On Friday I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with Tracy at the Red Cross headquarters for the local area. I think she understands my complaints, though it’s not clear to me what actions will be taken to resolve them. I did come away with a few insights into some of the things they do, though I think they need to review some of their reasoning. Continue reading Update on the War with the Red Cross
All posts by dividingbyzero
An Inconvenient Truth
Wow. I just watched An Inconvenient Truth and that’s my reaction. It’s that kind of film.
I’ve already been doing a few things to cut my energy use (compact fluorescent lights, hybrid automobile, turning down the thermostat, etc) but this makes me want to do more.
Continue reading An Inconvenient Truth
Day three of my War with the Red Cross
There was an email from Wendy waiting for me when I got home from work today. She sent me the name of one of the “appropriate folks” to address my concerns. It’s a name I recognize. Tracy helped me out a few years ago when I had a group of people who wanted to come in together to donate blood, but needed the donor center to stay open an extra hour. With luck, she’ll be able to help out again.
I expect her first question will be to ask what I want them to do. It’s a short list.
Continue reading Day three of my War with the Red Cross
The Red Cross replies
I received a reply from Wendy at the Red Cross in response to yesterday’s declaration of war. I’m somewhat impressed. I fully expected that post to go for weeks or months without anyone other than a few friends seeing it.
There’s nothing personal in there, so I’ve left Wendy’s reply as a public comment. The contact address she mentions is the Greater Cheseapeake region’s general contact information. That may be a useful resource for anyone else who’s trying to get themselves removed from the Red Cross’ calling list, though I should also point out that these are the same people who were supposed to take me off the calling list back in the summer.
In her comment, Wendy asks me to email her with my full name so she can have “the appropriate people” look into the issue.
The problem with just emailing them my name is that it gives the Red Cross an easy out. They can simply say, “Oh, we got your email, we’re looking into it.” and then the email just sits on a computer somewhere and nobody ever looks at it again.
I’ve replied to Wendy with a request for a phone number where I can talk to someone about my concerns. I want to be able to verify that the problems are actually being addressed and hold someone accountable if they’re not.
This is about more than just unwanted phone calls. This is about the Red Cross treating people like cattle.
Declaring War on the Red Cross
For the past several years, the Red Cross has been offering various gifts for people who came in to donate blood. Some of it was things like T-shirts or hats; in 2006 they upped the ante and started trying to entice potential donors with free raffles for $100 worth of gasoline. Instead of gimmicks, maybe what they really need to try is treating their donors with some respect. Continue reading Declaring War on the Red Cross
The Schweitzer Chronicles (pt 4)
By September, we’d decided to disband the Shuttle Schweitzer as a Starfleet chapter. Normally it takes a group about nine months to go from a shuttle (a chapter in training) to a full-blown chapter. We were coming up on three years and still hadn’t completed the process. What we’d realized was that we were friends anyhow and didn’t need the framework of a Starfleet chapter for that to happen.
So, we announced our decision to Starfleet via the monthly status report. Given the previous three months worth of status reports, there was only one way to do it.
Shuttle Schweitzer has had a change of command.
Our new CO is Charles Foster Kane.
Rosebud.
And with that, Shuttle Schweitzer was “sleighed.”
Pardon me, have you seen my cziltang brone?
One brave soul recently asked me which Science Fiction series is my favorite. From the context, he probably meant “TV series” (his examples were Star Trek and StarGate), but he didn’t specify. Besides, with the exception of the first half-dozen or episodes of Heroes, I haven’t really turned the TV on long enough to watch anything.
So I gave him my best, most truthful answer: Known Space.
“Known Space” isn’t a TV series; it’s a collection of stories, mostly written by Larry Niven, that are all tied together. It’s essentially a “Future History” of mankind, much like Asimov’s Robot series. (I believe the term “Future History” may first have been applied to some of Heinlein’s earlier works, but I haven’t read them recently enough to cite examples.)
Probably the best known collection of Known Space stories is the Tales of Known Space anthology. Crashlander (the collected stories of Beowulf Shaeffer) is another good starting point. Other Known Space titles include Neutron Star, and then, the four books of the Ringworld series (five if you count Protector) also have roots in Known Space.
The various Man-Kzin Wars titles are deserving of special notice. Although they all take place in Known Space, Larry Niven only wrote two of those stories (he professes that he doesn’t know how to write war stories). The remainder of the Man-Kzin stories were written by other authors who were visiting Niven’s “playground.”
Also worth a look (and kinda scary for how close some of today’s headlines are) is Flatlander which is the collected stories of Gil “The Arm” Hamilton. It’s not strictly Known Space, but it definitely contains the social roots of the other stories. (The Amalgamation of Regional Militias – or A.R.M. – in particular figures heavily in the other stories.)
Not that I’m the least bit fanatical about the stuff. 🙂
(Not sure what a “cziltang brone” is? The best way to find out is to go and read The Ringworld Engineers. But if you’re in a hurry, you can always take a shortcut.)
Hot Chili
Wow. I’ve been getting a lot of email about the VeggieTale Roadkill. Tom and Anne both wrote back about what it takes to make real chili, and Angela even went so far as to send a vegetarian chili recipe with no end of spicy ingredients (jalapeno peppers, four garlic cloves, two tablespoons of chili powder, another of cayenne hot pepper sauce and so on).
Of course, it’s always a good idea to be cautious when making spicy chili. In some parts of the country (particularly in Texas), it’s not at all uncommon for small towns to be completely destroyed when some fool enters a chili competition with an entry that requires a number of alarms greater than the number of nearby fire companies.
And it’s not just the small towns that have this problem. Chicago had a big fire department in the 1860 but by 1871 the city fathers had become complacent. The cow takes all the blame, but most historians overlook the fact that there was also a chili cookoff that weekend.
Mary Christmas' Carol
After college, I spent six years in Nevada, living on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. During my time out there, I got involved with the North Tahoe Fine Arts Council (NTFAC) and in the winter of 1992, participated in the council’s first-ever Christmas show, a play called Mary Christmas’ Carol. The show ran from (I think) Thanksgiving until shortly before Christmas and in addition to the play, also included a vaudeville show.
I was the group’s stage manager, charged with building the sets, running the lights, and a variety of other “behind the scenes” tasks. I made several friends among the cast, staying in touch with some of them for a while even after my return to the East Coast. Continue reading Mary Christmas' Carol
VeggieTale Roadkill
I suppose I could start off the new year with a list of resolutions, but I think, we all know that none of them would last through Saturday. And the one about not getting annoyed with idiots in traffic wouldn’t even last through the first rush hour.
So, I’ll start the year with a recipe instead. Continue reading VeggieTale Roadkill