WHAT WAS RICHARDSON THINKING?

Our Governator, Bill Richardson went to Iowa to talk up his campaign. And he stuck his foot in it.

"Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord should be the first caucus and primary,” Bill Richardson, New Mexico’s governor, said at the Northwest Iowa Labor Council Picnic. “And I want you to know who was the first candidate to sign a pledge not to campaign anywhere if they got ahead of Iowa." It was Bill Richardson.

Geeze, Bill, now you talk to God? Or maybe He talks to you? Not even Dubya goes this far.

Did you forget you come from a state where the largest religion practiced is Catholicism? And the runner up is Baptist?

When pressed further about that statement, he said Iowa should launch the primary calendar because “it’s a tradition in American politics that has worked.” “Iowa scrutinizes candidates through a grass-roots state. They are very good at winnowing down candidates", he said. “They don’t listen to national polls. Iowa voters are very independent and issue-oriented.”

I have no idea how Iowa scrutinizes candidates through a grass roots state. Maybe they have this huge magnifying glass and.... No, not likely. Maybe Bill got confused with his languages. Hmmmmm.

Our Bill also remarked: "I think it's important to stay positive in this campaign," he told about 100 people gathered at a co-op winery. "... Let's get into the issues important to the American people."

Oh, Bill, you could only get about a 100 people at a wine tasting? You should have stayed here in Albuquerque. We had about 3,000 show up at a local wine tasting.

As for the issues important to the American people, I'm waiting to hear how you would withdraw our troops from Iraq? And Afghanistan? And what you will do about the illegal aliens destroying our middle class? And how untrue are the figures Washington is releasing about our economy? And what you will do about China's attempts to wipe us out with lead paints and poisoned food? (That was sarcasm.)

Bill talks (usually) in high flown, grandiose phrasings, but real, concrete accomplishments are few and far between. His administrations have been rife with governmental theft, incompetence and general lack of understanding of just what the problems are in New Mexico. As for the quoted "International Policies", I, as are many others, am for Mom, Apple Pie and the American Flag, too. Actions, not flowery phrases, need to be the measure we use to elect anyone to the highest position in the United States.

A final note to this post:

Governor to battle with feds over marijuana law A battle is brewing in Santa Fe over medical marijuana. An angry Governor Richardson wants the feds to leave sick New Mexicans alone and let them grow their pot. But a Santa Fe County Commissioner is speaking out, saying he's going to fight to get rid of the medical marijuana law. The current law shields patients from state prosecution, but not from the feds. "I'm very concerned that the Bush administration instead of going after drug dealers, is going after people suffering from cancer, a paraplegic, most recently," said Governor Richardson. Agents raided 44-year-old Leonard French's home near Loving on Tuesday, even though he has state permission to grow and smoke medical marijuana. The D.E.A. says it did not know French had a medical marijuana license until after the raid. "The Bush administration seems to be, because they're unable to go after drug dealers, they seem to be picking on people suffering from cancer. That's inexplicable to me. And I'm gonna fight them," said Governor Richardson. Right now patients have to get the marijuana on their own, because the State Health Department won't grow or distribute the pot, fearing federal prosecution. Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya calls himself a strong Bill Richardson supporter, but he'll fight him every step of the way to get the law off the books. "Morally, physically, socially this is not good policy. It's still something that is addictive. And for our youth to start getting the message that this is something that is okay, is really not a healthy message," said Montoya. Montoya says patients can use the pill-form of the marijuana. Governor Richardson says he'll use every legal trick in the book to fight the feds on the issue. This is kind of unbelievable. If our Governator wants the law changed, he ought to know the porcess by now. Let me help you, gov.: Talk to your legislators, have real Constitutional lawyers write the correct law and get them to pass it.

And then we can have Marujuana patches in all our home gardens.

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER

There's a fun surprise in the header today (just let it load). And all the pictures I put on here can be enlarged by clicking on them. Enjoy.

Will Robinson was the lead character in an old television show called "Lost In Space". He and his family had somehow gotten lost in the outer regions of space. There was a whacked out robot that, without fail, would say at some stage of each episode, "DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER".

Yeah, it was silly but it was harmless silly and tried to have a morality play with the play.

Anyway, Google (that means you and me, too) has a problem. Herewith the story.

Blogger hit with a Storm Watch Posted: 30 Aug 2007 10:39 PM CDT Storm Worm has begun attacking Blogger, littering hundreds of pages with juvenile messages designed to fool visitors into clicking on malware laden links. This worm has been around the block. Before attacking Blogger, it had recently been hiding in spoof YouTube email. A master of disguise, Wikipedia has a list of just some of the email titles Storm Worm has been hidden under. Not only well traveled, it is a virulent virus. Launched via email on Friday January 19, 2007 by Monday, January 22, it accounted for 8% of all virus outbreaks worldwide. Dan Goodin from The Register explains further: Storm has already gone through more lives than a pack of feral cats. It started out in January as an email promising information about a winter storm that was sacking Northern Europe. Since then it's offered sexy photos, electronic greeting cards and login credentials for various online memberships. According to researchers, Storm has infected more than 1.7 million hosts. So how has it gone from spoof emails to Blogger blog posts? Speculation is that the worm is exploiting Blogger's feature that allows blog owners to post to their blogs via an email. This feature does not require a login, just knowledge of the email address used to post. If you are a Blogger user who uses the email-to-blog feature (this author does!) make sure your email address is something unique. Watch for this spoof appearing in your blog comments as well.

And watch out for new commentators (I love that word) who drop in a link.

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Here's some "research" that I'm not too sure about. Especially since they only used 1,000 participants, only in the US, and are subscribers to their web pages. I wonder what they would have found out if the "survey" ran on YouTube? Or AOL? Or Microsoft, or Apple?

Survey: more women blogging than men as blogs hit mainstream Posted: 30 Aug 2007 03:05 PM CDT The blogosphere has hit the mainstream, according to a new survey, which reveals that 80% of Americans know what a blog is, 50% regularly visit blogs, and 8% publish their own blog. The survey also revealed that more women than men are bloggers, with 20% of American women who have visited blogs having their own versus 14 % of men. The Synovate/Marketing Daily survey was conducted online with 1,000 adults in the US using Synovate eNation from July 30 to August 1. "Because anyone can start one anytime, blogs are not necessarily seen as legitimate information sources despite the fact that some bloggers are experts in their area," said Tom Mularz, senior vice president at Synovate. "However, as their prominence and influence continues to rise, this could certainly change." When asked about the types of information they get from blogs, 65% said they get opinions, while 39% get news and 38% get entertainment. About one in three people read gossip on blog websites while only 2% use blogs to catch upon news about family and friends. Loyalty to specific blogs is also fairly strong with 46% of blog readers saying that they visit the same blogs regularly versus 54% who instead usually surf for new and different ones. Awareness blogs strongly correlates to age, with younger people being much more active. Nearly 90% of those aged 25 to 34 know what a blog is, compared to just 65% of those aged 65 and over. Similarly, 78% of those aged 18 to 24 who are aware of blogs say they have visited a blog, compared to only 45% of older Americans. As blogs have gained in popularity, so has the frequency with which they're read. Though the majority of blog readers (39%) view them less than once a month, another 28% visit them monthly, 15% visit them daily and 5% read them several times a day. Of course, while blog usage continues to grow, so does their attractiveness as a potential marketing tool. In fact, 43% of blog visitors indicated that they had noticed advertisements on blog websites, rising to 61% among those aged 18 to 24. Almost one-third of consumers have clicked on an ad while reading a blog. But even though consumers are spending more time with blogs, they aren't necessarily replacing other media. Only 13% of blog readers say they spend less time with other forms of media (newspapers, television, radio) since they've started following blogs. The main reason people read blogs? Almost half of those surveyed say it's because they find blogs entertaining, and another 26% read them to learn about specific hobbies or other areas they're interested in. Only 15% of blog readers say they do so for news, indicating that the more traditional forms of news consumption still have a stronghold. Among those who said they have never read a blog, the main reason cited was that they're "just not interested". Another 15% said that they don't care about the opinions and ideas typically expressed in blogs.

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Would you like to be a pilot? Here's your chance, fellow blogger. Guess I'm going to have to download Google Earth.

Hidden Google Earth flight simulator delights technorati Posted: 01 Sep 2007 03:00 PM CDT It's a thought that's crossed all of our minds at one time or another, wouldn't it be cool if you could fly around Google Earth in a jet. Well, someone at Googleplex must have had exactly the same thought, because there's a hidden flight simulator built into the latest version ( 4.2 beta) of Google Earth. South African computer science student Marco broke the news of the secret flight simulator to the delight of the Internet community. "All-in-all I think it's a great feature Google has added to one of their top products," wrote Marco. "I still remember the days when Microsoft Flight Simulator was considered so cool and that you had to pay for! With a bit more work this has lots of potential to greatly surpass other flight simulators." Mashable's Pete Cashmore described the secret flight simulator as the “best Easter egg ever!”. Despite the general perception that this is something completely new, this flight simulator appears to be an improvement of the flight simulator mode that appeared in Google Earth (version 4.0) last year. To access the flight simulator you need to position Google Earth over the US. Then press Ctrl+Alt+A, or if you're on a Mac Command+Option+A. According to Marco some people have reported that Ctrl+A or Ctrl+Windows+A works when the standard Ctrl+Alt+A does not. A dialog window should appear that allows you to choose between a F16 or a SR22, and which airport you'd like to start at. You also have the option of enabling a joystick. While the flight simulator is quite simple, the real imagery makes for an a very cool visual experience. Google Earth can be downloaded free of charge. Instructions on how to control the flight simulator are available here.

BOMB SCARE, BAGGY BRITCHES AND OPUS

About 1,700 people were kept waiting when the source of a bomb scare on a Florida cruise ship turned out to be heart medication. The scare, in which dogs were used to sniff out a suspicious package, happened Saturday as passengers waited to embark from Jacksonville aboard the Celebration Carnival Cruise Ship, The Jacksonville Times-Union reported. Cruise passengers who were kept waiting for several hours were given $15 ship credit apiece for the inconvenience, the newspaper said. It had to be the tiny nitro pills that help people with heart conditions. Connecticut Town Considers Low-Pants Ban Low Baggy Pants Could Cost You Big Bucks In Fines

STRATFORD, Conn. Something that's considered fashionable could be fineable if a Stratford councilman has his way. Councilman Alvin O'Neal is proposing a ban on baggy pants that are worn too low down with a hefty fine for those caught with their pants down. O'Neal said he is responding to complaints from senior citizens around town who notice young people wearing their baggy pants as low as possible, revealing their backsides. The councilman has proposed a town ordinance that would make it unlawful for people to wear "pants which fall below the buttocks to expose their undergarments," with a penalty of $250. The council has set a hearing on the proposed law for Monday night at Town Hall. "I've had a lot of senior citizens complain that they were tired of going to the store and seeing people with their pants down below their buttocks," O'Neal said Friday. O'Neal says the target of the new law is very specific, young people who wear trousers as low as possible without them falling down completely. "We're not out to get plumbers whose pants creep down while they're working on your pipes," O'Neal said. Any proposed ordinance would have to pass muster with the town attorney. "We intend to review it before the Town Council votes on it," Town Attorney Richard Buturla said. "Actually, a similar ordinance is being looked at in Atlanta." I wonder if the plumber exclusion is for senior ladies? Berkeley Breathed has a note up on his site: "Note to Opus readers: The Opus strips for August 26 and September 2 have been withheld from publication by a large number of client newspapers across the country, including Opus' host paper The Washington Post. The strips may be viewed in a large format on their respective dates at Salon.com.." I thought it was ok. A man comes home from work and finds his wife admiring her breasts in the mirror. He asks, "What are you doing?" She replies, "I went to the doctor today, and he told me I have the breasts of a 25 year old."The husband retorts, "Well, what did he say about your 50year old ass? "She replied, "Frankly dear, your name never came up." Be sure to click on the header and tell me how it works.

MICROSOFT AND THE PUZZLE

Some things are surprising. Some are astounding. And some absolutely amazing. Herewith a reprint of an puzzling report from Microsoft:

Details Product: Windows Operating System ID: 8003 Source: MRxSmb Version: 5.2 Symbolic Name: EVENT_BOWSER_OTHER_MASTER_ON_NET Message: The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer %2 that believes that it is the master browser for the domain on transport %3. The master browser is stopping or an election is being forced. Explanation This computer is a master browser, and another computer has announced that it is the master browser. There can be only one master browser on a subnet at any given time. This message is logged for informational purposes only. The existence of two browser masters occurs when a second computer cannot contact the master browser for some reason: for example, when there are name resolution problems or the master browser is too busy to respond. When the original master browser receives a master announcement from the second computer, the master browser tries to resolve the conflict by ending its status as a master server, forcing an election, or both. The choice of these actions depends on the status of the two computers: for example, whether one or both are domain controllers, primary domain controllers or Windows for Workgroups computers, and whether this computer lost an election earlier. For more information about browsing, see Appendix I: Windows 2000 Server Browser Service on the Microsoft Technet Web site. User Action No user action is required. Version: 5.0 Symbolic Name: EVENT_BOWSER_OTHER_MASTER_ON_NET Message: The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer %2 Explanation This computer is a master browser, and another computer has announced that it is the master browser. There can be only one master browser on a subnet at any given time. This message is logged for informational purposes only. The existence of two browser masters occurs when a second computer cannot contact the master browser for some reason: for example, when there are name resolution problems or the master browser is too busy to respond. When the original master browser receives a master announcement from the second computer, the master browser tries to resolve the conflict by ending its status as a master server, forcing an election, or both. The choice of these actions depends on the status of the two computers: for example, whether one or both are domain controllers, primary domain controllers or Windows for Workgroups computers, and whether this computer lost an election earlier. For more information about browsing, see Appendix I: Windows 2000 Server Browser Service on the Microsoft Technet Web site.. User Action No user action is required. Currently there are no Microsoft Knowledge Base articles available for this specific error or event message. For information about other support options you can use to find answers online, see http://support.microsoft .com/default.aspx.

I guess I don't have to do anything. I'm not sure if it was Wild Thing's computer that lost the election or mine. In fact, I didn't even know I was running.

I will not tolerate both our browsers wanting to be the master. They've obviously never heard of Abe Lincoln and the Proclamation.

I wish I knew how to chastise my browser for its behavior. Furthermore, I don't remember ever downloading an 02 or 03 browser. Hell, I can't even find either of them in my programs.

Emjoy yourself. Click on the header.

MEDICINE AND THE VETERAN'S HOSPITAL AND SOME PROBLEMS HERE

The universe is a big place. I'm sure there's more in it than we know.

There are a lot of bad things involved in medical diagnoses these days. Sometimes they seem to involve a lack of knowledge on a doctor's part.

Others, and this is not an opinion, involve a fear of lawsuits if the doctor is proven wrong. Even if he/she hasn't made a mistake. Lawsuits, both genuine and money grabbing efforts, are way too much of a consideration when an error is made in recognizing a particular disease or physical condition.

Consider the infamous $54 million law suit over a pair of pants. (Click on the header.) My personal belief is that the judge wanted to make a point about frivolous lawsuits.

So, in order to avoid these expensive and reputation breaking lawsuits, doctors order more and more and more "tests" for their patients. And these tests are not cheap. Doctors are aware of this and are very likely aware that there are health insurance companies that will not allow many of them. In re that, it brings up another problem with health care. One that is not spoken about in newspaper or TV stories discussing the need for health care. A lot (read many, many) of people simply drop out of the health care picture. If their bodies can't repair the physical problem they simply "pass away". "Old Age" is a common phrase for the cause of death. So is "he/she needed to get medical attention" but didn't take action. How ironic.

Doctors overbook themselves so much that even with an appointment you might wait two or three hours in their offices. It's a way for them to make big profits while paying for malpractice insurance.

So what's all that got to do with the VA?

Here's an answer I have seen in practice so many times that I am convinced it is a major stumbling block to adequate health care. Doctors, perhaps with teaching from their insurance agents, have been lumping patients together based on various symptoms.

For instance, if you exhibit symptoms A, B, C and D this is the general treatment. If A, B, C, and E, then this is the treatment. And so on.

It seems the VA doctors do this also. I've discussed it with my doctor and pointed out that my body probably doesn't fit in any of these neat pigeon holes. He agreed. The look on his face seemed to imply "I've got to do as I'm told". (I'd probably bet big money, say 5 cents, that I'm not the only one who doesn't fit in.)

So what happens then? Doc goes on with his examination of me and has me give blood samples for tests, or makes an appointment for me to see a specialist for other tests, or orders a new pair of diabetic shoes for me.

He can do wonders along these lines and I respect his opinions. But there is one thing he cannot do that I feel should be done. The VA is crowded with patients. I mean overcrowded to the rafters with patients. The vast majority of their patients cannot afford private medical care any longer. They've been priced out of that market. So he has to squeeze in appointments to see all of the people under his care.

And that is where the problem lies. He just cannot spend the time with each patient that he should.

My doctor (and all doctors at the VA) are alloted 30 minutes to see each patient. That means in an eight hour day, they each must see 16 patients. And they must try to remember all these patients and the various problems they have. So, they use a computer to call up the data on each person. Now, I have been a patient for about 5 years. My medical record looks as though it's War and Peace size. Doc has to glance through this huge record and pay attention to the most recent bellyache from me while recalling all the various things that have been done for me and what medicines I'm currently ingesting.

Yes, there are patients with both longer and shorter tomes of treatment, but I figure I'm somewhere near average. The point being that sometimes doc refers to that computer screen for at half of the appointed time of my consultation. And then he has to ask me the questions that need to be asked. So, if it's a new complaint, he checks my prescriptions and tries to decide if I need a new medicine or if he should alter one that I am taking.

And he does this with all his patients. Now, I'm not an efficiency expert, but common sense tells me there is no way he can accomplish all this in the alloted 30 minutes. He's very, very good, but he can't walk on water any more than I can. (Parenthetically, I've gotten phone calls from him as late as 6:30 p.m. when he needs to tell me something. And I don't believe he is paid overtime for that, either.) I love my Doc.

Well, you say, you're getting medical treatment, aren't you? Sure am. But some new things are going on at our VA hospital. Maybe all VA hospitals. We've used to be automatically scheduled for an appointment every six months. But that's been changed. We now get a "telephone consultation" from our doctors once a yhear that takes the place of a visit. Now, what the hell good is that to me? Doc can't see me. I can't see his face. He can't look me over and note a subtle change in complexion or physiology. So we talk about how I "feel". Crap. Sometimes I want to say, "just seeing you personally is a big pick up for me". I need to see the person who helps me be in charge of my body up front and personal.

There is also an "open clinic" which all doctors have. You have to call in on a particular day (the earlier you call the better chance you have of getting an appointment) and you can schedule an appointment with your regular doc. The problem is, if you're just a little late with your call, the nurse will have filled all the open appointments.

There must have been a lot of complaints about these events, because our hospital administrator has instituted a new thing. Oh, yeah. We can now make appointments with doctors in a new clinic. Any time we need one, that is. But of course, there's a problem. You bet there is. These doctors the VA has hired are new. I mean really new. They seem to be med students finishing up being interns. Those I've seen always have to go and talk the case over with their Attending Physician. Not one of them has made a decision on his/her own. And they come back to see me with instructions from the Attending without him ever seeing me or hearing me. I'm sure these apprentice doctors have the best intentions in the world, but medical school has not yet taught them how to look at a patient and apply what they see to what the patient is there about. In short, they do not yet have the experience to be let out on their own. That'll make me feel secure.

What I'm griping about, I guess, is that Democrats and Republicans and Presidents have allowed this to happen. While a protracted war we didn't want costs billions every day, our veterans who need care are not being taken care of humanely. The situation that has been created is beyond political party, beyond an easy solution. But it is a situation looking for an answer. Lip service doesn't work any more.

SCHOOL BOARD REACTS TO PUBLIC

A gaggle of geese?

You might remember the post about the Albuquerque School Board changing a kid's grade from an F to D? And how the public got into the act (looking to recall the free loading Board members)?

Well, the Board took action yesterday to make sure that faux pas isn't repeated. (Just showing off my French. And that's about all there is, too.) How they did it makes me scratch my head and shake it to hear the rattles.

Seems they added "to the student handbook", that poor communication between school officials and parents is not sufficent to alter a kid's grade.

You read that right. "Student handbook." What is that? A job description for kids? What legal standing does a "handbook" have? Click on the header to see it.

In other news, the Board increased its per diem to $85. All of the Board members live in the area. Lunches are expensive.

The Board also unanimously approved keeping the names of cadidates for superintendent secret. That is, until they narrow it down to three candidates. Seems to me that violates a state open records law. But one doesn't expect a bunch of lawyers to know about that. And they also approved $100,000 to be spent on the search. I wonder if that's a reasonable amount?