The cause of Peace's stroke is still unknown. He spent Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas that year in Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas in California with no use of his right side. After months in outpatient care at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, he could walk only with a hard-plastic leg brace and a cane.

Now, with the help of a cane and an electronic device called the NESS L300, Peace competes in triathlons and is training to bike for the U.S. Paralympic Military Program.

The stroke left him with about 10% to 15% use of his right arm and 60% of his right leg. He has occasional difficulties transforming thoughts into words and has "foot drop," a condition in which the foot remains pointed toward the ground, not parallel, when he picks up his right leg to walk. The NESS L300, which is manufactured by Bioness, helps correct the condition through electrical stimulation.

The device consists of three parts: a blood pressure-like cuff that wraps around the leg just below the knee, a heel switch worn in the shoe that senses the foot's movement, and a hand controller worn around the neck.

Another great story about Bioness.

Q. What about presentations?

A. I use a little saying, which is, “Be brief, be bright and be gone.” It’s also not uncommon for me to say, “Why don’t we put the PowerPoint aside for a minute and why don’t you just talk to me?”

Q. What’s the maximum number of PowerPoint slides you want to see?

A. Six. But I actually prefer no PowerPoint. To be honest, I’d rather just talk. A really great meeting, to me, is someone who is just talking to me and might give me a piece of paper or two to support something, but that’s it.

From an interview with Qwest COO Teresa Taylor in today's Corner Office column in the New York Times. I'm used to "stand up. speak up, shut up." Here's a refreshing variation and some advice on using slides, too.

s there a burning question you have about tech? Like what's the difference between $100 and $100,000 headphones? Or why every country has a different f@%#ing plug? We explained all that, and a whole lot more this year.

For reference. It just might come in handy. You never know when you're gonna have to buy a new camera, or television, or cell phone.

December

by Gary Johnson

A little girl is singing for the faithful to come ye
Joyful and triumphant, a song she loves,
And also the partridge in a pear tree
And the golden rings and the turtle doves.
In the dark streets, red lights and green and blue
Where the faithful live, some joyful, some troubled,
Enduring the cold and also the flu,
Taking the garbage out and keeping the sidewalk shoveled.
Not much triumph going on here—and yet
There is much we do not understand.
And my hopes and fears are met
In this small singer holding onto my hand.
Onward we go, faithfully, into the dark
And are there angels singing overhead? Hark.