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I watched Mandisa (?) sing an awesome Christian song THAT I LOVE!!! I thought she knocked it out of the park. Of course, being a secular show, Simon detested it as it probably convicted him to no end........

I wanted to actually vote for the first time since idol aired, but I just didn't that night.  I should have.  She was voted off (so I hear) because she sang a Christian song?

Sounds to me like it's the best thing that happened to her.  Must be God's way of telling her no to be an artist in the secular world.  I hope she gets a Christian label because I will be the first in line to buy her music. 

No flames please. Unless you are a Christian, you will NOT get my post.

I want to know this because my fiancee is in the military and will be going to the UK for a few months and I want to go with him but keep my job.  Is this even possible?

Thanks

Does anyone have any juicy gossip us MT's are forced to hear when docs forget to hang up the phone after dictating? 

Well, I had a 57 minute report to listen to once, coming from the surgeon's lounge.  Most of it was pretty boring - except when this one, young, cute surgeon was talking about how good it feels to put BenGay on his testicles!!!!   I kid you not people - this is what I heard. I thought I was going to fall off the chair.  And do you know, to this day, I cannot look that guy in the eye without envisioning that!!!  God help me!!   lol

I am wondering what it takes to advance to another position in the MT field.  I've been an MT for about 13 years, acute care for 12 of those years.  I'm tired of typing and have done QA as well, but the pay is horrible.  What does it take to move up the ladder to another position, such as MT supervisor or account manager?  I'm just curious. I know there are probably many more qualified people than I out there for any such position, but curiosity has got me as to the general qualifications and average salaries of each.  Anyone know?  Thanks....

All of sudden all my macros give me the "Code Execution has been Interrupted."  Then I have to click Continue, End, Debug, or Help.

Why is this happening?  I've tried deleting the macros and re-recording them, but it keeps doing it.  HELP!  It's making me crazy.

Face it - the nationals are going to outsource alot more.  We are no longer immune to the economy.  They are just waiting for some of you to leave - and you will.  Using your PTO now (at their convenience) just means they don't have to pay it to you later.  You can not FIRE someone for lack of performance if there is a lack of work.  The number one eligibility for worker's comp is lack of work and the nationals certainly can't deny that.  If your income has been cut by one-third for 60 days or more, there are better incomes out there (maybe not with nationals), but the American companies do provide good pay, steady work, and understand and respect your rights as a worker.  If it is unemployment you want, do not quit.  Find out now how it works in your state.  There is about a week's waiting period.  You only get about 50% of your income for anywhere from 13-26 weeks.

For those of you who have no choice except to stay - do some research.  If you are full time with good performance records, benefits, and PTO - your job is just as legitimate as if you worked in a factory or any institution in YOUR state.  Your job has to be defined - hours, work, etc.  If your company is not supplying the work, then that changes your job definition.  There are laws in every state to protect you as a worker.  Know them.  They can be different state to state.  Remember, standing up for your rights may get you layed off and unemployment only lasts about 6 months. 

You would do all MTs a favor if you shared some of your research here on different state laws and better companies to work for.

In other professions like nursing, nurses can just sit around for hours on end and be paid the big bucks while you have to struggle through every line/minute for your pay. We should not tolerate being treated like this. We should be paid by the hour or at least paid a decent wage.

I need a USB foot pedal. I already have a serial adaptor. Is there such thing as an adaptor or do I have to buy a new one?

Thanks!

Okay --- tell me what you think about this odd little experience!

A friend of mine, a woman who is very well-off -- far more so than I will ever be -- over the years has routinely given me bags of her college-student daughter's clothing that she no longer wants.  Her daughter gets tired of stuff LONG before it even looks old, and I really like her particular taste in clothes.  We're pretty much the same size, too!  So I would always get this cool hand-me-down stuff to sort through, most of which I would keep.

Those I didn't keep were usually items that were a bit too small for me, usually skirts or pants.  Usually I would just take those to the Goodwill, but I have another friend that is slightly smaller than I, and also a lot poorer.  She's been unemployed much of the time I've known her, and really needed the clothes!  Since she usually shopped at the Goodwill anyway, I knew that giving her the stuff I couldn't wear would save her even more money.  That way all of my friend's daughter's clothing went to good use, and was enjoyed.  A win-win situation.  Or so I THOUGHT....

Unbeknownst to me, it turned out that the friend who gave me all these clothes could not STAND the friend that I was giving the too-small stuff to.  I didn't know this until one time when I told her how great it was that the other friend was so grateful to have the clothing that I didn't want, because then none of it had to go to the Goodwill, all went to good use, etc. etc.   WELL!  Instead she emails me and tells me that she cannot STAND my other friend, and absolutely does NOT want me to give any of the clothing I don't want to her, because she "doesn't want to see her wearing it."  (?????) 

I emailed back and said that although I respect whatever reasons she has not to like my other friend, that I DID have a problem with being told what I could or could not do with cast-off clothing that was given to me, and therefore MINE to do with as I saw fit.  I certainly didn't want to have to tell my other friend that I couldn't give her any more clothing because the person I received it from didn't like her and didn't want her to have it!  So, since we all have the same large group of friends and see each other often, I decided that I would just no longer accept used clothing from my friend's daughter anymore.  In order to try to keep the peace, I simply told her I "had no more room in my closets for any more stuff", though I'm sure she knows why I no longer want the clothes.  But, because of her control-freakishness about who wears these clothes, now both my other friend and I have lost out on a good thing.

   What's your take on that?  Don't you think that once you GIVE something to someone as a gift, that it is THEIRS to do with as they please, regardless of how you may happen to feel about it?  Does that sound odd to you? 

Surely someone else has encountered this problem.  Well, we got a brand spankin' new Dell XPS 420 to our door yesterday!  It is wonderful... I just have a slight problem.  Had Word 2007 loaded onto it and now trying to figure out how to convert my normal.dot from Word 2003 to this.  Any help?  It is loaded with a ton of info that I REALLY need. 

TIA

I just want to say thank you for posting how to remove the space after a ShortHand expansion.  I cannot believe how much that has helped my production.  Shorthand was a great help, but having to backspace all the time was a real pain.  I'm so glad I read your post, and thank you again for posting it.  I think of you everytime I don't have to backspace now!!!

/

I checked archives but didn't find much info - I don't do many op notes, and therefore don't have many reference books.  Do you use Google or could you recommend a really good book for me to get?  Thank you in advance.

I read an article in the Baltimore Business Journal about offshoring, and without getting into too much detail about the article I would like to send a follow up article back to the Baltimore Journal. 

Basically the AAMT representative stated in the article that "younger workers are not lining up to enter the profession."  And that the median age for a transcriptionist is 48-50 years of age.  I find this to be quite untrue as I do think there are younger and younger people entering this field, and I hope to be able to get information to back that up.  There are, of course, other things mentioned in the article that I will be doing the demographics on, but for now ... I would like to know what school program/course you attended, where you attended, and your age, and anything else you may want to add to help me with a "rebuttle" on the perks of offshoring.    I have left my email address.
Thank you

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service on Friday advised taxpayers on how to file for deductions passed by Congress too late to be included in 2006 forms.

Nearly 1 million taxpayers may not have their returns processed until early February, the agency warned.

The instructions involve three deductions renewed by Congress just before it adjourned two weeks ago and signed into law by President Bush this week: for state and local sales taxes in states that don't have income taxes, for higher tuition costs and for educator expenses.

The tax agency urged taxpayers seeking the three deductions to file electronically. Software will be updated to include the three tax provisions and taxpayers "will get their refunds faster through e-file," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "Even more importantly, e-file will greatly reduce the chances of making an error compared to claiming the deductions on the paper 1040."

The IRS said that some 6 million taxpayers in states without state income taxes who receive Form 1040 will by mid-January get a special mailing of Publication 600, which will include tables and instructions for claiming the sales tax deduction.

Publication 600 was also posted Friday to the IRS web site, http://www.irs.gov/.

Form 1040 will not be updated and the higher education and educator expense deductions cannot be claimed on Form 1040A.

The IRS said the deduction for tuition and fees can be claimed on Form 1040, line 35, "Domestic production activities deduction," by entering "T on the dotted line to the left of that line. Similarly, the educator expense adjustment can be claimed on line 23, "Archer MSA Deduction," by entering "E" on the dotted line to the left of that line entry.

The sales tax deduction was claimed on about 11.2 million tax returns filed for tax year 2005. It applies to nine states: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

The higher education provision, which allows deductions for up to $4,000 of tuition and fee costs, was claimed on about 4.7 million returns.

The educator expense provision, allowing teachers to deduct up to $250 for personal expenditures on school supplies, was claimed on 3.5 million returns.

The tax agency said it will not be able to process tax returns claiming these deductions until early February. It said that based on filings earlier this year, about 930,000 tax returns claimed any of the three provisions by Feb. 1. This year, the IRS expects to receive about 136 million tax returns.

The three tax breaks expired on Jan. 1 this year, and thus were no longer part of tax law when the main IRS forms went to print in early November.

Hi,

I am a recent M-TEC grad who is beginning the job search. Does anyone have any companies that they really like working for or have heard good things about? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Jen

My 9yo grandson is into ACDC. I want to turn him on to some alternatives. I am downloading some music for a Xmas present for him and need some suggestions as to something a 9yo ACDC fan might enjoy. Thanks.

Check the link below.  A really cool site to search for medical abbreviations.

the point here. And, perhaps that is the point!  We don't know who these oh-so-correct posters are. Perhaps they're management or ceo's.  Allowing ourselves to be distracted with that nonsense won't help our cause. What is important is to get a consensus and, perhaps, write a petition that all who are willing can sign. If we can do this on-line and then download and print it we can each send to whichever newspaper we choose and forward to our congressmen (and women) and senators. Does anyone here know how to set up a blog in which a petition can be drawn up. Let's use our talents (and our significant others' talents) to make this happen. And, yes, there were incidents a couple of years ago when a disgruntled employee overseas threatened to release patient information. There was nothing that could be done as HIPPA does not apply to off shore companies. I find that fact to be interesting and slightly suspect. It brings to mind lobbyists and makes me wonder "why" the HIPPA laws were written in such a manner. There is quite a lot of info here on that incident. Do a search on "release of patient information" or something like that and it will probably rise to the surface! If we all do what lawyers and pundits call "due diligence" (meaning extensive research) and have a forum on which to share this information we can put together a compelling letter and petition. Keep the conversation going and maybe we will find the right people on this website that can do a portion of what needs to be done, and so on.

The following post has information of the incident mentioned above.  I have edited as it is quite long and placed emphasis in certain areas.  Although it is long please make the effort to read it.

For some reason i am having a hard time with these.  Does anyone have an easy way to remember quickly?

Thanks!!

planetary alignment, fate, karma, kismet, or any of those things?  I don't know if I do or not, but my horoscope has been right on lately.  I've been thinking about quitting MT and going a different direction.  However, it's a humongous leap.  I'd be freelance, so I'd have to establish myself.  There are no guarantees that I could even cut it in the business.  I've been sticking with the MT to have my "fallback" money, but that leaves me no time to pursue this other career option.  The other thing I've been thinking about is trying to pick up a local account since I've had no luck trying to find ONE part-time MT job with steady work and a decent platform.  I'm just so frustrated with trying to juggle three jobs lately and having no time to pursue my interests.  Anyway, my horoscope today said I need to listen to that inner voice that's telling me to move on.  The rational part of me knows that horoscopes are just generalized to fit anyone.  Even my fortune cooky last night said something about following a different path.

Do MTSOs, nationals, usually pay for downtime for employees?  If so, what has been your experience - ever received downtime? your company's policy, i.e., pay for two days downtime?

Also, as an employee for a nat'l, if you have a set schedule, what do you do when very little work comes in, for example one dictation/hour?  At what point do you cut out?  I'm new to working for a national and this has happened a lot lately - I know, the holidays.  If there is little work, I usually only stay connected for two hours, let me sup. know, and call it a day. 

I swear, sometimes I hate this industry!!  Any other company, at least in my state, if there is no work, as an employee, you still get paid or after a certain period, you get unemployment...something!