Awkward Family Photos

This is from an article on Yahoo News sent to me by a friend this morning and it is titled Awkward Family Photos.

 See the full article HERE

Thank you Atlantis!

Today, we said goodbye to an achievement beyond comparison, a machine so far ahead of it’s time when it first arrived, and a vehicle that to this day, inspires awe in all who see it.

We draw the final curtain on a conveyance that carried more than 355 people from 16 nations from our planet into the great unknown, and all but twice returned them safely back home.

We say goodbye to the Space Shuttle programme, as Atlantis landed safely for the final time, after one final orbit around our small, blue planet.

“The Future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted, it belongs to the brave.” - President Ronald Reagan

Buy some nifty greeting cards like the one above by clicking HERE

July 2011 Newsletter

Here is my July 2011 personal newsletter for your perusal! Click HERE to read it!

Happy birthday Madiba!

Have you ever met a leader who is truly inspirational? Someone who can light a fire under people and spark them to action?

Today is Nelson Mandela’s 93rd birthday. It is also recognized by the United Nations as Mandela Day: a global call to volunteer for good causes for 67 minutes—representing each year of Mandela’s life in active politics. This day honors an iconic figure that stands for freedom, equality and human dignity, and charity.

On top of everything else, Nelson Mandela sees the benefit Mercy Ships brings to the forgotten poor in Africa.

“I was happy to learn about an extraordinary group of people from around the world who exemplify a unique expression of compassion and service to humankind. These people set an unusual standard. Unlike the norm, they pay to work. Sponsored by others they leave home to serve the extreme poor in Africa and around the world.” - Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa

So, I urge you to go out today and do something nice for someone today and pay mercy forward!

Tag-Team Mercy

Lambodi is a farmer in West Africa. When his pastor asked him to escort a young burn victim to our hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, he quickly agreed. He made the 370-mile journey and planned to stay with the little girl through the treatment. But when a violent storm hit their village, he needed to return home. But what was he going to do? Spare a minute, click on play below and listen to this message of mercy.

Satchita

I am proud to share this original Song Around the World, that takes you on a musical journey from Brazil to India. Get ready to smile, dance, and feel the love of the world uniting through the power of music.

Satchita is featured on Playing for Change's new CD/DVD, PFC 2. Please share this video with everyone you know, and together we will change the world one song and one heart at a time!!

If you cannot see the video below, watch it HERE!

American Cultural Observation 501: Wings over Tyler Airshow

It is the 4th of July weekend and I was fortunate enough to hang with some friends and attend Tyler's first airshow. It was fun, HOT, but fun, even with weather in the triple digits. According to local media over 20,000 people Tylerites were in attendance.

For me the most exciting part were the Pearl Harbor re-enactment, TORA TORA TORA. It is a re-creation of the December 7th 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It involved six Japanese fighters and bombers simulating the Pearl Harbor attack. In addition, TORA provides breathtaking smoke, fire and explosions from the pyrotechnics team. 

There sure were some hooting and hollering from the crowd when a lone American Curtiss P40 started chasing them off!

Also quite intriguing was a Twin Beech 18 flown by Matt Younkin. The Beech 18 Matt performs (serial number 4383) in was built in 1943 by the Beechcraft Corporation at Wichita, KS.

A big pressence at the air show was the CAF or the Commemorative Air Force. Collecting aircraft for nearly a half a century, the CAF now ranks as one of the largest (and private) air forces in the world. Today the CAF has approximately 9,000 members and a fleet of almost 160 airplanes representing more than 60 different types—including planes from several foreign countries and other military conflicts since World War II.

Some of the other planes flying were the CAF's B-25 named the Devil Dog.  The Devil Dog represents a PBJ, the Marine Corps version of a B-25.

The MIG-17F, made famous by the Vietnam War, the MiG-17F wa s the primary enemy aircraft engaged in the skies over Vietnam by U.S. planes. During that war and up until the F-16 entered service, it was the tightest-turning fighter in the world.When production started in the 1950s, its VK-1F engine made it one of the first production jet fighters in the world with an afterburner.

A BD-5 Microjet, which is a high performance, aerobatic, single seat, low-wing, all metal, jet-powered aircraft built from an amateur homebuilder kit. The design was originally developed in the 1970's by Jim Bede of Bede Aircraft, Inc. and designated as the BD-5. It was dubbed "The World's Smallest Jet" and quickly earned a reputation as James Bond's jet when it was featured in the movie "Octopussy." Through the years, a few airshow teams have captivated fans all over the world but today, very few flying BD-5's still exist.

Another favorite was some Smoke-Ring Aerobatics by Herb & Ditto (yep, the plane is named Ditto). Ditto, a former NAVY aircraft carrier trainer debuted in the air show business in 1998 after Herb and his crew completed a detailed 4-year restoration that won the Best T-28 Award at Oshkosh in 1996. Taking a “basket case” T-28 and making her better than new was the challenge Herb and his crew took on to make her one of the five best T-28 restorations in the country. That challenge included disassembling every nut and bolt, cleaning, inspecting, repairing and overhauling every component, fabricating and installing completely new wiring and electronics harness, new hydraulic lines, incorporating modern solid-state electronics and other improvements; all the while keeping the original look! The custom wing-tip smoke system that Herb designed and installed in 2004 to enhance his performance has created much more fan excitement than he ever anticipated.

All in all, even though sunburned... there were some jet fuel pumping through my veins and I LOVED it!

Some more photos I took on the day...



Japanese Zero





B-25




F-16's (I think)




C-130





Mig 17F





Remember the good old time when people used cameras...



Sources: facts and photo varied

Sessi Sees

Mercy Ship's one minute daily feature "The Mercy Minute®" encourages listeners to make a lasting difference in a world of need by following the example of Jesus! Don Stephens explains how it doesn't matter if you cross the ocean or just a street--you can help those in need!

Sessi [Sess-see] wanted to kill himself. For eight years he’d been unable to work. He was a burden to his family. And in his West African culture, his blindness was seen as a curse. He was ridiculed and shunned. Then he heard about a free Mercy Ships Eye Clinic... Take one minute out of your busy life today to listen to this uplifting story of mercy and hope.
 

Getting an MRI or What it feels like being Abducted by Aliens!

Had some more tests done to help figure out the reason for my recent onset of sudden double vision and thus found myself at the curiously named Tyler Open MRI.

I should have known something was up when while quietly sitting there waiting, a lady came out clutching her elbow and whimpering. She looked shaken.

I was the only person in the waiting room and with about 30 chairs available she made a beeline for the chair next to me. As she sat down she proclaimed in a hoarse voice that she never, ever want to go through that again. Up until that point I have deliberately kept myself ignorant of what exactly getting an MRI entailed. I went from squinting at the ceiling to horrified in 3 seconds flat! WHAT THE HECK WERE THESE PEOPLE GOING TO DO TO ME.

Minutes later a gentleman, build like the proverbial brick outhouse, came calling me. This did not help at all. Why does he need so many muscles, why did that lady clutch her lame elbow… is bone breaking involved? Dammit, I should have done some research!

After a cursory, your clothes are fine, leave all metal things in that locker over there and follow me, we walked past the WC and he asked if I need to go potty... (WHY????) Up until now I desperately avoided eye contact but he must have caught my bewildered look as he gently told me it takes about 40 minutes as it was quite a thorough test.

We entered a cavernous room and I laid eyes on the MRI machine. It was HUGE.

After receiving some instructions and getting ear plugs I was told to lay down on the bed thingy. My head was placed in a cradle and foam wedges were stuffed around my head, effectively immobilizing it. I saw Mr. Muscles talking to me, but I heard nothing, my imagination got a head start. Then he closed the cradle over my face, the bed started sliding deeper into the machine and at the same time it lifted.

Fighting off a panic attack I started feeling heat on my stomach and realized that I am right up to the ceiling end of the machine. No matter how I squinted, all I saw were a blur, it all looked like the same plastic as the head cradle. Then the most bizarre sounds started. Forty minutes of clanking, beeping and whirring, intersped with deathly silence, just to start again.

I felt thoroughly alone.

Afterwards I read that Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is a technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures. An MRI machine uses a powerful magnetic field to align the magnetization of some atoms in the body, and radio frequency fields to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization. This causes the nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner—and this information is recorded to construct an image of the scanned area of the body. MRI provides  contrast between the different soft tissues of the body, which make it especially useful in imaging the brain, compared with other medical imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) or X-rays.

The noise I kept hearing was from the switching of field graients which caused a change in the Lorentz force experienced by the gradient coils, producing minute expansions and contractions of the coil itself. As the switching is typically in the audible frequency range, the resulting vibration produces loud noises (clicking or beeping). This is most marked with high-field machines and rapid-imaging techniques in which sound intensity can reach 120 dB(A) (equivalent to a jet engine at take-off).

This is the closest I have ever come to experience what it must be like to be abducted by aliens. Fantastic sci-fi noises, being prodded and probed while being restrained… having needled inserted etc. Oh, that turned out to be the reason for the elbow clutching. They inject you with some kind of contrasting agent… ofcourse you don’t see any of this, just feel hands searching for a good vein and the ‘ugh, not a good one’ as you feel the desperate mopping up of blood. After three tries he seemed happy and back into the machine I went.

By now I had a massive headache, nausea rising and cramping muscles. Desperately trying NOT to accidently squeeze the panic button placed in my hand as I did not wanted to prolong the experience or possibly cheesing Mr. Muscles off.

Finally, after what felt like hours, it ended and after being told that getting the results will take three days, I was unceremoniously let out... From getting off the machine to being in my car in the blazing Texas sun in under three minutes. Not even offered a cookie to calm my nerves.

Well, I drove my shaking behind over to BJ’s and drank the strongest 9% beer (haha, called an Arrogant Bastard, the beer, not me), I went home.

What an experience.

source: wikipedia

Living Blood Bank:

Mercy Ships Celebrates World Blood Donor Day

Garden Valley, Texas, June 10, 2011 – Millions of people around the world owe their lives to individuals they will never meet — people who donate their blood to help others.

But in West Africa on a charity hospital ship operated by Mercy Ships, recipients are given the opportunity to thank the donors who saved their life – face to face.

“We call it a walking blood bank,” says Jonesboro, Georgia, native Claudia Juarez, Senior Lab Technologist on the hospital ship, the Africa Mercy. “When crew members arrive, they have the option to become blood donors. If they agree, they are screened and are informed that when the need for blood arises, they could be asked to donate right away.”

Because of a lack of storage space on the tightly-packed ship, blood is not stockpiled to use in emergencies. And because all crew members on the Africa Mercy are volunteers – they have sacrificed to help those in need in West Africa – there is never a shortage of donors when a call goes out.

A month ago, one of the lucky recipients was twenty three-year-old Harding Sesay of Guinea, West Africa. Harding was an active teenager until a boil on his nose began to grow so large that it blocked the vision in his right eye. With no access to a local doctor and no money for medical attention, help seemed impossible. But he received the opportunity of a lifetime when he was able to have the tumor removed on the Africa Mercy in Sierra Leone.

Ward nurse Corina Buth had volunteered to be part of the Africa Mercy’s walking blood bank upon her arrival on the ship. Her pre-donation screening tests were done, and she knew she had been cross-matched for a patient going to surgery. Buth was the nurse on duty to prepare Harding for surgery. She prepped him, walked him into the Operating Room, and witnessed his operation to remove the large facial tumor.

Seeing his massive blood loss during surgery, she wondered if she would be needed to donate blood for him. To her surprise later that evening, she was called to the Intensive Care Unit, where she learned that Harding did need a blood transfusion. On the spot, with Harding in the bed right next to her, Buth gave a unit of blood. Within minutes of her donation, the blood was being transfused to restore the large amounts lost during the procedure.

The next morning Harding searched for the words to thank Buth, but was unable to articulate his thoughts. His silence didn’t bother her. “His eyes told the whole story. I knew he was thankful,” she said.

So far this year, 209 crew members on the Africa Mercy have signed up to be blood donors. Out of those, 162 have been cross-matched with 95 patients who would potentially need blood for their surgical procedures. A total of 37 units of blood have been donated.

Mercy Ships has carved out their own method in blood donation. Many lives have been saved due to the “walking blood bank.” Such a unique and effective means of donating blood gives the donor a whole new perspective on saving a life. When you can shake the patient’s hand after a transfusion of your blood has saved his or her life . . . it is a priceless moment.

Harding finds it hard to believe how dramatically his life has changed. “For so many years I suffered,” he said, referring to the seven years he hid from society. “Now, I am happy, and I’m full of joy. Thanks to God for what Mercy Ships has done for me.”


Photos by Debra Bell, Tom Bradley and Geke Rustenbrug