Good morning Don,
"Sploring" - what a
magnificent way to spend an anniversary! Your trip sounded and looked absolutely
incredible.
Loved the trees and rock outcropping pictures.
Your part of the world is one that I would love to visit – it is
part of a geographical formation called the Great Canadian Shield that goes all the way
from New York to Hudson Bay. The plant and animal diversity and variation is probably one of the greatest in the world going from climate regions of deciduous to
coniferous to Alpine to permafrost. You're so lucky to live in an area like
that.
I had hoped that my better half
and I would be able to experience the ocean during my fall break in September,
but once we got our calendars out and started comparing days, we only have 24
hours where we were not doing something or having to be somewhere. So it looks
like my jaunt at the ocean is going to have to wait. I'm not sure we can put
together another Hawaii trip at Christmas. I keep thinking we'll make it to
China – but it looks like that's going to have to wait also.
Science fiction became reality in the "Luke project". An article about DEKA Research and Development creating a robotic prosthetic arm and hand capable of picking up eggs and grapes without breaking them was an incredible read. The Defense Department asked DEKA to create an arm and hand for soldiers. This is to replace the current hook that is available. It is amazing that the hook currently being used is not all that different from what soldiers were given during the Civil War. This new arm and hand took 8 years to create and admittedly, it is not very cost-effective. But I'm wondering, is cost-effective really something you want to work at as thanks for someone who gave their life and limb for our country? This is the same company that created the Segway. They also created a wheelchair that can climb stairs… Amazing! An example of problem solving leading the way to more knowledge.
I've been working on theSeptember Transport – Jeroen and Tammy got their edits in so I have some
reading to do this afternoon. I'm also looking at which stories we can offer
for free through the website. It looks like September is going to be a great
story month!
Here in Denver we have a
community of writers called The Lighthouse Writers – they offer writing
clinics, workshops, classes. I have been looking into some of their classes and
think that I will probably take 2 workshops the end of September. One of the
classes that I would really like to take, putting voice into narrative
nonfiction is closed – but I'll keep an eye out for when it's taught again. The
classes that I'm looking at are nonfiction writing which seems to be the kind
of writing I've been doing lately. I've been concerned that my fiction is
suffering because of it, but I have to say that my curiosity is better fed with
the nonfiction.
I think I finally have the
chapters put together for the Wired Project – I have several articles to reread
on writing e-books, writing introductions, wording, editing, and Google +. I'm
hoping that these articles will help get me motivated to do more than just play
and move words around which is what I've been doing for the last 2 weeks. This
morning I realized that I was putting it off because I know that once I get
started, it gets my full focus and everything else becomes secondary until the
writing is finished. Don, you talked about that concept of perfection – and I
think that that's been holding me up too. I want perfect – like my students – I
don't want to have to rewrite. And yet I know that rewriting is necessary – I'm
an editor for heaven sakes! But the shoe seems to fit differently when I'm a
writer. Ah well.
Yes, I got my cast off on Thursday. It's really nice not to have a purple "thing" hanging off my elbow, but I have to admit that I was unprepared for the swelling and the sensitivity of the skin. The swelling is being controlled with ice – but the only thing to help the sensitivity is to keep rubbing the skin. The process of getting the skin toughened up again is literally a knee-jerk experience. Rub the skin on the wrist and the hand and the knee and the foot jerk. It causes goose pimples across the back of my neck. I know I will survive this, but it was an unexpected experience. I'm not really sure how newborn babies can do it without having their senses overloaded. I'm in a partial removable cast that I take off 3 times a day to exercise and stretch the wrist, hand and forearm muscles.
I started the process of trying to integrate the right arm and hand back into my life. I've gotten really good at writing with my left hand and I've actually been doing cursive writing. It is really very readable! I have also been taking notes with my left hand – and that is working out great. Writing on the board has been absolutely wonderful – slow – but very readable. I got cleared for driving yesterday by my better half. I've always been able to drive to the grocery store and to places close to home, but now if I want, everyone feels that I can drive downtown to work. I have to admit that having my husband drive me to work and pick me up from the bus stop has really spoiled me…
Think I finally chatted on long
enough – have a great week everyone!
Carolyn
Fig 1 – exploring- Calvin and Hobs
retrieved from www.fanpop.com
Fig 2 – Canadian Shield retrieved from
members.tripod.com
Fig 3 – Scott Forsyth Photography retrieved
from scottforsyth.ca
Fig 4— Heart of Canadian Shield retrieved
from www.redbubble.com
Fig 5— Making of "Luke: Bionic Arm retrieved
from makezine.com
Fig 6 – Calvin and Hobs exploring retrieved
from iphone.wallpapersus.com
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