Marie Callender’s or Less?
If you had waited to see the rest of the sign’s message, it would have read, “All Pies… $7.99…”
Takeaway: Please give your colleague the benefit of the doubt before you respond to that email.
Context is vital
Broken health care
This is the first post I’ve done in a long time where I don’t have a picture. Reason? I’m dead serious about the subject matter. And I’m not highlighting a shiny bit – in fact, I’m highlighting a very tarnished bit.
The American health care system is really badly broken. I know that Obama can’t fix it. I don’t think anything short of a world war or a huge economic collapse would make any difference in the system.
So here’s our story. Jay, our 16 year old, does gymnastics. In the course of that, he has had various injuries. (Just about any sport will cause some level of injury – but that’s another post.)
He hurt his back and after maybe two months of pain, we broke down and took him to a back specialist MD. They insisted that he get x-rays before seeing the doctor. The x-ray clinic within the hospital was going to charge $460 for 3 x-rays. Since we have catastrophic-only health insurance, Heather said she would pay cash. They cut the price in half. Then she asked if they could just do one x-ray. No. She said goodbye. Back to the doctor. “Is there any way he can examine my son without x-rays?” “No!” Quietly, one of the doctor’s assistants told of an x-ray place about a mile away that was not part of that hospital’s network. Their price? $60 for 3.
Back to the doctor for the exam with economy x-rays in hand. No problem. Those did the job. The doctor asked that Jay get an MRI. Normally $4,000, but they said there was a place that would do it for $300.
We said no to the MRI. Instead, no gymnastics for a month. After that, maybe we’ll do an MRI.
So it came time to pay the doctor. $480. “Can we pay cash?” “Yes.” $240.
So in the end, we paid $300 for what most people would have paid $940 (via their insurance). What other industry works like that? Imagine going to your local BMW dealer. “I’d like a 328i.” “That will be $103,400.” Then you walk down the street to another dealer. “That will be $32,000.” (Real cost, by the way.) Same exact car.
My final word? Insurance… a huge problem for our country. Massive cost over-runs. Huge medical lawsuits… an incredible problem. Our country cannot pass any laws to cap those. Shame.
We all pay for it.
Spam art
This glorious symmetrical juxtaposition of spam subjects was too good to ignore.
I never open these messages, but I do check my spam folders on occasion – inevitably, there is a real email in there from a real friend that I would regret not reading. (But no one I know ever writes about things shown in this random spam art.)
Takeaway: Look for the beauty in unexpected places. (That’s a central part of the Shiny Bits of Life ethos.)
My brother on NPR!
My brother attended today’s SXSW and got interviewed by Bob Boilen here. And he’s in this pic. (Thanks NPR.)
Question of the week
Why hasn’t a Prius owner somewhere sped down a highway and then, after the police stopped them, claimed it was unintended acceleration? (When it wasn’t.)
(Photo courtesy of yewenyi on Flikr.)
They wear out
So, our oven quit. It came with our house. Heather loves it. We thought about getting a new one – because, as you know, repair can often cost as much as much – or more – than buying a new whatever.
In this case, the repair costs $100 to 200 less than buying a “new” refurbished oven. We loved preventing our oven from ending up in a landfill. And Heather got to keep the oven she loves. But ouch! That part cost a massive amount!
Thank you in reverse
Volume Inc. has a unique contest of sorts. If you send them a hand-made thank you card, you may be among the 100 winners to receive a poster.
I couldn’t resist that.
My poster came last week – hand-signed and numbered!
Special thanks to Alan, who told me of the contest.
Actual size
A dying art form… writing letters.
This back-of-record-label went between my brother and me for almost five years. We put the location and date from where and when we sent letters to each other.
I treasure that label. (Actually, he has it. I have a color photocopy.) A previous or past label may reside in one of my boxes.
We stopped the label exchange many years ago. But we still write letters to each other, though not as much as we used to. Email is much faster and easier. But way less satisfying. (Maybe I should take my fingers off the keyboard and pick up a pen. Phil Gerbyshak might agree with me.)
Cameras never do justice
So I was working away. I looked out the window and the icicles hanging from our tree looked exactly like those skinny silver strips of foil that people hang from their Christmas trees.
My camera? It tried, but the result is about 5% of what reality was.
Danish beauty
(My daughter is a beauty – but she is not Danish.)
I’m referring to the Bang & Olufsen speaker in the photo (the large speaker in front of Rachel). The local Goodwill had a pair for about $45. Currently, the cheapest pair of their speakers goes for about $700.
I nipped them up. Brought them home. Heather freaked out. “They are too big!”
I took them back.
Oh well, all dreams can’t come true. Their size would have overwhelmed my office. (One of my current, and reigning, speakers is shown for scale, next to the B & O speaker and Rachel.) And they would have required some special connectors to work with my computer’s stereo – at the tune of an additional $32.
Sigh.
