epitome of stupidity #1

this is the first edition of what is sure to be a regular posting topic. it might have been named "things that make you go, huh?", but epitome of stupidity seems catchier and more original.

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[arizona] seems the purchasing manager for advanced cardiac specialist inc. has been buying pacemakers from eBay. odds are, something is going to wrong when you start installing used parts when doing repair work on a human - especially when you pay $200 for a device that is supposed to be worth $6,000. turns out that at least two of the pacemakers were "hot", a.k.a. stolen. and yes, one of the pacemakers was implanted before this little bit of information surfaced. and (big surprise here!), the pacemaker that was implanted immediately began to malfunction. no! really! who'd a thunk it?!?!?!

i'm not sure which disturbs me most - (1) the fact that hospitals are installing used parts, (2) the fact that they are getting them from eBay, (3) the fact that they didn't feel the need to test the used and unbelievably cheap pacemaker before installing it, (4) the fact that criminals are brazen enough to pawn their stolen property via the web, or (5) the fact that i now need to get a parts history (ala vehicle report) before i get any major work done on my body.

want more: http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=3102573&nav=23KuXhuI
http://www.regrettheerror.com/2005/04/star_tribune_is.html

must watch movie list

i'm just curios . . . what's on your must watch movie list? here is mine. it's not the final version of my list, just a list of a few of my favorites. i'm sure i will ammend it several times before i have a final "top ten". anyway, here is the first cut (in no particular order).

1. casablance
2. my cousin vinny
3. with honors
4. contact
5. pay it forward
6. saving private ryan
7. castaway
8. the natural
9. the seventh sign
10. monty python - search for the holy grail
11. blazzing saddles
12. contact
13. office space
14. sleepless in seattle (if you have to watch a chick flick . . . )

a funny thing happened

a funny thing happened at the post office the other day. cherie was doing some running around and stopped by the post office to mail some packages (christmas presents actually). it was one of those days; you know the type; when nothing seems to go right and you're really not feeling that great either. so, of course, the post office was closed for lunch . . . things like that happen often in this neck of the woods. it was about 15 minutes 'til they were scheduled to reopen. cherie decided to call it a day and just head back home.

cherie was a little disappointed at not being able to get the presents in the mail, but like i said; things like that happen around here and you get used to it. she was just about to return to her car with the packages when the post office door opened and the lady inside said, "come on in". cherie politely told her that it was ok that they were closed and she would come back some other time.

the postal employee would have none of that and insisted that she come on in and mail her packages. cherie protested, "no, it's your lunch hour, i'll come back", but the lady insisted she had finished her lunch and didn't mind reopening early.

so cherie went in, mailed her packages and left in much better spirits than when she arrived. it's silly really, that one nice lady, who went just a little out of her way, could actually brighten an otherwise dreary day for a customer . . . i think they call that "customer service", yeah, that's what they used to call it. before coming to clear brook, i hadn't seen it in a very long time.

but here in the northern most parts of virginia, kindness, courtesy, respect, and yes, even customer service are bountiful. it's like a whole 'nother world.

and that my friends, is why life on the ridge is so wonderful . . .

winter in the hills

we've had snow on the ground for almost two weeks now. the first snow of the season, which, much to mandie's delight, arrived just before thanksgiving, was the perfect sort. it drifted down beautifully. gave us a show and quickly melted off all roads and travel routes. the rest of that snow melted away the following day. the second snow was pretty much the same except that the snow remained on the slopes and shaded areas until the third snow arrived last week. temperatures have been well below the norm, rising above freezing only occasionlly and only long enough to allow the snow to melt slightly before refreezing. After several thaw/refreeze cycles, the snow now glistens with a magical wintery sheen and begs for sledders.

the last snow quickly changed to the dreaded "wintery mix" - treacherous for driving and difficult to remove. it left behind a coat of ice too thick to be melted by deicing salts. i had to chisel the ice from the sidewalk, the driveway, and off my car before i could leave for work. while i don't particularly enjoy chiseling ice, i was quite entertained by nature's winter orchestra. This is the type of entertainment that you can't find in the noisy city.

it began with tubes of ice falling from the power lines. as the ice melted, a strip several feet long would sheer away from the lines and crash onto the frozen tundra below. as each section pulled away from the power line, it would drag several more pieces with it, creating 3-4 sequential ice on ice crashes. a few moments later, the ice percussions were accompanied by the loud cracking of horse hooves bantering through the icy pasture across the street. next, the thunderous sound of 200 or so cows trudging through the frozen hills as they made their way to greener grazing fields. it was a loud and magestic symphony. later in the evening, toby (our dog) and i startled several deer down in the eastern section of the yard. they graze there almost every evening, but they are still timid towards people. it's too bad we scared them off, but listening to them sprint across the moonlit frozen snow was another gentle reminder of just how great it is to be out here where nature still abounds.

when we moved out here to the hills, i wondered if i would miss the convenience of having the endless entertainment of the city so close at hand. as it turns out, we have plenty of entertainment, albeit a different variety, right here on the western slope of the shenandoahs. ah, life in the hills - it is as wonderful as i had hoped it would be.