William, Kate, and the Local News

Image by Ben Sutherland via FlickrI was hoping by now that I would be able to stop hearing about the royal wedding of Will and Kate.  Unfortunately it seems that no matter where I go, I am still being bombarded with people talking about the wedding.  So many of the other blogs and news sites that I visit all have something posted about the wedding.  At least there have been baseball games and NASCAR on television today, so at least in that aspect it has slowed somewhat.

I did not watch the wedding on television yesterday.  I had absolutely no desire or interest to do so.  For weeks, all I could see on the broadcast news was stuff leading up to the blessed event.  To be perfectly honest, I was sick of hearing about them.  In fact, yesterday morning I was slightly perturbed that my local news broadcast was preempted for coverage of the wedding.  I would have much preferred to hear my local weather and traffic info.  I could not even turn on Fox News last night when I got home from delivering pizza because they were rebroadcasting the wedding.

I have no animosity towards Prince William and his lovely bride.  I wish them much health and happiness for many years to come.  It is just that I personally do not understand the fascination that folks have with the royal family, much like I don't understand the fascination people have with the Kennedy clan.  Besides, didn't the US fight the Revolutionary War to get out from under the tyranny of the royals?  Just kidding folks, don't get your knickers all in a bunch about it.

Speaking of local news, there is something that has been bugging me of late.  I realize that the nature of local news broadcasts allows for the occasional human interest story or fluff pieces.  I do not really have a problem with that per se.  Some of it I find highly worthwhile, like Barbara Harrison and her Wednesday's Child stories on the local NBC affiliate.  Instead, I am talking about the newscasts pimping the television shows on the network under the guise of news.

For instance, every week, the local Fox affiliate does a bit on the newscast pimping their show "Glee."  They have a radio host come on and they discuss that night's episode and talk about things to look for on upcoming episodes.  Aside from the royal wedding, I have been seeing a lot of promotions on NBC for their new show "The Voice."  The day of the premiere, the local NBC affiliate did their fair share of pimping of that show.  Maybe it is just me being cranky, but those types of things just don't seem to fit a news broadcast.

Autism Awareness Month

Image via WikipediaSince April is almost over, I have to confess that I have been somewhat remiss in mentioning that April is Autism Awareness Month.  As I have mentioned before, my son is autistic, as is one of my nephews.  Since my son was recently home from school for spring break, I want to talk a little bit about autism, how it has affected our lives, and a little of his progress at his new school.

Autism is a complex neurological disorder that is characterized by a impaired social interaction and communication.  Those who suffer from autism display a lot of repetitive behaviors and rote communication.  According to AutismSpeaks.org, it is estimated that 1 in 110 children will be diagnosed with some form of autism.  It is more prevalent in boys.  As I said, my son ani

Those with autism display a lot of repetitive behaviors.  My son likes to listen to music or watch videos.  He will listen to the same song over and over again, and not the whole song.  When watching videos he will play a few seconds, then rewind to watch those same few seconds over and over again.  I remember taking a family vacation once where we drove from the DC area to the beach in North Carolina.  For about the whole 8 hour drive, my son wanted to listen to Kenny Chesney's "When the Sun Goes Down" for just about the whole trip.  Each time he started it over, he asked me to sing.

Change to routine is very hard on a person with autism.  With our son, there are certain activities that he associates with me, and others he associates with his mom.  He also tends to compartmentalize certain things.  For example, we have been trying to get him to drink milk out of a regular cup instead of a sippy cup. He is perfectly capable of drinking out of a regular cup; he will drink water from a cup.  However, in his mind, milk belongs in a sippy cup because he has always drank milk from a sippy cup.  He refuses to drink milk from a regular cup.

My son and his water drinking is a bit of a triumph.  He stops at just about any water fountain to take a drink of water.  At home, he will often go to a bathroom sink, turn on the water, and drink directly from the tap as if it were a fountain.  During spring break, I gave him a styrofoam cup with water in it to drink from.  After he drank the water, he apparently wanted more and headed upstairs to the bathroom sink.  Instead of drinking from the tap, he refilled his cup and drank from it.  I was so proud.  We take great pleasure in these small victories.

Like any disorder, the severity and symptoms can vary from person to person.  Some people with autism are completely non-verbal.  My son, on the other hand, never seems to stop talking.  For the most part, his language is not typical conversation.  For example, if he wants to tell you something, he will usually phrase it in the question.  If he knows we are going to go to a baseball game, he will ask us, "Where are we going on Saturday?"  I will usually say, "I don't know," and ask him the question again.  He will then respond, "We are going to the Baysox game."   

These are just a few of the challenges that we as a family and so many other families are facing in dealing with autism.  There are so many other symptoms and struggles that we deal with on a daily basis.  With so many children being diagnosed with autism it is becoming more difficult for people to not know somebody affected by autism.  Still, so many do not understand or comprehend that a child with autism does not view the world the same as they do, nor are they able to understand that the behavior of an child with autism is a response to the different way they process their surroundings.

Related articles

• What a Child with Autism would like you to Know!! (thinkloud65.wordpress.com)
• Not what you think (kristenspina.wordpress.com)
• Malign Effects of Child Autism (autismdealingwith.wordpress.com)
• Rules - Autism Awareness Month (childrensbooksheal.com)
• April is Autism Awareness Month (independentlivingblog.com)

Even Better Deal on the Kindle

When I was young, single, and had plenty of disposable income, I was what you would call an early adopter of technology.  I was one of the first of my friends to buy a CD player and started buying as many of my old vinyl records on CD as I could afford.  I fell in love with the clarity of the music and the lack of the imperfections that developed in vinyl.

Similarly, I was quick to take the leap to purchase a DVD player.  Each new generation of video gaming consoles was hooked up to my television.  My first computer was a Commodore 64.  I even had a bulky early generation Kodak digital camera.  About the only time that I didn't have the earliest version was if there were two competing formats like Beta vs VHS video tapes.  In that case, I waited to see which format would prove to have the longest legs.

As I have gotten older, married, and have more responsibilities and obligations, the amount of money that I have to spend on new technology is much more limited.  I no longer feel the need to be the first to own the latest and greatest.  For example, in my house we still have DVDs and have yet to make the switch to Blu-ray.  We still have tube televisions rather than thinner, flat screen televisions.

I have chronicled my own internal debate about buying myself a Kindle.  For the longest time, I could not justify in my own mind the expense of buying one of those.  Then, I debated between buying the Kindle or the Nook, but cost was still an issue.  When Barnes & Noble lowered the retail on their Nook and then Amazon lowered the Kindle to $139, I finally got serious and took the plunge.

One of the reasons that I hesitate more these days is because technology prices can drop like they did when I finally went ahead and bought my Kindle.  Now, Amazon has come out with a new version of the Kindle for $25 less than the one I bought.  It is essentially the same Kindle, but it comes with special offers/advertising.  I don't regret buying my Kindle when I did, but I would have gladly accepted ads on mine to save another $25.

Related articles

• Amazon Continues to Push Book Innovation With Library Lending and Ad-Supported Kindles (scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org)
• People Actually Spotted Reading in Barnes & Noble's Nook Ad (adweek.com)

Music Monday-Trace Adkins "Brown Chicken Brown Cow"

I am a big Trace Adkins fan. I can say that this is probably not one of my favorite songs by Trace, but it is definitely one of his funniest. I hope you agree. If nothing else, you may never look at the Muppets the same way again.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Related articles

• Trace Adkins Not Sorry for 'Brown Chicken Brown Cow' (theboot.com)

Easing the Pain at the Pump

Image via WikipediaIt is not new news to anybody that drives that gasoline prices are soaring.  As we speak, prices seem to increase on a daily basis and are rapidly approaching the record prices set a few years ago.  The main difference being that the current president doesn't seem to catch the same flack from the media that the former president did when prices rose three years ago.

One of the blogs that I like to visit is The Matthias Chronicles, written by Mar Matthias Darin.  His most recent post is a very thorough examination of how the monetary policies of Barack Obama and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke have played a large part in the soaring price of filling our tanks.  He is right on the money on that aspect, but there are other contributing factors, some that can be blamed on policies of the current administration.

First and foremost is the administration's stand on drilling for domestic oil resources.  With all of the restrictions placed on domestic drilling, we are producing much less oil than we are capable of doing.  In 2008, our demand for oil declined dramatically with the soaring costs.  As our economy has slowly improved, our demand for oil has started to increase again, but we are producing less oil than we were three years ago.  Higher demand + lower supply=higher costs.

Two other big factors contributing to the soaring gas prices are the demand for oil in growing economies like China and decisions made by OPEC.  Chinese demand for oil has been growing at a double digit rate for the past few years and is expected to continue to rise.  OPEC recently cut their production rates.  Again, higher demand + lower supply=higher costs.

Yesterday, I was listening to a radio program hosted by noted economist Peter Morici of my alma mater, the University of Maryland.   One of his guests yesterday was former president of Shell, John Hofmeister.  Hofmeister testified before Congress earlier this year and said if the US were to set a goal to raise production from the 7 million barrels per day to 10 million barrels per day it would create 3 million new jobs.  With millions out of work, I guess the current administration doesn't really want policies to create jobs.

Now, back to the title of my post.  In year's past, I have never been one to shop around for gasoline prices.  I pretty much stopped at my normal stops and would fill up as needed.  I never really went out of my way to find the lowest gas prices in town.  I never thought it very practical to drive around to save a couple pennies per gallon for gas.  Now those days are gone. 

I still pretty much know who has the lowest gasoline prices in my neighborhood.  Right now that is usually BJ's Wholesale Club.  There are a couple of places that are within a couple cents of BJ's that I will stop at if the line at BJ's is terribly long, which sometimes happens.  For those times when I am not in my neighborhood, or if I don't want to hit BJ's, I have downloaded the Gas Buddy app on my phone.  It is a great tool for finding the best gas prices nearby.

As of yesterday, the gas prices in my neighborhood were in the range of $3.78-$3.91 per gallon.  I filled up my tank for a mere $3.51 per gallon.  It is not that I was privy to some special insiders deal, but rather I took advantage of a program that my local Giant has with Shell gasoline.  For every dollar I spend at Giant, I earn a point.  For every 100 points I earn, I receive a 10 cent discount on Shell for gas.  Since my Shell is a little out of the way and more expensive than BJ's, I usually wait until I have earned at least 300 points before taking advantage of the discount.  If your grocer has a loyalty program that has gas rewards, you need to take advantage of it.

I mentioned Peter Morici and his radio show earlier in this post.  One of the things that Morici detailed on the show was what makes up the price of a gallon of gas.  Most of it is the cost of crude oil, and then there is another dollar or so in taxes and refining costs.  The gas station that you buy your gas from usually only makes a dime or so in profit on the price at the pump.  Since so many of us pay at the pump with our debit or credit cards, the gas retailer takes another hit from fees charged by the banks issuing those cards.  There are a lot of stations, that give an additional discount for customers paying with cash.  That is another opportunity to save a few cents per gallon.

Related articles

• Predictable: Obama begins Chavez-like attacks on Oil Companies (directorblue.blogspot.com)
• Fed's Monetary-Policy Stimulus Mostly A Failure, Economists Say (minx.cc)
• "Obama & Bernanke-Not Speculators- Responsible For High Gas Prices" and related posts (stefanmikarlsson.blogspot.com)
• More White House Demagoguery on Gas Prices (powerlineblog.com)

Spring Break

Image via WikipediaThings don't usually work out quite this way.  One of my son's favorite activities is going to Bowie Baysox baseball games.  He has the best time there.  So when he went away to school, we anxiously awaited for the Baysox schedule to come out to see how well they coincided with his breaks from school.  Unfortunately, the two schedules do not line up very well at all.

For us, due to my work schedule and commute, going to games on the weekends works much better for us than during the week.  My son came home Tuesday for Spring Break, and the Baysox are going to be on a road trip starting today.  So, the only two home games scheduled during his Spring Break were Tuesday night and last night.  Both nights the weather forecasts called for rain, possibly severe at times.  That is a forecast that makes my son, well, freak out.

We had watched the forecasts closely for several days leading up to games.  We wanted to get him to at least one game while he was here, preferably both.  As we got closer to game days, the forecasts were looking more ominous, especially for Wednesday night.  While we know forecasting the weather is not an exact science, there is a reason for the old saying that April showers bring May flowers.  For that reason we were hopeful that we would get at least one game in.

When I left for work on Tuesday morning, it was raining.  Thankfully, it ended by late afternoon.  I was able to get out of the office on time, and even though the commute was more hellish than usual, we were able to get to the game on time.  The skies were overcast, and it was somewhat windy, but the rain held off and we were able to see the game on Tuesday night.

We got up yesterday, and they were still calling for a chance of some severe thunderstorms.  My son does not handle thunderstorms very well at all.  I have come home during thunderstorms in the past and found in him hiding in the bathroom.  Thankfully, the rain and the storms never materialized.  In fact, the day was absolutely perfect for baseball, and we were able to get both games in.

When I started this by saying that things don't normally work out this way, I meant that normally it would have rained one or both nights.  My son has been disappointed more than once by rain delays or cancellations.  Plus there is some truth to the old saying that if you want to hear God laugh tell him your plans.  Still, I think the Good Lord looks kindly upon and holds a special place in heaven and his heart for kids with special needs.  He surely blessed my son these past two days.

Grandes Titulos

Most of the time, I consider myself to be a fairly mature and sophisticated man of reasonably high intelligence.  The key phrase being most of the time.  Because, let's face it.  I am a guy.  As a guy, I have the capability of being quite juvenile on occasions. 

There is no telling what might bring about these bouts of juvenile behavior.  Sometimes it can be as simple as hearing a particular word like "duty."  It can bring about a rather immature Beavis and Butthead type response.  Ha ha, he said duty (doodie).  Real mature, right?

One such incident that brought about one of those juvenile responses is the picture of the sign seen here.  Now I took about five years of Spanish in school.  While my Spanish is extremely rusty, I still know enough to understand that there is nothing the least bit risque about the phrase "Grandes Titulos en Espanol" as depicted in the sign. Especially with the English translation right below it.

However, being a guy, and being prone to juvenile behavior, the phrase "Grandes Titulos" prompted me to interact with one of my like minded coworkers.  He-He, that sign says Grandes Titulos.  After all grande means large and well titulos must mean.... well you get the idea.