Lots of little thoughts passing thru...jotting them down...
*Struggling with 16kbps will hopefully end soon, since we'll hopefully be home much more now, the order for dsl has been placed. Not a bad price...only about $9 a month more than dialup...for the next to fastest dsl speed. They "Say" its available on our phone line...we'll see how that works. Got my fingers crossed.
*When is an addiction into the "fix it now" urgent stage? When we find we keep at it despite the negative, sometimes even horrendous consequences.
*You want to pass a truly useful law? Make Organ Donor the "default" status...and only those who exception out of it will not be organ donors. (Requiring a simple entry into the Non Donor Registry). And if it is important that you NOT be an organ donor, that is no problem, (however nobody listed in the non-donor-registry will be eligible for a donated organ should they need one...we wouldn't want to go against their deep seated beliefs now).
*Travel to and fro thru out the entire USA...it is no longer a matter of making sure each of the 48 have been visited...at this point I've lost track of how MANY times we've visited each one. What have I seen? People. People living here, there, up the hill, down in the valley, near the towns, far out in the country..little houses, big houses, campers, slums, mansions.
People all over the place, some of them hurrying...some just waiting, some oblivious to life and events happening even right behind them or in front of them. Probably most all of them thinking about their to-do list, or regretting something they've done, or wanting, dreaming, wishing, praising, griping. People.
So your little piece of life, it is yours, your turn and your space...and my turn and my space...we all get to draw whatever we want on our own etch-a-sketch, its up to us what we choose to paint on our canvas because it belongs only to us... and we don't have to copy the fancy neighbors, and we don't have to give heed to ill tempered critics...Determined not to enjoy life? So be it...but nobody out there has a right to decree your life be awful...you're a people too. So if you got somebody out there just crapping all over your existence...take them off their "pedastal" in your eyes...they , like millions of others..are just people.
*Maybe I could just live on Ritz crackers? Buttery, bready, crispy...but I AVOID buying them because if I buy a box...I'll eat the whole box within a day ...at the most 2 days.
*Healthy Alternatives always seem to offer much much less pleasure and flavor...I'm REALLY going to be ticked at some people if in my last days of life after I can no longer taste...it is discovered that what we SHOULD be eating is the food our cravings tell us to eat!
* A strange sign of our culture and era that I saw in a workplace a few weeks ago..."Smoking in designated areas only! Violation of this policy could result in progressive discipline".
*While waiting on my plane the other day, (and having several hours for that), I watched a crazy assortment of people. With my hearing loss and the accoustics in there...when people would talk it sounded like buzzing and utterings similar to those found in a SIMS game...or for you old timers...kind of like Charlie Brown's teacher sounded. As one group boarded their plane, the near to last guy on..noticed that someone had laid their newspaper down to abandon it...he turned from the counter and grabbed it up with great purpose and it seemed like that made him feel as if his life was a bit charmed with good fate. Interesting.
OK...think I got all that out of my system now, thanks.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Officer keeping up on foot even as needle passes 50mph
"In most of the United States, there is a policy of checking on any stalled vehicle on the highway when the temperatures drop down to single digits or below.
About 3 AM, one very cold morning, Trooper Allan Nixon responded to a call there was a car off the shoulder of the road outside Shattuck .
He located the car, stuck in deep snow, and with the engine still running. Pulling in behind the car with his emergency lights on, the Trooper walked to the driver's door to find an older man passed out behind the wheel with a nearly empty vodka bottle on he seat beside him.
The driver came awake when the Trooper tapped on the window.
Seeing the rotating lights in his rearview mirror, and the State Trooper standing next to his car, the man panicked.
He jerked the gearshift into 'drive' and hit the gas.
The car's speedometer was showing 20-30-40 and then 50 mph, but it was still stuck in the snow, wheels spinning.
Trooper Nixon, having a sense of humor, began running in place next to the speeding, but still stationary car.
The driver was totally freaked, thinking the Trooper was actually keeping up with him. This goes on for about 30 seconds, then the Trooper yelled, "Pull over!"
The man obeyed, turned his wheel and stopped the engine.
Needless to say, the man from Dumas, Texas was arrested, and is probably still shaking his head over the State Trooper in Oklahoma who could run 50 miles per hour."
Is it true? Well now I haven't found any substantiation for this in news searches or court records, nor have I found any reference to an OHP officer fitting this identity but nonetheless...I read it on the internet, so surely it must be wouldn't ya think?
About 3 AM, one very cold morning, Trooper Allan Nixon responded to a call there was a car off the shoulder of the road outside Shattuck .
He located the car, stuck in deep snow, and with the engine still running. Pulling in behind the car with his emergency lights on, the Trooper walked to the driver's door to find an older man passed out behind the wheel with a nearly empty vodka bottle on he seat beside him.
The driver came awake when the Trooper tapped on the window.
Seeing the rotating lights in his rearview mirror, and the State Trooper standing next to his car, the man panicked.
He jerked the gearshift into 'drive' and hit the gas.
The car's speedometer was showing 20-30-40 and then 50 mph, but it was still stuck in the snow, wheels spinning.
Trooper Nixon, having a sense of humor, began running in place next to the speeding, but still stationary car.
The driver was totally freaked, thinking the Trooper was actually keeping up with him. This goes on for about 30 seconds, then the Trooper yelled, "Pull over!"
The man obeyed, turned his wheel and stopped the engine.
Needless to say, the man from Dumas, Texas was arrested, and is probably still shaking his head over the State Trooper in Oklahoma who could run 50 miles per hour."
Is it true? Well now I haven't found any substantiation for this in news searches or court records, nor have I found any reference to an OHP officer fitting this identity but nonetheless...I read it on the internet, so surely it must be wouldn't ya think?
Blown Engines and Airport Nudity
A week goes by without even logging into the internet, but that doesn't mean it was uneventful. We found ourselves up in Cedar Rapids, Ia. ready to head for home when our car "blew up". Cracked a block, blew a head gasket..whatever...the bottom line was, Oil entering the radiator, lots of very very white smoke as a strange liquid oozed onto the engine, and a really stinky heater/defroster.
Well, calling around to the whole list of rental car companies in that city didn't do any good..they were ALL out of cars. The only thing available was from "Rent a Wreck" which is pretty cool...its just an older vehicle than the name brand rental places. They were able to fix us up, but the drawback...it had to be returned to the same place. Uggh,,..so we got it, got our stuff home, and then took it back...leaving me the need to get home. Thanks to a suggestion by Marbella, Cheaptickets.com proved very helpful.
It has been years, maybe decades, since I had flown public airlines, but based on things picked up here and there in the media, going "prepared" was somewhat easier. Leaving all my keys and pocket knife and anything metal at home, having no luggage, but still feeling like Columbo...going thru from point A to B to C was gradually & successfully progressing, until...
Now before we get to the security scan, there is already some apprehension, since the LAST time I went thru one of those I got escorted into a private security interview room where they just about put me in jail for not remembering that in my carry-on was a cap pistol and holster that I had bought at the last minute for my son before heading to the Oklahoma City airport. (They didn't allow such things to be purchased in California where the boy awaited eagerly). After sweating it out, that story eventually ended up with me placing the gift in a separate box and sending it thru in the cargo hold.
...so here again as I step up to the plate, they have me put my watch and anything metal in the pan...done. Feeling smug about having to put only a watch and a pair of reading glasses in the trough, they then tell me to take off my coat and put it on the same conveyor to be scanned. I complied. But its obvious I'm kind of "Gee...am I going to have to strip?" when she makes some comments about the snaps on my overalls and says "now your shoes".
Thinking she was reading my mind I laughed and said "Yeah! Thats probably next"...but she stood there waiting. As she stood there, it slowly began to dawn on me that she MIGHT be serious? I laughed and just incredulously asked "are you SERIOUS?"...she was. (As I took those shoes off it seemed ironic that this was a SECURITY checkpoint for the safety and well being of others...even with odor eater sprays those shoes were best left on unless removed outdoors).
At this point I'm really getting concerned about my overalls, but remembering that I had boxers on was a bit comforting. After going thru the x-ray thingy they tell me I'd been selected for some closer screening. So they lead me off to the side and "pat me down" and take a closer look at my few belongings. (Someone explained to me this was because I had bought my ticket and departed within a 24 hour period).
Finally getting home and still not unpacked from unloading the rent a wreck, spending some time with little Grace and taking Mrs. Beans out for a birthday dinner, watching some episodes from the original Star Trek series...and went to bed.
So before the house cleaning and stuff organizing gets started today..finally time to catch up just a little on this computer. Quickly checking the television ..uggh...politicking and campaign trails have begun...with one candidate proudly proclaiming that "yeah" she voted for giving the president blah blah blah, but had she known then what she knows now she would NOT have"...I'm thinking, WOW...heres a chance to elect someone for president who can't see far ahead but can make definite judgements "after the fact" on how she would have done things different...Time to turn the TV off, or put in another DVD.
Tomorrow the process begins into the new job.
Well, calling around to the whole list of rental car companies in that city didn't do any good..they were ALL out of cars. The only thing available was from "Rent a Wreck" which is pretty cool...its just an older vehicle than the name brand rental places. They were able to fix us up, but the drawback...it had to be returned to the same place. Uggh,,..so we got it, got our stuff home, and then took it back...leaving me the need to get home. Thanks to a suggestion by Marbella, Cheaptickets.com proved very helpful.
It has been years, maybe decades, since I had flown public airlines, but based on things picked up here and there in the media, going "prepared" was somewhat easier. Leaving all my keys and pocket knife and anything metal at home, having no luggage, but still feeling like Columbo...going thru from point A to B to C was gradually & successfully progressing, until...
Now before we get to the security scan, there is already some apprehension, since the LAST time I went thru one of those I got escorted into a private security interview room where they just about put me in jail for not remembering that in my carry-on was a cap pistol and holster that I had bought at the last minute for my son before heading to the Oklahoma City airport. (They didn't allow such things to be purchased in California where the boy awaited eagerly). After sweating it out, that story eventually ended up with me placing the gift in a separate box and sending it thru in the cargo hold.
...so here again as I step up to the plate, they have me put my watch and anything metal in the pan...done. Feeling smug about having to put only a watch and a pair of reading glasses in the trough, they then tell me to take off my coat and put it on the same conveyor to be scanned. I complied. But its obvious I'm kind of "Gee...am I going to have to strip?" when she makes some comments about the snaps on my overalls and says "now your shoes".
Thinking she was reading my mind I laughed and said "Yeah! Thats probably next"...but she stood there waiting. As she stood there, it slowly began to dawn on me that she MIGHT be serious? I laughed and just incredulously asked "are you SERIOUS?"...she was. (As I took those shoes off it seemed ironic that this was a SECURITY checkpoint for the safety and well being of others...even with odor eater sprays those shoes were best left on unless removed outdoors).
At this point I'm really getting concerned about my overalls, but remembering that I had boxers on was a bit comforting. After going thru the x-ray thingy they tell me I'd been selected for some closer screening. So they lead me off to the side and "pat me down" and take a closer look at my few belongings. (Someone explained to me this was because I had bought my ticket and departed within a 24 hour period).
Finally getting home and still not unpacked from unloading the rent a wreck, spending some time with little Grace and taking Mrs. Beans out for a birthday dinner, watching some episodes from the original Star Trek series...and went to bed.
So before the house cleaning and stuff organizing gets started today..finally time to catch up just a little on this computer. Quickly checking the television ..uggh...politicking and campaign trails have begun...with one candidate proudly proclaiming that "yeah" she voted for giving the president blah blah blah, but had she known then what she knows now she would NOT have"...I'm thinking, WOW...heres a chance to elect someone for president who can't see far ahead but can make definite judgements "after the fact" on how she would have done things different...Time to turn the TV off, or put in another DVD.
Tomorrow the process begins into the new job.
Friday, January 19, 2007
I FIRED 2 PEOPLE TODAY THAT WERE REBELLING
Ever since many years ago, experience has taught me to never get mad at your job and quit both in the same day. If you want to quit, fine, but do it tomorrow or a week from now...but make sure its not a spur of the minute rash decision by just making it "your policy" to never quit the same day you decide to. That has worked well for me. You can adapt it if you have the need.
But then again, honestly assess things. After over 3 years with our current employer our liason with the company was quite surprised when I told him today it was time to wrap things up...we were done. After itemizing a few things that were contributing issues to the decision, there was one item that kept appearing on my work list from time to time...that
never was something I wanted to do or enjoyed doing. So I just spoke plainly, non-contentiously....
"I've made up my mind that today was the last time I was going to do that. There is no money in it and it sucks. I'm pretty sure that this is NOT a position the company can tolerate...which is fine, perfectly understandable. Thats not up to me, but I've made a personal decision in my career/life/interests and that it just isn't going to be a part of my job anymore".
So I assured him that we would finish our current assignments, but that after this weekend we needed to come into the office and wrap this up.
There are quite a few companies we're considering at the moment, all with different variations of pluses and minuses...and having spent alot of time this past few months identifying what plus/minus was important to us, matching up with the situation that comes the closest is where my focus will be over the next several days...But in the meantime, we've got alot of work to do this weekend.
We left Albany New York earlier this afternoon, we'll be visiting Carlisle Pennsylvania this evening, North Vernon Indiana in the morning, then another town nearby, then on to Cinnaminson New Jersey for Sunday early I hope, and then McCook Illinois for Monday morning. Then stop in at our second "home" up in Iowa and "it is finished".
Though I'm tempted to take a couple months off, things are progressed enough in the decision making progress, we'll probably not be off very long at all...but life will be one step closer to being more to our liking! It's long been my belief that if life isn't like you want it to be, fix it.
But then again, honestly assess things. After over 3 years with our current employer our liason with the company was quite surprised when I told him today it was time to wrap things up...we were done. After itemizing a few things that were contributing issues to the decision, there was one item that kept appearing on my work list from time to time...that
never was something I wanted to do or enjoyed doing. So I just spoke plainly, non-contentiously....
"I've made up my mind that today was the last time I was going to do that. There is no money in it and it sucks. I'm pretty sure that this is NOT a position the company can tolerate...which is fine, perfectly understandable. Thats not up to me, but I've made a personal decision in my career/life/interests and that it just isn't going to be a part of my job anymore".
So I assured him that we would finish our current assignments, but that after this weekend we needed to come into the office and wrap this up.
There are quite a few companies we're considering at the moment, all with different variations of pluses and minuses...and having spent alot of time this past few months identifying what plus/minus was important to us, matching up with the situation that comes the closest is where my focus will be over the next several days...But in the meantime, we've got alot of work to do this weekend.
We left Albany New York earlier this afternoon, we'll be visiting Carlisle Pennsylvania this evening, North Vernon Indiana in the morning, then another town nearby, then on to Cinnaminson New Jersey for Sunday early I hope, and then McCook Illinois for Monday morning. Then stop in at our second "home" up in Iowa and "it is finished".
Though I'm tempted to take a couple months off, things are progressed enough in the decision making progress, we'll probably not be off very long at all...but life will be one step closer to being more to our liking! It's long been my belief that if life isn't like you want it to be, fix it.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A TEMPORARY KING'S PERSPECTIVE
There is a "plus" side to a lottery ticket being a totally losing ticket...the collection process is completely done away with. No reading the directions for the address to mail it to, no buying and sticking on a stamp, no worrying about whether or not it will arrive safely, no going back in the store with it and waiting in line, no driving to the headquarters to collect in person, no "new friends" with pitiful heart ripping needs, no increased tax burden...nada, nothing, zip...and the scratched off ticket isn't one of those things you have to wonder if you should save it or toss it...and no need to worry about where/how to file it so it can be found. The deal is done, quick, simple, and into the trash and on with your day.
The "negative" side of listening to the news is...hearing how an El Paso US prosecutor and Homeland Security (aka "KGB"), (both of which could likely have lucrative deals with the Mexican drug dealers for either a supply of drugs or a cut of the money) have seen to it that 2 border patrol agents are prosecuted and put in prison for over a decade each for stopping a non-citizen from illegally entering the country, with a van load of drugs. How dare they pursue him...that violates border patrol policy...they are supposed to just politely ask them to stop...I'd be surprised if they were allowed to use a megaphone, it might infringe on the non-citizens "civil rights as granted to the citizens of the United States". What is it called when an officer fires a shot at a fleeing suspect who just before crossing into Mexico, turns with a shiny object in his hand that appears to be a weapon? The prosecutor called the Border Patrol's action "assault with a deadly weapon" and a "violation" of the non-citizen fleeing criminal's "civil rights".
The "negative" side of listening to the news is...hearing how a truck driver, road weary and knowing he needed to pull over, finding all the rest areas and places to park already taken...pulls off on the shoulder of a ramp. When an impaired driver leaves the highway at over 90mph and crashes into the back of the semi trailer, the police promptly impound the truck, and arrest the truck driver, charging him with felony manslaughter.
Then there is John Grisham's book "innocent man" that reveals explicit details how a DA named Peterson in a small community in Oklahoma puts an innocent man on DEATH ROW forcing the persuasion of the jury thru coerced or even fabricated "evidence" ...and yet, he's still DA ? I'm thinking the "justice" of wrongly causing a man to be on Death Row would most naturally be punished by ...the death penalty. But, it doesn't appear he is even going to be disbarred or fired...even though I'm told that he cost that little community a lot of money in an undisclosed civil suit settlement (if it is our tax dollars, how is it "undisclosed" ?) he still has his job...and faces quite a different circumstance of life than the border patrol agents or the truck driver.
"If I were President"..."If I were king for a day"....I'd be dragging a press corp around with me and maybe Donald Trump, (But if Rosie comes she'd have to ride in a different car)...we'd be firing, exposing, disbarring, exonerating, pardoning..."FIXING AMERICA"...and the Iraq war that is slugging away at armed terrorists and evil cold blooded killers of innocent women and children...I'd be sending 250,000 more troops instead of 20-30 thousand and those whiney near sighted politicians that have to wait on the poll results before determining what they stand for...would just have to return whatever financial backing they surely must be getting from the enemy, and whine all the way home to their mama's because I just flat wouldn't have the patience to put up with their nonsense.
And any news media caught sympathizing with the enemy and demoralizing the troops? I'd eminent domain their property to put in more Wal-Marts and amusement parks and casinos. Hate-mongers like Al Gore? They'd be stripped of their citizenship and given a small boat...which the Coast Guard would haul out to international waters and they'd be waved at, and warned they'd be shot if they came back into US territory. There are some other things I'd do to clean up and FIX America, one of many would be Empty the jails/prisons of non-criminals...fill it back with people who are criminals indeed.
After calling up Ollie North and turning the presidency over to him, and the vice presidency over to Ms. Rice...(don't get all feminist on me, she doesn't WANT the presidency)...then I'd stop by the Deal or No Deal show and choose suitcase 17.
That would be enough for one day.
The "negative" side of listening to the news is...hearing how an El Paso US prosecutor and Homeland Security (aka "KGB"), (both of which could likely have lucrative deals with the Mexican drug dealers for either a supply of drugs or a cut of the money) have seen to it that 2 border patrol agents are prosecuted and put in prison for over a decade each for stopping a non-citizen from illegally entering the country, with a van load of drugs. How dare they pursue him...that violates border patrol policy...they are supposed to just politely ask them to stop...I'd be surprised if they were allowed to use a megaphone, it might infringe on the non-citizens "civil rights as granted to the citizens of the United States". What is it called when an officer fires a shot at a fleeing suspect who just before crossing into Mexico, turns with a shiny object in his hand that appears to be a weapon? The prosecutor called the Border Patrol's action "assault with a deadly weapon" and a "violation" of the non-citizen fleeing criminal's "civil rights".
The "negative" side of listening to the news is...hearing how a truck driver, road weary and knowing he needed to pull over, finding all the rest areas and places to park already taken...pulls off on the shoulder of a ramp. When an impaired driver leaves the highway at over 90mph and crashes into the back of the semi trailer, the police promptly impound the truck, and arrest the truck driver, charging him with felony manslaughter.
Then there is John Grisham's book "innocent man" that reveals explicit details how a DA named Peterson in a small community in Oklahoma puts an innocent man on DEATH ROW forcing the persuasion of the jury thru coerced or even fabricated "evidence" ...and yet, he's still DA ? I'm thinking the "justice" of wrongly causing a man to be on Death Row would most naturally be punished by ...the death penalty. But, it doesn't appear he is even going to be disbarred or fired...even though I'm told that he cost that little community a lot of money in an undisclosed civil suit settlement (if it is our tax dollars, how is it "undisclosed" ?) he still has his job...and faces quite a different circumstance of life than the border patrol agents or the truck driver.
"If I were President"..."If I were king for a day"....I'd be dragging a press corp around with me and maybe Donald Trump, (But if Rosie comes she'd have to ride in a different car)...we'd be firing, exposing, disbarring, exonerating, pardoning..."FIXING AMERICA"...and the Iraq war that is slugging away at armed terrorists and evil cold blooded killers of innocent women and children...I'd be sending 250,000 more troops instead of 20-30 thousand and those whiney near sighted politicians that have to wait on the poll results before determining what they stand for...would just have to return whatever financial backing they surely must be getting from the enemy, and whine all the way home to their mama's because I just flat wouldn't have the patience to put up with their nonsense.
And any news media caught sympathizing with the enemy and demoralizing the troops? I'd eminent domain their property to put in more Wal-Marts and amusement parks and casinos. Hate-mongers like Al Gore? They'd be stripped of their citizenship and given a small boat...which the Coast Guard would haul out to international waters and they'd be waved at, and warned they'd be shot if they came back into US territory. There are some other things I'd do to clean up and FIX America, one of many would be Empty the jails/prisons of non-criminals...fill it back with people who are criminals indeed.
After calling up Ollie North and turning the presidency over to him, and the vice presidency over to Ms. Rice...(don't get all feminist on me, she doesn't WANT the presidency)...then I'd stop by the Deal or No Deal show and choose suitcase 17.
That would be enough for one day.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
With the help of a sledge hammer and a hatchet to break ice away, we finally got all hitched up and out of town (which required chains at one point for about 5 feet), and the journey has begun. Not including any pictures today, seen enough ice to last quite awhile without having to see more of it in picture form. The roads for the most part have been ok.
Seeing as how the storm has left us, guess we'll run up towards Indianapolis and see if we can't catch up with it. Ordered a new pair of glasses this morning...and told that young girl that getting older sure had a good side, I could pick glasses based on comfort and durability, with pretty much total disregard for how snazzy they looked.
Hard to believe its the 16th day of the year already, even harder to believe we're just getting rolling but that ILD was about all we needed to be handling that first couple weeks. Sure relieved Mrs. Beans pulled out of that one so well, seems to be in much better health already than most all of last year.
My tooth with its temporary crown/cap is still pretty dang uncomfortable, wonder if the whole pain thing will begin again on the 5th when they pull the temporary and install the permanent? Hopefully when K goes thru this same process this week or next, it won't be so bad...I already warned him to get the script for the pain pills BEFORE he leaves the dentist, and already have em soaking in his belly before the number stuff thaws out. Hope he does that, if so he'll miss out on standing in the line at the walmart pharmacy with beads of sweat Popping out...on a cool day. Just out of shear dee-ole pain.
Ole Sam's been working for a couple weeks now, so far so good. Haven't heard from Wolf today...so thats probably meaning he's still out of spending money...which usually is alot easier on his liver..but I don't hear from him as often. Sure wanted to stop in and visit with Marbella again before we headed out on this journey, and return her glass pie plate.
Found and delivered a box Pocahontas packed when she was about 8 or 9, like a time capsule for her going thru it, she found old diaries she was working on in 2cnd grade that occasionally had a page with just a brief entry "I've been rather busy, no time to write". Wow, that reminds me of a recent post of anamnesis about a goldfish that a person should put on their walls for reference. Of course instead of the bit about the castle we could write "be rather busy".
Seeing as how the storm has left us, guess we'll run up towards Indianapolis and see if we can't catch up with it. Ordered a new pair of glasses this morning...and told that young girl that getting older sure had a good side, I could pick glasses based on comfort and durability, with pretty much total disregard for how snazzy they looked.
Hard to believe its the 16th day of the year already, even harder to believe we're just getting rolling but that ILD was about all we needed to be handling that first couple weeks. Sure relieved Mrs. Beans pulled out of that one so well, seems to be in much better health already than most all of last year.
My tooth with its temporary crown/cap is still pretty dang uncomfortable, wonder if the whole pain thing will begin again on the 5th when they pull the temporary and install the permanent? Hopefully when K goes thru this same process this week or next, it won't be so bad...I already warned him to get the script for the pain pills BEFORE he leaves the dentist, and already have em soaking in his belly before the number stuff thaws out. Hope he does that, if so he'll miss out on standing in the line at the walmart pharmacy with beads of sweat Popping out...on a cool day. Just out of shear dee-ole pain.
Ole Sam's been working for a couple weeks now, so far so good. Haven't heard from Wolf today...so thats probably meaning he's still out of spending money...which usually is alot easier on his liver..but I don't hear from him as often. Sure wanted to stop in and visit with Marbella again before we headed out on this journey, and return her glass pie plate.
Found and delivered a box Pocahontas packed when she was about 8 or 9, like a time capsule for her going thru it, she found old diaries she was working on in 2cnd grade that occasionally had a page with just a brief entry "I've been rather busy, no time to write". Wow, that reminds me of a recent post of anamnesis about a goldfish that a person should put on their walls for reference. Of course instead of the bit about the castle we could write "be rather busy".
Sunday, January 14, 2007
POND IS FREEZING OVER
Wonder if the huge bass in the pond survived the summer drought and now the winter icing over?
ICY HOMEPLACE
The fenceline in this shot doesn't look too good. Thunder is rolling in the distance, and ice is falling from the sky in a surprising variety of sizes and shapes. Even the blades of grass are individually encased in a layer of ice, like the limbs and tiny leaf holding branches of trees...and the power lines..which so far have been holding.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
YIKES
The ice is here and coming on strong. Being in an all electric house is not a good thing sometimes. So I'm off to shower and ready ourselves for plan 2...since I fully expect to lose the juice anytime today or tonight. Stay warm and dry if you can. Winter has just begun.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
MAKING CHANGES IN LIFE
Lots of people realize they need to make some changes but that is where the progress stops. Throw in a series of new year resolutions, sit back to relax feeling good about having the matter resolved. Yet no progress is made.
MOMS ADVICE ON DEALING WITH IMPORTANT DECISIONS...
"What are you wanting out of life?
What are you getting out of life?
what changes need made to get that result?"
Good common sense facts there. Thats a key part of making the decisions, the next part is...MAKE THOSE CHANGES. I remember telling people in several business meetings (though it wasn't an original idea).."If you keep doing the same old things, the same old way..don't be surprised that you keep getting the same old results".
Now that is usually applied to the fact that "different results are needed", so ya gotta change the ingredients. But its true the other way too, theres a whole lot of times things are just the way ya like them ...be careful not to mess with THOSE ingredients!
No new years resolutions here...those haven't proved helpful. There is a poster on my wall with some really key things I wanted to get done...I looked at it the other day and realized NONE of those have been done...didn't really disturb me TOO much, until i noticed it was dated June 2005. Sheesh, need to change that. So I've been giving thought to what kind of changes I needed to make at work and in my time at home time management to bring that about. Then dividing that up into "baby steps" so I can implement the steps to changes.
Though I don't usually recommend products...this one I've used in the past to help me "get it all together" and it was VERY valuable...so I ordered it and installed it and am using it again..its a journal program that is simple and awesome. You can start using it right away and learn more of its potential as you go. Be sure to make backups (a click of a button) and if you ever have to restore your computer ..zap..your journal of events past present and future are right there.
"Make sure that your daily action list is in line with your true goals and values. All of us have things in life we don't enjoy, but which are important. Life becomes chaotic and crises occur when we don't 'manage' our lives - by taking out the trash, washing our clothes, having regular medical checkups, pay our bills, etc.
But it's time for a major re-evaluation of your life if you find most hours of most days filled with dreaded 'oughts'..."
That quote is one small clip from a really good article titled "Using a Day Planner as a Life Planner" by Kathleen G. Nadeau, Ph.Dan ADD.
Helpful ways to implement "making the changes" in mom's quote at the start of this blog.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Arava or Leflunomide Respiratory side affects
Unfortunately this particular post is more lengthy and technical in nature and may not be something the average reader is interested in, but I'm "telling our story" in hopes others who may need it, can search and find it....
In the disease Rheumatoid arthritis , certain parts of a person's immune system not only fight against disease, but fight against the person too. The affect is deterioration of bone in joints, up to the point of crippling and deforming, and swelling and inflammation that results in sometimes extreme and/or endless pain.
Drugs like Arava (and its generic, Leflunomide), are used to hinder these parts of the immune system from damaging and destroying...and in thousands and thousands of cases have brought a slowdown or even stop to the deterioration of bone, and relief from the pain. The claim they make is ...
"Arava proved to reduce signs and symptoms including morning stiffness and the number of tender and swollen joints. Patients in the controlled trials experienced significant improvements in physical function, such as gripping, reaching, walking, dressing, and rising from a chair. Feet and hand x-rays of those taking Arava in the trials showed that Arava can also slow down joint damage caused by the disease. "
As usual...there are possible undesirable side affects. With Arava the ones that seem more common include hair thinning/loss, diarrhea, elevated liver enzymes, and rash.
In the first quarter of last year when the doc added ARAVA to Mrs. Bean's regime of medications , the only adverse things experienced were small little spots of rash on many of her joints, and some hair thinning..but she was experiencing relief...there was little to no swelling and pain in the joints.
While the RA doc was mindful to keep a check on Mrs. Bean's blood for possible liver damage...What angers me is that nowhere in the process of starting her on this drug was it mentioned..."hey, there is another rare but potentially DEADLY side affect to this drug that it has a history of to watch out for...so if you start dealing with alot of odd respiratory issues...you need to be on guard and possibly reduce or discontinue this drug immediately"...
As summer began, several months had passed, long enough for us to no longer be connecting cause/effect,...when she developed a hard cough that was difficult to diagnose, all her blood counts and oxygen was fine and lungs on the xrays were clear but yet the cough persisted, violently. Finally after a visit to a pulmonary specialist, it was surmised that it was whooping cough..and that may be, since the times between coughing fits, she was perfectly fine, but when they would come on, they were extremely severe.
The summer and early fall, meant about 100 days of the harsh coughing before it would come to an end, though a nagging cough continued to appear. A few months later bringing us to my last post when, as we were mindful of the coming new year...
...it welcomed us with another onset of severe coughing and very little lung capacity to breathe in air, and based on a chest X-ray in ER she was diagnosed with bronchitis, they saw congestion in the bronchi but not in the lungs, so they sent her on her way with cough suppressant and a 5day zpack of strong antibiotic.
Fortunately 5 days later we went to our regular doctor and he ordered a contrast-enhanced CT scan angio pulmonary, it showed significant bilateral pulmonary infiltrate. She was given a shot of cortisone and the doctor changed her antibiotic medication to avelox and a generic for Bactrim DS...but none of it was making sense, she didn't have the normal symptoms or detection markers of common pneumonia.
That night I spent my night doing an immediate very intense research of all the facts available, and uncovered a common bond that she had with some other people using Arava...I'll share some of those here for the sake of others, because though this reaction to Arava does seem to be very rare...for those few, correctly identifying the source of the problem could make the difference between life and death. Information we were unaware of...
An excerpt from around 2002 in a carefully documented study published in Brazil in a Journal of Pulmonology....
"...We report the case of a 33-year-old female patient who presented with chest pain, weight loss and pulmonary infectious syndrome during the fifth month of monotherapy with leflunomide for rheumatoid arthritis, which advanced to respiratory insufficiency in the sixth month. Radiologic findings revealed pulmonary infiltrates in the interstice, as well as bilateral alveolar infiltrates (mainly in the upper and middle lobes) and scattered micronodules. However, no mediastinal abnormalities were detected. Leflunomide was suspended... After four months, the condition spontaneously and completely resolved, suggesting that the pulmonary complications seen in this case resulted from the use of leflunomide. "
Another reference , this time from Japan, in January 2004 ,in a report citing an Associated Press article in Tokyo had these excerpts....
"...Sixteen people developed interstitial pneumonia, a debilitating lung condition, after taking the drug. Five of them, aged between 57 and 71, subsequently died, Mr. Kikuchi said.....Overseas, the drug has been administered to some 400,000 people and 80 people had developed interstitial pneumonia..."
An Australian government site reporting back in 2000....
"To date, ADRAC has received 669 reports associated with the use of leflunomide, of which 142 reports involved respiratory symptoms. Twenty two reports describe one or more of the following serious reactions: pneumonitis (8), interstitial lung disease (9), lung infiltration (4), or pulmonary fibrosis (3). Although these 22 reports have used different medical terms, it is likely they have all reported the same condition, commonly called interstitial lung disease (ILD).
Among the 22 reports of ILD .... Four patients died. "
There are many other studies and references but this is enough to at least make someone aware of it. It appears Mrs. Beans happened to be one of those rare few..and has discontinued the Arava, and is continuing treatment. ..so we're hopeful this year won't be heavy laden with respiratory problems like last year was.
In the disease Rheumatoid arthritis , certain parts of a person's immune system not only fight against disease, but fight against the person too. The affect is deterioration of bone in joints, up to the point of crippling and deforming, and swelling and inflammation that results in sometimes extreme and/or endless pain.
Drugs like Arava (and its generic, Leflunomide), are used to hinder these parts of the immune system from damaging and destroying...and in thousands and thousands of cases have brought a slowdown or even stop to the deterioration of bone, and relief from the pain. The claim they make is ...
"Arava proved to reduce signs and symptoms including morning stiffness and the number of tender and swollen joints. Patients in the controlled trials experienced significant improvements in physical function, such as gripping, reaching, walking, dressing, and rising from a chair. Feet and hand x-rays of those taking Arava in the trials showed that Arava can also slow down joint damage caused by the disease. "
As usual...there are possible undesirable side affects. With Arava the ones that seem more common include hair thinning/loss, diarrhea, elevated liver enzymes, and rash.
In the first quarter of last year when the doc added ARAVA to Mrs. Bean's regime of medications , the only adverse things experienced were small little spots of rash on many of her joints, and some hair thinning..but she was experiencing relief...there was little to no swelling and pain in the joints.
While the RA doc was mindful to keep a check on Mrs. Bean's blood for possible liver damage...What angers me is that nowhere in the process of starting her on this drug was it mentioned..."hey, there is another rare but potentially DEADLY side affect to this drug that it has a history of to watch out for...so if you start dealing with alot of odd respiratory issues...you need to be on guard and possibly reduce or discontinue this drug immediately"...
As summer began, several months had passed, long enough for us to no longer be connecting cause/effect,...when she developed a hard cough that was difficult to diagnose, all her blood counts and oxygen was fine and lungs on the xrays were clear but yet the cough persisted, violently. Finally after a visit to a pulmonary specialist, it was surmised that it was whooping cough..and that may be, since the times between coughing fits, she was perfectly fine, but when they would come on, they were extremely severe.
The summer and early fall, meant about 100 days of the harsh coughing before it would come to an end, though a nagging cough continued to appear. A few months later bringing us to my last post when, as we were mindful of the coming new year...
...it welcomed us with another onset of severe coughing and very little lung capacity to breathe in air, and based on a chest X-ray in ER she was diagnosed with bronchitis, they saw congestion in the bronchi but not in the lungs, so they sent her on her way with cough suppressant and a 5day zpack of strong antibiotic.
Fortunately 5 days later we went to our regular doctor and he ordered a contrast-enhanced CT scan angio pulmonary, it showed significant bilateral pulmonary infiltrate. She was given a shot of cortisone and the doctor changed her antibiotic medication to avelox and a generic for Bactrim DS...but none of it was making sense, she didn't have the normal symptoms or detection markers of common pneumonia.
That night I spent my night doing an immediate very intense research of all the facts available, and uncovered a common bond that she had with some other people using Arava...I'll share some of those here for the sake of others, because though this reaction to Arava does seem to be very rare...for those few, correctly identifying the source of the problem could make the difference between life and death. Information we were unaware of...
An excerpt from around 2002 in a carefully documented study published in Brazil in a Journal of Pulmonology....
"...We report the case of a 33-year-old female patient who presented with chest pain, weight loss and pulmonary infectious syndrome during the fifth month of monotherapy with leflunomide for rheumatoid arthritis, which advanced to respiratory insufficiency in the sixth month. Radiologic findings revealed pulmonary infiltrates in the interstice, as well as bilateral alveolar infiltrates (mainly in the upper and middle lobes) and scattered micronodules. However, no mediastinal abnormalities were detected. Leflunomide was suspended... After four months, the condition spontaneously and completely resolved, suggesting that the pulmonary complications seen in this case resulted from the use of leflunomide. "
Another reference , this time from Japan, in January 2004 ,in a report citing an Associated Press article in Tokyo had these excerpts....
"...Sixteen people developed interstitial pneumonia, a debilitating lung condition, after taking the drug. Five of them, aged between 57 and 71, subsequently died, Mr. Kikuchi said.....Overseas, the drug has been administered to some 400,000 people and 80 people had developed interstitial pneumonia..."
An Australian government site reporting back in 2000....
"To date, ADRAC has received 669 reports associated with the use of leflunomide, of which 142 reports involved respiratory symptoms. Twenty two reports describe one or more of the following serious reactions: pneumonitis (8), interstitial lung disease (9), lung infiltration (4), or pulmonary fibrosis (3). Although these 22 reports have used different medical terms, it is likely they have all reported the same condition, commonly called interstitial lung disease (ILD).
Among the 22 reports of ILD .... Four patients died. "
There are many other studies and references but this is enough to at least make someone aware of it. It appears Mrs. Beans happened to be one of those rare few..and has discontinued the Arava, and is continuing treatment. ..so we're hopeful this year won't be heavy laden with respiratory problems like last year was.
Time for some Cartoons?
The lady at the insurance office replied to the customary "how ya doing?" with "It's Friday", with all the excitement of a kid in school Friday afternoon just a few more minutes till the bell.
Pretending to share in the enthusiasm was easy, since many many times that joyful "freedom" has been felt thru life...Such a good performance that its doubtful she had the slightest inkling that she was the only one there really excited .
That was the plan anyway, it just seems like people who actually only have a momentary business only relationship or knowledge of each other, owe it to each other to "keep that chin up", "show some white when ya smile", "leave 'em feeling even zippier than ya found them"...and maybe thats all she was actually doing too? Most of the time these days it just isn't really difficult being of good cheer, and sparkly energy...Today started out that way, but by afternoon things had changed.
Mrs Beans this past weekend, (wow, has a whole week passed!), had developed a very severe cough, and seemed to have precious little capacity to breathe. ER took a chest X-ray and easily diagnosed those air hoses going into the lungs were clogging up, bronchitis, they saw congestion in the bronchi but the X-ray had good news...if she could get those hoses cleaned up the lungs were clear... so they sent her on her way with cough suppressant and a 6day zpack of strong antibiotic.
By the time Fantastic Friday arrived she should've been chirping like a bird and grinnin like that insurance woman...but there was very little change, and that had to be a disappointing way to start the year. Almost a whole week, (the first week of a new year)...breathing very shallow, keeping very still, or and yet..inevitably,...coughing so hard it hurts all over. Some say that acute bronchitis generally lasts 7-10 days though so there was a glimmer of hope there to explain away the lack of improvement cause it was probably just gonna come all at once the last few days of that stretch.
The doctor seemed confused about the lack of progress, all those little readings they could take like blood pressure and temperature and what not was fine enough, so whats the holdup? Being the cautious man he's always been, he sends her over for one of those CT angio pulmonary things they call a Cat scan...but since they stick a needle in the arm and inject saline, then in a bit...some kind of dye...its probably not the way a person would really be planning to spend ..."a Friday". Yet once that was done...Yihaw! (Well, the exciting thought really centered more on getting back under the covers in that comfortable bed, where breathing shallow isn't too hard on a body).
About the time the covers were pulled and the car was cooling off, that doctor was on the phone personally..."good news is, didn't see any embolism"...(Now even if ya didn't know what an embolism was, it would still just SEEM like good news that there wasn't one crawling around inside). ..but the bad news is...it isn't just the hoses that were clogged, both the lungs were especially "infiltrated"..."bilateral pulmonary infiltrate". Its one thing to try to vacuum with a clogged hose, but when the bag is full, its a whole lot of work and not much cleaning. So even if the Bronchitis was completely cleared up (which it wasn't)...there wasn't much place for that air to go. As the good Doctor talked he seemed to kind of mumble off, not only did it just not make any sense...at this point things are getting a bit spooky.
So its just not easy to go in there and tell your very best friend in life that not only is it unlikely the next few days will be the high speed end of feeling good, better, best...but instead, things aren't going to be letting up much, and it could be a hard journey these next coming days. She took it all pretty good, or she put on a good performance, cause as she turned to sleep...all the final errands of the day were just beginning...(including the stop at the insurance office)
...It just didn't make any sense. All indicators pointed the other way...there wasn't anything environmental or burdensome these past 5 days...so why were things turning the wrong way? Thats not how its supposed to work. Thats when that little bottle of pills the Rheumatoid doctor had her on since spring came back to mind and that phone was working in reverse, soon that doctor was agreeing, it might be a good idea to stop those daily doses of Arava (Leflunomide) at least for now.
So there might have been several hours of errands to run, but there wasn't any doubt that there was going to be some heavy duty researching done when this Friday slowed down.
You'll have to wait till next blog to find out what all that turned up, if anything...so till then "keep that chin up", "show some white when ya smile", "leave 'em feeling even zippier than ya found them"...(and take a long slow deep breath and let it out even slower...cause even that is something ya just can't know how good it is till ya lose it). And if you remember right, there was something better than a Friday afternoon school bell...it was those Saturday mornings!
Pretending to share in the enthusiasm was easy, since many many times that joyful "freedom" has been felt thru life...Such a good performance that its doubtful she had the slightest inkling that she was the only one there really excited .
That was the plan anyway, it just seems like people who actually only have a momentary business only relationship or knowledge of each other, owe it to each other to "keep that chin up", "show some white when ya smile", "leave 'em feeling even zippier than ya found them"...and maybe thats all she was actually doing too? Most of the time these days it just isn't really difficult being of good cheer, and sparkly energy...Today started out that way, but by afternoon things had changed.
Mrs Beans this past weekend, (wow, has a whole week passed!), had developed a very severe cough, and seemed to have precious little capacity to breathe. ER took a chest X-ray and easily diagnosed those air hoses going into the lungs were clogging up, bronchitis, they saw congestion in the bronchi but the X-ray had good news...if she could get those hoses cleaned up the lungs were clear... so they sent her on her way with cough suppressant and a 6day zpack of strong antibiotic.
By the time Fantastic Friday arrived she should've been chirping like a bird and grinnin like that insurance woman...but there was very little change, and that had to be a disappointing way to start the year. Almost a whole week, (the first week of a new year)...breathing very shallow, keeping very still, or and yet..inevitably,...coughing so hard it hurts all over. Some say that acute bronchitis generally lasts 7-10 days though so there was a glimmer of hope there to explain away the lack of improvement cause it was probably just gonna come all at once the last few days of that stretch.
The doctor seemed confused about the lack of progress, all those little readings they could take like blood pressure and temperature and what not was fine enough, so whats the holdup? Being the cautious man he's always been, he sends her over for one of those CT angio pulmonary things they call a Cat scan...but since they stick a needle in the arm and inject saline, then in a bit...some kind of dye...its probably not the way a person would really be planning to spend ..."a Friday". Yet once that was done...Yihaw! (Well, the exciting thought really centered more on getting back under the covers in that comfortable bed, where breathing shallow isn't too hard on a body).
About the time the covers were pulled and the car was cooling off, that doctor was on the phone personally..."good news is, didn't see any embolism"...(Now even if ya didn't know what an embolism was, it would still just SEEM like good news that there wasn't one crawling around inside). ..but the bad news is...it isn't just the hoses that were clogged, both the lungs were especially "infiltrated"..."bilateral pulmonary infiltrate". Its one thing to try to vacuum with a clogged hose, but when the bag is full, its a whole lot of work and not much cleaning. So even if the Bronchitis was completely cleared up (which it wasn't)...there wasn't much place for that air to go. As the good Doctor talked he seemed to kind of mumble off, not only did it just not make any sense...at this point things are getting a bit spooky.
So its just not easy to go in there and tell your very best friend in life that not only is it unlikely the next few days will be the high speed end of feeling good, better, best...but instead, things aren't going to be letting up much, and it could be a hard journey these next coming days. She took it all pretty good, or she put on a good performance, cause as she turned to sleep...all the final errands of the day were just beginning...(including the stop at the insurance office)
...It just didn't make any sense. All indicators pointed the other way...there wasn't anything environmental or burdensome these past 5 days...so why were things turning the wrong way? Thats not how its supposed to work. Thats when that little bottle of pills the Rheumatoid doctor had her on since spring came back to mind and that phone was working in reverse, soon that doctor was agreeing, it might be a good idea to stop those daily doses of Arava (Leflunomide) at least for now.
So there might have been several hours of errands to run, but there wasn't any doubt that there was going to be some heavy duty researching done when this Friday slowed down.
You'll have to wait till next blog to find out what all that turned up, if anything...so till then "keep that chin up", "show some white when ya smile", "leave 'em feeling even zippier than ya found them"...(and take a long slow deep breath and let it out even slower...cause even that is something ya just can't know how good it is till ya lose it). And if you remember right, there was something better than a Friday afternoon school bell...it was those Saturday mornings!
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