Random Thoughts 12/7/10

• I believe that the iPad experiment with my nearly-86-year old grandmother is a success.  Grandma had very limited computer experience, so the only real hitch has been overcoming the learning curve.  But with the iPad, the learning curve is so gentle that she had adequate control over the basics in the first few days.  I had a second training session with her recently and reinforced a few principles and answered a few questions.  She seems to have a viable long-term solution to her computer needs.  I highly recommend this to others.  If my grandmother can go near-zero experience to emailing, blog-reading, and playing online scrabble with me, I'd say the transition is doable for most seniors.
• This is what medical test results should look like.
• Today is the anniversary of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into World War 2.  Today is also the birthday of my niece Hannah, the oldest grandchild in our family.
• "Sarah Palin's Alaska" is about the best television show on air nowadays.  It's chock full of family values, good work ethics, and various American values.  I've heard a lot of criticism for Palin doing a reality TV show (it's really more of a travelogue) but, politically speaking, most folks are going to like her more after watching this.
• KU plays again tonight.  Go Jayhawks!
• DreamWorks Animation is all about the sequels.  They have planned out their animated franchises and, as long as they each continue to make money, we might see four Madagascar movies and up to six Kung Fu Panda movies.  The How to Train Your Dragon movies, based on a series of eight books, is planned for three movies.  Think about it, I could be buying a holographic 3D digital download of Kung Fu Panda 6 for my grandchildren.