On Wednesday,   March 2, multi-platinum recording artist Clay Walker returns to Nashville to host a benefit concert at the famed Wildhorse Saloon to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis (MS) research. Celebrating its second year, Chords of Hope: The Clay Walker MS Benefit Concert is presented by 98 WSIX and produced by Walker’s charity, Band Against MS (BAMS)

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, January 5 at 11:00 a.m. through the Wildhorse Saloon, and cost $15.50-150.00. Proceeds from the concert will go toward MS research at Vanderbilt University Medical CenterDiagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 1996, Walker founded BAMS to provide educational information and to fund research for MS in hopes of finding a cure to the disease. “This concert is truly a marriage between two important aspects of my life—music and raising awareness for MS,” said Walker. “I’m thrilled to be performing again at the Wildhorse and I’m honored to continue our support by raising money for the important MS research being conducted by our friends at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.”

About Band Against MS:

Band Against MS, Inc., (BAMS) is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit public charity committed to providing educational information for those living with multiple sclerosis, funding programs researching a cure for multiple sclerosis, and funding programs helping those living with the disease. Nationally acclaimed recording artist Clay Walker established BAMS in February 2003 because he wanted to help others living with the same disease he has battled since 1996. More information about BAMS is available at www.bandagainstms.org. Follow the organization on Twitter @BandAgainstMS or become a fan on Facebook by clicking here.

About Vanderbilt University Medical Center:

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is home to Vanderbilt University Hospital, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and the Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital. These hospitals will experience more than 55,000 inpatient admissions during the current fiscal year. Vanderbilt’s adult and pediatric outpatient clinics will treat more than 1.5 million patients during this same period.

VUMC provides a number of clinical services unique to its region including: a Level 1 Trauma Center, a comprehensive Regional Burn Center, the highest designated level Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the state, the Vanderbilt-Eskind Diabetes Center and the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

Fulfilling its mission of service to the region as a nonprofit academic medical center, VUMC provided $325 million in uncompensated care during fiscal year 2010.

In 2010 Vanderbilt University Hospital was recognized by U.S. News & World Report magazine as offering the nation’s best specialty care with 10 specialty programs ranking among the nation’s top 50 in their respective fields.

The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is one of the nation’s premiere pediatric hospitals with six specialty programs ranked among the nation’s best this year by U.S. News & World Report.

Yeah!  OK, it’s really far in the future (10 years) but this discovery will make a difference. 

The full article link is - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11913689

I would like to record my personal gratitude to Jo Rowling for the massive donation to research, and also thank her for the ongoing support of  the Shine on Scotland campaign.

The incredible donation recently announced will effect everyone with MS but it means much more to my own family than just the MS research.

The new Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic will research other diseases and hopefully move towards finding a cure for Motor Neurone, a disease that has effected my family deeply and personally.

My great grandfather John Moore was the first person to be diagnosed with the disease in Scotland.  And only 2 years ago we lost my mum’s uncle who had both Motor Neurone and Parkinson’s which is very rare .

When my own mum took i’ll we feared that it was Motor Neurone and i’ll never forget the fear that I felt. I can only hope this investments in Scotlands health will yield great results and lead to future treatments to improve the outcome.

The previous investments made by Jo into research at the Edingburgh research center is already getting results.

‘I believe the investment puts Scotland firmly at the front of research into finding the cure for MS ‘

This has been in no small part due to the involvement of Jo Rowling

I have renewed hope for what the future holds for my mum and that a cure will be found for her and all the suffers living with these diseases.

Thank you from my family.

Ryan Mclaughlin

http://www.shineonscotland.org.uk

Now, it’s back again and this time with legitimate support for research.  I’m curious to see the results of this and I most sincerely hope the clinical trials support the claims.

Here are two links to the recent articles:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/ms-society-sets-aside-funding-for-clinical-trials-of-controversial-procedure/article1710340/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ms-treatment-trials-possible-ottawa-says/article1707560/ 

Here is a brief description of the treatment, copied from the article above (article1707560); “The treatment, developed by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni, involves widening constricted neck veins to improve blood flow from the brain. Mr. Zamboni has hypothesized that poor drainage allows the build-up of blood-borne iron deposits that damage brain cells, leading to MS symptoms.

But researchers say it’s not clear if MS causes blocked veins, if blocked veins cause MS, or if the two are entirely unrelated.”

Here is a link to MS Canada, where the research clinic trials will be taking place; http://mssociety.ca/en/releases/nr_20100916.htm

Here is a link to MS America for further information; http://www.msassociation.org/news_center/article.asp?a=ccsvi&gclid=CPKMmZqLj6QCFcHs7QodMRkhIg

Items touched upon include:

Guns N Roses, D.J. Ashba, Robin Finck, Izzy Stradlin, Chinese Democracy, The Adventures Of Bumblefoot, Shrapnel, MS Research, Rock Band, Guitars Suck, Normal, Abnormal, Guitars Still Suck, UFC, Exodus, Anthrax, Dream Theater, Zakk Wylde, In This Moment, Talking Meal On Fuse, John Ostronomy, Mark Strigl, Judas Priest, Evan Seinfeld and the Spyderz, Paul McCartney, Mike Patton, Axl Rose, L&B Spumoni Gardens, Blair’s Hot Sauce, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Thin Lizzy, Gary Cherone, Van Halen, Eddie Trunk, Kiss, Beatles, Led Zepplin, Queen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dizzy Reed.

I was born with a “let’s go” gene.  I would sit in a chair at my grandparents’ house with a view of the driveway. If I heard my mom’s car or my dad’s pickup start, I was out the door like a shot. I asked the destination only once we were en route. True, the worst place was the electrical store where my dad would buy stuff for his ham radio set up (his call sign was K6JYP – anyone out there remember?) There was nothing there that interested me so I would root through the truck and always found treasures in the back of the seat, loose change included. I mean, what did my dad do? Throw change over his shoulder? He also had a penchant for cherry danish. If I was lucky, they were only a day old upon discovery.

Then I entered the convent, a never-ending journey, smooth, bumpy, stormy and beautiful, that far surpassed family adventures, school field trips, and Girl Scout camping jaunts.

Since then I have taken countless boat rides on the Staten Island ferry, train trips up and down the Bos-Wash corridor, fights long and short and made so many road trips I cannot remember them all (and one four-day film retreat cruise). I do know I have visited all U.S. states, except Iowa and North Dakota – and Guam. In addition, I have had the opportunity and privilege to have visited 17 countries. Except for visits to my family and a pilgrimage to Rome and Lourdes, these were all ministry related. “Join the Daughters of St. Paul and see the world” is my motto. I also figured out that I had driven almost the entire east coast on I-95 from the Canadian border to Jacksonville, Fl.  And using trains, buses, cars and a U-Haul, I had actually crossed the country over the years – in segments.

But today I am taking a relatively brief flight from Los Angeles to San Antonio via Dallas to co-teach a weeklong course on media literacy to Catholic school teachers. A man passed me on his way to take his seat and noted how nice it was to see a nun in a habit. I smiled at him as I could feel the perspiration staining my veil in the sweltering time before the A/C was turned up. “So few nuns do these days.” “It means I have to behave myself,” I replied with a smile. I never know what to say a when people say this about nuns and habits. (The story of an older woman approaching two of our nuns in a church a couple of years ago always gets a big laugh among us; in a stage whisper she said from the pew behind, “It’s so nice to see sisters with their clothes on”.)

My community in the USA wears the veil, so I do as well most of the time. Because I have MS I am extra sensitive to the heat, something that can exacerbate symptoms, so my use of the veil depends on the temperature.

This is an early flight; I had to get up at 4:00 A.M., as did the sister who drove me to the airport. I offered to take a cab, but she disapproves of paying for a cab on principle. I think many folks on this full flight probably got up even earlier. The man next to me is already snoring peacefully. Please God, no louder.

Do you read those in-flight magazines? I don’t always, but in these days of Kindle, there is time between take-off and the announcement that it is OK to turn on electrical devices, to browse the catalog selling everything you will never need, to reading what I have always considered the act of a desperate traveler: the magazine.

As we taxied down the runway, I closed my eyes to say my pre-flight prayers. I make the Sign of the Cross at lift-off, and morning prayers, too. If it is a long flight I pray the Rosary. Today I picked up the July 15 “AmericanWay” magazine and much to my surprise, found some interesting articles. One sidebar got my attention: “New Rules for Social Networking”. It listed four points: 1) Nix the close-ups; 2) Mind your manners; 3) Fear commitment (do you really want this person as your friend?) and 4) Think twice (before sending).

The article that stood out for me was, “Activating the Brain” on brain stimuli research for MS patients. Experimental research seems to regenerate brain function for patients with multiple sclerosis, something no one thought possible. The brain is such a marvel to me (though director Tom Shayac’s existential new documentary “I AM” seeks to prove that the heart is more essential.)

I look up; “Diary of a Whimpy Kid” is playing on the monitor but I have already seen it.

There’s an article about sailing in my hometown, San Diego. I skimmed that one; I love the ocean but not sailing.

There seem to be thousands of dense advertisements and annoying postcards. Flip, flip.

Then another sidebar caught my eye – about the contemporary Irish novelist, Tana French. I read her first two books earlier this year. Murder mysteries, the people who solve them and the families and communities affected.  Boldly crafted writing and wholly engaging (so, yes, I agreed with the reviewer.)

Neither the Sudoku or crossword puzzles were yet filled out. I am not that good at either, but it makes the time sitting on the runway, waiting for a gate upon landing, pass more quickly.

There are some military personnel on the flights, but other than this, no hint of current events, unpleasantness, or actual problems. Flying can be a respite, though getting through security is a continual reminder that all is not well in the world.

And now a guy sleeping in the seat behind me is roaring but no children are fussing or crying. The flight attendants are helpful and pleasant. I say “thank you” to all the crew, intentionally and sincerely every time they pass by to pick up the trash or offer to sell me expensive snacks. My favorite airline is Southwest, but I am trying to improve the others by affirming the crew and staff whenever I can. It’s a small contribution to the wellbeing of the universe (but it’s been a long journey to develop travel spirituality, and I am not saying I am always as generous as I am today.)

I was born with a “let’s go” gene and I am grateful.

This month’s issue of ‘Discover’ magazine features an article by Douglas Fox outlining research that points to a retrovirus we all carry in our genes as the catalyst to a bevy of psychological diseases as well as multiple sclerosis.  The article is titled “The Insanity Virus” if you’d like to check it out.  The link is above.

The article delves into a theory  in the scientific community that suggests certain infections in newborns and early childhood may ‘turn on’ a retrovirus found in every human’s DNA.  This retrovirus, HERV-W, once considered among other known retroviral DNA residents as do-nothings, may actually respond to these early infections by manifesting conditions like schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis in adulthood.  In a collaborative effort spanning decades, scientists from all over the globe have observed results that support this theory and offer the solution that better treatment for early infections are the way to combat these  diseases decades before they damage lives and families of patients struggling to cope.

“The Insanity Virus” article strikes me as a cutting edge theory blurring what we know about genetics and their role in certain diseases.  The findings regarding MS are much more palatable because it has always been considered a physical (neurological) disease.  With schizophrenia, I am skeptical.  If infections play a part in the expression of some genes, what other non-genetic factors, or combinations of factors, play roles in expression?  The research is amazing and well worth the read.  This is a great example of the lysogenic pathway of some viruses.

However, I see infection theory as only a piece of the puzzle.  No dissenting opinions were presented.  Likewise, there was no discussion of the possibility that environmental factors (such as a troubled home life, trauma, or prolonged stress) could exacerbate the disease process in schizophrenics, which has traditionally been viewed as a psychological disease.  The research did indicate that there was a cumulative effect with multiple infections.  The diseases became worse depending on the quantity and severity of the infections.  Due to the cumulative aspect of the theory, I am inclined to believe there is room for psychological contributors in schizophrenics.  A simpler thought is that the infection theory could be one of many pathways to schizophrenia. There is also the problem of researcher, Fuller Torrey’s, bias.  His sister, Rhoda, still struggles with schizophrenia and has lived her life in state hospitals.  The article fully discloses this background and we see how his pain and compassion for his sister drove him to this research.

I believe that we are not the sum of our genes.  Industry has made mapping the human genome a commodity.  There are fundamental missing links to how genes impact our lives.  Emotional states like stress, depression, happiness, positive interactions, and faith are known to alter our chemistry.

Wouldn’t it follow that over time, these prolonged, psychological chemical reactions could affect the way our genes are expressed?

Clinical trials using an antibody, artemisinin, on MS patients could happen as early as this year.  In mice, they have had great success stopping the process of growing brain lesions.  High hopes, prayers, and blessings to all who are suffering.  I’d love to hear your story and thoughts about the ‘Discover’ article linked here.

Quote from Corey Blake’s nationalmssociety.org page…

So to make this a little more interesting and maybe entertaining for you, I’ve decided to do something different for this year’s WalkMS. Last October, I read a story about an 84-year-old woman named Lan Yin “Eiko” Tsai who rides her old one-speed bike 150 miles for the New Jersey City to Shore event to raise money for MS. She’s been doing this for 26 years – always in a dress and heels. The article has this great picture of her in a green turtleneck dress and embroidered jacket. She is pretty inspiring. Then I started to think about the daily discomfort and struggles that people with MS go through every day. I see it in Nahleen [his wife] every day. Her courage and discipline are also inspiring. So I thought maybe I could make my 3-mile walk this April in Pasadena for WalkMS more reflective of that daily discomfort while at the same time paying tribute to Eiko and Nahleen. And at the same time, looking like a dork. I know I’m good at doing that

So I’m doing WalkMS in a dress and heels.

It can be very difficult to try and keep up to date with current MS research, so I’ve written an article detailing how I keep up with the latest developments. I tried to be as detailed as possible, and added all the sites I visit on a regular basis or subscribe to the RSS feeds of. Hope it helps! You can find my article at: http://www.monsterski4.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77:keeping-up-with-ms-research&catid=30:about-ms&Itemid=55

My new series of blog posts is almost finished and the roll out will start shortly. Keep your eyes peeled for them!

I hope you had a great christmas and have mountains of fun on hogmanay.

“I was saving everything, but it became clear that the problem was a search problem. You could save everything…but the big problem was organizing and then searching…”

They created a database to store all this data and then wrote software to collect, scan and label all the things captured, which include emails, pictures, phone calls, web pages visited, documents, scanned receipts and more!

A real life example:

“If I’ve ever seen a Web page, I’ve got a copy of it, and I can find it again quickly because I only have to search my own corpus, not the entire Web.”

That sounds pretty great to me The number of times that I know I’ve seen something on a site and I either can’t remember which one, or I get the right site but just can’t find the page is crazy…and this’d be a good way to sort that out. Not sure about storing EVERY web page though you know

This work is a great example not just of what Microsoft Research get up to, but also a great example of what IT in general can do for the world. 10-15 years down the line when MyLifeBits is commonplace-finding information will be so much easier!

Check out the full article over at MS Research here.

Supporting veterans caregivers / Fall-proofing your home / Care tips for Parkinson’s — Today’s Caregiver magazine

Like California: As stimulus funds run out, deep cuts coming to services for children and mental disabilities in Tenn. — The Tennessean

The only sure way to fund universal healthcare, by Robert Reich — Salon

Diabetes drug may aid multiple sclerosis — UPI

Cholesterol drug might help diabetics avoid amputations — Chicago Sun-Times

iPhone applications give voice to kids with disabilities — PatriciaEBauer.com

A tall order: Couch potato decides to scale dozens of Colorado peaks in one summer … and does it — Salon

Happy 29th Birthday, ADA

Above, President Bush unlocks a new era in civil rights, May 27, 1990, with the great activist Justin Dart in his trademark hat by his side. Also, clockwise, EEOC Chairman Evan Kemp, the Rev. Harold Wilkie and National Council on Disability Chairman Sandra Swift Perrino.

Census numbers on disabilities and accommodations in USA — Census Bureau

High Court Nominee Appears Favorable, Disability Advocates Say — Disability Scoop

Oral drugs and new treatments for MS on the way — PRNewswire

American Idol David Archuleta raises $50,000 for MS — Salt Lake Tribune

Summer Sun Without the Burns and Bug Bites — NPR

http://www.worldmsday.org

Just a quick note to remind everyone that May 27th is World MS Day.  Individuals from over 100 countries are participating – and it’s very timely that Wendy’s Everest climb is occurring right around the date of the first annual World MS Day!

World MS Day will unite individuals, groups and organizations in the global MS movement.  It will provide them with an opportunity to participate in events and activities that will raise awareness of MS as a global issue and raise funds to support the work of the movement, including MS research.

You can sign up to join the global movement by registering as an individual, organization or researcher and by registering your World MS Day event on the World MS Day map.

]]> http://richfrombechtle.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/after-the-microsoft-keynote-ces/ Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:06:40 +0000 richfrombechtle http://richfrombechtle.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/after-the-microsoft-keynote-ces/ I have to say that the CES Keynote delivered by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was a bit of a let down in my opinion. I was expecting some major announcements about Windows Mobile, Zune and perhaps Xbox as well as the obvious Windows 7 beta release info…but other that Win 7 we got none of that

The Windows 7 private beta was downloadable from today (from the MSDN/Technet sites if you have access) and the public beta will be available from Friday 09/01/09, just as expected. The public beta will be found here and will be a 2.7GB ISO file This is a big announcement as it was such an open secret, it doesn’t really have any surprise/shock value…more just a sense of “finally”!…

Other than that, they announced Songsmith, a project that has come through from Microsoft Research which “generates musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. Just choose a musical style, sing into your PC’s microphone, and Songsmith will create backing music for you; and some Xbox/Netflix related news.

Other things were confirmed such as the deals with Dell & Verizon around Live Search, but nothing particularly earth shattering…or was there?!

However, one thing that does looks very interesting and could, if developed and marketed right, become quite a big part of peoples lives is Microsoft Tag. This is Redmond’s foray into the world of social 2d tagging to “tranform physical media (print advertising, billboards,product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising, or even video images)—into live links for accessing information and entertainment online.”

You download a small app for your mobile device and then you can start accessing these tags by photographing them with the camera on your device. There are some great examples of when this would be used on the Tag site such as allowing tracking analytics of ads in print media or using the tags on film posters to create a viral buzz as well as cinemas offering showing times etc.

The technology these tags is brand new, built from the ground up by the ever more famous MS Research Labs to best utilise the oftem limited camera tech on phones. The High Capacity Color Barcodes (HCCBs) as they are known “employs different symbol shapes in geometric patterns and multiple colors to provide more information in less space”. An example:

The Microsoft Tag mobile tagging system offers many advances and advantages:

• Designed from the beginning to work with the limited capabilities of a typical camera phone.
• Much smaller than other formats. Typical packaging application starts at 5/8 x 5/8”.
• Optimized for both print and video display.
• Enhanced Reed-Solomon error correction means Tags can still be read even if partially damaged.
• On many phones can decode using a direct real-time camera video stream, you don’t even have to “click” to read the code.
• Handles long URLs and allows for content to be dynamically changed.
• Tags are saved for later viewing and can be forwarded to someone else (no need to scan it again).

I’ve just downloaded the mobile app as a .CAB file from the Tag site here, and it works really well. There’s a tag on the screen that you can “snap” and it takes you straight through to another MS site relating to Tag; I will say that you need to put your phone quite close to the screen for it to work-just so you know

Click here to hear it!

Click here to hear it!

Click here for the link

Want to invest in a market beleived to currently be worth 8-Billion dollars and predicted to grow at more than 10% a year?  Take a look at the companies that are researching new MS drugs.  That’s encouraging news for MS patients, as well as investors!

WWT : http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/

It’s not often that I see software that really changes my world. It’s even rarer that I see software that I know will change the world my sons live in. I can count those times pretty easily. The first time I saw an Apple II in 1977. When Richard Cameron showed me Apple’s Hypercard. Microsoft’s Excel. Aldus’ Pagemaker. And something called Photoshop, all in his West Valley Community College classroom. Later when I saw Marc Andreessen’s Netscape running the WWW. ICQ and Netmeeting which laid the ground for Skype.

Like I said, these things don’t happen often.

Yesterday was one of those days. Curtis Wong and Jonathan Fay, researchers at Microsoft, fired up their machines and showed me something that I can’t tell you about until February 27th. I’m sure you’ll read about his work in the New York Times or TechCrunch, among other places. It’s too inspiring to stay a secret for long.

While watching the demo I realized the way I look at the world was about to change. While listening to Wong I noticed a tear running down my face. It’s been a long while since Microsoft did something that had an emotional impact on me like that.

Kevin Schofield says you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself:

But I want to be clear: we don’t have some huge product announcement planned for the end of the month. Microsoft Research doesn’t do product announcements. And we certainly don’t roll out “______ killers” (fill in the blank with whatever product or company you choose) just in case you were hoping for something like that. Coincidentally, at the end of the month there IS a big product announcement from Microsoft for three products that ALL happen to have technology from MSR in them. But Microsoft’s product teams do those announcements, not MSR. We did have a big announcement two weeks ago about the new lab that we’re starting in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (and thanks to everyone who sent their good wishes!) And we will be showing a whole bunch of new cool things to some reporters, bloggers and visitors at our annual MSR Techfest event in March.

All that said, the research project we are showing at the end of the month is exceedingly cool and we hope it will have an impact. Will it make you cry? Well, your mileage may vary. But in any case you’re just going to have to wait and see.

Anyway, what do you think it is? MSR says it’s not a product per se. Scoble follows up by calling it a service, not a product. An inspiring service, which would make it a change for MS, which makes a lot of nice products, but whose services are less than inspiring (Skydrive, Hotmail, Spaces, all the Live stuff).  Scoble lives and breathes social networking, so it probably has lots of social features, but then again he chokes up a little bit about iPhones and photography, so who knows? Maybe it’s a web service that runs on the iPhone, lets you take photos like Thomas Hawk and microblog them to your 6,000 closest friends. I’m more interested in what makes Scoble cry. Probably puppies, unicorns and rainbows.