Writing this early, so I hope we don’t get the rain NOAA is forecasting for the TX gulf coast. Had dreary and warm until afternoon, then it got pretty nice for a while yesterday afternoon.
Kids go back to school today. Feels like they’ve been out FOREVER. I’m sure they will be difficult in the morning, so I’m putting this up on time delay so I have some extra time for wrangling.
I got so little sleep, I decided not to drive today. I’ll do local pickups and catch Austin on Wednesday. That should have me out of the house most of the day. We’ll see.
It’ll be interesting to see what Trump has to say later tonight. I just can’t believe Pelosi’s open border shtick is playing well with the unions and blue collar workers that are the Dems traditional base. They’ve got to see the effects of cheap labor first hand, and while the Dems were making the right mouth sounds, they could convince themselves it would be alright, but with Pelosi saying things like NOT ONE DOLLAR for a wall, how can anyone fool themselves anymore? I can’t believe this is where she chose to make her stand, but I guess she must be feeling full of oats, or something.
Change is coming, for good or ill.
Get prepped!
n
I just can’t believe Pelosi’s open border shtick is playing well with the unions and blue collar workers that are the Dems traditional base.
Union pensions. The last 10 years of Fed games with interest rates have ruined most pension systems, but certain categories of workers have either received pension bailouts or been promised bailouts in the future in return for votes.
Just CA alone will need a huge bailout of the state’s public employee union. The scary numbers are starting to hit the mainstream media now that Moonbeam has shuffled off into retirement. And the unions will definitely want a seat at the table divvying up the spoils when the 401(k)s get seized.
Which reminds me — now that the Dems are back in control of the house, the name to watch for in hearings is Theresa Ghilarducci. Going back to the early 90s, she’s always the “expert” the Progs drag in when they’re discussing 401(k) seizure under the guise of creating a “universal pension”.
When you see that name in the media, BOHICA.
I’ll do local pickups and catch Austin on Wednesday.
Sometime this spring, the place I work for will move to offices out near the surplus store.
Given the prominent location of the “Sonic Highway” poster in the VP’s office, I doubt it will be before SXSW, but the move will happen. We’re getting killed on parking downtown with all the private equity and mainstream companies moving in for the execs to get a piece of the bacchanalia.
I got email for PIMCO jobs yesterday.
Well, 56F and blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Pink sky in the east.
Didn’t get enough sleep last night to do the Austin round trip. I fall asleep driving anyway, so it’s a really bad idea to try doing it tired. Don’t know what I was thinking last night.
I’ve got a lot to do locally today anyway. One auction pickup, Costco run, HEB run, haircut if possible, and so much more….
We’ll see.
n
Property taxes for 2018 mailed today. I was going to mail them in December to put them on my 2018 tax return. Turns out it will not help me on deductions. The standard deduction wipes out my taxable income making it a zero, thus no income taxes.
Wife is going to have surgery on her spine. Arthritis is causing pressure and pain so the surgeon will clear it all out. The big bummer is that he only does procedures at Methodist Medical Center. The center has made almost everyone a private contractor. And these private contractors are not in any network. The facility is in network but I think the only people at the facility in network are the janitors.
This causes a problem with the anesthesiologists as they are contracted by the hospital, not in network, and charge whatever they want. Currently Blue Cross provides zero coverage for out of network. Nothing applied to the deductible, nothing to the maximum out of pocket, basically no coverage. So I will get raped by the MMC Anesthesia Group as they charge whatever they want and you are stuck.
And for that privilege of getting raped by the medical system I am paying BCBST almost $500 a month, my share of the (un)affordable care act. I gave serious thought to just forgoing any insurance coverage for my wife this year. That $6,000 I will pay will probably cover anything the insurance would have paid. Between the $4,000.00 deductible, maximum out of pocket of $8,000.00, the insurance will not pay much.
My experience has been that the maximum out of pocket is a joke from the start. For 2017 my maximum out of pocket was supposed to be $8,000.00 Yet I seem to have paid almost $18,000.00 in medical expenses. Between what the insurance denied, raping by the anesthesiologists, lab fees, imaging fees and other providers.
Of course what I will be forced to pay is largely to cover the losers and leaches who do not pay. The illegal crimmigrants, the welfare crowd, etc. I am again subsidizing the worthless scum who won’t get a job and would rather live off others.
It is little wonder that people are driven into bankruptcy and poverty by the medical system.
Lot going on in this article…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6566707/Charges-filed-against-New-England-kidnapping-sex-suspect.html
The female victim was attacked in the parking lot at the mall. Women are very vulnerable to attack while loading groceries, securing kids, or otherwise messing around in their vehicle in the parking lot. Tell the ones you love, and work on minimizing this time, and the risks.
The guy was from St. Albans. (Hey OFD, even small towns have dangerous criminals)
He’d escaped from a mental hospital, which in this day and age means crazy dangerous.
Police in Prospect Park, PA have ” an automated system [which] flagged the car in question as stolen,” — even small towns are tied in to big databases, and use ANPR…
How the h3ll does the crazy steal 2 or 3 cars? It doesn’t say he carjacked them…
n
The headline on Drudge says it all “NYC guarantees healthcare for all”. How the Hell can NYC do that? The tax bill will be yuuuuge!
As a public service, I provide the Dumbocrat response to tRumps speech:
ORANGE MAN BAD!
Wall is immoral!
tRump is a liar!
Fuck tRump!
Also, Don Lemon (yeah that guy) says tRump’s speech should be delayed for editing before Americans hear it. WTF, over?
Remember that progs are all about projection. Anything they accuse their opposition of doing, they either do themselves or wish they could.
Lemon knows he’d be swearing up a storm, so he assumes OMan will too.
n
Ok, solved one small item on my list.
Wife’s desktop pc is VERY SLOW on upload. Like, 300Mb dl, but 128Kb upload…
FINALLY sat down and did some poking while eating my lunch today. Google says- update net card driver. And LO, it worked. Now getting over 100Mbps upload which is more than we even pay for. Hooray. Small victories.
n
Doncha just hate it when you panic and kill a hooker?… again?
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/photos-top-democrat-donor-ed-buck-with-his-democrat-pals-and-his-black-male-prostitutes-2-dead-now/
jeez, hillarity has some unlikely bedfellows….
n
@Ray: Sorry to hear about your insurance woes. For things that you know aren’t going to be covered – I wonder if there’s not a cash-only clinic somewhere in your reach. I remember reading about one in Oklahoma – since they didn’t have to deal with crap, they were so much cheaper that even insurance companies were finding ways to hand their patients the cash to go there. Seems like the obvious solution to the Obamacare crap.
Failing that, also consider travelling abroad for medical services. You go to Germany a lot anyway – there are good private clinics there that would be happy to take your money. Or here in Switzerland, for that matter, though Germany is almost certainly cheaper.
Paul, some thoughts on wrangling wheels, meaning here a wheel with a mounted tire. But before that, I strongly suggest a small stool, or even a box to sit on. I have several, but if working on a paved surface, my favorite is a cheap Harbor Freight steel stool that has adjustable height and rolls on casters, a real luxury. It really helps to sit higher once you get used to it.
That said, I have learned to NOT try to lift even light wheels with my arms. I use my toes on either side of the tire. A quick lift and shove really works. Having the jack at a good height also helps, as you said. Too high, and the lift is hard. Too low, and it can be hard to slide wide wheels in place. Practice with your own stuff helps. A friend suggested some slippery plastic under the tire can work wonders, but I have not tried that.
Finally, for heavy wheels like yours, I have used a flat blade shovel under the tread. While standing, roll the wheel onto the shovel. Hold the top of the wheel and slide the shovel and wheel in place. This works especially well on dirt. Wiggling the shovel from side to side and lifting usually gets things connected. Having some small blocks of wood to put under the shovel can also help. You can also use the shovel to “adjust” the dirt under the wheel if it is more convenient than adjusting the jack height.
If you are on mud, all hope is lost. I know from experience; that’s why I live and seldom leave the desert. Seriously, for mud it is good to carry a few pieces of plywood and some kind of ground cover. A few friends with shovels would be nice, too. Just make sure they bring their own lunch, with only a little beer. 🙂
That bit about the shovel is GOLD. Thanks JimB
n
Wife is going to have surgery on her spine. Arthritis is causing pressure and pain so the surgeon will clear it all out. The big bummer is that he only does procedures at Methodist Medical Center. The center has made almost everyone a private contractor. And these private contractors are not in any network. The facility is in network but I think the only people at the facility in network are the janitors.
Hi Ray, sorry to hear that she is still having problems. I had my heart surgery last year at the Methodist hospital here in the Houston Medical Center. I was on the table for three hours with four separate insertions of several foot long catheters into the veins in my groin. My electrocardiologist ablated both sides of my heart (he usually only does one side). He ablated every area of my heart twice (my guess is that he was tired of listening to my bitching and moaning). The list price of the surgery including the extensive pretesting was about $135,ooo. My cost was $6,000. I think that BCBS TX paid around $15,000 but I am not sure of that at all. The anesthesiologists were covered on the hospital bill.
Medicare for All ™ is coming soon. The USA is aging rapidly and the old folks, us, need treatments and care. The really neat thing is that our medical system works and generally helps. The really bad thing is that the costs are out of control and our insurance system is broken. Plus, the grifters and freeloaders need to pay, period.
And in other time wasting news,
I just downloaded the guttenburg version of this book. I remember my dad reading it to me, and it popped into my head again. Amazon has a link that sticks it directly on your kindle.
n
Rip Foster Rides the Grey Planet
by Harold L. Goodwin, Blake Savage
“Synopsis
From the moment Rip boards the space ship Scorpius there is a thrill a minute. He and his nine daring Planeteers must cope with the merciless hazing of the spacemen commanding the ship, and they must outwit the desperate Connies, who threaten to plunge all of space into war. There are a thousand dangers to be faced in high vacuum — and all of this while carrying out an assignment that will take every reader’s breath away. “Foster, Lieutenant, R.I.P.,” blared the voice horn, and five minutes later Rip Foster was off into space on an assignment more exciting than any he had ever imagined. He could hardly believe his ears. Could a green young Planeteer, just through his training, possibly carry out orders like these? Sunny space, what a trick it would be.”
glad I’m not driving. My guts are churning today. TMI….
n
I got email for PIMCO jobs yesterday.
Hey, should my son apply ? Anyway, forward that to me if you want to.
The headline on Drudge says it all “NYC guarantees healthcare for all”. How the Hell can NYC do that? The tax bill will be yuuuuge!
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NYC-Health-Care-Guarantee-Mayor-de-Blasio-504046171.html
Rush Limbaugh is stating that the cost to the city is projected to be $185/year/person to cover 600,000 people. 600,000 * 185 $/year/person = $111,000,000/year.
That seems … low.
jeez, hillarity has some unlikely bedfellows….
Geesh, look at the trail of bodies in the wake of the Clintstones. Offing hookers is a minor league antic with their usual crowd.
That seems … low.
Way low. When all the Non-NYC residents just start hitting clinics the cost will go up exponentially. Or the mayor may issue resident cards. Papers please! You know, the stuff Progs say they will never do.
The headline on Drudge says it all “NYC guarantees healthcare for all”. How the Hell can NYC do that?
They didn’t say it would be GOOD health care.
Diabetes? Here’s a low sugar diet, NEXT.
Broken arm? Here’s a splint, NEXT.
Heart Attack? Here’s a will leaving all your assets to the State, just sign … NEXT.
Update: New plaque for the Statue of Liberty
“Give me your hurt, your sick, Your illegal masses, yearning for stuff free”
Ray, I hope your wife has a good surgical outcome. That is more important than how the cost comes out, but it would be great if that were better, too. Wishing both of you the best.
Roger that. Last blown out tire that I had to replace was as The Racetrack dry lake.
Nope. Surgery has to be done in the hospital. Supposed to be a four to five hour surgery. The hospital is in network and thus I will only be out the maximum out of pocket, about $8K for the hospital.
Anesthesiologist group is independently contracted and is not part of the hospital. The group is also not in any network and thus can bill what they want. Since they are not in network insurance says I am not covered at all for the anesthesia. I am on my own. The amount will not even be applied to any of my deductibles or maximum out of pocket. BCBST no longer has out of network provisions.
This was a scam by the group. One time my wife had kidney stones blasted. I had to pay the anesthesiologist about $700.00, insurance rate. Next time she had it done the anesthesiologist figured the insurance out. They used a different tax code, same procedure code, insurance did not cover any of it. The bill this time was $1800.00. An $1100.00 increase. Wife needed stones blasted again, same amount as last time. Those bastards and their clever billing staff cost me $2200.00 additional for the exact same procedure.
As I stated, with the games the medical providers play it is little wonder that people go bankrupt and are driven into poverty by those cretins.
I figure this surgical procedure is going to cost me about $20K before it is all over. What do people do that don’t have the money?
Rush Limbaugh is stating that the cost to the city is projected to be $185/year/person to cover 600,000 people. 600,000 * 185 $/year/person = $111,000,000/year.
That seems … low.
In 1992, 24 years old, I paid $43/mo to BCBS FL for catastrophic coverage, $5000 deductible, $2 million lifetime max. ~ $500/year.
I thought that was a tremendous deal, but I wasn’t a Northeastern liberal with unreasonable expectations of service like the typical New Yorker.
When the renewal for 1993 came up, post Clinton inauguration, BCBS FL boosted the tab to $300/mo, $3600/year for the same coverage. When I called to complain, the response was, “Clintoncare is coming.”
And I guess no other group is allowed in. That looks like a lawsuit all around. Insurance will often pay out of network if there is no other option, but probably at their rate not amount billed.
And the secret to NYC – they’re already paying the bills for these moochers.
and then this…
https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2019/01/03/why-men-are-falling-behind-in-schools/
hat tip to the Sultan
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2019/01/whos-behind-war-on-orthodox-jewish.html
I figure this surgical procedure is going to cost me about $20K before it is all over. What do people do that don’t have the money?
They do not have assets so they do not care. They do not own a house. Their vehicles are crap or not at all. But, they do have a big screen tv.
What does the surgeon say about the success rate of the surgery ? In general, back surgeries are only about 50% successful is the old rule of thumb. I am not sure about today. And how invasive is the surgery ? Is she going to be laid up for a month afterwards ? Will she need rehab ? Will she be in a skilled nursing center for a month or two afterwards ?
There is no other option. MMC Anesthesia Group is contracted with the hospital and no other provider is “certified” to use the hospital. Other groups are not restricted, they just don’t get certification and without certification cannot use the facility.
Every medical part of the hospital has been outsourced. Radiologists, anesthesiologists, etc. The only thing the hospital provides is a facility. Even the operating room is contracted and run by an outside organization.
At one point all these people did work for the hospital. But Covenant Health bought the hospital and outsourced everything. The providers then figured out that since they had a captive audience (think emergency treatment), they should skip joining a network. This allows the providers to charge what they want and not worry about insurance.
And I have to pay the hospital, up front, in full, before they will schedule the procedure. I have to come up with $8K by tomorrow to have the surgery scheduled. That amount is the hospital’s determination of what insurance will not pay. After that I will have to pay the gas passers another $3K or $4K, or whatever they feel they can gouge. Bunch of forking(-or)(+uc) criminals. Even though the surgery is not for two weeks the money has to be paid before scheduling. Thus they get the use of my money for two weeks. Bunch of forking(-or)(+uc) criminals.
“Debt, dope and casinos: Chicago is circling the drain”
https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/debt-dope-and-casinos-chicago-is-circling-the-drain-24406/
“Take Illinois, for example. It’s the most broke state in the US with nearly $250 billion in debt. And it only brings in enough in taxes each year to cover 92% of its expenses… so the problem is getting worse.”
All of the big cities with pension plans are circling the drain.
And I guess no other group is allowed in. That looks like a lawsuit all around. Insurance will often pay out of network if there is no other option, but probably at their rate not amount billed.
It isn’t uncommon for a hospital to have one anesthesiology group. A public hospital like UT Southwestern will give you a nurse anesthesiologist supervised by a doctor, and in Texas, the BSNs were grandfathered in as licensed to do surgeries recently enough that a few are still practicing.
If I had to guess based on what my wife’s friends make doing that work, the anesthesiologist took home $1500-2000 for the surgery *before* taxes. $3000 tops. The rest of any cost billed is administrative expenses and cost shifting for the group and the hospital.
“Trump, Democrats taking border wall fight to prime-time TV”
https://apnews.com/cb9df4c458e647db9866ffa4c0db1fa2
“The partial government closure, now in its 18th day, is the second-longest in history.”
I am ok with this. Let’s go for number one !
It isn’t uncommon for a hospital to have one anesthesiology group. A public hospital like UT Southwestern will give you a nurse anesthesiologist supervised by a doctor, and in Texas, the BSNs were grandfathered in as licensed to do surgeries recently enough that a few are still practicing.
My heart surgery last year was a female nurse anesthesiologist supervised by a 70 year old doctor. The 70 year old doctor came by while I was in recovery and apologized to me for waking up in the middle of the surgery. I only remember ten seconds of the waking up with the nurse anesthesiologist yelling, “Mr. McGuire, Mr. McGuire, please lay down, please lay down”. And the 250 lb male OR nurse holding me down, he left bruises on my chest and thigh so he was really having to exert himself. I don’t remember him yelling at me.
My heart surgery last year was a female nurse anesthesiologist supervised by a 70 year old doctor. The 70 year old doctor came by while I was in recovery and apologized to me for waking up in the middle of the surgery.
We always get the anesthesiologist, but my guess is that it is professional courtesy these days.
My wife’s old job in Vantucky still hasn’t adequately replaced her nearly five years after she told her idiot clinic manager that she was going to find another job. If I had to guess, he figured that we didn’t have the money — that miscalculation cost him his own job six months after we left.
“The partial government closure, now in its 18th day, is the second-longest in history.”
I am ok with this. Let’s go for number one !
The San Antonio talk station drive time host went through the list of longest shutdowns yesterday Morning.
Surprisingly, the two which happened during the Carter administration concerned the Democrat President and/or Senate being unhappy about the House’s intent to widen Federal abortion funding to include situations of rape/incest rather than just saving the mother’s life. Things have definitely changed.
@Nick: Ebay success stories on YouTube channel “Craigslist Hunter”, $70k in Dec ’18.
Video
I like Pete, AKA Craigslist Hunter. I’ve been watching him for a while. He hustles. He’s had ups and downs too. He’s also not to proud to dumpster dive. Watch the one where he explains why he dives, especially when he runs the numbers on shipping boxes….
He sources thru his store, dumpster diving, thrifting, estate and garage sales, and house cleanouts. Like I said, he hustles.
n
My next “project” is feeding the out buildings from the house.
Advantages? One connection for a generator to run it all. Plus various folks here, like Rick, will be happy that I finally install a transfer switch.
Tho I still like my generator port on the electric dryer breaker. But I need to dumb this down for other folks and /for me/ as I get forgetful.
I just need to power the well, various lights, a couple of fridges, three deep freezers. And a microwave. The pellet stove if it is cold. Computers and network stuff should be no problem. The UPS on this PC says a 60 watt load which includes a switch, a Nanobeam and a Unifi AP.
Yeah, I know, add it all up and you need X amps. But nothing runs all of the time.
Off of the top of my pointy head, 80 amps from House to Feed Shed is generous. It depends on what breaker fit in the box.
Ok, from the EDC, which has a meter, I have a de-rated wire feeding the Feed Shed. Uh, from memory, 70 amp wire on a 50 amp breaker. Which is stupid…. I’m quite sure the specs de-rate capacity already. But some of the breaker sizing oddness is a matter of buying what the store sells.
From the Feed Shed to the Boat Shed I have, well, I forget. A 40amp breaker? A 30amp outlet for an RV with a 20amp outlet for other stuff. 60 amps worth of wire anyway.
So….. I need to measure to find how much wire I need from House to Feed Shed. That’s the expensive part.
A ditch witch is about $100 for a day. PVC conduit adds to the cost but I’ve run water lines as deep as a ditch witch can dig, witch for me is about ten inches more than armpit deep, and no, too rocky for me, I’m putting wire in a pipe. Say $200 for conduit. I’m just pulling numbers outta my butt. Perhaps I’ll cheat and use the gray electric pipe under the house and Schedule 40 for the rest.
I’m not going to count the transfer switch, that needs to happen no matter what. Labor is free.
The House and EDC bills have the same charges for “delivery” and “fuel” and whatever. The also have a built in $21 charge just to have a meter.
That’s my magic number. $21 a month is $252 a year.
Cost of wire and conduit plus renting a ditch witch…. The mystery number is the cost of the wire. I’m guessing five years to break even. I have no idea.
The wiring thing is somewhat of a “do I want to replace my windows” question.
We spent $3800 for replacement windows. Just for the windows. Lots of windows. Double pane, double hung, Argon and Low-E and pretty much the best Home Depot sells. Every option was an extra $50, what the heck, buy it! We’re only gonna do this one time.
The friend that installed them? I forget what we paid him. Cash. He used a little circular saw and cut the siding around the old windows. Removed them, installed the new, and well, with Harde Board 1×4 trim it’s like the house was built with the new windows.
Some folks say the “pay off time” on the utility bill is too long to pay for replacing windows. Perhaps.
But not having a cold draft when the north wind is gusting is worth a lot.
Not all is lost. Sanity prevailed in Florida.
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/01/08/ron-desantis-becomes-floridas-newest-governor-our-rights-are-endowed-by-god-not-government/