~ ~ ~ Up, down, and probably inside out...

Question for Ron King of "Migraine Mastery" Blog

Ron King has a Google Blogspot blog entitled "Migraine Mastery."

I really like some of his articles, and I should because I wrote many of them! Here are a few of my articles that Mr. King has copied and pasted (either in full or in part) to his blog, without my permission and in violation of copyright law:

• Ice Pick Headaches - The Basics
• Hemiplegic Migraine - Genetic Testing May Be Helpful
• Migraines Often Triggered By Chane In the Weather
• Trileptal Fails Test for Migraine Prevention
• Acephalgic or Silent Migraine - The Basics

He also copied and pasted Nancy Bonk's article Famous Migraineurs - Terrell Davis, in it's entirety.

Up to now, I've been polite and patient about this. I would like to have handled this privately with Mr. King. BUT, he does not provide a way to contact him from his blog; nor does he allow comments to be posted.

Google owns Blogspot, so I checked into their process for reporting copyright violations. It's so long and cumbersome that it makes me think they set it up that way deliberately so they don't have to deal with the issue.

It's perfectly acceptable and legal to copy and past a couple of paragraphs of an article you like to your blog and give your readers the URL for the article so they can read the rest. Mr. King does say "For more information, visit mymigraineconnection.com at the end of each of his entries where he's ripped me off, but he doesn't bother to link directly to my articles or even attribute the articles to me. Even if he did, that wouldn't excuse his ripping off entire articles.

So, Mr. King, here's my question -- Where do you get off stealing my content?  I'd like an answer, AND, I'd like my content removed from your blog!

Where were their parents?!

The program "Inside Edition" follows the local news at noon on television here. Today, they had a story about two children making prank calls to 911.

The kids were a 13-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy. They made repeated short calls to 911 over a three-hour period, each call too short for police to locate them. During the first one, the girl said, "I was kidnapped. I'm in a dark, dark, place!" You can read more about it HERE.

So, here's my question -- Where the hell were their parents??

Webkinz -- Great for kids, but...

Are you familiar with Webkinz? Before Christmas, all I knew was that Webkinz are adorable little stuffed animals that our grandchildren talk about -- a lot. Since Christmas, I have learned much more since Alex and Morgan gave me a Lil' Kinz Chihuahua as a gift so I can play with them.

Now I can tell you more. Yes, Webkinz are adorable little stuffed animals, but they're much more. When you get a Webkinz, you're supposed to go to their web site and "adopt" your pet by entering the "secret code" printed on a special tag attached to it. When you do that, you get Webkinz dollars to spend on decorating your pet's room, feeding your pet, etc. You can earn more $$ by playing arcade games, searching for gems, answering trivia questions. You can also use KinzPost to send notes and gifts to people you've added to your friends list.

The site is safe and very educational. It teaches children that pets are a responsibility. If they don't pay attention to their pets, feed them, make sure they get exercise, etc., their pets become sad and ill. The games are superb for building hand-to-eye coordination and for learning.

BUT... It appears that the people who run Webkinz are not well prepared for the popularity of Webkinz. Just after Christmas, their site was down for a full day. Even now, it is frequently unavailable. If you have children, you can imagine the impact of their site being unavailable. How many times can kids ask, "Is it working yet?" in one day? Yikes!

In addition to being unavailable so frequently, the site also has problems with malfunctions. To add to that, their support system really stinks! It's hard to find where to ask a question other than some predefined questions they have listed. Once you find where to ask your questions, you will wait and wait for a reply and a resolution of your problem.

IMO, when you have a company that produces a product to be used in conjunction with a web site, you have a responsibility to maintain the site and anticipate the traffic and the needs of your users. This is where Ganz, the manufacturer of Webkinz is falling down. Hopefully, they will improve.

Life's been crazy...

Oh, my, but it's been far too long since I posted here!

Today, I'm tired, confused, and more than a bit frustrated. Let's see if I can keep this short. In 2004, a routine EKG before eye surgery indicated that I could have a heart problem. After a stress test and cardiac catheterization (that horrible test where they insert a catheter into an artery in the groin and run it up into the heart to see inside the blood vessels), it was determined that a very small branch of the right descending coronary artery was blocked 80%. It was too small to do angioplasty and insert a stent, so we went with managing the issue with medications. I had occasional angina, but it was no big deal.

About 8 weeks ago, I was having pressure and a burning feeling in my chest and upper arms, an aching in my lower jaw, and pain above my shoulder blade -- all symptoms of heart attack in women. Of course, it was on a weekend, so off to the ER we went. They informed me that what I was calling pressure and burning, they call chest pain. It was angina, but it was different than what I'd had before. They got it stopped, but I had to spend a night in the hospital. The cardiologist on call stopped in the next day, spent about two minutes listening to my chest, told me I had to stay another night for a stress test, and left. A bit later, the nurse told he he'd gotten to her station and, upon discovering that I'd been there for 24 hours, decided to prescribe 2 additional meds and send me home to do the stress test as an outpatient.

I made a 6-week follow up appointment with my regular cardiologist. As soon as I started taking one of the new meds, a beta blocker, I was short of breath with almost no exertion. That's a common side effect of beta blockers for people who have asthma. Decided to stick it out and see if it stopped. It didn't. Explained that to my cardiologist who replied that he didn't want to change meds at that point because he wasn't sure if the shortness of breath was the med or my heart. He wanted to repeat the cardiac catheterization. Oh, joy. Not.

He did the test on Thursday. Sedation was optional. I opted OUT so I'd be aware of what was going on and able to talk to the doctor. He was told that I wanted him to talk to me after the test. After the test, all he told me was that here were no changes needing angioplasty and stenting, but that there was atherosclerosis through most of the vessels in my heart. He then walked out. I was still on the table and in no position to go after him for more information. He told my husband that there was "diffuse plaque and larger pieces of plaque" throughout the vessels, and that he could foresee a piece of that plaque breaking off and causing me major problems in the future.

Now, the purpose of the test was to see if the shortness of breath is due to meds or my heart. He didn't address that with my husband or with me. I asked on of the nurses in the recovery area. She asked him about the beta blocker, and he told her to tell me that he wasn't going to change my meds; that I could talk to my family doctor or see him in two months to discuss the issue again.

WHAT? Is my family doctor supposed to be an expert on adjusting cardiac drugs? What about this atherosclerosis? Is there something I can and should be doing about it?

Now, mind you, that test was very, very painful. I declined any sedation so I could talk to him, but he didn't see fit to really tell me anything; nor did he give my husband any helpful information. So, essentially, I put myself through hell for this test which costs nearly $6,000 (about $1,200 of which is going to come our of our pockets), and don't know what to do now. No information from him, and I'm just supposed to ask my family doctor?

To say that I'm pissed off is putting it mildly. Part of it is the frustration of feeling that I have so few choices. There are several cardiologists here, BUT they're all in the same practice group. My only option if I want someone to behave like a professional and compassionate human being would be to go out of town for care. That doesn't seem like a good choice to me. It seems to me that I need to have a cardiologist here, not out of town.

So, that's what's going on here. How is YOUR life going?

I don't think so!

Here's one thing that increases the cost of medical care!

In today's mail, I received a bill from Marietta Memorial Hospital in Marietta, Ohio. What's wrong with that is that I've never been a patient at that hospital or had any tests run that would have been run through their laboratory. Never. Another thing that's wrong about my having received this bill is that I've received this bill three times now.

This bill is for care received by my mother months ago. My mother is an adult. She does not live with me. I am not responsible for her bills. The first time I received this bill, I called the hospital and explained this to them. They told me that her doctor had told them to list me as the "guarantor" on the bill. He probably got my name and address from her medical history because I'm her emergency contact and have her medical power of attorney so I can authorize her care if she's incapacitated. I explained to both her doctor's office and the hospital that I am not the guarantor, that she has Medicare as her primary insurance and Medicaid to be billed secondarily. So, there's another factor. Since they accepted Medicare and Medicaid, they're bound by law to NOT seek private payment, be it from me or my mother. They were supposed to remove my name and address from her account. Obviously, they did not.

The second time I received this bill, I called the hospital and repeated the process, albeit less politely. You'd think they'd have taken care of this if for no other reason than to not have to deal with me again. Wrong!

So, today, here's this damned bill again, and I royally ticked. They're stressing me and they're actually violating the laws on Medicare and Medicaid billing. Yes, I called their billing department again. Once again, I was told that they'd take care of it, but I don't believe them. So, for good measure, I called the hospital administrator's office. My next step? I'm calling Medicare and Medicaid!

It's painfully obvious that they either don't know or don't care about the fact that things like this take up people's time, not just mine but theirs. That means that such things also increase the cost of health care. Not to be too harsh or offensive, but does anyone else ever wonder why such stupidity isn't a crime? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

The Nourishing Meme

Webster defines a meme as "an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture."

Wikipedia says, "coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins, refers to a unit of cultural information that can be transmitted from one mind to another. Dawkins said, Examples of memes are tunes, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. A meme propagates itself as a unit of cultural evolution analogous in many ways to the gene (the unit of genetic information).

My precious friend Phylameana lila Désy, who is the Guide to Holistic Healing at About.com and the owner of Spiral Visions, has asked me five questions intended to promote a "Nourishing Meme" in the blogosphere. This meme originated with Joanne Hay.

The five questions, with my responses, are:

1. What is the most nourishing thing you frequently do for yourself?
   Every day, I take at least 30 minutes of "me time" to pray and meditate. This is quiet time that is never to be interrupted. The phone is off the hook, and my husband doesn't interrupt me. One of my favorite things to do during this time is to focus on a lovely golden yellow citrine sphere I have and visualize exhaling dark negativity and illness and inhaling the golden rays of God's healing energies.
2. For your health, what will you never compromise on?
   Good health care. I firmly believe that optimal health is achieved only when doctors and patients work together as treatment partners in an atmosphere of mutual respect, and I will settle for nothing less. A doctor who doesn't have time to spend with me, won't answer my questions, or who won't pay attention to what my body is telling me is not my doctor very long.
3. Where do you get most of your health information?
   From a combination of sources -- my doctors, medical journals, colleagues, and the Internet.
4. What single whole food or supplement has turned your health around the most?
   Coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 has turned out to be an excellent Migraine preventive for me. It also has increased my energy levels and is good for my heart.
5. What is your favorite natural therapy?
   Aromatherapy.

Now comes the part where I ask others to participate in the Nourishing Meme and answer these same questions on their blogs. So, I'm asking Kerrie at The Daily Headache and and Melanie with her blog Life in my head. I hope everyone will find this as thought provoking as I have. You don't have to be invited to participate. Feel free to do this meme on your blog, and if you do, please let me know!

Gotcha, Active Periodicals!

Yesterday, I blogged to vent my frustration with the abuse and harrasment being perpetrated by Active Periodicals. Today, I must make an admission...

I didn't know as much about the Do Not Call List as I thought I did. I thought a company with whom we have a business relationship was exempt and could continue to call. Wrong! There's an exception to that. Allow me to quote the Do Not Call F.A.Q. from the FTC site:

A telemarketer or seller may call a consumer with whom it has an established business relationship for up to 18 months after the consumer's last purchase, delivery, or payment - even if the consumer's number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. In addition, a company may call a consumer for up to three months after the consumer makes an inquiry or submits an application to the company. And if a consumer has given a company written permission, the company may call even if the consumer's number is on the National Do Not Call Registry.

One caveat: if a consumer asks a company not to call, the company may not call, even if there is an established business relationship. Indeed, a company may not call a consumer - regardless of whether the consumer's number is on the registry - if the consumer has asked to be put on the company's own do not call list.

YES! Gotcha, Active Periodicals! I had recorded the date and time of one other call, one from August 10. Thus, not only was I able to file a complaint with the FTC, I was able to file two of them, one for August 10 and one for yesterday, September 2.

Here's my promise to Active Periodicals... I will file an additional complaint with the FDA every single time you call me from now on. Don't believe me? Watch me! One more thing to the people at Active Periodicals. You might want to do a Google search on your company. I did, and anyone who does with all the negatives that are there these days is very unlikely to do business with you.

If you buy from Active Periodicals, they'll harass you, headache or not!

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I have a horrid tension-type headache today, and a sales person for Active Periodicals just got on my last nerve!

If you never take another piece of advice from me, take this one! Never do business with Active Periodicals. They're one of those companies that work for magazine publishers whose magazines aren't getting the readership they want. They offer you about half a dozen magazines -- free. You don't pay the regular subscription rate, just the postage. Now, I don't know that I believe that, but when I sat here and did the math, I could get subscriptions to magazines I really like and pay far less than the subscription rates. So, I agreed, and a modest amount is debited from my checking amount each month for two years, and I get the magazines for four years.

Now, here's the problem. They keep calling me. Daily sometimes, but at least a few times a week. They say they want to thank me for my business and be sure I'm getting my magazines. But, what they really want is to thank me by "offering me a special offer." In short, they want to sell me more magazines. I've asked them to quit calling. I called their customer service phone number that's on my bank account statement. Customer service informs me that the sales department is separated from them, that customer service will never phone me, that they  have no control over who the sales department calls.

So, I just had another phone call from Nancy at Active Periodicals. I tried to be polite. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "I've asked several times not to be called by your company."
Nancy: "We're exempt from the Do-Not-Call List."
Me: "I know the exemptions to the list. I don't want to talk to you."
Nancy: "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you."
Me: "Xxxxx you, baby."

Then I hung up. Yes, I know I shouldn't have lost my temper. My head hurts, and I lost it. I X'd out the word, but just so you know, it was a mild expletive. Not really nasty or profane.

I repeat, Steer clear of Active Periodicals unelss you want to be mercilessly harrassed.

Beware of calls from Active Periodicals

Unless you want to be harrassed, steer clear of Active Periodicals!

I want to share this with you so you can learn from my experience rather than going through this mess yourself. A year or so ago, I received a phone call from a company called Active Periodicals. Their pitch was that they work for magazine publishers whose magazines aren't getting the readership they want. They offer you about half a dozen magazines -- free. You don't pay the regular subscription rate, just the postage. Now, I don't know that I believe that, but when I sat her and did the math, I could get subscriptions to magazines I really like and pay far less than the subscription rates. So, I agreed, and a modest amount is debited from my checking amount each month for two years, and I get the magazines for four years.

So far, so good.

BUT, I keep getting calls from Active Periodicals. They start out friendly enough, asking if I'm receiving my magazines with no problem. Then they tell me that since I'm such a good customer, they have a special offer for me. The special offer turns out that they want to add more magazines and extend my payments. I'm not interested. I've told them repeatedly that I'm not interested. I'm on the national Do Not Call list, but it doesn't apply to companies if you have an existing business relationship with them.

One of their staff called me yesterday. I started to ask one more time that they quit calling me. I got so far as, "I've asked before that you stop calling me and." Click. The person hung up on me in the middle of their sentence. I tried to call them back on the number that had shown on my caller ID, but got a recording that the number is no longer in service. Strange. So, I pulled a checking account statement and called the 800 number on it associated with the monthly debit. I asked to speak to a customer service supervisor. She looked up my account, and I told her what happened. She told me that those calls don't come from customer service, but from their sales department, and she could tell them to stop calling me, but as until I've made my last payment, they'd keep calling whenever they wanted. She was so obnoxious that I almost prefer the person who hung up on me. When I told her that if they called me again, I'd have my bank stop making payments to them, she told me to go right ahead, and that they'd turn me over for collection and sue me. A real piece of work.

If you do a web search on this company. you find lots of message boards filled with complaints about them. Attorneys General have sued them in some states.

So, beware! Active Periodicals is a company without morals or ethics. If you do business with them, your reward is being harrassed.

Electricity out, AGAIN!

I'm hoping this isn't a pattern forming. Last week, our electricity was out for several hours on Saturday evening. This week, it was Friday, and it was out longer. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. It was NOT storming here. We have no idea what was wrong. We called their 800 number, and the recording said, "Repairmen have arrived in your area. Power should be restored by 10 p.m., April 21." At 10 p.m., the recording had been revised to say 10:30. At 10:30, it had been revised to say it would be updated when they had an estimate. We gave up and went to bed.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate that they try to estimate the time, but I want to know WHY we were without electricity. Is that too much to ask?

Such times make me realize how dependent we are. I didn't miss the television all that much, but I couldn't use my computer to work, and couldn't see well enough by flashlight to read.

Phooey!