Keith Parkinson

Keith Parkinson
Oct. 22, 1958 – Oct. 26, 2005

Wednesday afternoon, while surrounded by his family Keith Parkinson passed away after a 16 month battle with Leukemia. Keith was a wonderful person, a fantastically talented artist, a good friend and most importantly a loving husband and father.

He was getting better, he had had a transplant a year ago and the prognosis was good. I wasn’t there for the every day updates but the last time I had spoken with his wife she was optimistic. This man was one of the friendliest people I knew, very kind and happy. Even right out of the hospital after a treatment with no hair I saw him and he was upbeat. His talent was extraordinary, his work awe inspiring.

On of my favorite memories of Keith was right after he moved out here to San Diego. He ran a one shot DnD game that I got to attend. He was trying to get us in a situation where we were in trouble and I rolled a natural 20 so this plan completely didn’t work. If you’ve never played DnD just suffice it to say I thwarted his plan and he had to improvise. I got the best annoyed look from him for that, it was a fun afternoon.

The last time I actually saw Keith was when they were doing a drive for the Leukemia National Registry. He was upbeat and excited that so many people had come glossing over the fact that we were all there simply because we loved him.

Keith was 47 years old and he will be missed, by his family and friends, by his fans and by those who didn’t even realize he touched their lives with his art. You can see his genius on many different book covers, mostly fantasy by Eddings, Goodkind, Brooks and others.

If you would like to make a donation in Keith’s memory please donate to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society:

http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=8477

Getting Older and reflecting

Getting Older and reflecting

So I have one of those birthday things coming up and I like to take some time around then to reflect a bit and see where I am and what I’m doing.  I did this about a month ago talking about expectations but now I think it’s time to take stock.

Job – Check, love my job and am impressing the hell out of my boss, being competent is nice sometimes

Home – it’s messy but I own it so it works out.  Now that the garage door is back on (omg that was drama) everything seems to be in working order.  Besides I live in San Diego, how can I complain!

Possessions – I have too many, we cleaned out a huge part of the garage last year, and I’ve been giving away clothing like it’s going out of style, but I need to clean out, throw away and simplify even more.

Relationships – Family  -- everything here seems good, I’m on speaking terms with everyone, friendly terms with most and I have those nephews to spoil.

Relationships – Personal – This part could use improvement but I’m happy with the dysfunctional way things work right now so I’m not going to change anything.

Financial – sucky, I’m in tons of debt and don’t make much money.  My goal for the next year is to significantly reduce that debt

Overall I think I’m doing alright, well even.  I think most people could use more money so I’m not unusual there, and everything else is good or could be fixed by being able to hire a maid.

So 33 here I come, single, employed and content with life and where it’s going.

Time goes on

Time goes on

Time passes and events happen in our lives.  Some seeming significant some seeming casual, but we don’t realize their significance until later.  Hindsight is 20/20 and all of that.

I have a new job, I was hired as a personal assistant though my job has morphed into something more.  It makes me proud to know that I can take a minimal job and turn it into more.  Now I just need to be paid for what I’m doing =)

Little things however, like shopping for groceries in a small Southern California beach town, can be an enlightening experience.  I love the unique feel that is a small California town.  I felt it up in Palo Alto when I was a kid, and I felt it in Pacific Beach today.  I don’t think I’ve quite found ‘home’ yet, whatever that is, but I think I’m getting closer.  

Home was a concept brought up by someone to me today, what is home?  Can we ever go home?  What makes someplace home?  The house where I grew up has been remodeled into something I don’t recognize, and I haven’t lived there since 1991 so that isn’t home anymore, I’ve lived here for the past four or so years, but this house isn’t home by any means.  However I do think San Diego is beginning to become home.

I’m healthier here than I’ve ever been, I am thriving in the sunshine even if I try to never go out into it.  I get to drive my little red convertible around and try to avoid getting sunburnt.  I love the climate, I love the atmosphere, and I think I love the small Southern California town.  I don’t live in one right now, I live in a suburb, but I think I’d like to live in one of those small costal towns, maybe a bit further up north, still in the county though.

What is the point of this rambling?  Nothing really, I can’t bring myself to write about issues, the poor and needy, those who are discriminated against, though they are all in my thoughts.  Day to day life sort of takes over, I’m tired at night now, from working all day, I wake up in the morning with things to do and places to go, and I’m tired when I get home in the evenings.  It’s a different perspective from being unemployed, I’m glad I have seen both sides.  I think I am honestly happier working, surprising as that is.  The paychecks are nice also, I like having the bank stay in the black, it makes life so much less stressful.

Though with my first paycheck I didn’t buy shoes like most girls would, I bought books.  Yes I am a geek but I’m ok with that.

So this isn’t an emotional update or insightful, it’s just a part of life, like walking down the street in a small California beach town.

Looking at 33

Just thoughts this time…

No article, no rants about how the government isn’t spending MY tax dollars well, just some random thoughts about life, that is what this blog thing was supposed to be about right?

I look around me at what people term ‘society’.  I grew up in a conservative religion and embrased that religion for a good portion of my life.  I grew up with expectations, about what I was going to do, where I was going to go, get married, have kids etc.  I was always encouraged to do whatever I wanted to do, but I never even fathomed a life without being married and having children.  

For some reason I thought it would all just drop into my lap without having to work at it or any trial and error.  Mr Right would show up one day, we’d ‘know’ immediately and get married to live happily ever after with 3.2 children and a dog.  Life isn’t like that now is it?

I see all these marriages and relationships that don’t work.  I see stress and strife, mis-communication, mis-understandings and realize yet again that life isn’t a fairy tale and mr right isn’t going to swoop in and take me away.  Hell if he tried I’d most likely press charges.

I do want my own child, and the older I get the more that comes to the forefront of my mind, simply as my body is getting older and it does make a difference in age when having a baby.  I do have my nephews, but as much as I love those two they’re not mine.  I could always adopt later, and if I don’t end up having my own I’ll end up adopting a little girl from some impoverished country.  I am simply fascinated by the genetic craps roll that happens when a child is made and which genes would breed true.

So here I am looking at my 33rd birthday, childless, spouseless, though I do have the dog.  I’m supporting myself, own my own house and car and I’m happy.  I hang out with a bunch of single people, some of which I’m closer to than others, but I am certainly not lonely by any means.  I do wish I had someone to come home to, to cuddle with when I’m feeling overwhelmed or upset, I think that is part of human nature, we are social animals.

CNN.com - The�big disconnect on New Orleans - Sep 2, 2005

CNN.com - The�big disconnect on New Orleans - Sep 2, 2005

This is a story comparing the official responses to questions to the comments from people actually on the ground.

The big disconnect on New Orleans
The official version; then there's the in-the-trenches version

Friday, September 2, 2005; Posted: 4:10 p.m. EDT (20:10 GMT)

Conditions were desperate at the Louisiana Superdome on Thursday.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Diverging views of a crumbling New Orleans emerged Thursday. The sanitized view came from federal officials at news conferences and television appearances. But the official line was contradicted by grittier, more desperate views from the shelters and the streets.

These conflicting views came within hours, sometimes minutes of each of each other, as reflected in CNN's transcripts. The speakers include Michael Brown, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, evacuee Raymond Cooper, CNN correspondents and others. Here's what they had to say:

Conditions in the Convention Center


FEMA chief Brown: We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need. (See video of CNN asking why FEMA is clueless about conditions -- 2:11)


Mayor Nagin: The convention center is unsanitary and unsafe, and we are running out of supplies for the 15,000 to 20,000 people. (Hear Nagin's angry demand for soldiers. 1:04)


CNN Producer Kim Segal: It was chaos. There was nobody there, nobody in charge. And there was nobody giving even water. The children, you should see them, they're all just in tears. There are sick people. We saw... people who are dying in front of you.


Evacuee Raymond Cooper: Sir, you've got about 3,000 people here in this -- in the Convention Center right now. They're hungry. Don't have any food. We were told two-and-a-half days ago to make our way to the Superdome or the Convention Center by our mayor. And which when we got here, was no one to tell us what to do, no one to direct us, no authority figure.

Uncollected corpses


Brown: That's not been reported to me, so I'm not going to comment. Until I actually get a report from my teams that say, "We have bodies located here or there," I'm just not going to speculate.


Segal: We saw one body. A person is in a wheelchair and someone had pushed (her) off to the side and draped just like a blanket over this person in the wheelchair. And then there is another body next to that. There were others they were willing to show us. ( See CNN report, 'People are dying in front of us' -- 4:36 )


Evacuee Cooper: They had a couple of policemen out here, sir, about six or seven policemen told me directly, when I went to tell them, hey, man, you got bodies in there. You got two old ladies that just passed, just had died, people dragging the bodies into little corners. One guy -- that's how I found out. The guy had actually, hey, man, anybody sleeping over here? I'm like, no. He dragged two bodies in there. Now you just -- I just found out there was a lady and an old man, the lady went to nudge him. He's dead.

Hospital evacuations


Brown: I've just learned today that we ... are in the process of completing the evacuations of the hospitals, that those are going very well.


CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It's gruesome. I guess that is the best word for it. If you think about a hospital, for example, the morgue is in the basement, and the basement is completely flooded. So you can just imagine the scene down there. But when patients die in the hospital, there is no place to put them, so they're in the stairwells. It is one of the most unbelievable situations I've seen as a doctor, certainly as a journalist as well. There is no electricity. There is no water. There's over 200 patients still here remaining. ...We found our way in through a chopper and had to land at a landing strip and then take a boat. And it is exactly ... where the boat was traveling where the snipers opened fire yesterday, halting all the evacuations. ( Watch the video report of corpses stacked in stairwells -- 4:45 )


Dr. Matthew Bellew, Charity Hospital: We still have 200 patients in this hospital, many of them needing care that they just can't get. The conditions are such that it's very dangerous for the patients. Just about all the patients in our services had fevers. Our toilets are overflowing. They are filled with stool and urine. And the smell, if you can imagine, is so bad, you know, many of us had gagging and some people even threw up. It's pretty rough.(Mayor's video: Armed addicts fighting for a fix -- 1:03)

Violence and civil unrest


Brown: I've had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they're banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I've had no reports of that.


CNN's Chris Lawrence: From here and from talking to the police officers, they're losing control of the city. We're now standing on the roof of one of the police stations. The police officers came by and told us in very, very strong terms it wasn't safe to be out on the street. (Watch the video report on explosions and gunfire -- 2:12)

The federal response:


Brown: Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well.


Homeland Security Director Chertoff: Now, of course, a critical element of what we're doing is the process of evacuation and securing New Orleans and other areas that are afflicted. And here the Department of Defense has performed magnificently, as has the National Guard, in bringing enormous resources and capabilities to bear in the areas that are suffering.


Crowd chanting outside the Convention Center: We want help.


Nagin: They don't have a clue what's going on down there.


Phyllis Petrich, a tourist stranded at the Ritz-Carlton: They are invisible. We have no idea where they are. We hear bits and pieces that the National Guard is around, but where? We have not seen them. We have not seen FEMA officials. We have seen no one.

Security


Brown: I actually think the security is pretty darn good. There's some really bad people out there that are causing some problems, and it seems to me that every time a bad person wants to scream of cause a problem, there's somebody there with a camera to stick it in their face. ( See Jack Cafferty's rant on the government's 'bungled' response -- 0:57)


Chertoff: In addition to local law enforcement, we have 2,800 National Guard in New Orleans as we speak today. One thousand four hundred additional National Guard military police trained soldiers will be arriving every day: 1,400 today, 1,400 tomorrow and 1,400 the next day.


Nagin: I continue to hear that troops are on the way, but we are still protecting the city with only 1,500 New Orleans police officers, an additional 300 law enforcement personnel, 250 National Guard troops, and other military personnel who are primarily focused on evacuation.


Lawrence: The police are very, very tense right now. They're literally riding around, full assault weapons, full tactical gear, in pickup trucks. Five, six, seven, eight officers. It is a very tense situation here.


I keep reading the accounts from the blog I linked earlier. It looks like the military is on their way in finally and people are being evacuated, but why the disrepencies? Why the spin? Tell us what is really happening. I am glad CNN and other places are at least attempting to report the unvarnished and unspun truth.

Selling out

I caved and put the google adds, the search bar thing and a blog search bar on the bottom. These things are supposed to drive traffic to my site, so far the only person that has commented has been my dad, so we'll see =)

Anyway let me know if they're too obnoxious, or you'd like to see something added

The 'REAL' Story

mgno.com
I mentioned this blog the other day but he's been posting more and more. I am going to simply copy and paste his latest entry.

Thursday, September 1st, 2005
10:46 pm The Real News
The following is the result of an interview I just conducted via cell phone with a New Orleans citizen stranded at the Convention Center. I don't know what you're hearing in the mainstream media or in the press conferences from the city and state officials, but here is the truth:

"Bigfoot" is a bar manager and DJ on Bourbon Street, and is a local personality and icon in the city. He is a lifelong resident of the city, born and raised. He rode out the storm itself in the Iberville Projects because he knew he would be above any flood waters. Here is his story as told to me moments ago. I took notes while he talked and then I asked some questions:


Three days ago, police and national guard troops told citizens to head toward the Crescent City Connection Bridge to await transportation out of the area. The citizens trekked over to the Convention Center and waited for the buses which they were told would take them to Houston or Alabama or somewhere else, out of this area.

It's been 3 days, and the buses have yet to appear.

Although obviously he has no exact count, he estimates more than 10,000 people are packed into and around and outside the convention center still waiting for the buses. They had no food, no water, and no medicine for the last three days, until today, when the National Guard drove over the bridge above them, and tossed out supplies over the side crashing down to the ground below. Much of the supplies were destroyed from the drop. Many people tried to catch the supplies to protect them before they hit the ground. Some offered to walk all the way around up the bridge and bring the supplies down, but any attempt to approach the police or national guard resulted in weapons being aimed at them.

There are many infants and elderly people among them, as well as many people who were injured jumping out of windows to escape flood water and the like -- all of them in dire straights.

Any attempt to flag down police results in being told to get away at gunpoint. Hour after hour they watch buses pass by filled with people from other areas. Tensions are very high, and there has been at least one murder and several fights. 8 or 9 dead people have been stored in a freezer in the area, and 2 of these dead people are kids.

The people are so desperate that they're doing anything they can think of to impress the authorities enough to bring some buses. These things include standing in single file lines with the eldery in front, women and children next; sweeping up the area and cleaning the windows and anything else that would show the people are not barbarians.

The buses never stop.

Before the supplies were pitched off the bridge today, people had to break into buildings in the area to try to find food and water for their families. There was not enough. This spurred many families to break into cars to try to escape the city. There was no police response to the auto thefts until the mob reached the rich area -- Saulet Condos -- once they tried to get cars from there... well then the whole swat teams began showing up with rifles pointed. Snipers got on the roof and told people to get back.

He reports that the conditions are horrendous. Heat, mosquitoes and utter misery. The smell, he says, is "horrific."

He says it's the slowest mandatory evacuation ever, and he wants to know why they were told to go to the Convention Center area in the first place; furthermore, he reports that many of them with cell phones have contacts willing to come rescue them, but people are not being allowed through to pick them up.


I have "Bigfoot"'s phone number and will gladly give it to any city or state official who would like to tell him how everything is under control.


Reading the comments people were saying that officials being interviewed didn't even know these people were there waiting to be picked up. Can we just think about that for a brief moment? Three days and the officials didn't know they were there.

These people aren't looters, getting food to survive is NOT looting, they were lining up in an orderly fashion! Most people can't do that on a really good day let alone after what these poor souls have been through.

Let me state again, someone told them to go there to be picked up and THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE THERE until the news people asked them about it in interviews.

I don't for a moment think it's intentional, I don't think anyone means to forget people, but someone in authority is giving directions and NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT!!!!!

Thank heavens for Anderson Cooper, NPR and all the other news stations that are asking the 'difficult' questions, like when are you going to go get the refuges you have lining up in neat and orderly lines in 100+ degree weather waiting for you? humm?

Calif. Senate OKs same-sex marriage law

Calif. Senate OKs same-sex marriage law

It's a step, an important one but simply a step. Our Governator says he won't sign it because of a voter initative thingie a few years ago but I think the public's attitudes have changed since then.

Honestly, you haven't heard anything about 'Gay Marraige' or the issues behind it, you really don't think about it too often, it's not a part of a majority of people's lives, and on the ballott it says "Marriage is between a man and woman, yes no" well duh the majority of people are going to vote yes. However if it says "A civil union is between two consenting legal age adults" I think just as many people would say, well sure. I really don't think the distinction is so ingraned for the majority of people that they honestly care.

Two people making a committment, being a partnership is a special thing and should be celebrated. Divorce rates are so high with hetrosexual couples lets let everyone get married to bring those numbers up a bit!

As for the slippery slope, lets deal with that later, right now I'd like equality for everyone and the government out of people's bedrooms.

Wired News: Flood Waters Can't Sink Net Link

Wired News: Flood Waters Can't Sink Net Link

This article is talking about some guys in NO who have been keeping their hosting going throughout the hurricane. I've been following them because I spend more time than I really should reading the forums at www.somethingawful.com, and these guys are keeping it up despite the total arnachy going on around them. Their LiveJournal is an interesting read, especially when contrasted with what the 'official' reports I"m listening to on CNN.

For example an update from around 2am this morning

Security has become a major concern now, because the NOPD is ineffective and the looters terrorists are roaming the streets. Word is now that they're lighting buildings on fire, but I can't confirm that. Anyway, we have to run guard shifts and patrol and it limits our downtime.

It is a zoo out there though, make no mistake. It's the wild kingdom. It's Lord of the Flies. That doesn't mean there's murder on every street corner. But what it does mean is that the rule of law has collapsed, that there is no order, and that property rights cannot and are not being enforced. Anyone who is on the streets is in immediate danger of being robbed and killed. It's that bad.


Today is a bit better

The word is that in Jefferson Parish and Orleans, FEMA has "bugged out." They haven't brought supplies in.

THE REAL MILITARY IS NOW FLOWING IN. National Guard is being replaced before our eyes. Watch the feed.

Word is that the Marines are at 1515 Poydras where our OC4s are. I think we're coming back online in force shortly.

On another note: I've just been told that we're being monitored in Iraq! To all the troops there, from one soldier to another, we're hanging tough here and you hang tough too. No matter what you're hearing, we love you guys and want you to know that we know how hard you've got it. Stay strong!


http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

I recommend reading his observations, they are frightening and rather interesting. The cam shows a deserted cityscape, but thankfully no water. It is frightening that a city in the US could degenerate so quickly into anarchy. I"m glad the military is finally coming in, things sound out of control.

Just to add to the massive links, these are ones I've heard of before, but do research before you send money:

http://www.redcross.org/

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.secondharvest.org/ -- Food bank

All the rest seemed to be religious orginizations and I figure people can find those on their own to each person's preference.

Also I heard, and I haven't confirmed, that if someone wants to actually go down and help with relief efforts their local Red Cross office is the best chance.

All thoughts and prayers go out to those in need. After my first paycheck I'll be sending money of my own.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Nation -- Domestic partners supported by ruling

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Nation -- Domestic partners supported by ruling

This is a step in the right direction. I know this is a hugely controversial subject that everyone has their own views on, but what it comes down to for me is simply equal rights. I don't care what two people do in the privacy of their own space. This behavior has absolutely no effect on me or my life, so I really don't care. I do care about discrimination and feel it is intolerable.

If two people want to commit to each other and in conquense the government gives benefits then any two people of legal age should be able to do so. The 'marriage is for producing kids' argument is asanine as infertile couples can marry and even some who can reproduce choose not to do so, yet they get all the same benefits as a married couple that produce spawnlings.

As far as adoption goes, I would so much rather have a child raised by a committed couple regardless of their sexual orientation than end up in a situation where there is abuse, divorce or other problems. There is no guarentee that any couple will stay together, so I think discrimination by the government is unacceptable.

Love should be celebrated, committment should be encouraged, stability rewarded as these things all benefit society. Monogomy reduces domestic abuse and helps prevent the spread of disease. I don't have numbers to back up these claims, I"m sure studies have been done about them.

Honestly I'd love to see the government get out of marriage all togther. Let religions do their services and have the couple register with the government in a completely different prodecure. This way it eliminates the religious arguments as a church that does not wish to marry a couple does not have to, and removes the government involvement that is discrimination. I can completely imagine a situation where I would want to get legally married but not in a church.

Maybe I"m jaded because I'm not in love, but the sheer number of people who get married and divorced flys in the face of all the claims of 'upholding the santicity of marriage'. As long as divorce is legal then there should be no restrictions on who can marry, assuming their consenting adults.

Echinacea's efficacy for colds debunked / 'No evidence that it actually does anything'

Echinacea's efficacy for colds debunked / 'No evidence that it actually does anything'

This is a subject I feel very strongly about, and I don't have a myrid of refrences or numbers to back me up, however that is the beauty of the interent, I can still say what I want.

I am not sure if I can describe my loathing for people who sell unproven things to the public as 'remedies' and make a huge living off of poeple who want so badly to believe that something, anything can work. It is akin to what my grandparents would refer to as 'snake oil salsemen' and I think it is a despiciable now as it was then.

Things don't have to be approved by the FDA to be useful. However things do have to have gone thorugh a process called the 'scientific method' (say it with me now boys and girls) before claims should be able to be made about their effectiveness and capabilities. Unless something has been studied, multiple times, in blind studies by unbiased professionals then it doesn't have the 'authority' to say it does buckas. People are paying untold numbers of dollars for herbal natural supplements that supposedly do all these things but there is no proof!

I am the first person to embrase 'alternative medicine', I truely believe in the healing power of accupuncture and massague. I think the natural world holds secrets that we can not even imagine at this time. However it also holds dangers and if these dangers are not recognised I think Mother Nature will bite us in the ass.

I don't trust these companies that aren't regulated to have sanitary conditions in their manufacturing process. Why would they, they don't have to answer to anyone! As long as not too many people die they can sell you pretty much anything as long as they put their disclaimer. Then it's up to the word of mouth and roumer for people to believe that something works, and once it's 'common knowledge' no amount of disclaimer lables will stop those people who want to believe.

I think it's worse when these things do nothing harmful, then you have the plecabo effect. I believe the body can do miraculs things if the mind truely believes that it can be done. There are documented cases everywhere of the plecabo effect working and being useful. However I also feel that charging people money for a placebo effect is morally wrong.

The FDA slows down drug approvals, it is a bunch of buracruacy, the medication companies own it, they still make mistakes yadda yadda we've all heard the critizims. Drugs get approved for one thing, are found useful in another but the long term effects haven't been studied in that kind of population.

Fen Phen is my favorite example of this kind of thing. Someone decided this combination of drugs was a miracle weight loss drug. I never took it but I knew people who did. Americans are obsessed with their weight, yet we love to eat, so a pill we can take that will take responsibility away from us for being lard asses! Wonderful! Sign me up!!

I remember people talking about going down to Mexico to buy this stuff as their doctors wouldn't let them stay on it for more than a few months at a time. Drugs avilable without a pescription is a whole other topic, but did any of these women stop to think that maybe there was a reason their doctors wouldn't let them stay on this drug for the long term?

Then we find out it causes heart problems. This combination of drugs was never intended as a weight loss regimine and no one had ever studied the long term effects in overweight people. I remember people offering to sign waivers so they could stay on the pills. It's called watching what you eat people, it's called excersize. I know some people have trouble loosing weight with 'normal' approaches but to fool yourself into thinking you can just take a pill and eat whatever is NOT HEALTHY. If you want to loose weight so badly, go low carb, go vegetairan (but be healthy about it) cut out fat, cut down calories, any of these things will help and along with walking three times a week I would hazard to guess that more than 95% of the population will loose weight.

The only rational I can personally come up with to explain why these snake oil salsepeople do so well is the lack of an average US adult to accept responsibility for their situations. We as a society seem to be always looking for the quick fix, the easy out, something that will make it so it's not our fault.

I won't take something OTC that hasn't been trhough rigerous testing, made by a company that has oversite in that what they say is in the pill really is in the pill, and the amounts are correct. I want purity and peace of mind that at least someone made sure this company put in their pills what they say they did and some independent researcher (or five) noticed at least a trend for this substance to do what it claims to do!

Becasue of this I will suffer through my viral colds, take my sufficently researched FDA approved decongestent and bring a box of tissues to work. It makes me sad that these people will prey on those who want to believe, who are willing to take anything from anyone if it will make them 'feel better'.

Finding random people late at night

Google is a wonderful thing when you can't sleep. Some nights I search for different things, but tonight it was people I haven't spoken to in quite a while.

I found one, and an email attached, so I sent off a friendly hello that will most likely be taken as a stalker moment, but it's really not! Just reconnecting to another lifetime ago.

Myspace and Friendster also gave me suprises today. Mostly from work but I found a relative and someone from home! Emails and invites were dutifully sent out so we shall see.

Have you ever googled your own name and actually gotten yourself? I blame that for myself on the industry I worked in, being very internet heavy, but it's still kind of creepy how much information someone can find without paying any money, just being intelligent with searches and different sites. It's also scarry how much personal information is out there waiting to be found.

I say this and I put the url to this blog as my sig on emails, so I have no room to talk =)

Sometimes I look back and think about how life was before the internet. I wrote letters, I made phone calls and talked for hours, went to the library to do research, now I can't be bothered to do any of those things. How much money I've saved on phone bills! The unfortunate part of this is that if someone isn't 'online' I have pretty much no contact with them. I only talk to people on my contact lists, and occational emails with old friends. I honestly don't know the last time I wrote a personal letter.

Am I sad about this? Only that I have family that I don't have as much contact with as others, but no I am happy with the instant gratification of instant messages and convience of emails. I like LiveJournal where I can keep up with some people, and this blog thing might keep me in touch with others. Or it just gives me a place to vent, who knows.

To end this on a good note let me show you a picture of the lights of my life.

Harry Potter, Comic Con and Sci Fi Friday

Read Harry Potter in one sitting, as usual. Good book, can't wait till the next one, yadda yadda selling 3.2 bazillion copies, we all can read the net and know about this book. I didn't however go to any release parties or wait in line, Amazon.com is my friend.

Went to Comic Con on Friday. Saw the Battlestar Galactica panel. First impression is that they have great makeup people cuz the actors are actually better looking in real life. I loved the commentary, hearing what they have to say and their take on things. Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) was late and made a grand entrance, very cute. Madam President Mary McDonnal (Laura Roslin) was much much prettier in person while Jamie Bamber's (Apollo) accent made him omg sexy (er than even in the show), James Callis (Baltar) was hysterical and I love the long floppy hair, Grace Park (Boomer) was just as hot as she is on the show, as was Tahmoth Penikett (Helo). I enjoyed hearing the exec producers comment, I have been listening to Ron Moore's podcasts so it was nice to hear him live and in person. I wish I could have met the cast and talked to them, but I am sure their scheduals were full and they have a show to promote!

So I went home and watched Scifi channel's 'Sci Fi Friday'. Stargate was ok, Atlantis was good but Battlestar, omg this show just keeps getting better. And after hearing these actors just hours earlier it kind of made it a bit more special I think, or I'm just biased and a fangirl, that could be it too. I am the kind of person I would avoid at an EQ Fan Faire, seriously.

But we can't get enough celebrity news -- Rant about drugs

Movie & TV News @ IMDb.com - WENN: "Thomas Slams Reports He Seduced Cruise

Taken from IMDB

Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas has rubbished reports he had sex with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise - and is even more mortified he's been labeled a fellow Scientologist. The singer is horrified by claims he was caught in bed with the War Of The Worlds star and has finally spoken out to end the rumors. But he's even more offended by reports he's joined Cruise and other followers of L. Ron Hubbard's Church Of Scientology, which has been labeled a 'cult' by some critics. He says, 'If I were gay, Tom wouldn't be on the top of my list...It would be Brad Pitt. I'm more offended by the rumors saying I'm Scientologist.' "


The best part is he's offended by the religious part, and he has the same taste in men that I do...

I used to be a fan of Tom Cruise and I still enjoy his movies but I disagree heartily about his stance on drugs. I do believe things are overpescribed in this country and too many children are given riddlen or whatever to mask real issues, but I know that I would be a total and complete usuless zombie because of a chemical imbalance in my head without these drugs. I don't relly on them, I can live and function without them, but I do much better with them so I take them, faithfully every single day. One pill, one dosage and I can hold down a job, live a normal (well you know, relatively normal) life and deal with the stresses of living without getting overwhelmed.

These illnesses are real, they're just difficult as there isn't a quanatitive blood test or something like that to say, look you have skitzophrena!! That is frustrating, so very very frustrating for someone who suffers from a psychological illness (mine is depression, I don't hear voices or anything entertaining like that) as it's so easy to doubt the validity. Vitamins don't cure these things buddy, sorry.

Someday I'd love for a doctor to take a sample of something and give me a detailed list of the chemicals that I don't have enough of (or too much of depending I guess) so I can see how much medicine to take to make things 'level'. Until then we treat the symptoms and do the best we can, and deal with people who aren't experts spouting off their oponions and are taking even remotely seriously because they can (well some of them can) act.

Marvel announces deal with Microsoft for MMO's -- more games!

Marvel announces Xbox 360-exclusive MMORPG - Xbox 360 News at GameSpot


The above link was taken from Google News, there are many more sites that talk about the announcement

Personally I"m not as much of a fan of consoles as I am PC games, though I have been told the new generation of consoles will alleviate a lot of my concerns (live updating being the biggest). I think it's a wonderful idea for the Comic Book companies to make games from their popular titles, it gives people another place to be exposed to these worlds outside of the movies, hell some of them might actually read the comic books occationally.

I've never been a huge fan of comic books, but I love the stories. I watch the 'Diniverse' animated series religiously, I go opening night to most comic book movies (missed Hulk and Electra) and I make my poor long suffering sibiling tell me the stories that have encompased years of comic book lore.

I just don't have the paitence for the serial once a month barely anything happends format. The art can be amazing and the stories can be spectuclar, but I just don't have the attention span. That may be a failing for a lot of the consumers in society, so I am glad these ideas and worlds can be shared with a wider audience.

I am a big continuity nut, so I do have a problem sometimes keeping all the different versions straight. I hate recons (even when they're better) as it invalidates things that a person may have followed in the past. I understand the reasoning, I"m not blaming anyone or calling them lazy, but the origin of some of our most beloved superheros keep changing I can't keep track anymore. Hello Green Lantern anyone? I gave up and just smile and nod when the whole subject is brought up.

I"m going to comic con tomorrow to drool over the cool toys, I'm going to see the Battlestar Galactica panel (if I can get in) and generally be a geek. I don't know who I"ll get to meet this year, though the con seems to be more popular than ever. I hope this trend of introducing these comic universies to different people continues.

My thoughts for all the internet to see

Since I"m not working at the moment I am free to share what I think about things in the gaming world, and outside of it (gasp I hear there is life outside of games) without reflecting on anyone else. I find this refreshing for in the past I have censored myself, voluntairly of course.

This is for my thoughts, feelings and musings about all sorts of things, political, social and of course things that happen in the gaming industry. I won't talk about anything that I 'know' from 'inside sources' or anything silly like that, but I will share what I think about things that are common knowledge. And once I work in 'the industry' again I'll have to be more careful.

Until then however, here I go. Feedback is always welcome, feel free to disagree with things that I think and be paitent and I may post thing that are a few days old, as I"m not 'in the loop' so to speak anymore.