That is awful but it's not necessarily just a pit bull problem...

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tragedy. I read on a website 2 seperate stories of how the Amish are dealing with this. Yes, they are sad, but they believe that they will (and I do too) see their children again and that they are in a much better place. They have reached out to the gunman's family, visiting the killer's wife and children and offering them forgiveness. I also read that they want to "help" the gunman's family monetarily through a Mennonite fund if they need help! The article contrasted the Amish to other school tragedies where lawsuits were filed and death threats were made against the family members of the ones who committed the murders!

They are such graceful, loving people. Different, yet. Weird? In a way. But you have to admit that without electricity or vehicles to get them around, they obviously live a faith that most of us could only wish we had inside of us. I am a Christian. If a madman entered my children's school and killed them, could I offer forgiveness to their family? I doubt it. Could I weep in peace and silence knowing that I would someday see my children again? Maybe. But I would be a wretched mess and everyone around me would KNOW my suffering.

I am learning a great deal about the Amish through this. I used to live near PA where seeing the Amish was a regular occurrence. I thought they were so crazy and weird.....But, it was my own ignorance that made those judgments. They are wonderful, Godly people. I admire them more and more as I continue to read how they are dealing with this awful event!


Top 10 Advantages of ADD in a High-Tech Career
Having ADD can be the competitive edge

	Pete Quily (addcoach)

I have Attention Deficit Disorder (which I find is more of a surplus of attention, really). I coach adults with ADD, have an ADD resource website with over 100 pages of information, an ADD blog, and lead the Vancouver Adult ADD support group. So, I'm fairly familiar with ADD. I've been using Mac computers for 20 years, sold them for seven, and have spent thousands of hours on the net. So, I'm fairly familiar with the high-tech world.

I've noticed many similarities between the two worlds.

I believe there are disproportionately many with ADD who work in high-tech. Approximately five percent of the population has ADD and 85 per cent of adults with ADD don't know they have it. It seems to me that ADD and high-tech are natural fits. The constant change in the high-tech world can be stressful and troubling for some people but is often stimulating and energizing for the ADD-er. A great source of Dopamine hits. Although there are no specific statistics, a number of other ADD experts I've talked with agree with my observation.

Many only see the problems associated with ADD, and many, especially men, avoid getting a diagnosis. This avoidance is attributable to ADD's portrayal as an almost totally pathological condition, which causes it to be viewed as just a weakness.

To give some perspective and to help those in the industry recognize and develop their ADD-related strengths as well as manage their ADD challenges, I thought I'd list some advantages of having ADD in the wired world.

I also hope this might help those who may be afraid of getting diagnosed and treated (medication, coaching, therapy etc.) for ADD because of those who condemn ADD as a moral failure with claims like "there's no such thing as ADD, turn off the TV, stop eating sugar, beat your kid more often, and twirl around 3 times and tap your heels and it will go away." ADD is an inherited neurobiological condition. Every medical and psychological association has stated this. As more people see the advantages of having ADD, they will actually be more inclined to seek diagnosis and treatment. Some wrongly believe ADD is negatively related to IQ or that all ADD-ers are slow learners or below average IQ. I have it and made the dean's honors list, and many PhDs have it. MENSA has an ADD special interest group with more than 300 members. It comes down to a difference in brain wiring, and in some fields, such as high-tech, marketing, media and the arts, entrepreneurship, etc., the unique wiring of the ADD brain is a competitive advantage.

Top Ten ADD Advantages in a Hi-Tech Career

1. The Ability to Hyperfocus

This means hours of full engagement and concentration on a task, IF you find it interesting. You can get into the zone and be totally immersed in what you're doing, while the outside world disappears. When I went on the net for the first time in 1993 at an Internet cafe, I got on the machine at 8 p.m. and around 4 a.m. decided it was time to go home.

2. Rapid-fire Mind

Your brain processes information at hyperspeed. You can do things in 30 minutes on a computer that might take other people hours. The downside is if you're stuck with old hardware and not enough RAM you'll be frustrated because it can't keep up with the speed of your brain.

3. Multitasking at Will

You're able to run 14 applications at a time and effortlessly switch among them without breaking into a sweat and are able to do several projects at a time with ease.

4. High Energy Level

You're able to keep going on a project. If it's interesting, an ADD-er will be more into creative and entrepreneurial activities than clerical or repetitive ones. 14-hour days? No problem, adrenaline is my fuel source.

5. Highly Creative

You're able to think beyond the box. This comes naturally to ADD-ers, while others pay handsomely to learn this. Since you take in more information than the average person does, and you're easily distracted, you're more likely to view a problem from more angles than vanilla people (non ADD-ers) and therefore come up with more possible solutions to a problem. Need an idea generator? Find an ADD-er.

6. Quick Learner

ADD arises mainly out of boredom - you have no trouble paying attention to something if it's interesting. Most people find it difficult to do boring or repetitive things, but these can often totally shut an ADD-er down. Your rapid-fire brain + highly creative mind + the ability to hyperfocus equals fast absorption of new information. Dr. Ed Hallowell, who has ADD and has written several Delivered from Distraction : Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder, said he stopped teaching psychiatry at Harvard University because the non-ADD-er brains were just to slow. He got tired of being continually frustrated waiting for them to catch up to the ADD students.

7. Stimulus-Seeking Brain

A perfect match for the wired world: an under-stimulated brain and an over-stimulated virtual environment. Being an info junkie can be a good thing. Well, not always.

8. Constantly Scanning your Environment

This allows you to notice more and find information and resources that others miss, to see possible problems before they arise, and discern opportunities that others may not see because they have tunnel vision vs. multiplex vision. An ADD-er invented the electronic ticket.

9. Great in a Crisis

In a high-energy, intense situation, with lots of chaos and change? Sign me up - I thrive on stimulation, change, and chaos. We can create order from chaos effortlessly. We can also create such an environment as well, if needed.

10. Risk Taker

Impulsivity means you're more willing to take risks and have a bias for action, acting now while the opportunity is hot instead of getting into analysis paralysis. Many entrepreneurs have ADD, e.g., Paul Orfalea, who founded Kinko's, JetBlue Founder and CEO David Neeleman, who attributes his creativity to ADD. Both are billionaires. Imagine how successful a high-tech CEO would be if they didn't take many risks.

These are just a start of the advantages of ADD - for more go to the list of 151 positive characteristics of people with ADD at my ADD Resource website.

This is not to say there are no disadvantages or real problems associated with ADD in a high-tech career. There most certainly are, and if you don't learn to manage them they can cause a great deal of trouble and grief to you and those around you, but that's another article.

This has appeared on my ADD website http://www.addcoach4u.com and my ADD Blog http://www.adultaddstrengths.com.

2006-02-18 18:29

�2006 OhmyNews

in the Independence, MO area. The city governments have passed laws banning pit bulls and last week something like 100+ pitbulls were picked up by animal control or dropped off at the city pound and all were destroyed.

Personally, I think the owners of these animals should be held just as accountable as the dog. Well, I guess maybe putting the owner to sleep is a bit extreme.

Gross lines are not a good way to go if everything is typed in - say - Times New Roman 12, and the client wants the left and right margins set at - say - one inch each. You would have a LOT of characters per line, so if that is the case, you might come out ahead and better by charging for a 50 or 55 character line instead of a gross line. What do you think?

I would take an MT with 20 plus years of hard and fast experience over a paper tested MT any day.

If the docs spoke clearly and in orderly fashion, it would still require an extensive knowledge of medical language, procedures, and of course grammar, to do this job. It would just make that knowledge more important.

It sounds like they expect you to sit around all day and wait for a job or dare I say TWO to come in. I think they wanted you at the beck and call. Not funny and isn't like you work solely for the joy.

I have not had a contract terminated for getting another job. I have had a company insist that I put them first, which for a full time, I think goes without saying. Moonlighting is moonlighting. I did have someone refuse to offer me a contract part time because of the people I was working for full time, saying they were a direct competitor. The full time has about 400 MTs and this small company who refused me had about 35 MTs. I don't think they were in serious competition, but I suppose that is their call.

I think you are better off without them, but you didn't deserve to be treated that way. They sound unprofessional and inconsiderate. I wish you better luck with your new company. Change can be good...sometimes VERY good.

I do use IT as my Expander - love it. I'm not one who briefs everything, but it save me a ton of time and worth every penny 10 fold. Another must have is the Stedman's spellchecker dictionary.

I wish I had the secret to staying focused. Like many, I lollygag, waste time on the internet surfing, get distracted by household obligations, etc. Honestly, if I would do a straight 8 hours of working, I'd probably make 20-30k more a year. I tend to work a chunk in the morning to mid afternoon and then a few hours at night.

The main thing is to find a company that gives you the opportunity to make money. Find a couple specialties you like and are good at. Find work in those areas. Best if you can find work where you don't have more than a moderate handful of doctors where you can really build speed. If a company isn't paying you for every keystroke you type - get out.

Go beyond what everybody else does to look for opportunities. As it's been said before, the best companies don't advertise. There are a lot of people happy with several companies that do advertise on these boards, but I believe that the smaller companies are the best.

Track your lines. You should be able to type 250-300 lines an hour without too much problem if you are working in a productive environment. If you can only do 150 lines in an hour, then stop and say what is slowing me down. Is it constantly looking up words? It is the platform? Is it extra things you do other than typing that your company requires? If the problem is something you can't alter, i.e. company requirements or platform, start seeking other work.

when I feel upset, overwhelmed, or down about my situation, I try to think of how worse others may have it. For instance, maybe your husband is facing 6 weeks of recovery from surgery... but somewhere out there somebody's husband has been delivered a grim prognosis and would give anything for a 6 week "recovery."

You say you're an orphan... But looking on the positive side you do have a husband and children (however trying they may be at times), and someday they will have spouses and children and your family will be ever larger. That's a good thing.

Again, not to diminish your problems in any way, just trying to share how I sometimes help myself through tough times, by reminding myself that things can actually be much much worse.