Deacon Home Enhancement

I have a good friend who runs a custom carpentry business called Deacon Home Enhancement. A blurb from their site summarizes it as follows.

At Deacon Home Enhancement, LLC, we specialize in the finest finished carpentry — including custom trimwork and built-ins — as well as intelligently thought out, creatively designed finished basements . We listen carefully to understand your needs, work closely with you to develop a plan, and then use our creativity and skills to deliver a finished product that is intended to exceed your expectations.

I worked with Jeff some time ago to create a web site, landing on SmugMug as the platform to build his application on due to the need for a lot of photos and long term ease of maintenance. He is happy with the results and so am I. It showcases his great work well. You can check it out here: http://www.thedeacondifference.com and let me know what you think.

Leave it in, will ya??

So - big surprise here, Tommy seems to not like having a tube stuck down his nose and taped to his face. He has pulled it out a couple of days running despite loads of creative tape work. The bright side is that he seems to like to do this in the morning which leaves an entire day free of worrying about the tube and tape! The downside is it means the bedtime routine is a little rougher as we have to stick a tube up his nose as a first step to bed time - never high on anyone's list of things to do I wouldn't think.

The valves on the tubing also get loose VERY quickly - despite taping them, we have also had 2 blowouts from them which makes a mess and sort of defeats the purpose of pumping it in... We are getting the hang of it despite these minor setbacks and working with the home care nurse on alternate strategies. Lifes a journey all about learning, right? I have to say - right now, I am as tired as I have been in a long time and I am sure Jess is right there with me, but all in all, things are still good. Tommy is doing great and so mobile. It is fun watching the little ones interact and play all the time - we are so very blessed to have such great kids.

The tube process

His tube, taking a nap

The box o stuff

Prepping the drip 

hooking him up

Ontology based data & semantic relationships

Working through a data architecture and strategy for clients recently, I had to compile some information regarding development of the landscape. This information is reflected below.

The primary components to reference are detailed in the included diagram. In this case, the ontology is clearly a piece of the stack, but not the “data” or the single UI.

The ontology is best thought of as a view of an established information set that uses concepts to define relationship. The data is then mapped onto ontology to provide a specific high value view of the data, aiding in the generation of information and knowledge. Clearly there is an assumption that as a precursor to the use of the selected ontology, significant work has gone into the process of cleaning the target data through direct manipulation or a meta data based transformation layer to manage synonym matching, etc. across sources.

Another definition, more succinct is, “Ontologies are computable conceptualisations of a knowledge domain” as defined by Nico Adams, emphasizing the transformation from data to information that can then be further acted upon.

The OWL Web Ontology Language is designed for use by applications that need to process the content of information instead of just presenting information to humans. OWL facilitates greater machine interpretability of Web content than that supported by XML, RDF, and RDF Schema (RDF-S) by providing additional vocabulary along with a formal semantics. OWL has three increasingly-expressive sublanguages: OWL Lite, OWL DL, and OWL Full. Source: http://www.w3.org/TR/owl-features/

The semantic layer-cake.: (Copyright © 2008 World Wide Web Consortium, (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, Keio University). All Rights Reserved. http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal

Useful links :

1. W3 OWL Reference a) http://www.w3.org/TR/owl-features/
2. Good article on Ontology implementation a) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T64-4GMB0F0-F&_user=358874&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000017638&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=358874&md5=4b5c6decc4b2f01fad8183b00aec72b1
3. 3) DDI - An Ontology for Drug Discovery Investigations a) http://users.aber.ac.uk/ddq/ddi/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
4. Open BioMedical Ontologies a) http://www.obofoundry.org/crit.shtml
5. OWL ontology browser a) http://pellet.owldl.com/ontology-browser/
6. OBO Ontology Download Matrix a) http://www.berkeleybop.org/ontologies/
7. Semantic Chemistry a) http://www.semanticuniverse.com/articles-semantic-chemistry.html

Reference:Stephen P. Gardner, Ontologies and semantic data integration, Drug Discovery Today, Volume 10, Issue 14, 15 July 2005, Pages 1001-1007, ISSN 1359-6446, DOI: 10.1016/S1359-6446(05)03504-X.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T64-4GMB0F0-F/2/f296f93f44347cfd561668ede72ac5f9)

Nico Adams, Semantic Chemistry http://www.semanticuniverse.com/articles-semantic-chemistry.html

More to come...

Another night down

We go the tube in last night with minimal fuss though Tommy was unhappy and not ready to sleep for another hour or so. I think he is struggling to adjust to the process and the tube must feel weird pumping into his stomache. Once he went to sleep, he slept well, and this morning the unhooking went well with just a little mess. We will get the hang of this soon. Tonight we are upping the quantity and rate so I hope that goes well. He does seem to tolerate it well.

Adrienne is also doing well with the whole process and is a little mother sometimes. All the kids are supportive of him and the babies in general, we are so lucky for that.

I will be posting some photos of the process soon...

Tommys NG Tube

So, we got it all hooked up and got through a night of feeding... It was not without adventure though. I have to get used to the sound of the pump when it kicks on as I am sure he does. Also - there is that little joy when we were woken from the sleep of the exhausted by a screaming pump and monitor complete with flashing light. Wow - I was so confused I did not know where to go or what to push I just wanted it to stop - auughhhh what's happening??? oh no - it's an alarm, is it bad? no - what's it say - can't read it, to small - too light - where's the off button - no can't push that, we'll loose our place in the cycle sowhaddayadowhenitsscreaminginthemiddleofthenight????

  So, after that little episode, we worked together and got it straightend out and my wonderful wife settled him down for round 2.

This morning she sent me a txt - he pulled out the tube - had to see that one coming! Tonight when she gets home we put it back in and try again. We'll get the hang of it yet poor kid!

Is it time yet?

Little Tommy

We went to CHOP today and got the feeding tube training and placement. It was an experience - things went well though a little challenging. We are so fortunate that the challenges we are facing with him are so minor compared to so many of the families we see there.  Now we simply need to adjust to this new reality and see how things go. We are hoping for a significant weight gain.

Old photos from my USMC days

I ran across these photos some time ago and scanned them in. I had them in a small album that I had tossed in a box. Now my son is looking to head off to join the Corps... 

Zimmer and I in our barracks

The interior of one of the LAVs

An LAV (light armored vehicle) at the shop

A comm rig in the hummer

The inside of the comm shop - tech bench

My old barracks at EFTS

A perfect day

This past fall we went down to my sisters place and Tommy (my brother in law) and I spent part of the afternoon fishing before heading to dialysis. It was one of the best times I have had in a long time, and this was the pond we were on. The fish were biting, the company was great and the weather was perfect. Sometimes life gives you memories that are worth more then anything you could ever buy, and this was one of them. Dialysis seemed a rude intruder on our time, but even that was time spent together and when I see him as little as I do, I'll take what we can get. I'm looking forward to many more summer afternoons on the water.

Running an "Air Car"

I ran across a link to an interesting article today - a car that runs on air. Seems like an interesting idea to me, of course, there is a cost to generating the compressed air that has to be balanced against the elimination of traditional fuels. The article is at the HowStuffWorks site and talks through some of the challenges. 

The car will only be practicle for short commutes and is focused on city driving at this point, but like all the other ideas out there, a good start.

Sick mommy

I got a text from Jess today, seems she has the stomach flu, which explains how rough she felt last night. I feel so bad for her as she has a very swollen / sore neck & upper back already from last week and being sick on top of that has got to be miserable. I came home to finish my workday from here and have been taking teleconferences while keeping babies somewhat quiet. That worked until Barney finished and now Adrienne is running laps around the first floor singing at the top of her lungs. All I could do was explain to my colleagues that I have little ones... At least they play nicely so I can still work. Speaking of which - back to it.

Still testing - waiting on Tommy

I finished the first of the (I hope) last 2 tests needed to make the decision on the transplant. I am hoping to take care of the last one this week, based on things with little Tommy. I just heard from his dr. and he is still not on the growth curve. I am planning to call back today to see what our options are as the voice mail from the nurse was not very helpful. If he is tracking to his own curve, but below the main curve, that should be ok. The concern is if he is not on a curve, which is where he was a month ago. Either way, a decision will be made soon and if it is the tube, we start Wednesday at Childrens Hospital. The pricing is sort of a la cart in that it breaks out for the food, hardware and help. On the bad side - it is crazy expensive, on the bright side, we sure will hit our deductible quick, even thought it's huge. They want to do a liver biopsy if things do not straighten out there, but his white cell counts were ok so far. More to come...

Flowers in Florida...

So I thought it was the last phase

I really thought I was in the clear - it was the last phase of testing. I was wrong. I have a couple more tests to get through before they present our case for the transplant. It is an interesting process from an objective perspective, and an infuriating process from a subjective perspective.

There is a significant amount of rigor involved in ensuring the health of the donor and long term viability as well as the protection around coercion. I understand it from a clinical and legal point - but my emotional response is "Why can't we just get this scheduled already!!"

 Hopefully we will be done in the next week and get the case presented soon, get approval and wrap this beast up! 

The last phase

I'm finally in the last phase of the testing for the donation and eager to complete it. Who knew donating a kidney was so complex... I'm in danville at a hotel since I have to report for testing by 7 am and its a 2.5 hour drive from home. I'm hoping and praying things work out.

Austin makes a pass

Austin took up lacross this year and I think he has found his sport. (for the moment) After years of little league, he has a sport that runs him ragged and he is loving it.

Roo the angel

Really, how can you say no to a face like that?

Little Mommy

A while ago, I caught a look at Roo feeding her baby brother. I think the way the kids care for each other is the best, even when we have to remind them to not climb on each other.

Roo and Rocky

I love her total lack of fear. She loves to play with Rocky and the goats.

The gadget fixation starts young

Ametheny left her ipod out and her sister found it. What cracks me up is that at 2, she knows how to listen to it and work it. The bar has been raised I see.

Hello, from the gators...

Taken in Florida, at a park near the tip of the glades. I have never seen so many gators in one place or one day.

You know you've worked too long when...

I saw this on the wall of the subway at Oxford Circle and had to take a photo. It cracked me up but it rang true at the same time.

View from the top

I took this from the top of the Eye. It was an impressive view but not one for those afraid of hights. The security was impressive, with each car checked on every unload as the wheel never stops in general operation.

The London Eye

While in London a bit ago, I walked by the Eye and could not resist some pictures and a half hour ride. If you are in the area, it is worth the time to get a great view of the city.

The Queens Guard does smile!

It took some patience and a long lense, but I have captured proof - the queens guard smiles.

Fresh Start

So, nothing like a fresh start for the blog... I have deleted all the old content for this one and am starting over, though I may migrate some of the content from my other blogs here. For now, I am going to post a few pictures, play with the formatting, and generally have a bit of fun.