The coldest winter I ever spent
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
If you’re a friend and would like our new address, please write to me!
We now live in a two-bedroom apartment in a four apartment building in North Berkeley, California. The house sits at the end of a long driveway, making it pleasantly secluded in a great neighborhood. We have our own private patio and we open the back fence to a communal 1/4 acre back yard with grass, trees and bocce court!
We live just a few blocks away from a great grocery store (Monterey Market), and a row of stores with a meat market, fish market, cheese market, bakery, Chinese restaurant, pizza place, wine store, coffee shop, and plant nursery! The neighborhood is full of kids under three years old, and just four blocks away is a large playground with everything from tennis courts, swings, and a public pool. We were very cramped in our one bedroom apartment with very few friends or neighbors to talk to.
Right now the place is full of boxes but we are rapidly making headway! We’ll be having a house-warming party soon.
We’re all well. Abigail is growing, drawing, climbing, and telling us about her world all the time. Megan is chilling at home now that her school year has ended. And Lee’s school fieldwork is a refreshing change, with fewer hours and a much more gentle commute.
Lee, Megan, and Abigail
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.
In the next few years, I will personally know at least 1 in every 420 OTs in America. So if you were to ask if I knew your random OT friend, there’s actually a chance I’d say “yes”!
There are 115,000 OTs in the US
I personally know 270 (30 current occupational therapists, 80 students in my cohort, 100 students in the previous cohort, 60 students in the next cohort) 270 / 115,000 = 0.0023 . . . . 0.23% of the OTs in America, that’s 1 in every 420 OTs in America!
It is very important to not burn professional bridges!
Please choose the correct symbol for your medical organization!
In 1902 the US Army Medical Corp chose the Caduceus as their insignia. Most regard this as a mistake. The US Army claims that the Caduceus represents “the non-combatant status of military medicine on the battlefield”. The Encyclopedia Britannica backs up this claim writing “Among the ancient Greeks and Romans [the Caduceus] became the badge of heralds and ambassadors, signifying their inviolability.” So the symbol might be interpreted on the battlefield to mean, “Hey hey hey, you’re not supposed to kill me!” That feels like a stretch to me but more importantly, the Caduceus definitely doesn’t convey an intelligible message in the civilian medical world.
So, if you have a medically oriented organization, please make sure that your rod has one snake and no wings.
There are scads of articles where historians and professionals delve into this issue. Almost all of them say the US Medical Corps are using the wrong symbol. But that’s up to you to decide. Here’s a few articles to get you started:
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