No More TV!

Ok, after only two months of having TV on here at the apartment, I turned it off on the 7th, only two days after thinking I would do it at the end of the month. For the almost $50.00/month to have cable TV, there was really nothing much on. I did, however, find myself watching the NCIS re-runs (which I hadn’t seen in the first place) every day, which was taking me away from my reading projects, and home grown homework studies in theology and philosophy.

And I don’t miss it at all!! This last six days have been very productive in the evenings, even those days when I had outside events/meetings to go to, when I got home, and I am getting back on track to having my studies and reading done on my “original” schedule.

I can say that TV has gone WAY down hill over the years as to what is shown and how it is put together. (Now, mind you, on the TV I have, the picture is OUTSTANDING, which kinda helps in the viewing!) The cinematography is often weak, especially comparing it to times long past, and that is with the better technology today! You would think it would be OUTSTANDING now. It isn’t.

When I bought my TV back in August, I also picked up a BlueRay player. WOW, that picture is GREAT!! Almost 3d in appearance when watching a BlueRay movie! Now to find CHEAPER BlueRay movies!! WOW, they are expensive!

I will probably continue to watch movies on the TV, via the BlueRay/DVD player, but I intend to cut WAY back on that as well, and have done good in that area this past 6 days as well!

WOW, Clean up time!!

As I clean up “my world” and get things lined up the way I want them, I decided to start looking at all the “Users” here on Don’s Thoughts II.

WOW, well over 300 “spam bots” or what looked like spam bots anyway. I deleted all that looked like Bot accounts, and kept the rest, leaving only about 38 and some of those are probably Bots too. If I happened to delete your account, sorry, drop me a line and I will be sure not to delete it in my next clean up round! (Don’t worry thought, I seem to only do it every couple of years!)

Why do people waste their time with these spam programs? Do they bring that much money in? Isn’t it more work than it is worth? Boggles the mind…

More of “I don’t get it…”…

I don’t get government management folks at all. I was in a job in which a person was doing such a pour job at work, they tried to get him fired in his first five months of work three times that I know of. This person even bragged about it to anyone that would listen. Now mind you, in the first year you work with this agency, you are on a one year probation in which they can terminate you for any or no reason. You sign a paper stating you understand that when they hire you! Somehow the Union got him out of trouble each time.

Now, this team had inspections frequently, and at least monthly, but normally more often than that. This guy flunked each and every inspection in a big way. You would often find him hiding in a room surfing the internet on someone’s computer (which he wasn’t supposed to be on) or on his cell phone or the company phone instead of doing his work. When he was asked why his work wasn’t done almost every day, he would say he was given too much work to be completed by one person.

At the same time there was a guy that was one of two people, out of about 20 people, that had passed his inspections 100% every time, never receiving a “gig” on his area of work. He tended to take more sick time off than most (to be with his son at HS sporting events, and after having asked for personal time off, and not getting it, because he didn’t schedule it in the December before (not that he was there for leave selection) that year) people on the team though.

A job opening in another department came up, and both applied for it. The guy that did crappy work, and who they attempted to fire got an OUTSTANDING review was a great employee, and highly recommended for the position. The guy that did OUTSTANDING work, although called off sick 8 times in six months was given a VERY BAD review and was recommended against the job.

Of course the “bad employee turned good in the review” got the job.

On the new job, this person who couldn’t do the first job continues to not work, always on the phone or in front of a computer surfing the internet. He would take 1 hour plus lunches instead of the 30 minute lunches he was supposed to, and instead of two fifteen minute breaks he would take thirty to fifty minute breaks as often as he wanted to, not just the two. Leaves the job at least 10 minutes early most days, and was coming 5 to 10 minutes late each day.

MANY people complained to management, but nothing appears to have been done about it. There was a two week stretch were “middle management” came into the area for “watching and shadowing” us, but all they did during that time was go to meetings or sit in front of their computer answering emails. There was no shadowing and no observing what was going on.

There have been even more complaints from this guys teams mates, and while there may have been one meeting (again with the Union involved) about his long lunches and breaks, nothing appears to have changed. There was a short two or three days where he took 30 minute lunches and his 15 minute breaks, but things are “back to normal” again. Long lunches and long and frequent breaks…

Then there is a person on this team that does their work daily, plus some, is on time, seldom takes his breaks at all (except lunch) and is continually getting “written up” for small things, often out of his control, and in some instances that of his non-working teammates job, not his!

What is up with management these days?

I know when I was management, ran companies or departments, if I had an employee that wasn’t doing their work, they would be talked to, the meeting and their responses document, their job performance documented, they would get three chances to fix their issues, and if they didn’t they were terminated and replaced. QUICKLY! So as to get the job done. I would NOT give the person a OUTSTANDING recommendation just to get them out of my department. That continues to negatively impact the company and it’s purpose in life!

Supposedly the Government follows that same process, but I’m not seeing it in this organization!

I don’t get it!!

Today’s Medical Care…

Last February (2010), I started having right upper quadrant abdominal pain, as well as extreme diarrhea and nausea, occasionally leading to vomiting. I was working at the VA when it got REAL bad one night so I went to the ER there. I was seen, taken to X-Ray and told I would be scheduled for an ultrasound. That took another week. Received a clean bill of health. No explanation for the pain or other affects.

A few weeks later I got pretty bad again, so I went to a civilian ER and was worked up there. I had a CAT scan, ultrasound and X-Rays, all of which were clear (except for a fatty liver, working on that). I was given pain pills and a consult to the Surgeon. The surgeon looked me over, said I needed another ultrasound, upper and lower GIs, and a HIDA scan. Time was taking to long so he did the lower GI and had the HIDA scan done. Lower GI showed one, small pre-cancerous polyp (removed) and otherwise was 100 clear.

In the HIDA scan I was told at the beginning that once they injected the dye, it should take less than an hour to show up, and then they would inject the “goop” to see what happens from there. At 45 minutes still no gallbladder showing up. About 5 minutes later I asked what was going on, and the MD that was in the room said it can take time, but if it took much longer (1 hour) to show, he would consider the test of the gall bladder successful and that there were problems with the gallbladder. At one minute before the hour, my gallbladder started to show up. Took another 40 minutes to show up fully to be able to inject the dye. “Borderline test”, but so far, OK I was told. When they injected the dye, I had 4% over the minimum level to have for an injection fraction to be a normal test, again borderline.

Between the two test, the Surgeon said it was not equivocal enough to perform surgery, so he insisted that I go to the GI doc next. The GI doc did an upper GI, which found many ulcers in my stomach, presumably from the ibuprofen a Nurse Practitioner at the VA hospital put me on for the arthritis in my VA issued knee. Seems that every time I took one and as it broke up every place it landed as it broke up an ulcer was created. We treated that, and I presume it has been cleared up.

Here is my first, solid complaint. We only presume it is cleared up as we have not done anything to verify it is cleared up. The pain has not lessened, I still have the diarrhea, nausea, etc. Why haven’t we done another upper GI to verify it? This, by the way, took 7 months to get too. This happened in August of 2010.

My pain and other symptoms continue…

Here a few weeks ago when Debbie and I went to Florida for our working vacation, it started off bad with me having VERY bad diarrhea, and nausea. And TONS of pain in my RUQ (Right Upper Quadrant). Sunday I began feeling an organ (I swear I could feel the whole thing) moving/quivering, and had even more extreme pain. During that day I passed around 15 “stones” from 1mm to 4mm in size.

We headed back Tuesday morning from Florida, with the pain growing by the minute it seemed. My threshold of 1-10 went to 15, resetting my 10 pain level. That evening, at a rest stop, I passed three “stones” the size of my pinkie tip. Let me tell you the pain… I’ve been told it is as bad as having natural birth. If this is the case, I will honor all mothers even more for enduring live birth, especially without pain relief!

When I got back I went to the VA docs and asked for their review. Two weeks later, no word back, and I work there. Not happy….

I was told this past Monday that I had a follow up appointment (I was never told before then!) for this past Wednesday with the GI doctor, who by the way called my pain Fibromyalgia (SP?), which it meets NONE of the requirements for the same. So I went. He said, “I guess it is your gallbladder if you are throwing stones.” Let’s get you another ultrasound and some pre-op blood work, looks like we are going to have to cut. So, I had another ultrasound the next day, and the blood work. Ultrasound was apparently clear (I guess I passed all the stones. I was told, and only after I called and demand results three times, that with a clear ultrasound, and clear (even if borderline) HIDA scan, they would not be able to do the surgery.

So, here I sit, over year later, still in pain (oh, they will give me pain pills if I want them), and undiagnosed as to what is going on with me.

THIS brings me to the MAIN problem I have with all this…

Our medicine today, and mind you I work in the field, and have most of my adult life in one position or another, is not here to find the root cause of a problem and fix it. They are solely there (or so it seems to me) to mask the problems or ignore them. They don’t proactively work on finding a problem and fixing it at the core, and not at the symptom level. They don’t examine the patient fully or do much in investigation.

I am sure it is because insurance won’t pay for looking into it, they can save money that way, but still, let us take medicine back to TAKING CARE OF THE PATIENT’S PROBLEMS!!

Public Storage Company…

For the last 3-4 years I have had a storage unit in Pompano Beach with “Public Storage” (those orange and white buildings). For the first year or two, I was in the area and checked on it often, or took something out or put something in.. For the past two years I have been over 1000 miles away from it. During that time, I was paying roughly $80.00 per month, which included $8.00 to mandatory insurance from theft or natural causes, within MANY limitations and restrictions.

Either last summer (2010) or the summer of 2090 my credit card had expired and a new one was issued. I had forgotten to notify them of the change so they “called me” (phone records show they never called my number on file with them) and “mailed me” (never received any mail) several notices that if I didn’t take action soon they would auction my stuff off. The day before the auction I received a letter with the next day in it as the auction day. I immediately called and fixed the problem paying off the back debt and fixed the credit card expiration date. In the process, they had cut my lock off and “inventoried” the room (bedding and boxes was all that was on the inventory sheet), put on their lock and a numbered security tag to see if it was tampered with.

In there, among many other things I had three expensive paintings, and over 600 DvDS. All official releases, not copies (DvDs).

This past Saturday, Sunday and Monday my wife and I went down to Florida to clean it out and get my stuff out. I noticed Saturday that one painting appeared to be missing, and as we cleared things out, I found that the dvd books (I had them in binders 8 to a page (4 front, 4 back)) were gone and the one painting was gone as well.

Reported it to the police, and reported it to the manager, and reported it to the “insurance” company..

No sign of forced entry, so I am out.. To the tune of roughly $11,000.. (First I should shoot myself for having over $9500 invested in videos!!) And the forced entry by the staff doesn’t count, specifically.

I am VERY much not a happy camper, and will NEVER use Public Storage again, and will do all I can to trash Willis Insurance as well. Another post on them tomorrow!

All a scammy business to be sure..

Problems with Amazon.

Several weeks ago my Kindle was stolen from inside my locked locker in a locked room (with a limited number of people having access to the room) at work. I work at a Veterans Administration Hospital, so it is federal land, and makes the theft a Federal Offense.

I immediately contacted Amazon who informed me that they would lock the Kindle so that no one could activate it. I was also told that they could not tell me who attempted to activate it (which apparently has happened), but that the Police Investigators would be able to get the information, have them contact them.

When the federal police department contacted Amazon, Amazon informed them that the District Attorney would have to request the information, so the police officer investigating the missing Kindle contacted the federal district attorney for the area who immediately sent a “demand letter” to Amazon for the information.

After a couple more of weeks Amazon informed the FDA that they required a subpoena from the courts to release the information. Since this was done on a federal reservation, that means the Supreme Court. So a subpoena was generated by the Supreme Court to release the information on who had attempted to activate my stolen Kindle. After several weeks they replied back that more specifics were needed in the subpoena. That was complied with.

Today I was informed, after a few more weeks, that Amazon refused to release any information to the Courts. I contacted Amazon, and after many passing along to others, I was given an email address that didn’t work to get in touch with someone.

I then opened a support ticket on it. This is the response I got back on the support ticket:

Hello,

We regret that we have not been able to address your concerns to your satisfaction, or take the actions you requested regarding your account with us. Regretfully, our customer service department will not be able to offer any additional insight or action on these matters.

If you have any further questions of a legal nature, you may contact our legal department directly at:

Amazon.com
Legal Dept.
P.O. Box 81226
Seattle, WA 98108-1226

Fax: 206-266-7010

I hope this helps! We look forward to seeing you again soon.

No direct phone number to call, and no email to send to, just a snail mail address and a fax number. Not a happy camper…

I WANT TO KNOW WHERE MY STOLEN KINDLE IS!!

Bad Programming…

Ok, I know that Microsoft and the major software developers can get away with it, pretty much because often the end user had no choice, but small developers should look at their code MUCH closer and make sure that things aren’t broken and that the code works as advertised…

I have played with about 15 themes for this WordPress blog in the past 48 plus hours, and 98% of them were badly broken in one way or another. Now, I know the adage, “You get what you pay for”, and I didn’t pay anything for these themes, but if I had used them, I probably would have donated to the cause. These themes didn’t function as advertised, often would not even work at a basic level.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a programmer (although I don’t work as one) and have been known to code in bugs before, but I quickly fix them and get things right. And I try to do that before the code gets out.

I so want a simple, clean, WORKING, theme that is easy to read, sharp in contrast and accepts widgets on the right side that I currently have up, and potentially more as time moves forward… (As well as the plug ins I am currently using, plus future add ons…)

Is that too much to ask?

Christmas, Take Two…

Ok, so I am sitting in the living room, flipping through channels to see if there are any good movies on. (Bout the only thing I watch, although I prefer DVDs as I HATE commercials…) And what do I see? Three channels with CHRISTMAS movies!! And what do I do, I put one of them on, watched it, and then the next one starts up and it is Christmas as well! ALREADY!!

Have we TRULY forgotten the reason behind the season here in the US? Have we totally skipped Thanksgiving first? What happened to the Christmas “Season” starting with the end of the Macy’s Day Parade when Santa came across the screen.

I know that businesses are trying to raise revenues and think that getting the Christmas “spirit” (lower case S on purpose) going as soon as possible, but I would rather see them focus on the true meaning of Christmas, which is the Spirit of Christ our Lord being born.