Courtesy Van

Unexpectedly, I had to take my Saturn Vue into a repair shop, and I use the dealership, Scoggin Dickey  as per GM since Saturn no longer exists.  I was not planning to take my car in for service today, but when the battery maintenance light came on, I decided that going to the dealership for repair, was more important than getting to work on time, and dealing with a dead battery at the end of the day in the wet and the cold.

Scoggin Dickey has a courtesy van that helps with rides to where customers need to go. I took the courtesy van to work, but had to take a detour by my house, as I had to drop off my purse and cell phone, which are considered contraband at work. I arrived about an hour and fifteen minutes late.  But, I worked late, since the dealership did not call me about the status of my car, having told me they were very backed up when I brought my car in this morning.  Mid-afternoon, I called the dealership, and my car was still in line for service, and I asked to have the courtesy van pick me up from work at 5 PM, no matter.

The courtesy van arrived as scheduled, and the driver called in to check on the status of my car. We were told it would not be serviced until the next day, so the driver took me home instead of to the car dealership.  

The driver said the most extraordinary thing to me:  He acknowledged the service department is very busy, and the loaner cars they have are not being returned at the rate to help new customers, so the courtesy van has an obligation to get customers where they need  to go.  He implied I could get a ride to work in the morning.  I told him I could get a ride to work in the morning, but I would need a ride to the dealership after my car was repaired. 

This man told me he has worked for Scoggin Dickey for 4 years, and was hired as a part time driver, but only recently has been made full time.   I think it is extraordinary that he sees his job as a "courtesy driver" as a responsibility to take care of customers. I have to wonder what kind of employment environment empowers this man to take that kind of responsibility for providing courtesy rides to customers.  This is extraordinary.  

My View Of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton

My niece posted on Facebook about her concern that people are voting for Donald Trump for president because they are concerned about the Supreme Court appointments Hillary Clinton would make. Several people made comments in favor of voting for Donald Trump.

My response:

My problem with the comments to your question, Lesley, is that I see Trump in a very different light. I look at his business history, his personal history, with multiple marriages, and his now political history, and what he says and what he does are so inconsistent with each other.  He is a shrewd, and reportedly unfair businessman; he takes maximum (legal) advantage of the tax laws, his charitable giving has been questioned, and not proven to my satisfaction. He has a short fuse, and while he can hold it together for 90 minutes, can he hold it together for day after day, under constant pressure. We can learn from history, and not so long ago history. Study Watergate, and the kind of man President Nixon was. He was a good politician, but the decisions he made that brought him down were based on hubris and that because he was the President, he was above the law. Trump already touts the fact that he thinks he is above the law.

The problem with my comment is that Hillary has acted in the past as if she were above the law, or maybe ignorant of the law (hard to believe.) When Ronald Reagan made mistakes, and he did, he would say, basically "oops, sorry, my bad" and go on. If Hillary would just do that, her errors would not be so bad. It's not that (she) cannot be trusted. It is that when she is caught, she dilly dallies around, and hems and haws before she admits she did something she shouldn't have. The problem with Trump is when he gets caught doing something bad, he just does something more outrageously bad that takes the spot light off of the last bad thing he did.

I am now adding that Trump has said "It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to." https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/785842546878578688 So that tells me that Donald Trump has been "faking it" to fit in, to get the votes, to get elected.  What a fake. What a phony. What a liar.  Do we want someone like that running this country?  I think not.  It is obvious that we cannot trust Donald Trump.  It is frightening to think people do. 

Donald Trump's References to Violence

I am very frightened for the United States of America.  During this election year, there has been a lot of negative rhetoric, much coming from Donald Trump.  Today, he made a comment regarding being stuck with justices that Hillary Clinton would appoint, and then he referenced there is always the 2nd Amendment.  http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-second-amendment/. Was he referring to using violence against Hillary Clinton, or her judge appointees, or was he referencing the voting power of the NRA and other supporters of the right to bear arms? It really does not matter what he was referring to.  If just one person thinks he was saying it was okay, that if Hillary Clinton becomes president, to use violence against her or her judge appointees, and even one person is injured, even if not killed, that is too much violence incited and sanctioned by his comments.

This is not the first time he has used this kind of rhetoric.  Remember when he said that even a murder would not erode his support?  http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/23/politics/donald-trump-nevada-murder/.  This article references other comments that he has made about violence.

We are a nation born of Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution and re-affirmed by a War Between the States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War.

We have fought many other wars, skirmishes, police actions, and whatever you want to call them, so as a nation we are not strangers to violence. We are the only nation to have used atomic weapons during war time. Anniversaries of which occur this month: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki. We are a nation that has seen all sorts of domestic violence.

But we are a nation founded on the rule of law, and the right to due process.  Violence against individuals honors neither.

During the last few years, but starting as far back at 1966, when Charles Whitman shot at innocent people from the tower on the University of Texas campus http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/an-ex-marine-goes-on-a-killing-spree-at-the-university-of-texas, mass violence has been escalating in our country. http://www.gannett-cdn.com/GDContent/mass-killings/index.html#frequency.  Why?  I could speculate but will not.

What I will say is that for leaders in our country to encourage violence or the hint of violence is more than irresponsible. It is criminal.  This is not the first time that I have said that the things Donald Trump says are criminal.  I believe in free speech, and Trump is certainly exercising his right to free speech, but he does not care whom he is inciting to act in a criminal manner based on his speech. And, ultimately, if he incites others to violence, he will not pay the price.  I think this is the ultimate act of cowardice. The ultimate act of a bully. 

Engineering Responsibility

I recently read In the Shadow of the Dam http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7432-2357-7, about a reservoir dam failure in Williamsburg, Massachusetts in 1874.  It told of the loss of life, property, and economy for the communities downstream from the dam, and the lack of responsibility and accountability of those who commissioned and built the dam. 

I have been in a correspondence with an engineer, who told me some 40 years ago, when he went through college, ethics and morals were not addressed in engineering. I am not surprised.

When I went through social work classes almost 40 years ago, we did not address ethics, morality, or cultural diversity, which are all big issues in the profession now.

These are my thoughts about engineering: I hate that we are such a litigious society, but I suspect, unless engineers and architects are sued and have to face the consequences of their failures, monetarily and legally, things will change slowly, if not at all.  As in the verdict of the Williamsburg Dam, when the blame is spread too thin, no one of consequence suffers.  Instead, the poor, unsuspecting public suffers. 

The sad truth is that corporations who erect dams, levees, power plants, railroads, public utilities, water plants on and on, whether public or private, are looking to the bottom line: profitability instead of community service. And with profitability comes cost cutting, shoddy workmanship, and design change in the interest of cost cutting. 

This is a list of dam failures

http://www.damsafety.org/news/?p=412f29c8-3fd8-4529-b5c9-8d47364c1f3e

It is instructive in a lot of ways. The biggest way being that dam failures still occur. They should not.

Hmm, why are engineers and architects not held to more responsibility?

Random Thoughts

Maya Angelou http://mayaangelou.com/ died May 28, 2014.  I was going to write an entire blog about her, but realized that would be hypocritical.  I knew of her. I have read some of her poems.  I have watched her interviews and poetry readings on TV. But I am not well versed regarding her life, except to know that she was involved in the civil rights movement. I have told myself several times in the past that I want to read her best known work:  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  I have put it off, sometimes, because I think it will be emotionally difficult.  But, I did put it on my reading list.

There was yet another mass shooting this week, this time in Santa Barbara, California.  The perpetrator, Elliot Rodger, was known to have mental health problems, and left video evidence of his pre-meditated act. Some of these have been removed https://www.youtube.com/user/ElliotRodger, because of their content. I saw one on TV. It was sick.

The father of one of the victims spoke out regarding these episodes, and that we need to be proactive to stop this horror https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u38LLKgp_f4.

The last time there was a mass murder, I contacted my Congressman, Randy Naughebauer, and Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.  The responses I received were non-descript.  In other words, they were not concerned about gun control or improving mental health services.

Texas is a law and order state, a state's right state, a personal firearms state, and a state that does not believe in spending money for mental health care for the low income/indigent population. Our current governor rejects Federal money: not for economy stimulation, not for medicaid expansion, not for anything. (I resent this: I continue to pay my Federal taxes, but my governor prevents me from getting maximum return on my investment. When I tell Governor Perry supporters my view point, they are astounded to realize what they are missing out on!  Duh!  They are so blinded by states rights, that they do not see what benefits they lose.)

Once again, I will contact my representatives and express my concern about these issues.

Depending on where you are in West Texas, the rainfall amounts we have received since last Friday are from 3 to 5 inches. This is a blessing for farmers, especially dry land farmers. This rain did not dispel our drought/water restriction problems. But, it did help the fireworks vendors, as they may be able to sell fireworks without concern for a ban. This is a big industry for July 4th.

President Obama addressed the graduating class at West Point today. http://www.usma.edu/parents/SiteAssets/Graduation%20Activities%202014.pdf. or http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/05/28/america-must-always-lead-president-obama-addresses-west-point-graduates One of my coworkers was present. Her nephew was graduating. What a thrilling experience that must have been.

We have been blessed as a nation:  A civil rights activist died today, but the President addressing the United States Army Military Academy (West Point) is a man of color.  While he generally does not use the presidency as a bully pulpit, he has let it be known what it means, telling the general public, that to be a black man who might be "profiled" by police when a crime has been committed causes much anxiety, fear, paranoia, and concern that his rights will be violated.

The reality is this could happen.  Our law enforcement people do over react sometimes to race, color, gender. Our law enforcement people are put on the line, over and over, asked to make split second decisions, so many of their decisions should not be second guessed.  But sometimes, once a suspect is subduedand in custody, thingshappen, and our law enforcement officers need to be second guessed.

Responsibility

I am a board member for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock http://www.cclubbock.org/.  We have purchased a property that we are renovating for a bigger Resale Center. The Resale Center is basically a thrift store that accepts donations from the public and is open to the public. The profits from the store go into the general revenues of the agency budget, which is very important to the agency.

It is more than that, though.  It is an opportunity for people to volunteer and help the agency. It is also a resource for the clients of the agency who have needs.  They can receive vouchers to shop at the store and buy much needed supplies. 

I was out and about tonight and by chance I drove by the new building.  It was early evening.  It was very windy.  As I drove by, I noticed an outside door swinging in the wind.  I could have ignored this, and if something bad had happened, I would not have had to own up to knowing this. But I would know. So, I called around until I could contact someone with the agency who could contact someone to go lock the door. 

I was told that it was probably okay, because even if the outside door was unlocked, if the inside door was locked, there was no problem.  I did not enter the building. I did not know if someone was in there or not. I think the worst in these situations. 

I was also concerned because the wind was so strong, the door was being blown open and banging up against the wall.  I was concerned a very strong wind gust might result in broken windows, as the door had two glass windows. 

I may read too many mystery novels, and I work in a prison, so I may be too cynical (but I hope I am not too cynical) but I also think an open, swinging door on a vacant building is an invitation to vandalism, even if it is only graffiti.

So, I did what I thought was the right thing:  I sought help.  I stayed until help came. And, I thanked the helper.

Suspended Responsibility

Thursday was Thanksgiving.  My car needs work, and may not even start, although it did Friday. My cell phone was not working, but finally, Sprint corrected the problem on Friday

Even though I was aware I had these problems, I basically suspended responsibility yesterday, and did not worry or care about what was going wrong. I paid attention to what I wanted to be right: I cooked a turkey.  I sat in the sun and read. I played with my cats. I watched Texas Tech football, although they lost.

I was thankful to have a house, a roof, food, and a place to be me.   I would have liked to call family but I sent emails. 

Friday, I tended to things, and the world seemed righter and brighter. Sometimes, being thankful makes a difference.  I want to remember to be thankful more often.

Doing the Right Thing

I hate going to the doctor.  I avoid it, and suffer before I will go. But sometimes, I just know it is the right thing to do.  Until recently, I had not been to my PCP for several years.  But, when I chose this PCP, I had specific criteria: female, extended hours, and accepts medicaid.  I think she no longer accepts medicaid, but the rest apply. She also employs a physician extender (nurse practitioner, but that could also include a physician's assistant).  Since I have been going to my PCP, I have actually used the physician's extender that she employees. And, I am very happy with that.  I did not know, until my first appointment with this PCP, that she has a multi-cultural staff, and employs staff in non-stereo specific gender roles.  This impressed me.

Last year, my PCP provided support to Catholic Charities for a fund raiser.  I was surprised and impressed.  Today, at an appointment, I learned the physician extender is Catholic. I did not tell her, but will at my next appointment, of my appreciation of the support of Catholic Charities. 

I also appreciate that they could work me in quickly, and have in the past when I had an emergent need, get me in and out quickly, and respect my time in terms of scheduling appointments, recognizing I have obligations outside of a medical appointment. 

I am also impressed that when prescriptions were called for, the nurse practitioner talked about affordability.  She does not know my financial circumstances, but that was very considerate of her (I have insurance, and can afford my copay.  But using Wal Mart, the medication was $4.) 

These medical professionals practice medicine doing the right thing. When I was a child, our family physician did the right thing: one child was sick, all got prophylactic medication, calling in prescriptions when he was sure an office visit was not warranted, taking care of the patient no matter what her mother wanted done. 

Good values, good ethics, and good practice are such a premium.  Thank the Lord for this PCP and her staff.

The Butler

Once again, I will say that I do not watch Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" a lot. But I was watching tonight.  Robin Williams was one of the guests, and he is in the movie "The Butler http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327773/." As I understand it, this is a true story of a Black butler who served the Presidents in the White House. I am going to try to watch for this movie in Lubbock.  I want to see it.

Jackie Robinson, A Biography

As I have previously mentioned, I went to see 42: The Jackie Robinson Story twice at the movie theater. This from someone who rarely goes to see a movie.  I was very interested in the accuracy of the events, and found myself picking up a book at the library: Jackie Robinson, A Biography by Arnold Rampersad.

As I read about his entry into baseball, I was pleased to see that the incidents depicted in the movie were fairly well depicted in accord with the book.  And, now, as I have finished the book, I was really, really struck by the fact that Jackie Robinson really was the right man, a man with a mission, to integrate baseball.

The incident that lead to his court-martial in the US Army indicated he was will to fight for integration and racial equality.  The life he lived after baseball demonstrated to what an extent he took that on as his life's mission. It is a part of the Jackie Robinson story that most of us do not hear about.  

This was a very good book. 

Constitution USA

I got to know about Peter Sagal from "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/.   He is hosting a new series on PBS, "Constitution USA" http://www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-sagal/home/.  When the series opener aired last week, I almost missed it, but thanks to a friend, I was reminded about the series, and was able to watch most of it.

It is a wonderful show.  It uses a lot of timely and visual descriptions to explain about the US Constitution.  It explains things, but in more than one medium so what ever type of learner you might be, it can make sense.  Mr. Sagal's wit and humor also come through, which keeps the series from being dry. And he uses comic visual content.  It is just wonderful.

If you have not seen it, do not miss it.  It is great!

Jackie Robinson Day 42 and

The first Jackie Robinson Day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson_Day was celebrated by Major League Baseball in 2004, and was designated as a celebration annually in 2005 http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130410&content_id=44442254&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb. This year, Jackie Robinson Day is 4/15/13.  If teams do not play on 4/15/13, they celebrate the next day.  If they are not in their home stadium on 4/15/13, they honor Jackie Robinson at their next home game.

If you do not know who Jackie Robinson is, he was the first Afro-American baseball player, hand picked, to play in the major leagues.  This occurred in 1947, and frankly he faced a lot of racism as he traveled with his team and played baseball across the country. He handled the situation with courage, grace, respect, and dignity. 

His number, 42, was retired in 1997 by Major League Baseball, but Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees, whose number is 42, was allowed to continue to wear the number, as he did before the number was retired 

In 2007, Ken Griffey Jr. asked permission to wear 42 on Jackie Robinson Day in Robinson's honor.  In 2009,  all players were allowed to wear the number on Jackie Robinson Day. Now, everyone wears 42 on Jackie Robinson Day.

The movie "42 The Jackie Robinson Story"  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453562/  has a line: "Someday everyone will wear 42."  The point is symbolic: if we are all 42 we are all the same: race, creed, color, whatever, we are all the same.  The movie was nationally released 4/12/13, timing it to coincide closely with Jackie Robinson Day 2013.

I went to see the movie today.  I wanted to get to it early in its showing in Lubbock, because Lubbock is not a baseball town, and I did not think it would stay around long.  I was surprised by the crowd, including many women, even solitary women as myself, without a companion, in the audience. During the movie, when there were good baseball plays, the audience clapped (I did) like it was a real game.

I appreciate the struggle and pain Jackie Robinson went through as the first black player in Major League Baseball. But I can not imagine what that was. 

I am glad Major League Baseball recognizes him. And, that Major League Baseball (the national past time) recognizes its role in the integration of our nation.

I have to wonder what Thomas Jefferson, Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King, Jr. would thing about Barak Obama being the President of the United States of America.

If anyone says that sports does not have an impact on our culture, they are wrong.  And, while it is not the end all and be all of integration, sports has had a very large impact on integration in this country.

Daylight Savings Time Gone Wrong or Three Cats Are a Charm

So, Sake is my "alarm cat."  Somewhere along the line I "got it" that she did not like the bird noises of my alarm clock, because she would awaken me about 5 minutes before the alarm went off.  Well, for some reason, those noises malfunctioned, and I was left with only the buzzer alarm. After that, Sake was not as consistent or persistent about trying to wake me up before the alarm went off, although, more often than not, that did happen.

But, even when the bird noises were working, I used the snooze feature a lot. I do not think Sake liked it, but what could she do?  Only so much.

For the last couple of years, I have had a regular buzzer for my alarm. Sake has developed great discernment, and has even learned that some mornings, when I shut the alarm off, rather than snooze (holidays, weekends) I am not planning to arise early, and she does not bother me.

Well, with the advent of Daylight Savings Time this spring, something has gone terribly wrong.  For the last three mornings, Sake has taken it upon herself to wake me up an hour early.  I think she got the spring forward, fall back message mixed up, and thinks we need to get up at what is now 4:30 AM but was 3:30 AM.  The bigger problem is, the other cats have gotten involved.  So, after Sake tells me to get up at 4:30 AM, about 30 minutes later, Haiku reminds me it is time to get up.  And 30 minutes later, Taki tells me it is time to get up. As you might imagine, Monday morning, I slogged my way through this and did not get up until much later, about 6 AM DST.  Tuesday morning, I got up earlier than usual, but not so bad. Today, I was wide awake at 4:30 AM and could not go back to sleep.  I tossed, turned, and snuggled, but finally got up earlier than usual.

I will say that the third cat is the charm.  I mean, if you have three cats telling you to get up, sooner or later you have to listen to one of them.  I will admit, sometimes, I do not, but mostly , when the third cat gets involved, I know it is time to get up and face the day. 

I know eventually we will return to a homeostasis regarding alarm clocks, morning risings, and the like. But meanwhile, I hope we can all be tolerant of our understanding of Daylight Savings Time, and what time we need to do to get up to go to work.

Something Happened

Something happened at work one day that required a reporting through the chain of command. The offender who reported the incident later recanted, and recanted in my presence. But we did follow procedure and reported his claim as initially stated.  As it was being investigated, the ranking staff acknowledged that I had filed the proper memos per policy. The ranking officer acknowledged that I did exactly as the policy required. Later my supervisor said the same thing.

I did what I was supposed ot do.

I Don't Do Deadlines

When I was in junior high and high school, I would procrastinate on homework and then have to rush and do a poor job.  When I got into college, at first, I was always struggling with deadlines. It was then I realized that I did not like how it felt to be up against deadlines. But I could never get ahead.  I left college, and when I returned, years later, I had developed a work ethic that helped me to not always be up against deadlines, but to work ahead.  I liked that.

When I worked in the county hospital, they preached that discharge planning began at admission. I liked that plan, and worked it as much as I could. I did not like being on call and having to scramble to do things at a moment's notice. I worked pediatrics, and after several years, received permission to work 10 AM to 7 PM, as many parents did not arrive until after school or after work. This also worked well for the on call system, as most of the calls were for families of children.  So, from 5 PM to 7 PM, I handled the on call referrals.  

One night, right before quitting time, I was walking through PICU to see if there was anything I needed to know. An adminsitrator happened to be there, and told me I was brave to do that. My response was that I would much rather take care of my ward than have someone else have to try to do it, as I knew what needed to be done.

In my later jobs, I have always tried to work ahead. I left the hospital when I realized that I had become an adrenaline junkie, and could not relax or calm down until well into the night. 

Since then, the jobs I have worked have had deadlines, and some emergent situations, but mostly, they are case management type situations that I can plan for and work at methodically and without being pushed up against deadlines. Oh, I have deadlines, but most of the time, I can plan ahead for them, and not let them become critical. And, I do try to be flexible.

Also, I do not work "by the clock."  By that I mean I do not worry about putting in a day's time. I know what my duties are, what my patients need, and what I am expected to do.  My theory is, if I plan my day to tend to my appointed job, by the end of the week, I will have put in my time. Mostly, I put in more than my time. But I feel good about accomplishing my tasks.

More than once at work, a coworker has asked "How late are you staying today?" or some version of that question. My response is usually, "I have a plan for what I want to accomplish, and then I will go home."  There are days my plans get scuttled. And I can be flexible about that. But my mind set is that I have a job to do, and today, my plan is to do this much.  If I can do more, great. If reasonably, I can not complete what I want to, I can adjust. If emergencies occur forcing me to adjust, I will.

I have an ability to guestimate how much time each of my tasks at work will require. This allows me to set my plan for the day. I prioritize by deadlines, importance of task, ease of accomplishments, and then what's left. This works for me. 

I do not try to meet standards. I know what the standards are.  What I try to do, is do the best possible job I can in the situation in which I find myself. This usually means that not only do I meet standards, I exceed them. 

So, I do not like the adrenaline rush of meeting deadlines. I do not like the tired feeling of slogging away at meeting a deadline. I like to do my tasks in a timely way and not feel pressured. 

Life does always allow that. I can adjust.

When Is it Appropriate?

When is it appropriate to publicly berate an underling on your staff?  I think never.  I know it happens frequently and regularly in the world of sports, professional, amateur and collegiate. 

An incident happened on November 10, 2012 during the Kansas vs. Texas Tech game in Lubbock, Texas.  Coach Tommy Tuberville did something that could be perceived as slapping a coaching assistant
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/10/tuberville-takes-a-slap-at-one-of-his-assistants/. 

Coach Tuberville initially said he was trying to get the assistant off the field, but later apologized

http://redraiders.com/filed-online/2012-11-12/tuberville-apologizes-sideline-incident-staff-member#.UKFRGuT7L0c.
It really does not matter. No one should be treated that way in public, unless they are so out of control they are putting theirself at physical risk of harm, and the slap is an attempt to bring them into reality.  But when does that ever happen?

What is the role of the coach?  You might have your own opinion. I have mine. A coach has many roles:  educator, motivator, role model, and lastly, disciplinarian. I think the emphasis on the role of the coach varies, but in academic sports, including collegiate athletics, role model is the most important function of a coach.  The young people in the charge of these coaches are so susceptible to the influences of their coaches, that an ethical, reverent, compassionate role model is a must.

I know that in my employment position, if my supervisor slapped me, harassed me physically or verbally, I could file a complaint. I also know that in private business corporations, there are less protections for people,although those same protections are supposed to be present. 

It will be interesting to see how the authorities of Texas Tech react to this inexcusable display of disrespect.

Weather Stories

As I have mentioned, I spent a great deal of time watching The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/ this past week.  I would not say that The Weather Channel is my new best friend, but maybe I resumed relationship:  When there are serious weather events, I spend a lot of time watching The Weather Channel.  I check in with The Weather Channel almost every morning, and frequently get my news flashes from The Weather Channel. 

I do not think that their weather reporting is better than any other service. But they do continuous coverage during a serious weather event,  and sometimes, that is what I want. (When CNN  http://www.cnn.com/first started, they did continuous coverage of the news, and I liked that, too. They still do some for breaking news coverage, but not like they did.)  I do not watch much of the other programming on The Weather Channel.  Most of it does not appeal to me. 

I was impressed, during the coverage of Isaac, about a comment one of the broadcasters made:  Paraphrasing, the gist of his comment was New Orleans is low lying country, the storm was going to produce a lot of wind and rain, and no matter what precautions and preparations were made, there WOULD be flooding. Well, duh! Finally someone on The Weather Channel was honest and real.  A lot better reporting than sometimes in the past:

I do not recall anyone reporting, before it happened, that they foresaw the danger of the levee breech in Katrina in 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina. There were plenty of people, after the fact, who talked about having forecast or predicted such a disaster. Maybe they did, maybe they did not. No matter. It happened. I have the sense people let their guard down, since the storm had passed, and this added to the problems.

In my opinion, in 2008, The Weather Channel downplayed the seriousness of Ike http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ike, which was "just" a category 2 hurricane.  But forces converged and Ike literally destroyed parts of Galveston. Storm surge, tides, wind and rains again compiled a devastating force. 

In 2011, Hurricane Irene http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Irene was followed as it churned up the Atlantic Coast.  The coverage was good.  However, at one point, it highlighted on battening down and preparing New York City.  When the impact on New York City was nominal (no flooded subway system, Manhattan was not flooded) it was if the broadcasters took a collective sigh of relief and disappointment (no major catastrophe to report).  It seemed to me that they then under-reported the impact as Irene continued on into New England and Canada, until the horrific impact became known, and provided headlines again.

I understand that The Weather Channel is not just providing a service reporting the weather. They are looking for headlines to increase their viewership in a very competitive media market. So the disasters are the stories they want to report.  The reporters seem to really get excited about being able to report weather stories that include danger and disaster.  The reporters seem to express concern for the survivors and victims of these storms, but they also seem to be pumped about reporting the serious conditions, and indeed are looking for that to report.

Reporting possible weather disasters has to take a fine edge:  Certainly people need to be warned. However, if watches and warnings are frivolous or continually inaccurate and problem situations do not materialize, people will stop taking the warnings seriously, and eventually ignore them.  Calling for evacuations is a drastic step to take; yet, ignoring these evacuations orders repeatedly proves that people end up in harm's way, and emergency responders then put themselves in harm's way to rescue those who ignored evacuations orders.  Evacuations are costly to individuals and communities, and some people may feel they do not have the resources. And, many people feel it just can not happen to them, be it a tornado, earthquake, flood, hurricane or snowstorm. 

In my mind, the most responsible tact to take is a factual reporting of the weather conditions, and reminding people that they can not prevent weather. Their preparations should be to protect and take care of themselves, what ever that involves. And, no matter how good weather predictors try to be, they are not perfect, and unexpected weather conditions can occur with no warning.  Weather just happens.

Doing the Right Thing

Today, at work, I was asked to "rubber stamp" sign some forms to help another program.  I accepted the forms, and said I would start working on them as soon as I finished what I was doing. And, I did.  I reviewed and completed the forms. But, I felt I needed to coordinate with the team members and check out the patients I did not know, in regards to whether or not the referrals requested of me were the right thing.

This took time. Filling out the forms took time, but the interviewing and coordinating took even more time, and I did not get it all done. I could have done the easy thing. I am glad I did the right thing.

Getting started

I have things I need to do today, and things I want to do today.  So far I have done some of both, but have found I am slow at the chores and quick at the pleasurable  activities. I think that is okay, as long as the chores are done.  There is no deadline and no requirement regarding order of accomplishment.  And the chores will not go away.  

I really do enjoy the feeling that the chores are done, and my time is mine.  But, today, I am a little slow at getting started on chores. 

Lombardy Poplar

There is a very old Lombardy Poplar in my back yard. Shortly after I bought the house, a second cousin visited and told me that these trees have a life span of about 35 years.  Because of the configuration of the patio and the size of the tree, he thought the tree was probably that old.  Over the 20 years that I have owned the house, the health of the tree has deteriorated.

As it is in the northwest corner of the backyard, it provides good shade to the house.  But the tree has many dead branches, and has started leaning. So, although I hate it, I think it is time to go. 

I have spent the last 3 weeks getting estimates on its removal. The prices vary.  I did not go with the highest, and I would have liked to go with a company with a much lower price, but the lower priced companies did not inspire any confidence in me that they would cut and remove the tree without causing damage to my house, or the the neighbor on the west.

The company I decided to use originally told me they thought it would be early July before they could schedule a removal.  Last week, they contacted me, and wanted to try to remove the tree today.  They told me as long as I provided access to the back yard through the front and back gate, I did not need to be present, and they would send me the bill!

They were unable to get to the tree today, so we rescheduled for next Monday.  If they reschedule again, I will have to rethink if I want to use them, especially for the price they are quoting. Having said that, I do not want complications from someone less qualified to remove the tree. This is a tricky removal:  much of the tree is over my house. If a limb or trunk drops, it could severely damage my house or that of my neighbor.  I went with this company because someone I trust reported that they do very good, reliable work.