From my visit wit Dr. Wilson, on February 18, to my visit with Dr. Erpelding, on March 4, I struggled with excepting five to eight more surgeries on my leg. My life was upside down, and I struggled to find a way to both live with surgery and make money. Since Dr. Erpelding is my current Doctor, I had to talk to him.
Yet Another Twist
March 7th, 2010
Twists and Turns – Facing Reality
February 27th, 2010After the January 21 meeting with Dr. Erpelding, I thought I was on the road to recovery. I was finally to the “testing” stage to see if the breaks were healing. I was having telephone interviews for long term contracts. I was applying submitting applications for full-time or long-term contract work every day. Then, I had the appointment with Dr. Wilson on February 18.
65 and Looking for Work
February 7th, 2010Well, I am almost 65, only four more weeks before the day. At 65, I should be officially retiring, relaxing, and enjoying the rest of my life. Instead, I am looking for work. I need a job to pay the bills resulting from the ladder sliding out from under me last August. It is openly stated, but there is a lot of hidden prejudice against hiring a senior citizen. In the Information Technology world, the interviewers are younger than my daughter.
Social Networking for Non-Profit Organizations
February 2nd, 2010Social networking is not new to the Inernet. Whether it be bulletin boards, email lists, FTP sites, or Gopher, the desire to form groups existed before HTTP and the “Web.” Tim Berners-Lee created the “Web” to provide a means for scientists to share information. The social networks of today are a natural evolution of the past. Social networking reflects the basic need of humans to congregate together and to share.
FCC Ruling on Wireless Microphones
January 28th, 2010This morning, I received the following announcement from the FCC:
Under a new FCC rule, anyone who uses a wireless microphone that operates in the 700 MHz Band must stop operating their wireless microphone no later than June 12, 2010. All users of 700 MHz Band wireless microphones (and similar devices) – including theaters, churches, schools, conference centers, theme parks, and musicians — will need to retune (where possible) or replace their wireless microphone equipment with other microphone devices no later than June 12, 2010. This action helps complete an important component of the DTV Transition by clearing the 700 MHz band to enable the rollout of communications services for public safety and the deployment of next generation 4G wireless devices for consumers.
For further information, please visit the website at www.fcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones
VA Healthcare or Medicare
January 26th, 2010After four applications over a period of three years, I finally met the income requirements to be accepted into VA Healthcare. Every year, I must submit a form to requalify for the coming year. I am also approaching my 65th birthday, which raises the question of how does VA dovetail with Medicare, especially in regards to Medicare Part B and D. The answer to Medicare Part D was easy, but not so for Medicare Part B. Read the rest of this entry »
Dealing with Medical Bills
January 26th, 2010I retired at 62 just to have a stable income in a horrible IT job market. The boom days of IT training had ended, and training contracts were few and far between. Health insurance was one of the expenses that didn’t fit in a drastically reduced budget. As I approached 65, the insurance companies wanted $500 a month for a minimal plan. I applied for VA Healthcare, but I still earned too much under the old rules. We were in a state of virtual middle-class poverty. The energy companies and insurance companies were killing our budget. The only hope was to not get seriously injured or sick until I was eligible for Medicare. Read the rest of this entry »
Hanging on by a Thread
January 26th, 2010Since writing”The ‘Oh Shit’ Moment” post, I had another appointment with Dr. Erpelding at the VA Clinic in Billings. This time, I was able to get a CD containing the X-rays from the visit. The CD auto-starts the X-ray viewer used by the doctors to view digital images. It is a really cool tool. When I travel, and hoping that occurs sooner rather than later, I will have the X-rays of my leg should anything happen to re-injure it. Read the rest of this entry »
The “Oh Shit” Moment
January 19th, 2010My wife, Monica, and I were building our own house. We were the designers and the workers, except for hiring a people to help with pouring concrete. We built and finished the basement first, and are living in it. In 2008, we started building the main floor. Monica injured her back in December of 2007. On July 23 off last year, she had surgery to relieve the pressure on the nerve. A Montana winter was quickly approaching, and I was trying to get the roof on before it snowed. I did not want to spend another winter shoveling snow out of a partially framed house. Read the rest of this entry »
Support the Opposition in Iran
June 24th, 2009If you’re on Twitter, set your location to Tehran & your time zone to GMT +3.30. Iranian security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut down Iranians’ access to the internet. Cut & paste & pass it on pls…
