Apropos of Nothing *4*

Cobra Commander · 2005-04-06 07:52:02

Of all the weighty discussions we've had here over the years this banter is what plays out when there's an outside chance I'll get shot. :laugh:

There is a God, and he's got a wickedly twisted sense of humor.

And he's a sadistic prick, but I won't be meeting him.

clark · 2005-04-06 07:57:32

Of course God is sadistic, this is the same fellow who said, "be free my little birdies, but crap in my garden, and into the oven with ya!"

That's why the religious types always look constipated.

clark · 2005-04-07 07:27:34

It would appear God has granted Cobra a reprieve! Come, give us gossip, what happened?

Cobra Commander · 2005-04-07 07:37:04

It would appear God has granted Cobra a reprieve! Come, give us gossip, what happened?

As expected, nothing much. An employee had been forcibly ejected the day before and threatened to "shoot the motherf**kers", management panicked, police were notified, nothing happened as expected. Just an idle threat, softened by time and alcohol apparently.

Otherwise I'd have gone home, or least up the road for a long lunch with a view of the facilities. :hm:

Back to the grind and gruntling.

Nothing to see here, move along.

clark · 2005-04-07 07:41:19

That's why I'm glad I'm not CIA. Those poor bastards have to take one for their SOB boss as a job requirement.

Trebuchet · 2005-04-07 14:36:35

That would be the Secret Service, not the CIA. The job description of the CIA is to peep through the keyholes of other countries.

clark · 2005-04-07 14:49:11

Ah, my mistake! I knew they were part of a certain branch... the Treasury in fact... thanks for keeping me corrected! :laugh:

Palomar · 2005-04-08 06:56:06

*These doctors are being so stupid today.

One gets on and says the date of service is 4/5/06. Catches that mistake, says "whoops, 05." Two seconds later she's saying "06" again. Can't keep the year straight, dearie? And you graduated from medical school?

Another is dictating the problem list. Goes from #1 to #2...to #4. ??? And each problem listed is a mere 2 words' descriptive. Lost count already?

Latest flub: A patient with a distinctly male name -- and 3 seconds into the dictation the physician identifies the patient as "female."

:angry:

And of course WE have to catch all their little mistakes and correct them in the text. Because if we don't, it's OUR fault...doctors are perfect you know.

Most of them can't even spell lots of prescription or over-the-counter medications correctly.

--Cindy

Mad Grad Student · 2005-04-09 22:51:59

Sound about right... razors edge between dis and not. Question, do usualy bring a knife to work?

Well, I don't know about do, but unfortunately if I brough a knife to work I'd get suspended, which would not be very fun. I'd personally love to let a knife live in my pocket, it's a lovely multi-purpose tool and helps you keep in touch with your inner social preditor, but there are so many places today where you could end up in a whole boatload of trouble if you're cought with one. My father keeps one with him at all times, and almost had it confiscated at the airport once.

I'm very happy with my immune system as it keeps me from going to the doctor's very often. When I was little I'd go to the doctor fairly regularly, for checkups, but eventually I guess they stopped seeing the use in sending a habitually perfectly healthy kid down to the office every year or so. Except for vaccinations. And my parents could never tell me when I was getting one. It was always "Let's go for a checkup, then we'll get ice cream!" Invariably I wouldn't have the slightest inkling of their ulterior motives until I smelled the rubbing alcohol being taken out. And we never even went to Baskin Robbins after all those years...

Digression within a digression. My point is, I'm quite happy that I don't have to spend much time around doctors. They're a brilliant group of people, no doubt about it, and I admire them for their work, but they never seem to get it whenever I'm around them. It's always a bunch of "Why don't you wear glasses all the time?" (after I fail the eye exam), "Okay, you shouldn't stay out in the Sun for more than ten minutes" (after they catch a look at my mole-covered neck), "Why don't you come in here more often? I haven't seen a new mole pop up in three years and that's all they can ever talk about. It's as though their primary goal in their work is to fabricate the story that will best convince you that you're absolutely screwed. Bunch of lousy good-for-nothing...

But hey, I'm CPR/First Aid certified on the professional level, so I guess that makes me one of them. I've heard that many doctors get so used to other work and having nurses around that they completely forget how to perform CPR. The most basic, easy, life-saving maneuver when a patient is in cardiac distress, and they don't know how to do it. Cindy, have you ever noticed this problem among your colleagues?

My father and I got into an interesting discussion a while ago about piloting. It would help my cause if I could get out to the field more than once every two or three months, but whatev. It's funny, flying, like carrying a knife, is not inherantly dangerous but can get you into a tanker-sized boatload of trouble in a New York second if aren't careful. On the infinately linkable Wikipedia I found a site that has pretty nice descriptions of many of the major air accidents that have occured over the past half-century or so, with CVR transcripts, audio files, movie clips, and all that other good stuff. Back in 1985, apparently (I say that because I was -4 years old at the time) an L-1011 crashed on landing in Dallas. The pilot wasn't careful and got cought in a microburst and saw his speed shooting up. So, hey, it makes sense to throttle back, nose up, and slow down, right? Well, that worked until he got to the other side of the microburst and his speed shot down to many knots below the plane's stall speed and, you guessed it, the plane fell out of the sky. This is the kind of thing that makes me want to bang my head against the keyboard and scream YOU IDIOT, YOU NEVER SLOW DOWN ON APPROACH UNTIL YOU FLARE!!!!! It's a nice rule to follow in gliders, one I always adhere to. As long as you keep your speed up and are ready to shove the stick to the forward stop if you run into trouble, you'll generally be fine. A 2-32 has a stall speed of about 32 knots, and I try to stay above 60 all the way to that final flare before landing. Those are my thoughts on the matter anyways.

Has anyone here had a peanut butter-pickle sandwich before by any chance? If so, what kind of PB do you reccomend?

Trebuchet · 2005-04-10 01:18:17

I reccommend that you not eat peanut butter and pickles. The combination sounds Not Good. (However, using Coca-cola as a meat marinade is surprisingly effective.)

As far as doctors, they can be annoying, no doubt, but I tend to view this as the result of all that sleep deprivation as a resident. I believe it permanently fries their brains or something. :laugh:

The 'don't carry weapons' bit is something that annoyed me. I reccomended to my sister that she carry on campus for her own protection (for late night trips to the library and that sort of thing). She told me, quite naively, "But it's against campus rules! You can't have weapons on campus!". I had to be the voice of cynicism and point out that the college staff is not omniscient and will remain in ignorant bliss unless she stupidly waves it about like an idiot (in which case, you get what you deserve). In any case, it's always better to be tried by twelve than carried by six, so to speak. The no-weapons bit was quite widely violated when I was at college...

Mad Grad Student · 2005-04-10 13:22:09

Well, I don't really have any good excuse to carry around a knife with me anyway. I'd just be pushing my luck for no good reason if I did. Still, it is a good idea not to violate rules unless you have to or there's absolutely zero inforcement of them. And no matter what, if you're caught with a knife at the airport and you don't have any relatives nearby who are staying it will be taken from you. So it's something to be careful about.

My English teacher claims that the peanut butter pickle sandwich is one of the most life-changing culinary experiences one can have (in a positive way anyways). From my experience I gather that it is an extremely aquired taste, the kind of thing that requires exceptional circumstances before one can truly appriciate it. I'll probably just stick to peanut butter myself.

dicktice · 2005-04-10 14:02:15

[Mad Grad queried: Has anyone here had a peanut butter-pickle sandwich before by any chance? If so, what kind of PB do you reccomend?]
No, but a couple of slices of fresh tomato on an open-face peanut butter is, for me, a delicious "comfort food" item.
By the way, as a fellow glider pilot, I always carry a Kit Kat chocolate-wafer candy bar, for when I'm climbing endlessly in a thermal and becoming careless from fatigue. It's a great thermal flying. Now that they've come out with a Kit Kat withpeanut-butter in it, I can't wait to try it out in my next thermal.

Mad Grad Student · 2005-04-10 14:10:25

By the way, as a fellow glider pilot, I always carry a Kit Kat chocolate-wafer candy bar, for when I'm climbing endlessly in a thermal and becoming careless from fatigue. It's a great thermal flying. Now that they've come out with a Kit Kat withpeanut-butter in it, I can't wait to try it out in my next thermal.

Nice idea. I should try that next time, although I'm not sure what my instructor would think of me whipping out a candy bar int he middle of a lesson on coordinated flight. Not that I'm really doing anything with my left hand during that time, of course...

Grypd · 2005-04-10 15:01:34

[Mad Grad queried: Has anyone here had a peanut butter-pickle sandwich before by any chance? If so, what kind of PB do you reccomend?]
No, but a couple of slices of fresh tomato on an open-face peanut butter is, for me, a delicious "comfort food" item.
By the way, as a fellow glider pilot, I always carry a Kit Kat chocolate-wafer candy bar, for when I'm climbing endlessly in a thermal and becoming careless from fatigue. It's a great thermal flying. Now that they've come out with a Kit Kat withpeanut-butter in it, I can't wait to try it out in my next thermal.

As a hill walker I always carry Kendal mint cake as the energy boost that is needed sometimes. Sitting on the top of some Ben somewhere and you get a chance for that instant super rush of energy.

Cobra Commander · 2005-04-10 18:24:24

And no matter what, if you're caught with a knife at the airport and you don't have any relatives nearby who are staying it will be taken from you. So it's something to be careful about.

Those little plastic strips that keep collars stiff... those always bothered me.

Of course if you cut some thin ABS plastic or Zytel into the same shape you can slip 'em in there and no one would ever be the wiser. Stuff holds a good edge too.

I guess the point being that too many security regulations in excess of enforcement capability has the primary effect of creating an enviroment in which it's possible to hijack a plane with a boxcutter, or even a collar tab. A random thought to consider.

Then again, people accidentally get guns onto planes from time to time, so how hard can it really be?

On a totally unrelated note, nothing clears the head like the crack of a rifle butt against one's skull. Or so I hear.

A persistent ringing, that is.

Palomar · 2005-04-10 19:50:09

Dicktice: No, but a couple of slices of fresh tomato on an open-face peanut butter is, for me, a delicious "comfort food" item.

*I'll try to keep "don't knock it 'til you've tried it" in mind. But tomato slices on peanut butter? I'm tempted to say "ugh" and never to actually try it. :-\

Grypd: As a hill walker I always carry Kendal mint cake as the energy boost that is needed sometimes.

Brings to mind: Last year some friends returned from a trip to Scotland (visiting relatives) and brought us a small box of Scottish fudge. Made with goat's milk, IIRC. One bite and...sorry, did not like it. Tasted like a bit of Tootsie Roll sans the chocolate flavor...(or -any- flavor).

Cobra Commander: On a totally unrelated note, nothing clears the head like the crack of a rifle butt against one's skull. Or so I hear.

This comment wouldn't be related to -my- comments about those doctors, would it? :laugh:

Ouch. The knuckle of the my left big toe just cracked.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-04-14 11:01:21

*My grandparents built a house, perhaps in the 1930s, by hand. My mother and her sister grew up in that house, and I visited it many times as a kid. It was a bit more spacious than I think one would expect for the time, the means and the little money my grandfolks had. There was one unusual feature of the house: No doors at all, except on the bathroom of course. Arched entryways instead of doors, with long and heavy curtains partitioning off the rooms. Solid wood floor in the living room and master bedroom. Later they added a front porch and a tiny back porch.

The basement was full, perfectly (well...looked that way) rectangular and made of cinderblock. I don't know if they put in all the plumbing too, but the foundation, walls, windows, flooring, roof, etc. -- all done by hand, with an uncle helping.

It's in Illinois. I've been thinking about that house lately. Took it for granted as a kid (sad), and haven't seen it for nearly 20 years now. I think: There's a home my grandparents built with their sweat and labor (my grandfather worked full-time at a factory during the building process)...will I ever see it again? Will it some day be knocked down and a new home built on that land? Sure don't take it for granted anymore. I try to imagine them, building that house -- the actual process. Hmmmmmm.

--Cindy

Mad Grad Student · 2005-04-16 18:31:55

I'm in a.... pretty typical mood today. Don't really fell like ranting right now. Pretty weird, huh?

This is from my younger brother:
"Blaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!! To all trolls: Get of teh computer and go get some exercise! I know the light and girls are scary but in time you will learn to enjoy it."

Hey, they're not my lines. Maybe I'll let him post more if I decide he's worthy of such privilages. :;):

Palomar · 2005-04-19 05:11:12

*My sister sent me an early birthday gift, which I received in the mail yesterday. It's an "Over The Hill Crying Towel." :laugh: Who knows, it might come in handy. But I'll be okay...maybe...

--Cindy

dicktice · 2005-04-20 12:25:40

My neice, the little minx, sent me TWO birthday cards, explaining that none on the rack were old enough, so she sent two that added up to my age. (This happened a few years ago, before I started counting down, of course.)

Palomar · 2005-04-20 20:31:29

My neice, the little minx, sent me TWO birthday cards, explaining that none on the rack were old enough, so she sent two that added up to my age. (This happened a few years ago, before I started counting down, of course.)

*Really? I've never heard of anyone doing that before. :hm:
Makes sense I suppose, but then it's a double reminder (ugh).
I've seen birthday cards for 70 through 100, and also for the 5's.

A friend of my aunt's is dying. He's 28, the son of her minister and wife; he has Down's syndrome, diabetes, etc. I've not met him. Apparently he functions at around age 2 or 3. He's suffered so much, lots of pain from complications of the diabetes and various medications; is currently in an intensive care unit. Am not sure if he alternates between waking and sleeping consciousness, or is comatose. When he's been well and aware, he apparently instantly recognizes other people with Down's syndrome as being like him. He also associates family and friends with animals; for instance, his father is "father bear." I can't recall what animal he associated my aunt with (it's innocent of course; never intending to be insulting or etc.); he's suffered so much, and it's sad that life can be very unfair to some people. My aunt has helped care for him at home for the past couple of years.

--Cindy

BWhite · 2005-04-20 22:39:23

Dont know where else to put this. . .

I like this http://img156.exs.cx/img156/1489/snack7ov.gif]clickable smiley

dicktice · 2005-04-21 10:23:07

Appropo of the above, this just in:

Canada has become the first country in the world to approve the sale of a cannabis-based prescription painkiller. Cannabis sativa L. has won approval from Health Canada regulators for treatment of a severe form of pain common among sufferers of multiple sclerosis, but it may also find favor with those with nerve pain related to conditions ranging from shingles to cancer.
The drug, marketed in Canada by Bayer HealthCare under the brand name Sativex, is sprayed under the tongue or inside the cheek.
While it contains the active ingredients that give pot smokers their buzz, including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the drug does not intoxicate users. "These people are not feeling intoxicated by the drug, partly because the type of cannabinoids that have been isolated and purified work more specifically at the targeted pain receptors," said Dr. Virginia Devonshire, a neurologist at the University of British Columbia.
Patients who will be prescribed the drug will also be suffering from neuropathic pain, which is excruciating and can be provoked by movement, touch or temperature.
"It's like being plugged into an electric socket all the time," said Steve Walsh of Milton, Ontario, who has endured neuropathic pain in his hand for five years since being diagnosed with MS.
The move was applauded by those with the disease and proponents of medical uses for marijuana.
"This confirms that virtually everything the U.S. government has told us about marijuana is wrong," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. The organization is fighting to have marijuana legalized for medical use. "This product offers patients and doctors a new option and we hope Americans will have access to it soon."
In the United States, the federal government has classified marijuana as a drug that is as dangerous as heroin, although 10 states have passed laws that allow its use under medical supervision.
Sativex should be on the market in Canada before summer. The price of the drug has not yet been established.
While a number of drugs use synthesized forms of cannabis, this is the first to use marijuana extracts. The British drug company that developed Sativex, GW Pharmaceuticals, has been harvesting 40,000 pot plants in a secret location to produce the drug.

I got whacked by a falling tree limb, and developed shingles, which hurt like hell for about a month, so I can appreciate what this could mean to constant sufferers.

clark · 2005-04-21 10:28:36

Today is a really good day.

Got a job in the city. Guess I can make it anywhere. :laugh:

BWhite · 2005-04-21 11:46:29

Got a good job in the city;
Working for the man every night 'n day.

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