currently 10:50pm Friday 5th September, 2008 (NYC, New York)
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December 2004 archives
The following are all the entries published for the month of December 2004. surgeon amputates wrong leg
Thursday 30 December, 2004 at 11:46AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (1) A doctor at a public hospital in southern Mexico mistakenly amputated the right leg of an elderly patient who had sought treatment for an infection in his left foot. Seeking treatment for a foot wound aggravated by diabetes, Alberto Lopez, 74, was admitted to a Social Security Institute hospital in Tuxtla Gutierrez, 430 miles south of Mexico City, and underwent surgery on Friday. The patient emerged from surgery without a right leg and still suffering from the original infection, according to family members. Reference : Newsday.com. Unreal. strong aftershocks continue
Wednesday 29 December, 2004 at 5:26PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (11) :: trackbacks (1) There have been numerous continued aftershocks hitting the same Indian Ocean region, still continuing now, over three days after the initial disastrous magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit off the west coast of Northern Sumatra. Within the last 20 hours there have been at least five strong earthquakes hit the region measuring 5.8, 6.1, 6.2, 5.6 and 5.7 magnitude. I hope this is just a 'settling down' pattern, not a building up to something bigger. Details are as follows (orange squares are within last 24 hours, yellow within the last week):
Magnitude : 5.8 Magnitude : 6.1 Magnitude : 6.2 Magnitude : 5.6 Magnitude : 5.7 Scary. Check for updates at the USGS website. massive 8.9 earthquake in indonesia
Sunday 26 December, 2004 at 10:49AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (11) Just days ago there was a huge earthquake south of New Zealand of magnitude 8.1, although it was far enough from land so there was little damage, but enough of a shake to wake people from their sleep 300miles away. I was going to blog about it but didn't get around to it. Today there has been an earthquake in Indonesia that is the largest on the planet in 40 years - a massive 8.9 magnitude, classed as a 'great earthquake', followed a few hours later by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in the same region. At this stage reports are coming back of large-scale devastation, BBC reporting thousands have been killed across southern Asia, not from the earthquake itself but from massive sea surges triggered by the earthquake. This would've directly hit a lot of legendary surfing camps like Nias, camps on the west of Sumatra, and on the Mentawi's. I'm trying to recall if anyone from the surf.co.nz forums are over there at the moment.
This map is from the US Geological Survey site. Details regarding the main earthquake are as follows: Magnitude : 8.9 Quoted from BBC: "Hundreds of fishermen are missing off India's southern coast, and there are reports of scores of bodies now being washed up on beaches. Night has fallen in Indonesia and communications remain difficult, particularly to the strife-torn region of Aceh where the main quake was followed by nine aftershocks. Reports speak of bodies being recovered from trees." Note: The biggest of the quakes was reclassified to 9.0 magnitude and details now verified as follows: Magnitude : 9.0 merry christmas 2004
Friday 24 December, 2004 at 12:15PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (5)
Almost forgot (thanks Alberich); for you PC types, happy non-denominational, un-offensive, non-religiously-influenced, inclusive and properly democratic seasonal festival that absolutely is NOT a leftover from an un-politically-correct non-inclusive and judgmental religion whose name we shall not mention for fear of offending anyone. exam results
Monday 20 December, 2004 at 2:56PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (6) Got all my results back and here they are:
My cumulative GPA is now 3.930. Stoked! The trig A- must have been damn close to being an A but unfortunately not quite there, so I don't quite maintain a perfect four point zero cumulative GPA. I'm trying to figure how I got an A+ for psychology.. I mean, I never got under 100% for any of the exams during the semester (avg 105% with bonus questions), but according to my english professor, an A is the highest possible grade as it is worth a 4.0 on the GPA system (and if it wasn't, then I definitely would've got an A+ for english as well). Go figure. I can't complain though, it looks sweet on my transcript. I'm registered for college calculus over the short winter semester, and then in spring the uni have already registered me for classes, three of them being 'honors' classes which is groovy. The weather is absolutely freezing today, with one of the coldest days we'll probably have this winter. It snowed about an inch or so last night, and the temperature at around 8am this morning was a brisk 11°F (that's friggin -12°C for you kiwi readers). It's quite windy as well at about 25mph, so with wind chill we're actually looking at around -9°F (-23°C) if you're standing outdoors. It doesn't get much colder than that around here ..or so I thought. The NY1 weather forecast was just saying that it could get down to below zero fahrenheit (about -18°C) north of the city this evening, not taking into account wind chill! At this stage it looks like it's going to warm up after tonight though, so we probably wont have a white Christmas this year. cold snap
Wednesday 15 December, 2004 at 1:07PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (3) Looks like winter's here. I left for my exam this morning and it was 20°F / -7°C, not taking into account wind chill (it was supposedly -11°C with the wind chill). No snow as such yet, although there was a sprinkling the other morning as I was walking across campus, but not enough to accumulate on the ground. One more exam to go tomorrow morning, then I have a week or two off before starting the intense winter 'semester' at the beginning of January, where I'll be squishing a whole semester's worth of calculus into six weeks. Bah. usa heading into a fascist state?
Sunday 12 December, 2004 at 3:14PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (4) :: trackbacks (3) Further to the entry yesterday, some pretty scary reading here from novelist Lawrence Britt via this site, who claims that as of January 2004, the United States fulfills all fourteen points of fascism. Also read the comment on my previous entry re the latest transgression by the federal government.. this rolling boulder seems to be gathering momentum. The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14-defining characteristics common to each:
eep! wtf? betrayal
Saturday 11 December, 2004 at 3:26PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (8) Although I still think John Kerry was not the best candidate for a presidential nominee (my 'I still think Kerry's a tosser'™ catchphrase), I have to express my disgust at how this current administration is allegedly treating Iraqi Veterans. Note that this is not related to any opinion regarding supporting or not supporting actions in Iraq or Afghanistan, this is a separate issue. These three entries from fellow New York weblogger John Hoke's Asylum show a trend in the treatment of US soldiers that is anything but admirable. It is no surprise that enlistment numbers are barely reaching 50% of the numbers the US military machine needs to continue actions overseas, as mentioned on Warblogging.com's website. The US government apparently has a 'stop-loss' program, which requires troops to stay in the service until their units are no longer deployed overseas, regardless of their enlistment status. The policy is meant to keep seasoned soldiers in theatre, and currently effects upwards of 7,000 to 10,000 soldiers in Iraq, although it could balloon to 40,000 if things do not change quickly. A member of the Arizona National Guard and seven other Army enlistees are challenging the military and the federal government because they were forced to remain on duty in the Middle East after their tours of military duty expired, tours which are, to the best of my knowledge, contractual agreements. Who wants to risk signing up for a year of duty out of patriotism if the contract may not be honored and instead you are kept in action indefinitely? It really makes one wonder how long the US Government can hold out before instigating The Draft to boost numbers, despite election promises that it won't happen. The next story that comes from the pages of the Washington Times says that homeless shelters are already seeing an influx of homeless Iraqi Veterans. I find it morally outrageous that a government can let these vets fight for their country (regardless of your views of whether it's misguided patriotism or not) and then dump them like so much used garbage when they return. Can't this country learn from similar mistakes such as the treatment of Vietnam vets? Apparently not. Further along similar lines is the recent entry on John's weblog regarding a US soldier who lost his arm in a roadside bombing in Iraq, returned to the US and was released with no money to even get home from hospital and a bill from the military for his sacrifice! The account was made up as follows:
Including taxes, the amount Loria owed totaled $6,255.50. The last line on the worksheet subtracted that total from his final Army payout and found $1,768.81 'due us'. The last is surely the most anal - the charges for items not returned. The items detailed were apparently destroyed along with his arm! I guess by that premise Loria should in turn be able to bill the military for the loss of his arm then? I doubt it, probably because it's not in the contract, you know, that contract that the military seems to breach regularly by keeping soldiers in theatre after their tour is up. As far as billing him for travel expenses because they (the military) misplaced the papers submitted by Loria, migod that is ridiculous. Let me rephrase this more clearly: they want to bill him for their error. Nice. To give some idea of the organizational skills of the government, back on 29th June 2002 (about 2½ years ago) I sat an exam for a government job working for the MTA. I was initially required to pay US$50 to sit an exam to allow me to apply for government jobs, and then a further variable amount for each and every job I applied for (I think it was US$35 to apply for this paticular MTA job). Anyway I sat the exam despite the annoyance of having to pay cash just to apply for a job. On June 8th 2003 (almost a year later) I got my exam result; 95% (which placed me 173rd among the tens of thousands of people who sat the same exam nationally - well within the top 1% of applicants apparently). Ok so then what? I had to wait for them to notify me to come in for an interview ..and wait ..and wait. A few days ago I received a letter dated December 2nd 2004, advising that I am being 'considered for probable permanent appointment' and that I have to report at X place at X time, which happened to be last week. Yup, after 2½ years they finally set up an appointment with one day notice and advise that if I can't make it I won't be considered again unless I send a letter advising I couldn't make the appointment, but since the appointment was the next day, this was impossible. Unfortunately this past week has also been my final week of classes and this coming week is my final exams at university, so there was no way I could go to the appointment even if I wanted to (class attendance is relevant to your final mark here). Charming huh? Wait until you hear what the federal government is trying to pull on me, over two years after I stopped working for them at JFK International Airport. I won't write about it just yet until they respond to a letter I sent disagreeing with their sudden unfounded and unreasonable demands and threats, but if they ignore it, then you'll be hearing about it, as will the media and any legal advisors who can help. Add all this stuff on top of the polical correctness entry I made recently, and you'll surely understand that my confidence in this government is being sorely shaken. An apt analogy I saw recently: happy birthday amber!
Sunday 5 December, 2004 at 10:06AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (4)
political correctness rampant
Friday 3 December, 2004 at 11:16AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (10) :: trackbacks (1) I've written on the subject of PC previously, but yet another shituation has reared its ugly head that deserves some ridicule, this story coming from The Denver Post. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper recently announced that next year the phrase "Merry Christmas" will be removed from the city building and replaced with "Happy Holidays." WTF? "Organizers say the parade is about the holidays, not Christmas". Surely nobody is that stupid? I realize that many view the Christmas holiday season as purely a holiday and are not concerned about the religious connotations, but to say the holidays and the parade (which was even previously named 'The Christmas Parade' before being renamed 'The Parade of Lights' - lol!) has nothing to do with Christmas is just straight up idiocy. "This event is not one that has ever intended to have a religious message or a political message," ..yeah right - there wouldn't even be a 'holiday season' if it weren't for the Christian religion, you imbecile, and as I said, the parade even used to be named the Christmas Parade. As far as not having any political message - there seems to be only one reason that the Denver authorities would want to insist that two plus two equals five, and that is for political reasons, namely political correctness. I guess the non-religious people in Denver now make up a bigger demographic than the religious, is that how it works, you bunch of hypocrites? Nice try at rewriting history, dickheads. I'm not religious at all, but trying to claim that the Christmas holiday season is unrelated to Christianity is just so obtuse that I'm having difficulty coming up with a suitable insult fitting the intellect of those who make such a ludicrous claim. Strange how at the same time creationism is being pushed over evolutionary theory in schools. What an utterly ridiculous country this can be at times. update: According to Fox News, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has reversed the decision regarding the lighted "Merry Christmas" display at the City/County hall, however in a display of truly astounding hypocrisy, the decision to not allow a float entered that would have had a Christmas theme and featured singers performing traditional Christmas carols still stands. Good one Mayor, you're a real asshat. Unbelievable. Bah humbug, Mayor Scrooge. Here's a thought. What are the floats that are going to be in the parade? Presumably businesses promoting themselves, right? A smart lawyer would see that by banning the Christian float, the council is acting unfairly by not allowing those Christians to promote their business. This is where this equality thing just gets stupid. Somebody send these people a copy of Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron. Bet they'd love that. Better yet, send the Mayor of Denver and the organizers of the parade a lump of coal for Christmas heh. just another day on the nyc subway
Thursday 2 December, 2004 at 11:32PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0) I haven't ready blogged much about some of the more 'interesting' people I've come across in my travels on the NYC subway system, but yesterday morning was a subtle reminder that perhaps I should have. I was on my way to university (or college or whatever they call it here) and had only just arrived at the local subway station when the train pulled up, so I ended up getting on in one the very front carriages. As I had left from our apartment a little later than usual, I decided to save some time by making my way to the back of the train so there'd be less distance to run to the connecting bus when I got off. All this meant was that I had to walk to the back of each carriage between subway stations then quickly run along the platform to the following carriage during the stops. That may not sound like much of a mission, but they don't mess about here if they can help it, so I needed to be reasonably quick jumping back on before the doors closed again. So it happens that it's a particularly crappy morning with rain and wind, and this part of the subway is actually above ground. On about the 2nd or 3rd stop I jump off and run to the next carriage (with my head down to avoid the weather) when a guy yells out "careful!". I look up in time to realize this guy is standing just inside the open door of the carriage I'm about to jump onto and is taking a piss out the door onto the platform. Charming. No I did not get pissed on, if I had, he would've found himself on the unfriendly end of a vicious weasel with steel-capped boots (I'm not joking either). Fortunately I managed to sidestep just in time and hop into the carriage. The unexpectedness of the situation was pretty amusing, but what was more amusing was moments later when I looked back when the doors closed and the guy was still pissing. Heh. When ya gotta go, ya gotta go I guess, but out the door of a train while people are getting on? classy. Yup, gotta love this city. |
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Merry Christmas all, have a great day! I'm posting this a day early as it's already Christmas Day in New Zealand. We are meeting up with Altie in Manhattan for Christmas Day (tomorrow) and I guess going to a restaurant and generally just cruising around, we'll figure out the details later. No white Christmas this year - the snow we got a few days ago has all since melted. I keep thinking of my Christmas Days in NZ for the last seven or eight years before I came to NYC, where I'd get up before sunrise and head out to Raglan for a surf for at least a few hours, kind of my Xmas present to myself. Amazingly enough, every Xmas morning bar one produced excellent clean surf of reasonable size and only a couple of guys out in the water at most. I'd then spend the early afternoon driving over to Whangamata to see Amber and sometimes from there I'd head down to Taupo or up to Auckland to see family, or I'd just surf all day if Amber was busy for the day. I really enjoyed my Xmas morning surfs, it had become a kind of personal tradition. Anyway, enjoy the season and be careful out there.
I was able to talk to Amber in New Zealand on the phone for about half an hour last night which was great - it was her birthday there already since they're a day ahead of us. I can't believe Amber is 11 already! She sounds good and is doing really well in school - I'm really proud of her. The other great news is that they've got a computer and are hopefully going to connect to the internet soon, so we'll be able to email each other! Snail mail isn't exactly reliable, I've had a few things sent from NZ that never made it here, so at least with email we'll actually get it. Anyway the picture I took here is what I got Amber for her birthday - the thinner bracelet is for me, the thicker one for Amber. The engraving is a celtic knot which symbolizes success and protection. I hope she likes it. Happy birthday Amber *kiss*