DWTS

So I was right- nobody likes a guy who talks trash about his former girlfriends.... Bye-bye Hockey dude...

And our famous swimmer didn't make the cut....

I think Lando was the weakest preformance and I think he will be next to go home, but Wookie lovers are everywhere, so we will have to see...

I am actually excited to see who swaps with whom when the pros move to new contestants. I like it. I like it a lot!

Fontana and 5 winner in 5 races.

Kyle Busch took the checkers at Fontana after pretty much EVERYONE ELSE had tires blow. So sad for Jimmie- only laps to go with him leading when his gave way...

But the big stories

First place: 5 winners in 5 races... if this keeps up, folks with a win will need to keep an eye on their points. The "Win and you're in" philosophy based on a high of 16 winners in the first 26 races could prove out differently as folks do everything for a win....

Second place: Our second place racer is rookie Kyle Larson!! I think he is going to do amazing things!!

Bristol

Carl Edwards becomes the 4th driver in the Chase in a race that included JJ's tire coming apart, Danica taking a piece of her teammate on Pit Road and a phantom caution and rain to end the race with only a lap or so to go...

AND I MISSED THE WHOLE THING!

At least my friend Kathy is happy- she loves Edwards...

DWTS is back!

Dancing with the Stars had it’s 18th season premiere last night. The show opened with a live performance by Jason Derulo, (aka someone I had never heard of before) singing “Talk Dirty to Me”. He was a sweaty mess after a dance sequence that really moved.


Tom Bergeron then introduced his new co-host, Erin Andrews. Together, they presented the new group vying for the Mirrorball:

NeNe Leakes (aka someone I had never heard of before) is paired with Tony Dovolani; her claim to fame is being a Real Housewife of Atlanta. She is on my short list of folks who will be gone soon. Her score: 21 out of 30

James Maslow (aka someone I had never heard of before) is paired with Peta Murgatroyd; he is in the boy band Big Time Rush (never heard of them either) and apparently went out with her once and then never called…. Hilarious! I think they were scored lower because they performed so early in the evening. His score: 21 out of 30

Danica McKellar (Hereafter referred to as Wini, from Wonder Years fame) got Val Chmerkovskiy as her partner; Lucky brat! And she could be good. Her score: 24 out of 30

Sean Avery (aka Hockey dude) is paired with Karina Smirnoff; He seems like a real jerk (referred to his ex’s as sloppy seconds- yeah, he’s a prize) and I kind of wish his dancing had sucked a bit more… His score: 20 out of 30

Meryl Davis is an ice dancer and therefore has an unfair advantage from where I sit. Derek coached her for God’s sake. She could spin and already knows lifts… And they paired her with Maksim Chmerkovskiy; He could make a cow look graceful. They will make the finals and I am not sure that is fair to the others. Their dance was amazing… and the score showed it: 24 out of 30

Comment of the night- Len’s “Good on wood”

Billy Dee Williams (Hereafter Lando) was paired with Emma Slater; At 77 years old he gets kudos for trying, but was a bit of a deer in the headlights… Pretty sure he will be one of the first batch to go home- though the Star Wars fanbase could save him… Stranger things have happened. His score was 15

Candace Cameron Bure (Hereafter DJ of Full House fame) is paired with Mark Ballas; I am really rooting for her (sorry Wini- at least I liked your TV show better) She was wonderful and so excited that she pleased the judges. Her score: 25 out of 30

Cody Simpson (aka someone I had never heard of before) is paired with Witney Carson (aka someone I had never heard of before); Cody is 17 and the youngest of this year's competitors. And I still don’t know what he is famous for… His dance was high energy, but he was the picture of gangly teenager- he needs to wear that frame bar, methinks… His score: 22 out of 30

Drew Carey (who is so different looking since losing 80lbs) is paired with Cheryl Burke; He worked hard and did okay, which should be enough given his fanbase. His score: 21 out of 30

Amy Purdy (a Paralympian with two prosthetic legs) is paired with Derek Hough; As a frequent winner, you would think Derek would get the biggest challenges. But, wow, the girl can dance! Holy cow! She is final four for sure! Her score: 24 out of 30

Diana Nyad (aka someone I had never heard of before) is paired with Henry Byalikov (aka someone I had never heard of before); Okay- I was familiar with the story of Diana being the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida but there was ZERO name recognition so she is on my early list of departures. Her score: 18 out of 30

Charlie White, like his Olympic partner Meryl, is an ice dancer and therefore has an unfair advantage. He is paired with Sharna Burgess (aka someone I had never heard of before) and they looked good together, but I am not sure they deserved the high score of the night…His score: 27 out of 30

So we will have to see who makes the cut- love DWTS!

Work travel

There is an old Irish saying- “Anything that can go wrong will, at the worst possible time.” It is Murphy’s Law, and they say Murphy was an optimist.


So what could go wrong with a quick work trip to Connecticut, you ask…

Let me count the ways…

Tuesday morning as I drove to the airport with plenty of time to spare, I popped a tire. No worries, There was no damage, and a nice fellow stopped and my tire was changed and I was on my way, but I had less time… So I had to park in short term parking with its daily $15 charge…

But I had to make the plane…

I had a bag to check and by the time I got to the head of the line, it was 5:50am and I was inside the 45 minute window for my 6:30am flight- I could not board.

I was put on the next available flight, leaving at 11am, and got in line for security. What I should have done was move my car, but 20/20 hindsight…

I get to the ID check and the guy is giving my license a really hard look.

“You are really close there”

??? I give him my raised eyebrows “What are you talking about” look.

“Your license is about to expire.”

Crap- they expire on your birthday and my birthday was Thursday- and I was going home Sunday. No rental car for me…

The new flight will put me into Hartford at 4:30pm… My first lecture was scheduled for 2pm. I call and push the meeting to 5:30pm, and call the driver to let him know my pick-up time has been changed…

I hang at the airport, run into the doctor I work with, listen to IPod after buying a headset because I forgot to bring my headset ($19) drink coffee ($3) more coffee ($3) and finally board my plane. We get to Chicago, I change planes, and arrive in Hartford on a warm sunny afternoon.

We arrive at my hotel and they announce A) I did not prepay my room and B) they have no rooms available. (There is a medical conference in town and the next 3 hotels we call are also booked solid)

So I will be giving my 5:30 talk as is and will figure out the room later.

I arrive- towing my luggage, meet with the nurses, review the information and answer their questions. During this, the doctor who invited me to come arranges a room- it is about 30 minutes away, but I cannot RAVE enough about how great the Homewood Suites in Farmington treated me during my stay.

I arrived too late for the complimentary dinner, but they made me a plate from the leftovers. They gave me toothpaste (TSA has something about toothpaste in carry-ons, who knew) and my room was wonderful! I highly recommend.

So what happens when you don’t pack a coat when you travel?

Freezing rain… temps in the teens… Even with pants and stockings I am cold. Thank God for the car service. My Wednesday is a blur of meetings and talks with staff, and a quick visit with my EB baby and mom- this is such a hard road.

I am exhausted when I get back to the hotel and sleep has to wait till I pack. But the big problem is my phone refuses to charge. Okay it is a flip phone circa 2009 but I love it and till now it has been indestructible… I am so sad!

Finally I get it charging- but not as fast as usual. Nothing to do about it till I get home. Like my expired license…

Watch the news- there was a big gas explosion in NYC- many are injured, some are dead and some are missing in the rubble of the two demolished 5 story buildings in Spanish Harlem. Sad.

So I wake up early on the day of Grand Rounds- shower-dress-eat- check out- and the car is there early as we are meant to be having awful weather and a slow commute. Did I mention it was freezing?

I am ready for my talk, the room starts to fill. UCONN is getting the video feed and they are filming the session. Just before we start, I get the call. One of my patients is in Harlem Hospital- injured in the blast yesterday that demolished the family home. OMG! My heart is sick.

Then my brother calls to wish me “Happy Birthday”, but I need to rush him off the phone. The fact that John Slattery was standing next to him and was going to wish me “Happy Birthday” and I missed it- par for the course, as far as this week is going.

My presentation goes well until the Q&A- I feel warm- a bit strange. I ask for a drink, and then I put my head on the podium as I feel faint. I feel people with me, I feel myself being seated, and my legs being raised. I sip juice.

It is only moments but it seems longer. This is a first.

After a couple of minutes, I finish the Q&A, but I stay seated. When we finish up I am feeling fine.

The one call I don’t get is one from home- The carpet guys were supposed to give me a call with a window of when they were coming and no call came. Bah Humbug! I call my aunt and daughter and get them on it.

I head upstairs to observe a dressing change and am again amazed by this remarkable set of nurses caring for this child. They are doing a great job.

I next speak with the Residents- and get through without another fainting incident. My driver is given the okay to take me to Danbury, where I will meet my sister for a couple of days with friends and family. Laughter and joy in huge heaping doses.

The whirl of the next two day is wonderful, and Saturday night I stay with my childhood friend- she and her husband take me out to dinner and she drives me to the airport early- I am determined not to miss my flight.

I should have slept in.

My flight was delayed… and delayed… and delayed…

So I asked about my Chicago connection- I had to work the next day. The plane we were to travel on was still on the ground in Chicago with maintenance issues. The man at the counter next to me was trying to get to Indianapolis… The woman helping me was trying to move me to a later connecting flight when her counterpart mentioned a direct flight on another carrier. I had a sneaking suspicion this flight was not going to happen so I requested booking on the other flight. It did not leave till 5pm but it was a direct flight.

I got the last seat and headed for the gate for my LONG wait- it was 11:30am.

I had lunch and check for my gate assignment and found my new flight was delayed at least 45 minutes… For a moment I wondered if I made a mistake. Too late now…

I was missing my Bristol race… I was going to be home much later than expected… My phone was dead…

Then Mr. Indianapolis arrived.

“I should have listened to you and gotten on the other 2:10pm flight”, he stated when he recognized me. “You made the right decision.”

My original flight was loaded at 3pm and pulled back from the gate, only to have the same mechanical problem that delayed it in the first place. By the time it was cancelled I would have been stuck in Hartford for the night.

The flight was uneventful, my bag arrived and I headed for my car and my ticket for the garage was nowhere to be found. I paid a small fortune for parking, drove home with an expired license, found out Carl Edwards won at Bristol and went to bed.

Work travel is over-rated but people are really amazing!

My Father

"Ours had been a complicated relationship, distant and wary. But in his final months, the past didn't matter. I understood -- finally -- that I wanted to be a daughter who sat by his side as often as I could until the very end because that's who I was, not because I thought it would make him the kind of father I wanted him to be." 

Robin Davis spoke about her father dying and sounded so familiar...

My Dad and I have stopped communicating twice in as many years. His choice on both occasions. Both times, he notified me by text.

The first time was a heated angry message I received because, as often as I reached out, in his opinion  I didn't call him often enough. It was startling in its cruelty. My siblings intervened and eventually he reached out, not to apologize, but to resume contact as if nothing had happened.

I let it go because life is short.

The most recent episode was Father's Day. My cell phone, missing since Friday, was finally located deep in my recliner on Sunday evening. When I opened it, my very angry father expressed what an ungrateful person I was. How he did so much for me and I was so busy planning my big vacation (A dig because I told him I couldn't visit him in NYC because it was the week before my safari) that I didn't even call on Father's Day, and now I needn't bother.

This time I decided I was finished. I messaged back that after my lost phone was located, it was something else to be greeted by his message. I signed off "Why try"?

It wasn't until I was having surgery that he reached out. Again, not to apologize, just acting like nothing ever happened.

He wanted me to go visit during the holidays, but I have no vacation time. And I just don't see how it could possibly be a good visit.  We do not get along, and nothing is going to change that at this late stage. I call with regularity, talk to him on topics we can stay neutral on, and do what I can to avoid debate.

And yes- I have on occasion had a co-worker call my phone so I have to hang up...

Well, my father just sent me a birthday card... and I do not have words...

I realized I am who I am, in spite of the complicated relationship I have had with my father.

Google Post on the 25th Anniversary of the WorldWideWeb

On the 25th anniversary of the World Wide Web, we’re pleased to share this guest post from Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the web. In this post he reflects on the past, present and future of the web—and encourages the rest of us to fight to keep it free and open. -Ed.


Today is the web’s 25th birthday. On March 12, 1989, I distributed a proposal to improve information flows: “a ‘web’ of notes with links between them.”

Though CERN, as a physics lab, couldn’t justify such a general software project, my boss Mike Sendall allowed me to work on it on the side. In 1990, I wrote the first browser and editor. In 1993, after much urging, CERN declared that WWW technology would be available to all, without paying royalties, forever.

This decision enabled tens of thousands to start working together to build the web. Now, about 40 percent of us are connected and creating online. The web has generated trillions of dollars of economic value, transformed education and healthcare and activated many new movements for democracy around the world. And we’re just getting started.

How has this happened? By design, the underlying Internet and the WWW are non-hierarchical, decentralized and radically open. The web can be made to work with any type of information, on any device, with any software, in any language. You can link to any piece of information. You don’t need to ask for permission. What you create is limited only by your imagination.

So today is a day to celebrate. But it’s also an occasion to think, discuss—and do. Key decisions on the governance and future of the Internet are looming, and it’s vital for all of us to speak up for the web’s future. How can we ensure that the other 60 percent around the world who are not connected get online fast? How can we make sure that the web supports all languages and cultures, not just the dominant ones? How do we build consensus around open standards to link the coming Internet of Things? Will we allow others to package and restrict our online experience, or will we protect the magic of the open web and the power it gives us to say, discover, and create anything? How can we build systems of checks and balances to hold the groups that can spy on the net accountable to the public? These are some of my questions—what are yours?

On the 25th birthday of the web, I ask you to join in—to help us imagine and build the future standards for the web, and to press for every country to develop a digital bill of rights to advance a free and open web for everyone. Learn more at webat25.org and speak up for the sort of web we really want with #web25.

Posted by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of  The World Wide Web