Disney Tech
I have to give credit where it is due for a moment here.
Melissa can no longer walk without someone helping her. Either I have to "drive" her by her shoulders, or she can use the roller-walker with someone behind her. This has severely limited her mobility, and she spends part of the day in our room reading stories and watching movies on the computer. We were just about to cancel our NetFlix subscription when we discovered that "PLAY NOW" option that lets you watch lots of movies and TV shows instantly on the PC. She's just finished the entire 7-year run of "Law & Order:Special Victims Unit".
We were looking for a laptop that she could use downstairs, so she could spend time where most of the family was all day. Someone from her father's job donated a laptop to us, but it was about 10 years old, and was running Windows 2000 on an old P4 processor with 500K RAM (not very good). I asked Craig (Tech Support even to Geeks) to confirm my suspicions that it would probably take more money upgrading this to specs that could handle streaming video than it would to buy a cheap one new.
Craig had a better idea. He had a spare ThinkPad laptop with decent specs, so for the cost of an OEM Copy of Windows XP, we have ourselves a REAL laptop. Then he started "Tweaking" it. Anyone who knows us knows that Melissa is an absolute Disney NUT. He asked about Melissa's favorite Disney characters, and I told him that although she has many favorites, she probably loved FIGMENT the dragon from the EPCOT park best.
After a few days of tweaking, Craig presents her with the finished laptop:
Instead of the standard XP loading screen, it starts with a picture of Mickey Mouse and reads "XP Disney Edition"
The startup sound is the "Please stand clear of the doors.." message from the Disneyworld Monorail.
The wallpaper changes on boot-up and every 30 minutes to one of dozens of DisneyWorld pics
The Icons are Disni-fied (see left) and the pointer is mickey's white glove.
The screensaver is a video loop that was played at the On-Site Disney hotels' TV channel. ("It's the Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah... Tip For To-Day!")
I could go on, there are dozens of little touches that made Melissa smile, and I'm thankful for each and every one. He delivered it and set it up on our wireless network. He pre-installed all Melissa's applications, and imported her bookmarks. Everything a Tech would do for a CEO, and so much more. So Craig, Thank you so very much. Melissa loves it, and will think of you whenever she uses it.Labels: Craig, Disney, laptop, Melissa
Birthday #34
Thanks everyone, for the great birthday wishes. I had a very busy day, it happens.
Getting Melissa and Matthew ready for church on Sundays is busy in itself. We arrived late for the pre-show choir practice and they told me I had a solo in a song we've done before, so I thought I was set. Only they didn't give me the solo in the same spot as last time. Heh. So I ended up leaving an empty space in one verse (where I should have sung) and singing over another guy's solo. By the time I realized this, I figured it would draw less attention if I just kept going and make like a duet. *facepalm*
As soon as service was over we high-tailed it over to Decatur for a brunch meeting with a couple of reps from the Decatur Book Festival, which runs Labor Day Weekend (Same as DragonCon). Melissa was helping represent the DCon Young Adult Lit Track. After that, we went straight to Marietta for the second Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) Staff meeting. Melissa has worked Security and I've worked the Video Track for the past two years. They're being very supportive of Melissa, and we're working out a schedule that we can both work. Many people there hadn't seen Mel since September, so there were a lot of hugs and lots of kind sentiments.
After that, back home, picked up Matthew and the In-Laws for dinner at Ippolito's, a very good Italian Joint. They have a great linguini dish with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes that is just TO DIE FOR. Don't know why, but I just can't get enough of it. And for my birthday cake, Brenda made a reeeeeealy good Carrot Cake with cream cheese icing (my favorite!).
And on Saturday, our friends Kris and Jim took us out to see Ron White at the Fox Theater. (A combination Christmas/birthday gift). Hilarious show, but we could tell he was really drinking scotch on stage, because the second half of his show was a bit more... error prone and rambly. And we're no prudes, but we could have done without SUCH a long exposition on the topic of giving a hummer to a grizly bear. And the phrase Mel and I can not stop repeating? "Flick the Frenulum"
And to answer Bonnie, I do have an older brother.
(He's the one on the left). He's a Lawyer living in Las Vegas, Dating a Cosplayer presently. He'll be coming to DragonCon this year, so he might be able to meet some of my friends.
Since Justin's Birthday is Tuesday, We'll be getting together later in the week for a joint family B-Day dinner.
Labels: AWA, birthday, DragonCon, Melissa
*Project Fiver* goes Public
Many of you may know my wife, Melissa Kern. She has helped out with the Tolkien and Young Adult Literature tracks at DragonCon. She even appeared in
a well-known DragonCon TV commercial.
Mel has been a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien since she read The Hobbit as a child, and has always loved books. Her heart leaped when she saw the preview for Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of Lord of the Rings, and she has been involved in organizing like-minded "Ringers" in the Southeast for many years now.
The hard truth is that Melissa has just been diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Essentially, it causes all the motor neurons in the brain to shut down, gradually making the muscles unable to function. It’s very rare (1 in 1 Million) for someone who’s only 34 years old to come down with this, as it mainly affects people between 50 and 70. Life expectancy is 3-5 years from diagnosis. (She’s had the disease for about a year already.) The disease progressively takes away movement and coordination. In September, she marched with fellow LotR fans in the annual DragonCon parade. Six months later, she is barely walking, and needs my help to climb stairs or get dressed.
She is excited about the filming of "The Hobbit" sequels, but was apprehensive about the release dates of 2010 and 2011: She doesn’t even know if she’ll still be alive when these movies are released. I told her to make that her goal : to be around to see these films in the theater. But we don’t know how this disease will go.
The goal of PROJECT FIVER is to deliver a petition to Peter Jackson, New Line, and whoever takes the Directorship, asking that Melissa be cast as a costumed hobbit extra in the film. Even if she’s not there when the movies are released, just being part of the production of The Hobbit, even if it’s just sitting at a table in the background, will absolutely mean the world to her. It would be her reason to hang on.
Melissa has done an incredible amount to promote Tolkien Fellowship. She has been a key member of the Tolkien Track at DragonCon for several years, and has also volunteered with the Young Adult Literature track there. She has been an active member on TheOneRing.net, co-leader of ArmsOfMiddleEarth.com and member of numerous LotR-Related Moots, and Meet-Up groups in the Atlanta area. Additionally, she has helped organize local Release Parties for the Harry Potter books and coordinated with movie theaters to have a crew of costumed Pirates raise money for the AMC Stars of Hope Charity at the Pirates of the Caribbean movie premieres. Many in these groups have been asking what they can do to help her out and lift her spirits, and PROJECT FIVER is my best answer.
If you wouldn't mind, please
Go to ProjectFiver.com and sign the petition.This petition has been going on in secret for a couple of weeks, and I just revealed it to her this weekend at her birthday party. Over 1000 people have already signed it, and she was moved to tears. We have "Gone Public" with this now, so feel free to share the link with others openly.
I have just added a blog on the site, and I will keep posting developments. Thanks for helping us out.
Labels: Melissa, Petition, Project Fiver
