Financial and Emotional Cost of Health Care

This link contains a story about the cost of healthcare and how it impacted at least one patient.  I think it’s unfortunate that not everyone can get quick access to healthcare.  It’s not as simple as giving everyone what they want – there is a limit to our resources in this arena.  It’s a complicated issue and I won’t try to dissect it, but I do want to share the story.

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120934207044648511.html?mod=2_1566_topbox

 

- Mike

Stuff

Nothing more to say on this one.

We had a stray dog visit us for a couple of days. Cute pup. Looked like a mix of dalmation and pit bull, possibly.

Some of my tomatoes are coming in. Photos to come soon.

Population Charts

Cartograms show the size of geographic areas in proportion to certain statistical measures. Above, a cartogram of world population.

Fascinating cartograms of world statistics here.

Cartograms of US electoral results here.

Sustainable Livin'

Had the idea to create this nifty magazine holder out of cardboard the other day. I sketched it out while on the bus, drew the template onto a large cardboard sheet (from our new screen door) and cut it out with a box cutter. Works great! Re-using existing resources makes it even more cool.

On the same note, we have created a vegetable garden! In the course of 24 hours we purchased compost and 12 plants, tilled a flower bed (shovel and elbow grease only) and planted tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, and squash. We're looking forward to the results. It seems to us that food will continue to become more expensive as oil/gas prices continue to rise and that being able to grow one's own food is valuable skill. I even pondered the possibility of starting a farm.

(soil preparation)

(planted vegetables!)

One last note - these snack bars are great! Larabars contain only 3-7 ingredients such as dates, almonds, figs, cinnamon, and pecans. They come in 15+ flavors. Minimally processed (they say "unprocessed"), I find them outstanding.

(pecan pie and lemon bar are shown here)

The Real South Will Rise Again

The South has a stereotypical reputation for being racist, trailer-dwelling, uneducated, and slow-witted. Many reasons could probably be cited for these assertions, some based in fact (South Carolina leads the country in % of population living in trailers, Mississipi brings in the lowest % of population with advanced degrees). I can't back it up, but I am confident that the dual economy which existed during the inhumane slavery era (one being progressive and increasingly industrialized, the other being agriculturally-based) and the subsequent collapse of slavery (proper though it was) led to the economic disparity we now see between North and South.

The Real South will rise again - the people of the South are more than these unfortunate stereotypes. They are valuable and strong but sadly overlooked.

The above chart shows that almost all Southern states (including all 3 deep South states of Louisiana, Mississipi, and Alabama) rank in the top 13 in terms of percentage of population living below poverty. Contrast this to the top group:

Virginia stands out as the lone Southern exception, but my guess is that the gaggle of well-paid DC suburbanites looking to avoid the minority throngs of DC streets (see note below) skews its percentage.

A note about Washington DC: Ranks #1 in percent of population with advanced degrees and #2 in highest percent of people living below poverty. Something to ponder. A glut of highly educated kids just out of school trying to make it in government? I'd instead bet that the suit-and-tie folks of the DC professional set are rubbing elbows with the downtrodden minority population being overlooked by the nearby officials and institutions that promise to care for them. DC blows away its nearest competitor (Mississippi) with a whopping 55% of its population being African American. This all says much more about racism and the direct aftereffects of slavery than it does about the subtler economic effects of slavery's collapse, but it's worth noting.

For a more detailed breakdown of poverty data: http://www.censusscope.org/us/map_poverty.html

For more state ranking data: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTSelectServlet?ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&_lang=en_sse=on

I welcome comments, as usual.

Dubai's Growth Engine

 

Migrant workers in Dubai living 6 to a room (room pictured).  American Public Media's Marketplace (marketplace.publicradio.org) did a series last week on the exploding city-state Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates.  I posted a slideshow from the website showing the fantastic buildings and development taking place there.  In this slideshow (http://marketplace.publicradio.org/standard/display/slideshow.php?ftrv_id=65105&slide=1) you can see who made those buildings happen.  It makes one wonder - what kind of conditions/situations did these people leave to take this opportunity? 

 

A Crude Awakening

This movie looks excellent. Someone in my office today spoke at a lunch about peak oil and how experts are projecting us to run out of oil sometime between now and 2030. When peak oil hits, the price of oil will begin to skyrocket as production slows and demand continues to grow exponentially. Oil production won't end immediately, but the prices will make so many things more expensive to do. How will we move around, make stuff, harvest food, build buildings, etc. by using oil costing $200+ a gallon? We'll have to get around with less oil/gas and buy less stuff. We might not be so concerned with everything looking so pretty, nice smelling, or convenient (e.g., disposable goods). Are you ready? It's coming.

Scenes of Dubai: A Desert Urban Explosion

These photos must be seen.  Absolutely amazing.  According to the radio program, gasoline runs 70 cents per gallon in Dubai.  It looks like a cross between Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Manhattan.  The wealth is mindblowing. 

 

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/middleeast/ss/dubai_aerial/

Where Hitler Went to Retire

 

According to Yahoo, this is an aerial shot of a retirement home in Decatur, AL.  Ridiculous.  The designers should be stripped of their professional designations.  My guess is that heads will roll on this one now that a Jewish activist has complained to the government agency which funds the home. 

Bat Speed

 

Okay, so you may not play softball like I do or follow baseball and therefore may not care about bat speed.  However, I found this web page (http://www.batspeed.com/research10.html) explaining some of the physical principles of powerful hitting very interesting.  Plan to test them out in my game tonight.  The image above shows the forces exerted by average hitters.  The second frame shows forces exerted by great hitters.  Great hitters don't just move the bat in a straight line through the hitting plane; they also use their hands to enact a dual pendulum effect on the bat.  Read the site for more info.

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo!

 

It took me about 15 minutes of focused thinking to understand that the sentence "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is actually a grammatically correct sentence.  I don't think it even requires punctuation.

 

For more, visit mentalfloss.com (http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/13120).

Founder v. Flounder

 

From bartleby.com (http://www.bartleby.com/64/C003/0135.html)

 

People often confuse the verbs founder and flounder. Founder comes from a Latin word meaning “bottom” (as in foundation) and originally referred to knocking enemies down; people now use it also to mean “to fail utterly, collapse”: The business started well but foundered. Flounder means “to move clumsily, thrash about” and hence “to proceed in confusion.” Thus if John is foundering in Chemistry 1, he had better drop the course; if he is floundering, he may yet pull through.

Excellent Article on Race and Gender

Highly readable and informative article on the power of gender bias over race bias: http://boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/02/17/black_man_vs_white_woman/ 

 

 

Democracy, Polical Transparency, and Instant Runoff Voting

Thanks to Bob Richard and his comment on yesterday's post, which included a reference to Second Choice Voting. The premise is the same as Instant Runoff Voting, which I had heard of before but couldn't remember what to call it. This is really an idea whose time has come. According to Fairvote.org (http://www.fairvote.org/?page=19), McCain and Obama have supported it in the past. I don't see why any American would be opposed to it.

I would welcome any comments or insight as to why Instant Runoff Voting has not become more popular. One possible suggestion is that the established politicians may see it as a threat as they hoard up votes from 3rd-party supporters who are afraid to waste votes and who ultimately support the main party candidate who most resembles their values.

Another concept I discussed with friends the other night is proportionate representation, which allocates political representatives based on the percentage of voters, rather than a winner-take-all mentality. If 5% of people vote for the Burrito Party, then the Burrito Party gets to comprise about 5% of the congressional representation. I believe England has this sort of thing going on. Some would say that proportionate representation dilutes the governing body and makes it harder to achieve results since more than two major opinions need to be considered. It seems to me that proportionate representation would lead to more compromise and sophistication in the process.

There is so much disconnection between what happens in our government and what the will of the people is that people seem fairly desensitized to it. We often appear to have become resigned to the fact that our vote doesn't count, our voice isn't heard, and government is just for the deep-pocketed. If that is the case, then we cease to live in a democracy. We are coming dangerously close to that point. I am heartened by the voter turnout in the current election process.

Nader Supporters

The Green Party set up a way for Nader supporters to indicate their support for Ralph Nader running for prez on the Green Party ticket by posting their names on a website. The names of the near 4,000 signatories appears at http://www.draftnader.org/. By no means scientific, an analysis of the number of signatories by city shows my fair 'burg, Austin, among the top contenders for Nader-phile capital of the USA. Looks like Nader will take the coveted Chico, CA, vote by a landslide.

Enter the Nader

Ralph Nader is taking another stab at the presidency. Here's a rundown of what Nader claims to be in favor of, and which his website (http://www.votenader.org/) further claims that Clinton and Obama are against:

• Single-payer national health insurance
• Cutting military budget
• Pushing solar power over nuclear
• Reversing US middle east policy
• Ending corporate personhood
• Carbon pollution tax
• Repeal anti-union law, Taft-Hartley Act

Taft-Hartley essentially restricts the ability of workers to engage in certain kinds of strikes to flex their bargaining muscle. Wikipedia has a good summary of it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft-Hartley_Act). I didn't have the time to read it all, but I can say there are some elements I disagree with and others which probably make sense.

Many of Nader's positions resonate with me and I think he represents the biggest threat to our unsustainable, profit-over-people culture in the US. Some may try to cast him as a pied piper leading us down a golden road to hell or a self-aggrandizer seeking personal acclaim. I have no idea how to respond to that. Perhaps when I can quit my job and blog professionally I'll have time to write about those notions. For now, I'll just take him at his word and say that he's a guy who means well and likes the limelight at least a little bit. I make the same assumptions for any politician.

The first question that arises for those who align with his thinking is clear:

Does a vote for Nader reduce the chances for a victory by Clinton or Obama in the presidential race?

For me, the answer to the first question is yes. There is no way Nader will win. Most people are too busy to educate themselves fully on Nader's positions so will avoid him or are too scared to risk shaking up the status quo to vote for him - or both. So he will not win.

However, many progressives vote Democrat for lack of a better choice. They long for someone with Nader's outlook. With Nader's entry, the Democrat candidate will lose votes to Nader. Presumedly no Republican would vote for Nader since his stances on the issues are fairly unconventional. So his candidacy has no effect on McCain. This blog breaks it down well with some nice comments from readers:
http://blogs.theroot.com/blogs/downfromthetower/archive/2008/02/25/nader-response.aspx

If he's guaranteed to lose, is it still pointless to cast your vote for Nader? Could it be considered making a statement? Will that make the "powers that be" sit up and take notice? If so, is that more important than actually electing someone who, at least somewhat, resembles your values? Is the system so messed up that there is essentially no difference between a republican and a democrat, necessitating a vote for Nader even if he'll lose?

I hate long blog posts, so I'll just answer breifly.

Liberal thinkers: Voting for Nader might make a statement, but it won't change anything meaningfully. Change takes time. Vote for the Democrat and hope for a slow evolution toward more progressive values. Even if elected, Nader's power to change things would be limited. Our system is set up for gradual change, right or wrong. And yes, there is a difference between McCain and the major Democrat candidates.

Conservative thinkers: Vote McCain, promote Nader in secret, and put up roadblocks to Second Choice Voting (see below).

One thing may hold the answer: Second Choice Voting. Instead of casting a vote for one person, cast a vote for your favorite, then name a second person, in case your top choice doesn't make the cut. Here's where to learn more: http://www.genarts.com/karl/second-choice-voting.html

Book Covers

I have often found myself fascinated by book cover design. COVERS is a website devoted to the art of book cover design. If features what should be my next book to read, Supercapitalism by Robert Reich. Enjoy: http://covers.fwis.com/

Vegetables Iz Yummee

I've been eating vegetarian lately. I find that my body digests plants much better than meat. Even dairy is something I'm trying to stay away from. I think it's working well for me. I'm noticing less bloating, less, um, stagnation in the bowel region, and more energy. Not that I won't ever eat meat again, but I think it has health benefits.

In the past, the idea of going vegetarian would have scared me because it seemed like deprivation, but there are lots of choices available. In fact, going vegetarian (not that would call myself that - yet) has led me to explore more foods (like Indian) which I hadn't explored much before. Listening to the podcast of Compassionate Cooks has influenced me a lot in this area.

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The Paradox of Choice

I recently read a book called "The Paradox of Choice." It's about how the glut of choices we have available to us in the United States is actually decreasing our overall happiness. I was in Whole Foods last night, which is one of my favorite places to be in the world, and I marveled at the number of cheeses on offer. There are hundreds, I'd say, of options. Hard, soft, French, Austrailian, smelly, white, yellow, etc. One could spend all day deciding. Yet that is precisely the problem. We are losing life satisfaction over these choices. How?

• We lose precious time making these decisions.
• Because of the large amount of time it takes to make a decision, we have a greater stake in making sure it's a good one. When it turns out bad, we hate ourselves even more.
• We suffer the illusion of perfection: with all of these choices, the perfect one MUST be out there. When it eludes us, our expectations of perfection are shattered, leaving us disppointed.

Those are the reasons I can remember, anyway. One I'd add is that focusing on these product choices makes us farther apart from our loved ones - if we place so much importance on our purchases, we cannot devote the time on relationships.

Of course, SOME choice is good. One who has no choices is unhappy for obvious reasons. One who has a few choices is happy and is not plagued by the threats listed above. However, there is a diminishing marginal return on each additional choice. Eventually, the detriments of added choices overtake the additional satisfaction you might have received. You descend into choice hell. The graph below illustrates beautifully.


That's the post for the moment. Adieu.

Cuba: One Perspective

Scenes from Cuba, and one man's commentary: http://mahalanobis.twoday.net/stories/4731876/