THE NOVA CONVENTION (A REWRITE, CIRCA 2005)

MARK LUNSFORD, MOHAMMAD ALI, VICTIM ADVOCATES EN MASS AND SILVER WRAPPED OBSIDIAN:

A REWRITE

NOVATUES
At Nova, the (National Organization of Victim Advocates) On Tues
Today I'm feeling the pinches of my new shoes. I’m recovering. The tiny evidence of functionality is flowering in the weedy field of my mind. I'm reminded of what Mohamed Ali said about his head injury. He said that he was not a different person that he thought about the same things in the same way. "I'm just slower” he said.
By all accounts I have pulled off a miracle recovery. I've gone from being a heart transplant candidate who couldn't stand up to do the dishes, to resuming more or less normal activity. Most of my tests are normal. I'm reminded this week that I could barely talk after the initial exposure to the anthrax and other toxic chemicals.
I became autistic after having Rumatic fever as a baby.
I stumble around in a daze for my first twenty years, looking for myself. I had a problem with misplacing things.
I popped awake in my twenties, like popcorn going off. I got a job in radio.
I was (and still am) hypersensitive to sound and music. I spent much of my childhood laying in the dark with the radio on or messing around with the guitar and piano. The radio was a natural bit of follow through for me. But it was more than I expected. It was a complete peak experience for me.
When I was on the air I was awake and aware for the first time in my life, I was surrounded by my own voice and my own vibrations. My more kinetics friends told me that they had never seen a more active job; I was moving so much, getting records and commercials on the air, segueing records, answering phones, talking up-beat and down, rolling around on my wheeled desk chair in multi-task, tuning things up, turning things down and pulling the microphone in to talk. It was six hours of rapture a night. All free-fall and bungee jump.
After the toxic exposure I relapsed into a poison mug slump of mind. I was living in slow motion again. I could barely get from one minute to the next without getting lost in a maze of detail. It was a return to a kind of autism I had forgotten.
Out of the fog I started to construct a radio studio in my home. I don't remember deciding to do this. I just started to build a studio. I could barely talk. I started doing a radio show. Slowly I became oriented again, oriented enough to talk and take stock of where I was and how I got there.
That was in 1998.
I tape recorded my progress. That POD Cast of sorts became "The Little Radio Station at the Back of Your Mind."
What has this got to do with NOVA in 2005?
I'm not sure. I volunteered to work the conference since I couldn’t afford to go any other way. I used to be a victim advocate. Now I was even more so, without so much as lifting and eyebrow.
It's been like building another radio station in my mind. After almost a decade of recovery I am beginning to remember who I am and how I got here. I am a survivor. I am an advocate. I am a volunteer.
Today I got myself on the road on time.
I was early for the conference.
I had gotten myself to Orlando. The confetti snowed all around my mind in celebration.
I tossed my keys on the front seat and started to unload things. I was thinking about what was coming up when the soft and ominous click of the door behind me woke me up. I set my backpack on the ground and tugged on the door.
It was locked.
After fencing with the car with a coat hanger for a half hour, I decided to call for road service. The only phone card phone in the lobby of the hotel (the wrong one) wasn't working well. It was noisy. I had to scream, literally to be heard. "THAT'S Z AS IN ZEBRA. A AS IN APPLE. ....." The road service finally got my name.
By the time I had spelled my name, everybody at the conference knew it.
Welcome back to the world.
That started day one.
Everyone knew my name at the plaza.
The Pop-A-Lock guy couldn't have been nicer.
He was into the car in less than two minutes.
It was 11 a.m. by the time I got to the conference.
People were great. I got my NOVA bag and lime green volunteer t-shirts. I got my Frisbee and mug with "RAPE" in big boldface letters on them. The black mug especially got my attention. In smaller letters was the word "prevent."
I had my coffee in it. I looked at it every time I sipped. It reminded me about the national situation concerning sexual assault issues. I used to be a member of NCASA, The National Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Not much had changed since then. I was hoping to move to a time when the words and actions got equal emphasis on my mug and my life. We were still responding to crisis in the world.
I tried to imagine drinking from this cup at my local tea shop. That is not a complaint. I'm happy to get mugged.
I'm just enormously grateful for the effort and impact of the grass roots movement in the 1960s and 1970s. I am grateful for the work of my grandmother, aunts and their friends through the 1930s and 1940s as they segued into the 1950s and 1960s. My mom and sisters are a big influence, as are my nieces and girlfriends.
Through the 80s into the new century it has been a painful and glorious learning experience. The advice from then is as crystal clear and relevant as the advice I got at the NOVA conference, a constant balancing of influences as we work with what we have. Communication has come a long way round. We've got a long way to go to.
I worked the silent auction booth with extraordinary people.
Survivors and advocates volunteered. The people who could not really afford to attend in any other way.
I enjoyed the contact with professionals. I'm beginning to remember that I use to do this for a living. It was eight years ago. I look less professional now. More like a puppy dog after a bath. I’m still getting it together. I'd like to do it again. I found out the other day that there are no male victim advocates in the State of Florida.
As a Boulder County Mental Health Center Certified Rape Crisis Counselor I remember the conflicts that some people felt having men on the team.
People arrived at the conference all morning to register.
The table was closed over lunch.
The most vivid moment of the day was when Mark Lunsford, the reborn father, survivor, advocate and activist came up to the desk. He had lost his young daughter to kidnapping and sexual assault. I recognized him right away, of course. His long hair and easy style had been all over the news.
The weight of attention in the last year must have been incredible for him. He had aged around the eyes.
I thought about what it must be like for him.
Unimaginable.
The place was filled with up-front survivors and family members who carry the weight of what has happened to them and their loved ones public manner. Mark Lunsford held the keynote and the initiative with Jessica’s Law.
I was inspired by that, and the sense of rightness that rode his back like angel wings.
Wings are heavy, I decided.
Especially the ones hung on us by other people.
"I don't know how I do what I do," he told me as he walked away.
"I just do it."
"Thank you Mr. Lunsford" I said.
It was a hand on the ground confirmation of the real people grouping here, and the real tragedies we have endured on the way to activism.
Entry for August 25, 2006

NOVAThurs
I had a great time at the silent auction. It was really good to be busy. I miss work. I miss hobnobbing with the great people we have in this field.
I got home around midnight after a quiet drive down the interstate. Thursday was my day. I had a late start. It was like a kid’s board game. I took every wrong turn possible. It was insane. I kept my sense of humor and made it to the conference and parked. As I was walking in, Mark Lunsford was walking out.
He looked completely refreshed, gentle and smiling. It was nice to see him again. I had missed his key-note.
As it turned out I got to my anti-terrorism session late, but I got the big bang out of it that creates and settles universes. It was good to be in the up-scale and active world of survivors of terrorist attacks.
There are a lot of us.
I made it to the session on doing groups for sexually abused girls. It was a good model. It was the same one that we used in Waianae at the Sex Abuse Clinic there before I got hurt. I had the chill of memory go up my spine.
At break I picked up a piece of jewelry I had silver-wrapped at the marketplace.
The jeweler’s name is Valerie Kay Frayed from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The pieces she had on display were silver wrapped chandelier crystals from the 1930s and 1940s. She had leaded glass from the last three centuries in her collection.
I used to look for similar pieces in antique stores in Honolulu when I lived there.
They have a quieting quality to them.
There is something about the lead in the crystal that makes them very similar to volcanic glass. They have a really nice resonance, but what had really caught my eye was the tremendous silver work that she did.
I was really happy to see her kiosk and bright smile.
She uses more than one gauge of wire on any given piece. The pieces are tremendously wrapped in silver or gold wire. They were very beautiful. I had a piece wrapped in silver ($18) and picked it up. It was a piece of rainbow obsidian I had with me. I like the way obsidian resonates with the throat and heart. When I have taccacardia. It really calms my heart-beat.
I had it wrapped it in red magnetic wire, because that is what I had at the time.
As I put on the newly wrapped piece around my neck and walked away, I felt a tremendous surge in my central nervous system, everything balanced and went calm. I am fairly sensitive to my neurology because I've had to be. The wrapping she did created a great bio-circuit around the stone.
It was so accurate to the map of my central nervous system that I had to go back and ask her about it.
It turns out that she is a Rieki master as well as a jeweler. Her designs are biophysical as well as beautiful. They are nice pieces for working balance and stress. They are also great for opening blocked parts of the body, parts of the body that lack circulation or feeling.
She has my highest recommendations. You can contact her at Frayer Designs, http://www.frayerdesigns.com/ or 225-755-8892.
The necklace is a nice reminder of the conference, a conference about opening channels and strengthening the right things.
My own situation has gotten more complicated as a result of attending the conference. The cyber-stalking situation I live with is more intense. The hacking on my computer is more malicious. But I feel stronger and more supported this week despite the increase of harassment that extended into the conference itself. There were many law enforcement people there. I felt validated by their observations.
I also feel more aggressive. It’s amazing how anger and compassion can go together sometimes. How power can come from facing fear. How strength can come out of weakness.
Thank you all, and the national NOVA office, who gave a boost to this blog and others and for allowing me to find these things in myself again. Thank you for the conference and the ability to attend. Thank you for the support and company.

WensNOVA
I was awed today by the efforts of so many survivors to communicate their experiences and inspired by how well they succeeded.
It was as clear as a rubbed Tibetan bell, the hum.
I was thinking as I listened to Coco O'Conner and her husband talk about what happened to them and how good it felt to hear things that I could closely identify with. It was not that the details of the stories were similar, their situation is horrific and unique, but in the impact, after effects and the coping involved in dealing with their tragedies are the key similarities of struggle and pain.
It was not chowder talk.
It was not common.
It was intimate and appreciated.
It’s not that I don’t think about these things on a daily basis, but to hear it outside of my head was church bells at a funeral of sorts. I can move through, never on, but through.
Today is my day to focus.
It’s time to twist the lens in and snap away.
It was a day not to miss any detail.
It was a day on motor-drive.
It was nonstop until it ended.
I worked during the closing address. Hearing the applause and occasional tears as the conference came to a close. I couldn’t hear the closing remarks, only the reactions.
And so it is in the therapy world I’m trying to return to.
You never hear the quiet cracking of the egg shells, only the reflection of the pressure that causes them to crack.
Driving home on the dark interstate, I didn’t get lost. I got home.

ZBlog: A National Security Nightmare: Part 3

A National Security Nightmare: Part 3

*Note: This is a new blog. For more articles and the history of what happened up to this point see the original zblog http://360.yahoo.com/michael_zangari

A microwave LAN
A patch in the sea
Of other quilt-work
LANS
Interconnected and edged
By thread…

The Little Radio Station At The Back Of Your Mind was consistent. I practice my radio chops at about the same time of day and worked hard at learning to talk again. At first my speech was disorganized and slurred. I struggled for word and content. Later it got stronger and more professional. By the end I was running a tight air shift that would produce an air check that would get me a job.
In my last two years in Hawaii I worked at two radio stations and got press credentials from a third. I worked at KCCN in Honolulu, Hawaii Public Radio, and earlier at the country station, KDEO.
I was Mike Taylor there: “Hanging onto to the country fringe of the pacific.” I had press credentials from Radio Free Hawaii, also on KDEO but much later. I was told at each station that it was very political and at some point I would have to be fired.
At Hawaii Public Radio they told me to hang on after a computer pre-programmed computer caused the studios to change in the middle of a news broadcast. They promised to rehire in a different department. I couldn’t afford to park at KCCN.
That’s Honolulu.
Radio has always been a big part of my life. I learned to communicate on the air. After my brain was saturated by toxins I had to learn again. I was a logical, if not unplanned thing that happened. I just found myself building a studio on morning. There was no thought involved.
I had a one room studio, but constructed a wall at the far end, with the studio in back in a tight narrow space. It was the most comfortable place in the condo.
The format at the time was loose talk.
I told stories from my life in a long rambled style into a black socked microphone.
The music I played was largely progressive country, with some rock thrown in. There was no special reason at first.
Later, I realized there was a condo LANS and that several older people had to put up with me. I played requests. When I found out that somehow I was being broadcast, the station got more progressive.
I survived with The Little Radio Station for several reasons. Somehow it had gotten into the cable radio system. The condos themselves were somewhat isolated, and many famous people lived there over the years. Richard Braughtigan lived there. Lenny Bruce had lived there. One year the entire casts of “The Bold and the Beautiful” were my neighbors. People from “Bay Watch” Hawaii also played a role.
By far the most interesting thing that happened was that a group of country artists also lived there. Through them or someone’s bright idea they put up a line-feed that touring musicians had. They could receive the mock station through their networks.
Local people, who were increasingly in on the joke tried to get me the message, by portraying album covers, live outside the condo gates to let me know who was listening and who they wanted to hear more of.
Bruce Springsteen, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks and Johnny Cash were among the artists depicted outside my gate.
I was amused and finally got it.
In terms of LANS theory, one network often connects with another.
In this way, different LANS interconnect and spread.
I had made my anthrax report to the FBI.
Here’s my theory of what happened next.
I can’t prove it yet.

My Best Guess at What Happened

There was a sexual abuse sting going on in Waianae.
The FBI agent knew of my background and thought I might be useful to him. At the time he was reviewing a ton of seized pornography and you could hear him sighing and fast forwarding through it at night. Sometimes you could see the content of what he was looking for.
His job was to catalog it by subject and event.
A truly miserable job if you hate porn.
I was put into his LANS so he could track what was happening with me. He was already in Waianae. They didn’t want to deploy another agent.
As always, the need for the FBI outweighs its resources.
I was included for safety and investigation.
No minor surveillance can always be constant as a result.
Every so often the agent would click into my bugged realm to check on what I was doing.
At other times, someone was obviously breaking into his work room and also watching me. The quality of energy was clearly different.
At one point, as I said, he was dosed with a psychedelic, probably LSD. He asked for help. Then he changed his mind. I didn’t hear from him until around the terrorist event known as 9-11. Someone else was claiming to be his roommate came on-line. They conceded that they were not with the FBI but that he let them “use his equipment.”
The entire nature of things changed.
After Halloween, of 1998 it was outright hostile and controlling.
“Aloha’s End” my novel was doing well on the WEB.
It attracted a multi-ethnic audience because of the characters and plot.
There was quite a bit of civil rights discussion going on on-line from which I learned a tremendous amount. I took suggestions on the plot and construction of the novel and continued to write.
Why a National Security Nightmare out of this?
It became clear that personal LANS included groups of people. African Americans seem to network together, like the group of Latter Day Saints did, like the military did, and like Hawaiians did.
By targeting anyone member of any one LANS, you could impact the entire LANS. So by putting a disrupting audio signal or negative subliminals on a Latter Day Saint, say, you could impact a great deal of Latter Day Saints on the same circuits.
I’ll maintain that this happened.
The people then in control of the broadcast were increasingly hostile towards the gathering audience.
In brief, Where ever groups of individual of like interest gather or meet, a large target presents itself. Along with what ever benefits there are in networking there is a liability. The group becomes vulnerable to a group attack.
These audio attacks were insidious.
The bad impact spread like octopus ink in water.
I call this tactic, that is the targeting a large group of people by interest, The FLY TRAP.
A national LANS, tick-tack-toeing across a cultural and political landscape becomes vulnerable to manipulation and attack in the same, simple way. Not only are individuals who were at one time masked available, but entire groups were now vulnerable.
Do you have to be a novelist to get scared?

Goodbye Inter-Library Loan
As you may know I serve on the Satellite Beach Library Board and an active patron of the Library system in Brevard County, Florida. We are facing major funding costs all over the state.
As I was returning my inter-library loan books the other day I was told that the program was canceled, and sure enough it was gone without a pop. That's the way its been. I worry about business hours, computers and staffing now, having let go of any particular piece of Library material. We reep the wind when we cut budget.

Library Services
Public Information Release
Cathy Schweinsberg Director: Office: 321-633-1801
cathy.schweinsberg@brevardcounty.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2008

NEW LIBRARY COMPUTER SYSTEM ENHANCES FUNCTIONALI TY FOR PATRONS
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla.

– The new automated library system installed in Brevard County libraries earlier this month is enhancing patrons’ ability to find, evaluate and reserve books on-line and in libraries
The online catalog offers new and exciting capabilities for library users, with three different catalogs to browse: Discover, Classic, and Kids. When an item is searched, the system now has the ability to provide annotations, books excerpts, reviews, character information, and images of actual book covers.
“I love the new system,” said patron Tracy Schlueb of Titusville . “Before, when I had something that I wanted to find a book about, I had to go to Amazon.com to get the description, then search the library system to find out whether they had the book. Now the information’s all in one place. And when I reserve a book online, I can see what number I am in line, so I have an idea of how long I’ll need to wait for it.”
“This system is easier to use, and the screen is colorful and easy to read, not overwhelming or cluttered. And I love the Kids catalog. It recommends books based on type of book, like picture or chapter book, and then genre. This is great for kids who say they have trouble finding books they like.”
“And I hear that I will be able to renew my books online, no matter which Brevard County library I checked them out from. This is great!”
Patrons are able to search, renew and reserve items at all Brevard County libraries via the www.mylibraryworld.com website.
The new integrated system, created by The Library Corporation, is Windows- and web-based, designed to easily manage library tasks, and create patron and staff efficiencies. It is funded through the federal E-Rate program for discounted telecommunications services and Florida State Aid to Libraries.

The Eye-Balled News

Saturday, September 13, 2008, 3:15 PM PDT




Eye-Balled News
This quote struck me immediately. I came from a person on one of my list servers:

George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming theircircumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. Thepeople who get on in this world are the people who get up and look forthe circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."

HOUSTON (AP) The Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans game has been rescheduled to Sunday, Nov. 9 in Houston.

Department of Justice Fact Sheet on Counterterrorism Efforts Since 9/11Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:03:12 -0500
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the highest priority of the Justice Department has been to protect America against acts of terrorism.

Baby-Mama Drama and Deadbeat DadsCathy Middleton has become black radio's favorite expert on child supportBY CHLOE A. HILLIARD
During a recent 15-minute segment on Power 105's Ed Lover Morning Show, Cathy Middleton fields calls coming in on the jammed switchboard. "She's our most popular guest outside of celebrity artists that come to the show," Jennifer Romero, a screener handling the calls says about Middleton, who is also a regular guest of Wendy Williams at WBLS and Michael Baisden on his syndicated show. A woman named Melissa calls in to the show with a typical question: "My baby's father owes arrears," she says, "but I don't want to collect them because he has been doing really well in paying child support." Now it's true that Middleton has a book called Girl, Get That Child Support: The Baby Mama's Guide to... MORE »


Angry Pentagon employees protest auction of 9/11 mementos on eBayNew Kerala Sat, 13 Sep 2008 6:16 AM PDTWashington, Sept.13 : Employees at the Pentagon have reportedly reacted with anger to move to auction 9/11 memorabilia for hundreds, even thousands of dollars on eBay.

Pentagon awards big grant to UCSDYour Defence News (press release) - Aberdeen,UKA year ago, Congress allocated $301 million to the Pentagon for medical research on PTSD and brain injuries. The sum dwarfs all past military funding of ...See all stories on this topic

Radical Muslims meet on 9/11 anniversaryUPI Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:05 PM PDTLONDON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Followers of an exiled cleric told supporters in London the next terrorist attacks on the scale of those in the United States in 2001 will be in Britain.

Police criticize low bail for sex offenderBoston Globe Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:32 PM PDTNew Bedford police are crying foul after a local judge set bail at $1,000 for a convicted sex offender they believe should be kept off the streets.

Not all attack adds stopped on 9/11The Hill Sat, 13 Sep 2008 6:32 AM PDTSeveral politicians couldn't resist attacking their political opponents on Thursday, despite pledges for a ceasefire on the seventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Senate Finance Committee Approves Two Bills To Help Prevent Neglect, Abuse Of Elderly PatientsMedical News Today Fri, 12 Sep 2008 3:09 PM PDTThe Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday by voice vote approved two bills that seek to prevent neglect and abuse of elderly patients, CQ Today reports. One bill (S 1070), sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), would authorize $777 million to establish state and local training and assistance programs for long-term care employees.

Battling the US healthcare gridlockTVNZ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 7:09 PM PDTFrustrated by the political bickering that has blocked US health care reform for years, a coalition of business and labor groups has joined with an advocacy group for the elderly to try to break the gridlock and achieve success under the next president.


Sexual Violence Issues in the News
Former Gator Dupay charged with rapeGainesville Sun - 9/9/2008Sexual assault, violent crime victims turn to MySpaceGainesville Sun - 9/5/2008Victims lead push for crackdown on cruise ship industryBradenton Herald - 9/2/2008Sex assaults that leave victims pregnant can warrant tougher penalties, court rulesLos Angeles Times - 8/28/2008

Connect With Kids: Tips to Deal with SnakebitesWFMZ Eastern Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey Fri, 12 Sep 2008 8:31 PM PDTvar nopreviewimage = ""; if (nopreviewimage == ""){ document.write(' '); document.write(' '); document.write(' '); } Did you know there are poisonous snakes in our area? Local snake expert Carl Hess, a teacher from Berks County, tells me you can find Timber Rattlesnakes and Northern Copperheads in these parts. Which leads to he question: If your child were bitten by a poisonous snake, ...


Did Autism Save Chris Marino's Life?About - News & Issues - New York,NY,USAto communicate with his autistic son as they drifted apart. After several hours, though, Walter got no response - and assumed the worst. ...See all stories on this topic

Free event to explore autism, addiction and schizophreniaSacramento Bee - CA, USAMysteries of the human mind will be explored Sunday in a two-hour discussion of the latest insights into addiction, schizophrenia and the origins of autism. ...See all stories on this topic
Heads Up Family Travel Bypassing the Roadblocks of AutismNew York Times - United StatesAndrew Asch, 16, has autism, but his parents have tried not to limit his travels, which have included ski trips to Colorado and visits to the Jersey Shore. ...See all stories on this topic
New book refutes vaccine-autism link6abc.com - Philadelphia,PA,USAJennifer said Gabriel was later diagnosed with autism. He didn't speak until he was five. She partly blames genetics, and partly blames vaccines. ...See all stories on this topic

Review: Laurie Anderson seamlessly mixes social commentary, musicLawrence Journal-World Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:52 AM PDTLaurie Anderson, although the “star” of her show, is such a self-effacing reporter that “Homeland,” her multi-song essay addressing the precarious post-9/11 world of the past seven years, struck musical and cultural notes rarely pursued with such vigor by preening mainstream celebrity journalists

Car Dealer Icon Bob Dance Dies
Sep 12 6:35 PM EDT
An icon among local car dealers has died.
Ike Could Mean Hike In Gas Prices
Sep 12 5:20 PM EDT
One of the big concerns with Hurricane Ike is the possible rise in gas prices.
Hazmat: White Powder Letter To Sen. Lynn Was Flour
Sep 12 4:05 PM EDT
Hazmat crews have deemed the white powder found in a letter sent to the office of state Sen. Evelyn Lynn's on Friday to be flour.

FBI: Politician Powder Scares Connected
Sep 12 3:13 PM EDT
Several packages containing a white powder substance cause scares.

Why Do Some People Ignore Evacuation Warnings?Newsweek Fri, 12 Sep 2008 5:00 PM PDTWhat motivates some people to ignore evacuation orders and warnings of hurricanes and other disasters? Inside the psychology of the stubborn.

Psychological Therapies Ease Arthritis PainMedical News Today Sat, 13 Sep 2008 7:09 AM PDTArthritis sufferers can alleviate their pain by using mental imagery and hypnotherapy. This is the finding of Bryan Bennett and colleagues from Bangor University who presented their findings on the11 September 2008, at The British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference held at the University of Bath.

Lavender Scent Calms Dental PatientsMedical News Today Sat, 13 Sep 2008 6:09 AM PDTLavender scent could be an effective means of reducing dental anxiety in patients. This is the finding of Metaxia Kritsidima and her colleagues from King's College London who will present their results at The British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology and European Health Psychology Society Conference at the University of Bath on the 12 September 2008.

It's Good To Talk - British Psychological SocietyMedical News Today Sat, 13 Sep 2008 5:09 AM PDTTelling your partner everything is good for your psychological health. This is the finding of a study presented on the 12 September 2008, at the European Health Psychology Society and British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology Conference 2008.
Pensacola officer slashed with meat cleaver
Sep 13 10:30 AM EDT
A Pensacola code officer is recovering after being attacked by a man wielding a meat cleaver.

Naked Dog Walker Tased By Police
WFTV 9 Orlando - Sep 13 2:37 PM EDT

Judge hopes to aid in keeping crime victims’ helpAlice Echo-News Journal Fri, 12 Sep 2008 4:20 PM PDTSAN DIEGO – The Duval County Crime Victims Office closed its doors last week, after state grant resources were “redirected,” said Duval County Attorney Ricardo Carrillo.

10-year-old surfer plans a pro careerThe Florida Times-Union Fri, 12 Sep 2008 9:42 PM PDTLogan Raulerson, 10, of the Arlington area is an amateur surfer, competing in events all around the state and surfing on the shortboard and longboard.

99-Year Old Woman Among Rapist's VictimsCBS4 Miami Fri, 12 Sep 2008 8:17 PM PDTA Hialeah man has been denied bond for a horrific and heinous crime against two elderly women, ages 99- and 81-years old. Jose Corrales, 33, appeared in bond court Friday, charged with two counts of sexual battery, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of occupied burglary with battery.

Children of missing woman given $50,000 compensationThe Morning Journal Sat, 13 Sep 2008 1:05 AM PDTLORAIN — The two children of a Lorain women who has been missing almost 10 years were given $50,000 from the Ohio Victims of Crime Compensation Fund, although no crime has been linked to her disappearance.

What is wrong with our justice systemWausau Daily Herald Fri, 12 Sep 2008 9:12 PM PDTAs a part of our series of stories examining the criminal justice system in Marathon County, Wausau Daily Herald reporters are interviewing people involved at all levels of the system, from policymakers, judges and cops to inmates and crime victims. Featured below are views from behind the bench, and from behind steel doors.
Judge: brain-injured girl to take part in hearingBoston Globe Sat, 13 Sep 2008 8:19 AM PDTA judge now says that a brain-injured girl will take part in a hearing on her ability to testify against the stepfather accused of abusing her.
=z= The novelist, journalist and psychologist Michael Zangari http://zangarijournalism.com

Be Peppered

photo from fotosearch

Be-Peppered

On other medical grounds, how about black pepper?

I like essential oils and this sounds like an interesting one. This article does not mention the sperm reducing qualities of black pepper or other side effects, but I find it a useful summary for the ancient medicine.

I can't help imagine a post ZBlog dialog.

In my mind, the post-ZBlog dialog goes like this:

“Honey, what a surprise, Pepper Steak” he says.
His wife smiles as she dishes a larger than normal scoop of the pepper sauce onto the rice.
“I really liked the Peppered Chicken from last night too.”
She drizzles on a little more Pepper Sauce and curly-cues the run off.
“The Peppered Peppercorns in the Pepper soup from the night before last was also killer.”
She smiles broadly, “You know how I love to love you baby…”

The biggest advantage is that you do not need a referring doctor to use it.

http://www.ageless.co.za/200508-colon-black-pepper.htm

Hurricanes and HMOs

Entry for September 13, 2008
Hurricanes and HMOs
I have family and friends who live in a hurricane strike-zone. I imagine we are watching TV and listening to the radio together like old times.
I am just in the helpless and worried position I like so much to be in. My thoughts are with the survivors surviving and with their families who may be seperated from them.
I can remember the most intense period of worry in my life was during the last major earthquake in California. The phone lines were down. It was days before I could contact the woman I was dating at the time. The present hung like the fruit on a mango tree, heavy and present.
When communications were restored the release was psychic and physical at the same time, one big out breath. She survived, shaken up but OK.
**********
I have a broken foot and a few other things going on at the moment. The increase in buying basic medication has once again reminded me of Medicare cuts at the State level. I am grateful for the medication breaks the state picked up in the past and am worried about the future. I take a lot of heart and cognition medication. I have several prescriptions over $200 a piece because there are no generic substitutes.
I am currently with Wellcare HMO, who has been the subject of a major Federal and State investigation for fraud. They have reduced staff and are pulling out of the State of Florida as a result.
I have had trouble with someone using my medical identity card for health care and have had to report this to the FBI, IRS, and Social Security. The case is evidently still under investigation. Evidently someone has also worked under my Social Security card transition
I lost my wallet several years ago when I was in transition and had most of my identification in the wallet.
I recommend bolting your wallet to your hip-bone or carrying less ID in your wallet. I bet you are way ahead of me HMO on that one.
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Speaking psychologist never really liked them when I was working in the field. As a counseling psychologist and manager in the Social Services field they limited choice of doctor and treatment.
I was granted the highest category for a psychologist at my level (M.A.) for insurance reimbursements, but was limited by who I could help.
I like WellCare people.
But working with referrals and follow ups can be a problem.
Post procedure I was referred to two Doctors for follow-up. Doctors have to authorized by a HMO main provider so they can get paid. It costs me approximately double the money to use a Non-HMO doctor, the doctors the hospital used and recommended. In this case they were not part of the HMO.
It took approximately one week to get authorization for follow-up. I have what might be a serious internal infection and broken bone(s.) I could have booked my own doctors but at double the cost.I feel a lot of compassion for people with AIDS and other life threatening diseases.
My situation is probably everyone situation when using HMOs. I know now that when going into the hospital there are several factors that impact your treatment.
I am slow with these.
Not only do you have to suspend your life to go into the hospital you have to be aware of process. That means you have to be aware of the finances, treatment plan, and follow up at a time when you are basically sick. Most of my hospital stays have always ended in the same way. I am sick of being sick and can't wait to get back to what I was doing. I am well most of the time as result because I practice (to what ever degree I am able) wellness.
I am pretty good at detail because I have made a lot of mistakes.
I told my doctors when I was going into the hospital. I alerted them when I got out. I made sure they had records of the stay.
I am slow in the areas of detail. To work constructively with my autism in this context moves me forward. I have time to contract things within structure.
As I said I multi-task well in a structured environment. When chaos hits the fan and scatters thing I get lost in detail. Picking up afterward can be an enlightening experience. You have to micro-mange your life to see what you've missed and that slows you down even more.
It's not double checking. Every time I check things it's a new experience. That's short term memory--tacking.
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Tags: autism, healthcare, identitytheft, losingyourwallet, fraud, hmos, catostrphicsituationswhenyouarenotthere, Edit Tags
Saturday September 13, 2008 - 11:31am (EDT) Edit Delete Permanent Link 0 Comments
Entry for September 10, 2008 The Social Security Debit Card
Eye-Balled News
10:00 AM EDT MondaySocial Security debit card introduced
September 9, 2008 - The Terrorist Screening Database and Watchlisting Process Rick Kopel, Principal Deputy Director, Terrorist Screening Center, FBI, Before the House Committee on Homeland Security
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