A Curious Statistical Anomaly

When a year changes, I find that I’m much more introspective than I am when my birthday comes around. Maybe it’s all the talk about new year resolutions and changes to be made and habits to be dropped. So, when the new year arrives I find myself looking over my shoulder at the past year and trying to see the highs and the lows. I look forward to what I hope to accomplish in the coming year.

I looked at a few blogs earlier this evening and the Yarn Harlot‘s really struck me with her talk of change. Change seems to be the only constant in life. We change every day. I’m not the same me tonight as I was this morning when I got up. I’m certainly not the same me that existed 365 days ago. I’ve changed, grown, learned new things, forgotten other things, gained some skills and hopefully didn’t make the world any worse for my living in it.

I’ve got some resolutions of my own for the coming year. I hope to exercise more — yeah, I did pretty good last year til the fibro kicked in big time. So, I start this year with a clean slate on that front. I’ve got some resolutions about my writing and we’ll see how that works out.

I’ve got some plans to set a schedule for knitting, spinning, writing, and reading that I hope will see me through what is already shaping up to be an interesting year — rather in the sense of that curse “May you live in interesting times.”

I’m chairing a convention in 2010, Capclave. I’m hoping I don’t disappoint the people who gave me this opportunity for living in an interesting year. Check out the website and if you think you’ll be in the area during the convention sign up. It’s always a good time for those who enjoy science fiction and fantasy.

So, I’m looking forward to more changes in my life and hoping that they are always changes for the better. I also hope that all of you have a great new year filled with your own opportunities for positive change.

This is going to be a political and social rant, so those not interested can move along.

Okay, at first the Medical Bill submitted to Congress was not great, but it was a start. Over the months of discussion in the House and Senate, our Congress critters have managed to strip the bill of any utility to the people of this country who were looking to them to help them get medical care. I’ve heard that some members of Congress think that the falling approval of the bill is because it’s taking so long. NOT. The falling approval of the bill among the populace is because Congress has managed to remove everything in it that we wanted.

As it stands now the Senate bill is missing the Public Option, the extension of  Medicare (include 55 and over), the coverage of prior conditions clause, and has added yearly caps on spending. So, now there’s a totally useless bill that gives the insurance companies everything they wanted while giving the people without insurance nothing. Not only that, but health insurance is now mandatory and there’s a penalty for not having it. So, you force people who can’t afford insurance in the first place to get insurance that doesn’t cover anything and then penalize them when they can’t afford to buy it. Great work guys and gals.

And while I’m ranting. What’s with trying to slip the no funds for abortions into this bill. In case you’re not aware of it, abortion IS legal in this country and has been for a while. Suck it up folks. You know you can’t get it made illegal because the American people overwhelmingly want it legal. Trying to  stop it through the back door because you’re afraid of right wingnuts is no excuse to make medical decisions for people other than yourself. Abortion is not something a person does because they have a spare couple of  hours in the day — it is a very serious decision made between a woman and her doctor. Sorry to have to be the one to let you know that Congress is not part of that equation and shouldn’t be either. It seems that getting government off our backs and allowing us choice only applies when we do what you want.

I’ve got a good health care plan. It’s through my husband’s work (I’m self-employed, a freelancer). I’m also a cancer survivor, who also has asthma, allergies, migraines,  fibromyalgia, and arthritis. If we were to lose our current health care plan and had a lapse in coverage (even for one day), none of those things would covered. So, the very problems I have would be ones that I couldn’t afford to have taken care of. We currently pay about $10,000 per year out-of-pocket. That’s just the “medical” stuff that is allowed on our tax form. It’s probably closer to 13,000 if I added in the non-allowable but nevertheless medical costs. Remember that I’m not that ill — not really. I work. I function. I just can’t do a 9-5 M-F work schedule.

On many online forums that I belong to, we’ve been talking some about the health care bill. At first I wanted it passed. It wasn’t perfect but it was a good start and would help a lot of people. Now, I hope it doesn’t pass, or at least not in the current stripped down useless version as it exists now. Now it gives no coverage, and punishes people who don’t pay buy it anyway. Not only that but all the insurance cost are going to skyrocket. What makes me think the insurance rates will go up? The insurance companies said so. Unlike members of Congress, I do read and comprehend what I read. So, we have a useless bill that hurts people, doesn’t do the job, and punishes those who can’t afford this extra cost.

Remember what I said about my yearly out of pocket? We’re lucky. With careful budgeting, we can manage. But imagine those out of pocket expenses on a minimum wage job when you have kids. You can’t. But with the penalties for not getting insured, you be between a rock and a hard place.

So, I’ve come up with a way to see that Congress passes a decent bill that would cover everyone including no pre-existing conditions, a public option, and no caps. Whatever bill Congress passes, their current medical insurance for Congressional Members will be canceled — thus lapsing their coverage (no Cobra guys and gals). And, here’s the clever bit, members of Congress must now get health insurance under the rules and regulations of the bill they just passed. So, guess trying to get health care when it won’t cover your existing health problems will be a bit of an incentive to think about what it’s like for the average American family. Maybe if Congress had to live under the laws they pass, they’d spend a little bit more time thinking about the ramifications of their changes and less about how it effects the corporations who put money in their campaigns.

The older I get and the more I read about our government leaders and watch them in action, the more I believe I’m watching a remake of recess in any playground in America where all the children have been replaced with adults. I’m also reminded that Congress lost their bank because they couldn’t pay their bills, balance their personal checking, or remember to spend less than they had. These same people make the laws for this country — something is wrong with this picture and the mess that has been made of the health care bill doesn’t change my opinion.

America needs leaders. We need people who are dedicated to seeing that our founding documents are respected and followed. That laws are made to make life better for the people of this country. Americans work hard. They give their best and some give their lives to see that this country remains strong, free, and economically viable. The citizens of this country should not be sold out because it just might make a company happy and give them a better bottom line so they give more to help get “me” re-elected. The people of this country deserve better than that.

Besides, whatever made anyone ever think that a for-profit insurance company was the right way to provide health care?  Some ideas are just bad and perpetuating them is just plain wrong.

For once do the right thing. Put the things that the people need back into the health care bill. Stop the childish power plays and vote to give American’s the health care bill they need. And for heaven’s sakes stop the bickering, back-biting, and just plain dirty fighting.

That’s it for now. I could rant for hours but I think in my meandering way, I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction with the childish behavior of our government leaders in the face of real problems that need real solutions.

Jane Austen was born on December 16th, 1775 and died in 1817.  She was 41 when she died.  During her life she wrote several novels that live in the hearts of her many readers.  The novels (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibilities, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, and Lady Susan) have been in print almost continuously.  I say almost because during her lifetime, she found it very difficult to get her novels published and she made very little money from them.

The books have been made into movies that either use the books as a base and then modernize the nearly out of recognition (Clueless) to the wonderful BBC productions.  I own most of the BBC and A&E movies and watch them often.  I also love the books and find that they have joined the other books on my comfort shelf for those times when I really need to visit with some dear and old friends — special books.

There are societies and clubs that have sprung up where those who enjoy her works can get together and discuss them in depth as well as the society that is depicted in the novels and other related topics.

You can find a brief biography of Jane Austen’s life on the website of the Jane Austen Society UK. This biography includes photos of some of the places where she lived.

The Republic of Pemberley has a wealth of information on Jane Austen, her life and times, and her works. Including the text of her major novels. I’ll warn you if you’re a fan of her works you can lose a lot of hours just dipping into the various areas of this website.

There have also been many books written that either continue the stories of Jane Austen’s characters or deal with the impact that her novels have had on readers. I’ve reviewed a number of these books (and movies) on this blog. You’ll find them if you scroll through the Reviews link at the top of the page.

So, celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday. Go read a book.

It was time. I’d upgraded my old phone a couple of years ago when it went through the washer. Hyperion still had the original cell phone which no longer really worked that well since when he called me it sounded like he was clear across the room from the phone rather than next to his mouth. So, the time had come.

It was also time to move off the family and friends plan to our own plan consolidating with our Sprint Air Card (data card). So, we changed our plan to include a data plan since it will come in handy for Hyperion with work and just might be handy for me occasionally.

Hyperion got an Android HTC Hero. So, far he’s loving it. New toy with features. He’s configuring and playing with all the features. Me. I got the LG Lotus in red. I liked the square shape and the fact that when you look at the screen I can pretty much read it without my glasses on. When I open the case I can definitely read it without glass but with them on it’s even clearer.

Haven’t called on it yet but I got all my contact in and had someone already call me and the sound was good. Need to see if my headset works with it. Set up so I can use voice commands. You know stuff. Meanwhile I’m feeling a bit adventurous with a red cell phone. So, I get excited over the little things at least I’m happy.

About the only thing that would make me happier is to have the exact cell plan I want with all the bells and whistles that I want at a price I like. So, when they make the Gayle Plan — I’m so there. Meanwhile, this one is close.

Now step 2 — eliminate land line.

It has rained all day today.  It seems like it’s rained more than not lately.  Matches my mood though since I’ve been headachy and out of sorts — maybe flu maybe not.  Hyperion though definitely has the flu but is back to work (out of sick time).  Luckily the Thanksgiving holiday is coming up so he’ll get a long weekend — hopefully that will help.  Telecommuting would help but contractors are not allowed to telecommute (not that the govies are allowed to either).

Anyway, I ran into this article the other day on “Ten things mobiles have made, or will make obsolete” on recombu.com. The ten things listed are: phone booths, wristwatches, bedside alarm clocks, mp3 players, landline home phones, compact digital cameras, netbooks, handheld game consoles, paper, and brains. The author gives a reason for each choice.

I found the list and the reason interesting. However, computers were supposed to get rid of the need for paper. Remember the paperless office? Well, we still have paper — lots and lots of paper. Can’t see that it’s reduced in amount just because a copy of each document is electronic.

It’s the phones screen size that doesn’t work. I’m older and even though you can increase the font size somewhat on the smartphones it’s not a pleasant experience for long term use. Though for emergencies and for keeping in touch or just giving you something to do while stuck somewhere the phone is taking the place of many gadgets.

One that was not on the list was books. Many phones now have software so you can read books on your phone. Of course I’ve got my Kindle but I know many people who read on their mobiles.

I don’t carry a watch anymore. My cell has the time in a small window on the front. I don’t listen to music on it because my mobile phone is older. I may upgrade to a blackberry or android-type soon but I’m happy with what I’ve got for now because I have an iPod, a Kindle, a digital camera that fits in my purse along with my netbook.

The problem with a mobile taking on the jobs of all those items is that when you lose one — the phone — you’ve lost them all. If I lose my phone, well I’ve lost the phone but I still have the music, camera, computer, and books. So, while having one item instead of five is seductive — the thought of losing everything because one item died is just too scary for me right now.

Thought I’d give a run at this meme:

1. Get a pilots license and fly a plane — just a small one, fixed wing.  Took lessons once and have 9 hours of flight time.

2. Speak a foreign language.  I took three years of high school French.  Two years of college German. One year of college Latin. I also know a handful of words in Russian, another handful of Swahili, four or five in Japanese, and one in Klingon.  I’d just think it would be really neat to be able to communicate with someone else in their native non-english tongue.

3. Be able to fix things.  I can add oil, brake fluid, and water in the appropriate places in the car.  I can, if I have to, change a tire. But I’d love to be able to actual fix an engine if something happened to it.  I learned most of what I know about engines from the guys my brother hung out with when I was a teen and from flight school.  But what about the washer’s motor or the dryer or the dishwasher.  These shouldn’t be such mysteries.

4.  I’d love to be able to play the piano.  I’ve got one in the living room.  We bought it when we got the house.  The owners gave us a deal because they didn’t want to move it.  I got books on how to play.  I can even read music since I was in a band, in glee club, in an A Cappella choir, and played clarinet for years in Jr. High and High School band.  But finding the time to practice and learn two-handed playing rather than plincking out single notes is not yet something I can do.

5. Be able to plan a garden, take care of it for a whole summer, and gather the bounty.  Note there are parts to that list.  I usual get things planted and then life gets very, very insane and busy and the rest of it goes kabluey.   We usually get some stuff but not as much as we should if I really paid attention.

6. Finish what I start.  My name is Gayle and I’m a starter.  I start all kinds of projects.  I sometimes even finish them but mostly I get into a project a fair distance and just get bored or put it aside and out of sight out of mind.  I’ve been working on finishing unfinished projects and have completed three over the last six months.  Of course, I started three other projects too.

7. Clean the house without the threat of house guests dropping in.  With limited time I just don’t see the sense in it.  The house won’t be condemned by the board of Health but it won’t pass the good housekeeping seal of approval either.  Someday I hope to be able to afford to have someone else clean it for me.  Meanwhile, it’s good enough but every now and then I dig in and do a complete yearly top-to-bottom but it’s not yearly.

8. Visit Antarctica — read books and it sounds like the closest I’ll get to an alien landscape unless I visit the Arctic but  with all the melting going on that might not there long enough for me to get there.

9. Finish at least one of my started novels.  Again with the startitist.

10. Greet each day and each minute as a special bit of time that will never come again and not waste it.  Yeah, right.  I’m learning to appreciate so much more than I used to but living in the “now” is difficult.  Even when we try very hard we’re always think about the future (tomorrow) or the past (yesterday).

What 10 things do you wish you could do?

My browser is set to refdesk.com as my home page and today’s quote of the day was by President Theodore Roosevelt:

“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that no man shall have.”

I got to think back over my lifetime and I remember that veterans used to get some really good deals for their service to our country. They got to go to college or take other training classes at government expense so that they could compete for jobs when they completed their service. They could got to veteran’s hospitals and get medical care whether they had regular health insurance or not because they had risked their lives for us. Today, most of the men and women who have given of themselves to protect us do not receive much of anything for their service, other than a pat on the back and a thank you — if they’re lucky.

Of course, I’m getting this impression from news reports and other sources such as returning veterans. From listening to the talk from those who deal with vets and from listening to vets on health issue lists discuss their problems in getting the health care they need. I saw the reduction of educational benefits shrink as the cost of a college education went up, from when I worked for educational institutions in IT.

When did this country stop caring about the people who risk their lives to keep us safe? They deserve not only our respect for the jobs they do and the risks they take, but some compensation for the time they they give in service to their country. They need a square deal. As citizens we should be advocating that their benefits be restored to them.

Am I against the war in Iraq — yes. Do I want our soldiers to come home? Darn tootin’ I do. That doesn’t mean that I don’t care for our troops, I just feel if they’re going to risk their lives, it should be for values that this country actually stands for (or used to stand for) and not for pettiness and to protect the interests of corporations.

The “war on terror” is a failure. It’s increased the number of terrorists groups and it risks the lives of our service men and women for no gain in safety. In point of fact, America and Americans are less safe now than before The Shrub started this little war. I could go on a long rant about security theater but you’ve heard that one before. For now, I want to say that we’ve lost our focus and that’s hurting this country in many ways that are not immediately apparent. We’ve lost the high ground we once had when trying to get other countries to see reason and to negotiate to make this a better world to live in.

Along with losing our focus on what’s important, we’ve lost our willingness to play fair, and to honor our commitments. A glaring example is how we treat our veterans when they return home. They should get the square deal that Roosevelt talked about — the deal they used to get and no longer receive. A deal that didn’t have qualifiers such as “we know you’re ill but you can’t prove you got this illness from the chemicals used in battle so it’s not covered by your veteran’s benefits. Sorry.” No, vet should have to worry about health care. No vet who passes the entrance tests should have college denied to him/her because the government no longer covers the costs they used to.

America was made strong on the backs of its veterans and the education and continued service they provided as ordinary citizens when they returned home, went to school, got jobs, and continued to keep America strong with the sweat of their brow rather than the their life’s blood.

If you really want to support our troops, make sure that they’re risking their lives for those goals that American once stood for. And when they return home or finish their tour of duty, see to it that they have benefits to make the risk worth their potential price — we owe it to them since, because of their willingness to serve, we get to stay home and live our lives in peace.

A while back I stumbled across the fact that Jen Yates was on a book tour for her book, Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong. Then I noticed that one of the stops on the tour was in Bethesda, Maryland. I marked my calendar.

I’ve enjoyed the Cake Wrecks blog since I stumbled across it a year or so ago. I check back every so often for another hit of Jen’s humor and a look at how some things can just go so wrong. So, hearing of this event, I knew I wanted to go. The blog said there was a slide show and cake would be served. How could anyone pass this up.

Google Maps said that the trip should take us about an hour and 10 minutes. So, we left in time to get there about a half hour early. Good thing we did because the trip took over two hours (traffic was just really heavy) and we got there just in time for the Q&A and the cake. However, there was a large crowd.

Not only was there a fairly large crowd of people but it completely filled the seating area and was standing room and filling up all the aisles and walkways between shelving units. If you look closely you’ll note that Hyperion and I weren’t the only WSFAns there.
Of course there was cake:

It was a great cake and obviously Leslie has a wonderful sense of humor. It was chocolate cake and I believe a mocha frosting. It really tasted great. Everyone there got a piece of the cake. (For you people who play Portal, the cake was not a lie.)

Of course there’s a Wreckplica contest. People bring a cupcake that is based on a cake wreck. The three winners were The Lenin Cake (Grand Prize), the bloodshot eyes cake, and the foot (which included the nails).

I seem to have lost the photo of the third prize winning cupcake. Sorry.

Jen and John then signed books.

Though we missed the slide show, we did hear the Q&A and it was quite interesting. They’ve only had 7 requests to take down a cake and they get about 50-60 photos of cake wrecks a day. They actually check to make sure the wrecks aren’t intentional. Leslie said she was appalled when one of her cakes made it on Cake Wrecks but then saw the humor of it and got over it. It just happens sometimes that what you think is a great cake just doesn’t work for others.

It was a fun evening and I’m glad we took the time to go, even though we missed the slide show. Jen and John are good people and try to keep the blog light, funny and not mean. Check if out.

By the way, I also really love the Sweet Sunday posts where they post pictures of beautiful cakes — not a wreck among them. Works of art that it’s a shame to think someone is going to cut into it and serve it to people.