I recently went to my local area Staples store. We have all seen the commercials for "What the "L"? making reference to the "L" in their logo which has always been a bent staple. So now they are updating their website and adding more products for different areas of the business world. I went to one of the stores in my local area and I had not been in awhile and I was wanting to recycle an old monitor I had. I arrived at the store with the monitor in the cart and to my shock and surprise they remodeled the store and downsized it. I liked the new look and I know that they mostly cut out the office furniture department which took up a good size of the store. But what I did not like was they no longer accepted the monitor to recycle so I was not happy with having to take the monitor back to my truck. The clerk claimed all they take is old ink cartridges. So I walked through the store and looked around I found most of what I was interested in, but they have two big screens so you can order items that are not in the store online. I understand that Staples like most companies is trying to stay relevant in this new economy, and I know Walmart and Kmart does the same thing, order and it comes to the store instead of you paying shipping fees for it to come to you.
So we will see if the new look and the new services they offer helps them out in the long run.
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Thursday, March 27, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Possible ICD-10 Delay: My Thoughts
It was announced via email by AHIMA that the government (House and Senate) is going to vote on a bill that is supposed to adjust the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) and amend the Social Security Act to extend Medicare payments to physicans and change the other provisions of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and is also includes a seven line section that would delay ICD-10 until October 1, 2015. It was delayed one time before and it is supposed to be implemented on October 1, 2014.
ICD-10 or a clinical modification of ICD-10 is the classification system currently being used by the majority of the world. The US is the only industrialized nation not using an ICD-10-based classification system.
There are two main reasons that the transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS is necessary:
Payors cannot pay claims fairly using ICD-9-CM since the classification system does not accurately reflect current technology and medical treatment. Significantly different procedures are assigned to a single ICD-9-CM procedure code. Limitations in the coding system translate directly into limitations in the diagnosis-related groups (DRG).
The healthcare industry cannot accurately measure quality of care using ICD-9-CM. It is difficult to evaluate the outcome of new procedures and emerging health care conditions when there are not precise codes. Most importantly, we have a mission to improve our ability to measure health care services provided to our patients, enhance clinical decision-making, track public health issues, conduct medical research, identify fraud and abuse and design our payment systems to ensure services are appropriately paid.
So if there is another delay of ICD-10 how will it effect us all. Well current students taking medical coding and billing will have a harder time finding a job if they graduate, because they are all currently learning ICD-10. Hospitals and other medical places that have already spent the money changing to ICD-10 will feel like they wasted the money.
Why are they wanting to delay it again I feel like it is due to the cuts the doctor's will see from getting paid for Medicare and Medicaid. Under the new system doctors would get pay for their performance instead of how many times they see the same patient.
Even though I am no longer going to school for Medical coding and billing I feel for my former classmates if this gets stalled again for another year.
While it has taken the US forever to come to ICD-10 the rest of the world that has been on ICD-10 before us is now getting ready for the swap to ICD-11 in the next few years.
"Greed destroys progress and prevents us from moving forward".
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ICD-10 or a clinical modification of ICD-10 is the classification system currently being used by the majority of the world. The US is the only industrialized nation not using an ICD-10-based classification system.
There are two main reasons that the transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS is necessary:
Payors cannot pay claims fairly using ICD-9-CM since the classification system does not accurately reflect current technology and medical treatment. Significantly different procedures are assigned to a single ICD-9-CM procedure code. Limitations in the coding system translate directly into limitations in the diagnosis-related groups (DRG).
The healthcare industry cannot accurately measure quality of care using ICD-9-CM. It is difficult to evaluate the outcome of new procedures and emerging health care conditions when there are not precise codes. Most importantly, we have a mission to improve our ability to measure health care services provided to our patients, enhance clinical decision-making, track public health issues, conduct medical research, identify fraud and abuse and design our payment systems to ensure services are appropriately paid.
So if there is another delay of ICD-10 how will it effect us all. Well current students taking medical coding and billing will have a harder time finding a job if they graduate, because they are all currently learning ICD-10. Hospitals and other medical places that have already spent the money changing to ICD-10 will feel like they wasted the money.
Why are they wanting to delay it again I feel like it is due to the cuts the doctor's will see from getting paid for Medicare and Medicaid. Under the new system doctors would get pay for their performance instead of how many times they see the same patient.
Even though I am no longer going to school for Medical coding and billing I feel for my former classmates if this gets stalled again for another year.
While it has taken the US forever to come to ICD-10 the rest of the world that has been on ICD-10 before us is now getting ready for the swap to ICD-11 in the next few years.
"Greed destroys progress and prevents us from moving forward".
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Microsoft Ending Support for Windows XP Users
For those of you that have not heard or simply been under a rock on April 8th Microsoft is ending all support services for users of Windows XP. Just a side thought this blog is produced on a computer that is run on Windows XP. If you go to the Microsoft store they are offering all Windows XP users $100 off any new computer, and a few other services if you buy a new computer. However there is a small catch to this offer, the computer you buy has to be $599 or more. And from the list I saw if you are a loyal desktop computer user like I am, there are no desktops on the list. The list is compiled of laptops, tablets, and Surface, and all in ones. I like the looks of an all in one PC, where it is just a big monitor with a wireless mouse and keyboard. But come on Microsoft just a small $100 off and you have to buy $599 or higher computer. Microsoft wants all of the Windows XP faithful to go to Windows 8 or 8.1, but I like Windows 7. It is the most similar to Windows XP, I have not used or touched Windows 8 yet.
So where is Microsoft going to leave us Windows XP faithful after April 8th. Well if we have an issue we will have to find someone to fix it and that may cost a pretty penny. There will be no new security patches for us to get. And we will not be able to buy any new software that will work on our computers. So we will basically be left in the cold.
I am going to still use my Windows XP computer. I do not have the cashflow to buy a new computer and a new printer/scanner. I will one day get me a new computer hopefully, but I guess I will simply use my parents computer who is running Windows 7 or since I have a live class in the summer I guess I can be out there to get my classwork done.
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So where is Microsoft going to leave us Windows XP faithful after April 8th. Well if we have an issue we will have to find someone to fix it and that may cost a pretty penny. There will be no new security patches for us to get. And we will not be able to buy any new software that will work on our computers. So we will basically be left in the cold.
I am going to still use my Windows XP computer. I do not have the cashflow to buy a new computer and a new printer/scanner. I will one day get me a new computer hopefully, but I guess I will simply use my parents computer who is running Windows 7 or since I have a live class in the summer I guess I can be out there to get my classwork done.
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Monday, March 24, 2014
Robberies and stealing at Wal-Mart
I watched the news recently and there has been an increase in robberies at Wal-Marts in a certain area. Who is brave enough to walk into a place like Wal-Mart and rob the cashier at gun point with all of the security and cameras. I mean if you pull up at a local Wal-Mart they are watching you from the time you get out of your car. I mean I know we live in tough times but you have to be super desperate or just flat out crazy.
Well at one local Wal-Mart a women walked into a Wal-Mart at 4am and went straight to the cell phone counter in Electronics and broke into the locked phone cabinet, filled up a shopping cart and walked right out of Wal-Mart and no one stopped her. Where were the employees? Where the people who supposed watch the cameras? I hate going to Wal-Mart during the day, and I quit going at night a long time ago.
Just more proof at how broken our society is.
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Well at one local Wal-Mart a women walked into a Wal-Mart at 4am and went straight to the cell phone counter in Electronics and broke into the locked phone cabinet, filled up a shopping cart and walked right out of Wal-Mart and no one stopped her. Where were the employees? Where the people who supposed watch the cameras? I hate going to Wal-Mart during the day, and I quit going at night a long time ago.
Just more proof at how broken our society is.
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Blog #80
I have spent the past few days debating what to write for this blog. I never thought I would make it to #80 and I never thought that I would have so many page views either, but despite the days away from writing this blog due to my job and then I wrote a couple of blogs to play catch up. I was afraid that I had lost a bunch of my readers with me falling off the face of the world and I apologized for that and even wrote it down as a blog. Thank you for accepting my apology. I have been dealing with alot the past few weeks, mostly with work.
I hate my job, I am not going to lie about it. I have been trying to find another job but to no avail and I hear it all the time that I need to be thankful for having a job. Yes I am but the past three years at my current job has been tough. Between the management changes and the drama caused by employees it has been hard on me. I went back to school due to my job and now I have changed majors and their were alot of people not happy with my decision and I feel like I should of done it sooner but like my job I thought it would get better. People will always as the saying goes "let their mouths write checks that their asses will never cash". I am tired of working with liars and drama causers, it has got so bad that I no longer feel needed at my job because everyone thinks they know better and that is stressful. That is why I was gone from writing this blog for a few days. I am also now registered for summer semester under my new major. I am scared of this new direction I am not going to lie. I am hoping that in the long run it will be worth, my self esteem can not afford another hit. It can not get any lower.
I am still dealing with this feeling of something is missing. Something in me has changed and I am still not sure what it is. Some say that it has not died just waiting for a reawakening. I am hoping they are right.
Thank you all for the continued support and I hope that all of you keep coming back.
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I hate my job, I am not going to lie about it. I have been trying to find another job but to no avail and I hear it all the time that I need to be thankful for having a job. Yes I am but the past three years at my current job has been tough. Between the management changes and the drama caused by employees it has been hard on me. I went back to school due to my job and now I have changed majors and their were alot of people not happy with my decision and I feel like I should of done it sooner but like my job I thought it would get better. People will always as the saying goes "let their mouths write checks that their asses will never cash". I am tired of working with liars and drama causers, it has got so bad that I no longer feel needed at my job because everyone thinks they know better and that is stressful. That is why I was gone from writing this blog for a few days. I am also now registered for summer semester under my new major. I am scared of this new direction I am not going to lie. I am hoping that in the long run it will be worth, my self esteem can not afford another hit. It can not get any lower.
I am still dealing with this feeling of something is missing. Something in me has changed and I am still not sure what it is. Some say that it has not died just waiting for a reawakening. I am hoping they are right.
Thank you all for the continued support and I hope that all of you keep coming back.
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Thursday, March 20, 2014
"China Needs More Bibles"
For those of you that has been under a rock and did not know this China is a communist country. They do not believe in letting their people be "free thinkers". Any one remember Tienanmen Square back in the 80's and the infamous picture where a college kid is standing in front of a tank. Google it if you have not ever heard of this.
Back to the point of this blog. In the current issue of a magazine produced by the American Bible Society there was an article about how China needs more bibles. I saw this and said what the hell? and I made the comment that if you get caught with a bible in China they shoot you on site because you are committing a serious offense. Of course my comment sparked a debate with my Christian family who claims that there are parts of China that do have Bibles and believe in the Christian God. My question is where in China do they have the guts to do this. I mean when I hear that missionaries are going to China I think they are crazy. This is the same country that took over Tibet and they kill babies if you have a girl as your second child.
China does not even allow the Quran or any Muslim text in their country for the same reason.
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Back to the point of this blog. In the current issue of a magazine produced by the American Bible Society there was an article about how China needs more bibles. I saw this and said what the hell? and I made the comment that if you get caught with a bible in China they shoot you on site because you are committing a serious offense. Of course my comment sparked a debate with my Christian family who claims that there are parts of China that do have Bibles and believe in the Christian God. My question is where in China do they have the guts to do this. I mean when I hear that missionaries are going to China I think they are crazy. This is the same country that took over Tibet and they kill babies if you have a girl as your second child.
China does not even allow the Quran or any Muslim text in their country for the same reason.
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Password Fatigue
Many of us have different accounts on different sites that each one has a different log in name and password. In some instances most people use their favorite email address as the log in but with a different password or a variation of the same password, which I do not recommend. Many people feel overwhelmed and some use the same password for everything, which is not a good idea either. Many of us have more accounts and passwords than contacts in our phone and email. Many people change their passwords on a regular basis but keep everything on a single sheet of paper or two and after awhile it looks like an art project, the sheet I used to use is a perfect example. Now one person suggests keep all of your log in's and passwords in a file on your cellphone, my fellow readers that is not a great idea even if you just start the password, Example "ab****!", it would not take much for someone who could hack into your phone to find this and you are screwed. What I tell people if you do not want to keep up with sheets of paper in a binder or some form of paper file, create a file with Word and use it, but put it on a thumb drive that is away from your computer and use the password protection on the thumb drive. I know that your cell phone is your best friend, but please do not keep extremely personal stuff on it, and do not even bank on your phone.
Protect yourself....
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Protect yourself....
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State College System Bans Smoking on Campuses
So it was announced this week that a state college system is banning all smoking off of all of its college campuses. I say good for them. I go to a college where the smokers are supposed to be at designated areas, but they do not do it. So this step will keep the campuses beautiful and it will keep people like me who is a nonsmoker from having to smell it all over the campus. Have any of my readers ever used an in class computer and the keyboard smells like it is on fire from the user before who smoked and simply did not wash their hands before going to class? I have and to me its disgusting. And for all of us who do go to college how many majors are encouraging their students to go ahead and stop smoking before they graduate because so many places, like hospitals, are doing random screenings to check their employees for nicotine. I do not have an issue with people smoking, I work with a bunch of smokers everyday, and I really wish my job would not allow them to smoke on the property. Not only does it effect the air I breathe but the people I work with do not and will not pick up their buts when they are finished. That is a bad reflection. I am glad that my college will have to ban the smoking.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2014
I Used to be a Hardcore Gamer
I used to be a hardcore gamer. It started when I was younger and me and my father used to play all of our Atari games. We played them until our Atari 2600 quit working and we got an Atari 4800, which by the way I still have in a box stored away, and I do not know if it will work on these newer Tv's that are out now. I loved my Atari. Then I got the first NES the one that came with Super Mario/Duck Hunt and I bought alot of games for that system too and then I played it until it quit working. You know when you have worn it out when you have to blow into the system or on the game to get it to work. After that was the Super Nintendo and then Nintendo 64 both of those were used until they quit working too. After that I got out of gaming for awhile and then I got a Nintendo Game Cube and that sucked as a system and then I got a Playstation 2 with a bunch of games and I played it until I sold it in 2008. I played alot of games back in those days. Now a gaming system is the price of a new computer and the games are ridiculously priced. I play free games now and I wish that they did not have micro transactions in them. It is ridiculous to get a free game and then have to pay to get things to get past a level, but I am patient enough to either keep playing the same level until I beat it or until I get aggravated and just give up on the game and find something else to play.
I do not miss having a gaming system and if I had an awesome computer, then that might be a different story some computer games are cheaper than having a gaming console.
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I do not miss having a gaming system and if I had an awesome computer, then that might be a different story some computer games are cheaper than having a gaming console.
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Archiving Ideas
I have been considering what to do when I reach the minimum number of posts I can keep on this blog. I read somewhere that there is a limit. So I have been considering two options. The first is opening another blogger account and the second is possibly creating a site on Angelfire and post my older blogs there. I am not sure what to do. I have been so busy lately I have not had time to sit down and focus on these options. I wish Geocities was still around then the decision would be so much easier, because I had an already established site, but all of that is gone.
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Fountains and Electrical Hazards
It was announced today that a state college system is awarding over $1.2 million dollars to settle a lawsuit brought up due to the death of their daughter who was electrocuted getting her child's ball out of a fountain on a college campus. The fountain in question is still shut down and closed off. I feel for her family and the child she left behind, but the school apparently did not do routine maintenance on the fountain to prevent the water from being electrified. So in a way it was negligence on the part of the college. Water is a conductor for electricity and this is why you do not go swimming in a pool during a lightening storm and you do not keep items like a blow dryer close to your bath tub.
Alot of the students interviewed for the newscast want the fountain reopened and back in use. I feel like something so tragic as a person getting electrocuted the fountain should stay closed and maybe filled in and torn down and put up a simple statue in its place.
If places can't afford the simple maintenance of a fountain then they should not be running them. I know that they are supposed to be pieces of art and peaceful, but common sense says keep your hands out of them. I know the fountain in my local community has to be turned off due to people wanting to put soap in the fountain as a joke.
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Alot of the students interviewed for the newscast want the fountain reopened and back in use. I feel like something so tragic as a person getting electrocuted the fountain should stay closed and maybe filled in and torn down and put up a simple statue in its place.
If places can't afford the simple maintenance of a fountain then they should not be running them. I know that they are supposed to be pieces of art and peaceful, but common sense says keep your hands out of them. I know the fountain in my local community has to be turned off due to people wanting to put soap in the fountain as a joke.
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014
A Letter to Constant Complainers from All Hospitality Workers
To all Constant Complainers,
All places that deal in Hospitality are not created equal. We are not perfect and we know that you expect every little detail to be perfect. Our employers expect perfection. We do our best to make sure that everything is perfect and right. But you all know that we have rules to follow and you all know that we cannot no matter how hard we try cannot make your food look like it does in the pictures on menus and menu boards. We are all not certified culinary art cooks. We are regular people who have to work a job just like you do. We are people not machines. We are not personally out to get you either. We really wish you the customer would understand that. How would you feel if we showed up at your job and complained and cussed and threatened to try and get you fired, over something stupid. We all offer to fix your issue before you leave the establishment but that is not even good enough for you. You the customer who wants to cuss and scream and rant and rave and want to yell at us over the phone or in person or worse call the corporate line on us. We give you a foot and you want the whole mile and then some.
Then you tell us the ultimate lie. And you the customer know which one we are talking about. The "we are not EVER going to come back here again..." why do you tell us that? We know at first it is a fear tactic but after you the customer use that line over and over why waste your breath. Quit lying to us and yourselves. It makes you look like a ranting moron when you say it and then 3 days later you darken our door step AGAIN with the same logic and the same pointless threats. You the customer only make things worse for yourselves in the long run. We develop memory like an elephant and if we see you again we are going to rush you in and rush you out so that we do not have to hear you run your mouth. As I said how would you feel if we came to your job and told you that you are useless or that you could not get a "real job" if your life depends on it. To us it is a "real job".
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All places that deal in Hospitality are not created equal. We are not perfect and we know that you expect every little detail to be perfect. Our employers expect perfection. We do our best to make sure that everything is perfect and right. But you all know that we have rules to follow and you all know that we cannot no matter how hard we try cannot make your food look like it does in the pictures on menus and menu boards. We are all not certified culinary art cooks. We are regular people who have to work a job just like you do. We are people not machines. We are not personally out to get you either. We really wish you the customer would understand that. How would you feel if we showed up at your job and complained and cussed and threatened to try and get you fired, over something stupid. We all offer to fix your issue before you leave the establishment but that is not even good enough for you. You the customer who wants to cuss and scream and rant and rave and want to yell at us over the phone or in person or worse call the corporate line on us. We give you a foot and you want the whole mile and then some.
Then you tell us the ultimate lie. And you the customer know which one we are talking about. The "we are not EVER going to come back here again..." why do you tell us that? We know at first it is a fear tactic but after you the customer use that line over and over why waste your breath. Quit lying to us and yourselves. It makes you look like a ranting moron when you say it and then 3 days later you darken our door step AGAIN with the same logic and the same pointless threats. You the customer only make things worse for yourselves in the long run. We develop memory like an elephant and if we see you again we are going to rush you in and rush you out so that we do not have to hear you run your mouth. As I said how would you feel if we came to your job and told you that you are useless or that you could not get a "real job" if your life depends on it. To us it is a "real job".
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Sunday, March 16, 2014
An Apology
To my loyal readers,
I wanted to take a minute to thank you all for being loyal readers. I also wanted to apologize for not writing a whole lot here recently. I know that this will probably be the first of many apologies but I also hope that I do not get behind in writing a blog again. My job the past couple of weeks has gotten in the way of me writing and entertaining you my loyal readers. So if you thought I had given up on my blog no I have not. I have missed writing but due to all the hours I have been working I have been too tired to write but I am hoping my work schedule gets back to normal next week. I am also playing catch up tonight.
I hope that you come back to my blog and accept my apology for temporarily falling off the face of the planet.
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I wanted to take a minute to thank you all for being loyal readers. I also wanted to apologize for not writing a whole lot here recently. I know that this will probably be the first of many apologies but I also hope that I do not get behind in writing a blog again. My job the past couple of weeks has gotten in the way of me writing and entertaining you my loyal readers. So if you thought I had given up on my blog no I have not. I have missed writing but due to all the hours I have been working I have been too tired to write but I am hoping my work schedule gets back to normal next week. I am also playing catch up tonight.
I hope that you come back to my blog and accept my apology for temporarily falling off the face of the planet.
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Broken Child Support System
I am writing this because I have been around enough people and had family members deal with this, in my opinion, ridiculous system. I understand that it is tough for people to raise kids by themselves and that broken homes happen all the time or a parent becomes a dead beat. But let's face it the child support system is broken and it needs to be reevaluated and restructured.
The system requires that if child support is not paid in a meaningful amount or amount of time they take the dead beat's driver license away. To me that is the most stupid thing you can do. The system does not ask if the dead beat can not drive to work how are they going to keep a job to pay the child support. If that does not get the dead beat to pay up then they will send you to jail, that too in my opinion is pointless and stupid. If you send someone to jail for non-payment of child support then if you put them in jail they can not work and they lose their job and then it costs us the taxpayers because that person is in jail. Most of the time the system does the only smart thing in my opinion is they take it out of the dead beat's check, now yes I agree it effects their cost of living but if they can donate sperm or an egg then the way they live should be effected.
But the system is not going to reorganize itself and try to be fixed. The system due to over populations in jails have let many slip through the cracks, which to me as a taxpayer sees this as a good thing. People who do more violent and senseless crimes need to be in jail and prison.
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The system requires that if child support is not paid in a meaningful amount or amount of time they take the dead beat's driver license away. To me that is the most stupid thing you can do. The system does not ask if the dead beat can not drive to work how are they going to keep a job to pay the child support. If that does not get the dead beat to pay up then they will send you to jail, that too in my opinion is pointless and stupid. If you send someone to jail for non-payment of child support then if you put them in jail they can not work and they lose their job and then it costs us the taxpayers because that person is in jail. Most of the time the system does the only smart thing in my opinion is they take it out of the dead beat's check, now yes I agree it effects their cost of living but if they can donate sperm or an egg then the way they live should be effected.
But the system is not going to reorganize itself and try to be fixed. The system due to over populations in jails have let many slip through the cracks, which to me as a taxpayer sees this as a good thing. People who do more violent and senseless crimes need to be in jail and prison.
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Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Community Dissolves Its Police Force
A local community in a very small unincorporated town in my area announced last year in order to save money that they were dissolving their police force. So that meant that the Sheriff's office in that county has to now patrol in detail that little town. So recently it was announced that the crime rate has gone up. And the Sheriff's department is needing more officers to patrol this little town.
So I can see that the town was trying to cut some things to save money but I think they could of found other things to cut. Now are a result of their stupid decision their crime rate is going up and now their is an unneeded strain on money and officers on a county wide level to make up the difference in public safety.
Another local community near me has a City Police Department, a County Police Department, and a Sheriff's office. The issue that town is having is that the County Police Department can not keep officers on the payroll because they are the lowest paying public safety unit in that community and the city leader's can not or will not debate consolidating the police departments or give the unit a better pay per officer I say consolidate the two police departments and put the county officers on city pay rate per officer.
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So I can see that the town was trying to cut some things to save money but I think they could of found other things to cut. Now are a result of their stupid decision their crime rate is going up and now their is an unneeded strain on money and officers on a county wide level to make up the difference in public safety.
Another local community near me has a City Police Department, a County Police Department, and a Sheriff's office. The issue that town is having is that the County Police Department can not keep officers on the payroll because they are the lowest paying public safety unit in that community and the city leader's can not or will not debate consolidating the police departments or give the unit a better pay per officer I say consolidate the two police departments and put the county officers on city pay rate per officer.
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Monday, March 10, 2014
Insomnia
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms:
Difficulty falling asleep
Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep
Waking up too early in the morning
Feeling tired upon waking
Types of Insomnia
There are two types of insomnia: primary insomnia and secondary insomnia.
Primary insomnia: Primary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems that are not directly associated with any other health condition or problem.
Secondary insomnia: Secondary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems because of something else, such as a health condition (like asthma, depression, arthritis, cancer, or heartburn); pain; medication they are taking; or a substance they are using (like alcohol).
Acute vs. Chronic Insomnia
Insomnia also varies in how long it lasts and how often it occurs. It can be short-term (acute insomnia) or can last a long time (chronic insomnia). It can also come and go, with periods of time when a person has no sleep problems. Acute insomnia can last from one night to a few weeks. Insomnia is called chronic when a person has insomnia at least three nights a week for a month or longer.
Causes of Insomnia
Causes of Acute Insomnia can include
Significant life stress (job loss or change, death of a loved one, divorce, moving)
Illness
Emotional or physical discomfort
Environmental factors like noise, light, or extreme temperatures (hot or cold) that interfere with sleep
Some medications (for example those used to treat colds, allergies, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma) may interfere with sleep
Inferences in normal sleep schedule (jet lag or switching from a day to night shift, for example)
Causes of chronic insomnia include:
Depression and/or anxiety
Chronic stress
Pain or discomfort at night
Symptoms of Insomnia
Symptoms of insomnia can include:
Sleepiness during the day
General tiredness
Irritability
Problems with concentration or memory
Diagnosing Insomnia
If you think you have insomnia, talk to your health care provider. An evaluation may include a physical exam, a medical history, and a sleep history. You may be asked to keep a sleep diary for a week or two, keeping track of your sleep patterns and how you feel during the day. Your health care provider may want to interview your bed partner about the quantity and quality of your sleep. In some cases, you may be referred to a sleep center for special tests.
Treatment for Insomnia
Acute insomnia may not require treatment. Mild insomnia often can be prevented or cured by practicing good sleep habits (see below). If your insomnia makes it hard for you to function during the day because you are sleepy and tired, your health care provider may prescribe sleeping pills for a limited time. Rapid onset, short-acting drugs can help you avoid effects such as drowsiness the following day. Avoid using over-the-counter sleeping pills for insomnia, because they may have undesired side effects and tend to lose their effectiveness over time.
Treatment for chronic insomnia includes first treating any underlying conditions or health problems that are causing the insomnia. If insomnia continues, your health care provider may suggest behavioral therapy. Behavioral approaches help you to change behaviors that may worsen insomnia and to learn new behaviors to promote sleep. Techniques such as relaxation exercises, sleep restriction therapy, and reconditioning may be useful.
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Difficulty falling asleep
Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep
Waking up too early in the morning
Feeling tired upon waking
Types of Insomnia
There are two types of insomnia: primary insomnia and secondary insomnia.
Primary insomnia: Primary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems that are not directly associated with any other health condition or problem.
Secondary insomnia: Secondary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems because of something else, such as a health condition (like asthma, depression, arthritis, cancer, or heartburn); pain; medication they are taking; or a substance they are using (like alcohol).
Acute vs. Chronic Insomnia
Insomnia also varies in how long it lasts and how often it occurs. It can be short-term (acute insomnia) or can last a long time (chronic insomnia). It can also come and go, with periods of time when a person has no sleep problems. Acute insomnia can last from one night to a few weeks. Insomnia is called chronic when a person has insomnia at least three nights a week for a month or longer.
Causes of Insomnia
Causes of Acute Insomnia can include
Significant life stress (job loss or change, death of a loved one, divorce, moving)
Illness
Emotional or physical discomfort
Environmental factors like noise, light, or extreme temperatures (hot or cold) that interfere with sleep
Some medications (for example those used to treat colds, allergies, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma) may interfere with sleep
Inferences in normal sleep schedule (jet lag or switching from a day to night shift, for example)
Causes of chronic insomnia include:
Depression and/or anxiety
Chronic stress
Pain or discomfort at night
Symptoms of Insomnia
Symptoms of insomnia can include:
Sleepiness during the day
General tiredness
Irritability
Problems with concentration or memory
Diagnosing Insomnia
If you think you have insomnia, talk to your health care provider. An evaluation may include a physical exam, a medical history, and a sleep history. You may be asked to keep a sleep diary for a week or two, keeping track of your sleep patterns and how you feel during the day. Your health care provider may want to interview your bed partner about the quantity and quality of your sleep. In some cases, you may be referred to a sleep center for special tests.
Treatment for Insomnia
Acute insomnia may not require treatment. Mild insomnia often can be prevented or cured by practicing good sleep habits (see below). If your insomnia makes it hard for you to function during the day because you are sleepy and tired, your health care provider may prescribe sleeping pills for a limited time. Rapid onset, short-acting drugs can help you avoid effects such as drowsiness the following day. Avoid using over-the-counter sleeping pills for insomnia, because they may have undesired side effects and tend to lose their effectiveness over time.
Treatment for chronic insomnia includes first treating any underlying conditions or health problems that are causing the insomnia. If insomnia continues, your health care provider may suggest behavioral therapy. Behavioral approaches help you to change behaviors that may worsen insomnia and to learn new behaviors to promote sleep. Techniques such as relaxation exercises, sleep restriction therapy, and reconditioning may be useful.
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Sunday, March 9, 2014
Blogger Vs. YouTube
I have been on the internet long enough and been a regular subscriber of several channels to know that like YouTube you can make money on Blogger. I just recently discovered this. Alot of YouTubers make tons of cash from people subscribing and viewing and clicking on ads. There is a slight difference from what I understand between what you can make on YouTube compared to being on Blogger. Being a YouTuber from what I can tell takes alot of blood, sweat, and tears and I commend them for that I really do. I would rather make less money blogging than being a YouTuber. I simply do not have the time, equipment, and friends to make quality videos for people to watch and enjoy. I would rather simply type out what I have to say and remain under my "blogging name" and remain hidden behind my little photo. I know that alot of you have clicked on my profile and it is blank. I look at like this I would rather my readers focus on my blog and there are a few blogs where I have talked about myself, than look at my profile and then decide if you the reader want to come back. I want my blog posts to be the center of everyone's attention that find my blog, but I make it easy to find my blog though I do promote on two social sites and a social community.
I also do not have time to be a YouTuber, between my real life (school, job, etc.) I do not think I could produce a great quality video channel that you the reader would be interested in. Plus I do not have any acting ability.
I enjoy being a blogger and being on this site. I am not on here to just make what little bit of extra income this site provides. I want to entertain and inform you the reader that is my main goal and focus. It is easier to me to focus on the simple art of blogging compared to being a YouTuber. I am not wanting to be famous like most of those people on YouTube are doing. I enjoy remaining simple and humble.
I really do appreciate you my audience for your enjoyment in my blog.
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I also do not have time to be a YouTuber, between my real life (school, job, etc.) I do not think I could produce a great quality video channel that you the reader would be interested in. Plus I do not have any acting ability.
I enjoy being a blogger and being on this site. I am not on here to just make what little bit of extra income this site provides. I want to entertain and inform you the reader that is my main goal and focus. It is easier to me to focus on the simple art of blogging compared to being a YouTuber. I am not wanting to be famous like most of those people on YouTube are doing. I enjoy remaining simple and humble.
I really do appreciate you my audience for your enjoyment in my blog.
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My Birthday
To my loyal followers,
I want to say thank you so much for the support you have shown this little blog since it started. I say this alot and I NEVER thought that this would BLOW up like it has. I am still shocked. For those of you wandering where I have been the past couple of days. I have been sick with a cold/allergies, but I have been taken medicines for it and I am slowly feeling better. I still have a nasty cough. I also have had to work more so that has kind of put me behind so I am going to have to fix my lack of writing or write more than one little blog.
So this past Saturday was my birthday. I turned 37. I do not celebrate my birthday for the simple purpose I have not celebrated my birthday in awhile. I have no one in my real life to celebrate it with and every time I have tired to take my birthday off I have ended up working anyway. Which is what I did this year once again except I worked most of the day. So after all these years my birthday is just another day to me. I go out to eat with my parents, and I usually do go out to eat with a friend of mine and his family and fiance because our birthdays are a day and a year different. Plus we have been friends long enough. I also am divorced and I have no kids to share my birthday with so its ok. I have accepted that idea.
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I want to say thank you so much for the support you have shown this little blog since it started. I say this alot and I NEVER thought that this would BLOW up like it has. I am still shocked. For those of you wandering where I have been the past couple of days. I have been sick with a cold/allergies, but I have been taken medicines for it and I am slowly feeling better. I still have a nasty cough. I also have had to work more so that has kind of put me behind so I am going to have to fix my lack of writing or write more than one little blog.
So this past Saturday was my birthday. I turned 37. I do not celebrate my birthday for the simple purpose I have not celebrated my birthday in awhile. I have no one in my real life to celebrate it with and every time I have tired to take my birthday off I have ended up working anyway. Which is what I did this year once again except I worked most of the day. So after all these years my birthday is just another day to me. I go out to eat with my parents, and I usually do go out to eat with a friend of mine and his family and fiance because our birthdays are a day and a year different. Plus we have been friends long enough. I also am divorced and I have no kids to share my birthday with so its ok. I have accepted that idea.
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Friday, March 7, 2014
30 Years of Being a Wrestling Fan
This year will mark the 30th anniversary since I was introduced to wrestling by my late Grandpa in 1984. Back then my area only got the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) on Superstation TBS. My area would not get introduced to WWF/E until 1988 and ESPN had signed a deal with the AWA in 1986 and then begin show the WCCW in 1988. The NWA before it became WCW was awesome wrestling to watch. My Grandpa and I would watch it every chance we would get when I would go to see him. He had watched it long enough he could explain it to me. I was 7 years old then and I had decided that is something I might want to pursue one day but not as a wrestler either a manger, announcer, or promoter. Back when I started watching the NWA had a title for everything. I grew up watching some of the NWA's biggest rivals it was awesome times then. Ric Flair and the Horsemen were the men to beat, the Legion of Doom was on top of the tag team divison. I miss when wrestling was like that. I have watched some Ring of Honor matches and I do agree with some of the critics that compare it to the 80's NWA. When the cable system in my area expanded networks and gave us more channels is when WWE was being watched by me. I was not a big fan of the WWE in the early days, I was not a Hulkamaniac. When my Grandpa died in 1987 it broke my heart I lost the only person that I could talk wrestling with.
I still watch wrestling now and WWE does not do it for me anymore. I still watch it but I am not the big fan I used to be. TNA is using old story lines from WWE and WCW, but I know alot of fans have not noticed it. I watched ECW too mostly on YouTube the orignal was better than the reboot that WWE did. Ring of Honor keeps changing their free memberships around and now I can no longer watch it for free but I do read the reviews on line.
After 30 years I am still a wrestling fan and even though it is not as good as it used to be I will still watch the YouTube summaries.
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I still watch wrestling now and WWE does not do it for me anymore. I still watch it but I am not the big fan I used to be. TNA is using old story lines from WWE and WCW, but I know alot of fans have not noticed it. I watched ECW too mostly on YouTube the orignal was better than the reboot that WWE did. Ring of Honor keeps changing their free memberships around and now I can no longer watch it for free but I do read the reviews on line.
After 30 years I am still a wrestling fan and even though it is not as good as it used to be I will still watch the YouTube summaries.
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Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Distracted Driving and Walking.
Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. These types of distractions include:
Texting
Using a cell phone or smartphone
Eating and drinking
Talking to passengers
Grooming
Reading, including maps
Using a navigation system
Watching a video
Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player
But, because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction.
The best way to end distracted driving is to educate all Americans about the danger it poses.
The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes decreased slightly from 3,360 in 2011 to 3,328 in 2012. An estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver, this was a nine percent increase from the estimated 387,000 people injured in 2011.
As of December 2012, 171.3 billion text messages were sent in the US (includes PR, the Territories, and Guam) every month. (CTIA)
11% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.
For drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones (NHTSA)
At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. (NOPUS)
Engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing and texting) associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times. (VTTI)
Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind. (VTTI)
Headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use. (VTTI)
A quarter of teens respond to a text message once or more every time they drive. 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit that they have extended, multi-message text conversations while driving. (UMTRI)
It was reported earlier this week on the local news in my area that a 17 year old was walking and texting and tried to walk across a street and was hit by a truck and killed.
Distracted driving will eventually be on the rise. Look at how many computer screens they are putting into new and newer automobiles and trucks. When I started driving the biggest distraction was if you accidentally pressed the "seek and scan" buttons on the radio and it would just go through all of the local radio stations quickly. That was the scariest thing to distract you in a vehicle when I turned 16.
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Texting
Using a cell phone or smartphone
Eating and drinking
Talking to passengers
Grooming
Reading, including maps
Using a navigation system
Watching a video
Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player
But, because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction.
The best way to end distracted driving is to educate all Americans about the danger it poses.
The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes decreased slightly from 3,360 in 2011 to 3,328 in 2012. An estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver, this was a nine percent increase from the estimated 387,000 people injured in 2011.
As of December 2012, 171.3 billion text messages were sent in the US (includes PR, the Territories, and Guam) every month. (CTIA)
11% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.
For drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones (NHTSA)
At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. (NOPUS)
Engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing and texting) associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times. (VTTI)
Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind. (VTTI)
Headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use. (VTTI)
A quarter of teens respond to a text message once or more every time they drive. 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit that they have extended, multi-message text conversations while driving. (UMTRI)
It was reported earlier this week on the local news in my area that a 17 year old was walking and texting and tried to walk across a street and was hit by a truck and killed.
Distracted driving will eventually be on the rise. Look at how many computer screens they are putting into new and newer automobiles and trucks. When I started driving the biggest distraction was if you accidentally pressed the "seek and scan" buttons on the radio and it would just go through all of the local radio stations quickly. That was the scariest thing to distract you in a vehicle when I turned 16.
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Why I am not on YouTube?
I am not on YouTube for alot of different reasons. YouTube has changed way too much over the past couple of years and alot of the content creators do not like the changes. I enjoy YouTube as a subscriber but not a creator. I do not have the right updated technology to do a channel. I am still running with a computer that is on Windows XP. I simply chose not to be on YouTube. I had tried making videos before and was posting them on other sites and I just did not like doing them. I am not a creative enough editor to hide my face and it is hard to talk in front of a camera or for me anyway. Blogger gives me a simple medium to work with and all I have to do is think of something to talk about, type it and edit it as I go along, there is no scripting to do on Blogger, and plus on Blogger I do not have to show my real face on screen. I can let my words express me for me without being seen.
Plus if I do not like what I am typing I can press backspace and not have to cut and slice video.
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Plus if I do not like what I am typing I can press backspace and not have to cut and slice video.
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Quizlet
If you have been to college in the last 10 years then you may or may not know what Quizlet.com is. It is a site that is used by students all over the world to help them study for whatever subject they are needing help in or advancement in. If you are really lucky as a student and you are stuck on an assignment then you can copy and paste the question you are stuck on if you are using an online class platform and paste it in into what ever search engine you are using, most of the time I use Google. And if you are really lucky then you will find a link to a quizlet site and there are your answers for the question you are stuck on.
So why I am talking about this? No I am not trying to help the entire college population of the world cheat. I am mainly mentioning this site due to what I ran into while I am currently in college. Most of the time your major or program of study will change a book before the publisher has time to update its instructor content. So you have an entire class of students scratching their head going what am I going to do. Most of the time the publishers update a few parts of a book and others change the entire book or you end up in a program that the book changes before it is published or the instructor's material is updated. In the college program I used to be in all of the above was an issue and Quizlet helped me out a great deal. How many of you are going to search out for the last edition of a book on a publisher's website. If you do then you have more time and more patience than I do.
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So why I am talking about this? No I am not trying to help the entire college population of the world cheat. I am mainly mentioning this site due to what I ran into while I am currently in college. Most of the time your major or program of study will change a book before the publisher has time to update its instructor content. So you have an entire class of students scratching their head going what am I going to do. Most of the time the publishers update a few parts of a book and others change the entire book or you end up in a program that the book changes before it is published or the instructor's material is updated. In the college program I used to be in all of the above was an issue and Quizlet helped me out a great deal. How many of you are going to search out for the last edition of a book on a publisher's website. If you do then you have more time and more patience than I do.
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Monday, March 3, 2014
Fast Food Craziness (I Survived #4)
I know that I have done a blog post with the same title already, but this one is different this what I witnessed over the years and what I survived. I worked for the same very popular fast food chain for seven years, and I even traveled for this company to several other locations. Alot of customers think that working at a fast food place is a joke and a VERY easy job, but trust me its not. I have been in retail/hospitality business for 21 years.
When I first started with this restaurant the location I worked at mainly used to be a stop for a GreyHound bus. And sometimes those people would act crazy. One time a lady went into the women's bathroom (on her period) and not only left her tampon in the toilet but blood all over the toilet seat and on the wall. A man did that in the men's room one time too but it was fecal matter.
When the location I worked at went to 24/7 the first weekend we had a huge fight of teenagers in the parking lot and it started with one on one and then some of their friends jumped in and they beat up this one teenager and then picked him up and slung him into the metal sign post. The kid ended up going to the hospital because he had a concussion and an almost broken nose and his head was busted open. About a year later another fight broke out in the parking lot and knives and mace were involved. I was trying to lock the doors while the cops were being called and I almost got knocked to floor by people trying to run into the restroom to wash the mace off. I did not want anyone fighting or what not inside the store.
One Fourth of July I was coming into work and some teenagers lit and left a line of firecrackers on a table when they went off it sounded like someone was shooting an M-16 inside the store.
A maintenance man had a seizure one morning and accidentally cut his wrist while he was trembling. He missed a major artery in his wrist by millimeters. He survived to have another seizure in the parking lot and it took an ambulance 15 minutes to get there, luckily there was an off duty volunteer fireman in the drive thru that saw him fall.
At another location a cook walked into a freezer supposed to be getting quarter meat and walked out the back door with it.
When the Cinnamon rolls first came out a prep person was "inspecting" them by opening the boxes and licking the frosting off them.
The drive thru line at night was very interesting on the weekends. On two different occasions I had to call the law to a vehicle because the people in the vehicle had passed out from partying or whatever and when the cops came to wake them up well arrests happened and everyone was taken to jail. One night a car load of guys tried to jump a car load of ladies they were all drunk needless to say. Another night a girl jumped out of one car tried to open another car with a girl in it and the girl in the car cut the other girl who was trying to attack her with a box cutter and missed her eye by millimeters. The girl that got cut was proud of her new beauty mark.
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When I first started with this restaurant the location I worked at mainly used to be a stop for a GreyHound bus. And sometimes those people would act crazy. One time a lady went into the women's bathroom (on her period) and not only left her tampon in the toilet but blood all over the toilet seat and on the wall. A man did that in the men's room one time too but it was fecal matter.
When the location I worked at went to 24/7 the first weekend we had a huge fight of teenagers in the parking lot and it started with one on one and then some of their friends jumped in and they beat up this one teenager and then picked him up and slung him into the metal sign post. The kid ended up going to the hospital because he had a concussion and an almost broken nose and his head was busted open. About a year later another fight broke out in the parking lot and knives and mace were involved. I was trying to lock the doors while the cops were being called and I almost got knocked to floor by people trying to run into the restroom to wash the mace off. I did not want anyone fighting or what not inside the store.
One Fourth of July I was coming into work and some teenagers lit and left a line of firecrackers on a table when they went off it sounded like someone was shooting an M-16 inside the store.
A maintenance man had a seizure one morning and accidentally cut his wrist while he was trembling. He missed a major artery in his wrist by millimeters. He survived to have another seizure in the parking lot and it took an ambulance 15 minutes to get there, luckily there was an off duty volunteer fireman in the drive thru that saw him fall.
At another location a cook walked into a freezer supposed to be getting quarter meat and walked out the back door with it.
When the Cinnamon rolls first came out a prep person was "inspecting" them by opening the boxes and licking the frosting off them.
The drive thru line at night was very interesting on the weekends. On two different occasions I had to call the law to a vehicle because the people in the vehicle had passed out from partying or whatever and when the cops came to wake them up well arrests happened and everyone was taken to jail. One night a car load of guys tried to jump a car load of ladies they were all drunk needless to say. Another night a girl jumped out of one car tried to open another car with a girl in it and the girl in the car cut the other girl who was trying to attack her with a box cutter and missed her eye by millimeters. The girl that got cut was proud of her new beauty mark.
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Mental Health in America
This was another topic considered for Blog #60 but I decided that this should be a separate blog post. Many American suffer from a mental illness and some get little help for it and others do not get any help for it at all.
Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.2 Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who suffer from a serious mental illness.1 In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada.3 Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to comorbidity.
Mood disorders include major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder.
Approximately 20.9 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a mood disorder.
The median age of onset for mood disorders is 30 years.
Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse.
Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15-44.
Major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.
While major depressive disorder can develop at any age, the median age at onset is 32.
Major depressive disorder is more prevalent in women than in men.
Symptoms of dysthymic disorder (chronic, mild depression) must persist for at least two years in adults (one year in children) to meet criteria for the diagnosis. Dysthymic disorder affects approximately 1.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, This figure translates to about 3.3 million American adults.
The median age of onset of dysthymic disorder is 31
In 2006, 33,300 (approximately 11 per 100,000) people died by suicide in the U.S.
More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder.
The highest suicide rates in the U.S. are found in white men over age 85.
Four times as many men as women die by suicide; however, women attempt suicide two to three times as often as men.
Social Phobia
Approximately 15 million American adults age 18 and over, or about 6.8 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have social phobia.
Social phobia begins in childhood or adolescence, typically around 13 years of age.
Autism
Autism is part of a group of disorders called autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), also known as pervasive developmental disorders. ASDs range in severity, with autism being the most debilitating form while other disorders, such as Asperger syndrome, produce milder symptoms.
Estimating the prevalence of autism is difficult and controversial due to differences in the ways that cases are identified and defined, differences in study methods, and changes in diagnostic criteria. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the prevalence of autism among 8 year-olds to be about 1 in 110.
Autism and other ASDs develop in childhood and generally are diagnosed by age three.
Autism is about four times more common in boys than girls. Girls with the disorder, however, tend to have more severe symptoms and greater cognitive impairment.
I, the author, of this blog probably suffer from both of these:
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by an individual's disregard for social rules and cultural norms, impulsive behavior, and indifference to the rights and feelings of others.
Approximately 1.0 percent of people aged 18 or over have antisocial personality disorder.
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Avoidant personality disorder is characterized by extreme social inhibition, sensitivity to negative evaluation, and feelings of inadequacy. Individuals with avoidant personality disorder frequently avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, or disliked.
An estimated 5.2 percent of people age 18 or older have an avoidant personality disorder.
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Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.2 Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who suffer from a serious mental illness.1 In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada.3 Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to comorbidity.
Mood disorders include major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder.
Approximately 20.9 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a mood disorder.
The median age of onset for mood disorders is 30 years.
Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse.
Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15-44.
Major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.
While major depressive disorder can develop at any age, the median age at onset is 32.
Major depressive disorder is more prevalent in women than in men.
Symptoms of dysthymic disorder (chronic, mild depression) must persist for at least two years in adults (one year in children) to meet criteria for the diagnosis. Dysthymic disorder affects approximately 1.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, This figure translates to about 3.3 million American adults.
The median age of onset of dysthymic disorder is 31
In 2006, 33,300 (approximately 11 per 100,000) people died by suicide in the U.S.
More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder.
The highest suicide rates in the U.S. are found in white men over age 85.
Four times as many men as women die by suicide; however, women attempt suicide two to three times as often as men.
Social Phobia
Approximately 15 million American adults age 18 and over, or about 6.8 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have social phobia.
Social phobia begins in childhood or adolescence, typically around 13 years of age.
Autism
Autism is part of a group of disorders called autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), also known as pervasive developmental disorders. ASDs range in severity, with autism being the most debilitating form while other disorders, such as Asperger syndrome, produce milder symptoms.
Estimating the prevalence of autism is difficult and controversial due to differences in the ways that cases are identified and defined, differences in study methods, and changes in diagnostic criteria. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the prevalence of autism among 8 year-olds to be about 1 in 110.
Autism and other ASDs develop in childhood and generally are diagnosed by age three.
Autism is about four times more common in boys than girls. Girls with the disorder, however, tend to have more severe symptoms and greater cognitive impairment.
I, the author, of this blog probably suffer from both of these:
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by an individual's disregard for social rules and cultural norms, impulsive behavior, and indifference to the rights and feelings of others.
Approximately 1.0 percent of people aged 18 or over have antisocial personality disorder.
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Avoidant personality disorder is characterized by extreme social inhibition, sensitivity to negative evaluation, and feelings of inadequacy. Individuals with avoidant personality disorder frequently avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, or disliked.
An estimated 5.2 percent of people age 18 or older have an avoidant personality disorder.
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Blog #60
Like Blog #30 I went to my online friends for topic ideas and I decided this go around I am only going to do a Big Blog like this on one topic.
Gender Inequality
I decided to do a big blog on this because one friend of mine suggested doing a blog from a female employee perspective and I was going to allow her to write it and I was going to post it and give her author credit, but after much thought I am going to do it because I think it is important topic.
Women have made great strides in the workplace, but inequality persists. On average in 2010, women only made 77 cents to every dollar a man earned. There’s still a gender gap that needs to be rectified.Women have caught up with men in terms of education. In fact, in the United States and a number of other countries, women now actually surpass men in educational achievement.
So there is not a problem with female achievement. The problem enters in when young adults try to balance work and family, and women end up carrying nearly all of the caregiving responsibilities.The gender wage gap in the United States is lower than in many other countries. But what is troubling is that the gap has barely narrowed since the mid-1990s.
Also, the contribution of men to housework and childcare has grown significantly over the past 25 years, but is still far below women’s contribution.
So many working women continue to have two jobs—one in the workplace and one at home. Childcare is very expensive in the United States. And we are way behind most European countries and many Asian countries in terms of offering affordable, high-quality care. Gender stereotypes are hard to break, and like it or not, we are all prone to engaging in stereotyping at one time or another. As a society, we need to continue to encourage people to go beyond stereotypes and recognize the contributions that each individual, male or female, can make to the workplace and to relationships.
The necessity in many prestigious jobs is to put in very long work hours and then leave the more mundane aspects of daily life—like cooking, grocery shopping, and picking up the kids—to other people.
This generally means that women put many more hours into these household activities than men. This greatly disadvantages women in the workplace. It is unrealistic to expect gender equality if workplaces demand that women be available all the time.
As one female economist wrote some years ago, “Who’s minding the kids”?
As many history books still mention during World War 2 women came out of their homes and had to take up many of the available jobs due to most of the men of the time being gone to war. When the men came back from war the women were returned to managing the homes. Alot of women enjoyed the chance of doing something more for their husbands besides managing the home.
Things have changed since those days. More women are having to work at least two jobs to take care of themselves and their children for many reasons. Most women today will tell you that they are doing it to help their husbands out and others will tell you it is because they are divorced or had to work due to their spouse being unemployed.
In some settings a women is paid less than a man and it shows when you look up many corporate ladders in America today.
In a survey published recently there seems to be a power struggle between men and women in the workplace. In short, both sexes agree that women are still discriminated against when it comes to salary, but differ in their view of how much progress has been made.
On speaking up:
It takes time to find your voice. More than half of men (58%) and women (51%) said they speak "all the time" or "frequently" during meetings. The more work experience they have, the more comfortable they are at speaking. While only one-third of entry-level workers said they speak up, three-quarters of higher-ups said they do.
On asking for a raise:
Astonishingly, 53% of women have never asked for a raise compared to 40% of men. Fortunately, the survey found that both genders became gutsier with experience and were more willing to ask for a raise later in their careers. Fear not: Among those who asked for more money when starting a new job, 89% were successful.
On salary:
Both sexes believe that men have an advantage when it comes to pay (and women even more so): 31% of women think they'd be paid more if they were male, and 20% of men said they'd be paid less if they were female.
On maternity leave:
A high percentage of both men (80%) and women (87%) support maternity leave. Companies with more than 50 employees are federally required to offer three months of maternity leave, but the Family and Medical Leave Act doesn't require that the time be paid.
On flextime:
Flextime is attractive for both men and women: 52% said they would take flextime if it were offered, and among those given the chance, 86% have accepted it.
On the perception of women:
According to the study, half of men and two-thirds of women think that "women are scrutinized more harshly than men" in the workplace.
On equal rights:
Although 81% of men agreed that public policy should address challenges such as "equal pay, paid sick leave, and paid maternity leave," the majority of them also think that the "country has made most of the changes needed to give women equal rights."
On the other hand, only 29% of women agreed that the government has done all that it can.
On why there are so few women business leaders:
Both men (46%) and women (51%) think that family is the main reason why there aren't more women business leaders. Fifty-five percent of women said that they are discriminated against, whereas only 33% of men think this is the case. The survey found that 28% of women admitted to experiencing discrimination in the workplace.
A similar percentage of men (35%) and women (34%) said that women aren't "tough enough" to be in those top positions.
On work-life balance:
The same percentage (61%) of men and women said that employers don't make it easy to balance work and family life.
Nearly half of mothers and fathers (48% and 45%, respectively) said they would prefer to work at home, if possible.
Unsurprisingly, the survey found that men (56%) are more likely than women (39%) to put work ahead of family to climb the career ladder.
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Gender Inequality
I decided to do a big blog on this because one friend of mine suggested doing a blog from a female employee perspective and I was going to allow her to write it and I was going to post it and give her author credit, but after much thought I am going to do it because I think it is important topic.
Women have made great strides in the workplace, but inequality persists. On average in 2010, women only made 77 cents to every dollar a man earned. There’s still a gender gap that needs to be rectified.Women have caught up with men in terms of education. In fact, in the United States and a number of other countries, women now actually surpass men in educational achievement.
So there is not a problem with female achievement. The problem enters in when young adults try to balance work and family, and women end up carrying nearly all of the caregiving responsibilities.The gender wage gap in the United States is lower than in many other countries. But what is troubling is that the gap has barely narrowed since the mid-1990s.
Also, the contribution of men to housework and childcare has grown significantly over the past 25 years, but is still far below women’s contribution.
So many working women continue to have two jobs—one in the workplace and one at home. Childcare is very expensive in the United States. And we are way behind most European countries and many Asian countries in terms of offering affordable, high-quality care. Gender stereotypes are hard to break, and like it or not, we are all prone to engaging in stereotyping at one time or another. As a society, we need to continue to encourage people to go beyond stereotypes and recognize the contributions that each individual, male or female, can make to the workplace and to relationships.
The necessity in many prestigious jobs is to put in very long work hours and then leave the more mundane aspects of daily life—like cooking, grocery shopping, and picking up the kids—to other people.
This generally means that women put many more hours into these household activities than men. This greatly disadvantages women in the workplace. It is unrealistic to expect gender equality if workplaces demand that women be available all the time.
As one female economist wrote some years ago, “Who’s minding the kids”?
As many history books still mention during World War 2 women came out of their homes and had to take up many of the available jobs due to most of the men of the time being gone to war. When the men came back from war the women were returned to managing the homes. Alot of women enjoyed the chance of doing something more for their husbands besides managing the home.
Things have changed since those days. More women are having to work at least two jobs to take care of themselves and their children for many reasons. Most women today will tell you that they are doing it to help their husbands out and others will tell you it is because they are divorced or had to work due to their spouse being unemployed.
In some settings a women is paid less than a man and it shows when you look up many corporate ladders in America today.
In a survey published recently there seems to be a power struggle between men and women in the workplace. In short, both sexes agree that women are still discriminated against when it comes to salary, but differ in their view of how much progress has been made.
On speaking up:
It takes time to find your voice. More than half of men (58%) and women (51%) said they speak "all the time" or "frequently" during meetings. The more work experience they have, the more comfortable they are at speaking. While only one-third of entry-level workers said they speak up, three-quarters of higher-ups said they do.
On asking for a raise:
Astonishingly, 53% of women have never asked for a raise compared to 40% of men. Fortunately, the survey found that both genders became gutsier with experience and were more willing to ask for a raise later in their careers. Fear not: Among those who asked for more money when starting a new job, 89% were successful.
On salary:
Both sexes believe that men have an advantage when it comes to pay (and women even more so): 31% of women think they'd be paid more if they were male, and 20% of men said they'd be paid less if they were female.
On maternity leave:
A high percentage of both men (80%) and women (87%) support maternity leave. Companies with more than 50 employees are federally required to offer three months of maternity leave, but the Family and Medical Leave Act doesn't require that the time be paid.
On flextime:
Flextime is attractive for both men and women: 52% said they would take flextime if it were offered, and among those given the chance, 86% have accepted it.
On the perception of women:
According to the study, half of men and two-thirds of women think that "women are scrutinized more harshly than men" in the workplace.
On equal rights:
Although 81% of men agreed that public policy should address challenges such as "equal pay, paid sick leave, and paid maternity leave," the majority of them also think that the "country has made most of the changes needed to give women equal rights."
On the other hand, only 29% of women agreed that the government has done all that it can.
On why there are so few women business leaders:
Both men (46%) and women (51%) think that family is the main reason why there aren't more women business leaders. Fifty-five percent of women said that they are discriminated against, whereas only 33% of men think this is the case. The survey found that 28% of women admitted to experiencing discrimination in the workplace.
A similar percentage of men (35%) and women (34%) said that women aren't "tough enough" to be in those top positions.
On work-life balance:
The same percentage (61%) of men and women said that employers don't make it easy to balance work and family life.
Nearly half of mothers and fathers (48% and 45%, respectively) said they would prefer to work at home, if possible.
Unsurprisingly, the survey found that men (56%) are more likely than women (39%) to put work ahead of family to climb the career ladder.
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Sunday, March 2, 2014
California man Vs. McDonald's
This was brought to my attention and I just had to talk about this.
Man sues McDonald's for $1.5 million after being given only one napkin
Webster Lucas filed the suit, alleging he was caused ‘undue mental anguish’ after a Pacoima, Calif., restaurant only gave him one napkin and he claims the manager made a racist remark toward him when he asked for more.
Lucas says he ordered a Quarter Pounder Deluxe at the Pacoima, Calif., eatery on Jan. 29.
But on opening up his paper bag, he found just one paper tissue. He alleges that when he returned to the counter to ask for more, managers refused.
Lucas alleges the debate took a racist turn when the Mexican-American boss mumbled something about "you people" — which Lucas took to be a reference to him being black.
An offer to receive free burgers as an apology was an insult, he added.
He now wants a fat payoff from the chain, reports TMZ.
It's because the incident, Lucas claims, caused him "undue mental anguish."
How does only getting one napkin and the manager making a non racist observation count as mental anguish? This is why parts of our society are so messed up. What the general public fail to realize is that restaurants are only allowed to give out so much to customers based on what they order. If you only get one napkin it is because the public only ordered one item. What people fail to understand is that the car or customer that was ahead of you might have given the window or cashier an attitude and it tends to spread like when you toss a pebble in a water puddle the waves spread to every inch.
Customers today feel more entitled then they did years ago. They want more for what little they order. A perfect example is when someone orders a small fry on their way home and they think they have to have 20 napkins and at least 5-10 ketchup packets and they get an attitude because they feel they did not get enough to cover the fries.
And the consumer does not understand or even try to when the places they go to eat wants to charge for every little thing. They are not doing it because they want to they are doing it because of the overly entitled society that we now live in where everyone thinks when they go out to eat they can get as many condiments or napkins to sustain their own household.
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Man sues McDonald's for $1.5 million after being given only one napkin
Webster Lucas filed the suit, alleging he was caused ‘undue mental anguish’ after a Pacoima, Calif., restaurant only gave him one napkin and he claims the manager made a racist remark toward him when he asked for more.
Lucas says he ordered a Quarter Pounder Deluxe at the Pacoima, Calif., eatery on Jan. 29.
But on opening up his paper bag, he found just one paper tissue. He alleges that when he returned to the counter to ask for more, managers refused.
Lucas alleges the debate took a racist turn when the Mexican-American boss mumbled something about "you people" — which Lucas took to be a reference to him being black.
An offer to receive free burgers as an apology was an insult, he added.
He now wants a fat payoff from the chain, reports TMZ.
It's because the incident, Lucas claims, caused him "undue mental anguish."
How does only getting one napkin and the manager making a non racist observation count as mental anguish? This is why parts of our society are so messed up. What the general public fail to realize is that restaurants are only allowed to give out so much to customers based on what they order. If you only get one napkin it is because the public only ordered one item. What people fail to understand is that the car or customer that was ahead of you might have given the window or cashier an attitude and it tends to spread like when you toss a pebble in a water puddle the waves spread to every inch.
Customers today feel more entitled then they did years ago. They want more for what little they order. A perfect example is when someone orders a small fry on their way home and they think they have to have 20 napkins and at least 5-10 ketchup packets and they get an attitude because they feel they did not get enough to cover the fries.
And the consumer does not understand or even try to when the places they go to eat wants to charge for every little thing. They are not doing it because they want to they are doing it because of the overly entitled society that we now live in where everyone thinks when they go out to eat they can get as many condiments or napkins to sustain their own household.
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Saturday, March 1, 2014
Pizza Ordering Etiquette
This is just something I want to voice my opinion about and this also goes for places like Papa Johns and Domino's and Pizza Hut.
All of these places have a call center if the store you are trying to call does not answer their phone by the 3rd or 4th ring. Alot of the customers do not like the call center. Simple solution hang up and call the restaurant again. And please if the restaurant does answer the second time you have tried calling, please do not be rude. I understand it is an inconvenience that these places get really busy and they can not simply answer the phone to take your order due to they might be short staffed or they are really busy. Be patient and do not be rude I can not emphasize this enough. If you are being rude and swearing they have the right to hang up on you.
If you do not like calling somewhere because you think that they can not hear you for whatever reason then try ordering online but please if you do order online please pay attention to what you are ordering and make sure that it goes to the right store. And if you want to make sure that your order is correct before you get to the restaurant of choice here is a helpful tip place the order give it 10 minutes and then call the preferred restaurant and make sure your order went to the right place. If you order it online and you accidentally send it to the wrong store they can only retake your order and put into their system. And the store you sent your original order will be calling you to ask why you did not come and get it, so if you did send it to wrong store be kind and call them and let them know.
If they quote you a carryout or delivery time, if you carryout do not show up 10 minutes before your quoted time and then get mad at them since you showed up early. Please do not call 10 minutes before your delivery arrives and ask where is it? They are not perfect and things do happen and unknown future orders do show up before your order.
If you do place an order please make sure that you give them a real functioning phone number if they run out of dough and they try to call you to ask if you would like to substitute something for what you ordered make sure your number is real. Because they will substitute for you or take it off your ticket and once you arrive and been told that we ran out and we tried to call but the number you gave is no longer in service, we are not perfect.
Look at what you order before the delivery person leaves or you leave the restaurant. All they can do is give you a credit for the mistake or if you carry out or dine in and you are patient enough to wait for a remake that is at your own discretion, but if you get all the way home or the delivery person leaves and you did not look at it then please do not call back and be mad, try to be calm they will give you a credit or whatever company procedure dictates. If you call them back all upset and what not they have the right to hang up on you or worse they will put you on hold and you will have to wait for a manager to take the call.
Please have a decent idea of what you want before you call. Do not call when you have kids making alot of noise, do not talk to others and ask what they want while you are on the phone with the restaurant, and please do not ask for the specials and then hand the phone to someone else and then they have to repeat the specials AGAIN. They do not have time for this and this is a major inconvenience to other people calling in to order that blocks a phone line.
If you are not happy with your pizza restaurants their are cheaper and easier ways to get a pizza go to your local grocery store go to the frozen food aisle pick out your pizza(s) go home and cook them yourself.
If you take all of this into consideration you make everyone's life a little simpler.
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All of these places have a call center if the store you are trying to call does not answer their phone by the 3rd or 4th ring. Alot of the customers do not like the call center. Simple solution hang up and call the restaurant again. And please if the restaurant does answer the second time you have tried calling, please do not be rude. I understand it is an inconvenience that these places get really busy and they can not simply answer the phone to take your order due to they might be short staffed or they are really busy. Be patient and do not be rude I can not emphasize this enough. If you are being rude and swearing they have the right to hang up on you.
If you do not like calling somewhere because you think that they can not hear you for whatever reason then try ordering online but please if you do order online please pay attention to what you are ordering and make sure that it goes to the right store. And if you want to make sure that your order is correct before you get to the restaurant of choice here is a helpful tip place the order give it 10 minutes and then call the preferred restaurant and make sure your order went to the right place. If you order it online and you accidentally send it to the wrong store they can only retake your order and put into their system. And the store you sent your original order will be calling you to ask why you did not come and get it, so if you did send it to wrong store be kind and call them and let them know.
If they quote you a carryout or delivery time, if you carryout do not show up 10 minutes before your quoted time and then get mad at them since you showed up early. Please do not call 10 minutes before your delivery arrives and ask where is it? They are not perfect and things do happen and unknown future orders do show up before your order.
If you do place an order please make sure that you give them a real functioning phone number if they run out of dough and they try to call you to ask if you would like to substitute something for what you ordered make sure your number is real. Because they will substitute for you or take it off your ticket and once you arrive and been told that we ran out and we tried to call but the number you gave is no longer in service, we are not perfect.
Look at what you order before the delivery person leaves or you leave the restaurant. All they can do is give you a credit for the mistake or if you carry out or dine in and you are patient enough to wait for a remake that is at your own discretion, but if you get all the way home or the delivery person leaves and you did not look at it then please do not call back and be mad, try to be calm they will give you a credit or whatever company procedure dictates. If you call them back all upset and what not they have the right to hang up on you or worse they will put you on hold and you will have to wait for a manager to take the call.
Please have a decent idea of what you want before you call. Do not call when you have kids making alot of noise, do not talk to others and ask what they want while you are on the phone with the restaurant, and please do not ask for the specials and then hand the phone to someone else and then they have to repeat the specials AGAIN. They do not have time for this and this is a major inconvenience to other people calling in to order that blocks a phone line.
If you are not happy with your pizza restaurants their are cheaper and easier ways to get a pizza go to your local grocery store go to the frozen food aisle pick out your pizza(s) go home and cook them yourself.
If you take all of this into consideration you make everyone's life a little simpler.
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Wood Burning Stoves vs. the EPA and the White House
It was announced recently that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the White House sent a notice to all wood burning stove manufacturers that they must stop making wood burning stoves. I have not found the exact reason why they sent these notices out but it just shocks me that they would. When you have a white house administration that is supposed to be supporting job growth and trying not to have anymore jobs end and as a result the unemployment rate rise again. Why did they decide this? Do they not know how many jobs that will end? Yes I know that burning wood does send pollutants into the air, but it is cheaper than natural gas.
If any of you my readers have found the reason the government has decided this please leave a comment in the comment section.
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If any of you my readers have found the reason the government has decided this please leave a comment in the comment section.
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