC proceeds with the service invocation using the statically configured address URL.
|This is a sender (client) side property only. When set, the user name will be set on the HTTP basic authentication header.
|This is a sender (client) side property only. When set, the user name will be set on the HTTP basic authentication header.

subset: commoncrawl


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100 State St, Los Altos, CA | Directions 9402237.380235 -122.115467
Mon - Fri, Lunch: 11am - 3pm; Dinner: 5pm - 9:30pm; Sat, Sun, noon - 9pm
Neighborhoods: North Los Altos
The best Italian food in Los Altos – This small restaurant in Los Altos has very good food, the lunch menu is great. The sandwiches come with salad and pasta are perfectly cook, their daily specials are always delicious.
Bay Area standby dishes up pizza, burgers, and munchies 24/7. – In Short
Perfect for big groups looking to lunch or hungry night-owls, this casual chain turns out reliable American and Italian standards. Favorites include pizzas topped with everything from pepperoni to pineapple, pastas and burgers, along with chicken and fish entrees. Lunchtime sit-down or carry out is available, but in-the-know locals take advantage of 24-hour free delivery. Call or order off the comprehensive online menu.
Editorial Review – Italian eatery serves gourmet pizzas and other scrumptuous items to end your hunger pains.
OK Pizza, TERRIBLE Delivery – I really liked this joint when I ordered from them in San Francisco. They placed a brochure on my door in Mountain View announcing this new location, so of course I had to try. I ordered 1 pizza on 3 occasions. The first took an hour longer than they said (1h30), and the person who answered sounded impatient and annoyed. The second took over an hour. The third never came - when I called 1h45 later, they said 'we didn't get that order' -- clearly an insulting lie, they probably didn't want to make the delivery. My evening was ruined ordering from these guys. Don't ruin yours.
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Antonio Alonso (GEP-ISFG President) and Cristina Albarrán (GEP-ISFG Secretary)
Instituto Nacional de Toxicología, Madrid, Spain
Profiles in DNA 4(1), 7–8
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Since 2002 Perimeter Institute has been recording seminars, conference talks, and public outreach events using video cameras installed in our lecture theatres. Perimeter now has 7 formal presentation spaces for its many scientific conferences, seminars, workshops and educational outreach activities, all with advanced audio-visual technical capabilities. Recordings of events in these areas are all available On-Demand from this Video Library and on Perimeter Institute Recorded Seminar Archive (PIRSA). PIRSA is a permanent, free, searchable, and citable archive of recorded seminars from relevant bodies in physics. This resource has been partially modelled after Cornell University's arXiv.org.
Recent implications of results from quantum information theory applied to black holes has led to the confusing conclusions that requires either abandoning the equivalence principle (e.g. the firewall picture), or the no-hair theorem (e.g. the fuzzball picture), or even more unpalatable options. The recent discovery of a pulsar orbiting a black hole opens up new possibilities for tests of theories of gravity. We examine possible observational effects of semiclassical quantum gravity in the vicinity of black holes, as probed by pulsars and event horizon telescope imaging of flares.
C-metric describes uniformly accelerated black holes. We will review a global structure of these solutions especially in Lambda
When we think of a revolution in physics, we usually think of a physical theory that manages to overthrow its predecessor. There is another kind of revolution, however, that typically happens more slowly but that is often the key to achieving the first sort: it is the discovery of a novel perspective on an existing physical theory. The use of least-action principles, symmetry principles, and thermodynamic principles are good historical examples.
Past studies have identified a spatially extended excess of ~1-3 GeV gamma rays from the Galactic Center and inner Galaxy, consistent with the emission expected from annihilating thermal relic dark matter. I will describe recent improvements in the characterization of this signal, which demonstrate that it is spherically symmetric, centered on the Galactic Center, and with a spatial profile consistent with annihilation from a cusped NFW profile.


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Nice pen, great value!
By Health Care VP
from Jupiter, FL
About Me Dept Manager, Healthcare Industry
Comments about Baudville Silver Gift Pen - Compass: Leading by Example:
A professional looking pen that presents as a quality gift. GREAT value for the price!
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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Another outstanding product
By Bianca
from New York, NY
About Me Volunteer Leader
This was a gift which I presented to several other volunteer leaders who worked closely with me this past fiscal year. It was token of my thanks for all their hard work.
Perfect professional gift
By C. Cunningham
from Greensboro NC
About Me Education Industry
Your product was used for HR recognition of employees and will be used as a regular reward in our program going forward. Just the right touch to add to a ceremony
Excellent Reward Value
By DR
from Cincinnati, OH
About Me Dept Manager
Very well received.
Difficult to refill
By Writes Alot
from Kansas City, MO
The pen is great but don't use all the ink! The company doesn't sell refills. I called customer service to see if they had a product number and was told to just take my pen to an office supply store and start comparing pen refills. That works great unless you order from a catalog...which my company does. What a pain!
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Temps Majeur Supreme Eye
- 0.5 fl. oz.0.5 fl. oz.
Please enter your email address below and we will send you a notification when the item becomes available.
Temps Majeur Supreme is Yves Saint Laurent's newest and most nurturing skincare.
The silky texture glides onto your eye area with a sensation of comfort and nourishment while reducing the appearance of dark circles and puffiness.
customer ratings & reviews
Temps Majeur Supreme Eye
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Yves Saint Laurent Beauty Store asked: Why did you choose this?
Lois G: This is the best eye cream I have ever used and I've tried a ton of them!! Feb 15, 2014
Neil D: Nothing better for around my eyes and I have sensitive skin and no dramas with! Love it! Feb 12, 2014
Nancy M: Excellent eye creme for dry skin! Jun 29, 2013
Griselda V: I choose this item because I have used it for almost one year and I like it very much. It is the only eye cream that helps my skin around my eyes to look younger and reduce the puffiness . I have tried other brands but any like Yvest. Mar 20, 2013
A shopper asked: Looking for a lift/ firming eye cream. Will this one do the job better? Should just go with Temps Majeur? I am also looking for a lifting firming face moisturizing cream. I know these products are the best just want to make sure i order the right ones.. Jan 16, 2013
Answer this · Send to friends Good question? Yes (3) No (0)
A shopper asked: what is the name of the wrinkle filler that YSL make? Aug 26, 2012
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Suzette L: I'm not sure what the wrinkle filler is. I've used other cream for years and have tried this one and it's thicker than original eye cream. I like this one as well. There is also that new ball click pen like the touche for eyes that I like. Aug 27, 2012
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A shopper asked: Does this Eye Care have Silicone in it? Oct 13, 2012
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Vehicles with Incentives & Rebates
Extensively freshened, the LaCrosse sports a bigger waterfall grille, a new hood, and revised lighting with the option of bi-xenon HID adaptive headlights. The rear fascia has an integrated spoiler and wraparound LED taillights, and the interiors have been redesigned with upgraded materials, new seats, a new center control stack, updated telematics, and a posh new Ultra Luxury option.
After eAssist's debut last year, 2013 is quiet for the LaCrosse. Option groups are arrayed in five packages now (previously seven), ranging from the base LaCrosse to the Touring package, with Leather, Premium I and Premium II levels filling in. All-wheel drive (AWD) is available on Leather and Premium I trim levels.
Buick's 2014 LaCrosse is intended to bring younger buyers to what has traditionally been seen as a nameplate for more senior folks. Conservatively handsome, well equipped, capable, quiet, comfortable, and refined, the car boasts eAssist, GM's mild-hybrid system. A 304-hp V6 engine is available, and offers the option of all-wheel drive. But we actually prefer the progressive spirit of the eAssist powertrain, with its 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine, small electric "boost" motor and regenerative braking. In a rare win-win, the system improves both fuel economy and performance, and combines with the car's solid look and feel to create a thoroughly credible alternative to the established imports. Although powertrains and chassis are unchanged, the LaCrosse rolls into 2014 with new front and rear fascias and upgraded interiors.


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Austin Peay State University said it has dismissed leading returning rusher Omar Williams from the football team for academic reasons on Friday.
Kevin Harvick became the eighth different pole winner in as many Sprint Cup Series races this season after posting the fastest lap in the final round of Friday's knockout-style qualifying for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
The Oakland Raiders will cut quarterback Terrelle Pryor on Monday if they are unable to trade him, according to Fox Sports.
Benches cleared and punches were thrown in Sunday's game between the Brewers and Pirates at PNC Park after Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez tripled off Gerrit Cole in the third inning.
Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri made disparaging remarks towards the Brooklyn Nets during a fan rally outside the Air Canada Centre prior to Saturday's Game 1 of the teams' Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook has been suspended three games for his hit on St. Louis Blues captain David Backes late in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.


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Chiller control panel
Johnson Controls has added the Quantum LX control panel to its York model CYK chillers.
Johnson Controls has added the Quantum LX control panel to its York model CYK chillers. The control panel meets the needs for heat pumps, water chilling, radiators, ice thermal storage, and process cooling. It features a touch-screen interface and multiple language support. In addition, the virtual human machine interface (HMI) allows the user to access panel information remotely. The panel's flash memory requires no battery backup. Software versions can be upgraded using a USB flash drive. It can store historic data at longer intervals and allows the user to freeze screens for troubleshooting. Diagnostic features include a protocol analyzer, I/O boards, and data capture.
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Darksiders II Screenshots for PS3On: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U Check Price
Latest Articles for Darksiders II
What Now For THQ's Last Games?
Now that the last of THQ's remaining assets have finally been sold, VideoGamer.com takes a look at what the future might hold for these franchises.
Nordic Games the only bidder to meet THQ's reserve for Darksiders
Vigil co-founder Ryan Stefanelli offers advice on taking the franchise forward.
Crytek USA is 'looking to buy Darksiders'
Ex-Vigil Games dev to bid on Darksiders IP when series goes to auction.
THQ to auction off remaining IP, including Darksiders, Red Faction and Destroy all Humans
Expects process to be completed by mid-May.


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IFSC Win's big at the National Greek Leadership Awards!
Congratulations to UNH's Greek Council, the Inter Fraternity and Sorority Council (IFSC). Since 2010 UNH students have been working with twelve Greek organizations to collect canned food items and distribute to local families in need. Over the two years the canned food drive has run , IFSC has helped donate over 2,000 food items to the Connecticut Food Bank.
On February 25th 2012, at the Northeast Greek Leadership Association Conference the Inter Fraternity and Sorority Council was presented with the Amy Vojta Impact Award for Philanthropy and Service for their work on Halloween for Hunger. They were chosen among four Universities for their tremendous work out of over 90 applicants for their dedication to the community. Other award winners included schools such as Howard University, and Cornell.
For more information please email firstname.lastname@example.com or to learn more about NGLA please go to NGLA.org.
(Story & photos submitted by Daniel J. Kent-Graduate Assistant Office of Student Activities)


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Gourmet Gift Sets »
How To Blend Spices
- Organic Artisanal Tandoori Chicken Masala
- Spicy BBQ Poultry Marinade
- Classic Garam Masala Spices - Mixed Vegetable Curry
- Fresh Chai
- Shepherd's Pie
- Dahl / Lentil Curry (GF)
- Sri Lankan Chicken Curry
- Aromatic Yellow Rice (GF)
- Collard Green Mallung
- Spice Up Your Health
- Brinjal Bartha
- Kashmiri Garam Masala
- Tandoori Chicken
Fresh Organic Chai Masala spice set includes 2 oz each of Organic Ceylon Cinnamon, Organic Cardamom, Organic Cloves and Organic Black Pepper.
This Recipe Features Fresh Chai Masala:
Fresh Chai
Traditional Chai Recipe with Fresh Spices
A good friend revealed to me recently that she had never tasted any other type of Chai other than what was served her at the local coffee shop. Well, when I prepared this fresh chai recipe and shared a cuppa with her, I was not too surprised to find her loving it!
Directions for preparing 4 servings.
- 1 TBS Cardamom pods
- 1 TBS Ceylon Cinnamon chips ( 1" to 2" stick broken into pieces)
- 1 1/2 TSP Whole Cloves
- 1 TSP Whole Black Pepper
- 1TBS Finely chopped Fresh Ginger
- 2 TBS High Quality Black Tea, such as Darjeeling
- Sugar to Taste
- 3/4 to 1 cup warmed Whole Milk
- 3 cup of water
Bring the water to a boil in a small pan, lower heat to a gentle simmer. Grind the whole spices, just a few spins in a grinder will do - just enough to roughly grind the spices. Add 3 TSP of ground spices to the simmering water, ( reserve the rest for tomorrow's Chai ) cover and simmer on very low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the tea to the pot with spices, stir, remove from heat and pour into a carafe if using a french press, add the ginger. Place the press into the carafe but do not plunge. Let the ingredients steep for a couple of minutes. Add the warm whole milk, add sugar, stir and gently depress the plunger. Serve into pre-warmed mugs or cups. Enjoy your very own home made fresh Chai!


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With equity markets closed today and now tomorrow as well due to Hurricane Sandy, there's obviously not much to report on regarding the market. We can report on how things looked when the market closed last week, however, so below is an updated snapshot of our key ETF matrix, which highlights the recent performance of various asset classes.
As shown, U.S. equities (the left side of the matrix) have clearly struggled in October. The only three areas of the market that are up month to date are the Financials, Utilities and Health Care sectors. Things look quite a bit better for non-U.S. equity ETFs though. China (FXI) is up 6.73% on the month, while France (EWQ) and Italy (EWI) are both up more than 3%.
Commodities have had a rough go at this month as well. Oil, Silver and Gold are all down quite a bit. And while Treasury-related ETFs were up last week, they're also down on the month along with stocks.
Fortunately the year-to-date gains are still holding. In the U.S., the Financial sector is up the most of any asset class with a gain of 21.54%. Outside of the U.S., India (INP) and Mexico (EWW) have posted the largest gains at more than 23%. Oil (USO) has been the worst performing asset class year to date with a decline of 16.58%.
(Click chart to enlarge)


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The demonstrators marched toward Pearl Square in Bahrain's capital, Manama, after a funeral procession for a protester who died in custody. The government said the man died of a blood disease.
An Associated Press photographer said the demonstrators hurled firebombs and rocks at troops about 700 meters (yards) from Pearl Square, where crowds gathered in February 2011 as the Arab Spring-inspired uprising erupted in the Gulf nation.
Bahrain's majority Shiites seek greater rights in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, which is home to the U.
Dozens of opposition leaders have been jailed, including human rights activist Nabeel Rajab whose family said he began a hunger strike Friday.
Rajab was temporarily freed from prison this week to attend his mother's funeral, but the furlough was cut short after he delivered a speech urging for protests to continue.


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Thursday, 20 October 2011
Graeme Hawley on John Stape's return
ITV have a video montage of John's history here along with an interview with Graeme Hawley about the storyline. Oddly enough Graeme was in Anglesey this summer before finding out that's where John Stape has been hiding himself and he jokes "As usual with John Stape there are two things you can be certain of; one his cunning plan will be not be very cunning and two somewhere along the lines it will involve doing something bad to Rosie Webster"
This fan thinks it's going to be a suitably bizarre ending to a bizarre storyline. But you know? I've enjoyed every twist, turn and bump in the Stapewich saga.
8 comments:
- abbyk said...
I can't say I've enjoyed the story; there's dramatic license, and then there's stretched beyond all recognition. But Graeme Hawley has been a treat to watch every time he's on the screen, and I am looking forward to seeing him again, even if it means more criminal bumbling.
What a waste! The biggest crime is that the writers couldn't come up with interesting stories for a passionate, talented teacher, someone who might have dreamed of university life, but got stuck in Weatherfield.
- 20 October 2011 18:09
AbbyK, I think your second paragraph's been done - by Ken Barlow. But I agree Graeme Hawley has been excellent and has really shown how far-fetched stories can work with the right acting and, tbh, he had some good scripts. Equally, poor acting and writing can make very plausible story lines boring eg: Chris and his tumour. I've loved the accidental murderer story line and you can't help feeling sorry for the poor bloke.
- 20 October 2011 18:17
Agree Graeme Hawley has been excellent and too bad he couldn't have stayed on, crimes undiscovered for a couple of years at least.
- 20 October 2011 21:16
I would have enjoyed this storyline but the dumbing down of Fiz into a mealy mouthed hand wringing harpy totally turned me off and I'm glad to see the end of it.
- 20 October 2011 21:43
I really have not enjoyed this storyline, and I will be pleased to see it wrapped up. Although, as others have said Graeme Hawley has been great. However, I haven't missed Fiz at all, in fact I had forgotten about her until reading this.
- 20 October 2011 22:16
I realized the other day that John is one of many serialists on Corrie. John's a serial killer, Maria's a serial widow, Rosie's a serial kidnap victim/tart, Gail's a serial matrimonialist, Steve's a serial divorcer, Lloyd, Eileen, Carla, Leanne, Julie and Becky are serial heart-break victims, Norris and Sylvia are serial busy-bodies, Mary and Julie are serial nutters, Kevin, Sally, Deirdre and Ken are serial cheats, Sean and Fiz are serial whingers, Sophie is a serial liar, Hayley and Roy are serial do-gooders and the Street is now home to serial lesbians. I think the writers need to shake things up a bit.
- 21 October 2011 00:44
Silly, lazy plotline which ridicules the programme's rich and well-written past.
- 21 October 2011 10:24
This sounds dire. I'm only catching the occasional episode these days out of choice. I read the updates and see if it's worth it before switching on. Yes, for me I'm afraid it's that bad in what once was such a great soap. If Tracy has a big part in the episode I don't bother, I totally skipped the rape episodes and anything with Sophie is a turn off. Michelle Collins is also difficult but also difficult to censor because she's in the bar so can pop up without notice as is Tina who is incredibly annoying. Dev, Amber... where to start?...
I keep going out of sentiment and memories and the hope that it will once reign supreme...... but I won't hold my breath if it's this kind of rubbish we've got to look forward to. Plus Sophie and Sian running away again, Sally and Kevin saga again, Peter Barlow falls off the wagon again, Becky and Tracy fall out again, another residents trial knowing she will get off, again.... Most of the plotlines were hard to live through the first time - so making us poor viewers sit through them again is just ridiculous.
Kidnapping Rosie..... who in their right mind would do that once let alone twice? John Stape should have died when he fell off the roof. The fact that he didn't says it all in this new sensationalist world the characters live in.
Losing the wonderful Betty behind the bar is sad in so many ways. A great character, good actress one we really cared about. A firm favorite of mine since childhood. And a reminder that the older characters are the ones most highly thought of. Not the two bit youngsters that screech and mope their way around the set and call it acting. I would love to know what the older generation think of the show right now when they have been part of the same show when it was so much better.
Sad days in corrie for so many reasons!
- 22 October 2011 07:15
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The Continuum Group, who run the Coronation Street tour, are recruiting for more Corrie tour guides. As a Tour Guide you will provide al...
Ah Sophie Webster, what has become of you? Unfortunately young Sophie is now neck and neck with Michelle for the award of character most lik...
From this weekend until October 4th, the Coronation Steet set opens to the public. See our blogger Ruth's write-up of the VIP tour. ...


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The latest news in the Ruby and Rails communityGot some news to report? Send it in!
From multi to native json, JoyBox hits 1.0, ContextValidations and FormObjects, teaching kids at KidsCodeCamp, Plataformatec gems, tab navigation with Tabulous 2 and Git Real 2 online course.
This episode is sponsored by Envy Labs. Expert Ruby on Rails application development
URL parsing with Rippersnapper, awesome APIs with Pliny, thread-safe utilities from Charles Nutter, a revival of the invoicing gem, info about recursion and memoization, querying git with gitql, and refactoring bad controllers all in this episode of the Ruby5 podcast!
In this episode we cover the results of the Cloudflare Heartbleed challenge, tracking trends in the Ruby community with the Ruby Survey, Rails 4.1 ActiveRecord enums, iStats for CPU temperature on OS X and some Insanely Useful ActiveAdmin Customizations.
The internet is heartbleeding plus exciting rails 4.1 features. With special guest Nathan Hessler.
On today's episode: Rails 4 PostgreSQL integration, tips for hiring great software engineers, Ruby Love, what your conference proposal is missing, crafting a conference talk, an introduction to JSON schemas, Build a Ruby Gem, and Surviving APIs with Rails


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Activities and improvements is a database of 2y2d-aligned efforts across campus.
Re-envisioning our shared future
Our shared future depends on choices we make today. Even small changes can lead to large and lasting impact. The Two Years to Two Decades Initiative (2y2d) involves an ongoing process that articulates a shared vision of our future, identifies trends and drivers of change, and takes steps to ensure the UW is responding in ways that keep us on track to thrive in the coming years.
Campus faculty, students, staff, and administration are engaged in continuous, thoughtful consideration, re-thinking or re-affirming priorities to best serve our UW community. The initiative provides guiding principles and a strategic framework for the university as a whole that campus leaders can adapt to the unique needs of their unit. 2y2d tracks central and unit-level efforts that align to these principles, identifies gaps where provost-led efforts can help, and celebrates success to raise awareness of how creative individuals and units across campus are working towards our shared vision in innovative ways.
Our two-year challenge:
How do we ensure that we stay true to our vision, mission and values while coping with the rapidly changing landscape of higher education—funding, competition, emerging technologies, shifting demographics, and changing student expectations?
Our two-decade challenge:
How do we ensure that the decisions we make now reflect our combined sense of where we are going and set us up well to thrive in the 21st century?
Positioning the UW to thrive in the 21st Century
The 2y2d Initiative articulates long-term strategic priorities that guide near-term decisions. It asked stakeholders to envision where they want the University of Washington to be in 20 years and works to make that vision a sustainable reality.
Starting in the summer of 2009, more than 3,500 faculty, students, staff and community stakeholders provided input. Based on this input, and in consultation with faculty and campus leaders, strategic priorities and near-term goals were identified to make that vision a sustainable reality.
Learn more about what focus groups identified for the UW's future and which of society's most pressing issues they specified on the Finding Our Focus page.
Guiding 2y decision-making: The Sustainable Academic Business Plan
The sustainable academic business plan is regularly updated strategic framework designed to respond to immediate budgetary challenges and strengthen our shared academic mission. It guides decision-making in the near term and focuses on practical ways to make our existing resources go further, look for creative ways to increase our resources, and invest strategically in our future. Learn more about the Sustainable Academic Business Plan.
Many UW activities support the goals of the Sustainable Academic Plan. A database-driven website, UW Activities & Improvements, allows UW community members to search these activities and share best practices. Learn more about UW Activities & Improvements.
Starting in 2010, the Provost launched new initiatives to meet Sustainable Academic Business Plan goals best accomplished at the institutional level:
- Husky Student Experience
- Teaching & Learning in the 21st Century (ongoing): Meeting the needs of diverse, dispersed student populations
- Enhance Student Services (launched): Improving the student experience from recruitment to success at the UW and beyond
- Campus of the 21st Century (launched): Coordinating plans to improve physical and virtual campus environments
- Fostering Collaboration (ongoing): Fostering collaborative research, teaching, and learning
- Organizational Excellence (ongoing): Improving work processes, increasing effectiveness, and measuring success
- Program Evaluation Initiative (launched): Assessing program quality and impact based on collectively determined criteria and metrics. Originally a provost initiative, Program Evaluation is now operationalized and run by the Office of Planning & Budgeting as part of the regular UW budget cycle.
Sustaining long-term transformation
With efforts to fill the initial gaps identified by the SAB Plan well under way, 2y2d is turning more attention to the long-term, slower work of institutional transformation. This work involves encouraging, inspiring, supporting, and celebrating opt-in participation (at the individual and unit level) in efforts that work towards shared goals and move us closer to our vision of the UW of the 21st Century. The 2y2d principles are becoming part of the fabric of the UW as groups across campus engage in a culture of continuous improvement and align their activities with strategic priories and our shared vision of the future.
The SAB Plan steering committee continues to meet to review initiative progress, ensure we are on track, and refine strategic directions. 2y2d principles remain the fundamental framework for making informed and principled decisions, for setting strategic directions (e.g., President's focus on leading change in higher education), and for investing wisely in areas of future importance (e.g., recent Provost investments in big data and diversity). The 2y2d team continues to support principled decision-making at all levels, deliver results through ongoing initiatives, track trends and drivers of change, and celebrate success of groups across campus that are working towards our shared vision.


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3396 Decker Lake Dr, Salt Lake City, UT | Directions 8411940.698932 -111.947248
Neighborhoods: West Valley City
Really? No HD at a Sports Bar? – Wow! This place needs a serious upgrade. They have lots of TVs, but they're too small, not HD, and they were not all on the same receiver - so the sound did not match the picture on most TVs. Very hard to watch the game. The women's restroom needs some serious attention - you had to be a toilet whisperer to get the things to flush! And the sinks wouldn't turn off all the way. Usually, I don't expect much from bar bathrooms, but come on! The label on the bucket on top of the pool table (strategically placed for the leaky roof) read, "Heavy Duty Mayonnaise." The label wasn't their fault, but nobody wants to ready "Heavy Duty" in front of a food item from an establishment they've just eaten at. We had nachos that weren't very good and some pot stickers that were okay - before we saw the bucket. It wasn't very busy for a Friday night and there were several games. If they want to increase their patronage and profits, they need to seriously invest some money in maintenance and upgrades. We won't go back unless they remodel.
Horrible experience! – My friends and I decided to go to the Puck to eat and drink before an event. First off, there was absolutely no place to sit in the entire place, except a table with no chairs on the smoking deck. When we asked for chairs, we were snapped at and told "No!". We then proceeded to stand at the table, waiting for someone to take an order, half an hour later, after being blatantly ignored by the wait staff, and having personally asked one of the waitresses to please come help my party, I went to speak to a manager, which is something I have never had to do in all my years. The manager walked up to me dripping in disdain, while the waitress I was including in my complaint, stood at my shoulder so she could hear what I was going to say. I proceeded to tell the manager about my displeasure, and she basically told me, "well, this is a bar, we are busy". She also told us they dont' serve food on the smoking patio, and when I told her we'd been watching servers bring it out there for the last 30 minutes, she told me "no, people are just carrying it out there. She then turned her back and walked away from me, offering no help or resolution. We then walked back to get the rest of our party to leave, without eating, and as we walked off the patio, the same waitress, was carrying plates of food out on to the patio to serve people. I've never been treated so poorly at an establishment before, we will never go back to The Puck.
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Received the ornament today, and was able to replace the old badge in about 10 minutes. The dental floss method was key--thanks for including that tip!
Easy replacement for the hood emblem on 03 convertible. Looks brand new. I used the dental floss method
Saab emblems tend to chip away rather quickly. these badges are a perfect match, easy to install, and less expensive than from Saab (~$85 EACH!)


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One Cake, Three Halloween Treats
A little candy, cookies, and pint-size toys can transform your boring chocolate-frosted sheet cake into a spooky Halloween display.
X-ray Vision
Microwave fondant for 8 to 10 seconds, then roll it out on a clean work surface. Create the control panel by cutting a strip that's long enough to wrap around both sides of one of the cake's narrow ends; lay in place.
For the X-ray label, cut a small fondant rectangle and dampen one side with water, then center it on the panel. Fill a resealable plastic bag with chocolate frosting, seal the bag, and snip off a tiny corner. Pipe X-ray on the label. Devise knobs by affixing white Necco wafers, then Reese's Pieces, to the panel with dabs of chocolate icing.
Using this photo as a guide, cut fondant strips and roll with your hands to shape skinny bones; for the spinal column, form strips into balls and flatten slightly. Transfer the bones to the cake. Next, give the whole thing a little heartliterallywith a hard candy ($10.99 for five; nycake.com).


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The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life.
September 30, 2008
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004
Pew is no longer active in this line of work, but for more information, visit the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies on PewHealth.org.
Nanotechnology and synthetic biology are two of the most exciting fields in science. They are the focus of venture capitalists, government and university laboratories, major corporations, and startup companies.
But how much have Americans heard about these two fields that promise to change virtually every aspect of their lives—from sources of energy, to drugs and health care, and even weapons? Does the public think the potential benefits of these emerging technologies will outweigh the possible risks?
These questions were part of a representative national telephone survey of adults conducted in August 2008. This latest poll repeats questions about nanotechnology asked in a similar survey carried out in 2007—which found that only 6 percent of Americans said they had "heard a lot" about nanotechnology despite the fact that the technology was incorporated into more than $147 billion in manufactured goods last year.
The poll also marks the first time Americans have been asked in a phone survey about synthetic biology. This is an emerging area of research that uses advanced science and engineering to make or redesign living organisms, such as bacteria, so that they can carry out specific functions.
Results from the poll—as well as from two complementary focus group discussions conducted among adult men and women about synthetic biology—will be released by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies on Tuesday, September 30th at 12:30 p.m. at a program and live webcast at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Geoffrey Garin, president of Peter D. Hart Research Associates, which conducted the phone survey and focus groups, will present the findings.
You must register to attend the event.
Visit www.nanotechproject.org/events/rsvp to RSVP.
*** Webcast LIVE at www.nanotechproject.org*** No RSVP required to view the webcast.
Results of Nanotechnology & Synthetic Biology Public Opinion Poll
Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 12:30 – 1:30 PM (Light lunch available at 12:00 noon)
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Read the related press release Nanotech and Synbio: Americans Don't Know What's Coming on the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Web site.
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"I thought the Institute was wonderful. You did a great job making sure teams as well as individuals felt their needs were addressed. The food choices were the best I've ever experienced at a conference (and I've been to many), both in the variety of foods and the selection of healthy choices."
"My first step will be to determine who my champion will be and then form a committee. My organization's goal is to have the committee return to the Institute next summer."
"My organization has attended for the past five years and we have used the materials to develop a great responsive program. I was happy to see that the focus is on prevention because that is where we are headed now. Given that our goals are in alignment, I was pleased to have learned so much and feel that I am now qualified to move this process through my organization."
"The curriculum was beneficial, and I loved hearing FSU's approach to prevention. The presentations were eye-opening, and I appreciated the opportunity to meet so many other professionals! I had a great time and can't wait to come back next year to learn more."
"The information was very helpful. The speakers were great. The networking and sharing of ideas was nice."


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A Study of BMS-512148 (Dapagliflozin) in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes With Inadequately Controlled Hypertension on an Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor (ACEI) or Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB)
This study has been completed.
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
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First received: June 3, 2010
Last updated: April 15, 2013
Last verified: April 2013
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No Study Results Posted on ClinicalTrials.gov for this Study
|Study Status:
|This study has been completed.
|Study Completion Date:
|February 2013
|Primary Completion Date:
|February 2013 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)


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Makeup Essentials
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- Lorde's Makeup Collaboration
- Creative Ways To Decorate With Houseplants
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Eclipse 4.2 Released With Juno
Published on 27 June 2012 08:11 AM EDT
Written by
Michael Larabel
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Eclipse "Juno" has been released and with that the first stable version of the Eclipse 4 SDK.
Features of the Eclipse Juno development platform include the Eclipse 4.2 IDE as the first stable Eclipse 4 SDK release, Code Recommenders as a way to make code completion much smarter, Eclipse Virgo as a new nano kernel for building small OSGi applications, Koneki as a Lua IDE, and other new packages.
More information on the Eclipse Juno release train for 2012 is detailed in
this Eclipse.org press release
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Apple, LLVM Developers Figure Out Their 64-Bit ARM Approach
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by BrianRobinson
Patterned Chaos, Life - Who Can Tell the Difference?
Jun 24, 2011
| 9998 views |
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by BrianRobinson
May 21, 2012
| 4795 views |
Some autistic people are locked into strict routines. There could be different reasons for this, from always knowing what comes next and therefore being prepared for it, to needing that locked order to get through the day, to a simple preference of having things nailed down and not loose to minimize any surprises which would be tough. Going away from those routines can cause anything from slight discomfort to meltdowns.
We're lucky that Xan can handle changes and differences. Things do tend to go wrong, accidents happen, and I can't tell you how many times even vague plans of ours (wanna try to grab a bite to eat one day this week, say) have run aground on the rocky shoals of life getting its own way. I suppose we COULD get into a minute-by-minute plan if we really had to, but I bet something would crop up to destroy it quickly.
In terms of scheduling, we are free from routines. But we are not free from routine things.
Like Xan fighting sleep. We put him to bed early most nights, reasoning if it takes him four hours to go to sleep. starting at seven equals an eleven o'clock bedtime - getting him up around six means seven hours sleep. Not too bad. But if we put him to bed at eleven and he finally wears down at three and then we get him up at six, that's not too good. At the least he will be cranky as heck and not wanting to do things for himself which will make him mad when we won't help, and he may fall asleep during the day. Like many kids, one hour of a nap in the afternoon seems to recharge him for the day, which means another late night.
And there's being around to help Xander do things. Here we have to be very careful we don't get into habit of doing things for him but make him do as much as the task as he an himself. But we're usually around to help him if he really needs. The flip side of this routine is we don't get much time to ourselves, always keeping an eye and ear out to see if he needs help.
Of course, there's the usual guessing game of what he says. A lot of times when he IS asking for something using his words, he talks so fast we can only pick out a few words. And he still has trouble with similar sounds - b,d,p, etc. 'Cheese Toast' in his regular voice and speed sounds a lot like 'Cheetos'. Did he say 'Party Time' or 'potty time'? One's a DVD he likes, one is a sign that he's got some problems going on. So that's pretty regular for us.
One thing is sure, though - all of his routines make him special. And some routine things for others are more than special for us.
We don't take anything for granted, and little steps he makes as he grows take on magical and fantastic colors to us. He's started being very choosy about what he wears. I lay out some clothes for him to change into after school, and about twice per week he puts back what I choose and grabs something else. That's probably pretty common for kids, but for us it was huge. Independent thought and choice, getting things himself instead of making us do it, picking his particular wants himself...all a special move.
He's very vocal about what music he wants to listen to.
Lucero's "I Can't Stand To Leave You
" is a huge favorite of his, as is
Avenged Sevenfold's "Bat Country"
- and those are kinda different songs. It's so great to see him make choices, ask for those choices, and rock back and forth in the car as his music plays. Every parent has seen this routine...but for us it's never routine.
Him being able to handle what the world throws at him, for the most part, is also fantastical to us. There are days when we're happy and proud of him for not doing anything that caused troubles, like when we put Casper to sleep, when the pipe broke, when I had my knee surgery, all of them unscheduled and stressful. But he handled them all mostly well, which was a huge help for us. Others may expect that from their kids as a matter of course.
And so many more things that others may take for granted.
Our routine is anything but, and some routine acts of his are miraculous.
by BrianRobinson
May 13, 2012
| 2617 views |
Happy Mother's Day.
Xan is very lucky to have Tracy as a mom. Even in his most challenging times, by issues or attitude, she loves him unreservedly and completely. While understanding his problems and struggles, she never lets him settle for less than his best - much as he tries to convince her too. When exhausted after a long day at work, she always puts him to bed so they can have some time to themselves. Even when sick - which she is today, continuing our trend of special days equaling problems - she takes care of Xan. She always sets a great example of parenthood, giving Xan a support system unrivaled and a hard to reach example for me to follow.
Even with all the extra struggles of Xan's autism and nonverbalness, she manages to be caring and patient. It's hard to know what he thinks at times, but it's obvious he loves mommy and I think he knows he's lucky to have her.
If for no other reason than to give him a break from me.
Happy Mother's Day, Tracy. You are an inspiration. Even though Xan doesn't say it, he knows it.
by BrianRobinson
May 07, 2012
| 2128 views |
We had to put one of our cats to sleep Sunday. He was seventeen years old - been with us for almost all of our married life. It hurt. We treat our cats like family, and to lose one is painful.
Xan was with us at the vet's when it happened, in the room with us. Babysitting isn't really an option, and I think he wanted to be there to say his goodbyes in his own way. He gave Casper a little pet, and showing some empathy unusual in autistics, kissed mommy when she cried. He did the same thing when our first cat died too - he understood she was hurting and wanted to help her.
Don't think I wasn't crying, either, but as we all know, he prefers mommy and wants to make her happy.
It's hard to know how autistic people understood death. They see someone isn't there anymore, but do understand the sadness and the loss?
If you're more than casually interested in autism, you've probably heard the name Carly Fleischmann. If not, she's an autistic girl (teenager, I think) who was uncommunicative, but then started to type out thoughts and feelings in a deep and meaningful way. In addition to the inspiration of her even being able to communicate, her writing is light-years above many adults making a living doing the same. She is also able to relate how she feels and reacts to things that help other autistics and parents of autistics to perhaps get an idea of what they go through.
(Perhaps - the saying is, if you've met one autistic person - you've met one autistic person)
By a sad coincidence, she recently did a post on Facebook detailing how she's dealing with the death of a friend, and she said what we all feel when a loved one dies - she's sad, and it's not fair when some die. A universal constant. I've posted before of how Xan reacted at my mom's funeral, where he definitely showed his anguish.
Loss is change. It goes from having someone around to them being gone. But loss is also part of love - you have to care about someone to hurt when they hurt, or when you have to say goodbye. And another part of love is strength to lose someone.
We had to decide that Casper was suffering, and be strong enough to let him go instead of keeping him here so we didn't have to say goodbye. It isn't fair, but it is.
But loss doesn't have to be that drastic. Xander is, little by little, getting more independent. We still don't know if he could handle being by himself, but he is able to be more trusted to do some things now. It isn't always easy but we try to make him do more - which always means we're losing him, little by little, with its benefits and sadness.
It would be easier, sometimes, to just go along. Do it for him, take the responsibility out of his hands. Sometimes we do. But more often than not, we have the strength to make him do something, to make him lose that dependency and get him stronger and pay for that change in yells, fits. arguments, complaints, stress and troubles.
Parents are used to this, making their child their own person and able to handle themselves so they can go out in the world and make their own way. They suffer and have to be strong, all for the ultimate goal of losing their children from their home. We're no different in that goal, but our particular trials and methods are much different.
Saying goodbye, in all its forms, takes strength. It hurts, and a lot of times all you can say, like Ms Carly did, is it isn't fair to have to suffer that way, either from being the target of anger for making someone do something on his own to letting a beloved cat going to its final sleep rest its head on your hand as he slips away.
Loss is part of love, and the final payment for all those smiles and laughs you get from time spent with a loved one.
RIP Casper.
by BrianRobinson
Apr 30, 2012
| 2131 views |
The Oxford walk is over. It was a bit more hectic than last year, and a couple of things went wrong, but the turnout was good and people seemed to have a good time. Thanks to everyone who walked, special thanks to everyone who helped, and praise beyond words to my wife for setting this whole thing up and dedicating much of her time and efforts to it. Now, life can get back to 'normal'.
Along with the walk, Autism Awareness month is almost done. Last day is today. For many of you, this means one more charitable memory jogger is in the past and another to come. Your life can get back to normal, if indeed it was even affected.
Our comparative definitions of normal would be radically different.
Xan woke up laughing like a loon at 4:15 this morning. I have no idea why. I've blogged many times of the mystery and frustration of his lack of communication - this is our normal. But another part of that is his spontaneous joy over something I don't recognize. There are certain catchphrases that will send him howling in glee - not all of them from kid's stuff. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (one of our faves) gives him a lot of things to laugh about, things I wouldn't have guessed he would find funny or, really, understand. (I mean, what ten year old really gets the humor of one character saying "We're all doomed!" and a puppet firing back "Oh, he's a Calvinist!") Which could just be that what I find funny in something is not what he finds funny - something beyond what I get.
I don't think in these cases it's something sensory - like, on the flip side, the way echoes will bother him and make him cover his ears. (I once read that autistic people get signals from their different sides of the brain at different speeds - think about that and then add an echo in there) I believe in some cases the humor is the same for both of us. Other times, maybe it's a particular sound or inflection in the line, or maybe something in the background I don't notice but what makes all the difference to him that comes back to him when he hears the words again. Or, perhaps one of the words reminds him of something else that made him laugh - the code words I've referred to in other posts. Kinda like how one story, not that funny, can remind you of something else and make you laugh anyway.
Xan may have woken up and seen the shadows dancing on the wall, which reminded him of, maybe, Shadow from Bear in the Big Blue House. Or it could have made him think of chasing daddy's shadow when he was younger. The way they moved may have triggered happiness for some odd reason - the merging and coming apart, the odd and free formed shapes, the way they would blend into the dark around them and come back again, like water splashing in a constantly rotating waterfall.
Sometimes it's very, VERY hard to see beyond the things that cause him troubles. Since we want to fix what hurts him or makes him upset, those things are naturally what takes precedence and moves to the front of the line. And, since a meltdown commands a lot more attention than laughing, they also stick in the memory longer, sometimes along with bruises.
That is part of our normal now.
What is also part of our normal is being amazed at how normal things to Xander can be wondrous, extraordinary, amazing, hilarious, hypnotizing, engrossing and full of more than what I can see or imagine. His different normality.
Our normal can be tough, but his normal can be fantastic.
by BrianRobinson
Apr 26, 2012
| 1868 views |
Saturday, we have the walk! Oxford Stadium, 8 AM to noon. Come out and see us and support the Autism Society of Alabama.
It's a 3K walk...even >I< can handle that. (I think) You can still
sign up at this site
, or when you come to the stadium.
We're going to have soft drinks and pizza for lunch, a bounce house for the kids, and other stuff too. And once this gets done I may have some more time to get back on blogging.
Hope to see you there.
by BrianRobinson
Apr 05, 2012
| 4962 views |
If there is some kind of cosmic balance scale for good and bad days, and some law somewhere says it has to be balanced out, with cruddy stuff for some equaling good stuff for others in a perfect one-to-one ratio...then anyone who had a good day last Monday owes me a large karmiac debt.
Seriously, anything that could did go wrong. Woke up just after midnight as my insomnia flared up, so the bad day got a nice early start.
First, we noticed Xan was getting a rather bad rash. This started the usual jumping through hoops and second-guessing it always does, as we try to figure out what's going on and how serious it could be, should we try to get him to the doctor and deal with all that. The rash looked like he had gotten a shotgun shell full of sand, little bumps all over his chest and back. Didn't seem to be itchy, wasn't leaking anything, wasn't bloody. Seemed to ebb and flow every time we checked, never giving us solid progress or retreat. No fever, no loss of appetite, no nothing else, just that rash. We kept him from school Tuesday and Wednesday to make sure it wasn't contagious, to keep an eye on him and see if one of those other problems flared up, and to be able to apply Cortazine off and on and keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't try to wipe it off or anything.
While this was starting up, a routine virus scan on our one working computer flashed up a Trojan warning. This isn't great news any day of the week, but take a wild guess what we had just done...online...the day before?
Our taxes. So if anyone had managed to plant something on our computer, they now had the mother load of information, from addresses to social security numbers. This is the kind of thing that could have made Mother Teresa and Buddha curse and throw stuff wildly.
The TV has decided to become a pessimist, making everything it shows darker and darker and darker. We caught the finale of The Walking Dead, and the last scene...we had NO IDEA what was supposed to be in the background. All we could see was the moon. (Not spoiling anything here, but it was a kinda important plot point from the comics.)
Tracy's Droid phone died. It had most of the information about the Walk for Autism on April 28th on it.
Fridge began leaking. Car started making odd noises. I had a recurrent problem start to flare up again and had to go to the doctor. Had TKD testing that night so I couldn't rest.
I commented to an online friend "Ever suspect you're the subject in some alien's experiment to see what the magic number of blood pressure is to make your eyeballs actually shoot out from your skull?"
We made it through. But now, I'm calling in the debts.
If you guys had a good Monday, you owe me. So here's what I want you to do:
First of all, try to come to the Walk for Autism on 4/28 at Oxford High Stadium. As always, e-mail me if you want more info, want to help, anything. firstname.lastname@example.com
April is Autism Awareness month, so read up on autism, send me questions to answer in a post, and try to do something nice for people who have it.
We'll be bagging groceries on 4/21 at the Golden Springs Winn-Dixie to raise money for the Autism Society of Alabama - stop by, say hi, tell me you read the blog and donate.
Above all, appreciate the good time when they're there and be patient with someone else who may be having one of my Mondays on another day of the week.
And remember, that no matter how bad your day has been, lots of people out there would willingly trade you for it, and throw in their left kidney to boot. That can be hard to remember, as can the fact that this too shall pass, but it helps you make it through long, hard days.
by BrianRobinson
Mar 22, 2012
| 2143 views |
I went to a school reorganization meeting this week, and before it started I talked to a few teachers. One gave me enough encouragement that I am probably going to enter my first 5K, and I'm telling all of you this so as to shame me into going through with it. I hope my vomiting and cramps make you smile. But not more than my jokes in these posts.
The other one was my son's teacher, and what she asked me sent me into a light depression that ended up with me posting a Facebook update that had several friends sending me carefully worded e-mails checking on my mental status.
And it wasn't what you're probably thinking.
She asked me what I saw Xan doing as a job, and I froze. Locked up. I had no idea. My immediate thought was a traffic jam as I tried to think of a job that his nonverbalness wouldn't be a problem for. And I was stuck.
The teacher handled it beautifully, taking a beat and telling me that she felt he had a real aptitude for computers and programming. Which is totally true. But I didn't think of it and she did. She also politely reiterated that perhaps I was a little too protective of him and perhaps wasn't helping him.
With that tied into my not being able to think of a job for him...it was a bad feeling. I wallowed in it for some time. Still in it a little.
I've talked about how I know I can be a little too careful. I'm scared of him getting hurt, getting lost...too many things. I told the teacher there was no way I could do what I call 'all-or-nothing' stuff, like dropping him off and not making sure he went in the school. If he bolted and no one saw him...
But there is stuff I could do. She recommended letting him ride the bus, and she said that if I let him do that she really felt he would start talking about his day.
We haven't had a real conversation with Xan ever, a real give-and-take. We don't get to hear what he did during the day, he doesn't tell what he really wants, likes or dislikes. Don't know what he dreamed last night, who his favorite character on TV is. It's REALLY not good to wonder if I've actually made it less possible for him to talk to us.
And what if my being careful - to be nice to myself - is holding him back? Have I traded keeping him safe for keeping him dependent? Am I the perfect example of the most extreme helicopter parent ever?
Yeah. See why I posted that update? (which, by the way, a quote from one of the best bands ever, the Drive-By Truckers. Also, try Lucero - the owner of CD Cellar recommended them, and they are great.) (Hey, this post can't all be down, can it?)
I have a lot to think about.
Remember, the Walk for Autism is April 28th. We have some gift certificates to auction off, from Think Toys and CD Cellar. You can also
sign up online as well now
...E-mail me at BHRobin at aol.com for more info.
by BrianRobinson
Mar 12, 2012
| 2260 views |
Took Xan to the park last week, to let him run around and tire himself out some. For the first time in ... ever ... he didn't want to swing. At all. Passed them right by and ran to the tennis courts, where he and I chased each other around the nets. When we were done with that I figured NOW to the swing-set. Nope. Ran to the jungle gym and slides and spent the rest of our time there alternating between climbing up the slides and going back down and grabbing my hands and spinning us around until he jumped up - for a brief second - and fell down in a heap. I never expected that dissing of the swing.
Maybe it was a one time thing, maybe not. We shall see.
In other ways, he's changing. I can't kiss him anymore when I drop him off at school in the morning. Used to be able to give him a little kiss on the top of the head as I walked off, and then last month or so when I tried to do that he did some kinda fish-out-of-water twist that seemed to move his head around in an Exorcism-like maneuver while keeping his hands still protectively clutched on his food. From that time on, if I attempt to kiss him, he pushes me away in the universal "Jeez, Dad" sentiment.
THAT, I did expect. Surprised it didn't come sooner, honestly, given me being me.
In many other ways, he's still the same. Still likes certain songs, more of my aural bent than Tracy's. Still wont to stay up REALLY late and be a bit cranky when I wake him up in the morning. Still kinda behind on a lot of things, still a genius, still very nonverbal, still loves twirling.
But he's growing up and changing.
Maybe for parents of autistic kids, especially ones who are more obviously autistic than others, growing up can mean different things. With luck, patience and a lot of support, it can mean actual growth and accomplishments - getting them to do more things, better things, independent things. It can mean watching them change physically, getting bigger and stronger and faster, and while taking pride in it (did I subtly mention Xan's already up to my chest, and he's only 10?) also thinking in the back of your mind, that part that catalogs things in a more harsh light, that IF he gets a lot taller and stronger trips to the dentist and doctor may start involving a tranquilizer. And that you really don't want to be caught in his head butts anymore - that small bruise could inflate into a concussion. Many other things, some common across all our differences, many unique to each family and even each child in that family.
Everything changes, nothing stays the same...except for that always-there worry.
DON'T FORGET: Walk for Autism is April 28th at Oxford High Stadium. You can now go
to register up yourself or a group, and as always, you can e-mail me at BHRobin at aol.com for more information.
by BrianRobinson
Mar 05, 2012
| 1926 views |
Sorry it's been a while. Nothing really bad has happened, just, you know, life. Had a birthday last month - for those of you wanting the exact age, I feel much older than I am. Getting the walk up and running (remember, April 28th at Oxford High stadium, and if anyone wants to help in any way contact me @ BHRobin at aol.com). Having another wait-and-see bout with pneumonia, as my body and the bugs get together and decide which way it's finally going to fall. Volunteering up at Xan's school. Dealing with a computer that can't decide if it wants to be a actual computer or a thinnish paperweight. House issues. Surprises. Xan. Family.
You know, life.
In some ways, in obvious ways, I may be more busy than many parents. Having an autistic child means you get breaks that last, maybe, eight hours or so, when they're sleeping. Maybe. Even in the middle of all the things I listed above, I still have to keep an ear and eye out for Xander, for our protection and his.
For example - one night last month the toilet overflowed when he was using it. I happened to notice several flushes in a row, we raced in, and found the bathroom floor was doing double duty as a puddle. We were able to clean that up with a minimum of damage, but how did it happen? Dunno. Perhaps it was just one of those things. Maybe Xan jammed it up with too many tissues. We don't know. We could assume one or the other, natural or accidental or intentional, and act accordingly: no punishment for naturally one of those things, a discussion about what to do if something happens for accidental, or punishment if he did it intentionally. We settled for keeping a closer eye on him to make sure he didn't do it again (if he indeed did it at all) and explaining he should have come and gotten us. This is probably the worst of all possible worlds - if he DIDN'T have anything to do with it, we're overbearing and annoying the heck out of him. If he DID have something to do with it, it's a much lighter punishment than flooding a bathroom should earn.
But that's life - acting as best you can with incomplete information.
The bug I'm suffering through, as it decides whether or not to go all-out or simmer at a light misery, makes me tired. So it's harder to bound about checking on Xan, or helping Tracy with the walk, or even doing everyday things. But life doesn't accept excuses, so I still have to do the best I can with what I've got to do it with. Even if it seems I'm draqging forty extra pounds or so around.
Yet, life goes on and hitting the pause button isn't an option. And I do have it easier than many - if Xan's in school I can rest up, catch my breath and build up some energy to make it through. Several people don't have that option. So I am appreciative of the advantages I do have.
And the advantages Xan has. Even though working with him can be a challenge for everyone's temper, he's already passed his 4th grade stuff and working on fifth. He's very good at not getting into dangerous things, so usually the worst things we have to worry about are messes and damages, not poisoning or ER visits. And as I written before, there are times when he does seem to get that daddy doesn't feel good, so he should back off his demands for food or TV or whatever. It's amazing how a little peace in the middle of tough times can be more fulfilling than a long stretch of peace over many days of ease.
I assume, anyway, since long stretches of peace here probably don't meet many people's definition.
So life goes on. And we keep on trying to live it, one day at a time.
Walk for Autism is April 28th, at Oxford High. If you want to help in any way, send me an e-mail at BHRobin at aol.com.
by BrianRobinson
Feb 08, 2012
| 2364 views |
Had a quick conference with Xan's teacher, and got told he's doing very well. Which isn't a surprise, but it's nice to get confirmation. He's progressing nicely on his standards and will probably start working on higher ones soon. He's been going back to some places that had been a problem for him and has been making progress in speech and OT.
Still a ways to go but at least he's making a good start.
Those are moderately easy grades to make - can he add, does he write, can he read and answer questions? At the least it's simple to tell pass/fail - a binary yes he can/no he can't division. Maybe telling how well he can do those tasks is a bit more of a challenge, but at least you can start from a good base of certainty.
Other areas are harder to judge. I still help him in the mornings to get ready, helping him shower and get dressed and all that. COULD he do it himself...maybe. A few times on weekends I've said you have to do everything by yourself, and just stood there and told him what to do. It took a while - a long while in some cases - but he did. But unless I want to wake up practically before I go to bed and get him up soon after that, we can't do that on days we have to be somewhere. And some of that may not truly be the fault of him not being able to or not wanting to - he covers his ears in the shower, and I suspect that the falling water noise in that enclosed space may have a bad sound for him. (For those of you wondering why we don't do baths instead, he's decided he doesn't like to sit down in those for some reason, which makes cleaning a bit difficult and splashy.) It's hard to tell exactly where the line here is between he can and he can't.
When we go shopping, I've been letting him buy things he wants - Milo's tea, or a Sprite - and giving him money to pay for it; making him carry it to the register; put it on the belt, pay for it; get the change. The cashiers where I shop know Xan and that he's autistic, so they're very patient and work with him. He still needs some guidance about taking the change, because generally he feels the quicker he can grab that tea or Sprite the better. But he's getting the hang of it, or at least the hang of the motions of it. I'll have to see whether or not he gets the whole idea little by little, so I can't really give him a grade there.
Those things I can handle, or at least accept. Some parts of life can't be pegged as pass/fail. But what about what I do - do I make him do too much, or too little?
I've been told - rather sharply and completely justifiably - to stop helping Xan at breakfast at his school. I would always start to open his drink carton for him and let him finish it, but finally his teacher pointed out he did that himself every lunch, so why didn't I just go ahead and let him do it at breakfast? A fair point.
The household stuff I help him with - I'm always stuck between making him do it on his own, or helping it/doing it for him. It's the balance of getting him independent vs. being able to get where we need to go when we need to be there. I'm not sure where I fall on that, or if I pass or fail.
He's made progress, but I have to look at getting him ready to act on his own more and more. This isn't easy, with all kinds of mixed feelings there - 'can he do it?'; 'can he do it right?'; 'can he do it safely?'; 'can he do it today?', on and on. Pushing him too little leads to dependency, too much leads to frustration, fits, and a refusal to do anymore.
It's a tough balancing act, and right now, I'm not sure what grade I would earn.
Don't forget - autism walk April 28th, at Oxford High stadium. We're starting to get in gear and get more stuff set up and going. If you want to help, e-mail me at firstname.lastname@example.com. Hope to see you there.
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