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The Meaning of a Confederate Flag Earpiece in 2012

When you see the Confederate flag, what comes to your mind? The first thing I think of is the television program The Dukes of Hazzard, where in the main characters drove a car that had the flag boldly painted on it. The second thing I think of is a rather unfortunate period of history in the United States during which the country was divided and people fought over whether it was acceptable to own a human being as chattel, among other issues. The southern part of the United States was dubbed the Confederate States of America, or the Confederacy, which used the Confederate flag. The states that were part of the Confederacy had seceded from the United States.

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Coming a Long Way from Slumber Party Barbie

When I was a child I actually wanted to have a Ken and Barbie doll set. I liked the idea of dressing them up and playing with them. It was not to be, however, as it was determined that boys are not meant to play with Barbie dolls — particularly the boy named Gordon Davidescu of Princeton Junction, New Jersey.

I did not get a single Barbie doll for my entire childhood and lost interest in them in my adolescence and only regained a little interest in the Barbie doll line a couple of years ago when Mattel (the company that makes Barbie) ran an online contest to determine who would be their next “I can Be” Barbie selection.

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The Oaxaca Angels of Silence are Watching You

When the employment environment shrivels into a withering blistering of mind and home and family, Deaf individuals often have a harder time than their able-bodied counterparts in trying to find meaningful work.  The trick is to exploit the specific skill sets a Deaf person has that can triumph over their Hearing workplace competition.  In Oaxaca, Mexico the answer has been found — and the solution is both cleansing and clarifying.

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121212: Twelve Twelve Twelve

Today is December 12, 2012 or, more succinctly — 12-12-12 — or, more elaborately, “Twelve, Twelve, Twelve.”  I love it when calendrical numbers unify like that and create a grander meaning together than they do apart.  I haven’t felt this delighted since, well, the wondrous double November whammy way back in aught ’11: 11-11-11 and 11-1-11 ten days before that.

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Using Robots as Therapists

With the tremendous amount of unemployment in the United States, there is one section of employers that, far from suffering, have been rather lacking in qualified hirees and that is in the area of therapists for autistic children.

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Bright Light Blinding the Dependent Eye

Two week ago, I went in for my yearly routine eye exam.  My regular doctor told me she wanted me to see the retina specialist because — the new treatment theory is that anyone who has a -6.0 or higher correction is at risk for a retinal tear and they want to find any trouble early and laser it to prevent more severe degradation in the future — and she wanted to get a baseline for me, even though she didn’t see anything that concerned her.

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Should We Find Out Obesity Likelihood at Birth?

As Fall arrived, I noticed a lot more children taking the train in the morning, on their way to school. I could not help but notice that this year, as in years past, the number of heavier set children seems to be on the rise — and sadly it is not just my observation but a recorded trend of an increase in the number of children and teenagers that are considered obese. When I was a child it was considerably more unusual than it is today and I fear that trends are moving toward more overweight and obese children, not fewer.

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