Politics Paragraph

I want to state my feelings about the violence in Gaza. I mean, I still care more about how my dad is doing, but that stuff counts, too. I've heard people say things like "let them all wipe each other out, that works for me", and "I can't believe what animals the Palestinians are". I want to make it clear that I do not feel anger towards all Palestinians - I only resent and dislike the ones who commit acts of violence. Right now there are a lot people in Gaza who are holed up in their homes wishing for a day that they can walk to the market without fearing for their lives. Those people I feel terrible for, and I wish for them a measure of peace, as soon as possible.

Good News, Bad News

Last night my dad looked a lot better. He was sitting in a chair instead of laying in the bed, and he informed me that he made it a few steps into the hallway with a walker when the ladies from physical therapy came to call. People assure me that he should be able to get back up to the physical level he was at last week, and perhaps even better than that with a guided exercise program.

He has a gym membership, and I know he uses the treadmills, but I suspect that he wasn't using the weight machines to their full advantage because he "doesn't want to get all sweaty". *sigh*

The bad news is that he really doesn't seem to be completely himself, mentally. I don't mean that he's unable to understand us, or that he has trouble recognizing people or anything, but he's unaware of things he's done, like when he moves an item. I also think that his habit of repeating the same idea or story is much more pronounced, now. Maybe that's just good old fashioned fear of mortality making him babble, though. It's still a bit early to tell.

Here's hoping that he makes it into a regular room with a phone, today. Cell phone use isn't allowed in the ICU, so I've been unreachable for hours at a time these past few days. I'm just not used to that, any more.

All Apologies

I know, I just keep writing about what's wrong with me and saying I'm sorry. The truth is that I just haven't been able to keep up with the work of expressing my political opinions eloquently with all the crap that's been going on with my family this year.

Hoping that the whole "the personal is the political" thing might possibly apply to me and mine, I'll let the world know what's going on with me, even when I haven't told the guy sitting next to me here in the office.

I had to take my dad to the emergency room on Tuesday. I really should have taken him Monday night, but I was afraid, and I made a bad judgement call. Lucky for me, that didn't kill him, and we got him there on Tuesday. His hemoglobin count, which for a healthy adult male is 13.5-17, and which for him was a week ago 10.5, plummeted down to 3.9. It was 5.9 when I brought him to the hospital, and dropped a bit more before they started giving him blood. He has a blood disorder, so he always runs low, but not like this. He's now tested positive for something called hemolysis, and they're treating him with steroids, but it's still possible that he's got a lower GI bleed happening, as well.

I'm really worried, and of course I'm heading over there (St. Peter's) after work today. The doctor said that they might be moving him out of the MICU and into a regular room, so that would be good news.

I'm still limping badly from my hip problem and I don't have what it takes, physically, to take care of a sick dad. This sucks.

I look forward to caring more about Hamas fighting Fatah than about who's going to take care of the laundry and can Dad sign checks to pay the bills.

Complete Lack of Trust

Bush hopes U.S.-Russia shield talks beneficial

SOFIA (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Monday said he hoped that a plan for U.S. and Russian experts to analyze each other's proposal for a missile defense shield would be beneficial.

"There's a process where we can collaborate, share information in a very transparent way which I think will be beneficial," for hopefully designing systems that "protect us all," Bush said.

Bush reiterated that he had told Russian President Vladimir Putin in talks at the Group of Eight summit in Germany last week that: "I simply do not view Russia as an enemy."

Well, hell. I see this, and I want to run somewhere. There is, sadly, nowhere to go.

Since I don't believe a damn word that GWB utters in public, I have now become resigned to the future Cold War II.

Out of Alignment

I report on my own health today, and what I've been doing instead of blogging.

My health: I have something called "Sacrum dysfunction". One of my hips is higher than the other, which is not normal for me. This has caused some thingy to be pulled away from something that it normally touches, and this is bad, and causes much pain. It is, as the kids say, "teh suck". The solution is to put a thingy (a completely different thingy than the one in my hip) in my shoe to fix my gait, and painkillers. I am enjoying the painkillers very much. Tramadol is my new best friend.

What I've been doing: My sister's bridal shower was this past Sunday. It was terrific! Of course the centerpiece cake that I had planned got completely ruined, because, hey, *you* try baking 3 cakes in one day when you keep wondering if the pain shooting down your leg is going to make you vomit. Still, no one knew that there was supposed to be one, so the individual orange cakes in bittersweet ganache, the almond cupcakes with lemon frosting, the bakery cookies, the sugar-free-crustless cheesecake, and the chocolate cake with raspberry and chocolate frosting seemed like a complete set. OK, I'm bragging because I baked a lot of yummy stuff. The friends who helped me decorate were invaluable, and I couldn't have finished what I did without the help of my sister. Good thing that party wasn't a surprise.

So, back to my health - Sunday night I was in no condition to watch the Democrats debate. Tell me, who do *you* think won?

WCTC in New Brunswick asked people to call in yesterday with the answer to this question: "If the election were tomorrow, who would you vote for?". The people who called in to say that they'd vote for Al Gore pissed me off. Maybe at some point he will announce that he's running, I can't say. I can say that tomorrow, he wouldn't be on the ballot. I guess they could write him in...

*sigh*

Holy Crap

My "Alpha Dog" of the week is the guy who wrestled the sick leopard and won. In his underwear, no less. That's one tough guy - I've slept in the desert, it's way too cold to sleep without pants.

So Continental!

Now I'm getting phishing scams in German!
At least, I think it is. My German skills are both Yiddish-based and terribly pathetic:

Thieler Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
Am Perlachberg 3
86150 Augsburg
Letzte Mahnung


Aktenzeichen: 551354/12
Osnabrück, den 21.05.2007

Bitte geben Sie Ihr Aktenzeichen bei jeglichem Schriftverkehr und Zahlungen immer an.


Sehr geehrte Mitglied,

hiermit zeige ich die Interessenvertretung der Firma INTcom GmbH, Vor der Hube 3, D 64571 Büttelborn an.
Ordnungsgemäße Bevollmächtigung wird anwaltlich versichert. Meine Mandantschaft macht gegen Sie folgende Forderung geltend:

Rechnung vom 29.04.2007 aus Dienstleistungsvertrag mit der Rechnungsnummer R191672 für die Anmeldung vom 29.04.2007 um 14:51 Uhr auf der Internetseite PayForFun . de mit folgender IP: 217.538.481.01.

Sie schulden meiner Mandantschaft daher 67,42 EUR.

Da Sie sich in Verzug befinden, sind Sie gegenüber meiner Mandantschaft verpflichtet, die durch meine Tätigkeit entstandenen Gebühren zu erstatten.
Dazu kommt noch der Mahnungsgebühr in höhe von 5 Euro

Das Originalrechnung sowie auch die Beweismittel finden Sie im Anhang.
Bitte behalten Sie das Original Rechnung unbedingt für Ihre Unterlagen.


Liquidation:

1,3 Geschäftsgebühr, Nr. 2300 VV 78,50 EUR

Auslagenpauschale, Nr. 7002 VV 6,50 EUR

Der von Ihnen zu zahlende Gesamtbetrag beläuft sich somit auf 13,00 EUR.

Ich fordere Sie auf, den Gesamtbetrag, innerhalb einer Frist von 3 Tagen, also bis zum 27.05.2007 (hier eingehend) auszugleichen.

Bitte überweisen Sie diesen Betrag auf das unten angegebene Konto. Sollte der Gesamtbetrag nicht fristgerecht eingehen, werde ich meiner Mandantschaft empfehlen, die Forderung ohne weitere außergerichtliche Ankündigung, gerichtlich geltend zu machen, wodurch weitere Kosten zu Ihren Lasten entstehen.

Wir möchten in diesem Zusammenhang auf die bereits ergangenen Urteile verweisen, welche Sie auf der Internetseite www . forderungseinzug . de einsehen können.

Bei der Anmeldung auf oben genannter Internetseite wurde die zu diesem Zeitpunkt übermittelte IP-Adresse gespeichert. Die IP-Adresse ermöglicht den Strafverfolgungsbehörden, im Falle einer strafrechtlichen Ermittlung, die Identifikation des PC's, der zum Zeitpunkt der Anmeldung genutzt wurde.

Als weitere Sicherheitsinstanz ist auf oben genannter Internetseite das Geburtsdatum des Users eingegeben worden. Sollte sich bei einer weiteren überprüfung der Daten herausstellen, dass ein falsches Geburtsdatum eingegeben wurde, ist von einem Betrugsdelikt auszugehen. In diesem Fall hätte sich eine gegebenenfalls minderjährige Person eine Leistung erschlichen, die ihr nicht hätte bereitgestellt werden dürfen. Hier behalte ich mir im Namen meiner Mandantschaft die Erstattung einer Strafanzeige vor. Die dabei anfallenden Kosten und Auslagen sind gegebenenfalls gegen Sie geltend zu machen.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Olaf Tank
Rechtsanwalt

Thieler Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
Am Perlachberg 3
86150 Augsburg


Bankverbindung Ausland: Postbank Hannover IBAN DE06 2501 0120 0077 6673 07, BIC: PBNKDEFF

Bankverbindung Deutschland: Postbank Hannover Kontonummer: 77 612 307, BLZ 250 100 30

Bitte geben Sie als Zahlungsempfänger unbedingt Thieler Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH an und Ihr Aktenzeichen als Verwendungszweck.

Bah

Democrats Pull Troop Deadline From Iraq Bill

The compromise legislation is far from a total victory for the president. It requires that the Iraqi government show progress on improving security and forging political unity. Mr. Bush has resisted Congressional intervention in the conduct of the war, and the benchmarks and new reporting requirements, which had strong Republican support in the Senate, represent new accountability in the eyes of many lawmakers. "We don't have a veto-proof Congress," Mr. Reid said. "But no one can say with any degree of veracity that we haven't made great progress, and this bill is further proof of that."

Bah. The Bush administration scoffs at laws and attempts to work out reasonable compromises. They'll sign the bill, and then not do what they've agreed to. That's all I expect. I wish Democrats had stood their ground like the hard-liners they need to be.

Faith in My Fellow New Jersians

I've long maintained that the average New Jersey resident is often a bit less idiotic than people who choose to settle elsewhere. I've also stated that people in NJ are bitter, and in a hurry, and I like it that way, but I'm losing my point.

Hopefully, the fires are dying down.
Rain aids battle against N.J. wildfire

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A rainstorm Wednesday night helped firefighters make progress against a blaze that apparently began when a military jet dropped a flare on a bombing range. Officials were hoping to determine at daybreak whether the blaze had been contained.

Well, that's fine, you say, but what has that got to do with the price of an intelligent New Jersey resident in China? Hang on, it's coming:

"I didn't grab anything but the cat and myself, and we scrammed," said Helen Sura, who spent a sleepless night with her pet, aptly named Smoky, in a Burger King parking lot.

That's, right, she grabbed the cat and scrammed. Someone told her that staying where she was could make her dead, so she got the hell out of dodge.

In my opinion, if someone tells you that staying where you are could kill you, you should get out of there, therefore, people who follow this advice are not idiots. QED.

Just the Facts

Jerry Falwell has died.

Unimportant Movie Review

I watched "Because I Said So" this weekend on DVD. I'm a big Lauren Graham, Mandy Moore & Diane Keaton fan. Don't bother. Even the frequent sightings of good-looking males couldn't make me like this thing. It was as if a man decided to write a movie about what women talk about when men aren't around, and yet, it was written by a woman (two, to be accurate). If she(they) really has conversations like that with her family, I'm glad we're not related.

The Diane Keaton comedy bits had no timing whatsoever, and were more preposterous than I was willing to swallow.

Dang. I really wanted to like it.

You Can't Say I'm Not Listening

My last post was about an article in a Canadian newspaper reporting a woman's CFL (lightbulb) cleanup nightmare. It cost her upwards of $2K American. I have 2 comments on it so far, and both of them point out how not dangerous these light bulbs seem to be, if you ask everyone else in the world.

Now, I'm not saying that the story I quoted was a hoax, I honestly believe that all those things happened to that woman, whether or not the people who said and did them were correct or truthful.

So I went looking around the web for articles about CFL's. Almost none of it was scary, except the bits referring to that same story. Mostly, I see sites that tell me that the amount of mercury is used, and can be recycled. The Energy Star site even has a whole document talking about them and recommending the proper way to dispose of the bulbs, or to clean up after one when it breaks

What should I do if a CFL breaks?
Because there is such a small amount of mercury in CFLs, your greatest risk if a bulb breaks is getting cut from glass shards. Research indicates that there is no immediate health risk to you or your family should a bulb break and it’s cleaned up properly. You can minimize any risks by following these proper clean-up and disposal guidelines:
•
Sweep up — don't vacuum — all of the glass fragments and fine particles.
•
Place broken pieces in a sealed plastic bag and wipe the area with a damp paper towel to pick up any stray shards of glass or fine particles. Put the used towel in the plastic bag as well.
•
If weather permits, open windows to allow the room to ventilate.

So there you are. I'm not saying that Brandy Bridges from Ellsworth Maine is making up her story, I'm just saying that perhaps she was steered wrong.

Or perhaps the Energy Cabal doesn't want us to know how dangerous these things are, and no one will know what killed so many of us until 100 years later.

Man, it sucks being insanely paranoid.

I get emails

Got a link in an email entitled "Superfund Bedroom"

It's quite odd that environmentalists have embraced the CFL, which cannot now and will not in the foreseeable future be made without mercury. Given that there are about five billion light bulb sockets in North American households, we're looking at the possibility of creating billions of hazardous waste sites such as the Bridges' bedroom.

Right. It's back to candles for me!

Common Sense

I know, I'm stealing my title, but there's only so many words in the universe, you know? When I opened up the following URL sent to me by a friend, my first thoughts were, "Of course. Of course someone should be doing this."

http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/int2.pdf

Not Losing My Religion

Look, I'm not in Israel right now, so I can't see what's actually going on.
I read a lot of reports (like this one) that Israeli soldiers are overtly violent, and causing clashes. Every time I see a report like that it makes me very sad, indeed. I need to feel like the side I'm on is the side of peace, and these reports do not make me feel like that.

I've been pro-Israel for so long that it's hard for me to believe these things. A voice in my mind tells me that sometimes journalists lie, or spin the truth. While that does indeed, happen, one of the other voices in my mind (what, you don't have multiples) tells me that I am not that naive, and that Israel is definitely more aggressive than I can legitimately support. Plus, the whole Lebanon debacle... I cannot believe that when Israel invaded, they didn't just go in full-force and destroy everything. Yes, that's terrible, and yes that's beyond destructive, but it would have at least declared them the winner, which their half-assed Rumsfeld-style attack did NOT.

So here's my philosophy - don't attack, and if you do attack, win. Stop acting like a brute force without a brain at home, and try to keep the respect of the people who support you.

I find I am still pro-Israel, if pro-Israel means that I want there to be an Israel. I cannot, however, support policies that eliminate all possibilities of non-violent negotiations.

My Brain's on "Dim" Today

... or so a friend told me.

Seen at the Truffle's:

What Classic Actress Are You?

Katharine Hepburn.She is an icon but beyond that, she was one of the most highly respected and talented actresses in film history.

Unconventional, Independant, Intelligent, Feisty

You are never afraid to speak your mind and make no attempt to conform to other other people's demands or social norms. You might be seen as haughty and demanding at times but you just want to make sure you do your best on your own terms. Whenever your capabilities are questioned, you end up proving your critics wrong. You have the brains and the brawn to be the alpha-female in a man's world, always holding your own. Go, you!
Take this quiz!

Cutting Edge Tactics

They're (we're?) building a wall in Baghdad. This is state of the art technology at it's best people - 16th century state of the art, that is.

And Britain's Independent newspaper reported April 11 that U.S. forces are planning a counterinsurgency operation that would seal off large areas of Baghdad, using barricades to create "gated communities" that could only be entered with newly issued ID cards.

Ah, yes, nothing says "freedom" to me like gates and mandatory ID cards! Oh, yeah!

Sad News

Yesterday afternoon I couldn't take my usual route home because it was blocked by a police barricade and news cameras.
Mahwah woman's body recovered

MAHWAH – Police on Wednesday recovered the body of a Mahwah woman who drove off a rain-slicked Route 202 and into the Ramapo River during the height of Sunday's nor'easter.

...left a party in the Rio Vista section of town during the heaviest rains of the storm on Sunday night and never arrived home, police and family members said. Police said they believe she either failed to negotiate a sharp turn or lost control of the car as she was driving home.

This is very sad news, I know, but it's just not that surprising. The news told us over and over that a big, dangerous storm was coming, and this woman went driving on a twist-and-turn-filled mountain road just above the Ramapo River. There have been a few times that I've taken the long way home in bad weather, because I stopped and thought about road conditions on 202 between me and 287. I'm very sorry that this woman didn't come to the same conclusions.

Please, if the weather is bad, seriously consider whether or not your ride is dangerous. Being reasonably cautious doesn't make you weak, and it can keep you alive.

As Seen on TV

You may or may not know, I'm a big fan of General Hospital. I love that silly soap opera. To me, it embodies all the ridiculous and melodramatic things that can ever happen to a person, all happening at once, over and over again, to the same set of people. To be fair, the set of people does change sloooooowly over time.

Anyway, lately there's a story line featuring two particularly good-looking young men, Coop and Logan.



Logan and Coop are two half-bad, half-good guys, which makes no sense at all, but that's not important right now. Their characters are two young men who are back from Iraq, where they were MP's, and in to some questionable endeavors. Every time I see them, I wonder what it is about them that bothers me. It's not their dubious moral code, that's standard for soap operas, and it's not that they're unusually good looking, also standard fare. Still, something about them just doesn't sit right. What could it be? They're just young men who went to war, and now are having trouble adjusting to life back on the home front - wait, that's it - they've come home whole and sane. That's what seems so wrong.


*bonus unverified soap-secret conjecture: I suspect that Scotty is Logan's father!

Wolfman Fairies Dressed in Drag for Homicide

Holy crap. There I was, waiting in the long line of cars to see where the detour was leading us so that I might eventually get to work today, when the universe sent me a sign that I should cut it the hell out. That's when I called my boss and left the follwing message:

"Hey, it's Tami, I was trying to get to the office, but the weather wins. I've been on the road for 40 minutes and I haven't left Somerset, because oh my god is it flooded, here. I was all right until I saw the ambulance towing a rescue boat pass me. I'm going to head home where there's a foot of water in the basement, I can do some work on the laptop without logging in."

OK, I exaggerated, there's only about 8 inches of water in my basement. And really, I'm only going to do the amount of work I have to in order to keep from screwing up my deadlines.