KATastrophe Blog

Looking Good

2011-09-29T21:29:00.000-04:00

Enjoying my new job and doing well. I do, however, need more of a social life. This work, home, errands and repeat, is getting old.

I actually like working 4:pm to midnight. The department where I sit is deserted after 5:pm and the place is mine. The boss trusts me and goes home leaving me to handle things on my own. I'm even free to wander the hospital to get a meal, a drink or a snack, as long as I take the company Blackberry with me.

It's like being my own boss with the plus of....if I need it....she is reachable and cool.....available if I need her, but hands off.....NOT a micro manager......thank god!

That is all......for now.

PS - Also updated my Cancer Sucks blog at http://cancersucksass.blogspot.com . Check it out.

Got a Job and a Puppy

2011-09-11T23:03:00.000-04:00

Finally got a job at a local Hospital.

My boss is cool, people are nice, job is interesting, lots of room to move up, the money is OK and I only have to work Monday through Thursday with the option to cover a Sunday shift every once in awhile. I trained last week and I start my first official solo shift Tuesday night.

Anxious and excited.

It'll be nice to get into my new routine.
-------------------------
We adopted a tiny mini pincher, Apollo. He's 7 weeks old now, but we brought him home at 5 weeks. He's so smart and doing well in his new home.....I love the heck outta the little bugger. He's so sweet and adorable.

Brave Bitch

2011-08-12T01:50:00.001-04:00

CLICK HERE TO BUY

a Brave Bitch T-shirt for yourself

or a good friend.

Silence is Acceptance....

2011-08-07T13:51:00.002-04:00

....and in may ways worse then the loud evil ranting of the Republican Empire on Republican owned network television like FOX.

Every time they screw over the majority of AMERICANS and refuse to raise the taxes on the MINORITY RICH (millionaires and BILLIONAIRES), the elite 1%, and you say nothing, your telling them it's OK. What's sick, is they say they are patriots, when they are nothing of the kind.

Every time you watch the news from your couch and see them steal from our troops, deny basic health care to our elderly and soon to everyone else except the rich, and refuse to make laws that would keep American jobs IN AMERICA and do NOTHING.....you tell them, it's OK.

Your encouraging them even, because your managing to "get by", so you say nothing.....you think it doesn't affect you, until it does......

your silent now because it's easier.....but soon you will see, you'll remain silent because they will have become so powerful, because of your apathy ....THEN you will remain silent because your afraid.....either way, YOU are the bigger problem, no? They are a spoiled child getting away with as much as they can, and your the parent refusing to punish them.......so that they get even worse....your silence tells them it's OK.

The richest 1% of the country is holding the rest of us hostage so that they can get ever more rich.They own network TV, so they can control the media and lie to you and your children, and their children. They pay for the re-election of people who then return the favor by creating laws that will benefit the people who PAID to put them in office....all the while taking away your rights as Americans, one at a time. (remember the most UNpatriotic act? The one they had the audacity to name, "the patriot act"?) THEY DON'T REPRESENT YOU! THEY DON'T REPRESENT 99% of Americans.

Unless your a complete moron, you KNOW this......at least on some level......and you remain SILENT!....so they think it's OK.

If what is happening in THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA were happening in ANY other country, there would be riots in the street. The people would be patriotic enough, to actually DO SOMETHING. Stand up for each other, for American virtues, for FREEDOM and a government that actually represents the American people.....the majority.....the working class who built this country......for YOU!!!

I am 1 small 43 year old woman and I am calling for all Americans to take a stand and protest and DEMAND that taxes be raised on the richest 1% of Americans and lowered for everyone else. A peaceful protest, as is our right as American Citizens....and make no mistake, if you don't use this right, they will think it's OK, to take it away from you.

Will you stand up and refuse to be silent? Will you organize a peaceful protest at your school, university, or home town?

Will you refuse to vote for anyone who does not support and promise loud and clear that they will, if elected, make it their #1 priority to raise taxes on the rich and give some relief to the poor within their 1st 3 months in office?

Will you write your reps in the house and senate and tell them that unless they publicly and loudly take this pledge, they will not get your vote?

...or will you remain silent?

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

....the Republican and the Tea Party has come for the poor and the working class, they have come for YOU, will you speak out now?

The job search continues...

2011-07-20T23:50:00.002-04:00

I've been out of work for quite awhile now....unemployment ended a week ago.....T's feeling pretty good and going back to work soon. I'm very greatful I was able to be home with her during the worst of her chemo. and recovery from surgery.

I've sent out tons of resumes and applied to a lot of jobs......nothing. I was starting to get scared. I have some savings, but still.

Finally, I contacted the guy who got me my job at DIANON way back when, where I worked for 10 years until they sold the company. Met with him yesterday, and today I heard from one of his employees, who thinks he can get me into a job at a hospital, not too far away......I sure hope he can make this happen for me.

It will probably be a temp to perm job, which works for me....once they get to know me and see that I'm a work horse, I'm sure I can get the job....I just have to hope he can get me in as a temp 1st.

Cross everything!

Pride 2011 Events List - UPDATED

2011-05-28T14:44:00.007-04:00

Come check out and like the Official Pride 2011 Face Book Page by clicking HERE

LET's SEE TRUMPS TAX RECORDS!

2011-04-28T11:19:00.000-04:00

Trump said that once Obama released his long form Birth Certificate, he (Trump) would release his Tax Records.....MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS @SSHOLE!

The Fact Checker on Wednesday had a detailed, midday look at Donald Trump’s statements in New Hampshire. So this morning we simply present a list of his statements in the past month on the question of President Obama’s birth. In retrospect, much of this is simply wild speculation on Trump’s part, with almost no basis in fact.
Trump speculated that maybe Obama was hiding the fact that the birth certificate said he was Muslim, even though the so-called “long form” does not ask for religion. He claimed, without offering evidence, that he had hired investigators who “cannot believe what they’re finding.” To his credit, CNN’s Anderson Cooper confronted Trump with the fact that there was no sign of any Trump-sponsored investigation in Hawaii.
Trump, in response, said that he had just learned that “the birth certificate is missing.” This was two days before the White House released the version that Trump claimed was gone.
Trump also suggested he would release his tax returns if Obama released the long-form document. After Obama took that step Wednesday, Trump said he would do so “at the appropriate time” — meaning it might be a very long wait.
Trump immediately changed the subject, demanding to see Obama’s grades in college. For the record, Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and was president of the Harvard Law Review, so at least we know he hit his stride eventually.
Of course, we in the media have given Trump every platform he requested. When Obama referred to “sideshows and carnival barkers”Wednesday, perhaps he did not have in mind Trump, but rather the line often attributed to P.T. Barnum: “There's a sucker born every minute.”

OBAMA's LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE

2011-04-27T10:12:00.001-04:00

NOW will you shut up Donald Trump?!

CLICK HERE TO SEE PRESIDENT OBAMA's LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE

I wonder if Trump, The Republicans, and the Tea Party morons even remember that they are supposed to represent THE PEOPLE and not just their rich corporate masters who give them cash to represent THEM and NOT "The People".

Donald Trump Shut the F#ck Up!

2011-04-25T12:43:00.000-04:00

Born in the U.S.A.

The truth about Obama's birth certificate...It's the real thing morons!

FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said.

Update: The director of Hawaii’s Department of Health confirmed that Obama was born in Honolulu.

Analysis

Update Nov. 1: The Associated Press quoted Chiyome Fukino as saying that both she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.

Fukino also was quoted by several other news organizations. The Honolulu Advertiser quoted Fukino as saying the agency had been bombarded by requests, and that the registrar of statistics had even been called in at home in the middle of the night.

Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 1 2008: "This has gotten ridiculous," state health director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said yesterday. "There are plenty of other, important things to focus on, like the economy, taxes, energy." . . . Will this be enough to quiet the doubters? "I hope so," Fukino said. "We need to get some work done."

Fukino said she has “personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures."

Since we first wrote about Obama's birth certificate, speculation on his citizenship has continued apace. Some claim that Obama posted a fake birth certificate to his Web page. That charge leaped from the blogosphere to the mainstream media earlier this week when Jerome Corsi, author of a book attacking Obama, repeated the claim in an interview with Steve Doocy on Fox News.

Corsi: Well, what would be really helpful is if Senator Obama would release primary documents like his birth certificate. The campaign has a false, fake birth certificate posted on their website. How is anybody supposed to really piece together his life?
Doocy: What do you mean they have a "false birth certificate" on their Web site?
Corsi: The original birth certificate of Obama has never been released, and the campaign refuses to release it.
Doocy: Well, couldn't it just be a State of Hawaii-produced duplicate?
Corsi: No, it's a -- there's been good analysis of it on the Internet, and it's been shown to have watermarks from Photoshop. It's a fake document that's on the Web site right now, and the original birth certificate the campaign refuses to produce.

Corsi isn't the only skeptic claiming that the document is a forgery. Among the most frequent objections we saw on forums, blogs and e-mails are:

The birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal.
It isn't signed.
No creases from folding are evident in the scanned version.
In the zoomed-in view, there's a strange halo around the letters.
The certificate number is blacked out.
The date bleeding through from the back seems to say "2007," but the document wasn't released until 2008.
The document is a "certification of live birth," not a "certificate of birth."

Recently FactCheck representatives got a chance to spend some time with the birth certificate, and we can attest to the fact that it is real and three-dimensional and resides at the Obama headquarters in Chicago. We can assure readers that the certificate does bear a raised seal, and that it's stamped on the back by Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka (who uses a signature stamp rather than signing individual birth certificates). We even brought home a few photographs.

The Obama birth certificate, held by FactCheck writer Joe Miller

Alvin T. Onaka's signature stamp

The raised seal

Blowup of text

You can click on the photos to get full-size versions, which haven't been edited in any way, except that some have been rotated 90 degrees for viewing purposes.

The certificate has all the elements the State Department requires for proving citizenship to obtain a U.S. passport: "your full name, the full name of your parent(s), date and place of birth, sex, date the birth record was filed, and the seal or other certification of the official custodian of such records." The names, date and place of birth, and filing date are all evident on the scanned version, and you can see the seal above.

The document is a "certification of birth," also known as a short-form birth certificate. The long form is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information such as birth weight and parents' hometowns. The short form is printed by the state and draws from a database with fewer details. The Hawaii Department of Health's birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate, but their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department. We tried to ask the Hawaii DOH why they only offer the short form, among other questions, but they have not given a response.

The scan released by the campaign shows halos around the black text, making it look (to some) as though the text might have been pasted on top of an image of security paper. But the document itself has no such halos, nor do the close-up photos we took of it. We conclude that the halo seen in the image produced by the campaign is a digital artifact from the scanning process.
We asked the Obama campaign about the date stamp and the blacked-out certificate number. The certificate is stamped June 2007, because that's when Hawaii officials produced it for the campaign, which requested that document and "all the records we could get our hands on" according to spokesperson Shauna Daly. The campaign didn't release its copy until 2008, after speculation began to appear on the Internet questioning Obama's citizenship. The campaign then rushed to release the document, and the rush is responsible for the blacked-out certificate number. Says Shauna: "[We] couldn't get someone on the phone in Hawaii to tell us whether the number represented some secret information, and we erred on the side of blacking it out. Since then we've found out it's pretty irrelevant for the outside world." The document we looked at did have a certificate number; it is 151 1961 - 010641.

Blowup of certificate number

Some of the conspiracy theories that have circulated about Obama are quite imaginative. One conservative blogger suggested that the campaign might have obtained a valid Hawaii birth certificate, soaked it in solvent, then reprinted it with Obama's information. Of course, this anonymous blogger didn't have access to the actual document and presents this as just one possible "scenario" without any evidence that such a thing actually happened or is even feasible.

We also note that so far none of those questioning the authenticity of the document have produced a shred of evidence that the information on it is incorrect. Instead, some speculate that somehow, maybe, he was born in another country and doesn't meet the Constitution's requirement that the president be a "natural-born citizen."

We think our colleagues at PolitiFact.com, who also dug into some of these loopy theories put it pretty well: "It is possible that Obama conspired his way to the precipice of the world’s biggest job, involving a vast network of people and government agencies over decades of lies. Anything’s possible. But step back and look at the overwhelming evidence to the contrary and your sense of what’s reasonable has to take over."

In fact, the conspiracy would need to be even deeper than our colleagues realized. In late July, a researcher looking to dig up dirt on Obama instead found a birth announcement that had been published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Sunday, Aug. 13, 1961:

Obama's birth announcement

The announcement was posted by a pro-Hillary Clinton blogger who grudgingly concluded that Obama "likely" was born Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu.

Of course, it's distantly possible that Obama's grandparents may have planted the announcement just in case their grandson needed to prove his U.S. citizenship in order to run for president someday. We suggest that those who choose to go down that path should first equip themselves with a high-quality tinfoil hat. The evidence is clear: Barack Obama was born in the U.S.A.

Update: We received responses to some of our questions from the Hawaii Department of Health. They couldn't tell us anything about their security paper, but they did answer another frequently-raised question: why is Obama's father's race listed as "African"? Kurt Tsue at the DOH told us that father's race and mother's race are supplied by the parents, and that "we accept what the parents self identify themselves to be." We consider it reasonable to believe that Barack Obama, Sr., would have thought of and reported himself as "African." It's certainly not the slam dunk some readers have made it out to be.

When we asked about the security borders, which look different from some other examples of Hawaii certifications of live birth, Kurt said "The borders are generated each time a certified copy is printed. A citation located on the bottom left hand corner of the certificate indicates which date the form was revised." He also confirmed that the information in the short form birth certificate is sufficient to prove citizenship for "all reasonable purposes."
–by Jess Henig, with Joe Miller

Sources

United States Department of State. "Application for a U.S. Passport." Accessed 20 Aug. 2008.

State of Hawaii Department of Health. "Request for Certified Copy of Birth Record." Accessed 20 Aug. 2008.

Hollyfield, Amy. "Obama's Birth Certificate: Final Chapter." Politifact.com. 27 Jun. 2008.

The Associated Press. "State declares Obama birth certificate genuine" 31 Oct 2008.

Nakaso, Dan. "Obama's certificate of birth OK, state says; Health director issues voucher in response to 'ridiculous' barrage" Honolulu Advertiser 1 Nov 2008.

5 Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do (got this from a friend)

2011-03-16T00:45:00.000-04:00

Got this from a friend....haven't tested it out yet.....if you have tried any of these things, please post your experience.
FIRST (Emergency)
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.
SECOND (Locked Keys in Car)Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone:    If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!'

THIRD (Hidden Battery Power)
Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.

FOURTH (How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?)To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following Digits on your phone:
                    *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe.
If your phone is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

And Finally....
FIFTH (Free Directory Service for Cells)

Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial:                 (800) FREE411 or   (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.
This is sponsored by McDonalds.

Lady Gaga - "Born This Way" Video

2011-02-28T17:17:00.000-05:00

OK, since the video I posted of her performance on TV was taken down, here is the official video. You have to put up with a commercial that lasts 60 seconds 1st, then the video.

FINALLY

2011-02-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

Dictator Mubarak has finally stepped down.....cheers to the Egyptian People.....that is all!

yet another iconic photo of a brave protester smooching a bewildered cop

2011-01-29T12:06:00.000-05:00

A protester kisses a police officer during a demonstration in Cairo January 28, 2011

Egypt - Continued - Another Day of Rage

2011-01-29T00:05:00.001-05:00

What message are we sending the Egyptian people, when Obama and Clinton are stating that they basically support Mubarak AND THE PEOPLE?!?! while the roads are littered with tear gas canisters fired at the people clearly marked, "Made in the U.S.A."?!?!

Is that the democracy we bring to Egypt? We support the dictator, supply him with weapons to use against his people and send him a little over 1 billion US dollars a year? Really?!

Egypt - Your Thoughts? - Please Comment

2011-01-26T17:53:00.000-05:00

Anti-government protesters fill Cairo's Tahrir Square

Christmas Review

2010-12-28T11:35:00.001-05:00

There is something about Christmas that makes my heart leap....kind of like the first real snow storm of the season. I can't explain why, as the holidays have always been hard for me....but I still get that feeling.

This year was the hardest year ever and we're not out of the woods yet.

We lost our sweet little Alex this year. Having to put him down was the hardest thing I have ever done and I miss him soooooo much. We lost him on December 23rd last year.

If that wasn't enough, Tina's mom took a turn for the worst, and our lives revolved around taking care of her and spending time with her. We made a lot of memories, and are very grateful for the time we had with her. After months of going in and out of hospitals and nursing homes and back home again, we lost June on June 21st. We knew it was coming, but nothing really prepares you for something like that.

Tina, who was holding it together some how, went to the doctor to get a note to return to work after taking some time to make arrangements for and morning her mom. She had a lump.

If you read my other blog at http://cancersucksass.blogspot.com , you know that within days she was diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer......meaning it started in her breast, but spread to her lymph nodes, under her arm and across her chest, they also found nodes in her lungs and her liver that we could not biopsy, because it was too dangerous. We are still going through chemotherapy. Lat chemo. is January 14th if all goes well, then we re-evaluate. The plan being surgery with a 6 week recovery, and then radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks.

Like I said, we're not out of the woods yet.....By this time next year, I hope we are both healthy, employed, and planning a much needed vacation....followed by adopting a pup to love. That's what I will be drinking to on New Years Eve.

We spent the last 2 weeks cleaning out her mom's house. Thanks to my friend Katie and her pick-up truck, it went smoothly.....just a few things to wrap up tonight and we're done.

The day after Christmas we were hit with a blizzard and it was nice to be snowed in with my girl.

That's about it....may 2011 be a healing year, a growing year and a wonderful year for all of us.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-15T05:59:00.001-05:00

Think Geek Tuesday

2010-12-14T08:48:00.003-05:00

This is just EEEEEEVIL!....thus, I must love it! (insert evil laughter here)

The Micro Sonic Grenade is perfect for cubical warfare...if you have a loud coworker who gets on your nerves, might I suggest a way to get even? Small enough to hide and retrieve later....he he he

Step #1 - Set the Alarm & desired delay (so you have time to get away)
Step #2 - Plant the device
Step #3 - RUN!

New Anna Vissi Video

2010-12-12T22:58:00.002-05:00

This is for my Greek followers....if I have any....LOL

Think Geek Tuesday

2010-12-07T08:23:00.003-05:00

Rovio - WiFi Roaming Bot

This is the coolest Geek Toy Ever!

Rovio is a robotic webcam with microphone and speaker for 2-way audio. This wi-fi connected bad little bot will stream video and audio to your favorite web-enabled browser anywhere in the world! Use your PC, your MAC, your iPhone, even your PS3 to control Rovio. Drive the bot around the house, take pictures of the family and e-mail them to friends. All this can be done from thousands of miles away.

If only I could justify spending this kind of money!

Click the pic. above to buy this baby

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-01T11:53:00.000-05:00

My Grandmother (left) and my Great Aunt (right) when they were still alive and came to visit us here in America when I was a little girl.

Think Geek Tuesday

2010-11-30T20:22:00.001-05:00

For those who don't know....I am obsessed with geek gadgets and. well...all things geek. If I were to win the lottery, there would be one strange shopping trip.

Anywho.....an old friend turned me on to this website called ThinkGeek.com and I quickly signed up for their email list, and cataloge, which I just got in the mail today and can't put down...I love this stuff so much (I know, I'm sick).

Since I don't want to drive Tina crazy with my constant, "look at this".....I'm going to drive you (my 2 or 3 readers...LOL) crazy with Think Geek Tuesdays....starting now.

Shot Glasses Ice Trays

How perfect is this? (especially for vodka drinkers)....probably messy inside, but great for summer parties in the back yard.

Click Picture above if you want to buy this

North, South Korean forces trade fire; 2 South Korean marines dead

2010-11-23T09:22:00.000-05:00

Something Fun to Share....LOL

2010-11-08T22:23:00.003-05:00

Takes a few seconds to load....but worth it, for the laugh....enjoy

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

RONALDO

2010-09-13T23:45:00.000-04:00

See the revealing spot ofChristiano Ronaldo for underwear company Armani.
Note that in a few days, the video was over 1,200,000Views on Youtube.

KATastrophe Blog

Looking Good

Got a Job and a Puppy

Brave Bitch

Silence is Acceptance....

The job search continues...

Pride 2011 Events List - UPDATED

Come check out and like the Official Pride 2011 Face Book Page by clicking HERE

August

September

October

November

December

LET's SEE TRUMPS TAX RECORDS!

OBAMA's LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Donald Trump Shut the F#ck Up!

5 Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do (got this from a friend)

Lady Gaga - "Born This Way" Video

FINALLY

yet another iconic photo of a brave protester smooching a bewildered cop

Egypt - Continued - Another Day of Rage

Egypt - Your Thoughts? - Please Comment

Christmas Review

Wordless Wednesday

Think Geek Tuesday

New Anna Vissi Video

Think Geek Tuesday

Wordless Wednesday

Think Geek Tuesday

North, South Korean forces trade fire; 2 South Korean marines dead

Something Fun to Share....LOL

RONALDO