Becca's Journal

I have more than one person in my life who suffers from MS. I am delighted to read this article and find some hope for them.

http://healthknowitall.net/latest-studies/2009/04/24/scientists-use-stem-cells-to-reverse-symptoms-of-multiple-sclerosis/

Now please god let it go my way - and may I most vehemently *not* screw it up.

After several days of saying it would not bail out the nation's largest insurance company, A.I.G., the government bailed out A.I.G. risking $85 billion of the taxpayers' money. In return, the government got 80% of the now near-worthless stock. In other countries, when the government effectively buys (nearly) all of a company's stock, it is called nationalization. Who would have thought that the Bush-Cheney administration would go Marxist-Leninist in its waning hours? Treasury secretary Henry Paulson was clearly afraid A.I.G.'s demise would take out too many other big players and wreak massive damage on the economy. The move will be very controversial since it risks public money to protect bad investments made by A.I.G. management. The political fallout will be immense.

This nationalization poses an especially large challenge for John McCain, who is now railing against corporate greed and lack of government regulation of the financial industry. What he doesn't talk much about is how deregulation happened. It was the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that repealed the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act and thus eliminated the depression-era walls between between banking, investment, and insurance that made this crisis possible. Glass-Stegall erected walls between banking, investment management, and insurance, so problems in one sector could not spill over into the others, which is precisely what is happening now. The primary author of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was none other than McCain's economic advisor, former senator Phil Gramm (who thinks the country is in a "mental recession"). McCain fully supported the bill and has a decades-long track record of opposing government regulation of the financial industry. His new-found conversion to being a fan of regulation is going to be a tough sell as Obama is already pointing out that McCain got what he wanted (deregulation) and this is the consequence.

One 12 page paper.

Still Left
One 10 page paper,
one 2 page paper.

I just got spam that read..

"COMPLIMENTARY SHIPPING ON SELECTED KIDS!"

I now have one of those pill cases that are set up by day....
It makes me feel old.

AT&T has been working on the phone lines down the street, and we have had intermittent phone/internet service for the last 10 days.  I have been checking the messages pretty regularly, but there wasn't anything there according to my service.  Yesterday I went and checked and found 15 messages, from the last 10 days....  I am sorry, I didn't know I wasn't getting the messages people were leaving. I didn't mean to ignore you.

PMOG is something I read about in this last months School Library Journal. Basically it is a different way of browsing the net. PMOG stands for Passive Multiplayer Online Game, and it is kind of interesting.
Signing up for it allows me to follow "missions" others have created about a certain topic. I also get the chance to loot treasure, lay mines, and design missions for myself.

I like it because I can see uses in my school.  I could say set up a mission about Martin Luther King, and have students follow the pre-set linked webpages all about MLK.   It is similar to a social bookmarking site in that it allows me to view and use what others have created/seen, as well as add my own. 

It is a new way to browse/surf the net, and is interesting.  (Yes right now it is full of early adopters and techno-enthusiasts, and it has some issues, but I see such *possibilities*)

If you are interested in more, here are some links.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6555546.htm.html
http://pmog.com/

What do *you* think it means to be literate in the 21st century?

to my sweetie.
10 years and counting.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.
I hope yours is filled with warm fuzzies, and Good Things^tm

http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=par_parents

(from their website)
ZERO TO THREE's mission is to support the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers and their families.

We are a national nonprofit multidisciplinary organization that advances our mission by informing, educating and supporting adults who influence the lives of infants and toddlers.

I know that 2007 was a particularly difficult year for a number of people on my friends list.

Here is wishing you a happier, healthier, and joyous 2008.

Also - while I generally don't pass birthday wishes via LJ - I did want to wish Hippo Birdies to bammba_m and stephanieb

I have a lot of friends who are knitters/fiber people.
I thought I'd share the link to the new(ish) yarn store in Zion.

http://www.gladysstreetyarn.com/

Looks pretty cool.. I may stop by there this evening on the way home from work.

24 things I love about you. (blatently stolen from www.notesfromthetrenches.com)

1. that you love to curl up next to me to sleep with your toes pressed into my side - even if it does remind me to cut your toenails.
2. that you are a full contact eater.
3. that when you find a penny you run through the house chanting "money, money, money"
4. that you want me to change the words of "the wheels on the bus" to "the wheels on the blue car"
5. that you ask me to sing about sunshine.
6. that you love to sit on your daddy's shoulders and touch the ceiling.
7. your favorite phrase is "jee burp" and that you love to demand that I burp too.
8. you use your matchbox cars as the firemen in the firetruck
9. you love to dance
10. how you come running to me or daddy after we have been away, even if it was only 5 minutes.
11. the way you run - laughing all the way.
12. How you are always so excited to get to daycare
13. I love how hard you concentrate on building towers with your new blocks, and then how excited you get when you knock them down.
14. you want to watch any new situation for a good ten minutes before you decide if it is ok to go and play
15. how much you enjoy stabbing playdough with a spoon
16. how you give kisses
17. that you are just learning how to jump - and how excited you get when you succeed.
18. your favorite activity is blowing bubbles
19. how gently you pet the cat - even though she doesn't like it.
20. how you give me your pacifier when your done with it, and then when you want it back look for it in my pocket.
21. how you love to help so much we had to go out and get you your own broom and mop.
22. that you love water so much that it had to have a special name. (la'a-gul)
23. that, like me, you want to call things by the sound they make.
24. your laugh

ME: So this summer I went to visit Annapolis

8th Grader: Isn't that in Africa or something? No wait.... South America.

I am leaving today, with Jee, for our annual Summer Oddessy - (Also known as getting in the car and visiting all the relatives on the east coast)

My online contact will be sporatic until we get back around Aug 18th.

I will get email.
Becca

i guess i'm in a meme kind of mood
Once the shock of reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for the fifth time in a row wears off, some readers may be wondering what they can read next. So why not start a meme of suggestions? So here are the rules:

1. You must copy and paste the directions, rules, and the list so far into your blog and then add three (and only three) books to the list.

2. These three books must NOT already be on the list so far. They must be fantasy or science fictional in nature that those who enjoyed Harry Potter may also enjoy. You must provide your name and a link to your blog and/or website so that people may contact you to ask for more information about the books, if they want. They must be books that you have actually read yourself.

3. You cannot recommend a series; instead, recommend the first book in the series. Terry Pratchett's Discworld would NOT be considered a series; but Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time would. Use your best judgment about whether you're recommending a series or not.

4. You must label the books as either YA (young adult, suitable for the younger fans of Harry Potter) or A (adult, suitable for the not-so-younger fans of Harry Potter). Please be clear about this. It will be understood that anything labeled YA is also recommended for A.

5. If you are an author, you CANNOT recommend your own books. (You can however hound your friends into recommending your books.)

6. Providing a link to information about the books you are recommending is optional.

And here's the list so far:

Jim C. Hines (jimhines.livejournal.com) recommends:

1. Pat Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind (A)
2. Raymond E. Feist's Magician: Apprentice (YA)
3. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (YA)

Janni Lee Simner (janni.livejournal.com) recommends

1. Lene Kaaberbol's The Shamer's Daughter (YA)
2. Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword (YA)
3. Tamora Pierce's The Magic in the Weaving (Circle of Magic, Book 1) (YA)

Joshua Palmatier (jpsorrow.livejournal.com) recommends:

1. S.C. Butler's Reiffen's Choice (YA)
2. Jim Hines' Goblin Quest (YA)
3. Patricia Bray's The First Betrayal (A)

Sister Coyote (sistercoyote.livejournal.com) recommends:

1. Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising (YA)*
2. Jane Lindskold's Changer (A)
3. Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint (A)

*Technically, this breaks rule #3, but I honestly believe this is the best book to start this series with, even though it's the middle book.

lcohen (lcohen.livejournal.com) recommends:

1. Diana Wynne Jones' Witch Week (YA)
2. Pamela Dean's Tam Lin (A)
3. Caroline Stevermer's A College of Magics (YA)

bectod: (bectod.livejournal.com)

1. House of the Scorpion - Nancy Farmer (YA - Newberry Honor winner)
2. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread - Kate DiCamillo (YA Newberry winner)
3. The Amulet of Samarkand - Jonathan Stroud (YA)(first in a trilogy)

These are all written in the last 5 years and great reads.

My personal email has gotten all screwed up, and I have lost a number of email address and messages. If you have sent me something in the last month, please resend it. (or I suppose you could send something new...)

Thanks muchly,

B

So, I am contemplating going to Duckon.
The problem is that it would be just me and Jee, and I can't really go to much of the programming with him.
Is it worth it?


Poll #984468 Should Becca go to Duckon?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Should I go to Duckon?