The Great Texas Tech University Master's Degree in Technical Communications Adventure

 

Texas Tech University Master's Degree in Technical Communications

Intro

I dropped out of Vidor High School (Texas) in 1976, took the GED, and joined the US Army. By Fall, I was taking classes at San Francisco State University at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, while my former schoolmates were starting their senior year. While they were dancing at the prom, I was jumping out of airplanes as a paratrooper.

During those first college classes, I saw that I had no idea how to take them correctly, but the teachers weren't allowed to give us less than a C. I finally learned what that wacky syllabus was all about. Throughout the years I just kept taking whichever classes that I could access until it all formed into a BA in Humanities ay the University of Houston at Clear Lake, Texas. Then I noticed the Master's degree in Technical Communications at Texas Tech University via online studies.

 

Texas Tech University

Since 1923, Texas Tech University has shaped the future of students through quality education programs, research and creative activity.

The Technical Communication and Rhetoric Program at Texas Tech University facilitates communication in a complex society and advances the interdisciplinary study of rhetoric, science, and technology. We apply research to educate our students as scholars and practitioners, to strengthen the field through dissemination of knowledge, and to serve the community through professional leadership.

Technical Communications Field

Technical communication has been taught at Texas Tech University since 1927, the year after the university was founded. An undergraduate specialization was established within the English major in the 1970s and updated in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, Texas Tech began offering two graduate degrees in technical communication: the Master of Arts in Technical Communication and the Ph.D. in Technical Communication and Rhetoric. The English Department has been active in computer-assisted pedagogy since 1982 and uses the knowledge from onsite computer classrooms in designing the distance courses.

The online version of the master’s degree parallels the onsite version and is approved for distance delivery by the state Coordinating Board as well as by the university’s accrediting body. It represents innovative course delivery and pedagogy to meet the needs of working professionals at sites distant from Texas Tech.

The M.A. in Technical Communication qualifies people for writing, editing, and supervisory positions in industry and for teaching in community colleges or for further graduate study. Specific aims of study include knowledge of the history, theory, research, genres, principles, techniques, and practices of technical communication.

I took the courses below and made the corresponding grades which resulted in the GPA of 2.90.

Courses   

ENGL-5368 Written Argumentation (B) Web Portfolio

ENGL-5369 Discourse and Technology (C)

ENGL-5371 Foundations of Technical Communication (B) Paper 1, Paper 2

ENGL-5373 Technical Manuals (B)

ENGL-5375 Document Design (C) Web Portfolio

ENGL-5376 Online Publishing (B) Web Portfolio

ENGL-5377 Writing Grant Proposals in an Electronic Age (B)

ENGL-5377 Style in Technical Communications (A)

ENGL-5384 Rhetoric of Scientific Literature (A)

ENGL-5387 Publications Management (B) Web Portfolio

ENGL-5390 Writing for Publication (C)  

EDIT- 5325 Educational Technology (B)

The final step was to form the writing that I had made during those studies into a portfolio. This portfolio was to be a presentation that proves that I had learned the outcomes that were expected of me. These outcomes are

Upon completing the MATC curriculum successfully, students should be able to do the following: Create effective technical documents justified with relevant theory.  Analyze and respond appropriately to rhetorical situations and key issues in the field, including the differing goals and agendas of audiences, organizations, and societies. Employ and justify user-centered approaches to technical communication. Demonstrate sensitivity to the ethical, professional, and cultural issues that face technical communicators.  Use communication technologies and media appropriate to users and situations. Write clear, correct, and stylistically effective prose.

                        (http://www.english.ttu.edu/tcr/MATC/matc_portfolio.asp)

The courses that I took were all chosen by Dr. Joyce Locke Carter, my academic advisor. Each should have been chosen to fulfill the outcomes, after which I passed them all (see above). Here's what I did
 

Official MATC Portfolio   

The professors who judged my portfolio were Drs. Miles Kimball and Rich Rice. These two were instructors in classes that they passed me, then failed the portfolio with the writings that they already passed.

 

Portfolio Critique

We had a telephone conference on April 14th (2009) in which they told me what to do to fix it.

Telephone Conference

 

The main points were

       

1.       leave out the artifacts from the EDIT class  

[Was that class not valid? Why was I told to take it? Why didn't you say this in the requirements?]                    

2.       make the newsletter one page

3.       look at other online newsletters for examples

[These are grounds for failure? Where in our lessons is this instruction?]

4.       revise all of the artifacts using the outcomes

[How many are sufficient? I've already done this.]

5.       the reflective essay should be in essay form, and that it should be organized by the outcomes (as subtopics), rather than by the artifacts

[Where in our lessons is this form of essay? Besides, it IS organized by outcomes!]

6.       the thesis statement should be that I deserve a master’s degree by fulfilling the outcomes

7.       It’s an argumentative essay, and should express a whole idea.

[It does that.]

8.       I should write in the reflective essay my thoughts about cultural sensitivity.  This was covered during our studies on user-centered production of documents

[These are supposed to be artifacts from the classes. None charged me with writing a paper on cultural sensitivity.]

9.       I should gather all of the syllabi from all of the classes that I took to find where we studied cultural sensitivity issues.

By May 22 I should have revised my reflection essay and artifacts.

I'll resubmit by June 20.

        20090630 Well, I received an email from Dr. Carter saying that I'll graduate in August.

We'll see.

20090725 Last Thursday I received a letter from Texas Tech describing the graduation ceremony. Later, I checked my Texas Tech email and received an email saying that my GPA wasn't high enough, so I won't graduate.

 

My daughter, Kita, wrote the following email and received these responses.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

From: kitalyle@hotmail.com [mailto:kitalyle@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 11:23 AM
To: District106 England
Subject: 3807 Carver Pl

 

Name: Ms. Mahal Lyle
Address: XXX
City: Irving
State: Texas
Zipcode: 75061
Phone: -
E-mail: kitalyle@hotmail.com

Message:
Mahal Lyle
XXX
Irving, TX 75061-3978


July 23, 2009

The Honorable Kirk England
Texas House of Representatives
PO Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768-2910


Representative England:

Recently, Samuel Keven Lyle was completing courses through Texas Tech
University for a Master's Degree in Technical Communications. With a
variety of all passing grades, mostly A's, it seemed his successful
completion of the degree was not far off. As a prior military member and
longtime devoted employee to the city of Dallas, Sam is no stranger to
hard work and dedication, and put in more than enough hours of work for
his classes. Though his unfailing hard work was rewarded through his
outstanding grades, it all felt short due to one glaring injustice- he was
denied graduation rights due to personal beliefs.

All of this seemed unreal to Sam as he reviewed his course grades
throughout the semesters. His work was always up to par, passed all
classes, and satisfied all requirements asked. For the last project due, a
simple summary of all he had learned was requested. He completed the
project thoroughly, to standard, and before due date. Yet for some unknown
reason, the project failed. If the project is a summary of all courses
completed, and the courses completed were passing, how is it possible to
fail this? Sam quickly looked into the issue and after unnecessary delay,
was given twisted, misleading answers.

Still, Sam would not give up. He continued to contact the instructors
until they would give him a straightforward, honest answer on what he
needed to do to pass. He then completed all tasks required (again) to
standard and in a time-efficient manner. What was his reward? A delayed
email, weeks down the line, telling him that even though he passed the
class and project, somehow his GPA wasn't high enough to graduate.

They not only mislead but directly lied to him beforehand, telling him
that he would graduate in August, only to tell him 2 weeks prior that he
would not. To add insult to injury, they then informed him that he could
take extra classes to boost his GPA by December which just-so-happens to
overlap his 6-year time frame limitation. Convenient coincidence or
personal injustice? You decide.

For months upon end, Sam has battled unfair treatment due to Dr. Joyce
Locke Carter in response to his personal views and beliefs. When asked,
Sam would speak in a non-abrasive, tolerant light, only to be publicly
humiliated and punished via grades by Dr. Carter. In an institution where
tolerance and acceptance should be expected and exalted, Sam was only met
with immaturity and ignorance.

There is absolutely no excuse for this type of irrational behavior. What
has occurred here is outrageous and demands immediate attention and
action. I ask that you please look into this matter as soon as possible
and have justice served. If not, a severe deficit in the Texas education
system will stand unchallenged, offering little to no hope for our
citizens.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mahal Kita Lyle

Mahal Lyle sent this message via Congress.org, which uses the Capwiz�XC
system. Congress.org is a free public service of Capitol Advantage and
Knowledge is, LLC. You may access Congress.org here: http://congress.org

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Subject: RE: XXX
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:21:35 -0500
From: District106.England@house.state.tx.us
To: kitalyle@hotmail.com

Ms. Lyle, 

Thank you for contacting our office regarding Steven Lyle's situation.  While I understand your concern, the best way to handle this matter is to go through the appeal process set up by Texas Tech University.  I have copied the section dealing with student grievances from the Texas Tech Student Handbook and pasted it below.  I recommend Mr. Lyle speak with the office of the dean for his college or with the Office of the Provost to find out more information about appealing this grade.  If the instructor truly did grade his project unfairly, perhaps this process can reverse the instructor's decision.   

 

The instructor assigned to a course has the responsibility for

determining a grade and for judging the quality of academic

performance. A grade can be formally appealed only when there is

demonstrable evidence that prejudice, arbitrary or capricious action

on the part of the instructor has influenced the grade. The burden of

proof that such an unfair influence has affected a grade rests with the

student who appeals the grade. The complete student grade appeal

policy and procedure is listed in Texas Tech University Operating

Policy 34.03. A copy of the grade appeal procedures may be obtained

from any academic college dean’s office or from the Office of the

Provost. Also, refer to the Student Handbook Part II, Section B,

Academic Integrity.

 

I hope that is helpful.  Please do not hesitate to contact our office again if we can be of assistance in the future.

 

Thank you,

Alysha Brady

Office of Representative Kirk England

2426 S. Carrier Pkwy., Ste. 106

Grand Prairie, TX 75051

Phone: 972-264-4231

Fax: 972-522-5918

  

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You might notice Ms. Brady's attention to detail. My name isn't Steven, and the problem isn't a grade dispute. Representative England seems less than "Honorable" via his assistant.

To be honest, Kita claims that I made all As, whereas that isn't so.

20090826 Well, Dr. Carter came up with a plan to create ENGL 7000 which met in the summer of 2009 (although it didn't), and give me an A for it, which would bring my grade high enough to pass. Lora Lopez (above) said she needed a add/drop form from Dr. Carter. I told Dr. Carter, but I get no reply. I've asked Dr. Dragga for help.

I'd also like to start a report on different elected officials to document just how competent they are.

They will be

Governor Rick Perry vs. Senator Hutchinson (Governor hopeful)

Texas Representatives

Senators

Congress Members

20100220 Well, they finally gave me the degree. Next, I'll try to teach technical writing online.

Bill Gates is the Antichrist

Outline
1. The problem that I'm addressing
2. How we got that way
3. How to fix it



I believe in the Bible.

The Bible says that there will be an Antichrist that will lead the world away from God.

It seems like it will be difficult for the Antichrist to do that with the Bible exposing him. I think we're all looking for something that would be easily recognizable, like a fellow saying such things as "Don't follow God. Follow me." Yet, he can accomplish the same thing in a much more covert way by leading people to have faith in anything other than God.

That can start with showing us how having faith in God doesn't work. And that can start with telling us false ideas of what to expect from God. One false idea is for us to pray by telling God what to do. The concept seems insulting to God, in my opinion. It assumes God isn't always doing exactly what's best. It's as though we're assuming He's asleep, and we'll need to wake Him up and get Him to get busy. I think He's always doing exactly what's best, and that praying helps us learn to wait, thus, it builds our faith.

The common belief, it seems to me, is that you should do whatever you want (contrary to advice), then, rather than realize the consequences, pray for God to perform a miracle to extinguish those consequences. The thing is, God created the natural order of things and, so, would be acting against Himself by removing the cause-and-effect relationship for negative behaviors and their results that He had already set up.

Still, I think most people test for the existence of God by giving Him a trick to perform, and if He doesn't do well enough, they pretend to feel that they don't believe in Him, like children who hold their breath trying to force reactions from their mother. Some mothers may respond, not realizing the child can't actually hold their breath until they pass out, or by giving in to their cries for attention. If you think about it, the testers apparently do believe in God or else they wouldn't be waiting for a result.

I think God doesn't want to be their performing monkey. Instead, He wants to lead them to His way. He knows that they believe and He is waiting for them to submit to His leadership.

Kita's Dream

Kita's Dream

Kita is our precious daughter. She's 26 years old and married to a great guy. She has a magnificent personality, but has a hard time doing ordinary things. I'm positive that she'll end up doing something great, but she'll need to conform long enough to get an education that will get her a job that will be stable and pay well. Then, she'll have the foundation to venture out to do something special.

So, she's working on a degree in nursing. She's had trouble with it before, but I thinks she's about to get back on it.

20130826 We'll, she's gotten back in.

20140512 Kita has completed her nursing classes and passed the school's final test. Praise the Lord. She did very well. Now, we're waiting for her to take the RN test in. June and get accepted into Texas Tech to start her BSN.

20140820 She's passed the nursing test. Now, she's officially an RN. Next, a BSN at UT Arlington. Then, a Master's in Nurse Practitioner (MNP?).

Jet's Dream

Jet's Dream

Jet is our great 16 year old son. He wants to go to the Air Force Academy, become an aerospace engineer, a pilot, then an astronaut. His grades are ok in high school, but there's a problem: he's had seizures. He's had about 5 seizures since November, 2011. The Air Force Academy says that they don't allow people into their academy who've had seizures except for feral seizures. In fact, the military won't allow anyone to join who've had seizures.

It seems like they're saying that epilepsy from a genetic cause is dangerous since you could have a seizure at any time, which is unacceptable, especially if you're flying an aircraft. However, if your seizures were from high fevers, you'll probably not have another one. I think Jet's seizures are similar. He's shown that they're triggered by elements in his environment and he can focus and cause them to stop. He feels that, even without the aid of seizure medication, he can sense a seizure coming on, focus, and force the seizure to stop. This is contrary to genetically-caused epilepsy. His is more like the seizures caused by certain video games in certain children.

His doctor said that they'll have him seen by a psychologist. We're waiting to get an appointment.

Well, that didn't work. He saw Dr. Hinton, a psychiatrist, who didn't want to test him for environmentally-caused seizures, but said that Jet has epilepsy and there's nothing he's going to do. Then he recommended we see a psychologist. Actually, this is my mistake, since Dr. Harding, Jet's Pediatric doctor, told us that would happen, and that we should see a psychologist first.

20130826 Jet said he received an email from an Air Force recruiter that says that the new rule for whether having had seizures is a disqualification is that if a doctor indicates what the cause of the seizures was, Jet could still qualify. Still, I'm having trouble getting doctors to evaluate Jet to determine that cause. Dr. Harding said she had the same problem with her son. I wonder if she can't get cooperation if I can. I need to get that email from Jet (from the Air Force recruiter) so I'll have her statement about the new opportunity and her email address.

Bad Yaris Problem

The Bad Yaris Problem



Outline
1. What happened
2. Is it legal?
3. How does Toyota feel about it

I bought a Yaris from Texas Toyota of Grapevine. I was ripped off terribly. Many people feel that if an auto dealership gets away with ripping you off, they deserve to get away with it. We'll see.     

I'll get the contract and put the details here.    

Bad House Problem

The Bad House Problem

Outline
1. What happened
2. Is it legal?
3. What else can I do?

I bought a house about September 2003. Several things went bad that I'd like to talk about. Same as the Yaris issue, it seems like if people can rip you off and get away with it, it's a credit to them, and you're a sucker. We'll see.

We were living in south Irving when we decided to buy a new house. We asked Ebby Holliday Realtors for help and got Ruth Jenkins. She directed us to a group of houses in Grand Prairie that we saw, but didn't like. I found a house online in the Bear Creek area. It was built by Craig Edwards of Autumnview Homes. It looked good and he said he was going to clear an area nearby and make more. I told my wife and she liked it. too. Ruth Jenkins didn't like that I chose it myself.

We made the loan, put money down on  it, and the building began. The City of Irving inspectors caught Craig Edwards cutting corners several times and made him correct those. He also made many mistakes on the other houses he was building.
    
Here's what I had on my former site.

Homebuilder Problem

I had our house built in 2003. We had many troubles with the house, the builder fixed some of these, but a significant problem has not been repaired. The house was built wrong. The boards that make up the frame are spaced so far apart that the winds have blown my house about 3” over at the top.

The builder is Craig Edwards and his business is Autumn View Homes. He built about ten houses in a circle in Irving, Texas, called Carver Place. All of the homeowners had something wrong with their houses. All of them felt that there was no use in pursuing justice since the legal and political industries are set up to support the homebuilder industry even when it does wrong.

I got them all to write down their complaints with the addresses and phone numbers then I sent the package to the Better Business Bureau. The BBB said that they’d only consider my complaint and that the others would have to send their complaints separately. No one else wanted to—same reason. After much work, the BBB finally record Autumn View Homes as bad (sorta’). The notes on the builder say that only one or the many homes he has built has a complaint. Funny that.

Then I started working with the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC). They sent out a Structural Engineer who examined the house and found, as I said above, that the house was clearly built wrong. He made an eight-page report specifying what is wrong and what needs to be done to correct the problem. I spoke with a contractor who said that it would take $38,000 to repair it and about $2,000 to put us up while the work is being done. Then the TRCC gave me a final form that they assure me would highly improve the likelihood of a victory if I were to take Autumn View to court.

I finally found a lawyer who will take on the suit and only be paid if she wins. her name is Cheryl C. Turner. I’ve researched her on the Internet and found that she does consumer advocate work often. I signed a contract with her. She asked me for $500 for court costs. The contract has me getting about $25,000 if we win.

I’m waiting for $500 to accrue in my Health Savings Account. I hope it’s not too late.

20080621 Well, we have the $500 now. I called Ms. Turner who asked me for a certain form from the TRCC. I faxed it to her but she won't answer my calls.

20080804 She felt that it is too late, but directed me to a web site of the TRCC on wjich they had taken Craig Edwards to court twice and he just didn't show up. He now owes them $5000. I recall that when the Child Support Office finds someone to owe money to the state, they use extensive effort to find them. Why doesn't the court that tried Edwards do that?  

20090301 Well, it's been a while. Anyway, I just sent the following email to many people, asking them for help

Friends;

 

We’re working together toward a common goal and I’m honored to be included in the team.

I’ve got a problem that I’d like to get your help with. My house was built wrong in 2003 by Craig Edwards of Autumn View Homes. The frame is wrong so it is tilting over about 3 inches causing cracks in the walls. The City of Irving Inspectors missed this. We asked the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) to send a Structural Engineer at a cost of $1000 of State tax money to inspect our house. He concluded it had clearly been built wrong.

The TRCC charged Craig Edwards who neither showed for court nor paid his fine. They charged him another $5000. He ignored them again. Click here to see the cases.

 

Mr. Jordy Keith, Executive Assistant of the TRCC assures me they have an Enforcement Unit to collect this debt, but he doesn’t choose to use it. Please ask your Texas Representative to have Mr. Jordy Keith of the TRCC to get his Enforcement Unit to collect the State tax money from Craig Edwards of Autumn View Homes that he owes.

 

You can easily find who your elected officials are and how to contact them by using www.congress.org (be careful about what you select so that there will be no charges for this service.)

 

Please let me know what you think at samlyle2009@yahoo.com.

 

Thanks

Sam

March 1, 2009

 

 

 

We'll see what happens.

 

20090319 Well, I know that Yi has written to elected officials, and I think Frank has. We'll see what falls out.

 

20090328 Yi emailed me an attachment from the Texas Attorney General's office that says they had already collected these fines from Edwards in 2007. It seems like they would have said so when I asked. Anyway, now I'm going to look into filing liens on his properties. Also, I'll thank the friends that helped.

 

20090330 I saw a wikiAnswers article that says I'll need a lawyer to do file a lien. I'll see if the lawyers at AARP and EAP (Employees Assistant Program).

20140128 I want to see if I can bring a suit against the State of Texas for negligence.

 

Talking Dog Project

The Talking Dog Project

Outline
1. Get the fence ready
2. Get the door ready
3. Get the dog
4. Train the dog to communicate
5. Train the dog to talk

I'd like to see if I can have conversations with a dog.

I remember a story of someone who taught a chimp named Koko to converse in sign language. I'd like to do the same with a dog, but since dogs don't have fingers (which a major part of communicating in sign language), I'll have to think about what the dog has to communicate with instead of fingers.

I think the best dog breed to get will be a pedigreed Border Collie. They seem to be bred toward intelligence. I realize that the link that I just gave is to a study that may not be focused on communication, so I'll need to read it better before I begin. Also, I was told an anecdotal story of a Border Collie that ran into a glass patio door. I'm not sure that that's valid sign of stupidity.

I've found a site where a fellow teaches dogs sign language. It's here.

It's been pointed out to me that the character in the movie Up did this project with his dog. That is, he put an electronic device on the dog that can read his thoughts and vocalize them. I don't know if I'll go that far, but I fear that the results will be the same as in the cartoon, he'll just ask for simple stuff all of the time, like "squirrel" and "ball." Also, rather than an EEG translator, I think the dog's vocalization will be enough, even if it sounds like Scooby Do.

We'll see.

Web Design Certificate

Web Design Certificate

Waiting to pay off my debt to DCCCD so I can start back again.
I'll see if the Hazelwood Act will pay for it.

20140128 Well, I'm taking Web Design II. It turns out that the Hazlewood act paid off my debt and I can start again. I need to see how many classes I have left until I'm finished.

I'll need 3 more classes after this one.

Songwriting Hobby

Songwriting Hobby

Outline
Mastery of Hit Song
1. Lyrics
2. Melody
3. Harmony
4. Integration of lyrics, melody, and harmony
5. Recording songs
6. Promoting songs

20130225 I want to keep writing songs, but I need to focus on what type so I can better decide which style which determines which instruments, etc. I think I'll make a pop song so all instruments are on the table. I'll still try to get Vocaloid for the vocals.

20130606 I'm tired of trying to deal with Vocaloid. I will choose to focus on composing songs in a pop style.

20130826 I should focus on songs in which the vocalist isn't a good singer and instrumentals. That is, songs in which I can talk (like rap), shout, or call cadence like in military formation.
20131220
1. Melody
a. Motif
b. X
c. Consequent
d. Line 2
e. Line 3: contrast
f. Line 4

Start a Business

Start a business in which you connect people with businesses that can get a grant by using programs that aid minorities to start businesses.

My Wacky Athletic Pursuits

20130606

At 5' 2" and 54 years old, I weighed 205 lbs. recently. I'll lose weight to 125 lbs., run a marathon, join RC Machado BJJ, grapple for a belt, then fight MMA.

Then I'll ride in PBR, then compete in Olympic-style weightlifting.   

Here's what I wrote in my last site.

 

Health: Patient Heal Thyself

 

An extreme indicator of success in this area will be joining the Air Force Reserves. I'll basically talk about my efforts to improve my health.

20070518 Well, that was a complete bust. I'd start running and dieting and then, get plantar fasciitis. It would stay for a long time and the treatment from the HMO podiatrist didn't work. So, I started an HSA account and went to Ideal Feet. I paid $400 for shoe inserts but mostly for the warranty. It's working--I can run about a mile, my feet hurt, I use the trainer inserts, and the pain goes away completely is one day. So, I'm gonna' try to get back to running 5 miles in the morning, 5 at lunch, and 5 in the evening. See ya'.

20070728 I'm at about a mile and a half, every other day. The inserts are still working.

20080104 I've had obstructive sleep apnea for a long time. When I sleep, my soft pallet at the back of my throat, falls into my airways and causes me to snore and blocks my airway so that my sleep is bad, I get far too little oxygen, and my life is worse thereafter.

The PCPs and ENTs pressured me hard to use the CPAP, so I went to Texas Diagnostics who checked me, said that I had OSA, and tried to get me to sleep with a CPAP. I struggled for three hours then pulled it off and went to sleep. They told the PCP that it worked. I told her and the ENT that it didn't. I looked on the Internet and found a dental device that is supposed to treat OSA. The dentist performed two tricks to fool me into buying his his device. The first was to firmly push his fingers into my ears and ask me to open and close my mouth. This caused a pop and a pain that he said proved I had TMJ. Then he put an amplifying device to my jaw and asked me to open and close my mouth again. The amplifier made audible sounds which he said was further proof. As we went forward with the treatment he kept wanting more money and the device wasn't working. I stopped paying and looked again.

This time I wanted to know more about exactly what was wrong and what treatment addressed that specific problem. That's when I found that my soft pallet falls into my airway. I then found that the Pillar treatment specifically addresses that by installing cords that pull the soft pallet forward. I had three installed. My wife said I had a 60% improvement. Today I had two more installed. I'll get back with how it goes. In order to afford all of this I've started using the Health Savings Account (HSA), supplemented occasionally with the Flexible Spending Account (FSA). The HMO that I used to use never approved of anything useful. The inserts from Ideal Feet work very well. The ENTs and PCPs insist on the CPAP that I already tried and it didn't work. The Pillar procedure has worked some and we'll see if it works completely.

My wife and I had been trying Overeaters Anonymous to lose weight. The people were great, the plan sounds good, but the meetings interfered with Survivor, and that's a no-no. Now, we've seen Volumetrics diet in Consumers Reports and have sent for the book.

20080621 Well, after waiting the three months as I was told to, nothing happened--no improvement. I went back for a follow up and the nurse examined me quickly, I told her there had been no improvement, she said there was nothing she could do about it and that there's no way to see what's wrong or how to fix it. I called and asked for my money back but the office manager said they don't give money back. I'm writing to the Texas Medical Board.

20080704 I've found the Empowered Patient series on CNN.com.

20080729 The Texas Medical Board responded; they said they're looking into it and will get back with me.

Also, I intend to sign up for Alan Mohler's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for $140 per month. The intention is to get a lot of exercise, lose a lot of weight and compete in the World Extreme Cagefighting (http://www.wec.tv/index.cfm). The idea is that this will give me better motivation since I'm personally interested in achieving this goal. My weight category will be Bantamweight - 135 lbs. to 125 lbs.

20080730 Today I weighed 190 pounds. My worst weight was 205.

20080802 I signed up for the classes. 

20080905 Today I weighed 180 pounds; that's a weight loss of 10 pounds per month, at this rate it'll take me six months to reach 120 lbs.. I've got to beat the weekends, they add so much weight.

I want to invent the Jet Fighter League. It will be for fighters smaller than 120 pounds. The Jet Fighter challenger will fight against a bigger guy who has a lot of protective gear so that any move the fighter wants to use is available, however, the larger guy is getting paid to win. His identity will be kept private. The fighter can win by submission, knockout, or points (points are given for poking the eye protectors and kicking the groin protector). If asked, I'll say the name of the league mostly came from my son's name and Jet Li since he's a small fighter. Really, it's for my son. The letters can stand for the Jesus Extreme Training League. I want the competition to serve as a proof that the training that the fighters receive for self-defense works. Also, I'll hire small fighters from various disciplines to teach. It should center on teaching a philosophy more than memorizing moves.

20080922 Received a copy of the Texas Medical Board's letter that they're investigating the complaint and will inform me of the progress around 90 days from the date of the letter (July 25). I put the letter upstairs.

20081013 Well, I passed 170 lbs. today. Still, a little less than 10 pounds per month. I was going to shoot for 120 lbs. but then I saw that my 12 yo. son at 5' 0" is 120 lbs. maybe I'll shoot for 130. We'll see.

The Texas Medical Board report should arrive about October 25.

20081101 Well. it didn't. I'll write to them to see what happened.

Today I passed 160 lbs. I think the Air Force thing is out. My wife really doesn't like it, so I'll try something else. I've found the Ultimate Combat Experience in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their lightest weight class is 125.9 lbs. First, I'll achieve that, then I'll work on the other aspects. Maybe there will be something like that spring up in Dallas.

20090114 Well, we went on vacation to the Philippines for 3 weeks and I went back to 170 lbs. I've worked back to 163 lbs. I've got a flu that slows me down. My contract with Mohler Jiu Jitsu is about over. The training wasn't intense enough. I'll try Collins Martial Arts when I get $110 in my account.

20090122 I'm in Collin's Martial Arts. Yesterday I passed 160 lbs.

20090318 Yesterday I passed 150 lbs. Jet attends Collin's Martial Arts with me. The Texas Medical Board said to ask for a status update in a month. I run about 3.5 miles each day (usually) in about 45 minutes. That's about 3 14-minute miles.

20090402 The Texas Medical Board sent me a letter saying that the Investigations Department is finished and they're giving the case to their Legal Department. They didn't say whether the charge was against the doctor or me. The letter is dated march 27, 2009. The file number is 08-5348.

I've decided to loose the last 25 pounds in 25 days. I've got from April Fool's Day to May 1, then I'll be 125 pounds and my new goal will be to stay there.

20090412 Man, that was a bust! I was getting close to 140 lbs. when BAM! my portfolio at TTU failed. Then we went on a weekend road trip, and it all combined to put me back at 150 lbs. Well, I'll get back on it tomorrow. I'll start a new diary of the MATC problem under Love Justice. 

20090528 Jet and I competed at the NAGA competition on May 9 in Garland, Texas. Jet won a silver medal and I lost. Here's the report of the event. Here's the photo of Jet (third photo). To see Jet's name in the results go to the report page, click on the Kid's Results tab, and look down the list of winners for Kids NO-GI Novice 115 to 129.9 lbs., 2nd Place. Here's the video of both of us.

20090608 I passed 140 lbs. this weekend by running to the Senior Center, working on the weights, and running back. Hopefully, the pool will be open Tuesday when I do it again. Over the weekend I almost went back to 150. Now I'll shoot for 135 lbs. That will be good enough for the tournament in August, but it looks like we'll be leaving for our vacation on that same day.

20090630 I signed up for the Dallas Runners Club Independence Day 5K Run that will take place on July 4 at White Rock Lake. I'm waiting for the Europa Grappling Competition on August 15 at the Dallas Convention Center. Instead of entering the "old man" category called Executive (even though we're not), I'll enter the Open category at 139 lbs. so that I'll be better matched by weight and experience, though not by age. I'll need $170 before then. I'm running 5 miles per day at a route in my area. The Senior Center pool was closed too often to rely on it. Also, I do three arm exercises with a 7 lb. weight in each hand for 100 repetitions, 3 times per day. I want work up to 4 times per day, then increase the weights to 10 lbs. each.

20090704 I finished the 5K. It was much easier than I thought. It was well organized and it should be reasonable to pay the $20 per year for unlimited runs versus $10 per run. I think my goal will be to increase the distances rather than run the same distance faster. Also, I finally reached 135 lbs. The Wii Fit said that I was in the Normal range for the first time. Just 10 lbs. to go then I'll have to work on some kind of maintenance routine. Here is the running result. Look at 5K: Male 50-54, 6th place.

20090725 Kita and I ran a 5K with the Plano Pacers for Children's Charities today. Here's the photo, here's the results. Kita won her class at Female 20-24. I, however, am at the bottom at 154th place. I'll try a 15K now. I've signed up for the Bath House 15K run on August 9.

20090802 Jet and I passed our white-belt tests on Friday. I'm really proud of Jet, I think he's one of the few, if not the only, 13-year-olds to accomplish this at Collin's Martial Arts.

20090809 I ran the Bath House 15K today. About the 5K area I cramped up in my right calf muscle, but I hobbled along and got a fifth-place medal in the 50-year-old Male category. See it here.

20091110 The Sunday before last I ran the DRC Half (marathon). I did ok. I was 125th in the 50-year-old Male category. Look at the bottom of the list and see what the 70-year-olds did. Yiminey! My next goal is to get my son to run with me until we run the 5K, 15K, half, and then full marathon by this time next year. Don't tell him.

The Kita's Car Crash Issue

Kita was involved in a car wreck. She told the other woman that it was her fault, but then told me it wasn't. My insurance, State Farm, was ready to pay GEICO, but I started fighting back. I wrote with the details to the Texas Department of Insurance and they found in my favor. Then I brought a case against the other woman, but State Farm said that they didn't have to provide a lawyer for me so they didn't.   

Here's what I had on my last site.

Kita's Car Crash

I filed a suit in Small Claims court against a woman who seemed Jamaican who hit my car while my daughter was driving. At the accident, my daughter was shook up and called my insurance carrier (State Farm), 911, and my wife and told them that the accident was her fault. When she got home, I asked her for the details and found that it wasn’t her fault at all, but the woman's. I called State Farm to explain and they dropped the claim.

 

I filed a claim with Geico (the woman’s insurance carrier), but they refused to pay. I wrote to the Texas Department of Insurance’s Mr. Jim Woodall (phone number). He obtained testimony from my witness, Neal Isaac (ph num), and my daughter. He found that I am right and asked Geico to support their determination. Their answer didn’t satisfy Mr. Woodall. I took the woman to Small Claims court. The trial began with the judge calling for a stage in the trial using a legal term. I didn’t know it so I let the woman’s lawyer go first. He started talking to the potential jury members by pleading his case to them. When he was done I started doing the same when the judge stopped me and said this is the part where we should interview the potential jurors to see if they’d be unreasonably biased. I said that the lawyer had done this, and the judge said that he had meant to stop him, too. I also recall that the lawyer hadn’t interviewed the potential jurors to see if they were unreasonably biased. I see this as possible evidence that the jurors were plants.

 

The judge asked me to present my case. I started by submitting the Texas Department of Insurance report that found in my favor and asked Geico to pay me. The judge said that I can’t submit it since this is a case of me against the woman and only people who were witnesses to the accident can speak. I asked Kita, my daughter, to take the stand.

 

She said that she was traveling south on Beltline Road near the end of the block that the Irving Mall is on. A city bus stopped in front of her so she turned on her left blinker, looked back, saw no one in the lane to her left for at least 40 feet, looked ahead and merged to her left. As she was merging, she was struck at the left side of her (my) car about midway. The dent is a sharp bend in the shape of a bumper corner and not a scrape.

 

Kita and the woman drove their cars out of the way of traffic to discuss the accident. The woman told Kita that the accident was her fault and Kita gave in without question. Kita called 911, my insurance (State Farm), and her mother and told these people that it was her fault (Kita’s). About this time Mr. Neal Isaac approached Kita and the woman and gave them his phone number as a witness. State Farm began processing Kita’s claim against me. The woman didn’t file a claim. When I got home that day, Kita told me the story. When I asked her for the details, she told me then I asked her why she said it was her fault. She said she was just afraid and wanted the issue to end. I called State Farm with the information that Kita told me, and, after some time, State Farm agreed and stopped processing the claim. Geico had called and said that they would charge me then changed their minds also.

 

I filed a claim at Geico against the woman. Geico refused to honor my claim. I brought the case to the Texas Department of Insurance. Mr. Jim Woodall handled the case, gathered independent evidence and found in my favor. Mr. Woodall asked Geico to account for why they wouldn’t honor my claim and they said they discounted the witness and didn’t find the cars’ damages as proof. Mr. Woodall asked again and Geico refused again.

 

I brought a case in Small Claims court against the woman. Geico let me know that they’d hired a lawyer and requested a jury. When the first court date was approaching, Kita let me know that she couldn’t attend since she was going to be in a military school. I rescheduled.

 

Then I said that I had no problem with any of the jurors. The judge then called the lawyer and me to the bench and handed us papers. These were supposedly lists of all of the potential jurors and information about them. As the judge was reading his copy, I couldn’t find the names on the list that he was saying. That part ended and we returned the lists. The judge chose six jurors to decide the case. They went to their juror seats. Then he asked me to present my case. 

 

During the trial, the lawyer asked Kita over and over why she didn't call everyone to say she had misspoken. Kita said that she didn't think that it mattered. When I was asking the woman about what had happened, she drew pictures on a chalkboard showing that Kita was behind her and came up on her right side and grazed her right front bumper. She stated that Kita was going around a bus that was on her right side. With a bus in the right lane and the woman in the next lane over, Kita couldn't have been able to fit between them to get through.

 

The lawyer tried to make it seem as though the witness, Neal Isaac, was up to something and, so, was not credible. He didn't offer a motivation.

 

The most curious set of events were when the judge called the lawyer and me into his chambers to tell  us something, I saw that there was a door in there leading to the jury room. Later, the jury deliberated for a substantial time and we could hear shouting outside the jury room. Then, the Bailiff stood in front of the door to the jury room and engaged me in a conversation. I could hear that the jury had quieted down. Suddenly, the jury rushed out and said that the opinion was unanimously not guilty.

 

I'd like to know if I can get a record of this trial, and if I could ask the jurors how they decided their decision.

 

Then, the woman's lawyer filed against Kita.

 

20080804 With all of the cases where a person's conviction was overturned, it seems to me that the American Judicial Industry is faulty and needs to be redesigned.

 

20090415 I was just contacted by someone who said that their name is the same as the name of the woman mentioned above and so asked me to remove it from this site. I did that and I'll try to get her more information about the woman.

 

20090630 I told her, she found that the woman mentioned above was really named the same, so she wasn't stealing her identity. I'll find the guilty woman's name, put it back on here, and I'll be sure to state that she is not the other lady in Virginia who is a lawyer.

Which Web Site Host to Choose

When I try to choose a Web Host to put a site on, there's too many options and they expect you to pay for a year in advance without knowing how it will go.

Home

I'll make several blogs talking about the things that are important to me.

Most important is God, then my family, then

1. Which Web Site Host to Choose
2. The Kita's Car Crash Issue
3. My Wacky Athletic Pursuits
4. Start a Business
5. Songwriting
6. Web Design Certificate
7. Talking Dog Project
8. Bad House Problem
9. Bad Yaris Problem
10. Jet's Dream
11. Kita's Dream
12. Bill Gates is the Antichrist