The Latest on Morgan

Ame (Morgan's mom) has a new post on my e-niece. Jeez, the poor kid. She's on some sort of kick-arse new leukemia treatment that is, in fact, kicking her butt with a new round of baldness. On the plus side, she is receiving gifts of various sorts for Hanukkah, including a copy of Tangled from Disney. I remember that Give Kids the World used to have a really good setup for sick kids like Morgan in Orlando. Looks like they're still working their magic. I need to remember to send them money this year. I'll add their site to my regular list of links to the blog--feel free to donate as you see fit.

The Nastiness that is Leukemia

I haven't provided an update on my little buddy Morgan since her months-long battle with leukemia seemed to have subsided, with medical arts and sciences up 1-0. Much like a building not falling down, an 8-year-old who's life is returning to relative normalcy doesn't make headlines. Well, that'll teach me to take my eye off the ball. Dar sent me a message that Morgan was back in the hospital because so was the leukemia. If I understand things correctly, the cancer wasn't really in remission, just hiding(?). How else to explain Morgan's elevated white cell count?

Anyhow, Ame (Morgan's mom), Morgan, and Dar have been working out this whole thing together. As usual, Morgan's spirit continues to amuse and inspire me. How else do you explain Morgan's notice to her nurses?

Morgan and Ame are not known to me personally; I know them electronically through Dar. I'm not one who's terribly good or comfortable with kids (just ask my sister or cousins about how "well" I deal with family visits). But Dar sent me a picture of Morgan with her daughter that won me over because it just blew my mind....

So there's Morgan, head smooth as a ping pong ball from whatever chemo they're giving her, and she's got a smile on that lights up a room. I keep hard copies of this photo by my computer at work and here at home to remind me of the need for spirit regardless of the situation. I mean, seriously: what the heck do I have to worry about in comparison? As my mother likes to remind me, "It could be worse." And yeah, it always could be. But even if it is worse, that doesn't stop some people from smiling enough to light up the room. I want to be that guy.

Back to Normal

All sorts of interesting links out there, space-wise and otherwise, so let's roll...

October 4-11 is World Space Week. Back in 2003, I ran the NSS campaign to get letters about WSW in the top 100 newspaper markets in the U.S. WSW is a worldwide, U.N.-sponsored event to get students to learn about and celebrate benefits gained from space exploration.

Interesting blog on organizational culture at NASA and what reactions people can get when they ask questions in a meeting where senior officials ask if there are any questions. If you find yourself getting fired or just "in trouble" because you take management at their word about asking questions, then you should pull the ripcord and bail out.

A few items from the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE):

• Interested in calculating "great circle" routes for airliners? Give this site a shot.
• YouTube video on "God-fearing" (general) vs. "non-God-fearing" (military) aviation.
• What a 737 looks like when its engine interacts with a flock of starlings (the Flock of Seagulls was on tour).
• Want to buy silver? Try this site.

Did you know that we were all doomed? Since the "Y2K" fracas didn't materialize, the latest doomsday year is 2012, when the Mayan calendar supposedly ends or heralds the end of the world. A trailer for a movie along this theme is now in theaters. Fortunately, even reviewers can see how over-the-top and nuts this is. I plan on having a party on January 1, 2013. The sane are welcome to attend.

From Jeff Foust: The Augustine Panel is due to have another public meeting, this one by telecon. The fact that they're having this meeting is a sign, sayeth Foust, that the final Augustine report will be delayed further.

From Lin: An article from FoxNews on how Obama's new "pay czar" is looking to curb or cut executive pay. My feeling is still this: it's none of government's business. This is a corporate governance issue. If you're an employee of a large multinational and you don't like how much money your CEO is making, buy one share of stock. This gives you the right to speak at a stockholder's meeting and speak your piece. Or, if you're not an employee, buy stock anyway. Make your voice heard. Build coalitions of other stockholders. Raise polite, legal, and rational heck. Show how corporate compensation practices are draining profitability and irrationally rewarding poor performance. Get the guidelines rewritten--with an eye to remembering that good compensation attracts the best and brightest, stupid compensation will result in a government takeover. There are ways to fix things that do not require Barack the Merciful to enter the fray and buy your company.

From my AIAA news feed, a couple of articles/editorials reflecting on the five-year anniversary of SpaceShipOne winning the X Prize Cup, one doubting, one more optimistic.

Oh yeah: I've got a short piece on ScienceCheerleader.com re: NASA's internet outreach efforts. Just enough to whet the whistle, more or less.

Also, I haven't done an update on my little e-niece Morgan lately. Her mom, Ame, is now reporting that she's working on home-schooling Morgan. I recommended that Ame take a look at a post on my site re: science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) resources for home schoolers. Morgan, bless her heart (sheesh! I've been in the South too long), has been going through a lot of medical madness, and those long periods of downtime keep her out of step with her peers and their learning. I commend Ame for doing what Morgan needs help doing. She's welcome to ping me anytime if she has questions. If I don't know, I'm willing to put in the time and research it.

Morgan Updates

Morgan continues to progress. Summer is just about over, so I'm not sure when she'll be back in school, but she's over the worst of her GVHD and is applying her improving energies to artwork. I should be so smart. Her hair is starting to grow back, and she continues to have "play days" with friends and family members.

I recall hearing from R2D2 that she had to be very careful about going out in public for fear of compromising her immune system...this included a variety of precautions that had to be taken with food and the vessels it was presented thereon. Cancer is not a normal condition, and it causes one to appreciate "normal" for the gift that it is. It also is truly a miracle of this age that we now have cancer survivors, something that was all but unheard of only decades ago.

Morgan Update

More good news!

Doctor’s check-up went great yesterday. Our numbers had dropped some last week, but the doctors felt that the changes in medications may have caused that to happen. This week, her numbers are on the rise again, so that means her body is fixing itself. What this means is that the quarantine restrictions begin to lessen on AUGUST 20th! The countdown begins. We get to go to “not crowded” restaurants - goodbye to mama being Julia Childs everyday, movie theaters, FRIENDS HOUSES! Morgan is so excited, and so is mom!

Another Morgan Update

Morgan continues to work her magic, slowly, steadily. Her dad provides a good, short summary here:

She goes to the clinic at CHOP every Tuesday morning for her check up, and each week they have been steadily decreasing her medications as her body starts to work on it’s own. The VHD has drastically subsided, but there are the tell tale marks of what she has had to endure. Her personality is coming back more and more each day as she gets better. We actually have full conversations, where only a week or so ago there was little more the subtle acknowledgments.

I loved this line especially because it fits my feelings regarding Morgan (whom I've never met) very well:

She is an amazing child that has taught us all a few new lessons on life, and now she’s ready to get on with it!

Morgan Update

Morgan's mom hasn't been posting as much lately, but that's often a good thing. If she was posting daily, it's usually been because Morgan is having a lot of troubles. As it is, she's just eating a lot now that her appetite is back. I take that as a good sign. Huzzah!

Morgan Update

Morgan is home now and well enough that her mom managed to get out of town to Atlantic City for a couple of days. That's a major deal, because I know from watching my sister (or, heck, my mom) that parents just can't stand to be away when their little ones are sick. But still, it's good to know Morgan got to the point of being out of imminent danger. However, the graft-host disease (GVHD) experience was not good. Morgan's mom explains it thusly:

It honestly was the worst experience/nightmare I never want to repeat. To not have any control to fix Morgan’s hurt was paralyzing. The doctors feel we are on the other side of the “major” danger zone of GVHD, so I am beginning to breathe again. Doesn’t hurt that Morgan’s appetite is back with a vengence, and I am once again Julia Child, constantly cooking for the little princess, who gained back 4 of the lost 12 pounds so far.

Still, this line offers hope, and probably made Ame's week:

I lost my voice somehow over the weekend, but probably would have anyway when Morgan announced to me last night while we got ready for bed - “Mom, you know what? I’ve never felt better!”

Wow. Great. I'm sort of looking forward to Ame posting that Morgan has gone back to being a nutty, noisy, pain-in-the-neck eight-year-old, but all things in due course. After an experience like this, I don't think Ame, Morgan, or anyone in her family will take "normal" for granted anytime soon.

Morgan Update

The e-niece Morgan continues to impress doctors and family members with her recovery. She is probably also impressing with her attitude. I can't help thinking that the two things are related. Would a normally depressed, sad, or withdrawn kid do nearly so well? I don't know, but I'm a big believer in mind-body health, at least to the extent that I believe one's overall health improves when one's attitude toward life improves. Morgan's even showing signs of her hair returning, which wasn't supposed to happen for months. Whatever propels her, she appears to be blessed in the midst of crisis. Yay!

More from Morgan's World

GVHD (Graft vs. Host Disease) is still not for sissies. My little e-niece Morgan appears to be coming through her latest ordeal by leaps and bounds. Huzzah! Keep those prayers coming...

GVHD--Not for Sissies

So while I've been wrestling with various crises large and small at work, my little buddy Morgan has been undergoing some nasty side-effects from her "graft vs. host disease (GVHD)." Her dad described them thusly:

Rashes, boiling skin, severe pain, inability to walk, talk, eat or drink, fits of rage and anger have all been a part of Morgan’s daily experience for the last few days.

On the plus side, Morgan seems to be recovering from this craziness as well. Hang in there, kiddo!

Updates on Morgan

While I was out of town, Morgan has been experiencing something called GVHD ("graft vs. host disease"), which is where the cancerous bone marrow of the leukemia patient sort of dukes it out with the new bone marrow from a healthy donor. Morgan's side effects include a nasty rash on her face, feet, hands, and lower extremities and a great deal of pain. After some time out of the hospital, she is back in. Sheesh. Poor kid. When is enough enough?

Hitting the Ground at Warp Speed

Morgan is out of the hospital, eating well, and wanting to get out and do stuff. In short, she's acting a regular kid (albeit of the high-energy variety) and exhausting her mom. Morgan should be listed as "see also" synonym for the word "resilience." Go get 'em, tiger!

Good News for Morgan!

Update from Morgan's mom:

Sorry you are just hearing the news on the blog today. Out celebrating yesterday. Yup, typical Morgan. Doctors came in yesterday and told her dad that as long as she posts no fever over the weekend, we are home on Tuesday! 420 ANC with 100 cells!!! So I called Morgan, who has just started texting, and mentioned that she may want to start texting people and letting them know she probably will be home Tuesday. She replied “Not probably mom, I am coming home Tuesday, I”M SERIOUS!”

Morgan Update

Morgan continues to make progress. She's slowly building her red and white blood cell counts back up to a level that allows her to return home. And, in typical Morgan fashion, it seems she's picked up more fans and supporters. You go, girl!

The Weekend...What Little I Did with It

Mission accomplished: the 2011 International Space Development Conference will be held in Huntsville, Alabama. I appreciate the moral support I got from the officers, and especially the technical writing/proposal/presentation support I got from Yohon, Melissa, and Laura. Now the REAL work begins. Proposal writing and presentation giving are the easy parts. After this, we've got some contracts to negotiate, speakers to invite, meals to arrange, and rooms to fill. No sweat. (HA!)

And after we won that little challenge, I split to go have dinner with Father Dan, Marilyn, Chris, and David, while Yohon went elsewhere...and we both missed the fact that someone was expected to speak at the dinner that night to promote ISDC 2011 (we recruited Dave--I owe him a bottle of wine at least for that) and that the Huntsville Alabama L5 Society (that'd be HAL5, our chapter) won Chapter of the Year. Go figure. I'll write more about what little I did see of the conference later. I sat in on one session, and otherwise spent most of my time in the exhibit hall, meetings, or getting myself prepared for the ISDC thing. Some day I'll get to go to one of these things for non-work purposes, but that won't likely happen until after 2011...

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On a completely unrelated note, my e-niece Morgan continues to wait out her recovery from her bone marrow transplant. Hang in there, kiddo...

Morning Thoughts

First, an update on Morgan from Dar:

Morgan's doing well (albeit in pain...nothing a little morphine can't mend). Safe travels...

She's sleeping irregularly but beating people at Wii games. Hang in there, sweetie! Lots of folks watching out for ya.

Next, tip o' the fedora to Scott for finding an article on why soaking the rich does bad things to the economy. We will reap what we sow.

I will not be online much the next few days, as I'll be working on my pitch and traveling to Orlando for the International Space Development Conference. The goal: to get ISDC to Huntsville in 2011. Oh yeah, and see Father Dan and my peeps from Disney. Otherwise, I'm not an official presenter or reporter this year. I'll have more thoughts when I get back, and will most likely Twitter while I'm there, so you can check my feed for 140-character thoughts. Enjoy the quiet!

My Hero!

If you need a little cheering up, it's hard to top my e-niece, Morgan. Take a couple minutes and watch a couple videos her mom posted from her day. (It takes longer to load 'em than to watch 'em.) You'd think the kid was going in for a birthday party. We should all be so cheerful.

Potpourri XLIV

Okay, first things first: e-niece Morgan started her bone marrow transplant today. Her mom says she continues to be a "trooper," which fits with what you'll read on her blog. Morgan also has a Skype account (Morgan6261), if you'd like to send good wishes. Here's Dar's update:

Update on Morgan: last bout of radiation is taking place now. Handling all this very well. Skyping, eating like a piggy, laughing (between pukes). I haven't seen her bc she's in intense germ-protection-mode.

Later this afternoon, she will be given, in essence, new life. Bone marrow will be injected into her broviac (semi permanent, umbilical-cord-looking tubes). Painless transplant.We watch and wait...in about 10 days, she should start to react. In about 12 days, we should see signs of acceptance or rejection. We pray for:

• Acceptance
• NO viruses
• NO relapse.

Keep those good vibes coming up here to Philly!

Dar also added:

Bone marrow transplantees celebrate the big day as their birthdays.
Morgan will adopt this donor's stem cells (she will take on his/her T-cells which didn't match her own.) Wild, isn't it?

Wild indeed. That's some scary stuff for an 8-year-old (or any-year-old) to go through. Your good vibes and prayers, of course, are welcome. The doctors use what wisdom they have, and we leave the rest to God.

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Onto the usual foolishness.

There's a report from NASA that says an early asteroid bombardment of the Earth (~4 billion years ago) didn't inhibit, but improved the success of life on Earth. If that logic were true, shouldn't we get up into space and whack the planet with a few big rocks to improve our biodiversity? I'm kidding, you understand, but this hypothesis doesn't sound right to me somehow.

Tip o' the fedora to Tim B. for finding this: some of my more cynical peers think this is really how space projects are funded. If that were true, we'd have listened to Curtis LeMay and would have a nuclear weapons base on the Moon by now.

Here's an interesting site: The Institute for the Future (IFTF):

The Institute for the Future (IFTF) is an independent, nonprofit research group with over 40 years of forecasting experience. The core of our work is identifying emerging trends and discontinuities that will transform global society and the global marketplace. We provide insights into business strategy, design process, innovation, and social dilemmas. Our research generates the foresight needed to create insights that lead to action. Our research spans a broad territory of deeply transformative trends, from health and health care to technology, the workplace, and human identity. The Institute for the Future is located in Palo Alto, CA.

New from Hu:

• President Obama and Charlie Bolden have spoken, but there's no word yet that he's Obama's official appointee to the NASA Administrator spot. Why the caution, I wonder?
• After 100 years of silk-scarved glory, it looks like the age of the fighter jock is nearly over.
• Satellite imagery is being used to fight the war on drugs.
• Ahmadenijad is claiming that Iran has tested a new long-range missile. Oh, goody.
• It's about time to upgrade the nation's global positioning system. Who's going to launch them? SpaceX or some other private-sector provider, one hopes.

I told my buddy Doc that I was contemplating shifting from a PC to a Mac, NOT because I've "seen the light" or joined the Cult of Mac. I'm just sick of all the translation problems that occur when a PC-generated document that I create has hiccups and burps when it moves back and forth between my machine and the Macs in the graphic design shop. Doc offered some insights on what I might need, including this site.

And Jerry Pournelle has some skeptical thoughts on the global warming movement and the economy--they are related more closely than just paying more for gasoline.

Oh, wait! The first trailer for the "V" remake is out there, and I've got to admit, it looks pretty cool.

Does anyone else sense a little Obama paranoia in this trailer, though, or is it just me?

Potpourri XLII

Let's see...what's lurking out there? Tell ya what, before I dive into the usual space, politics, and technobabble, some good news in the world of my e-niece, Morgan. On Saturday, Darlene the Science Cheerleader hosted a benefit for Morgan, presumably to help her family with her medical bills. The benefit raised $23,000! Gooooo, Dar! Staying tuned for further medical developments.

Tip o' the fedora to Tracy for this: Astronaut (not the singer) Tom Jones wrote an op-ed in the New York Post.

For those of you wondering what NASA has done for you lately, here's an excerpt from a press release on NASA's efforts to support environmental research:

NASA ANNOUNCES GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION GRANT AWARDS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded $6.4 million in grants to institutions of higher education and not-for-profit education organizations nationwide to enhance learning through the use of NASA's Earth science resources.

Some good editorials in Jeff Foust's The Space Review:

• To boldly go: the urgent need for a revitalized investment in space technology---NASA long invested in development of advanced technologies, but in recent years that effort withered as the agency concentrated on plans to return to the Moon. John Mankins explains why it's necessary for NASA and the nation to reinvigorate its technology development efforts. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1377/1
• The god that failed---In the mid-1970s articles and books promised a grand future in the form of space colonies, a future that has not been realized. Dwayne Day looks back at one such description of such a future, and why it hasn't happened. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1376/1
• Exchanging uncertainties---It appears increasingly likely that the White House will nominate someone for NASA administrator in the immediate future, solving one problem long identified by NASA's supporters. However, Jeff Foust notes that whoever is selected won't be able to make all the uncertainties surrounding the space agency go away. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1375/1
• NASA and the book of laws---Norm Augustine, picked by the White House to lead a new panel on the future of NASA's human spaceflight programs, is best known for promulgating a series of "laws" about management practices. Taylor Dinerman examines what those laws, and other experience by Augustine, could mean for the future of NASA. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1374/1

Congressman Blair Holt's proposed bill to put additional restrictions on the Second Amendment. Or, as the bill's language puts it,

To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes.

Sounds reasonable, but as the accompanying email noted,

Basically this would make it illegal to own a firearm. Any rifle with a clip or ANY pistol unless:

• It is registered
• You are fingerprinted
• You supply a current Driver's License
• You supply your Social Security #
• You will submit to a physical & mental evaluation at any time of their choosing
• Each update change of ownership through private or public sale must be reported and costs $25
• Failure to do so you automatically lose the right to own a firearm and are subject up to a year in jail.

Most of this is unnecessary and intrusive control of law-abiding citizens, since there are already laws on the books "preventing" criminals from purchasing weapons.

Another thought-provoking video from TED on "the sixth sense." Wow!

Boy, am I glad I read science fiction! It might be the only literature on Earth that helps the reader cope with "Future Shock." The techie in me says, "Way cool!" The neo-Luddite in me is thinking, "Uh oh, what next?"

Some additional thoughts from Scott on buying gold for that ugly rainy day at the end of civilization:

In your bullet point saying “Gold (http://www.swissamerica.com/ or http://www.golddealer.com/ were recommended to me at one point).” You might want to say “Currency, or something to use as currency. I mean the real thing, not paper or other fiat money. Everyone thinks of gold, which I recommend; but you’ll also want silver for those smaller purchases. When you buy a loaf of bread the seller may not be able to give you change from your 950-dollar (at today’s price) gold piece. Buy coins from a country people have heard of, don’t buy collector-grade, uncirculated, mint, or other coins priced at a premium, and don’t buy ingots as neither you nor your seller will know if they’ve been debased or not.”

New from Hu:

• The U.S. Army is looking at more Stryker brigades. The son of one of my managers back in NoVA was captain of a Stryker brigade. And from what I heard, his team was quite effective. Of course it helps to have the right people in command and on the ground...
• Some thoughts on the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. This might be important reading, given that they're reported to be increasing their nuke stockpile.

Some interesting stats on the state of our education system/test scores.