Mark it for later, we can see what we can shuffle around some other time.

Sorry to hear about... Everything that's been going on for you, Ruwin. Like Raven said, if you feel like talking, we're all willing to listen. Remember you've got my email, too, if you feel the need for a more personal talk.

I'd like to say though, that you shouldn't feel the need to apologize for not being around; especially with all that stuff that's happening on your end.


Oh, right, I kinda forgot to update you guys on that

Well, later that night I was freaking out I found out it wasn't just me. About half a dozen of us from the first year (not sure if it was all of us assigned to that hospital or only some) plus some of the second-years in the program were all afflicted with the same issue. It was definitely a problem from one particular hospital, though.

Right at 4:00 pm Wednesday, the ending time for clinicals, btw, we all get our passwords/IDs and stuff; but no-one can figure out where to use them. The "secure message" -- which is an Outlook system connected to the hospital's systems -- contained no link, no instructions on how to use them, just the new ID information. Finally, a few hours later, our instructor emails us instructions on where to go and gives us a help desk number in case of any problems.

Me and one of my classmates, independent of one another and within minutes of each other, have to call the help desk and get the same information: our information isn't actually in the system and the system won't be updated until tomorrow (that would be Thursday the 22nd, to be clear).

So, this first week of clinicals, a large portion of us were denied actual clinicals. I won't be going in until this coming Tuesday since Monday is Memorial Day.

Want to know the kicker? The modules are standard employee safety regulation courses that, besides taking forever, are being hosted in such a way that you can only access them on Internet Explorer. It specifically says on the login page that it has no support for Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Opera. There is a very real chance that current or future students cannot access these modules.



So, all of the above was written over two hours ago. This is written now. I lost one of my dogs. A little miniature pinscher. And with the large number of other people living around who also own dogs and the very real existence of coyotes around, I don't hold much hope of seeing him alive again, if at all.

I'm... quite despondent. I might get to some of the other things around here tomorrow, but I've actually got some obligations tomorrow so we'll see what happens. Good night, all.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Luna! It's never easy. There's not much I can say except my usual, and that's if you want to talk, you know where to find me. Take care, man, and we'll be thinking about you.

I am really really sorry to hear that man.
I've had way more than my fair share of cats, so I know the feeling.

I've both lost a pet to Coyotes and known others who have as well. But as someone who lives near coyote turf, it's by no means guaranteed when something wanders off. I don't want to give false hope, but if it hasn't been out long... otherwise, I myself recall the pain. Good luck and a sympathy to you

Oh no, Luna, that's awful. I hope he turns up... That's a real stretch of bad luck. ...Well bad luck and incompetence on the part of the hospital.

Bureaucracy! The thing that will surely undo civilization far more likely than invading hordes or nuclear arms.

@ Lord Luna - I'm so sorry to hear about the screw-ups with your clinicals, and about your dog. I don't claim to be a prophet, so I won't attempt to predict how, when, or why things will get better. But I do have the greatest possible confidence that they will. Hang in there, and we're always here in the meantime.

I thank you all sincerely for caring, and I quite frankly feel a little guilty garnering such attention when others are going through much rougher patches.

I just wanted to tell you all that I won't be getting to much of anything today; I've put Jakkard on high priority and will start on all the other things just put up for vote. Shadows has been placed in low priority until I can get some extra time.

The safety and standard procedures modules for my clinical hospital is taking four-evers, so that is my actual #1 priority. I'm also going to take most of tomorrow with friends to take advantage of an infrequent opportunity (all of us having a day free at once), so I probably won't be around for a few days. I'll try to get to everything up for vote before they expire, but just keep this stuff in mind.

If anyone deserves a break, it's you.

Incidentally, has anyone else noticed that we're now one of the most active boards on the entire site? That's pretty cool.

Mrs. OL once had a law professor who used to talk about what she called the "bucket theory of blame."

(I know, this seems like a strange aside, but I promise I'm going somewhere with this.)

Anyway, the "bucket theory of blame" referred to the implicit assumption, common among juries and other triers of fact, that there is a fixed amount of blame to be apportioned for any particular harm. If one party receives some amount of blame, the thinking goes, all other parties who are potentially at fault are necessarily exculpated by the same amount.

Take for example, a hypothetical scenario where a man is run over and killed by a drunk driver, but it is later determined that the mechanic who serviced the driver's car was negligent, and forgot to refill the brake fluid. One can reasonably argue that both the driver and the mechanic are at fault. The driver was too drunk to avoid running into the man, and the driver's brakes did not work because of the mechanic's negligence. But the human brain tends to apportion blame to one or the other. If I consider the driver to be culpable, I have a tendency to find the mechanic less culpable, because I've already used up all the blame. We treat blame as a zero-sum game - if someone is at fault, then there's that much less blame left in the bucket for anyone else.

Well, to repurpose the bucket analogy here, I don't believe in the bucket theory of empathy. Whatever else may be happening to others, and whatever their need for empathy, does not diminish the importance of what you are experiencing, or in some way reduce your worthiness of empathy. Empathy is not a finite resource, so don't feel guilty about receiving it - you're not taking any away from someone else. Empathy doesn't come in a bucket. It comes from the heart, and the heart will provide as needed. That's what I believe, anyway.



U-S-A! U-S-A!

Err... I mean, M-E-M! M-E-M! M-E-M!

(It is sooper cool!)

@OL: On the other side of that spectrum is cheese. If I have a bucket full of some nice, chipped-up Colby/Jack Marble cheese, I'm eating it until I'm full, then you guys can have some. I love me some Colby/Jack.

Wait, what were we talking about?

I dunno, OL, that line of thinking is dangerous. I started thinking that way and now I'm polyamorous It's a road to sin, I tells ye!

...Totally on the same page as Raven RE: sharing cheese though. [currently eating an entire package of cream cheese]

I just want to stop and pronounce OL
King of the Warm Fuzzies
Because he has a way of warming my heart. And bringing a tear to my eye.

----

Re: cheese:
A long time ago, when I was an unintelligent little grub, someone on a pokémon forum (the first forum I ever registered for) told me that "cheese is GEWD", and I've been running with that ever since. I find I'm a lot more of a bread man than a cheese man, though.

I'm fond of well-made bread myself, but I'm not as invested in bread as cheese. I will say, however, that a freshly baked and buttered French bread is one of the best things ever. Also, fresh garlic bread.

And now my mouth is watering. You guys have me positively leaking from my orifices.

Also I have some lovely meunster I bought the other day, but it is a poor substitute to the deliciousness of cheddar.

That's a very gouda question.



This just makes me think of the Pet Shop Boys: "Everything I long to do / no matter when, or where, or who / has one thing in common, too: / it's a sin."

While I'm skeptical that polyamory is in my future, I will say that I don't think that spreading the love is ever a bad thing.

Love is much like cheese - it makes everything else better.



You have no idea how genuinely happy this makes me. I know I sound all New-Agey and spacey when I talk about this stuff, but I really do believe that the nearest thing we have to a purpose in life is to increase the sum total of human happiness in this world. So, anytime I can nudge that needle in the right direction, it brings joy to my heart.



To be the anti-Dean-Wormer for a second, fat, cheesey, and happy seems like a good way to go through life to me.

And also much like cheese, love is easily spreadable!
Usually on crackers.

Do you guys think it would be useful to have a page of "Incidental" characters or planes that have appeared in our various works? I know I have a tendency to off-handedly mention planes, for example, that I never really intend on developing, and I think others have done similar things, so I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to have them listed on one page, in case anyone want to develop one. On the other hand, it might be a waste of time.

What do you guys think?