Fat! But, fat by Law?

Tonight, CBS news reported on the growing obesity problem in the US. Projected figures showed my home state as surpassing 50% by 2018. Of course, the usual questions were hauled-up again, without any new answers. Yes, processed foods and high fructose corn syrup are probably killing us. Exercise more? Eat less? We’ve been doing both and we’re still expanding. It’s possible that the American way of life, The Suburban Ideal, may be the ultimate cause. And, the cause could be as simple as our municipal zoning laws.

DISEASE

So many questions about America’s problems can be answered by getting out of America. When you leave, you get to see people who have universal healthcare which causes about as much social unrest as a shoe-store closing. You find people with basic understanding that educational systems are products of the funding and standards you put into them (And that science and engineering instruction is a source prosperity.. not a source of fear and disgust). And interestingly, you’ll find cultures that are now wrapped in the widespread use of soft-drinks and fast foods by their children and are now facing diabetes in their families for the first time. Oddly, they’re not ‘fat’ and that distinction is supremely important.

 

Portable DTV! But which to buy?

I know this issue has been beat to death on the web. But, now it’s time for me to finally take a look. Wife wants a portable TV for work.  Needs to be ATSC (“DTV”) compatible, have good battery life, and most importantly, portable. She DOESN’T want a laptop.

I’ve found that almost all have battery life of ~1.5 hours and require external antenna for normal operation, regardless of advertising claims. Most have the same resolution and other technical specifications. Some have digital media players, some come with external antennas.  Some have carrying handles. I’m looking specifically at quality (from reviews) and price. Though a media player sounds cool, too.

I’ve listed what I’ve found below, including a composite of reviews from other sites (Amazon, AVN, etc.), and an average price.  All except Chinese TV’s for export because… what  are you, crazy? I’ve been burned enough by Chinese “technology.”

 

Insurance Companies Help Workers to support Healthcare Public Option

It seems that the health care insurance industry is doing everything it can to ensure there is a public option in the new federal healthcare bill. A relatively rare insurance plan, common across all insurance carriers, is suddenly becoming more and more popular with employers- and driving more and more employees into medical debt.

An old 2000/4000 deductible plan (aka. catastrophic coverage), originally created with supplementary insurance in mind, is increasingly being used as the primary insurance offering for many Americans. These plans offer partial coverage (usually 80%) above a $2000 deductible ($4000 for family), with copays ranging from $50-$100 per visit. I first had contact with a plan like this in a municipal job that included a health-based supplementary insurance to occasionally take-up the sizable gap in coverage. Now I’m seeing these plans being forced on other companies’ workers with no supplementary offerings. What’s worse, these plan’s cost more than what was ‘normal coverage’ just 6 months ago. Normal coverage is now simply unaffordable.

Now, instead of just going along, many people who would never consider living without insurance are opting-out completely. People who were not interested in political antics before are now actively supporting the democratic public option. I’ve seen some professed republican factory workers, now thrust into this situation by their employers, backing democratic plans. It might not be enough for them to claim DEMOCRATIC on their voter registration cards, but enough for them to stop donating hard-earned cash to the republican party. Medical savings accounts are suddenly becoming an economic necessity. Odd that insurance companies would want to force more people into supporting socialized medicine in the middle of the debate, but that’s exactly what’s happening.

 

NOW WHAT?

 

Really. Now what do we do?

 

What the hell is this?

The wife thought it was some sort of bird at first.

Then an evil bird.

I thought it was a little devil-bull figurine.

Or, at almost 3 inches in length, maybe a petrified mustache.

Our Korean friend said it was a nut, but couldn’t remember how to open it or eat it. This object is presumably a nut common in Asia, but that’s all she knew. She just said it was good, and bought the whole bag. The bag from the local Asian store was, of course, unmarked.

If any of you know what this is, please tell me.

UPDATE: Using a nearby meat mallet, I discover there is, in fact, a nut inside. Unfortunately, it’s pretty vile raw. Our Korean friend says boiling is preferred method of prep. Of course, that little nugget if wisdom was a day late.

Still have no clue what this nut was.

 

Watch out for shopacc.com

Shopacc.com specializes in parts and accessories for electronic equipment. Think twice before ordering from them, however. I recently purchased a replacement cell-phone antenna from them (a very small item). Six dollars for shipping a 3 dollar item was acceptable, until the 6 became an 9. They used a third-party shipping service for the item,   but screwed-up the shipping type. What happens? I get charged postage-due to pick-up the item.

 

VOIP…again.

My opinion of VOIP communications has oozed through my blog before. I keep hoping it becomes user-friendly. I keep hoping it becomes reliable. I keep hoping.

A while back, I was looking at USB ‘phones’ in the store (most of which were in the bargain bin). I had this idea. I have a computer. I have a high-speed internet connection. I have an old telephone. I have a dial-up modem… Just like the ones on every computer ever made! I can connect all these things together. That means I have an electrical pathway like this: Phone to POTS modem, modem to computer, to cable modem, to Internet.

Why the hell do I need a USB phone?

 

Ohio Issue 3 Passes! Casinos coming soon!

Finally, Ohioans were able to get casinos legalized. Unfortunately, it took a constitutional amendment to force it’s existence. And, as written, it only allows casinos in Ohio’s 4 major cities. But, the legal door has been opened for future development outside those areas. The process is started, and that’s what’s important.  Bring-on the crime, drugs, poverty, addiction, and prostitution that comes with it. Oh..I forgot. We already had that, but without the casinos.

To all those detractors, I just have this to say: The wife and I enjoy driving to the casinos near us. People in Ohio always point to Detroit and Niagara to show that problems follow casinos (forgetting that Ohio already has state-sponsored gambling). We have noticed that the only problem with casinos is that they always look equally as good as all other casinos, regardless of the area they’re in.  This ironic image easily fuels the fire of ‘evil-casino’ rhetoric from anti-gambling advocates. It’s bull, but with those types of images, it’s easily believable bull. But, the truth is simpler.

Windsor and Pennsylvania are nice casinos in nice areas.

Niagara  has nice casinos  in a nice city block (don’t go too far).

Detroit has nice casinos in crap areas.

The casinos aren’t different. The areas are.  I’ve complained about these arguments before.   Nice cities will be nicer with casinos. Bad cities will remain bad with casinos.  The only difference is fun.

 

Wound-Care

Non-healing wounds are a severe problem for people with compromised immune or circulatory systems from (common in diabetes, cancer treatment, etc). Treatments to accelerate wound closure after injury in problem patients are rare and usually require special outpatient care- even for seemingly innocuous cuts and scrapes.

I want to throw this out there just for people who are in the know. Has anyone tried, or even heard-of, a poultice of the following products for wound-treatment?

1. Xylitol (100%only)

2. Lactoferrin powder (not Colostrum)

3. Hamamelitannin (i.e. Thayers Organic Unscented Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera Formula)

Have family members that might be helped by this, but don’t feel like making them guinea pigs. Comments encouraged.

 

RANDOM RANT: Where’s my Halloween movies?

 

What a crappy Halloween. Sure, the trick-or-treaters were nice, but what about the television? My wonderful Television?