Month: June 2009

Health-Care Myths

The following myths are discussed in the article below:

Myth: “The U.S. has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the developed world.”

Myth: “About 46 mn Americans lack access to health insurance.”

Myth: “The uninsured can’t afford to buy coverage.”

Myth: “Most of the uninsured do not have health insurance because they are not working and so don’t have access to health benefits through an employer.”

Myth: “The estimated 45 mn people without health insurance lacked health insurance for every day of the year.”

Myth: “Government-run universal health care would increase the international competitiveness of U.S. companies.”

Myth: “The cost of uncompensated care for the uninsured significantly increases hospital costs.”

Myth: “Nationalized health care would not impact patient waiting times.”

Myth: “Insurers cover less today than they did in the past.”

http://emac.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/06/23/health-care-myths/

Mountains of Debt: America’s Economic Realities

(Good, easy-to-read overview of our current economic situation)

by Charles Wheelan, Ph.D.

Ben Franklin supposedly said that it’s better to skip supper and go to bed hungry than it is to wake up in debt. Ben would be quite disappointed in us. We Americans didn’t skip dinner; instead, we opted over the past decade to gorge at the buffet and then charge it.

We woke up as the world’s largest debtor — so deeply in debt that our global creditors are getting nervous, and rightfully so.

Here are some economic realities associated with our deepening fiscal hole. Continue reading “Mountains of Debt: America’s Economic Realities”

Help – Sunbeams!

I work part-time as a teacher of family doctors. The program provides training on psychiatric disorders and emphasizes the importance of emotional support. The new doctors are given plenty of time in clinic to visit with their patients and learn about their challenges. One of our interns who has never lived in Utah and knows nothing about Mormons is still struggling to understand the cultural climate here. Last week he was interviewing a new patient and stumbled on what he thought was a raging psychosis.

Doctor: “Well, Mrs. Olsen, we’ve talked about your high blood pressure and your medications. Are you experiencing any particular stress in your life?”

Patient: “Oh, yes! It’s the Sunbeams. They’re driving me crazy.”

Doctor (very surprised): “The sun beams?”

Patient: “Yes. I’ve never had trouble with them before, but this group won’t sit still. They bounce all over the room, and run out the door and down the hall.”

Doctor (reaching for a pen): “Have you told anyone about this?”

Patient: “Of course. I told the president.”

Doctor: “Really! What did the president tell you?”

Patient: “She said Sunbeams are like that. I’m just going to have to learn to deal with them.”

Doctor (concerned that he may be missing something): “I know people who are sensitive to sun beams. Do they cause you a rash or anything?”

Patient (confused): “A rash? No.”

Doctor: “What’s the biggest problem they’re creating?”

Patient: “It’s the noise. They just won’t quit talking.”

Doctor (astonished): “The sun beams are talking to you?”

Patient: “Well, yes. But mostly they talk to each other.”

Doctor (scribbling furiously in the chart): “I see. Can anyone else hear them talking?”

Patient (after a moment of stunned silence): “You’re not LDS, are you?

(For those not Mormon – sunbeams is the name of the class for the 3 year olds)

Humor: Golfer and the Caddy

#10 Golfer: “I think I am going to drown myself in the lake.”
Caddy: “Think you can keep your head down that long?”

#9 Golfer: “I’d move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course.
Caddy: “Try heaven, you’ve already moved most of the earth.”

#8 Golfer: “Do you think that my game is improving?”
Caddy: “Yes sir, you miss the ball much closer now.”

#7 Golfer: “Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?”
Caddy: “Eventually!”

#6 Golfer: “You got to be the worst caddy in the world.”
Caddy: “I don’t think so sir. That would be too much of a coincidence.”

#5 Golfer: “Please stop checking your watch all the time.”
Caddy: “It’s not a watch, it is a compass.”

#4 Golfer: “How do you like my game?”
Caddy: “Very good sir, but personally I prefer golf..”

#3 Golfer: “Do you think it is a sin to play on Sunday?”
Caddy: “The way you play, sir, it is a sin on any day.”

#2 Golfer: “This is the worst course I’ve ever played on.”
Caddy: “This isn’t the golf course. We left that an hour ago.”

AND THE #1 BEST CADDY COMMENT …

Golfer: “That can’t be my ball, it is too old.”
Caddy: “It’s been a long time since we teed off, sir.”

Get Ready for Inflation and Higher Interest Rates

“The unprecedented expansion of the money supply could make the ’70s look benign.”

By Arthur B. Laffer

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124458888993599879.html

Funeral Cookies

An elderly man lay dying in his bed. In death’s agony, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength, and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands, he crawled down the stairs.

With labored breath, he leaned against the door-frame, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death’s agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven: there, spread out upon waxed paper on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled posture. His parched lips parted: the wondrous taste of the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life.

The aged and withered hand trembled on its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when it was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.

“Stay out of those,” she said, “they’re for the funeral.”

Installing Husband 1.0

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0. Continue reading “Installing Husband 1.0”

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