April 05, 2002

Home viewing

Posted by Scott at 10:06 AM

Yesterday we looked at this house. It was 3100 sq. ft, lots of rooms, vinyl, FHA, center air, 2 car garage, 1.7 acres, 2 years old, quiet neightborhood, etc. Even though there's technically nothing wrong with the house, Michelle didn't feel moved by it. It had little character. A co-worker had a good name for the style: a McMansion .

Mom and dad got home safe and sound. Hopefully we'll have another visit in June since this visit was a bit truncated. Maybe by then we''ll be in a different home. (crosses fingers)

I was encouraged by a bit of news yesterday.

"NewScientist is reporting that Welsh boy Rhys Evans has been cured of the fatal severe combined immunodeficiency ("bubble boy") disease. The medical team, lead by Adrian Thrasher, was able to take the stem cells that give rise to immune cells from his bone marrow and add a normal copy of the gene to the stem cell using a retro virus. Seven months after treatment, Rhys was cured."
It was a stem cell cure that used the boy's own bone marrow. It didn't involve harvesting embryos. It's important that the public remember that the ethical issues don't revolve around stem cell research. It's embryonic stem cell research that is causing the concerns. There are plenty of sources of stem cells. Personally I don't want to get into a situation where the abortion doctors actually reimburse women because of the market value of embryonic stem cells.

My dad would like this story:

"Mitsubishi has invented a glass that can tell when it's empty, and order a refill from the bar. Of course, it'll still have to be filled the old fashioned way, but at least the bar staff will know which ones need refilling."
We've had to gate off the dining room because Michael keeps climbing up on the dining room table. I'm getting rather tired of constantly trying to make sure things are out of reach of the 'boybies'. The keyboard & mouse, the cat food, the remotes, important papers, etc. Their curiosity knows no bounds at this stage of development. Ahh well, this will pass and I'll have new challenges. "Papa, look what I wrote on the car..."

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