Tomorrow is Talk Like a Pirate Day!

My pirate name is:

Dread Pirate Kidd

Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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Where is Duncan?

..that is what Moira kept asking as we headed into this house this morning at 8AM.
We had to put Duncan on the bus this morning, a school bus to take him to special needs preschool. We tried to prepare him, we talked about it, we bought and read books; we went to school and met his teacher (she's awesome) and explored his new classroom. For all these things my little 4 1/2 year old held my hand, sat in my lap and hugged me. I am not sure who was comforting who...

Going to the special needs preschool is the right thing to do, my head tells me so; my heart says he your little boy - do NOT send him alone on a bus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately or Fortunately (depending on perspective) Jamie will be sending Duncan off most mornings. I've done the drop off at daycare/preschool with both Duncan & Moira and the first day is the hardest thing to do, Until I put Duncan on the empty bus (except the driver).

Duncan is a big kid, most people think he is 6 or 7 years old - when we went to visit his new teacher we ran into a Kindergarten class (he had 2-3 inches on all of the kids). So my big boy wearing size 6 looked so small and fragile when he put on his school uniform this morning. He kept hugging me and saying "it's okay. it's alright". I am not sure who was comforting who...

He finally broke into a smile waiting outside for the bus.. it was short lived once he sat down and seatbelted in. When Moira said goodbye, it broke my heart, he realized we were not going to take this most important trip with him; that look haunts me this morning. He hugged Froggy close to him and watched us out the window. As he pulled out of view I cried... I am relying on his inner strength today, I know it's there it shines past his autism, to push forward and understand that we are here always and we love him! I hope he finds his new classroom and big adventure and makes new friends.

Autism does not keep him from adventures, it brings him to new ones. Power on Green Duncan and go forth and conquer your new school, but don't look at Mommy for a minute she is looking for her Green Lantern ring to give her strength!

.. so to answer you little Moira "Duncan is going to school today, he's riding the bus like a big boy. He'll come home later today and share his new world with you"

The passing of a wonderful person

Susan, FatCyclist's wife, passed on last night. Send positive thoughts to http://www.fatcyclist.com.

She is Gone

You can shed tears that she is gone

or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back

or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty becuase you can’t see her

or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she’s gone

or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on….

Anonymous

What my Autistic Son has taught me

Autism is a part of a person it does not define a person! So in our fast paced lives, our children teach us many things, sometimes you need to stop and think about the lessons. So here are some lessons that Duncan has taught me:

1). Don't dwell on what someone has done to you...live in the present (the here and now!) - this one can be hard to do, but Duncan re -enforces every day; the least I can do is try!

2). He takes things literally - make sure you phrase your ideas, wants, appreciation in a form he understands! - take your time before saying something so your are understood.

3). Stop and view the world differently - You'll appreciate it more. When is the last time you looked at a water tower and thought - that looks like a robot!

4). Some days unpredictability is the only predictable thing!

5). I am overwhelmed please take me some place peaceful - learn to see this in yourself and to find your inner peace or place to go to gather your thoughts.

6). I want to be social, I just do not know how. - Most adults do not know how to be social. Take the time to assess the situation and identify the proper opening or angle to help you or your child enter a social situation.

7). Kids are not stupid - Duncan's school friends and other closer friends (even his soon to be 2 year old sister) know he is different and reacts/ acts differently in situations. Address his siblings, extended family, school mates, friends; embrace his uniqueness; the kids do! I watched Duncan's classmates redirect him, make sure he was involved in the group and make sure he got his tasks done... better than I some days.

I know there are more but today this is what I recall

Thoughts to both my Children

The song was playing one day shortly after Duncan's diagnosis of living with Autism. It not only applies to him but Moira as well. Thank You Josh Groban for helping me express myself:

You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) lyrics

Don't give up
It's just the weight of the world
When your heart's heavy
I...I will lift it for you

Don't give up
Because you want to be heard
If silence keeps you
I...I will break it for you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved

Don't give up
It's just the hurt that you hide
When you're lost inside
I...I will be there to find you

Don't give up
Because you want to burn bright
If darkness blinds you
I...I will shine to guide you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved

You are loved
Don't give up
It's just the weight of the world
Don't give up
Every one needs to be heard
You are loved

Ada Lovelace Day - Women in Technology

A brief History of Ada:

She is mainly known for having written a description of Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine. She is today appreciated as the "first programmer" since she was writing programs—that is, manipulating symbols according to rules—for a machine that Babbage had not yet built. She also foresaw the capability of computers to go beyond mere calculating or number-crunching while others, including Babbage himself, focused only on these capabilities. The computer language Ada, created by the U.S. Defense Department, was named after Lovelace. The reference manual for the language was approved on 10 December 1980, and the Department of Defense Military Standard for the language, "MIL-STD-1815", was given the number of the year of her birth. In addition Lovelace's image can be seen on the Microsoft product authenticity hologram stickers.^{[citation needed]} Since 1998, the British Computer Society has awarded a medal in her name^[26] and in 2008 initiated an annual competition for women students of computer science.

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I could think of just one person to blog about so I decided to tell you my story and the Women in technology who influenced me. I design high end technical solutions - Data Center/ Enterprise level backups, disaster recovery, deduplication, archiving, HA solutions ... so many to list.
So probably the first woman to influence me was my BCIS College Professor Ellie Stuartson (I hope I spelled that right?) she had been in the field since the mid-fifties programming and designing uses for the computer (things like just in time delivery service programmed into the computer to keep costs down). After her it was a long time before I met another female in the technology world that I looked up to (much less ran into). My first conference in the technology world was an eye opener - In all my classes I was the only female, until the last day and the presenter was introducung clustering and everyone had trouble keeping up with her ideas and programming - I remember thinking I want to be her one day - be on the leading edge of technology! ( I am for the most part) but I rather learn than teach!

I was told once that I am not the typical women in technology (phrased "geek") - I took that as a high compliment. I hope everyone out there realizes that there are so many women who were and are in the forefont of technology, driving technology. So stop by someone's desk today and let them know that you appreciate their skills and knowledge.

ADA Lovelace Day March 24,2009

Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology. Women's contributions often go unacknowledged, their innovations seldom mentioned, their faces rarely recognised. We want you to tell the world about these unsung heroines. Whatever she does, whether she is a sysadmin or a tech entrepreneur, a programmer or a designer, developing software or hardware, a tech journalist or a tech consultant, we want to celebrate her achievements.

It doesn't matter how new or old your blog is, what gender you are, what language you blog in, or what you normally blog about - everyone is invited to take part. All you need to do is sign up to this pledge and then publish your blog post any time on Tuesday 24th March 2009. If you're going to be away that day, feel free to write your post in advance and set your blogging system to publish it that day.

We will gather as many of the posts together on the day as we can, and we'll let you know exactly how we're going to do that nearer the time. For ongoing updates about Ada Lovelace day, please follow us on Twitter, join our mailing list or see our blog.

Happy New Year

I hope the upcoming New Year brings happiness to you all!