Rainy Day Wonderings

Friday, April 06, 2007

It's Opening Night!

The San Diego Padres will continue their pursuit of a third straight National League West title by hosting the Colorado Rockies on Opening Night, April 6, 2007 at PETCO Park.
The 7:05 p.m. game marks the fourth straight home opener sellout since the team moved to PETCO Park in 2004. Since relocating downtown, the Friars are undefeated in San Diego openers (2006: 6-1 over San Francisco, 2005: 1-0 over Pittsburgh in 12 innings, 2004: 4-3 over San Francisco in 10 innings).

Now lets play ball!

~~~~~~~

I got this in a email and I thought I would share it with you.

The following list of phrases and their definitions might help you understand the mysterious language of science (including psychology) and medicine. These special phrases are also applicable to anyone reading a PhD dissertation or academic paper.

"IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN"... I didn't look up the original reference.
"A DEFINITE TREND IS EVIDENT"... These data are practically meaningless.
"WHILE IT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE DEFINITE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS"... An unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it published.
"THREE OF THE SAMPLES WERE CHOSEN FOR DETAILED STUDY"... The other results didn't make any sense.
"TYPICAL RESULTS ARE SHOWN"... This is the prettiest graph.
"THESE RESULTS WILL BE IN A SUBSEQUENT REPORT"... I might get around to this sometime, if pushed/funded.
"IN MY EXPERIENCE"... Once
"IN CASE AFTER CASE"... Twice
"IN A SERIES OF CASES"... Thrice
"IT IS BELIEVED THAT"... I think.
"IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT"... A couple of others think so, too.
"IT MIGHT BE ARGUED THAT" ... I have such a good answer for this objection that I now raise it.
"CORRECT WITHIN AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE"... Wrong.
"ACCORD1NG TO STATISTICAL ANALYSIS"... Rumour has it.
"A STATISTICALLY-ORIENTED PROJECTION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE FINDINGS"... A wild guess.
"A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF OBTAINABLE DATA"... Three pages of notes were obliterated when I knocked over a glass of beer.
"IT IS CLEAR THAT MUCH ADDITIONAL WORK WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PHENOMENON OCCURS"... I don't understand it
"AFTER ADDITIONAL STUDY BY MY COLLEAGUES"... They don't understand it either.
"THANKS ARE DUE TO JOE BLOGGS FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THE EXPERIMENT AND TO CINDY ADAMS FOR VALUABLE DISCUSSIONS"... Mr. Bloggs did the work and Ms. Adams explained to me what it meant.
"A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT AREA FOR EXPLORATORY STUDY"... A totally useless topic selected by my committee.
"IT IS HOPED THAT THIS WILL STIMULATE FURTHER WORK IN THIS FIELD" ... This paper isn't very good, but neither are any others on this miserable subject. [Thanks to Brendan Keefe.]
"IT IS HOPED THAT THIS STUDY WILL STIMULATE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN THIS FIELD"... I quit.

~~~~~

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them!

You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you

You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil

How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Which Sesame Street Personality are you? I found this to hit very close to home, lol.

~~~~~~

I am really looking forward to this weekend! I have a date with someone very special and I plan on making him my personal lollipop...yummy! ;0)

Labels: misc

N Posted by Rain at 4/06/2007 02:21:00 PM

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

A New Purchase

April Inventory
by
W. D. Snodgrass

The green catalpa tree has turned
All white; the cherry blooms once more.
In one whole year I haven't learned
A blessed thing they pay you for.
The blossoms snow down in my hair;
The trees and I will soon be bare.

The trees have more than I to spare.
The sleek, expensive girls I teach,
Younger and pinker every year,
Bloom gradually out of reach.
The pear tree lets its petals drop
Like dandruff on a tabletop.

The girls have grown so young by now
I have to nudge myself to stare.
This year they smile and mind me how
My teeth are falling with my hair.
In thirty years I may not get

Younger, shrewder, or out of debt.
The tenth time, just a year ago,
I made myself a little list
Of all the things I'd ought to know,
Then told my parents, analyst,
And everyone who's trusted me
I'd be substantial, presently.

I haven't read one book about
A book or memorized one plot.
Or found a mind I did not doubt.
I learned one date. And then forgot.
And one by one the solid scholars

Get the degrees, the jobs, the dollars.
And smile above their starchy collars.
I taught my classes Whitehead's notions;
One lovely girl, a song of Mahler's.
Lacking a source-book or promotions,
I showed one child the colors of
A luna moth and how to love.

I taught myself to name my name,
To bark back, loosen love and crying;
To ease my woman so she came,
To ease an old man who was dying.
I have not learned how often I
Can win, can love, but choose to die.

I have not learned there is a lie
Love shall be blonder, slimmer, younger;
That my equivocating eye
Loves only by my body's hunger;
That I have forces true to feel,
Or that the lovely world is real.

While scholars speak authority
And wear their ulcers on their sleeves,
My eyes in spectacles shall see
These trees procure and spend their leaves.
There is a value underneath
The gold and silver in my teeth.

Though trees turn bare and girls turn wives,
We shall afford our costly seasons;
There is a gentleness survives
That will outspeak and has its reasons.
There is a loveliness exists,
Preserves us, not for specialists.

Source:

From Heart's Needle by W. D. Snodgrass, published by Alfred A. Knopf. Copy 1957, 1959 by W. D. Snodgrass.

Look what I purchased yesterday...

2007 Fusion SE V6
It is paid for and I drove away with an extra
$4100. from the value of my trade in!

Hooray me!

How is your week going?

Labels: mis

N Posted by Rain at 4/03/2007 01:13:00 PM

Sunday, April 01, 2007

April National Autism Awareness Month

Aprils pirate....

Shipwreck

Unknown

Thanks for the image Benita!

April Rain Song
By
Langston Hughes

Let the rain kiss you

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops

Let the rain sing you a lullaby

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk

The rain makes running pools in the gutter

The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night

And I love the rain.

The Month of April is;

National Autism Awareness Month

Autism Society of America
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 3oo
Bethesda, MD 20814-3067

Autism is a spectrum disorder, and although it is defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults with autism can exhibit any combination of these behaviors in any degree of severity. Two children, both with the same diagnosis, can act completely different from one another and have varying capabilities.

Every person with autism is an individual, and like all individuals, has a unique personality and combination of characteristics. Some individuals mildly affected may exhibit only slight delays in language and greater challenges with social interactions. They may have difficulty initiating and/or maintaining a conversation. Their communication is often described as talking at others instead of to them. (For example, monologue on a favorite subject that continues despite attempts by others to interject comments).

People with autism also process and respond to information in unique ways. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present. Persons with autism may also exhibit some of the following traits:

Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
Difficulty in expressing needs, using gestures or pointing instead of words
Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
Preference to being alone; aloof manner
Tantrums
Difficulty in mixing with others
Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled
Little or no eye contact
Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
Sustained odd play
Spinning objects
Obsessive attachment to objects
Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
No real fears of danger
Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
Uneven gross/fine motor skills
Non responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests in normal range.

Want to know more? Take a Free online course.

The online course will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. The course covers the following areas:

Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder
Treatment Options
Treatment Assistance
Transition to Adulthood
More Information and Resources

At the end of the course you will be able to download a certificate of completion. The certificate is in PDF format and you will need Adobe Reader to open and/or print it.

Come on out and join us in San Diego, CA on;
Saturday April 14, 2007

SDASA invites you to go All Out for Autism! Join us for a special evening of delicious food, creative cocktails and lively entertainment. Our 7th annual fundraiser is slated to be the best event yet. You’ll certainly get in the mood with Coronado Big Band’s 16-piece ensemble playing Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Glen Miller and more. Professional swing dancers will dazzle you with their moves, incredible door prizes, food by French Gourmet, all to benefit SDASA’s program, CAMP I CAN.

Have a safe and fun April Fools Day, everyone!

Labels: pirate

N Posted by Rain at 4/01/2007 08:46:00 AM