natural phenomena - solar flares, aurora borealis

A bit late on reporting, but I'm not Ira Flatow. See the movie version.
The NASA website says this about the image above:

On August 1st, almost the entire Earth-facing side of the sun erupted in a tumult of activity. There was a C3-class solar flare, a solar tsunami, multiple filaments of magnetism lifting off the stellar surface, large-scale shaking of the solar corona, radio bursts, a coronal mass ejection and more. This extreme ultraviolet snapshot from the Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the sun's northern hemisphere in mid-eruption. Different colors in the image represent different gas temperatures ranging from ~1 to 2 million degrees K. Credit: NASA/SDO

Just for the chance to see the aurora borealis [I've had the honor and pleasure twice] I wish I were living in a higher latitude.
For more info on the solar flare, the aurora phenomena or stellar events in general, check out the following:

   • Paul Heckert, Astronomy Examiner
   • NASA
   • University of Alaska [Fairbanks] Aurora Forecast Predictor
   • NOAA Tips on viewing the Aurora
   • Poker Flats Research Range Aurora Info over Alaska
   • Space Weather
   • Universe Today
   • Science Friday shows how to Build your own Observatory [assuming you have a couple hundred million unused dollars floating around and a remote site to build upon]

Here is one example of what the solar flare's effects looked like upon reaching Planet Earth. Photo by Shawn Malone, Marquette, Michigan and posted on the Space Weather Aurora Photo Gallery.

living with cancer - Pray for BillP

My camera shy friend is suffering after a recent discovery of cancer cells within his body. His less than camera shy pals [Big Boy and Little Guy/Tiger, both shown here] anxiously await his return home.

Right now Bill is at the VA Hospital in West Haven under the scrutiny of oncologists and surgeons.

Uncertainty is arduous.

Right now I don't know what to think ~ or do.

I pray that his difficult ordeal eventually finds him tumor and cancer cell free so that he and I can ride along Chamberlain Highway [plus do a slew of other things ~ some that require a passport] a whole lot more times.

---

As I write this I'm hit with a double whammy; for my brother Ken, who lives out in San Diego, has also been diagnosed with cancer the very same week. With Ken I'd like to be able to ride about the Sequoia National Forest on his hog. Mindful of the fact that I could find all sorts of spurious information about cancers on the internet, I do find a trio of articles ~ A Layman's Guide to Esophageal Cancer ~ written by Roger Tunsley, to have been encouraging and helpful. Another article, on gastrointestinal cancers, on the American College of Gastroenterology website, is also quite informative. Two other websites I found helpful include Wikipeada's Esophageal Cancer entry and a link to the Esophageal Cancer Action Network.

original work - Water Spirit

Rights of the Disabled

It's been a little more than a week since the 20th Anniversary of the passage of the [US] Americans with Disabilities Act.

My friend Patrica and I went to a celebration, sponsored by the Americans with Disabilities Act Coalition of Connecticut, and held at the state capitol in recognition of this milestone's passing.

About 80 people were given named recognition for being active in the efforts to promote social justice, among them former Governor Lowell Weicker, who was one of the main proponents of the ADA under the GHW Bush Administration.

One of the principal authors of the bill, Justin Dart, [and one of my personal heroes] was also given posthumous recognition by the speakers.

It was heartening to hear of progress made regarding inclusion in society, but more sobering is to recognize how slow that progress continues to be.

Americans, by and large, have become accustomed to seeing people in walkers and wheelchairs in public, but opportunities for people with disabilities continue to be disproportionately fewer; the corporate world - through the courts - continue to try to subvert Congressional intent, and dismantle provisions of the ADA's protections. And no one in Congress [to my knowledge] has even put forward a motion to have the US ratify the recommendations of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities now recognized by 89 member nations of the UN.

But my interest is in what little progress has been made to recognize the rights of people with so-called invisible disabilities.

Only recently, after over a 15 year legal battle, residents of Southbury Training School will now be given the option of living in the larger community rather than be warehoused on a campus isolated and remote.

In the putative "mental health system", the manner in which people are treated remains abysmal. Using the current nationwide budget crises as excuse, states are shutting down inpatient hospital beds, cutting back funding of community based services in exchange for foisting potent psychiatric drugs on people, which numb their reactions and often have severe and unwanted "side-effects". And forced treatment ~ justifiably recognized as torture in any other venue ~ is still not even questioned by those who pay the bills [both politicians and insurance company bureaucrats], clinical care providers, family members ...hell, sometimes even by those so victimized themselves.

Making matters worse, little or no effort is made, nationally [with a scant few exceptions] to develop integrated housing, or supportive work re-entry programs, nor making any effort to help provide people with coping skills and techniques, which exist, and ~ frequently ~ are not difficult or expensive to impart.

I write this while glum. But the picture I see isn't promising anyway. Others who see positive changes happening are welcome to enlighten me.

IMAGE CREDIT: Justin Dart, The Caring Institute