Sunday, January 29, 2012

Twice-Exceptional Kids -- Book Review

Twice-Exceptional Kids A Guide for Assisting Students Who Are Both Academically Gifted and Learning Disabled by Rosemary Callard-Szulgit.

DD1 stumbled across this book at the library when she was researching for an assignment for her CHYS paper. Very interesting, informative book. Well worth the read!!

All I can say is "Where were you 20 years ago, Rosemary Callard-Szulgit?"

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Wordless Wednesday



Thursday, January 19, 2012

White Death - The Blizzard of '77 -- Book Review

DH bought this book for me many years ago. I did read it but I have not picked it up in years. Cleaning out the bookshelf I came across it again. Time to re-read it.

So what actually happened?

This is taken from the White Death website
"Natural Disaster Strikes
On Friday, January 28, 1977 a natural disaster struck Canada and the United States. Southern portions of the province of Ontario and parts of western and northern New York State were besieged by the blizzard of the century and millennium. During this winter hurricane, the temperature plunged to near zero Fahrenheit as hurricane force winds roared across the frozen surface of Lake Erie. Temperature and wind combined to create a wind chill of 60 below zero. Visibility was also zero and remained there from 11:30 a.m on the 28th until 12:50 a.m on the 29th of January. The storm did not subside until February. Wind gusts over 50 miles per hour occurred each day with official peaks ranging between 69 and 73 miles per hour.

Ten Thousand Square Miles of Ice

Lake Erie has a surface area of ten thousand square miles. This water surface had frozen by December 14th, 1976 an early freezing record. Here formed a desert of ice that was flatter than any prairie or desert of sand. As hurricane force winds swept across the frozen lake, no natural barriers broke the force of the sweep so that the northeast shore areas felt the full blast of this natural disaster.
The deep snow that had built up on the surface of the lake had not melted during the cold month of January so that ten thousand square miles of snow powder blew inland from the frozen surface of Lake Erie and buried people in their cars and homes.
By the night of Friday, January 28, 1977, thousands of people were stranded in office buildings, schools, police stations, fire halls, bars, factories, cars, houses and in the homes of strangers. Most highways were impassable, train lines were blocked and airports were closed. Snow paralysis had set in during this unique winter hurricane." Rossi Erno. “White Death - The Blizzard of '77". http://www.whitedeath.com/whitedeath/what.html

I have lived in the Niagara Region since 1987 & have seen some snow but even with all the photos displayed in the book and in the White Death photo gallery on their website I still cannot imagine that amount of snow.

Very good book. Well worth the read and re-read!! & as the last sentence in the books says "Beware of Snowflakes!"

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Wordless Wednesday



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Wordless Wednesday


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Dead Lucky Life After Death on Mount Everest -- Book Review

I went to the public library this past week to get the book "Dead Lucky Life After Death on Mount Everest" by Lincoln Hall. I had heard a review of this book and was very interested in reading it for myself. I have read the book "Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster" by Jon Krakauer a few years ago about the 1996 disaster on Mt Everest where that year became known for the most fatalities, including experienced mountaineer guides. Everest in NOT forgiving especially at that altitude! Hall is every experienced Australian mountaineer who collapsed from High Altitude Cerebral Edema at 28,000 ft after a successful summit and was left for dead. After collapsing he had not moved for quite some time. Miraculously he survived the night without any shelter or backpack. Dead men do not need tents or backpacks!! One of the last expeditions up the mountain that year came across him the next day. At that time he was very lucid after hallucinating most of the night. These climbers along with their Sherpa s gave up their push for the summit to rescue Hall.

Definitely a worthwhile read.

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Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Wordless Wednesday


Sunday, January 01, 2012

Happy New Year!