In 1981, when I was 9 years old, in 4th grade, the Rubik's Cube was very popular. My brothers, who were 5 and 6 years older than me, bought a book called, How To Solve a Rubik's Cube, or something like that. I decided to read that book and was able to solve Rubik's Cubes in about 1 minute.
At my elementary school, for some strange reason, no one else knew how to solve it. I told them it was as simple as reading a book and that they, too, could have a solved Rubik's cube without having to break apart and resnap the pieces together, or peel the stickers off and restick them on. However, instead of reading the book, they all decided it would be easier for them to just give their cubes to me, and then I would just solve it for them.
Of course, everyone at school thought I was super smart, but I really didn't think that was the case. All it involved was remembering the steps, recognizing the patterns, and applying the formulas. How I wish that I were smart enough to solve an entire Rubik's cube without being shown the formula!
Come 2008, Jacob is in the 3rd grade now, and I thought it would be a good time to teach him to solve the Rubik's cube. I showed him over and over and over how to just make 1 face, but he couldn't do it. He had no interest, or it just didn't click. I was really worried because getting 1 face is very intuitive.
Perhaps 3rd grade was too early to introduce it to him? Perhaps he just had no interest and I can't force him to learn anything?
I couldn't remember the name of the book that helped me, but in this age of information, I did the most natural thing which was Google the answer. Sure enough, we found a good website that I was able to use to step through and solve a Rubik's cube. However, Jacob was still confused.
So I gave up.
Then when my daughter was in 3rd grade, I tried again with her. I also tried again with my son who by then was in the 6th grade. My daughter was able to get a face now. So was my son. But neither of them were interested in learning how to solve the entire Rubik's cube even though there were so many solutions online.
So I gave up again.
Then suddenly, last week, Jacob, who is now in the 8th grade, had a sudden fascination with the Rubik's cube. I'm not sure what website he went on. It might even have been YouTube since he seems to learn everything on YouTube. He solved the Rubik's cube, and his goal was to solve it in record time. Then he started researching all the different ways to solve a Rubik's cube to learn the fastest algorithm. 1 minute was way too slow for him.
He started researching different types of Rubik's cubes. He discovered 4x4x4's and 2x2x2's. He begged for a new Rubik's cube. One called a "speed cube", and I was able to bribe him to do some extra chores before I ordered it for him.
Last night, he also found instructions online about how to make a 2x2x2 Rubik's cube. He spent a couple hours of his free time working with duct tape, paper, and strings. And voila! A beautiful, workable Rubik's cube. I was quite impressed.
And of course, the first thing he said was, "I can't wait to show my friends this at school tomorrow!" (But that's a different story)
Anyway, I just thought it was interesting to see how much more kids can accomplish when the interest and motivation comes from within themselves. I'm curious to see what Jacob and Joanna are interested in next.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Chocolate Milk is Back!
I can't believe it! Yesterday, Jacob told me that there was a big sign posted outside of the cafeteria that said that chocolate milk would be back on Fridays. Woo hoo!!!
Monday, February 3, 2014
This is the email I sent to my friends when our group was sold to Magnum Semiconductor in 2007 and I hadn't yet decided to join them
I can’t believe today is my last day
at LSI. It’s been 11.5 years, almost a 1/3 of my life!
This is just a short list
of all the great things I'm going to remember you guys for:
Dee - for organizing all the wonderful events and activities, the cookies, and for being Dr. Dee
Mark - a great director, showing great strength and wisdom technically and in leadership
Paul - organizing my bridal shower, baby showers, being a great listener and devil's advocate
Kevin - being a great manager , fun and accommodating
Dave - introducing me to sardines, almost buying one of my visors, and writing great specs
Keith - helping me debug waveforms when I'm totally stuck. being lots of fun
Shinya - bringing zevio to life, my favorite project at LSI
Tim - for your funny comments, nice postcards, and smart answers to all my technical questions
Avinash - great conversationalist, making the lab a better place to be in and helping me a lot in there,
Ben - being my legal counselor
Chester - $4000, being lots of fun to work with and talk with
Hongjian - pearl milk tea, Chinese lessons
Karen - giving me nice hugs, being a girlfriend
Stefanie - being cool and collected, inspiring me with your marathon training and your style
Marlyn - getting together all the nice cards, organizing some nice parties.
Kerry - getting me up to speed on Maiko validation. splitting that Jamba Juice coupon w/ me.
Sunny - always being so pleasant to be around
Rene - wonderful warm personality, caring and considerate. stroopwafels, pool parties,
Tzong - being a nice guy underneath that tough exterior! Never letting me forget to read the manual
Frank - being a reliable source of worldly wisdom and entertaining emails.
Thanks for all the memories! It was really nice working with you all!
Dee - for organizing all the wonderful events and activities, the cookies, and for being Dr. Dee
Mark - a great director, showing great strength and wisdom technically and in leadership
Paul - organizing my bridal shower, baby showers, being a great listener and devil's advocate
Kevin - being a great manager , fun and accommodating
Dave - introducing me to sardines, almost buying one of my visors, and writing great specs
Keith - helping me debug waveforms when I'm totally stuck. being lots of fun
Shinya - bringing zevio to life, my favorite project at LSI
Tim - for your funny comments, nice postcards, and smart answers to all my technical questions
Avinash - great conversationalist, making the lab a better place to be in and helping me a lot in there,
Ben - being my legal counselor
Chester - $4000, being lots of fun to work with and talk with
Hongjian - pearl milk tea, Chinese lessons
Karen - giving me nice hugs, being a girlfriend
Stefanie - being cool and collected, inspiring me with your marathon training and your style
Marlyn - getting together all the nice cards, organizing some nice parties.
Kerry - getting me up to speed on Maiko validation. splitting that Jamba Juice coupon w/ me.
Sunny - always being so pleasant to be around
Rene - wonderful warm personality, caring and considerate. stroopwafels, pool parties,
Tzong - being a nice guy underneath that tough exterior! Never letting me forget to read the manual
Frank - being a reliable source of worldly wisdom and entertaining emails.
Thanks for all the memories! It was really nice working with you all!
I will
keep in touch w/ you!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Jacob's 1st double blind oral challenge to peanuts
Hi Dr. Rubinstein,
Just wanted to thank you for all your support in getting Jacob into the Peanut Patch study by providing all the paperwork that he needed.
I wanted to let you know that Jacob had his 2nd visit to the Packard Hospital for the Peanut Patch study today. It was one of two double blind oral challenges, and it was quite eventful.
Jacob ended up needing epinephrine, and it was administered while Dr. Hugh Sampson was in the room.
I am still in shock myself that Jacob deteriorated so quickly, and I feel bad that I ignored the symptoms. In fact, even the nurse onsite didn't seem to think Jacob needed epinephrine. It wasn't until the Dr. Nadeau and Dr. Sampson stepped into a room "for a picture" that Dr. Nadeau told the nurse he needed it. I am so glad they were in the room. I worry about how far Jacob would have deteriorated if we didn't give the epipen any earlier.
This is what the challenge looked like in case you are interested.
10:30 , we start the appointment and we overhear a nurse discussing with a doctor that a previous candidate had to leave the study because he vomited over the placebo. Jacob makes a mental note that reacting to a placebo would be a bad thing. I tell the nurse that his symptoms are usually coughing, and a red dot on his face. I make a note that he has no cough and looks very healthy right now.
11:00 : 1mg of peanut protein/placebo in a chocolate pudding with orange flavor. Jacob thinks he feels a tingle in his throat, but it goes away. He also starts getting a feeling of "hunger pains" in his stomach.
11:30 : 5mg ... throat tingle and tummy is hurting. But Jacob doesn't want to "jump the gun" if it's a placebo. Throat always seems to get less tingly after the initial tingly feeling.
12:00 : 10mg... pudding starting to taste really bad. I notice one sniffle, but that's it. I notice left eye turning a little red. Stomach still hurts, but we're still worried it's psycho-somatic. I assure Jacob that if his stomach really hurts, he's probably having a real reaction. Throat feels tingly and maybe a little lumpy. I ask nurse who looks in the throat and notices a "tiny bit" of redness. The tingly feeling seems to go away quickly.
12:30 : 30mg. Jacob is really hating the taste of the pudding. after eating half of it, he says he can't eat it anymore because it tastes bad. I tell him that's not enough reason to stop eating it unless he feels like he is having a reaction. He continues to eat it. Doesn't notice anymore symptoms. I start wondering if he has the placebo.
12:40 : coughing begins. starts off slow but progresses in frequency. We are becoming sure this is the real reaction. Tummy hurts, and left eye is red, his body is itching.
12:50 : nurse comes in , hears the cough, and calls the oral challenge finished. They give him Zyrtec and take his vitals. vitals are okay. Lungs sound fine despite cough. Throat has no edema.
1:15 : zyrtec doesn't seem to help. Jacob starts asking me for more medicine. I suggest Benadryl, and after consulting with the doctor, they agree to give Benadryl since we asked for it.
1:30 : Jacob is still miserable. I tell him to wait till Bendaryl kicks in. His condition seems the same to me. The nurse listens to his lungs and hears wheezing. She decides to initiate a breathing treatment. Just at this time, I notice Dr. Sampson and Dr. Nadeau poke their heads into the room. I run into the hallway to ask if I could get a picture with Dr. Sampson. After the picture, they watch the nurse give the breathing treatment. Dr. Nadeau starts talking about epinephrine. She says Jacob needs it, so Dr. Nadeau holds the breathing treatment up while the nurse gets the epipen. The nurse finally administers the epipen. Jacob tells me he is so glad they did. He feels better instantly. Dr. Sampson and Dr. Nadeau thank Jacob for participating in the study and Dr. Sampson reminds me of the importance of giving the epi-pen because the symptoms have a snowball effect. He pointed out that Jacob was wheezing and his eye was very red, and he was scratching all over his body. They then leave the room to continue with the original purpose of Dr. Sampson's site visit.
1:45 : all vital signs are normal. Dr. Nadeau steps back in to check on Jacob. Nurse confesses that it was the first time she ever had to administer the real epipen to someone (even though Jacob was probably her 21st double blind oral challenge).
2:00 : all vital signs are normal. Jacob gets his appetite back and eats a hamburger. Dr. Wilson gives Jacob prednisolone and gives me a prescription for two more days of prednisolone for Jacob, which I am very reluctant to give.
Day 3 should be the placebo, which is next Monday.
Regards,
Elaine
Just wanted to thank you for all your support in getting Jacob into the Peanut Patch study by providing all the paperwork that he needed.
I wanted to let you know that Jacob had his 2nd visit to the Packard Hospital for the Peanut Patch study today. It was one of two double blind oral challenges, and it was quite eventful.
Jacob ended up needing epinephrine, and it was administered while Dr. Hugh Sampson was in the room.
I am still in shock myself that Jacob deteriorated so quickly, and I feel bad that I ignored the symptoms. In fact, even the nurse onsite didn't seem to think Jacob needed epinephrine. It wasn't until the Dr. Nadeau and Dr. Sampson stepped into a room "for a picture" that Dr. Nadeau told the nurse he needed it. I am so glad they were in the room. I worry about how far Jacob would have deteriorated if we didn't give the epipen any earlier.
This is what the challenge looked like in case you are interested.
10:30 , we start the appointment and we overhear a nurse discussing with a doctor that a previous candidate had to leave the study because he vomited over the placebo. Jacob makes a mental note that reacting to a placebo would be a bad thing. I tell the nurse that his symptoms are usually coughing, and a red dot on his face. I make a note that he has no cough and looks very healthy right now.
11:00 : 1mg of peanut protein/placebo in a chocolate pudding with orange flavor. Jacob thinks he feels a tingle in his throat, but it goes away. He also starts getting a feeling of "hunger pains" in his stomach.
11:30 : 5mg ... throat tingle and tummy is hurting. But Jacob doesn't want to "jump the gun" if it's a placebo. Throat always seems to get less tingly after the initial tingly feeling.
12:00 : 10mg... pudding starting to taste really bad. I notice one sniffle, but that's it. I notice left eye turning a little red. Stomach still hurts, but we're still worried it's psycho-somatic. I assure Jacob that if his stomach really hurts, he's probably having a real reaction. Throat feels tingly and maybe a little lumpy. I ask nurse who looks in the throat and notices a "tiny bit" of redness. The tingly feeling seems to go away quickly.
12:30 : 30mg. Jacob is really hating the taste of the pudding. after eating half of it, he says he can't eat it anymore because it tastes bad. I tell him that's not enough reason to stop eating it unless he feels like he is having a reaction. He continues to eat it. Doesn't notice anymore symptoms. I start wondering if he has the placebo.
12:40 : coughing begins. starts off slow but progresses in frequency. We are becoming sure this is the real reaction. Tummy hurts, and left eye is red, his body is itching.
12:50 : nurse comes in , hears the cough, and calls the oral challenge finished. They give him Zyrtec and take his vitals. vitals are okay. Lungs sound fine despite cough. Throat has no edema.
1:15 : zyrtec doesn't seem to help. Jacob starts asking me for more medicine. I suggest Benadryl, and after consulting with the doctor, they agree to give Benadryl since we asked for it.
1:30 : Jacob is still miserable. I tell him to wait till Bendaryl kicks in. His condition seems the same to me. The nurse listens to his lungs and hears wheezing. She decides to initiate a breathing treatment. Just at this time, I notice Dr. Sampson and Dr. Nadeau poke their heads into the room. I run into the hallway to ask if I could get a picture with Dr. Sampson. After the picture, they watch the nurse give the breathing treatment. Dr. Nadeau starts talking about epinephrine. She says Jacob needs it, so Dr. Nadeau holds the breathing treatment up while the nurse gets the epipen. The nurse finally administers the epipen. Jacob tells me he is so glad they did. He feels better instantly. Dr. Sampson and Dr. Nadeau thank Jacob for participating in the study and Dr. Sampson reminds me of the importance of giving the epi-pen because the symptoms have a snowball effect. He pointed out that Jacob was wheezing and his eye was very red, and he was scratching all over his body. They then leave the room to continue with the original purpose of Dr. Sampson's site visit.
1:45 : all vital signs are normal. Dr. Nadeau steps back in to check on Jacob. Nurse confesses that it was the first time she ever had to administer the real epipen to someone (even though Jacob was probably her 21st double blind oral challenge).
2:00 : all vital signs are normal. Jacob gets his appetite back and eats a hamburger. Dr. Wilson gives Jacob prednisolone and gives me a prescription for two more days of prednisolone for Jacob, which I am very reluctant to give.
Day 3 should be the placebo, which is next Monday.
Regards,
Elaine
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Bubbles From Your Eyes
Jacob: Mom, I met this boy at camp who can make bubbles come out of his eyes
Me: Ewwww. gross!
Jacob: Actually, it's more like froth coming out of his eyes right here. (pointing to his tear duct)
Me: Ewwww!!!! GROSS!!!!!! REALLY GROSS!
Jacob: I thought it was cool. Auntie Linda thought so too when I told her. She doesn't get grossed out so easily. But she likes hiking, so she doesn't mind bugs and stuff
Me: Ewwww. gross!
Jacob: Actually, it's more like froth coming out of his eyes right here. (pointing to his tear duct)
Me: Ewwww!!!! GROSS!!!!!! REALLY GROSS!
Jacob: I thought it was cool. Auntie Linda thought so too when I told her. She doesn't get grossed out so easily. But she likes hiking, so she doesn't mind bugs and stuff
Monday, July 9, 2012
Like My New Haircut?
April 5, 2007
I cut it myself! I cut it really fast and I cut it all off while
Mommy and Daddy were downstairs entertaining out-of-town guests,
thinking that I was playing quietly with Belle. They didn't seem as
happy when they saw my new look. I tried to help Belle cut her hair,
too, but her thick braids only allowed me to give her a nice jagged
trim on the ends.
Mom's pretty upset and keeps on calling it the "Chinese boy cut" she
had never wanted me to have. Another auntie called it "Last year's layered
cut from China". I was pretty upset when my first preschool teacher
found out I cut my own hair and told me I could have poked my eye out,
so I told all the other teachers the rest of the day that my mom cut
my hair. That left them nice and speechless. My Auntie Melissa came
over and figured out how to hide the damage and said the bangs remind
her of Audrey Hepburn in a famous movie, so now I can still be a
film-star.
I'm sure my hair will grow out by tomorrow!
P.S Mommy says she's working on your thank you cards! Thank you for
coming to my party . She's glad I still had hair at that time.
Mommy and Daddy were downstairs entertaining out-of-town guests,
thinking that I was playing quietly with Belle. They didn't seem as
happy when they saw my new look. I tried to help Belle cut her hair,
too, but her thick braids only allowed me to give her a nice jagged
trim on the ends.
Mom's pretty upset and keeps on calling it the "Chinese boy cut" she
had never wanted me to have. Another auntie called it "Last year's layered
cut from China". I was pretty upset when my first preschool teacher
found out I cut my own hair and told me I could have poked my eye out,
so I told all the other teachers the rest of the day that my mom cut
my hair. That left them nice and speechless. My Auntie Melissa came
over and figured out how to hide the damage and said the bangs remind
her of Audrey Hepburn in a famous movie, so now I can still be a
film-star.
I'm sure my hair will grow out by tomorrow!
P.S Mommy says she's working on your thank you cards! Thank you for
coming to my party . She's glad I still had hair at that time.
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