Cool to start, warmer later, and mostly sunny. Today and yesterday. Lovely Fall weather, finally.
Spent all day yesterday getting my guts poked and prodded, videoed and violated…
So today I’ve got stuff to do. And I need to find time to vote. The important race is city of Houston Mayor, but there are proposals to vote on too.
Hopefully my guts will rearrange themselves and reacquaint themselves with food on their own. So far, there has been a lot of rumbling and “air” movement. At least I can eat normally.
I’m grumbling, but it is a miracle of the modern age to have the medical resources I’ve used in the last month available to me. I like civilization, western civilization, modern technological civilization. I like a capitalist system that causes GE to make as many CT scanners as they can, so that they are common as can be (in America you can get a CT scan for your pet they are so common). Ditto for whole surgical centers devoted to looking inside you one way or another. The only delays in my care were due to sequencing of appointments with specialists, and my preferences to spread things out a bit. I was offered appointments within a week of first identifying the need, sometimes less than a week, and usually with the exact doctor my GP wanted (although one time was with another doctor in the same practice.)
I have had a massive amount of gear and research and training available to me, with a truly unimaginable amount of the same waiting to act and treat any issues found. Houston is home to an astonishing amount of medical expertise and facilities. It is not something that can be easily replaced once it is gone. There are fools who want to burn it all down… and seem unstoppable. I hope they are not. I hope those far above my pay grade have a plan to fight back, to reclaim and rebuild. I’m not sanguine about it though.
Take care of yourself while you can. Rice doubling in price is something you can deal with. No more access to diagnostic labs, and CT scans, and nuclear medicine means stuff that could have been dealt with will have to be endured.
So many things are outside of our control, and outside of our reasonable response or responsibility. Yoda had it right, “Save you what can.” Do what you can to help save the rest. There are still Romans in Rome, and most of us will make it through whatever comes next. And who knows? A golden age may result.
In the mean time, stack.
nick
Speaking of medical stuff: I just had my moles checked out, because new ones keep popping up and a couple of them look strange: odd shapes and uneven coloring. The dermatologist says having moles pop up with age is genetic, and all the ones I have are fine, just weird looking. If they annoy me enough, he’s happy to remove some.
Doctors in our area are aging out. The dermatologist is well over 70. So is my primary physician. Young doctors apparently all want to live in the big cities…
It takes only one turd to spoil things for a lot of people.
(I’m just full of inspirational words of wisdom!)
Keeping the “urban element” out of the Orlando properties involved the expenditure of a lot of resources which The Mouse no longer has in abundance as the company circles the drain.
https://nypost.com/2023/05/16/brawl-breaks-out-at-disney-world-after-family-refuses-to-move-for-a-photo-op/
Picking the fight with DeSantis — which Disney is currently losing in court — was stupid coming at a time when the company really needs a few allies in the Governor’s Mansion and Legislature.
Java was the first Hot Skillz platform, but no one ever really learned the tech well.
Oracle’s strategy and consulting people were thoroughly discredited in the meltdown of Oregon’s Obamacare exchange implementation about a decade ago.
If the cost of living advantage is non-existent in a rural area, the education is “free”, and doctors all get paid pretty much the same, what is the point of working in a rural environment for a young physician if given a choice?
Community? It doesn’t sound like there is much of that where you live based on what I’ve seen posted here.
The solution will, of course, be for the governments to take away the choice if that hasn’t happened already where you live.
was stupid coming at a time when the company really needs a few allies
– whole lotta stupid going around at those companies right now, particularly in Florida. Starting with late stage Eisner, management has forgotten that they run the company for the benefit of the shareholders, and in their stead. Isn’t just a Disney problem.
They think themselves kings, but they are not. They think everything exists for their pleasure, or as their plaything, and it does not.
We could afford their delusion for a while. Not for much longer. And then we will not.
What remains after, who knows. There are still Hapsburgs and all the other old families, but what do they rule?
n
@SteveF
It takes only one turd in the swimming pool to spoil things for a lot of people.
FIFY
And I’m talking real cost of living advantage.
No horsesh*t fantasies of bartering with chickens for advanced medical care in a rural setting.
@Nick
I haven’t been a Disney customer in any significant way for a long time. Not my demographic, and don’t care much about Marvel.
Bud Lite consumption measured a few ounces per decade. Aside from the occasional Amber Bock, no AB products.
Target’s bathroom policy lost them my custom of 1-2 trips per year–I’m sure they noticed.
I had a MacDonalds fry two weeks ago–first in a year.
Like people, when companies tell us who they are, we should believe them. Take our business elsewhere, and actively steer others away.
Ugg. It suddenly occurred to me that the Brits have put their ‘spare’ far out of reach of a decapitation strike on their tiny little island. They’ve decreased his desirability as a target too.
Any other royal house diversified their assets like that? Kinda like the Pres and Vice Pres not being in the same place at the same time?? Don’t have them in the same tiny little country…
n
The House of Windsor wants to hold the throne and the White House simultaneously. The 100 year plan is still moving forward with only minor adjustments.
What shareholders? Disney stock is 80% held by institutions with 20% held by Black Rock, State Street, and Vanguard.
The new owners of the parks will need a fresh approach in Florida since the Dems will be out of power until at least 2030 and Matt Gaetz really is building a campaign to succeed DeSantis in the Governor’s Mansion.
Gaetz/Luna 2026.
If elected Governor, Gaetz will run redistricting in 2031.
I use both platforms. I made the jump to MacOS about 18 months ago. People moving from Windows to Mac seem to the transition much easier than those moving from Mac to Windows. I think it has something to do with some processes on the Mac being very easy while other things to accomplish are almost impossible to figure out. Mac wants things done a certain way, you will conform.
In my experience there are annoyances in both platforms. There seems to be much more support for Windows on the web than the Mac. Sometimes fixing something on a Mac involves going to the command line and archaic commands. Some of the fixes are having to completely reinstall the MacOS. That in itself can be daunting depending on the source of the OS and how it is to be installed. Lots of hidden key combinations.
I do not like the choice of keyboard shortcuts on the Mac for copying and pastings. The keys required are too close together. Why Mac could not adopt was a good option of using CTL and the appropriate key is beyond my comprehension.
I also do not like the lack of a true delete key. Delete on the Mac deletes to the left of the cursor where on Windows that is the backspace key. The delete key on Windows deletes to the right of the cursor. The function exists on the Mac but is a weird key combination.
Moving, or copying, files between folders is just bizarre on the Mac. Dragging and dropping performs differently depending on the source and destination. Some times it moves the files, other times it copies the files. It all depends on the destination and thus is not consistent.
I do really like the integrations between my Mac, iPad, iPhone and Watch. Nothing like it exists on Windows. Of course, Windows has no tablet, phone or watch so not a good comparison.
I can run Windows on my Mac. I cannot run Mac on Windows.
They are just different platforms. Pick what you want to get the job accomplished. After having used a Mac for a while, if I was given an ultimatum of one platform or the other, I would pick Mac. Simply because Apple controls the hardware and the OS and can make them work together. Windows has to support dozens of different hardware platforms and gobs of different configurations of motherboards, CPU’s video cards, interface cards, etc. Impressive that Windows works (for the most part) in all those configurations.
As for Linux being a viable alternative to either platform. Nope, and double nope.
If I was buying Mac today for home use I would get a 16″ M3 MacBook Pro with 18 Gig of memory and 1 TB hard disk and an external monitor. If I was traveling a lot I would get the MacBook Air 15″ with 16 Gig of memory and 1 TB hard disk.
Apple makes good stuff and having an Apple Store fairly close I can get support at no charge in the store. Sometimes not the answer I want, but it is usually a resolution.
Bah! Bah, I say!
Every Android phone/tablet and Chromebook is a Linux system.
With a GUI on top to make it useable for the masses. Even Apple’s MacOS has Unix underpinnings with a GUI on the surface.
The problems I have had with Linux is the user support community. I had a problem with a system. The response was “RTFM”. I then asked where is the manual and was told “if you’re too stupid to find the manual, you are too stupid to be running Linux”.
Color me dumb then as I abandoned Linux and will never look back.
I run all three, but Linux is what I use to run my home server and “road” computer.
The home server is for the reliability since the machine runs 24/7. The “road” computer is for the security and the hardware being essentially worthless to any thief.
If I lost/damaged the road computer, it would just be inconvenient.
As I’ve documented here, I’ve had Linux issues, particularly on the server, which have stumped me for years, and my last three full time jobs involved systems running the OS.
Apple’s security does not impress, and I met the people in charge about 10 years ago.
Most of those people were old NeXT hands brought in through the buyout with Jobs so they’re probably gone, but the company continues to struggle.
Ah, more Apple Safari news … and not looking good for crooks at Apple. Not that the EU politicians are any better.
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/11/04/apple-argued-safari-is-three-different-browsers/
I see Apple’s point about the browser and control of binary applications on the iPhone and tablets. Anyone unhappy with the Safari Cocoa control being the only way to write a browser is certainly free to select another platform.
The EU politicians are acting on behalf of Facecrack and Google, who want exclusive access to details about a user’s Internet activity through their private VPN and browser engine tech.
Sure.
And any company unhappy with the regulations applying in a country or region about “gatekeeping platforms” is certainly free not to sell anything there.
Antitrust is a weird and massively political bit of law everywhere, so it goes.
This being the EU one has to assume arms have been twisted and wallets threatened to give the intelligence community’s *everything* that passes through any of the big three’s servers, already.
Huh, just received an email from Dropbox, forwarded from an old business account, begging me to log on again.
Man, it has been 10 or 15 years since I used that account…
They must be struggling.
Yep, definitely… I used to have Windows around for some tasks, while mostly using Linux. At some point I realized that I hadn’t used Windows for over a year. So the new PC doesn’t even have it installed. Microsoft Office is necessary for work, but MS has pushed Office365, which works in the browser. That was the only thing holding me to Windows – and likely many other people. I wonder if they really thought that through?
the woman driver glared at me.
– you’re lucky she didn’t end up driving where she was looking. And lucky you weren’t hurt or killed.
n
Tell me about it. Reputedly 30% of the drivers in Texas do not have licenses or insurance and cause 50% of the wrecks. I had one of them run a red light 25 years ago and I tboned her in the intersection. My insurance paid for the $8,000 of damage to my Ford Explorer.
The lady yesterday faked me out at first by dropping her right front wheel into the grass so she was target fixating. That was when I yelled at my wife to jump into the ditch. Then the lady corrected about 50 feet in front us and moved over to the middle of the road as she passed us. She was obviously not in control of her vehicle, especially since there is a huge pothole in front of my neighbors house that is 50 feet long.
I don’t trust any drivers anymore. Especially when they are obviously speeding.
I’m still running the NVR software on linux on a dedicated box. I only use the browser if my windows PC (win8.2) isn’t available. It takes FAR less maintenance than the win10 box I was running it on. There are still some quirks I haven’t chased down, but they are due to my various multiple installs and not understanding how to properly get rid of old stuff.
Also, lack of time or desire.
I’m thinking hard about transitioning the cams to a commercial NVR and repurposing the relatively new hardware. I don’t really have a need for it though, just vague “I would like to have” thoughts, like an arcGIS server with city and state data loaded in it, overlaid with some of my own observations…
Big list of ‘todo’, and changing my daily computing environment is not on it.
n
Ugg. It suddenly occurred to me that the Brits have put their ‘spare’ far out of reach of a decapitation strike on their tiny little island. They’ve decreased his desirability as a target too.
Any other royal house diversified their assets like that? Kinda like the Pres and Vice Pres not being in the same place at the same time?? Don’t have them in the same tiny little country…
n
Islands. And the old spare smokes IIRC. Don’t worry, there are three new spares in front of the old spare.
https://www.the-sun.com/health/9567501/smoking-will-be-banned/
That is a very pretty hat.
Had some gastric distress this morning, and ended up napping in my office chair. Too nervous to go out of the house… but I feel ok now so I will start chipping away at things. Plans, I’ve got ’em.
n
Huh, the Jim Butcher Spires novel just hit my kindle.
n
>> @Nick: Glad to hear it went well!
+1 – great news.
>> two ‘clips’ will be expelled in due time
Do they come with a refundable ‘core charge?’ :O
>> Speaking of medical stuff: I just had my moles checked out, because new ones keep popping up and a couple of them look strange: odd shapes and uneven coloring. The dermatologist says having moles pop up with age is genetic, and all the ones I have are fine, just weird looking. If they annoy me enough, he’s happy to remove some.
Doctors in our area are aging out.
And the smart ones practicing family medicine seem to continue to find the concierge option appealing. I was spoiled having one in Tampa and now have given in and am looking for one here. As long as I can afford it, the benefits outweigh the cost. Several that I’ve contacted are full and waitlisting new patients. There’s even a company (www.signaturemd.com) that helps doctors make the switch and then provides infrastructure support. There’s also a similar approach that I hadn’t seen back east called Direct Patient Care (DPC). Several of the ones here are all F-NPs. NPs here can do just about anything an MD can due with the major exception being surgery.
Spent all day yesterday getting my guts poked and prodded, videoed and violated…
I am not sure that you can use the word violated since you paid for the poking and prodding. Now if they had kidnapped you off the street, tied you up, and …
BTW, I hope that you do not have internal hemorrhoids. When I had my last colonoscopy in 2020, I got to find out what suppositories were when my internal hemorrhoids swelled up and did not let anything go through them.
https://www.amazon.com/Preparation-Hemorrhoid-Treatment-Suppositories-Discomfort/dp/B000092YOX
Too much ?
>> What shareholders? Disney stock is 80% held by institutions with 20% held by Black Rock, State Street, and Vanguard.
And my kids each still have the five(?) shares of Disney stock that they got years ago in physical share certificates that were fancily engraved. I once heard that you can’t get them any longer?
>> Too much ?
A little too late now, huh?
>> Gaetz/Luna 2026.
Hmm, I guess I missed this…
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/doj-decides-not-charge-rep-matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-investigation-rcna70839
>> Like people, when companies tell us who they are, we should believe them. Take our business elsewhere, and actively steer others away.
The problem here is we have too many sheeple, which makes our attempts to punish their wallets just a drop in the bucket. And the drop ain’t a turd.
>> Speaking of medical stuff: I just had my moles checked out, because new ones keep popping up and a couple of them look strange: odd shapes and uneven coloring. The dermatologist says having moles pop up with age is genetic, and all the ones I have are fine, just weird looking. If they annoy me enough, he’s happy to remove some.
Not sure about there, but in the US this would almost always be considered a cosmetic procedure and hence not covered by health insurance.
Over The Hedge: TV Viewing Problem
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2023/11/07
So that is why many people mount their TVs above the fireplace now.
Has anybody seen the South Park episode on the grifting couple?
“Oil prices sink 4% on ‘demand destruction’ worries, weak China exports”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-prices-sink-4-on-demand-destruction-worries-weak-china-exports-152159486.html
Predictions are hard. Especially predictions about the future. “Niels Bohr”.
I still think that crude oil will jump in price significantly during and after the Israel – Iran War.
I don’t think Apple’s restriction to Safari based software components in the browser is as much about data mining as it is battery life and aesthetics.
Every Android phone/tablet and Chromebook is a Linux system.
So are all of the intertube routers.
All of William and Kate’s children have succession rights after their father since the laws were changed to permit Charlotte to take the throne. It doesn’t matter – Harry is exactly where the plan needs him to be at this moment.
Randy Andy certainly will not sit on the throne at this point.
He’s a hugger, BTW.
As I’ve noted before, if the hardware will support running Docker under Windows, you could get away from running Linux on the DVR box 24/7 and execute the DVR inside a container.
The upside of creating the Docker image is that it would be portable.
It is considered cosmetic. Insurance will not cover the procedure. At least they did not for me several years ago. I had to have a mole removed from my inner thigh that was getting irritated from rubbing in my pants. First billing insurance said nope, NFW. Doctor changed the code to something else and insurance covered the procedure. It was about $250.00 billed to insurance, which paid $100.00. Doctor said he would have done private pay for $50.00 and been happy. The time lost, delay in payment, personnel time dealing with insurance, billing were hassles he stated were not worth the extra $50.00.
Surprisingly, private pay will not be that expensive. Doctors give good rates when they don’t have to deal with insurance hassles, delayed payments, account adjustments and overall aggravation with insurance companies.
I built a Linux Mint 10.3 Docker base image running Docker expermients so I know it is possible.
I need to get back to experimenting now that I replaced my primary desktop’s motherboard with Docker-compatible hardware and 64 GB memory.
Even large pharmacies work that way. We continue to pay much less directly out-of-pocket for Wx’s meds from Walgreens than our co-pay would be at CVS using insurance. She received a threatening letter from CVS about that, which was interesting, since we have not submitted insurance claims…
My guess is that our co-pays are intended to cover the costs of others (and CVS profit from the payment from the related insurance company). We will continue to attempt to wreck that system.
I also agree that concierge medical treatment is worth every penny if one can afford it. We had previous wonderful experiences with MDVIP, but in our current location that is not an option. Wx is using a similar service from a local NP, and it is going very well for a little less outlay. I will probably choose that option, too. We pay the costs from an HSA, so it is at least pre-tax.
So, pay cash?
You can now add the following to your Jase Case:
Had my yearly ‘old guy skin inspection’ last month. A few skin tags removed. No charge from Humana supplemental.
I would, except, anything I pay privately does not get added to my deductible.
I faced this same crap with my CPAP machine. Through my insurance I had to “rent” the machine for 11 months. Each month I had to pay $180.00 dollars as my deductible was never meant. At the end of the 11 months I owned the machine.
Online, at CPAP.COM, that same machine was ~$850.00. I contacted the insurance company and asked if reducing health care costs was important. They said very much so. I then asked why I could pay $800.00 for a machine that insurance charged me a little over $1900.00. They just said CPAP.COM was not in network. I asked if I could buy the machine and have it applied to my deductible. Insurance said no.
I think there is a kickback scheme between the insurance company and the DME provider used by the insurance.
Sadly that CPAP machine produced a message after many years that machine had reached end-of-life and must be replaced. Even though it still worked I had to quit using the machine otherwise Medicare would not pay for supplies.
The new machine was covered by Medicare. Same stupid cost scenario scam. Only this time the rental period was 13 months.
If they are on your ass, it is covered. If they are on your face it is cosmetic and not covered. {sarcasm].
So, shave your ass, bend over, and walk backwards. 🙂
@Ray: the one skin tag removed last month was on the inside of my elbow. Had others removed at last year’s inspection that were inside leg area, and on face. Didn’t see any charges for that.
Since my plans didn’t survive contact… I voted. Scheduled an appointment to have the truck looked at, inspected, oil changed, and registered. Been a while.
Picked up both heirs. One from her attendance related detention, the other from a tutoring session she didn’t need, but she prefers to study and do homework at school, or so she says.
Plans.
“As Private Parts To The Gods Are We, They Play With Us For Their Sport”
n
Interesting. I wonder if moles are considered the same as skin tags. Are you on Medicare Part C?
I had a mole on my face while in the USAF that the USAF refused to remove as it was considered cosmetic. Then I started cutting the mole while shaving. It was becoming difficult to stop the bleeding so the USAF decided to remove the mole. Just below my left nostril. The USAF burned off the mole. The smoke was partially inhaled as I was still breathing during the process. Not a pleasant smell.
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2023/11/07/breaking-down-the-scotus-arguments-in-rahimi-n77014
Before they get too mired in b.s., they should ask if “dangerousness” is an appropriate reason to restrict other constitutional rights.
The right to vote is the most dangerous of all. The left is willy-nilly trying to empty prisons and restore voting rights to violent felons.
The left and the government–but I repeat myself–have been claiming that they have the right to restrict speech based on their determination of what ideas are “dangerous”. Everyone comfortable with the idea that the government can make the determination absent a legal finding that meets a fairly strict standard?
Should someone who is “dangerous” be allowed to drive? Consider how many times a vehicle has been used to kill in recent years, and consider the hate crime attack just this week. And just for S&G’s, how about calculating the speed at which a 3,000-lb vehicle has more energy than a round from a 9mm pistol?
“Israel, Gaza and the very real risk of World War III”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/11/israel-gaza-and-very-real-risk-of-world.html
I had no idea that it was over 1,000 Hamas terrorists that invaded Israel. That just blows me away that many terrorists could sneak into the country. That and there were very few guns in the homes. Israel was not ready for any kind of conflict where people got in. That makes me wonder if they really ready for a war ?
”Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”.
Mike TysonCurly Howard>> I also agree that concierge medical treatment is worth every penny if one can afford it. We had previous wonderful experiences with MDVIP, but in our current location that is not an option. Wx is using a similar service from a local NP, and it is going very well for a little less outlay. I will probably choose that option, too. We pay the costs from an HSA, so it is at least pre-tax.
I’ve seen differing opinions as to the allowability of paying for concierge or DPC from an HSA. And the waters get muddier as some states have enacted laws that differ from the federal guidance. YMMV. But everyone wants their piece of pie.
>> I faced this same crap with my CPAP machine.
@Ray, is the Inspire Sleep an option for you? Both from a medical as well as an insurance perspective?
I’m in Reno. 7 hours on the today. Celebration of life tomorrow. Some people are being barred from attending. It will not be a good day. More later…
Some people are being barred from attending.
@bob, I feel for you. May patience and grace be yours …
n
No, I am a very poor candidate. The CPAP machine is working well. Most nights I have less than 2 events an hour. Some nights the events are less than 0.2 an hour. Basically two events or less in one night. The sleep doctor does not get concerned unless the events per hours exceed 10 for several weeks. I tolerate the machine, and the mask, quite well.
The mask I have I really like but is no longer available. I have been using this same mask for over a year, the same mask, no replacement. It works, I like it. I have two spares but since I like the mask so much I am extending the use as long as possible.
Never fun. You have my sympathy.
allow for non-violent felons or misdemeanants like Bryan Range to regain his ability to own a gun
– I’m very suspicious of anyone who would call themselves a 2A advocate but could say something like this. The 2A doesn’t say “unless he’s dangerous” or “except for felons”. It says “Shall not be infringed.”
The cops and “authorities” have used infringements of the plain language of the 2A to make their jobs easier. Felon in possession is a good example. Do felons lose their natural right to life and safety? Forever? If not, how long? Who determines that? And under what Constitutional authority?
Oppressive governments have always used accusations or claims of mental illness to deny rights and imprison, and they’ve always made criminals of their enemies.
n
@ray, there is a secondary market for CPAP stuff, if you like it, I’d stock up.
n
Stupid programmers at Intuit. I just downloaded TurboTax for 2023 for the MacOS. Some of the fields will not allow numbers to be pasted. The numbers have to be manually typed. I have never had this problem with the Windows version. Is it a Mac problem or a Windows problem? Regardless, very annoying. I was going to use the Mac to do the taxes this year. Nope, back to Windows.
I’ve been on CPAP for decades – since the late 1980’s. Current system is a ResMed AirSense 11. (I have about 5 older systems in the closet. Nobody wants them because they are concerned about cooties. And you can’t sell them as they are prescribed medical devices.)
Have tried all sorts of masks over the years, but the best are the ResMed AirFit P10 ‘nasal pillows’. Very unobtrusive, easy to wear, and not bothersome at all. Been using them for over 10 years. My health plan allows me to replace them often.
The CPAP machine ‘phones home’ via cellular to the doctor’s office; they can look at the stats there. There’s also an Android app that I can install on my phone to monitor stats.
All works well, and is very non-intrusive to wear and use. No cost to me under Part C with Humana and Medicare.
There are at least 2 companies online that buy old machines, old supplies, and resell them.
n
I’ve contacted them, and they are not interested in machines with many hours on them. (Mine have at least a year’s worth of use.) You have to provide operating hours and serial numbers. They won’t take them with lots of hours.
A quick search via Duck shows several links giving details for donating CPAP machines.
Is there something that makes it not an option?
It was about a year ago I last checked. The companies I contacted wanted low-hours. Mine had been used nightly for at least a year.
They don’t want older models, just those that have few hours. And some places have quit taking them, because they can’t be ‘sanitized’. Which is strange, as there are no user-cooties from breathing – air from the mask doesn’t go that way. External sanitizing is easy. Even internal sanitizing is easy – just spray a disinfectant through the air intake for a minute.
They might have changed the rules. But most want the hours used, and one that has been used 8 hours a night for a year or more are not wanted.
Plus, I have to pay shipping, not them. Might break even on the deal, but shipping is expensive.
And can’t sell them on ebay/etc, since they are prescription items and prescription items are not allowed.
Our “devout” Catholic president is happy
https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/11/ohio-adds-abortion-to-the-state-constitution/
Catholic like the Borgia’s.
@RickH
Figured as much.
Expensive bits of technology that could benefit others, spurned by the gatekeepers.
Wonders what connections those gatekeepers have?
That is the same system that I have. I had to wait almost three months to get the machine as they were in short supply. The problems with one brand of machine and the interior foam breaking up really played havoc with the supply as many thousands were scrambling for new machines.
I have the app on my phone that tells me the performance. The data that I can get on my phone, and print, is the same stuff the sleep center doctor is shown. What the sleep center can do is make decisions and program the machine.
I went online and changed my sleep parameters more to my liking. When the sleep doctor found she was not happy. I told her it was my machine, my body. If I wanted to change the settings I was going to change the settings.
She started saying something about the settings being incorrect and I could really suffer. I told her that if I felt I was not getting a good sleep I was capable of making the decision to increase the pressure or reduce the pressure without having to wait for an appointment. I could change the settings nightly until I found what I liked which was impossible using the sleep doctor and getting an appointment. She just shrugged.
On my next visit in March I will strongly request that nothing be changed on my machine. Two or three events a night is where I want to be on my machine. I do have the occasional 10+ events per night but I know when those occur as I sleep terribly. I don’t think it is the sleep apnea, just restless.
I just tore my old machine apart to look inside. I wanted to find out what kind of fan was being used to keep the machine quiet and the motor technology. The fan is a squirrel cage fan driven my a brushless DC motor. That allows the motor speed to be varied quickly. My machine is set to reduce pressure on exhale and increase inhale. There was quite a few baffles in the air path to reduce then noise.
I have also found that using CPAP De-ionized water seems to work better than plain distilled water. Maybe that is just in my head but at $0.10 a gallon more I consider the more expensive choice worthwhile.
When I traveled to Europe this June I did not take the machine. The hassles of TSA, setting up every couple of nights, somehow getting distilled water (I was not carrying a container with me), was just not worth it. I survived. I don’t sleep well in strange beds so I doubt the CPAP machine would have made much difference.
My last machine had at least five years of use. I don’t know what the time interval for machine replacement is for Medicare. Or does Medicare go on the machine reaching, and reporting, end-of-life?
Based on my teardown of my last machine there is no reason those machines should cost $100.00. I have seen more complicated bread makers that go for less than $100.00.
To have to destroy a machine with less than 2,000 hours is a real waste. Those machines could be sanitized and provided to low income patients at no charge or very little charge.
American universities have become cesspools of extremism and recent events have shown that to include anti-semitism on a scale that the MSM would have rabidly denied just a few weeks ago . There is no reason the American taxpayers should have to fund them, and we have better things to do with the money.
For example:
U.S. Coast Guard Making Drastic Cuts, Citing Recruiting Woes
https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/11/u-s-coast-guard-making-drastic-cuts-citing-recruiting-woes/
Seems to me that a few million dollars redirected from the federal student loan program to provide signing bonuses for the U.S. Coast Guard would be a good place to start.
Pulling the money from Uncle Sugar might even force a market correction on some universities.
“interior foam breaking up”
Sounds like a consequence of pushing the anti-VOC drive too far.
“House Votes To Censure Rashida Tlaib Over Anti-Israel Comments”
https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/07/rashida-tlaib-censure-vote-house-representatives/
“Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan’s 12th District has been censured by the House of Representatives following a vote on Tuesday night.”
“A privileged resolution to censure Tlaib was introduced on Monday by Republican Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia following her repeated comments criticizing Israel for its response to terrorist attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7. After a motion to table the resolution failed on Tuesday, the House advanced the final vote on the measure to later that evening where it passed by a vote of 234 yeas to 188 nays, with four members voting present and seven not voting.”
“Twenty-two Democrats voted in favor of the resolution to censure Tlaib, their colleague, while four Republicans voted against the resolution.”
About time. They need to censure her butt out of Congress.
My deceased son would not accept my phone calls nor respond to my text messages since 2020.
I have been told that he has one credit card with current balance of over $37000, was making payments on his F-150 truck which is now a bio-hazard, owns several gubs but has no gub safe, some tools but what we don’t know, and he left no will. His long time girl friend owns their home. His last pay check was about $625, his bank balance probably less than $1000.
Nevada law makes is 19 year old daughter the inheritor of his property after his debts are paid. His former girl friend and mother of his daughter is paying for his cremation and will get one Death Certificate and the remains of the cremation in the mail in the next month. His current girl friend is paying the “Celebration of life”.
Neither my surviving son I don’t think his daughter open probate. She should take family keepsakes, etc., and go home to Illinois. She is not a high school graduate, and has never filed a tax return. She does not know what a IRS EIN is, or how to advertise for creditors, or how to file his federal, California partial year and Nevada partial year income tax returns. Nor does she have the assets to pay anyone to do these things for her. Most of the official actions require the personal representative (“executor” in most states) to provide an certified copy of the death certificate which would cost her $15 dollars plus postage.
We don’t see advantages to opening probate, just costs and much lost time. We don’t foresee any problems for any of us other than a few nuisance phone calls demanding we do “something” which we would get in any case.
Your thoughts…
Just realized saw late it is I will repost this in the morning…
Bob, I am so sorry. Sounds like a disaster. And sounds like you all have figured things out for the best.
>> Expensive bits of technology that could benefit others, spurned by the gatekeepers.
Wonders what connections those gatekeepers have?
You missed the [/rhetorical] tag.
>>Your thoughts…
@Bob, sorry for your mess…I expect we have sufficient street-corner lawyering here to give you some suggestions…and comment on mine below…
Do you have his checkbook which just happens to have a check made out the day before he passed that he “forgot” to put in the mail? Or his ATM card?
Do all the descendants agree on the equitable distribution of the contents of the house?
Are those paying for the cremation and the life celebration expecting any sharing of costs?
IANAL but with no tangible assets, just mark the credit card bill as Deceased – RTS (Return To Sender) ’til they realize the $37K is a write-off.
When my Mom passed, and medical bills started coming in, my due diligence was: one phone call, one email, and one snail mail, saying she is deceased, please contact God. After that, snail mail was shredded. My Mom never had a cell phone or an email. I used my email for her accounts.
P.S The crematorium coordinated death certificates in Nevada. They recommended three, I got six to be sure. Added to the final bill.