Corridor 9

Uploaded a few more pictures.
Don’t tell Kristie… I haven’t printed these out for her yet.
http://corridor9.net/gallery/v/Being+Family/Baby+Christian/

You may remember a post a while back that talked about the Rising cost of insurance. Well, recently we received some paperwork from Anthem Insurance regarding Kristie’s stay in the hospital. While we weren’t too surprised with the total amount that the hospital charged, it was a bit disheartening how Anthem tried to screw us and the hospital.

Keep in mind that Kristie was in the hospital a total of 7 weeks, and had a multitude of procedures in this time including 4-5 ultrasounds, q6h antibiotic IV drips, round the clock fetal heart monitoring at times, as well as the delivery itself and all charges incurred during that procedure. However, none of Christian’s expenses are included in this amount.

In total, the hospital charged roughly $80,000 for her little 7 week excursion. Like I said, we figured as much. However, Anthem apparently didn’t want to pay up. The EOB (Explanation of Benefits) paperwork that Anthem Insurance sent us stated that they were only going to pay roughly $2,500. Their excuse was that the stays were not covered because the hospital didn’t properly submit the request to have the hospitalization approved.

The funny part about it all is that while Kristie was in the hospital I received paperwork approximately every week from Anthem stating that the next 7 days of her stay were approved. It’s amazing how they can approve her stay, send paperwork stating that fact, but then see the final bill and just decide they don’t want to pay.

After putting together more baby items than I care to remember, I keep finding myself coming back to this same statement over and over. From the crib, to the stroller, from swing to pack-n-play, and even down to the simple mobile, I keep finding myself uttering the same mantra over and over.

It goes to show you that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Many times I’ve heard my Dad’s mantra when it comes to assembling item that are mass produced by “The Man”. Back when I was a kid, I thought he was just short tempered, but now I know exactly what it is. It’s not stress, naw that would be too simple to explain away. No, it’s something deeper, more sinister. I think I’ve finally found out what what makes us men so frustrated at instructions and assembling new items.

We’ve all been there, from Christmas toys, to baby stuff, to even working on automobiles. I think I can finally name it. Engineeritis. What is Engineeritis you say? Let me elaborate a bit.

Ever read the instructions on setting up a microwave? All that technical jargon. What about changing a spark plug on your car; your fingers never seem to be able to fit into those tight spaces. It’s everywhere. Thats Engineeitis. More simply, it’s that itchy, blood boiling, get out of my face feeling that overcomes us anytime we deal with the utter insanity of assembling store bought items. It’s just about the same feeling that we get right after we grittingly utter the words “I’m not lost Dear, I know exactly where I am. I just thought you might want to take the scenic view.”

But as I said, Engineeritis is more sinister. We may not hear the laughter, but it’s there. Every time some PhD Nothing engineer pens out the instructions to assembling a chair; he’s laughing. Laughing at us men out here in the world who have to decipher the instructions without looking like baboons in front of our families. Intertwining French, Spanish, and Japanese, all while thinking of the most scientific word he can to trip us up. Oh yea, he’s laughing all right; that evil maniacal laughter aimed at the “common man”.

So, In the spirit of all those real men out there who like to stick it to the man; let’s all chant together:

“Whoever designed this piece of {insert your own preferred explicative here} need to have it shoved so far up his {more explicatives; probably going to need two or three of them} that he needs a {mild explicative} technical manual, a {mild explicative} flashlight, a pair of {over the top explicative} pliers to get it out!”

Well…. I’ve been out at Station 4 for about 3 months now, guess it’s time for me to move. I’ve moved more times in the past year and a half that I have in the entire 8+ years that I’ve been here. Heck, I’ve changed stations this past year more than I have houses since living in Madisonville.

Time to move again.

I was just notified this morning that I am going back out to Station 3 because my HAZMAT training would better serve the department out there. It seems like I keep going back there, but don’t stay for very long. I’ve gone from Station 2 to 3 when Hazmat training began, then back to 2 shortly after that. Once again I moved out to Station 3 for more Hazmat stuff, then back to 2 after promotions. Shortly after that I came out here to Station 4.

Anyway… long story short, back to Station 3.

Update: After talking to some coworkers, I realized that if I am required to go downtown to complete the mandatory 6 month probationary period, then I’ll be an Engineer 1 full year prior to being off probation. I don’t know that I want to be on probation that long. I’d like to get it over with so that I can make steps to move forward with my goals. Since another Engineer downtown has just finished his probation, there is an opening that I could occupy and therefore begin my probationary period. I’ll go wherever the department needs me still, but I really don’t want to to miss any opportunities by not completing my probation in a timely fashion.

Ok. So, you…. yes YOU. You know who you are. You come here and read about my life, laugh at my problems, get blank stares at my pitiful jokes, and cry when I get on my soapbox about things. Yes, you know who you are…

No, don’t run for the door, I’ve already logged your IP address, and there are quite a few of you out there who visit every day.

Ok, I understand parting with hard earned cash is a bit difficult; especially with the price of gas being as high as it is now (took me $65 to fill my Jeep up and I had a quarter tank)!!! I’ve been noticing that you don’t push the donation button on the left side.

However, thats OK! I do this because I want to. It gives me joy, lets me vent, and lets me raise social and work issues in an environment that keeps me from getting fired or beat to a pulp. But hook Rescue up a little bit man… just a little is kewl.

SO, with that in mind, I’ve gone about a new tactic. For those of you who know me well… you know that last year I dumped all my computers and removed the “borrowed software” off them all. I wanted to be able to say that I own everything that’s on my computers instead of having pirated stuff. So, it’s all clean, and it’s all mine now.

Because of this though, I lost a lot of very useful software and some killer tunes. So here’s the deal. If you’ve got an extra copy laying around that you want to donate, or you are at a yard sale and see a killer album for $.50, pick it up and contact me. I’ll get you the mailing address and we’ll go from there.

Some of the items I’m really looking for:

Music

• Seven Mary Three: American Standard
• Infected Mushroom: (any album, These guys Rock!!)
• U2: All That You Can’t Leave Behind
• Crystal Method: Tweekend
• The Almost: Southern Weather
• Underoath: Define the Great Line

Software

• Adobe Lightroom
• Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007
• Pocket Quicken for Windows Mobile
• Day of Defeat:Source

BTW… thanks for reading!

Nothing much has changed with Kristie’s condition, but to make sure that we have all the necessary information in line let’s take a look at whats going on.

• She’s still on bed rest in the hospital till the baby comes: Closest approximations are still 6 weeks away.
• A PIC line remains in her arm so they can give her IV medications and draw blood from
• She can take a 5 minute shower and sit up a few times a day as her back injury was hurting her when she was laying down all day.
• Her fluids are relatively stable and haven’t decreased dramatically this past week like we were fearful of.
• The baby is real low and in the delivery position, so at least we don’t have to worry about breech or anything.
• The only new update is the fact that she can now get wheeled outside for 1 hour a day to get some sun and relief from the hospital. It’s not like i can wheel her to Dairy Queen or anything, but just that little bit of freedom makes things seem more bearable.

If anything changes, I’ll be sure to update the blog ASAP, but don’t be surprised if we don’t hear anything for a while.

Well… it’s finally coming true. Kristie is pregnant.

I was sitting there playing my game on the computer when she came in and held up what appeared to be a Q-tip. I was wondering if I had left it sitting on the counter or something. Finally after abour 4 seconds I realized that it wasn’t a Q-tip but a test strip, then after another 4 seconds I finally realized there were 2 lines on the strip.

Neither of us could really believe it so she ended up taking a total of 3 tests. The next morning she called a friend at the doctor’s office who said that 3 tests was more than enough to confirm the pregnancy.

Needless to say I’ve had a smile on my face for the past few days.

Yes, I know I still haven’t blogged day 4 of the hiking trip.
Yes, I know I haven’t posted anything here in a while.
Yes, I know I have lots of good news to share.
Yes, I know…….. BE QUIET ALREADY!!!! I’m gettin to it!

I’ve been hacking my phone the last 2 weeks and it’s taken a lot of time. I haven’t gamed, blogged, or even had any nook……. never mind. Besides…. I’ll get to that later on this week. I’ve got so many things going on to blog about I’ll likely have quite a few posts lined up so keep coming back for sure.

UNTIL then…. I found this on the web and darn near crapped my pants from laughing! It’s KID FRIENDLY, so that means you’ll like it mom.

UPDATE: I do apologize greatly. I was laughing so hard that I didn’t even pay attention to some of the language and offensive jokes that were in the show. I will try to do a bit better next time in only placing Kid Friendly content here.

I finally got my new At&T Tilt in the mail yesterday. What a beautiful little machine. It’s got Windows Mobile on it, Outlook, Word, Excel, and a plethora of other applications. I think I’m going to like this little puppy.

I’ve had the device a little over 16 hours and I’ve already begun hacking it. I’ve stripped out the crapware AT&T Rom and put the HTC Rom on the machine. I’ve still got a number of programs I need to install but thats just going to take a bit of time. I’ll keep you updated on the progress!

Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about my health. I’ve known for quite a while that I was overweight and am in a constant battle to lose weight. Work has implemented a physical fitness program lately that has helped me toward lowering my weight and thereby lowering some of the negative health effects caused by that weight. This in turn lowers my risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other problems.

However, something hit me today as I was getting on the truck; almost like a cloud settling over me. I’m exposed to something every day for which I have no defense. I’m exposed to Sulfur Dioxide, Arsenic, Benzene, Formaldehyde, Mercury compounds, and Cyanide just by walking into the station¹. All deadly chemicals, yet inescapable in my work environment. Keep in mind that these are the same chemicals that we protect ourselves from during a hazardous materials incident by wearing a fully encapsulated suits and self contained breathing apparatus to prevent any contact with the chemicals.

I’m talking about diesel exhaust, a problem that is a serious issue at my department. I didn’t realize how much I was exposed to this exhaust until the main engine at my station broke down and a backup engine was brought out. This backup engine has an air leak somewhere in the system causing the truck to lose air gradually over the day. Upon starting, for daily checkout or before a run during the day, the engine has to sit and idle to build up the air pressure before the parking brake can be released. In this time a black cloud can be seen building inside the engine bay; a toxic cloud.

Risks associated with the inhalation and absorption from such a cloud of diesel fumes include: Premature Death, Lung Cancer, Heart Attacks, Testicular Cancer, Chronic Bronchitis, Neurological Damage, Liver/Kidney Damage, Aggravated Asthma, Exacerbated Allergies, and a Lower Resistance to Respiratory Infections².

It’s also a fact that firefighters today face a greater risk of developing cancer than any other profession³. Some statistics shown in a study published in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. 48(11):1189-1202, November 2006 by the University of Cincinnati environmental health researchers have shown that firefighter have a greater risk of cancer than any other profession in the following areas⁴:

* Testicular cancer 102%

* Multiple myeloma 53%

* Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 51%

* Skin cancer 39%

* Brain cancer 32%

* Prostate cancer 28%

* Stomach cancer 22%

* Colon cancer 21%

While I haven’t been able to find data for the U.S., statistical data for Canada shows that two out of every three firefighters will develop some form of the disease⁵. It’s so prevalent in our profession that there are even dedicated support groups. Organizations like The Firefighter Cancer Support Network, The Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, and The Retired Professional Fire Fighters Cancer Fund are just a few that are setup to help firefighters and their family with counseling, guidance, support, and education when dealing with such an illness.

Removing these exhaust fumes is no cheap task. The most common way of removing fumes is to attach a hose to the tailpipe and pump it outside the building with powerful fans. This will allow the fumes to escape without the firefighters coming in contact with them. When the truck drives away, the hoses will disconnect from the tailpipe and recoil back so they don’t smash into the sides of the truck.

Plover Wisconsin recently had such a system installed which provides 10 exhaust ports. The cost was roughly $95,000 with a grant from FEMA ’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant providing 95% of the total cost while the city of Plover only had to provide 5%⁶. In total, Plover provided roughly $112 per firefighter on staff to protect them from all truck exhaust fumes and thus lowering their risk of cancer.

It took me a lot of thought before I decided to place this here. With many issues in my life, both personal and professional, pressing me one way or another I simply couldn’t ignore this anymore. I understand that the administration is fairly new, and I’m in no way saying that they do a poor job or that they are not looking out for our needs. They are very proactive in our safety; we’re even getting new gear to better help protect us from the hazards we face.

I understand that the cost is great. It can’t be easy trying to convince a taxpayer that they need to purchase this when they won’t see any of the benefits directly. This is especially true when you consider that 4 stations need to be fitted with this equipment. I also understand that we need other gear, trucks, and personnel. As it stands now we’re running 6 people short for the department.

However, this is one area that needs to be addressed soon. I can guarantee that many of our loved ones will thank you for it, and the money spent on this equipment now will not only save money; it will save tears, heartache, and pain.

1. http://www.losh.ucla.edu/catalog/factsheets/diesel_english.pdf [↩]
2. http://www.warddiesel.com/component/option,com_easyfaq/Itemid,55/task,cat/catid,24/#faq1 [↩]
3. http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/News/Cancer-Risk-Twice-as-High-for-Firefighters/46$51967 [↩]
4. http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/News/Cancer-Risk-Twice-as-High-for-Firefighters/46$51967 [↩]
5. http://www.thestar.com/News/article/194812 [↩]
6. http://www.eplover.com/fire_news.htm [↩]

I simply couldn’t let this one go without posting here. As usual… the mainstream media and Hollywood think they can continue to slander Jesus and get away with it.

“Now, look, a lot of people come up here and they thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn’t help me a bit. If it was up to him, Cesar Millan would be up here with that damn dog. So all I can say is suck it Jesus, this award is my God now.”

Full article is here: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Kathy Griffin Tells Jesus to Suck It

It’s time to take a stand. It’s up to you though… are you going to sit there, or are you going to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT ALREADY! Jesus stood up for me, and I’m going to stand up for him!

It’s time for Christians to stand up and say, “Enough is Enough!” The name of Jesus Christ should not be mocked, nor should those who love Him be slandered for their beliefs. It is time for people of faith around the country to stand firm against religious slander, bias, and bigotry of all types including Christianity.

So, here are 3 simple things you can do to make a difference.

1. Send Your friends here to get the full story. I’ve posted numerous links below.
2. Sign the petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/miram/petition.html
3. Pray!

Simple, easy, powerful. One Voice

Additional Links:
http://www.miracletheater.com/
http://www.voanews.com/english/Entertainment/2007-09-24-voa36.cfm
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j7tOaP6cK9zqSPR6KnqJNxyVWCzQ
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09122007/tv/censor_kathy_griffin.htm

You may remember me talking about the GoLite Paradigm jacket and Paradox pants. During the past few months I’ve been testing this combo for BackpackGearTest. I’ve recently finished this test series and and glad that I got the opportunity to test this combo. Before this test I didn’t really have a set of wet weather gear. I used to just hike in the rain. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to hike when dry, I realized how much more enjoyable my trips have become.

My reviews can be found here:
GoLite Paradigm Jacket Test Report
GoLite Paradox Pants Test Report

I stumbled across a thread today about making a photo vs taking a picture. One of the things that I’m trying to improve is my ability to know which photo’s to take and which to leave behind. Thats a big problem today, especially with the digital age. It’s so easy to take thousands of pictures and hope that a few turn out good.

http://www.uniquephoto.com/adam/blog/index.php/2007/09/25/making-a-photograph-vs-taking-a-picture/

Well… I strained my leg at softball last night. I slipped on the grass and had it flex a bit too much. That wasn’t the worst part either. I decided to get some IcyHot to help my leg feel better. Being as how I’ve never used any of these sort of products before I wasn’t aware of their dangerous nature.

Let me just say this… when applying IcyHot to the leg, be sure that there is no chance that any other body parts down there my come in contact with the product. It’s definitely not a fun experience.

I haven’t really had much to post the past few days. I’ve had a few things in real life lately that I’ve been mulling over in my head. I’m really looking forward to my trip next week. I’ll get a map up in a couple of days to lay out the route.

However, it was nice to just sit and relax tonight. I don’t have to do anything… just sit here and relax, type a little , and listen to a little Counting Crows.

Wow!!!! This is super cool!

Ok… so the Apple Keynote had a lot of good news……
Yea… ok… so I’ll stop stalling….
I SO WANT AN IPHONE! They dropped the price $200!!!
And I’m SO TIRED of roaming with Sprint.
So, PLEASE HONEY! Can I have an IPHONE?!?
PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEE!
{insert beg and grovel here}
I’ll be like so happy. And um… well… my phone calls won’t drop out at work anymore.
I’ll love you forever….. (Well, I’ll love you forever anyway)
Plus, AT&T Has great Service!

Over the past few months, and more dramatically the past few weeks, I’ve been going through a change. It’s hard to say that I’m a changed person since I’m looking from the inside out, but I feel different and I see things differently than I did just 4 months ago. I know I have many more steps to take before I get where I want to be, but I do feel I’m moving in the right direction. Who knows… maybe my wife will comment and tell me it’s all in my head.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in my Bible as much as I have been lately. It’s been an equally long time since I talked to God for more than just a few minutes. Our conversations were usually about me thanking him, then asking for stuff. It wasn’t really much of a conversation as much as it was a laundry list of things I wanted to happen. In the end, while I realized that God wasn’t some restaurant attendant who was sent to wait on my every need, thats exactly how I was treating Him.

I may have learned these things a long time ago, but after backsliding for many, many years I finally understand them again. God’s not here for me, I’m here for Him. The more I realize that, the easier life gets.

I’ve learned that God gives us all spiritual gifts. Some people have the gift of serving and go into ministry. Some people have the gift of prophecy and carry the message of God to others. Some gifts stretch far outside the church walls. Teachers may have the spiritual gift of teaching. Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel may have the gift of healing, or helping. But just because your gift isn’t considered “spiritual” doesn’t mean that God didn’t give it to you for his purpose.

If everything is from God and to be used for His glory, then everything we do well is more or less a spiritual gift from God. A friend of mine that I game with has often asked me out of the blue if I was on a 3 day rotation at work. He can sense the tension in my voice and has often talked me down from being angry or upset. For all I know God may have given him the gift of counseling. My wife definitely has the gift of levelheadedness. Even though it may take a while for me to realize it, she’s usually right and has many times kept me from shooting my mouth off about situations that I wasn’t happy about.

So where’s all this going. Well, I’m at a crossroads now. For a while I’ve felt like I am supposed to be doing something. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I feel like I’m supposed to be doing something for God. While I’m not fearful, or hesitant about what I’m supposed to do, there is a bit of anxiety surrounding this situation. I know that I’m not supposed to move until directed by God. I know that if I don’t do what He wants then I’m doomed to fail. I know that my main goal should be to spread Gods word and to further His kingdom. The question is what…

God Gave me two things that I really enjoy doing in which I’m also pretty good at. One is working on computers, the second is hiking. Personally, while I enjoy working on computers in some aspects, I don’t think that’s where God is calling me to move. I get too frustrated and have been known to throw mice and keyboards when things aren’t going as they’re supposed to. I know, I know… I definitely need the spirit of patience, but thats another subject. That leaves hiking. I’ve got some ideas in mind but I really need to know that this is Gods will.

God’s moving, thats a given. The question is; is it time for me to move, and if so is this the right path?

If you’ve tried to reach me through the Rescue9-={AT}=-Yahoo-={DOT}=-com (< -- spamfilter. ) address, there is a good chance I didn’t get your message. Yahoo changed some code recently that caused all mail from August 22′nd on to be dumped without being downloaded my server. I caught a few messages that I know were missed, but I’m not sure what else was missing.

If you’re interested in the technicals, you can check out the Ubuntu forum that describes in detail what was happening.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=534458

You know the old story; the mechanic who fixes Porsche’s while driving an old Chevy Citation or something. Well, thats about how I feel sometime. In all my computers, only 1 of them has been completely new. All other computers have been pieced together with old equipment.

The pain finally hit after one of the parts on my laptop was stressed beyond it’s design and cracked. One of the hinges on the laptop screen is toast, and the other one doesn’t have enough tension to hold the laptop up sufficiently. This is not a good situation, especially since I’m relying on my laptop to get me through an upcoming HazMat class.I was able to find a piece on Ebay to replace the broken one, but after looking over the whole system I can tell that it’s in dire need of replacement.

As most of you know, I try my best to take care of my equipment. This wasn’t always the case, but in the past number of years, I’ve done everything I can to protect this laptop. I keep it virus clean as well as handling it with kid gloves to make sure that the case or screen doesn’t get damaged. While inspecting the broken hinge, I’ve found a number of cracks in the case at various points.

I can only hope it lasts another year and a half.