The coldest winter I ever spent
Archive for the ‘General’ Category.
Looking for Book / Magazine Recommendations for 2-5 year old!
What are some good magazines for my almost 2 year old daughter?
Maybe you could comment on these suggestions…
To start off the list…
– Games Magazine Junior Kids’ Big Book of Games
– High Five
– Highlights for Children
– Ranger Rick Jr
I’ve been experiencing tinnitus for the last two years or so… There is ALWAYS a ringing in my ears. It sounds a lot like cymbals that just never stop. Ba da bump, Tsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss…
It occurred to me that my 5 hour/day public transit commute to school might be contributing to the problem so I got the best earmuffs I could find.
I got these earmuffs for my commute. They are the highest noise reduction I could get:Howard Leight by Honeywell Impact Pro Sound Amplification Electronic Earmuff (R-01902)
I like them because when I put them on I don’t hear anything else. If you talk at a normal volume 5 feet away, I MIGHT notice that you are standing there. It’s nice for when I need to concentrate on something.
The music headphones on these earmuffs are too quiet to be useful. Maybe that’s a safety feature but it totally sucks. So when I want to play music, I put in earbud headphones and then the earmuffs on top. It works but it’s a big bother. I tried several music players and I exchanged the earmuffs to find the same problem.
Here is a second earmuff that might be better for a long commute. I don’t have this next pair but this second pair is supposed to be designed for playing music. They block less sound (25 NRI instead of 30 NRI), but it should be good enough for the train. And they are less expensive.
Howard Leight 1030110 Sync Noise-Blocking Stereo Earmuff
Enjoy. If you get either, I’d love to hear what you think.
This is to memorialize Rafael Bejarano. His gift to Megan and I at our wedding was magical.
He played the didgeridoo for Megan and I at our wedding and … well, there was this moment when he put the instrument right up to my head and the sound revealed this amazing connection to the universality of music and love. Megan and I experienced it both. Thank you Rafael.
Here is a memorial web page that talks about Rafael Bejarano’s music and life better than I.
In September 2015, he was “accidentally murdered” by the Egyptian military while on vacation.
(via the New York Times)
The Latest: Family, Friends Identify Mexican Killed in Egypt
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEPTEMBER 14, 2015The latest developments after Egyptian troops mistakenly opened fire on a group of Mexican tourists on a safari in the country’s western desert. All times local:
___8:20 p.m.
Friends and relatives of a Mexican man killed in a mistaken attack by Egyptian security forces in the Arab country’s western desert have identified him as Rafael Bejarano, who has given classes in spirituality and concerts in Mexico and the United States.
The identity of the other Mexican who died in the attack has not yet been confirmed.
Bejarano’s business partner, Rachel Stewart of San Clemente, California, says the Egyptian trip of about 15 friends was organized by Bejarano’s mother, Marisela. Stewart says Marisela, who also took part in the trip, was recovering from wounds suffered in the attack.
Stewart said Monday that the trip was planned as a sort of spiritual retreat, and that Marisela regularly organized similar trips.
The 41-year-old Bejarano had lived in San Clemente for about three years and was a self-described shaman, faith healer, and player of the didgeridoo – a long, wooden horn-like instrument from Australia.
Stewart says he “touched everyone with his heart, with his music, with his soul.”
Bejarano’s sister Gabriela Bejarano disputed government reports that the groups was not authorized to be in the area. She says she herself has been on the trip twice, and that “the controls are very strict.”
___
5:30 p.m.
A hospital spokeswoman says two Mexicans wounded when Egyptian forces mistakenly fired upon tourists on a desert safari are dual American citizens.
Twelve people were killed in the incident, including two Mexican citizens, and a total of 10 people were wounded.
Mona el-Bakri, the spokeswoman for the Dar al-Fouad hospital where the wounded were being treated, says two of the seven Mexicans receiving treatment also hold American citizenship.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Brian Shott said officials are looking into whether an American citizen was involved in the incident.
___
4:15 p.m.
Mexico’s Embassy in Cairo says it’s cancelling its independence day celebration scheduled for Tuesday at the mission in the Egyptian capital.
The cancellation followed the deadly attack late Sunday that killed at least two Mexican tourists and wounded six in Egypt’s western desert.
The brief message was posted on the embassy’s website.
Mexicans traditionally celebrate their independence with a ceremony on the evening of Sept. 15 and morning of Sept. 16.
___
3:35 p.m.
Mexican Foreign Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu says Mexicans wounded in a mistake attack in Egypt have told Mexico’s ambassador to Cairo that they were subject to an aerial attack from aircraft. She confirmed that at least two Mexicans were killed in the attack and six were wounded.
Ruiz Massieu spoke at a news conference on Monday in Mexico City.
She says the wounded Mexicans said “they had suffered an aerial attack with bombs launched from an airplane and helicopters.”
She also says Egyptian officials have promised to form an investigative committee headed by the country’s prime minister and pledged “an expedited investigation in depth.”
Mexico has sent a diplomatic note expressing “profound dismay” and demanding an investigation.
___
2:30 p.m.
Ibrahim Mehleb, Egypt’s acting prime minister has visited several Mexican citizens injured by Egyptian security forces in Egypt’s western desert. Mehleb, whose government resigned last week but who remains in his post until a successor can be chosen, visited the wounded in Dar el-Fouad Hospital in suburban Cairo on Monday.
“We are standing next to the Mexican people in their tragedy. The circumstances surrounding the incident are part of Egypt’s fight against terrorism. The Mexican side is receiving the best care and we will take care of the Egyptian victims,” Mehleb said after his visit. “This is a painful incident and I give my deepest condolences to the Egyptian people and our guest the Mexicans, and I have spoken to the Mexican ambassador and relayed my condolences.”
___
1:00 p.m.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zaid says acting Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry spoke by telephone Monday morning with his Mexican counterpart Claudia Ruiz Massieu and explained to her the circumstances that surrounded the incident, saying the tourists were in a restricted area and the army and police were chasing militants who were in SUVs similar to those used by the tourists.
Shoukry assured Massieu that the Interior Ministry is investigating the incident and that the Egyptian government will extend all possible assistance, including medical treatment for the injured and transporting the bodies of the dead back to their home country.
___
9:15 a.m.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is condemning the deaths of Mexican tourists after Egyptian troops mistakenly opened fire on a desert safari convoy.
In a statement on his Twitter feed Monday morning, Nieto says his government “condemns these acts against our citizens” and demands a thorough investigation.
The attack killed at least 12 people and injured 10. The victims are Mexican and Egyptian.
Egyptian authorities say the four-car convoy had entered a restricted area of the desert without permission and without informing authorities.
© 2015 The New York Times Company

North Korea says Trump isn’t screwy at all, a wise choice for president
SEOUL | BY JACK KIM
North Korea has backed presumptive U.S. Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as “a prescient presidential candidate” who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack by the North.
A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic state’s mouthpieces, described Trump as a “wise politician” and the right choice for U.S. voters in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.
Nuff said.
Repeatedly being down on the floor and then getting up to play with Abigail is more of a bother today than it was a few years ago! With my plan to go into pediatric OT, I’ve got this tiny worry in the back of my mind that my body won’t rise to the challenge. I can feel how school has taken a toll on my body with all that eating Clif bars on the run, sitting at a desk, and riding the bus! I’m so glad to be moving forward! To help with this, Megan and I have already restarted our Cambiati/Vitaliti lifestyle diets. These are diets that have worked really well for us in the past. I’m excited about getting back to a reasonable weight, strength and flexibility!
There is still art in the world, sometimes you just have to squint a little to see it.
A Study for Fifteen Points by Random International, 2016.
Megan, Abigail and I will be going to a tiny wooded island on a lake on the Minnesota-Ontario border in late June! It will be so terrific to celebrate the end of my academic program, the beginning of fieldwork, summer, family, Sarah & Don & Karen and family, and a fantastically proscribed time to do nothing but be.
Today’s Life Advice
Remember the star bellied Sneeches!
(via)
OMFG, It’s Therm!
I am REALLY excited to hear that Therm is producing a new piece of fire art for Burning Man called Le Attrata! Their work has defined the pinnacle of fire art for me for over a decade.
They have a Kickstarter… watch the video! Contribute to the project! Enjoy the art!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1530767649/le-attrata
In the video, my friend Sam Reese describes says about the feeling of their work, “…that boundary just past perceived fear… when most people see steel begin to glow… it gives you a primal fear. It feels like it should fall apart, disintegrate, maybe even explode.” I don’t know if that resonates with you but he nailed an important part of of my experience with their work.
Seen in a therapist’s waiting room..
(art by Aria Heller)
I don’t like the phrase “A cry for help.” I just don’t like how it sounds. When somebody says to me, “I’m thinking about suicide, I have a plan; I just need a reason not to do it,” the last thing I see is helplessness.
I think: Your depression has been beating you up for years. It’s called you ugly, and stupid, and pathetic, and a failure, for so long that you’ve forgotten that it’s wrong. You don’t see good in yourself, and you don’t have any hope.
But still, here you are; you’ve come over to me, banged on my door, and said, “HEY! Staying alive is REALLY HARD right now! Just give me something to fight with! I don’t care if it’s a stick! Give me a stick and I can stay alive!”
How is that helpless? I think that’s incredible. You’re like a marine: Trapped for years behind enemy lines, your gun has been taken away, you’re out of ammo, you’re malnourished, and you’ve probably caught some kind of jungle virus that’s making you hallucinate giant spiders.
And you’re still just going “Give me a stick! I’m not dying out here!”
“A cry for help” Makes it sound like I’m supposed to take pity on you. But you don’t need my pity. This isn’t pathetic. This is the will to survive. This is how humans lived long enough to become the dominant species.
With NO hope, running on NOTHING, you’re ready to cut through a hundred miles of hostile jungle with nothing but a stick, if that’s what it takes to get to safety.
All I’m doing is handing out sticks.
You’re the one staying alive.
————————————————–
I don’t know the source or if it has ever graced a therapist’s waiting room wall (after all, it’s not the right message for every client) but it’s a good and true message.
(via Karen T. and 9gag.com. Thanks!)