Occupational Therapy
Hey, this is starting to look real!
Here’s a flyer for one of our community programs.
Audiobook Review: The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
I got this out of the library on a whim. I put it back on the shelf far more deliberately.
I listened to the first CD of the unabridged 10 CD audiobook and I can most definitely say, “It’s a book!”
OMG, they just keep saying the same damn thing over and over! They practically replayed the same scene 5 times with no different intention than the first. It’s like they had to make filler material for the book. I had to stop. If the book gets better after the first 1/10, someone tell me because I’m done with this pulp.
Why I hated it:
They’ve got no sense of practicality. The story says someone posted plans for this “simple” electronic box online that kids all over the world were all putting together with ease. It had relays and coils and switches and a bunch of other simple electronics. Unless they are all living in a Bill Nye the Science Guy inspired universe, there is no effing way these kids could put together these “simple” electronics. OMG, a police woman finds a 1/2 finished box and finishes it on a whim. “Winding the coil was oddly enjoyable” (or something). Have YOU ever wound a coil? Stripped the varnish insulation off? soldered the ends to … anything? The vast majority of you have not.
Most of the characters are obviously throwaways. :-(
The writing doesn’t have a sense of space and time. In the scene where Joshua is stepping with all the other kids for the first time, there is a description of him trying to walk 20 yards to meet up with a girl in the dark. He’s got a flashlight and it’s working but it’s not working and he’s stumbling for way too long. And he can’t figure out how to get around this tree because… well it’s a tree and you know how that can be. And WTF is with every kid on the block building this device and turning it on within like 30 minutes of one another? I imagine this insane forshadowing rush at the local Radio Shack earlier in the day… But Joshua was like “I did it right, I varnished my box and all kinds of shit. I took my time with it.” So how did he finish his box in the same amount of time as the kids who slapped theirs together???
And the vingette on the insane devaluation of gold was touched on for like 30 seconds. What a cop out. And what could the motivation of the people hanging out at Sutters Mill 5 possibly be?? Were they seriously just hanging out to insult any passers by? It smacks of “I’ll bite your kneecaps off (Python, Monty)” wacky hilarity. All the character motivations were off!
People don’t look at one another in this book. It’s weird, I just get this sense that the characters don’t SEE one another.
Why does the book jump around in time? Just to keep us from falling asleep while we figure out where we are again?
In a scene Joshua tells someone that he doesn’t like it when people keep calling his name like they are wearing it out. And then like 30 seconds later someone asks what’s up with him and he’s like, “Hey I’m just Joshua.”
In another scene, Joshua is offered a soda and he says, “I lost my taste for soda years ago.” And no one bats an eye at that pretty weird statement coming from a 14 year old. That statement wouldn’t need explaining from a 30 year old but he’s 14.
Those are just some of the blaring issues. I could go on but I won’t. It’s not worth spending one more second on it.
How much propane is consumed at Burning Man each year
From Propaniac, September 2015
Ever wonder how much propane is consumed at Burning Man each year?
Wonder no more…
20,020.7 gallons of propane were pumped on playa by the BRC Fuels Team this year (new record). This does not include all of the propane participants purchased off playa.
17,673.4 gallons was for art (mutant vehicles, theme camps, art projects)
2,347.3 gallons was for infrastructure (commissary, Gate, etc.)
Here are some fun facts about the 17,673.4 gallons of propane that were burned for artistic purposes this year…
74,228.3 pounds of propane (37.1 tons)… that is equal to the avg. weight of 6 African adult male bush elephants.
642,958.3 cubic feet of propane vapor… that is enough vapor to fill an area the size of a US football field (including the end zones) a little over 11 ft. deep.
1,617,151,446.8 btus of heat value released… To equal this amount, the 80,000 btu furnace in my house would have to run continuously for 2.3 years
224,784 pounds of CO2 were released… this is approximately equal to 10 years worth of CO2 emissions generated by one average US citizen.And my followup…
224,784 pounds of CO2? That’s like nuffum. Super-nuffum! divided over 66,000 attendees that’s 3.4 pounds of CO2 per person for the whole week! I use more carbon on my BART ride EVERY DAY. Damn, if we all went to Burning Man instead of school or work, we’d save the world!
SJSU AOTA Backpack Awareness Day
My backpack is juuuust right.
Classmate Nathan Nam and I weigh my backpack as part of the San Jose State University Occupational Therapy Department’s
Backpack Awareness Day!
Looking for a good read
I’m looking for a good audiobook to take my kind off my commute. Any recommenations? Ive enjoyed Snowcrash by Neil Stephenson, Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, Neuromancer by William Gibson, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell…
I’m thinking some fun scifi to start.
Good Plastics, Bad Plastics
Here’s a short, easy guide to plastics you shouldn’t use. As a corollary, if it’s not on this list, you can feel good about using it.
* If a plastic item has a “7” recycle symbol on it, it might be bad, most notably polycarbonate. Stay away.
* If it’s “saran wrap” style plastic wrap, ask what it’s made of. PVC plastic wrap is bad, not because of the PVC but the chemicals they add to make the PVC soft. That’s unfortunate because PVC makes plastic wrap that works the best (it’s sticky and is a great barrier). There are many plastic wraps made of other materials that aren’t toxic.
* polystyrene AKA styrofoam: bad.
I could rant at you for 20 minutes about the dangers of these plastics and how unconscionable it is that these materials are still in common usage.
The other commonly used plastics are generally safe to use! That includes polyethylene (PET, PETE, HDPE, LDPE), and polypropylene.
I gathered the most current info from this page (which is a reaffirmation of things I’ve already known)
Which Plastics Are Safe? a Care2 favorite by Annie B. Bond
Looking to Interview a Person with Parkinson’s Disease
I am looking to interview a person with Parkinson’s disease that is between 40 and 65 years old for one of my Occupational Therapy Master’s program classes at San Jose State University. Any help you could give in finding an interviewee would be greatly appreciated. The interview will take maybe twenty minutes to an hour and focus is on how Parkinson’s affects their daily life. I believe the interview and the followup could be valuable for everyone involved.
All discussions will be held with the same confidentiality as any medical professional. You can contact me here.
MMT
I – Independent
MI – Modified Independent
S/U – Setup
Sup – distant supervision
SBA – Stand-by Assistance
CGA – Contact Guard Assistance
Min A
Mod A
Max A
TD+ – total dependence, but attempts to participate
TD
DNT – did not test
Verbal cues 0-100%
Tactile cues 0-100%
Visual cues 0-100%
Balance Documentation Scale
(http://www.clinicalresourceservices.com/old/crs/documents-table/resource-materials/handouts/4-balance-documentation/file)
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Static Sitting Balance
Normal Able to maintain sitting balance against maximal resistance.
Good Able to maintain balance against moderate resistance.
G-/F+ Accept minimal resistance.
Fair Able to sit unsupported without balance loss and without UE support.
Fair- Able to maintain static balance with UE support.
Poor+ Able to maintain with minimum assistance from individual or chair.
Poor Unable to maintain static sitting balance /s mod/max support from another individual or chair.
————————————————–
Dynamic Sitting Balance
Normal Able to sit unsupported. Able to weight shift and cross midline max.
Good Able to sit unsupported. Able to weight shift and cross midline mod.
G-/F+ Able to sit unsupported. Able to weight shift and cross midline min.
Fair Able to sit unsupported. Able to minimally weight shift to same side and front. Difficulty crossing midline.
Fair- Able to sit supported with min assist and reach to same side. Unable to weight shift.
Poor+ Able to sit supported with mod assist and reach to same side. Unable to weight shift.
Poor Able to sit supported with mod assist and reach to same side and front. Unable to cross midline.
————————————————–
Static Standing Balance
Normal Able to maintain standing balance against maximal resistance.
Good Able to maintain standing balance against moderate resistance.
G-/F+ Able to maintain standing balance against minimal resistance.
Fair Able to stand unsupported /s balance loss for 1-2 minutes /s UE support.
Fair- Requires min assist or UE support in order to stand /s balance loss.
Poor+ Requires mod assist and UE support to maintain standing /s balance loss.
Poor Requires max assist and UE support to maintain standing balance.
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Dynamic Standing Balance
Normal Able to stand unsupported, weight shift and cross midline maximally.
Good Able to stand unsupported, weight shift and cross midline moderately.
G-/F+ Able to stand unsupported, weight shift and cross midline minimally.
Fair Able to stand unsupported, weight shift and reach to same side. Difficulty crossing midline without balance loss.
Fair- Able to stand with cue and reach to same side. Unable to weight shift.
Poor+ Able to stand with min assist and reach to same side. Unable to weight shift.
Poor Able to stand with mod assist and minimally reach to same side. Unable to cross midline.
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MMT
Number Grade Word/Letter Grade Definition
0 Zero (0) No muscle contraction can be seen or felt.
1 Trace (T) Contraction can be observed or felt, but there is no motion.
2− Poor minus (P−) Part moves through incomplete ROM with gravity minimized.
2 Poor (P) Part moves through complete ROM with gravity minimized.
2+ Poor plus (P+) Part moves through less than 50% of available ROM against gravity or through complete ROM with gravity minimized against slight resistance.
3− Fair minus (F−) Part moves through more than 50% of available ROM against gravity.
3 Fair (F) Part moves through complete ROM against gravity.
3+ Fair plus (F+) Part moves through complete ROM against gravity and slight resistance.
4 Good (G) Part moves through complete ROM against gravity and moderate resistance.
5 Normal (N) Part moves through complete ROM against gravity and maximal resistance.
Abigail’s Shower
The Baby Shower for Abigail was a while back. Here’s what it was like!
Mr Ianni
Mr Ianni lived down the street from me when I was a boy. I remember him well. I wrote about him a few years ago. His obituary guestbook is here. A local archive is below.
January 27, 2015
I am typing for my mother, Jean K. Boek, who remembers Fritz well. She and my father, Walter E. Boek, now deceased (Nov. 2012) were sociologists and anthropologists and students with Fritz at Michigan State while they were pursuing their doctorates there. My mother fondly recalls his fast-talking charm, and irrepressible ambitions. She is chuckling as she says that nothing could hold him back! He could talk his way through anything. She liked Fritz a great deal.
My parents went on to write Society and Health, a seminal book in public health, and my father ran the research program for the NY State Department of Health for many years. My mother ran many research studies including the one on seat belt safety that kick started our country’s use of seat belts.
My mother has been reading the article in the August 2014 New Yorker about the Crooked Ladder, which relied in part on Fritz’s book. How sorry am I that I will never meet him, and that my mother wont have the chance to see him again. Best wishes to you all – friends and family, from my 90 year old mother who knew him when he was starting out – Sandy Boek Werness, Great Falls, Va.
My parents went on to write Society and Health, a seminal book in public health, and my father ran the research program for the NY State Department of Health for many years. My mother ran many research studies including the one on seat belt safety that kick started our country’s use of seat belts.
My mother has been reading the article in the August 2014 New Yorker about the Crooked Ladder, which relied in part on Fritz’s book. How sorry am I that I will never meet him, and that my mother wont have the chance to see him again. Best wishes to you all – friends and family, from my 90 year old mother who knew him when he was starting out – Sandy Boek Werness, Great Falls, Va.
November 19, 2014
I was honored to have been discovered by Fritz while I was a graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Besides the many dynamic course I took with him, he convinced me to work with him and his wife Liz on an anthropology study conducted to ascertain differences if any, between male and female police officers. Just a wonderful experience for me. Fritz was also my sponsor at TC, and it was his leadership along with Professor Dot Strickland, which enabled me to obtain my doctorate in interdisciplinary studies October, 1985.
My wife and I got to know Fritz and his first wife Liz very well. Will never forget the parties we had at their unique and beautiful home in NJ. One experience I will never forget, at the dinner table, over lots of wine, I was talking about how it was to have grown up as a black American in Peekskill, N.Y. Fritz said to us, “…well I have black roots in my family as well.” I said prove it, wherein he excused himself and brought a photo of a family member. The picture was of an African with a carved bone in his nose. I could not stop laughing and had to be carried to the sofa to stop the incessant laughter.
I sadly just learned of his passing. Yes, Fritz was one of a kind: brilliant, irascible, confident, handsome, empathetic and wise.
Thank you Fritz for the gifts you have given to your students. We will deeply miss you.
Eric J. Cooper
1924 Long Ridge Road
Stamford, CT 06903
President & Founder,
National Urban Alliance
August 18, 2014
To Nina Ianni, James Ianni, and Fritz’s sons:
I only learned this month that Fritz is no longer with us. I want you to know I have carried him inside me a full 50 years.
My former Dean recruited me to come to the US Office of Education in Washington in the spring of 1964. There was a vacancy in the curriculum development branch (my training was in history and philosophy; go figure!), and Keppel pressed hard for me to come interview, so I did. Three people stood out in those interviews: Commissioner (Dean) Keppel, Fritz Ianni, and his assistant, Barbara McNeill. The three had spark and class. For a variety of reasons, though, I told the Commissioner I was reluctant to join them, but he knew just what strings to pull on me and, like Jimmy Stewart’s Mr. Smith, I “went to Washington.” Best move of my life!
I had barely mastered the ropes of my assignment as a social studies curriculum specialist when I was seconded to write papers, analyses, and speech drafts for the Commissioner in connection with emergent legislative proposals. Included among them were proposals to dramatically increase the R&D efforts in education, and I began to work more and more closely with Fritz who was then the Director of the Division of Research. I’d never met anyone quite like him or the highly unusual approach he took to administration. I got an early sense that he might not exactly know where he was going, but he was so intensely personable he had no difficulty surrounding himself or otherwise connecting with people who would, if not define a destination, assist directly in the production of currents that would help us get there. Fritz gave me chances to perform and grow into research and research policy planning that started me on courses of action that shaped the rest of my life — long, long after the few brief years I spent in his dust, as it were — and I never will forget He taught me that passion and government administration were not incompatible with one another nor did a sense of personal style need to be jettisoned just because you were a Fed. Further, he showed me one’s personal sense of ethics needn’t be parked at the Federal Office Building door. Sometimes demands were made of you as part of the hierarchy that were unreasonable if not immoral, and he supported me in the notion it was worth an investment of intellect and conviction to figure out how one could be moral and yet safely “disobedient” so that one’s service to the people could be accomplished.
I enjoyed more than a few birdbath Martinis with Fritz and more than a few rum-soaked crook cigars and Garcia y Vega Elegantes. The group surrounding him ate well, and we were subtly encouraged to swashbuckle our way through our tasks when it might be to good advantage. That part of Fritz’ modeling didn’t really take with me over the long haul, but I certainly participated in same at the time, and while it made me nervous and that nervousness toward the end of our time brought us to a short period of my being at odds with him, he taught me how to survey a scene widely, hold a lance just so, and set my eye on emergent goals capable of further defining and becoming worth pursuing.
Fritz always took care of Fritz, but I have to say that when I first learned he had decided to invest his talents and time as the anthropologist he was studying organized crime, my own experience with his personalized, almost family style as an administrator led me to a kind of sardonic appreciation for his choice. It was as if his persona gave him half a leg up on the domain!
Francis A. J. Ianni was definitely something else. To this day I don’t know what the AJ stands for but many around him referred to ‘almost Jesus’ routinely in the transmittal of his Research Divison directives or in their often enthusiastic reflections on their intent and meaning. I never met anyone else like him. It was a privilege, an adventure to work with him, and I wouldn’t entertain for a minute the idea that his impact on me was anything but huge.
Hendrik Gideonse
119 Old County Road
Brooklin, ME 04616
August 18, 2014
June 27, 2014
To his family—-Your husband and father was a most kind and generous person. When I was a fledgling student of organized crime, he took me under his wing and mentored me. Dinner at his home was always a special treat! A role model and creme-de-le-creme of scholars! Thank you for sharing him with me and so many others!!!! Love to all Fred Martens
January 28, 2014
Frannie, I will be seeing you soon. Findow C. Heck
January 25, 2014
At the sugestion of Francis Keppel I had Fritz as a speaker at an education conference I helped run in Toronto in 1965. He was brilliant!
Later, when he was in his Mafia period, he treated me to some fine grappa-fueled times, including a crawl through Mulberry Street with all the trimmings.
When I went to work for the Congress, doing education legislation, his high and decent standards were an inspiration.
A pleasure and an honour — and a loss.
-dlj.
January 05, 2014
I just learned of your passing and am so sad. You provided incredible opportunities and the good times we shared will stay with me always.
January 04, 2014
Fritz, you were probably the most interesting, scintillating and charming addition to our family. Chatting with you was a joy. Knowing you cared for me too lifted my spirit,always.
Bette Baer
Bette Baer
January 04, 2014
I miss Fritz because of his great warmth, wit, and originality. He was always kind to me and wanted me to be included, comfortable, to stay longer, even in his declining years. Fritz was one in a million-I guess that’s why my sister Nina was so devoted to him. Nina, you are in my thoughts every day.
Love, Sue
Love, Sue
January 01, 2014
Fritz was warm and friendly and readily accepted me with open arms as a new friend. Pat
January 01, 2014
Dear Uncle Fritz, You always made me laugh when we came to visit. I particularly remember how much fun we had at dinner when you let me take your picture and make a caricature out of it. I miss you. Love Katie
January 01, 2014
Dear Uncle Fritz,
December 26, 2013
Dear Nina,
Fritz will be missed greatly. His kindness, humility, knowledge and humor will be remembored always.
With love and sympathy, Nancy and Arthur
Fritz will be missed greatly. His kindness, humility, knowledge and humor will be remembored always.
With love and sympathy, Nancy and Arthur
December 15, 2013
I am so thankful to be my fathers son! My life has been so enriched thru our travels and you will always be my standard of excellence!!
December 12, 2013
Dad – We celebrate your grand and robust life. Our gratitude and love is forever.
December 11, 2013
We celebrate your grand and complete life. Our gratitude and love is forever.
December 11, 2013
Nina,
My prayers, and thoughts are with you. If there is anything I can do for you please feel free to call.
My prayers, and thoughts are with you. If there is anything I can do for you please feel free to call.
We will cherish your memory and keep you in our thoughts and prayers forever.