The trees are the main concern in a hurricane (sm)
Posted By: txmt on 2006-10-06
In Reply to: Is it really? That's great! So did you stay - TM
the lake didn't even get close to the house during that supposed "100-year flood" in 1993 (not allison, the other one). We went to the other side of Houston for Rita, came back the next day. It was a mess with limbs all over but no trees down on our property. Next-door neighbor had 3 down. We've decided for the next one, we will stay in the garage and hope no trees fall on the house.
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trees
Well, you just helped me make up my mind--I'm planning to buy a new artificial tree on the 26th (love clearance sales!) and was debating because while I don't really care to have a prelit tree, it's getting harder to find a pretty tree without it. Looks like I'll keep shopping until I find one that's not prelit.
Of all my Christmas trees..
In the 1960s we had the aluminum tree with the color wheel! I still remember it vividly today (I was a small child). I was in an antique shop the other day and they had one set up as decoration (not for sale). I wanted one! I'll have to check E-Bay!
poplar trees sm
They grow tall, grow fast, die easily, one fell during a storm and broke a fence on the next street, my neighbor had to pay for a new fence, as that's the way it works, not your liability, stay away from them, they make a mess, unless you have an enemy.
I live in the NE and let me tell you, there is NO shortage of trees.
cc
Too many trees to see forest? My point was
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Interesting history of Christmas Trees
Christmas Trees
How it All Got Started | Trees Around the World | Rockefeller Center
Related Links | Tree Trivia
How it All Got Started
Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.
Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.
In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.
Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.
It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims's second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out "pagan mockery" of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.
In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas tree had arrived.
By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling.
The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American sect continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/trees.html
jobs don't fall off trees, have you noticed?
and the state labor board is like AAMT (s/b IAMT, Indian Assoc of Med. Trans.) not REALLY for the employee, if you know what I mean. Have they done anything for you?
i have wildblue and connection is very reliable to me with no trees, but sm
especially if you will be going through VPN, it won't be very productive for you cuz the VPN slows down the download rates. i am connected at 100 mbps but that is nothing. download rates are extremely slow, sometimes as slow as dial up.
I am am in a rural area with lots of trees - sm
so when I had Bluesky (or what ever the name it) come out they said too many trees for the satellite. My one neighbor just got Directv high speed.....she also has lots of trees. So I may be looking into that (have Directv now just not the internet hookup). But I currently use a Sierra Wireless Aircard 875U. Unlimited and costs me $67 a month. It is through AT&T but I know Verizon has it too, as well as Sprint. You need to make sure it works where you are first though, but their websites can help you there. I love it. Not as fast as DSL but a huge step up from dial-up. I have it set up to use on my desktop, laptop, my backup desktop, and my daughter's computer. The only thing I have with it is it does not work everywhere...when I try to use it on my laptop...unlike the commercial where they show the guy in the middle of Africa or wherever he is. But I have been very happy with it.
Hurricane Wilma
We were in Cancun when Wilma hit. Cancun will be quite some time before it is what it was pre Wilma. Currently, the Myan Riveria is in pretty good shape. Word is Cancun has 2/3 of the rooms open and beaches are still being worked on and dredging the ocean for sand to replace and of course, the major loss of greenery in plants and forest. Cozemel still does not have beachs, pools, or much else for that matter even now.
You can view some pix pre, during and after Wilma here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=6ater84.xr3iv10&Uy=62dqnx&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0
Squirrels Benefits from hurricane
As I type this morning, I have been watching, fascinated, two little squirrels in my garden. I have two pecan trees which were full and heavy before Hurricane Rita. Before the storm I watched them precariously edge on thin heavy branches to get to the pecans and then scamper from tree to tree back to their nest, where ever that may be (beyond my vision into the trees). Today, it is just as funny to watch them try to gather all the fallen pecans. They dash from spot to spot gathering and burying these nuts. They don't even seem worried about my cat and dog as they usually are. What a joy to work at home and be able to enjoy something like this.
Bringing up hurricane discussion
Just for some other information. When Hurricane Rita hit in Texas, i.e. Jasper, Beaumont area, these people were not prepared. They were not prepared because hurricanes do not come in that far inland. The Jasper area is one of the areas where most hurricane victims evacuate too. There are people in that area that are still without power including elderly people and children. Most of the surrounding areas (Pineland, Rosevine, Hemphill) are retirement areas. These are also low income areas as well. These people definitely would not have expected the hurricane to effect them in the way that it did, but it did.
Also, people in Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas were effected from it as well. Again, a hurricane never has come close to these areas and these areas are also where evacuees come. During the time we had evacuees from Galveston, Beaumont, Houston, and still the ones we had from Louisiana drained the resources that we did have here (not saying anything negative by this – just a statement). None of the businesses could get trucks in to deliver gas, food, ice, water, etc. When we did get gas delivered, the lines were so long that people were waiting 9-10 hours to get gas and of course by the time most got up there, it was gone again. This went on for several days. Even the Wal-Mart here and in Nacogdoches was only able to be open a few hours a day and for the first few days after the hurricane because of the amount of extra people in these areas, they finally had to limit the number of people they were allowing in the store at a time.
Some of you say, people should be prepared. I do agree and especially more so if you live in a coastal area. However, these people affected in the areas I mentioned above do not live on the coast; however, were heavily impacted by this natural disaster. You are saying these people don't deserver help?! Well let me tell you this. When we had a lot of LA evacuees here, FEMA stepped in and for a lot (not all of course) they received $2000.00 for help with housing, another $600.00 for food, and there $400.00 for something else (honestly do not remember what it was).
However, my mother and father-in-law who are elderly went 14 days without power, lost everything in the freezer and refrigerator, and they are also raising 2 of their grandchildren (both young teenagers). They were unable to get FEMA to help with anything.
I guess the point is this. Before spouting off about who needs to do what or who the government does or does not need to help (or where you tax monies go), you might want to think about the fact that this was a natural disaster and therefore, no one can ever really be prepared for one. I hope none of you ever have to deal with anything like this. It is not a pretty site in this area right now. Clean up is still going on. There are still trees down on houses and cars. How would you feel if this were you?
By the way, yes I do feel that my family was very lucky to come through it unscathed; however, some were not so lucky.
Just my 2 cents.
Height of hurricane season is Aug-Oct. (SM)
A friend booked a FL vacation during September. Told her don't do it. She still did. She had to cancel the entire vacation and "could not believe a hurricane hit." I always told family/friends to never go anywhere in the Atlantic, Gulf, FL, islands during hurricane season but they book it anyway because it's cheaper, then they complain about hurricanes ruined their plans. DUH!
Oreck!! The BEST! & Hurricane Katrina
They are a company in New Orleans, I believe, and in chatting with their reps, they said how much their company was flattened by Katrina. I ordered mine right after the hurricane - had to wait a bit, but SO worth it. I have since learned that most hotels use Orecks for cleaning - they are AMAZING. Only wish I had one years ago...And yes, the little one is awesome, too!! I look forward to vacuuming - sick, huh?!
Would you walk three blocks in 110 degrees at 3 p.m. in Arizona - no trees, no breeze, no wet SM
except for sweat. It's brutal.
Now is 110 and supposed to get hotter. Yesterday was 113 in the shade
Anyone ever plant hybrid poplar trees? They are those fast grow ones
that are supposed to grow 8 feet a year. Some claim they send up too many "sucker" shoots from the root areas, some love em. I need a wind break on the N. and W. sides of my lot, and was thinking of these. Anybody ever plant these?
No, unless a hurricane is on its way, the Olympics are on, or news like today's. nm
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Just stay away from Florida during hurricane season. nm
:)
Any medical centers in hurricane area need help?
How can we find out and how can we help?
http://www.gonzalescofc.com/hurricane.html
x
thinking of going to Cancun. Did the hurricane hit it too hard?
1 hurricane in 30 years or every year. I'd take Texas :)
Just kidding with u but I have been to Florida..... Talk about illegals! woweee. Not saying all over, just where I have been. See...... generalizations help no one. If you don't live there, you do not know so please consider your response. And, yes I was actually raised in Pasadena/Houston TX area and NO WAY would I want to live there again. :)
mostly trees limbs causing damage by falling on wires and rooftops
much minor roof damage and blew signs down around in those towns, enough to tell there was a storm, but NOTHING like further south!
I have two artificial flame resistant trees in my garage. Too bad you're not closer!
DH has to have the real thing, which I don't care for.
Thanks for your concern - sm
All of these possibilities have run through my mind too.
In truth, I think the dad was trying to protect her, given the tragedy they have faced in the last year. At least that is the one possibility that I am hoping. That one can be forgiven as compared to other possibilities.
I can't even imagine what must be going through her head. As a mother, I would want to protect my kids too if they had been hurt as she has.
I did a little internet searching on the story he gave me and did find that the accident and deaths really did happen so I don't doubt that at all. I think it's dad trying to do his best and trying to protect her from further hurting but also trying to do the right thing too.
On my steps this morning I found a little bouquet of flowers. I think they may have been from her. Sure, they were picked from my flower beds but... hey, it's a gesture and looks like a little kid put them together.
Again, I'm holding out for putting the best foot forward and try to be a good neighbor.
Everyone deserves a second chance.
Thanks for your concern - sm
I don't think she's going to be a problem.
When my husband and I divorced, my little angels turned into monsters. They were angry, confused, and scared. This little girl lost her mother and her baby brother. They aren't coming back and it's still pretty fresh.
My kids see their dad every other weekend so they know he's still around.
Just try to put yourself in her shoes at that age. Wow, that's a big thing for such a little girl to handle.
I think her dad is doing his best, has her in counseling, has his sister helping him learn to be Mr. Mom, and just trying to be everything to his daughter.
From what I gathered from my conversation with him the day after the puppy incident, he was absent from the home a lot on business before the accident. Said he had no clue what to do after his wife and son were gone. Said he thought he was a dad before but this whole thing opened his eyes to what he was missing.
The guy has moved across state, lost his wife and son, trying to learn all over again to parent his remaining child, and starting a new career so he can spend more time with his daughter.
I think I'm safe with a 10 year old. I'll be more aware of what is going on when she is around but, she's 10. Still a baby to me.
By the way, they have accepted my invitation to dinner Friday night, all three of them.
It's going to be okay.
After my not so nice divorce (husband is now living with the reason for our divorce) I have learned that I really do have more patience than I thought myself capable of. Dealing with the nasty GF of the husband, the husband's betrayal, the kids anger for the separation and then the divorce, and my inital feeling of failure... I could list a million things but, I'm happy now, my kids are happy, I get along well enough with the ex, civil with his girlfriend, heck, this little bump over the puppy is small taters next to the past few years I have had.
I don't plan on saving the girl. I just feel bad for her and I know that her healing is just beginning. Doesn't help if I encourage my kids to alienate her. Not very nice of me as an adult either. Just because of one incident out of 6 months. No, I think she deserves a little understanding, forgiveness, and patience.
Thanks for your concern. sm
I have been in this business 25+ years and have had my own hospital clients for years. I know what happens when administration changes. I appreciate your concern, but believe me, I will be fine.
Why would some be so worried about another's line rate? If it is true concern, it is quite refreshing to see such caring fellow MTs rather than the bitter bunch usually here.
Thanks again, and best of luck to you.
Good luck to you.
no, I do not. thanks for your concern.--nm
nm
Yes, this is a concern.
Can you say which region of the country you are in? I have a feeling when this EMR stuff gets rolling, it's really going to impact MT quickly. My personal physician's group (in Michigan) uses it now for their office notes and has absolutely no need for transcription services.
Is Hurricane Dennis affecting anyone's work today?
nm
Figure out a way to stop a freakin' category 5 hurricane?
This was a NATURAL disaster, hello! How do you stop a 175 mph powerhouse? You don't..you just get out of the way.
See hurricane board for ways to help N.O.area animals. NM
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Hurricane Rita just upgraded to Category 5 with winds of 165 mph
I hope everyone from TX stays safe. Learn from Katrina.
People die and lose everything on a daily basis, not just hurricane
victims. I wish people would stop insinuating that everyone in the country who is getting on with their own lives is selfish or uncaring.
If you're a baby boomer, you certainly remember aluminum trees w/ color wheel.I
a
What was the concern regarding Transform??
\
Overhiring is becoming a big concern.
Frequently, we are asked to get off the account we are working on as there is not enough work to go around, but this is sporadic, yet has been happening a lot lately so I suspect overhiring. If this continues, I may have to find another job, which is a shame because they are good person there but that will not pay my bills.
I think your concern is well founded. sm
I am looking to start re-schooling in the next year to get into a profession that cannot be offshored. Globalism is here to stay, and all jobs that can be used to extend corporation control into the global society will do just that. No sense not paying attention to the handwriting on the wall.
If benefits are a concern...
I would just find an job working from home that offers benefits. My job allows me to make money by the line, and also as long as I work full time, I get benefits. As the other poster, I too like being able to work from home and not deal with traffic getting to work, gas, work clothes, eating out, putting children in childcare, etc. It saves me so much money this way.
Also, I have been doing this for six years, and I haven't known any of the doctors personally.
Benefits are a concern. I am currently
working as an IC, and I am sick of the tax stuff - really wondering if I come out ahead to be honest working that way. I definitely want benefits and have a prospective company interested in hiring me that offers benefits. I have always known the doctors I have worked for. I guess it's sort of a new working situation for me not to know the person I am typing for. I don't know if I would miss that. Do you find it hard to deal with a company who is across country that you can't just drive to at a moment's notice if you have a problem and can't communicate by phone or email with anyone?
Please take this as intended; as concern
Hair colorants can be quite toxic; you may want to research here. I have no affiliation with this site other than I wish to be an educated consumer and I am concerned about what I put in and on my body. Not trying to be preachy. Good luck to you.
http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/index.php
I understand your concern....
Sheri would like you guys to know this: When the site goes down and is replaced with old posts, then you will know it has been taken over. Please know she is working to get a new site at mtstars.net and it will be working as soon as possible. I do not work for MTStars and am just a poster but know what cybersquatting is. This is real. Be aware that a person has taken hostage the *domain name* for money (extortion) and if she doesn't comply in 12-24 hours, he will take over the site. This is real!
My concern about newbies getting a job -
In response to a previous post on newbies finding a job - I've been typing for almost 15 years and was lucky enough to "learn the right way" from a great mentor, learning all specialties. Editing speech rec jobs is relatively easy when you have the background in all specialties like "us old folks".
At least for right now, I believe speech rec is only as good as the experienced Editor behind it to eyeball and correct any errors. I hate to admit it, but speech rec has made dramatic improvements in its accuracy over the last few years. It's here to stay, it's improving - and surprisingly, the people I work with really enjoy editing.
My concern though is when the old folks like me in the field retire, and many of us are getting close. Newbies need the opportunity to get in the door and gain their experience in all specialties to take over as the older folks leave the field. There needs to be mentors to continue to be available to these newbies to guide them along the way. There are good schools out there, but to "learn it all" you really need to be actively working in the field on a job that gives the opportunity to learn all specialties.
This is my concern as speech recognition becomes more and more successful. We will continue to need quality, seasoned transcriptionists to become quality, well rounded editors in the future.
I've taught completely green people transcription, and I've taken newbies in and guided them along the way. It is satisfying for me because someone took me green 15 years ago and gave me this opportunity, and for that I am eternally grateful. Putting 3 kids through college was a lot easier thanks to my full time job and another part time job I had.
Best of luck to all you newbies out there - if you can get your foot in the door at a local hospital, even working in house to start, its a good place to begin. Gain all the experience you can. I'm not sure working for these big shlock houses, the nationwide transcription companies, is the best place to start - it can be frustrating when you're given all the ESL docs and junk work and try to plug through it.
Good luck newbies - keep on pluggin.
Hear your concern about
the line situation. I use ShortHand and have shortcuts up the kazoo. The only thing Shorthand does for me is save my fingers and hands as I don't see a huge difference in my lines.
In fact since I have gotten really proficient with my macros, my lines in fact have gone down or stayed the same. I thought it was supposed to be a line booster. One can only go so fast and still maintain accuracy and fill in blanks along the way.
Makes ya wonder what is going on with that?
The political people knew what could happen if a hurricane hit New Orleans. sm
after 9/11 they diverted the money for the war. One should not take money from one project to do another. This tragedy didn't make any sense and there are some people on the political board that says its the mayor fault. What a joke.
Alaskan Malamute like 2nd child - "Cane" - short for Hurricane.
nm
I can understand that concern. To be honest, I believe
that there will still be lots of opportunity for overtime.
There's going to be a few months of transition and, with any luck, the unhappy MTs will leave and that situation, coupled with constant new accounts coming on board, will generate more work than you're thinking about right now. It will have to be done, period.
There may be some occasions where overtime isn't as readily available but I expect that we will have plenty of times where we have some offer of overtime.
That's my speculation, at least.
yeah, but since capitation, sorry, but how much concern is there
for the patient? Just big business, like Walmart. Push people in, push them out, cut services...
Hospitals now want everything for nothing, and do not want to pay for it, as evidenced by the complete explosion of outsourcing...
Thanks. That is encouraging. My biggest concern is
visiting family at holidays and other times. Do you bring some of your own food or just pick and choose from what is offered? Or do you go "off the lifestyle" and then make up for the damage later?
Bigger concern is your husband!!
Aside from the fact that your husband's friend is a jerk, what is your husband saying about the fact that he will not give you this female's phone # so you can call her back and let her hear a piece of reality here!! It's as if your hubby is saying this is a game here and it's "okay". Does the fact that this lady called him give him some kind of a charge, a little excitement for him? I would question his ethics first, after all, if he's willing to keep this number from you, what else would he think is none of your business? Sorry, but that's the bigger problem.
my concern with VOIP with a C-phone is
how is the voice quality? I would be interested in something like Vonage as I can take that with me and travel.
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