Saturday, November 21, 2009
Dr. Goodheart's Letter To Dr. Flagman 260
This is my copy of the letter Dr. Gooheart mailed directly to Dr. Flagman on my behalf:
Communications With Whatagreatguy 259
Some of you may already know Whatagreatguy is the Safety Director at work. I've tried to keep in contact with him since I've been home - to show my interest in my job and coming back to work. These are emails we've exchanged over the last few days:
What I didn't mention in the above email was that I called Dr Flagman's [Dr Banner's]office when I couldn't get an answer at Dr. Misra's. The girl who answered simply said there was nothing in my chart. Once I knew the letter had indeed been mailed to Dr. Flagman's office, I called again. This time a girl said it could be in some stuff they haven't filed yet. And the third time I called, a girl told me she didn't open the mail, and that it would be best to FAX the letter to her attention, which I did.
What I didn't mention in the above email was that I called Dr Flagman's [Dr Banner's]office when I couldn't get an answer at Dr. Misra's. The girl who answered simply said there was nothing in my chart. Once I knew the letter had indeed been mailed to Dr. Flagman's office, I called again. This time a girl said it could be in some stuff they haven't filed yet. And the third time I called, a girl told me she didn't open the mail, and that it would be best to FAX the letter to her attention, which I did.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Preliminary Communication 258
To refresh your memory, Dr. Goodheart is my new cardiologist at UAB - he was recommended to me by Dr. Flagman. Dr. Flagman is the Medical Examiner for AMX, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, or D.O.
You may recall that Dr. Flagman wouldn't renew my medical certification until he had a letter from a cardiologist stating that it was ok for me to drive a truck. Dr. Goodheart's letter is the second one I've had to obtain for Dr. Flagman, who apparently refuses to believe a person with a coronary stent can safely drive a truck - even though he has evidence to the contrary.
When I returned to work after having the stenting procedure, Dr. Flagman certified me as medically sound for 90 days - time enough to get the first letter for him. But once he got it, he only recertified me for 90 more days - time enough to get a second letter for him. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I wasn't able to complete the process to get the second letter, and I basically had to quit my job on 10/06/09.
I've written about the problem I'm having with Dr. Flagman several times before:
90 Day Medical Card - April 13, 2009
Home For Stress Test - May 15, 2009
90 Day Medical Card Expires Soon - July 7, 2009
Medical Card Extended Another 90 Days - July 9, 2009
90 Day Medical Card Expires Soon - Again - September 12, 2009
From Wildwood FL - September 23, 2009
Neon Troubles - October 4, 2009
Was She Conscientious Or Contentious? - October 5, 2009
Dr. Flagman Says NO - October 6, 2009
God Does Little Favors For Me - Problems solved - October 8, 2009
On 10/28/09, six days before my initial appointment with Dr. Goodheart, I faxed the following letter to him:
I saw Dr. Goodheart on 11/04/09, he did an echocardiogram, and on 11/06/09 he sent a letter directly to Dr. Flagman. However, I didn't know it went directly to Dr. Flagman because Dr. Goodheart's office didn't send me a copy.
From what I can gather, Dr. Flagman's office doesn't know if they ever received the letter or not. One day a girl told me it could be in a stack of stuff they haven't filed yet, and she'd get back to me. She never did. Today a girl told me she didn't open the mail, and it'd be better to fax the letter to them, along with an explanation as to what the letter was for. This is what I faxed:
It almost makes me angry that the people at Dr. Flagman's office have so little regard for my livelyhood, not to mention the time, expense, and aggravation. Granted, coming home in my car was an answer to prayer. Taking the time off hasn't been a hardship - yet. But what's going on with these people in this tiny little doctor's office? Why do they have so little regard for mine and Dr. Misra's efforts?
You may recall that Dr. Flagman wouldn't renew my medical certification until he had a letter from a cardiologist stating that it was ok for me to drive a truck. Dr. Goodheart's letter is the second one I've had to obtain for Dr. Flagman, who apparently refuses to believe a person with a coronary stent can safely drive a truck - even though he has evidence to the contrary.
When I returned to work after having the stenting procedure, Dr. Flagman certified me as medically sound for 90 days - time enough to get the first letter for him. But once he got it, he only recertified me for 90 more days - time enough to get a second letter for him. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I wasn't able to complete the process to get the second letter, and I basically had to quit my job on 10/06/09.
I've written about the problem I'm having with Dr. Flagman several times before:
90 Day Medical Card - April 13, 2009
Home For Stress Test - May 15, 2009
90 Day Medical Card Expires Soon - July 7, 2009
Medical Card Extended Another 90 Days - July 9, 2009
90 Day Medical Card Expires Soon - Again - September 12, 2009
From Wildwood FL - September 23, 2009
Neon Troubles - October 4, 2009
Was She Conscientious Or Contentious? - October 5, 2009
Dr. Flagman Says NO - October 6, 2009
God Does Little Favors For Me - Problems solved - October 8, 2009
On 10/28/09, six days before my initial appointment with Dr. Goodheart, I faxed the following letter to him:
I saw Dr. Goodheart on 11/04/09, he did an echocardiogram, and on 11/06/09 he sent a letter directly to Dr. Flagman. However, I didn't know it went directly to Dr. Flagman because Dr. Goodheart's office didn't send me a copy.
From what I can gather, Dr. Flagman's office doesn't know if they ever received the letter or not. One day a girl told me it could be in a stack of stuff they haven't filed yet, and she'd get back to me. She never did. Today a girl told me she didn't open the mail, and it'd be better to fax the letter to them, along with an explanation as to what the letter was for. This is what I faxed:
It almost makes me angry that the people at Dr. Flagman's office have so little regard for my livelyhood, not to mention the time, expense, and aggravation. Granted, coming home in my car was an answer to prayer. Taking the time off hasn't been a hardship - yet. But what's going on with these people in this tiny little doctor's office? Why do they have so little regard for mine and Dr. Misra's efforts?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Home Improvements (Part Four) 257
Last paragraph, last post was:
But there is a difference. When the land itself passes down to Bobolink so will the 99 year lease. I don't think Bobolink himself would ever do me wrong, but because men often think with their little heads instead of their big ones, Bobolink could be influenced by some woman to kick me off the property. Especially if the woman is the girlfriend he had up at the shop last Saturday. What if they get married, and Bobolink gets killed in an wreck or something? Then the gold digger wife would hold my lease. What then???
BUT I can't afford to buy this place now. I don't even know if I can afford the home improvements. To me, the bigger problem is improving the place - because it would solve a lot of problems with the trailer itself - but it would be a shame to sink a bunch of money into permanent structures without some steadfast leagal assurance that I could live here until I die.
Mother is adamant about it, and wants all of us to sit down and sort it out; and I suppose a pow-wow is necessary sometime soon. It hurts my brain to think about such complicated affairs. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, etc., and how is it possible to get all parties on the same wavelength? Stuff like this makes my hair hurt.
And on top of all this, technically I don't even have a job. I trust Whatagreatguy's word, but until I'm on the road again, I don't have a job.
In other news, I'm having a relapse of whatever this bug is, cold/flu/whatever. I feel like doodoo today. I've been taking the antibiotics, but I don't think they're helping much.
Even more comforting was that he was saying "we" a lot. "We'll come up with the pole," etc. However, E.F. told me to make all the arrangements. Bobolink was contributing positively to the conversation, which was also very comforting.The problem here is this: As long as they're alive and able, my dealings about this place will be with E.F. Hutton and Abbie. They own the land. E.F. Hutton has said there is a possibility they'd sell this plot to me outright. I think Abbie favors a 99 year lease - in her eyes, there's no difference.
But there is a difference. When the land itself passes down to Bobolink so will the 99 year lease. I don't think Bobolink himself would ever do me wrong, but because men often think with their little heads instead of their big ones, Bobolink could be influenced by some woman to kick me off the property. Especially if the woman is the girlfriend he had up at the shop last Saturday. What if they get married, and Bobolink gets killed in an wreck or something? Then the gold digger wife would hold my lease. What then???
BUT I can't afford to buy this place now. I don't even know if I can afford the home improvements. To me, the bigger problem is improving the place - because it would solve a lot of problems with the trailer itself - but it would be a shame to sink a bunch of money into permanent structures without some steadfast leagal assurance that I could live here until I die.
Mother is adamant about it, and wants all of us to sit down and sort it out; and I suppose a pow-wow is necessary sometime soon. It hurts my brain to think about such complicated affairs. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, etc., and how is it possible to get all parties on the same wavelength? Stuff like this makes my hair hurt.
And on top of all this, technically I don't even have a job. I trust Whatagreatguy's word, but until I'm on the road again, I don't have a job.
In other news, I'm having a relapse of whatever this bug is, cold/flu/whatever. I feel like doodoo today. I've been taking the antibiotics, but I don't think they're helping much.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Home Improvements (Part Three) 256
I've had a cold/flu/something, but last Saturday I felt good enough to take Buddy for a walk. It was kinda late for E.F. Hutton to be in his shop, but thankfully he was - along with Cousin Bobolink and his girlfriend.
I don't personally know the girlfriend, but my impression of her isn't a good one. This woman, who is probably close to my and Bobolink's age (late 40s) was sitting in a chair next to Bobolink with her leg draped over his - as if she were at home, with no regard or respect for E.F. Hutton or me. My notion of her is that she cares nothing for Bobolink, but cares a geat deal for what Bobolink will inherit. A psychiatrist might say she was showing possession, or ownership of Bobolink (and his stuff) by covering him with her leg in such a disrespectful way.
Men often think with their little heads instead of their big ones, so I don't particularly fault Bobolink for allowing her behavior. But she should have known better. We aren't teenagers anymore. This woman figures into the home improvement saga a little later.
E.F. has known about my home improvement plans from the beginning, and I called Bobolink a few days ago to tell him about it. So, when I mentioned my dilemma about moving the service/utility/whatever pole, they both knew what I was talking about. I told E.F. I was lost about what to do next, and it was so comforting to hear him lay out a plan and explain what happens when the service is moved.
One important thing I learned was that the inspector works for Jefferson County - not AL Power. And when the inspector comes out to inspect, he only wants to see that the pole doesn't lean and how the electrician wires the lines into the house.
Even more comforting was that he was saying "we" a lot. "We'll come up with the pole," etc. However, E.F. told me to make all the arrangements. Bobolink was contributing positively to the conversation, which was also very comforting.
I don't personally know the girlfriend, but my impression of her isn't a good one. This woman, who is probably close to my and Bobolink's age (late 40s) was sitting in a chair next to Bobolink with her leg draped over his - as if she were at home, with no regard or respect for E.F. Hutton or me. My notion of her is that she cares nothing for Bobolink, but cares a geat deal for what Bobolink will inherit. A psychiatrist might say she was showing possession, or ownership of Bobolink (and his stuff) by covering him with her leg in such a disrespectful way.
Men often think with their little heads instead of their big ones, so I don't particularly fault Bobolink for allowing her behavior. But she should have known better. We aren't teenagers anymore. This woman figures into the home improvement saga a little later.
E.F. has known about my home improvement plans from the beginning, and I called Bobolink a few days ago to tell him about it. So, when I mentioned my dilemma about moving the service/utility/whatever pole, they both knew what I was talking about. I told E.F. I was lost about what to do next, and it was so comforting to hear him lay out a plan and explain what happens when the service is moved.
One important thing I learned was that the inspector works for Jefferson County - not AL Power. And when the inspector comes out to inspect, he only wants to see that the pole doesn't lean and how the electrician wires the lines into the house.
Even more comforting was that he was saying "we" a lot. "We'll come up with the pole," etc. However, E.F. told me to make all the arrangements. Bobolink was contributing positively to the conversation, which was also very comforting.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
YoVille, Farmville, and Farm 255
I've already talked about how much I like Facebook and the three games I play there - YoVille, Farmville, and Farm Town. One of the objects of these games is to have a lot of 'neighbors'. The more neighbors you have, the more you can do in the games.
For instance, in Farmville you can't buy certain seeds, etc. until you 'level up' (move up to the next level in the game); and part of the criteria for leveling up is to have a lot of neighbors. Same thing in Farm Town. In YoVille (where you bake sweets for money) you earn more money for your bakes according to the number of neighbors you have. There are lots of other things you can do according to the number of neighbors you have.
The problem I have with the games is that I can't tell who's who because some players use different names in the games. The only way I can tell who they are is by their profile pictures. So here's some screenshots of how I'm trying to keep up with it:
It's a lot easier for me to tell what's what - because the games only allow so many actions, such as inviting friends and gift giving, per day. I don't want to waste gifts sending them to people who aren't active players. Inactive players are important as neighbors, but I like to send gifts to people who send them to me, etc.
It's something to do besides worry about home improvements....
For instance, in Farmville you can't buy certain seeds, etc. until you 'level up' (move up to the next level in the game); and part of the criteria for leveling up is to have a lot of neighbors. Same thing in Farm Town. In YoVille (where you bake sweets for money) you earn more money for your bakes according to the number of neighbors you have. There are lots of other things you can do according to the number of neighbors you have.
The problem I have with the games is that I can't tell who's who because some players use different names in the games. The only way I can tell who they are is by their profile pictures. So here's some screenshots of how I'm trying to keep up with it:
It's a lot easier for me to tell what's what - because the games only allow so many actions, such as inviting friends and gift giving, per day. I don't want to waste gifts sending them to people who aren't active players. Inactive players are important as neighbors, but I like to send gifts to people who send them to me, etc.
It's something to do besides worry about home improvements....
Friday, November 13, 2009
Home Improvements (Part Two) 254
I'm becoming more and more anxious/nervous/whatever about making these improvements. I feel as if I'm standing still on something urgent. Maybe I've just been home too long and need to get my mind on something else. I didn't get anything from Dr. Goodheart today, and I'm beginning to wonder if he sent the letter I need (to get my job back) directly to Dr. Flagman in Dothan.
Back to home improvements. I still haven't gotten an estimate on what the shed itself will cost.
I mentioned yesterday that an engineer from AL Power was coming out to advise me about moving our utility service pole. He suggested putting it on the east end on the house - by my bedroom. He rambled off some other stuff I didn't understand, but one thing's clear; I'm gonna have to hire a high priced electrician to do the work so the AL Power inspector will approve it. And I learned that a buried power line would run from the big utility pole by the road to the house - an expense I'm sure I can't afford. I wouldn't want to have to dig it up later.
The only thing AL Power will physically do is move the power line. But their list of requirements and specifications covers everything I'm responsible for. Which is ... what?
I learned that I have to buy and set the pole. I don't want us to be without power any longer than necessary, so I'll get another pole and have everything ready for a one hour swap. Maybe. But what kind of pole does it have to be?
I went over to the AL Power office in Hueytown this morning and picked up 'Spec Sheets'. This is what they say about the pole itself:
Ok, so it's got to be treated wood. It's got to be 18' long. 4' of that 18 has to be in the ground, so I've got to dig a hole 4' deep. If the pole is round, it's got to be 5" in diameter. If the pole is aquare, it's got to be 6"x6", which is what we have now. And once you put it up, if the thing's not stable in AL Power's eyes, they won't connect the power.
I'm getting a headache. Just for the record, here are the spec sheets in full:
Back to home improvements. I still haven't gotten an estimate on what the shed itself will cost.
I mentioned yesterday that an engineer from AL Power was coming out to advise me about moving our utility service pole. He suggested putting it on the east end on the house - by my bedroom. He rambled off some other stuff I didn't understand, but one thing's clear; I'm gonna have to hire a high priced electrician to do the work so the AL Power inspector will approve it. And I learned that a buried power line would run from the big utility pole by the road to the house - an expense I'm sure I can't afford. I wouldn't want to have to dig it up later.
The only thing AL Power will physically do is move the power line. But their list of requirements and specifications covers everything I'm responsible for. Which is ... what?
I learned that I have to buy and set the pole. I don't want us to be without power any longer than necessary, so I'll get another pole and have everything ready for a one hour swap. Maybe. But what kind of pole does it have to be?
I went over to the AL Power office in Hueytown this morning and picked up 'Spec Sheets'. This is what they say about the pole itself:
Ok, so it's got to be treated wood. It's got to be 18' long. 4' of that 18 has to be in the ground, so I've got to dig a hole 4' deep. If the pole is round, it's got to be 5" in diameter. If the pole is aquare, it's got to be 6"x6", which is what we have now. And once you put it up, if the thing's not stable in AL Power's eyes, they won't connect the power.
I'm getting a headache. Just for the record, here are the spec sheets in full:
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Home Improvements (Part One) 253
(Part Two will follow as things progress.)
I've already mentioned the shed I want to put over the trailer. Just for the record, here are more details on that subject. To find people to call for an estimate, I just searched the internet. Several places do commercial work, but few are interested in a project this small.
Anyway, one of the places gave me a number for a guy that does a lot of their work, Paul. Paul gave me his email address, and he was able to tell what I wanted to do just by looking at the link I sent him. He asked me to measure from the ground to the roof - it's 11.5' at the tallest point. We've talked a couple of times, but I haven't heard back from him since then.
I also called Southern Home Remodeling. These people have shown more interest, actually coming to the house to take measurements. And yesterday they called me back to say they were waiting on a price from somebody else.
Apparently it takes a while for a contractor/builder/whatever to get an estimate together. I thought they could just quote a price based on footage - quick and easy like. Obviously, I've never had any experience with this kind of thing, but my sense of urgency has become more intense since the last rain.
The remnants of Hurricane Ida came through a couple of days ago, dumping about 4.5 inches of blowing rain in about 36 hours. It was coming through the back door somehow. Not around the edges, but through it, I think. The door is a typical cheap trailer door. It needs to be replaced, but trailer doors don't conform to standard specs. I'd have to order one online, then hire somebody to hang it (to be sure it's a snug fit.) The rain was also blowing through the kitchen window where the air conditioner is; (Long story about how Disabro didn't fix it back right.)
This shed would solve a lot of problems, including a roof over the front porch and general aesthetics for the neighborhood.
An engineer from AL Power is coming out this morning to give me advice about moving the power line. I'm considering putting it underground, but to simply move it over might be the cheapest way. I don't know.
In other, sort-of related news: There aren't any kind of handholds in the bathroom for Mother when she's taking a shower. Because she's almost 80 yo it scares me to death that she might trip/slip stepping out of the shower. So I bought one of these from Target Online:
It's heavy and well made for the price, but it won't fit our tub. Our tub has two 'lips' at the top at exactly the wrong places, and the rail can't screw onto the side evenly. I took it back to the local Target yesterday.
Our tub is also narrow compared to standard tubs, so I ordered one of these from Target Online too:
Just to remind everybody, the only reason I can even consider improvements to the house is because I got all that money back from BCBS. It won't be anywhere near enough for the shed, but it's a start. Hopefully I'll be able to get that financed somehow - possibly with E.F. Hutton and Abbie.
Finally, I've had a cold or something since 11/04/09. Bad! headaches and stuffy nose, but not many other symptoms. I called Cinderella 3 days ago and asked if Dr. Feelgood would phone in some antibiotics for me. Yesterday I picked up 14 tablets of Sulfamethoxazole-TMP DS, "...a combination of two antibiotics used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections (e.g., middle ear, urine, respiratory and intestinal infections). I think I'm on the mend.
I still haven't gotten the letter I need to get by job back, but I'm not real concerned - yet.
I've already mentioned the shed I want to put over the trailer. Just for the record, here are more details on that subject. To find people to call for an estimate, I just searched the internet. Several places do commercial work, but few are interested in a project this small.
Anyway, one of the places gave me a number for a guy that does a lot of their work, Paul. Paul gave me his email address, and he was able to tell what I wanted to do just by looking at the link I sent him. He asked me to measure from the ground to the roof - it's 11.5' at the tallest point. We've talked a couple of times, but I haven't heard back from him since then.
I also called Southern Home Remodeling. These people have shown more interest, actually coming to the house to take measurements. And yesterday they called me back to say they were waiting on a price from somebody else.
Apparently it takes a while for a contractor/builder/whatever to get an estimate together. I thought they could just quote a price based on footage - quick and easy like. Obviously, I've never had any experience with this kind of thing, but my sense of urgency has become more intense since the last rain.
The remnants of Hurricane Ida came through a couple of days ago, dumping about 4.5 inches of blowing rain in about 36 hours. It was coming through the back door somehow. Not around the edges, but through it, I think. The door is a typical cheap trailer door. It needs to be replaced, but trailer doors don't conform to standard specs. I'd have to order one online, then hire somebody to hang it (to be sure it's a snug fit.) The rain was also blowing through the kitchen window where the air conditioner is; (Long story about how Disabro didn't fix it back right.)
This shed would solve a lot of problems, including a roof over the front porch and general aesthetics for the neighborhood.
An engineer from AL Power is coming out this morning to give me advice about moving the power line. I'm considering putting it underground, but to simply move it over might be the cheapest way. I don't know.
In other, sort-of related news: There aren't any kind of handholds in the bathroom for Mother when she's taking a shower. Because she's almost 80 yo it scares me to death that she might trip/slip stepping out of the shower. So I bought one of these from Target Online:
It's heavy and well made for the price, but it won't fit our tub. Our tub has two 'lips' at the top at exactly the wrong places, and the rail can't screw onto the side evenly. I took it back to the local Target yesterday.
Our tub is also narrow compared to standard tubs, so I ordered one of these from Target Online too:
Just to remind everybody, the only reason I can even consider improvements to the house is because I got all that money back from BCBS. It won't be anywhere near enough for the shed, but it's a start. Hopefully I'll be able to get that financed somehow - possibly with E.F. Hutton and Abbie.
Finally, I've had a cold or something since 11/04/09. Bad! headaches and stuffy nose, but not many other symptoms. I called Cinderella 3 days ago and asked if Dr. Feelgood would phone in some antibiotics for me. Yesterday I picked up 14 tablets of Sulfamethoxazole-TMP DS, "...a combination of two antibiotics used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections (e.g., middle ear, urine, respiratory and intestinal infections). I think I'm on the mend.
I still haven't gotten the letter I need to get by job back, but I'm not real concerned - yet.
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Stockholm Effect - 252
*******
Stockholm Syndrome defined:
President Obama's first official remark about the shootings were included in a speech he was giving to an [American] Indian tribal conference on Thursday at 5:00pm, wherein he said, in the following order:
At the very least, as the Boston Globe stated,
Are we a nation held hostage because our own 'political correctness'? Are we blind to the fact that the major's actions were an act of terrorism simply because he objected to us killing Muslim terrorists in Afghanistan? Are we really going to offer sympathy to this man because he was supposedly harassed? Give me a break!
The leader of our captors is, of course, Obama. He hypnotically influences most of the cable news networks, who in turn lull us into believing the major is a victim. Poor Muslim victim. What better way to control an entire nation than to put sympathy on the side of the terrorists?
Do you think it's not possible? Hitler controlled his people this way, remember?
Very scary stuff.
Stockholm Syndrome defined:
A psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed. ... the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, and even defended them ....Last Thursday, 11/05/09, a US Army major stationed at Ft. Hood TX walked into a processing center on base and shot at least 43 innocent, unarmed, and unaware people. So far he has killed 13 of them. The major is Muslim.
President Obama's first official remark about the shootings were included in a speech he was giving to an [American] Indian tribal conference on Thursday at 5:00pm, wherein he said, in the following order:
OBAMA: Please, everybody, have a seat. Let me first of all just thank Ken and the entire Department of the Interior staff for organizing just an extraordinary conference.Lip service! Especially considering the fact that Obama isn't even going to visit Ft. Hood until tomorrow. (Former President George Bush visited with the wounded soldiers the next day.)
I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout out
[flippancy before addressing the worst mass killing at a military base in the nation’s history?? This is the important thing to notice here.]
to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It's good to see you.
My understanding is is that you had an extremely productive conference. [Blah, blah, blah,]
But as some of you might have heard, there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. We don't yet know all the details at this moment. We will share them as we get them.
What we do know is that a number of American soldiers have been killed, and even more have been wounded in a horrific outburst of violence.
My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and with the families of the fallen and with those who live and serve at Fort Hood.
[Blah, blah, blah,]
God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
Thank you. (Source)
At the very least, as the Boston Globe stated,
"It takes more than scripted eloquence for presidents to connect with their fellow Americans. It requires a visceral ability to grasp the scope of tragedy, calculate its impact on the national psyche, and react swiftly to it. Ronald Reagan did it after the Challenger explosion took the lives of seven crew members on Jan. 28, 1986. So did Bill Clinton, after the Oklahoma City bombings of April 19, 1995, left 168 dead and more than 600 injured.This is no big deal to Obama. Or is it? If you're secretly a Muslim terrorist sympathizer this could be the biggest deal since 9/11. But because of his eloquent style it appears the main stream media is rolling along with the flow of apathy - sympathy even! towards the Muslim major.
When a gunman fired those shots at Fort Hood, the country immediately felt the pain. Obama missed the first moment to show he understood just how much it hurt."
Are we a nation held hostage because our own 'political correctness'? Are we blind to the fact that the major's actions were an act of terrorism simply because he objected to us killing Muslim terrorists in Afghanistan? Are we really going to offer sympathy to this man because he was supposedly harassed? Give me a break!
The leader of our captors is, of course, Obama. He hypnotically influences most of the cable news networks, who in turn lull us into believing the major is a victim. Poor Muslim victim. What better way to control an entire nation than to put sympathy on the side of the terrorists?
Do you think it's not possible? Hitler controlled his people this way, remember?
Very scary stuff.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Testing The New Printer 251
When I'm on the road I usually put my load info on a graphic then add it into the blog post as a picture - so Mother can easily print it. Example. She could click on the info, it would open up in a new window, and then all she had to do was click the 'print' button. (She's not very computer savvy.)
But the printer that was attached to the desktop was a PIA. It was/is an old Dell AIO 962 that would tell you it was out of ink if Dell brand cartridges weren't installed; it refused to print black and white if it was out of color ink; and worst of all, even 'compatible' ink was super expensive. The scanner didn't work either. So I bought a new printer the other day at Office Max.
It's a HP Officejet 6500. For the price, $99.00, I think it's going to be a great printer for our simple needs. Anyway, what follows is a new graphic I made for Mother to print my load info - one that hopefully uses less ink, and exercises the color cartridges - keeps them from drying out. These are tests only:
Well, maybe it won't use less ink, but the last one works. Now I can mark this off my list of things to do.
But the printer that was attached to the desktop was a PIA. It was/is an old Dell AIO 962 that would tell you it was out of ink if Dell brand cartridges weren't installed; it refused to print black and white if it was out of color ink; and worst of all, even 'compatible' ink was super expensive. The scanner didn't work either. So I bought a new printer the other day at Office Max.
It's a HP Officejet 6500. For the price, $99.00, I think it's going to be a great printer for our simple needs. Anyway, what follows is a new graphic I made for Mother to print my load info - one that hopefully uses less ink, and exercises the color cartridges - keeps them from drying out. These are tests only:
Well, maybe it won't use less ink, but the last one works. Now I can mark this off my list of things to do.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
I Love UAB's Kirklin Clinic 250
My new cardiologist's real name is Dr. Vijay Misra. I first nicknamed him Dr. DJ Misery, but today I changed it to Dr. Goodheart. He's wonderful! 
Getting to Kirklin Clinic, parking, and finding the Cardiology Department was super easy this morning. Somebody totally had the patients in mind when they designed the place. The architecture is both beautiful and 'user friendly', and I'm so proud this world class organization is so close to where I live.
Once Dr. Goodheart came in the exam room we discussed why I was there - to get a letter for Dr. Flagman so I could go back to work. And he went into detail about improving my fitness, suggesting some things that are impractical for a truck driver - like joining the YMCA and working out 3 or 4 times a week while I'm on my breaks. He mentioned the YMCA because "there's one in every major city." But I forgive him for not understanding truck driver's lifestyle, and his other suggestions are doable with some extra effort. He told me to be selfish about taking care of myself - to make time for it.
We talked for several minutes, and then he ordered an Echocardiogram. I love watching stuff like this - the heart beating, the valves opening and closing ... looks kinda like a little bird flapping it's wings in there
(Not my heart)
As a reminder, my problem wasn't in my heart per sey; it was in my LAD (left anterior descending artery), which was 99% blocked.
Anyway, once Dr. Goodheart reads the echocardiogram, he will dictate something to his assistant, Jennifer, and I should get the letter for Dr. Flagman sometime next week.
Getting to Kirklin Clinic, parking, and finding the Cardiology Department was super easy this morning. Somebody totally had the patients in mind when they designed the place. The architecture is both beautiful and 'user friendly', and I'm so proud this world class organization is so close to where I live.
Once Dr. Goodheart came in the exam room we discussed why I was there - to get a letter for Dr. Flagman so I could go back to work. And he went into detail about improving my fitness, suggesting some things that are impractical for a truck driver - like joining the YMCA and working out 3 or 4 times a week while I'm on my breaks. He mentioned the YMCA because "there's one in every major city." But I forgive him for not understanding truck driver's lifestyle, and his other suggestions are doable with some extra effort. He told me to be selfish about taking care of myself - to make time for it.
We talked for several minutes, and then he ordered an Echocardiogram. I love watching stuff like this - the heart beating, the valves opening and closing ... looks kinda like a little bird flapping it's wings in there
(Not my heart)
As a reminder, my problem wasn't in my heart per sey; it was in my LAD (left anterior descending artery), which was 99% blocked.
Anyway, once Dr. Goodheart reads the echocardiogram, he will dictate something to his assistant, Jennifer, and I should get the letter for Dr. Flagman sometime next week.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Facebook, YoVille, AdSense, And 249
It seems like forever since I've made a post here.... I've been playing A LOT of the Facebook games Farmville, YoVille, and Farm Town. Ingenious and intricate games that simulate real life - sort of. I showed Mother how they work, but she didn't quite grasp the concept. She said, "Well, when does the game end?" I told her they don't end.
In the farm games, you plow, plant, harvest, and sell your crops so you can earn money and buy bigger and better stuff for your farm. In YoVille, a 'city-ized' version of the farm games, you bake stuff at the Sweets Factory instead of farming. These cute games are ingenious to me. All the things the developers and writers had to think about when they wrote the programs - it's mind-boggling!
Also, I found a way to put the Google AdSense ads inside the posts here instead of between posts. The article is here at My Digital Life, Living Digitally and Electronically. It's an effort to make the ads more diverse. I'm not sure what everybody else sees, but I only see ads about trucking. There's more to this blog than just trucking, so I'm exploring ways to make the ads more appealing and interesting.
And you may have already noticed that I changed the big, banner type ads to simple links. I think they look more like blog content instead of big banner ads.
The experts say doing this will increase the number of clicks, or click through rate (CTR) in AdSense jargon. There are other ways to enhance the CTR too. When I have the time, and my brain is in a learning mode, I'm going to check them out.
In other news: We have yet to recover from the sink hole move, and I'm anxious to improve the looks of our house. Someone is coming out at noon today to give me an estimate on putting the shed over the trailer. They've seen this picture, and know what I want to accomplish:
And yesterday I had to call AT&T to get help connecting to the internet.
Several months ago Bellouth (AT&T) changed their email platform to Yahoo email. You had to log into Bellsouth first, then be redirected to a new AT&T page, and log in again. It's complicated and frustrating, and I get the feeling AT&T can't even figure out what they've done.
Anyway, I was trying to delete Mother's old Bellsouth.net email address. In the process, I changed the password to the email account - or did I? I still don't know, because I never got to the email stuff. The next time I tried to get on the internet, I kept getting the message that I'd changed the password to the modem! I couldn't connect to the internet at all!
I called AT&T and found out how to reset the modem:
Once you do that, and reopen the browser on your computer, you have to log into the AT&T INTERNET page (totally different than the phone page), enter a password, and complete a couple of other steps. What an ordeal! But then I remembered there was a time when nobody could access the internet.... I'm sure there was a better way around this external modem fix to use the internet and phone at the same time, but I was on the road when all this happened.
Finally, tomorrow is my appointment with Dr. Misery. From the internet (that I apparently can't live without anymore) I learned where to park - but I'm gonna let the valets do it. Let them remember where my car is....
In the farm games, you plow, plant, harvest, and sell your crops so you can earn money and buy bigger and better stuff for your farm. In YoVille, a 'city-ized' version of the farm games, you bake stuff at the Sweets Factory instead of farming. These cute games are ingenious to me. All the things the developers and writers had to think about when they wrote the programs - it's mind-boggling!
Also, I found a way to put the Google AdSense ads inside the posts here instead of between posts. The article is here at My Digital Life, Living Digitally and Electronically. It's an effort to make the ads more diverse. I'm not sure what everybody else sees, but I only see ads about trucking. There's more to this blog than just trucking, so I'm exploring ways to make the ads more appealing and interesting.
And you may have already noticed that I changed the big, banner type ads to simple links. I think they look more like blog content instead of big banner ads.
The experts say doing this will increase the number of clicks, or click through rate (CTR) in AdSense jargon. There are other ways to enhance the CTR too. When I have the time, and my brain is in a learning mode, I'm going to check them out.In other news: We have yet to recover from the sink hole move, and I'm anxious to improve the looks of our house. Someone is coming out at noon today to give me an estimate on putting the shed over the trailer. They've seen this picture, and know what I want to accomplish:
And yesterday I had to call AT&T to get help connecting to the internet.
Several months ago Bellouth (AT&T) changed their email platform to Yahoo email. You had to log into Bellsouth first, then be redirected to a new AT&T page, and log in again. It's complicated and frustrating, and I get the feeling AT&T can't even figure out what they've done. Anyway, I was trying to delete Mother's old Bellsouth.net email address. In the process, I changed the password to the email account - or did I? I still don't know, because I never got to the email stuff. The next time I tried to get on the internet, I kept getting the message that I'd changed the password to the modem! I couldn't connect to the internet at all!
I called AT&T and found out how to reset the modem:
Once you do that, and reopen the browser on your computer, you have to log into the AT&T INTERNET page (totally different than the phone page), enter a password, and complete a couple of other steps. What an ordeal! But then I remembered there was a time when nobody could access the internet.... I'm sure there was a better way around this external modem fix to use the internet and phone at the same time, but I was on the road when all this happened.
Finally, tomorrow is my appointment with Dr. Misery. From the internet (that I apparently can't live without anymore) I learned where to park - but I'm gonna let the valets do it. Let them remember where my car is....
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Welcome Facebook Friends :-) 248
Lately I've been trying to connect with more people on Facebook. This is the personal message (or one similar to it) I'm sending along with my friend requests:
I'm a 48 yr old female truck driver who's been driving for 12+ years now - mostly OTR in the US. I keep a little blog that feeds to my "Wall" and "Notes" pages here at Facebook. Quite frankly, I'm looking for people to follow the links to the original posts (at amx1047.blogspot.com ), and maybe read my posts. I try to make 50% of them interesting and informative, while the other 50% is simply my diary. Blogspot is a free Google service.
My ulterior motive is to get people to check out the Google AdSense Ads that appear on my blog. For those who don't know, AdSense is a free service offered by Google that allows people/companies/etc. to advertise on my blog, and I get to collect a tiny little fee for the space - for legitimate clicks, that it. I earn a fraction of a cent for every legitimate click. My little AdSense account is up to $3.98 now, and when I get to $100.00, Google will mail me a check.
I'm new to Facebook, but I love the way it operates! With one glance you can see what all your "friends" are doing. Very cool the way it's set up. I'm also addicted to Farmville, Farm Town, and YoVille. So I'd be grateful if you'd approve me as a friend - especially if you're familiar with trucking.
Thanks much,
Sherry Collum
P.S. I'm going down the list of suggested friends, so it's likely we're already a little familiar with each other from a mutual friend's wall :-)
McAdory HS '79
Bevill State Truck Driver Training '94
For those just tuning in, I've been off the road since 10/06/09 because, in a nutshell, the AMX company doctor, Dr. Flagman, wouldn't renew my medical certificate until I see a cardiologist. I have an appointment with a UAB cardiologist that Dr. Flagman knows on Nov 4th. The whole story of my heart condition (Angina) is HERE - it'll open in a new window if you're interested.
In the sidebar is a list of Characters, so if you're reading a post and don't know who I'm talking about, just glance to the the left. Next is the Table of Contents. And finally there's a section called "Tags I list under my posts in alfa order." All of those tags are links back to their respective posts, with an indication of how many times that tag is used in the blog. I try to include as many tags as possible with a post without them being trivial. I use the tags for reference just as you can.
And don't forget - Google ads are our friends!
I'm a 48 yr old female truck driver who's been driving for 12+ years now - mostly OTR in the US. I keep a little blog that feeds to my "Wall" and "Notes" pages here at Facebook. Quite frankly, I'm looking for people to follow the links to the original posts (at amx1047.blogspot.com ), and maybe read my posts. I try to make 50% of them interesting and informative, while the other 50% is simply my diary. Blogspot is a free Google service.
My ulterior motive is to get people to check out the Google AdSense Ads that appear on my blog. For those who don't know, AdSense is a free service offered by Google that allows people/companies/etc. to advertise on my blog, and I get to collect a tiny little fee for the space - for legitimate clicks, that it. I earn a fraction of a cent for every legitimate click. My little AdSense account is up to $3.98 now, and when I get to $100.00, Google will mail me a check.
I'm new to Facebook, but I love the way it operates! With one glance you can see what all your "friends" are doing. Very cool the way it's set up. I'm also addicted to Farmville, Farm Town, and YoVille. So I'd be grateful if you'd approve me as a friend - especially if you're familiar with trucking.
Thanks much,
Sherry Collum
P.S. I'm going down the list of suggested friends, so it's likely we're already a little familiar with each other from a mutual friend's wall :-)
McAdory HS '79
Bevill State Truck Driver Training '94
For those just tuning in, I've been off the road since 10/06/09 because, in a nutshell, the AMX company doctor, Dr. Flagman, wouldn't renew my medical certificate until I see a cardiologist. I have an appointment with a UAB cardiologist that Dr. Flagman knows on Nov 4th. The whole story of my heart condition (Angina) is HERE - it'll open in a new window if you're interested.
In the sidebar is a list of Characters, so if you're reading a post and don't know who I'm talking about, just glance to the the left. Next is the Table of Contents. And finally there's a section called "Tags I list under my posts in alfa order." All of those tags are links back to their respective posts, with an indication of how many times that tag is used in the blog. I try to include as many tags as possible with a post without them being trivial. I use the tags for reference just as you can.
And don't forget - Google ads are our friends!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Remington Model 870 Express Combo 247
Disabro and I went to Simmons Sporting Goods (Bessemer, AL) yesterday and bought a Remington Model 870 Express Compact 20 GA Shotgun for the house. We looked at bigger models, but "This affordable pump-action combo is a perfect fit for the smaller shooter. ...this quick-pointing 20-gauge provides rifle-like accuracy...." It's light and short enough for Mother to fire if she has to. She can't get it up to her shoulder, but she looks pretty tough with it tucked in under her arm
Remington's website is right about "rifle-like accuracy". Disabro set up a target behind the house and we practiced shooting it for a while. Except for the spray pattern of the birdshot we practiced with, I can't tell much difference between this little shotgun and the 30-30 rifle I used to deer hunt with - when it comes to aiming and firing, that is. Absolutely no problem hitting the target, and very little recoil.
These videos show what the recoil felt like to me:
During the Pit Bull disaster, when that innocent old dog was killed, nobody attacked our physical, personal property - as bad at that situation was. Saturday night, for no apparent reason, we were personally attacked. I'd like to catch The Delinquent neighbor attacking us now!
However, it's my most sincere hope and prayer (I asked God last night) that the boy will straighten up and become a fine young man instead of rolling downhill "like a snowball headed for hell".
In other news: All of Mother's blood tests are back, and they were normal. All that's wrong with her now, as far as anybody knows, is her shoulder pain. It seems to ease up a little (not much) with Tylenol and the heating pad.
Remember More Money From Blue Cross?? They did reimburse me yet again - one big fat direct deposit this time. I've been able to afford things like the shotgun, etc., and I'm yearning to improve some other things around here.
Remember The Progression Of Anger - Battling A Demon - where I said
Mile after mile of being tossed around until I felt like throwing up. Where's our great black hope now? Come on, Obama. Why don't you take a ride with me down this highway? Never mind. You're too busy selling us to China, with no hope of ever being our own nation again. And Hillary. Once she was in China trying to promote women's rights - imposing our ideals on a foreign nation. Now she's there thanking them for buying our souls.Porter forwarded a cute picture via email the other day:
What the sign doesn't say is that she owes that money to China. Seriously.
And finally, it's 8 days until my appointment with Dr. Misery, and maybe it won't be too long after that when I can get back to work.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Called Sheriff's Deputies Out This Morning 247
Subtitle: Someday The Delinquent Will Be Old Enough For Prison (then we won't have to worry about him for a while.)
Last night between 10:30 and 11:00pm, someone threw something against the side of the house. It made a very loud noise, startling Mother and myself. Mother was still up, and I had just gone to bed.
Mother called down the hall, "Honey?"
I said, "What was that!?"
Mother said, "I don't know. I'm afraid to open the door, but I'm going to anyway." She opened the door for a few seconds, didn't see anything, and closed it again.
I knew it was The Delinquent - the one who stole $18.00 from me. I told Mother if it happened again, I'd get up, look around outside, and call the Sheriff's department. It didn't happen again, but Mother double checked the locks on the doors.
As Buddy and I were coming in from our walk this morning I saw what he'd thrown and where it hit. If the egg had hit a foot to the left and up 3 inches, we'd be buying a new door this morning. It would have shattered the glass.
There was another broken egg on the front of the porch - we didn't hear that one. And a whole egg was laying on the ground in front of the porch.
Eggs are dangerous weapons when they're thrown with force - just as golf balls are.
I put Buddy inside, told Mother what he'd thrown, and went looking for proof. I walked up the road and found a trail of coins (quarters and dimes), and 3 small pieces of purple duct tape - the same kind I used to tape up my bedroom window on the outside. Then I called the Sheriff's department. They came out; saw what had been done; looked at what I'd collected; and wrote a report.
The Deputies know who did it as well as we do. They freely admit the boy has been arrested many times. And I assume that they, like me, will be glad to see the delinquent come of age. With all the evidence that mounts up over a period of time, it's just a question of when - not if - the boy winds up behind bars for good.
I am buying a shotgun next week - for the protection of my home and family.
Last night between 10:30 and 11:00pm, someone threw something against the side of the house. It made a very loud noise, startling Mother and myself. Mother was still up, and I had just gone to bed.
Mother called down the hall, "Honey?"
I said, "What was that!?"
Mother said, "I don't know. I'm afraid to open the door, but I'm going to anyway." She opened the door for a few seconds, didn't see anything, and closed it again.
I knew it was The Delinquent - the one who stole $18.00 from me. I told Mother if it happened again, I'd get up, look around outside, and call the Sheriff's department. It didn't happen again, but Mother double checked the locks on the doors.
As Buddy and I were coming in from our walk this morning I saw what he'd thrown and where it hit. If the egg had hit a foot to the left and up 3 inches, we'd be buying a new door this morning. It would have shattered the glass.
There was another broken egg on the front of the porch - we didn't hear that one. And a whole egg was laying on the ground in front of the porch.
Eggs are dangerous weapons when they're thrown with force - just as golf balls are.
I put Buddy inside, told Mother what he'd thrown, and went looking for proof. I walked up the road and found a trail of coins (quarters and dimes), and 3 small pieces of purple duct tape - the same kind I used to tape up my bedroom window on the outside. Then I called the Sheriff's department. They came out; saw what had been done; looked at what I'd collected; and wrote a report.
The Deputies know who did it as well as we do. They freely admit the boy has been arrested many times. And I assume that they, like me, will be glad to see the delinquent come of age. With all the evidence that mounts up over a period of time, it's just a question of when - not if - the boy winds up behind bars for good.
I am buying a shotgun next week - for the protection of my home and family.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
What The Heck Does 'Percutaneous' Mean? 246
This morning I'm writing a letter/fax to my new Cardiologist,Dr.Goodheart, explaining the events which lead to my making an appointment to see him on November 4th - 14 days from now.
As I was copying the words of Dr. Feelgood's letter to "provide documentation regarding [my] medical condition for purposes of resuming [my] work as a truck driver," I came across this phrase:
From Wikipedia:
And remember the Xience Drug Eluting Stent the cardiologist put in my LAD(Left Anterior Descending) artery? The nurse didn't know what 'drug eluting' meant, and I joked that maybe it meant the thing wouldn't "rust in there".
Actually, from The American Heart Association's website (4th paragraph):
In other news: Remember the neighbors who had the killer Pit Bull dog? The Sheriff's Department made them get rid of the dog and all her puppies. However, I'm fairly sure they kept one of the puppies - already a grown dog at the time of the killing. And they acquired more dogs (I think they have 4 now), but they seem like harmless mongrels - individually.
The other day (10/12, when the power was out for so long,) the Pit Bull mongrel and another one of their dogs came running around some bushes in our yard - running after Buddy as if someone had sicced (sicked) them on her. Buddy was in our yard minding her own business. When the mongrels saw me standing on the porch, they hit the brakes and ran back to their house. I couldn't believe it. Several minutes later I saw one of the owners walking across his yard.
Coincidence or not, I've been carrying the pellet gun on our walks since then. In a pack, those dogs could be dangerous. I shoot them before they even get close.
As I was copying the words of Dr. Feelgood's letter to "provide documentation regarding [my] medical condition for purposes of resuming [my] work as a truck driver," I came across this phrase:
She underwent cardiac catheritization with percutaneous coronary angioplasty and stenting and has done well clinically since that time.and I wondered what the heck 'percutaneous' meant. Like a coffee pot, maybe? I looked it up.
From Wikipedia:
In surgery, percutaneous pertains to any medical procedure where access to inner organs or other tissue is done via needle-puncture of the skin, rather than by using an "open" approach where inner organs or tissue are exposed (typically with the use of a scalpel).
The percutaneous approach is commonly used in vascular procedures. This involves a needle catheter getting access to a blood vessel, followed by the introduction of a wire through the lumen of the needle. It is over this wire that other catheters can be placed into the blood vessel. This technique is known as the modified Seldinger technique.
More generally, "percutaneous" can mean 'through the skin'. An example would be percutaneous drug absorption from topical medications.
And remember the Xience Drug Eluting Stent the cardiologist put in my LAD(Left Anterior Descending) artery? The nurse didn't know what 'drug eluting' meant, and I joked that maybe it meant the thing wouldn't "rust in there".
Actually, from The American Heart Association's website (4th paragraph):
In the past few years, there have been dramatic advances in PCI techniques, devices, and medications. Drug-eluting stents are among the most notable. These stents not only prop open the artery, they also slowly release medication that prevents the overgrowth of scar tissue that can renarrow the artery and block blood flow to the heart, a complication known as restenosis.(Some very cool graphics linked to that picture of a heart....)
In other news: Remember the neighbors who had the killer Pit Bull dog? The Sheriff's Department made them get rid of the dog and all her puppies. However, I'm fairly sure they kept one of the puppies - already a grown dog at the time of the killing. And they acquired more dogs (I think they have 4 now), but they seem like harmless mongrels - individually.
The other day (10/12, when the power was out for so long,) the Pit Bull mongrel and another one of their dogs came running around some bushes in our yard - running after Buddy as if someone had sicced (sicked) them on her. Buddy was in our yard minding her own business. When the mongrels saw me standing on the porch, they hit the brakes and ran back to their house. I couldn't believe it. Several minutes later I saw one of the owners walking across his yard.
Coincidence or not, I've been carrying the pellet gun on our walks since then. In a pack, those dogs could be dangerous. I shoot them before they even get close.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Not Much To Report.... 245
Not much has happened since the last time I posted. Mother's shoulders have been hurting her real bad for the last few days. Unrelated to her shoulders, I took her to her doctor's office this morning to give another blood sample. They took blood (for a detailed analysis) the last time she went to the doctor, oh, I guess 2 or 3 weeks ago. The results of that workup aren't back yet, so I'm not sure what today's sample was about. Mother probably told me; and I probably lost it somewhere between Noah and all the rain we've been having lately. (That's a joke. Ask Mother what time it is, and she'll tell you how to build a clock.)
While she was there, she made an appointment to see her doctor about her shoulders on Nov 4th. That's the earliest she could get in to see him. I wish I could be sure it was just arthritis....
I've been playing a lot of the games on Facebook. I hated all the requests for "neighbors" and "gifts" at first, but the more I get into it, the more addictive it gets. Here's a couple of screenshots of my farm and me standing in my little fields:
This is called "Farmville". You plant, grow, and harvest whatever you plant, and then sell it to earn more money. But you have to remember that seed and plowing costs money, so it's just like running a real farm. Well, kinda sorta. At any rate, it's a precious, very intricate, little game, and I'm becoming addicted to it.
There are other similar games on Facebook - all of which involve your "friends". It was good to see Porter join Facebook yesterday. I'm sure he's overwhelmed with all the requests I've sent him :-)
Lastly, I'll be glad to get back to work. Sitting around here so long just doesn't seem right.
While she was there, she made an appointment to see her doctor about her shoulders on Nov 4th. That's the earliest she could get in to see him. I wish I could be sure it was just arthritis....
I've been playing a lot of the games on Facebook. I hated all the requests for "neighbors" and "gifts" at first, but the more I get into it, the more addictive it gets. Here's a couple of screenshots of my farm and me standing in my little fields:
This is called "Farmville". You plant, grow, and harvest whatever you plant, and then sell it to earn more money. But you have to remember that seed and plowing costs money, so it's just like running a real farm. Well, kinda sorta. At any rate, it's a precious, very intricate, little game, and I'm becoming addicted to it.
There are other similar games on Facebook - all of which involve your "friends". It was good to see Porter join Facebook yesterday. I'm sure he's overwhelmed with all the requests I've sent him :-)
Lastly, I'll be glad to get back to work. Sitting around here so long just doesn't seem right.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
More Money From Blue Cross? 244
If you're a regular reader, you know BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama recently reimbursed me $2075.00 (one big, fat check!) for their part of my prescription drugs thus far in 2009. That's just this year.
However, I can file up to 2 years worth of claims; so yesterday I picked up a prescription history (from CVS) for 2008. According to that report I spent $2971.82 last year. If BCBS pays 80% on all of them, I'll be reimbursed
$2377.45
In other news:
As I said on Facebook, I hope they throw the book at this guy and his wife. I hope they both have to get legitimate jobs and work for years to pay off the fines. But I also hope they don't break up the family. I feel sorry for the kids, especially little Falcon, but I think they are loved and taken care of - even if their parents are a little of their rockers.
But I could'ave been under the wrong impression, according to this from Associated Press:
Records show that police have responded to the house at least twice in the past year, including a possible domestic violence incident in February. No charges were filed.
Alderden said officials tried Saturday to persuade Mayumi Heene, 45, to go to a safe house, but she declined.
"We talked to her at length about domestic violence, about her safety, about her children's safety," the sheriff said. "We have a concern, but we didn't have enough that would allow us or child protective services to physically take the kids from that environment."
Alderden said the children were still with the parents Sunday morning, and child protective services had been contacted to investigate the children's well-being.
"Clearly, from all indications, Mr. Heene has somewhat of a temper," Alderden said.
The AP article says "The stunt was two weeks in the planning....", and "Documents show that a media outlet has agreed to pay money to the Heenes with regards to the balloon incident, Alderden said. He didn't name the media outlet, but said it was a show that blurs "the line between entertainment and news." It wasn't clear whether the deal was signed before or after the alleged hoax, or whether that media outlet was a possible conspirator."
Wow.
Last but not least, Chesty Puller came up to the house a little while ago. It was so good to finally meet him in person - I hugged him and shook his hand. He's a cute, tall, and extremely nice young man, with above average intelligence and maturity. I'm so proud we have people like him in our military.
However, I can file up to 2 years worth of claims; so yesterday I picked up a prescription history (from CVS) for 2008. According to that report I spent $2971.82 last year. If BCBS pays 80% on all of them, I'll be reimbursed
$2377.45
In other news:
As I said on Facebook, I hope they throw the book at this guy and his wife. I hope they both have to get legitimate jobs and work for years to pay off the fines. But I also hope they don't break up the family. I feel sorry for the kids, especially little Falcon, but I think they are loved and taken care of - even if their parents are a little of their rockers.
But I could'ave been under the wrong impression, according to this from Associated Press:
Records show that police have responded to the house at least twice in the past year, including a possible domestic violence incident in February. No charges were filed.
Alderden said officials tried Saturday to persuade Mayumi Heene, 45, to go to a safe house, but she declined.
"We talked to her at length about domestic violence, about her safety, about her children's safety," the sheriff said. "We have a concern, but we didn't have enough that would allow us or child protective services to physically take the kids from that environment."
Alderden said the children were still with the parents Sunday morning, and child protective services had been contacted to investigate the children's well-being.
"Clearly, from all indications, Mr. Heene has somewhat of a temper," Alderden said.
The AP article says "The stunt was two weeks in the planning....", and "Documents show that a media outlet has agreed to pay money to the Heenes with regards to the balloon incident, Alderden said. He didn't name the media outlet, but said it was a show that blurs "the line between entertainment and news." It wasn't clear whether the deal was signed before or after the alleged hoax, or whether that media outlet was a possible conspirator."
Wow.
Last but not least, Chesty Puller came up to the house a little while ago. It was so good to finally meet him in person - I hugged him and shook his hand. He's a cute, tall, and extremely nice young man, with above average intelligence and maturity. I'm so proud we have people like him in our military.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Ballon Boy - "243
I feel sorry for these kids.
These videos say it all:
Watch the faces of the other two kids in the one below:
Everybody knows by now, but just for the blog record (From Entertainment Weekly online, EW.com):
"Perhaps it’s a coincidence that the Heenes, who previously caught a whiff of fame as a Wife Swap family, happened to find themselves wrapped up in this huge media spectacle. And perhaps it’s irrelevant that telegenic father Richard Heene drags his entire family, kids and all, with him on wild storm chases and has submitted “Mars Civilization Proof” conspiracy videos to CNN’s iReport. Perhaps."
Somebody ought to slap that man.
These videos say it all:
Watch the faces of the other two kids in the one below:
Everybody knows by now, but just for the blog record (From Entertainment Weekly online, EW.com):
"Perhaps it’s a coincidence that the Heenes, who previously caught a whiff of fame as a Wife Swap family, happened to find themselves wrapped up in this huge media spectacle. And perhaps it’s irrelevant that telegenic father Richard Heene drags his entire family, kids and all, with him on wild storm chases and has submitted “Mars Civilization Proof” conspiracy videos to CNN’s iReport. Perhaps."
Somebody ought to slap that man.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Myers Electric - Thumbs Up, 242
Aside from getting my car up here for Mother, I've been able to get some other stuff done around here during this break from work. Yesterday an electrician came out and fixed the light on the back porch and put up the new smoke detectors. The light was a dusk-to-dawn type fixture and the photocell had gone bad. No one knew it was supposed to tell daylight from dark, and I had no idea why it wouldn't turn on. But Mr. Myers and his son knew right away. Then they put up the smoke detectors, and they were gone inside of 20 minutes. He only charged me for a service call - $80.00, which I thought was fantastic! If anybody in the Bessemer/Birmingham AL area needs a good, honest electrician, Myers Electric is the place to call.
Incidentally, I found Myers Electric through ServiceMagic.com - kind of by accident. I'd heard about ServiceMagic on XM radio, so I checked it out. You have to put in a name, address, what kind of project you have, etc., and there's a place to chose "ready to hire" or "budget/planning". I was ready to hire. Boom! Two electricians called me within 5 minutes - one of them was Mr. Myers. The other one lived way out in Pinson, so he declined such a small project. After talking to Mr. Myers a few minutes, I knew there was no need to talk to anyone else.
It's rained so much around here lately that Myers got stuck in the drive across the street. Harmlessette and I have considered building another arc it's been raining so long. Anyway, Handyman came and gave them a tug with E.F. Hutton's tractor.
And by the way - E.F. Hutton's legs and feet were/are hurting so bad that he was using his walker yesterday. He's going to the doctor again today. He said he mentioned his pain the last time at the doctor's (a weeek or so ago) but it was lost in their concern for his blood sugar levels - he had to start injecting insulin. In fact, this visit today may be the scheduled visit to have is levels tested again.
Finally, I just saw (on his Facebook page) that Chesty Puller is on the way home.
Incidentally, I found Myers Electric through ServiceMagic.com - kind of by accident. I'd heard about ServiceMagic on XM radio, so I checked it out. You have to put in a name, address, what kind of project you have, etc., and there's a place to chose "ready to hire" or "budget/planning". I was ready to hire. Boom! Two electricians called me within 5 minutes - one of them was Mr. Myers. The other one lived way out in Pinson, so he declined such a small project. After talking to Mr. Myers a few minutes, I knew there was no need to talk to anyone else.
It's rained so much around here lately that Myers got stuck in the drive across the street. Harmlessette and I have considered building another arc it's been raining so long. Anyway, Handyman came and gave them a tug with E.F. Hutton's tractor.
And by the way - E.F. Hutton's legs and feet were/are hurting so bad that he was using his walker yesterday. He's going to the doctor again today. He said he mentioned his pain the last time at the doctor's (a weeek or so ago) but it was lost in their concern for his blood sugar levels - he had to start injecting insulin. In fact, this visit today may be the scheduled visit to have is levels tested again.
Finally, I just saw (on his Facebook page) that Chesty Puller is on the way home.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Dancing Ducks For Molly McGee 241
This post is especially for my terminally ill sister, nicknamed Molly McGee. No one knows when she will pass on. I believe one doctor told her, "I wouldn't be surprised to hear it next week, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear it two years from now." She is in pain most of the time. I tried to explain some of her illness here, but got a lot of it wrong.
Anyway, in her comment on my last post she said, "You need to show me how to make those little dancing ducks so I could do a musical note or something. I just love those little characters."
Molly, I don't have the software/programs anymore, so I don't make the animations, smilies, or characters myself. Other very talented people across the internet make them, and I simply copy the script, or code that generates them. I have most of my 'cute' things stored in a photo album at Photobucket.com.
Here's how I use them:
If I put this script, or line of compter language on the writing area for my post (click to see it):
I get this:
(I had to turn the script itself into a picture, or we'd get the animation instead of the script, or code.)
equals this:
eguals this:
It's really hard to explain, but you could post the same script in the comments sections and get the same results - BUT this particular blog program won't allow script in the comments.
I know this doesn't help much, but it's the best way I know of to try and explain it. Sorry. Again, wish I knew of some way to ease your pain. Love you lots.
Anyway, in her comment on my last post she said, "You need to show me how to make those little dancing ducks so I could do a musical note or something. I just love those little characters."
Molly, I don't have the software/programs anymore, so I don't make the animations, smilies, or characters myself. Other very talented people across the internet make them, and I simply copy the script, or code that generates them. I have most of my 'cute' things stored in a photo album at Photobucket.com.
Here's how I use them:
If I put this script, or line of compter language on the writing area for my post (click to see it):
I get this:
(I had to turn the script itself into a picture, or we'd get the animation instead of the script, or code.)
equals this:
eguals this:
It's really hard to explain, but you could post the same script in the comments sections and get the same results - BUT this particular blog program won't allow script in the comments.
I know this doesn't help much, but it's the best way I know of to try and explain it. Sorry. Again, wish I knew of some way to ease your pain. Love you lots.
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