Saturdays Comics - July 14th / 2012

For Better and For Worse Lynn Johnston / 2007-02-07 "He's never sworn that like before! He is crazy?"	Dilbert Scott Adams / 2012-07-03 "I'm starting a pump-and-dump ..."
Garfield Jim Davis / 2012-07-13 "She still hasn't said anything ..."	Betty Delainey & Rasmussen / 2012-07-07  "Alex, you just fired me ..."

* For Better and For Worse" is a serious topic of stroke but with a very nice cartoons. It is all about Grandpa Jim had a stroke and 88 further cartoon "strips" that happened to Grandpa Jim. (See as well  the author Lynn Johnston).

** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com and Dilbert.com.

*** Changed from "Pickles" to "Betty" -- "Betty" is a excellent cartoon and Gary Delainey & Gerry Rasmussen are authors/artists/cartoon-strips and they live in Edmonton.

Eclectic: Randy - Romance on the High Seas

Edmonton Film Society presents: Romance on the High Seas 

MONDAY, JULY 16, 2012, 8:00 – 9:40 PM
Location: Royal Alberta Museum 
                (12845 102 Avenue Northwest)
City / Town: Edmonton
Event Venue: Royal Alberta Museum
Description: Doris Day is a struggling 
                nightclub singer who agrees to 
                take a cruise posing as a 
                wealthy socialite!
Event Category: Film, Museums / Attractions
Cost Memberships: $30.00 for all eight films, 
                  $6.00 (single) single membership (one film only),
                  $5.00 (seniors) single membership (one film only),
                  $5.00 (students) single membership (one film only),
                  $3.00 (children) single membership (one film only)
Link:           www.royalalbertamuseum.ca

Doris Day, Jack Carson:
Day, in her first film, is a struggling nightclub singer who agrees to take a cruise posing as a wealthy socialite, who'd rather stay home and spy on her husband. But hubby hires a P.I. to spy on his vacationing wife. The screwball situation is untangled but not before a lot of fun and music occur.

Eclectic: Monty - Round Triangles and Mazda Engine

Round Triangles!

Why circles are round (and triangles too!) !!

See Rotor In A Square Hole. 

More info on Reuleaux Rotors And Other Sweet Stuff.

MinutePhysics is now on Google+

The Mazda Rotary Engine Part 1

Educational film by Toyo Kogyo about the Mazda Rotary Engine. Shows how the Rotary engine works with comparisons to the Piston Engine. Also shows the Mazda RX500 test vehicle on a banked circuit and the Mazda Cosmo Sport (or 110S). Originates from the late 60's.

The Mazda Rotary Engine Part 2

Educational film by Toyo Kogyo about the Mazda Rotary Engine. Shows how the Rotary engine works with comparisons to the Piston Engine. Also shows the Mazda RX500 test vehicle on a banked circuit and the Mazda Cosmo Sport (or 110S). Originates from the late 60's.

Eclectic: Jackie - I Owe My Mother...

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
"Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS .
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTION-ISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA ..
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION .
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you !"

Only you folks my age understand these profound statements!!!
But, there is one missing from this list ~~ My personal all-time favorite!!

My mother taught me about CHOICE.
"Do you want me to stop this car?"

Eclectic: SSTattler - The Aphasia Cafe

The Aphasia Cafe
By Dawn McGuire

Description: The Aphasia Cafe is a unique collection of poems that write the lives of individuals who, because of stroke or dementia, have lost all or part of their ability to use language. Written by an award-winning poet-neurologist, the aphasia poems explore what happens to a person — a self — when language, the tool we use to construct who we are, suddenly fractures along one of its many fault lines.

Other sections of The Aphasia Cafe also explore language and self-identity, but in relation to family life, political violence, bigotry, shame and redemption.

These imaginatively straightforward poems, accessible to all of us 'aphasics', as we struggle to understand and to communicate who we are..

See the full article The Aphasia Cafe and also articles about Dr. D. McGuire.

Order from Amazon.com book "The Aphasia Cafe".

YouTube: Helping Stroke Sufferers to Swallow

Local researchers are working on a new therapy which aims to help stroke patients in their recovery.

Saturdays Comics - July 7th / 2012

For Better and For Worse Lynn Johnston / 2007-02-06 "Permission granted!"	Dilbert Scott Adams / 2012-06-24 "My daughter is training for the Olympics, ..."
Garfield Jim Davis / 2012-07-04 "There are certain drawbacks in summer..."	Betty Delainey & Rasmussen / 2012-07-02  "I've got a talker on seventh floor..."

* For Better and For Worse" is a serious topic of stroke but with a very nice cartoons. It is all about Grandpa Jim had a stroke and 88 further cartoon "strips" that happened to Grandpa Jim. (See as well  the author Lynn Johnston).

** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com and Dilbert.com.

*** Changed from "Pickles" to "Betty" -- "Betty" is a excellent cartoon and Gary Delainey & Gerry Rasmussen are authors/artists/cartoon-strips and they live in Edmonton.

Eclectic: Regina - Emotional Health — Part 2

By Regina Price

Two weeks ago, I wrote about what made me excited and happy after my aneurysm. I wrote about my creative side after my brain aneurysm experience and how music, nature, and gardening made me more contented. This week I will write about understanding my roots and the wealth of my knowledge, and the people I enjoyed and loved in my world.

When one goes through a stroke or aneurysm, one of the things we lose besides our confidence, are our colleagues and friends from our past lives. Lots of people can’t understand us, because of our aphasia or loss of physical attributes. They don’t see how the stroke has changed our lives forever, in some ways but not all ways, and we can’t go to work the way or the place we went to before. This can cause us to grieve for a long time and often we blame God or our stroke and for this sadness.

I lost most of my colleagues because I wasn’t there with them at work and their lives were too busy to fit me in otherwise. Now I realize it wasn’t because I was disabled but actually it was because they were too busy to fit me into their frantic schedule. At first, it was disheartening, but I am now at peace.

Going to ELLA (Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association) for three weeks in May every year helped me to meet new pleasant, encouraging, and uplifting people. There are many groups, like the ELLA organization, which are helpful. Some organizations particularly help with people who had strokes and some disabilities and going to a group like this would help to find new friends.

Now I appreciate that I am the same way as others — I want to spend time with the ones I love — family members and real friends. I don’t want to waste my time with others who don’t like me — all of me. I want to spend time with those who care about me and able to grow with me differently than our before relationship, which occurred before my stroke.

I now understand my family roots and culture and how our family was very different than some other families. The past strengthened my relatives and nowadays, I am proud to carry that gene. That gene made me more energized and toughened me during my unusual life.

Another thing that I comprehended was that I can use my time more wisely now. I volunteer with organizations which appreciate me and understand me. I volunteer to help others who accept me for me being different and I sometimes can’t speak clearly or coherently. I mentor one student and help others struggling with their lives — and they appreciate me.

In the next two weeks, I will continue writing about my spiritual journey but I would like to hear from others. Again, what do you to make yourself happy and fulfilled? And what makes you sad? Are you alone or lonely? Please send the Tattler your comments and questions. Maybe we can brainstorm to help you find other outlets…

Eclectic: Jackie - Murphy's Other 15 Laws

MURPHY'S OTHER 15 LAWS

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
2. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
3. He, who laughs last, thinks slowest.
4. A day without sunshine is like, well, night.
5. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
6. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
7. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
8. The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.
9. It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end-to-end, someone from California would be stupid enough to try to pass them.
10. If the shoe fits, get another one just like it for the other foot.
11. The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those, who got there first.
12. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.
13. Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries.
14. God gave you toes as a device for finding furniture in the dark.
15. When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of twelve people, who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Eclectic: Monty - YouTube Complaints!

All of your biggest YouTube

complaints addressed here!

YouTube Receptionist -- Laura McDonald and thanks to our collaborators -- Jenna Marbles, VSauce, The Gregory Brothers, Andrea Feczko, Chescaleigh, Emotistyle and Lauren Francesca.

Eclectic: Randy - Mainstreet Cruisers 19th Annual Show & Shine

Mainstreet Cruisers 19th Annual Show & Shine

WHEN         Sunday, July 8, 2012, 10am–3pm
LOCATION Bonnie Doon Mall
REGION         Greater Edmonton Area
AGE RANGE Adults, Family, Children, Teen, 
                Seniors 
COST         10.00 for Car show entries,
                Free to the public
CONTACT NAME Ed Harrison
CONTACT PHONE 780-435-9572
EVENT DETAILS
Want to see some of the hottest muscle cars, street rods, and classics in the Edmonton area or if you have a vehicle you’d like to display, then plan on attending the Mainstreet Cruisers 19th Annual Show & Shine in support of the Crystal Kids Foundation Sunday, July 8th at Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre. The Public is free. Registration for entrants is only $10.00 and is from 9:00 to 11:00 AM. The show and shine goes from 10:00 until 3:00 PM. Goody bags will be presented to the first 125 entries. Help support the Crystal Kids Foundation with a donation of a non-perishable food item and enjoy some of the finest vehicles Edmonton has to offer.

Eclectic: July 4th 2012 - CERN Announces Higgs Boson

Simulated proton–proton collision.

Higgs Boson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

One possible signature of a Higgs boson from a simulated proton–proton collision. It decays almost immediately into two jets of hadrons and two electrons, visible as lines.

The Higgs boson is an elementary particle within the Standard Model of particle physics. It belongs to a class of particles known as bosons. On 4 July 2012, CERN announced the formal confirmation that a particle "consistent with the Higgs boson" exists with a very high likelihood of 99.99994% (five sigma); however, scientists still need to verify that it is indeed the expected boson and not some other new particle.

See the full article Higgs Boson from Wikipedia.

See have to see three YouTube clips below about "Maybe ..., Announcement ..., What is the Boson Higgs?" You had a stroke or not,  it is beautiful physic discovery in last many decades. 


Higgs Boson: Maybe Scientists May Have Discovered 'God Particle'
CERN, The European Organization for Nuclear Research made a ground-breaking announcement that Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have discovered a new sub-atomic particle consistent with the long-sought Higgs boson. Known as the elusive "God particle", as it gives mass to all other particles in the universe.

The search for the Higgs Boson has been going on for decades at a cost of billions of pounds. Scientists have now announced they have seen the best evidence yet that it exists. Here Professor John Ellis, explained what it is.

"What it is? It's the last piece in the 'standard model.' The Standard Model describes all the matter that we can see in the universe, you, me, the planet, the stars, galaxies, all that matter is described by the standard model. That description only makes sense if a Higgs Boson exists or something very similar to it."

Here is the large Hadron Collider in the CERN underground lab which was used to hunt the Higgs Boson since 1984. Professor Ellis then explains just what a ground-breaking discovery this is.

"So it's very exciting that finally, after so many years of looking and waiting and searching, we may finally discover the missing link that really makes our description of the matter in the universe sensible. Maybe it's the Higgs Boson, maybe it's not Higgs Boson, but finally, I think, we gonna start seeing the boson."

And the announcement 4th July 2012:

Scientists at the CERN research centre in Switzerland welcome the news that a new subatomic particle could be the Higgs boson, the basic building block of the universe. Spokesman for one of the two teams hunting for the Higgs particle, Joe Incandela, makes the announcement. Footage courtesy of Reuters.

The Higgs Boson, Part I - July 4th

The Higgs Boson. What more need be said? Two more Higgs videos coming soon.  Also:

• Explore A Map Of The Big Bang! 
• Theory of Everything
• What is Matter

What is a Higgs Boson?

Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln describes the nature of the Higgs boson. Several large experimental groups are hot on the trail of this elusive subatomic particle which is thought to explain the origins of particle mass.

Saturdays News - Spasticity and Stroke

Spasticity and Stroke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spasticity is a feature of altered skeletal muscle performance in muscle tone involving hypertonia; it is also referred to as an unusual "tightness", stiffness, and/or "pull" of muscles. The word spasm comes from the Greek word, σπασμός (spasmos), meaning to pull or drag.

Clinically spasticity is defined as velocity dependent resistance to stretch, where a lack of inhibition results in excessive contraction of the muscles, ultimately leading to hyperflexia (overly flexed joints). It mostly occurs in disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) impacting the upper motor neuron in the form of a lesion (stroke), such as spastic diplegia, but it can also present in various types of multiple sclerosis, where it occurs as a symptom of the progressively-worsening attacks on myelin sheaths and is thus unrelated to the types of spasticity present in neuromuscular cerebral palsy rooted spasticity disorders.

The clinical underpinnings of two of the most common spasticity conditions, spastic diplegia and multiple sclerosis, can be described as follows: in spastic diplegia, the upper motor neuron lesion arises often as a result of neonatal asphyxia, while in conditions like multiple sclerosis, spasticity is thought by some to be as a result of the autoimmune destruction of the myelin sheaths around nerve endings — which in turn can mimic the gamma amino butyric acid deficiencies present in the damaged nerves of spastic diplegics, leading to roughly the same presentation of spasticity, but which clinically is fundamentally different from the latter.

Spasticity Pathophysiology

The cause of spasticity isn't really known, but there are several theories. In general, spasticity develops when an imbalance occurs in the excitatory and inhibitory input to α motor neurons caused by damage to the spinal cord and/or central nervous system. The damage causes a change in the balance of signals between the nervous system and the muscles, leading to increased excitability in the muscles.

One factor that is thought to be related to spasticity is the stretch reflex. This reflex is important in coordinating normal movements in which muscles are contracted and relaxed and in keeping the muscle from stretching too far. Although the end result of spasticity is problems with the muscles, spasticity is actually caused by an injury to a part of the central nervous system (the brain or spinal cord) that controls voluntary movements. The damage causes a change in the balance of signals between the nervous system and the muscles. This imbalance leads to increased activity (excitability) in the muscles. Receptors in the muscles receive messages from the nervous system, which sense the amount of stretch in the muscle and sends that signal to the brain. The brain responds by sending a message back to reverse the stretch by contracting or shortening.

Overall, a defining feature of spasticity is that the increased resistance to passive stretch is velocity-dependent. Lance (1980) describes it this way: “...a motor disorder, characterised by a velocity-dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes (muscle tone) with exaggerated tendon jerks, resulting from hyper-excitability of the stretch reflex as one component of the upper motor neurone (UMN) syndrome."

Spasticity is found in conditions where the brain and/or spinal cord are damaged or fail to develop normally; these include cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and acquired brain injury including stroke.  ....

See the full article Spasticity and Stroke, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Paralysis and Spasticity (Short but Good Explanation)

Paralysis and spasticity are two potential effects of stroke. Learn more about both here.

YouTube: What is Spasticity and Stroke?

Spasticity, a common and painful side effect of stroke, can lead to more serious complications if left uncontrolled. New research is making the recovery process a little easier to manage.