I fear that the Blogosphere may be due for a plague of advertisement-driven "blogs" the likes of which will make surfing a tedious affair. Is there anything that can be done about this?
Anyone who has spent any time clicking on the NavBar's "Next Blog" button knows exactly what I mean. Blogs that are nothing more than random words sandwiching countless links to the same place. Blogs that are nothing more than the cyberspace equivalent of a Wal-Mart sales circular. Blogs as marketing tools for everything from Persian rugs to online gambling websites.
This morning I stumbled across no less than 10 of these parasitical "blogs" in a row, which was a new record for me. Truth be told, it's usually more like a 1 out of 3 or 4 ratio of bogus blogs to REAL blogs.
I suppose that's the price to be paid for the ease-of-use we enjoy with Blogger. Just like any good thing, there are going to be scumbags who will abuse and exploit.
But it's still a shame, and I just had to say something about it.
And so, with that out of the way, here's the short list of what I thought were EXCEPTIONAL and EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD blogs I surfed into today:
Jessika's Journal *Painted from my life in the Philadelphia area...Jessika is an incredibky talented writer and seems to have a knack for designing blogs that are entertaining, interesting and appealing to the eye. She makes me want to visit Philly...
Anonymous Rowhouse...guided not by the erratic NavBar but instead pushing off from the Naked Bloggers Webring link that Jessika was kind enough to provide in her journal and I find that there seems to be an awful lot of quality blogs put out by Naked Bloggers...Justrose is ALSO from Philly (apparently a mecca for Naked Blogging) and she proves that there must be something to blogging in the nude.
I'll have to try it sometime...
(Oh wait...I've done that already...I just forgot)
7.30.2005
She's Leaving Home (or is she?)
Glancing out my window and I noticed that my neighbour is loading boxes onto a trailer. Could it be that she is moving away? She's got a very nice house, at least from the outside it looks that way...But then again, she has been with a new boyfriend for a couple of months now. Perhaps they have decided to shack up at his place.
The Grapevine in this small town has it that she converted her storm cellar into a sado-masochistic sex-torture dungeon fully stocked with an assortment of products available from Christie's Toy Box, Grant's Fine Leatherworks and an obscure catalogue of German bondage gear.
But I wouldn't know about that...
I've never heard any screams (of pleasure OR pain) coming from that area of her backyard where it's situated. That means nothing, though, as those underground cellars are fairly well insulated and sound-proofed.
In the year and 2 months that we've lived here next to her she has never said a word to us, never acknowledged that she even has neighbours. Not that that's a bad thing...it's not as if we've gone out of our way to be particularly neighbourly, either...
If, indeed, she is moving, I will have few memories of her.
The most vivid will be the one where she's in her backyard swimming pool with 2 guys and another girl, cavorting with her breasts exposed to the world. Almost made me want to donate the funds for her to build a privacy fence around the thing.
And then there was all the firecrackers her boyfriend and she popped during the week before the 4th of July this year...illegal, yeah, but we just figured she "knew" the local cops well enough to not have to worry about getting busted.
She is generally very bad about keeping her lawn mowed...
...But I'm sure she's a swell gal once you get to know her.
I'm not judging.
The Grapevine in this small town has it that she converted her storm cellar into a sado-masochistic sex-torture dungeon fully stocked with an assortment of products available from Christie's Toy Box, Grant's Fine Leatherworks and an obscure catalogue of German bondage gear.
But I wouldn't know about that...
I've never heard any screams (of pleasure OR pain) coming from that area of her backyard where it's situated. That means nothing, though, as those underground cellars are fairly well insulated and sound-proofed.
In the year and 2 months that we've lived here next to her she has never said a word to us, never acknowledged that she even has neighbours. Not that that's a bad thing...it's not as if we've gone out of our way to be particularly neighbourly, either...
If, indeed, she is moving, I will have few memories of her.
The most vivid will be the one where she's in her backyard swimming pool with 2 guys and another girl, cavorting with her breasts exposed to the world. Almost made me want to donate the funds for her to build a privacy fence around the thing.
And then there was all the firecrackers her boyfriend and she popped during the week before the 4th of July this year...illegal, yeah, but we just figured she "knew" the local cops well enough to not have to worry about getting busted.
She is generally very bad about keeping her lawn mowed...
...But I'm sure she's a swell gal once you get to know her.
I'm not judging.
7.29.2005
>7.22.2005
Random What'sits
Haven't blogged in awhile...nice to know I'm not addicted to it.
But then again, I'm sure it has much more to do with the hours I've been working which have kept me away from the computer...
So let's see...what have I been doing the last couple of weeks BESIDES work?
I spent a couple of nights with some friends last week while attending some training classes for work. Had the opportunity to discuss lofty matters with Eric, my ex-bandmate from the Mad Laugh. Also entered into deep conversation with one of the original Festives who answers to the nicknames "Baldi" and "Warty" (the Festives was another band I was involved with back in '94). All in all it was a pleasant experience. I got my cerificates in Physical Assistance I & II and Mealtime Challenges and was happy to be home when I got back.
For a few days last week I got caught up in a discussion on the Castaways message boards about the nature of God and Christianity. The participants in the debate, besides myself, were another Christian (a Methodist) and a homosexual Kabbalist who was considering the Faith (I only mention his sexual orientation because it played an important role in the theme of the discussion). Very enlightening, it was.
I finally developed an appreciation for a couple of albums that have never appealed to me...R.E.M.'s Reveal, which I'd long claimed was their absolute worst effort, finally clicked for me and I found myself listening to it repeatedly. Likewise, Radiohead's Hail to the Thief grabbed my attention after months and months of my indifference toward it (possibly due to a certain extent of "Radiohead burn-out").
Went to the mall the other day and bought some nice clothes to wear at church.
I've also been trying to find a good template for another blog I've been working on, with no success.
Blah blah blah, right?
Well, there ya go. That's why I haven't blogged here in awhile!
I'm currently reading The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and my daily Bible reading plan finds me in the books of Judges, Jeremiah and Acts. I do my daily devotional reading in the NIV translation but I'm also reading Matthew's gospel in the King James Version.
Since the guys that I work for are heavy-duty professional wrestling fans I must confess that I have been exposed to lots of WWE shenanigans since going on the 4pm-12am shift. I thought the Undertaker's being attacked by 5 masked men under orders from an "Arab of American descent" was in poor taste, especially in light of the fact that it took place on the same day as the terrorist attacks in London. Eddie Guerrero has descended to the deepest levels of scumminess possible with his enigmatic personal vendetta against Ray Mysterio. Kurt Angle revels in being despised and JBL is a joke, calling himself a "Great American" and going so far as comparing himself to Martin Luther King.
God help me, I can't believe I'm aware of all this junk. Oh, the joys of working with the developmentally disabled.
I went to the video store last week and lo and behold, not a single title there appealed to me. At this point the only thing I really want to see is Constantine. (Update...I finally watched "Constantine" earlier this month. IT SUCKED. --- March 2008)
Oh, and this is a strange development...the last few days I have religiously watched Pat Croce: Moving In with my wife. This experience has been both positive and negative, since I typically don't know when to keep my big mouth shut and I sometimes think that I could handle a situation better than Mr. Croce...my wife disagrees.
And finally, I don't quite know what to think about Criss Angel, having watched the first couple of installments of his Mind Freak series. He definately takes the David Blaine style of illusion and kicks it up a few notches, but I'm not so sure there's no camera trickery involved. I mean, it is impossible to defy the laws of gravity such as he does...
7.16.2005
A Miracle
I was doing some internet searching tonight and wound up looking at various news stories about a facility I used to work at, the Oakridge Home for developmentally disabled adults. I worked there, as a DCS (Direct Care Staff), in 1995-1997, and it was where I first obtained the experience with mentally challenged people that led to my current employment situation as an HTS (Habilitation Training Specialist).
I was surprised to stumble across the following story, and I knew Betty Blackwood and Sharlene Nichols very well. Check it out...
Heart beats again in woman pronounced dead
By Mike Baird
SNS Contributing Writer
The Wewoka Times
It seems a miracle has occurred in Wewoka. At the very least the power of prayer from a special group of people has had an uncanny coincidence with a real life experience. The story begins in the words of Wewoka Fire Department's Captain Kevin Green who was one of the people who played a heroic role in the "heart beat" of this special moment.
------
Captain Green says the call came in about 6 p.m. on Sunday April 29. A resident at Oakridge Nursing Home was choking. His review of the events follows:
"Myself and Jeff Seeley responded to the call. Our response time was only about one minute.
"When we arrived four nurses were performing CPR on a lady in her early sixties.
"I asked them to continue while we got set up, then we took over the chest compressions. We used our portable suction to clean the airway, we determined she was choked on mashed potatoes.
"I knew our time was getting thin so we had to hurry up and go. I had one of the nurses get a backboard and put it between me and the patient. We rolled her over and put her on the board-lifted her to the cot; we did CPR all the way to the back of the truck. One of the nurses asked if she could come with us, I said sure, that'd help me out a lot.
"When we got her into the back of the truck, Jeff turned on the oxygen. I hooked the bag up to the oxygen. I had the nurse keep doing CPR while I got the AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) ready. As soon as I got it ready, I attached the leads to her, it went to analyze mode, no heart-rhythm was found, we continued CPR.
"Every time it would analyze we would stop to let it get a correct rhythm reading, once it said, 'If no rhythm continue CPR.' We did that until we got about 5 minutes out, I knew ALS (Advanced Life Support) needed to be put in.
"We called on the radio--called code blue (CPR in process.) They had all the tools out when we arrived--the meds (intravenous medications), intubation kits, everything was ready.
"As soon as we got her onto the cot at the hospital we assisted the nursing staff with the ALS resuscitation efforts. The doctor put an ET (endotracheal tube) tube in her, checked for placement, good placement-put her on the bag. Two nurses, one on each arm, started IV's hooking up drip sets, IV solutions, and as the doctor called them they pushed the meds.
"We worked on her - they asked me if I needed a break - I was soaking wet. I said, 'Yes I do.' They had quite a few people on standby that came in to bag for me and continue compressions. I turned to start my reports.
"I had nothing, no name, no age, and no social security numbers. I had no medical history, allergies, nothing to give to the doctor other than she was a sixties female that choked.
"I tried to get this information from the hospital admissions staff; she had been there about five years ago on another call, all they had was a birth date.
"They did stop CPR to check the heart monitor, for the doctor to check for a heartbeat, and nothing was found.
"After what seemed like forever, they decided this was it. She was pronounced dead. It was about 6:30 p.m.
"As I unhooked the bag and began eliminating the disposable equipment we had used, one of the nurses said, 'Look.'
"You could see just a little bit of flutter in her chest, which was bare.
"I turned around and looked at the monitor-it started going a little bit crazy-and before you know it there was a normal rhythm. The doctor looked at it in disbelief. The nursing staff was amazed.
"I've been an EMT since 1993, and I couldn't believe that someone that was flat-lined with no color and no response to pain--just all of a sudden had a beat, then a good pulse. We checked her blood pressure, it was coming up.
"Everybody just started smiling, and someone said, 'Hey, she's not breathing on her own.'
"I started grabbing everything I had thrown away and started hooking her back up. Got the suction-suctioned her out, bagged her, and they called for a portable ventilator.
"As they were doing that they were deciding whether to call for Mediflight or to have Hughes County EMS transport her to Presbyterian Hospital. When I last went in there she had a good strong pulse, reasonable blood pressure, except she wasn't breathing on her own-but her color was coming back. She had been dead-and now was alive."
------
Betty Blackwood has no family. She is 64, non-hearing, non-verbal and diagnosed with severe mental retardation.
She has some very special friends in the 112 residents that live with her at Oakridge Nursing Home. All of them are developmentally challenged.
Blackwood has been there since Jan. 4, 1983. She came from Konawa.
Here's where the story becomes miraculous.
Ten of Blackwood's co-residents are faithful members of the Pentecostal Holiness New Life Church at 121 W. 12th in Wewoka.
They attend church every Wednesday and Sunday night. This particular Sunday evening the church was having a special recognition service to honor those who "hazard their lives for our safety," said Minister Gary Palmeri.
The Oakridge group sits in the front pew in the sanctuary. The following is Palmeri's account of what happened:
"I was getting ready to take testimonies and prayer requests. It usually is about 20 minutes into our service. The Oakridge group is very faithful. They never miss attending. They are our special people-they have childlike faith.
"Sharlene Nichols stood up before I made prayer requests and demanded, 'Preacher you must pray for our friend.' She put her hands around her throat and said, 'She is choking.'
"The rest of the Oakridge group stood and started moving toward me saying, 'Preacher, yes, you need to pray for our friend.'
"They were very upset, almost rushing the altar. It was a very intense moment. I had the congregation stand and we prayed. I joined the Oakridge group, who was already standing and very unsettled. We joined hands and all prayed in unison. It must have been right about 6:30."
------
Although Blackwood remains unconscious, doctors have been marveling that she does have brain activity and told Parsons they are very hopeful. She was anticipated to have no brainwaves, but when tested showed otherwise.
Rev. Palmeri says that there have been a number of people at the church testify that the power of the groups prayer has helped their health, blood sugar, even financial woes.
"I didn't know anything about this woman, her circumstances, and certainly didn't know that she lived after being pronounced dead at the very time we were praying for her," said Palmeri. "I've got chills just knowing it now. I have to call it a miracle."
An interesting twist to the story is that Wewoka Fire Department's Captain Fletcher Hulsey was on hand at the church at the time of the prayer experience.
"I'm always one of the first ones to give God credit," he said. "Man can only do what he's trained to do. The gift of life comes from God."
I just had to share that...
I was surprised to stumble across the following story, and I knew Betty Blackwood and Sharlene Nichols very well. Check it out...
Heart beats again in woman pronounced dead
By Mike Baird
SNS Contributing Writer
The Wewoka Times
It seems a miracle has occurred in Wewoka. At the very least the power of prayer from a special group of people has had an uncanny coincidence with a real life experience. The story begins in the words of Wewoka Fire Department's Captain Kevin Green who was one of the people who played a heroic role in the "heart beat" of this special moment.
------
Captain Green says the call came in about 6 p.m. on Sunday April 29. A resident at Oakridge Nursing Home was choking. His review of the events follows:
"Myself and Jeff Seeley responded to the call. Our response time was only about one minute.
"When we arrived four nurses were performing CPR on a lady in her early sixties.
"I asked them to continue while we got set up, then we took over the chest compressions. We used our portable suction to clean the airway, we determined she was choked on mashed potatoes.
"I knew our time was getting thin so we had to hurry up and go. I had one of the nurses get a backboard and put it between me and the patient. We rolled her over and put her on the board-lifted her to the cot; we did CPR all the way to the back of the truck. One of the nurses asked if she could come with us, I said sure, that'd help me out a lot.
"When we got her into the back of the truck, Jeff turned on the oxygen. I hooked the bag up to the oxygen. I had the nurse keep doing CPR while I got the AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) ready. As soon as I got it ready, I attached the leads to her, it went to analyze mode, no heart-rhythm was found, we continued CPR.
"Every time it would analyze we would stop to let it get a correct rhythm reading, once it said, 'If no rhythm continue CPR.' We did that until we got about 5 minutes out, I knew ALS (Advanced Life Support) needed to be put in.
"We called on the radio--called code blue (CPR in process.) They had all the tools out when we arrived--the meds (intravenous medications), intubation kits, everything was ready.
"As soon as we got her onto the cot at the hospital we assisted the nursing staff with the ALS resuscitation efforts. The doctor put an ET (endotracheal tube) tube in her, checked for placement, good placement-put her on the bag. Two nurses, one on each arm, started IV's hooking up drip sets, IV solutions, and as the doctor called them they pushed the meds.
"We worked on her - they asked me if I needed a break - I was soaking wet. I said, 'Yes I do.' They had quite a few people on standby that came in to bag for me and continue compressions. I turned to start my reports.
"I had nothing, no name, no age, and no social security numbers. I had no medical history, allergies, nothing to give to the doctor other than she was a sixties female that choked.
"I tried to get this information from the hospital admissions staff; she had been there about five years ago on another call, all they had was a birth date.
"They did stop CPR to check the heart monitor, for the doctor to check for a heartbeat, and nothing was found.
"After what seemed like forever, they decided this was it. She was pronounced dead. It was about 6:30 p.m.
"As I unhooked the bag and began eliminating the disposable equipment we had used, one of the nurses said, 'Look.'
"You could see just a little bit of flutter in her chest, which was bare.
"I turned around and looked at the monitor-it started going a little bit crazy-and before you know it there was a normal rhythm. The doctor looked at it in disbelief. The nursing staff was amazed.
"I've been an EMT since 1993, and I couldn't believe that someone that was flat-lined with no color and no response to pain--just all of a sudden had a beat, then a good pulse. We checked her blood pressure, it was coming up.
"Everybody just started smiling, and someone said, 'Hey, she's not breathing on her own.'
"I started grabbing everything I had thrown away and started hooking her back up. Got the suction-suctioned her out, bagged her, and they called for a portable ventilator.
"As they were doing that they were deciding whether to call for Mediflight or to have Hughes County EMS transport her to Presbyterian Hospital. When I last went in there she had a good strong pulse, reasonable blood pressure, except she wasn't breathing on her own-but her color was coming back. She had been dead-and now was alive."
------
Betty Blackwood has no family. She is 64, non-hearing, non-verbal and diagnosed with severe mental retardation.
She has some very special friends in the 112 residents that live with her at Oakridge Nursing Home. All of them are developmentally challenged.
Blackwood has been there since Jan. 4, 1983. She came from Konawa.
Here's where the story becomes miraculous.
Ten of Blackwood's co-residents are faithful members of the Pentecostal Holiness New Life Church at 121 W. 12th in Wewoka.
They attend church every Wednesday and Sunday night. This particular Sunday evening the church was having a special recognition service to honor those who "hazard their lives for our safety," said Minister Gary Palmeri.
The Oakridge group sits in the front pew in the sanctuary. The following is Palmeri's account of what happened:
"I was getting ready to take testimonies and prayer requests. It usually is about 20 minutes into our service. The Oakridge group is very faithful. They never miss attending. They are our special people-they have childlike faith.
"Sharlene Nichols stood up before I made prayer requests and demanded, 'Preacher you must pray for our friend.' She put her hands around her throat and said, 'She is choking.'
"The rest of the Oakridge group stood and started moving toward me saying, 'Preacher, yes, you need to pray for our friend.'
"They were very upset, almost rushing the altar. It was a very intense moment. I had the congregation stand and we prayed. I joined the Oakridge group, who was already standing and very unsettled. We joined hands and all prayed in unison. It must have been right about 6:30."
------
Although Blackwood remains unconscious, doctors have been marveling that she does have brain activity and told Parsons they are very hopeful. She was anticipated to have no brainwaves, but when tested showed otherwise.
Rev. Palmeri says that there have been a number of people at the church testify that the power of the groups prayer has helped their health, blood sugar, even financial woes.
"I didn't know anything about this woman, her circumstances, and certainly didn't know that she lived after being pronounced dead at the very time we were praying for her," said Palmeri. "I've got chills just knowing it now. I have to call it a miracle."
An interesting twist to the story is that Wewoka Fire Department's Captain Fletcher Hulsey was on hand at the church at the time of the prayer experience.
"I'm always one of the first ones to give God credit," he said. "Man can only do what he's trained to do. The gift of life comes from God."
I just had to share that...
7.01.2005
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