Things that piss me off.... today.

1. Octo-mom. No one has business bringing 8 children into the world when he/she cannot support them. And by support I don't mean "depend on others to pay you money to keep your children fed and clothed" - I mean YOU make/have enough money to take care of their needs.

2. Guvernator Schwarzenegger. You got elected because you said you were better than the "girly men" in government and you would balance the budget. Well here it is 2009 and you've done a damn crappy job. In fact, now in addition to furloughing employees and cutting their already scarce paychecks, you're going to send out 20K pink slips. Do you have a tumor or something?

3. Law suits against tobacco companies. Don't get me wrong - I think what the tobacco companies did for years was despicable. But seriously... no one FORCED people to go buy cigarettes and smoke them. So when your relatives file a lawsuit, and the tobacco company gets forced to pay out 8 or 10 million dollars, all I can think of right now is how many mortgage payments that would make for people who can't pay their bills because they got laid off (by the Guvernator and the like).

4. Madoff and his cronies. Like the world isn't a hard enough place to live in now that the bottom has fallen out of the market and people don't know how they're going to manage to eat and keep a roof over their heads. I don't really believe in hell, but if I did, there's a special place in hell for people like that. Ditto for Stanford, the Enron folks, and anyone else who has reaped huge profits from intentionally duping the average American.

5. The peanut thing. I almost don't have words for this. Despite numerous health code violations and POSITIVE SALMONELLA TESTS, one company knowingly shipped tainted and unsanitary products. This is a lesson in ripple effects. Not only did the company have to close it's doors and layoff employees, OTHER companies are now going bankrupt trying to recall their products (that used the tainted products in some way), and keep consumers safe. Please send these folks to the same place that Madoff goes.

6. The general state of the world. I am INCREDIBLY lucky right now to have a job, a home and a wonderful spouse. But it pisses me off that we all live in a world where people who could afford to retire last year now have to work longer, where those of us who made the time and financial investment in education are working low paying jobs and forced to be grateful for them, and where hard-working people in all stages of their careers are getting laid off left and right. I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it's a very long tunnel.


/rant
Check back for knitting content tomorrow.

Letters to the Editor

Dear California:

Thank you for the lovely weather during the Thanksgiving holiday. Although some folks like their Thanksgivings to be nippy, I loved our long walk through 70 degree sunshine on Thursday afternoon.

I also have to thank you for your lack of traffic during the holiday weekend. Other than getting in and out of the airport you were an absolute delight. Let's see more of that m'kay?

Love,
The Little Devil

*****

Dear Kansas -

You were lovely when we left - 50s and 60s and sunny. WHAT happened? Now you're spitting snow upon us. I hope you know that I'm not planning to leave my house until you get a better attitude. No matter how long it takes.

Icily yours,
The Little Devil

*****

Dear Smoking Man -

When I arrived home from Thanksgiving week last night, fresh from beautiful sunny California to snowy, icy Kansas, I was already a little disappointed in my homecoming. Add to that the fact that it was midnight, I had no heavy coat with me (please see letter to Kansas above for reasons) and that the Blue Bus took over a half an hour to arrive. So please understand me when I say I really didn't need you to chain smoke through the waiting period and hack that terrible cough in my ear forcing me to HAVE to take an extra shower at 2am just so I could go to sleep without smelling like your ash tray. You could learn a bit of common courtesy about standing away from crowds of people when you feel the need to indulge in your disgusting habit. Because really, if I ever see you again, I'm going to have to resist the impulse not to ash directly on you.

-The LD

*****

Dear Family and Friends:

Thanks for the fabulous time. I miss you all and enjoyed seeing you and sharing wonderful meals. Photographic evidence is below.

Denied?

When I made the decision to quit my job in Los Angeles and relocate to the Midwest, I knew certain things wouldn't be easy. Since starting work after college, I hadn't given much thought to what it actually takes to get medical insurance coverage, since I was always eligible for the group plan at the company for which I worked.

I've made no secret on here of the fact that I struggle with anxiety, and sometimes a bit of depression. I was diagnosed in college and have spent a lot of years working with some great health care professionals to the point that I'm not constantly in therapy any more and my medication is simple and consistent. For the most part I don't wake up every day (or go to bed every night) really even thinking that I have a problem.

But try and apply for individual medical insurance these days, and it's a problem. When I quit my job in January I immediately went to apply for coverage at a large, well-known insurance company, which promised great individual coverage. Now I'm a moderately fit young woman. I fit into my weight percentile, I exercise a little (ok not enough, but I have no physical limitations), my blood pressure is normal and I don't smoke, use illegal substances or drink to excess. I'm young and healthy and you would think that I'd be an insurance company's dream.

But I knew it the minute I hit that part of the application: "Have you ever been treated for mental illness? If yes, please give us some additional information." My application came back denied. No rider, no offers of a different plan, nothing. DENIED.

It was then I learned why so much of America is not insured. It doesn't matter if you have money to pay the premiums (which is saying a lot since the premiums are VERY high). It doesn't matter if you're sick and need treatment and are willing to pay extra for that - in fact, it makes you worse off. You just can't get covered.

Now don't go thinking that I've not been covered by insurance for the last 6 months. I went ahead and enrolled in what I could: a catastrophic policy through my alumni association. It won't cover anything, unless I fall victim to a bus crash or a magician's slicing trick that goes awry, but I'm covered. Sort of.

But that policy is now coming to an end, and I find myself in a weird place again. I have no permanent employment yet, and though I'm getting married next month and the coverage on my fiance's insurance could be retroactive, it would appear I have a few months before I can reliably give a sigh of relief at being covered again.

So today I filled out another application for health coverage. I filled out the application completely, even though I know that the section on Mental Illness is once again going to be my doom. So here I sit, waiting again to be denied.

Way to piss me off #13

Ask me the exact same question you have asked me every day for a week and haven't listened to the answer any time I've told you, even though it's the same answer every single time.

Thank god there are only 12 working days of this insanity left.

That really chaps my hide.

Lately I've been watching quite a bit of the Discovery channel and I've gotten hooked on Everest: Beyond the Limit 2007. This is a TV series that follows an expedition of mountain climbers and guides as they attempt to summit beautiful, awesome and deadly Mt. Everest.

Tonight I watched my dvr'd Episode 7 to see Summit Day for Team 1. I have to say, I have traversed a wide spectrum of emotions while watching Everest this season: amazement, horror, awe and many others. I have watched, literally sick to my stomach or breathless in anticipation of the next step. Tonight, however, was ruined for me in watching Tim Medvetz climb the mountain. Tim has become something of a hero in the series, rallying from a motorcycle accident and a failed attempt last season, to summit this season. Early on Summit Day, Tim falls and breaks his hand in two places. However, he chooses not to tell the guides and to soldier on. Some praise him for a his true grit, others for his bravery in the face of danger and his strength at summiting with a virtually unusable hand. For me, the excitement of the climb is ruined by his actions. What I watched tonight was a selfish foolhardy man who let his desire to summit Everest get in the way of what was safest for the whole group. On the return down the mountain, Tim is so injured that the Woody, the guide has to help him every step of the way. In continuing up the mountain Tim puts his own life at risk, but worse, he puts his team members at risk as well. Because of the happy outcome (Tim makes it down the mountain with no other major injuries to himself or anyone else) he receives a hero's welcome, but the potential for this situation to have been so much worse is huge.

It is this cavalier attitude that causes so many accidents on Everest. After reading Into Thin Air and many other accounts of disasters on Everest, I simply cannot applaud a man who knowingly does something so selfish.

So that's my two cents this episode.

How they suck you in.

I recently placed a large order with Bath & Body Works for some yummy lotions and shower gels for Christmas and Channukah gifts (it involves a crafting project too!) When the order arrived it came with some sundry samples one of which was Frederic Fekkai's Gloss shampoo. WOWEE this stuff is amazing. It smells good and it makes my hair feel great. I just used the sample packet tonight and I'm still amazed at how nice and shiny my hair looks and how good it feels. So I thought I'd see what it would take to procure a bottle of the miracle stuff. This is how they suck you in.

Living in a censored state.

I don't know about you, but this article made me angry...really angry. No matter what side of the climate debate you're on, the idea of the White House editing what experts have to say makes me feel like we're living in a censored state.

White House edits CDC climate testimony

WASHINGTON - The White House severely edited congressional testimony given Tuesday by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the impact of climate change on health, removing specific scientific references to potential health risks, according to two sources familiar with the documents.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Atlanta-based CDC, the government's premier disease monitoring agency, told a Senate hearing that climate change "is anticipated to have a broad range of impacts on the health of Americans."

But her prepared testimony was devoted almost entirely to the CDC's preparation, with few details on what effects climate change could have on the spread of disease. Only during questioning did she describe some specific diseases that likely would be affected, again without elaboration.

Her testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee had much less information on health risks than a much longer draft version Gerberding submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review in advance of her appearance.

"It was eviscerated," said a CDC official, familiar with both versions, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the review process.

The official said that while it is customary for testimony to be changed in a White House review, these changes were particularly "heavy-handed," with the document cut from its original 14 pages to four. It was six pages as presented to the Senate committee.

Current Events

There has to be a joke in here somewhere of biblical proportions: perhaps something about a burning Bush?

You coulda knocked me over with a feather.

Cheney and Obama are distant cousins: Mrs. Cheney

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There's no sign of a family reunion planned, but U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are distant cousins.

So says the vice president's wife, Lynne Cheney, who said she discovered that her husband of 43 years is eighth cousins with the senator from Illinois.

Oh sweet jebus that's a good one. Isn't that an interesting turn of events? Obama better stay away from the Cheney reunions; he's liable to get shot.

Bitter Spirits

Apparently Columbus only discovered governments, banks, post offices and certain travel agencies, because the rest of us are working this holiday.

What exactly was the point?

So I heard about President Ahmadinejad's visit to the United States, and specifically Columbia University, and thought that it was an odd move. I certainly don't have respect for the man, nor do I agree with just about anything he says, but in the interest of academic freedom and debate, I figured "now this is an interesting proposition." I wondered what the University hoped to accomplish. Well, not very much as it turns out.

Ahmadinejad questions 9/11, Holocaust

NEW YORK - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended Holocaust revisionists and raised questions about who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in a tense showdown Monday at Columbia University, where the school's head introduced the hard-line leader by calling him a "petty and cruel dictator."

Ahmadinejad portrayed himself as an intellectual and argued that his administration respected reason and science. But the former engineering professor, appearing shaken and irate over he called "insults" from his host, soon found himself drawn into the type of rhetoric that has alienated American audiences in the past.

He provoked derisive laughter by responding to a question about Iran's execution of homosexuals by saying: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country ... I don't know who's told you that we have this."

Ahmadinejad drew audience applause at times, such as when he bemoaned the plight of the Palestinians. But he often declined to offer the simple answers the audience sought, responding instead with his own questions or long statements about history and justice.

Ahmadinejad has in the past called for Israel's elimination. But his exact remarks have been disputed. Some translators say he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," but others say that would be better translated as "vanish from the pages of time" — implying Israel would disappear on its own rather than be destroyed.

Ahmadinejad's past statements about the Holocaust also have raised hackles in the West, and were soundly attacked by Bollinger.

"In a December 2005 state television broadcast, you described the Holocaust as the fabricated legend," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad said in his opening remarks. "One year later, you held a two-day conference of Holocaust deniers."

Bollinger said that might fool the illiterate and ignorant.

"When you come to a place like this, it makes you simply ridiculous. The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history," he said.

Ahmadinejad said he wasn't passing judgment on whether the Holocaust occurred, but that, "assuming this happened, what does it have to do with the Palestinian people?"


Now let it be known that I fundamentally disagree with just about everything out of this man's mouth. And it's not even that I disagree with what Dr. Bollinger had to say. It's just that I wonder exactly what the point was? Why invite a speaker who so clearly repudiates everything that American academic institutions stand for? And even if one is so inclined to start a serious debate, why ruin it by regressing to antagonistic rhetoric? Really: what IS the point?

This is me.

Nightmare on E-Street

Sometimes booking travel online can make travelers wish they'd stayed home

Let me add my voice to the many many many others about how booking through Travelocity is a BAD BAD BAD idea.

Back in August I went to book flights for my family to travel to Kansas in December for Wes' graduation. I selected flights that most closely fit our schedules and went ahead and purchased. All was hunky dory.

Except a few weeks later I got that dreaded "Your itinerary has changed" email. Apparently Midwest Airlines had changed its schedule and Travelocity, in its infinite wisdom, had booked us a connecting flight with only a 35 minute layover. Sensing that this was going to be a problem, I called Travelocity right away to make a change. I was informed that since my "connection time was still valid" there would be no changing things. Since I knew that if our flight got in late and we missed our connecting flight the airline would probably just rebook us, I asked about what the later options were. I was informed there would be a few flights later in the day. Ok, not happy, but I'll deal.

Fast forward to last night. Another glorious "Your Itinerary has changed" email. Only this time we have FIVE MINUTES to make our connecting flight. Time to call Travelocity again... they told me that the connection time was still valid and that to change the trip I would have to pay $130 per person. Further, the next flight is a mere 7 hours later. So I asked them to cancel the connecting flight all together and credit me for the difference. (We can get a rental car!) Nope - this will also cost $130 per person and we won't get any of the money credited back. You're kidding right? What kind of service is this?? This isn't me changing my mind - this is an impossible flight!

So I decide to call the airlines. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! They immediately transfer me to the schedule change desk. The guy looks at my reservation and says "oh no, your first connection won't work at all!" I repeat what the Travelocity people have told me and he says "HAHA yeah we don't have very much luck working with them on these kinds of situations." The man rebooks my departing flight so I will definitely make my connection. At no charge. Apologizes for the problems and wishes me a nice day. How hard was that? Apparently very. I think I'll be flying Midwest from now on. And banishing Travelocity from my list of options.

Popping Pills Leads to Gambling Problems?

I was half paying attention to the television tonight when a commercial came on for Mirapex, a drug for Restless Leg Syndrome. What caught my attention was the potential side effects list at the end of the commercial, which seemed to include compulsive gambling. HUH?

Sure enough I checked the website.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION ABOUT MIRAPEX: MIRAPEX may cause you to fall asleep without any warning, even while doing normal daily activities such as driving. When taking MIRAPEX hallucinations may occur and sometimes you may feel dizzy, sweaty or nauseated upon standing up. The most common side effects in clinical trials for RLS were nausea, headache, and tiredness. You should talk with your doctor if you experience these problems.

Patients and caregivers should be informed that impulse control disorders/compulsive behaviors may occur while taking medicines.

Further the FAQ indicates:

There have been reports of patients taking certain medications to treat Parkinson’s disease or RLS, including MIRAPEX, that have reported problems with gambling, compulsive eating, and increased sex drive.

So apparently medicines used to treat muscle impulses and spasms result in behavioral impulses and spasms. Hey, I bet there are lawsuits out there about this.

BINGO.

And another one bites the dust.

A not so good morning.

So this morning as I was on my way to my car I saw a horrific site. It looked a little like the picture at the right. Except the man was in nothing but his boxers. And he had a big hairy butt crack that showed. All I could think was "for the love of god please put a shirt on!"

Or, "I wonder if I called the police if they would consider being that unclothed in the shared balcony/hallway area as a private our public offense."

You may want to pick up one of those Men In Black memory erasers on the way home. Just a thought.

P.S. I hate that this man is ruining my beach vibe.

Theme song for 2007

I'm not that into celebrity gossip, but it seems there's only one word that's being uttered these days and it brings me to the theme song for 2007:

Amy Winehouse "Rehab"

They tried to make me go to rehab
I said no, no, no.
Yes I been black, but when I come back
You wont know, know, know.

I ain’t got the time
And if my daddy thinks im fine
He’s tried to make me go to rehab
I wont go, go, go.

Got a problem with drugs or alcohol? Homophobia? Racism? Rough life as a teenage star/celebrity/debutante?

Just go to REHAB!!!

Encyclopedia Entry: What is Wrong with the World Today.

See also: @$$hole and filthy human being.

Prankster dentist wins in court

OLYMPIA, Wash. - An oral surgeon who temporarily implanted fake boar tusks in his assistant's mouth as a practical joke and got sued for it has ended up with the last laugh.

Dr. Robert Woo of Auburn had put the phony tusks in while the woman was under anesthesia for a different procedure. He took them out before she awoke, but first he shot photos that eventually made it around the office.

The employee, Tina Alberts, felt so humiliated when she saw the pictures that she quit and sued her boss.

Woo's insurance company, Fireman's Fund, refused to cover the claim, saying the practical joke was intentional and not a normal business activity his insurance policy covered, so Woo settled out of court. He agreed to pay Alberts $250,000, then sued his insurers.

A King County Superior Court jury sided with Woo, ordering Fireman's Fund to pay him $750,000, plus the out-of-court settlement. The insurance company won the next round, with the state Court of Appeals saying the prank had nothing to do with Woo's practice of dentistry. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court restored Woo's award.

In a sprightly 5-4 decision, Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst wrote that Woo's practical joke was an integral, if odd, part of the assistant's dental surgery and "conceivably" should trigger the professional liability coverage of his policy.

Dissenting Justice James Johnson said the prank wasn't a dental procedure at all and only "rewards Dr. Woo's obnoxious behavior and allows him to profit handsomely."

The oral surgery on Alberts was intended to replace two of her teeth with implants, which Woo did. First, though, he installed temporary bridges that he had shaped to look like boar tusks, and while Alberts was still under anesthesia, he took photos, some with her eyes propped open. Before she woke up, he removed the "tusks" and put in the proper replacement teeth.

Woo says he didn't personally show her the pictures but staffers gave her copies at a birthday party.

Woo's lawyer, Richard Kilpatrick, described the surgeon as a kindhearted, fun-loving man who was chagrined that an office prank turned out so badly. He was delighted with the high court's decision, Kilpatrick said.

Hungry

My love, bless his heart, is a morning person. Not just a "enjoy-your-morning-and-
hum-along" morning person, but a "get-up-at-6am-
and-go-running-listen-to-
the-birds-singing-and-the-
world-waking-up-whistle-
as-you-go" kind of guy. I'm really more of a night person (read: DO NOT DISTURB BEFORE 9AM). As you can imagine this leads to a few problems. But my number one gripe about getting up so damn early in the morning is that I'm hungry all day long. I eat my Powerbar at 8:30am and I'm STARVING by 11. I eat lunch at noon and then I'm STARVING by 3. When I start my day a little later, this never happens.

This post brought to you by my grumbling tummy.

Oh no.

Roman Catholic Cardinal Supports Merger of XM and Sirius

Lord knows that XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio need all the help they can get to convince the federal government their proposed merger isn't anti-consumer and anti-competitive. But help from a representative of the Almighty?

Both XM and Sirius together have announced that His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, supports the planned merger. In an opinion piece published in the New York Post, Cardinal Egan said the Catholic Channel and Sirius Satellite Radio "present a unique opportunity for the Church to speak with people -- Catholic and non-Catholic alike. I would urge all those who are considering the merger between Sirius and XM to see to it that this dialogue of faith can continue."

Now I could be wrong, but the Cardinal really has nothing to do with whether this merger goes through. Add to that, I could really care less whether the Church approves what radio looks like in the U.S. And this is the important news that the Cardinal feels compelled to write an Op Ed piece about? What about world hunger and poverty, genocide and wars?

Things that Piss Me Off and Make me Sad to be An American Today:

1. Scooter Libby Gets Out of Jail Free with Card from President Bush

The justice system didn't work for Libby. Bush did.

Breaking news reports late on Monday showed that President George W. Bush had commuted the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former top aide who also served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. An appeal by Libby to stay out of jail pending an appeal of his conviction for committing perjury and other offenses was rejected by a federal court this morning.

Libby did not receive a pardon, but he did have his 30 month jail sentence commuted by President Bush.

I don't know how you feel, but this pisses me off beyond belief. All the checks and balances carefully crafted into the Constitution have been nullified by the actions of a fanatical President who lies and breaks the law and then excuses his minions of wrongdoings that he, himself, has sanctioned.


2. My Adventures Into The Mouth Of The 7-Eleven Kwik-E-Mart

If you’ve ever wondered how pervasive Hollywood marketing efforts could get, then look no further than the merchandising wizards at Twentieth Century Fox. In order to hype the upcoming release of “The Simpsons Movie,” the studio has teamed with 7-Eleven to equip stores across the country with “Simpsons”-branded items, and to turn 11 hand-picked locations into full-blown, real-life Kwik-E-Mart’s, Springfeld’s ubiquitous convenience store.

I'm not a huge Simpson's fan, but I have watched some episodes and I do find it amusing sometimes. I probably won't see the movie, and I'm DEFINITELY not a fan of it's latest marketing gimmick. I'm sorry, but the Kwik-E-Mart and Apu from the Simpsons are nothing but racial stereotypes. Why on earth would that be "cool"? Give me cartoon parody any day... take it to real life and I'm not convinced.

If I hear the word iPhone one more time, someone's going to regret it.

Found here.