2011-06-29 A Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) by Miyamoto Musashi . . .

was required reading when I trained in the martial arts. My copy was translated by Victor Harris and published by The Overlook Press. Tucked away in some old letters, I recently found a small piece of paper on which I had typed the 9 'rules' (according to Musashi) for the Way to learn strategy:

1. Do not think dishonestly.
2. The Way is in training.
3. Become acquainted with every art.
4. Know the Ways of all professions.
5. Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters.
6. Develop intuitive judgment and understanding for everything.
7. Perceive those things which cannot be seen.
8. Pay attention even to trifles.
9. Do nothing which is of no use.

Right now I am working on my own Rule #10 - Keep nothing which is of no use.

2008-12-11 I'm conversing with another author . . .

about my book which was published in 1985 but still has a use (and you can buy it on Amazon), especially if your need to find work and want a very flexible schedule. It's How To Be A Professional Waiter (or Waitress) - Everything you need to know to get the right job, make money and stay sane!

You should have seen the first cover design they did for my book. It was horrible! I had to fight for a better and more professional look. The first design made my book look like a How To Name Your Baby book or worse, a Make 50 Cents an Hour in a Diner book - it was all pink and blue. Yuck! I re-designed it with an Art Deco feel - and they handed it back to the art department and I, at least, got the look I wanted for the cover. I had to fight for my title, too. They wanted to call it How To Be A Waitress (or Waiter) to which I said, oh yeah? And what three guys will buy it after you print that on the cover?

I lost the title I really wanted which still is Waitronics™ - Make Money and Stay Sane as a Waiter. I hereby, officially declare my title.

Oh, that feels so much better.

I had the highest RTI response that St. Martin's Press had ever seen in 1985. RTI means "Radio-Telephone-Interview" - the radio station calls you at home and interviews you for their show. You just have to make certain you're home. I was interviewed over 25 times and one radio show was simultaneously broadcast to 12 different states with people calling in and asking me questions. Even Canada called me - some station in Toronto was convinced my book was an underground best-seller - I wish! But restaurant talk is always a good time-killer on radio because EVERYONE goes to restaurants and EVERYONE has something to say about them.

Anyway, I still love the restaurant business almost as much as I love Kranky Kids®.

Any questions?

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2008-11-27 Happy Thanksgiving . . .

and one thing to be thankful for is being able to find items you need to buy and then also have coupon codes that will help reduce costs for whatever it is you so desperately need. In my case, it's after-school supplies for my students when we are making things. (Yes! Real live analog making of things that are not digital! Like costumes and props.) I do not vouch for any of these sites, other than to say that I have used online codes to get better deals. So, I figure that if I'm keeping a list of sites to check when making things, maybe anyone reading this would like a copy of that list too.

Here is a list of coupon websites that provide coupon codes:

• RetailMeNot.com
  
• FatWallet.com
  
• TheBudgetFashionista.com
  
• CouponMom.com
  
• CouponCode.com
  
• CouponCabin.com
  
• Ebates.com
• FreeShipping.com
• BargainJack.com
• Tjoos.com

Any questions?

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2008-11-18 This is painful . . .

because I have to keep re-checking all my re-do-the-website work and sometimes it takes what seems like forever to upload to the server. Plus, my server has magically lost most of my webstats for the year! Argh! (How come there's never a pirate around when you need one for sound effects and the handy biting parrot to nip others back in line so you get what you want? For that matter, why don't I have Johnny Depp's personal mobile number for assistance in proper intimidating pirate lingo and a good sturdy bag marked SWAG? Hmm . . .)

Yesterday, this situation came up during Tech/Video over creating games using Scratch:

Student A was complaining that Student B was copying Student A's game verbatim and calling it his own. Besides simple elementary school social dynamics being a part of all this, Student A's concern about plagiarism and how to give proper credit for work versus copying it and just changing the look of the characters or other simple window-dressings was ultimately the issue that needed resolving.

Their teacher was caught between placating Student A by confronting Student B - and - doing so in such a way as to not stomp all over the feelings of Student B (as much as Student A would have liked for that to happen). I was asked to be the mediator since my status in their lives is "independent of their normal school tedium". (My quote is a condensing of my role description in the email I received, and quite accurate; I must say I like it.)

This is the basic discussion/lecture I had with the students:

• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Bravo - you obviously have talent and ideas that others wish they had and they want to copy and learn from you.
• The fundamental "game" elements of Student A's games are universal and he cannot claim them for himself, nor can he claim to have invented the Scratch code upon which the game is built. Also, the MIT Scratch website is specifically designed so that you do copy, use and expand on each other's work. That's why it's free and open to all students and educators, and they encourage you to upload your work to them for everyone to see.
• Big people have the same problem concerning plagiarism in the real world and unless Student A has filed for copyright protection (which he technically does have and can prove because his game pre-dates the other kid's and is already on the Kranky Kids website) and is making money selling his game - the only court he'll win in is the court of public opinion.
• Has Student B copied the game verbatim or has he taken and tweaked it slightly? If so, can a healthy collaboration/competition be started as in "I did this - oh yeah? - well I did this" sort of thing.

Anyway, yet another student is helping solve this conflict of video game-making skills by starting a Santa Rita Scratch Club website that will be hosted internally on the Kranky Kids website. The MIT website is too massive for them to get the type of feedback and accolades they want from their efforts. This way they'll be able to focus and wow, talk face-to-face (what a concept!) about what works and what doesn't in their games.

So, it will be here, in the ad-free world of Kranky Kids, that they will learn directly from each other - and when they get older and start a hot gaming company I'll suggest that I get 50% of the profits. Just because. <grin>

Any questions?

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2008-9-13 One Man, One Vote . . .

was almost a decade in the making! (Mind you, not a continuous decade; they got sidetracked a lot.) I was hired to do the sound design and all the music.

Have a look. If you like it, forward it to all your friends. If you don't like it, it's only seven minutes long, so it will be over quickly.

You can also watch it on YouTube.

Any questions?

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2008-9-7 My quote for the day . . .

A vision without resources is a hallucination.

2008-9-2 The tale of my hummingbird warrior . . .

and his sad demise. (I used my cell phone to take these pictures.)

A couple of weeks ago there was a hummingbird war going on in my backyard. Hummingbirds are very territorial and will fight each other and even attack and swoop at other larger birds if they think a regular food source is being threatened.

I have one hummingbird feeder hanging in the back and a male and a female defend it to no end. Well, on this day I awoke to the sound of the male hummingbird (I call him Stubby because he's so small and fat - a tiny flying butterball) - anyway, Stubby was hovering making quarreling sounds right in front of a bird five times his size that was sitting on a branch near the hummingbird feeder. He was so persistent that the other bird flew off.

Later that day, WHAM! I knew by the sound that a bird had hit the living room window. I looked and there was a hummingbird lying prone with its wings splayed on a small pile of leaves. Its little body was gently rising and falling so I knew it wasn't dead. (And I wasn't certain that it was Stubby either.)

I wasn't sure what to do because he wasn't getting up and I didn't want to go outside and scare him to death. Finally, after concluding that he was stuck somehow, I decided to use a long wooden spatula to carefully lift him off the ground and perhaps get him onto a branch. Turns out I didn't have to worry about the branch business because as soon as he was up a bit he shot off into the sky.

Now, while I was going out to help the downed hummingbird, there was another very young hummingbird sort of stuck on the feeder. He was sitting on top of the feeder flower opening (instead of on the perch below it) and licking the glass trying to get fed. This was another sort of problem due to my neck. I was still in the neck brace and was under strict orders to NOT raise my elbows above shoulder level or to push, pull or pick-up anything over 5 lbs (about the weight of a half gallon of milk). How was I going to help this little guy get onto the feeder in the proper position to get fed before Stubby came to attack him?

The spatula was too short so I looked around until I found a paintbrush with a long slender red handle. Perfect. I've had two parrots before so I know how to get birds to hop onto different perches, etc. I, again, carefully put the handle under his little belly and ZOOM! Off he flew like the other one on the ground. Whew! Okay now, everyone is moving again and a disaster has been averted - until later.

By accident, while I was walking about the house talking on the phone, I glanced out the window and suddenly there were three hummingbirds having an ariel fight in the backyard. Two of them battled the third down to the ground. I went outside and sat down near him so that the other two would leave him alone while he caught his breath.

I waited. And waited. And he wasn't getting up. He just sat there and I realized that he was the same young hummingbird that had been on the feeder. So, after a bit, I put my finger under him and he happily climbed on and puffed himself out and was totally relaxed. (When birds are nervous or wary, they pull their feathers tight to their bodies. When they are relaxed, they puff their feathers out and start preening or just nest themselves or take a nap.)

Now what was I going to do? I had a neck brace on and an injured young bird and no one else was home to help me. I also didn't know what to do with such a tiny bird. So we went inside to google our options together on my computer:

After researching together, we went into the kitchen whereupon I made a batch of hummingbird food and fed him some with a teaspoon. Then, according to what I had read, it was recommended that I get him back outside and onto a branch so he could call his mother because she was probably nearby. I tried to put him on a branch that I could reach and that blocked the wind. He didn't want to get off my hand, but he finally did. Research had also advised not checking on him too much else I alert any predators to his position before his mother could come. So I only checked him twice before going to bed that night.

Sadly, the next morning he was hanging upside down dead on the branch right where I put him. I spoke with the California bird authorities because you're supposed to report any dead birds you find. I told them the story and they said he was no doubt mortally wounded during the battle and would have died no matter had I kept him inside or out. And of course, I'll never know - if he had died inside during the night, I would have blamed myself for not getting him back outside for his mother to find. Though, had I known he was mortally wounded - I would have kept him inside where it was warmer and I knew he was calm and unafraid of me.

He was a little warrior who sat on my finger, my hummingbird warrior. I am honored to have had his spirit touch me as he rested on his tiny little feet.

Addendum: For anyone interested in what it takes to care for a hummingbird and how eccentric (and fun!) they are, I recommend the following book:

A Hummingbird in My House - The Story of Squeak
by Arnette Heidcamp ©1990
Crown Publishers Inc., New York

Any questions?

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2008-8-18 The one thing I didn't realize . . .

was how my neck fusion surgery (see below) would affect my ability to work. Since I need to rest to heal - I can't use my arms that much - so I'm not getting what I'd like to get done for the website, especially my cows. Anyway, I said I'd show you the x-ray results in the same manner as the results of my lumbar fusion. So pay attention as you follow along.

First, everyone needs to understand what they're looking at - so take a bit of time and review what a healthy cervical spine (C-spine) should look like and the problems that can occur when your C-spine is failing for whatever reason. The following two images are from the C-spine booklet they give you at my doctor's office:

Now take a gander at what my neck looked like before surgery:

Not pretty. See how the vertebrae were collapsing together between C5 and C7? Notice also how my C-spine had developed an S-shaped curve from looking down for long periods of time (needlework, scrimshaw, drawing, playing the piano, waitering, reading, life).

Because of this, over time my nerves were gradually being crushed more and more. I was having incredible neck pain off and on for years until finally, in late April 2007, the pain from neck muscle spasms would not cease. (The muscle spasms in this situation are the body's way of trying to protect the nerves getting squished.)

I did extensive physical therapy and was prescribed various medications under close scrutiny by my physiatrist to see if we could stabilize my neck without surgery. Then, to my surprise, my lumbar fell apart and needed immediate surgery or I would risk losing the use of my legs. As best I could (while healing from the lumbar surgery), I continued the physical therapy for my neck which entailed daily exercises to build up the muscles in the neck and shoulders while also taking my prescribed pain medications and still hoping that this would hold my neck in place without surgery for a while longer.

My neck was again x-rayed on 2 July 2008 and the test results were as follows:

Severe degenerative narrowing of the C5-6 and C6-7 disk spaces with anterior and posterior spurs.
There is focal reversal of the usual cervical lordosis in the midcervical region, possibly related to muscle spasm. Moderate degenerative disk disease at C4-5, also, with slight spondylolisthesis but no disk space narrowing. With flexion and extension, there appears to be motion at the C4-5 level,
suggesting instability.

It was the word "instability" that caught my eye. I knew I was now on a tightrope.

On 5 July 2008, while reaching around with my left arm to scratch my back, I finally twisted one of my neck vertebrae into a position that instantly smashed enough nerves to make my left arm lose 50% of its strength and also become a 100% I-wanna-faint-right-now-from-the-pain situation. So I gave up and knew it was surgery ASAP or be a mess for the rest of my life with permanent nerve damage (and possibly lose the use of both arms over time).

Below is what my neck looks like now after fusion surgery (side view):

And below is also what my neck looks like now after fusion surgery (back view):

They couldn't put pins in the second slot up from the bottom because my bone is too spongy and won't hold them in place (so that space was given extra bone grafts to hold it open). But compare the side view above with the before surgery side view and you will see that my surgeon was able to clear out enough space so that the nerves that travel down my neck, shoulders and arms are no longer be crushed. The bracket should be able to continue to hold that space open with the other titanium screws in place.

I am feeling better and healing gradually. I have more range of motion in my left arm than I did before surgery and that is improving inch by inch. Without all the intense pain occurring, I am also getting stronger as each day passes. As soon as I am allowed to exercise again, I will do so religiously for the health of my entire spine.

I am very lucky that I live in a time where this kind of surgical repair is available and doubly blessed that it was used for me. I shall not waste this gift. I plan to keep teaching and making things that make others smile and learn to enjoy - period. I want to give the world as much as I can.

Any questions?

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2008-7-23 Okay, I won't drop this page . . .

I'll just make it clearer as to its intended purpose. But that'll have to wait a bit.

On July 28th I will go into surgery for C-spine fusion of my neck. The operation should take about two hours or less. I will have bone grafts placed between three vertebrae and also titanium pins like I now have in my lumbar spine (only smaller pins). The surgeon will cut from the front of my neck on my right side and all the fusion parts will be positioned from the frontal direction in my C-spine (cervical spine). I will wear a soft neck brace for two weeks (I have already cut my hair very short to accommodate this) and will gradually regain my strength in my arms and neck and will (cross your fingers) have no more constant pain and deterioration of arm strength.

We are hoping that this will be the last surgery for my spine. I will work very hard to build up my neck and back muscles to keep a future strong support for my iffy body. You'll be able to see the before and after x-rays on the website later in August. Recovery from this operation will be much faster than the last one because the C-spine in the neck doesn't have to support as much weight as the lumbar spine in the lower back.

Now, when I return to teaching and you have seen the new pictures, everyone will understand why my hair is short and why I'm wired at the neck also. The complete cyborg educator. Wheee!

Also, because my arms are not working properly right now I have fallen dreadfully behind in getting things ready for this website. But never fear! Sir Wilbur is here! <grin>

Any questions?

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