Stepson Christian is here from MN, and we are having a lovely time!

We happened to go to Disneyland on opening day of the new, improved Pirates of the Caribbean ride. OMG. The lines were huge, but the Jack Sparrow additions were quite groovy. Kudos to the animatronics programmers who did the first appearance - it really moves like Sparrow!!

Superman was very enjoyable.

Very important: GO SEE An Inconvenient Truth. Seriously. Don't screw around or do whiny politically-biased arguing. Go see it, then do the research yourself. But don't let anyone else's crap dissuade you from at least SEEING it.

Last Wednesday we went to see Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopfler (he of Dire Straits fame, for those of you not guitar afficionados), and the show was awesome. There is also an album, All the Roadrunning, so you all can share the joy. Also available on iTunes, of course.

And I STILL need this shirt!!! I know my birthday isn't until September, but the midterm election is in NOVEMBER, and the more promotion of TDS and Colbert, the better!!!

So, the fear-mongering of the American insurance lobby aside, I have always known that universal health care is a Good Thing, because I am from Toronto, and I witnessed its great successes with my mother's cancer throughout her lifetime, and my stepfather's heart problems and eventual quad bypass. I worked hard on the campaign to bring universal care to California when there was a bill pending here, and even went to colleges around my city helping to explain the very simple economics of it to the brainwashed college youth. It's a shame the soul-less insurance company advertising mangaged to terrify the voting public with their lies.

 

So, I first read about this back in May, in a groovy blog which I have on my BlogRoll, the one called "Northern Fence". But I decided to wait to post about it until the full article was released, which happened yesterday. It's a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

 

Summary:
Objectives. We compared health status, access to care, and utilization of medical services in the United States and Canada, and compared disparities according to race, income, and immigrant status.
 
Methods. We analyzed population-based data on 3505 Canadian and 5183 US adults from the Joint Canada/US Survey of Health. Controlling for gender, age, income, race, and immigrant status, we used logistic regression to analyze country as a predictor of access to care, quality of care, and satisfaction with care, and as a predictor of disparities in these measures.
 
Results. In multivariate analyses, US respondents (compared with Canadians) were less likely to have a regular doctor, more likely to have unmet health needs, and more likely to forgo needed medicines. Disparities on the basis of race, income, and immigrant status were present in both countries, but were more extreme in the United States.
 
Conclusions. United States residents are less able to access care than are Canadians. Universal coverage appears to reduce most disparities in access to care. (Am J Public Health. 2006;96:XXX–XXX. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2004.059402)

Read the .pdf here, or read the abstract only here.

 

Pentagon sets its sights on social networking websites

From New Scientist Tech.

A taste:
New Scientist has discovered that Pentagon's National Security Agency, which specialises in eavesdropping and code-breaking, is funding research into the mass harvesting of the information that people post about themselves on social networks. And it could harness advances in internet technology - specifically the forthcoming "semantic web" championed by the web standards organisation W3C - to combine data from social networking websites with details such as banking, retail and property records, allowing the NSA to build extensive, all-embracing personal profiles of individuals.

But probably will have one made in dark green or maybe black/silver. I think it's PERFECT.

I adore it, but the woman who makes it is UK-based, so I'll need to get a dressmaker here to make one like it for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, this is a GWP (Gratuitious Wedding Post).

This venom-spewing, leggy hatemonger named Ann Coulter is so disturbing to me I cannot even describe it. And that is even with my great efforts to never have to read or see her, ever, except occasionally while being well-deservedly mocked on TDS or Colbert. But this charming post detailing her apparent plagarism is such fun to read, I thought I'd post a link to it.

Because Some Things Are More Profane Than Profanity - Ann Coulter's Possible Plagiarism

(And thank me, because I linked to the G-rated version. )

Stupid enough to have a Stephen Colbert interview on his website to raise defense money and support.

It's covered nicely here, on the Think Progress site. Prepare to be highly amused...

Snippet:
DeLay thinks Colbert is so persuasive, he’s now featuring the full video of the interview at the top of the legal fund’s website. And why not? According to the email, Greenwald “crashed and burned” under the pressure of Colbert’s hard-hitting questions, like “Who hates America more, you or Michael Moore?” Apparently the people at DeLay’s legal fund think that Colbert is actually a conservative. Or maybe they’re just that desperate for supporters.

BTW, it is a very funny, "hard-hitting" interview... So not a bad choice.

Colbert's WH Correspondents Dinner Roast Ranks No. 1 On iTunes...

The after-dinner speech that refuses to go away has scored another distinction: top of the charts.

An audio version of the roast of President Bush by Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central rose to the rank of No. 1 album at Apple's iTunes store on Saturday, three weeks to the night of the White House Correspondents Dinner. Also in the Top 10 were new releases by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Paul Simon.

I could never have predicted seeing those four names together in the top ten, and it is so sweet. Hee!

AS the one I posted several weeks ago is no longer any good. Lazy Sunday on the NBC website. All legal and such.

But I only discovered the UK response to "Lazy Sunday" this morning. Grab a cuppa (PG Tips for me!) and prepare to laugh.

Wow. I finally got to sit down and watch the White House Press Correspondents' Dinner, and was I ever stunned by Colbert's courage. Not only am I fairly certain more than half the audience was completely incapable of comprehending his satire, but I am pretty sure the other half was just aghast that he had the balls to be so sharp and so funny.

At first, it seemed the press ignored his speech, and then, when forced to ack it, they (mostly) insisted he wasn't funny. Except that he WAS. He is so bright and so deadpan and so excellent at staying in character that it was just a fantastic performance. Underrated because easily 2/3 of it was over the heads of the audience. And also perhaps because he roasted the press about as much as he roasted BushCo.

Some snippets:

I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.

I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. I believe it is possible -- I saw this guy do it once in Cirque du Soleil. It was magical. And though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68% of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't.

I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message: that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.

And now, on to roasting the press...
But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

Because really, what incentive do these people have to answer your questions, after all? I mean, nothing satisfies you. Everybody asks for personnel changes. So the White House has personnel changes. Then you write, "Oh, they're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." First of all, that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!

 

Anyway, it's well worth watching.

 

And I just want to say THANK YOU!. And that link is where YOU can go say "thank you" too. Or just read the other thousands of "thank you" messages left by others.

 

[Transcript source: http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811]

Everyone needs to see this video.
 
Everyone.

Cool assortment of consoles converted to portables. Sent to me by my stepson Christian. Have a look! I'd love to have that N64!!

Note: SNL got greedy and not only is LS not free on iTunes anymore, but they made Google Video and YouTube remove their copies. I found this link below, but I have no idea how long it will be viable.

"Lazy Sunday" [Original]

"Lazy Monday" [West Coast Response - hysterical]

"Lazy Muncie" [Midwest Response - also very funny!]

I've encountered several requests recently on various support groups to which I belong asking for suggestions for books. This list should be useful for anyone who has a child they are trying to explain Asperger Syndrome to, or even for parents or other relatives to whom parents are trying to explain the complexities of AS.

As a parent of a teen with AS and an adult with AS myself, I know firsthand how impossible it can be to help people GET IT. It's soooo difficult, when we look about the same as any neurotypicals, for people to grasp that we are, in fact, fundamentally WIRED DIFFERENTLY in some very critical respects. Certainly not in every respect, which might make it even worse, in terms of getting people to understand and accommodate the differences. We outwardly LOOK like everyone else, so the differently-wired bits seem, instead of just different, as hostile, or stupid, or stubborn, or paranoid, or ignorant, or deliberatly obtuse, etc. Fill in the negative adjective of choice here. But it's not so.

So, here's my starter book list for educating NTs, or helping AS kids better understand themselves, which in turn will help them better self-advocate as they grow older. Note this list doesn't have any of the typical "for the parents" titles, which tend to be by NTs and for NTs, it's really more for our kids and sometimes also good for educating relatives too. So, kind of a different list. for Enjoy!

I recommend (in order from youngest to teenager-appropriate):

This Is Asperger Syndrome (Paperback)
For younger ones, maybe 7 or 8 and younger. Although I also bought this for my own mother back when my son was originally diagnosed, and she, in turn, bought several copies for the more-resistant relatives who needed a bit of education. You know, the "He's just being BAD on purpose to get attention"-types.

Albert Einstein (Famous People Series) (Paperback)
I like this one because, in truth, all the claims of dead people being diagnosed posthumously are just speculation, BUT this book merely describes some of his characteristics, and leaves it to the reader to notice and possibly identify with them. Or not!

Asperger's Huh? A Child's Perspective (Paperback)
This one is very blunt, but I found it really helped my son to read it around age 10. Also, letting some family members and buddies read it was useful, as well. It's all about educating people who don't want to understand neurobiologically-based behaviours.

Blue Bottle Mystery : An Asperger's Adventure (Paperback)
This one made me cry, because the boy in the story is SO mistreated by his teacher. However, it does have a nice ending, and my son really liked it when he was about 9 or 10.

Of Mice and Aliens: An Asperger Adventure (Paperback)
Same author. Good book.

Asperger's Syndrome, The Universe and Everything: Kenneth's Book (Paperback)
Written by an at-the-time-10-year-old AS boy. Quite educational and interesting.

Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence
I cannot recommend this unfortunately-named book highly enough. This is another book written by boy with AS, and he is funny and insightful (as least when it comes to AS! LOL!) Absolutely a must-read for teens with AS AND their families.

Asperger's: What Does It Mean to Me? (Spiral-bound)
This is actually OK for a broad age range. Back when my son was 12, he didn't want to do it because the beginning is rather simplistic, but other friends who have completed it told me that it gets much more sophisticated as you go through it, so I am going to encourage him to try again this summer. It's too hard to get him to work in a workbook when he is dealing with so much homework in grade 7! He needs time to STIM, too!

This is a tool that parses Bush's State of the Union addresses. You can search on whatever words you like. It's so useful. And instructive.

For example, last night he talked about terror 19 times, and said "environment" once.

Check it out.

I guess that's better than 2004, when he didn't mention the environment EVEN once.

Here in L.A., there is a wonderful radio show on KROQ in the mornings: the Kevin and Bean show. Bean now has a blog, and he's a very funny, very intelligent guy. He is also a guy who is very likely an Aspie, although as far as I know he's not planning on getting a formal diagnosis.

Anyway, that is likely the least interesting thing he has to offer, and is probably mostly a fact highly interesting to me, but perhaps not to others. Either way, his blog is very funny, as is he. Recently he's been covering the bizarre rain situation they have been experiencing in Seattle, where he lives on a little island and does his local L.A. radio show via technological magic.

Here are a couple of Xmas/NY pics. I have more, but I need to watch the football games from today on the Tivo before anyone blows the score for me, so I'll post more later.

This is Catherine, Jon's daughter, with our cat, Spooky:

 

This is Raiden, throwing a snowball at me outside my grandparent's house in Halifax. I am pretty proud of this picture:

 

And this is me, with my wineglass, on New Year's Eve:

The Giant Microbes were a great hit, particularly the Flesh-eating Strep and the adorable Mad Cow prion. Also appreciated were the Firefly and Serenity DVDs (WONDERFUL series and great film), and the Doom: the Boardgame.

My son Raiden and I went to Halifax on December 18, in order to visit my 88-year-old grandparents and see snow. My dad flew up from Nashville and my sister joined us (after stopping in NY to sing at Carnegie Hall with the McGarrigles!). Raiden and I flew home Christmas morning via Detriot-then-Minneapolis, where we met Jon and his kids and then all flew home to L.A. together, family-style. It was wonderful fun! At some point I'll have pictures, but since I broke my little ELPH on the trip, I have to have the analogue insta-cameras developed and put on a CD before I can share them... *sniff*

Just took the tree decorations down yesterday, and Jon just took the tree out to the front lawn today, so the house is officially back to normal, save a few stray candy canes (which I always seem to have hanging around all year, along with my Jack Skellington lights!).

Today I added another blog to my blogroll. It's "Tuna Toast", and it's a foodie-type blog belonging to a woman Jon recently met at our favourite sushi bar, Sushi Z. It is in Alhambra, of all the unlikely places, and the chef, Ito-san, is spectacular. Jon met this woman and her husband one night while Raiden and I were in Halifax, and they really hit it off. I find her foodie blog interesting, and hope to encounter them sometime when we are at Z, so I can get to know them, too.

Happy New Year to all! Cheers!

And I have added it to my blogroll. It's called "Northern Fence", and it's a Canadian look at American politics. I am intrigued, and I like their "mission statement":

 

Hello, Welcome to Northern Side of the Fence. The purpose of this site is to give a Canadian perspective on American politics and the state of American News.
 
Some of you may be wondering, ‘Why should I listen to Canadians about American Politics and News Media?’ The world’s #1 negotiator and American Herb Cohen explains why thusly:

Over 160 years ago, a French sociologist by the name of Alexis De Tocqueville came to the United States. He traveled around, met with Americans, and then proceeded to write books telling us about ourselves. Now this is kind of interesting. How come he told us about ourselves? Why didn’t we figure it out? Because it’s hard for me to know me. It’s hard for us to know ourselves and it takes an outsider to explain us to us.

What I'm trying to get across is that with the current hostility between the American Left and American Right, it might be helpful to find out what a third party thinks. Hopefully, Northern Fence will try to fill that gap.
 
This site is intended to be non-partisan. We also won't be reinforcing a particular point of view like so many weblogs currently do.

So now you can actually SEE the brilliant Rob Corddry report called "Double Vision". Heh.

 

Here it is again: http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=24640

Do not miss this special report by Rob Corddry.
 
Daily Show: Corddry - Double Vision
In which Rob Corddry would *love* to report on Scooter Libby, but there's a giant ball of tin foil to look at. From Monday, October 31, 2005.

My sister happened across this fascinating picture. The best part, IMHO, is that Ron doesn't look like a snivelling little coward, which is how he has been directed ever since the first film. Not that I feel Ron *is* that, but the filmmakers have apparently felt he needed to provide a humourous counterpoint by bumbling about and screaming like Dakota Fanning all the time, and I loathe it.

 

This is a nice, tough Ron.

 

 

There is a very interesting MuzikMafia artist named Cowboy Troy who caught my ear a few months ago. The style he has, it seems, created all on his own, is called "Hick-Hop". Sound unique? Well, it is, and I really like his album. You can hear most if not all the tracks on his website.
 
This week, the two eldest of our kids have both informed me that Cowboy Troy himself will be on the Food Network tomorrow. I suppose I'll have to Tivo Food Secrets of Country Music Stars, to see if Cowboy Troy cooks as well as he makes music.

So, this explains why I have such an impossibly difficult time lying... too much gray matter. It's a nice, friendly way to think about such a crippling (in this society) deficit.
 
"Yeah, can't really lie comfortably. I can try, you know, but it never really goes well. What can I say, just a little too much of the old gray matter.... you know how it goes..."
 
Heh. [Emphasis below is mine, all mine!]
 
Liars' Brains Wired Differently
09/29/05
A USC study of pathological liars shows first evidence of structural differences in the area of the brain that enables most people to feel remorse.
By Usha Sutliff

A USC study has found the first proof of structural brain abnormalities in people who habitually lie, cheat and manipulate others.
 
While previous research has shown that there is heightened activity in the prefrontal cortex – the area of the brain that enables most people to feel remorse or learn moral behavior – when normal people lie, this is the first study to provide evidence of structural differences in that area among pathological liars.
 
The research – led by Yaling Yang and Adrian Raine, both of the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences – is published in the October issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
 
The subjects were taken from a sample of 108 volunteers pulled from Los Angeles' temporary employment pool. A series of psychological tests and interviews placed 12 in the category of people who had a history of repeated lying (11 men, one woman); 16 who exhibited signs of antisocial personality disorder but not pathological lying (15 men, one woman); and 21 who were normal controls (15 men, six women).
 
"We looked for things like inconsistencies in their stories about occupation, education, crimes and family background," said Raine, a psychology professor at USC and co-author of the study.
 
"Pathological liars can't always tell truth from falsehood and contradict themselves in an interview. They are manipulative and they admit they prey on people. They are very brazen in terms of their manner, but very cool when talking about this."
 
Aside from having histories of conning others or using aliases, the habitual liars also admitted to malingering, or telling falsehoods to obtain sickness benefits, Raine said.
 
After they were categorized, the researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging to explore structural brain differences between the groups. The liars had significantly more "white matter" and slightly less "gray matter" than those they were measured against, Raine said.
 
Specifically, liars had a 25.7 percent increase in prefrontal white matter compared to the antisocial controls and a 22 percent increase compared to the normal controls. Liars had a 14.2 percent decrease in prefrontal gray matter compared to normal controls.
 
More white matter – the wiring in the brain – may provide liars with the tools necessary to master the complex art of deceit, Raine said.
 
"Lying takes a lot of effort," he said.
 
"It's almost mind reading. You have to be able to understand the mindset of the other person. You also have to suppress your emotions or regulate them because you don't want to appear nervous. There's quite a lot to do there. You've got to suppress the truth.
 
"Our argument is that the more networking there is in the prefrontal cortex, the more the person has an upper hand in lying. Their verbal skills are higher. They've almost got a natural advantage."
 
But in normal people, it's the gray matter – or the brain cells connected by the white matter – that helps keep the impulse to lie in check.
 
Pathological liars have a surplus of white matter, the study found, and a deficit of gray matter. That means they have more tools to lie coupled with fewer moral restraints than normal people, Raine said.
 
"They've got the equipment to lie, and they don't have the disinhibition that the rest of us have in telling the big whoppers," he said.
 
"When people make moral decisions, they are relying on the prefrontal cortex. When people ask normal people to make moral decisions, we see activation in the front of the brain," he explained. "If these liars have a 14 percent reduction in gray matter, that means that they are less likely to care about moral issues or are less likely to be able to process moral issues. Having more gray matter would keep a check on these activities."
 
The researchers stopped short of asserting that these structural differences account for all lying.
 
"This is one of the components," Raine said.
 
"The findings need to be replicated and extended to other parts of the brain. What are the other neurobiological processes?
 
"We haven't had studies like this. It's exciting to us because it's a beginning study, but we need a lot more to flesh out this discovery."
 
Yang, the study's lead author, said the findings eventually could be used in making clinical diagnoses and may have applications in the criminal justice system and the business world.
 
"If [the findings] can be replicated and extended, they may have long-term implications in a number of areas," said Yang, a doctoral student in the USC department of psychology's brain and cognitive science program.
 
"For example, in the legal system they could potentially be used to help police work out which suspects are lying. In terms of clinical practice, they could help clinicians diagnose who is malingering – making up disability for financial gain.
 
"And also in business, they could assist in pre-employment screening, working out which individuals may not be suitable for hiring.
 
"But, right now, I have to emphasize that there are no direct practical applications," she said.
 
In their journal article, the authors mention that separate studies of autistic children – who typically have trouble lying – have showed the converse pattern of gray matter/white matter ratios.
 
"The facts that autistic children have difficulty lying and also show reduced prefrontal white matter constitutes the opposite but complementary pattern of the results compared to adults with increased prefrontal white matter who find it easy to lie," the researchers wrote.
 
"Although autism is a complex condition and cannot be taken as a model for lying, these results … converge with current findings on adult liars in suggesting that the prefrontal cortex is centrally involved in the capacity to lie."
 
The other researchers were Susan Bihrle and Lori LaCasse, also of the USC College's psychology department, Patrick Colletti of the Keck School of Medicine of USC's department of radiology and Todd Lencz of Hillside Hospital's department of research.

Now, these look like they'd be so much fun to collect!! Just in time for Christmas!!!

Giant Plushie Microbes.

I love all the cute logos they have for each subset of plushies. I think I like the Calamities best, although E. coli is pretty darn cute.

 

We make stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes—only a million times actual size! Now available: The Common Cold, The Flu, Sore Throat, Stomach Ache, Cough, Ear Ache, Bad Breath, Kissing Disease, Athlete's Foot, Ulcer, Martian Life, Beer & Bread, Black Death, Ebola, Flesh Eating, Sleeping Sickness, Dust Mite, Bed Bug, and Bookworm (and in our Professional line: H.I.V. and Hepatitis).
Each 5-to-7 inch doll is accompanied by an image of the real microbe it represents, as well as information about the microbe.
They make great learning tools for parents and educators, as well as amusing gifts for anyone with a sense of humor!

Today I came home from a little birthday trip I took to Santa Barbara. Jon and I drove up and stayed at Fess Parker's Doubletree. This is what we did last year, as well. But this year, we also had the pleasure of taking in a lovely concert: Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller. It was fantastic! My sister drove up as well, so we got to have a lovely sushi dinner with her last night.

Anyway, now that I am home, I have a chance to upload my favourite PDC pictures. Jon may upload some others of larger groups, but these are my faves.

 

Developer sandwich! Yay! That's Kevin, me, and Rich.

 

Just me and Rich...

 

And Kevin and Rich, so no one felt left out! Well, except perhaps Jon, who was relegated to photographer duties...

 

And here are Jon and Kevin, enjoying the lovely Farmer's Market, an L.A. landmark since 1912!!

This is the first time I have stumped iGod.

 

Me:
what does "chatterbot" mean?
God:
A chat robot is a program that attempts to simulate the conversation or "chat" of a human being. The Chat robot "Eliza" was a well-known early attempt at creating programs that could at least temporarily fool a real human being into thinking they were talking to another person. it is a kind of artificial intelligence.
Me:
you are artificial?
God:
Yes I am an artificial being.
Me:
interesting.
God:
Would you like to know more?
Me:
yes, please.
God:
Your polite style is very nice. What would you like to know?
Me:
how can you be God and be artificial?

...

...

...

...

***********

I am still waiting for iGod's reply...
I'll leave the window open for a couple of hours.

I am allowed to post pictures. Yay! So, I'll just post some varied ones as I sort out this UI.

 

This one is Jon, with me, as I enjoy my first real Guinness, in Galway, 2004.

 

 

This one is me standing by the sign for Six Mile Bridge (in Ireland), whence my family line originates. We encountered this sign by happenstance, while driving around a bit lost. It was cool!

 

 

This one is Jon's youngest son, Parker, Jon, and my son Raiden, all ready for our friend's Bar Mitzvah in June. It was fun! (No one in our family ever dresses this way unless we HAVE to, so it's worth documenting!)

 

I guess I will finish off with a picture from my sister's wedding, last Halloween. It was a Restoration-period, pirate-themed wedding, and it was great fun. Jon is wearing the tartan of my mother's family. There were 120 guests, and only TWO did not come in costume. It was a smashing success. I'll post more pics from the wedding another time. They are good fun!

So, having been given blog space, but then cautioned that I have to "behave" because this is, you know, a professional blog, I've been trying to figure out what exactly I am going to post about. It's not really so much that I am compelled to be outrageous or naughty, but that having those aspects restricted has kind of muffled my creativity, because I never know when those bits might happen to be triggered by something going on. I hope that makes sense. And I hope I can find things to say.

 

Right now I am reading Everything Bad is Good for You. I am enjoying it very much. Specifically because, although I have long believed videogames (and live RPGs, for that matter) to be extremely beneficial for the brain, I have never considered many other aspects of popular culture to be particularly redeeming, and this book just might be changing my perceptions on the issue.

 

In other news, I can enjoy a little rant about the Gap Online Store being CLOSED for about 2 weeks now. In what universe does the IS/IT group not build a new site, ramp it up on a parallel system, hammer on it for a few weeks, and then roll it out? How on earth is CLOSING the online store (during the first 2 weeks of school, when everyone needs to buy school clothes!) the best call? Baffles me. Also, it would be the reason why my son's new fall jacket came from Land's End, instead of Gap. :-P