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Complaint: November blahs: Rain, cold, slimy leaves on the ground, snow this evening.
Non-complaint: In preparation for first snow of the season, I braved the rain & cold to slip outside and reach under my little porch for the snow shovel stored there, as well as the can of sand for sprinkling on ice on the steps, and put them into their winter place of honor on the porch. During the short journey to that seldom visited region under the porch I discovered one of my flashlights that had apparently fallen from the porch railing a few weeks ago.
Had forgotten all about it. Still works. Yay!
The Urge to Splurge: My birthday is coming up soon. I've been pondering if I can justify a big present for myself this year. Didn't do one last year (heart attack took over that opportunity
). But as I sit here perusing my Amazon Wishlist I find nothing that I actually want enough to raid my savings. I guess that's a good thing?
I would like a new electric blanket but the old one, despite being 10 years old, shows no sign of decrepitude or danger (I treat my toys properly). I've researched the offerings and advantages of a 4K TV, but despite prices having come down significantly for a mid-sized TV (~42 inches) my current 10 year old, Panasonic full HD (1080P) unit shows no sign of decrepitude. I would like but have no room for a standalone freezer. I do want a new fall/spring jacket to replace my 20 year old, stretched out, ragged, stained hoodie, but a new hoodie hardly counts as a birthday splurge. I don't need any new cooking pans or utensils. I have enough computers and repair parts for the rest of my life. I don't need any new audio gear. Although, I did buy a new set of wireless headphones for watching TV a few months ago, and I've been to a couple of symphonies this year, so perhaps I should be happy with that and let my birthday go unrewarded again this year. Or perhaps I could just go to a fancier restaurant for lunch on the day.
Choices around here are slim, it's either Olive Garden or Applebee's.
I hope whatever the choice, whatever the weather, your birth day is still a day of wonder and joy.
And eating out, regardless if a chain restuarant or a drive-thru type, means no cooking or clean-up.
Mary
@LeatherGryphon - Towel warmer? Then not only are you a seriously hoopy frood who totally knows where your towel is, it's a lovely toasty temperature when the Vogon Constructor Fleet comes through and you have to make a break for it. :)
I was part of a discussion about AI. I used this video to show that not everything is AI. I can't believe I don't have this product. I know it is done in DS. I think with iRay.
Has anyone tried these butterflies?
...that would have worked nicely for an old scene I did a while back
Cool render!
I love her jeans!!!
Butterflies are almost universally admired, so perhaps a movie about vicious, ravenous, meat eating, hoards of razor legged butterflies the size of crows, with scythe like mandibles and wings that disintegrate into poisonous dust, would be a real shocker.
Alfred Hitchcock could have done it.
Weather Report: Snow, three inches of it this morning. Porch needs sweeping, roads are white & frozen, snowplows woke me up three times last night. First accumulating snow this season. Earlier than "usual", whatever that means in this age of climate change.
Complaint: Figuring out Medicare plans:
My current Medicare Advantage Plan will not be offered in 2026, an annoyance but an opportunity.
It makes me eligible to switch to a Medicare Supplement Plan.
"Basic Medicare" (Plans A & B): is provided by the government for enrolled US citizens over 65, and the government pays for a significant percentage of medical costs (Doctors & Hospitals). But the unpaid part could still be huge.
And you still have to worry about drug costs, which in the US is ridiculously expensive without insurance.
The cost for Basic Medicare A&B is about $180/mo.
Medicare Advantage": (Plan C) On the otherhand, Medicare enrollees can chose to replace Basic Medicare with an "Advantage" plan which is instead provided by private insurance companies, and they (instead of the government) pay what the government would have, and also a little more of the costs, and provide services like gym memberships, home visits, and other "perks", but the catch is an additional monthly, variable but moderate premium, and limitations in choice of doctors and hospitals, and States, and higher prices for Out-of-network doctors & hospitals. So, If you're travelling within this huge country, don't plan to have medical problems at home area prices.
And each year the doctors and hospitals or their organizations can independently decide not to participate in the plan. Or the insurance company can decide not to offer that particular policy plan any more, poof! That's what's happened to me (and millions of others recently). Insurance companies are dropping or reducing Advantage plans like hot potatoes.
Medicare Supplement: (Medigap) The other option, as I understand it, is to stay with Basic Medicare but add on a "Supplement" plan (aka: a "Medigap" plan) provided by a private insurance company according to specifications set by the government, that essentially covers the gap and pays everything not covered by Basic Medicare, and works for any doctor or hospital in the country that takes Basic Medicare payments (most all do). However, the disadvantage of a "Supplement" plan is its much higher additional premium cost and/or large deductable.
Prices of premiums vary, depending on the providing company, but coverage rules are set by the government. Also, you can only enroll in a Supplement plan under specific situations. i.e., Initially upon enrollment with Medicare, or if your current Advantage plan is no longer offered. This is my current situation.
At my age and with my current medical issues, and since I'm now elegible, it might be prudent for me to get onto a Supplement plan to avoid huge hospital bills from longterm stays or major operations. So I'm checking into the plans available. Every insurance company out there is banging on my door, Internet, phone, and text trying to win me over. Ghaaaa.... After hours of research into their offerings and information from the government Medicare website I think my best bet is not the top of the line plan that pays for everything (Plan F) with no deductables (total of about $500/mo), but instead, the everything plan(F) with high deductable (about $100/mo), but I'm responsible for what basic Medicare doesn't cover until I reach the deductable (about $2000). The trick is to not get sick.
So instead of a zero cost to see my primary care physician(PCP) I'll probably get a bill of a hundred dollars. And I could expect to get small but annoying bills for lab tests instead of free. And instead of paying $30 to see a specialist (cardiologist, urologist, etc) I'd get a bill of a couple hundred. And a stay in the hospital could be several thousand up to the point of the deductable, when the Supplement insurance would take over after whatever Basic Medicare covered. I see the PCP twice a year. I get lab tests about 4 times a year. I see my stable of specialists perhaps a total of 4 or 5 times a year. And I avoid the hospital like the plague. But all combined, in a good year, the total cost would be less than a full Plan-F with no deductables. I think...
And Then There's the Drugs (Plan D): Doctors & Hospitals are covered by Basic, Advantage, and Supplement but you still need to get a "Plan-D" for prescription drugs. For me and my specific drugs my premium for the Plan-D drug plan would be about $100/mo but I have one expensive drug with a high deductable, so I also have to pay an extra $225 each of the first two months, and $45/mo for the rest of the year. Compare that to just my expensive drug which is about $500/month without insurance.
All in all, switching to a Supplement plan next year could cost me from $100/mo to $500/mo more than I'm paying now ($260/mo), depending on hospital stays. The first number is within my budget, the 2nd number is pushing me against the wall, hard.
Sigh, life as an elder American on limited income.
And I'm a smart guy, well educated, in posession of my mental faculties. With a small but adequate income. And Vision and Dental coverage is yet another issue too. Sigh...
How do the less fit, cope?
NOTE: Warning: The prices and numbers in this tome are approximate and/or not verified, or specific to my situation. Do your own research.
Explanation: So why did I write this tome? I did it to try to unspaghettify, my dangerously tangled understanding of Medicare. I hope I got it right or made it at least a bit more clear.
And perhaps this description helps someone else GROK the mess, at least better than the overwordy official explanations with all it's exceptions, and "gotchas." An overview, the big picture, clear the smoke, cover the mirrors.
That is so confusing! Good luck finding a plan that's right for you.
I'm getting spam calls about health insurance. Last one that called hung up as soon as I said I have a health insurance broker.
I finally canceled cable tv. I ordered a new antenna with adapter for my computer yesterday with an Amazon gift card. You will never guess which online retailer I used. It should be coming today. Hopefully in time for Jeopardy.
Complaint it is cold in N.C. this morning.
I have Medicare A & B with a Blue Cross supplement Plan that covers 100% of the costs and no deductible. For Drugs I have a Blue Cross Plan that covers Medicare insured drugs with a small copay until I spend $2000; after that the drugs are free. This works well for me but you mileage may vary.
Robin Bailey's Frost did have a city destroyed by a cloud of (I think vampiric) butterflies.
Sending stamina vibes to anyone trying to figure out Medicare. So unnecessarily complicated, especially considering the statistical rate of cognitive issues in the demographic who needs it. It's just cruel.
By comparison, my complaint is minor: bathtime happened much closer to the end of the day than I prefer, although my non-complaint takes care of the worst of it: it's now cold enough to run the heater. So I can just array myself over one of the vents to dry my hair (it's past my tush, so... takes for.ev.er on its own).
I just got a tv tuner for my computer. I was having difficulty setting it up until I decided to read the fantastic manual (RtFM) which wasn't easy as they chose tiny font of course.
@LytherGryphon, I hear your pain. When I first started on Medicare I tried that helpline and after waiting forever, a person picked up, and when I asked what I need as a military retiree with TriCare for Life, what did I need? They hmmed and hawed and said they had to check something. A half hour later, the line went dead. Never called them back.
But I get all the mail, text messages, and have to tune out the dreadful commercials every year.
There's a horror movie called Slugs, and based on the title you can probably guess what's wrong with it. It's a hilarious movie, and absolutely worth watching, though.
When the AI comes for your artwork...
Today I heard my favorite Bachman-Turner Overdrive song (Let It Ride), and at first couldn't remember whether it was BTO or Guess Who (Randy Bachman's previous band) because the vocals definitely weren't by Randy Bachman. This was followed by the sudden realization that I had never once thought about who the Turner in Bachman-Turner Overdrive was.
....which is what has caused me to be rather apprehensive about sharing my work lately.save for the gallery site I use which has protections against AI accees to images and along with downloaing disabled.
I didn't think it would be a problem. I won't make that mistake again.
....thank you.
The shingles rash is looking better, but the nerve endings feel like they're on fire. Even a T-shirt hurts.
Poor thing. Hope you recover fast.
Regards,
Richard.
Many, many decades ago while still a budding nerd in high school, I read a story about the end of life as we know it entitled "The End of the Dream" or something like that, where nature rebelled and threw all sorts of natural or biological backlash at us because of our wanton disregard for nature. However, the only part I remember was the last plague. Waves and waves of meat eating slug-like worms marching out of the ocean's shores and innundating the land to finish the job that all the previous catastrophes had started. I think a big meteorite would be preferable.
I need to get ready for bed. My left knee is bothering me so I had to set up an appointment for pain management tomorrow. I wanted to do something else, but it is best I get a big needle in my knee, it is supposed to help my knee feel better. I don't know why they use the biggest needle they can find.
if they have a bigger needle, I don't want to know.
It's down to the buckling strength of the needle. The longer it is, the more likely it is to buckle when the doctor misses the fleshy bit & hits something hard (like a bone). If that happens, the needle middle will ping sideways, one side colapse and because the steel used is very hard and brittle, it will break. Leaving part of the needle inside the patient. This is considered to be a BAD THING, and lawyers think it is a BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, which is what convinces everyone else it's a VERY BAD THING.
Anyway, the buckling strength is dependent on the stiffness of the needle divided by the square of the length. So short needles can be very small in diameter, and long needles seem to get disproportionately large in diameter.
Hope that helps go some way to answering "I don't know why they use the biggest needle they can find.". It's because of the lawyers, oh, and physics.
Regards
Richard
Needle size is based on size of patient, location/method of injection, and viscosity of the fluid going through the needle.
Yeah, that too.
Non-complaint: After all the snow had dropped we had about 5 inches of heavy, wet, gorgeous snow for about 12 hours, then it started to rain and disolve the snow into gray, lumpy mush. Now it's about 80% gone, the grass is peeking out again, and the sidewalks are open. Time for a toddle up to the local grocery store for milk & eggs. No uptown trips this week, trying to wait out my big spending until next week's SS deposit, and my birthday.
I'm trying to plan a way to get to the mall and JC Penney store to look at shirts and a new fall/spring jacket for my birthday. Either that or lunch at Olive Garden or Applebee's. One perk of taking public transportation instead of driving, is that I can have a birthday drink (or two) at a restaurant. I like the margaritas at Olive Garden.
Almost as good as at Margaritaville restaurant in City Walk at Universal Studios, Florida. Where they have major laid back atmosphere, a regularly scheduled volcano (at 0:25), and a seaplane on the shore outside.
complaint: More pharmacy nonsense yesterday. Had to pick up meds for Teen Kiddo. Got there, and the person at the window was baffled. "We don't have anything ready for them." Really? Because I called five days ago and they said they'd be ready by today. "Oh well this kind of med you have to call in every month. That's why it's not ready. You need to call in." I just told you that. I called in five days ago. They said it'd be ready. "Oh well it says here it can't be filled until today." Okay, well, it's today, you've been open for hours, and it doesn't sound like it's even been looked at, let alone filled. "Well I can have it ready in half an hour." Okay, so, what needs to happen so I don't keep running into this issue? Because this by far isn't the first time I've done everything I'm supposed to do and the pharmacy has dropped the ball. "Well, you really ought to call ahead and make sure it's ready." Yeah, I tried that. Three times. As soon as it rang through, the line dropped. Three times. "Oh, well we've been having problems with our phone system. That's not my fault." That's true, but don't tell me it's a solution if you know it's not going to work. "Well I could put a note in the file here to call you if there are any problems filling the prescription." Shouldn't that be the default for customer service? "It's the best I can do, ma'am."
...in other news, today I'll be making the necessary phonecalls to transfer stuff over to a different pharmacy across town. Even if I have to drive extra to get it, it'd still be more convenient than this constant idiocy. I mean, this is one of those meds they won't let you have more of until you're down to your last one. I can't afford for them to be screwing it up all the time. There's no wiggle room.
So very tired of people refusing to do their jobs and then making it my problem AND blaming me for it.
There are occasions when one feels the solution to a problem is 5lb of Semtex. Might not do any good, but it'll make one feel better. And there are occasions when I feel unhappy that I don't know a source for it. Hrrumph.
Regards,
Richard