Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Success!

Yay! David's first flight went great! In fact, we both enjoyed it so much, (and David was so relaxed), that we're going to skip the round-trip to SFO-and-back that we planned, and will move on to the next step-- visiting friends in Southern California.

Peace and all good

 __________________________________________________
Post #28 in "Champagne" (6/8/20)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

First Flight

Well, we've got reservations to fly from SFO to SMF on May 15. After that, we make the same trip round-trip. Then (o'jala), we'll fly on weekends further and further each time, until it's "no big deal" to zoom off to the other end of Planet Earth for physics conferences. (Of course, flying's not exactly the greenest form of travel, is it?)

(#29 in champagne)

Monday, April 11, 2011

New Directions

David has had a happy and successful year so far. He's done well in his classes, and looks forward to spending the summer devoted full-time to research.

He's progressing well in his preparation for flying. Last week, we visited Mr. Dick Tak at Sacramento's Executive Airport, who allowed us to taxi with him in his Cessna. Dave was perfectly fine. So, it's time, folks! The next step is flying. Here we go!

In the meantime, I'm still reading while David is in class or the laboratory. Recent reads have included Michon Mackedon's well-researched and highly entertaining Bombast: Spinning Atoms in the Desert. Also Freeman Walker by David Allen Cates. I've done some writing, too.

#30 (Champagen 6/8/20)

Friday, March 25, 2011

Lifeskill update-- flying

A lot of autistic people have a difficult time growing accustomed to flight travel, so I've designed a program to help David ease into it. We're starting by just watching planes land and take off at the local airport, and having David study statistics, so that he can see how much safer flying is than driving.

Next, we'll get into a small Cessna at a local airport.
_______________________________________________________

(#31 in "Champagne")

23rd Birthday!


Happy twenty-third birthday to Dave! David's birthday coincides with Saint Patrick's Day, but this year we had to celebrate on a different day because March 17 fell right in the middle of Dave's final exams.

In the photos above, you can see David at Old Spaghetti Factory with friends Diane and Greg (lower photo). In the top photo, you can see a very close close-up of Dave's face, and then from left to right are Maddy, Tim, Ed, Norman, Graciela and Brandon. A fine feast and happiness were shared by all that evening. Peace...


(#32 in "Champagne")

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Sunshine!


Hasn't it been nice recently? Here's a photo of Dave with Pleasants Ridge behind him, in the nearby Coast Range Mountains. We love hiking, so Northern California is the perfect home for us!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Lab

Well, the holidays sure passed quickly, didn't they. Happy New Year.

So now, David has time in his schedule to get serious about his laboratory work. This is tricky, because David's autism makes him a different sort of scientist to work with than the other group members. While he can focus quite well on math, physics troubleshooting, data analysis, and writing, he has trouble focusing on verbally-delivered information. Fortunately, the members of his research group are open-minded and welcoming toward David. I'm sure we'll work things out.