Medical Practice Trends Authors

Let’s see…what broke today?

The storm really wasn’t that bad. A large tree branch did break off one of the pine trees next to the clothesline, but it didn’t hurt anything. It was still suspended from where it attached to the tree, up about 15 feet. I spent a little while this morning climbing up and sawing it off then chopping it up with the machete.

Also during the storm I discovered a leak by the back door in the basement–the one to the outside from my office. It was coming in pretty steadily, but I just put some towels and a bucket, and although they were all soaked, there’s been no permanent damage so far. I don’t really know what’s wrong, some kind of seal I guess. It only happens during heavy rains, so maybe it will go away by itself if I ignore it.

Our power hasn’t gone out, but there is some unnerving power “flickering” going on. Yesterday the new cable modem I had installed just went dead. I got this enhanced service because a client needs me to have an IP address that doesn’t change, and it just got installed Monday. So I plugged it back in and still no go. Tech support said plug into another outlet, and it’s fine. Today I plugged it back into the original socket and it’s still fine. The guy couldn’t explain but apparently the modem and the socket won’t talk to each other after a surge, but it gets better after a while. Who knows. I hope this flickering stops, I’d hate to lose something computer-related.

Oh and the dishwasher electronics stopped working again. At least the dishes were washed. And we got a one-year full-service plan which says if the repairs cost more than a new machine, Sears gives you that money toward a new machine. Back to hand-washing for a little while…

Another wonder of the modern world I stumbled upon… Stocking stuffer idea!

TOOTH TUNES Theme Song from Rocky (Gonna Fly Now) – Soft Bristle Toothbrush

Rock your teeth clean - and encourage better brushing habits! - with this exciting toothbrush that lets you hear one of your favorite songs while you brush! Sound vibrations stream from the bristles through your teeth - so you can actually hear music inside your head! To increase the volume, simply increase your brushing pressure! If you brush well, you get great sound and you actually hear two full minutes of the theme from Rocky!

Web 2.0 is full of faddish, trendy and cleverly constructed domain names. It’s practically a necessity to indicate you’re in the “cool club.” They favor words which tell you nothing about the site and make it as difficult as possible for you to get there.

Here’s some guy’s list…

And the ones I think are really bad:

• Qoolsqool
• BookReyvoo
• Complore
• Commentful
• Naymz
• Adveracio.us
• Nowsy
• Talkety
• Lingr
• Calcr
• Empressr

Some new words we’ve heard this week:

- water

- No–she is not really saying no to us, rather she’s imitating how she gets told no. Very funny because she uses the full body language.

- Ow. She actually uses this to get attention, pretending to be hurt! Not crying just saying Ow and rubbing her head.

- For a while now instead of saying “outside”, she says “jacket.” She really does like to go outside, wishes she could more than we allow, so runs around unhappily pointing at the door saying “jacket! jacket! jacket!”

She has been pinching over the last few weeks. Mainly Nathaniel. Of course we tell her it’s wrong to pinch, and after she pinches Nathaniel we say she should do something nice like pat his back instead. So sometimes she pinches him then right away soothes him! Yesterday Nathaniel was pouting about something minor and Sophia started rubbing his back. When Nathaniel is crying or complaining she joins in–quite empathetic.

Okay I had a great entry written that got lost in the ether. But the real intent was that I add some links to my new site about the exciting topic of garage storage, garage storage systems, garage organization, and garage cabinets.

I definitely agree with this parenting tip. Some people might consider this minor or pedantic or silly to bother thinking about, but I think subtle differences in the words you use–even just the tone–have a tangibly different effect. You have to be self-aware and monitor what you say and do continually to find these things.

So a while back I stopped tacking on the “okay” at the end. It’s hard to get others to stop though, because it’s a nicety we use with each other. It feels more polite. It feels like we’re being friendlier. But it’s just for equals, not for your own children.

Instead, I started saying “It’s time,” which came from some other basic parenting advice: A consistent pattern or schedule keeps the child grounded. They know what to expect. The resulting benefit for me is that you get less debate or defiance.

“What do we do after playing outside?”

“Wash hands…”

“Right…”

It doesn’t stop Nathaniel from saying “I don’t want to!” But it keeps it down. And he often does whatever the task is by himself anyway. Hey, sometimes he says–”Daddy, we forgot to …” (buckle me into my carseat–oops)…

Parenting Tip: Don’t Say to Your Child: “Okay?”

Just listen to yourself. “Mary Jane, please sit here so mommy can put your shoes on you. Okay?” Now what did you just do in your polite way of role-modeling? You just gave your 2-year-old of the option of NOT SITTING THERE SO YOU CAN PUT HER SHOES ON HER!!! You asked her IF IT WAS OKAY!! …

• Dr. Suzann O’Koon’s Blog » Parenting Tips Series: Don’t Say to Your Child: “Okay?”

This gadget sounds neat. Too bad it’s $299. I think it would actually work…

The StressEraser provides precise, moment-by-moment HRV feedback on how your breathing, thoughts, and emotional state are influencing your stress levels. You use this feedback to boost the calming effect of your parasympathetic nervous system (your body’s “relaxation center”).

• The StressEraser tells you how to pace your breathing with your heart cycles to induce optimal HRV in a very short amount of time (5-10 minutes).

• The StressEraser gives you a 0-to-3-point relaxation score for each outbreath (great for fine-tuning your breathing and thoughts).

• At the end of your session, the StressEraser adds up all your relaxation points, so you can see if you “dosed” yourself sufficiently.

(Dec. 13, 2006 - Age 8 1/2 months)

We’re hearing some fa fa fa and ba ba ba coming from Sophia…

And she started playing actual Peek-A-Boo! She covers her eyes with a cloth/blanket, then looks out. When you react, she clearly laughs. Then she does it again, and you can tell she gets it because I also saw her close her eyes even when the cloth wasn’t covering her eyes.

Finally a child that actually plays peekaboo–Nathaniel never did and I thought they all did. The next step is to get Sophia to say the “peekaboo.”