Sunday, September 29, 2013

Teddy Bear Could Help Kids Cope with Diabetes

The following article by Marshall Honorof in LiveScience was quite interesting. I thought it may be helpful to any of my readers that have children diagnosed with Diabetes. 


 For young children with type I diabetes, days are filled with constant monitoring, finger pricking and insulin injections.
But one inventor is aiming to bring these children a bit of comfort during these activities, as well as to teach them the importance of staying healthy — he created a teddy called Jerry the Bear, who also has diabetes.
Aaron Horowitz, CEO of tech startup Sproutel, grew up with a condition called human growth hormonedeficiency, which also required frequent injections to treat.
After visiting children with type I diabetes in hospitals, Horowitz said he realized that their feelings of loneliness mirrored his own.
Many of the children had stuffed animals, and projected their medical condition onto their inanimate friends, Horowitz said. In people with Type I diabetes, the pancreas cannot produce the hormone insulin. The children would prick their companions' fingers to test their blood sugar, and cut syringes out of paper to give them insulin injections. [Top 10 Stigmatized Health Disorders]
Horowitz set out to create an educational toy, and wound up with Jerry the Bear. This teddy bear's sensors connect to a central Android system, which runs a unique operating system. Jerry comes with a handful of interactive storybooks and games.
Children can feed Jerry, regulate his insulin with injections and prick his fingers to monitor his blood sugar. A large, colorful screen in the center of Jerry's chest provides not only a medical readout, but a space for children to play games.
Horowitz made Jerry's condition into a game. Children must monitor Jerry's health very closely, because — as they will learn through storybook sequences and touchpad games — the bear is training for the Olympics, and won't let his disease stand in the way.
Jerry provides what Horowitz describes as "consequence-free learning." Skipping a meal or refusing an insulin injection can land a child in the hospital, facing a significant recovery time. If the same thing happens to Jerry, he also ends up in a virtual hospital. (However, he gets to return to his Olympics training after a stern warning.)
Horowitz shared his story of creating Jerry here on Sept. 18 at the meeting Make: Hardware Innovation Workshop.
For Horowitz, creating taught him about technology as well as design — Jerry has been through 10 variations. The bear's first iteration was absolutely terrifying, with its small, crossed eyes, ponderous mouth and matted fur. Children provided feedback and helped Jerry look and feel more approachable.
Jerry costs $250, with all the relevant accessories included. Horowitz said he wants to create other stuffed animals too, to help kids with different childhood illnesses.
Follow Marshall Honorof @marshallhonorof. Follow LiveScience @livescienceFacebook Google+. Original article on LiveScience.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Westboro Baptists Are At It Again!!!

Story by The Huffington Post

A Twitter battle between Westboro Baptist Church and Blake Shelton followed the initial sparring match.
Blake Shelton Vs. WBC Twitter Battle
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WBC also released a parody of Shelton's song "Boys 'Round Here," featuring choice lyrics like "Well the boys 'round here don't read much Bible / Chasing tail and waving flags of their idols / At the honky tonk, where the whores romp," which get progressively worse as the song goes on.
 
Westboro Baptist
Gots us a lil 'ol  for ya  &  preview: "YA THE BOYS 'ROUND HERE THINK ITS OK TO BE QUEER..."#FearGod

Previously:
Despite the stunning failure of their recent protest at a Ke$ha concert, the Westboro Baptist Church is at it again, announcing its intentions to picket the next performanceof The Voice judge Blake Shelton on October 3 in Kansas City.
In characteristic fashion, the Westboro Baptist Church has been furiously tweeting accusations and slurs at Shelton, accompanied by the declaration, "We know BS when we see it!"
According to WBC's logic, Shelton's divorce from his first wife Kaynette Williams and subsequent marriage to Miranda Lambert makes him "a vulgar adulterer," which is why gay marriage is now legal in some states.
To which Shelton replied, "Hey WBC.. I've got one more sin for ya... Blow me."
He succinctly added,
 
Blake Shelton
Hey .. This isn't about God. It's about me using this opportunity to make y'all look like the absolute complete dipshits you are.
Well said.
Shelton isn't the only country star that the WBC has gone after in recent weeks. They set up a protest outside of iconic country star Vince Gill's concert on September 8 to harass him about his divorce and subsequent remarriage.
"Don't you know that divorce plus remarriage equals adultery?" asked one of the picketers. "Jesus Christ said that."
"Did he?" Gill responded. "You know what else he said? He said a lot of stuff about forgiveness, about grace. You guys don't have any of that."

Friday, September 27, 2013

Bad Things Happen To Good People

“Bad things can happen, and often do--but they only take up a few pages of your story; and anyone can survive a few pages.” 
― James A. OwenThe Barbizon Diaries: A Meditation on Will, Purpose, and the Value Of Stories


I have been thinking about this one a lot lately. Why DO bad things happen to good people? I guess the reverse could be asked of bad people. But I'm not in a position to judge how bad someone is or whether or not they deserve good things to occur in their lives. I only want to know why seemingly good, innocent people suffer and have bad things happen to them. 

I have several friends (or their relatives) that are going through pretty severe medical issues. Or financial downfalls. Why?? Do they deserve it? Christians say that it is God's way of testing their faith. Or God knows you can handle it. Or God doesn't give you anything that you cannot handle. The Bible says there are no good people....that we are all tainted and affected by sin. Maybe that is true for some people. We all doubt ourselves and our religion or deity of choice sometimes. That, in and of itself, shows we are tainted. And if we ALL are tainted and affected by sin, why is that bad things don't happen to everyone???

I find it hard to believe that the people that I have surrounded myself with are tainted though. They ARE good people. They don't deserve the things that are happening to them!! If they sinned long ago and have changed their ways, why must they suffer for it now?

What about the babies that are born with disabilities, or develop cancer...or are abused. Why do they deserve it? They have yet to become tainted or sinners. They don't even know what it means to be good or bad yet. They are just little beautiful babies that have never done anything wrong. They are the most pure beings possible, just depending on us to take care of them. 

I'm not even sure how to close this entry out. I don't have any answers to my questions. I only have more questions. So, I guess that is how I will leave this....unanswered and full of questions. 

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Florida woman jailed for firing 'warning shot' at husband wins new trial

By Bill Cotterell
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A woman sentenced to 20 years in prison after firing a "warning shot" during an argument with her abusive husband won a new trial on Thursday in a case under Florida's controversial self-defense law.
A state appeals court ruled that Marissa Alexander, 32, deserved a new trial because the judge failed to properly instruct the jury regarding her claim of self-defense.
No one was injured in the shooting but because Alexander fired a gun in the incident, Florida's mandatory-minimum sentencing guidelines required the judge to sentence her to 20 years in prison.
The case of Alexander, who is black, drew criticism from civil rights groups concerned about self-defense laws and mandatory minimum sentencing rules.
Alexander's fate received little attention until her May 2012 conviction in the wake of the case of volunteer watchman George Zimmerman who said he shot a teenager in self defense. The Zimmerman case led to nationwide protests and re-ignited a debate about U.S. gun laws.
Zimmerman, who is white, said he killed an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in self defense in February 2012. He was acquitted of murder charges in July at his trial in the central Florida town of Sanford.
Under the so-called "Stand Your Ground" law, people fearing for their lives can use deadly force without having to retreat from a confrontation, even when it is possible.
The 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee said in Thursday's ruling that the trial judge made a "fundamental error" when he instructed the jury that Alexander was required to prove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
"The defendant's burden is only to raise a reasonable doubt concerning self defense," Appeals Court judge Robert Benton wrote for the court.
Local leaders from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Action Network have called for Florida Governor Rick Scott to pardon Alexander.
The groups have asked the governor to create a task force to investigate mandatory sentencing laws, which they say disproportionately affect black Americans. They also want an existing task force looking into Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law to examine how that statute has affected domestic violence victims.
Alexander was found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon because her husband's two children were in the house during the argument in August 2010.
A slightly built woman who stands 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 meter), Alexander said her 245-pound (111 kg) husband Rico Gray, was moving toward her threateningly when she fired into a kitchen wall. He had previously been convicted on a domestic violence charge for attacking her.
Gray's two children were at home, in the living room. Prosecutors said the shot endangered Gray and the children.
Alexander filed a "Stand Your Ground" claim, but a judge ruled against her because Alexander chose to go back into the house with her gun.
A jury took just 12 minutes to find her guilty of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
At the time, Alexander had an active restraining order against her husband and she carried a concealed weapons permit.
(Editing by David Adams and Grant McCool)

"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." - George Washington

Medical cannabis refers to the parts of the herb cannabis used as a form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a form of medicine. The Cannabis plant has been used as a medicine over an extensive period of time, with evidence dating back to the fictional Shen Nung in 2737BCECannabis is one of the 50 "fundamental" herbs of traditional Chinese medicineand is prescribed for a broad range of indications.

However, marijuana has a huge negative stigma to it when it comes to allowing it to be used for medicinal purposes. But there is no known fatality associated with marijuana....as a recreational drug or for medicinal uses. The biggest criticism of marijuana used for medicinal purposes is ingesting it through smoking it and the patient getting "high". However, there are numerous ways to ingest it without smoking it at all. the essential cannabis compounds can be extracted and inhaled through a vaporizer. It can be ingested in food---and in fact has longer lasting effects this way. The essential compounds can also be extracted and injected right into the affected areas. 

Medical marijuana has been proven to control pain. It helps to control chemo-induced nausea and vomiting. In glaucoma patients, it helps to reduce intra-occular pressure by up to 24%. This pressure relief also reduced the amount of pain glaucoma patients endured. Ingesting marijuana has reduced spasticity in MS patients. Studies have shown that the active ingredient, THC, prevents the formation of deposits in the brain that are most commonly associated with Alzheimer's Disease and it stops breast cancer from spreading throughout the body. HIV/AIDS patients that ingest marijuana have an increased appetite. 

The list of positive benefits to marijuana does not stop there. It goes on and on and begs us to ask the question, "Why is it still illegal?" 

I leave you with one other thought.  Dahlia NEEDS this. Yes, she is only 2. She will not get "high" from ingesting medical marijuana. But she WILL live. Please help her to live. Sign the petition today. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/dahlias-law-legalize-medical-marijuana-end-suffering-americans-you-attempt-end-suffering-elsewhere/SWlzDnSs

All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness. ~Mark Kennedy

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about technological advances and what it has meant to our world. Cell phones, Social Networking websites, Internet, Cable TV with more TV channels than ever before, DVR......the list goes on and on in so many different ways. 

Obviously, they all have pros to them that cannot be denied. But what about the cons...the bad side to living in a technology driven world? A friend of mine ( a real live friend that I have known since grade school...not someone that I only know in a "virtual" world) posted this video on Facebook. I watched it and I have to say I completely agree with Louis C.K.'s assessment. Cell phones (through texting) and social networking sites ARE taking away a part of our emotional growth as well as our ability to show sympathy and empathy for one another. In today's world, we DON'T allow ourselves to just BE...be alone....be bored...be ourselves. We have to stay plugged in 24/7 without even realizing what that is doing to us. 

My mother and I were just talking the other day about how bullying has become such an issue in today's society. Now, to be fair, bullying has been around FOREVER, it seems. Kids in school have always teased (or bullied) schoolmates about their clothes, being what they perceive as being a nerd or how they look. 20 years ago, you bullied someone on the playground or in the halls at school and at the end of the day you went home and it all ended until the next day. Most of the time bullying eventually stopped because the bully got bored with it or become a bullying victim themselves. Often times, the bully would actually see what their actions did to the victim and they would stop...even if it did take some time. 

Know what makes bullying stop now? When the victim ends up dead. There has become this disconnect because of technology now. Bullying has stepped up a notch and the bully never even has to see the effects that their actions has on the victim now...often until the victim is dead. Bullies are now using Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking websites. They find out the victim's phone number and text-bully them. 

Now it's just a game to them. Bullies can do this all day every day through the internet and cell phones. They never have to see the tears....the shame, the sadness and depression. Parents aren't monitoring what their kids are doing online or who they are texting or talking to on the phone. Parents need to wake up. Talk to your kids. More often than not, if they don't have a child that is a bully, there child is the victim. Monitor what your kids are doing!!!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Hell Explained by a College Student

The following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona chemistry mid-term, and an actual answer turned in by a student.



The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:



Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?


Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.


One student, however, wrote the following:


First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unlikely. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.


Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.


This gives two possibilities:


1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct.........leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting, 'Oh my God.'

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.

"The Dash" by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak 
At the funeral of a friend 
He referred to the dates on her tombstone 
From the beginning to the end. 

He noted that first came the date of her birth 
And spoke the following date with tears, 
But he said what mattered most of all 
Was the dash between those years. 

For that dash represents all the time 
That she spent alive on earth. 
And now only those who loved her 
Know what that little line is worth. 

For it matters not how much we own; 
The cars, the house, the cash, 
What matters is how we live and love 
And how we spend our dash. 

So think about this long and hard. 
Are there things you’d like to change? 
For you never know how much time is left, 
That can still be rearranged. 

If we could just slow down enough 
To consider what’s true and real 
And always try to understand 
The way other people feel. 

And be less quick to anger, 
And show appreciation more 
And love the people in our lives 
Like we’ve never loved before. 

If we treat each other with respect 
And more often wear a smile 
Remembering that this special dash 
Might only last a little while. 

So, when your eulogy is being read 
With your life’s actions to rehash 
Would you be proud of the things they say 
About how you spent your dash?