Oh my god.

Situation worsens in Kyrgyzstan

Here are some more links.
Read them.
They speak for themselves.
My poor K-stan.

Unrest in Kyrgyzstan prompts state of emergency
Kyrgyzstan in crisis as clashes escalate (has several videos)
Protesters kill government minister as violence escalates

Kyrgyzstan capital simmers with resentment

This blog, newseurasia.net, has tons of updates and videos in English

Is the next revolution coming?

Things are heating up over in Kyrgyzstan... Another revolution might be on its way. It's sad though, because instability will only serve to make things worse over there. I'm all for the removal of Bakiev, but I wish they could do it peacefully. And, of course, since Bakiev was brought to power by revolution, should we expect a new leader brought to power in the same fashion to be any better? I have to say that I wish I were there to blog about it... As it is, I'm trying to follow what's going on via blogs, Twitter feeds, and the few news reports that are coming out.

The following quote is from Edil Baisalov, and was taken from this very informative English language blog post. "Just a few hours ago, after 9:00 pm Bishkek time, Bakiyev’s special riot police simultaneously stormed the Talas oblast government building and arrested several leading opposition members in Bishkek, including Omurbek Tekebaev and Almaz Atambaev. At this time, the people in Talas have retaken the building and are reportedly preparing en masse for a large show of force against the Bakiyev government tomorrow. Also we expect that tomorrow earlier scheduled rallies will take place in Naryn, Issykkul, Alay, Aksy and a few other places."

The following are news reports from the region:
Protesters Clash With Police In Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz unrest threatens to spread with new rallies
Kyrgyzstan: Bakiev Confronts Political Crisis
Protesters Retake Government Building in Kyrgyzstan

For those of you who read Russian, check out the live journal of my friend and former student Elena, who is in the US right now, but she's still blogging about it. Here are some twitter feeds for you, which give results in English, Kyrgyz and Russian: #talas and #freekg. Sigh.

The Case of the Disappearing Asses

As you may know, ever since some unknown time prior to the purchase of my house, someone defaced the street signs on my corner... which meant that in 2006 I purchased a home located on the corner of Ass and Ass. Four years passed, and yet Ass and Ass remained.

Just yesterday, I complained about my street signs in the comment section of this post over on the Waycross, GA blog - and somebody important must've been paying attention, because take a look at what happened today:

An awesome youtube series on the 'stans

I wish my friends and I could go back to K-stan and make a video series... granted, ours would probably be focused on things like haggling for taxis, avoiding being mauled by wolves, drinking tan, and finding not completely abysmal cat litter. I've linked below to their videos on Kyrgyzstan, although they visit the other 'stans as well. When they visit places I've been - and stand places I've stood - I find myself feeling thoroughly bummed that I'm here in Waycross instead of living in Kyrgyzstan. And then when they visit places in K-stan I didn't make it to (such as villages-cum-radioactive-waste-dumps), I feel insanely jealous. Sigh.

(I found the part about the US base kind of boring...
I recommend skipping ahead to the search for rdioactive waste)

Hey - Battlestar Galactica Fans!!!!

Check out my new Battlestar Galactica Retrospective Blog!

My floor is mostly finished!

This is the one problem area, where the sections of floor aren't level:

*IMMEDIATE* Benefits of Health Care Reform!

[via barackobama.com]

1. SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDITS Offers tax credits to small businesses to make employee coverage more affordable. Tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums will be immediately available to firms that choose to offer coverage. Effective beginning for calendar year 2010. (Beginning in 2014, the small business tax credits will cover 50 percent of premiums.)

2. BEGINS TO CLOSE THE MEDICARE PART D DONUT HOLE Provides a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who hit the donut hole in 2010. Effective for calendar year 2010. (Beginning in 2011, institutes a 50% discount on brand‐name drugs in the donut hole; also completely closes the donut hole by 2020.)

3. FREE PREVENTIVE CARE UNDER MEDICARE Eliminates co‐payments for preventive services and exempts preventive services from deductibles under the Medicare program. Effective beginning January 1, 2011.

4. HELP FOR EARLY RETIREES Creates a temporary re‐insurance program (until the Exchanges are available) to help offset the costs of expensive premiums for employers and retirees for health benefits for retirees age 55‐64. Effective 90 days after enactment.

5. ENDS RESCISSIONS Bans insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Effective 6 months after enactment.

6. NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHILDREN WITH PRE‐EXISTING CONDITIONS Prohibits new health plans in all markets plus grandfathered group health plans from denying coverage to children with pre‐existing conditions. Effective 6 months after enactment. (Beginning in 2014, this prohibition would apply to all persons.)

7. BANS LIFETIME LIMITS ON COVERAGE Prohibits health insurance companies from placing lifetime caps on coverage. Effective 6 months after enactment.

8. BANS RESTRICTIVE ANNUAL LIMITS ON COVERAGE Tightly restricts the use of annual limits to ensure access to needed care in all new plans and grandfathered group health plans. These tight restrictions will be defined by HHS. Effective 6 months after enactment. (Beginning in 2014, the use of any annual limits would be prohibited for all new plans and grandfathered group health plans.)

9. FREE PREVENTIVE CARE UNDER NEW PRIVATE PLANS Requires new private plans to cover preventive services with no co‐payments and with preventive services being exempt from deductibles. Effective 6 months after enactment.

10. NEW, INDEPENDENT APPEALS PROCESS Ensures consumers in new plans have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal decisions by their health insurance plan. Effective 6 months after enactment.

11. ENSURING VALUE FOR PREMIUM PAYMENTS Requires plans in the individual and small group market to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on medical services, and plans in the large group market to spend 85 percent. Insurers that do not meet these thresholds must provide rebates to policyholders. Effective on January 1, 2011.

12. IMMEDIATE HELP FOR THE UNINSURED UNTIL EXCHANGE IS AVAILABLE (INTERIM HIGH‐RISK POOL) Provides immediate access to affordable insurance for Americans who are uninsured because of a pre‐existing condition ‐ through a temporary subsidized high‐risk pool. Effective 90 days after enactment.

13. EXTENDS COVERAGE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE UP TO 26TH BIRTHDAY THROUGH PARENTS' INSURANCE Requires new health plans and certain grandfathered plans to allow young people up to their 26th birthday to remain on their parents' insurance policy, at the parents' choice. Effective 6 months after enactment.

14. COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS Increases funding for Community Health Centers to allow for nearly a doubling of the number of patients seen by the centers over the next 5 years. Effective beginning in fiscal year 2010.

15. INCREASING NUMBER OF PRIMARY CARE DOCTORS Provides new investment in training programs to increase the number of primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals. Effective beginning in fiscal year 2010.

16. PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SALARY Prohibits group health plans from establishing any eligibility rules for health care coverage that have the effect of discriminating in favor of higher wage employees. Effective 6 months after enactment.

17. HEALTH INSURANCE CONSUMER INFORMATION Provides aid to states in establishing offices of health insurance consumer assistance in order to help individuals with the filing of complaints and appeals. Effective beginning in FY 2010.

18. CREATES NEW, VOLUNTARY, PUBLIC LONG‐TERM CARE INSURANCE PROGRAM Creates a long‐term care insurance program to be financed by voluntary payroll deductions to provide home and community-based services to adults who become functionally disabled. Effective on January 1, 2011.

Spring Break is not what it used to be!

My Spring Break officially started today at 10:30am. No, I'm not heading off to Florida, and sadly I'm not heading off to Nicaragua with my good friend Linda... No, instead I'm pulling the carpet out of my bedroom and laying down tile. Let's just say that with dogs at various stages of house-broken-ness and a cat who poops in the box but prefers to pee in the corner, that carpet had to go. Needless to say, I did not take any "before" pictures. Too embarrassing. I am currently about 1/3 of the way done, which I think is pretty impressive, considering I only just started. Forgive the quality of the pictures below; they were taken with my cell phone.

There's a rather interesting space between the baseboards and the floor, which I hadn't known existed until I pulled up the carpet. Should be able to hide that with quarter rounds once the floor tile is down. I had to go buy a crowbar (prybar?) to get that strip-o-nails out of there.


Unlike my spare bedroom, which had a nice solid wood floor hiding under its hideous carpet, the floor in my bedroom has been patched with plywood. Unfortunately, the plywood and the wood floor are not level, so I'm going to have to cover that seam with something to keep from constantly stubbing my toes!


Also, in one corner of the room, it seems that the wood floor was cut, then glued back together. I have no clue.

Sava checks out the newly tiled corner.

I thought about leaving it like this, but there's just too much unsightliness to the wood in this room. And having a half-tiled room would be rather odd.

Meanwhile, while I'm working on the floor, Tommy Rot is sacked out on *my* side of the bed, with his head on *my* pillow. And to think... his weak bladder is one of the main reasons for this floor-covering overhaul!

Cute, yet gross as well!