"Put it in writing!" (a very deadly phrase)

"Azzarb & the Elusive Mr. b continue..."

...8/13/02: the Cherry Creek fire has burnt 1,500 acres near Durango & Red Mesa, CO...8/16/02: the blaze is 100% contained...PCs were stolen from the PEDS office during the first week in August...8/12/02: a meteor shower was at its peak as it soared through NM skies...Frank's new title: Organizational Resource Manager...crazy people are blessed (or cursed) with the eternal gift of gab...alone, at last is not a familiar phrase to Mike...20 lb. pine cones fall from trees near San Jose, CA...Captain's hair is matting or clumping...

...8/5/02: Brad's first day at BC/BS, and he was pleased with the staff & the building itself; this one looks more solid than the one in DC; he will be determining what to pay; and other people will enter it on the system (does this sound familiar?) ...his company also allows domestic partners to be added as an eligible member for health insurance coverage...8/6/02: a rough second day for the entire class...8/7/02: Brad let out early due a system crash at their TX office...8/8/02: Brad will be on the floor for a week after his initial training, then attend 3 more weeks of specialized training, similar to the TAD unit of times past...the business is strict but somewhat sensible...there is no paper trails, everything is done on-line...8/8/02: Brad get a ride home from a co-worker...8/9/02: system problems in the AM, causing everyone to blank out when trying to use a PC during the PM...Brad's first BC/BS paycheck...8/13/02: open house at BC/BS, complete with the mayor...this was also mentioned during the Channel 7 morning news on 8/11/02...the event will take place in the late afternoon; Brad took some great pictures...it is an old building that has been completely renovated...but, the trainees will have their lunch shifts cut in half for the rest of the week to make up the lost time...500 new jobs for the city...to help him understand the material, Brad is also creating a Tech Manual (aka cheat sheets)...he can wear jeans to work every day of the week...fewer people are showing up for one reason or another...8/23/02: pot luck lunch; Brad made curried chicken w/rice & raisins...great leftovers...he will process claims for one week, then train to become an examiner...8/30/02:

Brad has survived one month & will process claims on the floor...BC/BS has a policy that if a person has potential but are not doing well in the a particular position, they will relocate a person to a different job before having to fire them...

"Dangerous Record Heat Conditions!" "High Temperatures!" "Low Humidity!" 98 degrees in ABQ! 104 in Hobbs! 105 in Carlsbad! "No relief in sight for the weekend!"

...8/15/02: and hot it was...108 degrees in Hobbs, 105 in Carlsbad & 97 in ABQ (which tied the record high for this date)...8/16/02: wind & clouds kept the temperatures slightly lower than the day before, but the extreme conditions continue through the weekend...the monsoon weather should return by mid-week with cooler, wetter conditions...8/18/02: the high for ABQ will be 97; Denver, 57...8/19/02: storms loom over the eastern mountains by 3 PM, and a flash flood warning is in effect for the small streams & arroyos...8/20/02: the warning continues in Roosevelt & Curry counties wher 3 inches of rain fell during the night, and much more is expected as this storm slowly moves at 15 mph...Portales & Dora are in this area...SunPort had over .5 inches of rain during the afternoon of 8/19/02...dryer weather is expected, although more rain would be welcomed...8/20/02: lots of wind, some rain, thunder & lightning in the early evening...small fires are left to burn in the Gila Natl Forest in order to remove the underbrush...none are greater than 300 acres...the temperatures are high and the humidity is low going into the last full week of August...105 degrees (hot) in Carlsbad on 8/26; 106, on 8/27/02; 25, in Angel Fire (cold) on 8/26/02...

...8/15/02: because of the situation at UPA, I sent in my morning sign-in to Rosanne a list of reasons why Brad would be a good Coder...she has read the E-mail, but has not responded yet...8/16/02: Rosanne still wants Brad to start in a part-time E/R job...I tell Brad he has to sell himself to her, to be considered as a potential candidate for the position...the NM Lottery had record sales of $130 million; $30 million will go to scholarships...some comforting news (?); ABQ is ready & able to defend itself against a terrorist attack...Bush wants to see a plan for evacuating DC Federal workers in case of a terrorist attack...8/17/02: 2,000 small missiles, worth over $5 million, were found in Roswell...classes on terrorism were held there, attended by many students from the Arabic world...the company HEAT (High Energy Access Tools) ran this school...a hearing will be held in El Paso, TX in late August...David Hudak, the accused, waived a hearing and will face a federal magistrate in Las Cruces...there will be a second attempt to design a new WTC in New York; achitects from around the globe can submit their plans...100 fake air bags for cars have been discovered and contain only garbage & no protective material...the baseball strike may begin on 8/30/02...why do sports teams always strike during the season, and not before or after them?...the movie xXx is the box office hit 2 weeks in a row!...however, Signs regains its number 1 position during the last full weekend in August...

Shadows of Times Past... "We are highjacking this bus to Cuba (NM)!"

...8/15/02: the West Nile Virus, which has killed 10 people as of 8/15/02, 18 by 8/25/02, and has caused more than 1,000 to become ill, has spread into every state east of the Mississippi, northern CO, southern WY & western TX, no more than 30 miles from Tucumcari, NM...8/20/02: a death was reported in KY...8/21/02: a horse in Tucumcari is the first NM casualty from the mosquito borne West Nile Virus...8/27/02: a horse in Roosevelt County is infected with the virus...8/30/02: a third in Roosevelt County (still alive), and one in Lea County...so far no human has died in NM...

The Land That Time Should Have Forgotten...

...the father of a man who died at the World Trade Center calls a $100 trillion federal lawsuit the right thing to do...the suit targets Sudan's government, Saudi officials, banks & charities, and accuses them of footing the bill for the al-Qaida...the goal is to bankrupt terrorists; but the charges will be hard to prove and even harder to get a settlement...an official for one of the defendants in the $100 trillion lawsuit filed by relatives of the Sept.11 victims says the suit is meritless...the National Commercial Bank official likens the action to blackmail...

...ABQ will hold ceremonial events on 9/11/02, the Day of Remembrance...bells will be rung at 7 AM...

...while the media says it's a rare occurrance, more child abductions are taking place across the country, in rural & urban areas...

...8/16/02: my thanks to the Eubank bus driver who allowed me to get on while he was stopped at a traffic light...my second thanks to the Menaul bus driver who made 4 teenagers get off the bus, due to their loud & foul language...she asked them at least once to be quieter.. they ignored her request...Harley Davidson is 100 years old...

...President Bush visited Las Cruces, NM on 8/24/02 to attend political fundraising events...raised $600,000 for the candidates...said one Republican voter, Bush said the things I wanted to hear...Europe has been devasted with heavy summer rain and the aftermath of flooded cities...the number who have died exceeds 100...China is also coping with too much rain in too short a time...both Europe & the Middle East say that President Bush should tone down his war rhetoric towards Iraq; the President has no set timetable, and will have to decide if he needs the help from these countries should he decide to attack Iraq...we all have our priorities...the FBI says that identifying the bodies from the 9/11 tragedy is higher on the list than identifying DNA samples found at a child's abduction site...Bush says we should use diplomacy & intelligence (?) to handle the Middle East crisis (it's about time that we did!)...8/27/02: VP Cheney says we should attack Iraq ASAP...he also says the lumber companies should be allowed to help clear land ravaged by this year's fires (and thereby start a process to claim the land for big businesses)...the Constitution does not require the president to have Congress' approval to attack a country...8/27/02: Bush met with the Saudi ambassador, but could not convince him to join in the war with Iraq, or allow troops on Saudi soil...war must be the last, not first, answer or reaction...but the president may not wait for allied support in this battle...

... (former) President Clinton may soon become a talk show host...8/24/02: the King & Queen of Greece were in Nob Hill, visiting their son, who goes to college in ABQ...the 2004 Summer Olympic Games will be held in that country...

...8/23/02: Hurricane Fausto is in the Pacific; its wind speed is 140 mph, but is no threat to any land masses...

...8/21/92; Hurricane Andrew struck the United States, causing $26 billion [$36 billion at today's rates] in damage, killing 200+ people and toppling 13 oil platforms...

8/22/2002: a Day of Defeat! Legal Hassles! Work Hassles! Domestic Hassles! Financial Hassles!

...8/20/02: Ann's next to last day, Rosanne is out until 8/27/02, Roxanne is out & Geri does the Rounds then disappears (she is a Senior Coder)...this is my cybertherapy...writing how I feel...8/21/02: again I do the Rounds alone...Geri has a meeting & Roxanne has work in her own area...Ann arrives around 10, then goes on her quest for additional signatures that will allow her to leave her job at UPA...Geri & Roxanne go to a training meeting in the PM...Ann left at 3:15...I have lost a person who could answer my questions, and one of my line of defenses...but, I still have Geri as protection...as for answers; well!...Roxanne says that she has to work in her area so as not to create another area with a backlog...Geri will continue looking up dictations at her work area...and I will do the Rounds at least until the end of the week, and be by myself (as of now)...I forgot to complete my time sheet, which was corrected by Darlene (I forgot to complete the last 3 days)...I was accused of having greenbar reports that we had never received since I have worked in PEDS...but our cabinet was opened & searched...the result: nothing...as I had stated, for a second time in as many months...so; Ann is gone...8/22/02: another report was produced, and given to the requestor by moi, who thanked me...Dr. Handmaker takes over for Dr. Webster, due to illness...the charts are updated and everything is signed, commented & correct...what to do or complete first...Roxanne will be out all next week...Ann wants to get more experience at Presbyterian so she can demand higher pay when she returns to UPA...a familiar trait of Ann's was to meow like a cat attacking when someone spoke to her in an unfriendly way...8/27/02: Ann called & spoke to Geri; she may be missing us already...

...8/23/02: Geri wanted to reduce the number of dictation & billing sheets from the PEDS clinic...even with doing the Rounds, we ended the day with a few clinic charges and carved a big bite from the dictation pile...Geri worked at a constant pace, taking time to talk to people, but still getting the job done...and she does not smoke...Geri had her daughter during the afternoon (early leave school day)...Doris (Clinic Manager) stops buy to get work for her area, and to monitor the current backlogs...8/26/02: told to process the O/P consults for Dr. Fahl & Dr. Rose...no need to scan dictation files...Rosanne returned to work...Geri had to go to a funeral, out during AM...8/27/02: finally we are told that we can change the CPT codes on Infx Dx & Endo. green cards...we are also told the Hem./Onc. should not bill for chemo services, since the nurses actually perform the procedures; the current method had been the norm prior to my arrival in Jan.!....

...8/21/02: stress has caused my deafness to get worse...could not hear anything with my right ear, then had contant ringing...this has subsided...early AM 8/25/02: slight panic attack...United, Continental & Delta have formed a buddy system to help people find the flight they want to their destination...AVIS is helping Budget get customers as it faces bankruptcy proceedings...8/26/02: 2 3-car accidents under I-25 near Lomas within a 5 hour period...one was a fender bender, the other was a serious crash...

...8/26/02: in Santa Fe National Forest the Fenton Lake Fire is now 1,000 acres and moving north. Winds of 10 to 15 mph are feeding the flames...after 6 weeks, the fire in Oregon has been contained, having burnt over 500,000 acres...(see more)

...Killer Bees from South America invaded NM in 1998...