Having COPD, it is easy for her to suffer bouts of pneumonia, but she normally bounces back surprisingly fast. She’s tough. But this time they had to intubate her to assist her breathing. They are working on weaning her from the tube. We are awaiting results of a CT scan they did to look for more fluid and mucus in her lungs. She’s stable and doctors are hopeful for a good recovery. She’s lucid and aware of what’s going on, which is great. She knows we’re here for her I think. Still, not being able to communicate in a substantial way (she can’t write – she’s too weak, and she can’t speak of course) is disconcerting. I wish I could talk with her.
Category Archives: Friends, Family, Life
To Medicate or Not?
ScientificAmerican.com: Cognitive therapy as an alternative to ADHD drugs:
To medicate or not? Millions of parents must decide when their child is diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)–a decision made tougher by controversy. Studies increasingly show that while medication may calm a child’s behavior, it does not improve grades, peer relationships or defiant behavior over the long term.
Consequently, researchers have focused attention on the disorder’s neurobiology. Recent studies support the notion that many children with ADHD have cognitive deficits, specifically in working memory–the ability to hold in mind information that guides behavior. The cognitive problem manifests behaviorally as inattention and contributes to poor academic performance. Such research not only questions the value of medicating ADHD children, it also is redefining the disorder and leading to more meaningful treatment that includes cognitive training.
Think I saw this first over at dangerousmeta.
An Interesting Question…
SFGate.com: Why Do You Work So Hard?:
…Work hard and the world respects you. Work hard and you can have anything you want. Work really extra super hard and do nothing else but work and ignore your family and spend 14 hours a day at the office and make 300 grand a year that you never have time to spend, sublimate your soul to the corporate machine and enjoy a profound drinking problem and sporadic impotence and a nice 8BR mini-mansion you never spend any time in, and you and your shiny BMW 740i will get into heaven.
This is the American Puritan work ethos, still alive and screaming and sucking the world dry. Work is the answer. Work is also the question. Work is the one thing really worth doing and if you’re not working you’re either a slacker or a leech, unless you’re a victim of BushCo’s budget-reamed America and you’ve been laid off, and therefore it’s OK because that means you’re out there every day pounding the pavement looking for work and honing your resume and if you’re not, well, what the hell is wrong with you?
…It’s a bitter duality: We scowl at those who decide to chuck it all and who choose to explore something radical and new and independent, something more attuned with their passions, even as we secretly envy them and even as our inner voices scream and applaud and throw confetti.
Thanks to The Union League
Dave was an employee at The Union League of Philadelphia and was well loved by his coworkers. They hosted yesterday’s luncheon for his family and friends.
I can’t recall having as fine a meal in ages, and their generosity will be remembered.
Please say a prayer for Dave and his family
David Shaw, husband to Dawn, sister of Renee, a best friend, a sister to Richelle and me, passed away suddenly from a heart attack this Saturday. He was only forty. He leaves behind his wife, and three wonderful children, Kylie (9), Dylan (7) and Wyatt (5).
Dave went to the hospital Friday night, doctors said they thought it was indigestion, this after five hours in the waiting room. The next day he went to work. An ambulance was called. He walked to it. Told his co-workers he’d see them later. He died in that ambulance.
If you’ve noticed a little strangeness on my behalf these past couple days – apologies. This has been in the back of my mind since I first heard. I know there are no rules that say life is fair – but this isn’t and my heart aches for their family.
PBS tonight: Guns, Germs and Steel
Two friends of mine have been begging me to read this for a while. I need to get around to it. Will be great to see the special tonight: Guns Germs, & Steel: Home | PBS
Don’t be sheep
Washington Post: 450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey:
…First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.
In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.
“Philadelphia won. MTV and millions of TV viewers lost. And Africa?”
While I am still gathering my thoughts, and recovering from a hyper day of metablogging, I can immediately share a few things:
1. The concert was terrific for Philadelphia. We hosted a huge event with flying colors.
2. Our regional web, professional and not, was on fire yesterday. It covered Live 8 far better than TV. Speaking of which – I got quoted in the Inquirer panning MTV!. We’re going to continue to do what we do at PF – highlight the best of it – over the course of the next few days – shoot – maybe even weeks.
3. Philly Future’s distributed approach to all this, with me as host, and bloggers across the region posting and commenting, would have only been possible with the magic combination RSS, Flickr, Technorati, and CivicSpace – and elbow grease. The tools are getting to the point where they can achieve their promise.
4. It’s been amazing to watch the organizers of Live 8 reach out to the digerati, and then the digerati to the blogosphere, to get the word out and take part. Recognizing us as opinion leaders and buzz makers is both a compliment – and a concern (Jeff Jarvis).
5. No matter how you feel about any of this – take the time go to One.org. Get educated. And hopefully you will decide to sign the petition as I did. It’s a cause all of us can support.
6. And Albert Yee kicks ass. You national bloggers should know that he is one the best photobloggers on the web (yes, no lie) and a terrific writer to boot. His efforts helped make Philly Future a worthy place to go yesterday.
Will Bunch, from the Daily News’s weblog Attytood helps to summarize how I feel so far: Attytood: Some final thoughts on Live 8:
Philadelphia won. MTV and millions of TV viewers lost. And Africa? Let’s hope for the best.
There’s no way that 1 million people showed up on the Parkway. It may have been 400,000 over the course of the day, with no more than 300,000 at any time. How do we know that? We don’t. But, psssst, neither does Mayor Street.
No matter, because — even though the non-Stevie Wonder musical acts left us cold — Live 8 was every bit the publicity coup that the city hoped for. There was no violence, few arrests, and remarkably good behavior and good spirits. No booing.
And no snowballs. Heh.
For a city long tarred — unfairly, for the most part — as dirty, rude and disorderly, the images that were beamed around the world today may prove priceless over time. They’re won’t be much immediate impact (except for Milton Street, maybe) but over time, that image will help convince some folks that Philadelphia is a place they want to work. or live, or at least visit on a vacation.
Unfortunately, who knows how many were driven away by the God-awful TV coverage? As we watched the train wreck on MTV unfold, we started to get a sense of deja vu, and we realized why: It was exactly the same things that ruined the Olympics on TV.
Events that could have been shown live instead, inexplicably, on tape. Too much jumping around. The canned interviews, the ceaseless prattling. There once was a time when sports programs showed the games, and concert programs showed the music.
It was live. It was exciting. And now it seems lost. We don’t know why.
…With so many people touched today around the globe, we feel confident that somewhere in Africa, there is another 3-year-old girl who will be rescued by the forces that were unleashed today. And if just one life was saved, Live 8 — which also was a pretty darned good rock concert — will have been worth it.
Live 8 was worth it.
What do you think?
Head on over to to Attytood and let him know how you feel. I plan to.
Sorry I’ve been so quiet
There’s been lots and lots of news to talk about – but working on Philly Future has taken the majority of my free time.
Dan Rubin, posted a profile on Albert Yee and his Live 8 coverage efforts earlier today. I hear it’s going to be in Saturdays’ Inquirer!
This weekend is huge for the city and the world. A few of the aims of One.org have already been agreed to by the members of the G8 – but in my mind – the most important part of all this is building awareness – of what is going on and what can be done.
Networking Is Something I Suck At (Too)
Jeneane Sessum reviews this guide to best practices at LinkedIn and shares that she doesn’t follow any of them. Me neither. I don’t even use LinkedIn. That last warning “If you are spending more than an hour a day doing LinkedIn-related activities, reread the above” is rather scary ain’t it?
I read some related words words at Dave Winer‘s today is pretty revealing: “The schmoozing at this conference has been excellent. World class. Lots of the right people in the room.”
Lots of the right people in the room.
I realize that “networking” is something that you need to pursue as an activity in this world where we are each is “brand of me” – but man…
Meh.
Ya want to know the Karl Martino guide to networking? Probably not since I’m not an expert – but this works for me:
1. Be honest with friends, family and co-workers.
2. Be open with friends, family and co-workers.
3. Be honorable with them and the rest of the world.
4. Reach out, ask questions, and say thank you.
5. Keep in touch.
That’s it. But ya know – I’m not even a C-lister. So what do I know?