A Curious Statistical Anomaly

Wow, I sat glued to my seat for these first three episodes of Children of Earth. We’d been catching up with Torchwood via Netflix and though things started a bit rough in season one they’ve improved steadily as the cast found their footing. I was really upset when one of the characters got killed but I cheered when one of the others finally, finally, died for keeps. So, I was looking forward to the next season.

We’d been spacing them out one disk of the show and a couple of movies between then back again to another disk. I’d forgotten just how intense British drama can be. The tension built steadily from the first to the second and now the third and ends on a shocking cliffhanger. It’s times like these that I wish we had one of the multiple disk plans but, no. Ordinarily, I’m very happy with our one disk at a time unlimited plan — but now I have to wait to send out this disk and then wait for the next one to come.

If you’ve seen the ending of Season 3 don’t spoil it for me. There are very few US TV dramas that are as nakedly brutal as some of the British shows. I’m not talking so much the story lines as their delving into the really human issues. In this case children. What kind of government would turn over 12 children to an alien race as a gift? In the setup, 12 children from an orphanage were given as a gift to an alien race 456. Now it’s the present and the aliens are back. You can guess what the first thing the government tries to do–I’m sure you got it in one. Hide the evidence of what they did in 1965.

I find myself thinking that as awful as that was — after what was done by this country under our previous government that I’m not really surprised that a government would do such a thing. I think over the last few decades I’ve seen things done by various governments that have put the bar for base and horrible acts pretty low. I’ve lost faith that government actually works for the good of the people they represent. Maybe that’s why I find Torchwood, a show about a secret government sort-of agency that works without oversight to be so absorbing. Fighting aliens and stuff — not so much. But lying to the citizens and covering up their mistakes — that, unfortunately, I don’t have trouble believing in.

Wonder what the popularity of these shows says about us — people/humans/citizens of Earth? Don’t know but I wonder if we actually learn from them and keep a closer eye on our representatives? Those who speak for us without asking us what we think about things. I know I tend to be a bit more concerned about what my leaders are saying about “us” to others and most of the time it’s attitudes that I certainly don’t want to be associated with. But then that’s me. Maybe other people really don’t care or agree with what’s going on in the world of government whatever.

Okay, I’ve just got to let off some steam. I’ve been using computers for years. I’ve built them. I’ve coded the programs that run on them. I’ve been technical support. I’ve even taught classes on how to use them and how to use software on them. But it fries my cookies how many people who send email daily can’t seem to grasp the importance of having a good clear subject line.

Today, I got a document I was expecting, from someone working on a project with me. The subject line was so off the wall that I had clicked to move it to my junk folder before I noticed the email address of the sender and managed to pull it back and read it. The attachment was the document I was looking for. A bit less caffeine or attention and it would have hit the junk folder and I’d have deleted it forever. Until now I thought the problems I was having getting information from this person was because my ISP was blocking them or it was getting caught in my firewall. Who knew that this person couldn’t write a subject line along the lines of: Here’s the document on X. Granted I get spam like that but it would have been better than the line that was used.

We have a friend who either doesn’t enter a subject line at all or who says “hello”. Doesn’t this friend realize (even after being told) that I get about 40 similar emails every day from spammers and those my spam filter usually picks up automatically and puts them in the Junk folder. (Yes, I do check my Junk folder for email address of the usual suspects.)

I moderate a list that is supposed to have only two types of emails posted. To stay on the list they must participate and a program checks the posts against membership and the various subject lines, because anything that does not start with one of  the allowable subject lines, doesn’t count for participation. Guess what? Bet you can — many people can’t seem to do it. When I know they’re new to email and the internet, that’s one thing. But those who have been reminded repeatedly still mess up regularly. I won’t even go near the send-the-email-to-the-right-list rant.

What’s the big deal? I mean when you use snail mail you have to put on the receiver’s mailing address. You can’t just say, Sam Somebody, a street with a tree, East Coast. No, you have to be explicit about where you want your mail to go. It’s the same with email. You have to put the correct email address in the TO field. But if you want the person to actually look at it, the email should let them know, sort of, what the email is about. Our dinner plans for Friday. The proofs for the story. The document on X that you asked me for. Something to trigger the “I should read that circuit”.

When I get spam, and I get a lot, I scan for subject lines that might be valid and then check the address of the sender. If the address is valid, I’ll take a peek at the email (it’s already been scrubbed for viruses and such). If the subject lines is a non-starter, I may not even look at the sender.

I’m sure I’m not the only one fed up with the poor use such an important communications tool — the Subject Line. I’m just not sure why people don’t use it correctly to impart information. How can anyone get them to change? Maybe it’s just me. To some degree, I know it is because I’ve got a lot of tasks piled up and I’m still recovering from being ill so I’m low on energy. But, I had to vent.

And, yes. I’m actually interested in knowing if I’m the only person that gets bent out of shape about this topic. Let’s face it, I can’t cure the world’s ills until I manage to become Supreme Mugwump. So, I’ve decided to worry about the little things that just might be fixable. If not fixable, at least I can get it out of my system and move on to more important things, like the fact that no matter how many spoons I buy, there are never enough.

I just realized it’s been several days since I posted. Not that I haven’t seen things that catch my attention–just haven’t had a minute to actually think about what I’ve seen and ponder the ramifications or emotional attachment to it.

Lately, it seems that I have a very iffy relationship with time–there never seems to be enough of it to do what I want to do. Prioritizing doesn’t work because I want to do it all and putting them in an order means that some (at the bottom of the list) just won’t get done as it gets reset and redone as the time runs out and the new day’s list is made including what didn’t get done the first time.

It seems to me the only way to deal with all this is to live forever. Yup, now the problem is to figure out how to do that. I mean getting turned by a vamp might work but then, depending on which mythos you go with, there are drawbacks and pluses. There’s all those vampire politics that seems to be a given for all the myths–so I guess I’ll have to do more pondering…but that takes even more time.  Maybe I should look into string and loopy theories…just saying…

When the cellphone craze first started many, many years ago. I looked into getting one and looked at the prices and walked away.

Years later, I was living in Maryland and traveling in the DC area, and often wouldn’t be able to make it to appointments on time due to traffic. I figured having a phone with me would be great to let people know I was going to be late. It was only the polite thing to do. What I wanted was a phone that I could use in an emergency and I didn’t want a contract. I wanted a pay as you go phone. I asked at those kiosks in the mall and got laughed at and regaled with the refrain, “what planet do you live on?” But I kept my eye out and checked the cellphone areas of stores and found the Virgin phones. Perfect. Buy the phone and get a card of minutes. Activate and you’re all set until your minutes run out and you buy more. That worked for years. The coverage wasn’t great but it worked in major cities so it was also good when we went to conventions.

Now years later we have cellphones and a plan. We don’t use them much and only with other people on our plan — ’cause the minutes are then free — and for emergencies. Why? Because I see no reason to pay for an incoming call when the caller is paying for the call — that’s called double billing and as far as I’m concerned should be illegal (it’s a way to scam customers and bilk them of money). I don’t like it. But when I try to talk to people about the unfairness of this you’d think I grew a second head or something — a reaction similar to the one I got when I looked for a pay-as-you-go phone (and now just about all the carriers have a version of this).

But today, I found an article in the New York Times by DAVID POGUE entitled, “The Irksome Cellphone Industry“. Evidently, I’m not the only one that thinks there’s something wrong with the way cellphone carriers treat their customers. He also doesn’t like the double billing for calls and text messages.

He also has this to say about the exorbitant rates for overseas calls:

INTERNATIONAL CALLING Dear cellphone-carriers: Using Skype or iChat or Google Voice, I can place a crystal-clear computer-to-computer overseas call for nothing. Chat with China, or gab with Greenland, for hours, for free.

Or if I want to call phone to phone (instead of computer to computer), I can sign up for Google Voice or Skype Out, where I’ll pay 2 cents a minute to call China.

Why, then, am I still billed an astonishing $1.50 to $5 a minute to call these countries from my cellphone?

Surely the zero-cost technology that’s available to Skype and Google is also available to the world’s cell carriers. In other words, there’s no practical reason that cell carriers (ours and the overseas ones) should charge so much — only a greedy reason.

I use Skype when talking to our UK editor and our Canadian editor. Crystal clear communications and no charge for computer to computer other than the special headset I had to buy because I have an older model laptop. The drawback is I have to be at the laptop to get or make a call and I can’t just walk away to get coffee or a drink. But hey, the price is right for the call. Why can’t cellphone companies manage the same technology? Calls overseas on my cell should be the regular minutes for the call just as it is for local and long distance.

But, what brings this to my notice right now is that Congress, you know those elected officials that are supposed to be doing what’s best for the country and its citizens instead of what’s best for their election or pocketbooks, are debating what to do about the cellphone exclusivity agreements. It’s the reason you can’t have an iphone unless you get a contract with AT&T. That’s pretty much it. I agree with Progue, it’s mostly an “Why can’t I get an iphone with Verizon or Sprint” debate. As much as I might like an iphone, I can deal with my disappointment (and believe me my disappointment is really severe, no joke).

What we really need is Congress to investigate and do something about the other problems that consumers have with cellphone agreements and companies. Shouldn’t they be looking out for us once in a while — and I mean the guys to elect them to office. If the people are happy and treated decently and fairly the companies will do okay anyway. I thought that the American way was to be fair, honest, and provide the best product or service at the best price. Some days, I feel that it’s not the best product or service at the best price it’s whatever the company can get from you because you can’t fight back and take or leave it.

Something needs to be done about the injustices and greed in business. Making the terms of service fair and honest and understandable would be a great start. Meanwhile, I can live with my disappointment in not being able to have an iphone.

What about you? Are you happy with your service? Content? Or just living with it?

Okay, I admit it. I’m overweight. I’m working on adding a lot more exercise into my daily life, well as much as I can with chronic pain and fibromyalgia. I do between 15-45 minutes on the Wii Fit each day. Lately, I’ve been also walking down to the mailbox (1/4 miles from the house) and a few times a week, depending on the temperature, Hyperion and I have been taking about a 1.5 to 2 mile walk in the early evening. So, I’m not a slouch with the exercise and I eat healthy and lite — mostly.

But I’m fairly comfortable with myself though if I lose some weight my knees would probably throw a big party with carrots and celery. But then I get the confusing messages from the “world”. Airlines want to charge extra for heavy people to fly because it bothers people to sit next to a fat person. You know what bothers me — people who douse themselves with perfume and fly, people who put their seats all the way back without even thinking about the person behind them who just lost 1/3 of their space and most likely can’t read unless they rest the book on the reclining person’s head, people who feel they must tell you their life story even when you get your book our and open it. Heck, I’ve sat next to skinny people who spread themselves all out over half my seat and their own and half the one next to them as they take off their shoes and pull their legs up into their seat with their knees on my seat arm and in my lap. No, I don’t think overweight people are the problem — I think seats designed for a 1920’s butt that hasn’t been updated since is the problem, but then there would be fewer seats per plane, flying would be more relaxing, and flight attendants would have an easier time dealing with passengers — hmmm….

But mostly, people in the news and in advertising seem to think heavy people are lazy and don’t do anything. Most of the people I know are overweight. Of course they also work 12-14 hours per day and are on call the rest of the day doing IT work of one sort or another. Add the long days to long commutes and there’s not a lot of time to eat responsibly — you grab meals when you can and take what you can get. Most run on caffeine and sugar — that’s the problem for most Americans. We work long hours with long commutes and very little free time. Of course, I work at home but I still work long hours and have health issues so ….

But, I found this gem of an article in the New York Times, Excess Pounds, but Not Too Many, May Lead to Longer Life.  Evidently, skinny people and very heavy people may have health problems from weight issues but moderately heavy and normal (whatever that means) people live longer. There was a similar article about the study, Can A Little Extra Weight Protect People From Early Death? Underweight, Extremely Obese Die Earlier Than People Of Normal Weight in Science Daily. Yeah, for this new study.

I’ve known some skinny people with really bad health problems and some normal people and some heavy people. I may agree that carrying added weight can put some strain on the organs, but then so can a lot of other factors. You just can’t generalize about people on simply one factor and expect it to be taken seriously. I doubt if there is a single factor you could use that starts with “All whatever people are ____” and have it be true for every case. It isn’t true when you use race as that whatever and it certainly isn’t true when you use eye color, hair color, weight, or religion. People are too diverse and unique to use sweeping statements like that.

But I like this study because it found evidence that goes totally against what people have been saying for ages and seems to have some numbers to back it up. We need more studies to see just what being overweight does effect and these studies will hopefully be devoid of blame and accusations.

We have an entire loft in the shed taken up with electronic this-n-that’s that we haven’t gotten rid of because we don’t know where to take it. I know they are toxic and dangerous to just dump and our recycle center doesn’t take any of it — so it sits in storage and moves when we do.

The other day, I spotted in the New York Times, this article “A Green Way to Dump Low-Tech Electronics.” At last, it seemed that someone or some groups were working on the problem. The paragraph that caught my eye was:

Since 2004, 18 states and New York City have approved laws that make manufacturers responsible for recycling electronics, and similar statutes were introduced in 13 other states this year. The laws are intended to prevent a torrent of toxic and outdated electronic equipment — television sets, computers, monitors, printers, fax machines — from ending up in landfills where they can leach chemicals into groundwater and potentially pose a danger to public health.

The problem was that a careful reading of the article didn’t elicit a list of those 18 states, though several of them got mentioned in the article. So, I clicked on the EPA link and found it only took me to other articles about the EPA. But, being crafty and loving Google, I looked for keywords and found this link to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition. On this site they had a link where you could look up and find a site in your state to take your own electronics to safely dump them. The only problem is that Maryland only has one site that takes electronics, and it’s in Baltimore — which means we’ll have to plan ahead to get there while they are open and based on our pile of electronics we’re ready to dump, it may take several trips.

What I’ve learned from this is that nothing is easy. It never is but you’d think that since toxic waste is such a problem and our society is getting more and more electronic devices in order to keep up connected and online and working 24/7 that it would be a bit easier to recycle or dump outdated equipment–safely. It seems from my reading over the day that the major problem is that no one wants to pay for it and no one wants to be responsible.

Okay, my husband and I recycle. We have ever since the first programs 20+ years ago in Maine. Here in Maryland we have to actually store our recyclables and take them to the center ourselves since we don’t have any pickup where we live and the center is about a 45 minute drive away. To get electronics to Baltimore is about 1 1/2 hours away by car and we need to get there during their open hours. We’ll probably do that but why isn’t there a skip for dropping off this type of waste at every major recycle center? Why make it so difficult for people to do the right thing?

For years I’ve wondered why there aren’t companies that buy waste from one company and sell it as input to another one? It only makes sense since often the waste of one is the input for another. The government should be encouraging such reuse of toxic materials. Why make more and more toxic stuff when we could reuse what’s already there with a bit of cleaning and filtering.

More food for thought I guess — I’m still trying to find a place to recycle our old batteries. We mostly use rechargeable ones but we do have some that just need to be tossed (mostly those for the camera and other related equipment). Our recycle center supposedly takes them but we haven’t been able to find the spot to put them, but have found plenty of signs saying not to put them HERE.

What’s your experiences with recycling or safely dumping electronic wastes?

Today when I opened my online news source, I was greeted with an article about the FDA wanting to pull many of the prescribed painkillers containing acetaminophen off the market. Philly.com has this article Painkillers at a crossroads as FDA decision looms. The Globe and Mail had this article, U.S. FDA recommends pulling some painkillers off the market. There was an article with an opposing view that was rather mild in my opinion.

In the Globe and Mail article, it said:

Despite years of educational campaigns and other federal actions, acetaminophen remains the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., according to the FDA.

Panelists cited FDA data indicating 60 per cent of acetaminophen-related deaths are related to prescription products. Acetaminophen is also found in popular over-the-counter medications like Tylenol and Excedrin.

Those of you who read my blog know that I suffer from chronic pain. I found this bit about “years of educational campaigns and other federal actions” to be laughable. At one point, before my arthritis was diagnosed, the family practice doc I was seeing didn’t want to do anything about it because I was simply fat and needed to lose weight. The pain had gotten so bad that I was scaring myself with the number of Tylenol that I was taking just to manage to walk with a cane. I made an appointment and told her how much Tylenol I was taking and that I was concerned with liver damage. She laughed told me I could double or triple the dose and to just lose weight.

At the time, I was well below liver damage’s (LD 50) but that level has been lowered twice since and now I’d be just a bit below. I was so angry. I left the doctor’s office and went to see my chiropractor without an appointment. They took a look at my swollen knee and referred me to a specialist (at the time I couldn’t see another doctor without a referral). After seeing the specialist, I was diagnosed as having arthritis in both knees and later the added bonus of it was aggravating my fibromyalgia — a double whammy.

The point is that I knew more about the drugs I was taking than the malpractice-suit-waiting-to-happen doctor that I’d been seeing. Needless to say, I also changed doctors that day.

The second point is that most doctors, though they write the scripts, are not experts in drugs, drug interactions, and doses — most of the time they rely on the pharmacist to flag if something they prescribe is going to conflict with something you already have, or needs special information or training for the patient. Remember, there is a reason that so many pharmacies ask that you keep ALL you Rxs with them. It’s also the same reason they staple those informational notes to the Rx’s bag and ask if you have any questions.

If you take prescriptions be sure you understand how to take them and how often and whether you need to keep taking them if you feel better or should quit. Always ask questions if you don’t understand or feel confused. It’s your body and your life — you are the best person to take responsibility for keeping yourself healthy and safe.

Doctors have years of schooling, internship, and practice under their belts but, at heart, they are people. They know more about their fields that we ever will, but when you have a chronic condition, it’s worth your while to learn about it and ask questions, because no doctor can be an expert in every condition and disease that will walk through their office door. Mistakes and accidents happen.

My story about the doctor that suggested I take a near lethal dose of a Tylenol is a case in point. If I hadn’t read about the dangers of Tylenol/acetaminophen and liver damage, I just might have followed her suggestions. Luckily, I didn’t.

Do I think these painkillers with acetaminophen should be pulled from the market? NO. A resounding NO! Here in America many people live with pain — chronic, near crippling pain. Most people who deal with pain are under medicated and ignored. They need help. If these drugs are pulled, there are other that can be used, but we don’t have access to them in the US. Unless the FDA is going to allow alternatives they should consider leaving these on the market with strongly worded cautions and plainly worded Dosage Limits.

Even more important — the FDA should make sure that pharmacists, doctors, and the public have access to this education and training that they THINK they have done over the years. I’ve heard more stories similar to my “ignorant” doctor (used with the meaning that it can be cured) than I have of the other kind. I think information on drugs should be easier to find online, with easy to understand material explaining doses, uses, and contra-indications. Most dosage info online is convoluted or needs a chemical degree to figure out what’s too much and what’s safe — we need better resources for patients and doctors.

Mostly, we need better pain management. I have my good days and my bad.  And I do it mostly without painkillers.  But today, I slipped and fell, landing full force on my knee — it sure would be nice to take something, but I can’t, because I might need it more later on and I can’t waste the few painkillers I have. (I’m not the only chronic pain sufferer who has to balance need this way, and the sad part is none of us should have to.)

Maybe it could be a song, I haven’t slept much in during the last two nights. I spend time in bed, but just don’t manage to drop down deep enough in sleep to dream. I toss and turn and turn and toss and finally get up and read or watch something. Sometimes I really wish I had something that showed — some problem so that people could look at me and think: she’s in pain, let’s go easy on her. But I don’t.  I look healthy. Even when on that blasted scale of pain from 1 to 10 when the pain is a 7 or 8, I look perfectly normal. I’ve learned to hide mostly.

My poor husband puts up with the whimpers and the tears. He tries to comfort, but it’s now day three of pain level 6 or 7, and I’m beginning to wonder if the the pain itself is driving the new pain. I don’t have any pain meds left that work on this. I’ve got Imitrex nasal spray and last night, since I had a whopping migraine on top of the muscle aches, I used it. So after the Imitrex and 7 extra-strength Tylenol, I managed to get 2 1/2 hours of sleep.

I’m whining. I know I am. But I’m sick of the American medical system that ignores people in chronic pain. If I hear “Go to your happy place” or “you don’t need pain medication, you just need to change your attitude”, I’ll scream. I’d like to say: let me take this hammer and smash it into your hand with all my might, then you can go to your happy place and adjust your attitude, but for heaven’s sake don’t take any pain meds because that’s a crutch and it might be addicting.

I’m going to have to ask for pain meds again on my next doctor’s visit. My last Rx ran out over a year ago and I’ve been very sparing on the last 30 pills. I’m not in the market to get addicted. I just want a good night’s sleep once in a while. When the pain level is around 4, I usually can handle it, but these last few days are making me feel like something the cat dragged in after a particularly energetic bout of “play”.

So, I hate to be such a wimp but gee, I got to vent sometime to someone. Doesn’t make me feel any better physically, but I do feel better emotionally. So, just how do you handle pain without pain killers? Grit your teeth. Find a happy place. Beg for medication. Sit in the dark and cry? Just wondering how other fibromyalgia, migraineurs, or just people living with chronic pain cope.