Tag: Links

The Invasion is On

Saturday morning, I awoke to a very vivid and bizarre dream.  One who’s details have still stuck with me.  I haven’t had a dream like this since I was taking Chantix to help quit smoking.  It was very similar to the movie Red Dawn.  That’s where it begins to get a little strange.

The dream starts with me enjoying my beautiful yard, the smell of fresh cut grass, the beautiful sky.  When a squad of large “bomber” type planes flying in formation whiz by at a low altitude.  They start dropping bombs!

But the bombs don’t explode on impact, no that would be too simple.  When the bombs struck the ground, they bounced.  Much like a basketball.  They bounced as if they were seeking something, something that would hurt worse than any explosion.  They were seeking water pipes.  When the bomb would find a water main, it would explode!

They dropped bombs all over the east coast, Midwest and the great plains with the same goal in mind, flood it.  Our defenses had been crippled by a hidden virus on all persons with Internet access in the US.  This virus used peoples computers collectively to hack into the DOD system and crash it.

With the water levels rising to where we were suddenly in a Katrina situation and everyone was on their roof trying to survive.  Normal citizens with boats were making the rounds in their neighborhoods trying to rescue as many people as possible.  We found safe places in the hills surrounding the areas.

Just who was attacking us?  I never figured that out exactly.  I knew is was two island nations that were vengeful against the US.  That’s where the trail ends.

I then woke up, wishing I could sleep for 12 more hours and live the battle in my mind.

Educating My Business

While I’m currently taking classes to earn an Associates of Applied Science in Programming at Ivy Tech Community College, I try to use my business as a resource from time to time.

This semester, I get to use it for something I’ve needed to do and spent countless hours doing.  Rebuilding my website.  While I was happy with what I had, I knew I could have a better designed one that might draw in some clients and some revenue.  Without some basic skills, what I had was the best that I could muster.  This semester I am taking CINS-102.  It is essentially a class that teaches you XHTML and CSS.

We haven’t done much in this class as of yet, but I can see the momentum starting to build.  We’ve mainly had tremendous amounts of reading each week with smaller projects in class.  Our project due this week is to find 5 url’s that we like and select one we want to use for a basis of a new website.  What a perfect opportunity for my website to be re-born!

My financial plan this year is to save any money I make.  I plan on saving as much as possible.  I did the math last night and found out I have personally spent over $3000 on expenses for my business.  I hope to eventually repay that debt.

If things are good this year, I may put my new and improved website back up.

Down With the Sickness

Life lately in the Lawmaster household has been anything but fun as of recent.  We all came down with forms of the same sickness.  Fortunately we have all recovered.

Originally I thought it was a new recipe that Rachel had tried, Baked chicken thighs with brown sugar.  I think it really might have been part of a larger sickness going around our area.

Little Amelia saw the effects first.  She spit up ( or should I say threw up) almost half of a couple of her bottles, was warm and somewhat fussy for a day.  Some children’s Tylenol made her much better.

Rachel saw her effects span over a two day period.  It started with nausea and diahhrea on the first day and ended with body aches, fever and a general not feeling well on the second day.  She felt much better after a day of rest.

My case became overly complex and is becoming a nightmare in process.  I woke up on the same day that Rachel’s symptoms started feeling the same nausea and diahhrea, but with the addition of severe body aches.

I didn’t have to be at work until noon, so I thought I would sleep in the Kelley School of Business changing rooms – a place I often nap in during lunch.  The 3 hour nap helped me tremendously, but didn’t get rid of the severe body aches that made even walking a nightmare.

Due to the strict attendance policies in place at my job, I thought I would give working a go.  The lab that I work in on that day requires some physical stamina, as I have to cover this lab, this lab, this lab and this lab.  I tried my hardest to fulfill my duties, but was unable and thought it would be best for me to leave and see a doctor.

I went to my doctor’s walk-in clinic.  Where I was almost immediately seen.  They took my vital signs, asked me what I was having problems with and then had me give a urine specimen which I thought was quite odd.  Then the waiting began.  I waited an hour before I was seen by a nurse practitioner, who for some strange reason thinks my appendix was (and still is) about to burst.

I was then directed to take some blood tests and immediately go to the hospital for a CT scan.  I’ll never forget what the nurse told me, “you cannot pass go, you cannot collect $200 – go straight to the hospital.”

I get to the hospital, where I then went to pickup a contrast agent that I had to drink with Gatorade.  Thank god for the Gatorade.  I learned later that particular contrast is used to be able to see the digestive tract.  Then more waiting.  I waited for two and a half hours before I even got the scan!  I then had to wait almost two more hours to get the results, which I got from that same nurse practitioner via phone call!

She said that I had a large amount of lymph nodes that were swollen and my white blood cell count was up significantly but there were no signs that my appendix was in trouble.  In layman’s terms, my body is fighting a infection of some sort.  She then prescribed me 4 antibiotics, which I’m not taking.  I believe I have MRSA and I have read that antibiotics actually perpetuate the spreading of these potentially killer infections.

After finally getting home at almost 9pm, I drank a couple shots of my cure all, Nyquil and went to bed.  I woke up the next morning feeling like a brand new man!

Today I got a call from the walk-in clinic.  They want me to do another CT scan in 3 months to make sure I’m okay.  WTF?  This sounds like either a very inexperienced health care provider, or an organization that is trying to generate some revenue through services that are not needed.  I don’t think I’m going to go to that particular walk-in clinic again.

Living in a Sea of Blue

While there is a big game about to happen, I’m not writing about that – exactly.

I’m writing about how Indiana is an interesting place to live, to say the least.

My friend Editor B seems to have sold out his roots for his new hometown, New Orleans.  While I can partially admit that growing up in Greenwood, Indiana – one of the most blah places to live in Indiana, wouldn’t be a place to create fond childhood memories.  Indiana in general is an amazing place with pockets of greatness surrounded by seas of corn and grains.  This is a direct response to this post on his blog.

I’m writing this to dis-spell all of the myths Editor B has proclaimed and to give those who don’t know, some information about the state that has “more than corn” in it.

1.  Indiana makes dumb laws.  What state doesn’t?  For that matter, what entity doesn’t?  I’m sure if you do a google search on “Louisiana Dumb Laws” you’ll come up with more than a handful.

2.  I’m sure you could find songs about New Orleans with lyrics that aren’t so impressionable about it.  I’m not going to spend the time searching for them.  The only song I can think of off hand is, The House of the Rising Sun, which is commonly known to be about a brothel.  That’s a real good image!

3.  I find it interesting that one of New Orleans nicknames is “The City that Care Forgot.”  So nobody cares about New Orleans?  Why should I then?

4.  The term “hoosier” is seen as many different things in many different places.  Maybe from your point of view B, you’ve got me.  But it is a term of endearment to all of us living in Indiana.  Plus no matter where you live, you’ll always be a hoosier – you graduated from Indiana University!

5.  You’re right about the White river being too sandy for good transportation.  But wrong on many other levels.  Indianapolis was created to be the capital city – instead of just being chosen.  Just like Washington D.C., it was designed to accommodate many of the features it has today, thus giving it an advantage.  Indianapolis isn’t called “The Crossroads of America” for nothing!  With 4 major interstates colliding into it, it’s a transportation hub.  Meaning it’s good for business.  It is one of the easiest “big” cities to navigate in my personal experience.

6.  I honestly have no rebuttal about your #6, because I could really care less about sports.  I was pushed on so many sports as a child that I got burnt out.  My sister-in-law is a huge Colts fan.  So much that she is a season ticket holder, goes to many away games, and even has a room in her home dedicated to the team.  She will be in Miami this weekend rooting her team on, just like she was in 2007.

7.  To continue with #6, plus we here in Indiana have many other things to occupy our time other than merely football.  It’s just a game B.  Many things are about local level events, not national.  You’re the one that taught me that I should be more involved in my local government – which I’m slowly but surely doing.

8.  All you’re doing is bringing up stuff I thought you were higher than.  I’m sure we could find some rumors about Reggie Bush or your “hoosier” quarterback…

9.  I wouldn’t say that.  In all actuality, there is a restaurant in Mooresville that is run by a husband-wife duo that is from NOLA and Indy.  It’s been quite the story maker.  Just read this article.

10.  Even us hoosiers were ticked off about that deal.  It was always the “Hoosier Dome” no matter what the marquee said.  It was the start of corporate sponsorship that has taken over ever aspect of everything we have today.  I have to admit, I really like ROX #82, you documented things well!

Your turn, Editor B.

Ouch!

Today we were able to receive our 2009 W-2 statement online and I must say it was quite a shocker.  My income has significantly went down since I left Baxter, but I think this is a new low.  I’m not going to publicly state how much, but lets just say it’s under 10 grand by a significant amount.

There were many issues that contributed to this.  I’m going to outline them for documentation should I need a reference.

  • CSR – They didn’t schedule me to work since April of 2009.  Last week I resigned that position.
  • School – I decided to take off over the summer and focus on my studies and remodeling of our home.  Mainly due to the fact that I could not attain summer employment, or any employment for that matter.
  • Unemployment – While off for the summer I applied for unemployment, received it – now they want it back!

I have been in a war of words with our state unemployment system.  Technically employees of state funded educational institutions cannot receive unemployment during “an established break period.”  We all know that summer is an established break period.  However, this is only the case when there is “reasonable assurance” that the applicant will be returning to their position after that break.  This was not the case here.

Since I have two positions, it can become muddy water from there.  I was “assured” by both of my supervisors that I would indeed return.  This only happened with one of them.  With the job market virtually non existent, it has taken me this long to find another position.

I was paid around $1,000 in unemployment in a 4 week period.  Of that money, I only received around half of that due to taxes, child support, etc.  It then stopped, with potentially libelous statements to follow.  The DWD actually stated that it was “the claimant’s fault.”  It was my fault that I received benefits?  Isn’t it the DWD’s job to ensure I’m applicable to receive them before they are paid?  I appealed the findings, hoping to receive a hearing with an administrative judge.  I received a letter that my appeal had been received, but still no hearing.  I’m now receiving statements on a semi-regular basis demanding I pay this back or “severe civil and or criminal findings may be placed against me.”  I say bring it!  I deserve due process.

When I received the first notice, I responded quickly inquiring about why I never received a hearing.  I Highlighted incorrect data that was entered by the DWD, not myself.  I then asked to receive my hearing, but am still only receiving the mentioned notices.  I have evidence that I believe shows my case – if I ever get a chance to show it.

I just wish this nightmare would come to an end.  Seriously.

Spring Semester 2010

It’s a new year and a new decade (for those who believe).

I’m still taking classes at Ivy Tech and this semester will make me or break me.  I’m taking MATH-111, Intermediate Algebra and CINS-102, Information Systems Fundamentals.

I took the math course years ago, and failed miserably.  I don’t know why exactly, but I do know that I have much more desire and drive to succeed than I did back then.  My instructor seems like a really nice guy who is good at explaining concepts and ensuring everyone understands.  Something lacking in instructors at that school.

My CINS course seems to be another story however.  While I believe the content of the course shouldn’t be too hard, the instructor’s attitude clashes with me in a big way.  I won’t go into specifics, but I would change courses if I could.  This course focuses on XHTML, HTML and CSS.  The main focus of this class is to create a web site and to learn how to manage it on a Unix server.  Ivy Tech has one for student use, it’s name is Bob.

Little Amelia is growing and changing like never before.  At her last checkup, Dr. Laughlin said this would be a period of “social explosion.”  Boy was he right.  She loves using her voice, and discovering what new sounds she can make.  She also likes to support her own weight by “standing” with support from someone.

She has also learned how to grasp and hold objects.  Her rattle and yellow duck are her favorites at this point.  She tracks objects with her eyes, which are beautifully deep.

Rachel has been on maternity leave since the birth of our daughter.  However, all good things must come to an end.  She went back to work on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  Next week she goes back full time.  I’ve noticed it’s difficult on her, but it’s good for her to have time away and get a greater appreciation of our little miracle.  We found a stay at home mom who will be watching Amelia.  She has a 4 year old daughter, named Madison who adores Snow White.

Today I officially sent in my resignation to the CSR or what I would like to call “the window to hell.”  I wasn’t scheduled at all for last semester, which was really hard on our checkbook.  I looked and looked and in the end a co-worker at TS, Kasey became the connection to my new 2nd job, TCC or Technology Center Consulting.  It is a division of UITS which is Indiana University’s information technology department.  TCC’s primary objective is to staff the numerous computing labs around campus.  We also help students in the dorms with networking issues.  I have worked one week with them and it’s been interesting to say the least!

e-smoking

I recently purchased this model of e-cigarette, to try it out and see if it actually did all it claimed.  I was amazingly surprised!  Since it’s disposable, once the battery died I had to find another option.

So I decided to purchase a “real” model and try to convert myself to something healthier to feed this addiction to nicotine that I have.  I bought this model and a “charger pack.”  It looks like a pack of cigarettes, but charges the battery while you’re on the go.

If you haven’t heard about e-cigarettes, they are very interesting.  They are essentially a battery connected to an “atomizer” which heats up a piece of cotton which is soaked in a liquid.  That liquid can contain just about anything.  I chose a Tobacco flavor with the “high” level of nicotine.  Thus giving me the closest possible resemblance to actually smoking.  To compare it with another addiction, it’s much like heroin addicts receiving methadone for treatment.

Now the hard part begins.  I have been trying to not purchase smokes while I go to work or run errands, but like the habit smoking is – so is buying them.  I’ve found that there are many of my behaviors that I still need to change or work on, and it’s been really difficult.  If I can successfully change these behaviors, I believe I can make this switch.

I’m not trying to quit at this point, I’m trying to move to something “more healthy.”  Once I’m fully adjusted to e-smoking, I can step down the nicotine levels and even remove the nicotine completely!  On a financial note, while this has been an investment at nearly $90, with refills equaling to $0.70 a pack – it’s much cheaper than the real thing!

I’ve shown this to my 10 year old daughter, who it quite amazed at it.   I’ve told her that while this is still smoking, it doesn’t contain all of the “bad things” real cigarettes do.

ReCharged

On Monday I went under the knife.  I had the battery in my VNS device replaced.  This device is very important, as it’s the only treatment that has ever kept me seizure free.

The original plan was to replace my existing model 102 with the newer and smaller model 103.  With the main advantages of it being smaller with the same battery life and it having a count down timer.  The count down timer feature is great because it enables my neurologist to plan the right time to schedule replacement surgery.

As it turned out, I received the model 102, not a huge deal.  My surgery went well – it only lasted 30 minutes!  We arrived at the hospital at 9am and were out by 1pm.  After leaving the hospital we immediately went to my neurologist’s office so he could turn my new implant on.

I went back to work today and am feeling okay.  I feel like I over worked my right shoulder with a touch of a burning sensation.  With the help of some pain medication, it’s not that bad.  I do have a lifting restriction for two weeks.  At 5-10 pounds, it eliminates me picking up Amelia.  I want to so bad, but don’t want to tear anything and make my healing progress.

I’ve noticed a sore throat for the last two nights starting about 7 o’clock and lasting through the night.  Rachel said that I had the same complaint when I had my first surgery, but I don’t remember that.

Hopefully I can have 5 more years of seizure free living.

7

Microsoft has taken a lot of flack for it’s Vista operating system, due to it’s many issues.  While I didn’t have many, the ones I did have forced me to upgrade to Windows 7.

This is my non-technical review based on my jeers and cheers.

Since I am a staff member at Indiana University, I have access to vast amounts of software for free or very cheap.  This afforded me the opportunity to upgrade for $20.  That’s right.

I’ll start with the things I like about Windows 7…

First of all, my Nikon Coolpix 7600 and it’s accompanying software would not work with Vista, period.  Vista’s own picture transfer wizard would not even work.  I believe it was something to do with the horrible USB support Vista had.  With 7, my 4 year old camera, and it’s software work better than ever!  I can’t wait to see how my bluetooth dongle works!

Second, Vista loved RAM.  It loved it so much, that no matter how much you had it seemed like it wasn’t enough.  This isn’t the case with 7 – it’s more like the opposite.  Windows 7 actually uses half as much RAM at idle on my machine than Vista did.  Freeing up that memory makes the machine much more responsive, programs load instantly.

Third, UAC.  User Access Control, introduced with Vista was a major pain in the a**.  I disabled it, but by doing that I also disabled notification of any problems elsewhere that could have happened.  With 7, you can do the same with a slider without the potential repercussions.  Set it to where you want it right from the task bar.

Fourth, Media Center.  I started using media center with Vista’s version, and I thought it couldn’t get any better.  I was wrong.  7’s media center works better and is more reliable.  It also has CBS TV streaming built right in.  So now you can watch ANYTHING on TV if you have media center and Hulu Desktop.  Add Boxee to the mix and you have the ultimate home entertainment machine.  I also have My Movies3 and Heatwave integrated into WMC, I love it!

Now onto the not so nice things…

There are many compatibility issues with programs and 7.  While they will work, you may have to re-install.  While this isn’t a huge issue, it’s still bothersome.  I can happily report that I’ve only had one casualty of the upgrade, Quickbooks 2008.  I have to restart my computer any time I want to use it.  Intuit knows about this issue and is “working on a solution.”  I hope it is resolved soon, this program wasn’t cheap, even though it’s free now.

I haven’t been a fan of the “new” start menu since it was introduced with Windows XP.  Luckily Microsoft has always provided us with an alternative, the “classic” start menu, which has it’s origins with Windows 95.  It has gone the way of the 8-track.  While there are some registry hacks to get the old menu back, and even a guide on lifehacker, I’m adapting to this change and I’m starting to get on board with it.  Many of us “old timers” don’t like change.

Those are my only complaints thus far.  Which isn’t that bad.  I believe 7 is what Vista was meant to be.

Crash and Freeze?

Over the past couple of weekends I’ve been working hard at getting ROX season one to the production phase.  I’ve authored all the DVD menus and have done most of the design of the case inserts.  I had all the episodes ready.  It was just a matter of rendering all of the discs and making sure I had all of the extras we wanted before it would be finished.

All of that work took an extreme turn for the worse the other day.  I had been having troubles rendering video.  I thought it was a Sony Vegas or Quick Timeissue, so I removed and reinstalled.  I then went on to think it was a codec issue, so I removed every media codec I had (quite a few), still didn’t fix it.  I had given up for the night out of pure frustration as to why my 2 month old computer wasn’t working properly.

The next day I woke to something I’ve never seen before.  A black screen with a message:  Cannot read disk on SATA 0 and Cannot read disc on SATA 3.  WTF!

I restarted the machine to hear a distinct “clicking” noise.  One of the hard drives was toast, so I removed the secondary one (the one with all the important data on it) and the computer would then boot into safe mode.  Apparently, my virus software which I get from Indiana University somehow became corrupt and became “Incompatible with my version of windows.”  So I wiped it and am still installing my programs.

My 1.5tb drive which has all of my personal, business and ROX data was clicking.  What do I do?  I could not initialize the disk.  My first thought was disk recovery, so I called the only computer service place I trust and they referred me to Drive Savers.  They gave me a code that cuts 10% off the price and gives you a no data – no cost guarantee.  I called them up and the estimate was quite shocking, $700 to $2700.  Anybody want a large Seagate drive on the cheap?

Is the data worth that?  It contains 3 years of blood, sweat and tears on this project.  I conferred with my partner in crime, Editor B.  He said he would help, which was a relief.  My homeowners insurance policy will cover anything over $1000.  After much thought and searching my other hard drives for data, I’ve decided to try something a little ‘home brewed’ to alleviate my situation.  Freezing the drive.

Not like this picture though.  The moisture from the ice will ruin it.  I scoured the interwebs looking for “freezer trick hard drive” and came across many posts about how this can help you retrieve the data you need.  Sometimes it works for just a few minutes and sometimes it works for a few hours.  There is no definitive amount of time, I think it’s limited to just how damaged the hard drive is.

I put my hard drive in the freezer last night about 6pm and I plan on taking out about the same time tonight.  I wrapped it with some paper towels and placed it in a vacuum bag.  This will help with any moisture issues that could result.  I plan on keeping the hard drive in the bag and placing it in a larger bag with ice.  When I connect the drive the computer, this will help keep it cooler longer.

I have about 500 gigs of data that I would like to get off of this drive.  But I have prioritized what I am retrieving.

Wish me luck.

UPDATE: This did not work in my circumstance.  However I’ve been told it does.