Autism

Yesterday, on our way to Brentwood for some cherry-picking with friends (it was our first!), from out of the blue, Jed asked, "What is autism?" While I'd always thought I knew what it was, I realized I actually didn't know how to even define it. So, I just went like "you know, when someone seems to live in their own world... their mind just wanders out of this world" (something like that... I was reaching for the right words and was obviously failing big time). So, he blurted out, "I do that all the time. But I'm not autistic." It was really funny because he was serious. His mind does wander a lot... to faraway places where knights, wizards, and dragons abound. :)

We do know of someone who has an autistic son. I'm always curious to find out what's going on inside his head. I wish I could ask him questions and he'd respond back. I have a feeling he knows more about this world, about life, about our existence. They may be the key to unlocking all the secrets unbeknown to mankind.

Short post for a change, eh. :) Oh, btw, I also just started following Don Bleu on Twitter. And the astronauts have finally come back home. Welcome back, guys! Glad to hear of your safe return!

Oh, just learned that two of our closest friends are moving. We're really sad to see them go. Good thing they're not moving that far. But yeah, this economy needs to be fixed! It's crushed too many dreams. I hereby declare that we've reached the bottom, so there's no other way now but up! My word is powerful and comes back to me fulfilled.

Love and light to all!
Ever

Another long'ish post

I thought that I'd be able to post more often and one topic at a time. I'm starting to think it's never going to happen or if it does, very rarely. When's the next blue moon?

Where to begin? Oh, I forgot to mention that we had Janelle tested too at the same school where Jed goes to and she also passed. It means she's also gifted... yes, folks, she's not just a pretty face :). In fact, her math score was higher than Jed's when he was her age. She's excited about going there and we're like... okay... how would we pay for the additional tuition? Let's see how life unfolds. We'll hit tomorrow's Mega-Million Jackpot! We also had Jed tested and his thinking ability is now that of a twenty-four year old. I should probably make him study the securities market and pick the right stocks or funds for us.

I took the vow of non-violence in my thoughts, my speech, and my actions. If you'd like to do the same, follow this link: http://www.itakethevow.com/. I intend to put their badge up on this site, just not right now... hopefully, before this post gets demoted to the archives. Anyway, wouldn't it be nice if everyone breathed nothing but peace and love (besides air, of course). I know it's easier said than done but what have you got to lose? Just go for it and take the vow! Now! K... I'm being a little pushy... does that break the vow I just took?

Yoohoo!!! Kris Allen!!! Never been this happy about the American Idol outcome since Kelly Clarkson! I guess I have a thing for underdogs.

Just started reading the Smithsonian magazine on the treadmill this morning. I was ready to return the invoice with "Cancel" across it but I actually enjoyed it. It's a keeper! First time I learned about the narwhals, unicorn-like whales. Fascinating. I'm sure Jed knows about them. I might have heard him shout it out as the answer on Jeopardy at one point. Smithsonian will help me keep up with him. :)

We're not on Facebook or MySpace or any of the several other similar Web 2.0 apps out there. But I twitter, mostly to follow other people. I'm following such people as Obama (if it's really him) and the White House, Ryan Seacrest, Gavin Newsom, folks at IONS, and my latest find, Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike), one of the astronauts that just serviced the Hubble Space Telescope. He's been tweeting while in orbit (I didn't realize that would work), sharing his views of the Earth and the stars from his vantage point. Very cool! In his latest tweet, he said they'd try to land tomorrow morning but FL weather looked iffy. Let's wish them a safe return to Earth.

Alrighty! Love and light to all!
Ever

I know... I know...

I'm sure you've gotten used to my sporadic but lengthy posts. Well, here's another one. ;) Not the best time to go into details. I'll just quickly go through my pending items and pray that my future posts will be more frequent and shorter.

1. It had to happen. My Own Worst Enemy was axed. Just like that. Of course, I was bummed but I'm okay now. Hello, it's been months. :) Heroes and Smallville are still on. They had to kill Nathan though. It will take some time for me to get over that. American Idol Season 8 is about to end. My last hope is still standing... Kris Allen. Besides him, I was rooting for Anoop Desai and Matt Giraud. Jing is a Danny Gokey fan. Let's see what happens on tonight's results show. Honestly, I'll be fine with whoever wins. They're all really good! Adam's range is insane! I'm envious. Jeopardy is still on and I hope it stays on forever. They're doing the College Edition so I've been able to answer more than usual. Haha! Jed, too. I occasionally watch Medium when I have spare time, just because it took the same time slot for My Own Worst Enemy. Funny, my recorder still says Journeyman. Jing saw one episode of Fringe and she was instantly hooked. We have yet to see the season finale. Maybe tomorrow.
2. If you can't decide on which charity to give to next, try Arbor Day Foundation. Go ahead and google them. You get free trees. Isn't that great? Not just for your backyard but for the entire planet.
3. Recently, I started naming my exception variables anything that came to mind at that time. I've used "gulabJammon" (which I think is a misspelling) and "myOwnWorstEnemy", for example. How I love that Indian dessert. And the latter, I used it right after the show was axed. I vented in my code. :) IMHO, there's no harm using funny names for exceptions because you only use them in that catch block.
4. There was this crosswords game on TV that we happened to catch while flipping channels and there was a question (or something) about the tooth fairy being a myth. Jed quickly remarked that it wasn't. I don't remember how I reacted. I'm sure I instantly changed the topic.
5. Would someone be kind enough to give me a ROM equipment for my birthday present? :)
6. This item is a special shout-out to my fellow choir members!!!! See you at tonight's practice. Hehe, I'm so random.
7. Went to Rachel, NV sometime back with the Apolos. Didn't see any aliens. But it was really interesting. We had a taste of the "world-famous" alien burger at the inn along the Extra-Terrestrial Highway. There was snow all around us. On the way back to Las Vegas, we were trying to beat the sunset but it was really desolate so we had to succumb to the darkness. Scary. It felt like we were trying to get away from Dracula or something.
8. Indexing is picking up. I have a regular client that's now giving me technical books. Me likey. But the turnaround for payments is now 75 days. :(
9. I may have heard about the word "eclectic" before but I didn't know its meaning until I saw it in one of the books I was indexing. Then, again, in another book. And again, some place else that I don't remember. Must be the so-called Joshua Tree Effect, which I also just recently encountered. I've known what it is about but didn't know what it was called. I think it was Robin Williams who coined the term.
10. The touch-screen on the iPhone has spoiled me. I was trying to do it on the Kindle, too. Kindle has become kinda boring. :(
11. We recently found that Jed's vision wasn't perfect anymore. One time, I don't remember the context but Jed had to say this to Janelle: I'm older so that's why I have more developed ears. And Janelle responded with: I'm younger that's why I have better eyes. Hahaha!
12. Our kids have started feeling peer pressure. Jed doesn't want to wear his Power Rangers jacket anymore. Janelle, her Elmo sweater. You know why.
13. I lost a buck to Jed on a bet regarding Notepad's italics capability. I said it didn't support it. But alas, it does.... well, sort of... it's only for display purposes. The text is still saved without any mark-ups.
14. I'm liking the Geico commercials, especially the one with the guy asking for directions and finding the lump of cash on the fence. It's so random!
15. Been listening to classical music ever since I learned about the Sound Health Series (e.g. Music for Concentration). I'm rediscovering my old classical CDs that I didn't really care for much. I also discovered this so-called brain entrainment stuff. My latest find is Dr. Jeffrey Thompson's Healing Mind System. I think it helped with healing my left shoulder. It started hurting a couple of weeks ago. It's getting better now. I'm set to see a physical therapist next week nonetheless. That way, it won't recur, whatever it is. Excessive push-ups, I suppose.
16. Did you know that the verses of the song All By Myself were lifted from classical music. They're from Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor.
17. Who looks at their pee and thinks it forms the continents of Africa and South America? Only Jed. :)
18. Jing and I were at the doctor the other day for my left shoulder. The doctor thought it was strange that my left arm was more developed when I was right-handed. It made me realize... I say I'm right-handed because I write with my right hand. But I don't write that often. I type. Most other things, I do with my left hand, e.g. brushing my teeth, picking up milk from the fridge (hehe, just noticed this one too).

I guess that's about it. Whew! Dinner time. 'Til next time.

God bless everyone.

Ever