Monthly Archives: August 2006

links for 2006-08-31

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A Foot Problem

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Flickr

Remember way back when I sprained my foot? That was almost 2 years ago, and my foot still bothers me. I never did get around to going to physical therapy, and I haven’t been wearing very good shoes. In fact, the last 8 months or so, I’ve been wearing flip-flops and Birks, because my sport shoes were actually a size too small, as my feet have gotten larger. I had some arch supports in the sports shoes, but they never really felt that
good. So, like others in the family, I ended up seeing a specialist about my feet.

Here, the technician has stepped away after setting up the pads, bucket of warm water, and strips of plaster casting material, ready for the foot doc to come in and make me some moccassins. From those, orthotic inserts will be cast. I’ll be getting some new shoes, with the proper fit, too.

Gah.

Horrible things, my feet. I’ve never, ever had a pedicure, and feel alternately fascinated and confused by the way other women seem to actually spend time and money having their toenails painted. I’ve never had cute, small feet or shapely ankles, so the thought of actually drawing attention to these objects is completely foreign to me. Still, whenever a health professional or shoe salesman has to look at my feet, I cringe. My feet look and feel their best in… heavy socks and hiking boots.

The last few months, I’ve gradually realized that I really have to start taking better care of myself, my body, and my health, and I’m going to start from the ground up, because the foot pain and the swelling are preventing me from doing other things, and the inactivity is contributing to my backaches, neck and shoulder aches, and assorted other irks and quirks.

At least the ortho is nearby. And after dealing with the foot thing, I’ll ask them for some information about getting my back on track, which may have something to do with the arch support issue. And if it doesn’t, it’s probably time for a new mattress.

Fun, fun, fun.

Via: Flickr Title: A By: GinnyRED57

Originally uploaded: 30 Aug ’06, 9.31am CDT PST

 

links for 2006-08-29

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Christopher Bollyn’s Arresting Experience in Hoffman Estates

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Arrest pits resident vs. police – Hoffman Estates Review [08-24-06]

sling.jpg

A former mayoral candidate in Hoffman Estates says he was brutally harassed and unjustly arrested by police last week.Christopher L. Bollyn, 49, of Hoffman Estates filed a written complaint against the chief of police and village manager complaining of a false arrest.

But Village Attorney Dick Williams said the papers are merely a summary of his account of the arrest, and have no legal effect.

Hoffman Estates police received a 911 call from Bollyn just after 8 p.m. last Tuesday, complaining of a suspicious vehicle in his neighborhood. The vehicle, according to Lt. Rich Russo, was a normal tactical unit patrolling for gang- and drug-related behavior. Police officers in these semi-marked units are undercover and wear body armor, Russo said.

“They weren’t there for any other reason than to patrol,” Russo said, “doing what they do.”

When officers came to Bollyn’s home at 220 Kingman Lane to explain that the vehicle was an undercover police unit, he allegedly became upset and began yelling and screaming. His actions gave the three officers on the scene reason to believe he was going into his home to get a weapon, Russo said, so they stunned him with a Taser gun in order to handcuff him.

Bollyn was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest and was taken into police custody. He was released later that evening after posting $100 bail.

But Bollyn tells a different story of his arrest. An investigative journalist for the American Free Press, Bollyn has published several articles in the last week describing how he was attacked and beaten by undercover police.

He believes the police vehicle was not just driving by his home by chance. Because of his research related to the Sept. 11 World Trade Center deaths, Bollyn said the FBI has been watching him for years. Last summer, he said he discovered that two people he had known for years were actually FBI informants. As a result, he was reluctant to return to his Hoffman Estates home with his wife and two young children.

“I have reason to fear the FBI,” he said. “They’ve been informing on me for years.”

Maundy thursday

There’s more to this story, but not in the way that you might think. Chris and his family are off-and-on members of Holy Moly, and my strongest memory of him is from Easter Vigil two years ago, kneeling at the Altar of Repose for the better part of an hour (last years’ observance is on the church blog here, the photo shows the 2005 Altar). We hadn’t seen them around much since then; he and his family travel a lot, live in Europe
much of the time, and they don’t get back “home” very often.

As in the photo, there is much that is obscure, much that is dark, and only a few points of light.

Chris is a journalist for a publication specializing in the kind of stories that many people would see as “kooky” or hard to believe… or difficult to stomach. He has some unusual views on who bears ultimate responsibility for 9/11, but he has the right to hold them and to publicize them, and I have the right to say “Okay, well… another cup of coffee, Chris?” It’s not right that his personal 9/11 should result
in a bunch of suburban cops in flak jackets jumping all over him in his own front yard while his wife and daughter watched. Whether or not it was actually the FBI, and not the local gendarmery out on a drug reconnoiter, that jumped all over him in his front yard is impossible to say. In my opinion, it probably wasn’t the Feds, although I think it’s entirely likely that his name is on a list or two, based on the kinds of stories he tends to write.

I hope he and his wife and kids are all right. I like them – they’re interesting, colorful people, always good for a story, but there’s always a little edginess to their conversation. The kids are pretty free-range; they’ve been raised all over the world and probably don’t have much in common with most suburban kids their age.

I think his experience will only reinforce his worldview that there’s a vast international conspiracy out there pulling the strings for every major catastrophe and inexplicable malady, and he’ll never believe that his arrest might be a simple failure to communicate. Sadly, there’s no way to disprove it to him now, because of the over-reaction of the local authorities. Their side of the story is by no means the whole truth, either.

iTunes: Wendy Carlos: Two Part Invention in D minor: Switched-On Bach 2000 [0:59]

Why My Blogging Sucks Lately

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Okay. Work: busy. Holy Moly: busy. Home: somewhat busy. Folks in Utah: incredibly busy.

There’s so much going on in various arenas lately that there’s not a lot of time for blogging. This bothers me, because I keep having experiences that are worth blogging, or seeing oddities that deserve to be noted.

I used to do a lot of blogging at work, but things keep changing there, and the call volume is high. So it doesn’t really do to spend a lot of time farting around on the web… so I’ve been using del.icio.us a lot lately to keep track of web pages I visit, because although I may not have the time to blog about them at work, I still encounter them during the day, mostly because I keep an eye on the news as a part of my routine. The days go fast, at least.

Still, I’d rather have more “non-pressure-cooker” time at work. Lately, I’ve adapted to using a completely new web-based method of searching for, using, and updating traveler profiles, that is pretty much a piece of cobbled-together crap. It’s a bitch to update unless you’re just doing ONE thing. My team leader is suspicious of all new technologies, with some basis for her attitude, and so she has mandated that only specific people (myself included) are allowed to update profiles using the new method, because
she wants to be sure that it will be done correctly. Hey, it’s not that difficult, but there are things to be aware of, and you have to concentrate on what you’re doing.

In addition to that, we’ve had 4 or 5 people from an office in Pennsylvania helping out on our phones – the joys of corporate networking – and to help them out with questions, I was using an internal IM client. Meanwhile, people are always stopping by my desk while I’m either working on a group or attempting to take a few “normal” calls. It’s a lot of balls to juggle, believe me. It’s not as stressful as it was at first, but I do have a few outbursts of frustration per day on “bad” days when all kinds of things
are starting to pile up, and then someone hands off a message that the client wants a new hotel project started from scratch. ARRRRRRRRGGGGGHH.

Holy Moly, as stated in an earlier post, is about to go through a lot of interesting changes. At least we’re starting to have some small successes with the food pantry, which we are running on a shoestring and which will probably have to be re-designed if it REALLY takes off, because the local authorities will start to get interested in things like storage and vermin and so on. Meanwhile,
we have a rather nasty mold problem in the “nursery,” which has never been used as a nursery because a) there were no babies and b) there was no one willing to do child care as a volunteer and we couldn’t afford to pay anyone. That project was done years before I came on the Bishop’s Committee, and in retrospect, there was no thought given to how to run it or how to maintain it, just build it in the hope that babies would come. And, in the last few years, every time someone comes with a baby, they don’t come
back. So the nursery sits unused, the few kids that were coming used it as a playroom, and no one ever cleaned it.

Honestly, unless a bunch of new people materialize due to the word of mouth and some other things I’m working on to raise our visibility, we can’t go on much longer with such a small group of committed people, and a somewhat larger group of people who come to church only. At least with sharing Stephen’s services with the other parish, we can stick to our budget. I suppose the next pledge drive is going to be critical, and we’ve lost several families since the last one (admittedly, one clan wasn’t really
pledging, but they showed up for all events with food, and stayed away from all fundraisers).

My sisters, nieces, and great-nieces and great-nieces are all gathered together in Salt Lake, welcoming Alexa, our newest family member. Mom, of course, is there only in spirit. The family home went on the market this week as a “<acronym title=”For Sale By Owner”>FSBO</acronym>” property. There’s been some interest from a couple of people already, so we’re hopeful that it will sell. By the time I’m next in Salt Lake on our fall road trip, the house may be in someone else’s hands.

Weird.

Well, there’s more, but I’ve got to get out the door and do some errands. More later.

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