I like golf. Maybe it’s because I’m from Augusta, GA. But I love going to the driving range with friends, learning to playing golf and Pangya the golf MMORPG
See more progress on: list 100 random things about myself
28.8.09
24.8.09
me and the health care system ...
I've been a bit busy and honestly not a whole lot of news going on.
I had to go in hospital Thursday morning and didn't get out until Friday evening. And they still didn't know what the world was wrong with me. I promise you had I not had any type of insurance they probably would've turned me out Thursday nite. I don't even have actual insurance, just my Americorps health benefits. That was Highland hospital in Oakland, by the by. I never thought that I would miss the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) but I do. They say if you're in a gun fight Highland is the place to go, which means they've got a great trauma team but for things that need monitoring and tests... not so much.
I really don't have a whole opinion on what the government should do about the health care system. My 'cousine' in the UK tells me that her opinion of public health care is that it's like public school, it all depends on where you are. Now I don't really know if that's the case, because anywhere I've been where they had public health care I haven't had to use it (knock on wood). But if it's really like public school system, Heaven help us. To be fair, I'm not a fan of regular public school but I never went to regular public school just a magnet school and later a state university so it's a bit different but that's another post.
I know the President says he doesn't want public health care but it seems that the folk in my bracket and below want it, well the non-conservative ones. I don't understand why health care is so expensive. Even with my health benefits I personally am going to be too upset when I get that bill, because the didn't do anything! They kept me overnite and I spent 24 hours in hospital and I spent 20 hours of it waiting. Poor communication and ridiculous questions. One of the doctors said 'You have highly unusual symptoms' to which I answered
'Yea I know it's unusual that's I said 'I need to go to hospital'" some of the nurses laughed but it's no laughing matter. And if health insurance becomes more accesible to more people than more folk in Oakland are going to know exactly what I'm talking about. I won't claim to know the solution, something needs to be done. I know a lot of people have to use the Emergency room as their doctor because they have no health benefits but as for me... I think I shall try to get a good job with some kicking benefits since I'm in a position with education to do that.
I had to go in hospital Thursday morning and didn't get out until Friday evening. And they still didn't know what the world was wrong with me. I promise you had I not had any type of insurance they probably would've turned me out Thursday nite. I don't even have actual insurance, just my Americorps health benefits. That was Highland hospital in Oakland, by the by. I never thought that I would miss the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) but I do. They say if you're in a gun fight Highland is the place to go, which means they've got a great trauma team but for things that need monitoring and tests... not so much.
I really don't have a whole opinion on what the government should do about the health care system. My 'cousine' in the UK tells me that her opinion of public health care is that it's like public school, it all depends on where you are. Now I don't really know if that's the case, because anywhere I've been where they had public health care I haven't had to use it (knock on wood). But if it's really like public school system, Heaven help us. To be fair, I'm not a fan of regular public school but I never went to regular public school just a magnet school and later a state university so it's a bit different but that's another post.
I know the President says he doesn't want public health care but it seems that the folk in my bracket and below want it, well the non-conservative ones. I don't understand why health care is so expensive. Even with my health benefits I personally am going to be too upset when I get that bill, because the didn't do anything! They kept me overnite and I spent 24 hours in hospital and I spent 20 hours of it waiting. Poor communication and ridiculous questions. One of the doctors said 'You have highly unusual symptoms' to which I answered
'Yea I know it's unusual that's I said 'I need to go to hospital'" some of the nurses laughed but it's no laughing matter. And if health insurance becomes more accesible to more people than more folk in Oakland are going to know exactly what I'm talking about. I won't claim to know the solution, something needs to be done. I know a lot of people have to use the Emergency room as their doctor because they have no health benefits but as for me... I think I shall try to get a good job with some kicking benefits since I'm in a position with education to do that.
11.8.09
The great work begins
So now I am starting to lay down the foundation for the Get Connected Oakland website. With the help of one of my co-workers we've got a pretty nifty logo in the works. The website colours I haven't quite become 100% satisfied with a palette yet but COLOURlovers.com is helping out an awful lot.
The purpose of the Get Connected Oakland (GCO) website is to be a sort of online database of resources for Oakland residents. It's going to have a map page for physical POI's as well as a resource page for online resources. The online resource page will be fairly easy once I get all of the resources up there, the map thing is a whole horse of another colour.
The thing is I'm using Google Maps to do several types of maps (Access, Tech support, etc.) and I love that when you're logged into a Google account you can layer several maps over each other with the API. I just wish there was a way to embed this into a website so that even you are not logged into a Google account you could layer the maps to see what different types of resources are near your location.
Since OTX has collaborated with GoogleServes before I'm working on an e-mail to Google to see if they can help me out. A thought that hasn't quite added up in my head. I'm e-mailing Google to ask them to do something specific for my organisation? Because what Google has right now isn't doing it for me? Of course I won't word it like that, but it's still kind of daunting to me to e-mail Google.
I'll let y'all know how it goes.
The purpose of the Get Connected Oakland (GCO) website is to be a sort of online database of resources for Oakland residents. It's going to have a map page for physical POI's as well as a resource page for online resources. The online resource page will be fairly easy once I get all of the resources up there, the map thing is a whole horse of another colour.
The thing is I'm using Google Maps to do several types of maps (Access, Tech support, etc.) and I love that when you're logged into a Google account you can layer several maps over each other with the API. I just wish there was a way to embed this into a website so that even you are not logged into a Google account you could layer the maps to see what different types of resources are near your location.
Since OTX has collaborated with GoogleServes before I'm working on an e-mail to Google to see if they can help me out. A thought that hasn't quite added up in my head. I'm e-mailing Google to ask them to do something specific for my organisation? Because what Google has right now isn't doing it for me? Of course I won't word it like that, but it's still kind of daunting to me to e-mail Google.
I'll let y'all know how it goes.
7.8.09
More about OTX West
I've been talking for awhile now, even before I got here about the amazing place I'm working at now. It's called Oakland Technology Exchange West, OTX, or OTX West for short. I'm now part of a great force helping to eliminate the digital divide and reduce technological waste.
Since 1999 OTX-West has provided over:
The other way is by volunteering, there are certain days a week or in a month where you can volunteer. For every hour you volunteer you get a service buck, once you've collected enough service bucks you can get all sorts of neat things. Here's an example, a family of four can volunteer for 5 hours and they will have 20 service bucks, enough to get a free basic computer. A person can volunteer 2-10 hours and get a printer. They have lots of neat things.
If you read this and your in the Oakland or surrounding areas and you have computer equipment, tv's, printers, etc. I highly encourage you to donate them to OTX, it's tax deductible and no cost to you. A lot of computer recycling places charge you to recyle your computer! And then it just goes to a landfield.
Oakland Technology Exchange West is located at:
1680 14th Street
Oakland, CA 94607
For more information please visit the website: http://otxwest.org
Since 1999 OTX-West has provided over:
- 10,000 computers to Oakland Public School families free of charge
- 10,000 computers to Oakland Public School classrooms and community access labs across Oakland
- Diverted over 700 tons of electronic waste from landfills for productive use or responsible recycling
The other way is by volunteering, there are certain days a week or in a month where you can volunteer. For every hour you volunteer you get a service buck, once you've collected enough service bucks you can get all sorts of neat things. Here's an example, a family of four can volunteer for 5 hours and they will have 20 service bucks, enough to get a free basic computer. A person can volunteer 2-10 hours and get a printer. They have lots of neat things.
If you read this and your in the Oakland or surrounding areas and you have computer equipment, tv's, printers, etc. I highly encourage you to donate them to OTX, it's tax deductible and no cost to you. A lot of computer recycling places charge you to recyle your computer! And then it just goes to a landfield.
Oakland Technology Exchange West is located at:
1680 14th Street
Oakland, CA 94607
For more information please visit the website: http://otxwest.org
5.8.09
Like a whole 'nother country
That's kind of how I feel.
It's been a week in California, almost 2 weeks away from home and it still in some ways feels like a dream. Sometimes I feel like I'm in another country. Part of me feels like that my travels in life have made me prepared for some things and growing up in diverse town gives me a better edge than being from some parts of the South. But a week in and I still have this need to compare everything to 'back home' but it has only been a week. And I'm in a place I've never even seen until that Thursday nite when I walked out of the Oakland Airport into cool and foggy scene.
It's also very interesting how back home I felt a touch liberal than the average person and here in some ways I feel like a prude. A lot of people talk to Mary Jane it seems. Not that I care, but it's still illegal.
I had a lot of ideas about what I thought this part of the country would be like. Just like how some people out here have their misconceptions about the South. So far the two biggest misconceptions falling down on my end are: people aren't nice and friendly (not that everyone back South is either) and that there were no fat people <-- that one I was so serious about.
I'm not saying it's a good thing that there are a decent amount of overweight people, it only proves that the obesity epidemic is a nation-wide problem. But as rather large person myself and still in my youth, I seriously had a fear I'd be some fat freak of nature. And even some of my friends and family were concerned that there would be nowhere for me to shop out here.
It's going to be interesting what other new things I find out as this year unfolds.
It's been a week in California, almost 2 weeks away from home and it still in some ways feels like a dream. Sometimes I feel like I'm in another country. Part of me feels like that my travels in life have made me prepared for some things and growing up in diverse town gives me a better edge than being from some parts of the South. But a week in and I still have this need to compare everything to 'back home' but it has only been a week. And I'm in a place I've never even seen until that Thursday nite when I walked out of the Oakland Airport into cool and foggy scene.
It's also very interesting how back home I felt a touch liberal than the average person and here in some ways I feel like a prude. A lot of people talk to Mary Jane it seems. Not that I care, but it's still illegal.
I had a lot of ideas about what I thought this part of the country would be like. Just like how some people out here have their misconceptions about the South. So far the two biggest misconceptions falling down on my end are: people aren't nice and friendly (not that everyone back South is either) and that there were no fat people <-- that one I was so serious about.
I'm not saying it's a good thing that there are a decent amount of overweight people, it only proves that the obesity epidemic is a nation-wide problem. But as rather large person myself and still in my youth, I seriously had a fear I'd be some fat freak of nature. And even some of my friends and family were concerned that there would be nowhere for me to shop out here.
It's going to be interesting what other new things I find out as this year unfolds.