I just downloaded (a genuine copy of) Office 2010 Professional Plus for $9.95.
Yeah. I know. I nearly choked when I read that, too. I thought it was a typo when I first got an e-mail about it. See, our workplace is upgrading throughout the whole system and so we got a special deal to receive a copy for home use for as long as our system has it and we're employed there. The download included Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, OneNote, plus more. I was running Office XP on my system. So you can imagine there have been a few changes along the way. I'm really pleased. :) In some ways it seems easier to navigate, once you figure out where everything is. And I sure can't beat the price.
I did forego the $12 backup copy on CD, which may eventually come back and bite me, but I put a copy of the download on my external hard drive, so hopefully I'm set if my computer itself crashes.
Ah, geeky happiness.
Born, like other comic book characters, out of an otherwise trivial but life-changing animal bite, the Rabid Librarian seeks out strange, useless facts, raves about real and perceived injustices, and seeks to meet her greatest challenge of all--her own life.
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Well, phooey
I actually got up early enough to practice yoga, but my tape refused to stay in the VCR. I don't know if it's a tape or VCR issue, as the VCR was second-hand and is mostly hooked up so I can see DVDs through my TV.
Making a note to self that when I get a little money, let's get these:
A.M. and P.M. Yoga (2000)
A.M. Yoga for Your Week
Hmm...it's been awhile, but I think I remember the routine well enough, although it's better with the music and Rodney's voice. Plus I have a little yoga program on my Kindle. I'll go do it anyway.
Namaste.
Making a note to self that when I get a little money, let's get these:
A.M. and P.M. Yoga (2000)
A.M. Yoga for Your Week
Hmm...it's been awhile, but I think I remember the routine well enough, although it's better with the music and Rodney's voice. Plus I have a little yoga program on my Kindle. I'll go do it anyway.
Namaste.
Good article about the HarperCollins situation
and some very intelligent comments, as well.
Publisher Limits Shelf Life for Library E-Books
Publisher Limits Shelf Life for Library E-Books
Imagine the perfect library book. Its pages don’t tear. Its spine is unbreakable. It can be checked out from home. And it can never get lost.
The value of this magically convenient library book — otherwise known as an e-book — is the subject of a fresh and furious debate in the publishing world. For years, public libraries building their e-book collections have typically done so with the agreement from publishers that once a library buys an e-book, it can lend it out, one reader at a time, an unlimited number of times.
Last week, that agreement was upended by HarperCollins Publishers when it began enforcing new restrictions on its e-books, requiring that books be checked out only 26 times before they expire. Assuming a two-week checkout period, that is long enough for a book to last at least one year.
Thinking of Japan...
Please help.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
A high toll
Alzheimer's in U.S. claims $202 billion in unpaid care
My great-grandmother lived about 15 years with Alzheimer's. With her the whole time was my grandmother, an RN who worked tirelessly taking care of her mom while trying to hold down her job, eventually providing round-the-clock care. During that time my great-grandmother went from being a vivacious woman with a wonderful sense of humour to barely responsive. It was painful watching that happen. But it must have been excruciating for a daughter to watch her mother do this; my grandmother had much longer memories of her mother than I did.
When my great-grandmother died, my grandmother was ill and had to lie down at the funeral home. It turned out she had lung cancer. She outlived her mother by not quite two years. Determined to not burden anyone with her care, she placed herself in the same nursing facility she had worked in. I visited her weekly, while going to school full-time and working, and did what I could, but I wasn't really her caregiver.
I firmly believe that while my grandmother's illness was caused by a lifetime of smoking, her rapid decline had to do with being worn down from all the years of caring for her mother, both in terms of the physical and mental toll.
And it's not just Alzheimer's, although I think that may be one of the hardest illnesses to care for someone with. My mother is now caring for my grandmother round the clock on weekends and all but 8 hours a day in the week. She's a nurse, and she's the only child that is nearby, so it has devolved to her to take care of her mom.
What will happen to my mother's generation, the Baby Boomers, who are so large in numbers but who had quite smaller families themselves? My mother is in her early 60s. Unlike my grandmother and my mother, I'm not a nurse. I don't know the first thing about caring for someone. So I worry about what might happen. But I'm her only child, and it would be my responsibility. I would do what I can.
And sometimes, just sometimes, I worry about my own future. I don't have children. I'll probably wind up in some care home somewhere. and my best friend will probably put me in footed pyjamas, which I despise.. And I worry about Alzheimer's. I already have memory and at times it seems, cognition issues, probably secondary to the diabetes and my attention deficit disorder. I worry about being a burden on someone. I worry about not having anyone to care for me. I worry about slipping away like my great-grandmother did.
Nearly 15 million people in the United States take care of a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia, amounting to 17 billion hours or more than $202 billion in unpaid care, Alzheimer's experts said on Tuesday.
If these caregivers all lived in one U.S. state, it would be the nation's fifth largest, according to the Alzheimer's Association's 2011 annual report on the disease.
The report illustrates the growing burden of Alzheimer's disease, a fatal brain-wasting disease that erodes memory, thinking, behavior and the ability to handle daily activities.
My great-grandmother lived about 15 years with Alzheimer's. With her the whole time was my grandmother, an RN who worked tirelessly taking care of her mom while trying to hold down her job, eventually providing round-the-clock care. During that time my great-grandmother went from being a vivacious woman with a wonderful sense of humour to barely responsive. It was painful watching that happen. But it must have been excruciating for a daughter to watch her mother do this; my grandmother had much longer memories of her mother than I did.
When my great-grandmother died, my grandmother was ill and had to lie down at the funeral home. It turned out she had lung cancer. She outlived her mother by not quite two years. Determined to not burden anyone with her care, she placed herself in the same nursing facility she had worked in. I visited her weekly, while going to school full-time and working, and did what I could, but I wasn't really her caregiver.
I firmly believe that while my grandmother's illness was caused by a lifetime of smoking, her rapid decline had to do with being worn down from all the years of caring for her mother, both in terms of the physical and mental toll.
And it's not just Alzheimer's, although I think that may be one of the hardest illnesses to care for someone with. My mother is now caring for my grandmother round the clock on weekends and all but 8 hours a day in the week. She's a nurse, and she's the only child that is nearby, so it has devolved to her to take care of her mom.
What will happen to my mother's generation, the Baby Boomers, who are so large in numbers but who had quite smaller families themselves? My mother is in her early 60s. Unlike my grandmother and my mother, I'm not a nurse. I don't know the first thing about caring for someone. So I worry about what might happen. But I'm her only child, and it would be my responsibility. I would do what I can.
And sometimes, just sometimes, I worry about my own future. I don't have children. I'll probably wind up in some care home somewhere. and my best friend will probably put me in footed pyjamas, which I despise.. And I worry about Alzheimer's. I already have memory and at times it seems, cognition issues, probably secondary to the diabetes and my attention deficit disorder. I worry about being a burden on someone. I worry about not having anyone to care for me. I worry about slipping away like my great-grandmother did.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Today I have
- Woken up dreaming of nuclear reactor explosions before finding out another one had happened (although I was probably just reacting to news of the first blast). Let's hope there won't be a complete meltdown in any of the reactors at risk. Partial ones sound scary enough.
- Called Cooley Medical and asked for a new masque for my CPAP machine to be sent to me (my old one's straps are about to snap. It's three years old and I can get a new one every year). It's difficult with my schedule to go out on the bus to South Broadway after 9 but before 10:30, so I'm having them mail it to me. Thank you, Cooley Medical!
- Called my doctor's office so they'll expect a fax from the medical supply company and can fax a prescription back for the masque.
- Monitored the situation in Japan and gotten quite depressed over it. I feel so bad for them.
- Done a couple of things on the computer for friends.
- Excavated 3/4 of the living room, meaning I can now do yoga on the floor and sit in the comfy chair.
- Rearranged the living room a bit for more floorspace.
- Spent some time on Facebook connecting with friends (but no games--they are time sinks).
- Gotten the aquarium pump running correctly again, changed the media in the filter, and added some water to the tank. Will clean it out thoroughly in a couple of days.
- Napped for a short time.
- Listened to Ella Fitzgerald with the little lightning ball on audio (I've had the thing for 20 years and it still works. I dragged it down from atop one of the bookcases when I started working on the living room Saturday).
- Figured out my finances through June.
Get up early (as opposed to late this morning; I'm not handling Daylight Savings Time well, but that's an annual issue).
- Do yoga with my Rodney Yee VHS AM Yoga tape.
Pick up my prescriptions.
Go to work.
Work on the living room some more.
- Do some laundry.
Take out the trash and recyclables again.
Pick up a UPS package from the leasing office. I have no idea what it is; there's no indication of the sender.
- Fill out my IRS paperwork and send it in.
- Start early on the game notes since I have something to do on Saturday and I need some inspiration for how to approach the game next Sunday.
Keep your video games. My pencil-and-dice game gives me plenty more adrenaline rushes, an imaginative, full-blown, intricate game world, and real role-playing. But this is one of the most frustrating campaigns we've ever had. On the plus side, I'm no longer in charge, so we have a small chance of winning. :) I just don't lead into battle well.
Okay, I think I'm going to listen to a little more of Ella Fitzgerald and sit down in the comfy chair and read for a bit before going to bed.
I may have to get it
The Wuggly Ump and Other Delights Coloring Book by Edward Gorey
I love all things Gorey. I like colouring books. Saw this in an article called 5 Quirky Coloring Books for The Eternal Kid
I think Gorey's is by far the best of the five.
I love all things Gorey. I like colouring books. Saw this in an article called 5 Quirky Coloring Books for The Eternal Kid
I think Gorey's is by far the best of the five.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
It's kind of like magic, even if it is a lie
So I happened to be up for the change to Daylight Savings Time. I'd woken up to take my insulin and then posted the last post, with a couple of minutes to spare.
So what did I do? I watched my computer desktop. I have Windows 7 and I have one of those gadget clocks on my sidebar that looks like the ones you see in schools. Plus my desktop changes pictures every half-hour. So, I get to the moment, and lo, suddenly the clock turns to three, the picture changes, and we're an hour ahead.
I'm such a geek.
Okay, so we're really not an hour ahead. As YKWIA points out, time doesn't really do that. But we can muck with our keeping of time, of course, and we do, twice a year for dubious reasons.
While I am lamenting that now I have to get up in an hour and a half rather than two and a half, I'll enjoy getting off work while it's still light.
That said, I'd better get back to bed. Good night.
So what did I do? I watched my computer desktop. I have Windows 7 and I have one of those gadget clocks on my sidebar that looks like the ones you see in schools. Plus my desktop changes pictures every half-hour. So, I get to the moment, and lo, suddenly the clock turns to three, the picture changes, and we're an hour ahead.
I'm such a geek.
Okay, so we're really not an hour ahead. As YKWIA points out, time doesn't really do that. But we can muck with our keeping of time, of course, and we do, twice a year for dubious reasons.
While I am lamenting that now I have to get up in an hour and a half rather than two and a half, I'll enjoy getting off work while it's still light.
That said, I'd better get back to bed. Good night.
This bring up a whole slew of issues
regarding religious, reproductive, and health care rights.
Judge Forces Hysterectomy on God-Loving Woman
State Supreme Court halts surgery to allow appeal in hysterectomy ruling
I realise that in making this ruling, the judge is presumably trying to save this woman's life. The woman has stated that she believes God has cured her, but that she understands that doctors say she will die within three years without a hysterectomy (although she did reserve the right to change her mind later, it may be too late for her.)
But...
In this country, competent adults are afforded the right to refuse such treatment, including based on religious grounds. The courts usually get involved with cases like this when a child is involved.
So, does a belief that God can cure her make her delusional, and incompetent to make such a life-threatening decision for herself? Tell me, is it delusional to believe that bread and wine become flesh and blood? Is it delusional to believe a man spoke to God through a burning bush? Or that Mohammad ascended to heaven? My point is, religion often involves things that don't logically make sense. If all of those are delusional, then does that mean that many Christians, Jews, and Muslims have no right to determine their own health care?
On another front...we get to reproductive rights and mental competence.
Thing is, we used to sterilise the mentally incompetent and developmentally disabled in this country, and that practice is now condemned as unethical. While this woman's sterilisation would be a by-product of a life-saving procedure, it's still sterilisation, and it's the main reason she's balking. She wants children badly enough to risk her life. Is that delusional? Maybe, but I've known at least one woman that desperate who has, indeed, risked her life to have a baby. Most people consider her sane. In the end, shouldn't it be the woman's right to be sterile and alive, or fecund and in peril?
Judge Forces Hysterectomy on God-Loving Woman
A cancer patient in Montana -- identified only as L.K. -- refused to undergo a hysterectomy as treatment for her cancer on the grounds that she is deeply religious and wants to have children. That's sad enough in it's own right. But no one could have foreseen what happened next: A judge found her "mentally incompetent" based on her "delusional religious beliefs" and ruled she was to have the procedure.
State Supreme Court halts surgery to allow appeal in hysterectomy ruling
“Normally, we don’t force treatment on adults. Competent adults can refuse even lifesaving treatments on religious terms,” he said. “The challenge is to establish that they truly are incompetent and that they really do comprehend the risk posed to their life.”
Then there are degrees, so to speak, of religion, said John Stone of Creighton University’s Center for Health Policy and Ethics. People with well-established religious objections to medical treatments — say Jehovah’s Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions, even lifesaving ones – generally see those requests honored, he said.
I realise that in making this ruling, the judge is presumably trying to save this woman's life. The woman has stated that she believes God has cured her, but that she understands that doctors say she will die within three years without a hysterectomy (although she did reserve the right to change her mind later, it may be too late for her.)
But...
In this country, competent adults are afforded the right to refuse such treatment, including based on religious grounds. The courts usually get involved with cases like this when a child is involved.
So, does a belief that God can cure her make her delusional, and incompetent to make such a life-threatening decision for herself? Tell me, is it delusional to believe that bread and wine become flesh and blood? Is it delusional to believe a man spoke to God through a burning bush? Or that Mohammad ascended to heaven? My point is, religion often involves things that don't logically make sense. If all of those are delusional, then does that mean that many Christians, Jews, and Muslims have no right to determine their own health care?
On another front...we get to reproductive rights and mental competence.
Thing is, we used to sterilise the mentally incompetent and developmentally disabled in this country, and that practice is now condemned as unethical. While this woman's sterilisation would be a by-product of a life-saving procedure, it's still sterilisation, and it's the main reason she's balking. She wants children badly enough to risk her life. Is that delusional? Maybe, but I've known at least one woman that desperate who has, indeed, risked her life to have a baby. Most people consider her sane. In the end, shouldn't it be the woman's right to be sterile and alive, or fecund and in peril?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
I've been a very busy bee today
I got the game notes finished, took a shower, took out the recyclables and trash, excavated my living room, and created more recyclables and trash. I also finally parted with what was left of the Yule tree, which dried up a couple of months ago. I swear it's the damn glitter they spray on them. I had one without glitter for years, but ever since they've been putting that stuff on them, I can't keep them alive.
I also moved around the living room a bit. There's s section of my desk that's detached at the moment and I can't attach it because the side it goes on is at the wall and the desk is holding up I don't know how many books on a couple of boards, so I don't want to rearrange that part. I did move an end table over to the other side of the recliner, moved the table in front of the window down, and put the desk extension between the desk and the table with the printer on it, with the table and books stabilising it.
I also opened the windows today and it was nice to enjoy the sun and breeze coming through. I got rid of a lot of stuff, but there's more to go, and I can't sit in the recliner or the couch at the moment, but I'll work on those later. Tomorrow's the game, of course, and I'm usually pooped after that (I'm getting up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the grocery beforehand, and we lose an hour with the time change.) But the plan is to work on Monday and Tuesday on getting the living room up to snuff, and then tackle the kitchen. Most everything else just needs a little bit of work. It's the living room where I just park everything on the couch, etc. One of these days I will learn to put things back when I use them. Plus I still had stuff that had been in the car sitting in the living room. That's where the excavation came in. Welcome to the world of a hoarder. But I'm in spring cleaning/de-hoarding mood now, so that's a good thing, right?
I also moved around the living room a bit. There's s section of my desk that's detached at the moment and I can't attach it because the side it goes on is at the wall and the desk is holding up I don't know how many books on a couple of boards, so I don't want to rearrange that part. I did move an end table over to the other side of the recliner, moved the table in front of the window down, and put the desk extension between the desk and the table with the printer on it, with the table and books stabilising it.
I also opened the windows today and it was nice to enjoy the sun and breeze coming through. I got rid of a lot of stuff, but there's more to go, and I can't sit in the recliner or the couch at the moment, but I'll work on those later. Tomorrow's the game, of course, and I'm usually pooped after that (I'm getting up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the grocery beforehand, and we lose an hour with the time change.) But the plan is to work on Monday and Tuesday on getting the living room up to snuff, and then tackle the kitchen. Most everything else just needs a little bit of work. It's the living room where I just park everything on the couch, etc. One of these days I will learn to put things back when I use them. Plus I still had stuff that had been in the car sitting in the living room. That's where the excavation came in. Welcome to the world of a hoarder. But I'm in spring cleaning/de-hoarding mood now, so that's a good thing, right?
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