#literally took me several cvs stores over an hour for me to find them

[nymphinia]

These beautiful unicorns deserve so much more recognition✨️

[bigskydreaming]

I kinda wanna fucking scream, so here, have a offline bullshit rant post.

So I’ve literally been trying to get my stupid fucking meds for over a MONTH now at this point, which I’m sure you can all see like, my mood is just wooooonderful these days. Not an excuse, casual reminder that yeah you do gotta take care of your own space so if my mood is dragging anyone down, I’m totes on board with blocking or unfollowing or y’know, burning me in effigy or something. Okay maybe not that last part. But still. You get it. And its not even that like, I need mood stabilizers per se, lol, so shout out to the armchair diagnosticians helpfully peppering my inbox still in their quest to oh so slickly be like ‘hey you’re a hot mess, take your hot messness away from tumblr’ like lol, didn’t ask.....nah, its mostly the perpetual lack of sleep and chronic pain issues that I have zero distraction from when my specific combo of meds isn’t able to let me actually weaponize my ADHD properly and power through that. Its a whole thing. Whatever. Just go with it.

POINT IS. So I’ve been trying to do this for over a month now, first obstacle was even just getting the money together for my refill appointment which is a whopping $150, because I have to pay out of pocket for mental health stuff these days because I had to switch my insurance over to something that paid out more heavily for physical benefits like my jaw surgery.....and because of the pandemic, and how many psychiatrists in my area and that I could actually reach aren’t taking new patients during the pandemic since most of them are conducting business virtually still, like, I have barely any resources for seeking out and trying new psychiatrist offices in the meanwhile that might charge less and I’m kinda stuck with the one I have because the last thing I can afford is to have like, NO psychiatrist at the moment, y’know?

So first I had to have that to even BOOK the appointment, which took forever because rent and food are a joy to accrue when you can barely manage to function as an actual employee of the capitalist machine ahfsklhflkahflakf, but so then I did that and like, got an appointment put on the books for August 19th. That was the soonest they could fit me in back when I paid them for my appointment about a week and a half ago. No, two weeks ago now? Eh, time is fake. ANYWAY, so that wasn’t gonna work for me, so basically the entirety of last week was devoted to constantly calling and trying to check in every other hour to see if they had any sooner cancellations I could take, because for whatever fucking reason, they just ‘don’t do’ a cancellation list wherein they call the next person on the list once they have a cancellation. Whatever.

So finally got a cancellation slot with a virtual appointment last Saturday night at random as fuck 8:40. Okay cool. Most of my refills are fairly simple, no real changes, but two are controlled substances so like, they have to do their due diligence and go through the proper protocols before giving me another prescription to one or whatever. Fine. Okay.

So I call the CVS they sent the prescription for my ADHD med to, the very next morning. One of the controlled substances, and the key med to like....making me functional instead of a rambling disjointed whirlibird of a thought emitter. Problem is, that medication is on back order. Won’t be in until Tuesday. Ugh. Okay, fine. Nothing I can do about it, because while the specific provider I spoke to in order to GET my refill prescriptions was taking an appointment the night before, the actual offices that schedule appointments and connect patients through to their providers was closed for the weekend, so I couldn’t even ask for them to send the scrip somewhere else.

SO. I go back to the CVS on Monday, hoping that maybe it came in early because not like I can do much else in the meanwhile. Course its not there, but oh well. I toy with the idea of calling to ask my provider to send the scrip to a different pharmacy (only had it sent to this one cuz its within walking distance to me, and since I can’t drive for medical reasons and Uber’s are expensive as fuck, just for errands, like, even though walking is sooooo not fun for me physically, like it is what it is). I decide against it because here’s another fun fact about this controlled substance....for security reasons, pharmacies don’t have to tell people over the phone if they have it in stock or not. Like, they won’t just say no we don’t have it in stock - I mean, they WILL say that, but that doesn’t actually mean anything because that’s what most of them say about that particular medication no matter whether or not they DO, and then just cite security protocols, so you have to actually GO to the store in question to ask them and even get a real answer to whether or not they even HAVE it in stock to FILL a prescription if its sent over. And no, the provider won’t just send scrips into several different pharmacies at once and just be whichever has it in stock can fill it - because again, controlled substance.

SO. I decide its not worth it to try getting the scrip sent over somewhere else, because I’d have to at least waste money on an Uber to even travel to various pharmacies and even check if they CAN fill it sooner than this one, when at least this place will have it in tomorrow. Its just one more day at this point.

Except then I go back on Tuesday. Oh sorry, don’t know why that other person told you we’d have our order in today, our shipments of that medication don’t come in until Wednesdays.

So I go back Wednesday. Success! They have it in stock. I go to pay, pulling out my goodRx coupon that was just printed out that morning, specifically citing the price for CVS at Target. The pharmacy manager says sorry, we don’t honor that coupon here for controlled substances like this one. I say: record scratch? He’s like yeah, that’s at the discretion of individual pharmacies, and we don’t honor that price for this specific medication, because we don’t want to attract customers only coming here to get that medication filled for that price. (This pharmacy is right at the edge of Inglewood and Culver City, for anyone who is familiar with those neighborhoods. The implications are exactly as they appear to be). So I’m like, what’s the regular generic price? He quotes me something that’s $180 more than the coupon, and thus $180 more than I have since I was focused totally on getting THIS amount ASAP, so I could get these meds so I could do more work and make more money. You see the train of thought. I’m like well that’s awesome, I don’t have anything close to that. Hey. Weird question. Why did nobody I talked to the past three days in a row that I’ve walked into this store in person to request this refill, like, mention this little tidbit about not honoring this coupon so instead of waiting for a backorder that would do me no good, I could have been spending that time having my prescription transferred somewhere that WOULD honor it?

He’s like, well did you mention to any of them that you’d be using a goodRx coupon for this particular medication? I said, yup. He said, you sure? I said well the specific process each time was I came in, I asked if this medication was in, they said what’s your name and date of birth, I provided that info, they said are you paying out of pocket, we don’t have valid insurance info for this on file for you, I said yup paying out of pocket with a goodRx coupon, they said *clickety clack of the keyboard* nope, sorry, we won’t have this medicine in until Tuesday, I mean Wednesday. 

He’s like, well you must be misremembering or they would have told you at the time that we don’t take GoodRx coupons on this medication. I’m like, dude, it was you. It was literally you that I spoke to two of those three times, right here at the counter, in person. I’m gonna go ahead and trust my memory of those interactions and what was said there over yours since you don’t actually remember having talked to me two times in the last three days. He’s like, I gotta go help another customer. There is no other customer. I leave. Fun day for everyone.

So then I call around town to at least check which CVS will actually honor the coupon I have and the price that I can afford to pay it at. I don’t bother asking if they even have the medication in stock because I know its not guaranteed to be a CORRECT answer, but at least I can see who accepts this damn coupon. Also, reason I’m only trying big brand pharmacies instead of smaller, hole in the wall ones is because again, controlled substance, and I know from experience that the bigger brand pharmacies are at least more likely to have that med in stock whereas most smaller ones tend to run out very quickly as they usually only get enough for their existing/regular customers and a little extra.

I find a CVS five miles away - not walkable, gonna have to Uber. Call my psychiatrist office again to ask them to transfer the scrip, front office says they’ll send the request to my provider, who usually checks and fulfills such requests in 24-48 hours. I’m like okay cool, can I get a phone call to let me know when that happens, so at least I know when to check back to follow up if it hasn’t happened yet for whatever reason? They’re like no, the pharmacy will send you a text or call when they get the prescription sent over and you can take it from there with them. I’m like okay, but I’ve done this a bunch of times and know from experience the pharmacy does NOT in fact always call or text, so is there a certain time to follow up to inquire if the provider has already sent the scrip and the pharmacy SHOULD have it by now or if the delay is on the provider’s end? Front office is like yeah no. I’m like, swell.

So that was yesterday. I call the pharmacy (which I still don’t even know if they have the medication IN STOCK to fill the scrip even once they GET the scrip, and won’t until I can actually Uber out there, but one thing at a time at this point) at like 9 pm, they’re a 24 hour pharmacy, and they’re like nope, we got nothing (this is after spending an hour and a half on hold to even TALK to someone at the pharmacy). Called them again today at noon, still nada. Technically I have another 29 hours before the window in which the provider is supposed to send the refill scrip to this new location, before I can be like, okay so they still haven’t done it, can we send him a nudge or another request. The 24-48 hour window will only actually EXPIRE after their offices close on Friday meaning it’ll be Monday before I can even actually REACH someone again to ask them to send the scrip again, if the pharmacy hasn’t ACTUALLY gotten it by Friday night, and pessimistically, I’m not super inclined to assume that they will at this point. 

I’m antsy, irritable, hungry because I don’t even know for SURE sure if the new pharmacy will ACTUALLY honor the coupon or say no sorry we don’t do that here either, whoever told you that was wrong, or if they’ll even actually have it in stock versus I’ll have to have it sent somewhere else AGAIN, so I have to pinch every penny possible in order to ensure I have the most money possible once my prescription IS filled in case the price is more than I expected again or in case I have to take Ubers there or further than I expected or basically....shit happens that I don’t expect. And this is what I’m basically spending all my time doing instead of working, because trying to get work done in this state is like....the harder I try to make it happen, the less it actually gets done, so I try and prioritize this and its roadblock after roadblock dragging out and wasting my time, and like yeah, I can post and shit while I’m doing this aka sitting on hold or walking around town trying to get shit filled because its fine if I ramble incoherently along the way in posts, but actual WORK work requires like....fucking coherency and succinctness and not having to stop and start every five minutes to call someone else, and oh yeah, being able to power through migraine spikes. And just.

I’m very annoyed about anything and everything to do with this shit. The hoops you have to jump through to even get the stuff that like....actualizes your hoop jumping ability, is just....*gnashing of teeth*

Anyway. So that’s my offline bullshit rant. Yay. The end.

[ukimmigrationmatters]

Do you have the energy to succeed?

 By Charles Kelly, Property Solutions Investor, Author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness and creator of Money Tips Podcast.

 I have read thousands of books and articles on success. I’ve listened to thousands of audios, podcasts and even cassettes by successful people talking about the various principles of achievement. They talk about the seven traits of this and the ten things successful people do and so on.

 But out of all of the successful people I’ve followed, only one person specifically mentions energy. The energy you need to make it to the top in any endeavour.

 He is Lord Jeffrey Archer, the multi-million selling author, former MP and athlete.

 In an interview, Lord Archer said that you need a lot of energy to be successful in any endeavour. He cited his own example of how he made it back after losing all his money on the stock market – due to poor advice. He recalled that he had to work during the day and write books during the evening until the early hours. That took a lot of energy and drive, he said.

 If he came home from work exhausted and said, “I’m tired” and then just slumped down in front of the television with a beer he would never written his bestselling books which have made him millions of pounds.

 I’ve met Jeffrey archer on a number of occasions. Despite his advancing years, he is someone who has tremendous energy and charisma. You can hear it in his voice and see that twinkle in his eye. You can literally feel his energy and vibrational force. He has what people used call a magnetic personality that seems to light up the room.

 I met him not long after he had been released from prison after serving a sentence for perjury. He allegedly lied in court about a newspaper libel case against him involving a liaison with a lady of dubious character.

 Most people would’ve crumbled and just hidden away from society, but not Jeffrey. He was full of life and promoting a new book he had just published - collection of stories he wrote in prison!

 Jeffrey may have his flaws, but you cannot deny that he has achieved a great deal in his life.

 When I think of the successful people I know personally, without exception, they all have one thing in common: energy!

 They are invariably up in the morning going about their business and getting things done. Even at the weekend they don’t let the grass grow under their feet and you’re more likely to find them doing something active than sleeping on the couch. Many of them have said to me that they find it hard to sit down keep still!

 It’s not just about physical energy. You also need mental energy to think through ideas or have the resolve to keep going when things don’t always go your way.

 It takes energy to bounce back from a setback or disappointment, as Lord Archer has done many times in his life.

 It takes energy to write a book, submit a good CV or read a contract thoroughly.

 It takes energy to study for years to obtain a degree, masters or PhD. Doctors and lawyers didn’t get where they are working 9 to 5.

 It takes energy to go to meetings in the evening when you’ve already done a hard day’s work or attend training events at the weekend to improve your knowledge and skills.

 Where does this energy come from? Are we born with it? Is it God-given or can we create our own energy?

 There is no doubt that some people are just born with an enormous amount of energy, talent and drive. That doesn’t guarantee success and many people waste their talent and energy, like the young men burning up their youthful energy and “sowing their wild oats” as the saying goes.

 Billionaires like Richard Branson, Elon Musk and the later Steve Jobs and Sir James Goldsmith were all blessed with massive energy, appetite and drive. They seem to be able to burn the candle at both ends and put in long hours to get their business off the ground like boosters on a rocket.

 In addition to building a huge fortune, Sir James Goldsmith famously had a wife in Richmond, Lady Annabel Goldsmith and mother of Zac Goldsmith MP and Jemima Goldsmith, while openly keeping a mistress in Paris. He once said that if you marry your mistress you create a vacancy.

 Donald Trump’s ex-wife once said that his idea of downtime was reading the Wall Street Journal on a treadmill!

 In his bestselling book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill went further and said that successful men had high sex drives! He added that they controlled their urges and “transmuted” their sexual energy into something productive.

 Interestingly, billionaire Charlie Monger, the partner of Warren Buffett, attributes their success to the fact that they like reading company reports rather than chasing chorus girls.

 In effect, he was agreeing with Napoleon Hill, but also confirming that you need something other than energy to be successful.

 There is definitely an element of natural energy, just like an athlete born with natural speed or agility. Sometimes you can see it in children who are blessed with certain natural abilities.

 Not everyone is born with unique talent like three-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt or swimming superstar Michael Phelps, but there are other qualities in people with high energy which we can tap into.

 Passion

 Successful people have passion and are extremely passionate about what they do. That in turn gives them more energy and more drive because they like what they’re doing. On the other hand, people who hate their job are not exactly going to work with a spring in their step, and when they arrive they need four cups of coffee to keep them awake!

 Okay, so what if you’re not blessed with this super energy and drive? Well, it’s not all bad news.

 You can be very successful without being a billionaire or star athlete. If you don’t have that super energy you can still do things to have more energy in your life.

 For instance, you can look after yourself, get enough sleep, eat the right foods and take regular exercise. You can also feed your mind with the right food by reading something inspirational first thing in the morning.

 Find something you are passionate about and follow your passion. I don’t mean give up your day job immediately, but do what Jeffrey Archer did and follow your passion in your spare time.

 We can all find energy to do the things we love, like a hobby or going out with friends. The energy is there within you.

 Have you ever noticed that when you’re sitting around all day on a Sunday you feel more tired than you do when you’re at work? This is because our bodies were designed for movement and the more you move, the more energy you seem to have.

 People with high energy tend to have a positive attitude and a pleasing personality. They lift you up and can literally light up a room with a positive energy.

 People with low, negative energy seem to sap and drain your energy.  They exhaust you and bring you down – to their level. They complain about how bad things are and how they've got “no opportunity” in this country. I point out that penniless migrants come from all over the world to live in the UK because they know this is a land of opportunity, and they usually succeed. Low energy people just can't see it or want it handed to them on a plate. They are the people of the party that nobody wants to talk to!

 Finally, stop pissing about wasting time. The founders of Microsoft and Facebook started their businesses while still at university. They could not have become successful if they spent their time partying and drinking. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg developed Facebook as a way of meeting girls on campus.

 There’s an old saying, that if you want a job done give it to a busy - coping with a lot of work - person. On the face of it this doesn’t make sense since a busy man or woman already has a lot on their plate. The fact is, busy and successful people are usually organised, focused and driven.

 Unsuccessful people are invariably disorganised, unfocused, lethargic and negative. If you ask them to do something, they will tell you that they don’t have time - even if they are unemployed.

 A lot of physical energy is actually in the mind. When you have a passion for something, like your hobby for instance, you never seem to lack energy. You never have that “Monday morning” feeling.

 I know a lot of people in their late 80s and 90s who do charity work for rotary and other charities. They have energy because they have a purpose in life. One of them plays golf at 95 and looks after his sick wife. Another is involved in several organisations and sings for a local operatic society.

 They all know that if they had “retired” at 65 and sat in an armchair watching daytime television they would probably be dead by now.

 Another friend of mine who is 81 has amazing positive energy. He still works part time doing in-store demonstrations and exhibitions. Recently he has found a new lease of life doing film extra work. He is now busier than ever doing film shoots all over the place and having a great time.

 He recently said to me that when he sits around on a quiet day, he feels tired and lethargic, but when he is out and about filming at six in the morning, he is full of energy.

 So, do you have the energy to succeed? Yes you do! It’s up to you to find it, harness it and use it to your advantage.

 If you’d like more information on how to acquire wealth building assets using none of your money, email me at Charles@CharlesKelly.net or send me a message through Facebook or my Money Tips Daily community.

 Other articles at www.moneytipsdaily.com

 The rich do these things, the poor do not

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Drowning in Sea of Debt By Charles Kelly, Property Investor, former IFA, Author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness and creator of Money Tips Podcast.   In this episode: Millions in debt. Debt charity deals with 9500 earning £40,000 If you’d like more information on how to acquire wealth building...

 Brexit Property Effect – Invest or Wait?

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 Earn 25% Tax Free Bonus with Government Help to Buy ISA but only if you start before 30 Nov

A Help to Buy ISA is a government scheme helping you save for a mortgage deposit to buy your first home. You must be a first-time buyer to qualify and not own a property anywhere in the world. Savings are tax free just like with...

There are more examples and practical steps to getting rich and being happy in my book, Yes, money can buy happiness, I cover the 3 R’s of Money Management, the Money B.E.L.I.E.F System and much more. Check it out on Amazon http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook.

Would you like an opportunity to attend a free No Money Down Property Discovery Day? email me at Charles@CharlesKelly.net or send me a message through Facebook or my Money Tips Daily community.

[skipbifferty-blog1]

Can’t Afford a New Computer Because of Software?

2018-05-02 11:38

Within the past couple months, several people have told me that---although they have computers that are old and behind the curve in performance,---they cannot afford a new computer because they will have to buy all the Microsoft programs like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and such, since they cannot be transferred legally (or practically) to a new computer, and that is hundreds of dollars of additional cost thus making it too expensive to upgrade.

Feeling 'locked-in' to expensive Micro$oft productivity suites in this era is simply unnecessary.  I have been using open-source, free alternative programs since before I got back from Germany, having experimented with converting while in Germany but still using Windows, and ultimately switching away from Windows to Linux around 2011.  But one does not have to leave Windows to use the open-source alternatives as most are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, although I now much prefer Linux to Windows for a multiplicity of reasons.  Germany is a place where even slight additional cost is a killer in everything of life---which is why you never hear music in stores or restaurants, because of the royalty fees that must be paid to play it.  Most Germans I was acquainted with, turned to the alternative and free open-source programs more than a decade ago.  I finally took their cue and tried them.

Thus, it has now been over 10 years that I have been using the free alternatives to Microsoft offerings.  I can read other people's messages and documents and they can read mine.  All these alternative programs can save documents in a Microsoft compatible format.  I have even used the 'redlining' editing and correction features of the word processors, and sent corrected files back to the authors, who usually have no trouble opening and dealing with those modified documents.

If you're leery of leaving Microsoft, then just install the alternative programs on your current computer and try using them for a while.  That is what I did over in Germany.  They work, and do not require the hundreds of dollars M$ wants you to send them to activate their software which is nowadays preinstalled but disabled after a trial period on every computer you might buy.

When you use an Android phone, you are basically using Linux (a stripped down version), so if Android is your phone, you are already exposed to an alternative system.  iPhones are Mac OS-oriented, so if that is your phone, you are using yet another alternative to Windows, too.

I am currently upgrading to a new computer---a big Dell 17-inch touchscreen laptop that Costco was selling for an extremely good price, and which has AMD video that is about the only video card that will work properly when editing video.  I'm not going to say it is easy to install Linux as an operating system---one of the reasons computers are preinstalled these days, is because installing any operating system can be difficult, and both Apple and Microsoft have tried to eliminate the hassles encountered in using computers by preinstalling everything on the computer, so there are no hang-ups when you first turn a new computer on.

This is not the place to go into a detailed description of problems I encountered, but a little patience and willingness to try the different alternatives presented during installation has paid off.  I am a guy who brings computers to their knees.  Typically I run 3 desktops with email, calendar, daily calibre downloads for my Kindle (it functions to load my Kindle up with what are the equivalent of several daily newspapers), financial software tracking expenses, my Google Keep lists of grocery and to-do items, and general web browsing, all in desktop 1; the weather reporting tools and audio recording/editing for the daily weather reports I do for a community radio station in desktop 2; and radio automation software that runs 24/7 as an experiment in desktop 3, which feeds an MP3 server that sends the output of the automation to a LAN connection that I can access from anywhere in the house.

For the past 6 years, all of that has run on a small 13” notebook that is hooked into an external 27” monitor, keyboard, mouse, and professional speaker system.  My estimate is that any computer more than 5 years old is by then ancient technology (the notebook does not even have Bluetooth, which is now completely ubiquitous), so I try to upgrade every 5 years.  This change is actually overdue, and so are you if your computer is more than 5 years old.  I especially liked the portability of the smallish 13” computer, but video editing is nearly impossible with its incapable nVidia video card---which is fine for gaming, but absolutely terrible for video editing.  The 17” Dell came to my attention because of the AMD video card, and so I will have a much larger laptop for a while.  Not really what I wanted, but a necessary improvement for the video editing.

Those I have discussed the alternative of using productivity suites other than Microsoft, are literally very scared to leave Microsoft.  Again, I suggest just trying it on your current Windows computer first.  Once I installed the alternative programs while over in Germany and began using them, I never went back to the Microsoft ones.  Ever.  Not even tempted.

Here is a list of all the programs I use regularly:

**Evolution (Linux only) - email/calendaring substitute for M$ Outlook

**LibreOffice (all OS platforms)- substitute for Microsoft Office with word processing, spreadsheet, Powerpoint compatible alternative, drawing program which I use as a replacement for the now defunct M$ Publisher and which imports old M$ Publisher files, and a math program for statistics people

**Firefox - web browser with the following add-ons:  NoScript to prevent websites from reaching into your computer; AdBlock; Blacken to turn grey print solid black; One Tab, which allows saving tabs in a list when you have a bunch of tabs open; Video DownloadHelper which allows downloading video/audio files to your local computer.  Before the Quantum release of Firefox, I also formerly used Tab Mix Plus, which allows a lot of useful customization of Firefox, and Down Them All, which came in handy for things like downloading 30 episodes of “Danger Man” without having to manually do those one at a time. Hopefully those add-ons will eventually be made compatible with Quantum and later versions of Firefox.

**GnuCash - financial program similar to Quicken, but capable of double-entry accounting

**calibre - a Kindle organizing, library, and downloading program which allows converting practically any document into a Kindle file, and will also unlock files you paid for that often only work on a Kindle reader when you may have a Kobo or Nook reader---or in the other direction if you bought a book that only works on Kobo or Nook.  Additionally, I download several news sources daily, including BBC News, Washington Post, local TV news station feed, and several economic or industry blogs and newsletters related to my field that I can then read anywhere on my Kindle.

**Gimp - image editor similar to Photoshop, only far more flexible

**Xsane (Linux only) - a program that operates scanners

**Pidgin - a program similar to the old AOL Instant Messenger which can connect to many different messenger programs.  With cellphone texting, I have not used Pidgin for years.

**Audacity - an audio recording and editing program

**Cinelerra CV (Linux only) - video editing program

**gPodder - an automatic podcast downloader program.  I do not use gPodder since returning from Germany, where I commuted an hour each way to work on the train and listened to several news podcasts daily (primarily BBC).  If I listen to podcasts now, it is in the car and from my cellphone using the Bluetooth connection.

**puddletag (Linux only) - a Linux metadata tagging program for audio files similar to MP3Tag in Windows

**Rivendell (Linux only) - the radio automation program with many modules for creating logs, automatically downloading and carting up programs, and managing the audio library of radio stations

**Jackd and JackCTL - a patch panel program for routing audio to and from various programs

**VLC - the most universal and versatile video and audio player for computers ever, devised and maintained by French developers plus very lightweight in size

**wxMP3val - an analyzer for MP3 files to find quality problems

**Spotify Player - for Linux

**WINE - a Windows emulator program which I use to run Exact Audio Copy, a CD ripping program, and IrfanView, an image display and manipulation program that only work in Windows

**R - a very deep and complex program for math people like my son and used by statistics people for manipulation and publishing of math stuff, which includes access to special characters used only by math folks

Maybe there are those who need other programs, but for my work, the above fulfills all of my particular needs.  And in 7 years without Microsoft, I never miss it.  In fact, with no regrets at all, I blew away all the Windows stuff that was preinstalled on the new Dell.

All new computers come with Windows, and---as you can see---almost every program above can be loaded into a Windows computer, negating the need to send Microsoft any further money at all.  Try them on your old computer, then have no fear in going out and getting that new computer and saying, “bye, bye Micro$oft, I don’t need your pricey office suite anymore,” thus joining what I have done for well more than 7 years now.

[cebeavers]

Las Vegas 2007 Part 3

December 3-4, 2007 Tuesday Photos | Wednesday Photos

On Tuesday morning we all got up and Larry said that Corey & Nathan were going to Red Rock Canyon to hike for the day, he’d be going with them, and we were free to go. At first I opted out, but then decided to go ahead and go. My feet hurt and I didn’t feel like more walking, but I ended up going with the others. It took a while, but the boys finally arrived in a friend of theirs vehicle that we took over to Red Rock Canyon, but not before stopping at Carl’s Jr. for something to eat (I was starved).

Getting to Red Rock was an adventure, but once we got there it was worth having decided to go. We spent a few hours hiking up the rocks and in the canyon, taking pictures, and even spending time relaxing on the rocks. I never did anything too hard, but I did some really basic rock climbing up a few small rock faces. Larry, Corey, and Nathan were a bit more adventurous. Corey had brought rock climbing gear, but left it at the room. We did watch other groups climb up some of the cliffs, though. We found some really interesting parts of the canyon to explore and take pictures of. The day was cool but not cold. The sun, however, was severely bright.

At one point we all climbed up to a point on the rocks and sat and watched the canyon. Larry took some video, and we all just lay around and even did some people watching. Even though we spent quite a few hours at Red Rock Canyon, and I really enjoyed going, there isn’t much to type about other than we walked, sat, climbed, walked, sat, climbed, and then we road the entire loop around to get out of the National Park. Once we were finished, I told Corey that I was thirsty, and the guys that didn’t eat this morning were getting hungry. I’d have liked to have gone back to the Hotel, especially since I was very uncomfortable in the back of the cramped car, but we rode around the burbs of Las Vegas a good hour before they stopped at Panda Express. I’d decided to eat elsewhere later as I wasn’t hungry at this point. Once we got back to the room I freshened up I decided I’d go back to the north end of the strip and hit up Speed and the Adventuredome. I headed to the Monorail, but part of the sidewalk and thus my short cut to the Monorail was closed off. I did, however, get to see the MGM Lion habitat with lions inside this time.

The original plan was that I was going to meet Jon and Larry at the Adventuredome in a bit because they were planning on trying to get cheap show tickets and then were going to take a nap. I hit up Speed a bunch of times, even riding in the train a few times by myself, took some pictures, then headed to Circus Circus. I called Larry and he said that they’d gotten tickets and that if I wanted to get one myself I could, but they were going to have drinks at Red Square and go to the show. I opted out of the show, but once I arrived at the Adventuredome, it was closed. So I headed back to the Sahara and again spent the evening hanging out on the north end of the strip near Stratosphere. I had forgotten to eat for some reason, so once I was ready to head back I stopped at McDonalds for a quick bite and then took the Monorail back to MGM Grand and then headed for the Luxor. When I got back to the room Jon and Larry informed me we had dinner reservations at Red Square for Wednesday evening with Corey, Nathan, and Corey’s friends. Even though the report is short, this was actually one of the longer days spent in Vegas.

I woke up later than Larry and Jon on Wednesday morning. They had headed to Caesars Palace and met up with Corey and Nathan as I slept. So once I finally did get up I called Larry’s phone to see where they were and made plans to meet up. After getting up, taking my shower and getting ready I headed out by myself. Caesars wasn’t a terribly long walk so I took the tram to Excalibur and headed thru New York, New York, toying with the idea of riding The Roller Coaster, then opting out of it. I stopped at CVS for a bottle of water and then headed to Caesars Palace.

Once inside it took a while to find the guys. I did get a decent glimpse of the Forum Shops, though, which are very nice. Once we met up we headed down the strip once again stopping in Bellagio’s shops and then to Planet Hollywood to eat. This was voted the best buffet in Las Vegas for 2007 and has got nothing but rave reviews so I was excited to try it out. It lived up to the hype for sure. The food was magnificent for a buffet. There was plenty of sea food, plenty of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean inspired food, Asian food, and more. I will eat here again. We actually sat at our table after we finished eating and talked for quite some time.

After we finished we walked thru the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. This was quite large with modern shops and plenty to do. We did some window shopping, hit up a few stores, and eventually made our way to Sharper Image, where a few of us tried out some of the massage chairs. Once I was finished, Jon and I decided to head out down the mall, he was going to a shoe store and I needed a bathroom break. I was supposed to meet Jon at the shoe store, but I couldn’t find it, so I sat for a while in the mall hoping someone would walk by (my one phone had died at this point, Jon didn’t have his, and I don’t know Larry’s number by memory).

I walked back to Sharper Image, but no one was there. I walked around, finally finding the shoe store Jon had went to, but it was too late and he’d left. So, aggravated, I decided I’d go back to the room and call Larry from there. I walked down the strip by myself towards our Hotel. But once I got to the MGM Grand, I actually had run up on Larry, Corey, and Nathan. Jon hadn’t found them either. Larry and I headed to our room and waited for Jon as we freshened up a bit. This was our evening to go to Red Square, so I had to get my cloths ready and pressed. Jon finally arrived having sat for a bit at Sin City Brewery in the Miracle Mile Shops waiting to see if we walked by (and I must have just missed him).

The three of us put on our nice cloths and headed over to Mandalay Bay, just on the other side of Luxor. This was my first time in the actual Hotel. We headed to the shops area where Red Square was, made sure we could add 2 more to our reservation while Jon got his shoes shined, and then we went to the House of Blues for a pre-dinner drink. Our bar tender was really cool, even if she didn’t have what we wanted to drink. Once we finished we headed back to Red Square to inquire about their bottle service in the ice cooler, which started out at $200 a bottle for up to so many people, but this far into the week, I really didn’t have that kind of cash I wanted to part with, so I opted out. Soon after Corey, Nathan, Jamie, and Holly arrived and we were seated.

Red Square is pseudo-Russian themed/inspired. The food isn’t necessarily Russian, but more gourmet cuisine, but the atmosphere is very red and very cool (not cool, the slang for something good, but cool as far as the atmosphere is concerned, but not literally cool as it was rather warm. Follow?). It takes a while to order and get service on purpose, which is part of the atmosphere, and the staff isn’t too overly friendly (although some of them did ‘break character’ with us just a bit). But the service was good and the food was exquisite. We all ordered drinks first, and I was told to have a Chernobyl, some type of Vodka drink that was really smooth.

Once it was time to order, Jon got the Chef’s Plate which was a 5 course meal, while I opted for a salmon dish as I wasn’t extremely hungry, but was wanting to be adventurous since I never EVER order fish (unless it’s sushi or sashimi). After a while they brought the bread out, which consisted of fresh pretzel twists, olive rolls, and more. All was very good. Jon’s food began to come in, the first being 3 separate types of caviar. Next up was some sort of tortilla chip with salmon tar-tar and caviar, so Jon let Holly and I try them. First experience with caviar, and it was not so bad. Next up our main courses came out. My Salmon had caviar and some other type of small egg atop a puff pastry. The food was wonderful. I don’t think a few people at the table appreciated it as much, nor did they realize what they had gotten themselves into when our bill finally arrived at $509 total.

We goofed off out front taking pictures, and then headed outside. We took pictures with Corey, Nathan, Jamie, and Holly on the walkway over the highway for a bit before we all went our separate ways, Corey and Nathan having to catch their flight early in the morning. I tried to get Larry and Jon to go ride The Roller Coaster at NY, NY again, but Larry wanted to go back and crash. Jon and I were ready to go out more, so we went back to the room, freshened up quickly, and then headed out again catching the Deuce down to Fremont Street.

By the time we arrived, it was quite late and the Fremont Street Experience was done for the evening (we just missed the last showing). We went into the Golden Nugget to search for the huge golden nugget. Then we went to Mermaids, but they were closed. Fremont Street was fairly empty so we just walked around and went into different casinos before heading to the Golden Gate for some $1.99 Shrimp Cocktail and dessert. We took the Deuce back, made a quick stop along the way, and then eventually headed back to the room with only one full day left in Vegas.