Today was a rainbow of HIPAA information, starting with everything I used working for the doctor, and ending with data security and integrity. I think it’s kind of funny that in the beginning, I was on one side of the spectrum, and now I’m on the other. I’m about halfway through my coursework, which seems ridiculously out of date, so I’ve been watching YouTube videos as well. Most of these laws were enacted in the early 2000s, with many, many addendums since. For instance, a security risk can be a floppy disk… which, I’m sure it is, but if you’re still using one, you’ve got bigger fish to fry than I do.
Also, I made sure to move all my black ops out of the Black Ops folder (I’m sorry, it’s going to be a while before I stop laughing about that one).
I forgave the film makers for it, though, because that would only be funny to a percentage of the population… the percentage that tells you A) don’t name a folder “Black Ops” and II) Don’t put it on your desktop. We were in a meeting the other day talking about customer-facing businesses, and I said I thought there was a lot of money to be made out of teaching older people how to use computers. They were like, “where would you even start?” I said, “how ’bout how a directory tree works so your mom doesn’t have 40,000 files on her desktop?” I got the laugh. I knew the room.
With my own mother, as a teacher she’s learned more about PowerPoint than I could teach at gunpoint. She called to ask me a PowerPoint question one day and I was completely flummoxed and told her to call Lindsay. I think I have used PowerPoint a grand total of three times since I’ve been using Windows.
On the flip side, I locked down her router and transferred all her files from one computer to the other, so I’m not completely useless. I know my limits, though, and slide transitions are one of them.
And, increasingly, I am not a Windows person anymore. I’m having to learn DOS all over again, because I haven’t used it since, like, fifth grade. If I’m on the command line, it’s all linux, all the time. Therefore, when I’m sitting at a Windows DOS prompt, it goes something like this:
C:\ ls ls dir
Kumar: You’re worthless.
Roldy: I’m not worthwhile.
If the prompt isn’t leslie@harrietjones:~$, I don’t know what to do except Google it. The only problem I’m having with linux right now is the video drivers for the VM. For some reason, all of the sudden Chrome doesn’t work anymore, and neither do Chromium or Opera. But I use Firefox for almost everything, so it’s ok. I have yet to find a video that won’t run on Flash 11.2, so the need to have Chrome is moot.
Yes, I tried Freshplayer. No, it didn’t work… probably because of the same video driver issue that’s got everyone else in knots, too. The VirtualBox message boards are full of people screaming because there’s no fix except to downgrade your software. Let’s file that under #nothappening
Looking forward to a very busy day tomorrow, and a weekend spent with friends. I still haven’t decided when I’m going to sit for my exam, because I have to know exact statutes and dates. If it’s open-note, I’m golden, because I’ve been writing it down over and over again trying to memorize it. There are two dates for everything, passage and implementation, possibly three because the rules are different for small health plans with less than 5 mil in revenue. All I can do is study as hard as I can, and I’ve passed every quiz so far.
Maybe a couple of days away from it will help, because I can think about it without cramming.
I also need a haircut. And my nails did. It may be time for hot pink.
Or not.
Stories That Are All True 