I'm The Dreamer

Blood Donation #38

2012-02-18T16:21:00.001-06:00

This is probably the weirdest place I've given blood now.... I gave blood today at Gallifrey One!

This brings my lifetime total to 38.

Wonder if I'll come back next year to give again....

Technorati Update

2012-01-22T16:52:00.003-06:00

GFJVZATE8N72

True Life: I Have Narcolepsy

2011-11-10T10:49:00.000-06:00

Katy answers your questions about the show and the disorder.

True Life | I Have Narcolepsy

2011-11-09T17:18:00.000-06:00

True Life | I Have Narcolepsy: Julie and Katie are two young people whose lives revolve around managing Narcolepsy. As they make decisions about medication and relationships, they seek support from their friends and family.

NARCAPLEXY: True Life Airing Again on Friday!

2011-11-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

NARCAPLEXY: True Life Airing Again on Friday!: FINALLY! True Life: I Have Narcolepsy (co-starring me :D) will air on MTV again this Saturday November 5th at 3pm! Set your DVRs everyone!...

So, that would be 2pm Central....? Wonder if I should record around....

REM Runner: MTV True Life "I Have Narcolepsy" Premieres Tuesday, October 18th

2011-10-18T15:36:00.001-05:00

REM Runner: MTV True Life "I Have Narcolepsy" Premieres Tuesday, October 18th

I hope I can stay up long enough to watch it at 7pm today.....

QHDHP, HSA and Chronic conditions

2011-10-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

This month is annual open enrollment at work....time to review plan changes and make selections for January 1st, 2012. This year, premiums have jumped up a lot...particularly for single people. The implication is that for the last few years, they had drifted from the mandate that employer pays 95/55 of the health insurance costs (95% of single, 55% of family). Guess that means they had been paying more than 95% of my cost? Because my BCBS Plan A premium jumped by 44%. Plus every 3 years they renegotiate plans...and this was the year they did that.

Other than the premium jump...which was much greater compared to previous years (which hadn't jumped up as much as I had seen with previous employers). There were only a few changes this year.
The coverage on the 3 plans (A, B, C) have all stayed the same. All plans are PPO, Plan A has a 20% co-insurance rate versus 35% co-insurance rate for Plan B (in-network, all are 50% for out-of-network)...and Plan A has higher co-payments than Plan B...and higher deductible. New next year, is that BCBS will be offering Plan C (QHDHP). Other changes, is that Coventry and PHS have now merged, and United Health Care is now the 3rd provider option (though technically there were 4 provider choices last year, with addition of UMR... a sister company of UHC, but with a smaller network...and Coventry and PHS not yet merged.)

When I first started, they were HMO, PPO, QHDHP plans....and I had gone with PPO, even though all my providers were in network. When I had first moved to the US, I had started on an HMO plan...and it was bad. Like the time I went out of my way to go to what was supposed to be a Quest collection site for labwork, instead of letting my doctor do the labwork on site. And, end up getting fully charged for using an out of network lab, because the site had cancelled its contract with Quest the week before (but I had called Quest the morning of the test...so they shouldn't have misled me)....I complained, they apologized....but I never got the refund they said they would do.

Using Quest was only part of the HMO plan, so switching to PPO was good. Though later things changes to where if the practice where your primary has their own lab, the lab is automatically considered as in-network....so there was further savings, but I stayed with PPO because. Later they brought Quest in for PPO with some providers....I just picked the PPO provider that didn't use Quest.
Anyways....in my current job...Quest had jumped into the plans....though its optional. And, the Quest collection site isn't anywhere that can be reached on foot (and I'm kind of down to just the one foot now)...and the doctors in my area won't participate with Quest. At first it was part of the HMO, later it extended to Plan A & Plan B (since all 3 plans are PPO now). But, its still optional, and the labs that my doctors do use are in-network.

When I started, I went with BCBS....because I hadn't established relationships with local doctors, but BCBS had the larger network...both in state and out of state, and with relatives scattered around the country/world....access to a large out of state network was important. Plus now that I also attend conferences, conventions and such...it is hopefully less of a worry.

But, when they switched from HMO, PPO, QHDHP to the Plan A, B, C naming....I switched to Plan A. Which was at first explained as the HMO plan with PPO features. But, now they just say all 3 are PPO plans....just different cost structures.

I never really considered the QHDHP option...because I never really understood FSA/HSAs in the beginning....wasn't until 2009 that I started using an FSA. And, the steep deductible scared me (still is scary). Though one thing that intrigued me at this job, was that the prescription plan on the QHDHP/Plan C option was different from the HMO/PPO/Plan A&B one. The A&B plan was co-insurance, no deductible...the typical 3 tiers with some extras classes. When I started, it wasn't an issue...since most of the stuff I took was either generic or preferred brand (well, when I first moved to Kansas I was on Prevacid, which wasn't a preferred brand....but primary switched me back down to Prilosec which is generic. Though can't help wonder if my health taking its turn for the worse didn't start when that change was made...and now that Prevacid is available as generic....)
Anyways...Plan C's prescription plan was co-pays after deductible, which was the kind of prescription coverage I bad before I came here. Not always a good thing though...since $10 co-pay for generic.. where as I have a couple of generics where the 20% co-insurance is less...some generics I've had fill come out to $0.92, $2.02, $3.53, $1.58, $1.39....on the other hand...the co-insurance on branded meds were costing me much more than co-pay....and the worse ones were yet to come.

So, in open enrollment 2008 (for 2009), I decided that it was time to see what all this FSA business was about. I went with a minimal contribution....$300 for the year. Well, I didn't know at the time, that combined with the results of my first 'free' Healthquest screening from work and my annual physical (Well Man Exam) that I'm not supposed to be sleepy all the time, have experience that surge in weight gain during the summer, fall asleep easily during the day, including at least one uncontrolled nap each day.... I just knew that in 2009, co-insurance was change from 10% to 20%, and co-pays were going up.... But, I had my first sleep study in December 2008. I got initial setup that month...so 10% co-insurance versus 20% was a good thing, plus deductible was less, and already met, in 2008 than in 2009.

But, because of the OSA dx, I quickly met my deductible (which had gone from $50 to $150) and spent my entire FSA amount in the first week of 2009.

So, in open enrollment 2009, I decided that I should put more into FSA....but I didn't expect that I would have the same kind of major expenses that I had, so I increased my amount to only $1200. This was even though I had an accident in august of 2009, and it had cost me quite a bit. But, it was the accident that kept on giving....When I got my teeth cleaned in Jan 2010, it was discovered that I had cracked some teeth in the accident....so the $1200 was gone in a couple of months.

Meanwhile...in 2010, I was introduced to Provigil and Lunesta. The co-insurance on Provigil was about $380 a month, and Lunesta was about $112 a month. Plus then I had an accident in November of 2010, and another sleep study in December. What I discovered though was what happens when I hit my co-insurance maximum for 2010. I still have to pay co-pays...but after than everything is covered in full. While reading over the plans on co-insurance maximum, I saw that the prescription plan had a separate co-insurance max of $2850. I wasn't going to reach it in 2010, with the Provigil costs....and Lunesta didn't count towards it (even though they said if you had tried two other prescriptions before it, they would...which I had....they did require my pharmacist to call in to get permission to fill it, even though they would already know that I had been on prescribed 3 different ones before it. Though I guess 2 of them were off-label? Though the PDL only lists one drug for the class, which I had been on, and only generics...they have no preferred brand.) Provigil is also alone, as the preferred brand....though it is quite different than the other types of stimulants (Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, Dex, etc.)

So, in open enrollment 2010, I considered switching to Plan C. They still keep telling everybody that Plan C/QHDHP is only for super healthy people. But, because of the co-pay structure of the prescription plan (after deductible)...I wondered if it might not be the better way to go.... It would take 1.5 months worth of Provigil to meet the deductible..and then I would only have to pay a $30 co-pay. Maybe sooner, depending on what else happened at the start of the year. I didn't know I was going to break my foot in November 2010. What I did find out was that one of my meds was capped at $20 a month (Singulair), where as it would be $30 co-pay with Plan C. The Plan C prescription plan didn't have the specialty tiers for things like diabetes, asthma, anti-cancer.... and it wasn't like I was on Xyrem or something super expensive. Though I had looked, and Xyrem is on the list of specialty meds, so its a $75 co-pay.

But, I had missed the open enrollment presentation (because I had gone to the NN Conference) and I didn't have a lot of answers on why they only consider Plan C for super healthy types....and not somebody like me.

The other problem is that with an FSA I can spend all the money I plan to put into it before the money is actually in it. While with an HSA, the money needs to be there first. They did say the first year is the hardest.... So, running out of time, I quickly locked in my discount status, staying with Plan A & BCBS and other stuff...and went with putting the out-of-pocket maximum of Plan C into my FSA (which is less than the current maximum that I could put into an FSA.) I had skimmed the networks of the other providers...to see if my current doctors were in, and whether they offered any other choices that BCBS didn't....

Well, I spent all my FSA for this year in about 4.5 months...and only because I switched to only submitting the bigger claims after I got my tax refund.... Though this year the the deductible did feel more painful. It had gone from $150 to $300...but I also didn't have the big expenses early in the year...so it was a bunch of little things where I had to pay the full discounted amount... Not sure where I stand on reaching co-insurance max this year for health ($1400)....

Had I still been on Provigil...I would've reached co-insurance max on the prescription plan around July...but as I had been warned at the NN Conference, I would build tolerance to it...and it stopped working in spring time.....where I was then switched to Ritalin.... And, I quickly built tolerance to that....so at the end of August I was switched to Nuvigil....which seems to be working better, and apparently its the other isomer that is in Provigil that we build tolerance to. I briefly tried Provigil again between refills, and it did little for me.

Problem with Nuvigil though is that its the non-preferred brand...so it doesn't count towards my co-insurance max....though I'm about $1000 away, so I probably won't hit it this year....even if I could've gotten the override (having tried Provigil and Ritalin before, should've met the tried two other drugs from the PDL first....also the co-pay coupon from Cephelon apparently doesn't work. Just as the co-pay coupon for Lunesta didn't work. They both say they won't work with plans that are state/federal government funded....so no discount for us poor state employees).

The other change this year is the prescription plan for Plan C has changed...its more like the Plan A&B one, except adjusted to fit the QHDHP. So instead of co-pays after deductible and continuing after out of pocket max is reached. It is just co-insurance after deductible and then 100% when out of pocket max is reached. And, tier 3 drugs count towards the out of pocket max (as do drugs on the anti-cancer tier).... Also with Plan C, there's no co-pays to see doctors....so once out of pocket max it reached....they're covered 100% in full. Didn't seem a huge deal before 2010...because PCP and sleep doctor were in the same medical home, so $25 co-pay for either....the only specialist where I had to pay $45 co-pays were related to physical therapy...and I didn't do that this year (though wonder if maybe it would help my walking issues since broken foot incident....maybe next year if things continue to worsen...)

Given how quickly my FSA went this year, and my current projected expenses (and the changes this year)....it shouldn't be that hard to reach the $1500 deductible or the $3000 out of pocket max in 2012...so it'll be interesting to see what it is like to have things covered 100% in full after that point. Especially since the current co-insurance on Nuvigil + Lunesta x 12 is more than the out of pocket max. I had considered asking about Nuvigil sooner, because paying 60% of it (non-preferred brand)...instead of 35% for preferred brand)....is about half the 35% I pay for Provigil. But, when the Provigil stopped working, doctor wanted to try Ritalin instead first....which did work in the beginning....but it didn't seem to matter to insurance on when I did get to be on Nuvigil. I decided that I would more strongly consider the switch to Plan C.

The fact that BCBS offered it was certainly a big factor, since I had concerns over network last year. And, during an open enrollment presentation..somebody asked why Plan C didn't work even if they hit the out of pocket max in the year (and all the money they put into the HSA)...

for an individual/in-network
Plan A has $300 deductible + $1400 co-insurance max & Rx has $2850 co-insurance max (where tier 3 doesn't count towards it)
Plan B has $150 deductible + $3000 co-insurance max & Rx has $2850 co-insurance max (where tier 3 doesn't count towards it)
Plan C has $1500 deductible -> $3000 out of pocket max & Rx works with the same deductible/out of pocket max (and tier 3 counts).

So sounds like if you know you're going to be out of pocket more than $3000 in a year...plan C is the way to go.

Plus with Plan A & B, the co-pays continue after the co-insurance max is hit. Plan A is $25 (Primary/Urgent Care), $45 (Specialist) and $100 (ER). Plan B is $20 (Primary), $25 (Urgent Care), $40 (Specialist) and $100 (ER)....there's an advantage for families, where co-pay for children is $10 (Primary) or $25 (Specialist)....

In addition to no co-pays with Plan C (versus Plan A)....there are two other differences, the Manipulation Therapy (IE: Chiropractor) is reduced to max of 26 per year (from 30). And the Durable Medical Equipment maximum is lowered to $1000/year (from $5000/year).

Since I just got a new CPAP machine this year, I don't anticipate my DME expenses to be more than $1000...in fact the new machine plus supplies this year shouldn't break the $1000 mark. But, who knows what the future holds.

So, since United Health Care is a new provider this year....I started to think that I should check out its network as to whether to stay with BCBS or not. In the first open enrollment presentation, I didn't stay for the HSA presentation. Because I was at first thinking that I would stay with Plan A, and this time put the $5000 max into FSA....before healthcare reform lowers the max to $2500. But, in the time between the morning presentation and the afternoon one, I started the research on Plan C/HDHP/HSAs, etc. And, decided I wanted to hear the HSA presentation.

Fortunately, they did that one first in the afternoon session.

So, I instead looked at the HSAs associated with the 3 providers....and decided that BCBS would be who I would go with.

The BCBS HSA has a maintenance fee that falls between the other two (close to the low end, where the high end one is significantly higher...and the one for UHC). The interest rate structures differed, but all were insignificant for low balances. The other two, offer maintenance fee elimination with a minimum balance. The lower one waives off at $3000, the higher one waives off at $5000....there's differences in investment options and additional fees. BCBS HSA has a lot less in the additional fees area. And, what investment options it offered seemed ok.

But, given that I'm expecting to hit out-of-pocket max (which is the contribution max for the HSA)....how much the HSA will cost for little or no balance weighed in. Though I will probably build some of my HSA over time...since initial expenses will be before the HSA is sufficiently funded, and I may or may not chose to use HSA funds to meet all my later out of pocket expenses.
On the additional side, I opted to go with $600 for a limited use FSA (Dental and Vision....I have one dental related prescription, and I anticipate the buying a new pair of glasses every year to be a trend that continues indefinitely.) I kept my Vision insurance.

Now to see how 2012 goes....

You are reading "QHDHP, HSA and Chronic conditions", original ranted about at Lawrence "The Dreamer" Chen's Blog

Blood Donation #37

2011-10-07T22:33:00.004-05:00

Forgot to write a post on here back on Wednesday, October 5th, 2011.... Hmm, has it almost been 2 years since my last blood donation.

It was a brutal 2+ hour wait....they had a number queuing system, but they didn't know what number they were on...and kept jumping backwards and forwards....jumped off 22 to 2, then 4 (3 was sitting next to me, she gave up as she had to get to class)...so back to 23, 24....then 6....wait I was 6, well, can't tell 9 and 6 apart on the cards.... was just about to leave when I asked what was up with me not getting called...but after I was up, I saw 25 was sitting in the front row....next to 7.

Anyways, it was nice giving blood again.... Guess that deferral for low iron really was that I had been giving blood to regularly and that I don't bounce back like I used to. Guess we'll see if I give in the spring.

But, these delays is making it harder to catch my age....

Dear Comcast from Reel Grrls

2011-05-21T06:37:00.000-05:00

SLEEP WALK 2011

2011-03-14T12:46:00.000-05:00

Liquid Nitrogen in the pool at Penguicon 2010

2010-05-04T13:54:00.000-05:00

MagMyPic

2010-01-02T13:52:00.001-06:00

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Blood Donation #36

2009-10-09T16:36:00.000-05:00

Finding a vein is getting harder and harder.....

Looks Tempting, but will it be irresistible?

2009-07-31T19:00:00.001-05:00

Earlier today I was craving bacon, and when I usually make bacon...I use the grease to make runny eggs and toast. And, that's a meal.

But, I have a patty in the fridge that was going to be supper. Also had one last everything bagel.

So, I decided to put it all together.

Fried up 3 strips of bacon. While patty was being grilled up. Then toasted the bagel.

Put bacon on plate and dropped an egg into the fry pan. And, then dropped one side of the bagel on to it. Hmmm, the yolk fits nicely into the hole. Wonder how that'll make things turn out....probably really messy when I pick it up to eat.

The drop another egg and repeat with other side of bagel. Slide patty in between the slices...and it sure looks pretty.

Take a picture it'll last longer :D

Penguicon 7.0 Fortunata 2009, Take Two

2009-05-09T09:20:00.002-05:00

The original video used a fragment of a well-known cantata, with credit given to the composer, performers, et cetera. Which did not meet definition of "fair use", and the video was pulled from Youtube. This is the reposted, with no change to the image sequence. The new music comes from the fragment selections licensed for use with Premiere.

Blood Donation #35

2009-04-07T18:23:00.002-05:00

Looks like I've made my 35th lifetime blood donation. Seems to be getting harder and harder to do it. The veins aren't working as well as they used to, plus apparently my blood iron doesn't bounce back like it used to anymore.

Today's donation went pretty slick. They had both the Sunflower/Flint Hills rooms that they had during the summer and the normal Ballroom space. People who made appointments went to the smaller Sunflower/Flint Hills rooms, and walk-ins went to the Ballroom.

There was no waiting to check-in or to give blood. It went fast...though it was kind of lonely not seeing all the other people giving blood.

Fat Tuesday No. 8

2009-02-24T16:41:00.001-06:00

Fat Tuesday No. 8
Originally uploaded by sbecker67467

Hey look....over in the top right corner....can you see that I'm there?

Who the F*** is Corey Cole

2009-01-04T11:56:00.002-06:00

And, why do bill collectors keep calling me for him/her....I've had this number for over a year now. Nobody listens to my OGM....they just keep asking for him/her, and then think that I'm supposed to get him/her to call them. Well, guess where they can go....

LISA '08 Conference Reception 4

2008-11-25T16:25:00.003-06:00

0634
Originally uploaded by usenixassociation

See.

LISA '08 Conference Reception 3

2008-11-25T16:25:00.001-06:00

0632
Originally uploaded by usenixassociation

Guess I'm at the popular table :)

LISA '08 Conference Reception 2

2008-11-25T16:23:00.001-06:00

0608
Originally uploaded by usenixassociation

The table I'm at from another angle.

LISA '08 Conference Reception

2008-11-25T16:22:00.001-06:00

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Originally uploaded by usenixassociation

There I am....

Somewhere at LISA' 08 2

2008-11-25T16:19:00.001-06:00

0032
Originally uploaded by usenixassociation

I'm easier to spot from this angle.

Somewhere at LISA' 08

2008-11-25T16:17:00.001-06:00

0046
Originally uploaded by usenixassociation

You can kind of make me out....

I'm at the VMWare Guru-is-In Session at LISA'08

2008-11-25T15:53:00.001-06:00

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Originally uploaded by usenixassociation

I forget what work distraction was taking place.

Another K-State Federal Credit Union FAIL.

2008-10-16T16:07:00.003-05:00

Today, I had another FAIL with K-State Federal Credit Union.

I went to deposit a check from my parents, something I've done often with my other bank without any problems.

The teller stares at the check for a while, and then asks me my account information and then wants me to endorse the check.

But, then says it can't be deposited. Goes off and comes back saying it'll take up to a month before it can be deposited. And, wants to know if I still want to deposit it.

Well, she made me endorse it already.

And, then there's no sign that I did the deposit....so I have to take it on faith that when the check clears, it'll be deposited into my savings account? And, that I'm not going to get any notice one way or the other?

If they weren't going to accept the check, they shouldn't have made me endorse it first. I would then have had no problem with going to a different bank to deposit the check.

Remind me what were the advantages of being in a credit union, instead of a real bank?

HIS Free Furniture Giveaway

2008-09-01T15:15:00.002-05:00

Helping International Students had their annual Free Furniture Giveaway this year on August 30th. Postponed from August 23rd due to rain.

It was interesting to see what all furniture was being given away, and that it was more than just furniture. Makes me wonder if I should rethink my upgrade plans.

Like someday I want to follow through on my threat to just have a recliner sitting in the middle of my living room in front of the TV. But, that calls for the displacement of the futon that currently occupies the spot. I've debated on whether it would move to another part of my condo, or find its way out to the trash. But, the giveaway gives me another option. Wonder if I'll get a new cover for it in the mean time?

Elsewhere, it does have me wondering if I could've found a new home for my old dryer...instead of having it hauled off. Too late for that, but it does make me wonder about other future upgrades. Guess it would depend on the process of having the goods taken off of my hands, etc.

Also I thought I saw things like clothes being available. I threw a whole pile of pants and shorts out soon after moving here to Manhattan, on account that I've gained a little weight starting the job at K-State. Actually, there's another growing pile of pants and shorts...and shirts now...forming since the expansion has continued.

Plus there's probably that pile of household gadgets I buy, that after I get...I find I have no use for it or that some better gadget has come along.

Hmmm....

On another subject, it did also make me think about getting my driver's license...and maybe owning some vehicle so that I could help out with the transportation of stuff, etc.

International Student Bowling 2008

2008-08-26T08:09:00.000-05:00

Would you believe that this is the first time I've ever bowled?

Okay, I've bowled before...but this is the first time I've ever done 10-pin bowling.

Back when I was growing up in Calgary, my University's Student Union used to have 5-pin bowling. And, then there was this other occasion in Medicine Hat, where I had done some 5-pin bowling with friends.

It was kind of an okay time. Though the wimp that I am, I prefer 5-pin bowling.

My thumb is sore for some reason.... ;P

Summer blood drive critical for Red Cross

2008-07-17T07:10:00.003-05:00

There's a blood drive going on today (and yesterday) at the K-State Student Union (10am - 3pm).

Yesterday, I made my 33rd lifetime donation.

This time around it is not in the Union Ballroom, due to renovations. They are doing interviews in the Sunflower Room and the rest is in the Flint Hills Room.

Come on out and give blood, if you can.

Ohio LinuxFest 2008

2008-06-28T22:06:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm another step....or maybe I am the final step....close to going to the Ohio LinuxFest.

About 6 weeks ago, when the hotel information was released on the site, I booked a room for the Ohio LinuxFest. Even though I hadn't fully worked out how I was going to get there or if I wanted to do anything in Columbus, Ohio other than the LinuxFest.

But, now that the (non-refundable) flight is booked. I guess my itinerary is much more set.

It is basically take a day off work to travel from Manhattan, KS to Columbus, OH. Then LinuxFest it. And, then eventually find my way back at work in Manhattan, KS. Though it'll be like plan to sleep in on Sunday, so that I can do the dead dog.... And, also crash out Monday to recover from the travel. Kind of works, because I often take Columbus Day as my floating holiday/discretionary day.

At my previous job, we had what was called a floating holiday. Which somewhere out of all the holidays that the company observed, we ended up with one other company holiday that wasn't attached to a holiday. There were various holidays during the year that were observed by the company....and we could take one of those off. In my current job, we observe many more holidays than before....but Veteran's Day is a holiday that should be observed, and is by the government. But, since I work for a University...if there's class in session that day, then I have to work. So, I guess that translates to our discretionary day.

In either case, Columbus Day is not a holiday observed by either (or anybody?)...but it is known as Canadian Thanksgiving....so as a joke to having previously lived in Canada, I take that day off. Though I don't do the big turkey dinner(s) until regular Thanksgiving. Usually I just try to delivers land on that day and run other personal errands on that day. Like every few years there's that hike to the inaccessible (by foot) place to get my State ID renewed.

This year I'll probably just sleep off the Ohio LinuxFest. Though I do have a excess of vacation days acrued, and I'm at risk of hitting my maximum even before the Ohio LinuxFest....and with no Xmas plans on the horizon....or anything planned until Penguicon 7.0....I'll probably max out shortly after the event. So, may be in need to plan other ways to burn vacation days. Plus I've been thinking of other 'holidays' that I might use the discretionary day on instead.

Should be interesting to see what happens in the future...apparently, they are saying that they can't make us work on Veteran's Day anymore....though I would think students still need faculty to show up that day. Though they may distinguish between the teaching and non-teaching faculty....though how will the University run without us non-teaching faculty there? Personally, I don't miss not getting Veteran's Day as a holiday...since it wasn't a company holiday before I came to work a Kansas State University. Seems only government or related jobs observe it.

Anyhoo, it'll be interesting going to the Ohio LinuxFest...for the first time. Especially considering that I used to live in Columbus, Ohio.

Bleed Purple Today

2008-04-08T21:52:00.003-05:00

Apparently, I've lost count again....today's was only donation number 32.

Was kind of a different experience. Guess people's schedules are different this year, this is normally a busy time of day to go for a donation. Like I didn't expect to only see one person waiting in the chairs....usually its at least half full.

There was no waiting for a bed, either. Plenty of empty ones.

Though I think it is time to switch arms.....seems it is getting harder and harder for them to find the vein. Today, was even worse....because they missed, and kept pushing the needle around trying to find it. Maybe a little more left, maybe deeper, maybe in more.... After that it went pretty good.

One thing that held....witnessed a fainting. Probably a higher probability given that this is a University setting. For me I have to be more careful during the summer blood drive...especially since it is so much hotter here in Manhattan, KS....

More delays

2008-02-10T11:07:00.000-06:00

It is 11:05ish and the Miami flight that should of left at 10:40 is still in the way...
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry

Oh no, update.

2008-02-10T09:58:00.001-06:00

Now 16 miles from the airport...

Still limping... Seem to have it out of 1st now...
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry

Oh no

2008-02-10T09:42:00.000-06:00

11 miles out on Kansas City, and we might not make it... The transmission is having issues...

L
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry

Roadrunner bound for Orlando, FL

2008-02-10T08:53:00.001-06:00

Here I am on the Roadrunner Express, currently in Topeka, where we have to switch buses due to a flat.

It was already a late start leaving Manhattan, though the home pick up went better.

Should still make it to the airport in time to make my flight.

Though there are other people that might be cutting things too close.
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry

Roadrunner bound for Orlando, FL

2008-02-10T08:34:00.000-06:00

Here I am on the Roadrunner Express, currently in Topeka, where we have to switch buses due to a flat.

It was already a late start leaving Manhattan, though the home pick up went better.

Should still make it to the airport in time to make my flight.

Though there are other people that might be cutting things too close.
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry

ATM Withdrawal Fee

2008-02-01T20:58:00.001-06:00

I guess I have been spoiled by the First Internet Bank of Indiana.

Today, I stopped on my way back from IDM in the K-State Student Union to get some cash. There's an ATM in there that doesn't charge a surcharge to make withdrawals....regardless of bank.

Not horribly important because FIBI doesn't charge ATM withdrawal fees, and refunds the first $6 in ATM surcharges each month.

The key here is the forgotten ATM withdrawal fee. I had forgotten that B&M banks charge you money to use other ATMs to access funds....to compound the injustice of surcharges (usually) added on by the ATM that you used.

Well, this time instead of using my FIBI Check Card, I decided to give my K-State Federal Credit Union Check Card a try.....

Because I used the no surcharge machine, there was no surcharge on that end of the transaction.... But, I found that the K-State FCU dinged me $1 on their side for the transaction. :(

Oh well....guess I'll keep the K-State FCU accounts for now.

New Washer and Dryer

2008-01-27T15:10:00.000-06:00

My new Washer and Dryer arrived today.

It is so amazingly quiet...no more sound of a freight train driving through the building, guess I won't need to only run it during the day when I'm not at home anymore. No more running the washer while I run errands and then hear before I get to my door that I've gotten home too soon.

It does take a longer, perhaps more so because I watched it run the first wash load.

Now, I think I need to buy more clothes so that I can run full loads....though its more about not having enough whites to last two weeks.... ;P

Wonder if I'll try washing my comforter today.

TD Ameritrade & External Account Verification

2008-01-17T07:36:00.000-06:00

The other day, I was thinking I needed to tap the cash in my TD Ameritrade brokerage account...but I couldn't find a current check book for the account. Turned out that I never ordered one for the account after I moved here to Manhattan. Guess I had figured I would save the expense for until I had the need to write a check. Which has been rare....

But, while looking at my cash management options, there seemed to be the indication that I could do electronic (ACH) transfers out of my TD Ameritrade account. In the past, I could only transfer in...and it was a hassle if I wanted to create a recurring one (though I don't have the excess of cash these days to do that, now that the IRA contribution limit is much higher, I'm making less and now that cost of living is higher and growing faster than my pay).

And, since moving to Manhattan, KS, I have gone from doing all my banking at one bank to 3 banks now. I still have my primary accounts at First Internet Bank of Indiana. But, I added a local bank....mainly so I now have somewhere to convert the piles of coins (though not so much now that it is so easy to pay with a credit card now)....into more usable forms of currency. And, the high interest savings account.... So, I went and linked these new accounts with my TD Ameritrade account.

Normally, this process works where they send two small deposits to the account to link with, and you verify that you got these deposits to complete the linking. And, that's it....

But, I got a surprise this morning when checking my accounts. After I verified the trial deposits, TD Ameritrade then withdrew the trial deposits.

Kind of surprised that they were that petty about the small amount of cash.... 0.97 cents between the two accounts I linked. And, the fact that I wasn't told that they were going to do this....especially since none of the other institutions that I done this with in the past have done anything like this (IE: Capital One, E*Trade, PayPal, TD Waterhouse)....

Perhaps, I should've added the TD Ameritrade account as an external account to my Capital One account. But, someday I plan to be in the position to put cash into the TD Ameritrade account for investing again...and it seemed to make sense that I should be able to easily pull money from my other accounts into it.

My Mastercard got jacked!

2008-01-03T18:20:00.000-06:00

Today was Wingsday.

It was a glorious Wingsday....6 free traditional wings (Asian Zing), 6 boneless wings (Caribbean Jerk), wedges with cheese (though it isn't the approved cheese...), and some blue cheese dressing to dip. And, we were served by Leslie.

But, when it was time to pay...I decided to use my Mastercard, instead of Discover (the 5% cash back bonus for restaurants was for October, November, December)....to which I was informed that it was denied. >:(

So, I had to use my Discover card to pay....

Later I called Chase customer service....after entering my information, it then asked me to verify four of my recent transactions. I didn't recognize the first 3 transactions...only the 4th was the denied authorization attempt by Buffalo Wild Wings was recognized.

Guess it was good that they were blocking transactions on my card. Somebody was trying to buy $1600 in computer equipment and services with it.

I pressed the button to speak to somebody about things, went over the details of the transactions and they decided to cancel my card. So now I have to wait for a new credit card to come again.

This is the second time this has happened to this particular Mastercard. None of my other cards have experienced this sort of thing....yet.

It did cross my mind that maybe I look for a different brand of Mastercard, though the work of finding a new reward card, etc. I don't know if I want that. Guess the Perfectcard is just too perfect....

It seemed interesting that after I used my Mastercard to make a purchase at a certain local business....another customer mentioned to me that now if I start seeing strange, large purchase on my card that it might be too much of a coincidence....which is why that person only spends cash at that business, even though he prefers to use his credit card as much as possible for its rewards.

Never crossed my mind at the time, but I would've probably still used it...since I was tapped for cash during the holidays....waiting for the surcharge free ATM in the K-State Student Union to become accessible again....(though I did make a withdrawal at an ATM that hit me with a $2 surcharge, because the no-surcharge ATM was out of order and I couldn't put it off anymore...)

Looking forward to Chipotday, tomorrow.

Uncle Sam Starts Handing Out Digital TV Coupons

2008-01-02T12:00:00.000-06:00

With the start of the new year, you can now request your (up to 2 per household) $40 off coupon on digital-to-analog TV converter boxes.

Word is that places like Best Buy will have the boxes in February for around $60. The analog TV ends on February 17th, 2009.

Wonder if the stations will fix it so that I can get digital over the air around here. Can get analog now, but the only digital station that I can get is WIBW-DT.....its the problem with digital...you get nice clean picture, etc...but its pretty much all or nothing.

Post Ice Storm Walk to Work

2007-12-12T10:03:00.000-06:00

Aftermath of Ice Storm: a peek out the window

2007-12-11T08:52:00.000-06:00

K-State Closed Today Due to Ice Storm

MANHATTAN - Kansas State University's Manhattan and Salina campuses are closed today due to inclement weather and downed tree limbs on campus. Normal schedules will resume Wednesday morning.

Provost Duane Nellis, in consultation with Faculty Senate leaders, has arranged for finals scheduled during the day Tuesday to move to Saturday; and for finals scheduled Tuesday night to move to Friday night. The residence halls will remain open an extra day to allow for the Saturday finals.

"President Jon Wefald and I discussed the weather conditions, with the storm predicted to continue through today," said Tom Rawson, vice president for administration and finance. "We are concerned that tree damage and falling tree limbs could be hazardous for people walking on campus."

The safety of our students and employees is paramount, Rawson said.

Nellis said, "I am asking faculty to be as flexible as possible in making reasonable accommodation for students with Tuesday finals who would suffer hardship if they are required to change transportation plans in order to take their final."

Gary Leitnaker, assistant vice president for human resources, said employees who are involved with housing, feeding and the safety of students and campus buildings should report to work if possible. All other employees may stay home.

First accumulating snowfall of 2007

2007-12-06T08:40:00.000-06:00

Poker Face

2007-11-25T15:03:00.001-06:00

Poker Face
Originally uploaded by aychsea

Ya, finally a picture proving that I was at LISA '07.

Capital One Direct Banking Money Market @ MoneyMusings.com

2007-11-09T18:13:00.000-06:00

Should've done my home work better...

...but I wanted a high interest money market account for my emergency fund, with check writing, no fees and no minimums.

So, Capital One sounded like it fit the bill. But, if I had know about their slow transfers...I might have kept looking....

I guess Capital One has to make money somewhere.

Now that I have the account though, I'll probably stick with it for the time being.

OTOH, the other annoyance is the online account access outage from 12:00am to 7:00am CT every day. Since my day starts by 6:00 am, and I try to be done with personal computing at home by 7:00 am...so I can do work, etc. If it weren't for this daily blackout....the MSmoney access might have been a nice thing....

31 and counting

2007-10-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

Ya, I bled purple today....

Wonder how long before my number of donations with catch my age....

Jimmy Dean Sausage Links

2007-07-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

Would be much more enjoyable if there wasn't a bone chip in any of the links.

Had a craving for some sausage today, so I grilled up 6 links.... I was munching along, when CRUNCH, ow...what the F! Next link....CRUNCH, ow....ARGH! F! F! F!. Next link I was a bit cautious....CRUNCH, WTF!

The next one had a small chip that I didn't spit out, but by now I was no longer enjoying things....so it didn't matter than that the last link was free of chips.

Guess I'll be buying a different brand the next time I'm in the store....

So much for the convenience of eBay Express

2007-07-07T12:26:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I bought stuff off of eBay. And, there were a number of things that I wanted to get. So, I decided to try out eBay Express.

I loaded up my cart and went to checkout. But, I couldn't. Oh yeah, that's right...the checkout is broken and has never worked. Everytime I commit, it comes back with a message that my cart has changed, and to review it. But, I didn't change anything...but clicking it keeps bringing back to the message.

Finally, I do the horrible thing and hunt down a computer with IE, and try it. The checkout works this time. >:X

The point of doing eBay express versus buying each item separately, was to only have one charge to PayPal (and one transfer from my account). Well, I bought 3 things, there are 3 separate PayPal transactions and 3 separate bank account transfers.

I could've done that! Without the pain and agony of dealing with eBay Express!!!!

Pretty much these days the only reason to still shop eBay (other than to bid on something I can't find anywhere else)....is to find the merchants that ship by USPS. Since any other delivery would require me to walk a couple of miles to pick it up.....which reminds me....

Another PLAN increase

2007-04-21T18:41:00.000-05:00

Well, today I found a letter from PLAN in my mail box. My first thought was did the child I'm sponsoring move away again. Since it happened the last two years (2005, 2006).

But, it was PLAN asking for an increase in my sponsorship from $24/month to $29/month. This'll be my second increase in the time that I've been participating. When I originally signed up, it was only $20/month.

At the time, still is...the magic threshold was (up to) $250/year. That's the amount I normally allocate to my selected causes each year. And, PLAN (Childreach as it was known at the time) was under this magic mark at $240/year. When it increased to $24/month, or $288/year. I tolerated, because I didn't want to drop support for the child I was sponsoring....unlike when I was first laid off and relocated, etc. The organization took the child away from me, even though at no time was I not able to continue making my contribution. But, simple because I had moved.....from Canada to the US. In Canada, it was still known by the old name of "Foster Parent's Plan". Note sure why I stayed with the same organization...but I did. Though it was 6 months before I signed up...which was largely based on the fact that it was supposed to be a 6 month contract to hire (though it actually took 16 months).

Now it'll be like $348/year. But, I'm gonna do it anyways....even though I'm making a lot less money than what I was making before (as well as what the average for my occupation is).

What does remain to be seen is how this'll impact how many other 'select' causes I give to. And, whether or not I follow through on that thought of sponsoring more than just one (at the time, and still is, largely a matter of what other organization would I sponsor through.)

Amnesty Wireless powered by Working Assets

2007-03-22T11:11:00.000-05:00

Amnesty Wireless powered by Working Assets

Sounds like a good deal, except that I'm addicted to my Blackberry....and haven't reached the point where I'm ready to have a 3rd phone....;)

What I saw this morning...

2007-03-01T08:14:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, it reached a high of 70F!

This morning it was 30F and....

Nearly There... I Think....

2007-02-13T07:39:00.000-06:00

I Think I Can....I Think I Can....darn I forgot my swipe card, now I have to go back down the icy slope and enter through the front..... :`(

The Wintery Walk To Work 3

2007-02-13T07:38:00.000-06:00

The Wintery Walk To Work 2

2007-02-13T07:35:00.000-06:00

A Wintery Walk To Work

2007-02-13T07:34:00.000-06:00

The Scene Around Home This Morning

2007-02-13T07:29:00.000-06:00

Walking Home From Work?

2007-02-12T21:56:00.000-06:00

I kind of wish there was a way to capture what I was seeing....probably just seemed worse walking into the wind (and snow).

EWB-KSU, Mondialogo: South Africa Bioreactor Project

2007-01-23T08:25:00.000-06:00

Many existing sewage plants discharge waste material that could be harnessed for the production of energy. Biogas digesters can eliminate this problem through the production of methane by bacterial degradation of biological material. The methane produced can then be used to generate electricity. Many parts of Africa face poverty and lack the materials necessary for traditional energy generation. Most do, however, produce some type of waste. A team of engineering students from Stellenbosch University is looking to design and implement a biogas reactor. This reactor will not only provide energy for the surrounding community, but serve as an example for other African cities. In order to assist the research, we are assembling a team of engineering students and professionals interested in bioreactor design and international experiences. The project will be sponsored by Engineers Without Borders (EWB), an international organization that partners with developing communities to improve their quality of life. We are also in the process of writing a project proposal to obtain a Mondialogo grant that would substantially assist in the completion of the project. If interested in this project, please contact Gilbert Malinga c/o ewb@ksu.edu.

Finally got lots of snow in Manhattan

2007-01-21T10:36:00.000-06:00

It still isn't what a heavy snowfall advisory/warning/watch means to me....but at least there is snow. Now I can't wait until spring ;D

Facebook | Engineers without Borders - KSU

2006-12-08T17:34:00.000-06:00

I have now created a group on Facebook for Engineers without Borders - the KSU Chapter....

That's in addition to their web site at http://www.ewb-ksu.org

donteatpoop.k-state.edu

2006-11-09T20:28:00.000-06:00

Among the many things I do as a Unix Systems Administrator at K-State, is doing updates to our DNS server. And, from time to time see the stuff that comes across our internal listserv for DNS requests.

Today, we got the request for the 'top-level' name of "donteatpoop"....it fits into the 4 usual suspects of with and without 'www.' in front of it, and with both ksu.edu and k-state.edu as the domain name.

Kind of a strange name to request, considering where it redirects to, etc....and being an ex-Canadian, it hasn't escaped me that its also a .ca site....

I don't however take care of the web content, so it is kind of strange looking redirect, etc.... Which only stood out because earlier this morning (while getting ready to leave home for work) I happened to do some googling on web redirection. Though I was looking on how to best implement the masked variety. Because the library would like to have a nicer domain name than the current exposed host name, port number and long (application revealing) URI that currently shows for one of the many growing digital content related stuff that the library now offers.

I have two approaches that came up to try, only somebody else should decide on what the 'nice' name should be....

This is a test

2006-10-19T18:48:00.000-05:00

Well, this is only a test to see if I can post to by Blogspot blog via my Sprint Blackberry, which for reasons unknown doesn't generate plaintext Emails... Which my other mobile blog won't accept.

This does also serve to be that somewhat more substantial test of typing on my new Blackberry. The learning curve does exist, but it isn't as bad as what I went through with SureType. It is mostly about the differences from that, though there are some adjustments from a 'real' keyboard and from what my fingers seem to expect for placement and feel.

Anyways, we now return you to....
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

this is the samaBlog » 888-322-2785

2006-10-14T16:41:00.000-05:00

I was thumbing through my caller ID the other day...and noticed this toll free number had been calling me, while I've been at work. And, not leaving any voice mails.

Good thing I turned of Simulring, because it was costing me every time somebody called me whether I answered the call or not. Mainly because of a bad circuit at AT&T...kept dumping calls to my landline into noise. Even though its just a basic local only service, so when I don't answer...nothing else should.

Anyways...just got the call again...decided to see if Google would shed any light....usually it doesn't for these kinds of calls.

But, looks like Discover is phishing again. I wish they'd stop....

The last time I answered a phishing call from Discover...the pitch person said because I have never missed a payment and always pay my card in full each month...for completely free and no charge, I could have credit protection on my account. I didn't sound right, but he offered to send me the information in writing. So, I agreed to that.

The next month...I found charges for credit protection, etc. I called and yelled at Discover about it. They claimed that I had said 'yes' to getting the service, though they don't really record any of their calls....that's just a legal disclaimer incase they did. So, there's no proof that what I said 'yes' to was to get information in writing. Which I didn't get on the following week.

And the credit protection service assumes you won't pay, so they can make money off of the people that never miss a payment and always pay in full...to cover themselves against the people that use the service so they don't have to pay them.

I wish I had a recording of the pitch conversation....then I'd have evidence to back up a complaint against them. But, that's probably why they don't really record any of their calls for quality purposes....

Tough Enough to Wear Pink

2006-10-05T19:23:00.000-05:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

So, for this month I've been wearing my 'special' badge lanyard...its light blue with pink ribbons all over it.

And, there's this polo shirt in my collection...though I won't be wearing it this Friday, since I picked up a "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" shirt...but perhaps one of the other Friday's this month.

For me...its because I had an aunt....

What is my local calling area?

2006-08-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

Or more importantly, is 785-304 in my local calling area?

Why is it that this kind of information seems absolutely impossible to find. Can't seem to find it via Google. Can't find it on my phone company's site (AT&T)....there was a localcalling form on an SBC site, which I found using Google, but it refuses to accept 785 as a valid area code.

I suppose the obvious thing is to try calling the number from a toll restricted phone and see if it works. Though I don't currently have access to one....the one on my desk here at work still doesn't work.

But, it would be nice to find out if the number that T-Mobile assigned me can be reached from work, without being blocked for being non-local. Since it is kind of the point of why I switched my T-Mobile number from the Columbus, Ohio number I was using.

It is one of the strange backward things about landlines these days. With my cellphone and VoIP, I can call anywhere in the US...as easily as locally. And, VoIP extends my reach further....

But, a basic local toll only phone line from AT&T is double the 500 minute plans from Lingo or Vonage. And, way more than the Broadvoice's BYOD-lite plan. Though I'm probably gonna easily exceed the 100 minute allotment that it gives. While I've had trouble exceeding the 500 minute allotments.

I suppose what I might look at is the use of simulring or call forwarding. Actually, this sounds like a good thing to test selective call forwarding on...and I wonder if there's a limit on how many different numbers to selectively call forward. IE: all my co-workers and all the different numbers they might call me from.

Hmmm....

Microsoft wants to buy back my shares

2006-08-12T10:24:00.000-05:00

I've gotten two letters and at least 4 urgent emails telling me that Microsoft wants to buy back shares...and that I need to respond if I want to get on this deal, or just ignore if I don't want to.

Well, obviously I'm going to ignore the offer....they are like only offering $24-22 a share in the buyback. And, my basis is $30 a share.

And, I don't need the capital gains loss this year...since I just made a major relocation for a new job....(and not to work for Microsoft, who had recruiters calling me regularly to ask if I'd come work for them....and then never hearing back, except to hear from people that were at Microsoft that it wasn't unusual to be interviewed and then not hear back for over a year....)

Actually, there was a time where I thought that if they dropped to $20...I might double my position (to bring my basis down to $25 ;D)....but it never got that low and now I don't have the disposable income to do it.

Meanwhile, I'm still slowly catching up on my email backlog....in Outlook I'm up to July 20th and there's more than 1700 messages ahead .... It is worse in Thunderbird, because there are things I skipped over that I intend to go back and read....like "This is True" and "DNRC" newsletters....that history goes back to when I was first informed of my lay off.... I also hope to someday make some gain from the employee stock that I had acquired.

Is it really August already?

2006-08-05T14:51:00.000-05:00

In as many times these past few days...I keep writing 7 or 07 instead of 8 or 08 for the month.

Strange how time just seems to be sliding past lately. Must be the whole living in a new city, working a new job, etc.

Or maybe I'm just trying to avoid facing the crunch of projects that need to get done before the students come crashing in....

Let's have a reunion....

2006-07-24T18:58:00.000-05:00

Actually, my 20 year High School Reunion will be on September 9th. I had said I would attend, though that was before I transplanted myself to Manhattan, etc.

But, at least I told my boss about it, so it is still a possibility.

Meanwhile, feeling accomplished....I went to Yahoo! and created a couple of groups related to this. One for SWC86 and the other for Zoo90 ;D

Click to join SWC86

Click to join Zoo90

It is always in the last place you look!

2006-07-09T11:05:00.000-05:00

I've been here a week, and I've yet to have a decent cup of morning coffee. Been using bags from an old box of "Maxwell House Coffee Single" that I had come across while packing, which I had set aside incase I didn't get the coffee maker set up or it didn't survive the move.

Well, it did survive, so the only thing missing was my coffee container and, more important, coffee filters. So, this morning I made it my mission to find these elusive items, especially since finding out that I had bought the wrong kind during a recent shopping expedition (if you don't know, I don't drive...not since the accident, where as I laid in the second ambulance trip, to a bigger, university, hospital... unable to move, I heard some people talking about some concern around C4! But later I was able to walk, more or less, out of the hospital... :).

Well, I tore through every single box in sight and started looking in boxes that I had labelled as clearly not what I was looking for. I should have specifically labeled this box as having the coffee stuff, but I got sloppy at the end. :o I didn't find it, started to wonder if a box had gotten lost... settled on having another Coffee Single morning. :'(

Later when I was sitting on the toilet, which having my morning coffee does. :p. I notice a box I had missed sitting by the washing machine, I recognized that it was a found box (having run out during the packing process) and realized that it was a box I would have labeled 'FOOD'! Well, there they are! Unfortunately, something in the box didn't survive the move and everying was kind of sticky. Apparently, a packet of instant miso soup had ruptured. The movers seemed to like turning my boxes upside down, even the ones plastered on which way was up! They also stacked boxes in whatever orientation they wanted, even boxes that shouldn't (like boxes with handle holes containing stuff that was loose...did probably lose a few loose items this way.)

The only bad thing is that I don't recall coming across the box with my extra AA batteries. Guess I'll once again have to buy some more, even though I should have tons somewhere.

Well, I was planning on making two more expeditions today....
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Desperately seeking a...

2006-07-05T09:12:00.000-05:00

...phone cable!

The bad thing was during packing, I was finding so many that I was just throwing them out at the end.

But the new place doesn't have a wall jack, so I need a cord for my phone.
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Small problem...

2006-07-04T16:28:00.000-05:00

...among other perhaps more important ones.

But, my new living room is either too big or my 43" DLP RPTV is too small! :o

What is more pressing is how should run things for my internet access. :?
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

The movers are here

2006-07-04T11:47:00.000-05:00

And I haven't worked out where everything will go yet.... :o
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Now on final for Manhattan

2006-07-03T14:40:00.000-05:00

With the flight into MCI being so punctual, and my bags being among the first to hit the baggage carosel... I was able to make the call to KCIRoadRunner and get out for (almost) immediate pickup to be on my way to my new home!

Otherwise, I was expecting to hear that there might a couple hour wait before the couple of hours+ to get through to Manhattan and home.

Still haven't any idea what I'll do there yet...for things like supper, etc. Wonder how much will be open tomorrow for other shopping?

Guess as long as I can work a nice crash in... getting some curtains would be nice, to this end. :o
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Good thing I went to the airport really early

2006-07-03T07:31:00.000-05:00

As I was waiting for the shuttle to the airport, I got notification that my flight would be delayed an hour already.

I did already have a guess that there would be major delays at ORD.

At check-in they put me on an earlier flight via DFW. :)

Should also get into MCI earlier!
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Bad weather today....

2006-07-03T05:09:00.000-05:00

It seems just about everytime I need to fly now, the weather is bad....wonder how badly I'll be affected this, my final flight, to Manhattan (MHK) from Columbus (CMH)....via ORD.

The stumping game...

2006-07-02T19:18:00.000-05:00

Looks like I just played the stumping game, and won!

The game is where you pay a bill with a clearly significant amount, which implies "keep the change". And, the waitress can't figure out how much change to give you back...

IE: today's bill came to $25+change, and I left $31. ;D

Done!

2006-07-02T00:04:00.000-05:00

Now to call a cab, so I can go some where nice to crash.

--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Uh Oh

2006-07-01T23:23:00.000-05:00

There's trouble brewing!

Three more pieces to go, but they are rearranging the load....

When will this day end... I'm in need of a shower and bed .z.z.z. And a few Advils would be nice as well. 8-)
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

End in sight?

2006-07-01T22:15:00.000-05:00

Looks like we are coming up on the home stretch. They have wrapped my mattresses up in plastic. This something no other move has done, maybe there's a future for this company... ...except as I already said, I don't plan on there ever being another move for me! ;)
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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I hear fireworks!

2006-07-01T20:52:00.000-05:00

I guess somebody else here in Ohio is a Canadian!

Meanwhile, I just watched the movers push their truck out of the way of blocking somebody in! Now to see if they can get it back, and finish the load.

Seems the truck requires a push start!?!
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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Umm, things'll get really interesting...

2006-07-01T20:31:00.000-05:00

...tonight, after the movers take all my lamps! :)

Guess that sets my revised plan....
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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Hmm...

2006-07-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

I never noticed before that the neighbor below me has a wall AC unit in their livingroom window, before. I guess I didn't get out much (at all) during my unemployment.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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Sounds like a bird in distress...

2006-07-01T20:15:00.000-05:00

...it is probably a/some hungry chicks, perhaps the ones in the nest featured on my phlog.

Guess all the moving today is keeping mom away :(
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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Starting to get dark

2006-07-01T19:56:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'll have to revise my evening plans. Though I would think that my hotel reservation is safe since I charged it to American Express, at least I'm pretty sure that I did.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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I don't ever want to move again!

2006-07-01T19:14:00.000-05:00

And not just because I'm going to be way over estimate and budget, or that the next one will probably cost me a small fortune in new boxes.

But moving is a pain in general.

Maybe I need to shoot for winning the lottery so that I can secure ownership of my home there... and at least enough to basically live out my days there.

Meanwhile, the place is starting to look really big and empty. Which might be a bad thing, because the new place didn't seem all that big....
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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I found it...

2006-07-01T18:20:00.000-05:00

I knew it was somewhere. But I just couldn't find it.

Didn't think to look behind my bedroom door...which I don't think I've ever closed in all the time I've lived here.

Now I can throw it out.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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Looks like I'll be having a late supper...

2006-07-01T18:01:00.000-05:00

...at Steak n Shake, again.

And, then I'm not sure... probably just a really quick look over and then hail a cab for the hotel I'll be spending the next two nights until my final trip to Manhattan.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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I was wrong

2006-07-01T17:39:00.000-05:00

Turns out the last truck is also a move out. Just a rental where the driver really wanted to get close.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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Busy place today

2006-07-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

Just spotted my fourth moving truck today, and that's just the area visible from my apartment.

Though this last one seems to be going the other direction. Not sure if more out than in is a good thing or not. Though I know the other out from my building is a local move, because the person was moving some of his own stuff... and it didn't take long for him to make a trip.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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Just occurred to me...

2006-07-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

Aside from today being Canada Day... Independence Day is just around the corner, and with luck that will be the day the movers get me into my new place...minimizing the amount of time I'll have to sleep (and live) in an empty place. ;D

Normally, if I'm lucky I can see some fireworks through the trees behind my apartment. I wonder how they celebrate things in Manhattan?

OTOH, I suspect it being close to a University there'll be lots of people setting of fireworks late at night. It happens here, and we aren't that close. The University factor is that there'll probably be more of it.

Wonder what I'll have in the way of window covers, if any.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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This might take a while...

2006-07-01T15:24:00.000-05:00

Boy am I email/cellphone blogging a lot today. Wonder if I should see about adding the capability to my main blog?

But looks like the move will take a while. There are only two people doing the move. The other move from here had four people working that move. Plus that was from a second floor apartment, I'm in a third floor apartment.

The move in should hopefully go better, it is only a half story up. I had decided that I didn't want top floor this time around... But, I didn't like how close the lower floor windows were from the ground (lower floor is half story down, which worked because the building is built on a hill with street and parking 'above'.)

I guess the only thing that worries me about that is the more cramped floorplan.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

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Well....

2006-07-01T14:44:00.000-05:00

....shortly after I hit send, I hear this truck coming. It's them!
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

It's 3PM, do you know where your movers are?

2006-07-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't....

And I'm getting really annoyed!

...more to follow...

since the matter resolved, and the way that it did.... I don't feel like writing anything more on this.

But, the lateness was justified and I thought things went better than expected....

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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

The things you learn when you bored

2006-07-01T13:06:00.000-05:00

It has always seemed off that the outlet by the sink in one bathroom wasn't a GFCI. Turns out that it is downstream of the outlet in the other bathroom, so it was probably overkill that I had a plug in unit...

This led me to check out the kitchen plugs, there are three counter plugs...and only two are GFCI, as expected one of them was linked to the GFCI next to it... Then I wondered about the plug on the other side of the sink... It is tied to the GFCI on the other side of the oven... Kind of distant, but I guess it makes sense in a lazy kind of way.

Wonder how things will be in my new place?
--
You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Keeping cool at home

2006-07-01T12:45:00.000-05:00

What's interesting about right now is that it is pretty cool in my apartment right now, and I don't recall the AC having been on since I got up this morning.

Probably largely due to all the normal stuff not running right now. Hmm, the fridge just started running. Guess it is warm enough inside there to need it, even though I turned way up(?) since there is now hardly anything in there.

Meanwhile, I'm now finding out typing on the keypad of my BB7100t... Finding it rather annoying how it consistantly gets stuff wrong, or at the last second completely makes the word wrong...

There is a plan to eventually replace this device with something else, though I don't know with what yet. Kind of depends on whether I'll be changing carriers due to my move.... There might also be other reasons.
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

The Move... Fustrated!

2006-07-01T11:14:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago the mover's dispatcher called to say they couldn't make it until late on June 30th, and asked it 9am on July 1st would be alright. I said it would be.

Come this morning at 9... No movers!? 9:i30... 10.... So I go into my suitcase to dig out there number to find out what is going on. They said they would call the driver and get back to me. Suddenly it is 11:30 and still no movers. So I call again. Dispatch recognized my name, and said there had been no answer when then tried calling the driver and assumed they were close or something. She said she would call again and get back to me. This time she did call back, but to say that it would be about 3 hours before the truck would arrive.

Guess I'll go to Steak n Shake for lunch (again, had supper there last night). Maybe starting late will be better for them.... The other move out for my same building might be done by then, and maybe there'll be fewer cars parked out front. Though it is Saturday... So fewer people might be going out. Yesterday the front parking was deserted...

Oh well, off to lunch... Since all the open access points around here seem to have gone away...
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You may be a dreamer, but I'm The Dreamer, the definite article you might say!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Manhattan, Kansas Here I Come!

2006-06-26T15:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm at least a step closer to getting moved to Manhattan, Kansas....I've charged my deposit on the move.

Now, I'm waiting to hear back when my actual move out date will be and the window of when my move in date is.

Hopefully, enough notice so I can find a one-way airplane ticket to get me there in between the two processes. And, start living in an empty place. Though I expect it to be better living in the empty place there than the empty place here. ;D

Still lots of do in packing and other preparations....and maybe start looking at change of address notification.

Also need to sort out some time to say some good-byes :..(

MythBusters: Killer Brace Position

2006-06-17T22:49:00.000-05:00

I was just watching this old episode of Mythbusters, having not seen it originally.....due to problems getting it to record around conflicting shows....

I'm really getting into watching them again, largely perhaps because of Kari Byron....after all I guess I have this thing about red heads ;D

Anyways...I though the cell phone versus drunk test was interesting....because it reminded me of a bar argument I remember being around back in the early 90's when the goverment was trying to make 0.08 the legal standard for the whole country....rather than where lots of places which had higher limits (and I seem to recall one place had 0.05).....

It was interesting in Mythbusters, because they used a 0.08 legal limit...and they had Adam and Kari be legal(ly drunk). And, they both failed. Which means they've not only proven that talking on your cellphone while driving is just as bad as driving while impaired....

But, they proved that the 0.08 legal limit is too high (and perhaps equally arbitrary to any other legal limit). And, that the legal limit needs to be lowered....

Since lately them seem to enjoy drinking on the show so much....perhaps they should do a show where they see just how high of a BAC they can blow before they can't pass the driving test.

Though can't understand why you can't just have people that drink shouldn't drive...PERIOD. After all, I never drank when I was driving (having done sufficient drinking for my lifetime, and then getting my license)....and I was still perfectly capable of getting into accidents and nearly getting myself killed. Now I just neither drink nor drive :D

Debt to Pack Rat Propensity?

2006-06-14T16:54:00.000-05:00

Wonder if anybody has done a study on the relationship between a person's personal debt and their tendancy to be a pack rat?

I've always been quite a pack rat. I have boxes and boxes of stuff cluttering up my apartment, some of which probably hasn't been opened since I first left home (1990). While, there are other things that at least got unpacked so that they could be at least seen.

There were are probably 3 (off the top of my head) main reasons why I keep stuff around.

1. worried I'll need it some day, and don't want to buy it again.
2. memories
3. nostalgic

While 2 and 3 are probably heavily intertwined...the best distinction is probably....keeping my old school notebooks (2) or keeping a 100MB harddrive (3).

Well, once upon a time...and up until about a year and half ago...I had debt....at times it was pretty serious, too. And, I kept all kinds of things. Like great big boxes of clothing I had outgrown...back when I was extremely underweight, as opposed to where people still consider me underweight, but I see being 50% heavier than I was an improvement. In comparison, I feel heavy...and it seems to be making me less active. Though there are other health reasons why I'm this way. But, I'm hoping that after I relocate to Manhattan, KS, etc....that I'll be able to work on address this.

Anyways...I've been slowly working on packing some of my stuff up...and as I go through things (both previously unpacked and boxes that hadn't been opened since a previous move)...I'm finding it much easier to throw away stuff than I used to.

Like I am going to free myself of all the old clothes that doesn't fit me anymore (except where it falls into category 3, like my old Scout uniform ;)

As for the 100MB harddrive, that's already packed away somewhere. It was the first harddrive that I ever personally purchased and owned.....