World Autism Awareness Day

Posted on April 2, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Today is the 7th Annual observance of World Autism Awareness Day, declared by the United Nations in 2007. Autism organizations around the world celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awareness-raising events.

World Autism Awareness Day

As I posted yesterday, “Last week the Centers for Disease Control released new study data showing that 1 in 68 children has an autism spectrum disorder (I dislike that word), which is a 30% increase since the last study in 2008 when the rate was 1 in 88.”

When my grandson was diagnosed 11 years ago, the rate was 1 in 150, so there’s been a dramatic rise of incidence in 11 years. Part of it is due, no doubt to better recognition and reporting, but valid questions abound as to what is causing the increase. For parents, the main concern is that their children receive the help they need to adjust to a world in which they are not comfortable nor well understood. That’s where the awareness initiative comes into the picture.

One of the bright spots in recent autism reporting is that there are some employers who are seeking out autistic adults to work in their corporations, companies or small businesses. This article in the Wall Street Journal points out that a German-based software company and U.S. mortgage lender Freddie Mac actually seek out people with autism to perform detail intensive work that they typically excel at because of their tendency to be very detail oriented. And this article in Slate mentions the two companies above but also provides a sketch profile of a hedge fund founder who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and, because of his attention to detail, noticed the issues with subprime mortgages and steered his investors away from the shoddy loans. Doing so saw his investors realize gains of 489.34 percent when others were losing money.

 

If you’re not familiar with autism and what it involves, please take a few minutes on this World Autism Awareness Day to increase your knowledge and awareness. You’ll feel better for it and you’ll learn to interact better with those diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

 

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April Is National Autism Awareness Month

Posted on April 1, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

April is National Autism Awareness MonthThe month of April has been designated National Autism Awareness Month (World Autism Awareness Day is recognized on April 2nd each year) and awareness of this increasingly prevalent diagnosis is an important aspect of addressing the needs of those on the autism spectrum.

Last week the Centers for Disease Control released new study data showing that 1 in 68 children has an autism spectrum disorder (I dislike that word), which is a 30% increase since the last study in 2008 when the rate was 1 in 88.

That rate works out to 14.7 children per 1,000 8-year-olds, the CDC said. The data shows that autism spectrum disorders are nearly five times more common in boys than girls, and more common in white children compared to African-American or Hispanic children. There is still no definitive cause for the spectrum occurrences.

It’s important to mention again that building awareness is at the forefront of this observation each April. I used to be one of those who thought or even sometimes made statements like, “The parents need to teach that kid how to behave” or “Can’t they control that bratty kid?” and other unkind and uninformed declarations.

Autism Every MonthBut when my oldest grandson Mikey was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum at about 18 months of age (I credit early diagnosis and intervention, along with his fantastic mother, with the amazing progress Mikey has exhibited through the years), I began my education about autism behaviors, especially those of Asperger’s Syndrome which is where Mikey was placed on the spectrum around the age of 4 or 5. Asperger’s children (and adults), or “Aspies” are on the higher functioning end of the spectrum and, while quite intelligent, have a higher than normal level of difficulty in social situations and recognizing many of the spoken, facial and/or body language cues that we all exhibit, and can display some obsessive compulsive behaviors. Mikey’s mom, contributed greatly to my education as well and kept me informed (when I could not attend myself) on the results of all of Mikey’s appointments and the things that she was learning about the spectrum.

Autism Ribbon StoryThat education helped me become so much more aware of and understanding of behaviors that previously would have aggravated me. And not only in children. Early on, it became obvious to me that one of my co-workers, a grown man with his own business, displayed all the classic behaviors of someone who would be placed on the Asperger’s portion of the spectrum. Since then I have observed at least 3 other adult co-workers that also would fit that description. What I have learned has helped me be much more understanding of behaviors that others would (and do) classify as being “weird” or “strange” because they are not aware of the autism spectrum.

So I hope you’ll use this month of April, especially, to increase your awareness of autism and your understanding of those on the spectrum.

 

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What’s With These Smart-Ass Comic Kids Today?

Posted on March 31, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

First we have Billy from Family Circus (dressed in a shirt, tie and pale blue sweater, of all things) casually asking his hardworking dad “Did anyone EVER think you were cool?” Dad should have replied, “Look you little yuppie wannabe, I put a roof over your head, food in  your stomach and those silly clothes on your back. I’m DAMN cool!”

familycircus650px

Then that little brat Dennis gives his dad a backhanded compliment, the kind that makes you feel like crap. “Hey dad, you might be a skinny little nebbish who couldn’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag and you don’t look anything like this fine specimen of manhood on TV, but don’t worry, you’re still my hero!”

 dennisthemenace650px

 

 

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Did You Know…?

Posted on March 31, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

…that on this day in 1951, the Remington Rand Corporation signed a contract to deliver the first UNIVAC computer to the U.S. Census Bureau. UNIVAC I (which stands for Universal Automatic Computer) took up 350 square feet of floor space — about the size of a one-car garage — and was the first American commercial computer. It was designed for the rapid and relatively simple arithmetic calculation of numbers needed by businesses, rather than the complex calculations required of the sciences. It was intended to compete against IBM’s punch card-reading computers, but UNIVAC read magnetic tapes, not punch cards, so a special “card to tape converter” had to be designed.

UNIVAC

Though the government contract was signed, and a ceremony held, on March 31, the computer wasn’t actually delivered until the following December; this was because there was only one UNIVAC I, and Remington Rand wanted to use it for demonstration purposes. So they asked for and received time to build a second computer.

 

UNIVAC used at Census Bureau

UNIVAC in use at the U.S. Census Bureau

The government was the first big customer of the UNIVACs, with subsequent models going to the Air Force, the Army Map Service, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Navy. The first commercial sale was to General Electric, for their Appliance Division, followed soon after by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, in 1954. There were 46 UNIVAC I’s built and delivered, in all.

The computer first came to the notice of the general public in 1952, when CBS used one to predict the outcome of the presidential election. UNIVAC correctly picked Eisenhower and predicted his electoral count within 1 percent, but the network didn’t release the results until after the election was called, so as not to affect the outcome.

UNIVAC Time Magazine ad 1955

Ad for UNIVAC in 1955 Time Magazine

It’s pretty incredible to think that, in little more than a half century, we have thousands of times more computing power in our smartphones than the UNIVAC had in it’s 350 square feet of floor space.

There’s an old joke that goes like this: A bunch of scientists created a huge machine capable of complex calculations and called it UNIVAC. Eager to test their invention, they asked it, “Is there a God?” The vacuum tubes hummed and the tape spools spun for several minutes. Finally, the machine spit out a little card, on which was written, “THERE IS NOW.”

Thanks to The Writer’s Almanac for portions of the above.

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The World’s Funniest Comic Book Cover

Posted on March 31, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

The funniest comic book cover EVER! And without even trying, lol.

If you’re not sure why it’s funny, just keep looking. It’ll come to you…

The Rifleman comic book cover

 

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How To Escape From Zip Ties

Posted on March 30, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

I was researching how to escape from being handcuffed and came across this “Art of Manliness” graphic showing how to escape when you’re cuffed with Zip Ties.

As you can see, these scenarios all pre-suppose you’ll be cuffed with your hands in front of you. That obviously won’t be the way it usually happens. Still, it may be helpful to some of you one day.

Escape from zip ties

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Happy 17th Anniversary To My Wife

Posted on March 30, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

The year was 1997.

1997_650px

Bill Clinton began his second term as President of the United States.

Tony Blair is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

IBM’s Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, the first time a computer beat a chess World Champion in a match.

Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and received a death penalty sentence.

The first book in the award winning Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling is published.

NASA’s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.

Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in a Paris tunnel.

Scotland voted to create its own Parliament after 290 years of union with England.

The domain “Google.com” is registered.

Hong Kong is returned to Chinese rule.

The Florida Marlins win Game 7 of the 1997 World Series against the Cleveland Indians 3-2 in 11 innings.

The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XXXI, defeating the New England Patriots 35 to 21 on January 26th in New Orleans’ Superdome.

The term “weblog” (later shortened to “blog”) is coined.

The late Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker passes away, as do poet Allen Ginsberg, magician Harry Blackstone, Jr., French explorer Jacques Cousteau, American actors Robert Mitchum, Burgess Meredith, Chris Farley, Denver Pyle and James Stewart, American television reporter Charles Kuralt, Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, United States Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, American comedian Red Skelton, professional wrestler Brian Pilman and American musician John Denver, among others.

And while celebrities such as Woody Allen and his adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn were getting married, an obscure (to everyone but each other) man and woman in Orlando, Florida were married in the beautiful backyard garden of the bride’s parents, writing their own vows, choosing their own music and surrounded by family and friends.

Cindy and Jeff Wedding 1997

As I told my children shortly before the ceremony; outside of the days they were each born, THIS was the happiest day of my life.

It still is.

Happy 17th Anniversary Cindy! Thank you, so very much, for the 17 happiest years of my life.

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Star Trek- Which Version Is Your Favorite?

Posted on March 29, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Are you a Star Trek fan? If so, read on. If not, this post won’t interest you at all and you won’t hurt my feelings if you click on past to the next stop on your Internet journey.

Star Trek Original Series CrewWhen the original Star Trek TV series premiered in 1966, my 11-year old self was an instant fan! I was raised on “The Jetsons”, “Lost in Space” and countless science fiction movies. I was ready for a serious TV series about exploring “Space, the final frontier.” That Gene Roddenberry brought cultural and social issues into the storylines was a bonus. Kirk was a captain of action, Spock a man (OK, Vulcan) of intellect and McCoy a doctor of heart.

But three short years later, it was gone, the victim of network cancellation. I would not see its like again for several years, not until reruns began on TV stations across the country.

Star Trek TNG CrewWhen Star Trek: The Next Generation hit TV screens almost 20 years later, I was excited to see the franchise continuing. The first season was extremely disappointing, the second only marginally better and the third showed great promise. But it was the end of the third season, which concluded with the cliffhanger “Best of Both Worlds” that showed that ST:TNG had left the shadow of The Original Series and come into its own.

Star Trek DS9 crewI watched Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (simply called DS9, but for this post all franchise shows will be labelled Star Trek: whatever) when it premiered in 1993 (and throughout its 7 season run) because it had the history of Star Trek and not much more. I kept hoping for more, but it never happened.

Star Trek Voyager crewStar Trek: Voyager arrived in 1995 and though it had its ups and downs it was overall an enjoyable 7 seasons of space-faring fun in the, until that point, unexplored Delta Quadrant.

Star Trek Enterprise crewStar Trek: Enterprise was the next, and last, incarnation of the franchise and debuted in 2001. Unlike its predecessors, this version went back to a point in time BEFORE the Original Series to show the beginnings of the Federation. It only lasted 4 seasons.

So if I rate the franchise offerings in order of what I liked best, it goes like this:

Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation tie for first place.
Star Trek: Voyager in second place.
Star Trek: Enterprise in third place.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in last place.

The whole point of the preceding is what I read in this Washington Post blog which is headlined “These graphs prove Star Trek: The Next Generation is better than The Original Series.”

I too found episodes like “The City On the Edge of Forever” (by the legendary Harlan Ellison), the two-part season spanning “The Best of Both Worlds” and “The Inner Light” to be exceptional stories. But my agreement with the graphing ends with their placement of the various series in ranking. I might, MIGHT see that Next generation could be marginally better than the Original Series, but there’s no way I think DS9 is higher rated than Voyager or Enterprise.

What do you think?

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Cheating Death

Posted on March 29, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Cryo_surgeryExciting news on the medical front earlier this week when it was announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has given permission for a trial study that involves patients with fatal injuries who have no normal chance for resuscitation to be placed in a type of suspended animation to allow surgeons more time to find and correct those otherwise fatal injuries.

The website “I Fucking Love Science” has all the details of the study that will take place at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

Obviously, since the trial patients must meet the “newly dead” criteria, it will take a while to prepare comprehensive data on the results of the trial study. But this is a dramatic development that may possibly lead to people who would normally have no other way of surviving certain injuries a chance to cheat death and live otherwise normal lives.

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Animator Dad Turns Son’s Playtime Videos Into Action Hero Scenes

Posted on March 28, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

I stumbled on this today and wanted to share it because it is just that cool! Here’s one of the videos, click on the link to see others.

It reminds me of something I did for my oldest grandson’s first Halloween years ago, though obviously without all the cool special effects this dad used on his production.

 

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