Revelation about Ash
Today we were going home from a little shopping trip. We bought some school supplies for Morgan. He's going to school in a few weeks. We also got him an Airport Extreme card for his Mac Mini (I know I sometimes call it a miniMac). We got it because we wanted to move his computer away from where it is to somewhere else without the need for a long ethernet cable. We already have the wireless router, so it was a no brainer.
We stopped at Target on the way home to see if they had the trackball I was looking for and some new cheap headphones for Morgan and me. They didn't have them, so we left to go home. When we were waiting at the stop light to leave, Ash yelled at the light to "turn green!" What do you know, the light turned green right when she told it to! That's when we discovered that Ash's superpower is to turn traffic lights green. I was thinking about it and I remembered other times when Ash yelled at traffic lights and they turned green. Sometimes it would take a few minutes, but eventually they always turned green.
I wish I knew what my superpower was.
It’s called insomnia
Ash was recently telling me about her visit to her doctor on Friday. I took off work early to watch Morgan while she went to the doctor. After waiting for an hour or so to see her doctor (she was running behind because of a problem with a previous patient), she got some new prescriptions and upped the dosage on some others. There is a point to all this.
This morning, we were talking about it, and Ash mentioned that the Ambien that she was given really made her go to sleep. She told me how she told the doctor that sometimes she would be so exhausted, but still couldn't go to sleep. The Ambien, though knocks her right out because her body knows it can't fight it like those other wussy prescriptions.
I told her the problem was called insomnia. It was a medical term. I also said that I wish she'd told me she was having problems sleeping. I could have told her it was insomnia. That's when she started hitting me.
Almost here!
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)" (J.K. Rowling) is coming soon. We just got our email letting us know it is in Mesquite, TX, and will be here tomorrow. When, we don't know, but it should be here by 7 p.m.
It should be a nice read. I have enjoyed all the other ones. I also liked the movies.
Morgan’s new computer
We finally broke down and got him a computer of his own. I was tired of being kicked off my iBook all the time so he could go look at construction cranes, or as Morgan likes to call them, tartuta cwanes. Plus, he's getting his crap and food and drinks and stuff all over it. My trackpad button isn't really the same any more. I have to crack this baby open and clean it out, I think. So, I got tired of that, plus I can't take it to work with me, because Morgan needs a computer at home so he's not bugging Ash all the time. He has a lot of cool things he can do on the computer, like his paint program, or watching DVDs (Spiderman and Spiderman 2 are his current favorites). He especially likes the part where the Green Goblin attacks everyone at the festival and blows up stuff, and where Dr. Octopus throws the car through the window of the coffee shop. Sometimes I worry about him.
We have an old Starmax computer from the days when Apple allowed clones. It was a pretty good machine, although just as ugly as any PC. Unfortunately, it won't start any more. It could probably be fixed pretty easily, but I always thought that getting it fixed would cost more than the computer was even worth, so I put it off. Well, as luck would have it, Ash recently got back in contact with her ex-husband, Steven. He's a really nice guy and I'm personally very happy that they're talking again. I always considered him a good friend.
Anyway...
Steven was planning to upgrade from his mini Mac to an iMac (smart move!). He's a recent convert from the wicked world of PCs. I always knew he was extremely smart, too! Well, now that he doesn't need this miniMac, Ash asked him if he'd be willing to sell it to us. He was open to that, so I looked around to see what they were going for on eBay. We agreed on a price and now we have a new computer for Morgan.
He was really excited when we got the box with his computer in it. He wanted us to set it up right away, but I had to figure out how to install the Airport Extreme (802.11g) card into it. It turns out it isn't that hard, but the card I bought at the Apple Store that week isn't the right one. I need to get another one and it is actually better to have them install it at the store. So, this weekend we'll be taking the mac mini to the Apple store, returning the Airport Extreme card we bought, and getting the new one installed. We need to do that so we can set up his computer away from the router. We want to get him a cute little desk of his own to use his computer on. Something near us and not in the corner.
I could hardly wait to delete his user account on my computer!
Present?
When I come home from work these days, Morgan will drop whatever he's doing and come over to say hi to me. Well, not really say hi, more come over and look me over, searching all around me to see if I have a box or package. If he sees I have a box or package, he says "Present?"
I guess he thinks my job is to bring home a present in a box every day for him. Recently, we have been getting packages in the mail more than usual, so he's come to expect them regularly. If I don't have a package, the next thing he's looking for is mail. He likes to open our mail now, so I give him the junk mail to open. Sometimes he gets a prize, like the pictures of DVDs in the recent Columbia House mailing. Boy, he really liked them. It was like it was his birthday. You should have seen his face light up.
If I don't have a package or mail for him, then to hell with me. He goes back to his usual business, playing on his new computer. More on that later.
I figured out why…
I don't blog about Democratic party or so called liberal blogs. They aren't saying anything worth commenting on. I subscribe to several, but for the life of me, I can't find anything they write that's worth commenting on. It's all irrelevant to me or so extremely trivial I don't care. I'm pretty sure that they care about it, and that it proves some point about how Republicans and so called conservatives are wrong headed or evil, but I just can't grasp how.
This is why they can't get a President elected. They can't talk about anything relevant to me, and I'm pretty sure most other people who aren't firmly in their camp don't care either.
Of course, I could be wrong, but c'mon, what are the chances of that, seriously...
Originalism Defined
An e-mail from Barbara Ledeen:
As Senator Specter and others have attacked originalism or constitutionalism, it might be helpful for everybody to have this explanation. It comes from Judge Bork's opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 15, 1987.
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(Via Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog.)
Go read it first.
Why the hell was I opposed to this guy being on the Supreme Court? Oh yeah, I was young and stupid and riddled with socialist propaganda. This is one of the most reasonable and agreeable descriptions of a judicial philosophy I've ever read.
Way to go Amy!
I will be going to a new cold cereal
We've been showing Morgan a social story about his new school, explaining what's going to happen when he goes to first grade. The first sentence is "I will be going to a new school."
A social story is a way of preparing Morgan, or any other child with autism, for something that will happen in the future. You write up a story with some pictures and read it with Morgan for a while beforehand. This is supposed to prepare him for a future event. Kids with autism don't like thing that change. They like regularity, normality, and consistency. For Morgan, changing schools will be a traumatic event, more than for so-called normal people. The purpose of any social story is to get him ready. He'll remember the social story and it won't seem as bad because you'll be walking him through it.
We've been going through the social story for Morgan regularly, and he can read it himself. This morning, he said:
I will be going to a new cold cereal.
He's started to ask for things that way. He's funny, isn't he?
Our Veterans Deserve Better
[...]
The money problems are evident to most of us reading the DFA blog and even to those who visit VA clinics and medical facilities. Clinics across America are closing, appointments are delayed, veterans are being charged more for their care, and they are being denied coverage of non-combat related injuries and medical conditions.
[...]
We must end Bush's hollow promise to our troops and provide them with the excellent health care they so deserve.
(Via Blog for America.)
Excuse me? This was happening before Bush took office. The erosion of military benefits was in full swing under the Democrats and Clinton as well. I remember it well. I was there. I remember the benefits my parents and brother lost year after year. I remember all the things my father was promised when he signed up, and that he now has to pay for.
The real truth is that both Democrats and Republicans are in the business of breaking promises. Instead of worrying about their health benefits and how well we treat them when they are wounded, how about not putting them in a position to get wounded? How about not spending the lives of our soldiers to get votes?
The purpose of American soldiers is to defend the country. They should not be sent out to other countries in order to extend or maintain an American empire. If we try to create an empire we will end up being twisted into something we shouldn't become.
Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is
Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is:
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Let this show just how serious progressives are about national security – even while believing, as many left-of-center Americans and a growing number of responsible conservatives do, that the Bush administration has thoroughly bungled it. Whatever your political stripe, the willingness to sacrifice – far more than blowhard attempts to claim national security as the province of radicals in a political party – stands as the truest sign of commitment to protecting the American people.
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(Via Blog for America.)
Are you serious? How many other American soldiers didn't agree with Bush but went when they were called. Are we to praise someone for keeping their word? Is it such a remarkable event when a liberal does what he says he'll do, i.e. go to war when he's called?
Let's be clear on this, I have no beef with Phil Carter. He's keeping his word. But what the hell do these people expect us to do, give him a damned medal for showing up when he said he would? This is an example of what's wrong with Democrats. They think it's remarkable when you keep your word to go and serve in the military, even though you disagree with the reasons. What kind of mentality is this?