Jesse Wilson, 8, plays a game called FaceMaze at the autism center Joseph Sheppard co-directs at the University of Victoria.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Victoria, British Columbia (CNN) -- Joseph Sheppard has an IQ above 130. Ask him about his life or worldview and he'll start drawing connections to cosmology and quantum mechanics. He'll toss around names of great intellectuals -- Nietzsche, Spinoza -- as if they're as culturally relevant as Justin Bieber.

It might not be obvious that Sheppard has a hard time with small tasks that most of us take for granted -- washing dishes, sending packages, filling out online forms. Or that he finds it challenging to break out of routines, or to say something appropriate at meaningful moments.

Sheppard, 42, has high-functioning autism. He found out only about six years ago, but the diagnosis explained the odd patterns of behavior and speech that he'd struggled with throughout his life. And it gave him the impetus to reinvent himself as an autism advocate.

"I was invisible until I found my inner splendor," he told me in one of many long, philosophical, reflective e-mails last week. "My ability to interpret and alter my throughput of judgments, feelings, memories, plans, facts, perceptions, etc., and imprint them all with what I chose to be and chose to do.

"What I choose to do is change the course of the future for persons with autism, because I believe in them and I believe, given the right support and environment, they will be a strong force in repairing the world."

Just last week, U.S. health authorities announced that autism is more common than previously thought. About 1 in 88 children in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder, according to the report. Autism spectrum disorders are developmental conditions associated with impaired social communication and repetitive behaviors or fixated interests.

iReport: What should the world know about autism?

Diagnoses have risen 78% since 2000, partly because of greater awareness, and partly for reasons entirely unknown. Most medications don't help, and while some find improvements with intense (and expensive) behavioral therapy, there is no cure .

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With autism, no longer invisible

In the words of the Rev. David Wildermuth, Sunday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Yankton was all about the kids.

Celebrating Palm Sunday took on new meaning for the youngest members of the church when Trinity officially broke ground on its new worship space located just west of the current facility at the corner of Broadway and Fourth Avenue.

Wildermuth said that the churchs needs had outgrown the current facility and the congregation members had been debating what the right choice was for quite a while.

This has been a long process, a lot of studies and deciding what the needs were and what we wanted to accomplish with the new building and space, he said. One of the considerations was even building at a new location, but the majority of our parishioners felt that we wanted a presence at our current location. I think this new facility is going to be a great addition to the ministry of Yankton. I look forward to this first phase of the project getting done.

That first phase includes a new worship space, with a large annex for gatherings, as well as a basement and parking lot.

We will move our pipe organ to the new worship space, which is a huge undertaking in and of itself, Wildermuth said. Once we get this first part finished, our hope is to go into the next phase, which will be remodeling our current facility.

All together, the project will be about $4 million once it is finished in all its stages, Wildermuth said. My hope is that a year from now at Easter, we can worship in our new space. Following that, step by step, we will finish the rest. I know that will mean at least one more capital campaign and continuing what we are doing. There is a lot of hard work left.

Joining the congregation Sunday was South Dakota ELCA Bishop David Zellmer, who said he felt it was important to be a part of the celebration.

This is one of our outstanding churches in the South Dakota Synod and we have always had a great relationship with them, he said. I have many friends that are members down here, so it is personal for me as well. It is because of the gifts from other places as well as here that this is going to be able to take place. We are excited about what is going on.

Zellmer said he believes the new facility is needed and will be very useful both for fellowship and for worship.

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Trinity Lutheran Looks To The Future

31-03-2012 08:16 for photos .. Interior Design on decorating a home in 5 days by Interior Designer Rebecca Robeson. People often ask if Rebecca is available to do her design magic in other places besides Southern California... The answer is YES! In this video, a YouTube subscriber and fan of Robeson Design, hires Rebecca to fly out to Northern Virginia for 5 days .... just enough time to pull off a minor miracle and leaves the homeowner with a list of things to do to complete the transformation. Its fun, Its entertaining and it's exciting to see what can be done with Rebeccas eye for design and her drive and determination to get it done in 5 days! Join us for this the second of 2 videos on Rebeccas trip to Virginia! WATCH part 1 of this series: Like our Facebook page: Pin us on PINTREST: Follow Rebecca on Twitter: View our Website: View our YouTube channel: View us on HOUZZ: *Note THIS IS NOT A FREE SERVICE. All Robeson Design videos you see on youtube are real projects by real clients who have hired our professional services. Projects that require out of town travel require all expenses to be paid by the homeowner. If you are interested in having Rebecca magically transform your home in 5 days, Contact us at:

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Interior Design REVEAL for 5 days to decorate a home in Virginia - Video

31-03-2012 10:12 JD Esaijian from A&E's Flip This House is on site in San Diego taking you through one of CT Home's newest property restorations. JD discusses some layout changes that will take this property to the next level, without ruining its classic feel.

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Real Estate Renovation - Advanced Layout and Design - Video

31-03-2012 10:33 On Saturday August 27, 2011 Hurricane Irene blew an oak tree estimated at 75 years old onto the kitchen wing of our home. It could have been much worse. No one was injured and we did not have to move out of our home. A significant portion of our kitchen was destroyed, but we did not lose many personal possessions. This video contains some of the highlights from the five month saga of restoration with special focus on the most complicated room in any house, the kitchen.

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Hurricane Irene - Restoration Adventure - Video

01-04-2012 12:11 Ontario Home Renovators, finish basement renovations restoration. London, Ontario 519-668-7366

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Ontario Home Renovators - Install Drywall part1 - Video

"The Angkor Wat is a gem of human civilization and a valuable treasure of the Cambodian people," visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao Sunday told Chinese technicians working on a restoration project in the Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia.

Inspecting the China-assisted restoration project on the ruined Takeo temple in the famous Angkor complex in northwest Cambodia, Hu said the governments of both countries "have great faith in you when you were given the formidable job of restoring the Takeo temple."

"I hope you will overcome all the difficulties and accomplish the task with solid work," the president said.

The restoration project of the Takeo temple, which was built by King Jayavarman V and Suryavarman I from the late 10th century to the early 11th century, is the second phase of the Chinese government assistance in restoring Angkor activities.

The project kicked off in November 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2018.

At the working site, Hu talked with Chinese and Cambodian archaeologists, applauding their progress in restoring and conserving the Takeo temple, one of the most popular temples in the Angkor area, in harsh environments.

"I hope you will help revive the ancient civilization created by the Cambodian people by making persistent efforts and strengthening communication and coordination with your Cambodian colleagues," Hu said.

The Chinese president also asked the Chinese technicians about the difficulties in the restoration work.

"The biggest challenge here is the lack of professionals," one Chinese technician told Hu, explaining that the job requires skilled workers who are familia with Cambodia's history, art and architecture, in addition to the proficiency in foreign languages.

"The restoration work is just a project used to train such professionals and allow people to display their talent," Hu said.

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Chinese president inspects restoration work for Takeo in Angkor complex

U.S. Air Force photos

The Memphis Belle sits in the restoration hangar at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Crews from the museum have been restoring the World War II B-17 Flying Fortress, aiming to have the plane back on display by 2014.

U.S. Air Force photo

The Memphis Belle first took flight in the summer of 1942. After the war, it wound up in an Oklahoma junkyard before being rescued and brought to Memphis.

For nearly seven years, the Memphis Belle has been hidden in Ohio, sitting in pieces after being disassembled and carted from her longtime home on Mud Island.

But the Belle hasn't been forgotten, left to rot away in some dank hangar on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Instead, crews from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force have been lovingly restoring the World War II B-17 Flying Fortress with an eye to having her back on display by 2014.

"We're going to do whatever is required for the airplane," said Greg Hassler, restoration supervisor for the museum, which is in Dayton.

Built at a Boeing factory in Seattle at a cost of about $314,000, the Belle first took to the skies in the summer of 1942.

She was given her name by pilot Robert Morgan, who at that time was the boyfriend of Memphian Margaret Polk.

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Memphis Belle taking shape again in restoration

nathan vanderklippe CALGARY From Monday's Globe and Mail Published Sunday, Apr. 01, 2012 7:00PM EDT

Most years, its an eye-glazing exercise. But calculating reserves how much oil or gas an energy company has buried on its lands has taken on a sudden new importance for an industry in the throes of a remarkable pricing spiral.

Every spring, energy companies update their reserves based on price forecasts done at the end of the prior year. Price is an important consideration in determining the most important class of reserves, called proven, because a company can only say its capable of producing a certain volume of energy if its profitable enough to do so.

Normally, the year-end price estimates are a pretty good indication of whats to come, and make for a reasonable estimate of a companys reserves. But this year, a sudden drop in natural gas prices has raised significant question marks over the accuracy of the reserve figures that have been issued in recent weeks.

Its a safe assumption that a large part of Canadas natural gas reserves are [overstated], said Eric Nuttall, portfolio manager for Sprott Energy Fund.

That has significant ramifications, especially for those looking to evaluate the worth of companies with major gas holdings. Reserves are an important component of calculating the net asset value of a company. And this year, they could be wrong, by a lot. The difference in assumptions is stark, and anyone looking at corporate reports might be led to expect stronger pricing than companies are actually getting. Indeed, gas prices have gotten bad enough that observers expect cash flow for some companies to dip into negative territory.

To illustrate the difference in expectations, take the price assumptions used by GLJ Petroleum Consultants, one of the most important reserve evaluators in the country. GLJs price deck, or forecast, for 2012 assumes second-quarter gas prices of $3.65 (U.S.) per million BTU, and a full-year average of $3.80.

The actual price of gas is far worse. Natural gas for delivery in the second quarter has traded at barely more than $2, while the average of futures prices for the remainder of 2012 is $2.53. Thats fully a third below the figure used to estimate reserves.

Some analysts are even more pessimistic. If gas stays at or below $2 for much of the year a possibility, given the strong likelihood Canadian storage will fill up, and the chance U.S. storage will also near capacity, creating market havoc this years reserve calculations could be substantially off the mark.

Last year they were using $4.50 for the price deck. And weve seen over a 50-per-cent decrease in the price of gas, said Marin Katusa, an analyst with Casey Research. The real [reserve] writedowns are going to be up to 40 per cent.

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Low natural gas price casts doubt on 'proven' reserves

In order of predicted finish. "Scouts' take" by Bob Nightengale, based on scouts who have watched the teams and requested anonymity for competitive reasons.

1. Diamondbacks

Season story lines: The Diamondbacks, who ran away with the NL West last year as baseball's biggest surprise, made substantial improvements in hopes of going deeper into the postseason. But some plans might be scrapped. Their 3-4-5 starters of Trevor Cahill, Josh Collmenter and Joe Saunders struggled this spring. If that continues, it might force them to accelerate the promotion of prized prospects such as Patrick Corbin, Tyler Skaggs and Trevor Bauer. They also planned to have Gerardo Parra as their fourth outfielder after signing former Minnesota Twins slugger Jason Kubel to a two-year, $15 million deal, but Parra has been their best outfielder this spring. Arizona patiently awaits the return of shortstop Stephen Drew from knee surgery and must rely on Willie Bloomquist for now.

Season stat: 48. The Diamondbacks led the major leagues with 48 comeback victories and were 84-0 when leading after eight innings. Can they possibly rely on the same late-inning magic of a year ago, or will the odds catch up with them?

Scouts' take: They've looked sluggish all spring. Their starting pitching looks like a mess. Cahill looks like he's throwing (batting practice) out there; his ball isn't sinking at all. He was supposed to be a No. 2 starter but looks no better than a No. 4, and that's being nice. I'm not sure Collmenter would make hardly anyone else's rotation. His velocity is just 86 to 88 mph. They have some nice pitching depth, and Skaggs looks like he's close to ready. They have some nice outfielders on the way, too, with A.J. Pollock and Adam Eaton.

Season story lines: The Giants view last year's second-place finish as an aberration albeit an 86-win aberration. Their offense should be improved with the return of catcher Buster Posey, the 2010 National League rookie of the year, and the additions of outfielders Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan. The team resisted temptation to move Posey to first base after he broke his ankle on a play at the plate in May. Patience won't be a virtue with this team. They can't continue to waste superb efforts by their rotation. If first baseman Aubrey Huff struggles, he could be replaced quickly by Brandon Belt.

Season stat: 866. Games missed by players in 24 stints on the disabled list last season. The Giants again don't have the depth to survive major injuries to their front-line starters and will open the year with second baseman Freddy Sanchez and starter Ryan Vogelsong on the DL.

Scouts' take: They've had a good spring, but you still wonder if they'll have enough offense. I wonder about their pitching, too. If Brian Wilson is healthy, they won't have to worry about their bullpen. But you just wonder how healthy he is. I don't know if they're protecting his elbow. They have some nice scrappy extra infielders, but someone is going to have to start at second base for Freddy Sanchez. He won't be ready. The biggest surprise on their team might be (outfielder) Gregor Blanco. He has a nice, compact swing, and he's looking a lot better against left-handers. To me, Brandon Belt should be the first baseman, but they're stuck with that contract for Aubrey Huff.

3. Dodgers

Season story lines: The Dodgers think they have as good a shot as anyone to win the division after the club was sold to a group led by former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson and veteran baseball executive Stan Kasten. It's too late to pick up premier free agents, but they no longer have to worry about resources at the trade deadline. They can beef up their farm system and retain their free agents. The Dodgers can return to being a ballclub again without seeing owner Frank McCourt on TMZ and their club in bankruptcy.

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NL West preview: Diamondbacks look to repeat