Good Morning Everyone

I don't have much to say.

Later I will post some pictures from yesterday. We had a really great day at Asilomar State Beach and Conference Center. Interesting factoid -- it was originally developed by the YWCA as a women's conference center. It has a wonderful feeling, perhaps that's why.

A very nice lady who was attending the national Qigong convention struck-up a conversation with Thing2. It felt like a day that was meant to be.

Check back for pictures later...

A much needed blogging vacation comes to an end (probably)

The last few months has been quite a journey. And I'm sure it's only the beginning.

Thing2 and I are trying to get out every weekend for some good walks. (Not hikes, I HATE hiking- I've hated it with a passion since I was 5-years old... but that's another story.)

Here are two photos from the walk we took yesterday on the coast. The first photo is from the beginning, when there was still fog blowing through the top of the trees. The second one is from the end of the walk, when the fog had completely cleared.

Learning of the day: Always look at the menu before being seated at a restaurant that is new to you. (I don't have time to write about why, but I think you can guess.)

In Which Thing2 Makes an Amazing Recovery

Life has taken an unexpectedly good turn in the last few weeks.

Over the last weeks Thing2 has gained weight is now a normal healthy skinny weight for her height.

Better yet, her last blood tests revealed that her liver scores have returned to within 2-points of normal.

And best of all, her mind is clearer than it has been in years!

I'll finish with this gratuitous kitty picture in which girl kitty says "hi" to the camera and asks "Whatcha doin?"

Superficial food safety article in NY Times misses the mark

Outbreaks Put Worry on the Table - Readers' Comments - NYTimes.com

The subtitle to this article is

Experts believe the food supply is safer than in the days before pasteurization and refrigeration, but new dangers have emerged.

It seems to me that disease levels pre-refrigeration and pre-pasteurization is a very, very low bar for our modern food safety.

This article is nearly devoid of useful analysis - providing only statistics since 1996.

How about comparing US food-born illness risks to those in other developed countries?

And how can they not even mention the reduction in funding the FDA has experienced while the import of food has exploded?

May it Please the Court - for BethanyC

This wonderful piece at the NY Times blog of Maira Kalman reminded me of BethanyC's work.

May it Please the Court
It is an illustrated story of a day spent visiting the the Supreme Court and Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

How One Woman Saved 2,000 Frames of Early Moon Missions

The image taken by Lunar Orbiter 1 had never been seen at its full resolution until its retrieval by an Ames Research Center team.

From the LA Times:
NASA's early lunar images, in a new light

Pictures from the mid-1960s Lunar Orbiter program lay forgotten for decades. But one woman was determined to see them restored.

Altogether, nearly 2,000 frames were photographed by the five missions, each of which ended with a silent crash onto the lunar surface.

Although the original high-resolution images were saved on 2-inch-wide tape, those pictures weren't seen by the public.

Free Stanford Course on programming the iPhone

It's a hot ticket: Free Stanford course on developing software for iPhone and iPod touch comes to iTunes U

Free Stanford course on developing software for iPhone and iPod touch comes to iTunes U