Healthcare

From James Fallows

For now, the significance of the vote is moving the United States FROM a system in which people can assume they will have health coverage IF they are old enough (Medicare), poor enough (Medicaid), fortunate enough (working for an employer that offers coverage, or able themselves to bear expenses), or in some other way specially positioned (veterans; elected officials)... TOWARD a system in which people can assume they will have health-care coverage. Period.

This bill almost inevitably means higher taxes for me in the future, and not at all in a nominal way. That said, I believe the above statement to be true and I believe that to be right. I don't think that this will fix all (or even most) of what I consider fundamental problems with the healthcare industry as a whole but it will force the industry to change. They will be making less margin on more customers, meaning a focus on optimization of systems to increase that margin. Better technology, more efficient systems, and hopefully better oversite of an industry that plays with our lives, literally.

Mailtime, etc

For a few years now, Daniel has been getting weird magazines in the mail. I'm not talking "current resident" magazines that are blindly sent out to everyone. I'm talking someone signed him up to get weekly Women's Day. We have tried to narrow it down, and and we used to have a list of suspects. Today, Daniel checked the mail. It was a plethora of important things. Legal notice that we have to take Daniel's car in for an emissions test (guess its time to get that oil leak fixed), credit card bill (a cheap one this month), notice reminding me that i need to renew my pharmacy technician license or I am no longer allowed to work (um, no?) and.... pottery barn kids, easter edition. I got the stink eye for a second as he accused me of signing myself up for it. He flipped it over to find that it was addressed to him. lol. I swear I'm not signing him up for these ridiculous things, so for the sake of my marriage would the culprit please fess up? Thanks.

On a completely unrelated note, my cleaning lady (or should I say crew? there were 3 of them) started yesterday. I think that every-other-tuesday is going to be my favorite day ever. The house still smells like eucalyptus and is immaculate. I was going to stay home while they cleaned the first time, but when they started strapping on their kneepads and bringing in ladders, i knew they meant business so I went for a nice 5 mile run.

Does anyone have any good, semihealthy, preferably vegetarian crockpot recipes to share? I am pretty stuck on the ministroneish soup and veggie chili kick i have been on but would like to mix it up. Nothing too goopy please!

glendale lakes is now $25 richer...

I have a love-hate relationship with our HOA that has recently turned to hate-hate. They have a laundry list of rules that make sense, AKA don't park in the visitor parking and turn your christmas lights off no later than a month after the holiday. We happen to have visitor parking directly across the street from our driveway. Apparently my car was parked there for an hour last week while we were rearranging (so daniel could get out of the garage to go to work w/o me blocking him in) and we recieved a notice sent certified mail that we were being fined $25.

I would like to send them a letter saying that I would like to be reimbursed my $25 since the christmas lights were not taken down until LAST WEEK at the entrance of the subdivision, despite the 3 letters they sent to the residents saying that all lights had to be down by Jan25 or there would be fines.

I have the option to request a "hearing" to contest the fine.... I am tempted. And I am also wondering who is policing my car since we got a notice about this once several months ago and, the car was parked over there while we were moving a table into the house. as in, maybe 15 minutes at most? Ugh. I wish they would just walk up to me and ask me to move my car instead of being total wussies and putting a letter in my mailbox. man up, glendale lakes.