Last day of the year, ok, what's new. I am working on a .php version of the site, big site, will take time. What else, well won't be able to collect from the kid who took my kid's car joyriding last year and wrecked it to the tune of $2000+, not that I expected to, but as I just discovered he is serving time, well justice is served anyway. And today was report card day for my kid, straight A's, 4.0 average. Way to go!;) Now if I could just get rid of this big pain in my ass, no not WebRing, just a bad back. Expect I'll need surgery as nothing else has worked. Bummer. Oh, I'm not exactly celebrating New Years, just laying around in bed playing on the iBook. It just works.^_^

Merry Christmas, here's hoping it was merry as it's almost over. Perhaps the new year will be better. Maybe I should devote my resources to something useful like preserving endangered species, yes save the penguin.^_^

Gee I'm slow, almost worked another 7 in a row but got tired after the fourth day so didn't. So what's new, one of my kid's friends used the recycle container as an ashtray. Lucky for me the house didn't burn down. Still, I wasn't happy. I did get a little accomplished on the Ringmanager's group project World of Webrings. My experience with Mailman turned out to be useful. And yes, I am still involved with webrings, must update my site. WebRing has improved in it's features but still has a few flaws like it claims ownership of Ringmasters rings and the people involved tend to get a tad upset at any criticism of their capricious behavior. It may have left Yahoo but still acts like Yahoo, still looks like Yahoo. And certain people involved, well Andrea, tends to target rings she doesn't like. She doesn't like my protest ring either, no surprise there.

Holidays, well I do wish everyone a nice, happy holiday season even if I feel a bit bah humbug. I haven't even got a tree up yet. Looking forward to a new year, fun with Iraq, North Korea, Al Quida, the Howard government, and of course Microsoft. Hmmm, all of those are bad, something good, yes MacWorld. I eagerly await Steve Jobs' keynote address. ^_^ And just possibly more market share for OSX and Linux.

I did it, survived working seven days in a row, that be 12 hour shifts, and I'm tired, very very tired. Not too much happened while I was occupied bringing home the $$$ except for yesterday. I was trying to read a few emails after work when I heard my kid scream. Turned out that the kitten she was catsitting for a friend peed and pooped (diarrhea-stinky) on her bed and boy was she upset. It reminded me of all those times I screamed at the stupid f***ing computer when I got the blue screen of death way too many times. Later that day, she took the kitten over to another friend as she was NOT catsitting that cat any more. I am rather happy not that the cat is gone but that I am using a nice functioning computer that does NOT give me any trouble. Yes, it's true re Macs, it just works.

Updating, I was able to find an addin script that gave me a history in Chimera. Now I'm happy sortof. Still have the other kitten, the one she brought home. I refer to that cat as Psycho Cat as she is always attacking me. It is most annoying to be sitting reading email and having her jump on my back, digging in. It is equally annoying when feeding the cats, she jumps up and grabs my hand, digging in. I can hardly wait til my kid moves out that is if she takes that cat with her.

On the up side, I did have some influence in converting a friend, not to the Mac, but to Unix, specifically Linux. if one has a PC, Linux is a nice option and has some nice GUI's plus if you don't like what is available, being open source, one can create their own GUI.

Can M$ terminate your licence to use Windows XP or refuse to activate or reactivate it? This was a question posted on ZDNet. They can. Will they? Who knows...probably. Can someone hack your system to take control over it like Microsoft can do? Far as I know anything can be hacked. I already know from their EULA that M$ can update your compy without informing you and disable your software in the process. Considering that Windows Updates generally hose the system, it occured to me that M$ put that in there not cause updates may deliberately disable competing software but to protect them from liability cause it tends to hose your system anyway. And since they are doing it without informing you, guess they don't want lawsuits. If you agreed to the update, then M$ has no liability.

So I've been gone, working mostly, then got sick, yuck. So I am laying in bed, contemplating how much the epidural cost and how long the effect didn't work. Yes, it didn't last long enough thanks to work. Pain.

This is so me er the part about Microsoft updates hosing my system. The only thing I steer clear of more than their updates is their betas. However, I found one good thing about Windows. All those True Type Fonts I have for IncrediMail work in OSX. I read something somewhere so did a test with one font. It worked so now I have so many fonts on OSX, I need a font manager.

Aside from computers which I haven't done much with lately except add some new filters to Photoshop, I have done little except sleep. I have been so tired lately from not getting enough that I am doing catchup. Basically, I feel crappy, really crappy and will see a cardiologist next week which won't be soon enough for my preferences but being as there is a holiday this week, that's the best I can do. I hate getting old and falling apart.

I am working on one project slowly. It is a group project which will be very useful for people interested in learning about webrings.

Finally...I had tried a little program called iClean and it did too good a job of cleaning, wiped out my Blogger password and it took me a while to remember it. Finally did, so what have I been doing, er cleaning, sorting, and deleting on the iBook. And fixing my IncrediMail stats. And maybe eventually I will update the site. Yes, I'm slow. It is a huge site and I am contemplating going to a php form of site management. The change, any change, will be a huge task. Hey, for me, I'm lucky if I can catch up with mail. I do better with news cause I have another nifty program SlashDock. I've also been testing browsers since I have 6. So far I like Chimera cept it needs a history, Mozilla cause it renders accurately, and OmniWeb cause it has the best filtering. Still testing to see which one crashes the most.;P

I think the epidural is working. I worked 7 out of 9 days and wasn't in severe pain til I ate something. I had food poisoning so the past day has been hell. I am hoping to not be sick long enough to vote. So far, that's not happening. Seeing that I worked so much, I haven't done much cept play with themes. Currently I am using DSX, nice cause it's black, and with the right desktop wallpaper, looks spiffy. I did discover OS9 is the most customizable so I'll have to play with that too. And you can customize Windows XP to look like OSX too.:) And here all I had played with were Winamp skins.

Listening to the news got me thinking. The Axis of Evil was being discussed and I immediately thought of Microsoft - Intel - AMD. Palladium IS evil IMHO. Gee, reminds me I need to do something with my site.

Testing, yesterday was a big day sortof. I got my second epidural and spent the rest of the day in bed, so I was a bit sore. Hope it helps. The other big news was that blogger was hacked so I had to change my password before posting. And wait for it to take effect. I found out cause I got this nifty new program SlashDock where I can get all kinds of useful info/news headlines that matter to me.

Gee, I haven't posted in a while. OK, first, the epidural didn't work for long. I get the next one in a couple of days. Next, I worked like five of the next six days in a row so too tired and sore (cause it didn't work) to write anything. After that, I went on vacation. Hey, I'm entitled. Course, I drove. I took it easy taking two days (well 1 1/2) to get there stopping at one whole scenic spot. 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, Ca. And if you are unfamiliar with that address, it is the home of Apple Computer. It was useful as I picked up a case and car adapter for the iPod.

Now as to my destination, it was of course Yaoi Con in San Francisco. All in all, it was a great con. I got to see the cosplay contest, the bishonen auction, the music video contest and most of the anime I hadn't seen yet. Still, I missed Level C but all in all I saw most everything I wanted to. I went to very few panels, even missing one I wanted to see cause my relief hadn't arrived in the video room. I worked the con. It wasn't a total loss as it hurt to sit and all the jobs I did allowed standing. I even remembered film or rather the digital equivalent so I will have pics up in a day or so. Why so long? I have to work that's why. There were some great costumes, my fave being Vash. All the peeps were wonderful and I really lucked out in the roommate end of it. I don't think I could have gotten a better roommate. The hotel on the other hand left a little to be desired mostly in terms of atmosphere (cold too), location (too far from Japantown) and parking fee $25/day as opposed to an expected $15. Stuff, I got stuff, not so many doujinshi cause they were pretty picked over by the time I was able to access them, but fanstuff - doujinshi, fic collections, and art by fans. I even won a couple things in a raffle, one t-shirt that I coveted (why I bought raffle tickets) and one piece of fanart I have no idea where I'll put it cause it is a bit too explicit for the living room.

On the return, I took the scenic route, got to see the ocean. It did take longer but I made it back in one day. And of course, I am exhausted and headed to bed.

Had the epidural, wasn't painful, just a little pressure. Course the doc did give me a local to numb the area first. He said my ears might pop, they didn't. Legs did get a little more numb, no dizziness. But when the lidocaine wore off, boy was my lower back sore. An ice pack helped, a massage from my kid helped more. She was even nicer today giving me a full body massage. That's what she is studying in school, and she's good at it. I did spend a fair amount of time finding out the different ways to travel to the con and how much they cost...too much. I'm driving again.

It would be nice if this said the correct Arizona time but it doesn't. Damn! It does indicate I stayed up late, it's barely after midnight now and is now the 10th. Played around with the more fun stuff, yes terminal. Welcome to Darwin it said. Now what shall I do with it? I can script some useful tasks I suppose. I'm having way too much fun to do anything useful like update my site. New HTML editor, have to learn that too.

Some people actually read my blog. Then they email me telling me I haven't updated. OK, a little update, today is my big day where I go for my epidural block. If it works, I will be able to walk without pain, sit without pain, and do things like bend over, play on the computer, finish FFVIII, attend Yaoi Con, and otherwise function without always being in severe pain. If it doesn't, I get two more tries before going under the knife. in the meantime, I lay in bed playing on the iBook. I CAN do that. I can even learn stuff. Think I know of most about every Linux distro going and the GUI's. Gnome looks nice as does the latest KDE. I prefer their look to XP's. The Wine project looks interesting too as does Open Office. I do so love alternatives to Windows.

I hadn't been paying a lot attention to games as of late. But I have been reminded of fanfiction that was so out of character that people would have a cow, that being fics where characters from different games and genres were lumped in together. I did it myself in parody. But now I have seen the ultimate OOC in a GAME by Squaresoft itself. OK, I do have a bit of trouble picturing Sephiroth and Mickey Mouse in the same game. I never would have paired them. Still, guess I'll have to play it just to see. Sephy is hot btw, saw some screenshots.

I found the most interesting link on Palladium. Scary stuff, to quote, "So after the Soviet Union's attempts to register and control all typewriters and fax machines, TCPA attempts to register and control all computers. The implications for liberty, democracy and justice are worrying. " And not just for Linux and OSX, interesting after Apple made their computers easier to connect with Windows PC's, this will lock them out again. Shades of the Instant Messenger wars only bigger. Eventually you won't be able to communicate with anyone on the net, buy, sell, whatever without that chip. And you won't have control over what is on your PC, Microsoft will. And you think it's a monopoly now, it's starting to sound like the antichrist with TCPA/Palladium being the mark of the beast. I'm not a fundie by any means but I have read the Bible. And Microsoft wants the technology everywhere, not just your PC.

And I had no idea carmakers were using similar measures to prevent you from using an independent repair shop. And cell phones, printers, and the Playstation2 already use similar technology too. Hmmm, do I want one, well I don't intend to use it for anything cept PSX games so I can deal with that. But no way will I network it with a PC or the net.

Mog's Mac trivia: OSX is pronounced "OS 10" cause OSX "oh-es-ex" may be pronounced "oh-sex". That bit of trivia done with, got the results of my MRI. Basically it is unchanged from the first MRI when I ended up in the ER, still a mild disc bulge. Spending a month in bed last December using up all my vacation time did nothing. I got better, yeah right, cause I ran out of time off. Well pain went from a 9 to an 8 on a scale of 1-10. So I went back to work and have been miserable since. So, next up is epidural steroid injections. They have an 80% chance of working and if they work, I can avoid the knife. I'll get a series of three, and hopefully, that will help. Anyway, I don't have to take time off for the epidurals so it looks like I can still go to Yaoi-Con.

I'm starting to finally getting around to doing things that seriously needed doing like getting new glasses. I had held off til the insurance plan changed and then just hadn't gotten around to it til today, main reason they cost a lot. Price of glasses=price of PS2. And my doc's office finally returned my messages...twice by two different people wanting me to make an appointment to go over my MRI results and discuss my options. Makes me wonder that they finally either got the report or actually read it. And of course I wonder if it was any worse than the previous MRI. Curiosity will get me the appointment sooner.

Meanwhile, I spend my time trying to find where I put my registration code for NAV 2002 so I can reinstall it in the poor POS PC. That's the worst thing about losing my data, every time I reinstall, I have to look up my codes again. Least I don't have the spector of product activation hanging over me. I did actually see Windows XP on the compys at the store and I was quite unimpressed. Not that bright blue and bright green are my favorite color schemes, they're not. It's just it looks like Windows with a fancy skin. The icons are a bit more 3Dish, kindof goes with IncrediMail's look. I have to admit I am spoiled by OSX so it will take a lot to impress me.

I had a fairly uneventful night at work and so decided to read the news. From the possibility of war with Iraq, I turned a more imminent danger: Windows XP's EULA and Windows 2000 SP3's EULA. Initially spotted in a Windows Media Player update, the bit giving Microsoft way too much power has made it's way into the end user licence agreements. No way will I give Microsoft admin privledges to do what it wants to my computer disabling programs it doesn't like and violating my privacy. There are alternatives, one which I read a bit about, WINE, which runs on Linux. Yes, getting it to work is even more tricky than uninstalling Zone Alarm but the idea of an open source Windows, which looks nicer than 98, is appealing precisely cause it isn't controlled by Microsoft. Sides think of what I could learn.Course, if IncrediMail got off it's collective butts and ported it over to OSX, I wouldn't have any reason to run Windows at all.

Read this and see what fun I will have recovering that HD. Well, uninstalling in Windows is out so I will have to try to disable as much as I can in DOS then uninstall it before I dare connect the HD back up with the new HD. As the new HD has Windows installed, I will be uninstalling Windows too. Oh what fun. But I have my IncrediMail back. Now after reading what fun Zone Alarm is to install, compare it with a typical uninstall in OSX. Drag item to trashcan and empty trash. That works for most all programs cept those with tentacles all over the HD. And those with tentacles include not surprisingly Microsoft Office. beware of Microsoft.

The POS PC died last night and I am going thru IncrediMail withdrawal. Mind you, that and PhotoImpact are the only two things I use it for. Except for a few warps and masks, I am pretty much using Photoshop for everything now so I can live without PI. Kid uses the PC. Her bf can fix it, I tried but it doesn't even have a full version of DOS so I can't do much there either. I did find that I could view the stats pretty much intact in Mozilla Mail cept for missing some, er a lot of the fonts. But I won't be making anything for a while with no IM.

Still not doing much, waiting aroung for MRI results. The past week has been extremely painful. Back pain sucks. So, I lie in bed a lot. Finished my iTunes/iPod update that is unless kid dl'd more. Still have to add that second drive to the PC, need cable. I am doing some useful stuff while laying around. Photoshop, yep, learning the ins and outs of Photoshop. Still have a lot to learn, like how to do masks. Frames, got Splat, great plugin. Still, there are tricks to learn.

And I do keep up with the news sortof, read a bit about cyberwar on ZDNet. Will there be a cyberwar? You bet. Everytime David Coursey writes bout Macs, a war erupts in Talkback. And with Bill Gates dissing open source, war will erupt between the MS crowd and the Linux crowd too. There may even be a cyberwar with terrorists too but I'm placing my bets on MS vs everyone else anyday. And if anyone tried to take over my computer, it would most likely be MS not some terrorist.

Ok, some peeps actually read my blog. I have been rather not terribly up to doing much. Back hurts worse and I am waiting for insurance approval for another MRI. Doc tried new pain meds but they just made me sick. Add to that, kid moved the PC to the back room, new desk, monitor too high, keyboard too low, I am not on the PC much. So, I lay in my bed of pain and play on the iBook. Unfortunately, Super Collapse has been released for OSX and well I haven't done much else. I did do one useful thing, move files. iTunes 3 is really nifty and I have been updating it, got bout 5gb of music. ;)

Now to the news peeps really want to know, my mailing list is down, can't even access the admin interface. So I get to write to Dreamhost and ask them to fix it as I can't access the underlying files/code. Not that it won't be noticed, I am working next couple days so can't attend to it til I am off. I still hang out of SF's list. And I did transfer the rest of my lists off my AOL email addresses. I just need to update the website so as not to point to AOL and I can ditch it.

Well, I just spent the last two hours watching Steve, first with Quicktime 5 but after he demoed Quicktime 6, I downloaded it and the stream was much faster, had both the iMac and iBook on and the difference was obvious. Jaguar will be really cool, lots of features, my favorite is the multithreaded finder which will be much faster. Now, it is rather slow. And of course spring loaded folders have been added, making the finder much easier. August 24 is the date. Course, isn't the only news, iTunes 3 is giving me much wanted features like smart playlists, really smart playlists, even keeps track of songs you haven't listened to, set up with rules just like email. Not only is it cool but it syncs with the iPod, now with additional features, like listing by album and composer, calendar, addresses, and the game is easier to find, and a new, thinner 20gb iPod is added to the mix. Prices on the 5 and 10gb versions have been dropped too. Cool new accessories, case, remote, cover for firewire port, ok little detail but very nice. And biggest news which my kid will love iPod for Windows, syncs with Musicmatch. There's iCal, an innovative calendar and iSync coming out. You get to sync your Mac with all your other computers at home, at work, your iPod, your Palm, your phone. This my kid will love as her phone died and she had to replace it and manually add all her friends. One button adding in seconds is all she would need to update with iSync. Of course there is .mac, iTools revamped, spiffed up and yes it will cost for the nifty features but considering how easy things are on the Mac compared to the PC, I think it will outdo .net easily. And last but definitely not least, and eagerly anticipated, a 17in flat panel iMac, not just any 17in but a cinema display 17in with a GForce 4 video chip, totally awesome. The price premium $100 over the old price of the 15in superdrive iMac, I say old as that price was dropped $100. So when David Coursey of ZDNet wrote that he wouldn't pay more than $300 for the feature, well he can save $200. I can say I am glad I waited on that new iMac purchase as I can now get one with a cinema display and Jaguar.

The web is an interesting place. Just about anyone can put up a website and spout their opinion. Blogging has made it even easier. Now I have had a site for five years now. I have an opinion. Mind you my site isn't a major site and heard of by very few. And I am not a journalist by any stretch of the imagination. That said, I don't see why it is such a big deal if someone (possibly Apple) doesn't want to issue press passes to MacWorld Expo to some of the lesser known (and allegedly rumormongering) sites. Yes, it saves them a whopping $15 to be considered press. Yes, it irritates the heck out of them. But I can see why Apple might want some control over what is leaked. I can see why they might even be concerned that if stuff got leaked, someone might copy their stuff before they introduced it. After all, they have been copied before. And it has to irk them that the company that copied from them, albiet not terribly successfully, has some 95% market share. And considering that the desktop market overall is in a slump, they need all the advantage they can get. Whether irritating a few little sites will make an overall dent in their image remains to be seen. What matters to me is that I have a computer that works as intended and isn't a pain in the ass to maintain. Apple fills the bill nicely and now that it has OSX, it has the advantages of Unix. And gee, a lot of fuss over a few press passes is nothing to complain about in comparison to certain accounting scandals that are rocking the stock market.

Update on my clumsiness, I am back to work. Well, not today, have the day off. I have noticed something of interest to me. I can play on the PC, using ULead Photo Impact, and have to reboot like six times a day cause it eats system resources. IncrediMail does that too. Now that I have this new program on the iBook which is equally graphics intensive, Adobe Photoshop 7, I can more fairly compare. I still do NOT have to reboot the iBook. It keeps going and going. OSX is wonderful. And I can still keep 8-10 programs and multiple documents open and have no problems with Photoshop.

Now read this bout Microsoft. Interesting, and no I don't want Microsoft having admin privileges on my computer. I don't have that problem either with the iBook cause OSX only lets the admin (me) install stuff. Course, the article failed to mention that AOL has been doing it for years, it automatically updates AOL without any OK from me. And I never know just what they did when updating either. Just one more reason to stay away from the both of them.

I should probably write something, it's been a while. Ok, we're #1, well Arizona is with the biggest, baddest forest fire in the nation. That's not a distinction I prefer, hoping for rain. Hey, there's clouds finally, rain would be nice. Don't like my state to go up in smoke.

Noticed, I wrote when I got back to work. Well, been working overtime til braindead here slipped on a wet spot on the floor and fell, twisting my ankle. So, I have a few days off now. That happened yesterday. Other big happening yesterday is the friend that was staying with us moved out. Now we have this one empty room which my kid wants to make into a entertainment room, ie move the PC off the dining room table where it's been for the last 5 years. Don't know what I'll do if I can finally see the table, ha! Now if I could just stop using the PC, that would be nice. Trouble is they haven't ported over IncrediMail over to the Mac yet and that's the one program I still use it for. I am so addicted. The appeal, graphic design, trying new stuff. I do so love playing.

OK, I should probably tell the news, saw the doc, waited around for a week for his report, and was totally unsurprised he said I didn't need any more treatment for my back. Hey, I didn't get any to start with (work injury in March). So, I am back at work, worked the last 3 days and am now trying to catch up on things. And that meant I spent the day backing up data. Well, I need to clean out the PC. I am always using up system resources and having to reboot, usually about 6 times a day. Contrast that with my iBook which I haven't had to reboot in well over a month and that with having 8-10 programs open at once and multiple documents. It sometimes slows down a little bit. And that is usually only noticible when I am playing games. Ah, Unix, well OSX IS Unix, love it.

I got this in the mail and thought it funny and too true:

GM vs. MICROSOFT

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on: At a recent computer expo, COMDEX, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "General Protection Fault" warning light or a "You have performed an illegal operation."
7. The airbag system would ask, "Are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have to learn to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

So I'm a slowpoke, what else is new? Regarding my health, my butt still hurts, I'm on light duty til the doc evaluates me. Course, being as I am doing different work, one would think I wouldn't be terribly good at it. Unfortunately I am. And no, even when requested, I wouldn't change jobs. I like what I do. Regarding our dead cat, we have her back and her ashes are in a little black plastic box beside the compy til we can get her a nice urn. Regarding money, um well, we had a leak, still need to get the plumber out to check where and fix...$$$$$ Kids got ambitious and tore up the carpet in my kid's room so, I have to replace that too. And I almost forgot the circuit that went bad, need an electrician too. Regarding the wonderful world of webrings, WWIII has broken out. Maybe it's just the nature of things, but one would think people would have learned from Yahoo how NOT to do things. Nope, not even. People and their fat ego's, would like to stuff something up their ego too. Now back to all this mail that has piled up.

Gee, I'm slow. What's new, well on the 15th I lost my chance at getting one of those spiffy new iMacs, money went to the IRS. Everyday, I get a new letter from my health insurance denying coverage for something. That sucks big time. Got to write up appeals. And yesterday, my eldest cat, Fuzzball, died. It was rather heartbreaking. Kid was hysterical, I knew it would be like that. It wasn't unexpected as the cat was 14 and in ill health. Well a big tumor on her tounge was. It was impossible for her to groom herself, so she got shaved by the vet under anesthesia so she wouldn't shred the vet. Also, it was bout impossible for her to eat. As feisty as she was, it was a two person job with a syringe to get anything in her. It was sad to see her go from being this beautiful cat to a pathetic, skinny, sick cat and then to a pathetic cold dead cat.

I have been neglecting my site, my blog, even my game, well not totally, up to 1,787,217 on the iBook. I understand you can get higher scores if you download the game but then as the download is only for Windows, that's out. I AM working on an updated, determined to have it done by today.

Aside from all that, people send some of the funniest things. I've been meaning to share but, well, I get behind in email and never get to it. But this I had to share:

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100% ? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100%. How about achieving 103%? Here's a little math that might prove helpful. What makes life 100%?

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26.

Then:
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98%

K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96%

But,
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100%

And,
B U L L S H I T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%

So, it stands to reason that hard work and knowledge will get you close, attitude will get you there, but bullshit will put you over the top.

And look how far ass kissing will take you.
A S S K I S S I N G
1 19 19 11 9 19 19 9 14 7 = 118%

454,357 at level 11 on the iBook just now. Oooo do my hands hurt. That will keep my coworkers busy when next I work.

So what have I been doing, nothing useful I can assure you. Working mostly to the point of Collapse. Best score to date 358,544. My coworker who introduced me to the game tried to beat my previous best score of 313,452. No only did she fail, but I set a new high score for her to beat. Oh what fun we have when it is dead quiet at work. It doesn't happen often. I even play when at home and let me say playing on a laptop is a challenge with this trackpad instead of a mouse. I did get to level 10 however. I know I really should do more useful and practical stuff but the last several days at work have been stressful and I needed release.

Aside from work, the only excitement was a Yahoo Groupss free weekend. Groups were down and people tried backups. Some failed spectacularly as they were unable to handle the load from Yahoo. Yahoo came back up before the backups. And the mail still is slow. That's nothing new with Yahoo thou.

Working overtime, what fun. Well, I am a bit tired so haven't done much. Today, if anyone is counting, is six months from 9/11. I doubt I will ever forget that day watching CNN, watching those planes crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, watching in horror as the realization that we were under attack on our own soil sunk in, watching too the heroic efforts of those who were involved in the rescue efforts. We saw and heard of many heros, some (in the plane that went down in Pennsylvania) who gave their lives to prevent further tragedy. In the time since, we have thankfully not seen a reoccurance. And the only big scare seemed to be the anthrax laced mail. haven't heard much bout that lately. So, what else happened. People came to gether to support and lift each other up, to provide comfort in the face of adversity, to provide a bit of cheer to get our minds off the stress, to get back to living. Of course, all this has been a terrible distraction to the task of maintaining my site. So, I haven't done much, and sometimes all I want to do is have a little mindless fun.

It's March already and I haven't done much of anything except try to keep up with the email, a task I am hopelessly behind on. I haven't written any stories as I have a bad case of writers block. And I have a bad case of greed too. I DO want the new iMac thou I haven't said anything about it. The top of the line DVD creating one is what I want and I can't afford it. It's so beautiful too. So, I wait and work, even working a little overtime thou it is not too brilliant as it hurts still to do too much. Back to the mail.

Gee, I'm slow. OK, had my annual physical, no kidney stones, just a cyst that can be ignored. Had the second opinion, no word on whether industrial will cover my back. The boss told the one person who seemed to get favored status that she will have to work elsewhere if she can't float. So much for favored status. Lost several people at work due to various problems. Even our boss will no longer be our boss come next month. So work is definitely improving. I have discovered the joys of IncrediMail and have fixed up a section to that particular program. I have also discovered the joys of tag making. It's hard to keep up with the requests. Can't keep up with mail but that may soon change if Yahoo starts charging to be in Groups. I don't think I will mind less mail. Elsewhere, WebRing still sucks which is a change from the everpresent Yahoo sucks.

Received in the mail today and thought it funny.
B=beautiful
I=individual
T=that
C=causes
H=hardons

Nothing else much new, weather has been gloomy and I have been making tags.

What's new, not much. Been working. EMG was normal and I don't have a desire to get zapped and stuck with needles, not a fun test. After inquiring about my pain level (5-8), the doc said I didn't need to come back unless I got worse. Worse is 7-9? Unable to walk? Everything going numb? Well, that what it was when I first saw him. His big advice was to lose weight and do the exercises in a little pamphlet. For that, I had 3 MRI's, a CT Scan and an EMG. I'm kindof glad I'm not going back. So, what am I doing? Seeing another doc, getting a second opinion, ie I filed an industrial claim.

Aside from all that, I had discovered I am hopelessly behind on reading fics and surfing sites. While I was laying around being most useless, other more enterprising folks have set up shop selling everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs to suport their web sites. Ok, I did set up a ring system but that is free. And I now have a minidoll maker, also free. I made some IncrediMail stationary, also free. I really don't have the knack for this I can see now.

Sent to me and thought to share:

What not to say to a naked man:)
1. I've smoked fatter joints than that.
2. Awww, it's cute.
3. Why don't we just cuddle?
4. You know they have surgery to fix that.
5. Make it dance.
6. Can I paint a smiley face on it?
7. Wow, and your feet are so big.
8. It's OK, we'll work around it.
9. Will it squeak if I squeeze it?
10. Oh no... a flash headache.
11. (giggle and point)
12. Can I be honest with you?
13. How sweet, you brought incense.
14. This explains your car.
15. Maybe if we water it, it'll grow.
16. Why is God punishing me?
17. At least this won't take long.
18. I never saw one like that before.
19. But it still works, right?
20. It looks so unused.
21. Maybe it looks better in natural light.
22. Why don't we skip right to the cigarettes?
23. Are you cold?
24. If you get me really drunk first....
25. Is that an optical illusion?
26. What is that?
27. It's a good thing you have so many other talents.
28. Does it come with an air pump?
29. So this is why you're supposed to judge people's personality.
30. I guess this makes me the early bird.

And my additions:
31. Oh it's an innie.
32. Do you have a magnifying glass?
33. I thought you said you were a guy.

Fic food it is.

Better doesn't describe it, got a call from HR, still no info from the doc's office, the required forms haven't been submitted. Seems when they wanted clarification and the doc's refused without getting in writing, they never asked as they are not required to do that, it's the doc's job to provide it. They don't have enough info to give me light duty and of course they don't even have the forms showing that I have regular duty. And the doc's didn't follow thru with the FMLA forms as promised. I have to meet with them tomorrow.

So, I called the doc's and of course the help hasn't filled out the forms and told me flat out not to be rude to them. I did remind them, they had been rude to me and had not done what they promised. So, maybe they will fill it out, maybe not. They are in no hurry to do it.

Legally, I am screwed. I did seek advice and was told that my employer can give preferential treatment and discriminate. Basically, they only have to do the minimum required by law which is why noone wants to do anything. If no law forces them to accomodate me, they won't. And I can't do a thing about it. Several coworkers said they would speak up for me but I was informed they wouldn't as they would get fired for doing so. My only hope is that the doc fills out the form. If not, I can get another doc which really doesn't help me much. in the here and now. Well, I did file for industrial as my bulging ie herniated disc is a common injury in my profession. If approved, I will beg for another doc. I am tired of all the crap.

I am counting the months til we can have another union election. Mind you, I doubt I would be suffering from all this crap if the union won.

It just gets better and better. I chatted with the coworker who was getting preferential treatment last night. She is still getting preferential treatment, she has doc's orders. And my boss never told her she would have to get a desk job if she couldn't work elsewhere when we were closed. He said he was going to when I called him on the discrepancy. Another lie.

Today, I called the doc's office to check if they got insurance approval for the procedure I am scheduled for tomorrow. Nope, they just got the paperwork today. I then asked if they filled out the Family Medical Leave Act forms. Nope again, cause I went back to work. I explained they wouldn't let me return to work without them and that the office had promised they would be in HR by today. They don't seem to grasp the significance of needing the forms to protect me from being fired for being sick and I am unsure if they will fill them out. I also called HR and explained my unhappiness at the doc's office not following thru with what was promised to protect my job and that I was unhappy about my boss discriminating against me. I also mentioned I was filing workman's comp on the advice of my attorney. It is safe to say I am not happy.

One of my coworkers asked me if I got my gift certificate. I replied, "What gift certificate?" She then told me that they got together and gave me a gift certificate and my boss had it. I did have to pointedly ask my boss about it as it was in his care and he cared not to tell me. I did eventually get it. And upon return, I got to hear the story behind it.

Follow the tale of "Stupid". "Stupid" was married with 4 kids, 3 living at home. She was known for her incredible stupidity like taking the dogs to the vet cause they got stuck together. The vet had to tell her the dogs were having sex and it was normal. I guess it's not a problem with a tiny penis but it can happen with dogs.

Basically, in a nutshell he hubby got her pg, he was caught cheating on her by her daughter and she threw him out. I don't know which happened first nor does it matter. She worked briefly after surfing the net to find out her options re child support (I actually found links for her is why I know) and I am guessing other stuff. This is somewhat important.

She became so stressed over the situation that she wasn't able to work. She allegedly had pseudoseizures. So coworkers rallyed to her aid bigtime. The boss made sure that when long term disability, etc came in that, cause she worked overtime, she would get more compensation than she would for her base hours. Staff on two units took up a collection for her and provided her Thanksgiving. And one coworker wanted to adopt her family and provide their Christmas. Legally, that was against the rules but they did take up a collection for her.

Here's where I came in. Unbeknownst to me another coworker (a true friend) complained that if they collected money for her, they should for me. The coworker who wanted to collect for her saw no need to collect for me as I was in a better paid position. My friend informed then I was out of time off and refused to donate unless the money was divided equally. She did ask how much I got as she wanted to see if they kept their promise. I believe they did.

There are a couple more details. When my boss took me to HR so they could tell me my options, they basically told me they had nothing. The emergency help was a one time thing and only applied if one was going to lose one's house or car. They did not offer short term disability. My only chance for assistance was if coworkers would donate PTO (their vacation days). I informed my boss who naturally never said anything to anyone else about that option. And I didn't feel it my place to beg people for PTO (essentially begging for money). If he wanted to help me out that way that was his perogative. Sides, the point became moot when the doc said I could work light duty. Then it became an issue between my employer and me and why should anyone donate when I could work.

I must add my friend is also miffed at that coworker cause she told my friend, who had a baby a few months ago, that she should give her baby clothes and stuff to this other coworker when she no longer needed it. I can understand her feelings as I had ex relatives who expected the same of me. I do feel it a bit nervy to expect that from a coworker.

Now for the biggie. "Stupid" isn't so stupid when it counts. Her husband (don't know if they are divorcing nor do I know the status of her child support) is paying the mortgage. The people at her church are paying her bills. She is on welfare, WIC, and is getting food stamps. When it comes to working the system and getting others to care for her, she is doing a wonderful job.

So, charitable giving can be quite a sticky wicket. Even for me, right now I am working. But I don't know whether and how much of my medical problem is industrial or not. I don't know which insurance or any will cover the costs, it gets rather sticky. I don't have time off to take care of any problems. And because of the way I have been treated at work and fear more of the same whatever I do, I am hesitant to do anything without legal advice especially since AZ is a "right to work" state. They don't need any reason to fire me.

OK, I have some good news. After the doc's office was quite snippy on Thursday despite my copious use of the a word (attorney) and insisted the doc wouldn't let me work, I left a final "if work didn't cause, aggravate or contribute to the condition, I should be allowed to work. If it didn't, it should be industrial." Most of the hassle is cause everyone (bosses, HR) is saying it is not industrial (no specific injury date to claim) they don't have to do anything. I even went down to Employee Health, talked to the nurse and picked up the industrial claim forms. I also called to make an appointment with an attorney specializing in industrial claims.

Well, shortly before 4PM on Friday, I got a call from the doc's office. I can work. They faxed the order to my boss's office then I found out he was on vacation. So, I called back and asked that they fax it to my unit. Several phone calls later and I am set to actually work. And after multiple pages, calls, and messages over a two day period, my boss finally called, said he got someone in Education Dept to give me light duty, then I told him my news that I can work regular. So, I am staving off poverty for the moment. No telling the results of the next test thou.

Now at to the suggestion my boss let me work light duty, ha! Well, now that the doc said I can work regular duty, they won't give me light duty unless the doc changes the order. And now that I am back on the schedule, I am scheduled to work the night of my EMG. Hopefully I won't get any drugs during the procedure that will prevent my working that night as I would be penalized, up to and including being fired if I didn't show up. And if I have a particularly bad and/or busy night and am in more pain cause of it, I dare not say anything lest I get fired. I was run ragged my first night. I never even got a break to eat either, not uncommon but I usually can sneak in a few bites occasionally. They do have people that may give you a break to go grab some food but don't expect them to do anything while you're gone or when you return. They will chat with coworkers while my meal gets cold cause I am working.