marshac

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  1. Absolutely! You're there to help, not be a slave- you need your own sacred space and if he can't accept that it live by it, you need to step out. It would probably be worth talking to a social worker about what resources he's able to access- both in terms of home care or potentially a long term care facility. Even if you don't decide to utilize those resources you at least deserve to know what they are- also, if he does qualify for some sort of caregiver you could at least be paid for the job you're already doing.... even if you do decide this is the path for you, be sure to look into respite care.
  2. Your credit card most likely already has a RFID chip- I know all of my mastercard cards do. The chip+pin model is much more secure because it's more than just a simple entry of numbers (like your current card)- the chip itself can be queried and the response validated ensuring that the card is physically present. The user of the card is then validated by use of a 4-6 digit PIN that only they would know. Back in my IT days we used something similar called SecurID- basically it was a token you had which generated a random number every 30s or so. Coupled with your PIN you had a unique single-use password. Even today I use something similar in my own life (YubiKey). Here's the logo for the RFID enabled cards-
  3. Same.... but only because I realized that she was WAY better at coming up with them than I was, so I just used hers on everything.
  4. I believe the initial idea put forth by the Heritage Foundation was for catastrophic coverage- not the faux-luxury plans required by the ACA. With these 'metal' plans, do you think that your hypothetical $30k/yr person will shell out the $5k annual deductible their bronze plan requires? The problem with the ACA plans is that they aren't affordable to use, and as we're finding out their provider networks are pathetic. Worse still is that the "metal" plan mentality of ridiculously high deductibles have infested all the other consumer plans available. What's the difference now between a catastrophic plan from three years ago and a bronze plan now? The free rides I see in the ED are usually already those with State medicaid insurance- they pay zero in copays, so there is no disincentive to come in for every little thing. Back ache or tooth pain? No problem. How about "I have a fever of 99F"... yup, I've seen that too. And you know what? In this litigious age we live in, every one of them gets some lab work done and the rest of us foot the bill- and in this regard, nothing will change. JAG mentioned something kind of off offhandedly about abortion, but it really resonated with me- if a cake maker can be legally compelled to make a cake for a gay couple, could I be somehow compelled to perform an abortion because someone else has a court mandated "right" to one? This trend towards the creation of individual "rights" which require the service of another to render is disturbing in that if you remove the ability to freely consent or object to the transaction you are simply imposing slavery onto one of the involved parties.
  5. I think the difference is that in the case of Google, I made the choice to provide them with my name as well as made the choice to allow them to host (and harvest) my email- in return for helping them refine their marketing profile of me I gain access to their services which I deem as valuable. This willing exchange of information for service is different than intercepting Amazon orders and installing backdoors, or hacking into private networks for the sole purpose of collecting data unbeknownst to anyone else (including the rightful "owners" of the data).
  6. Well, they temporarily stayed it for now pending the supreme court challenges. As for the individual mandate, I can't wait for the next mandate that requires me to purchase a Gym membership of my choice (just as long as they have the minimum mandated facilities such as a pool, sauna, free weights, cardio, and a host of classes) in the name of reducing obesity in America... or else pay a tax. Why stop there? Maybe we should all purchase a new car of our choice (again, as long as it meets the min requirements of being able to tow 5000lbs, etc) to stimulate the economy too. Lets not kid ourselves- the individual mandate wasn't a "left" or "right" idea- it was the idea of the insurance industry- everybody seems to be losing except them.
  7. My daughter has- she was even the girl from the movie for Halloween- I was on surgery for a few months and 100 hour weeks doesn't leave much time. I'll have to check it out- we have it on blueray. :)
  8. A family member of mine works for RSA and is a very public figure in the security industry... We touched base over Christmas and I asked him how things were going- basically everyone in the tech industry is freaking out and companies overseas are shunning ALL hardware from ANY US based company.... think Cisco routers, Dell servers. etc. With such a huge industry now facing international blowback as a direct result of US government actions, you can be sure the lobbyists representing these firms are going into high gear on the Hill- for us citizens our interests are in rare alignment with big business- to stop the rampant espionage.
  9. I LOL'ed, but then I saw that the post was at "01-01-2014, 12:46 AM"... now I'm just confused.
  10. I was at Home Depot the other day and several couples were clearing out the stocks of cheap 60W bulbs... was this you I snapped a photo of? I'm a big fan of LED bulbs- with the exception of some halogena candelabra bulbs in a chandelier (LEDs aren't there yet) nearly every bulb in our place is LED (100% of our Christmas likes this year too! 55W for all the outside bulbs!).... having said that, I also understand that not everyone has $3 (up to $15+ for a Par/R type bulb), and I'm not comfortable asserting "well, they'll save money over the long run" while forcing them into the local payday loan a little quicker because I knew that they would be better off with the more expensive energy efficient bulb. This whole "phase out" smacks of the phospate ban that went through awhile ago- ban them from the consumer products while leaving the largest (commercial) consumers unscathed. If this is simply about reducing energy consumption, than chance the economics so that there is an incentive to economize- with our utility as you move up the utilization tiers, you pay LESS per kWh, not more.... if we want to save energy, fix that first- don't force everyone into more expensive bulbs in a meaningless feel-good gesture.
  11. This is a really frustrating conversation to have with patients on so many levels- I've met people who do literally everything right to manage their DM2 and I'm positive their A1c will be <=7... and it comes back 12 despite the fact that the person I'm seeing is a picture of health (if not totally ripped in the case of one guy). Then there are those who honestly simply don't care, are morbidly obese (and completely sedentary), have loads of acanthosis and are unwilling to restrain themselves even a little... I just wish I knew what to do and I often feel so helpless... frequently they already know about the sequela that accompanies diabetes- kidney failure, retinopathy, peripheral neruropathy, MI, stoke, etc- they know about these first hand frequently because they have family members that have had heart attacks, amputations, or impaired vision due to their disease...yet they do nothing... so why do they go to the doctor? Is it a small cry for help, or is it something to do? I wish I knew what to do or say... I wish I could help and serve these folks better. When I find out what the magic combination of words are that suddenly makes someone care, I'll let you know Pam.