A Yoga Coffee Outlook

Technorati You Are A Big, Fat, LOSER.

Just when everyone is having a good time and getting along. Someone has to come along and ruin the buzz. That is what Technorati has just done. I noticed my "authority" freeze up even though I was aware of fresh back links.

This link and this one explains it better than I. But what I suspect it boils down to is corporate hate for net neutrality and this is how they intend to deal with it. Conspiracy theory maybe, but consider that Technorati rank is factored heavily into web page strength. The only people benefiting from Technorati's changes are mass media and large corporate websites.

Rules are generally changed when someone is not getting what they want.

Believe it.

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Give That Girl A Dolphin!

This little cutie is Azaria Sage. She is four years old. Not long after her birth she began having seizures and her parents were told that she was missing a part of her brain. The doctor's say she might live to be 10 years old. But they don't know.

I got a link to AzariaSage.org from TJ, a person that I just met last week in an online in a chat group that I belong to. After reading about Azaria I felt compelled to share her story with you.

From the website:

We were told that our baby has Aicardi Syndrome. Aicardi Syndrome is an extremely rare genetic disorder (only 300-500 cases known worldwide). It is a genetic disorder but it is not hereditary. Each case is new and is considered a "spontaneous mutation". Aicardi Syndrome only affects girls and the three main identifiers are the absence of the corpus callosum, daily intractable seizures, and retinal lacunae (lesions) that are specific to the syndrome. Also, spinal abnormalities, developmental delays, microcephaly, and other brain abnormalities are some other affects of Aicardi Syndrome. The prognosis and life expectancy is grim, but varies with each case. Medical management of seizures and early intervention with various therapies is generally the treatment. As for Azaria's prognosis, we were told she may only live to be a year, ten years at the most. Doctors said she will never walk or talk, and may be blind. (She is considered legally blind).

It wasn't until after I started writing this post that I realized TJ is Azaria's dad. I usually can keep my composure when I hear about things like this. I turn into Florence Nightingale and go into "let's help" mode. But the connection being closer then just a URL left me in tears.

So what can be done for Azaria? Sadly there is no cure. However there are therapies and medications that have significantly decreased the seizures. Most of which are not covered by insurance. No surprise there. The family is fundraising to send Azaria to Dolphin Assisted Therapy this summer. You can read more about the therapy on Azaria's site. I noticed the deadline is June 18th and they are barely 1/3 of the way to reaching that goal.

I'm just really grateful that I have good health, a nice home, family & friends, work I enjoy, a nice computer and a speedy connection. I have all these things that I take for granted. Especially time. That, for Azaria, remains to be seen.

I look at this and I see a little girl who probably won't be with us very long. I see her parents doing everything they can do to make her comfortable. Good people. It makes me sad... and angry that this is the way that it is. I imagine TJ and his wife don't have the luxury of being angry or sad. I suppose it's all they can do to just accept and move through each day as it comes.

So if it's within your ability, could you please help get Azaria a dolphin. I don't know if the therapy will help her condition, but I'd really like for her to have the experience. Please help me to do that for her.

Also, if you have a website or blog and can spread the word that would be nice too.

In case you missed...

my audition for Coyote Ugly.

At least that's what I thought when I saw this.

Yee Haw.

So his name is Jeff.

There is truly no better way to introduce a new friend or maybe I should say business associate to the blog then to feature them in the blog.

Which has always been a weird thing. People have different reactions to the blog. Some positive and some negative. When you think about it, it's pretty rare that you meet someone and are then able to read about what that person thought of you and the meeting. Especially if you're a person who has never read a blog, so in your mind the entire concept of a public journal makes no sense. Though in truth there are times that keeping a public journal makes no sense to me either.

Often when I write about a person that I just met, I have no idea who that person will end up being in my life. A few months back I wrote about a couple that I saw making out at a poker tournament. Since then I've played with them quite a few times and have had a chance to know them better. Last week I was talking to the male half of the couple and the blog came up. He didn't say it, but it was pretty clear that he DID NOT like what I said. In my defense, I did not know them at the time and it was just an observation, and an honest one by the way. I can't know when I first meet someone what the future relationship will be. Wouldn't that be nice if I could.

Really, this journal is about me, my perspective and in my mind it's not about the people that I meet. I think that's where I want the people in my life to make the distinction. My purpose is not to gossip about my friends or business associates.

So I've been talking with this guy about a sort of arrangement... and he reads this blog... and I'm writing about him now. I'm pretty much asking for it. But I'm hoping he will be amused and maybe flattered by what I have to say.

So his name is Jeff, but most people call him by his last name... cause that's how he rolls. And he does... roll I mean. He's an Italian kid. I call him a kid because he is a couple years older then me and I will probably remind him of that fact at every opportunity. He's pretty funny and people are happier when he's around. I asked and not a single person had a bad thing to say about him. He thinks he's an afro-american. He thinks he's not photogenic. He's been shot in the head. He opened for Dave Chappelle and didn't even know it until after the fact. He and I both share a mystical force field that even ketchup can not penetrate. He's a good poker player. I like his Dad. He looks good in a tie. I think he got laid last night, of course I don't know because I swear I wasn't there. And he's a really good sport or at least I'm hoping he is... I guess I will find out. This might be a test.

   

Take one giant step forward.

Yesterday was a MAJOR deadline for me. The documents I submitted are going to change my life in BIG MAJOR ways. I'm happy, I'm relieved, and in other ways I'm still tangled up in worry. But I went to bed last night feeling pretty good. I also went to bed before 9PM and didn't wake up until 8 this morning.

June is going to be a big month for me. A lot of travel and other things are being set into motion. Big plans for my life I guess. But I need to make good use of the time between now and June. It's a little too early to party now.

Cautiously Optimistic.

Wordless Wednesday #9

Are You Happy? What is Happiness? Does it Matter?

Which do you think would make you more happy, winning the lottery or becoming a paraplegic?

Psychologist Dan Gilbert challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel real, enduring happiness, he says, even when things don’t go as planned. He calls this kind of happiness "synthetic happiness," and he says it's "every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you were aiming for."

This is something that I've pretty much always known. I have to consider the connection with a persons ability to synthesize happiness and their overall health. Sort of opens your mind to the possibility that you really can't make a wrong decision. Which basically gives me a pass on some of the crazy things I do. Interesting stuff.

Google Me Meme - OMG Shoes.

I got this one from Shelli at Shelli's Sentiments. Here’s what you do, you go to google.com and then you take your name plus 8 different words and see what you come up with when you hit search. Here are the 8 words you use: needs, is, likes, wants, gets, says, does and eats.

Here goes…

Kelly needs... Her brother backstage

Kelly is... a weepy, emotional wreck whose bizarre behavior sabotaged a recent concert tour with Jay-Z. (Shit how did they find out?)

And good job google because A Yoga Coffee Outlook is 4th on the list here.

Kelly likes... Shoes!!!! (You knew it.)

Kelly wants.... You!

Kelly gets... Cocky. (this might surprise you but I didn't need to add the y)

Kelly wants... to pose nude in Playboy magazine. ... She says, "I'd go fully nude, but I'd have to have some airbrushing on my tits." ...

Kelly does... Hollywood (required for the playboy gig)

Kelly eats... Kelly eats a cracker!

Tagging....

Liz

Matt

Matt (This one will be using google UK I would guess)

Lisa

Tony

Shawn

Now where were the shoes??

My Girls Goodies on Display at Saks

My weekends actually begin on Thursday nights. I've been playing poker at Whiskey Bar, but I think that's going to end in couple of weeks when my tennis league starts up. I think it might be too difficult to make 8:30 games if I'm out until 1AM playing cards. I wouldn't mind so much if it was just me... but it's doubles and it'd be pretty crappy to do that to my partner.

I can still play the Friday afternoon game though. This last Friday I took second place again for the second week in a row. Then later I played a very large tournament taking 12th place. But I think I already wrote about that. MMMMMMMM... the mystery man.

Saturday morning I met up with Jason at Crepes N' Crepes in Cherry Creek North. I don't know why it is, but seems like every time I meet up with Jason, the times that he is running late, a cute guy always strikes up a conversation with me. Which is great and of course I enjoy it and then Jason walks in and the cute guy exits. I'm sure they're intimidated by Jason's GQ good looks and aire of success, might also be the Ducati. Whichever, I should probably be thankful. I do want to win the prop bet especially now that I'm 4 1/2 months into it.

I was on my second mimosa by the time Jason arrived. I was feeling a little drunk and couldn't figure out why. Then I remembered that I really didn't eat during the tournament the previous night. The place where the tournament was held had typical bar food. The kind that does bad things to your intestinal wellness. So I only ate a couple of energy bars that I had stashed in my purse.

We split some crepes and Jason introduced me to the nutella crepe; chocolate and hazelnut butter. Total YUM. We walked over to the mall and did some window shopping. During our little outing I met one of Jason's girlfriends... okay she was not his girlfriend, that's just what I call all of the numerous women that he knows. She was, I think, 26 he said. I swear she had botox. That or she was very surprised to meet me. Maybe she's read the blog.

Later while browsing racks at Saks we noticed Katie's art on display. Katie Taft is the Arts Editor for TWID. We snapped a pic for her. Not even sure if she knows it's here. Katie's awesome so always good to see a fellow TWIDed doing well. Speaking of... Benny just launched the website he designed for Lure, which is also pretty cool. And TWID rocks as per usual.

It's Morning Already?

I woke up at 6:17AM. This is not supposed to happen. Why won't my body let me sleep late? I was up until nearly 2AM. Next thing you know I'll be eating dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon and watching reruns of Murder She Wrote. I don't want to go down like that.

However, some good news to speak of. Remember a couple months ago I mentioned a mystery guy? Well he's still a mystery, but I did see him at last night's tournament. On the first break I noticed him sitting at one of the tables. Totally caught me off guard because I had forgotten about him. His table had already started playing again so we got in one good non verbal exchange. I was well ahead in the tournament so I could afford the distraction. But a couple hands later I looked over and he was gone. It never occurred to me to look at his chip stack.

Wow was he cute! Is it hot in here? Probably just early onset hot flashes.

I need to be downtown at 10AM and I'm meeting my publisher for brunch after. So, I guess it's a good thing that I got up early after all.