"Crisis in the Twenty-First Century!"

...our President says that the UN could go down in history as an ineffective, irrelevant debating society...there may be pamphlets distributed by apartment managers & hotel staff stating that high profile, al-Qaeda terrorists could attack these structures...we should get to know our neighbors & adopt disaster plans; but overall, we should not overreact...

...2/14/03: Valentine's Day, 92% humidity & KOAT films AM program from a florist @Central & Rio Grande...

...2/14/03: Town Hall Meeting with Peter Jennings, part of his In Search of America project...2/15/03: anti-war protests around the world...cities include London, Baghdad, NYC, Phoenix & Rome...in all, there were marches in more than 600 cities...in NM, demonstrations took place in Corales, Santa Fe & Alamogordo, with placards reading "Impeach Bush"...the message was that women & children die, while the people in power are never caught or punished...pro-war & anti-war protestors stood side by side...those in favor of an attack say Nuke 'em! & It worked in Japan 60 years ago!...2/16/03: the Daytona 500...more anti-war parades in SF & Denver...

...the woman who was caught on videotape beating her child will serve time in jail...

...2/16/03: snow was falling from Missouri to New Jersey, with flakes coming down at a rate of 2 to 4 inches an hour in parts of Maryland...snow fell in Omaha & St. Louis...forecasts ranged from a foot of snow by late Monday in Rhode Island to two feet possible overnight in Maryland and northern Virginia...the BW Parkway was closed, plus Reagan & BWI airports...Dulles had one runway open, but many flights have been cancelled due to the storm...places in the south, such as Atlanta, had heavy rain, T'storms & tornadoes...it is a slow storm, fueled by Gulf moisture...gusty winds & coastal flooding are expected...the Ohio River is higher than normal...

...NM wants to ban the death penalty...the prisoner would instead serve a life sentence...

...2/14/03: missed every bus connection...took 2.5 hours to pick up books...the journey usually takes 1.5 - 2 hours...the good part was that it took Brad longer than expected to cook the shrimp...

...still amazing...2/14/03: a teenager with punk hair & outfit took off his hat & blessed himself as the bus passed a church...a skateboarder said Thank You twice when I pressed the STOP signal on the bus...he had pushed it too early and it was turned off by the driver...neither were at fault, just bad timing...

...in search of...a 2 square miles search of the canyons in the Sandias near the Embudito Trail did not produce any space shuttle debris...these pieces in NM may be critical in determining what went wrong...nothing has been found W of FT Worth, TX...the NM NATL Guard returns home from TX where they have been examing the wreckage for dangerous compounds...

...2/17/03: N Korea threatened to abandon the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, accusing the United States of plotting an attack on the communist state...

...the UN is not ready to go to war with Iraq for months, since Saddam is o-operating, albeit very slowly...the informant who helped escalate our terrorist warning failed a lie detector test...the people of America should be informed, not alarmed...the more security checks at borders, the less illegal drugs that enter the country...but people have to wait as much as 2 hours as a result of these new procedures...Terak Aziz visited the Pope in Rome...a Terrorist Threat Center will be created...a new UN resolution would be needed if actions had to be taken against Iraq...it would not have to specifically include the word force...the US & UK may set a deadline for results...in other issues, Belgium, France & Germany want to send troops to protect Turkey...the US military & its Patriot missles have returned to protect Israel...however, the American Red Cross has moved out of its DC HQ...

"You wanna jiggie with me?"

...Ben Affleck stars in Marvel's Daredevil movie...2/15/03: snow in Santa Fe Plaza...T'storms near Santa Rosa...chance of rain, but none came to ABQ...maybe on 2/18/03...in NM, we are in a zonal flow, pushing the storms across our state...lunch at Casa Grande...Wild Oats market is not worth going to again...the Space Museum in Alamogordo may close due to lack of money needed to make repairs & improve the sprinkler system...risk levels may be created for NM sex offenders...in DC, a man was shot at a gas station...a jogger passed the body and three cars drove around the body & got gas...one person saw the victim get shot!...

...2/16/03: movie-goers took Ben Affleck up on his latest dare...as in Daredevil, a big-budget gamble on an obscure comic-book character...it paid off nicely with a $43.5 million weekend debut...the Lord of the Rings took in another $3.4 million, reaching $325 million to date...

..2/14/03: saw black guy who used to be a morning regular...got on LOMAS bus @Wyoming; got off @Monroe...told me to say "Hi" to Stan...

...the country enjoys a good musical, such as Chicago (and all that jazz!)...

...2/17/03: a U-2 surveillance plane made its first flight over Iraq in support of the current UN inspection mission, marking another concession by Saddam Hussein's regime to stave off a US-led attack...

...2/18/03: Yoko Ono turns 70!...

...2/17/03: Hope will not pick up out Clinic billing sheets...she wants them brought to her...she wanted Cassandra to stop by her area; Hope had something to say & show her...Cassandra refused...Hope has said that she cannot read Cassandra's writing...I can!...to keep track of all I/P visits, we will have to read every chart every day...in that case, we might as well generate the orange or green cards...this will prevent the need to visit Medical Records, or request the charts after the fact...we will try this for two days, E-mail Rosanne the results and ask her opinion...we want to know if this is what she wanted us to do...if so, this will begin on 3/3/03 (the first day of work in March)..."our Pat" called, wanted to know when did the Clinic not send billing sheets for an entire week (1/13/03)...also, was there a lot of January charges not entered before the month closed (yes)...and the backlog keeps getting bigger & bigger at the Clinic...Ted brought some charges for dx...attached was a small yellow sheet with Coders on it...

...2/15/03: received another letter from a debt collector regarding my credit card debts...Brad called them on 2/17/03...we should disregard; they just received the bankruptcy notice...

...2/17/03: the DC Super Snow Storm of 2003, as powerful as those in '96 & '83...

...2/17/03: Brad's T-cell count is high, and his viral load is very low...he made pot
roast...with Chinese Rice Noodles, a great meal!...

...20 inches of snow has fallen in DC...snow plows are stuck!...this is the sixth heaviest storm in history...some sleet may be mixed in with the snow...more snow for the N mountains in NM...more rain in ABQ by end of week?...temp reached 61 on 2/17/03 [President's Day]...the President's usual helicopter flight became a 2.5 hour drive back to the White House from Camp David in MD...and there will still be a wreath laying ceremony at Mt. Vernon [in VA] to honor George Washington...2/18/03: still snowing in DC! (lightly)...the gov't has shut down...21 deaths due to the blizzard, including one man who froze to death while trying to get to his car for warmth, since he had no heat in his house...MD & VA (and others) have declared states of emergency...planes grounded until Thursday (?)...

...London, England drivers will have to pay an $8 toll to drive in the congested 8 sq. mi. downtown area....

...the terror alert may be dropped to yellow soon...an emergency kit should be prepared for your pets...on a taped message, Osama bin Laden states he will die within the year...high security at the hospital this past weekend; expect more random searches during the week...2/18/03: the US is E-mailing to people in Iraq, urging them to remove Saddam Hussein from power, because our country does not want to hurt you or your family...the US also lists radio free stations that can provide more info...in this country, www.ready.gov can tell you how to prepare for any type of attack...

...it is no longer completely dark when waiting for the Central bus in the early AM...but the 5th & Gold bus stop is gone...the bus will stop @6th & Silver...2/17/03: E-mail SunTran, asking if this is temporary or permanent...it will be permanent until the US GOVT decides otherwise...the stop is in front of 2 federal structures...ran for the morning & evening buses, made them both...2/18/03: the bus stopped further down 6th, so I had to run farther, but still made it, thanks to some yelling ("STOP!")...not so with the ride home...

...need special form when filing NM taxes for the first time...Brad obtained the necessary paperwork...now I owe NM $1700+; Brad, $90 from money earned in 2001 as a New Mexico citizen...what money?...the cashing in of the 401(k) accounts...some of that money will be returned to us from this year's refunds...

...Brad can now find lots of things to do, from writing to painting to reading to cooking to creating necklaces...!...

...2/17/03: my sinuses & head were aching all day...nothing I took (& I took a lot!) helped...2/18/03: 48 degrees @5 AM; 48 @5 PM...meeting with Dr. Brandt @9 (during Rounds)...I walked all the way from PICU back to my desk, told the training was cancelled, and continued my Rounds...the tension between Cassandra & Hope keeps escalating...words of war...light rain during the AM, lunch & after work...the day was cool, windy & raw!...Chinese market has taro root wafers...received monthly NMAS call from Eric...reality check: Cassandra sees the time it takes to do the Rounds (actually, 50% of the Rounds)...that, and she has to return to her desk and code NICU & Newborn billing sheets...Daily Baby forms take the most time...if she wants, I could help her...2/19/03: on 2/20/03, she will work on E/R charges after doing her Rounds...snips between her & Rosie...why don't people just leave us alone & let us do our jobs? (that sounds like a line from a TV show!)...Rosanne can say that we did something wrong, or didn't do a certain task, and there is nothing in writing to determine if she is right!...that dreaded phrase Put it in writing! strikes terror in people's hearts...

"Elsewhere in the world...!"

...120 killed by a subway fire in S Korea...N Korea jet flies into S Korea airspace...night club panic kills 21 in Chicago...fighting continues in the Gaza Strip...

...2/18/03: saw Buffy with Brad...better than last season; Buffy is doing something other than complaining (everyone else is doing that!)...2/19/03: from out of the past, Brad created a great Philly cheese steak sandwich, brining back the days of America @Union Station...it was so good, we repeated the meal on 2/20/03!...we have come to a mutually agreeable decision that, for now, Brad does not need to work...so, Brad has retired @55!...

...query of the day: will Turkey allow troops, also known as defensive systems, on its soil, NATO or otherwise...the US did not live up to its promises with Turkey after the Gulf Crisis...2/20/03: so, Turkey says, Don't rush us, we have to think about this!...maybe some extra time & money might help...Bush puts pressure on his friends (NATO) & enemy (Iraq)...2/19/03: US & UK want to set a 3-week time limit for the UN to decide if the policies of Iraq have resulted in a material breech of previous resolutions...

...2/19/03: power blink in the hospital...nothing affected...the fast pace at the hospital never lets up...the bait bus...Miguel & be patient!...Miguel encountered hail; did not like it when the pellets struck him!...received 130 pieces of "specialty" crap from the Clinic...Geri has carte blanche for O/T...received WCC with incorrect selections, gave them to Doris with a note...APC value being transferred to E/M code...a new chair was requested for Cassandra, since hers sinks during the day...I E-mailed Rosanne; she asked me why it was needed, and that Cassandra should contact her...2/21/03: nix on the chair, due to budget constraints...Hope wants copies of batch sheets to be brought to her...by Cassandra!...and, as always, Hope's ass is in my face when she enters our area...

...2/19/03: Hollywood is urging Americans to phone or E-mail people in Congress on 2/26/03 from 9A-5P in a Virtual War on Washington...90 US cities have publically opposed the war...the Dow bounces around the 8000 mark!...

...kid with jaw wired rides with me...the construction & destruction of the downtown streets!...2 Central buses die @5th & Copper...