I am sitting here at the business center of a hotel in Phoenix paying for internet access when the advertisement for the hotel claim to have internet access in every room. Why is that? Because the teevee web service at $9.95 per 24 hours bites. The keyboard is wireless. If one types at a speed of more than 2 words a minute-- in the words of Tony Soprano or someone I vaguely remember from my childhood perhaps-- "Ferget about it!" The thing freezes up with regularity and suddenly a decent working computer at the business center [for 50 cents a minute after the first 10 minutes for 5 bucks] looks like a bargain. As for the internet connection, the hotel is hot to sell ya their wifi card but no internet support staff exists. They are not interested. In expensive San Francisco, the hotel there had a nifty little wire one could use to connect up via laptop. That avenue is much preferred.
The hotel otherwise is alright. Right on features include the pool and whirlpool outdoors with shedding hibiscus flowers resembling alien roses; and the free breakfast. The laundry room makes it very easy to wash clothes-- 2.50 or 3 bucks-- and to dry clothes at 2.50. Lack of a trade dollars for quarters machine hurts as did the failing to dispense laundry detergent machine experience of my first day here.
The grill is a bar with the complimentary breakfast and some cheap dinners. Food in Phoenix is affordable and there are several options for dinner. The prime rib special on Friday and Saturday nights [yummy at under 15 bucks] is an affordable option.
Left out features include internet support-- even the Holiday Inn in San Diego had that-- a concierge, and courtesy cab phone calls. The staff is mostly friendly if business-like. Lack of a real restaurant certainly hurts.
Best thing has to be the busstop right across the street which brings one to the Metrocenter. Once there, a huge mall can be found along with buses to everywhere anyone could want to goto in Phoenix. With a Medicare card, discounted busfares can be had by anyone-- a definite plus.
Would I stay at this hotel again? [Psssst: the Ramada Inn at Metrocenter.] Yeah sure. The maid service is efficient and no yellow scorpions graced my bed at night or fell out of my clothing by day.
Phoenix is a [Sonoran] desert after all.
sapphoq reviews
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
TRAIN FOOD 4/22/07
Amtrak has some adventures for those of us interested in getting to know our country from the [rather dirty] windows of their scenic view train routes. For those of us who have paid the exorbitant rate to upgrade to a sleeper of any variety, meals are included. For those of us who haven't, we can buy our meals at the dining room, buy off of the snack stand, or bring our own.
I was advised by a friend who also has sleep apnea that I really did need to upgrade to sleepers for my trip. Consequently, my presence was expected in the dining room for several meals so far-- two breakfasts, a lunch, and two dinners.
The best things on the menus are the iced tea with lemon, chocolate bundt cake, and cheesecake with either chocolate syrup or strawberries.
The most salty things include the quiche, the vegetarian veggies, and damn near anything else they serve ya. The safest breakfast is oatmeal or cereal with fruit. The safest dinner is one half of a chicken baked. Anything else is at your peril.
sapphoq reviews
Saturday, April 14, 2007
SICK SATURDAYS 4/14/07
Whatever you do, don't decide to seek medical attention on a Saturday.
On Saturdays, my doctor's medical practice offers hours.
Who is there on any given Saturday is pot luck.
Originally, the physicians' assistants were assigned to take on Saturdays and evenings on a rotating basis.
Doctors secretly complain about what liabilities that the P.A.s are to them but forget that patients like the physicians' assistants.
"What the hell is he doing here today?"
The rent-a-nurse shrugged. "It's becoming more common to have one of the docs work today."
I offered her the same vacant smile she offered me.
Office politics.
Mustn't ask.
In walks doctor friend of doctor.
They forgot to tell doctor friend of doctor a few things in medical school.
Thus in my ever present spirit of helpfulness, here are my pointers for dealing with Nervous Wreck:
(1). Do not tell Nervous Wreck something like, "I hope it's only that."
Do not then say, "Uh if you get feverish or see blood, go to an e.r.--
right away."
Especially if Nervous Wreck is leaving on a long trip the next day.
Nervous Wreck is well-acquainted with every health rule and symptom
there is. Furthermore, cruising Medscape is her hobby.
She knows every single thing that can go wrong with human, dog, cat,
frog, or husband.
(2). Listen to Nervous Wreck when she tells you that it's the little tomatoes
in the sauce that triggers runs for two days.
Don't repeat the words "little tomatoes" in a monotone to show Nervous Wreck that you are listening.
You are getting paid to listen, moron.
Nervous Wreck has made it through life thus far by being able to spot
faking interest.
(3). Don't tell Nervous Wreck that San Francisco is a beautiful city. Nervous
Wreck has already paid enough attention to know more about your
proclivities and has known for several years what they involve. [Hint:
that pic in the specialty magazine...Nervous Wreck reads everything
obsessively on her obsessive jaunts to the bookstore].
(4). Dump the entire Saturday office staff. They are lazy and badly dressed.
(5). Bring back the physicians' assistants on Saturdays dammit.
sapphoq the Nervous Wreck reviews
On Saturdays, my doctor's medical practice offers hours.
Who is there on any given Saturday is pot luck.
Originally, the physicians' assistants were assigned to take on Saturdays and evenings on a rotating basis.
Doctors secretly complain about what liabilities that the P.A.s are to them but forget that patients like the physicians' assistants.
"What the hell is he doing here today?"
The rent-a-nurse shrugged. "It's becoming more common to have one of the docs work today."
I offered her the same vacant smile she offered me.
Office politics.
Mustn't ask.
In walks doctor friend of doctor.
They forgot to tell doctor friend of doctor a few things in medical school.
Thus in my ever present spirit of helpfulness, here are my pointers for dealing with Nervous Wreck:
(1). Do not tell Nervous Wreck something like, "I hope it's only that."
Do not then say, "Uh if you get feverish or see blood, go to an e.r.--
right away."
Especially if Nervous Wreck is leaving on a long trip the next day.
Nervous Wreck is well-acquainted with every health rule and symptom
there is. Furthermore, cruising Medscape is her hobby.
She knows every single thing that can go wrong with human, dog, cat,
frog, or husband.
(2). Listen to Nervous Wreck when she tells you that it's the little tomatoes
in the sauce that triggers runs for two days.
Don't repeat the words "little tomatoes" in a monotone to show Nervous Wreck that you are listening.
You are getting paid to listen, moron.
Nervous Wreck has made it through life thus far by being able to spot
faking interest.
(3). Don't tell Nervous Wreck that San Francisco is a beautiful city. Nervous
Wreck has already paid enough attention to know more about your
proclivities and has known for several years what they involve. [Hint:
that pic in the specialty magazine...Nervous Wreck reads everything
obsessively on her obsessive jaunts to the bookstore].
(4). Dump the entire Saturday office staff. They are lazy and badly dressed.
(5). Bring back the physicians' assistants on Saturdays dammit.
sapphoq the Nervous Wreck reviews
Monday, April 09, 2007
MICROSOFT STRIKES AGAIN 4/9/07
The un-wonderful folks over at Micro$oft haven't given up on squeezing all of the money that they can out of their customers.
Seems that the Windows Genuine [dis]Advantage spyware thingy makes for many false claims of pirated software. I bought an upgrade to a Windows product. W.G.A. failed. In the course of investigating the "failure" which produced crashes every time I tried to activate the product in question, I found a board run by a volunteer related to these false positives. Confusion reigns.
To top it off, the only suggestion at the Micro$oft site is to buy oneself an "authentic" key for the same price as the boxed software.
The phone number is hard to locate and indeed, I had to sign onto chat in order to locate one.
Once I did, it was another 45 minutes of a guy from India telling me what to do and me doing it.
Oh, I'm not done yet.
It turns out that M$ Office is "pirated" also.
Thumbs down, along with all of the other fingers except for perhaps the middle one.
I'm switching to Apple; or possibly Linux [Ubuntu+wyne] just as soon as I'm able.
Sue me, Bill Gates.
sapphoq reviews
Windows+Genuine+Advantage
Windows+Genuine+disAdvantage
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
KATHY SIERRA 4/3/07
Kathy Sierra, blogger extraodinaire, was recently driven out of her part of the web by a bunch of creeps. I am aware that events and activities can have many facets to the telling and yes, I have investigated all the sides I could find. I did find two of the pictures which had been doctored up. I found them to be chilling. I will not continue the madness by re-posting them here.
I also learned that posting personal information about someone else on the internet-- like an address or a picture or a social security number-- is not legal in many places. Not funny or justifiable by any quasi "freedom of speech" sort of arguments. And a few steps up from trolling or flaming or even starting a forest fire.
The bruhaha took me out of my self-centeredness for a needed breather. We witches/pagans/heathens do have our petty little snits. With the exception of the actions of two or three players, our swipes at each other aren't really anything much. To be sure, the stance of a somewhat wary watchfulness is wise when dealing with faceless strangers who fly past us in Electronica. Social networking sites and e-groups can foster a sense of intimacy among acquaintances who haven't actually met f2f in Meatland. It is that false sense of recognition that can lull us into a false sense of safety.
I am by no means blaming any target. There is far too much of that going on. This is what targets have to do with getting selected as targets: having an opinion, expressing that opinion, breathing.
We can blame the early evolution of Usenet groups. We can learn what to do and what not to do. We can point to yahell's own unique trolls. We can mutter about the crudeness and rudeness of others. We can go on a troll hunt ourselves. There are techniques. How-tos are easily available to anyone with a working net-capable computer. Or maybe we can just go on being bloggers. We do not always agree and we do not have to.
Comments are moderated due to the wonderful spambots infesting blogger which encourage the purchase of whatever it is being sold. For this post, I am turning the comment function off. I don't get a bunch anyways-- other than a few feeble attempts to hijack a thread of thought. And I understand that turning off the comment function for any article that mentions trolling pisses them off more.
Have a great day or night if you want to.
sapphoq reviews
trolls
flamers
flame wars
I also learned that posting personal information about someone else on the internet-- like an address or a picture or a social security number-- is not legal in many places. Not funny or justifiable by any quasi "freedom of speech" sort of arguments. And a few steps up from trolling or flaming or even starting a forest fire.
The bruhaha took me out of my self-centeredness for a needed breather. We witches/pagans/heathens do have our petty little snits. With the exception of the actions of two or three players, our swipes at each other aren't really anything much. To be sure, the stance of a somewhat wary watchfulness is wise when dealing with faceless strangers who fly past us in Electronica. Social networking sites and e-groups can foster a sense of intimacy among acquaintances who haven't actually met f2f in Meatland. It is that false sense of recognition that can lull us into a false sense of safety.
I am by no means blaming any target. There is far too much of that going on. This is what targets have to do with getting selected as targets: having an opinion, expressing that opinion, breathing.
We can blame the early evolution of Usenet groups. We can learn what to do and what not to do. We can point to yahell's own unique trolls. We can mutter about the crudeness and rudeness of others. We can go on a troll hunt ourselves. There are techniques. How-tos are easily available to anyone with a working net-capable computer. Or maybe we can just go on being bloggers. We do not always agree and we do not have to.
Comments are moderated due to the wonderful spambots infesting blogger which encourage the purchase of whatever it is being sold. For this post, I am turning the comment function off. I don't get a bunch anyways-- other than a few feeble attempts to hijack a thread of thought. And I understand that turning off the comment function for any article that mentions trolling pisses them off more.
Have a great day or night if you want to.
sapphoq reviews
trollsflamersflame wars
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