We have beaten all major problems over the last few years.
Bankruptcy: nailed it through re-organisation and we are out the other side even with a greedy, self serving, buffoon as the opposing council. (hint for Mr. pepler, When the judge uses the word "disgorge" to describe your future negative earning potential, you are a failure).
Fought past the DTSC's judgement which would have required that we destroy placeable material,valuable museum equipment, and research materials. We now can have a museum and our research into re-use is no longer threatened by the dtsc. My opinion of the agency as a whole is restored and even improved but my opinions as to one particular agent stand. (people who mindlessly follow the rules are better suited to the polyester clad food service sector, not protecting the environment.) As to the trolls who rose up from orange stained basement lairs during this fiasco. I imagine poo flinging monkeys loaded on mountain dew and cheetos, I give them cute names like Dim load and the -hat to remind me of the wit and wisdom displayed by those fine practioners of the ancient art of sitting in a bathtub, farting and trying to bite the bubbles.
As to those who defended us and helped us. You are conquering heroes and with your assistance we still stand. (oh and don't piss off Christian he seems to have digg in his pocket.)
Funding: We have a plan in place that will generate a profit, We are currently profitable and we seem to have survived the %20 cut in state funding for the disposal of crt's. and it seems that our competetors are getting desperate and in some cases dying out. ( Just for my own petty ego gratification, I have been on the record from day one pointing out the fact that the state funding mechanism was flawed and so the cut in funding was not a surprise It may come as a bit of a shock to a numbnut knowitall at SVLUG though) I also dont think that cuts are done yet. A collapsing economy will limit new purchases that fund the system while entropy is inevitable and disposal will continue. The conversion to HD next year will compound the problem as people will buy conversion boxes instead of new tvs and conversion boxes bring no funding into the system.
We functioned before the state got involved and can survive the (hopefull) demise of the state system. Its the wounded flailing around on consumer funded life support that concerns me.
Thieves: yup we had 'em and yup we pressed/are pressing charges. Its demoralising to find that people you are trying to help are stealing material intended for those needier than themselves. People with roofs over their heads stealing from homeless programs, people with food stealing from programs that feed the hungry, and people who squandered their chances at an education stealing from schools. As these are where our machines go that is what they did. they where/ are useless piles of slowly rotting meat too stupid not to piss upwind .) Now that we have gotten rid of them I seem have to enough notebooks to consider placing them.
My own personal stuff.
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in january of this year. I was put on a drug that increased insulin levels through increased pancreatic output of insulin and went on a restricted diet and increased execise and got my blood sugar levels from 279 (this was the diagnostic measurement after 12 hours of fasting) to 97 three months later ( same test) . ( I was actually eating ice cream and jelly beans at night to get my blood sugar up to reasonable levels I would hit lows in the high 50's if i did not) I had energy to burn, ate like a horse and lost weight. Brief moment of pancreatic cancer related hypocondria. ( I knew 3 people who died of pancreatic cancer) This is a remarkable achievement, yes? no. I was on the wrong meds. The good news is that I was on the right kind of meds but stronger and in too high a dose. I was clueless and thought that I was the king of diabetics and that this was a breeze, This diabetes stuff is easy!
It all came apart when my pills were not green. My refill showed up and I put it on the table and finished my first bottle before opening the new one. When the day came I openend it up and saw neat little white pills, this concerned me as the previous ones had been green. I emailed my doctor and asked something along the lines of shouldn't these be green? Should I take these? I got back some confusion involving generic medications and variations in apearance and was told to take the pills. The next day was bad I had low blood sugar all day and was constantly eating sugar to maintain a reasonable level. I e-mailed back "I am less than thrilled with these pills and am having real trouble not going below safe blood sugar levels" eventuially it turned out that I had been given the wrong meds and that I had been taking them for the last six months.
I am not a big fan of medication and having proof that I had been on the wrong meds didn't make me more co-operative so I got them to let me try to deal with my diabetes thru diet and exercise. on this regimen I now test out on average in the 120's by my own meter. (123 7 day average,125 14day,128 for the month)
So it seems to work and my diabetes is reasonably controlled but I am allways tired and my normally irratible nature has become much worse. I also find that when I am at healthy sugar levels I feel like crap and act like mr hyde.
So We have won our wars and can walk off the field before the next horde comes over the horizon. I for one am tired, As is Ilma. Who quite frankly deserves more credit than I for all of our achievements, but who is far to self effacing to claim her just due. none of it would have happened with out her.
The load is heavy and we are tired and wounded. I think its time to set it aside.
