And So They Went...

Ok, so Like I said before, yesterday was my very first Tigers' game. I'll say I had fun! I'm not much of a "Sports" kind of guy, but I at least understand baseball.

The game itself was actually fairly dull. Very little excitement. Tigers lost 5-7.

The fun part of the experience was the PEOPLE WATCHING! OH MY GAWD [Becky...] there was SOOOOO much to look at. Plenty of Eye Candy, Plenty of Eye Poison, and everything in between. The crazies were the best!

Here are some pics (they are from my phone, so, quality be damned!!!).

Ok, First, there was this group of guys. 1 or 2 of them had their girlfriends with them. All the guys kept huggin' on each other. I mean seriously, the Straight Boy Love was just flowin everywhere! And why, oh why is it ok to be affectionate at a baseball game, but not not out anywhere else in public? I just don't get it!


Ok, Next are the crazies. The first one, well, this guy had several notebooks and papers strewn about on the floor. I'm guessing that he was keeping track of some of the sports stats, but GOOD GOD, can we say "OCD???"

The second One, uhhh..., well he speaks for himself (remember, this is a DETROIT TIGERS GAME, IN DETROIT).

Then there is this dumbass. You can see that he is WAY up in the stands. He's all hollerin at the players about how he he doesn't like them, and this guy sucks and that guy should just go home....did he REALLY think that they could hear him?

Whatever! Paco and I had fun, and we even avoided sunburns, believe it or not!

So, we decided that we will do it again someday. Let's go Tigers!!!!!!!!!!!

"You got WANGED on the head!!!!"

--Iton

Go Tigers!

Well, here I am, just about 32 years old and about to head to my very first Tiger's game. I've lived in Michigan my whole life, how has this never happened before?

Who knows. The important thing is that Paco got the tix and we are going!!

More later, perhaps after the game.

"Let's Go Tigers.....Grrrrooowwwwllllll."

--Iton

Today's Giggle

Yep, I'm HORRIBLE at keeping up with my blog. Obviously, if you are a regular reader, you know that. ;)

1st: Thanks to Mike for the Socks suggestion from my recent insomnia post. I'm not sure if it worked, but I appreciate the suggestion nonetheless!

2nd: NEW FAVORITE WORD: "Asshats." I was reading a blog from PISTOLOTTO's links. Read the post for yourselves here. LOVE IT!

CARF audit is next week! Here's hoping that our Auditor isn't a "She Devil" like "Sister Patterson" of "I Love New York" demi-fame.

"Roselin [President Botox], GET YOUR FAT ASS OUT OF THAT RACK!"

--Iton

Ahhhh.... Refreshing

What a difference a week can make!

So, I had my week off of work. Boy did I need that! I do feel quite refreshed and able to face the day. I was able to get some work done around the house, and to catch up on some projects that I had been ignoring for a while.

Now I'm gearing up for that big CARF audit. You know the one I've been writing about since like June? It's finally coming up at the end of the month. WISH US LUCK!

...After 1 small bite of a carrot "Great, now I can't have toothpaste tonight."

--Iton

Insomnia

Have you ever had to deal with insomnia? If you haven't, it is extremely hard to understand. Surely just about everyone has experienced sleeplessness at some point, this is natural. What is not quite right is when you either don't sleep at all, can't stay asleep, don't get enough sleep, or your sleep is not restful. I am currently dealing with the latter type.

I'll tell you it's awful. I FEEL like I haven't had any sleep in at least a week. I have dark circles around the bottom HALF of each of my eyes, my eyes themselves burn and tingle a little, I have a near constant, very dull headache, and I'm continuously, mildly nauseated. I feel very sensitive to temperature and light changes, am rather irritable and have few patience.

This is a form of torture (no really, it is, look up sleep deprivation & brainwashing techniques).

What's even worse is when the people in your life are COMPLETELY insensitive to what you are going through. I know it isn't really their FAULT. Chances are, most of these people haven't experienced this level of insomnia themselves. They have NO IDEA how bad it is.

Now, I feel pretty confident that I know where mine is coming from. I have WAAAAYYYY too many things going on right now...

1. Work is very busy (and let's not forget the paperwork that goes along with it).
2. I have extra duties right now while the boss is out of town.
3. Taxes are coming up and I'm a procrastinator (probably related to this whole sleep thing).
4. I have household things to do like laundry, vacuuming, trash, keeping up with the cat's needs, dishes, grocery shopping etc...
5. I'm terribly worried about my abilities when it comes to taking the GRE.
6. Likewise I'm terribly worried about getting into a PhD program in time to finish before I'm 40.
   
7. I'm feeling a LOT of pressure to get my house packed up (and trust me this is a HUGE job).
8. Paco is pissed at me because I'm not attending to things he has designated as top priority.
9. I'm pissed at Paco because I feel like he is being incredibly insensitive (and I'm just plain irritable and sensitive myself...see above). It doesn't help that he knows about my sleep problems and just doesn't understand.
10. I don't understand why when Paco wants express himself he seems to automatically jump to an adversarial position. I find myself just trying to make him happy, please him, ease his worries...all the while my own are mounting exponentially. I DESPISE walking eggshells. I understand that I haven't been as responsive as perhaps I should be lately...but good God, I really feel like I don't have the ability at the moment. ALL of my empathy is going to the people who pay for it...my clients. I just don't have anything else left right now.
    

There are more things to write, but I just can't anymore. I can't even tell you how many typos I've had to correct in this entry just because my fingers won't type what I want them too (time to get fitted for replacements I guess).

I'm a zombie who has to DRAG himself out of bed and to the office each day. I just want to cry (but I can't really do that either right now...too numb from the bad sleep).

Out of necessity, I have decided to take next week off of work. I really don't have any other choice. It's going to hurt financially, but, I NEED to clear up this sleep thing and I NEED to make some progress on the house that Paco can SEE. I want to make him but happy, but lately it seems that I can do nothing right.


"More......BRAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIINS!!!!!!!!"

--Iton

Well It's about time!

I'm shocked. I'm stunned. I'm ecstatic!

No beating around the bush! My sister has, finally, officially announced her engagement to her boyfriend of seven years! After all that time, and many protestations against the concept of marriage, they have announced their pending nuptials. The even will take place in roughly 1 year.

I'm loving this. My sister's fiancee is great. He's smart, funny, pleasant to look at and just generally a very cool guy. I'm very happy to have him joining our messed up little family. I'm happy that my sister has decided to make it official. I'm happy that my mom will have the opportunity to see one of her kids have a (somewhat) traditional ceremony (minus the church and white gown however). (remember, I'm gay, and I live in Michigan. Gay marriage is still illegal here and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.)

My sister has asked me to stand up with her at the wedding. She's not going to have Maid of Honor. No, instead she is going to have a Man of Honor." No I'm not wearing a dress. No I'm not carrying a bouquet. And, as for the bachelorette party... she's not so sure yet. LOL Life sure can be interesting at times!

"Ensign. Set a course, bearing 3-1-2 MARK 0-8. ENGAGE!"

--Iton

You! Shake your Junk!

Oh Dear!

Well, the boss has been out of town for a few weeks. I'm holding down the fort in her absence. I'm pulling a lot of 10-hour days and am just BEAT when I get home each night. That's ok though, I don't really mind. It's just that once I leave the office, my brain sort of shuts off. This would be fine except for the fact that I have LOTS of things to get done. Oh well, another issue for another time.

I have something MUCH more interesting to discuss: TRANSFERENCE.

It has finally happened. Once of my clients believes that she is in love with me. I know what you are thinking. Yes, there are a LOT of problems with that situation. However, it is a VERY well known, very common, and very OLD phenomenon.

Freud himself talked about transference. (not that I'm necessarily a big Freud fan, but the reference speaks to the age of the phenomenon)

For now, I'm going to be extremely professional about it. I have to be. I mean, in college, when we discussed it, I remember one of my professors explaining that "if you are even HALF good at therapy, it will happen to you at some point." So, I guess that, in a little bit of a twisted way, this is a compliment. It speaks to my ability to build good rapport and empathize with my clients.

I already know how I'm going to handle it. First, I will call her in to discuss it. You see, we have to get it "out on the table." Next, I will explain transference to her. Hopefully she will understand that she only THINKS that she is in love with me. Her FEELINGS are just a bit misdirected. I will attempt to work professionally and compassionately with her to move past the issue. If she is unable or unwilling to move past the transference, I will be forced to offer to transfer her to another therapist.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I like her, as a client, and I had thought we were making some progress. Oh well, we'll see.

[WARNING: SYNAPTIC FAILURE. CLEVER QUOTE UNAVAILABLE]

--Iton

Tell me about your mother......

WOW! Has it really been 2 entire weeks since I've written anything? My apologies to BOTH ;) of my regular readers.

Much has happened in the past 2 weeks. I think I will probably do multiple posts so that I can cover each topic individually. I think it will be easier to read as well.

First, the News! Paco has finally found the blog! I honestly don't know how much of it he has read, or if he continues to read it, but I have to assume that he's checking in from time to time. I'll admit, that fact makes me feel a little strange. But It's all good. This is a public forum and I knew full well that he would find it eventually.

The blog was never meant to be a secret, per se. It isn't like I was hiding it from him. But I'll tell ya, it was a touch strange to have him discussing issues with me that I had written about here. Eh, I'll adjust. Not a bad thing, just a little bit of a strange feeling. EVERYONE WELCOME PACO!!!!

Now to get Paco writing in his own blog. :)

"God, get out of bed, you'll miss the best part of the day!" "I don't want to get out of bed, and besides, I haven't invented the best part of the day yet. Yeahhhhhh, who's a clever kid?"

--Iton

How dumb do you have to be?

Ok, first, go read this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/po/20070223/co_po/polishpresidentgayswouldendhumanrace.

Now, I dunno about anyone else, but it seems to me that the Polish President, and his equally icky twin-brother the Prime Minister, are hot for c*ck. Essentially, his message tells me that, unless we have rules preventing homosexuality, men will completely ignore women (yeah right, like that even COULD happen) and that women will completely ignore men. This would mean that NO heterosexual procreation would happen ANYWHERE in the world and thus our species would end.

It sounds to me like the Polish President WANTS to have sex with men, and men only, but that there are these pesky rules that force him to to use the "punanni" to satisfy his carnal desires. Are you all getting my point? Are you all getting his point?

How much of an idiot do a person have to be in order to be deemed unfit for life? Well, I don't have an answer except that this guy is close in my book.

Does he honestly think that if Poland passed a nondiscrimination or equal protection law (or something akin within their legal system) that ALL the men in Poland (and the world?) would INSTANTLY REJECT WOMEN in favor of men (for sexual purposes)? If he does, he's an undereducated, narrow-minded, short-sighted FOOL. I don't know about the rest of you out there, but I know plenty of straight men. And, with almost no exception, I can't imagine any of them having a thought process like this: "Oh, I'm ALLOWED to f*ck men now? Oh THANK GOD... Hey Susie, pack up your crap and get outta my house, I have guys to get to screwin!"

What a complete MORON!

To top it off, a large percentage of my ancestry is Polish. Not that I speak Polish, or even know much about the culture, but I AM of Polish descent. Makes me, almost, pine for designer gene-replacement therapy!

And now for the science part. Ok, let's suppose for, just a moment, that this blockhead is correct. Let's assume that ALL men in the world would have sex with other men, exclusively (Lol, I WISH!!!!!). Even if that were so, we still have the technology to have babies without having sexual intercourse. We have In-Vitro fertilization. We have the technology to transplant embryos. So, even if men and women never had sex together again, it would be FAR from the end of our species. Human beings have (in general) an innate desire to procreate. For most of us, we are biologically driven to have babies. Yes, in this scenario it would be a bit more difficult, but heck, maybe we could finally control who does and doesn't have babies. I've long advocated for people to be required to have a license to have a baby. Seriously, there are far too many people out there having children who REALLY shouldn't. Clearly Mr. Lech Kaczynski's parents are among them.

To the Polish President, his idiot twin brother, and all the other people in the world who think that somehow same-sex relations will destroy our cultures, societies, institutions, or even the world, NEED to read some scientific literature.

And really, as the President of an entire country, can you HONESTLY say that you don't have more important things to deal with / worry about then homosexuality??!!?!?! No wonder our world is in shambles. You should be worrying about Economics, employment, education, disease, terrorism and other security concerns, building relations with other nations and advancing the position of your people...NOT with whom they choose to fall in love or have sex! Talk about wasting taxpayer money. BUILD A ROAD, IMPROVE YOUR SCHOOLS, INCREASE MEDICAL RESEARCH, ADVANCE NOTIONS OF WORLD PEACE...ie...BE A FRICKIN PRESIDENT!!!!

(yes, these statements apply to my own government as well).

Morons.

"When I was born, I was so ugly that the Doctor took one look at me and slapped my mother!"

--Iton

What, what WHAT?!?!

Doesn't it just figure? Michigan's weather has been like a kinked hose this winter. It started off normally, then we became unseasonably warm. So warm in fact that it was RAINING (not snowing or icing) on New Year's Eve. Our cold weather had been held back like the flow of water from a kinked garden hose. Then, a few weeks ago, Mother Nature unkinked the hose. Now we are freezing our patooties off. We got dumped on last night. I don't know the official snow-fall measurements, but my driveway has snow drifts nearly 2 feet deep. YIKES!

What makes this a problem for me is that my snowblower took a crap. You see, my father had bought it, used, a number of years ago. He was a relatively frugal man. Not to say that he was "cheap" but rather not "wasteful."

To my knowledge the thing has never worked 100% correctly. This is my third winter with the snowblower (and this house) all to myself. It was always hard to start (pull-start, no electric starter on this baby). Unfortunately, this year, it won't get started at all.

I had intended to get it serviced earlier in the season. And, in fact, I have a place all lined up only like 2 miles from my house. The problem is that the damn thing is so big that it won't fit in my SUV. I have no way to get it to the service place. I tried to get my brother to help, since he has a pickup truck. You see, he drives 3 hours each way, every other weekend, to pick up and drop off his daughter. What REALLY blows is that he is really only available to help me on Sundays. Nothing that even smells like a snowblower service facility is even OPEN on Sundays.

So, here I sit. I'm a little snowed in (fortunately the SUV has no problem getting through the drifts), my snowblower is dead, help is so near and yet so far, and I feel like a jerk for not clearing the driveway and walkways that lead to my house.

Well, I'm still not sure what to do for this year, but Paco and I have been talking about next year. We are SOOOOO getting a killer replacement for this thing when we move. Mmmm, electric start, headlight, coffee maker, flight attendant, ALL the bells and whistles in a snowblower-overkill extravaganza.

But, for now, I need to strap the dogs to the sled to get the garbage to the curb. ;)

Ho hum, why oh why can't I just win the lottery so that I can buy that little private island that I want? I mean Really! It's ONLY $10 Million (I'm sure I have that in loose coin under the sofa cushion).

"My husband asked me if we had any Cheetos. Like he can't pick up the sofa cushion and look for himself!"

--Iton

Sick Sucks!

Ok, I've had this nasty cold for like a week and a half now. I did make it back to work for this week, but GEEZE. I'm am REALLY tired of hacking up multi-colored phlegm globbers.

How is it that we can put a man on The Moon, robots on Mars, probes in orbit of Saturn & Jupiter, stream TV & Podcasts over the Internet and have cars that (mostly) parallel-park themselves but we can't cure the common cold?

Yes, yes, I know that the cold virus mutates rapidly. Yes, yes I know there is a MAJOR financial incentive for cold-remedy companies to KEEP us getting sick. Yes, yes I've heard that there is a government conspiracy in place to keep us down. But I don't buy any of that.

Someone, somewhere can come up with an algorithm that predicts the mutation of the virus right? We DO have supercomputers that can, I'm told rather accurately, predict the outcomes of a multi-megaton nuclear detonation. How can we NOT be using those resources to quash the common cold? BULLPUCKEY!

We have supercomputer-like distributed computing networks working on similar problems (see Folding @ Home). And I don't have any problem with their work on Cancer, Alzheimer's, "Mad Cow", AIDS, Parkinson's or any other disease. But I think It's time to focus people. Certainly, parallel research can help in a multitude of areas. But maybe it is time to prioritize a bit? I propose the following:

1. Create a list (database) of all known viral pathogens.
2. Calculate the impact of each one based on number of unique infections per year, virulence, financial impact of those infections (things like lost productivity, time off work, sanitation, money spent on "remedies," health-care costs, insurance premium impact,...things like that).
3. Consolidate viral research resources including manpower, computing resources, financial resources, etc.
4. Develop an oversight committee to organize and direct the research for each virus so that we don't have lots of duplicate (i.e. WASTED) research going on.
   
5. Assign at least 50% of ALL the consolidated resources to the TOP virus (as calculated in #2 on this list) until it is wiped out. The remaining 50% of resources could be allocated in more subjective or liberal ways similar to what we have now I guess.
6. When the TOP virus is wiped out, the list shifts up and the 2nd TOP virus becomes the TOP virus and we repeat Step #5 on this list.

I think we could make some real progress (as human beings, not just Americans) on ticking items off that list. And, as more and more people become less and less sick, our "ability" to move down that list will speed up. I would IMAGINE that the TOP 5 viruses (if calculated today) could be cured within about 15 years (sure that is just a guess, but a pleasant one don't ya think?).

This, I think, would be a boon for humanity. Much more so than the TINY, incremental progress we make on hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of different viruses each year.

What do you think? I would LOVE to have others' input on this issue. If I hear a good idea, I'll amend the STEPS accordingly.


"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" (at least when it comes to communicable diseases I think)

-Iton

Nothing Clever Today

Bleh!

I'm still sick. It sux. I'm calling off of work again today. I feel like a schmuck. I wanna go back to bed. :(

Why can't anyone come up with a REALLY capable web browser for the Palm Treo 650? Why does PocketPC get all the cool crap when Palm OS has been around forever and is, I'm told, very simple to program for, by comparison??

"Fire Baaad!"

--Iton

Sick and Twisted

Well, the ugly face of winter has finally decided to frown on Michigan. I'm not talking about the cold or the snow, those are facts of Michigan living. I'm talking about the gray, gloomy, cloudy, non-sunshiney days without end that we face here.

I can handle the cold. I can handle the snow. I can handle everyone forgetting how to drive, it's the serious lack of sunshine that gets me. I'm not the only one. Seasonal Affective Disorder (temporary increase in depression related to prolonged, reduced sunlight exposure) hits millions of us. Weeks without direct sunlight wreak havoc on our neurotransmitter activity. We get "down" or "blue" either automatically, or very easily. Yuck!

To top it off, it seems that I also tend to have immune problems that come with it as well. It seems that every year, in January, I get either a really bad cold, bronchitis or both. I have the cold now. I don't know if this is related to the sunlight as well, or if it is just coincidence, but I'll tell ya, it blows! (like my nose, EWWW!)

Speaking of things blowing...there has been a lot of talk in the past week or two about Presidential candidates. MY GOD!! Are we there again ALREADY? So far, I've heard the most about Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton announcing their possible White House bids. (Paco would toss his tacos if he saw this, but...) From what I've heard, I like them both. Granted, I don't know the full details about their political careers (I will be looking into those, however) but they both seem to be unique, strong, eager, energetic, clever, minority-mobilizing candidates. I suppose the next year will tell. Whatever the outcome, it will be REFRESHING to, FOR ONCE, actually have a CHOICE in candidates, rather than vote for the same guy with a different name. I WANT politicians who shake things up. I WANT politicians who aren't going to play "middle of the road" games (voters are MOTR, not the candidates). I WANT politicians who actually have views and opinions on things. I WANT LEADERS who will state their opinions rather than hide behind "exploratory committees" or "classified information." I WANT to KNOW where I stand with a candidate. Our last two presidential elections felt devoid of choice to me. This one already feels like choosing 1 scoop from Baskin Robbins' 31 tempting flavors.

Female President? You bet. Mixed-Race President? Sure, why not?! Republican President? Dear LORD not AGAIN!

"I feel like I've been wearing the same little, red dress forever!"

--Iton

Gateway, Get Away!

3 years ago, I helped my step-brother buy a laptop from Gateway. It has never been anything but a pain in his butt. It has been in and out of service so many times that I'm not sure how much of it is original machine.

It just so happens that it was recently damaged in a weird, pet-related accident. It was essentially destroyed. My step-brother wants to make a claim on his insurance to replace the laptop, which his policy covers nicely. The insurance company needs a full, as-purchased, configuration spec-sheet.

I figured that I could get this from Gateway's web page without incident. HO BOY was I wrong. Their site explains that this exact thing is available on the website, yet for the life of me I couldn't find it. I finally had to call. Can I please tell the ENTIRE WORLD that GATEWAY's customer support SUCKS BIG BLUE MONKEY C*CK! It took over 40 minutes on the phone (thank the heavens for Vonage) for the moron on the other end to tell me that this wasn't available on the website. When I read it to him, quoting the lines that specifically say otherwise, HE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME and had to look for himself. Turns out that, in order to get an as-purchased spec sheet for a gateway product, it has to be less than 1 year old (not stated on the webpage, nor at the time of original purchase) to be provided online. Otherwise, they will charge a $15 fee to send it to you.

You can bet I raised HOLY HELL with them. $15.00 for something that I should have received anyway. $15.00 for a 1-2 page printout that would take them about 5 seconds to pull up on THEIR gateway computers (which I bet always work just fine). $15.00 for something that they ADVERTISE as being available on their website. Heck even $1.00 for this would be too much IMHO.

With enough complaining, I finally got them to agree to fax it to me at work, without charge. They told me that it would be there in " a couple of hours." This was 2 days ago and I still don't have the fax.

Need I say anything more? Jerks!!!!

"You know that when Angie Harmon swears, it's serious!"

-Iton

Ambient Analog

Hmmm, I just received a return call from Ambient Devices (see my post from January 10, 2007). Today is the 18th. So, it took them 8 days to respond to a tech support call for help. Granted, the guy I spoke with apologized for the delay. He explained that the Customer Service department is trying to work their way out of the Christmas Deluge. Ok, I can buy that. I mean, even the iTunes store crumbled under the weight of a gazillion tweens, teens and adults pigging-out on downloaded content at Christmas.

The sad part about all this is that my Ambient Stock Orb (configured for weather forecasting) seems to be working fine now. When I explained this to the customer service guy, who was very nice actually (a refreshing change from Gateway, about whom I will complain later), he told me that for about a month, they had to move offices. It seems that there was a fire of some sort in their building and they had only been back in their original building for about a week. The fire and the return seem to coincide neatly with the problems I had and their resolution.

I'll tell ya, it would have saved me a TON of grief had Ambient just posted a little update right on their login page explaining that they had a fire and that service may be unreliable for a little while. That would have been all I needed. I'm sure that the folks over at ambient411.com would have appreciated this cheap, grief-saving technique as well.

So, here's the lesson, and LISTEN UP AMBIENT DEVICES, you are positioned as an innovative technology service company. We tech-savvy users, the ones who actually buy and use your products, EXPECT to be kept up to date on things like this. We are PAYING for your service and believe that we are ENTITLED to know when that service isn't working, why it isn't working, and when it is expected to be fixed. Innovative tech firms need to utilize OTHER innovative technologies like the, now barely innovative, corporate consumer webpage.

Ambient makes really cool, clever products. But, take a lesson from MCI/WORLDCOM, cool and innovative products won't save your collective butts when your business is mismanaged or neglectful of its PAYING customers.

"Bring it on!" "Its already been brought-ed!"

--Iton

Brannigan, Begin Again!

Holding myself accountable to the blogosphere...I'm back to my workouts on the Treadclimber.
I'm starting slow and working my way up, only using the treadmill part and not the "climber" part of the machine for now.

33 Minutes
288 Calories
Level 0 (Treadmill setting, refers to #of "stairs" to climb).

Why am I starting this again? Well, see my previous post about NOT making New Years' resolutions.

Also, I recently saw my new Rheumatologist. He believes (hard to say for sure until tests come back) that I probably have early Rheumatoid Arthritis. I'm 31 remember. Fortunately, x-rays show no bone or joint damage, yet. So, as we work toward designing a plan of attack, he adds to the list of things for me to do: #1 Lose Some Weight. #2 Wear GOOD shoes. #3 Come back in 3-4 weeks for test results.

Ok, I get it. My orthopedic, my internist and now my rheumatologist all telling me to get more active and / or to loose some weight. I was 223# the other day at the new doc's office (fully clothed and wearing shoes, and let's not forget that I'm 6'3" tall). My first big goal, weight-wise, is 215# over the next 3-4 weeks. It will make me happy if I weight in 7-10 pounds lighter at my follow up visit. Plus, I know my knees will be happier, and I'll HOPEFULLY drop this chronic yawning thing I have going.

This is NOT a resolution, but it is, hopefully, a(nother) beginning to a real lifestyle change. (Lol, right, we'll see)

--Iton

So, Brannigan, we begin again!

Ambient Devices' Ambient Attention.

If you know what an "Ambient Device" is (as made by Ambientdevices.com) then you know that they are supposed to be pretty cool things.

My Ambient Orb, however, has not been cooperating lately. It powers on, sees the network and will sync up to the data channel...but for some reason, it is not receiving regular updates. For example, right at this moment, it is snowing outside. (Seems that winter finally found Michigan) However, my orb is not "pulsing" like it is supposed to when there is precipitation. Ugh.

Could something else PLEASAE go wrong, or break, or fail to work in the first place? GEEZE!!!

CompCare or CrapCare?

If you work in the Mental Health Services field, you know what a pain in the rear it is to get authorizations for treatment from Managed Care Providers / Health Plan Management Companies. Filling out an OTR / CDF form can REALLY suck. I've had to do them for Value Options, HAP, UMH, and now CompCare.

First, let me give credit where it is due: The CompCare form is blessedly short (1 page compared to HAP's 3-page, redundant & overblown form). However, I'm really rather ticked that they even USE a form like this. I mean, it takes time to fill one of these out, regardless of whether or not you know it has to be done. Additionally, CompCare pays the LEAST amount for services out of ALL the managed Care Companies that we deal with, LESS than HALF of the highest payer. Add to that the fact that most MH providers work on a contract basis (we get a percentage of what is collected for services, usually between 40%-55% depending on the contract where we work), and we're dealing with a situation where I might make $33 (Pre-Tax) on one of these sessions. ALSO, I have to call in every 5 sessions or so, fill out and send in this form, leave a voicemail for a "representative" to call me back, AND they ONLY return calls for 3 hours in the morning. ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?

ALL these hoops they make us jump through, while paying less and less (relatively speaking) every year for the same MENTAL HEALTH services. I'll tell ya, I only have my CompCare clients because their insurance switched midway through their treatment. I WON'T be taking any more clients who use CompCare. I'm sorry, it just isn't worth the hassle for the pittance they pay.

I'll talk crap about HAP all day long, their 3 page CDF form is just dumb. They do not provide an electronic form, meaning they really kind of expect us to hand write the whole thing, and there is redundant information requested on it (how this keeps costs down is beyond me). However, they pay reasonably well. Yes, they ask A LOT of us, but they do pay accordingly. I can live with that.

CompCare, you are CrapCare. I hope you go out of business, get the bejeezus sued out of you, AND end up in a "Corporate Accounting Scandal."

"It was a MONUMENTAL, BLOODY, BUGGERY cock-up of GLOBAL proportions!"

Bluetooth Sweet-Tooth

All right, here's the deal. I've been looking for a GOOD, bluetooth keyboard and mouse set for almost a year now. For the most part, Logitech and Microsoft had the only offerings. I did my research and found that most people who dared to comment weren't happy with the Logitech offerings, and I have no desire for the split-keyboard or mushy key-feel of the Microsoft offerings. Also, there were the issues of PRICES!!! HOLY EXPENSIVE BATMAN!

I finally found a decent offering from Dell (Yes, Dell). The Dell Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Bundle ($89.00 at www.dell.com) got me kind of har...er...excited. I had it listed on my gift list registry for Xmas, but no one took the hint. So, after Christmas, I decided to buy it for myself.

I've been using the set for about 2 days so far. I'm actually pretty pleased. I'm using the set at work, paired to my Fujitsu Lifebook P1510D. Let me tell you that any keyboard and/or mouse is going to get a workout in this setting. The keyboard is substantial, and has a really good feel to it. I think the typing feel is even better than the wired Dell keyboards that I have used in the past (and which I like very much). The mouse feels a little odd, but I think that I'm just adjusting to a full-size mouse from a mini-travel mouse.

The mouse paired to the laptop's built-in bluetooth like a dream, it worked right, the first time, and with no hassle. The keyboard complained a little, but after a few attempts I finally got it working.

When folks talk about bluetooth mice and keyboards, there is always a discussion about LAG time. Yes, both of these products (or 1 product if you consider the set a single product) utilize a "sleep mode" so that your batteries (2 in each, size AA, duracell brand included) don't die prematurely. When you move the mouse at all, it snaps out of sleep mode and jumps right to work. I'd estimate that it takes less than a second. They keyboard take about a second and a half (but will still send your keystrokes when it wakes up...NICE). Once that is passed, you're working along like nothing ever happened. It is a very small annoyance, but one that is acceptable, considering the battery issues.

For the price, feel, usability, features, and even the aesthetic style, I'm a very happy camper. I didn't install the CD that came with the set at all. Yet, somehow, all the special features on the keyboard and mouse work fine. Hmmmmm. Also, I didn't install the USB bluetooth adapter that came with the set. The WHOLE POINT of buying a bluetooth set up was so that I didn't have to plug anything else into the laptop. If I'm plugging and unplugging all the time, USB would be fine.

So, Now I have the bluetooth keyboard and mouse that I wanted. I like how they feel and respond. I'm mostly pleased with the ease of installation. I'm not happy that the PIN for the mouse wasn't listed anywhere in the documentation (at least not that I saw), but I took a wild guess, and the Bluetooth Pairing Pin for the mouse is "0000" just like some other peripherals I've used. The keyboard automatically generates a new one each time you try and pair it.

If you've been looking for a bluetooth keyboard and mouse set, take it from a VERY picky consumer, the Dell offering is a good buy, and I HIGHLY recommend it.

"How many licks does it take to get to the center of Tootsie-Roll Pop? 1...2...3...THREE!"

Back to the Grind

Ugh. Is there anything worse than returning to work after a holiday break?

Even more strange is that I have to work today, and Paco doesn't, he took an extra day off. :(

I guess the upside is that I will be receiving my Christmas presents to myself at the office today. :) Paco yells at me for buying myself things near a holiday. I get it. So I waited until after to buy myself some much needed computer stuff for the office. I didn't plan for the stuff to get there on my first day back, but it sure helped to get my butt outta bed. :)

My whole body feels like I've been beaten with a 2x4. Ok, it's not that bad, really, I'm just still sore with the back thing. Another day or so and I'll be all good. I just felt like whining.

Clearly I have nothing interesting to say this morning, so I'll cut it short.

HERE'S TO BUYING YOURSELF WHATEVER YOU DIDN'T GET FROM OTHERS!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

--Iton