The Wright Time!

There’s this concept called turning lemons into lemonade and now is the RIGHT time for Barack Obama to take advantage of the WRIGHT time and make hay while the proverbial sun shines. That which our enmies propose for our demise we can turn into a victory m,ore often than not if we have the right (wright) perspective. I’m talking Jeremiah Wright here of course! Why WRIGHT decided to wait a month before continuing to be WRONG, I don’t know. There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there

You Can’t MAKE Me!

Yep. you’ll get no argument from me on this one. The healthcare system in America has some real problems. What those problems might or might not be are not the subject of this post. The biggest problem you’ll be HEARING about constantly in this current election year is that people lack access to healthcare and so we need to change to a single payer system so that all will have healthcare coverage and all can live happily ever after. In any of my dreams or potential realities does a single pa

Are main tanks a mistake?

Does your guild have a main rogue or a main hunter? Silly question, of course not. You might have a class leader for every class, but something like a main rogue simply doesn't exist. But then most guilds have a main tank. Which leads to the question of why you would have a main of one class, but not of all the others. Having a main tank who gets priority over other players in tanking loot distribution is common, but it doesn't always work out that good. Or to quote a comment from Yunkndatwunk f

Sternly Bashing the Bear Stearns Bailout

I find it interesting that some former senior people at the Fed are breaking the “code of silence.”  I don’t mean that those that leave the Fed go totally silent, but they are usually supportive of the current Fed if they speak.  Even Greenspan, who pushes his own legacy, is largely supportive of Bernanke.  But with Volcker speaking out, others are emboldened, like Vincent Reinhart.  I don’t know exactly what Reinhart said in his speech yesterday, but I would bet that it is similar to what he w

Cost and Value

Warren Buffett likes to say "price is what you pay, value is what you get." Like so many of his sayings, it seems simple, but then you look around and you see that common sense is often not commonly understood. This post(hattip mcd) shows how this plays out in my swamp which is consulting Pricing Strategies: “We do not compete on price. Ever. If we can't compete on value, ability, talent, and, frankly, if we can't create a better value proposition for the client, we don't want their business a

Overnight - A roundup of news items that you might have missed

Echo Chamber We always knew, and a Pew report confirms it - between 1998 and 2006, conservatives migrated to Fox News and never looked up. As a result, unspinnable reality has set upon us all like a plague of boils. I know where a whole lot of people's "stimulus checks" are going! Right into the old gas tank. Gas has hit $3.60 a gallon, and crude oil futures are closing in on $120 per barrel. Can we get serious about public transit in areas that don't have it, please? It isn't just for poor pe

The Nightowl Newswrap

Echo Chamber We always knew, and a Pew report confirms it - between 1998 and 2006, conservatives migrated to Fox News and never looked up. As a result, unspinnable reality has set upon us all like a plague of boils. I know where a whole lot of people's "stimulus checks" are going! Right into the old gas tank. Gas has hit $3.60 a gallon, and crude oil futures are closing in on $120 per barrel. Can we get serious about public transit in areas that don't have it, please? It isn't just for poor pe

Disaster Preparedness a Necessity

Normally when I receive PR information, I save it, potentially, for Butterviews. This is different. This is important information that I need, and that is needed by the larger audience of this blog. I live in earthquake country. It could happen at any time, any day. There isn’t any warning. The closest they’ve gotten is “the ‘big one’ will be in the next 30 years.” They’ve said that since I was a kid, and it’s always the same timeframe. In other words, no one really knows. So I want to challe

In Which We Face Up To The Tragic Sense of Life

We last allowed you to appreciate the man, the myth, the legend Whittaker Chambers when he took apart Ayn Rand. I don’t really agree with much of what he writes in that review; it strikes me that convicting Rand of lacking nuance isn’t a solid point. But since it does not pay to take Rand literally, I suppose “Big Sister Is Watching You” was necessary. Chambers knew everything, and this essay he may have worked on with James Agee about Franz Kafka is proof. Sure, Kafka was a popular guy by

Diabetes in the News

Diabetes in the News. I don’t mind so much people linking to any post I have on this site - BUT only if they give proper due to me, the author (or Tre when she posts).  Recently I have been dealing with folks stealing the Diabetes in the News posts via RSS and attributing them to someone else, even if they do link here in the end, they are basically stealing my work.   So if you are reading this outside of an RSS reader, American Conservative Daily or RightyBlogs.com - Alabama, then someone

Those evil trees

UK tree during holiday by Marjon Trees are hazardous. They drop limbs and fruit on people's heads and cars. They harbor dangerous, and possibly rabid, animals like squirrels and monkeys. They are full of birds that leave corrosive droppings on vehicles underneath. They perilously block your vision of the road and make driving dangerous. There are rumors that they can even jump out in front of your car just as you careen off the road. If the above sounds as ridiculous to you as it does to me, ke

What Diet Pills Really Work for Weight Loss?

What Diet Pills Really Work for Weight Loss? April 27th, 2008 by Reagyn Miers With so many diet pills available you may wonder, what diet pills actually work for weight loss? The answer is there are a few diet pills that actually work, but there are no magic pills. You can’t take any kind of diet pill, continue to eat everything in site, lead a sedentary life and expect to lose weight. Shrinking your waist requires a change in lifestyle. This means making healthy changes in your diet and gett

Bad Air in Albany?

Bad Air in Albany? The report of bad air in Albany hardly surprises me. I live in an industrial district. The air sometimes stinks. But what stinks worse is the constant smoke from a neighbors wood burning. When he burns it, the smoke gets inside this house and sometimes the smell is so strong, I wake up thinking the house is on fire. My eyes burn. My throat burns and yuk! It's miserable. Click post title to see TRI report on Linn County emissions. The two worst polluting offenders in L

Senate Says No to Genetic Underwriting

Seen in the Wall Street Journal (subscriber link): After more than a decade of deliberation, the Senate cleared the bill 95-0 Thursday. The same bill is expected to sail through the House early next week â€" just as a similar measure did a year ago â€" and on to President Bush, who is expected to sign it. The legislation would bar insurance companies from denying health coverage or charging higher premiums based on a person’s genetic information. It would also bar employers from using genetic in

Noise

By Bob Wood, MMNS As I write this column, the stock market is enjoying a wonderful rally with the Dow up almost 300 points for the day. This market advance is in response to positive earnings announcements from several large companies whose shares trade in large volume each trading day. Last week, the market ended on a sour note with a big one-day drop, due, in large part, to disappointing earnings from General Electric. Is this the environment envisioned by long term investors? Can news from

Clue: Web 2.0, With Twitter, in the Library

The first real job I got, other than babysitting, house-cleaning, or picking blackberries, at the age of 15 was at the village public library. Appropriately, my job title was "page". My duties including checking out books with a big rubber date-stamper, collecting overdue fines, and as we called it at another job I had at the 7/11 later, "fronting the merchandise". In the three years I worked, we graduated to a new form of technology -- a microfiche scanner that took a picture of the book and t

Shea commented on "State of the nation"

Shea said: Sorry but I think your misinformed about the vaccine. Gardasilwas never said to prevent against all strains of the HPV virus so it was always necessary to have follow up pap smears. ( a virus by its nature mutates to form different strains, this is partly why it is so difficult to find a comprehensive vaccine.) The vaccine has been extensively clinically trialled and has FDA and NICE approval. But as with all vaccines there is a risk it will damage some individuals, that is why we hav

2008 NFL Draft: Live Blog

Change of plans. I’ll be running the live blog here on the NFL Source. On the draft site, you can also see the picks and analysis. Right now, the Pats are up at number seven. Sorry I haven’t been able to do the first six picks. The only surprise for me was Glenn Dorsey going to the Chiefs, as I actually thought he’d slip by. Oh, we have a trade. The Saints are now on the clock, and they’ll likely pick Sedrick Ellis. I guess New England didn’t have a stand-out player. 7th Pick: Saints selec

Social Media in the Insurance Industry

Jeremiah Owyang has a post up today about his search for social media programs in the insurance industry. In short, he didn't find many. It's an industry that's well behind the curve of adoption--which isn't all that surprising for a profession based on risk aversion. A few months ago, I had a long conversation with the VP of Worldwide Web Marketing for one of the largest insurance/financial businesses in the world. It was enlightening. This gentleman was quite web savvy and very much a propo

Google Alerts - What's in the News?

If you don't have Google Alerts, why not? I love the alerts. I get a smattering of obstetric news this way. It's one of the coolest functions of the Net; consider trying it! I have alerts on these words: - "Navelgazing Midwife" (and I love seeing who's yacking about me in their blogs or articles!) - homebirth - "home birth" (you need to put the quotes around phrases or else you get a million irrelevant notices) - waterbirth - "water birth" - "natural birth" - midwifery - midwife - "San Diego

No Lynx, No Saffron - just Yellow for the US

Actually, it’s called Lynx Yellow further down but the headline is more mellow - It’s the Saab Convertible Yellow Edition - coming soon to a US Saab dealer near you! No big pic available as I write this, but I’m loving those wheels…. â€"â€" 2008 Saab 9-3 Convertible Yellow Edition: Return of a Classic DETROIT â€" While all Saab Convertibles are popular among car aficionados, owning one in yellow is an extra sunny experience. The first-ever yellow version of the Saab Convertible, issued in 1991, n

Nostrum Remedium

“Are you overweight or lack energy to get through the day and don't know why? Thousands of American families have relied on the medical wonder known as...” Dr. Sylvester Andral Kilmer, M.D., had been heralded as a leading physician of our country, and devoted his 60-year practice to the study of diseases and their treatments. His impressive medical training was at some of the most respected medical schools, and he also studied under a pioneer of homeopathy, making him one of the earliest pr

More on the Actual Gastric Bypass Death Rate

A helpful blog reader send me the full PDF version of the study of the long term outcome of weight loss surgery in Pennsylvania which was cited in the previous blog post. Death Rates and Causes of Death after Bariatric Surgery for Pennsylvania Residents 1994-2004. Bennet I. Omalu et. al. Arch Surg. 2007;142(10):923-928. Typically when a surgeon tells you the mortality rate for a surgery, he tells you only the percentage of those who died within 30 days of the surgery. This study looked both a

Medco Keeps UnitedHealth as Drug-Benefits Customer

Medco is hanging on to its biggest fish. The pharmacy benefits manager said this morning that insurance giant UnitedHealth Group will stick with Medco in a contract that lasts through the end of 2012. The previous pact was set to expire at the end of 2009, the companies say. The news sent Medco’s shares up 7% in morning trading, after there had been fear on Wall Street that United might take the drug-benefit job in-house. Cowen & Co. said in a report to investors that United represents 22% of

Most People Still Think - “You Can’t Go Wrong in Property”

Friday brought news that the Royal Bank of Scotland was looking to raise another $10 billion. This came amid news that the City (London's Wall Street district) faced its "blackest day in almost 20 years," according to the Daily Telegraph, and would lose 3,500 jobs. Which just goes to show how sunny the financial business has been for the last two decades. A little rain would do it good, in our opinion. Meanwhile, over on the other bank of the Atlantic, Citigroup has issued storm warnings and M

3 Ways to Make Extra Money in a Recession

Cash shortages are common during a recession. What similarities do you notice in the cycle below: Consumers Spend Less Money Businesses Earn Less Money Businesses Stop Hiring/Start Firing Laid off Consumers Spend Less Money …. When the economy stops expanding there is less money to go around. Everyone tries to get more out of less. We pay less for products and services and then try to extend their useful life. So how can you tap into this trend to make extra money during a recession? Hel

PZ PredictZ

PZ PredictZ Following this post on the discrediting of astrology, PZ Myers has started a sideline in fabricated horoscopes. Some of these are priceless, so I've collected them here for those of you who don't read Pharyngula. (But wait! Doesn't everyone read Pharyngula? Well, I think there may be one or two that don't). Aries: Look. The reason for your headaches is all the head-butting you do. Switch it up a little, and next time life throws one of those little annoyances your way, trying bi

It's the oogly boogly!

Hey Shell, guess what we're watching? That's right, we're watching the oogly boogly! Cloverfield is a wicked fun movie, I know other people got sick watching it because of the camera movement, but it made it feel real to me. The movie is about the monster, but it's also a love story. Rob loves Beth so much, he's willing to and does, risk his life to be with the woman he loves. Here's our man Rob, new job in Japan, probably hooked himself up with and got some decent life insurance quotes,

Midwifery Care Is Good For Health Insurance Carriers

Jay and I are eagerly awaiting the birth of our first child, due in less than three weeks now. We have two registered midwives who have taken great care of us throughout the pregnancy, and will be at our house for the birth next month. They have provided wonderful prenatal care and advice without excessive intervention, which was exactly what we wanted. Jay and I are not at all opposed to traditional medical care if we are sick or injured. When Jay hurt his knee, we went to the best knee surgeo

As Promised: Too Hot for TWoP

The computer is working pretty well again, although I have no idea why. I turned it off for a few days to give it time to think about what it had done and then when I turned it on, the battery charged easily and it stopped randomly shutting down. Hooray! Share in my happiness by watching the video that TWoP said "wasn't what we were looking for" in a "man on the street" piece and was also "an insurance risk." Since they won't put it up on their site, I'll put it up on mine -- with all reference

5 Benefits of Using Credit Cards

5 Benefits of Using Credit Cards April 25th, 2008 Debbie Dragon is a writer for Creditorweb.com, where she writes about credit card offers, responsible credit card use, and rewards programs. With all the focus on getting out of debt and paying off high interest credit cards, you might be wondering why I would suggest using credit cards to improve your financial situation. The truth is, there are a number of reasons why credit cards can be beneficial to your finances â€" it’s really all how and w

Got Nukes?

How out of touch with its roots has the Green movement grown? Even one of its founding fathers is talking heresy. Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore says there is no proof global warming is caused by humans, but it is likely enough that the world should turn to nuclear power - a concept tied closely to the underground nuclear testing his former environmental group formed to oppose. The chemistry of the atmosphere is changing, and there is a high-enough risk that “true believers” like Al Gore a

Chatter heading into the Fed meeting

There's a lot of interesting chatter about what the Fed might do next week. Most of it seems to center on whether the Fed will finally stop cutting rates, or just cut rates one last time by 25 basis points and then signal a pause. Here's an excerpt from a WSJ story on the topic yesterday: "The Federal Reserve is likely to cut its short-term interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point next week -- but then may be ready for a breather. "The Fed, meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, is likely to

Final 2008 Mock Draft: 7 Rounds with Analysis!

Dave Ryan took every pick for this year’s draft and broke it down.  Check out analysis you’ll only find at New Era Scouting! By Dave Ryan Round One 1. Miami Dolphins-Jake Long-OT-Michigan This pick was easy enough to predict this year. Jake Long should develop into a Pro Bowler in two to three years as a Dolphin, and gives Bill Parcells a rock on his line that he can rely on. 2. St. Louis Rams-Chris Long-DE-Virginia The Rams hold the key to the draft now that Miami is already locked in

NOLA, McCain, The Curse of John Hagee, and other matters

Writing on the City of New Orleans: Any resident of the Nevada outback has to be pleased that the Internet(s)’s Tubes reach into the sagebrush zone so that we can discover that presumptive Republican presidential candidate John Sidney McCain III (R-AZ) has declared in regard to the drowning of New Orleans that, “…never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way that it was handled.” Or, “There was (sic) unqualified people in charge, there was a total mis

World Vision Report - Show 224

World Vision Report - Show 224 World Vision Report, 28:00 When your child is sick, you don't care what the risks are -- you get them some help. That's the case for a number of Iraqi parents whose children suffer from severe heart problems. The parents risk retaliation from militants for seeking care for their children from a group of Israeli doctors. It seems political and religious differences really don't matter when a child's life is at stake. That story and more -- this week on the World Vi

Outrageous Health Care Costs

Of all the anti-social vested interests the worst is the vested interest in ill health. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), playwright Below is the letter that I opted not to send because even the insurance only pays a percentage of the total bill. I am not sure what I will be stuck paying, but either way it's sickening. Our health care system is a convoluted mess, so it’s not even worth the stamp. Enjoy and I hope you can’t relate. April 24, 2008 President & CEO Chairman of the Board Rose

Petrol price insurance

So in attempting to take some time off after the 2020 Summit, I forgot to write about my one big idea that came to me during the Summit but, of course, was never aired as I was in the wrong group for it. It was this: the way to sell the public on high petrol prices as a way of reducing emissions would not be to impose a tax on it but to fix the price of petrol at, say, $2.50 per litre, for the next 3 years and raise it by some fixed amount thereafter. What is the rationale? Well, we know that

Sigh

My family had a similar problem when my daughter was born with all kinds of complications for me and for her. She was three years old before we stopped receiving collection notices for bills our insurance carrier was supposed to pay. It was much longer than that before our credit rating was restored. Sigh. I was unable to "fix" that despite the fact that I had worked in the insurance industry for many years. (I still do.) Despite my knowledge of the industry I was unable to fix our situation (

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is, even with medical care

As reported by CNN News, a recent study by the University of Chicago found that people receiving free sample medications end up spending more money on drugs in the long run, about 19% more. This is not a surprising finding. Drug sample are an advertising ploy by pharmaceutical companies. They give the drugs to doctors so that they will give them to their patients to try and then switch to a prescription after the patient finds that the drug works for them. The drugs for which free sample are ava

Bill Prohibiting Genetic Discrimination Moves Forward

Sharing risk is supposed to be the goal of insurance, going back to when it was a group of shipowners getting together in Lloyd’s Coffeehouse to agree to cover each other if any of their ships sank (they all made a little less profit, but none had to worry about being utterly ruined by a single event. If insurers begin to stratify the clients on the basis of genetic testing, a market will arise to insure the never-tested against bad test results (pay us $xxx up front, and we cover your increased

Health Insurance - Understanding Medicare

Retirement is a wonderful time in one's life. But it can also be a time of great pain if not properly prepared for. you need to understand all there is to long term care and what options are open to you. Medicare is a federal program that provides health insurance to senior citizens irrespective of their medical condition. You can only qualify for Medicare if you are 65 years and above. Medicare would automatically register people who were receiving social security benefits once they reach the age of 65.

2008 Saab 9-3 Convertible Yellow Edition: Saab Builds Another Wasp-Looking Drop-Top [2008 Saab 9-3 Convertible Yellow Edition]

Apparently the angry brand born from jets has a little bit of a secret â€" when it comes to pretty, happy and sunny colors, Saabophiles everywhere see the color yellow as some kind of a "code word." No, it's not like a foot-tapping-in-a-stall kind of thing â€" and we're pretty sure it's not a "P***y Magnet" kind of thing. No, apparently they just think "extra sunny" when they see it. That's what we're told anyway in the new release from the General's little Swedish meatball of a brand. While we're

War Funding, Impeachment, and Health Care

By David Swanson Remarks delivered in San Luis Obispo, California, on April 23, 2008 When I started giving speeches about Iraq and impeachment three years ago, I liked to list the major impeachable offenses for Bush and for Cheney, but as the list grew it became rather cumbersome. It got to the point where adding another crime to the list would bring to mind four others I needed to add, and then someone would discover a whole new field of criminality and report it in the news while I was on t

Wall Street gets a butt whippin'

Friend and colleague Bob Laszewski has shined a very bright light on Wall Street's ignorance about the health insurance business. Bob notes: "We are way past the time the really smart people on Wall Street (that would be all of you) needed to start asking just what the future of this business is. If the answer you get is that the future of managed care is just to ride an unsustainable health care cost trend rate many more years into the future[bold is mine] you might just want to dig a little

Long Term Care - Understanding Long Term Care Services

What is long term care? how does it affect me and my loved ones. Ignorance about an issue does not help one make wise decisions. it is very important to understand what long term is all about. who needs it? would i need it? Long term care is the total care given to a person who is suffering from a disease that keeps a person from active life. Though a lot of people assume that long term care is for old folks only, but it is also for sick folk who can't take care of themselves. The various services aim at helping people with terminal situations deal with limitations that is caused by their inability to lead a normal life.

The European Draft Common Frame of Reference (CFR)

Panloss went to a very interesting lecture yesterday by Hugh Beale of Warwick and formerly the English Law Commission on the publication of the first part of the European CFR project - namely the Draft CFR on Contract (CFRC). What is the CRC and why should you care? This is a grand plan, which has in various forms been gathering momentum for many years, to distill principles out of the whole of European private law - as derived from the now 27 members of the EU - and create a kind of codified v

Bright Shiny Objects

As performed by National Lampoon on “National Lampoon Radio Dinner” (1972, Blue Thumb Records), from Deteriorata â€" “Remember my son, a walk through the ocean of most people’s souls would not even wet your ankles.”   If you want to know more about the Deteriorata, see this â€" but maybe detail isn’t necessary. People like to think they are deep and serious, and seem to love what sound like deep thoughts. The words make you stop and think. You feel you’re onto something. It might be profound. 

"Stop Gaps" or "The Real Deal"?

Through FA the team has covered several positions. * At SAF we picked up Manuel and McCree, * at WR we picked up Colbert, Jackson, and Parker, * and at LB we picked up K2 and Boss. Whose a stop gap, and who is a legit long term solution? The answers may surprise you! Read on... Starting at safety, let's take a brief look at our depth chart. Hamza was a 7th round pick for TB who ended up as a pleasant surprise for DEN. He can be a starter and get the job done, and he is improving. He play

Your EZ Insurance Portal

Do I need insurance? You certainly do need insurance because if you go bare (means having no insurance) essentially what happens is you are on your own. If anything happens to your home or your property, or you happen to injure somebody else, your assets are at risk. It's out of your own bank account, out of your own pocket. Remember that people really do need to buy insurance. Insuring your property and yourself is very important. Having homeowner's insurance, auto insurance and health and li

Politics and Policy and Blogs, oh my!

"What's this 'public policy' thing," you may ask, "and what is it doing on a political blog?" Yeah, I know. Guilty as charged. There are definitely sites and writers out there who focus heavily (in some cases, to a fault) on partisan politics with absolutely no regard for the meaning of what those political games lead to: public policy. Legislation. Laws. The things that govern the way members of our society deal with and treat each other. Those writers' (after all in some cases, it's not re

The Cost And Risk Of Jared Allen

Two reasons that some Vikings fans might be uncomfortable with the Allen trade: His off-field issues, and the fact that the Vikings needed to add an additional third-round pick to the deal. The latter is a debate that won’t be decided for several years. The majority of Vikings fans seem to be fine with the high price for Allen, and I’d count myself among that group â€" opportunities to land elite defensive ends are few and far between, so Allen should ultimately prove to be worth the high cost.

Ahhnold the Bold

So it actually happened â€" unexpectedly, an “eligible” dude asked me out. Conveying this information to various friends and associates only led to repetitions of the question, “By eligible you mean he’s Christian and has hair?” which has compelled me to conclude that I really need to get some new conversation topics. I was unsure at first what the purpose of the requested meeting was â€" people sometimes ask to meet me because they want to tap me for legal information which I am generally woeful

Living with Higher Sea Levels

OK, folks, here's the map you all wanted to see: What happens to Virginia's Tidewater under a doomsday global warming scenario, a three-meter rise in sea levels? Answer: About 1/3 of of south Hampton Roads slips under the waves. (Click on map to view a larger, more legible image.) Not shown on the map: When Pat Robertson dies and there's no one left to avert the hurricanes through prayer... Hurricane storm surges swallow up even more. The map is a stark reminder that, after New Orleans, Hampto

"Credit" Biography

In many countries, a record for a person or company and the repayment of loans, including information about the payment default and bankruptcy. The term "reputation" means can be used, is a synonym for in your credit history or credit cards pointing device. When a customer fills in an application for credit with a bank, a magazine or company credit card, which their information is, to a desktop, as well as credit cards constant updates on the status of their accounts, credit cards, the address o

Blogger Interviews: Christmas Ape

We're running a segment here at The Big Picture where we'll interview some of the biggest names in the sports blogosphere. What's the point? Well, these guys spend countless, thankless hours writing, so a little recognition from time to time is well warranted. Think of this as the blogger's version of a reach-around or something. Up today is Michael Tunison, known in the blogging daisy chain as Christmas Ape. Ape is one of the founding fathers of Kissing Suzy Kolber but also shows his face at D

The Economics of the Longoria Deal

The Tampa Bay Rays have just signed top prospect Evan Longoria to a long-term deal only a few games into his first major league season. The deal guarantees Longoria $17.5 million over six seasons, and it includes team options for three more years. This deal is interesting in that it locks in his purely-reserved and arbitration-eligible years for a price that is similar to what Longoria would make if he signed a series of one-year contracts for the next six years. The Rays then have two sets o

Lou Dobbs and CNN need a reality check

Lou Dobbs and CNN need a reality check CNN's Lou Dobbs opined that Pope Benedict XVI mixed religion and politics on his visit to the US, "I don't really appreciate the bad manners of a guest telling me and my fellow citizens what to do." Does he hyperventilate only about immigration? Commentary by William Donohue Does the Pope have bad manners? Lou Dobbs of CNN made comments about Pope Benedict, saying it is "bad manners" to appear to criticize the United States. Dobbs should either allow deba

The Industry, Insurance, and Iron Man

Sonny Bunch has a nice item up about Robert Downey Jr.'s chemical and political reformation. But it got me wondering about this: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember some reports about Downey during his nadir that he was becoming unemployable not because he couldn't handle the work, but because the insurance costs of having him as part of a production were too steep. Maybe I'm misremembering this, but I feel like it was some time around his Ally McBeal stint. Even if I'm misremember

Bank Mistake

I have a bank that didn’t get my last change of address notification. When the mail was returned to them, they found my address and sent it to me along with a note telling me to change my address with them. The odd thing was along with my statement were 5 other statements from people I don’t know. I called them and confirmed the address change and mentioned the other statements. They said they would take care of it. The other day I got my next statement--and the statements from 5 different

Don’t Risk Not Getting A Term Life Insurance Quote

There are so many reasons that people should consider taking out a life insurance policy and I would suggest that the most important one is to consider what the quality of life of ones family would be like if the major bread winner was to meet an unfortunate end. Hell, even if the wife was to kick the bucket how would the husband manage to go to work and do all the stuff she used to do without some sort of financial assistance. There is no excuse not to look into it these days especially as t

Get Your Term Life Insurance Quote Online

Get Your Term Life Insurance Quote Online by Sire @ 4:50 pm. Filed under Sponsored Posts A mate and I were watching a Bruce Willis movie the other day when a commercial about life insurance came on and he scoffed at the idea. My mouth just dropped open. I could not believe it. I mean he had a family the same as I did and there is no way in hell I would put them at risk by not having life insurance cover. Especially as these days with the aid of the Internet it is so easy to get a term

catching up

catching up April 22, 2008 â€" 9:49 pm Yesterday was phone call day. I made a bunch of phone calls â€" how many is a bunch? Anyway, I’m signed up for the bariatric surgery seminar. The doc in Springfield does take my insurance. So, I’m officially looking into it with seriousness. We’ll see. Today was shrink and shopping day. Nothing exciting with the shrink. I popped up to Petsmart to buy Stasia some Blue Buffalo. I’m not starting an argument about what food is better - but Blue Buffalo has no cor

The Bull Put Stock Option Spread

Will it go up, sideways or down? This is the question for traders that ranks right up there with is there life after death. You may have the faith but you’re never really sure. And so it goes every trading day. Some days are high probability days and others-many others- are iffy. Wisdom might say to stay out of the markets on anything but high probability days. But high probability days may only happen on relatively few trading days. But there are ways to play the game and limit loses while bei

Deflation In A Fiat Regime?

I was asked by professor Lance Lewis (and many others) to reply to on a post by Doug Noland called Setting the Backdrop for Stage Two. Before reviewing Noland's post I would first like to comment on this statement made by Professor Lewis: " I have never been one to believe you can have a true deflation with a fiat currency." Before we can begin any discussion, it is imperative to agree on the meaning of terms. I happen to believe in Austrian economics and the definition I use when I speak of in

How much do you earn?

Okay. I need to rant about this issue. Almost EVERYBODY has been asking me about my salary and as you all should know, the amount of an individual's salary is actually supposed to be private and confidential. I used to ask my friends casually how much is the pay being offered for their jobs just to know the market rate. The reason why i said that I used to ask is because I know almost everybody's salary. LOL. I don't mind disclosing my pay to other fresh grads whom are my friends but I don't

Statins, cholesterol, health; fancy employee compensation, EBITDA, and company value

It is the year 2000. A fat sedentary guy eats steak and bacon three meals per day. His cholesterol is high. A doctor prescribes a statin. Now he is a fat sedentary steak-eating guy with a low cholesterol lab result. Is he as healthy as a thin active guy who eats mostly vegetables? Fast forward to 2008. We have discovered that statins have some side effects and that fat sedentary steak-eating guys with low cholesterol scores drop dead at about the same rate as fat sedentary steak-eating guys wi

AWS used by banks. Not a surprise to me.

In a recent TechCrunch article about Amazon Web Services, it's revealed that "the biggest customers in both number and amount of computing resources consumed are divisions of banks, pharmaceuticals companies and other large corporations who try AWS once for a temporary project, and then get hooked." This is not a big surprise to me. Last year sometime, at some random geeky event, I was explaining why I thought AWS was so cool, and one of the people I was explaining it to worked for a local insu

The Fallout

The Fallout The fiasco that happened in Durham on Sunday created a buzz in our community but also throughout the region. I hope many of you read Dan Scott’s commentary on Tigernet yesterday but if you have not please do so today. Dan was at the game and has given us a great glimpse of what really happened on the campus of Duke University Sunday. Yesterday Duke sent out a statement that included an official statement from their head baseball coach Sean McNally that sounded like an official sta

Life and then some....

I know that life happens. And I know that I can't let it get in the way of my weight loss goals each and every time. But, damn! Can life just leave me alone for a little bit?! I got a call yesterday saying that my mom was being admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. She's been sick for about a week and a half. But she doesn't have insurance until May 14th when she turns 65. It just got so bad and she couldn't even walk. Her friend took her to the emergency room. They said they would a

My Thoughts on Tier 4 Medications

My thoughts on tier 4 medications are somewhat different than some of my colleagues, I suppose. As a compassionate physician, I too want my patients to have the best care possible, and I too hate seeing people suffer. But if we as a society are going to try to provide a broad variety of services to patients, whether it be under a shared-risk insurance pool, a socialistic government model like Medicare, or any other method imaginable, then costs are going to have to be controlled somehow. By fo

Cheap shots? A Matter of Life or Death

I had an inclination Elizabeth Edwards would not sit down too long to take BS from McSame, who accused her of "cheap shots" when it came to his governmental coverage for healthcare. And I was right. She wrote something for the Wonk Room at Think Progress, which is the bigger blog for the Center of American Progress...and where she is a senior fellow. Opening remarks: John McCain accused me of taking a “cheap shot” on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” yesterday for noting that people with

Business Insurance

One of our crew accidentally spilled hot soup to a costumer’s foot and she got a 3rd degree burn. We rushed her to the nearest hospital for first aid treatment. But the costumer was not satisfied and asked for compensation or else she will sue our restaurant to seek for damages. Just recently, I was convinced by a friend to get business insurance from advantage business quotes. I was hesitant at first because this will mean extra expenses on my business. But I couldn’t risk the reputation of

BUYING TROUBLE

When I read an article in the Washington Times, it got me to thinking about the trouble we buy for ourselves. Maryland is leading a race to build the first U.S. nuclear reactor in more than 30 years as the result of a deal by Gov. Martin O’Malley that would bring millions of dollars in federal tax credits to Constellation Energy. (from here) Is that not wonderful? Millions of dollars in tax credits for Constellation Energy. It is your money. Don’t you feel generous? But that is not all. The

So Just Do It

From the mouth of the Panda: "If we just got aggressive with triage..."I've never quite understood why EMTALA, the legislation referred to as an "unfunded mandate" by all the ER docs who bitch and moan about having to see everyone who walks through the door whether or not they can pay, is such a big deal. Here's the text: In the case of a hospital that has a hospital emergency department, if any individual (whether or not eligible for benefits under this subchapter) comes to the emergency depart

Shultz and Shoven miss the mark

Health care 'experts' are coming out of the woodwork like termites after fumigation. Former Sec of State George Shultz and Stanford professor John Shoven are two of the latest emergent experts; they have written a book on reforming social security and health care - I haven't read the social security part and after reading the health care section I don't think I will. One of the authors' primary contentions is that involving the consumer in health care is a key to reforming the system. One of t

Universal health care a long shot in Illinois

I found out via The Capitol Fax blog this morning that there is a proposal for creating a Canadian style health care system in Illinois. No doubt this would have gone further than the governor's plans to expand health insurance coverage in the state although he seems to have found ways to keep that from happening no matter what he does. Anyway this was proposed by state Rep. Mary Flowers. Oh and I've posted vids largely critical of the Canadian health care system that I've posted here overtime.

Teens on the Phone Safer Than Me On My iPod

Teens on the Phone Safer Than Me On My iPod April 21, 2008 â€" 12:14 pm Legislation that will come before the state House as early as this week could prohibit student drivers aged 15 or 16 from using the cell phone (unless handless) or texting while driving. Yes, kids are easily distracted and I can’t imagine how anyone, no matter how old they are, could safely text while driving. But talking on the phone? It’s going to be impossible to enforce and … well, there’s this gem from the P&C story

Is IT ready for the coming brain drain?

You'd think the words "brain drain" would strike fear into the hearts of IT managers. As the calendar has turned to 2008 -- and the oldest baby boomers are now eligible to receive Social Security -- it has become clear that growth in the number of older workers will soon surpass the growth in the number of those just starting out. In eight year's time, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in four workers will be 55 or older. And particularly in IT, there's not a big influx of

Nokia USA: It’s Not Your Intermediaries, It’s YOU

I was so happy and excited to get my N95 (see video). I could be this happy again, if only Nokia would get its US service and support act together. As I noted earlier, this morning Charlie Schick of Nokia USA left a comment on this blog to reach out to me about my recent heartbreaking experience with the Nokia N95. Here’s what he said: “These are the nightmares that we never want to happen. “I remember in the days before we allowed users to do their firmware updates, this was one of

Banksters and Bailouts

The banker view No doubt nearly all bankers want the broad foundations of the existing banking system to be maintained. That system is their bread and butter and it has served them well. All resources that are no longer unappropriated are owned by some person or persons, where ownership means having exclusive control. Who owns the central bank of the United States, which is the Federal Reserve or the Fed? Its stockholders are member banks. The most powerful of the 12 Federal Reserve banks is

Protect Breast Cancer Survivors From Discrimination

Did you know that there is a genetic test that can help people find out if their family history of breast cancer may be due to a genetic mutation? Unfortunately, if you are tested - and your results are positive - there are very few federal protections preventing insurance companies from denying you coverage due to your genetic condition. This has led many to forgo testing, denying them important information that could help them manage their health and the health of their families. But there

Gift of life

Shannon Pipes was born with one kidney, and it was covered in scar tissue. For most of her childhood, the kidney functioned, but in the last few years, she has had to undergo dialysis for as long as 11 hours a day, every day. Pipes, 20, quit her job as a cashier at Winn-Dixie on Front Beach Road because of her health, but not before meeting and falling in love with one of the store's managers, William Burton. The love was mutual and the timing was perfect. The couple became engaged two years ago

Pete, Re-Pete

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Two hours ago, Pete had been pulled gasping from a tank of jelly. Now he sat in an immaculate office, wearing borrowed clothes with his employer staring him down from the far side of a granite slab desk top. “Welcome back, Pete.” Terrence Carter, syndicate heavyweight and the man Pete ran data packets for. “I must say, you look better than you did the last time I saw you.” Pete sat straight in his chair, tentatively rolling and flexing muscle that remembere

Dog Cystitis With Bladder Stones - Dog Health

Look out for the following symptoms of dog cystitis with bladder stones (crystals): 1. The dog may go to the toilet a lot more than it does usually. 2. It may struggle to produce any urine 3. There may be a small amount of blood in the urine that is produced. Small crystals forming on blood cells and bladder lining cells are what cause bladder stones or urolith in your dog's bladder. Bladder stones can be caused by either a too high acidic level or a very low one and in some cases they ev

Restructure Your Debt Before Buying a Home (pfblogs.org)

The temptation of getting into the runaway housing market is understandable. Simple savings accounts are returning less than 2% per year. CDs and bonds are not much better. "Safe" funds are yielding 5% pre-tax. And real estate is surging, offering both equity appreciation and tax protection. However, if you are in debt, it's important to make sure you restructure it and consolidate it before taking the leap into the housing market.So many see the risk of taking on a house that is beyond their me

Quake hits Illinois, disturbing vibrations reach south to Clarksville

No, you’re not going crazy. There was an earthquake felt in middle Tennessee during the wee hours of the morning. An earthquake hit the Midwest today, originating 135 miles southeast of Springfield, Illinois, and merely 38 miles from Evansville, IN. At magnitude 5.4, the epicenter of the quake was 6 miles from West Salem, IL. I was watching StarGate SG-1 when the floor shook. And it wasn’t the surround sound. I stood up as vibrations rattled the front door of the house, coming from that direc

Just How Much Your Credit Score Impacts Your Interest Rate

While I was preparing my morning rate quote (I’ll follow up at RCG this afternoon in case of a rate change), I thought I would run a couple scenarios on how much your credit score now cost you…just one digit off and you are paying more for your mortgage. The following scenarios are based on a 30 year fixed rate conforming with a $500,000 sales price and a loan amount of $400,000 with taxes and insurance included priced with 1 discount/origination point. 720 Credit Score = 6.00% (APR 6.149%).

Climate Change: Big Government Left and Right

For those of you not paying attention to the 'we must act' commercials, they are clever in taking political 'opposites' and putting them on the same sofa to exhort us to acting on 'climate change'. The idea of human induced climate change is something that is weirdly to those in Big Government circles as it gives a non-national enemy to 'fight' or 'act against' that has not been established in either climate models or the geological record as being something that can be caused by the methods giv

What makes life hard and difficult?

I'm not prone to looking at things from the negative viewpoint, however it is an interesting question.  What makes life hard and difficult?  Sometimes circustances and the luck of the draw, make life hard and difficult.  Consider those who are born with disabilities, did they do anything to cause their predictament?  Or the child born into poverty and ingnorance?  I don't have answers to those type of questions, however, I do believe we sometimes make our lives hard and difficult by our own a

What makes life,hard and difficult?

I'm not prone to looking at things from the negative viewpoint, however it is an interesting question.   Sometimes circustances and the luck of the draw, make life hard and difficult.  Consider those who are born or who contract disabilities, did they do anything to cause their predictament?  Or the child born into poverty and ingnorance?  I don't have answers to those type of questions, however, I do believe we sometimes make our lives hard and difficult by our own actions or lack of actions

My take: PCP influence, stroke, ECGs/MIs, doctor shortage

1) From a reader: "I don't understand why, if there is a shortage of primary care physicians, can't primary care physician dictate rates and policies to the insurers that may want them to see their patients? . . . . . . Can the physician bill the insurer for the extra paperwork and copies (kind of like an attorney, billing every 6 minutes and 0.25 cents per copy)?" My take: You are starting to see movement in that direction. An op-ed in the LA Times argued that rejecting insurers may be the fu

Hilary's plan to fight Breast Cancer

I actually found the video of this at Larry Johnson's No Quarter although the text is taken from the Hilary Clinton official web site. A member of our family has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and has undergone surgery recently. So it's to my shame that I didn't even know about this before, and Hilary is my candidate. And if you are reading this, stop by my brothers blog and wish his wife Emma well, will you? Clinton Unveils Plan To Find Cure For Breast Cancer On The Ellen DeGener

Cruelty to Animals in Lacey

Cruelty to Animals in Lacey Submitted by naturalistmi on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 2:58pm. Ryan Christopher Jackson, owner of Jackson Insuance Agency in Lacey has petitioned the Thurston County Superior Court to get his dog back. The only surviving dog. The other dog, Nickie, had to be euthanized after is was found in such terrible shape at Jackson's home in Lacey that it was continually vomiting and could no longer stand. It's bowels were twisted and it leaned against the walls of the home to support

Deals of the Day: Bear Stearns Somehow Didn’t Post a Loss

Deals of the Day includes all the major news of the morning related to mergers and acquisitions and financing. For breaking deal news, turn to the WSJ’s Deals & Deal Makers page, or click here to automatically sign up for Deals Alert emails. You can also bookmark Deal Journal at http://blogs.wsj.com/deals.  Today in Bear Stearns It could have been worse: Bear’s net income fell 79% to $115 million, from $554 million a year earlier. [WSJ] Jimmy Cayne: He will receive another $4.6 million

ON: Upping The Ante For Passionate Riders

Don't sell me insurance - sell me worry free days with my passion. Allstate has struck Chrome! This site takes a damn good swipe at the Gecko and the Caveman. So yes - Allstate just bitch-slapped all other insurance companies with one of the smartest sleekest sites on the web today. Instead of doing what all other insurance companies do - sell you hard that you need them. (which is a total farce! Consumers do not need or desire them..the law says we have to have insurance.) Allstate h

Issue Number One; Economic Insecurity Breeds Bigotry, Bias and Bitterness

Fear Itself copyright ? 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org He was a beautiful bouncing baby boy. He was born to two parents that love him dearly. Even before his birth, indeed, prior to conception, this little fellow was the apple of his parent's eyes. His biological beginning was carefully calculated. As the seeds of life developed into a bright-eyed baby, the people he now knows as Mom and Dad thought of little else but Maxwell. The soon to be proud Papa and Momma anxiously anti

Fear A Layoff? Go To The Dentist, And Other Insurance Tips

Americans are dependent on their jobs for more than income. Many of us get our health, life and disability coverage through our work. So as the risk of job loss rises during a recession, so, too, does the risk of losing coverage that can protect us against catastrophic events. Those without health insurance are one illness or accident away from financial devastation. What's more, as I detailed in "A survival guide for the uninsured," people without health insurance are more likely to die prema

Amendment 2 affects more than same-sex couples

There's a hateful amendment on the ballot this November here in Florida. I've blogged about it before, and I'll keep harping on it between now and election day, because we're already too hateful toward the LGBT community in Florida, and this makes it worse. But this amendment will affect more than the LGBT community, which is why the group Fairness for all Families issued the following press release today. Rather than pick and choose, I'm just reprinting it for everyone local. Please pass it al

Wrap on the Raleigh Obama Town Hall

(Click here for replay of 4/17 PHB CoverItLive blog of the Obama Town Hall.) Below are my thoughts about the event, along with some photos and video. The setting. The Barack Obama Town Hall event at the Kerr Scott Building on the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh was a fairly intimate affair in comparison to rallies held in large venues. I got there around 10:30, and we didn't get in until around 11:30 as the Secret Service and local police took all press gear (laptops, cameras, etc.) and scree

MERRILL's Reckless Mortgage Bond Binge

A page one story in the Wall Street Journal, "Merrill Upped Ante as Boom In Mortgage Bonds Fizzled," tells the sorry tale of how the brokerage giant did so much damage to itself via a pathological disregard for risk at the very time when the mortgage markets were about to sour. The firm is still taking losses from this misadventure; it's expected to announce an additional $6 to $8 billion in writedowns for the first quarter. Some items have been recounted elsewhere, such as Mer

Why Is Progressive Using "Recent Military Service" To Determine Rates And Eligibility? [Auto Insurance]

We got this email tonight from Ceaser, who wants to know why his military service would negatively affect his car insurance:While searching for new car insurance on progressive and sadly other insurance carriers, figuring what the rate check would be I answered a few questions. Some questions asked were if I was currently in the military and in college, I am both. As an Iraq war Army vet I am currently going to school with the GI bill, and tuition assistance from the Air national guard, so I pu

a saved comment on security ethics in a questionable situation

Slashdot ran an email from a senior security engineer lamenting his company's ethics in security auditing. Dan Morrill posted about it, which was my first exposure to it. I posted a comment on his blog, and he sort of lightly guilted me into posting it on my own blog here. Honestly, I had some points in it that I kinda didn't want to just lose to the ether, and instead save them here for myself. So read Slashdot first, then Dan, then my post will make more sense. I will concede points that say

Blue Jeans Cable -- maybe all the rest of us can learn something from this

Having been the recipient of my fair share of cease and desist letters, I can only admire Blue Jean Cable’s CEO Kurt Denke’s response to a cease and desist letter from Monster. Denke is a former litigator, and his closing paragraph is pretty much the Way Things Should Be: After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1985, I spent nineteen years in litigation practice, with a focus upon federal litigation involving large damages and complex issues. My first seven years wer

Basements, Closets, and Twisters, Oh My!

Basements, Closets, and Twisters, Oh My! It's been a relatively exciting couple of weeks while my computer's been down. First we had some spring storms wreak havoc in the DFW area. Spring is tornado season in North Texas, and although I've lived here for almost 10 years, I still can't get used to the tornado sirens. I can't imagine anything more scary than your house being torn off it's foundation while you and your kids cower in your closet. My Texas-born friends are pretty blase about--Oh

Do Not Ignore The Urgent, Burning Sensation

Blessed be the over-the-counter opportunity to turn your own pee orange. I am about to date myself right here before you, but in my early college years, I had the unfortunate experience of contracting a urinary tract infection a few times in the days before over-the-counter pain killers for UTIs such as Uristat (drug name: phenazopyridine) were made available. This meant that the time period between when you first had symptoms and when you could have a doctor take a urine sample and perhaps per

A Bad Trend in Rx Coverage

As prescription drug prices rise, more and more health insurance carriers are balking at covering expensive drugs with only a small copayment from the insured (registration required).  Lately, we’ve seen many of the Colorado health insurance carriers adding a fourth tier to their traditional three tier system of pricing drugs - with Tier 4 being a percentage rather than a flat copay. While you might still get a generic for $15 and a brand name for $40, you could be in for a nasty surprise if yo

a completely unoriginal list of things that women obsess over that guys really don't give a f*@k about, vol I

excuse me in advance for being insensitive or crass today, but the cup of my on-going befuddlement with any human being equipped with a vagina is kind of overflowing right now. i find myself kinda consumed, fascinated i suppose, over certain things that girls often obsess over that most men (there are exceptions to every rules and a fetish for every freak) just couldn't give two shits about. not that anyone asked for it, but here are five that i, and most men, find most perplexing. 1. fingernai

DrumBeat: April 18, 2008

Transformation time for the LNG industry When BG Group began to build a billion-dollar liquefied natural gas plant in Trinidad and Tobago in 1996, one of the big draws was the Caribbean islands’ proximity to the US, the world’s biggest natural gas consumer. But a little more than a decade later, many of BG’s ships are heading half way around the world to Japan, rather than the company’s regasification terminal in Lake Charles, Texas. [break] Canada: Motorists aghast at price of gas The pric

Option Basics-The Bear Call Credit Spread

I love Stock Options. They offer a variety of ways to make money, control risk, greatly increase the ROI (Return on Investment) and conserve capital. One strategy that could be very applicable in these volatile times is the Bear Call Credit Spread. The title describes the strategy: The trader thinks that the price of the underlying has a high probability of remaining in a tight range or will decrease in value. Thus, the terminology “Bear”. A call is when the trader purchases the rights to bu

Can Obama Win?

Since Governor Richardson dropped out, I have remained out of the presidential nomination fray. I understand simply that either of the two remaining Democratic candidates are light years better than the Republican alternative. There are a variety of reason for that and we'll have plenty of time till November to lay them out. Now, I have hinted that I may be a leans Sen. Clinton, for one primary reason. She has been through the dirt, and the mud and the slime for so many years she is pretty immu

Eggs, Over Easy

I've never liked doing things the easy way. When my partner and I decided to have a child, we used my egg, fertilized with anonymous donor sperm, and carried in her uterus. (No, this isn't standard lesbian protocol, if there even is such a thing, but it's not unheard of. If you're interested, you can read the details over at Mombian.) The procedure we used was a two-person variation of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Like all forms of IVF, multiple embryos were implanted in order to boost the od

Oxfam and CARE call for fundamental changes in tackling global hunger and food price hikes

Oxfam and CARE today said the international aid system was not fit for purpose and called for fundamental changes in order to tackle the challenge of food price hikes and impending food crises in East and West Africa. The call comes at the end of a conference on how best the world can address global hunger attended by some 30 leading UN and aid agencies in Rome. "Food riots have pushed global hunger onto the political agenda but the aid business will not be able to tackle global hunger while

Something's Going to Go Wrong

File under "truisms." I don't have many rules for life that have a negative spin. And, really, this one just sounds negative at first. When we start a new project, we try to plan for everything. But I have to remind people: Something's going to go wrong. I don't know what it is. But it will happen. We'll find it and fix it. Nothing can go wrong that we can't fix. As I said, this only sounds negative. It's actually positive! Why will something go wrong? There are two reasons. 1) Perfection d

Drinking accelerates onset of Alzheimer's

People who have more than two alcoholic drinks a day develop Alzheimer’s disease five years earlier than those who do not drink, a comprehensive study linking the condition to lifestyle has found. Those who smoke are affected by the illness two years earlier than non-smokers, while those who smoke and drink are likely to hasten the onset of the disease by seven years. People who suffer from high cholesterol in middle age are one and a half times more likely to go on to develop Alzheimer’s. T

Finding the Right Online Life Insurance Cover

With so many insurance companies offering you the option of obtaining online life insurance cover, it can seem hard knowing where the best place is to start. There are so many different quotes you can consider which incorporate a variety of levels of cover and often have many extras, some of which you can be unsure if you actually need. If you really do feel that you are out of your depth, you may find that using a comparison website or an online broker can help find you the best life insurance quote for you.

Long Term Care - Preparing for Retirement

The life expectancy of the average American is estimated to be 65years. Due to the availability of medical care, most Americans expect to live to be about 70years and above. The challenge at that time becomes that of taking care of the home and the chores that come with it. As one gets older, the issue of retirement and one begins to think of what to do and how to take care of one's self. This is where Long Term Care insurance policy comes in. there are different coverages in Long Term Care insurance. Research and diligent on line shopping would help you to know what to expect and be prepared for it.

In Health News: DASH Diet Saves Lives, Healthcare Crisis Affecting The Insured, and Breast Cancer Screening.

Are you interested in lowering your blood pressure? Reducing your risk of heart disease? If so, you may want to consider the DASH Diet. When compared to a typical America diet, women following a DASH diet were 24 percent less likely to have a heart attack, and 18 percent less likely to have a stroke. This is a pretty big deal, especially considering that the number one cause of death in women is heart disease. Diet Reduces Heart Attacks, Strokes. A large study offers the strongest evide

French Law Criminalizes Dangerous Diet Stories

It looks like the French are trying to take aim at the media-manufactured thin ideal, but seriously missing the mark. A bill, approved by the lower house of Parliament but still set to face a Senate vote, would make it illegal to “provoke a person to seek excessive weight loss by encouraging prolonged nutritional deprivation that would have the effect of exposing them to risk of death or endangering health.” See The New York Times for more. As someone who has spent years immersed in research,

Care You Can Keep

Anything here look familiar to you? There are many dimensions to the health care debate, too many to really receive deserved attention in the heat of a presidential campaign. A shrinking supply of general practioners, lack of access to care in rural and inner-city areas, inefficent redundancy of care, and out of control pricing, all come together in a Gordian knot that is our health "care" system today. But it all boils down to a key problem for all Americans: it's harder and harder for emp

PA 05: Voter Endorsement of Bill Cahir!

The time for endorsement may be past, but better late than never! I will be casting my vote in the PA Democratic primary for Bill Cahir. Obviously, I would encourage you to do the same. ;-) He is the best choice for District 5 in my opinion. I am happy to report that I am not the only endorsement for this candidate: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers/International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BLET/IBT)U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Bucks County DemocratRep. Ruth C. Rudy and former Centre County C

Why Choose Gold When Real Interest Rates Sink?

You can link the historic surge in gold prices starting mid-August 2007 to many apparently disparate things. Pick the right link, and you might be able to tell whether it's worth you buying or holding gold today. One such link is the price of money, as decided by the US Federal Reserve. Gold's stellar 58% gain in the seven months starting 18th August began with the Fed's first change to US interest rates in 18 months. Last August's 0.25% cut to the Fed's "discount rate" - the interest rate i

LA-06: Interview with Don Cazayoux

The Cazayoux campaign is releasing this web-only video about the race today: It's also on their website. Don's candidacy has sparked a fire amongst the unions here in LA-06. While they've worked with political candidates before, I've never seen them this excited about a candidate. If you like the idea of adding to the Democratic majority in the House with someone who will be there with us on the economic issues we all care about, then donate. I also had the opportunity to interview Don. I as

The Problem with Credit Default Swaps

While the mortgage desaster and the credit crunch keep to take their toll, there is another financial crisis building that will one day inevitably explode. Credit-default-swaps (CDS) were developed to insure banks who gave loans against the risk of the borrower's default. Bank A lends 100 million to company B and bank C lends a 100 million to company D. Bank A then sells Bank C an insurance for the case of a default by D and Bank C sells bank A an insurance against default of company B. Both

health insurance online

Getting an insurance for yourself and your family is the best thing to do.Without it,you will be burdened of paying the whole amount of medical or dental bills that could rip you off. If you have no insurance yet,try looking for the best health insurance online you can find. Imagine when one of your family is going to get sick,where are you to borrow some money for the hospitalization? I have been there once though I was not sick.I gave birth to my baby and stayed for 2 days at the hospital cos

How Much Money Is “Walk Away From It All” Money?

Roger writes in with an interesting question: When you talk about “walk away from it all” money, how would you estimate that? I know it would be different for each person, but what elements do you take in mind, and what percentage of savings or what size emergency fund (24 months of living expenses, for example?) would you constitute reaching that point? Before you even start looking at this, you need to have a very strong bead on your realistic spending over the course of a year. What do you

Long Term Care Insurance - Options for Senior Citizens

There are a lot of agencies that provide the services that senior citizens need at retirement. you might want to hire different individuals to render the different services. whatever your decisions you would have to consider costs and what is most suited to you. Before you settle on any insurance company and the facility they manage, you need to ensure that they have a strong financial base, they are credible and would come through for you when you need them. An agency that can help you verify is your State's Department for Elder Services.

New IVF Method Could Double Success, Reduce Risk of Multiples

I wrote earlier this week about how Helen and I conceived our son. One of our many concerns was what we would do if we had twins or more. Not that this would have been the end of the world; many parents have survived this (and a few might even relish getting the whole labor thing over with all at once), but it wasn’t our preferred way to go. We spent a few anxious weeks hoping that we’d have only one, as indeed we did. Our other anxiety was that we’d strike out after three IVF attempts, at whi

This is Biased, But So Am I

In case you were thinking there were a lot of good reasons to vote for John McCain... I'm not salivating for another Clinton or for Obama either, but the Republicans certainly won't convert me with this guy. I actually liked McCain in his 1999-2000 incarnation, back before he became W's lapdog and actually had some interesting, independent positions on...anything. Now he seems to have become a vessel for all of the bad things about the Republican party and precious few of the good things. Maybe

Job at risk? Save your insurance

If your job is even slightly shaky, now's the time to schedule a medical checkup, get your teeth fixed and look into coverage alternatives. Americans are dependent on their jobs for more than income. Many of us get our health, life and disability coverage through our work. So as the risk of job loss rises during a recession, so, too, does the risk of losing coverage that can protect us against catastrophic events. In fact, 4.2 million people could lose their health insurance in the coming mont

If One More Blithering Idiot Tells Me That the U.S. Has the Best Health Care System in the World, I Will Disembowel That Idiot Slowly with a Spork

No, if you think we have the best health care in the world you are unfamiliar with health care for newborns and children in most of Europe, Cuba, and many other countries. You also clearly have never learned the meaning of the phrase "somewhat less than mediocre"*. Let's be honest: the U.S. healthcare system, whether for the uninsured, the privately insured, or the government coverage for the aged sucks and blows. I'll merely be presenting anecdotal evidence here, but if I were in charge of the

Fake Numbers and Real Limits

My blogging is lagging, and not because I'm gagging, or even lollygagging, just too much going on at once. My book rollout for Nowtopia was last Wednesday and I'm now in the flow of the my "tour" which leaves SF on April 28, but continues later tonight at SmackDab and next Thursday at Modern Times. You can check out the podcast of my rollout reading if you can't join me at one of my tour stops. Golden Gate Bridge from Twin Peaks, April 2008. I wanted to complement my book's appearance by no

More than three billion people die from hunger

More than three billion people die from hunger Fidel Castro says reducing and moreover recycling all motors that run on electricity and fuel is an elemental and urgent need for all humanity. The tragedy does not lie in reducing those energy costs but in the idea of converting food into fuel. Africa Rwanda: Christians to aid Muslims with water In the midst of rising conversions to Islam, Anglicans and Lutherans are piping water to Muslims as a way of saying "We are sorry", according to Anglica

You Can Read Me Everywhere But Here!

I did a guest blog over at Trashionista the other day -- go check it out, especially if you're an Enid Blyton fan. I've also updated the "Read Me" section of the sidebar. Now there's links to Soap Opera Digest and Ugo.com, where I've been updating the TV Blog three times a day since last week. Meanwhile, you're lucky if I can update this blog three times a month. What can I say? One pays and the other doesn't. Also, the world of TV is much more exciting than the world of me. And, of course,

Two great decision management shows coming this year

I am involved in two great decision management shows this year and I wanted to tell you about them. First up is InterACT, Fair Isaac's show on decision management and analytics, April 27-30. Even if you aren't a Fair Isaac client you should check out this show. It's at the Palace Hotel in lovely San Francisco and is an opportunity to hear Ian Ayres, author of Super Crunchers and attend one of the best analytic symposiums to hear about some leading edge analytic techniques and approaches. There

Clearly, I need to escape the U.S.

Following up on my recent health care frustrations, I watched Sick Around the World on Frontline last night (you can watch it online). The show asks whether the U.S. can learn anything from the rest of the world about how to run a health care system, and boy, can we. Like Sicko, this documentary traveled around the world and profiled the health care systems of other developed countries. Whereas the U.S. health care system ranks 37th in the world in terms of quality and fairness, has 47 million

quicky update----7.5 weeks along

Hi, I'm pregnant. WOW. I typed it. Turns out, I'm about 7.5 weeks along. Apparently I ovulated early. *(we realized this of course) The crazy thing about this people is that I was 3 weeks away from getting an IUD. Insurance denied my IUD about 2 months ago and I was going to take $950 from our tax refund and go get the IUD once we got the IRS check. We were super careful and then BAM! Ovulated early! Keep in mind, we've been doing the ovulation tracking method for 2 years to NOT get pregnant.

CALIFORNIA PROBABILITY OF MAJOR EARTHQUAKE 99% IN NEXT 30 YEARS

California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years, according to scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46%-and such a quake is most likely to occur in the southern half of the state, says a summary of the study. The new study determined the probabilities that di

Arms Room Update.

I think I owe the Gunnies something... and what the heck, there's an Easter Egg (in the computer software sense) in there, too. And for those recoiling in shock and horror - anything you see in that picture is legal where I live, in the condition it's in - which means things that look like full-auto, aren't. They're either deactivated/dummies or semi-auto. Which means, for example, that Carl Gustav in there has a bore-sized hole in the barrel (thoughtfully cut so that the cheek pad covers it

Yucatan Adventure at Quintana Roo, Mexico - Valladolid, Mexico

Jump to the full entry & travel map Valladolid, Mexico Feb. is the best time for me to visit Mexico. Due to the back to back President's Day and Lincoln's Bday holiday, I was able to take off for the whole week using only 3 vacation days. On top of that, Cancun vacation packages are cheap! We booked flight and 3-nights through Expedia (total= $450/person). The other 3-nights of our stay were all walk-ins and although this month is supposedly peak season, finding bargain hotels was not a p

Lyric Hearing Aid

The New York Times has an article on the impressive Lyric hearing aid from InSound Medical of Newark, California. With the help of miniaturization and smart use of materials, the device is made to be inserted within millimeters of the ear drum and worn 24 hours a day. Because of its proximity to the ear drum and the device's size, the internal battery will supposedly run the unit for at least a month. Typically, anything that clogs the ear canal would trap moisture and pose an infection risk

Sunday Funnies: Buffett's $59 billion in loose change

Reading through this years Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) annual report, I noticed that the cash float that the company is carrying in it's insurance enterprises has reached $59 billion. As "my pal Warren" explains, this float is free to invest as long as they break even on premiums and claims. This is one of the many advantages Berkshire has had over other investors for decades, and this allows it to leverage it's returns without the risk that others would have to take to make the same money.

Knocking Down False God--Peter Morici

On the Kiplinger Business Resource Center Peter Morici, former Chief Economist at the U.S. International Trade Center, says it all: The recession is a wake up call. Americans need to confront some false gods -- free trade, gas guzzlers and Wall Street. In the 1990s, the U.S. helped launch the World Trade Organization and opened trade with China. Americans were to import more T-shirts and TVs and sell more software and sophisticated services to a world hungry for U.S. know-how. That would move A

Could Hill Win a General without Liberal Elite Snobs?

I wonder how all the "liberal elite snobs in San Fransisco" feel about Hillary's debasing them last week??? She's already bashed and alienated young people and African Americans, soccer moms, and men, why not go after the money base of the party... That makes perfect sense. I'm trying to figure out how you bring the country together when you continually attack portions of your own coalition! Now, I don't consider myself a liberal elite snob. I'm pretty sure not many people do, but I do go to l

Finalizing the Farm Bill

Finalizing the Farm Bill April 14, 2008 - by Donny Shaw For months, Congress has been trying to reach some kind of agreement on what should be included in the Farm Bill and how it should be payed for. The bill, which is designed to extend all kinds of agricultural programs at a cost of $286 billion over five years, is about 6 months behind schedule. But a bipartisan group of senators and representatives is meeting this week to iron out the issues that have stalled the bill, and they hope to

The Cancun conundrum….Are we there yet? - Part 1

Consider this…you want to vacation in the much talked about Cancun to explore those mysterious Mayan ruins that always fascinated you. Off you go to your friendly neighbourhood travel agent (err.. ok.. maybe… sidestep.com or travelzoo.com) to help you plan the whole trip. How would it be if the agent told you about the latest and greatest on Cancun, how the trip to Cancun is the soul's journey into the distant past that will transform you as an individual (all right..you get the point...)…but w

Content Discovery vs. E-Discovery vs. Content Classification

part 1 we discussed the value of DLP content discovery, defined it a little bit, and listed a few use cases to demonstrate it’s value. Today we’re going to delve into the technology and a few major features you should look for. First I want to follow up on something from the last post. I reached out to one of the DLP vendors I work with, and they said they are seeing around 60% of their clients purchase discovery in their initial DLP deployment. Anecdotal conversations from other vendors/clien

Game 3: Wings 3, Predators 5

Update (10:03 AM): Megan has pointed out to me that responsibility for the botched change leading to the game winner could also lie with Chris Chelios. Cheli may have just made a bad decision to leave at that point, independent of Babcock, leaving Lilja to cover two halves of the ice on his own. Obviously, Babcock wants Lidstrom on the ice against Nashville’s top line, and rightly so. The timing on that instance just didn’t work out. It also did not help that Draper lost the faceoff, of cours

Genetic Over-regulation? Simple Answer.

Why all the worry over regulations? I was washing the dishes this morning when it finally hit me. With all of this concern coming from Washington D.C. and all the entrepreneurs (like myself) pushing something to market for "brand recognition" i.e. the Mayo or Coca Cola....face it....there is a Branding Element. Well, while we are now moving through MBA or MD 101 what hit was the answer.... You may be asking yourself "What is the question?" But I am here to tell you that the question doesn't matt

The Sweetness Of Sweet Terror

I am always telling people that my face gets very puffy when I am pregnant. Case in point are my before and after pics of Sweet Terror's birth. The first is taken the day that I went into labor. The second photo is only a month later and already my face was returning to normal. PUFFY FACE: LESS PUFFY FACE: I mentioned earlier that Sweet Terror's birth really deserves its own post and, for lack of anything else to blog about, I think it is time to post it. Really I need to post about each of m

Preparing After Retirement

Despite our extended lifespan, it does not mean we will enter into retirement without contracting a serious illness; health cover afforded by critical health insurance should not be underestimated. This type of coverage is designed to provide your family with peace of mind if anything were to happen whereby you would no longer be able to work and generate an income. Research has shown that planning for critical illness is a wise move as statistically the chance of this happening is actually high, so much so that insurance providers now offer this type of policy quite routinely.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Credit Default Swaps -- But Were Afraid to Ask

Credit default swaps have been getting a tone of ink lately for a variety of reasons. To hear some people talk about them you'd think they were the second coming of the anti-Christ. I was recently on a conference call with George Soros who doesn't like them at all. However, people once thought the same thing about options which are now a standard method of hedging risk. So, let's see what all the hubbub is about. Let's assume that a money manager buys a GE bond, that matures in exactly 5 years

Do our leaders even care about this power crisis, MV 30

By Jeffrey C. Turbitt I sit here penning this piece on Monday morning at Java Joes -- one of the few businesses on island that seem to be aided by the fact that on a perfectly calm and clear day, there is no power on the south side of the island, and perhaps the rest of the island as well. I'm not sure at this point. It's a school day, but students have been sent home early. The school year will now be extended one day. No power leads to no water and that is a sanitary "no no," so parents must

Do Not Enter

Last week was not a good week. Despite my tough exterior I was very concerned for my overall health. I felt safe with the medical plan in place to prevent the blood clot from breaking off and traveling to my heart or lungs, until the insurance denied the important medication needed to prevent that from happening. By Friday my doctor and I were both beyond frustrated. Thankfully, I have a small town doctor who practices medicine with a big heart and a deep concern for his patients well-being.

Insurance Portal

Insurance Portal Health insurance is a vital thing here in Australia. Every single person should have a health insurance, even for international student like me, and if you don't have one, you run the risk of getting deported. Well, that is because having a health insurance is insuring that you are kept healthy. However, it can be a hassle when it comes to choosing the right health insurance. There are so many different types of health insurance that it is hard to find one that suits us or

We need a new ped and other tales.

We need a new ped and other tales. Lily? Miss tiny ass? Is so not tiny. She's 30.75" tall and weighing in at an astounding 20 pounds 11 ounces while totally nude (will share that she pooped immediately prior to this therefore this poundage is real. lol.) This finally moves her weight into the 50% for a girl her age and depending where you look puts her anywhere from 75 to 90% for height. My girla is long and lean but we knew that already. We refused our 3 vaxes today. My dr then flat out

How much money should we raise?

Summary: Raise as much money as possible. With these caveats: (1) maintain control at any cost, (2) monitor your liquidation preference, and (3) act like you don’t have a lot of money. Also understand that if you do raise a lot of money, you will have to (1) “go big or go home” and (2) make a lot of progress if you ever want to raise money again. Alternatively, if you would rather maintain your exit options, at least raise enough money to run two experiments. How much money should you raise? A

deck staining the green way with penofin aquafin

Seattle got two sunny days in a row, and we jumped at the opportunity to stain the the railings around our deck and stairs. (Our insurance company was sort of insistent that we build railings when we bought the house.) As I don’t want to use any product that has a risk of spontaneously combusting â€" for both environmental and personal reasons! â€" we decided to give water-based Penofin Aquafin a try. We were not disappointed! The stuff is kind of amazing: It barely smells at all, gives off almos

Why Stock Options?

  If you are a believer of the buy-and- hold strategy, you may want to back away slowly and make a 180 degree turn from what I am about to present. You see, I believe that trading options are the best and least risky way to invest. It’s a bird in the hand sort of thing. What has happened in the past is just one possibility of what can happen in the future. Buy and hold for twenty years. Not this guy. I want my investments short and sweat. Oh yes, and cheap. Options and other derivatives proba

Flood Insurance: Are you sure your home is covered?

I’ve been talking with my insurance agent over the past few weeks about flood insurance. It may not be as exciting as Dr. Phil’s marital debacle, but then again, Dr. Phil is unlikely to destroy my home. I found a great government resource about flood insurance that I’ll share with you. But first, Here are some things I’ve learned that you should definitely consider if you own a home: Homeowner’s insurance by itself typically does not include flood insurance, which you must buy separately. Floo

We need an act of civil disobedience to dump Obama.

With Obama’s numbers tanking in Pennsylvania by 20 points and average American voters getting more and more turned off, we might have to force the issue at the Democratic convention. This is what Hillary had to say: “You know, the Democratic Party, to be very blunt about it, has been viewed as a party that didn’t understand and respect the values and the way of life of so many of our fellow Americans,” Clinton said. “We had two very good men and men of faith run for president in 2000 and

Searching For Good Economic News

Let's take a quick tour about the US and world economies. There must be some good news somewhere, right? In the US, we all know about the problems of health care costs. One new and insidious way that Americans are getting soaked by health care costs is that some insurers have changed prescription co-pays from a flat rateâ€"say, X dollars for a generic, X plus Y for the name brand drugâ€"to a percentage of the cost: Health insurance companies are rapidly adopting a new pricing system for very e

Best Practices For Reducing Risks With DLP Content Discovery: Part 1

Boy, RSA was sure a blur this year. No, not because of the alcohol, and not because the event was any more hectic than usual. My schedule, on the other hand, was more packed than ever. I barely walked the show floor and was only able to wave in passing to people I fully intended on sitting down with over a beer or coffee and having a deep philosophical conversation with. Since pretty much everyone in the world knows I spend most of my time on information-centric security, of which DLP is a co

Volunteering is Overrated

My previous post on needle sticks and exposures was awarded a shiny new post over at SDN. Some questions for me were posed in the discussion, and I wanted to expand on the topic a bit more than simply posting a reply to the thread. Before I go much further, I wanna give bronx43 props for watching my back. Druggernaught states: I’m curious how much clinical exposure the guy who runs MedSchoolHell had before he applied to medical school. I’m guessing not nearly enough. Do any of his regular rea

Hey, Thanks For The Bed Bugs! [Tragic]

Sarah is experiencing every traveler's worst nightmare. Bed bugs! I just started reading The Consumerist. I did a search on bedbugs to see if you had any posts, and then thought I'd tell you my own story after reading about the people who found bedbugs in a Santa Monica hotel. In August of last year, I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Santa Monica.The last night of my stay, I woke up about 2am, got up for a minute, but when I went back to bed, I saw a small bug crawling on my bed. Then I looked at

30 Minutes, 30 Cents, 30 Billion: Fragmenting Business

A few weeks ago I sat next to an investment banker on a long flight. He works hand in hand with some of the super-quants on Wall Street who perform high-wire arbitrage through mathematical techniques so arcane that “I’d have to get two more math degrees just to understand them,” as my seatmate put it. “Basically what they’re focused on is predicting the next 30 minutes,” he said. (Actually it may have been “the next 30 seconds,” I forget. Anyway, day-trading for the Big Bucks, with lots of Ot

Obama, Penny Pritzker, and a long list of bad advisers

Obama, Penny Pritzker, and a long list of bad advisers By Erick Obama really is a change from a typical politician, ain't he? He surrounds himself with Ms. Powers who calls Hillary names and undermines Obama's own policy stances. He surrounds himself with men like Reverend Wright who preach on the separation in this country between black and white and how white people want to infect black people with AIDS. He's also surrounded himself with Penny Pritzker as his national finance chairwoman.

Rell Weighs in on Anthem and Budget Battle

Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Friday that she's "obviously disappointed" Anthem and its subsidiaries decided not to bid on the HUSKY health insurance plan for low-income children and families, which was put out to bid along with her new Charter Oak Health plan for uninsured adults. Bids were due by 3 p.m. today. On March 12, Anthem's President David Fusco, wrote a letter to the Department of Social Services telling it Anthem, which currently handles the largest percentage of HUSKY enrollees, will not

Investment, Speculation, and Regulation

Henry Paulson, the SecTreas, has proposed a new set of regulations for the financial markets. As expected, the response is all over the map, from “its just re-arranging the desks at the Treasury Department” to “an unwarranted interference with the free market.” Nothing new in all of that. Of course, the “interference” argument is somewhat strained, since the meltdown is occurring precisely in those parts of the market that were lightly regulated or not regulated at all. And even in areas where

It's a Kerry flip-flop! Emanuel backtracks on hurricanes and global warming

Kerry Emanuel, the influential M.I.T. climate scientist who has been at the forefront of making the argument that global warming will lead to more intense hurricanes, has released a new study that backtracks on his earlier findings, revealing more uncertainty on the question of whether such a link exists. (Hat tip: InstaPundit.) I've pointed out repeatedly that the question of what global warming would do vis a vis hurricanes is an entirely separate issue -- about which there is much less cons

Compulsory third party insurance nonsense

So Stuff reports that Associate Transport Minister Harry Duynhoven has finally decided to completely ignore all official advice, and institute compulsory third party insurance for motorists..Oops not that the report says he ignored official advice, but go on - make an Official Information Act request on the matter- you'll find numerous papers written on this saying what a dumb idea it is, politely..Now, I'll hear you say, what about that bastard who ran into my car and wasn't insured? Well what

Issue Number One; Survival, Security, Bigotry, Bias and Bitterness

Fear Itself copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert He was a beautiful bouncing baby boy. He was born to two parents that love him dearly. Even before his birth, indeed, prior to conception, this little fellow was the apple of his parent's eyes. His biological beginning was carefully calculated. As the seeds of life developed into a bright-eyed baby, the people he now knows as Mom and Dad thought of little else but Maxwell. The soon to be proud Papa and Momma anxiously anticipated the day

O.K., This Is Messed Up, Y'All

Traffic cameras are so effective at preventing dangerous driving that cops the nation over are scrambling to get rid of them to restore revenues gathered from issuing tickets. "Red light cameras do reduce accidents. That is a good thing ... But they do it by reducing red light violations, by as much as 29 percent from month to month at particularly busy Dallas intersections. ... City Manager Mary Suhm estimated last week that the city would fall short by more than $4 million. So last week, the

Some Interesting Links . . .

Justin Taylor drops a few hints about the forthcoming ESV Study Bible. Click here: Between Two Worlds: The ESV Study Bible. Meanwhile, there is a war in Iraq, an energy crisis, an impending global food shortage, and our beloved Congress is debating whether or not hybrid cars--which run too quietly--might pose a danger to blind people. Can we fire all these guys? Click here: FOXNews.com - Congress to Introduce Bill to Protect Blind People From Hybrid Cars - Politics | Republican Party | Here'

A Challenge of Economic Statecraft

"....As financial markets have tumbled, food prices have soared. Since 2005, the prices of staples have jumped 80 percent. Last month, the real price of rice hit a 19-year high; the real price of wheat rose to a 28-year high and almost twice the average price of the last 25 years. The good news for some farmers adds a crushing load to the most vulnerable â€" children, as young as four or five, forced to flee the safety of their rural communities to fight for food in teeming cities; food riots thr

WHY I LOVE MINNESOTA #2,547

Sure, it takes a certain kind of person to live in a state where there's two kind of weather: winter, and August, and neither are good for baseball. But why should that stop the Twin Cities from building a new ballpark -- WITHOUT A ROOF??? (Hey, the Yankees' new stadium doesn't have a roof either, but we don't routinely have 20 below Aprils, and our state bird isn't the mosquito). Hey! The seats will have heaters. Hey! Whaz a leetle snow? The whole Minnesota Tough thang can be summed up by

Pimping the Yellow Pages

Although I have long had the habit of reading the dictionary for entertainment, I don't generally read the phone directory that way. When Verizon's Yellow Pages book arrived last month, I noticed that in addition to an unprecedented number of lawyer ads on both outside covers and the spine of the book, the publishers even sold an ad that was printed on the bottom page edges of the book. The latter ad touts an outfit that offers several competitive quotes on mortgages, and in itself appears a b

Universal Health Care - "The Cause" and Some Distinctions

Often, with big political issues, the details get lost, and what's left is only a "Cause." Movie stars, lobbyists, people with too much money, and college students, among others have Causes. At some point in the life of a Cause, nothing else matters but The Cause. This includes those pesky aforementioned details. 24 hour news television and talk radio, among our willingness to accept that garbage as real, have combined forces to take the hard details out of our deliberations. As Susan Jacoby ve

Hurricanes and climate change action

At several points in the past, I have mentioned the possibility that the majority of people will not be willing to accept serious action on climate change until at least one big, unambiguously climate related disaster has taken place. The same point is made in Joseph Romm’s book but, whereas I have speculated that it could be vanishing icecaps or large-scale climate induced human migration in Asia, he seems to think that Atlantic hurricanes striking the United States may make the difference.

Well, We Have The Other Bloomberg's Attention

Gumby Fresh is way ahead of most of us, when it comes to understanding the big picture and intricacies of bond financing. Recently, he posted some commentary on a Bloomberg News article, along with a couple informative links, and related it to Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards arena and high-rise tower project. In a nutshell, the scenario in the Bloomberg story continues to bear out, it could make Atlantic Yards very tenuous. And if the market for Nets luxury suites is lukewarm, Bru

Universal Health Care Now!

“I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room.” --The Worst President EverUniversal health care is important, not just for health of Americans, but for the health of the economy. Alan Shaw (GHS '83), a friend, and the owner of New England Security & Technology, sent me an editorial from the Boston Globe. Alan pays his own health insurance and half the cost for his employees. He's glad someone is working to lighten his overhead. As much a

HSBC loses data

HSBC loses data By Gareth Powell April 9th, 2008 Banking giant HSBC has lost a computer disk containing details of nearly 400,000 customers. The disk contains the names, dates of birth and insurance cover levels of 370,000 people who hold life assurance policies at the bank. A statement from the bank said, ‘The data disk lost by HSBC contains no address or bank account details for any customer and would therefore be of very limited, if any, use to criminals.’ And the data was password prot

HR 5734 - Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008

Hi folks, Our representative government only works when we let our Congress critters know what we think. Unfortunately, HR 5734, the "Bell the Hybrid" Act, has been proposed and we need to let our voices (and in November our votes) be known too. There is a real problem with pedestrian and bike accidents since our car can easily cause death and severe injuries. But the right answer is to focus on vehicle-pedestrian accidents. The blind may be at the leading edge but of the 4,784 pedestria

HR 5734 - "Bell" the Hybrid Act

Hi folks, Our representative government only works when we let our Congress critters know what we think. Unfortunately, HR 5734, the "Bell the Hybrid" Act, has been proposed and we need to let our voices (and in November our votes) be known too. There is a real problem with pedestrian and bike accidents since our car can easily cause death and severe injuries. But the right answer is to focus on vehicle-pedestrian accidents. The blind may be at the leading edge but of the 4,784 pedestrian

From Welfare Shift in ’96, a Reminder for Clinton

From Welfare Shift in ’96, a Reminder for Clinton By PETER S. GOODMAN New York Times, April 11, 2008 In the summer of 1996, President Bill Clinton delivered on his pledge to “end welfare as we know it.” Despite howls of protest from some liberals, he signed into law a bill forcing recipients to work and imposing a five-year limit on cash assistance. As first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton supported her husband’s decision, drawing the wrath of old friends from her days as an advocate for po

Rolling a Hard Six with the Economy

I usually leave the technical economic stories to more fiscally knowledgeable editors (and considering the state of my checking account, that would be everyone). But here's a story on which I feel I can write with equal authority to those who account for every last penny, because in this story no one knows what's going on. Not me. Not economists. Not Ben Bernanke. Not even the investment bankers involved in the story. Certainly not the government, because -- as part of the worship of free

Best hedge fund?

Best hedge fund? I visited the house of the world's best ever hedge fund manager recently. I go to his home every year and often re-read his investment writings. On my way there this time I saw some black swans in a lake which seemed appropriate and ate at a small restaurant that only had rice to serve which also seemed appropriate. How does one define "best". I've looked at countless investment funds. Here is the performance chart of one I analyzed a while back. Seems pretty good. It is a re

Some ideas on re-criminalizing crime

Seems there is a lot of talk lately on the net about an attack on Iran. First, I don’t think there will be an attack on Iran. But the general trend seems to be a push to have some legislation developed in the US Congress that says that bush cannot attack Iran without Congressional approval. Well, our Constitution clearly says that only Congress can declare war, and bombing some country is an act of war. If I recall correctly, clinton bombed several places without a vote from Congress saying

My 50 cent 's worth on vitaminwater

Literally, my 50 cent's worth is more than anyone should ever spend on a bottle of Vitamin Water, despite the fact if you fall for their marketing dupe you will pay much more than that--both in terms of cost to your pocket and your health! Let me make this simple to understand exactly what is wrong with vitaminwater: 1. It's NOT water. 2. The sugar content basically negates any good the synthetically created isolated "vitamins" might do for your health. Sort of like on CoffeeTalk; it's neit

Recurring Revenues and Financial Services- The Competitive Moat of Fiserv

In our last post, we discussed the notion of recurring revenues as it pertains to companies in the industrial sector. The genesis of this idea was a reaction to the prevailing wisdom of many investment strategists to find recurring revenue streams in consumer staple or health care stocks. It is my contention that there are recurring revenue themes across many sectors that remain unrecognized in the marketplace. As a brief aside, I will mention that our posture on MSC Industrial Direct (MSM) has

Casino Rating

My friends call me perfectionist person. That’s me. Yes I do try to choose the best for every decision in my life. It goes for everything from the huge thing till the small thing. I choose the best school, I choose the best bank to save my money, I join the high reputation company, I choose good reputation finance institution for my credit cards, I choose great insurance and I also choose the best play to do my hobby playing casino. I don’t want to take the risk that’s why I always try to find

Bonded life settlements give policyholders new options

By Mark P. Cussen Several years ago, life insurance policyowners began to hear about a new kind of product called viaticals. These arrangements had several disadvantages and received much bad publicity in the media. Then a new generation of life insurance settlements came along and, while considered to be better than viaticals, still were eyed dubiously by much of the investing public. But there is now a new kind of bonded life settlement that may be simpler and more profitable than its predec

… do people think they’re accomplishing?

School on the brain. * One of my brothers completed his GED recently. He quit high school a few years ago, then taught himself welding. I’d tried to talk him into going back to school and to think about college, he eventually said “it’s going to happen so just forget it.” He had had many bad experiences in schooling. Finally took the GED, did quite well. He’s now talking about going to community college. There’s nothing wrong with being a welder and nothing honorable about getting other sort

WaMu’s High Price for Survival

Washington Mutual is the latest beneficiary of a “not quite dead yet” rally, as shares are up 23% on reports that the company will receive a $5 billion infusion of capital from a group of private-equity investors in exchange for stock. A stock chart like this would seem to indicate issues. As usual with capital raises of this kind, investors have to worry about share dilution. But the jump in the stock today suggests stockholders have been feeling insecure about the company’s financial p

9 Things To Know About McCain

MoveOn.org sent me this email. I deleted the 10th one, which criticizes McCain for being against "a woman's right to choose." But the other 9 are important enough to post here: 9 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't): 1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1 2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than B

DrumBeat: April 11, 2008

OPEC: Gas Prices Will Stay High As gas prices heads for a possible $4 a gallon in the U.S. this summer, it's tempting to blame Big Oil â€" as many in Congress did last week â€" for its bloated profits greased by generous tax breaks. But the players in the oil-producing world see things a little differently. OPEC officials, oil executives and oil-rich governments met Thursday in Paris at the International Oil Summit, to share their thoughts on the global energy crunch. Total chief executive Christo

Krugly Writing

How little time does Paul Krugman invest in his columns? Does he get paid for not writing, like farmers who get paid to plow under crops? Or is it about finding new ways to defend Hillary Clinton? His latest piece, designed to explain away Clinton's latest exaggeration -- a woman died because she didn't have health care -- is an excellent example. Krugman cites an Urban Institute report that "the lack of health insurance leads to 27,000 preventable deaths in America each year." What does "lead"

Shrill Links.

1. After that, we must take on the even harder job of sorting through the explosion of financial instruments that have proliferated in the boom and deciding which belong in our kit of tools and which should be relegated to the waste heap. If they genuinely spread risk and help move capital into more productive uses, they should stay. But some exotic derivatives seem mainly to reflect the efforts of traders to outsmart each other. Their opaqueness may entail more systemic risk than social value.