Door to Door Folk Go Away

I don't want this blog to sound like a grumpy sounding board. It's not meant to be. There just so happens to be things that go on in our day to day lives that occasionally can be deemed comment-worthy! Door to door salespeople and 'information enlighteners'(those that try to teach you things you never really considered learnable). I've had the ever present religious personnel in the whiote shirts and black pants with the family in tow come a knockin', the local pizza place as well as the newest pizza place that wants the other guys business, the newspaper people although I haven't seen them in a long while, the health store people asking me to look at accutane reviews and the newest vitamin/mineral reports(I don't mind them so much because I have a card to the big nutrition chain store), the landscapers, and the annoying people who want to buy my Pindo palm tree in the front yard on the cheap(I know what the real value is on that one). I had the house painted last week finally and the house numbers need to be replaced. I think if I put a Go Away sign up instead my neighbors might think I'm looney so I won't do it yet!

I Hate Government Benefits Abusers.

I really do hate them. They suck the system as dry as the can so that it's hard for legitimate claimants to get needed benefits. I know of two people who are doing it and they aren't friends of mine anymore. These people chose to use the system to their benefit so they could stay home and earn money on the Internet while collecting from the government from a benefits system that's hard up for money as it is during a time when there are fewer people contributing into it. These people think social security disability means free money. It doesn't. It's money for those unfortunate enough to require the benefits that would, for all intents and purposes, rather be able to go to work and be mobile again. I pray I never need it, or anyone I know or care about, but if I, or they, do I hope it's still there.

Am I Now Smart Enough for My Smartphone?

Am I now smart enough for my new smartphone? That remains to be seen. Right now - No! Like everything else it involves a learning curve and I'll get it. I better get it because I got one for my wife as well and she'll want to know also. Right now I'm learning the ins and outs of caller Id, barcode shopping, hash mark scanning, conference calling, web browsing, app utilization and acquisition, and turning it on. I'm not used to a phone that's also a PC, GPS, HD Video camera, HD still camera, and a barcode scanner/comparison shopper. They're pricier than regular phones but my old phone couldn't tell me where I parked my car or where I could save a bunch of money shopping for the same item elsewhere. I can even keep tabs on where my wife goes with the GPS tracking feature(hope she doesn't read that). Maybe I should read the enclosed manual first.

Coffee Crazy at Work Now.

Working the third shift is either a love it or hate it prospect. I like to think of it as a vacation from 'politics as usual' in the workplace. Everyone wants to be boss but there can be only one. Sounds like a Highlander film already. I've been working the 'graveyard' shift for a little over 6 months now and I'm pretty comfortable with it except for the ride home while it's still dark out in the morning. Granted, I have no traffic issues because I'm driving against the morning flow but staying bright eyed and bushy tailed is another thing. We started coffee mornings to try to help with the drive, especially if we've worked overtime and are energy deficient. We'll do espresso shots before we leave while a designated person makes a pot of good stout espresso. Depending on how the night went we either have a Yespresso or a Nespresso end of the day. Lately, with the end of the fiscal year looming it's been a regular Yespresso day for all of us, except the new guy with the acid reflux(poor beggar). Next month will be a new fiscal year with no overtime again and I guess we'll be back to Nesspresso for a few months, or at least till the end of the first quarter.

One More Week Till Spring and Then

Springtime means it's that time of year again where I have to submit my request for vacation time at work. Where to go and what to do when we get there. We decided to rent a place in a location we've never been to, or had been to and liked enough to go back to. Let's see, that accounts for about 95+% of the United States, let alone the world. Well, we both like the east coast and love the ocean so that narrowed down the field a bit, in a budget frame of thought that is.

We're Bostonians that now call Florida home so vacations get a little funny since we're around every place that people want to go for vacation, and get the Florida resident discounts to boot! We've both been to other countries over the years and that was great but pricey right now. We both like enough things to do in the area without having too much going on to make it hectic to be around. South Carolina and North Carolina were on the short list and S.C. has some nice amenities like golf but I gave that up years ago and she doesn't play so it made no sense to go to a golf resort. N.C. has some great beach-front areas that are populated but not packed. This year we thought we'd check out some Outer Banks vacation rentals. My late aunt, uncle, and cousin Diane once lived in Charlotte N.C. so I asked their opinion and got a hardy 2 thumbs up. My cousin told me that since my wife and I both enjoy being by the ocean that this would be a great place to go and that we should look into renting an apartment instead of a hotel due to the cost. She said an apartment would have a dining and cooking area that hotels don't and we could save a bunch of money shopping for food as well. She presented a good case and sold us on it so I made the reservations for a rental unit in a place called Nags Head, just so I could give my wife a hard time if I so chose. With names like that I don't think there will be late night parties going on too often. We'll see how it goes and if we like it we'll shop around the other areas for future vacations.

Hi-Tech Therapy.

Today you don't need a reason to go out to the gym to get a workout or if you get hurt to get a workout as well. The 'days of the old' electric stimulators you saw in old comedy shows have gone by the wayside, replaced by the newest and and most efficient technology to hit the health provider market to date. Let me briefly explain some of the main differences that are out there in the equipment. First off you have the muscle stimulators which, pretty much, are self explanatory. These units will send a selected electrical pulse to the affected muscle or muscle group and compel them to react to the stimulation by contracting, like flexing your bicep and then releasing it in succession. This makes the muscle work and is especially useful in physical therapy where people that have had muscle atrophy or muscle shrinkage from disuse or injury.

The TENS Units are primarily used for pain management. Pain management is described as pain from injury such as whiplash, seat belt injury, muscle pain, and chronic back pain which in itself is hard to diagnose and treat. The TENS Unit is a larger pad that is adhered to the specific part that's experiencing pain and a different type of electrical stimulation is applied. This is not the same as the muscle stimulators mentioned above. Progressive thinking therapists will no doubt opt for the LG-TECH Dual Combo TENS Unit and Muscle Stimulator to satisfy all their patient needs that can benefit from this type of treatment.

Without sounding like an advertisement for this particular supplier I encourage you to Visit LGMedSupply Online or go by their online customer blog for more detailed specifics of these cutting edge treatment options.

I Remember the Old Ones.

A close friend of mine went into an outpatient clinic for a small surgical procedure. The condition that they entered into having this done was that they needed to be put to a twilight sleep. I went in the back with them while they were being prepared for their appointment with the surgeon and was surprised at the nurses in the back, both men and women. The scrubs of old were gone and all these new, colorful scrubs were everywhere, even with the male nurses. I remember as a child that the hospital was white and the world had colors and that was that. White was the ONLY thing that was clean and sterile to wear. Looking at the guys the last thing I would have thought was that they were mens scrub uniforms, mainly because of the way they fit and how they looked. They looked like vacation clothes. I even saw an orderly wearing olive green scrubs. I asked him if they were comfortable and he said that the old style was okay but the newer ones breathed a lot better because of the breathe-ability of the natural fabric as opposed to the synthetics of the past. I think this would work because they're always looking for some new ways to lift the spirits of the patients. Nothing looks more depressing than everyone in the same scrubs.

I really feel for the patients in the recovery area where family or close friends tend to be while the patients come back around for the trip home. This is a tough time for most patients since they usually have an IV in one arm, an oxygen cannula in their nose, and they're trying desperately to keep their mind off of what they just went through. Who wants to see a nurse sweating next to them, it starts making you think there might be something wrong them.

Even if they made some of the older styles with better fabrics that would be a plus for them. Remember that service people service better when they feel better! There was even one nurse with scrubs flare pants on, which I thought was pretty cool since I grew up in the flared jeans days. It may seem a small issue to some but little things add up when it comes to patient morale. I say "why not?".

Which Way is it Pointing?

Service has taken on new meanings in the past several years. Each succeeding year brings a new way to direst the same business traffic but with a different emphasis on what's offered. The biggest one that comes to mind is the point of sale system where everything is directed to a speedy and efficient check out of purchases. This system is still heavily administered in virtually all retail businesses. There are other, newer, points such as point of service and point of care cart. The point of service would be where, say your automobile, would receive all necessary care in one location that was desired. The point of care cart is a medical based business and information access system where health care providers can access patient data from one location and provide better and more efficient administration of patients needs on one mobile screen. Wheel it in the patient exam room, access data, and provide up to date treatment from up to date data. All roads point to the right direction regardless of industry.

Out and About in the Great North Country

The other day I saw a show set in the great northern territories that was searching for mythical creatures. No, not a Harry Potter adventure by any means, but a real quest for creatures seen but not documented. The search was centered on a few 'beings' such as the 'scarping sennot', the 'floating tillo' and the 'mysterious matouk', all of which firmly fall under the category of questionably mysterious. I personally think that someone had a little too much of the hair of the matouk that bit them myself. All the while the show was on, that didn't explain anything at all to the viewer, I was looking for a steel drum with coils on it over a fire or some jugs of clear liquid as these goobers had to be drinking what they were distilling in those woods. I've had some of the 'shine' before and I do see how you could start seeing giant mythical creatures in the woods that others may call chipmonks and raccoons and the like. That's why they have detox and AA.