“I just spent 2 hours in front of my computer, but I didn’t get anything done! WHY?”
….

Now you know!

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1. How to Waste Time on the Interwebs

Sounds like some sort of weird bet, doesn’t it? I’m actually talking about paradigms; points of view; ways to see the world.

Ever have it where you’re trying to explain your view to some one and they just don’t seem to see it? When that happens to me, 3 questions keep circling through my mind:

• Is there something wrong with how I’m explaining my position? Can I explain it better?
• Is my point of view wrong? Maybe I don’t understand things as well as I think I do.
• Is the other person just unwilling to even try to see things my way? I’m not expecting them to agree with me, I’d even be happy with a “I can see how you’d see things your way, but you’re wrong because….”

Obvious misunderstandings bother me. Communication is impossible when you can’t understand the other person’s position.

No related posts.

It’s been a while since I posted a fun 9-1-1 call. Tonight I got one though that made me laugh.

A guy calls 9-1-1 from his cell phone because his girlfriend hit him and was pulling on his already broken arm. I get his address. I get the girls name, her description and generally what happened. During the call, they start to argue and shout and the phone disconnects.

About 15 seconds later, I get another 9-1-1 call from the same cell phone. This time it’s the girlfriend. The conversation goes something like this…

Me: 9-1-1. This is Scott.
Girl: This is (girlfriend) at (address). The call you just got about the domestic is a prank call.
Me: Ok. What is your boyfriend’s name?
Girl: I don’t have a boyfriend.
Me: Ok then, who is the guy with the broken arm who just called me?
Girl: I don’t know anyone…uh…I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Me: Well then, who’s phone are you using?
Girl: …… *click*

I call the number back and talk to the guy. After hanging up the phone she booked it out the door. Stupid lady.

Related posts:

1. What happens when I call 9-1-1 from a land-line?
2. How Does 9-1-1 Work? – Introduction
3. What happens when I call 9-1-1 from a VOIP phone?

The day after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was voted on, I posted my response to Congressman Coffman’s reasoning behind his vote (He voted “Nay” by the way). Since the Congressman more than likely doesn’t read my blog I also sent him an email. I wasn’t expecting a reply. I’m only 1 person out of roughly 614,466 residents in his district. Why would I get a response? So imagine my surprise when I checked my email yesterday and saw an email from Coffman!

Since I posted my email to him, I only figure it’s fair to post his response. Kudos to Coffman for replying with more than just a generic form letter.

Dear Mr. Pantall:

Thank you very much for contacting my office regarding healthcare reform. I appreciate your thoughts on this issue and the opportunity to respond.

The House of Representatives recently passed health care reform. President Obama and his Democrat allies in the Congress have fundamentally changed the healthcare system of our country. Reforming this system was a top priority of mine, but unfortunately this plan seeks to do so in entirely the wrong fashion. For instance, taxes are increased by $569.2 billion over the next ten years. In this current recession, these increases will prove especially harmful to small businesses, many of which will be forced to close or lay off employees due to the employer mandate to provide coverage. The legislation has enacted $528.5 billion in cuts to Medicare, some of which will fall on the popular Medicare Advantage program, which provides seniors with a valuable alternative to traditional Medicare. The total cost of this legislation for American families is $1.2 trillion.

The plan establishes an individual mandate for Americans to obtain government approved health insurance. Many individuals do not want or cannot afford such insurance, but the President has persisted regardless.

Unelected federal bureaucrats now have the power to decide what plans are appropriate for private citizens. If a person decides to obtain high end health insurance, this plan taxes them for consuming too much. A person’s health is a very private matter and I am outraged that the government now has the ability to mandate that a person obtain coverage, and then have the audacity to tell people what coverage is “acceptable.”

I believe establishing such an individual mandate that all Americans obtain “acceptable” coverage is unconstitutional. States have the ability to impose such a mandate but the federal government does not. The bill forces such coverage on the electorate with the threat of a 2.5% tax of modified adjusted gross income if one fails to obtain this coverage. This plan has also stricken a provision that would prohibit the use of taxpayer funds for abortions. Further, it contains no provisions to ensure that illegal immigrants do not benefit from taxpayer subsidized coverage.

For all of these problems, the plan will not decrease healthcare costs, a central tenet of the Democrat’s argument for reform. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation, its provisions will increase health insurance premiums for individuals by 10-13%. In these times of growing national debt, federal budgetary commitments for healthcare will increase by $210 billion over ten years.

This plan institutes a massive unfunded mandate that the states provide Medicaid coverage to individuals at higher income levels than the program was originally intended for. In these tough economic times, such an increase in eligibility would force states to slash funding in other areas, such as education. For all these reasons, amongst many others, I voted against this legislation.

The President has been quick to claim that this is a bipartisan process, with the input of both sides being utilized. Unfortunately, this has not proven to be the case. This is evident in the use of the reconciliation process to get this plan passed. This process was designed to balance the federal budget. Using reconciliation, a process normally reserved for bi-partisan measures, is a backhanded tactic that circumvents the rules and traditions of Congress.

Instead of instituting new taxes that will cripple small businesses, we should have worked for common sense alternatives. I supported tax incentives for individuals to purchase private health insurance. This would be equivalent to what a business receives for enrollment of their employees. I also supported rational standards for the portability of health plans from one job to the next and allowing small businesses to band together for the purchase of healthcare insurance so that they may receive the same discounts that larger corporations receive. Insurance reform must cover those afflicted with pre-existing medical conditions. Individuals and businesses should be able to buy insurance across state lines. We should have addressed medical malpractice reform. Rising healthcare costs will never be controlled as long as baseless lawsuits are brought forward by unscrupulous individuals in an effort to win oversized damages from medical professionals who were only trying to help them.

These issues were addressed in House Resolution 3400, the Empowering Patients First Act. The text of this legislation can be viewed at www.congress.gov, and entering the bill number, H.R. 3400. I was therefore very proud to be listed as an original co-sponsor on this legislation. Introduced July 30th, 2009, by Representative Tom Price, a physician from Georgia, it was referred to the House Committees of jurisdiction where no action was taken. By providing these reforms, we could have expanded health insurance to more Americans while also protecting the free market’s ability to compete over your business.

Numerous states have decided to oppose this plan and I fully support their efforts. Over a dozen State Attorneys General, including John Suthers of Colorado, share my opinion that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, and have filed a lawsuit against the federal government in court. The United States Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate individuals engaged in interstate commerce. It makes no mention of compelling private citizens to buy a good or service, and thus be subject to regulation. This matter strikes at the heart of our democracy, and would render the 10th Amendment meaningless. I also applaud the State of Virginia for passing legislation that prohibits the mandatory purchase of insurance for its citizens. I would encourage Colorado and other states to pass similar resolutions.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. For more information on my work in Congress on your behalf, please sign up for my newsletter at https://forms.house.gov/coffman/webforms/enews.html.

Sincerely,

Michael Coffman
Member of Congress

If you’re still reading, you must be interested. I like that a link to the congress.gov site was put in there. The more information you include behind your words, the more I’ll believe you. What do you think of his response?

Related posts:

1. My Response to Congressman Coffman on the Health Care Bill
2. Finding the Truth About Healthcare Reform – Revisited
3. Finding the Truth About Healthcare Reform

A playoff beard is an NHL tradition. In order to have a playoff beard you need 2 things: A NHL team in the playoffs (Done!) and facial hair (um…this may take a while).

This year, the NHL is doing a Beard-A-Thon to raise money for various charities. As I am an Avalanche fan, any money pledge to me will go to Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE and owner of the Avalanche) Charities. For more information about KSE Charities, click here.

Click on the image above to pledge a donation. If you don’t trust moving, blinking images use this link: https://www.beardathon.com/avalanche/pledge.aspx. Enter my name under #1, then be generous. Half the reason I’m attempting to grow a beard is just for the entertainment value, the other half is to raise money for charities. I can only provide one half of the reason. I need you to do the rest.

Each game day I will post a new beard picture to my blog, Facebook and the Beard-A-Thon website. So since this the day of Game 1, here ya go…

Just my pretty face. Nothing even close to a beard yet.

If you are also growing a beard for the Beard-A-Thon, let me know and I will give you a $10 donation. GO AVS!

Related posts:

1. Hockey Weekend Across America – Best Day of the Year

It’s National Public Safety Telecommunicator’s Week and what better way to show support for our public safety dispatchers and operators than by pointing out ways to show our support year round. 9-1-1 Cares has many ways to help dispatchers and operators.

Some ways to show your support:

• Become a fan on Facebook – An easy way to say thanks.
• Send a card or supplies or just donate to a dispatcher in need. Check out this list of 9-1-1 Cares activations to find a dispatcher that needs your help.
• Buy something for a dispatcher or just donate to 9-1-1 Cares using their online store.

Related posts:

1. 10 Reasons Being a Dispatcher Rocks
2. Emergency Alerts in On-Demand World
3. Week in Review: Feb 10, 2009

1. I get to help people.
2. Sometimes, when police officers come into dispatch to get paperwork I throw stuff at them….just cuz I can.
3. I get to serve and protect those that serve and protect.
4. When my job is entertaining, it’s REALLY entertaining.
5. When my job is boring, I seek comfort in the fact that it’s boring because people aren’t requesting help.
6. My co-workers all have a twisted sense of humor whether they want to or not.
7. I get to help catch bad guys.
8. I get to be the disembodied voice of a police department.
9. I get to hear stories about sloppy drunks, strange injuries and grotesque deaths but I don’t have to see or smell these things.
10. The public knows that help is just a 9-1-1 call away. Police officers and firefighters know that help is just a radio transmission away. They know this because dispatchers and operators across the county have earned this reputation. I get to live up to this expectation everyday I go to work.

April 11-17, 2010 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. If you’re a 9-1-1 operator, a police dispatcher, a fire dispatcher, etc., then thank you for what you do every day!

Related posts:

1. Emergency Alerts in On-Demand World
2. Police: The Unwitting Victims of Racism
3. Shave a dispatcher! Save a girl!

“We the People” – 3 really big words on a really important document. 3 really big words that mean that we (the people, that is) are in charge of the country. 3 really big words that I still believe in. Our government represents the will of the People. It is up to the People (that would be us), to make sure our governments know what we want.

Now “We” is a lot of people. There are about 206 million adult citizens in our country. “We” consists of right-wing nut-jobs and left-wing wackos, Christians, Jews, atheists, pagans, socialites and shut-ins, butchers, bakers, candle-stick makers, etc. You could fill every NFL football stadium (2,165,404 seats) and every major league baseball park (1,303,268 seats) with people who feel the same way you do about an issue and you could still be very much in the minority. When I hear people shouting that the government is no longer following the will of the People, I wonder if they realize how many people make up “The People”.

Our system of government works best when our representatives get lots of feedback and input. Think of government like a car, the more involved you are in steering your car, the less likely your car is going to veer off the road. Government is the same way. The more involved we are at steering our governments, the more likely it will reflect our collective views. Unfortunately, 75 million American citizens still did not vote in the November 2008 elections and right now in Colorado 33% of the registered voters are considered inactive. If we are not involved in our government, it will not be able to work for us. It is important to be involved (even just a little bit) in every level of government that represents you.

So how much effort does it take to be involved in your government? Not that much. Here’s the easy way to get involved:

1. Make sure your registered to vote from your address - If you live in Colorado, you can go to the Colorado Secretary of State website to make sure you’re registered correctly.
2. Find out who your representatives are – Congress.org is a great resource to find your federal and state representatives, just type in your zip code and it will give you a list. For your city and county representatives, check your city and county websites.
3. Party with the party people - If you’re affiliated with a political party, go to your party’s website and, at the very least, sign up for their newsletter.
4. Communicate with your representatives – I am subscribed to an email newsletter or RSS feed for every one of my representatives that has one. At the very least, keep informed on your representatives actions so you can respond the them and be more informative when elections come around.

So please, do us all a favor and get involved!

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1. 2010: The Year Of The Battered Incumbent

If you’re a user of Facebook (and who isn’t), you’re familiar with the little “Suggestion” box on the right side of your home page. It usually suggests fan pages or groups or friends you haven’t interacted with in a while. Sometimes it recommends new friends to you because you have some mutual friends. Sometimes it recommends completely freakin’ random people to be your friend. For example:

Facebook thinks you should be friends with Bob Smith. Bob Smith is 17 years old and lives 2000 miles away from you. You have no mutual friends and he’s into men’s bikini volleyball. Send friend request?

No! Why would I be friend’s with Bob Smith? Why would Facebook possibly think I have anything to do with Bob Smith? These suggestions are usually met by me cocking my head to one side and squinting at my monitor like I’m going to somehow look through the screen to devise the purpose of this suggestion.

Imagine my surprise this morning when Facebook suggested I become friends with some random guy named Martin St. Louis. I don’t know of any friends or family named Martin St. Louis. I didn’t graduate with any one with the last name of St. Louis. As a matter of fact, there is only one Martin St. Louis that I can think of, but no it couldn’t be that Martin St. Louis, could it? So I check out his publicly available information on his profile. He’s in Tampa Bay, FL and this is his profile picture…

Yep. It’s 5 time NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup Champion, current alternate captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, (mar-tan san loo-e). What can I possibly have in common with a 5 time NHL All-Star player? Apparently Facebook thinks we have something in common.

This entertains me to no end.

So I do what any self respecting person who’s easily entertained would do, I take up Facebook’s suggestion and send Martin a friend request along with this message:

Facebook said I should be your friend

I am so entertained by this bit of internet randomness, I thought I’d send you a request just for the hell of it. I’m not sure what Facebook thinks we have in common except that you play NHL hockey and I watch it. Anyways, enjoy the rest of your season and stay safe!

-Scott

Related posts:

1. Week in Review: March 24, 2009

One of the worst things about working the night shift is planning your sleep. On most days, I sleep in the morning, right after I get off work and get Ashlynn to school. Other days, I may have to stay up and sleep later in the day. On my transition days (days where I switch from being a normal night-sleeping person into a batty nocturnal person and vice versa), I usually have to fit a nap sometime during the day. When it works, it’s great!

But when it doesn’t work, it’s oh-so-bad. Being unable to sleep is harder on us night shift workers than it is for the rest of you folks. We do the same thing you do when you can’t sleep. We toss and turn. Watch something crappy on TV in hopes it lulls our brains to sleep. We eat crappy food which bothers our stomachs and keeps us awake longer. But we also have to deal with what I like to call night-shift insomnia guilt or I-have-something-better-to-be-doing-isis.

What is night-shift insomnia guilt or I-have-something-better-to-be-doing-isis?

See when you normal people can’t sleep and it’s 2:30 in the morning there’s nothing else you can do. Your goal at 2:30 am, the goal that you are spectacularly failing to achieve, is to be asleep. This is what is expected in normal people land. 2:30 am is not the time to clean your house, mow your lawn or run errands. While you may do some of these things anyway, you don’t feel guilty about not getting them done.

Now imagine it’s 2:30 pm and you can’t sleep. The sun is out, the grass is long, the kitchen is a mess and you’ve been laying there for 2 hours trying to sleep. 2:30 pm IS a great time to clean your house, mow your lawn and run errands in normal people land. It’s also a great time to work out, go for a hike, kick a puppy or hang out with a friend. While I don’t operate by all the rules of normal people land, I still like to feel like I belong so I end up feeling guilty. “Why am I laying here when I could be doing something better with my time?”, “I should’ve tried to nap some other time so I could be getting something productive done now.” These are the thoughts that run through my head while I try to hide from the sunlight.

This happens a lot to us night-shift-types. I wish I knew how to fix it, but I don’t know how. Oh, and I was kidding about kicking puppies. I was just curious if you were still paying attention.

Related posts:

1. Week in Review: March 24, 2009