Yes, I still exist; no, I'm not in London

If, we've emailed in the past, you may have received an unfortunate email from me recently.  This email stated that I was in London, England, had been mugged, and was receiving no assistance from the embassy or the police.  The simple reason I wasn't getting any help from anyone- I wasn't in London.  I was at home.  The person who sent the email was also not in London, but in Nigeria (not joking!).  My email account was hacked.  It's now back under control, albeit in much disarray.  The perpetrator not only sent out fraudulent emails, but ransacked my space by deleting all contacts, sent emails, my inbox, and all other emails in that account.  They also changed a bunch of security settings and forwarded my email address to lkregulla@yahoo.com (note the two "L"s).  I'm back in the process of restoring order to my cyber-world.

Proximally, no harm was done.  No one with whom I've had communication sent any sensitive information to the scam artist.  There was no rash of slander, libel, absurdity, or meanness.  I did, however, hear from many people with whom I don't have as much communication as I would like, through no fault of anyone's, just the byproduct of hectic lives.  That was the only upside of the whole thing- the outpouring of concern and reconnecting. 

Ultimately, the episode has severely shaken my faith in humanity.  I've heard of internet scam artists, I've been the recipient of fraudulent emails, but I've always viewed it with an air of humor.  Surely, no one believes these emails, right?  Everyone knows enough to be skeptical about requests for money or claims of international lottery winnings, right?  And the email addresses utilized for this end are dedicated emails without an honest, real person on the other side, right?  How wrong one can be. 

I had a strong password.  I used different passwords for different accounts.  I don't use public computers.  I thought I did everything right.  Again, how wrong one can be.  I'm thankful that there was no horrible, or even a bad outcome to this situation.  I'm hurt to be reminded that people do engage in malicious and fraudulent behavior.  I'm glad to know that if push came to shove, I have friends that would have my back.  And they can recognize me from some stranger- mainly due to having the "mouth of a poetic sailor", my good grammar, and my invulnerability.  I <3 my friends.

I mentioned earlier that the scam artist was most likely from Nigeria.  This assertion is based on their IP address, and I do realize that IP addresses can lie (not that I have any experience- cough- Doctor Who- cough).  But it seems ironic that this particular person originated from Nigeria, the stereotyped home of internet scams.  Nigeria also happens to have a history of violence and economic disparity possibly worse than our own economic divide.  There's arguably a reason people are desperate and resort to desperate measures there.  Is this what we want for more of the world?  Ethnic/sectarian divisiveness, economic and social oppression, and general melee to make individuals resort to tactics of last resort?  This is a globalized world, and national borders no longer contain criminals, violence, oppression and hopelessness.  National boundaries also cannot contain hope, justice, love, equality, freedom and tolerance.  Which world are you helping to create?  How are you helping to shape the future?

My week thus far

Yep, that's about how I feel, pulled in a bunch of directions, all at once.  Do I feel elated for my younger-older brother in law's marriage, or do I feel horribly upset about the separation of a couple that have been closer to me at times than much of my own family?  Do I feel so stressed out that I may puke with all the writing stuff with deadlines this week, or do I feel ecstatic that there may be an end in sight?  Do I feel horribly anguished for the couple that now has a child with a disability, or do I feel blessed to have been a part of their becoming a family?  Do I feel stupendously proud of my little boy, who will most likely be starting kindergarten next fall, or like a failure because I'm so relieved to have less time with him after a week of spring break that left us both in tears?  The answer is a resounding YES! to all of the above.  Gah.  It's the start of my annual dying-time, and this year is not looking like it will be a smooth one.  It's been 15 years now, why does the saga seem to hit replay whenever I can handle it least?  June fourth can't come soon enough right now.  At least Black Out Stout is in season, although I may need some Absente soon if the emotional roller coaster continues to be this severe.

Doctoral Disturbances

This is a very pregnant post, I'm afraid, with lots of meaning to these two little words. First, I got the go ahead to start showing my prospectus outside of my committee. If you suffer insomnia, let me know, I can help. With 35 pages of schlock. Thereabouts.

Second, I am pursuing my doctoral degree. I will be addressed as Dr. Regula Meyer at the end of this. Or at least it'll read that on my gravestone, if only in recognition of the pursuit that killed me. Physicians are those in the medical field who oversee the care of patients, diagnose, and prescribe medication. Doctor is Latin for "I teach" not "I cure" so the next person that calls an individual with their PhD uppity for asking to be addressed as Doctor, is asking for a stoving. The primary job of a doctor is as teacher, not medicine man. Get over it. We had the title first.

Thirdly, after reading the introduction notes from my class, I have to ask- why aspire to medical school if you have no interest in biology? Is there something I'm missing? How do you expect to save lives if you don't value the study of life? Yes, chemistry is critical to life, but is that not secondary to the big picture of biology when talking about the treatment and cure of individuals? Or is the plan just to prescribe lots of drugs? At least I have a functional list of doctors not to consult. Physicians. Gah! Even I'm doing it.

Finally, the title of doctor is significantly lower than that of God. Stop acting like you're best buds. Ask Graduate Coordinator at Kent State University, and he will give you a wonderful discussion of positions and authorities of various members of the department. Even department chair (yes, you, idiot) is not the same as God. Or Goddess, as your religion prefers. So freaking pay for benefits that are due to graduate students, as is required of you, and find other places to save in the budget. I, for one, use the REC and will fight this issue. You just pissed off the wrong chica, buddy.

The Battle of Plum Creek Park

The Kent Parks and Recreation Department, along with the City Engineer's office held a community meeting last week about what to do with the stretch of Plum Creek that runs through the parks by the same name. The Record Courier (inaccurately) covered it in this story. Basically, the culvert through which the creek passes under Mogadore Road is in poor condition, and in need of repair. There are four alternatives, ranging from doing nothing to repairing the culvert, removing the dam, and restoring the stream (Alternative 3). Alternative 3 would include minimal cost to the city both short and long term, thanks in part to stimulus money and money for the water improvement that this project would bring about. Also of note is that this dam is one of the few remaining impediments on tributaries of the Cuyahoga River, so removing the dam at this point would help to improve water quality of the Crooked River. You can see the plans in the pictures below, just click on them to see the full size.

"If this project is such a no-brainer, where's the battle?" you might ask. Well, on the other side of the creek from the park. There are a number of houses which lie across the stream from the park right now, and the homeowners have expressed concern about flooding (which will decrease with the improved stream function, but they don't see that), and trespassing on their property. One homeowner apparently has already found a pistol in his back yard, and this is before the improvements (mind you, he admitted it was never reported to the police- me thinks me smells a fish). These same residents would most likely see an increase in their home value thanks to the improved park, but I haven't heard any of them mentioning that. Restoration of the stream should also limit the number of Canada's Geese and mosquitoes there, by restoring some normalcy to the functioning of the stream- both of which are good things for aesthetics- but alas, not being mentioned by the home owners.

My son and I frequent Plum Creek Park, and you can bet we'll be there even more the next couple of weeks (gathering signatures to present to city council in support of Plum Creek Park Alternative 3 while we play, in case you're wondering). There's a great diversity of people that come to the park- all income levels, lots of different cultures, babies up to senior citizens. Not to mention the ball fields as well. If you want to see a great park made even better, and the greater city of Kent benefiting in numerous ways, might I suggest you come check us out at the park? And if you feel like doing something good, feel free to write to your city council member and let them know you support Alternative 3, or let me know and I can provide you with a pre-written letter.





Also, stop by Kitchen Stewardship and see a couple of fun prizes she's giving away.

A little bit of frustration

There's a lot of talk concerning health care reform going on in the world right now. I'm happy about that. I like the discussion that is happening. I like that people are thinking in new ways. I think the cooperative effort that we're seeing is what is needed in this world.

I don't like the push back from the status quo.

Currently, the health care industry is spending around one and a half million dollars *per day* just in extra lobbying efforts against real health care reform. That's not counting the regular lobbying they do, or the direct to consumer marketing, or all the perks and schmoozing that they keep with in their little group (like a drug company sponsoring resort conferences for doctors, e.g). And then there's the huge waste in other areas of medicine, like the 25-30 cents on the dollar that insurance companies spend on administrative costs. I know there's plenty to complain about in government waste, but when the government medical plans spend 12-15% in administrative costs, I think we need to applaud them and try to get business to follow the government's model a bit closer. And for the sake of my blood pressure, I won't even start talking about executive pay and what utter BS that expenditure has become.

Why is it that some people feel their right to profits exceeds the US citizens' right to affordable, accessible health care? Why do we feel that free market capitalism is the be-all, end-all of quality and wonderfulness? Especially when of late, we have seen exactly how horribly it can fail.

There are just some areas that should not be left to self-indulgent, profiteering entrepreneurs. Some aspects of our economy are too important to let greed ruin them. Every once in a while, we realize that people have rights too. Not just the right to make a profit, but the right to a basic education, health care, safe housing, adequate food, and a clean environment. Those things aren't luxuries, although there are plenty in the US that appear to think they are. Unfortunately, in our current system, there are far too many people for whom those things are luxuries; ones they can't afford.

For those people, I'll do some kicking and screaming. I'll make my voice heard in support of them, help them make a louder noise, or any noise at all. I'm OK with being a thorn in someone's side for them. Because I have been one of them. I come from them. I know them, love them, and see them every day. Not just in the abstract, but as family and friends. I am them. Admit it, you know them too. We all do. So let's fight with them, and when they can't fight, let's fight for them. "There but for fortune, go you or go I" is a song lyric that I love. It's true. We can make all the noise we want about self-made people, or hard work, or any of the other euphemisms for "you get what you deserve." But none of that is true, and I think deep down we know it. The US is full of luck- good and ill. Some people get good luck that don't deserve it, and others that deserve better get crappy luck. But we all deserve these basics.

Remember two other phrases, if you could. "It rains on the deserving and the undeserving equally" and "A society is judged by how it treats the least among it." Let's start showing the world that US should be judged positively, eh?

Oh, and vote for Haymaker!