On Friday, the Court decided to appoint Jeanie and me as Emergency Temporary Guardians for my mother...

I would have much preferred that the situation with my mother had not forced us to this point.  Other than the good karma of taking care of someone who can't care for herself, there is no upside to being a guardian - it takes lots of time, money and emotional capital.  Unfortunately, other than Jeanie and me, there is no one else to do it, and we were all but begged to take on this responsibility by the staff at the Assisted Living Facility where my mother resides.  It doesn't appear that this is going to be a short term need on my mother's part, so we told the attorney to proceed with pursuing permanent guardianship.  The attorney said that given my mother's condition, she was all but sure that the court would appoint permanent guardianship.  The temporary order is for sixty days, which should be sufficient time for the court to process the evaluation for permanent guardianship.  From what we understand, the process for permanent guardianship is much more involved.  It will require Jeanie and I to appear in court, along with my mother.  That will be no fun at all.

It turns out that there are a lot of responsibilities and regulations associated with being a guardian.  It is not as simple as "okay, look after your mother's needs."  There are all sorts of things that you "must do," and many things that can only be done with the court's approval.  Seems like along with the copies of the "Letters Of Emergency Temporary Guardianship" and the "Order Appointing Emergency Temporary Guardianship," either the Court or our attorney would have provided us with some sort of a booklet outlining the responsibilities and regulations associated with this.

Jeanie and I are both becoming increasingly disheartened with the lack of service in our service based economy.  It used to be that the people who undertook "helping" careers - people like doctors and lawyers - would make the effort to ensure that you had all of the information that you needed - proactively.  Now, they only give you the answers to the questions you ask, and then only begrudgingly and often incompletely.  If I knew all of the questions to ask, chances are I wouldn't have to be paying them hundreds of dollars an hour to help!

Fortunately, with a bit of Googling, I was able to find some pertinent information, in order of increasing detail / complexity:

Guardianship Basics - A Handbook for Guardians: http://www.rgllaw.us/GuardianshipBasics.pdf

Guardianship Basics - A Handbook for Guardians corrections: http://www.rgllaw.us/handbookcorrections.pdf

FLORIDA GUARDIANSHIP LAW AND INFORMATION: http://www.flcourts18.org/PDF/gurardianship_rev1-07.pdf

Florida Statutes - Chapter 744 - Guardianship: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0744/ch0744.htm

I found the coolest site this afternoon: http://www.guiweather.com/

Among the many way cool features are a number of KML files for Google Earth.  My favorite is the Level II Radar that can display the latest static radar map or a loop automatically updated every five minutes.  To install it, with Google Earth open, all you have to do is click on this link.

Another source of weather data including Nexrad Radar and Airport Weather Observations (METARS) is http://earthnc.com/  They also offer all sorts of boating related overlays if your interests sway more to the nautical.  In order to access the features you need to register, but registration is quick, easy and free.

Another site with some interesting KMLs is http://www.weatherstationmaps.info/weather/radar/googleEarth.jsp, which is also a cool weather site in its own right.

Finally, one more site with interesting KMLs is http://wdssii.nssl.noaa.gov/geotiff_new/index.html.  I particularly like their regional loops, which seem to have better resolution than some of the other sites'.

I could burn lots more time playing with this as Google returned 288,000 hits from a search string of:

Google Earth Weather with online RADAR overlay

but I should go do something more productive.

Yet another addition to my list of interesting artists is Rodrigo y Gabriela, a pair of incredibly gifted guitarists who play a unique acoustic Latin-jazz fusion style.

You can listen to them on the MySpace page at: http://www.myspace.com/rodrigoygabriela

or check them out on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Rodrigo+y+Gabriela+&search=Search

After having to jump through a number of hoops to get an appointment with a neurosurgeon in Jacksonville who specializes (or at least has an interest in) peripheral nerve tumors, Jeanie and I headed off this morning for my appointment.

In an attempt to be courteous and to help the doctor stay on schedule, we timed our departure such that we would arrive at the doctor's office a half-hour early, so we would have time to fill out all of the paperwork well before the time of the actual appointment.

We were standing at the check-in desk exactly thirty minutes prior to the appointment as planned.  It took about fifteen minutes to fill out the paperwork.

My appointment time came and went without any comment from the front desk person.

About fifteen minutes later, the front desk person informs us that there has been a scheduling "mix up" and the doctor is unavailable because he is in surgery - sorry.

I was so angry, I could spit.  Doctors routinely over-schedule so that they don't waste one minute of their precious time sitting around waiting on a patient - like they don't have plenty they could do to fill the time like review labs, return phone calls, etc.; they no absolutely no regard for the hours of their patients time that they waste forcing them to sit in crowded uncomfortable waiting rooms.  Some doctors now even charge you for the office visit if you don't cancel more than twenty-four hours in advance.

And what can we do when a doctor wastes our time forcing us to wait and wait and wait, or worse yet, doesn't even show up for our appointment?

Nothing!

Nah, you say, just go to a different doctor.  Yeah, right.  First off, the vast majority conduct themselves in exactly the same matter.  Second of all, while that might work for something like self-pay elective cosmetic surgery in a large city like New York or Chicago, the options are much more constrained when you're talking about an obscure sub-speciality in a third-tier metropolitan region.

It's days like this that sometimes make me wish I was more of a screamer.  I wouldn't want to scream at the front desk person - it wasn't her fault so she shouldn't have to be punished, but bottling up all of this anger isn't good for my health and well being.

As with most weeks, last week had its ups and downs.

My mother is not doing too well.  She is back in the hospital and is being handled by the hospital as an incompetent person.  Even though part of me rebels against the thought, since there really is no one else to do it, Jeanie and I have started the process of seeking guardianship.  Jeanie did a lot of work researching attorneys in the extended area, made lots of calls, and ended up finding what we believe will be a good attorney, skilled in these sorts of matters, right here in town.  We met with her early last week and had expected the papers to be filed this week.  Unfortunately, a recent (three weeks ago) Florida supreme court ruling now requires that even for emergency temporary guardianship, the alleged incompetent person must have an attorney to represent them and must have the guardianship petition personally read to them by the attorney prior to being accepted by the court for consideration.  It would have been nice had we known that before we got all dressed up and drove to Jacksonville to appear before the judge in his chambers.  At least, the judge was nice and since we had made the effort to appear, he "swore" us in his chambers and made sure that there were no disqualifying items (prior felony convictions or bankruptcy) that would prevent us from being able to act as guardians in the state of Florida.  This will hopefully save us from having to go back to Jacksonville - our attorney should be able to file/appear on our behalf.

Depending on how well the hospital can stabilize her, she may be able to go back to the assisted living facility where she is currently residing, or she may have to go to a nursing home.  Even if she can stay in an ALF, we may choose to move her back closer to here, as it just adds to the challenge of caring for her having her over an hour away.

The weekend was nice for the most part.

On Saturday, we went to breakfast at Miss Caroline's.  It was crowded, somewhat slow, and the food was fine, but relatively expensive given the total lack of presentation or inclusion of any side dishes.  I ordered eggs benedict and that's what I got - two English muffin halves, each topped with a piece of Canadian bacon and a poached egg, topped with Hollandaise sauce plopped on a plain white plate - nothing else.  Jeanie ordered pancakes and that's what she got, three pancakes plopped on a plain white plate.

After breakfast, we went downtown to the Amelia Cruizer's 11th Annual 8-Flags Car Show.  Before walking around the show, so we would still get a good selection, we stopped in at the Fernandina Farmer's Market where we picked up some fresh veggies and a small Myer's Lemon tree.  The car show was quite enjoyable.  The weather was lovely, and there were lots of interesting cars.  Jeanie and I both thought Bob Murphy would have enjoyed the show - it is sad that Wendy and Bob live so far away.

After spending an hour or two downtown, we headed home.  We spent the afternoon relaxing in the house.

Around five, I headed out to the airport for a CAP Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX).  It was interesting because rather than the normal ELT search, we did a visual search.  I acted as Observer on our sortie.  It was more challenging than I had anticipated both because every time I had to turn my attention in to the cockpit to jot down a note or talk on the radio, I had to break off my visual search, and just because spending an extended period of time really looking for something in a systematic manner is tougher than you might expect.  The exercise really made me appreciate (at least in a small way) just what the folks looking for Steve Fossett went through.

After the SAREX, a number of us stayed around to do night proficiency flying.  I was very disappointed in my flying.  The night was absolutely beautiful - clear skies and no wind, so the experience should have been picture perfect - unfortunately, it was far from it.  Each of my approaches were quite high turning onto final.  On my second approach, everything seemed fine right up to touchdown, but at the last minute, the aircraft got squirrelly and I bounced and elected to go around.  I was slow retracting the first notch of flaps and let my airspeed get lower than I should have.  There was no major issue and the stall warning never sounded, but I think I made my copilot nervous which really upset me.  The three landings I made weren't horrible - I didn't pound the aircraft into the ground or land way long - but they weren't great either.  By now, I expect that especially in ideal conditions, every landing should be perfect.  I really need to focus - especially at night - on attitude flying.

On Sunday, I did my normal Sunday morning ritual of going to the airport to hang out.  There was a good crowd and I ended up staying for a couple of hours.   The time was pleasant, but I was still aggravated over my flying from the previous night.

Jeanie and I had planned to do some chores around the house - like planting the lemon tree, but Jeanie had a migraine, so we just spent a quiet afternoon and evening at home.

Ever encounter a site with lots of content that doesn't have a local search function?

Frustrating, isn't it?

Well, those crafty folks at Google have a simple solution for you already built into their search engine.

All you have to do is enter the following as your search string:

keyword site:URL of site

for example, to search Blogdom for "TV" you would enter:

TV site:www.blogdom.org

You are not limited to just searching for one word.  Keyword can be multiple words if you want - a keyphrase so to speak.

Of course, Blogdom has it's own search function, which is a bit more elegant than the Google approach (I don't take credit for it, it was written by someone else and is specific to Movable Type), but for something say like MSN Groups, which has no search function, it is terrific.

For other cool Google search tips, check out http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/refinesearch.html

I had another "first" yesterday: I acted as Safety Pilot for an IFR rated pilot (one of the other CAP members) practicing IFR procedures.

Riding as safety pilot has to be one of the best deals going.  Basically, my job was to sit in the right seat and look out for other aircraft while the guy doing the flying (and all the real work) was under the hood.  So, in effect, I got to sightsee, learn about IFR procedures and observe a proficient IFR pilot actually performing IFR procedures - all for free!  Oh, and I even got to log the time!

Turns out, per FAA rules, in this particular situation, the safety pilot is considered a required crew member, and as such, is eligible to log the time.  In our circumstance, we decided that the guy doing the flying would be acting as Pilot In Command, so I was only able to log the time as Second In Command.  This was fine by me, as I had never flown with this person before, so I wouldn't have been comfortable taking the responsibility of being the PIC anyway, given that had we agreed that I would act as PIC, then I would have been liable for anything the guy flying did wrong - even something like busting airspace or an assigned altitude or course.

In the future, I may choose to accept the responsibility of acting as PIC, as this would be a good way to build PIC time, which I need to be able to become a CAP Mission Pilot or Cadet Orientation Pilot.  I believe I would feel comfortable doing this with the guy I flew with yesterday, as well as with a number of the other pilots I have flown with in the squadron.  Even if I don't act as PIC, it will still allow me to build my time in general, which can be helpful for other things I might want to do.  I guess I'd better get the word out that I am available...

Jeanie and I spent the better part of the day in Deland today...

I have wanted to fly to Deland for a while.  Now that Jeanie is also a CAP member, we took the opportunity to take a cross country proficiency trip to DeLand Municipal Airport-Sidney H Taylor Field. 

Even though I had looked up the airport on AirNav, I didn't know where to park and didn't want to waste a bunch of time taxiing around the airport.  I tried to call Unicom to get some directions, but got not answer.  So, I just ended up guessing about where to park.  We ended up parking part way between Skydive Deland, which was a big part of the draw for this particular destination airport (and close to where we exited the runway) and the FBO, which was at the far end of the taxi way.  I had a feeling that we had not parked in a public spot, so we started walking over towards the FBO to ask.  As we were walking, we noticed a flight instructor from what turned out to be Regional Airline Academy Inc, and decided to she if she could provide some information.  She was very nice and explained that the FBO indeed was at the end of the field, and that they no longer monitored Unicom.  She also mentioned that it would be fine to leave "our" airplane right where it was for a few hours (I got the impression that it was part of the flight school parking area).

So, after thanking her for the information, we walked back over to Skydive Deland.  Being back at a DZ was bittersweet for me.  I guess there is still a part of me that misses the days when I ate, slept and drank skydiving at the Franklin County Sport Parachute Center - now known as Carolina Sky Sports.  Jeanie wasn't plagued by any such melancholy.   The facilities at Skydive Deland were definitely a step up from what we were accustomed to (although in fairness, my guess is that so too is Carolina Sky Sports).  While we were happy to cram into a Cessna 182 or as a treat, a Beach D-18, the jumpers in Deland got to jump out of a Skyvan.  While most of the jumpers were kids who probably didn't have  a clue, there were a few gray hairs who probably appreciated the luxury of jumping a Skyvan.  Deland also sported a nice gear shop, a restaurant, large indoor packing areas, a nice spectator area and even a playground for the kids!  On the other hand, when we jumped, there were acres of open fields to land in, and other than the jump plane, no other aircraft for miles.  I can't imagine jumping at an airport with such a high volume of traffic - having to land next to or between active runways.  After watching a few loads land, we headed off for some lunch.

We had lunch at the "Airport Restaurant and Gin Mill."  Our other option was "The Perfect Spot" at Skydive Deland, but based on a few reviews on AirNav, we decided to go to the Gin Mill.  The Gin Mill had been voted the “Best Cheeseburgers in Central Florida.”  I wasn't that hungry, so Jeanie and I decided to share, which meant a hamburger cooked medium well (rather than a cheesburger cooked medium rare) and some onion rings.  Jeanie and I were both really pleasantly surprised.  The burger was hot, juicy, and delicious, as were the onion rings.  The service was excellent.  The server went above and beyond normal good service - she overheard Jeanie mention in conversation that after flying I typically was more thirsty than hungry, so she brought over a pitcher of diet coke so we wouldn't be left with empty glasses.

As an aside, as I was writing this entry, I stumbled across a cool new (to me) aviation oriented web site - one that has lots of reviews of airport restaurants - http://www.flyingflorida.com/index.html.  Their review of the Gin Mill is not consistent with our experience today, but their two reviews of the Fly-By Cafe in St. Augustine are consistent with my two experiences there.

After lunch, we headed back over to the DZ.  We had hoped to see some jumpers exit and watch some RW, but the only jumpers we could ever spot in freefall were tandem jumpers - due to being able to see the relatively large drogue chutes that they deploy to help stabilize the freefall.  We sat at the door of the packing room for a while reminiscing about all the parachutes we had packed so long ago, then decided it was time to head home.

As we walked around the airport, I was once again struck at how different the feel is at 55J compared to other municipal airports in this area.  Deland had a number of business on the airport property, lots of "T" hangars, and the few open hangars we walked by just felt "friendly."

The flights to and from were very nice.  Visibility was quite good, and the ride was smooth.  Time enroute was  about an hour each way.  Landings were good on both ends.  Beautiful weather, flying a nice airplane, a visit to a new airport, a good lunch and time spent with my best friend - what a great day.

I came across this word twice today: Once listening to NPR and once reading the Costco monthly magazine.  I don't get to listen to NPR that often, but I spent the day at a VMware seminar in Jacksonville (cool product, so-so seminar), so I got to listen to NPR on the way there and back.  Had I remembered to bring my Nomad, I would have listened to tunes, but I didn't.  If you smirked at the thought of reading the Costco magazine, you shouldn't; it has some really interesting articles usually.  I had no idea what the word meant, but given encountering its use twice in one day, I was motivated to look it up.  I am glad I did.

Links:

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio pronunciation

Dictionary.com

I generally prefer my ice cream "sans crunchies," but, oh my goodness, eating Ben & Jerry’s Crème Brûlée ice cream is like putting a cool little blob of heaven in your mouth.

I don't quite know how they keep the caramelized sugar swirl crunchy, but between it and the custard ice cream base, they have absolutely captured the essence of Crème Brûlée.

And, if you're not into Crème Brûlée, the new Cinnamon Buns flavor is pretty amazing too.

Just don't bother reading the nutritional information... you don't want to know.

It seems that lately, all of the new artists I am "discovering" are from background music from TV shows...

My latest "find" is Matt Nathanson.  I heard his beautiful song "All We Are" from his Some Mad Hope album playing at the end of this week's NCIS.  Of course, at the time, I didn't know the artist or name of the song, but, as amazing as it still is to me, the answer was fairly easily obtained with just a couple of Google searches.

Yes, I am a sucker for singer/songwriter folk rock.

References:

MySpace page

Wikipedia entry

Official Matt Nathanson web site

Solo acoustic version of "All We Are" on YouTube.

Well, sorta new...

It is new in that we just purchased it, but it isn't really new in that it is an exact replacement of our old kettle.  Technically, it is a replacement of a replacement of a warranty exchange of the kettle we purchased at least six years ago.

I am guessing that this one will last longer than the previous ones have because I think I've finally figured out what was causing the major reason that we would get a new one - slight leaking at the base.  My belief is that we were contributing to the problem by leaving water in the kettle most of the time.

We had looked at kettles costing twice as much as our Wal-Mart G.E. Chrome Electric Kettle 168950, but after reading reviews on many different models on-line, it didn't appear that any of the more expensive kettles functioned any better or lasted any longer, and some had serious design defects.  The way I look at it, we like the features, and even if (although it is unlikely) we had to replace it twice as often as a more expensive model, we'd still be better off after taking time value of money into account.

Speaking of on-line reviews, I added another first to my list today - my very own (other than on Blogdom) first on-line review.  You can read it here.

I was leafing back through the Blogdom archives and saw a post about OpenOffice.org 2.1 and thought that it would be only fair to make an entry about another free office suite, the recently released IBM Lotus Symphony, which can be downloaded for free from here.  Symphony is available for Windows or Linux, and offers a presentation program, word processing and a spreadsheet.

Which is better?  I can't say, as I haven't really spent that much time playing with either application.  But, the cool thing is that you can download both for free, and decide for yourself.