Happy 3rd Birthday Gina!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Gina!!!

Today is Gina's 3rd birthday ("anniversary") of her kidney pancreas transplant! (It is actually the 3rd birthday of her 3rd kidney, because, in spite of what you see on Grey's Anatomy, Gina still has her original kidneys and pancreas.)

Gina's transplant saved her life, and changed ours forever. I can't imagine what life would be like without Gina. Every day I can wake up and say "I love you". Every day she brings joy into all of our lives...



Gina and I would like to take this occasion to remind everyone: Please register to be an organ donor at:

http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/

This site allows you to sign up online to be an organ and tissue donor in California. Your organ donation could save the lives of eight people, and your tissue donation enhance the lives of another 50 people. Right now nearly 20,000 Californians wait for an organ transplant. That's 21 percent of the 94,000 people waiting across our country. Tragically, one third of them will die - waiting.

Some people do not wish to be donors because of incorrect or misleading information they have seen, heard or read. [Here are the] facts behind some of the more common misconceptions about donation.

http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/about/facts/myths/

Register today and encourage others to register.

Thank you,
Love,

Tom and Gina

Carmen Agra Deedy: Spinning a story of Mama

I had lunch with my mom today, and she was talking about her mom, which reminded me of this TED TALK: Carmen Agra Deedy: Spinning a story of Mama

Kidney in a jar?! Glowing?!

Gina and I like watching Grey's Anatomy but our enjoyment was marred last night by another offensive break with reality.

Wikipedia, ("the fountain of all knowledge", ha!), is WRONG (again) when it labels Grey's Anatomy as a "television medical drama" because the show is really just a prime time soap opera that happens to be set in a hospital. A real medical drama would try to make the "medical" portions of the show have some basis in reality.

This episode revolved around a "domino surgery," -- 12 kidney transplants in six O.R.s at the same time. And a significant plot device was the "kidney in a jar"; supposedly one of the kidneys removed during the transplant...except...most kidney transplantation do NOT remove a kidney! The recipient usually ends up with three kidneys. (Really, really lucky recipients also get an extra pancreas as well!)

Many shows unwittingly perpetuate medical myths, some harmful, which Red Cross First Aid Teachers have to deal with later (no, please, don't slam you fist down on someone's chest like you saw on MacGyver or MacGruber) but most "medical" dramas get the basic "medical" facts right. Fortunately, Grey's Anatomy is a soap opera and is not constrained by fact...they can even make dead tissue glow! :)

Bloodhound SSC 1000+mph car!

Bloodhound SSC 1000+mph car!

The fastest way to work?



Bloodhound SSC is a pencil-shaped car powered by a jet engine and a rocket that will be capable of approximately 1,000 miles per hour (1,609 km/h).[1] If all goes to plan, Bloodhound SSC will break the land speed record by the largest ever margin.

The project was announced on 23 October 2008 at the Science Museum in London by Lord Drayson, the Minister of Science in the UK's Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, who in 2006 first proposed the project to Richard Noble and Andy Green; the two men who between them have held the land speed record for 25 years.

John McCain and Barack Obama roast each other

John McCain and Barack Obama roast themselves and each other!

...update...The Barack YouTube video was pulled for some reason...so...

Here is the YouTube video of Al Smith Dinner 2008 (Full Video).
McCain starts around 7 minutes into the video.
Obama starts around the 23 minute mark.




The Wikipedia article about the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner starts:

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is an annual charity fund raiser for Catholic Charities. It is organized by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in honor of former New York Governor Al Smith, the first Catholic presidential candidate. The first dinner was in 1945, the year after Al Smith's death. The 2008 dinner raised $3.9 million.[1]

Since 1960 (when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy were speakers), it has been a stop for the two main presidential candidates during several U.S. election years. In 1976, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter spoke; in 1980, Carter and Ronald Reagan; in 1988, Michael Dukakis and George H.W. Bush; in 2000, Al Gore and George W. Bush; and in 2008, John McCain and Barack Obama. Since 1945 only two presidents have not spoken at the dinner: Harry Truman and Bill Clinton.[2] In recent years the candidates have traditionally given humorous speeches.


...and here is my orig post with the broken video...


John McCain at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Dinner 1




John McCain at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Dinner 2




Obama Roasts McCain at Al Smith Dinner

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on SNL

Here are links to the Saturday Night Live Video Library collection of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Enjoy!

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/couric-palin-open/704042/

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/vp-debate-open-palin-biden/727421/

With Queen Latifah as Gwen Iffil!

Shout-out to Malta

Shout-out to Malta

The Votemaster gave a shout-out to Malta on Electoral-vote.com today when he was comparing voter turnout in different countries:

As you can see, voter turnout in the U.S. [54%] is far less than such beacons of democracy as Malta [94%] and Austria [92%].

But other countries do not have the quality of candidates that we have here in the U.S.