The Latest On My Situation

Just thought I'd keep you all posted on my moving situation and my 504 request.

As many of you may (or may not) know, I am being relocated to a new apartment building by the local housing authority here in Denver as they will soon be remodeling the one I'm in now. This is expected to happen with the signing of the new lease possibly being on Monday and my moving out of this apartment after the election

I say after the election because I've been appointed to work as an Election Judge for the upcoming election and the vote center I'm assigned to work at is just a block from here. if I were to move BEFORE the election, I would have to commute BY SCOOTER (It's too big to fit on the bus) in cold and (potentially) snowy weather to and from the vote center and my new apartment (And getting a new assignment at this juncture is NOT an option).

I'd also run the risk of getting a flat tire on some of the streets & sidewalks (Namely the stretch of sidewalk from Cherokee St. to Pecos St. for those in the know) I'd have to travel on to get there as they are not well kept by the city. :(

I've had to replace BOTH of my front wheels due to flats incurred as a result of past visits to my mom's apartment (she already lives in the building I'll be moving to) and don't want to take that chance again at THE WORST possible time for me personally just to work an election.

Ordinarily, I'd just walk away from the Judge's position altogether in lieu of moving, but it pays me an extra $100 which I can always use. This is ON TOP OF the $550 I'll get as a relocation allowance from the local housing authority just for the trouble of moving as well as my usual Social Security checks that I normally get. And, like i said earlier, the assignment is only a block away from where I currently live, so unless it's an utter complete blizzard outside, I should have NO problem at all getting to my assigned post for work on November 7. :)

As for my 504 Request with a roll-in shower (That BTW is a Reasonable Accomondation Request), there's no real significant progress there. But when I went to see the apartment I'd be moving into, I was told by the manager that there are NO 504s in the highrise itself, but there are some in the cottages, which are ground level units that are seperate of the building itself. Having seen them from the outside, I might as well move into a unit in the projects as both would be just as unsafe (Especially at this time of year when the flakes are flying).

The reason I was told there are no roll-in showers and that it would be nearly impossible in the highrise itself is because of the age of the building and that removing the tub would negatively impact my neighbors above and below me (Which I thought was nothing but baloney).

If my 504 is rejected, I may have to resort to the appeals and (potentially) legal process to get it. Hopefully it won't go that far, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

Unfortunately, due to the timing of things, I'm now faced with having to move out first and settle the issue of the 504 later. I say this because things are now at a point where the local housing authority will start moving people into the projects (which are as rogue as any urban housing projects in America are) just to get us out of this building (There's asbestos in the building which be must be removed).

So there you have it folks. The latest on my situation. I'm just hoping for the best.

Get A Load Of This (The Latest On The Relocation Process)

First off, please forgive my erroneous typing as I slightly cut one of the fingers I use to type with and has a band aid on it (Though I'll try to catch and correct all the errors possible).

That out of the way....You won't believe the surprise I got last week.

I had put in for a 504 (That's government lingo for a reasonable accomondation BTW) for the new apartment that I'll be moving into (The building I'm living in now will soon be renovated and everyone has to be relocated). Well, I was under the impression that the local housing authority here granted my 504 *WITH* a roll-in shower as it was supposedly (??) REQUIRED BY LAW (The relocation counselor inasmuch told me so herself).

Well suffice to say, when a friend of mine (who's also my power of attorney outside of my mom, who also advocates for me) called the Legal Department, he found out that not only was there MORE than one type of 504, he also said I WASN'T EVEN APPROVED for a 504 with a roll-in shower (They approved a 504 *WITHOUT* a roll-in shower instead).

Furthermore, I was also under the impression that they were also working on converting a regular unit into a 504 (The manager even told me so when I met her while visiting my mom, who has to be AT LEAST within the same complex as we look after each other and are there for each other as needed). That too proved to be a bold-faced lie as my friend/PoA was told that "It wasn't in the budget" and that they "were out of money"

He said it was a reason. I told him it was EXACTLY what it was - AN EXCUSE - One that allows them to take the slick, cheesy way out.

As for my mom living in the same complex with me (But not the same apartment). Guess what, that also needs to be a part of the 504 request It wasn't originally as we thought that all we needed were doctor's statements in our file.

WRONG!

Apparently, statements made by doctors on plain ordinary paper or office stationery somehow isn't good enough for the local HA. They need the request on the official form (Apparently so their pretty logo is stamped all over it and is prominently displayed).

F*CKIN' BUREAUCRATS!! :(

All this just as my name was (And hopefully still is) at the top of the list of people in need of a new place to live for at least the next couple of years or so. If it *isn't* at or near the top, I'm gonna have some MAJOR issues (On top of the ones I already have)
As a result of all this, I've not only gotta RESUBMIT A WHOLE NEW 504 REQUEST, but I've also gotta take the form down to my doctor's office to fill out AGAIN and hope he doesn't decide to shoot the messenger *CRINGE!* (He HATED having to fill it out the first time given all the questions, most of them REDUNDANT, that are on there and even contemplated BILLING the local HA for the time which he could've, if not SHOULD HAVE been able to devote to other patients). In fact, when they saw it the first time, one of his secretaries even quipped that HER FIVE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER could've written a better form. My mom and I laughed at THAT one :) *LOL!*

And to top it all off.....The 90 Day notice has already been issued.

So here I sit. Instead of sitting in new place doing something else on my computer, I am still stuck in my old apartment and NO LONGER knowing just where I'll be moved to because of some @!%^&( )(^&%$ BUREACRATIC RED TAPE that someone decided to throw at me simply because A). THEY ARE A BUREAUCRATIC ASSHOLE and B). I didn't add the part of my mom living in the same complex as me in the original 504.

Ohh yeah...Did I fail to mention that if they don't eventually move me into the same building that my mom lives in now and move me elsewhere, they will have to move my mom AGAIN (Or pay her for the trouble of moving - AGAIN)?? Gee...I must've missed that part...

Well....That's all the news for now. More to follow on this as developments warrant. :D

Our Strange & Wacky Weather

Our cross-town neighbor from Prism Of Whispers (aka Thoughtprints) created this post back in June, but I'm beginning to think it somehow applies to August as well.

I mean AM I LOSING IT or did Autumn suddenly decide to fall early? Or did Spring somehow decide to FINALLY spring late?

Just the other night, the weather people even uttered the "S" word for the folks up in the mountains.

I suppose next thing we'll know is the "S" word being in the forecast for the Denver Metro Area itself - IN THE MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER.

Ahh....But then again, if we can have 80 degrees in the middle of January while California is dealing with mudslides and The Big Apple is stuck in a deep freeze, then I suppose we can have 55 to 65 degree temperatures in the middle of August.

Either way you look at, the weather here in Denver, CO sure has been strange lately, hasn't it?

Pat's Podcast Episode 32

The following is also cross-posted on my Health & Medical Wonders Text Blog, Health & Medical Wonders VideoCast and (of course) my podcast site.....


In this edition we have....

* Possible Bariatric (i.e. weight loss) surgery (Better known as "The Al Roker Proceedure")

* Promotion of my new Health & Medical Wonders Blog & VideoCast (With a possible podcast from a patient's perspective soon to follow if the demand exists)

* The latest on the relocation process.

PLUS the then-latest audio version of the MissingAlert.com Podcast & MORE!! CHECK IT OUT!!

NEXT TWO PLANNED EPISODES:

EPISODE 33 - A Sound Seeing Tour Of The Taste Of Colorado (This will be very similar to what we did during the sound-seeing tour of The People's Fair in Episode 31 earlier this year).

EPISODE 34 - A Sound Seeing Tour of my new apartment, which will also be the new studio for The Pat Cook Show as well (I hope to make a seperate VIDEO tour for my VideoCast as well, but that depends on if I can get a good used camcorder really cheap somewhere like at a pawn shop or second hand outlet).

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

Pat's Podcast Episode 32

The following is also cross-posted on my Health & Medical Wonders Text Blog, Health & Medical Wonders VideoCast and my personal blog....


In this edition we have....

* Possible Bariatric (i.e. weight loss) surgery (Better known as "The Al Roker Proceedure")

* Promotion of my new Health & Medical Wonders Blog & VideoCast (With a possible podcast from a patient's perspective soon to follow if the demand exists)

* The latest on the relocation process.

PLUS the then-latest audio version of the MissingAlert.com Podcast & MORE!! CHECK IT OUT!!

NEXT TWO PLANNED EPISODES:

EPISODE 33 - A Sound Seeing Tour Of The Taste Of Colorado (This will be very similar to what we did during the sound-seeing tour of The People's Fair in Episode 31 earlier this year).

EPISODE 34 - A Sound Seeing Tour of my new apartment, which will also be the new studio for The Pat Cook Show as well (I hope to make a seperate VIDEO tour for my VideoCast as well, but that depends on if I can get a good used camcorder really cheap somewhere like at a pawn shop or second hand outlet).

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

Pat's Podcast Episode 31

People's Fair Website

This week, we present a traditional sound-seeing tour of The Capitol Hill People's Fair. This is a LONG one (Over four and a half hours), so you might want to dedicate part of your workday to listening to it. But it will be well worth it. :)

No podsafe music or any of our other usual features this time around. Those will return with Episode 32 though. :)

Speaking of Episode 32.....NEXT PLANNED PODCAST - July 4th, 2006. It'll be back to the usual grindstone as of late (only this time it'll be done more like last year when it comes to transportation). :)

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

Pat's Podcast Episode 20 REPOST

This episode is entirely devoted to celebrating AWEC Festival which is focusing this year on the 10th Anniversary launch of ActiveWorlds, a 3D chat service. The guest via Skype is OneSummer, one of the big community contributors.

Pat's Podcast Episode 30

On a cold, rainy, & dreary day here in Denver, the following highlight this - THE THIRTIETH - edition of Pat's Podcast....

TOPICS FEATURED:
================

* MY take on the whole immigration issue (continued from last podcast & videocast)

* Podshow, Second Life and what are other podcasters using for listener/viewer interaction besides a phone number and an email account with a giant box?

* The addition of missing persons audio notifications from MissingAlert.com as a regular feature to the show to be played either at the end of the show or during a break. This compliments what the videocast is already doing.

PODSAFE MUSIC PLAYED:
=====================

Isaiah Williams - City Drive (From Music4iPods.com in the Jazz genre.

PROMOS & PSAs PLAYED:
=====================

Geek Brief TV (Cali Lewis Spot)

Latest missing persons audio notification from MissingAlert.com

Ham Radio PSA

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

Serious Questions To Ponder

Just got this in my email today. Too funny, yet all so true.

Enjoy! :)

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they
are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. . but
it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny
going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the
clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we
figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby"
when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still
called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then
put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change?
They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible
crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there
a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool
lane?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a
radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time,
but don't point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on
all fours? They're both dogs!

If Wyle E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that
ACME stuff, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is
made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little
Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside
the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in
your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you,
but when you take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?

Pat's Podcast Episode 29

Topics featured:
===========

* Washington's handling of the Immigration issue (Including Bush's $.02 worth).
* RTD Bus Strike IS OVER (Yay!)
* More on the relocation process
* LATE NEWS TO THE PODCAST CENTER - Brother, wife & Niece in town from KC

All this & MORE on the TWENTY-NINTH edition of Pat's Podcast.

**NOTE: The first podsafe music/Promo/PSA break is distorted. THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. I tried editing and filtering it, had to leave it as it was to avoid ruining it (And potentially the whole recording).

Also, there is a jazz song in the 2nd break to which I DID NOT jot down the ID3 tag info. as I was busy trying to debug the entire first break. Sorry about that. I shall strive to do better next time. :)

PROMOS & SWEEPERS RUN:
========================

* Ham Radio PSA (Twice - 1st time run was distorted in first break).
* Blast The Right (Promo) - http://www.blasttheright.com/

**NEXT PODCAST - EPISODE 30 - Thursday, May 4th, 2006 (I promise I'll post it in a more timely fashion!) :)

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

Prison Vs. Work

ust got this in my email Figured I'd share it with my faithful readers. Enjoy! :)

==============================

IN PRISON......You spend the majority of your time in a 10X10 cell.
AT WORK............You spend the majority of your time in an 8X8 cubicle.

IN PRISON.......You get three meals a day.
AT WORK...........You get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it.

IN PRISON..........You get time off for good behavior.
AT WORK............You get more work for good behavior.

IN PRISON..........The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.
AT WORK............You're often required to carry a security card and open
all the doors yourself.

IN PRISON..........You can watch TV and play games.
AT WORK...........You get fired for watching TV and playing games.

IN PRISON.........You get your own toilet.
AT WORK..........You share the toilet with some people who pee on the seat.

IN PRISON..........They allow your family and friends to visit.
AT WORK............You're not supposed to even speak to your family.

IN PRISON.........All expenses are paid by the taxpayers.
AT WORK............You pay all your expenses to get to work, and then they
deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners.

IN PRISON..........You spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get
out.
AT WORK ..........You spend most of your time wanting to get out and go
inside bars.

IN PRISON .......You must deal with sadistic wardens.
AT WORK...........they're called managers.

Have a Good Day at Work!

Pat's Podcast Episode 28

From Windy Denver, Colorado comes yet another "Tag Along For The Ride" style of a sound-seeing tour edition of Pat's Podcast. Topics featured are the local mass transit strike & my respective takes on Immigration Reform & Steroids in Baseball.

Plus, a sound-seeing tour (of sorts) of the local Sam's Club

No podsafe music or promos this time around. Sorry, but Dem's Da way Da cookie crumbles sometimes. :/

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

TODAY Is The First Day Of Spring???

Wouldn't know it if you read this (or if you looked outside my window right now - I wish I had a picture, but I don't. Sorry. :( ). Ugh! What a mess. :(

If this is the way the first day of Spring will turn out, I'd hate to see how Summer begins.

I Didn't Know I Could Be So MEAN Either

Take A look at this...

You Are Scary

You even scare scary people sometimes!

How Scary Are You?

Could I have a case of Schizophrenia?

Talk about Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde......

Gee....I Didn't Know I Could Be So Nice....

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Tommorrow I'll reveal just how mean I can be (HINT: Trust me, it's SCARY).

Pat's Podcast Episode 27

Topics featured:
===========

User-friendliness of the iRiver

The nice spring weather

Re-launch of The Pat Cook Show in Podcast form (As well as TV show in Video Blog format)

Remembering when the mailman used to arrive in the morning

The local mass transit company & its persistent lack of accessibility and respect for the physically disabled issues.

And MORE!

Promos Run:
=========
PodCacher (A little distorted due to technical glitch)
Diabetic Feed (Partly because I am a Diabetic myself)
NBX Ultimate Sports Challenge Network (Not exactly family safe. Last promo in episode)

All this plus podsafe jazz music courtesy of Music4iPods.com and (another new feature) a 78 RPM from the Internet Archive and its78 RPM Collection.

CHECK IT OUT!! :D

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

Pat's Podcast Episode 26

Topics featured:
===========

* The UAE and our ports - Is Bush SURRENDERING to Al Qaeida?

* Lazyass Bums vs. Working Class people - Who should get the breaks (A response to comments made by Dan Tencer on The Dan Tencer Show

Plus a mashup rendition of "Let It Be", a Ham Radio PSA and more! :)

CHECK IT OUT!! :)

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

Pat's Podcast Episode 25

This is the second podcast with Mom in tow. :)

Topics included are a trip with Mom to HER Doctor's office (On a FREEZING day no less!), Bush & his hypocritical comments on America's "addiction" to oil, A rant on Drivers who seemingly get their license out of a Cracker Jack box (With the so-called "skills" to match) AND MORE!!

NOTE: This is FAR from the best audio quality for someone using an iRiver due to my not ensuring the clip on mic was actually plugged into the MIC jack instead of the headphone jack AND slipping the iRiver UNDER my coat, thus making it difficult for the built-in mic to capture audio properly.

Basically...It's all due to MY STUPIDITY!! :} *Look of Embarrassment*

But if you REALLY wanna download it....GO FOR IT!! :)

To send feedback, call the PodLine @ 206-203-4744

RANT ALERT - Bad Customer Service

Don't you just get FRUSTRATED TO NO END when you get a Customer Service Rep (doesn't matter from which company you do business with) who either....

A). Has to look up the "how to" on a fuckin' manual before they can even attempt to help "troubleshoot" your problem OR...

B). Would love nothing more than to see you go away simply because you use something (in this case for me, it was Mozilla Thunderbird) which the company they work for (In my case, Comcast ) neither officially supports nor allows their employees to use on the job?

Well, you might say that earlier today, I got one that was BOTH as I had problems connecting to Comcast's newsgroup server and couldn't figure out why (Mozilla Thunderbird had been running all night and I hadn't done anything to it before attempting to refresh my newsgroups for the day).

The first time I called (yes there was a first time), I got someone who knew WTF he was doing and ACTUALLY took the time to help me (I sing nothing but praises for him. As such, he is NOT the subject of this post). But it was just my luck that our conversation ended without knowing with absolute certainty that my problem had been resolved (He did give me a ticket no. though). Not even a minute later, I called back and THAT is when I was connected to the ROBOT who is the subject of this post.

Once I gave him my ticket no. (which he almost forgot to jot down because he was so wrapped up in following that damned script of his), the idiot during my callback (He didn't even recognize that I had just spoken with the other representive JUST A MINUTE AGO), told me the ticket no. had been closed by some "higher up team" who basically said the problem was not their's (of course, it never is 'cause their machines never break - Yeah right).

And as if THAT wasn't enough, this moron was also firing questions faster than I could answer them. I mean, it was as if this idiot was more interested in meeting quota than actually helping me.

And you'll never believe what the proverbial "cherry on the sundae" turned out to be...

He HUNG UP BEFORE giving me a new ticket no.

That, more than anything else, just pissed me off. FUCKIN' JERK!! YA YOU EGGHEAD!! (Assuming he even reads blogs)

Anyway, the whole thing turned out to be Thunderbird just simply forgetting my newsgroup server username & password, but c'mon peoples (looking squarely at Comcast). Mozilla is a force to be reckoned with. Don't you think it's about time you start offering support for it??

Just my rant for the day :)

The RIAA Is Losing Control

Peer-To-Peer has gone to a whole new level now that the Internet is slowly going wireless. This is exactly what the RIAA doesn't want, but is getting nevertheless.

That (in a kamakaze fashion) leads me to this....

Found this picture on the Osprey Network Website and find it so fitting (and in it's own way, kinda funny too), so I decided I'd put it here too (Hopefully it won't be too big!).



I'll leave it up to them to kill me later if they so choose. :)

Either way.....In any case.....I say FUCK YOU RIAA - UP YOURS!!!!