phoenixgarage.org

It's been a while since I last updated this site, so I thought I would post something to let everyone know what is going on, where I am at with things, and how I am doing...

My life has gotten a bit more complicated than I envisioned only a few short months ago.

Basically, to make a long and complex story short, my 85 year old mother fell and broke her hip. My wife and I ended up moving her in with us, here in the Phoenix area, after she had spent some time healing in a group nursing home. We had let her live independently in her home (in California), calling her weekly and visiting every now and then. Things seemed OK, if not perfect. My dad had passed away a few years ago, but she seemed to be doing well. She was able to get her groceries and go to doctor appointments, with the help of neighbors. Her independence, impatience, and stubborness ultimately made her try to get on a transport van without the help of an attendant, and she fell.

We were called by a neighbor, and we immediately went to see her.

Ultimately, she has recovered well, and is now living with us. We are attempting to get her financial and health matters straightened out (and I must interject here that if you have parents near the same age, or are of such age, it is in your best interest to set up a power-of-attorney or other legal framework to allow someone you trust, usually a family member, to be able to care for you and help you when you are unable to - it would have saved us a lot of time and effort had we had such a thing in place before all of this - fortunately, we have managed to secure such documents).

My mother is doing better now, though there is still much work ahead:

My Mother and I Questions or Comments?

That's me and her on our couch. She still needs some physical therapy, but I think she will be with us for a while. She mostly sits on the couch, watches TV, and sleeps. My wife takes care of her mostly, I go to work and "bring home the bacon", and help out where needed (my wife is a saint, and spares me the more embarassing duties and sights a son shouldn't see of his mother). Other than that, I have been busy with tasks and other items relating to my mother's care and financial situation. These things take a lot of time, but slowly it is working out.

I am continuing on with my homemade UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) project, but I now have the help of a friend by the name of Jared Hurn. He is a co-worker at my current employer, and he was looking for a robotics project to get him out of the house and away from his video games. After discussing with him about the project, we came to an agreement and he is now helping out, mainly providing ideas, financial support (in the form of hardware and other purchases for the project), and software development support. He has experience in GPS coordinate calculations, and an interest in neural networks. His contributions will help move the project forward that much more quickly.

You can find out more about this new direction in the UGV project in this article.