Killing Terri

I knew it wouldn't take long for it to happen. The first article was an opinion piece in Wednesday's New York Post. The author makes the point that if killing Terri was the right choice then we need to punish those who don't make that choice for their loved ones. The author tells us that New York state spends $14 billion a year on long-term care. We need to get those costs down, he tells us. Families feel the pain of taking care of a loved one who is in long term care, but they don't feel the economic pain so there is little economic incentive to get them to "pull the plug". It's time to make people pay out of their pocket so that they will be more likely to make the "right" choice and dispose of this drain on the public largesse. The author ignores the fact that not everyone in long-term care is on a feeding tube so I assume the author would have the state provide suitable pillows to suffocate those that are in long-term care but still manage to feed themselves.

So why am I not surprised? Because as a parent of a child with Down syndrome I have been told that the state shouldn't pay for services for Mikey because we chose to have Mikey. Down syndrome is "preventable" so why should the state pay for my "bad choice". This is what choice is in America today... choose to dispose of those who are an inconvenience or pay the consequences. And if you dare to disagree, you are just pushing your religious views on everyone else.

The Pope

I happened to glance at Salon (yes, I know it isn't worth reading but...) and an article by Joan Walsh caught my attention. Ms. Walsh says that she can't forgive the Pope because her mom left the Church near the end of her life in 1976 because of the Church's stand on abortion. In other words, Ms. Walsh is mad at the Pope because the Church has moral values that she doesn't like. Tough! One wonders if she would be equally mad if her mother had left because of the Church's stand against adultery. In fact, the absurdity of Ms. Walsh's article can be seen by simply replacing "abortion" with "adultery".

Mark Steyn in the Daily Telegraph brings this point home. "The root of the Pope's thinking - that there are eternal truths no one can change even if one wanted to - is completely incomprehensible to the progressivist mindset." The Church believes that there are universal truths that can't be abandonded because they are uncomfortable or have fallen out of fashion and the dignity of the human person is one of those universal truths. The Church will greatly miss Pope John Paul. We can only hope his successor will carry on with the vigor that John Paul brought to the fight for the sanctity of life.

Daria - The Misery Chick

There are not too many TV shows that Beth likes that both Michel and I also like. Beth and I like a lot of mystery shows such as Nero Wolfe but Michel has no interest in them. One show that we all enjoy is Daria which used to be on MTV eight years ago and is now on The N in reruns. Daria is a high school girl who is really smart but is surrounded by fellow students who are interested only in their looks and their sports teams. Daria Morgendorffer is probably the most cynical person on the planet and because of her attitude everyone thinks of her as the "misery chick" even though she really isn't miserable. Daria's sister is a member of the fashion club, the school group whose main concerns are clothes and makeup. (Michel does a great imitation of Sandy, the president of the fashion club.) Each episode follows Daria as she attempts to get through another day of high school. The main problem with the show is that it is on at 4 in the morning and isn't available on DVD! So we tape it. If we had Tivo life would be easier.

New P2P Communication Technology

Opera Software ASA has announced a new breakthrough in P2P, direct, real-time, platform independent speech technology. The press release reveals some of the details of this incredible breakthrough. The key details are revealed in this line, Based on open standards, Opera's patent-pending P2P speech technology uses analogue signals carried through open air, enabling users to communicate in real- time without the use of computers or mobile phones. There are several drawbacks related to the system including limited range and serious privacy issues. There are also issues related to being able to recognize a message sent to a specific peer. However, the ease of use of this new technology and the low cost will probably lead to wide spread adoption.

The Dog Doo Robber

The headline of this article on yahoo caught my attention: Thief Steals Poop From Woman Walking Dog. A thief grabbed a bag of poop from a woman walking her dog and then tried to shoot the dog(!) but his gun wouldn't fire so he fled empty handed. This is someone who should think about another line of work. There is nothing but a long prison sentence in this guy's future.

The title of this blog entry, by the way, is stolen from the URL of the article.

Know Your Rights - Or - Living with a pre-teen

My daughter likes to listen to music when she goes to sleep. She normally listens to a CD she made from songs she bought off iTunes. I am the first one up in the house in the morning. The ironing board is in the empty bedroom next to Beth's room so every morning I hear the song, "Know Your Rights" by the Clash which is a song Beth likes because it is sort of funny ("... a public service announcement with guitar.") For those of you who are unaware, the Clash have determined that we have exactly three rights. First, you have the right not to be killed. Second, you have the right to food money. Finally, you have the right to free speech. Of course, each of these rights have caveats that are explained in the song.

Mikey has been watching the movie, Elmo in Grouchland a lot recently. In the movie, there is a scene where the Sesame Street gang is arrested by the Grouchland police and informed of their grouchie rights. This led to the following conversation with Beth:

Me: Beth, did you know that the Clash forgot one of the most important rights?

Beth: No, which right is that?

Me: The right to scream your head off!

Beth: (rolling her eyes) I am going to forget we ever had this conversation.

A CEO who cares

I returned to work this past Monday. I still haven't completely caught up with the backlog of work. I had ignored my voice mail while I was home so there were a few calls waiting for me. One of them was from the President and CEO of Symbol, Bill Nuti. He was calling to check to make sure I was OK and to let me know that I was in his thoughts and prayers and that if there was anything that he or the company could do for me to let him know. Last year after Bill did a presentation to everyone about the future of the company, I told my wife that I thought he was a great leader and had a great vision for the future of Symbol. Something like this shows that he is also a good person.

Syncopal Episode

If you recall, back in April of last year I had a syncopal episode (I passed out). It happened again yesterday. This time I landed face first on my desk and and had to get stiches. Neurocardiogenic syncope (or vasovagal syncope) is the likely diagnosis. I knew I was going to pass out because there is a certain feeling that I get just before it happens. I tried to get down on the floor and raise my feet but I was too slow. One of the problems is that your brain is shutting down because of a lack of blood supply so you don't always think clearly.

Anyway, the next thing I remember is being put on a stretcher and heading to the hospital. I don't recommend Stony Brook University Hospital. The nurse forgot to check my IV and it infiltrated swelling up my arm. The doctor didn't even think of getting an X-Ray in spite of the bad bruise on my eye. The Plastic Surgeon was very nice although I had to insist on a Plastic Surgeon. They were going to have a regular doctor stich up my face. So it will be a few days before I go back to work. I think it might have been too much stress that led to this.

Michel is at her hearing for her Worker's Compensation and later she has to go see the Oncologist. Mikey wouldn't get on the bus and since I don't have a car I couldn't get him to school. Later, Michel has to take me to the cardiologist so there is no rest for the weary. Tommorow, Michel is back to work. I know she is nervous but excited. I wonder if she will wake me up at 5AM!

Conference Day

Today is the day of Beth's special conference. I think it was finally dawning on her how special it is that she is 1 of only 16 girls (out of almost 500) that were chosen to attend this conference. She woke up at 5 AM this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. And this is a girl who normally gets up at 7:50 to catch a bus at 8:10. She came into our room at 5:00 AM and woke me up:

5:00 AM
Beth: I woke up and I can't fall back asleep.
Me: Well, lie down and you'll go back to sleep.

5:06 AM
Beth: I still can't fall asleep.
Me: You have to give it more than 5 minutes. Go back to bed.

5:13 AM
Beth: My stomach feels funny.
Me: I'll get you something. (Trudge downstairs and find something to settle her stomach. Back into bed at 5:25).

5:32 AM
Beth: I feel shaky.
Me: Are you sick or just excited?
Beth: I think I'm too excited!
Me: OK, try lying down and listen to some music.

5:45 AM
Beth: I'm too awake.
Me: OK, let's get up.

So we were up at 5:45 and she needed to be to school at 7:30. This is most definitely a first!

Update: Got the word about the conference... "it was great!"

You ordered cherry pi!

As Michel pointed out to me, today is March 14th (3/14), which is pi (3.14) day. I'm not sure what the proper way to celebrate pi day is, but we had fajitas for supper (fajitas are round). So how did you celebrate pi day?

A visitor from out west

Michel's cousin, Tina, was in New York City on business and was able to come out and spend the day with us before she had to head back to Phoenix. Tina is very popular in our house. Beth thinks she is a very cool aunt and Mikey loves her, too. I am sure Tina's kids will be surprised to find out how cool their mom is!

Tina's works for a bank that just merged with Chase which is based here in New York so Tina may have to take trips to our neck of the woods every once in awhile. This was the first time we had seen her in almost two years. Those long telephone conversations don't make up for not getting to see her. I can't remember the last time we saw her husband, Chris, and her kids but we miss them all.

I know Tina's mom check's out the blog so I took this picture of Tina and Michel.

My little girl

I can not say enough how proud I am of Beth. Beth had a potentialy tough transition moving from a private school to public school. She was moving into the 7th grade which is the middle grade in the school at an age when developing new friendships is not always easy. And yet she has made friends with a great group of girls and has had an outstanding year so far. We got Beth's report card and she got straight A's and made the high honor roll. Last night we found out that (based on the recommendations of her teachers) Beth has been invited to a special conference at the State University of NY at Stony Brook called "Today's Girls, Tomorrow's Leaders". Only eight girls in the 7th grade were invited to attend. Way to go Beth!!!

The picture shows Mikey asleep on his sister. This shows what a great sister/brother relationship they have and what a good big sister Beth is to Mikey.