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Definition: Eclectic(noun) a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
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Saturday, April 20, 2013
Eclectic Stuff & Articles
Sad
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| Sad / Library of Congress |
By Nina Mitchell from Mindpop
I get my haircut on the stretch of Boylston Street where the Boston Marathon bombs exploded. My pharmacy is there. Also my groceries, sometimes. A friend of mine left the area 5 minutes before the blasts.
I don’t know what that means, only that this is so senseless.
© 2012 by Nina Mitchell. The material in this article is protected by copyright and may not be copied or published or otherwise distributed without the Author’s permission. All Rights Reserved.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): A Success Story
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| Jo Murphey The Murphey Saga |
Our youngest daughter has it from a trauma that occurred when she was three years old. By the time we got her to emergency room, she was lethargic and hard to rouse. Between the injury to her brain and the drugs the medical staff gave her, she spent three days comatose. She awoke on the third day and was her old self or so it seemed at the time.
Being just three years old, we didn't expect much from her. She was a baby in our eyes. It wasn't until she went to kindergarten that the true nature of the extent those three days wrought. She struggled with every task put before her. The teachers kept saying she was a late bloomer and there were many children just like her. I wasn't too concerned. I factored in a possible cause was my divorce from my husband. It was suggested that she repeat kindergarten again and I agreed. She was just a late bloomer.
By the halfway point through kindergarten, I was helping her with colors, numbers, and the alphabet. She just wasn't getting it. Her writing was squiggly lines, she could remember her numbers past five, and the alphabet was nonexistent to her. I started consulting with the school psychologist, her counselors, and teachers thinking there could be a learning deficit involved. I was placated and told there was nothing wrong with her that time wouldn't fix. It was suggested that she be promoted to first grade with half her time back in kindergarten. I wasn't sure what to think at this time. Her IQ scores were skewed. Her reading math, and comprehension scores came back low, but her speaking language skills were pegged at 4th grade level. When it was averaged out, her score wasn't low enough to warrant special help. My baby was failing! To top it off her frustration levels being so high she started acting out with temper tantrums. I understood her frustrations and wanted to throw a few too.
Her angry outbursts were getting so violent I couldn't hang pictures on the walls because she'd pound the reverse side knocking them off the wall. Everything breakable was stored in the attic. The more we yelled the worse her outburst got. She was actually throwing herself on the floor like a two-year old. We tried the time out. It actually worked. In her room, by herself, and with no radio or television seemed to calm her. Sensory deprivation to quiet her over stimulated mind. It was then I realized these outbursts were more than frustration.
I sought answers somewhere else. I called her psychiatrist because at this time they were all thinking ADHD with violent tendencies. She was given all sorts of medicines to try to fix the problem, but none of them worked with any success. She suggested I take my child to the Medical College in Augusta to find out what was actually going on with her. We did. Three days of extensive testing were performed. Each day was a revelation. At the end we got the full results.
The results were startling. Our child was marginally retarded when spoken words were taken out of the equation. Given her parents were graduate studies graduates and never talked down to their children accounted for her high verbal skills. She had a 60% hearing loss, visual deficits, and had scar tissue in her brain (basal ganglia). The scars were causing tremors in her hands which I hadn't noticed but they did. The tremors were a precursor for latent seizure activity.
I couldn't understand this because she was normal when she was born. By three years old, she was giving my husband and me a run for survival in chess. How could she retarded? It was a 50-page report was on what was wrong, a course of treatment, and how to educate her as well. Those doctors and specialist were thorough. It wasn't cheap to have these batteries of tests run, but it was worth every penny. That's when I first heard the term traumatic brain injury as the root cause of her problems. It made sense to me because all of this cropped up after her hospitalization.
Armed with the data, I approached the school system again. Our daughter was armed with new glasses and hearing aids; it was up to the school to follow the guidelines the psycho-educational department set (by this time ADA was passed which allowed more than 504). By the end of 4th grade, she knew all of her numbers to 100, could do simple math, and read and write on a 2nd grade level. Talk about gains!
I was pleased with her progress. She was achieving goals! The only wet blanket to my joy was the school psychologist. During a parent/school conference she laid out my little girl's future. She would never be able to drive a car. She would never go to college. She was best suited for minimum wage employment and would probably end up in a group home when we could no longer care for her because her maturity level was pegged at 12 years. Did I really want this stigma to follow my daughter for the rest of her life? I answered without thinking, "Yes, if it helps her achieve. Label her."
I HATE the word NEVER. I've haven't accepted the word my whole life so I set a plan in action. My new husband became her biggest cheerleaders. No accomplishment was too small to be celebrated with ice cream or a special celebration of some kind. Over that first summer, I had been commissioned for three weddings. My daughter watched with interest as I planned and designed the cake, made the flowers, and the fifty million other things that went into catering a wedding. We started cooking together. She read the recipes, measured the amounts and cooked. We played what-ifs games. What if I substituted this for that, and we tried it. Some of them now are our favorite recipes.
This is not the end of the story, but the beginning of another one so I'll stop here.
Nothing is impossible with determination.
Fish Oil May Help Recovery
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| Peter G Levine The Stroke Recovery Blog |
Note: With regard to any supplementation -- Ask your doctor first. Ask your doctor first. Ask your doctor first. Thank you.
Fish oil may help many aspects of recovery from stroke. In my book (now in the second edition, available for pre-order, just sayin') I put it this way:
Fish oil may help stroke survivors in two ways:1. DHA and EPA may help to reduce swelling in the brain after stroke.
2. Fish oil helps overall function of the nervous system and is considered “neuroprotective” (a substance that protects the nervous system).
Fish oil helps promote the neuroplastic process and
appears to help the brain recover after stroke.
Fish oil helps restore a neurotransmitter after traumatic brain injury. It may do the same after stroke.
Fish oil "treatment is able to facilitate functional recovery after (stroke)." It probably also reduces mortality after stroke.
Great general discussion of fish oil here. It turns out that cheap fish oil is just as good as the expensive stuff.
Remember, always ask your doctor first!
3 comments:
Kushal Pandit December 20, 2012 said...
Thanx for ur post nd giving us a hugefull information, plzz tell me wht is the main benifit of FO & WP .. ???
Peter G Levine December 20, 2012 said...
I'm not sure what you're asking; what is WP?
romio jeel February 1, 2013 said...
Great job you people are doing with this website. eskimo 3 fish oil capsules.
See the original article:
Fish Oil May Help Recovery
in The Stroke Recovery Blog
NIH Database Will Speed Research Toward Better Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of TBI
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| Dean Reinke Deans' Stroke Musing |
So where is the database for stroke? If we don't have one we can't intelligently discuss prevention or rehabilitation. See the NIH article NIH Database Will Speed Research Toward...
The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with the Department of Defence, is building a central database on traumatic brain injuries. The Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) database, funded at $10 million over four years, is designed to accelerate comparative effectiveness research on brain injury treatment and diagnosis. It will serve as a central repository for new data, link to current databases and allow valid comparison of results across studies.
"There are many traumatic brain injury studies whose value to scientific research and clinical care could be greatly enhanced by transforming the data into a common, easily available format," said Walter Koroshetz, M.D., deputy director of NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).About 1.7 million people in the United States sustain traumatic brain injuries each year from common causes such as auto accidents and falls. In addition, American Service members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world face unique risks of traumatic brain injury from routine military operations, enemy fire and improvised explosive devices. According to the DoD, in the past 12 years, more than 200,000 Service members deployed worldwide have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, adding to the urgent need for preventive methods and treatments. Total costs of traumatic brain injury in the United States - including medical care, lost wages and other expenses - exceed $60 billion.
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Computerized tomography scans of six individuals with different types of traumatic brain injury. EDH = epidural hematoma, DAI = diffuse axonal injury, SDH= subdural hematoma, SAH/IVH = subarachnoid hemorrhage and intraventricular hemorrhage.
From Saatman et al., J Neurotrauma, July 2008, 25(7): 719-738. Reprinted with permission from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers, www.liebertpub.com/neu.
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"Despite the great burden of neurotrauma incidence, developing objective diagnostics and treatments has proven especially challenging for the medical community. Only by combining efforts through initiatives such as the FITBIR database can we hope to make major progress in this field," said Col. Dallas Hack, director of the U.S. Army Combat Casualty Research Program and joint chairperson for the Defense Health Program.Treatments remain limited despite improved surgeries and rehabilitation techniques for people with brain injuries. Cases of traumatic brain injury are highly variable, involving different causes, locations within the brain and different kinds of damage to brain tissue. Such variability makes it difficult for clinicians to treat patients, predict long-term outcomes and investigate new therapies. Also, studies often report different kinds of data on patients, obtained through various tests and measures, further impeding comparison of data across studies. The FITBIR database will address these challenges by collecting uniform and high-quality data on traumatic brain injury, including brain imaging scans and neurological test results. The data will be obtained with informed consent and stripped of any patient-identifying information.
"Uniform data makes it much easier to compare intervention results across a broad range of studies, providing innovative and unique insights that are not possible from a single study," said Matthew McAuliffe, Ph.D., co-director of the FITBIR database and a member of NIH’s Center for Information Technology (CIT). "This is part of a larger effort by the government to make taxpayer-funded research more broadly available and usable."The database is expected to aid in the development of:
- A system to classify different types of traumatic brain injury
- More targeted studies to determine which treatments are effective and for whom and under what conditions (comparative effectiveness research)
- Enhanced diagnostic criteria for concussions and milder injuries
- Predictive markers to identify those at risk of developing conditions that have been linked to traumatic brain injury, such as Alzheimer’s disease
- Clearer understanding of the effects of age, sex, and other medical conditions on injury and recovery
- Improved evidence-based guidelines for patient care, from the time of injury through rehabilitation
The database builds upon a larger effort to create common data elements for the study of traumatic brain injury – which are essentially definitions and guidelines about the kinds of data that should be collected, and how to collect these data in clinical studies. The Common Data Elements project emerged from a collaborative interagency effort involving over 50 American and European universities and several federal agencies, including NINDS, Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research within the Department of Education.
The Defense Health Program, through agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) is the lead DoD component funding the FITBIR database. The Division of Computational Bioscience within NIH CIT is building the database, and will provide ongoing system administration and hosting services once the database is complete in about two years.
USAMRMC and NINDS will provide programmatic support and foster collaborative research to populate the database. Researchers will be given detailed information about the FITBIR database, and encouraged to participate at the time they submit proposals for new studies.
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The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) executes the DHP under an Interagency Support Agreement with OASD(HA). USAMRMC is the Army’s medical materiel developer, with lead agency responsibility for medical research, development, acquisition, and medical logistics management. For more information about USAMRMC, visit https://mrmc.amedd.army.mil.
NINDS (www.ninds.nih.gov) is the nation’s leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system. The NINDS mission is to reduce the burden of neurological disease – a burden borne by every age group, by every segment of society, by people all over the world.
NIH CIT (www.cit.nih.gov) provides, coordinates, and manages information technology, and advances computational science. CIT incorporates the power of modern computers into the biomedical programs and administrative procedures of NIH by focusing on three primary activities: conducting computational biosciences research, developing information systems, and providing computer facilities.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
See the original article:
NIH Database Will Speed Research Toward Better Prevention,
Diagnosis and Treatment of TBI
in Deans' Stroke Musing
To Blog or Not To Blog?
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| Diane The Pink House On The Corner |
That is the question. At least, on my mind.
I'm afraid to say, I've grown a bit paranoid. Paranoid to the point of hovering over that "Delete This Blog" button. Ready to send The Pink House into oblivion. Thinking this blog is a big mistake.
This because I received an e-mail from a concerned reader warning me about "revealing too much" here regarding the lawsuit. The Hospital, you know, could be spying on me. Reading my posts daily. Looking for things to use against us. And I should keep this in mind before I post anything.
At first, I was merely flabbergasted. I mean, really, what have I said here but the truth? What, on earth, could be used "against" us?
Because I am a careful person and certainly not so stupid as to spill the beans on any of our attorney's strategies or tactics... But I went back through my posts anyway, looking for anything that would be detrimental to our case. That could be "used against us". Not that I found anything. And pretty much everything I've written about the lawsuit is basic stuff that The Hospital already knows.
Still....
I asked a few people who I speak to regularly if they saw anything potentially detrimental or harmful in my blog. Anything that The Hospital could use against us. I was surprised at the response. Which was not so much worry about The Hospital spying on me, but about malicious "others" out there, lurking in cyberspace, who might want to do us harm and/or steal our money.
Jeepers. I hadn't even thought of that.
Not that we have any money to steal, right now. And, heck, if/when we get a settlement, it's all going straight into an untouchable trust fund for Bob's comfort and medical care... That is, if there is any money left, after the lawyer takes his cut and all the insurance companies, who are already lining up, grab their paybacks. Heck, we'll be lucky to have two nickels to scrape together at the end of the day.
But over and over I heard, be careful what you write, Diane. Be careful. And this: Diane, you are too trusting. And this: remember all those horrible stories about what happens to lottery winners. (Think: robbery, murder, mayhem and all sorts of scumbags coming out of the woodwork to grab a piece of the pie...)
Not that winning a lawsuit is anything like winning the lottery.
I tell you, I'd drop this lawsuit in an instant if they could just give me my husband back. The way he used to be, you know, before he entered The Hospital's facility: i.e. walking, moving both arms, talking, eating, sleeping in the same bed as me...
Am I too trusting? Or is everyone else just being paranoid? Should I be paranoid? And just thinking about this stuff, heck, it's making me paranoid. I tell you, paranoia is contagious.
This past week or so, there have been a few times when I've wanted to blog about some particular issues and just literally froze in front of the computer. Terrified that someone could/would use a particular post or sentence or word of mine against Bob and me. And wavering back and forth about what is "safe" to say. Then doubting myself. And then doubting my doubt. Then deciding it's probably better to say nothing at all... just to be safe.
But not to blog just about kills me.... so I wrote about lizards and eggs and rainy weather and posted some cute cat pictures instead. Safe stuff. I think.
Am I being paranoid? Should I be paranoid? Have I said too much?
PS: I disabled the "word verification" for comments, and am hoping to get some feedback on this post!
5 comments:
Anonymous April 10, 2013 said... Hi Diane, I don't think it should be so much paranoia or fear of what you write in your blog, but care. Though all of us readers want to hear about any improvements Bob may have in his rehabilitation, I can see that as a possible flag for the hospital should they be reading the blogs. I don't believe writing about your daily struggles and concerns would be a problem, and you need that ability to vent and have others to lean on.
Should the settlement after lawyer expenses be large, then do be paranoid of sudden friends coming out of the woodwork, solicitations for money from "meaningful" organizations, etc. Set up the trust immediately for Bob's care, but do set aside some funds for your own long term care too. Don't be afraid to use a reputable financial adviser for assistance.
Should you end the blog? It's a source of pleasure for you, and in these difficult times, you need the blog. So don't give it up, and don't be paranoid.... just be careful.
Hugs, Dan
kdstentzel April 10, 2013 said... I ran into this problem a few months ago, which is why I still haven't picked my blogging back up after a few months break.
Our only source of income right now is thru Mike's Worker's Comp claim - we get a portion of his previous salary and they cover all of his medical/therapy expenses. Mike is constantly being evaluated by the insurance company to make sure that he still qualifies for these benefits, and we have to go thru them to get approved for therapy, medications... the whole gambit. It dawned on me that everything that I blog about could potentially be used against us - if complain about Mike not making progress, the insurance company might see it and decide on a review to get out of paying for Mike's therapy. If he IS making progress, maybe they push for less therapy because he obviously doesn't need it as much... the idea is certainly enough to make a cautious caregiver paranoid.
And to be fair - that's not the only reason that I haven't gone back to blogging. Most days I just don't have enough nice things to say, and I really don't want to spread around the whole MIKE WILL NEVER BE NORMAL AND I'M LOSING MY MIND mentality to Mike's friends and family.
So. Should you quit blogging? That's entirely up to you. I haven't read anything that I think would mess up the lawsuit or incite any shenanigans against you from friends or other people, but only you can know that for sure.
I love reading the updates on Bob and there are so few caregiver blogs out there that your writing is really a breath of fresh air for me. If you decide to take a break, I totally get it. If you decide to thumb your nose at all the doubters and keep on writing, I totally get it.
And I suppose if you're super worried about it, you could always make the blog private so that you can control who is reading your content. (Well, you can never COMPLETELY control where your writing ends up, but that'd help filter out most of the stranger-danger threats, I suppose.)
I promise that I won't sell any of your secrets to the hospital's lawyer.
Hugs, Kelsae
Hasna April 10, 2013 said... Oh no! After a gruelling exhausting day, I come to your blog, read it & slowly I get relaxed. I can so, so, so relate to your condition... Me going through the same here too. And if you stop writing, where will I go to relax?
- Hasna
Grace Carpenter April 10, 2013 said... Don't stop blogging! I love your blog, and I truly believe that you're helping a lot of people who are struggling to get through the day.
Can you write the posts that are questionable in terms of the lawsuit, but not publish them yet? One day, you will be able to publish everything.
There's a book by Julia Fox Garrison. She had a stroke, and I think she took part in a lawsuit. Maybe you could get in touch with her?
I've been following this blog: http://hopegoesupanddown.blogspot.co.uk/. She also has also talked about tricky situations.
Thinking about you guys,
Grace
Jenn April 11, 2013 said... Heard something great today - "No matter what's going on in the body that is wrong, if a person is alive, there is still MORE going on that is right. Prana (breath) is present in the system." - Leslie Kaminoff (yoga teacher/therapeutics)
See the original article:
To Blog or Not To Blog?
in The Pink House On The Corner
Aphasia - Caregiver Report: Communication Can be a Matter of Life and Death
Published on Feb 25, 2013
This video is entitled: "Communication is a matter of Life and Death." Communication, speaking and comprehending is a basic human need that is so vital for the enjoyment of living. In this video Mark Ittleman and Donna discuss the subject of the challenges of a person with aphasia, their spouse, speech therapy, and suicide. A very worthwhile and educational video. If you wish to comment or have questions for either Donna or myself you can reach us at donna.c@earthlink.net, or markittleman@teachingoftalking.com.
Standard YouTube License @ Mark Ittleman
2 Comments:
Donna Davidson April 10, 2013 said... If you have any questions of me or if there is anything I can do to help you, please email me. I hope our story can help someone who is either suffering from aphasia or if you are a caregiver, I hope you are getting the help you need and are taking care of yourself so you can help your loved one. God bless you on your journey.
Donna Davidson March 20, 2013 said... This is Donna Davidson... I want to apologize for the sound quality.
See many video by:
The Teaching of Talking
Mark Ittleman on YouTube
This video is entitled: "Communication is a matter of Life and Death." Communication, speaking and comprehending is a basic human need that is so vital for the enjoyment of living. In this video Mark Ittleman and Donna discuss the subject of the challenges of a person with aphasia, their spouse, speech therapy, and suicide. A very worthwhile and educational video. If you wish to comment or have questions for either Donna or myself you can reach us at donna.c@earthlink.net, or markittleman@teachingoftalking.com.
Standard YouTube License @ Mark Ittleman
2 Comments:
Donna Davidson April 10, 2013 said... If you have any questions of me or if there is anything I can do to help you, please email me. I hope our story can help someone who is either suffering from aphasia or if you are a caregiver, I hope you are getting the help you need and are taking care of yourself so you can help your loved one. God bless you on your journey.
Donna Davidson March 20, 2013 said... This is Donna Davidson... I want to apologize for the sound quality.
See many video by:
The Teaching of Talking
Mark Ittleman on YouTube
Sunday Stroke Survival ~ Therapist - Rah, Rah, Rah!
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| Jo Murphey The Murphey Saga |
I've gone through the gambit of therapies before and since my stroke... aquatherapy, aromatherapy, chemotherapy, cognitive therapy, drug therapy, electromagnet therapy, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, and radiation therapy just to name a few off the top of my head.
I coined the word ogologistitis too many years ago. Too many -ologist in my life (ologist= specialty and itis =infection or swelling) -cardiologist, psychologist, neurologist, dermatologist, oncologist, endocrinologist...you get the idea. Now I propose a new word therapitis.
There are new therapists and new innovations but muscles work the same way. I'm not knocking the practice. My physical, speech, and occupational terrorists are the best at what they do and are my cheerleaders rooting for me to achieve. It's like the U.S. Army slogan, Be all that you can be" from the 80s. They have a vested interest in me getting better.
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| Amazon.com |
Rebecca, before two devastating strokes, was employed as an occupational therapist. Now, the knowledge is not wasted, it never is. But she has a new empathy for stroke survivors because she is one too. Although not practicing on any patients anymore, other than herself, she has the never say die attitude same as me.
That's part of the reason I follow her blog and email her when I have something weird go on. We've developed quite an on-again/off-again relationship. Not to mention the facts that she can see it from both sides of the streets and has experience borne of years of trials while I'm still a newbie at stroke. Yes, I've been the nurse who saw you through the crisis, but it's people like my physical and occupational therapists who deal with the aftermath.
Where my job was to never a dull moment, their job is mundane day in and day out...repetition, repetition, repetition. Although Forbes magazine lists them as hottest job trends for the coming millennium, I couldn't do it. I'm too much of an action junkie, fast pace, and high stress. Just look at what I've accomplish in over half a century on this planet.
But that's the nature of the job. Me, I don't forget who helped me to get here. I send cards and messages back and forth. When I can I'll bake or make them little goodies. Even if I haven't seen them in years! Forgetting where you came from is the quickest way back.
Now St. Paddy's day coming up, it's leprechaun hats for all. Little bite sized cakes for whomever wants one. I'll even include the therapists and staff who I've never worked with. I appreciate all of them. Who knows, I may eventually have to.
Yes, I've got the double whammy of ologistitis and therpistitis, but I'm smiling through it all.
Don't say "I can't" and not do.
Say, "I can't right now, but I'm working on it."
4 comments:
Zan Marie April 14, 2013 said... What a lovely valentine to those who share the trenches with all the patients out there. ; )
Reply J.L. Murphey April 15, 2013 said... Thanks ZanMarie
A.M. KellerApril 14, 2013 said... Keep smilin' Jo. Things will get better and you will be back to almost normal before you know it. :)
Reply J.L. Murphey April 14 said... From your lips...I doubt I'll ever be 100% back yo Abby Normal, I might even be just normal!
See the original article:
Sunday Stroke Survival ~ Therapist - Rah, Rah, Rah!
in The Murphey Saga
Use of Technology in Stroke Rehabilitation
Published on Apr 10, 2013
Increased awareness of neuroplasticity and the brain's ability to remodel after injury has spurred a host of innovation and technology to promote recovery after stroke. Jennifer Shen, MD, a physiatrist at the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute says new technology enables therapists to be more effective and that soon, this technology may become the standard of care in stroke rehabilitation.
Standard YouTube License @ UPMC
Increased awareness of neuroplasticity and the brain's ability to remodel after injury has spurred a host of innovation and technology to promote recovery after stroke. Jennifer Shen, MD, a physiatrist at the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute says new technology enables therapists to be more effective and that soon, this technology may become the standard of care in stroke rehabilitation.
Standard YouTube License @ UPMC
Stronger Beer by Tim Hicks
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| Monty Becker Stroke Survivors Tattler |
Stronger Beer
Tim Hicks (Lyric Video HD)
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/tim-hicks-ep/id605975081
www.timhicksmusic.com
@timhicksmusic
SSTattler: FYI - In Canada the word "eh" translated in USA lingo to "y'all".
Standard YouTube License @ Tim Hicks
Google Translate
Find Out How Our Translations Are Created
Uploaded on Aug 27, 2010Have you ever wondered how Google Translate creates your translations?
Standard YouTube License @ GoogleVideos
What is Google Translate?
Google Translate is a free translation service that provides instant translations between 64 different languages. It can translate words, sentences and web pages between any combination of our supported languages. With Google Translate, we hope to make information universally accessible and useful, regardless of the language in which it’s written.How Does It Work?
When Google Translate generates a translation, it looks for patterns in hundreds of millions of documents to help decide on the best translation for you. By detecting patterns in documents that have already been translated by human translators, Google Translate can make intelligent guesses as to what an appropriate translation should be. This process of seeking patterns in large amounts of text is called "statistical machine translation". Since the translations are generated by machines, not all translation will be perfect. The more human-translated documents that Google Translate can analyse in a specific language, the better the translation quality will be. This is why translation accuracy will sometimes vary across languages.What Languages Does Google Translate Support?
Google Translate currently supports 64 languages:
- Afrikaans
- Albanian
- Arabic
- Belarusian
- Bulgarian
- Catalan
- Chinese (simplified)
- Chinese (traditional)
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- English
- Estonian
- Esperanto
- Filipino
- Finnish
- French
- Galician
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Indonesian
- Irish
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Latvian
- Lithuanian
- Macedonian
- Malay
- Maltese
- Norwegian
- Persian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Serbian
- Slovak
- Slovenian
- Spanish
- Swahili
- Swedish
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Yiddish
- Armenian
- Azerbaijani
- Basque
- Georgian
- Gujarati
- Haitian Creole
- Kannada
- Latin
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Urdu
Google Translate tests other languages, called "alpha languages", that may have less-reliable translation quality than our supported languages. We are always working to support other languages and will introduce them as soon as the translation quality meets our standards.
What Can I Do to Improve Translation Quality?
If you encounter a translation that doesn't seem right, quite often Google Translate will have alternative results available. To view these, simply click the phrase in question. When you click a better alternative translation, Google Translate will learn from your feedback and continue to improve over time.You can also help improve translation quality by using Translator Toolkit for translating or by uploading your translation memories into Translator Toolkit.
Want to Learn More?
If you still have questions about Google Translate or would like to provide feedback, please take a look at the Google Translate discussion group.You can read more about our most recent updates on the Google Translate Blog and about Google’s other research projects at the Google Research website.
To learn more about the science of machine translation, take a look at these resources:
ZENN Car (Zero Emissions No Noise)
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| Jackie Poff Stroke Survivors Tattler |
Made in Canada yet? ;-) You guys, who are car buffs will be intrigued with this little number. Check this out...:
- Did you know that the ZENN car (Zero Emissions No Noise),
- Made in Quebec,
- Cost approx $12,000,
- Plug it in like a toaster,
- and is illegal to sell in Canada (except in B.C.).
RMR: Rick and ZENN Car
Uploaded on Mar 24, 2010Rick takes a spin in a ZENN Car. (originally aired: November 20, 2007)
Standard YouTube License @ The Rick Mercer Report
The Rick Mercer Report: New Mulch Product
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| John C Anderson Stroke Survivors Tattler |
For a lawn that's thick and rich -- and volatile.
Standard YouTube License @ The Rick Mercer Report
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Raised-Bed Gardening
Raised-Bed Gardening From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Raised garden bed of lettuce, tomatoes, basil, marigolds, zinnias, garlic chives, zucchini. |
Overview
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| Picardo Farm, Wedgwood neighborhood, Seattle, Washington: A community allotment garden with raised beds for the handicapped |
This form of gardening is compatible with square foot gardening and companion planting.
Circular waist high raised beds with a path to the center (a slice of the circle cut out) are called keyhole gardens. Often the center has a chimney of sorts built with sticks and then lined with feedbags or grasses that allows water placed at the center to flow out into the soil and reach the plants' roots. The charity Send a Cow is promoting the creation of these in Africa.
Materials and Construction
Vegetable garden bed construction materials should be chosen carefully. Some concerns exist regarding the use of pressure-treated timber. Treated pine that was traditionally treated using chromated copper arsenate or CCA, a toxic chemical mix for preserving timber that may leach chemicals into the soil which in turn can be drawn up into the plants, a concern for vegetable growers, where part or all of the plant is eaten. If using timber to raise the garden bed, ensure that it is an untreated hardwood to prevent the risk of chemicals leaching into the soil. A common approach is to use timber sleepers joined with steel rods to hold them together. Another approach is to use concrete blocks, although less aesthetically pleasing, they are inexpensive to source and easy to use. On the market are also prefab raised garden bed solutions which are made from long lasting polyethylene that is UV stabilized and food grade so it will not leach undesirable chemicals into the soil or deteriorate in the elements. A double skinned wall provides an air pocket of insulation that minimizes the temperature fluctuations and drying out of the soil in the garden bed. Sometimes raised bed gardens are covered with clear plastic to protect the crops from wind and strong rains. Pre-manufactured raised bed gardening boxes also exist.See also:
- Kitchen garden
- Therapeutic garden
- Waru Waru – A traditional Quechua, pre-Inca system involving raised beds
References:
- Nones, Raymond (2010). Raised-Bed Vegetable Gardening Made Simple. Countryman Press. Retrieved March 2, 2012. ISBN 978-0-88150-896-3
- Millarville Horticultural Club (1982). Gardening under the arch: homespun hints and money saving tips from the rigorous high country of Alberta's chinook zone. The Club. pp. 291–292. Retrieved March 2, 2012. ISBN 0-88925-406-0
- Whiting, David E. (1991). The desert shall blossom: a comprehensive guide to vegetable gardening in the Mountain West. Horizon. pp. 41–42. Retrieved March 2, 2012. ISBN 0-88290-418-3
- Kemery, Ricky (January 29, 2012). "Unlock your creativity with keyhole garden". The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, IN). Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- Lively, Ruth. "Does Pressure-Treated Wood Belong in Your Garden?". Fine Gardening Magazine. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
See the full article Raised-Bed Gardening From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia
Square Foot Gardening From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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| An example of an indoor square foot style garden. |
Overview
Conventional gardening can require heavy tools to loosen the soil, whereas in square foot gardening methods the soil is typically not walked on and thus not compacted, and it remains loose and more easily workable. Weeds may be easier to remove due to the light soil, and accessing them can be easier as raised beds bring the soil level closer to the gardener.Using specific soil mixtures within the beds can help to increase water-holding capacities, so that the garden needs less additional water than in systems reliant on the native soil. Water is also spared by hand-watering directly at the plant roots, so that there is very little waste and tender young plants and seedlings are preserved.
Densely planted crops can form a living mulch, and also prevent weeds from establishing or even germinating.
Natural insect repellent methods such as companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become more efficient in a close space, which may reduce the need to use pesticides. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.
A plywood bottom can be attached to the bottom of a box, which can then be placed on a tabletop or raised platform for those who wish to garden without bending or squatting, or to make gardening easily accessible for wheelchair, cane or walker users.
Since the beds are typically small, making covers or cages to protect plants from pests, cold, or sun is more practical than with larger gardens.
Mel Bartholomew's Synopsis
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A basic, 4x4, 16-unit
"square-foot garden."
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The original square-foot-gardening method (per Bartholomew) uses a four-sided box with no top or bottom to contain a finite amount of soil, which was divided with a grid into sections. To encourage variety of different crops over time, each square would be planted with a different kind of plant, the number of plants per square depending on an individual plant's size. A single tomato plant might take a full square, as might herbs such as oregano, basil or mint, while most strawberry plants could be planted four per square, with up to sixteen radishes per square. Tall or climbing plants such as maize or pole beans might be planted in a northern row (south in the southern hemisphere) so as not to shade other plants, and supported with lattice or netting.
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A book about square foot gardening, published
by Mel Bartholomew in February 2006.
|
In Bartholomew's method, the garden space is divided into beds that are easily accessed from every side. A 4' x 4', 16 sq ft (1.5 m2) or 120 cm x 120 cm, 1.4 m2 garden is recommended for the first garden, and a path wide enough to comfortably work from should be made on each side of the bed, if possible, or if the bed must be accessed by reaching across it, a narrower one should be used so that no discomfort results from tending the garden. Each of the beds is divided into approximately one square foot units and marked out with sticks, twine, or sturdy slats to ensure that the square foot units remain visible as the garden matures.
Different seeds are planted in each square, to ensure a rational amount of each type of crop is grown, and to conserve seeds instead of overplanting, crowding and thinning plants. Common spacing is one plant per square for larger plants (broccoli, basil, etc.), four plants per square for medium large plants like lettuce, nine plants per square for medium-small plants like spinach, and sixteen per square for small plants such as onions and carrots. Plants that normally take up yards of space as runners, such as squash or cucumbers, are grown vertically on sturdy frames that are hung with netting or string to support the developing crops. Ones that grow deep underground, such as potatoes or carrots, are grown in a square foot section that has foot tall sides and a planting surface above the ground, so that a foot or more of framed soil depth is provided above the garden surface rather than below it.
The beds are weeded and watered from the pathways, so the garden soil is never stepped on or compacted. Because a new soil mixture is used to create the garden, and a few handfuls of compost are added with each harvest to maintain soil fertility over time, the state of the site's underlying soil is irrelevant. This gardening method has been employed successfully in every region, including in deserts, on high arid mountain plateaus, in cramped urban locations, and in areas with polluted or high salinity soils. It is equally useful for growing flowers, vegetables, herbs and some fruits in containers, raised beds, on tabletops or at ground level, in only 4 to 6 inches (150 mm) of soil. A few seeds per square foot, the ability to make compost, to water by hand, and to set up the initial garden in a sunny position or where a container, table or platform garden may be moved on wheels to receive light is all that is needed to set up a square foot garden.
See the full article
Square Foot Gardening From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Raised Garden Beds
Uploaded on Feb 26, 2011Show how individuals in wheelchairs can garden successfully.
Standard YouTube License @ Handihelp
Wheelchair Accessible Raised Plant Beds Barrier Free
Published on Jun 30, 2012How to make a wheelchair accessible, barrier free, raised plant bed. These three were made in the Village of Mill Creek in Kelowna, B. C. in June 2012.
SSTattler: At about 2:30 minutes have nice instructions it will show to make a raised bed instead of buying!
Standard YouTube License @ Graham Chambers
Gardening in a Waist High Raised Bed Garden:
Preparation for Spring Planting
Uploaded on Mar 15, 2011http://garden-rack.com -- Get your GardenRack beds ready for spring planting.
Standard YouTube License @ The GardenRack Channel
Gardening in a Waist High Raised Bed Garden
Uploaded on Mar 24, 2009http://www.garden-rack.com Tired of bending and kneeling to garden? Find out more about GardenRack, the waist high raised bed gardening system. You can garden again!
Standard YouTube License @ The GardenRack Channel
5 on the Farm: CHEAP Raised Bed Garden
Uploaded on May 19, 2011How to make raised beds out of free wood pallets. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you aren't using a perforated liner, or something that allows water to drain, you'll need to, carefully, put holes in your plastic after stapling it to your pallets. Like our 5 on the Farm series? Subscribe to this station!
Standard YouTube License @ lkbolin's channel
Raised Bed Garden Part 1 of 2
Uploaded on Jul 6, 2009This video shows how to construct raised garden beds using various materials and especially for people with limited mobility plus points on plants to grow and compost.
Standard YouTube License @ University of Kentucky College of Agriculture
Raised Bed Garden Part 2 of 2
Uploaded on Jul 6, 2009This video shows how to construct raised garden beds using various materials and especially for people with limited mobility plus points on plants to grow and compost.
Standard YouTube License @ University of Kentucky College of Agriculture
Accessible Raised Bed Garden for Stroke Survivors to Grow Food
Published on Jan 31, 2013John from http://www.growingyourgreens.com/ goes on a field trip to the redwoods retirement center to share with you their garden to show how they have designed their garden to be accessible for wheelchairs and some of the design elements they have used to make gardening easier for active adults who live in this community. After watching this episode you will have a better idea of some ideas you can use to design a accessible garden for physically challenged or active adults.
Standard YouTube License @ Learn Organic Gardening at Growing Your Greens
Newest Raised Bed Almost Completed - Putting on the Top Trim
Uploaded on Feb 16, 2010John of http://www.growingyourgreens.com shows putting the trim on the newly built raised beds. He also shows how he will deter slugs and snails from coming in the raised beds. Also a mid-Feb update on how things are growing in his front yard.
Standard YouTube License @ Learn Organic Gardening at Growing Your Greens
Accessible Living: A Raised Garden
Uploaded on Oct 8, 2007MobilityRules.com "Accessible Living" Series excerpt. Arwen Bird shows us her special raised garden, allowing her to garden from her wheelchair.
Standard YouTube License @ Mobility Rules
Superior Wooden Raised Beds.
Uploaded on May 18, 2011The Superior Wooden Raised Bed Kits are very much the flagship of our extensive wooden raised bed gardening range, and provide a very sturdy, long-lasting and extremely attractive raised bed area for the discerning vegetable gardener.
Available in 4 heights - from 20cm/8" to an almost Atlantis-type 81cm deep - and 10 sizes, there should be a Superior Wooden Raised Bed which perfectly meets your needs- and if space is an issue, we've a Corner Wooden Raised Bed version available.
http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/superior-wooden-raised-bed-kits-pid7995.html
Standard YouTube License @ HarrodHorticultural
Harrod Wooden Raised Bed Tables
Published on Jan 20, 2013We've raised our much sought-after wooden raised bed range up a level - quite literally! - with the introduction of our back-saving Wooden Raised Bed Tables.
The slatted base is covered with a stiff recyclable plastic cover, and we also supply a thick non-woven polypropylene fabric liner for water retention, containing fine compost particles and further protection of the raised bed table timber.
All the FSC accredited planed timber used in the manufacture of the Standard Wooden Raised Bed Tables is high pressure treated with a safe preserve and the beds carry a 5 year structural guarantee for complete peace of mind
http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/standard-wooden-raised-bed-tables-pid8093.html
http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/superior-wooden-raised-bed-tables-pid8308.html
Standard YouTube License @ HarrodHorticultural
Adaptive Gardening
Published on Sep 26, 2012You can still garden even with limitations. we have a few tools and tricks to let you enjoying gardening even if you have challenges.
Standard YouTube License @ Garden Time
Raised Beds
Uploaded on Apr 30, 2009If you are looking for some raised beds for gardening here are a couple of kits we found to help you.
Standard YouTube License @ Garden Time
Square Foot Gardening
Published on Jan 8, 2013~ Introduction Video.
Standard YouTube License @ The Colours of Scifi
Saturday Comics
| For Better and For Worse Lynn Johnston - 2008-01-21  "I can also sit up, beg, ..., " | Dilbert Scott Adams - 2013-04-12  "I'm not allowed to use my fist of death ... !" |
Garfield Jim Davis -2013-04-12  "Liz and I are leaving, Garfield." | Betty Delainey & Rasmussen - 2013/04/12  "Let me check my To-Do App to see..." |
*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.
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