Alpinespew

NPR's surprise ... not!

2011-03-09T10:03:00.002-05:00

NPR's CEO Vivian Schiller has resigned after a videotape surfaced showing an NPR fundraiser expressing his true feelings about the Tea Party, conservatives, and generally pathetically pandering for money from supposed Muslim donors.

This whole issue - i.e. the opinions of NPR execs of anyone not leaning hard-left - only surprises people who don't listen to NPR. Public Radio is nothing more than a de facto mouthpiece for the Left, and that's obvious in the "issues" on which they report and the language they choose to use when talking about a particular subject.

If nothing else, I guess I feel kind of vindicated in hearing at least one of them say it out loud. It gives me an opportunity to have an "I-told-you-so" moment ... because I listen to NPR, and I could have told you all this long ago...

Cowboy Junkies - A Common Disaster

2011-03-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

Stuff

2010-08-06T23:08:00.002-04:00

I just watched The Story of Stuff.

That's about half an hour of my life I'll never get back. That has to be the most overly simplistic wad of crap I've seen since the last Michael Moore clips I watched.

I don't disagree with the basic premise of the film ... or documentary ... or whatever it is. Quite to the contrary, actually ... I do, indeed, think we consume too much.

What makes my head hurt is that the narrator suggests ... actually, she pretty much claims outright ... that we consume because corporations fool us into doing so.

Hogwash.

The entire premise is predicated on the notion that we're too stupid to see the consequences of our actions, and that we're just ignorant sheep being led around by incredibly evil companies.

The reality is actually far more disturbing. I think the fact is that we don't care. We want smaller, lighter, newer cell phones and ever more stylish clothes and safer cars and new freaking cancer drugs ... and we'll exploit whoever or whatever it takes to get it.

We indulge ourselves in worshiping this excuse for a documentary and Al Gore and global warming and acid rain and save-the-rainforest causes because it makes us feel better. Or, rather, it makes us feel less bad about the havoc we're causing.

In the end, yeah, we consume to much. And it's nobody's fault but our own.

Protests

2010-06-27T13:24:00.003-04:00

It's just fascinating how the MSM spins coverage of protesters.

For example, MSNBC's Chris Matthews recently hosted a special entitled "Rise of the New Right" in which he not-so-subtly suggests that the Tea Party is a de-facto armed, right-wing milita group, and you should therefore go hide under your bed and cry.

The carefully edited footage of Tea Party protests intermingled with interviews with Michigan Militia members (like they have anything at all to do with each other) should be a clue as to what kinds of protesters the public should fear.

I submit for the record:

Tea Party protest:

G-20 Protesters:

Tea Party:

G-20:

Um ... which one is it that I'm supposed to fear, again?

Flag Day

2010-06-14T12:53:00.004-04:00

Today is Flag Day.

Blue

2010-06-14T03:50:00.002-04:00

I'm a dog person. Always have been. I firmly, unapologetically believe that dogs are the Earthly embodiment of God's unconditional love.

Some stuff just makes me cry. Make no mistake ... I'm a CPR-performing, chainsaw-using, overall-wearing, gun-competing, shaved-headed man. My manhood is intact. But this guy's tribute to his dog made me cry:

In Memory of Blue

2010-05-14T06:59:00.001-04:00

Standing in line ... Hurry up & wait...

2010-05-13T15:10:00.001-04:00

On our way to FL to see the shuttle launch?

For Jefe

2010-05-05T22:50:00.003-04:00

I have musical ADHD.

I find alot of music that I like from listening to Sirius Octane.

One of the random bands I have come upon is Volbeat... hang with me here...

The first song I heard from them was "Still Counting" ... a great song.

As I listened to some of their other songs, I came upon "The Garden's Tale."

I can't tell you why, but I thought of Jefe ... and I cried.

It's a good song. Some of it's in Danish, but that doesn't matter. Give it a listen.

After Jefe's body had been cremated, Miss Fluffy sent me a text that said simply "Jefe's home."

Thus the lyric:

Hoping the angels will carry him home

2010-04-28T05:20:00.003-04:00

... The ER is empty. This never happens...

2010-04-28T05:20:00.001-04:00

Holy cow ...

Ofc. HODAR

2010-04-23T02:25:00.006-04:00

Here's a big CONGRATS to the mighty HODAR, who graduates from basic law enforcement training today (I probably butchered the name of the training, but hey....)

Go on wit' yo' bad self, Ho'. Yeah, I'm gonna pump you for all the tacticool LEO info you have. I'm not ashamed.

I customized the card that Miss Fluffy & I sent him. Here's a hint:

"... you boys like Mexicoooo?!?!!? WOOOOO!!!!!"
Anyway, on a more serious note...

HODAR, you're now a shield-carrying enforcer of the law. You and I will have many conversations in the future about what that means to those of us who don't carry that shield.

You're now part of the thin blue line, HODAR. God bless you.

Come back with your shield, or on it.

Pig

2010-04-21T13:55:00.002-04:00

I'd like to post up some pictures I've taken (though that's one of those things that I'd like to do but never quite get around to it...)

This is a shot I took of "Pig" while Miss Fluffy and I were out for a walk last spring. Pig really likes to take walks on the farm.

New Links

2010-04-20T23:08:00.003-04:00

I've updated the links on the right-hand side of the page to reflect changes in what I read and other priorities.

First up, check out "Buddy's Mom". This is the blog of the nurse-educator in my ER. Her son had a kidney transplant. Those of you who know me might figure the transplant topic hits me kind of personally. Go show Jenny and Buddy some linky-love and support. Go Buddy's Pee-Maker, go!!

I've also added links to the NRA (I'm a Life Member) and Tactical Response (where I train.) Check 'em out.

I removed the blogs I used to follow. That doesn't mean anything other than that I've kind of moved on. It's no longer about their blogs ... it's about mine.

Stage Four

2010-04-19T23:56:00.002-04:00

This is Stage Four from last weekend's 3-gun match. You can't see this from the camera angle, but here's the scenario: there are 8 targets hidden behind the blue tarps in the shoot-house (4 on each side.) At the buzzer, the shooter rolls a large die, which will roll either a circle, square or triangle. Behind the tarp on each side, one of the targets is a standard target. The other 3 are jack-o-lantern looking heads ... each with circle, square or triangle eyes. The course of fire required you to NOT shoot the eyes you rolled. I think it's theorized that the human brain doesn't process negatives very readily, so it was a challenge to remember which targets you weren't supposed to shoot. The difficulty was compounded by the fact that those were the last targets engaged in the scenario.

I must say, I pull a trigger faster than many other shooters. I had no points "down" in this stage.

More super fun:

Stage Two

2010-04-19T23:22:00.004-04:00

I'm going to upload a couple of vids from last weekend's 3-gun match. This is Stage Two (of six) in the match. In this stage, the first targets have to be engaged through the barrel, which wasn't too hard, except you'll note I lost track of whether or not I had engaged the last target (I hadn't). After engaging all the rifle targets, the rifle was put on safe & ditched in the barrel, and the shooter moves to the barricade & engages the steel targets with the handgun.

This is the stage on which I ripped my pants.

Super fun:

How typical...

2010-04-16T17:49:00.003-04:00

CNN's Jack Cafferty thinks Tea Party members are extremists who hate the American government.

My Dad insists that my socio-political views stem from Fox News telling me what to think. He seems to think CNN doesn't do that.

He's wrong.

The only difference between CNN and Fox News is one of tone. Fox News is loud and brash. CNN, on the other hand, suggests what your opinion should be. They're still telling you what to think ... they're just more subtle about it.

Take Jackass Cafferty's topic today. The question he posits is, "Do you hate the government?". When you look at the page on which he asks the question, what do you see? A picture of Tea Party protestors. The description of the basis for the question makes numerous references to the Tea Party. Interestingly, the background notes the "tone deaf" nature of the Bush administration and talks in general terms about dissatisfaction with the government...

... and then jumps to "hate".

And that's how they tell you what to think.

Step back and look at it for a second ... how does Jackass justify a jump from Tea Party protests (nonviolent, you'll note) to "hate"? Is there any justification for that? Why doesn't he say, "Are you dissatisfied with the government?" or "Do you hate the direction the current administration is taking America?" or even, "Do you hate the things government does?" ... but that doesn't send the right message.

Rather, it's more effective to show pictures of the Tea Party, talk about the Tea Party ... and then jump to a question that suggests Tea Party members hate the government.

Not that they are dissatisfied. Not that they resent seeing tax money spent recklessly. Not that they hate the things government is doing. Phrasing the question in that manner doesn't send the right message.

Wolf Blitzer (quite possibly the most hokey, cheesy, embarrassing name I've ever heard) has been talking at length about Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing back in the 90s. He interviewed Bill Clinton, who is "concerned" about the political environment. Jackass Cafferty is right behind him asking you if you "hate the government". And the entire discussion is peppered with mention of the Tea Party.

Convenient.

Jack Cafferty thinks the Tea Party is all about hating the government ... and he wants you to think that, too.

Bump

2010-04-09T02:51:00.002-04:00

I'm not all that adventurous when it comes to my music. I'm pretty open minded, but then again I get irritated at people who have this cultural ADHD, who get so bored so easily and are soooo into the latest europopelectronica and barely finish listening to one artist before they're on to the next big thing. (The musical interludes by those collectivist eurosnobs on NPR - like on All Songs Considered comes to mind.) You know the type ... people who confuse an inability to focus and an interest in obscure music with sophistication.

That said, I can't help my curiosity when it comes to the music from Adult Swim's "bumps" in between shows. You get some weird visual over some weird music.

But some of the music is so weird it's cool.

The first one that hooked me was the "Baggage Room" bump (Massage Situation by Flying Lotus.)

I also like the "Where Are You Going?" bump (FUSE by Hudson Mohawke.)

Dang ... does that mean I have musical ADHD and I'm easily bored??.... Or am I just a hypocrite?

See the bumps at BumpWorthy.

Free & Clear

2010-04-08T13:04:00.002-04:00

I got a clean bill of health from my oncologist (her nurse practitioner, anyway) at my annual checkup yesterday. Whew!

I don't get nearly as stressed-out for those appointments as I used to, but I still have the need for a nap at some point after it's over.

Today is laundry day. I've also got lawn-mower maintenance on the to-do list, as well as adding a coat of paint to the wood-stove insert in the house (it gets splashed with water from the steamer all winter and needs sanding and paint every Spring.)

I work a 6-day stretch starting tomorrow night.

The only good pirate ...

2010-03-24T14:03:00.003-04:00

... is a dead one.

That doesn't stop the reflexive cowardice of the media and/or "officials", which is evident in the opening line of the story:

The death comes amid fears that increasingly aggressive pirates and the growing use of armed private security contractors onboard vessels could fuel increased violence on the high seas.

Mr. or Mrs. AP writer, you are an invertebrate.

Anyway, back to our celebration over dead pirates:

In the first killing of its kind, private security contractors shot dead a Somali pirate in a clash that left two skiffs riddled with bullet holes, officials said Wednesday.

Now, the notion that the skiffs were "riddled" with bullet holes would make me giddy, except that the nancies at the AP consider more than one bullet hole to qualify as "riddled", so I have my doubts.

The article goes on to "ask questions" - in nearly every paragraph - about having armed guards on ships. Never mind the obvious:

An EU Naval Force frigate was dispatched to the scene and launched a helicopter that located the pirates. Seven pirates were found, including one who died from small-caliber gunshot wounds, indicating he had been shot by the detachment onboard the Almezaan, and not by the helicopter gunship, said Cmdr. John Harbour, the EU Naval Force spokesman.

Translation: The EU showed up long after the matter had been resolved. (That's your cue to act shocked...)

Anyway, the AP writer and those he/she interviews - in one article about a dead pirate - goes to great lengths to: raise concerns about "increased violence on the high seas"; questions "jurisdiction", "regulation", "guidelines", "standards", the "quality of the individuals" who guard the ships, "oversight"; questions "who is responsible for investigating the incident".

In a dazzling display of bias, the author - after noting the rise in shooting incidents by pirates in the region in the past year - expresses "fears that the use of armed security contractors could encourage pirates to be more violent in their approach..." and then immediately points out that, "Pirate attacks have not declined despite patrols by dozens of warships off the Somali coast. The amount of ocean to patrol is too vast to protect every ship and pirates have responded to the increased naval presence by moving attacks farther out to sea."

The use of "security contractors" and civilian gun ownership seems to bring about the same predictable nonsense. Goodness, they say, only the authorities should have guns, otherwise there might be violence ... and they'll repeat that excrement no matter how much violence the disarmed suffer.

Here's a clue: If the 'authorities' could prevent the violence, perhaps there wouldn't be a call or a need for the unwashed proletariat to be armed. But - as the brilliant AP writer pointed out above - the 'authorities' tend to show up only after everything has gone down. There remains a market for "security contractors" for a similar reason ... If the "warships" of the "legitimate" governments/UN/EU or whoever were up to the task, there would be no need for contractors.

Additionally, the writer neglects to point out the obvious: the armed security contractors killed a pirate and saved the ship. For God's sake ... the contractors were successful! We can't have that, now can we?!?!?

The now infamous Blackwater suffered from a similar bipolar view. As far as I know, Blackwater had a 100% success rate in their EP missions in Iraq and Afghanistan ... and the public is encouraged to hate them because ... why? They make more money than average soldiers? They filled a niche, they did their job well. Blackwater was in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ... why? Because the N.O.P.D. either abandoned the city or was too busy looting the local Wal Mart to protect the people, maybe? Don't hate the player, hate the game (as the kids would say...) If armies and/or police could get the job done, you wouldn't need ... or probably wouldn't even have ever had ... Blackwater.

So, maybe it would be more constructive to address the factors that drive citizens - or cargo ships - to seek to be armed, rather than to criticize them for addressing their need for defense. Otherwise, shut up and let them keep their guns.

Actually, if somebody has to give up their guns ... maybe it should be the Somalis first. That might make the world a safer place.

In any event ... let the dead pirates pile up.

Congratulations!

2010-03-23T14:45:00.002-04:00

Our cancer-stick-sucking Hypocrite-in-Chief has signed the first evolution of Socialized Medicine into law.

We're all going to feel so much better about ourselves while we pay for the healthcare smorgasbord of unrepentant smokers (like him), the super-sized obese, drug-addicts, drunk drivers, chronic STD carriers, non-compliant McDonalds-snorting diabetics and the like.

That'll show those greeeedy insurance companies! Behavior be damned ... we want our healthcare!!!

Wake up, fools, and look what you've done. At a time when our country is eyeball-deep in debt, fighting war on 2 fronts (didn't Obama promise to do something about that?), maintaining a near 10% unemployment rate ... hey, I know! Lets institute another gargantuan entitlement program!

Great timing!

What so many proponents of socialized medicine don't see - or refuse to see - is that entitlement programs create beneficiaries ... a class of people who only understand benefits, because they don't put anything into the benefit pool. They get, rather than give. That doesn't create a grateful, newly productive, healthy American - as they'd have you believe. Rather, it creates a slave to the system who understands only the benefits to be derived from the program ... a program supported by those of us who remain to prop it up with our tax dollars. In a way, it creates the greediest of mindsets.

Did I mention nearly 10% unemployment?

This program will drag us all under because of it's own fiscal weight. The claims that this will actually save money are outright preposterous.

8 years of working for Medicare and a couple years as a nurse have taught me that people who are given a benefit have absolutely no incentive to conserve the benefit. Rather, they're encouraged to use it, and to use it to its fullest.

Instituting that mindset in the context of American health care will bring the entire system crashing down ... but we'll be sitting in waiting rooms for a long, long time before it happens.

The waiting room to see your doctor is already full, America. Enjoy your wait.

3-gun!

2010-03-22T15:34:00.002-04:00

I competed in my first 3-gun match on Saturday. I performed pretty badly, but I had a blast (no pun intended) anyway.

The club that hosted the shoot had a couple of sponsored 3-gun shooters who talked for nearly 2 hours before the match about gear, tips and general info on 3-gun, which was really helpful for someone like me who has only competed in IDPA previously.

I'll be able to shoot next month's match. I don't plan to be "competitive" per se in 3-gun, since none of my guns are set up as "race" guns; they're all "defensive" weapons, with lights and bells and whistles hanging off of 'em. That's OK ... 3-gun is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Yesterday's match

2010-03-14T15:36:00.002-04:00

I shot yesterday's IDPA match better than I thought I would .... I placed last in my division, which would bum me out had I been less pleased in my own shooting. My competition was very good.

I missed 2 head shots that did me in. I couldn't see that I missed either one, otherwise I would have made up the shots. Darn those little 9mm holes... Despite that, my accuracy is improving (though at the cost of time.) IDPA works that way, though ... misses cost you way more than the additional time required to make accurate shots.

This was only my second match with the Glock 19. I honestly shoot it better than I ever shot the Kimber Ultra Carry that I've shot in so many matches before. Just goes to show you what an inch of sight radius can do for 'ya. The XS Big Dot sights work just fine for competition.

I'm attending a 3-gun beginners clinic next weekend, and I can't wait. I've been looking into 3-gun competition for years, but I couldn't find a venue close enough or that fit my ever-weirder schedule. This place isn't close to home, but it's close enough that I can attend matches (schedule permitting.) Hopefully I'll get some pictures up.

Update

2010-03-14T14:43:00.003-04:00

I've been slack about posting on this blog. Plenty of things have changed.

I started working at a new hospital at the beginning of the year. Not only did I go from an 8-bed ER to a 26 bed department, but I'm in the ER full time now. This ER is way busier than my former hospital -- I'm working my butt off every shift -- but I'm learning far more than before. The hospital and the Emergency Department are very professional, I have plenty of opportunities of which to take advantage, and the staff has been really receptive. I'm jazzed to be there.

The downside is that the hospital is an hour away. A 12-hour shift is closer to 15 hours for me, when commuting time and lag time are added in. That's one long work day.

Anyway, so far it looks like going to this hospital was the right decision, which is a relief.

2010-03-03T23:22:00.002-05:00

Unlike the cruel Leonidas, who demanded that you stand, I require only that you kneel.

-Xerxes to Ephialtes in 300

Sounds like something Obama is saying to America...

2010-02-24T12:48:00.001-05:00

Critical meds class wrapped up ... Just over 8 hrs 2 go...

Meh....

2010-02-12T14:42:00.002-05:00

After 6 consecutive 12-hour shifts (14+ hours if you consider commuting time) I didn't get much accomplished yesterday. I don't know if it's just fatigue or if I'm trying to get sick or what, but today isn't much better. I just feel tired, a little stuffy, and whiny. I had a bit of a cough yesterday that seems to have cleared, though.

Hey, I have 8 straight days off. I can afford to lay around for a couple of 'em...

2010-02-04T01:01:00.001-05:00

Whew! Passed the arrhythmia test today. That takes off some stress. I scored 103/105.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

2010-01-01T18:47:00.002-05:00

We have a winner!

It's going to be hard to not just totally reprint this article in this post. Read the whole thing ... the author is spot on.

The first paragraph says it all (but the article gets better from there...):

Emergency departments are distilleries boiling complex blends of trauma, stress and emotion down to the essence of immediacy: what needs to be done, right now, to fix the problem. Working the past twenty years in such environments has shown me with great clarity what is wrong (and right) with our nation’s medical system. It’s obvious to me that despite all the furor and rancor, what is being debated in Washington currently is not healthcare reform. It’s only healthcare insurance reform. It addresses the undeniably important issues of who is going to pay and how, but completely misses the point of why.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Hey, Dad ... you want to know why I went to Washington to protest?

That's why.

Healthcare costs too much in our country because we deliver too much healthcare. We deliver too much because we demand too much. And we demand it for all the wrong reasons. We’re turning into a nation of anxious wimps.

Right on.

We are taught to fear vaccinations, mold, shark attacks, airplanes and breast implants when we really should worry about smoking, drug abuse, obesity, cars and basic hygiene.

I'm not gay, but I'd kiss this man. Somebody forward this to a gun-control advocate, because the same logic applies .... but I digress.

A good physician needs to have the guts to stand up to people and tell them that their baby gets ear infections because they smoke cigarettes. That it’s time to admit they are alcoholics. That they need to suck it up and deal with discomfort because narcotics will just make everything worse. That what’s really wrong with them is that they are just too damned fat.

Thomas Doyle, MD ... you, sir, are my hero. I'd work in your ER any day. Better yet, please run for office. I'd volunteer for your campaign in a heartbeat.

Letdown

2010-01-01T18:23:00.003-05:00

As much as I enjoy the holidays, it's such a letdown when it's all over.

I thought I'd have more time to enjoy Christmas this year, but it didn't happen. It felt just as rushed as last year. I didn't have that warm-fuzzy feeling I used to get at Christmastime. The thrill is gone, and I don't know why.

Geez, when it comes down to it, I literally slept through the vast majority of Christmas day and New Year's Day. I know to expect that as a nurse, but still ... what a drag.

Blah.

Blah blah blah...

2009-12-29T20:15:00.002-05:00

News flash:

Iran brutalizes protesters. Obama makes strongly-worded sounds with his face ... in lieu of actually doing anything:

President Barack Obama praised "the courage and the conviction of the Iranian people" while condemning Iran's Islamic government for attacking demonstrators with "the iron fist of brutality."

Terrorist tries to blow up airliner. Obama makes more sound with face ... after the fact.

President Obama said Tuesday that a "systemic failure" on multiple levels allowed a passenger armed with explosives to board a Detroit-bound flight last week.

Considering the big hole still gaping in the ground in Manhattan, the fact that he's just now addressing "systemic failure" in airline security is utterly astounding. Dare I assume the 911 Commission Report wasn't on his Christmas-in-Hawaii reading list?

How's all that hope and change working out for you, America? Troops are still in Iraq and Afghanistan. Guantanamo still isn't closed. Unemployment still hovers around 10%. Governmental "transparency" is nowhere to be found. His "healthcare" initiative was passed by blatantly buying off congressweasels.

Good grief ... at this rate, he's making W. and his administration look honest and competent.

Schedule

2009-12-08T05:44:00.003-05:00

It's 4 in the AM and I'm doing laundry. It's been a weird, exciting and strange day.

Christmas preparations are rushed this year ... again. I don't really know why. I thought I'd have so much more time now that I'm out of school...

2009-11-28T15:32:00.001-05:00

USC pwnd Clemson! GO COCKS!!!

Costs

2009-11-19T16:59:00.003-05:00

3500 rounds of .223 and 9mm ammo: $0

4 unbeatable days of Fighting Rifle and Advanced Fighting Rifle training at Tactical Response: $0

Having a M.I.L. pick up the tab and being able to carry on some NRA tradition:

Absolutely Priceless

Thanks, Deb.

Volunteer!

2009-10-19T21:09:00.002-04:00

Have you seen the hype over this new "iparticipate" thing that the networks will be doing to encourage everybody to volunteer?

They must be influenced by President Obama and his efforts to get America to volunteer.

None of us would ever wish the evil that was done on September 11th, yet after America was attacked, it was as if our entire country looked into a mirror and saw our better selves. We were reminded that we are citizens, with obligations to each other, to our country and to history. We began to think less of the goods we can accumulate and more about the good we can do.

For too long our culture has said, "If it feels good, do it." Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed: "Let's roll." In the sacrifice of soldiers, the fierce brotherhood of firefighters, and the bravery and generosity of ordinary citizens, we have glimpsed what a new culture of responsibility could look like. We want to be a Nation that serves goals larger than self. We have been offered a unique opportunity, and we must not let this moment pass.

My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years, 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime, to the service of your neighbors and your nation.

Wait a sec ... Obama didn't say that ... that was President George W. Bush in the 2002 State of the Union Address.

Why wasn't anybody interested then?

Tired

2009-10-17T23:00:00.002-04:00

I worked ER last night from 7p - 7a. I didn't have a patient from midnight to 7. Not a single one. That's what happens when the local autumn festival rolls around.

That's one of the things that makes me cynical about healthcare ... it's interesting how, when there's something to do in town ... nobody seems to be sick. It's like that for the 4th of July ... I can be in the ER - without being able to see outside - and I can tell you when the fireworks start and stop by the corresponding patient flow.

Anyway, I worked 12 hours, came home, changed clothes and ran a 5K.

I've slept on & off ever since.

I'm off 'till Thursday. I'm going back through Magpul's Art of the Tactical Carbine CD to get me ready for Tactical Response's Fighting Rifle and Advanced Fighting Rifle next month.

Still missing the point...

2009-10-06T15:26:00.002-04:00

I'm watching Shepard Smith on Fox News, and I'm screaming at the TV because he so misses the point regarding so-called "healthcare reform" or "health insurance reform" or whatever they're calling it now.

He was berating his guest (a Senator ... I forgot who exactly) over his opposition to a "public option" because he claimed health insurance profits had gone up over 300% in the past few years.

Here's a clue, Shep ... health insurance company profits are a big fat red herring. If taking away corporate profits would fix things, then explain to me why Medicare and Medicaid are chronically insolvent. The .gov and/or contractors who administer the benefits for these plans aren't making heaps of money off the programs ... so why aren't they flush with cash, pray tell?

The answer is multifaceted. First, Medicare and Medicaid are entitlement programs. Their beneficiaries have very little - if any - point-of-service financial obligation for the services they receive. Therefore, they have little - if any - incentive to be conservative or conscientious with regards to how they utilize healthcare services. They are consistently inefficient (and, in my experience - irresponsible) consumers of healthcare. Beneficiaries of a "public option" would be in a similar situation ... they'd be financially putting in far less than they would be taking out of the healthcare resource pool. There's no incentive for someone who pays very little for healthcare to ... well, to care for their own health when they're entitled to the service. The discussions about "preventive care" are another red herring in that regard ... the health problems with which people present to their doctors aren't fixed by "patient teaching" or vaccines. I see this every day at the hospital where I work ... people come in and fill out their "inability to pay" form while they text on their cell phones, and then they go outside to smoke after they see the doctor (if they can wait that long). Don't get me started on how many of them are obese, or who test positive for controlled substances for which they don't have a prescription. It's chronic illnesses that are bleeding the system dry ... not corporate profits. Also, the claims that premiums keep going up, and that healthcare costs more than ever ... those claims are disingenuous. Of course it's more expensive now ... we didn't have MRIs or CT scanners or soft-tissue and organ transplantation like we have now for what we paid 10 years ago. Now we can give a patient with a cardiac disrhythmia drugs that will stop the heart and then the heart will restart on its own, most likely in the proper rhythm. We can keep the body alive long after the spirit has tried to wrest itself free. That kind of amazing technology does not come free. People who gripe about the cost of drugs or healthcare have no clue what those companies go through to get FDA approval of their medication or technology ... much less what that costs. Nobody seems willing to admit that you're getting what you're paying for. Claiming that "costs need to be contained" is like saying you should pay the same amount for a 2500 square foot brick home with a pool and 2-car garage and a 1000 square foot double-wide. It's that absurd.

The media in general dances around the point. A "government option" will be unsustainable, for reasons that are right in front of our faces. Adding a gargantuan entitlement program for Americans who are bending over backward to show how irresponsible we are is patently crazy... and the current administration is foaming at the mouth to do it.

ROCK !!

2009-10-02T04:02:00.003-04:00

Miss Fluffy is learning to rock out ...

... but she doesn't seem to feel the need to blog about it.

Odd...

Olympics

2009-10-02T03:38:00.002-04:00

I'm watching live coverage of Obama's pitch to bring the Olympics to Chicago (AKA Hell).

Hilarious.

The very slick video presentation (wonder what that cost in this age of massive debt??) featured kids. Notably absent was footage of the Chicago kid who was recently beaten to death with a board. On camera. With other kids around who did nothing to help him.

Note to the Olympic committee: Chicago is a hellhole. You'll get shot (or beaten to death ... with lumber ... by children ...) Chicago is corrupt. They'll shake you down. It's Gangstertown, USA. Don't go there. I mean ... remember the Atlanta Olympics? Where some wackjob planted a bomb? Yeah, that's America. Only Chicago is America at it's worst. The bomb threat is probably over ... but you've still got to contend with the hordes of teenage thugs with railroad ties...

By the way ... America is currently waging war in not one, but two countries. Yay, USA!! We love other countries!! Especially the ones with oil!! Can you spare some Olympic chump-change (no pun intended)??

On a side note, only FOX (AKA Republican TV) and MSNBC (AKA Democrat TV) are covering this live. CNN and HLN are preoccupied with other stuff ... like Larry King's interview of Jon from "Jon & Kate + fertility drugs + camera seeking greed = 8 - divorce = drama + tv coverage = $$$$). That's right ... CNN: the world leader in news.

Anyhoo ... I noticed the Olympic committee peons haven't asked about Chicago's murder rate.

Convenient.

Rapist

2009-09-29T17:20:00.002-04:00

I can't figure out how Hollywood is making apologies for Roman Polanski.

This creep drugged and raped a 13 year-old girl.

Hollywood says, "but he's a great film maker!"

Let's review: He raped a 13 year-old girl.

Hollywood says, "but he's an artiste!!"

He raped a 13 year-old girl.

How did we get to the point that we're willing to look the other way and ignore the fact that this creep is a child rapist ... just because he makes movies? The fact that CNN even entertains the idea that this child-rapist creep shouldn't do time makes me want to spit.

Polanski needs to do time in a very very small cell with a 300-pound anal-raping lifer named "Tiny". Society needs to forget about him.

Roman Polanski is a child-raping creep. Period. Hollywood's collective willingness to ignore that fact simply reinforces my eagerness to go pee in Arizona Bay when glueball worming drowns that coastal cesspool.

"Stop the Violence"

2009-09-28T22:44:00.002-04:00

I just saw a "report" by that alabaster-haired, effete snob Anderson Cooper, in which he interviewed a couple of people on strategies to "stop the violence" in cities (Chicago and LA were mentioned) in the wake of the beating death of an urban high school honors student.

The people Cooper interviewed (one of whom is the University of Southern California football coach) spoke in vague, dreamy terms about "broken families" and "no hope".

Horsecrap. Why don't you see toothless rednecks in Appalachia shooting and beating each other to death nightly up in every holler? Appalachia has it all: poverty, joblessness, drug abuse, broken families, rampant ignorance ... do the rednecks have to start killing each other in order for it to be dramatic enough for Anderson to make an appearance? Does CNN find the Appalachian accent to irritating or not attractive enough to make for a good interview? I wonder if Anderson would subtly suggest I'm asking these questions from an unconscious inner racism ...

These morons can yammer on until they're blue in the face about "empowerment" and "safe streets" and putting a stop to the "no snitches" rule of the street and they'll achieve the same result that kind of garbage has netted them thus far .... jack crap.

What we're going to see is more of the same ... they'll try to somehow make murder more illegal. Shooting somebody will be more illegal. Drugs will be more illegal.

Fools. Achieving substantive change in the inner cities will require a level of transformation that urban society repeatedly demonstrates it isn't motivated to attain. It means convincing people to take responsibility for their own actions in areas where people already refuse to do so on so many levels. Look at the LA riots. Look at the looting in the wake of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The beating death of the kid on which Cooper "reported" was filmed by someone who was one of many bystanders who did absolutely nothing to stop what was happening right in front of them. Cooper throws around suggestions that "the system" is failing the "kids" in these places. What he needs to see is that these people are failing themselves.

I'm sick of flushing dollars down the urban toilet. I'm sick of being saddled with taxes, regulations and laws touted to "keep people safe" in places where they seem hell-bent on destroying themselves. "The system" ... no system can help people who so steadfastly refuse to help themselves. Beyond that, though, I'm sick of disingenuous questions about how to "stop the violence" being posed by journalists who don't want to know the answer, and who profit obscenely from the violence they "report".

We cannot stop the violence in the inner cities, Anderson. Only they can do it, and they've got to do it for themselves. And if they want to burn it all down around themselves, I'm all for letting them have at it. I'm sick of my tax dollars being used to facilitate their self-destruction. I'm sick of you asking questions when you don't really want to hear the answer.

2009-09-18T21:22:00.001-04:00

Yeah, I still blog.

Back in the "lowcountry" to hear my bro's band. I've never heard him play.

Interpretation

2009-08-29T15:56:00.002-04:00

I'm offended by this new push to reframe the debate over socialized medicine in "ethical/moral" terms... and so many of those who are doing the reframing are those who mock people like me the rest of the time for my ethics/morals.

Miss Fluffy sent me an interesting perspective from a local church newsletter:

Proverbs 21:25-26 (NKJV) “The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. He covets greedily all day long, but the righteous gives and does not spare.”
If you have tuned into the nightly news lately you are hearing about a trend sweeping America called: “Something for nothing.” Politicians are promising us all something for nothing. The trouble is there is no such thing as something for nothing. The Bible categorizes those who desire such things as lazy and covetous. As Christians, you and I are called to do the opposite by unsparingly giving to others. Please take a moment to think about the people around you with whom you could share your time, attention, talents, or financial gifts. From cutting your neighbor’s lawn to playing basketball with a young person; from having lunch with coworkers to calling someone on the phone; there are no limits to the things you can do to make a difference in someone else’s life. Blessings, Bro. Ed

Helping others and enslaving others with dependence upon the government aren't the same thing. The chains of dependence aren't ethical, nor are they moral. They are slavery. I'm all about helping people without making them wards of the state. There's the big hole in the debate...

District 9

2009-08-15T14:45:00.004-04:00

We saw District 9 last night. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, even after seeing the short film on which it's based. It was a good movie ... it keeps your attention from beginning to end. The special effects were tremendous ... CGI just gets better and better. If you're into fluffy little tidy endings, this film isn't for you.

The overt apartheid metaphor got annoying, though. Like we need a sci-fi movie to surreptitiously tell us that apartheid and racism are wrong. Really?!? Racism is wrong?!?!? Where have I been?!?!!? Oh, and humans will abuse power when given half a chance ... but Machiavelli told you that way before Peter Jackson...

There were other themes-du-jour in the film that have been worn out as of late: multi-national corporations are greedy, not controlled by governments and are therefore evil; mercenaries are greedy, not controlled by governments and are therefore evil; refugees are always the victims ... you get the idea. I enjoyed the MNU / UN blending, though (because, hey, I think the UN is evil at worst and useless at best. Opinions are like assholes...)

Anyway, it's a good movie - worth your ten bucks. There's quite a bit of violence, so it's not for the kids. It's a political statement as sci-fi with plenty of action and great special effects. Go see it.

Speak up

2009-07-29T18:43:00.002-04:00

I contacted my Senators and Representative regarding my views on socialized medicine .... have you?

Dear Congressweasel,

I’m writing today to express my opposition to what is being referred to as “healthcare reform”. The Obama administration is attempting to push through legislation which will be more detrimental to American citizens’ healthcare than it will be beneficial. My opinions come from my experiences as a two-time cancer survivor, a bone-marrow transplant recipient, a former Medicare contractor employee and as a current Registered Nurse.

While I agree with the criticism that “healthcare reform” as it is being pushed through will be too expensive, I think focusing solely on the cost of the program misses the point. Governmental health insurance as an entitlement program will end up insolvent just as Medicare is now. Healthcare consumers now – whether covered by Medicare or private insurance – do not view healthcare as a resource; rather, they see it as a commodity to be consumed. To turn healthcare into another entitlement program will only worsen the problem by giving the beneficiaries of the program absolutely no incentive to take an active role in taking care of themselves. I already see the hospital where I work suffer from the effects of patients who have Medicare and/or Medicaid who already nearly overwhelm the local healthcare resources, while having no incentive to be proactively more healthy or to be more conscientious, responsible healthcare consumers.

I have to wonder – if the kind of healthcare system currently being proposed were in place when I was diagnosed with Leukemia, would I still be alive today? Would I have had access to the care I received if
socialized medicine had been in place? How will medical technology companies and the pharmaceutical industry react to the inevitable elimination of private health insurance – when their bottom lines shrink because of governmental price “negotiation”? Will the incentive still be there for those companies to produce lifesaving technologies and medicines?

I realize there is absolutely no way what I’m going to suggest would be realistic to propose, but if healthcare “reform”/governmental health insurance/socialized medicine is going to be forced upon us by the Democratic majority, the least Congress could do is to take steps to ensure that the program isn’t abused, and that beneficiaries have some incentive to conserve their healthcare resources.

I propose that any beneficiary of governmental health insurance should be required to submit to compulsory blood and urine tests each time he/she presents for healthcare services. If the beneficiary tests positive for nicotine, tobacco cessation counseling will be provided, and aides to stop smoking will be offered. After that, if the beneficiary tests positive for nicotine any time he/she presents for healthcare, the patient will be responsible for his/her bill. As long as the patient continues to use tobacco, he/she will pay his/her own healthcare bills. Testing positive for alcohol will result in the patient paying the full charge for his/her healthcare bill(s). If the patient tests positive for a drug for which he/she has no prescription, the beneficiary will pay his/her bill, or services may be denied. If emergency services are required, and a patient tests positive for alcohol or drugs, the patient pays his/her own bill and the bills of any other persons injured, and the patient loses his/her health care coverage for a year. A repeat offense would result in permanent revocation of healthcare benefits. Overweight and/or obese patients will be given a timeline for losing weight, with the Body Mass Index (BMI) used as a weight standard. The patient will be required to pay a percentage penalty toward their healthcare bills corresponding to their weight percentage over the BMI standards.

I realize these suggestions seem over-the-top, and frankly I abhor the idea of any further governmental intrusion into Americans’ daily lives. If nationalized healthcare is in our future, however, the system will be overwhelmed and will become insolvent very shortly – regardless of the promises President Obama and the Democrats may make – unless strong measures are taken to protect the program.

I don’t make these suggestions in order to show my support for nationalized healthcare; rather, I totally oppose it. The last thing the American healthcare system needs is the kind of “reform” currently being proposed.

I urge you in the strongest possible terms to oppose “healthcare reform” as it is being offered now, and in any form which smacks of socialized medicine.

Sincerely,

Alpineman, RN

My Congressweasels must hate me.

The sad thing is, my friends and family seem to think gun control is the only issue I'm sufficiently interested in to write my congressweasels. I hate that. They don't seem to acknowledge that - although I've only lobbied my State senator/rep in person ... it wasn't regarding gun control, and the e-mails I send my Congressweasels are rarely about the gun thing...

State lines

2009-07-27T14:53:00.001-04:00

John Lott speaks the truth about universal CCW reciprocity and fearmongering.

Go. Read.

2009-07-22T01:19:00.001-04:00

I'm doing P90X. I did chest/back/abs yesterday & plyometrics today. I'm. In. Pain.

2009-07-05T02:01:00.001-04:00

Sheesh... 2nd night as RN & charge nurse already...

This just in....

2009-07-03T16:55:00.001-04:00

Alpineman, RN

2009-06-30T07:10:00.001-04:00

NCLEX in 49 minutes. Here we go...

2009-06-29T23:38:00.001-04:00

NCLEX 2moro. I can't believe the time is here. Let's see if I can sleep...

The light at the end...

2009-06-28T21:55:00.003-04:00

... of the tunnel: is it the end of the tunnel or an oncoming train?

In less than 36 hours I'll take the NCLEX.

I've taken somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 practice questions from the time the RN program ended until now.

When I took the LPN board exam, I was terribly underprepared. I can't really say that this time.

Nevertheless -- I'm looking forward to this like I'd look forward to getting hit in the mouth....

Danger! Danger!

2009-06-26T19:38:00.000-04:00

Wow - what's going on with the cheerleaders? I mean, 67 "fatal, disabling or serious injuries"?

It's like they're letting them play with guns or something...

Misinformed

2009-06-25T16:54:00.002-04:00

I throw the "Communist" label at modern liberal/progressive Democrats all the time. I don't do so lightly ... in terms of ideology, they're not far off the mark.

What concerns me most is how the Obama cult of personality has made Communist ideology so in-vogue now. All the kids are into it.

In some ways, it's just kind of amusing to see the misguided egalitarianism of snotty-nosed Berkely CA 8th graders whose parents have more money than common sense. Irony is fun, especially when it's at the expense of kids whose annual tuition is around $17,000. And we're not talking college, folks.

I have an idea for the Obama cultists who are screaming, "eat the rich!" from the tops of their lungs ... Take your desire for equality and move to Compton, CA. Send your kids - and your tuition money - to Compton's public schools. You should see firsthand - and experience - where you're advocating that my tax money is going.

Don't forget to duck!

2009-06-24T20:39:00.001-04:00

My own health care debate: how can my ER patients fill out forms claiming inability to pay ... While txting on their cell phone?!?!

Thanks!

2009-06-24T16:04:00.003-04:00

South Carolina Governor Mark Sandford is a philanderer.

Thanks for that, Governor. It makes life easier for those of us who're trying to maintain a consistent message that the current President's administration is one of thinly-veiled Communists.

You stupid jerk.

Yesterday I was listening to the pinkos on NPR smugly "reporting" Sanford's absence. The irresponsibility of his disappearance caused them so much glee they could barely get through the segment. I'm surprised they didn't openly giggle on the air.

I didn't bother listening today.

Every time some Republican jerk pulls one of these stunts, they lend more credence to the Communists' claims that Republicans are moral and ethical hypocrites. How is it that Republicans still don't get this?

If Republicans are indeed so thick headed, then the party deserves DNR (Do Not Resussitate) status. I disagree with alot of the tenets of the Libertarian party, but they're starting to look downright attractive next to the hopelessness of the GOP.

If this keeps up, we have 7 and a half more years of Communist ideology to look forward to. Yay Universal Healthcare!

2009-06-23T03:42:00.001-04:00

I love Red Eye on Fox News. It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on @ 2am...

Fighting Pistol

2009-06-18T14:07:00.004-04:00

I took the Fighting Pistol course from Tactical Response over the weekend. I'd been waiting years - literally - to take a class like this, and it was totally worth it.

Tactical Response puts alot of emphasis on the mindset behind carrying a gun ... they emphasize the idea that those of us who carry a gun do so to save our lives if - God forbid - anything ever were to go down. That mindset gets as much time as actual shooting instruction during Fighting Pistol. That's a big part of the reason I chose to train with them - they make no bones about the implications of carrying a gun. They teach the mindset, tactics, skill and gear behind gunfighting.

I had some reservations about James Yeager, the CEO of the company, before I went. He's ... controversial to say the least. I stayed in the Team Room while in Camden, TN for the class; the Team Room is the basement of Yeager's house. Think about that for a second ... Yeager is CEO of a world-class firearms training school. He probably makes enough money every year to live in a large home in a gated community with a pool and tennis courts.

But he doesn't.

Not only does he live in an average, small-town-American neighborhood (kids riding bikes in the street and all that,) but he allows .... he invites his students - people he has never met before and people he knows nothing about - to stay in his home FOR FREE to take classes from his company. Show me another firearms training company CEO who does that - I dare you.

Not only that, but I had the opportunity to talk to him for a few minutes in his office. I was just waiting to take a shower, and he pulled me up a chair and talked to me for a few minutes about why I took the class and things ... just small talk, really. He was more cordial and accommodating than I ever would have expected.

I used to wonder about what I perceived as all the Yeager-fellatio I read on the discussion forum Yeager runs. Now I understand. Yeager is definitely opinionated, but his views come from experience. Frankly, many of those who hate him probably do so because he challenged their opinions and they can't step back and reexamine the validity of ideas they've come to accept.

Actually, the first interaction I had with Yeager was in the classroom on the first day of training, when he sarcastically wished me "good luck" with the Para 14.45 I was using. I found out later he has every reason to hate that particular model of pistol. He didn't bring that up after that, though -- and before meeting him, I would have thought he'd hold a grudge and throw his opinions in my face at every juncture ... but he didn't. Not at all. He treated me the way every paying customer wants to be treated ... whether at a fast-food joint, department store or firearms training class. I totally respect him for it.

Keep this in mind about Tactical Response though ... don't go there with your feelings on your shirt sleeve. If you can't be open minded about what they teach and how they teach it, go spend your training dollars somewhere else.

Go there prepared to learn, however, and you'll get your moneys worth ... and probably have a great time. I did.

2009-06-13T08:23:00.001-04:00

... And Super Troopers on tv. There's an AK propped up in the bathroom corner. This is gonna be interesting...

2009-06-13T08:21:00.001-04:00

Fighting pistol 2day

Taking fighting pistol over the next 2 days @ tactical response.

I'm staying in the team room. We watched Team America - World Police...

2009-06-12T15:34:00.001-04:00

Weekend trip

More later...

2009-06-10T11:23:00.001-04:00

Our director of nursing apparently isn't going to have any add'l people called in, so I'm not sure I'll get to participate...

2009-06-10T11:21:00.001-04:00

Our town first responders, EMS, LEOs, etc. are having a mock school-shooting drill today. The hospital is slated to have some of the "victims" to triage. More..

2009-06-10T04:09:00.001-04:00

Sitting in ER after taking my PALS pre-test. Maybe I should go to bed now...

2009-06-10T01:01:00.001-04:00

Testing...

I'm mobile-blogging now. Let's see how this works...

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T16:23:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe the sacrifices some have made.

From a list of Medal of Honor recipients:

*SMITH, PAUL R.

Rank and Organization: Sergeant First Class, United States Army
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.

Thank you, veterans.

Movie night

2009-05-23T16:38:00.002-04:00

Saw Terminator Salvation last night. Pretty cool movie.

I really liked the original Terminator movie -- mostly just because the backstory of the movie is so very TEOTWAWKI. T-2 was pretty stupid (though the special effects were groundbreaking for the time) and T-3 was just OK.

I rarely go to a theater to see a movie. The sound and big screen was really fun.

Neat song....

2009-05-19T02:44:00.000-04:00

Guster - Barrel of a Gun

Back atcha

2009-05-17T15:14:00.002-04:00

I'm watching Obama's speech at Notre Dame's commencement exercises. As I type this, the third (at least) protester is being hauled off.

I'm lovin' it. I like seeing Code Pink's tactics used by pork-eating crusaders. The left has used these tactics to shape debate for far too long with no corresponding effort by the right. Protesters make news, and I'm glad the right has finally caught on. Between the tea parties and the Notre Dame protests, hopefully the tides are turning.

Ironically, a baby can be heard crying somewhere in the crowd while he's speaking...

Yeah, Montana, yeah!

2009-05-07T18:18:00.002-04:00

Behold, the Montana Firearms Freedom Act.

That's what liberty looks like.

It's like Montana says, "I've got your interstate commerce right here..."

Guilty Pleasures

2009-05-07T02:23:00.003-04:00

I like Paramore. I don't care what you think about it.

The frontman ... er, frontwoman ... girl ... whatever.... looks like she's about 4-foot-nuthin' and maybe 80 lbs. soaking wet, but wow, she's got some pipes...

Paramore's Videos

I really like "That's What You Get" and "Pressure" in particular.

Number 3

2009-05-06T23:55:00.004-04:00

I graduate from the LPN-to-RN program on Friday.

I almost can't believe it. I've been in school for over 2 years to get this done. I can't remember what it's like to just have a job ...

Additionally, this is the third time I've graduated from college. I don't have an "advanced" degree - nothing above a BA. How sad is that?

At any rate, I'm glad to have it over with. I don't truly feel "done" though, since I'm taking an NCLEX review course which will involve 5 more "class" sessions.

By some time in June, though (hopefully) it'll be history.

Lickspittle

2009-04-28T18:38:00.002-04:00

It's not just a fun word ... it actually describes some people.

I mean, principles are important ... until they interfere with your re-election plans.

Hubris ...

2009-04-28T18:32:00.002-04:00

... is where you find it.

Imagine the outcry ... the outrage ... if the Bushitlermcheneyburton administration/military industrial complex had been responsible for this...

Sleep

2009-04-22T07:02:00.002-04:00

My sleep schedule is a mess. I took the NLN yesterday as an "exit exam" for the RN program, and then Miss Fluffy & I had dinner with some friends.

I could hardly stay awake when I got home, and I was in bed by 10PM.

My eyes popped open around 3AM, and I've been awake ever since.

I have to work tonight from 7PM - 7PM.

Sheesh.

Still going

2009-04-13T16:47:00.002-04:00

I'm on day 5 of 8 straight days of work. I'm doing preceptor hours tonight, and I worked ER all weekend. From Monday until Sunday - this week, in other words - I'll be working 60 hours ... only 12 of which are "paid". Sheesh.

My preceptor work will be done after this week, though. All that remains after that is time I'll have to put in for the Kaplan NCLEX-RN course I'm taking.

It'll be June before I'm "officially" done with everything ... and I'm not even sure when I'll take the board exam.

I'm looking forward to getting all this over with more than I can even articulate.

Rain

2009-04-03T00:32:00.003-04:00

It's raining cats and dogs outside and I feel trapped in the house. I don't care what time it is ... I wish I could take a walk.

I haven't been in much of a mood to post after Jefe died. After he died and I posted, I went to work and had one of the worst nights in the ER that I've had. The patients were non-stop. We took 7 ambulance runs. In our little ER, that's unheard of. I was getting sick the whole time ... I had a 101 degree temp by the time I left. I got out at 6am ... 3 hours after my shift should have ended. It took that long to catch up on charting and clean up the ER.

Aside from the fact that the night sucked, I felt robbed of any opportunity to grieve.

I took a trip to see the Mighty HODAR over the weekend, even though I was still sick. I cried on and off the whole way there. I suppose that was my time to grieve.

Jefe's death, the hell-night in ER, the trip and being sick had pretty much worn me out. I've moped around the house since coming back Sunday.

I watched Garden State again a little while ago on IFC. So, through the speakers as I type this is Let Go by Frou Frou.

Maybe the rain will stop tomorrow.

Jefe

2009-03-24T16:16:00.002-04:00

Jefe died a little while ago at the vet's office. He'd been getting rapidly more ill over the last few days, and he could hardly walk this morning.

He'd had a positive Coombs test, indicating hemolytic anemia. The cause of the condition doesn't seem clear, but that was the explanation for his continuing anemia. I had hoped it would resolve after his spleen was removed - and he seemed to improve for a while - but that didn't turn out to be the case.

The vet said there may have been another mass. It doesn't really matter now, though.

Miss Fluffy is really torn up about it. I resent that I have to be at work in under 2 hours and that I can't be here for her.

I'm not sure how to feel. I'm crying as I write this. He was miserable over the last couple of days. Miss Fluffy had to carry him to the car this afternoon. I didn't want him to suffer.

I loved Jefe. He wasn't my first dog, but he was the first dog I had as an independent adult. He's lived with me and Miss Fluffy in two apartments and two houses. He's been with us through moves and job changes - thick and thin. He could frustrate the snot out of me, but... He was everything that we all love about our dogs -- he was the epitome of unconditional love.

There will probably be other dogs, but there will never be another Jefe.

You're a good dog, Jefe. I love you, and I'll miss you.

Stands

2009-03-22T16:47:00.003-04:00

I fixed one of my target stands the other day, and I also made a barricade for drills like this one from a class taught by Magpul Dynamics' Chris Costa.

Now if I just had time to get out and actually use 'em...

Work

2009-03-22T16:44:00.000-04:00

I'm in the midst of working with the first of my two RN preceptors. I'm working ER with this one, and it's where I want to be. I wish I could see more interesting stuff, but ER is like that ... you really just end up treating kids with strep whose parents don't have insurance rather than MVAs and MIs and all the interesting stuff.

I'm doing 6 days this week, half with my preceptor and half paid work. Today will be Day 2.

It's going to be a long week.

Match

2009-03-14T18:14:00.002-04:00

I competed in my first IDPA match in a loooooong time today. About 8 other shooters and I braved 40-degree temps and steady, unrelenting rain to do about 8 stages. It was worth it. Running-and-gunning is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on...

I won the CDP Marksman class.

Of course .... I was the only competitor in CDP Marksman...

Can't wait for the next match!! Man, I forgot how much I missed those matches...

Study day

2009-03-06T13:25:00.002-05:00

NOT!!!

Actually, I need to start getting a schedule together to arrange the 120 preceptor hours I'll need to complete before I can take my boards.

Other than that, I'd like to work on finishing America Alone by Mark Steyn, which I started during Christmas break.

That's right, folks ... I can read for pleasure again!!

There are also some projects I'd like to work on -- some landscaping around the house, painting, etc. I'm soooo looking forward to shooting IDPA again. There are also some barricades I'd like to make for rifle and pistol drills.

So much has been on the back-burner for so long ... I'm not sure quite where to begin.

Results

2009-03-04T01:26:00.002-05:00

I got an A on the final exam.

I got an A for the semester.

It's not all over, of course. I still have boards...

For now, though... no more homework.

EVER

Almost .... there ....

2009-03-03T12:38:00.001-05:00

Final Exam in just a few hours.............

Back on the wagon...

2009-03-01T15:35:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to get my flabby butt back on the wagon now that my RN studies are coming to a close.

Yesterday I did Day 1 of the workout The Mighty HODAR came up with for me ... he said it was to get you ready "to keep Tiny the cellmate away" ... if it ever came to that. Day 1 is chest/arms, consisting of 3 sets until failure of: incline bench press, flat bench press, butterflies, dumbbell curls, preacher curls and standing barbell curls. I also did 120 sit-ups to go with it.

Today I jogged about 2.5 miles and did a measly 25 sit ups (sue me ... my flabby abs hurt.)

Tomorrow I plan to do Day 2 of the workout, which will be back/shoulders, then Day 3 is legs.

The Greyhound and I have been talking (OK ... tentatively planning) to do Mt. Shasta again this summer. It's good to have a goal.

I'll be working in mountain biking, trail running, firewood cutting (yeah, cutting, splitting and stacking all your own firewood counts as a workout ... try it) and hiking with a loaded pack to whip myself back into shape (or at least some shape other than round...)

As for right now, I need a shower. Badly.

Then I'll study for Tuesday's final exam.

I work E.R. tonight 5pm 'till 3am.

Looooong clinical day...

2009-02-28T19:50:00.003-05:00

... NOT!!!

Only one of our instructors showed up today. Since it's evidently against some policy (school or hospital, I assume) for one instructor to have so many students - combined with the fact that no women happened to be giving birth on our Labor & Delivery clinical day - we went home really, really early.

We took a 20 minute or so tour of one of the LDR rooms and that was it.

No - really - that was it. That was our last clinical of the LPN-to-RN program.

No. More. Clinicals. EVAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

As you can tell, I'm crushed...

Oopsie!

2009-02-26T22:43:00.003-05:00

One of Obama's minions let it slip:

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

The article was kind enough to print a prior here's-how-I-love-hyperbole comment from Holder:

"I think closing the gun show loophole, the banning of cop-killer bullets and I also think that making the assault weapons ban permanent, would be something that would be permitted under Heller," Holder said, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in Washington, D.C. v. Heller, which asserted the Second Amendment as an individual's right to own a weapon.

"Cop-killer bullets" ... As opposed to bullets that don't kill cops? What kind of bullets would those be, pray tell?

Idiot.

Nancy backpedaled:

“On that score, I think we need to enforce the laws we have right now,” Pelosi said at her weekly news conference. “I think it's clear the Bush administration didn’t do that.”

I'm not naive enough to think the Obama administration and the Democrats aren't foaming at the mouth for more gun control, but I'm not convinced they'll do it right now. Obama is pushing his political capital as it is. Far too many people are pissed-off about the specifics of the Spendulous bill and the details coming out about the budget. I don't think he's quite drunk enough with power to go that far ... at this juncture.

Mark my words. Here's how it will go down (as if this is some Nostradamus-esque prediction):

They'll sit on it for now. There will be a bill introduced, and it'll sit in committee (which may very well be done already,) and there it will stay until the next Columbine. When that happens, they'll ride the wave of support - however temporary - and they'll pass it.

It's just a matter of time ... and timing.

I'm no super-blogger, but you heard it here first, folks.

Two to go...

2009-02-26T22:30:00.002-05:00

I had the last exam of the LPN-to-RN program tonight. I made a 92. I'll take it.

My projects are all turned in and/or completed.

All that remains are clinicals Saturday (newborn nursery ... ugh...) and the Final Exam on Tuesday.

Of course, preceptor work, internship and boards will be after that...

... but that's not "education". That's not busy-work, driving an hour each way for class to a different time zone BS.

Except for the Final, the classwork is over...

I cannot wait to get back to a somewhat normal life...

OMG

2009-02-24T21:56:00.002-05:00

I'm watching the President's speech now.

I cannot believe he had the outright gall to make reference to a national debt he "inherited" mere days after signing the largest spending bill in the nation's history into law. Holy cow.

And then to follow that statement up by saying the Spendulus bill was free of earmarks?!?!?

Gawd, I'm going to have a stroke...

I'd get into the utterly preposterous claims he makes about socialized medicine, but I'm sure I'd blow a major artery...

Nearly there...

2009-02-21T19:18:00.002-05:00

Next week is the last week of classes. I have an exam on Thursday, and then the final exam the following Tuesday.

I'm trying to get my "Virtual Clinical Excursions" done tonight. The busy work is about to drown me...

... but it's nearly over...

Dang...

2009-02-21T19:14:00.002-05:00

... just 4 hours ago it was 60 degrees.

It's supposed to be 35 tomorrow and in the teens tomorrow night.

It's creativity ...

2009-02-20T22:26:00.003-05:00

... that I don't have.

The Mighty HODAR makes "survival bracelets" made from paracord. Frankly, they're the shizznit. He had made one for me previously that didn't have a buckle, and - though it looked cool - it was a pain to wear.

His new design is a definite improvement. He's evidently selling them in his locale successfully. I'll post a link to his Ebay store ... when he gets off his duff and creates one.

Behold, the MGS Designs SHTF bracelet:

I have one. You don't. Haha!

Jefe update

2009-02-11T15:23:00.002-05:00

Jefe continues improving. He's eating anything that's not nailed down. If you're not careful, he'll lick your plate if you leave it where he can get to it (and I can't say I'm stopping him...)

He has more energy than he's had in a long time. His color is better, with more pink in his nose and gums (indicating the anemia is resolving.)

Hopefully he'll continue on the upswing.

Strong storms

2009-02-11T15:03:00.004-05:00

This is what it looked like out my window just a few minutes ago:

... and just like that, it was over.

It looks like our big barn sustained some roof damage:

It'll be Friday before I can get out & check out the other barns & see what needs to be fixed.

Jefe update

2009-02-07T21:16:00.003-05:00

I brought Jefe home this morning. He seems to be doing extraordinarily well, considering the tumor weighed in at 6 lbs. Considering his pre-surgery weight was 52 lbs., that's remarkable. I hate to admit he looks like one of the abused dogs in an ASPCA commercial. The vet commented on his "indominable spirit." You can say that again.

That said, he has seemed to feel pretty well today, though obviously sore. His nose and gums are already looking much more pink than they have in months. His pulse and respiratory rate are within normal limits. He has been trying to follow me and Miss Fluffy around the house some today. His tail-wag is strong. He's peeing alot. He's eating like he's starved (which, frankly, he has been).

A sample of the tumor has been sent off. We'll know more soon enough.

He's resting comfortably now on the couch with Miss Fluffy. He's most likely pooped. He's had a tough couple of days. Hopefully he'll continue on the upswing.

El Jefe

2009-02-06T12:42:00.006-05:00

El Jefe was the first dog that Miss Fluffy and I owned. I bought him for her as a gift. He's a rescued dog ... he had been abandoned with one of his litter-mates, if I remember correctly. Jefe is stone deaf.

I never can remember how old Jefe is, but he's been with us though 2 apartments, our first house and now here on the farm in Kentuckistan.

Jefe has always been a typical Dalmatian ... stubborn, very smart and high-energy. Our two Dals have always expressed feelings and moods to a greater extent than I would have ever expected from an animal. I imagine I'm like most dog owners, in that I've had some times when I'd have gladly killed Jefe with my own hands, and other times when I've loved him so much it brought me to tears.

Jefe has been losing weight over the past several months and had become anemic. We couldn't reverse his weight loss regardless of what we fed him, and our vet couldn't seem to figure out what was going on.

Our vet took an x-ray yesterday and found Jefe's abdominal cavity filled with fluid, which turned out to be blood. He was hemorrhaging ... from somewhere. The abdominal cavity should be clear on the x-ray, but the mass and the blood causes it to be whited-out.

He removed Jefe's spleen this morning, and found a very large tumor. We don't know if it's malignant, or if it is, if the cancer has spread.

Our vet has told us we can expect Jefe to live 6 to 8 more months.

I'm fighting back tears as I type this. When Jefe dies, I will weep openly and bitterly.

There. That's all the anticipatory grieving I'm going to allow myself.

We'll pick him up from the vet tomorrow and we'll spoil him as long as he continues living.

Brrrrr....

2009-02-03T18:31:00.003-05:00

Yep, it's officially cold. I brought in a load of firewood this afternoon, and I had on a pair of insulated coveralls with an insulated hood and a balaclava. The only exposed skin - around my eyes - hurt so badly from the cold wind by the time I got back to the house that my eyes were watering.

Look, y'all ... I like it cold, but day-um, this is cold. I've been up Mt. Washington 3 times (I think) in winter. I've felt cold before.

This is cold.

The ground is frozen hard as a rock. Riding the Mule over cattle-trampled fields was like participating in some kind of sub-zero torture test.

Still .... I love it. Bring on the ice-age apocalypse...

Confession...

2009-02-03T18:24:00.002-05:00

I like Katy Perry's music. Some of her lyrics are a scream. I really like I Kissed a Girl and Hot N Cold.

Is that so wrong?

Hey, she'll probably self-destruct tomorrow, but I'm thoroughly enjoying her 15 minutes of fame...

Break

2009-02-01T13:38:00.002-05:00

I took a break after clinicals yesterday, which means I didn't do any schoolwork after I got home.

I cut some wood and then watched Alien 3 on DVD from the Alien Quadrilogy I got for Christmas. I watched the Special Edition, which included quite a bit of deleted and extended scenes. Great film.

I'm beat...

2009-01-31T16:23:00.002-05:00

... I was up at 4:30 this morning to go to clinicals. Not just clinicals, but pediatric clinicals. Not my favorite.

I had two patients, one of whom was an adult. The other was a 5-year-old boy who really got hit by the side effects of Albuterol. Adults just get nervous from it. Kids, evidently, go a tad wild.

He was a good kid, overall. It was just a really busy day, since at clinicals I can't get into the med cart without my instructor and things just take FOREVER to get done.

Anyway, I'm pretty pooped. I've taken a break for a couple of hours after getting home.

Now it's wood-splitting time...