Wed, Oct 29 2008 by John.

Well it is nearly time to refresh my cell phone.  My trusty Treo 700p has been with me since early 2005, and has seen better days.  Do I go corporate (BlackBerry), Popular (iPhone), forward-looking (Android), or niche (OpenMoko) Read the rest of this entry »

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Sun, Oct 26 2008 by John.

Well, after months of contemplation about my first attempt at a WebLog entry, I have decided to simply start to catch up.  I will be focusing on purely personal topics related to my (further?) departure from “standard” living.  There are many things to cover: house renovations, living quarters shopping, jobbing, and the like.  Since I am so far behind, I am going to simply start by way of introduction, trying not to overlap Vanessa’s comments.  Since I am so far behind, this one may be longer than usual. Read the rest of this entry »

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Fri, Oct 24 2008 by Vanessa.

On October 2, I wrote a post explaining my theory that McCain is a Democrat.  If I were running for President, one of my first and foremost to-dos would be …

“Pick a running mate who possesses all those things I don’t and all those things that I’m weak in.”

Seems David Hill agrees with me.  The following article is old, takes an unwarranted jab at Hillary but also provides an _intelligent_ analysis of APPROPRIATE selections McCain could have made.  I knew there had to be a smart Republican out there who understands the importance behind picking a VP!
http://thehill.com/david-hill/looking-for-a-female-vp-2007-11-28.html - full text below, for posterity.

Looking for a female VP

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Thu, Oct 23 2008 by Vanessa.

My day is made.  Moments like this show me that I am changing and that also makes me happy.  I now view little events in life as exciting, momentous, celebratory occasions just like I did as a child.  I remember the excitement that filled my body every morning for at least two weeks prior to my birthday parties.  Picking out a cake was so exciting.  Choosing a theme … overwhelmingly exciting.  Making invitations … good Lord how could any day compare with that?

The littlest things in life brought great joy to me, oh so many years ago.  Then, somewhere along the way “big” things started taking over and the little things in life that used to be exciting became almost irritating.  Life evolved into a serious mesh of to-dos and have-tos and all that adult stuff.  Why can’t a cool breeze inspire adults to open their arms wide, close their eyes and just FEEL the air particles wisping through their hair?  I remember my younger brother and I running down the street, laughing like there was no tomorrow, chasing after a dirt devil.  Dirt devils were tiny tornados that would come to life on the prairies of Pueblo West, given the right conditions.  They literally were little tiny tornados.  Drew and I would run like no other to make sure we could stand right smack in the middle of every dirt devil we saw.  They didn’t stick around very long so you really had to run.  Of course, when you’re 10 or so years old speed isn’t always on your short-legged side.

I also recall our hunts for Indian Paintbrush although I don’t recall why Drew and I went off in search of the infamous orange flower.  I don’t think we needed a reason then.  We just did it.  We just explored.  We just ran.  We just played.  We just make-believed anything we wanted.  We just lived.

So what could possibly bring back all these wonderful memories?  What event could possibly recreate such joy and excitement?  The receipt of a free book, of course.  But not just any free book.  A free IPhone development book!  Now you understand, right?  :)  About a week or so ago I purchased an advanced electronic copy of an IPhone development book.  Its advertisement claimed that even newbies to Cocoa Touch and all that is IPhone could gain benefit from the book.  I disagree.  So, I wrote a brief review on Amazon.com letting other developers know that it’s a great book and will certainly come in handy later.  However, right now, since I’m in need of the basics it does fall short.  I’m still happy with my purchase but at the same time I need more.  So today, I opened up my Inbox to find an email offering me an advance copy of another Apress IPhone book if I would review it for them.  HOW EXCITING IS THAT?!?!?  The Universe sent me ANOTHER book which is just overwhelmingly exciting all by itself but it’s also an IPhone book geared specifically toward beginners.  And it’s pretty … it has a slice of watermelon on the front.  I love the Universe.  I love books.  I love learning.  I love the small things in life.  I especially love the fact that I am changing and am starting to re-appreciate the little things in life.  Everything is so much more fun this way.

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Wed, Oct 15 2008 by Vanessa.

Like most of the world, Sarah Palin never crossed my radar screen until a few weeks ago.  Having not heard of her nor her “legacy” prior to her nomination, I decided to tune in, if for no other reason than sheer curiosity.  Admittedly, the thought of a woman as Vice President of the United States sounded tempting and even encouraging.

For a small bit of time, before I heard her speak for herself, I actually felt a little discontent with Jon Stewart’s continuous portrayal of Palin as a ditsy schoolgirl. Again, I had not heard her speak at that point.  I felt like she deserved a chance.  Then I heard her speak.  OK, not impressive but McCain didn’t have a real chance at gaining my vote anyway.  Then I saw her parade her Down Syndrome baby in front of the American public.  I heard her announce her support for families with children born with disabilities.  At that moment, a bolt of lightening shot straight from the heavens, through the clouds, down to San Antonio, TX and directly into the depths of my gut.  An immense ball of flame exploded in the core of my being as I restrained myself from diving into the television screen to yank her high-pitched vocal chords right out of that pretty little neck of hers.  How dare you.  How dare you stand in front of America and announce your “likeness” to those who actually support, care for and love children with disabilities.  Simply giving birth to a child with Down Syndrome does not qualify you to say that you support families with disabled children.  Giving birth to an alien does not qualify you to say you “know what it’s like” to be a family raising an alien in today’s society and I resent the fact that after giving birth to and caring for a Down Syndrome baby for a mere 5 months you proclaim yourself to be such a huge supporter of families like your own.  You’ve had a taste of this new life.  You have no idea what lies ahead.

Sarah … come talk to me in 56 years.  Hell, come talk to me in 5 years or 10 years.  Come talk to me AFTER your child’s rights and benefits are cut every single time a politician wants to look good by cutting “irrelevant” programs.    Come talk to me when politicians tell you that you don’t need special benefits because you are genetically related to your child, however, Joe six-pack down the street deserves thousands of dollars a month to care for your child because Joe’s DNA does not match that of your child.  Tell me then, tell me at that point, how it is that your child deserves different benefits depending on who he lives with.  Explain to me how your child’s needs changed as soon as he moved down the street with Joe six pack.   While you’re at it, tell me about the methodologies you use to determine why someone at school is picking on your child, the name of that someone who is picking on your child, and how you’ll help your child through that situation when your child can’t even enunciate the problem clearly enough for you to understand what is going on, due to his disability.  Tell me how it feels to have society stare and point at you and your family.  Tell me about the frustrating days you encounter when trying to teach your disabled child how to feed himself, clothe himself, bathe himself, etc….  Tell me about the choices you’ll make as your child ages, a seizure overcomes him one day, his body becomes paralyzed and you have to explain to him that even though he could walk yesterday he’ll never walk again.  How would you explain that?  What words would you use?  Tell me about his hospital stay as he endures a hip replacement surgery and there are no support or benefit measures in place to help you or your child understand the mental anguish you feel or the new challenges you’ll face when you get home and you have to transport your child up and down the many staircases in your house.  Tell me Ms. Palin, tell me about these things.  Surely, you wouldn’t claim to be an advocate for families caring for individuals with disabilities without a clear understanding of the issues these families face, would you?

Maybe my words are too harsh.  I tell you what, Ms. Palin.  Show me your record.  Tell me about your volunteer hours with disabled children and their families.   Show me the legislative measures you’ve implemented and/or supported that help families with disabled children.  How far back does that record go?  Or were you too busy killing wolves from aircraft and raping the coasts of Alaska to bother?

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