Thoughts

Just what the title says: the Peugot RC Concept is a much better design for a 4 door sports car than Lambo Estoque.  The most difficult part of designing a four door sports car properly is to get the side angle right.  Peugot does it.  Lamborghini does not.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=7156

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=7151

Until the Feds go in there, until Elliot Ness goes in and tears them a new one, I’ll never believe that its been cleaned up. The NBA would like you to believe that its was one rogue official who was involved in the whole gambling scandal… Well my BS detector came out and its beeping so loud it will make you deaf.

Just think about the basics. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. If it was really one official, could he really make false calls that the other two refs would acquiese too. Could this ref have betted on a 100 games without people severely complaining? Would everyone else in the NBA watch those games with no comment? more later

So my friend Kinjal messages me saying to look at this article:

http://www.slate.com/id/2195851

That is some f’ed up sh!t.  Really, I’m not that squeamish about cursing.  I just don’t like people who are squeamish having to read it.  Anyways, yes, this story is messed up.  Its like my other friend Becky says, if you gotta go to a hosptial, you don’t want to go to County.  This story is case in point.

The REAL problem, however, is starting waaaaaaaaay before poor Mrs. Green got to the emergency room.  Most likely, Ms. Green was trying to get attention much earlier and its questionable whether she was getting the help she needed all along.  I don’t know if she had health insurance or not.  I don’t know if she went to see the doctor or not.  I do know that the wait means money to insurance companies.  The longer an insurance company makes you wait to get service, the more money they make.  Its very, very simple.  The longer they keep your money and don’t have to pay it out, the more they benefit.  Its a very simple rule that every finance major learns, take money in as soon as possible and pay it out as late as possible.  But getting back to the main point - poor service is not isolated to the emergency room.  Its there from beginning to end.  From the time you first go into the doctor’s office and they turn you in and out really quick to the time you are in the emergency room and can’t get timely care, you’re being systematically screwed.  Maybe if Mrs. Green was being paid attention to properly, she might not have wound up in the ER to begin with…

THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ACCUSTOMED TO GETTING POOR SERVICE BECAUSE "ITS POLICY" OR WE’VE BEEN TRAINED NOT TO ROCK THE BOAT OR SHOW DISSATISFACTION.  WELL AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, F THAT SH!T. THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE ARE BEING TOO NICE TO A SYSTEM THAT ABUSES US. YOU WON’T REALIZE IT UNTIL YOU REALLY NEED HELP, UNTIL YOU’RE BUSTING THE QUOTA AS TO HOW MUCH SERVICE THEY WANT TO GIVE AND HOW LONG THEY WANT TO PROVIDE IT FOR.

OVER TIME, PEOPLE START SAYING THAT YOU NEED TO BE YOUR OWN DOCTOR AND THAT YOUR HEALTH IS REALLY IN YOUR OWN HANDS. WHY DO PEOPLE SAY STUFF LIKE THIS?  THEY’VE GIVEN UP HOPE ON AN A$$ MEDICAL SYSTEM.  THE THING IS, YOU’VE GIVEN UP HOPE.  SO THEN WHY ARE WE STILL PAYING THEM? FOR WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really believe that over time, you try and try and try to get proper medical care but the failue of it, will send you to the grave quicker.

How can a third world country like India give such fast access to doctors and our country with all its insurance makes you wait over a month to see a specialist.  Some ain’t right.

Do you know what a real doctor’s visit costs you?  I sure don’t.  I don’t even know how much my insurance company pays for me every year.  All I do know, is that I’m not getting the sort of care I would like and I’m sure that my employer is paying the insurance company a good deal of money.

So here’s my pitch, health insurance companies need to be required to run as non-profits.  For profit insurance companies are after a profit, not to help you and me.

If you look at the news, it will appear that Lacy won a 10-round decision over Mendoza last night.  Fact of the matter is that it was quite clear who the real winner was - Mendoza…  You could tell by the shock Mendoza was in and the way he reacted that he knew he was the winner.  You could tell by the audience’s reaction that something was off… The TV commentator’s scorecard even reflected the fact that Mendoza at least tied Lacy.

Sports betting needs to be banned.  Its taking away from the fun of the game.  Nobody knows anymore if they’re watching a real match of some fix…

The "official" story below:

CABAZON, Calif. (AP)—Former IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy rallied over the final two rounds to beat Epifanio Mendoza of Colombia in a 10-round majority decision Wednesday night at the Morongo Casino.

The fight was even on two of the three judges’ scorecards heading into the ninth round, but Lacy (24-1, 17 knockouts) landed a late flurry of punches to win the round over a tiring Mendoza.

Mendoza (28-6-1, 24 knockouts) was hit hard by a right hand in the first round and a left hand in the fourth. Mendoza almost knocked down Lacy in the second, and three rounds later a right hand sent Lacy’s mouthpiece flying across the ring. Mendoza landed a right uppercut in the seventh that had Lacy wobbling to his corner after the bell.

Lacy, from St. Petersburg, Fla., was staggered again in the next round from a right hand, but he grabbed on to Mendoza long enough to recover.

Two judges favored Lacy 97-93 and 96-94. The third scored the fight 95-95.

Angry Doctors Use 1,000 Tomatoes To Spell Out Salmonella Source For FDA: “It’s The Meat, Stupid!”

Demonstration July 8 at U.S. Health and Human Services Seeks FDA Focus on Animal Agriculture’s Key Role in Foodborne Illnesses Linked to Tomatoes
WASHINGTON—As the Food and Drug Administration enters the 13th week of its struggle to identify the source of the salmonella outbreak that has reached 38 states and the District of Columbia, doctors will spell it out for them—quite literally. Doctors from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) will use more than 1,000 tomatoes arranged to write “IT’S THE MEAT, STUPID!” in front of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building at 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., on Tuesday morning. They aim to highlight the key role of meat industry pollution in spreading salmonella, E. coli, and other foodborne pathogens that affect thousands of Americans every year.

“Salmonella are intestinal bacteria, and tomatoes have no intestine,” PCRM president Neal Barnard, M.D., says. “These germs come from chicken and cow feces that contaminate waterways used for irrigation and contaminate kitchen counters and grocery store shelves.”

A dangerous salmonella strain dubbed “salmonella saintpaul” has sickened more than 900 Americans in recent weeks. Pollution from animal agriculture is the most likely original source. Like E. coli, salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of animals and are usually transmitted to humans from food contaminated with animal feces. As a recent Pew Commission Report on industrial farm animal production noted, untreated animal waste harboring pathogens contaminates air, water, soil, and crops. Farm animal waste was the identified cause of a 2006 E. coli outbreak in which infected spinach killed three people and sickened hundreds of others, according to an investigation by the FDA, an agency within Health and Human Services.

Dr. Barnard pointed out that infected cows and chickens, not tomatoes or other vegetables, are the ultimate source of dangerous outbreaks of foodborne illness. The problem needs to be attacked at the source, in the factory farms, ranches, and feedlots where infected animals produce waste that contaminates healthful produce. Salmonella are currently found on approximately one-third of chicken products in retail stores, and feces from chickens and other animals carry the bacteria to other food products. Consumers can fight foodborne illnesses by choosing meatless meals.

Since when do you go to your medical provider and get five minutes from the doctor and have to get out.  Is that the sort of f’ing health care I’m paying for?  More and more we’re putting up with load of crap for service because someone has policies and someone feels a certain way.

I had a one doctor tell me that he could only talk to me about two out of the three things that I came in for.  WTF do I now have to tell my body that only 2 things can be solved?  BS.

People are trying to put systems in place of humans and using numbers to determine the maximum profit that can be made.  Not treat people.  When I see a commercial for Kaiser Perma-fing-nente on TV I want to flip the TV off.  Are you kidding me?  You’re looking out for my good?  Yeah right.  If you were looking out my avg. doctor’s visit wouldn’t be 7 1/2 minutes.  I complained once asking why is the doctor leaving the room before I’m done talking to him.  Administrator at Kaiser in Baldwin Park tells me that they got 7.5 minutes to see me.  7.5 minutes.  WTF is that.  My healthcare insurance is paying them thousands of dollars and I get 7.5 minutes.  What does that work to per hour?  And the average Joe doesn’t always realize this cause his work is paying and he just has to pay the copay. But at the end of the day, the avg. Joe is taking home a couple thousand $s less every year because the thieving medical system milks his dollars in a way he can’t see them leaving his pocket.

It doesn’t take a genius to see this.  And I’m sure somebody can come up with a million and one different explanations as to why this happens.  I’ll give you one GREED.  The primary concern of the people administering your health care ain’t keepin’ you healthy.  Its about takin’ your dollars.  If it really was about serving me, well somebody should roll out a red carpet, give me some slippers and spend the time necessary to make sure my needs are met.

Has Chris Rock talked about the medical system yet?  If not he needs too.  I was just in India for about 4/5 months.  I once got a cold.  Went to the doctor.  It cost me RS 100 for the doctor’s visit and the medicine.  In dollars, that’s $2.50.  Now I know sh!t is cheaper in India but man, my copay is $10 here.  In India, I could go see a heart, lung, stomach, whatever the f— specialist for $20.  Don’t need insurance to do it and don’t need no referral which takes two months.  I just roll up, sit in line for about an 45 minutes and boom!  I’m talking to the guy right there.  No joke.  And these dudes don’t kick your a$$ out in 7.5 minutes.

Anyways, we gotta do something about this.  Its actually worse than subprime mortgages.  We just don’t know it.  Its a slow, methodical poison that’s sucking the life out of each and every one of us.  Getting REAL service from our medical system is so bureaucratic it makes government agencies look like well-oiled machines and the way your money goes out the door, its like Kmart has a blue light special on your wallet.

Ok, ranting done for today.

> Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from
> it’s death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts.
> Lee Iacocca Says:
> ———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———
> ——— ——— –
> ‘Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s
happening?
> Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.
> We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right
> over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we
> can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
> But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads
> when the politicians say, ‘Stay the course’
> Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America , not the
> damned ‘Titanic’. I’ll give you a sound bite: ‘Throw all the bums
> out!’
> You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and
> maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this
> country anymore.
>
> The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys
in
> handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning
> and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving
> ‘pom-poms’ instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise
of
> the
> ‘ America ‘ my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I’ve
> had enough. How about you?
> I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re
> not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have.The
> Biggest ‘C’ is Crisis !
> Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis.
> It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory.
> Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a
> battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world
comes
> tumbling down.
> On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other
> time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the
> ashes. A Hell of a Mess. So here’s where we stand. We’re immersed in
> a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We’re
> running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We’re
> losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great
companies
> are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are
> skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our
> schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle
> class is being squeezed every which way.
>
> These are times that cry out for leadership.
> But when you look around, you’ve got to ask:’Where have all the
leaders
> gone?’ Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the
> people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common
> sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the
> point.
> Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than
> making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
> We’ve spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and
> all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
> Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
> Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
> hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were
made
> in the crucial hours after the storm.
> Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn’t happen
> again. Now, that’s just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a
> plan. Figure out what you’re going to do the next time.
> Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we
can
> restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have
believed
> that there could ever be a time when ‘The Big Three’ referred to
> Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what
> are we going to do about it?
> Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down
> the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care
> problem.The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are
> eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
> I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on
> your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is
> being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
>
> What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will
> call them a name? Give me a break!
> Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?
> Had Enough?
> Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I’m
trying
> to light a fire. I’m speaking out because I have hope I believe in
> America .. In my lifetime I’ve had the privilege of living through
> some of America ’s greatest moments. I’ve also experienced some of
our
> worst crises: the ‘Great Depression’, ‘World War II’, the ‘Korean
War’,
> the ‘Kennedy Assassination’ , the ‘Vietnam War’, the 1970s oil
crisis,
> and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I’ve
> learned one thing, it’s this:
> ‘You don’t get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for
> somebody else to take action. Whether it’s building a better car or
> building a better future for our children, we all have a role to
play.
> That’s the challenge I’m raising in this book. It’s a call to
> ‘Action’ for people who, like me, believe in America .. It’s not too
> late, but it’s getting pretty close. So let’s shake off the crap and
> go to work. Let’s tell ‘em all we’ve had ‘enough.’
> Make a ‘real contribution’ by sending this to everyone you know and
> care about……our future is at stake!

Discovered today that the meaning of Doshi in Japanese is "brotherhood" Well, that’s per:

http://www.sqart.org/doshi/index.html

Have to ask a Japanses speaker if this is right

I was reading a book (I still am reading it now) called "Wherever You Go There You Are" and while I’d like to say some good things about this book, I’ll talk about that later.  I recently made a discovery about myself which I think will be useful to my future.  The thing is that I had hints about this, call them puzzle pieces… and then they just kinda came together.  And while I wish I had come to the discovery sooner, I guess that things happen at the time that they’re going to happen.  Ok, where I’m going with all of this… maybe most of what we need to know is right there (things that we already know that are in front of us)… we just need to pay attention… and once we figure something out, its useful to keep that answer in mind.