July 4th 2009 Greetings

Happy 4th of July 2009 for all those out there in cyber-space in the United States and for those outside the USA, have a GREAT day also.

Wheel of Fortune Challenged

 We have been watching Wheel of Fortune for many years and still watch it almost every day. When I watch I am usually watching with my wife and she is a word “guru”.  My wife has been known to solve the word puzzles without any letters posted on the board.  She did this just last week on a final puzzle.  This totally amazes me.

Now I sit there and struggle with every puzzle even though once in awhile when the wife is out of the room, manage to solve the puzzle before the contestant.  Sometimes when I am watching alone and getting close to solving, my wife will walk in to the room, glance at the TV screen, pause for two seconds and she solves the puzzle.  Ugh!

 So in order to “beef” up my word association I secretly started playing “Text Twist” on Yahoo.  In this game they give you several letters and you move the letters to boxes to make words.  In order to continue your game you need to make a word that uses all the letters.  The other words are just bonuses to your score.  It has helped, but just last week I was playing and my daughter just happened to walk by and as she passed she told me the answer without missing a step. Ugh!

 So now when we watch the “Wheel” is sit quietly and listen to my wife and daughter verbally working out the answer.  If for some reason the answer pops in to my head like a flash from divine intervention, I will blurt out the answer.  This doesn’t happen very often but when it does it makes my day.

 I will continue to do the “Text Twist” if for no other reason than to beat my high score of 38,000.  I don’t remember how I did it, but can only assume a computer glitch had something to do with it.

Goodbye Michael…

Michael Jackson flat out changed the world of music forever and I doubt if anyone like him will ever be seen on this Earth again.  When I say “world” of music I mean everything about music and the way we look at it, not just in the U.S., but the entire world.

 I have been a fan of Michael’s for more than forty years and have enjoyed watching his career.  When he introduced “Thriller” I knew when I saw it that this was something very special and that the world of music will neve be the same again.  I sure has not been the same since then and I say we should celebrate his contribution to music.  Not only did he change music, he changed the way people pursed their musical careers.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people say they were inspired by Michael Jackson in their careers.  That is an awesome accomplishment in itself.

 He will be missed and I hope his musical talent will be celebrated forever.

The President’s Press Conference June 23

 I watched the President’s New Conference this morning because I wanted to hear his plan on national healthcare.  Other subjects were also covered such as his South America (Chile) Policy, the Economy, and the Smoking Law passed yesterday.  I really liked what I heard about all the subjects, especially his plan for National Healthcare.

 I doubt the healthcare insurance companies like it because it will probably cut into their outrageous premiums, but that is exactly why it is being considered now.  With the millions of Americans out of work and all the others without a healthcare plan, I back the President 1,000% in his quest for a National Healthcare Plan.  I also like the fact that if the insurance companies want to get involved they will not be allowed to only insures healthy people.  They will have to take people with pre-existing health issues.

 I once worked for a Commercial Property Insurance company and even thought it wasn’t healthcare insurance, the policies were probably the same.  They took in the payments and fought every claim “tooth and nail”.  I have had the same experience a few times with healthcare providers also.  They freely take your premium payment, but beware if you have a claim.

  As far as healthcare cost these days here is a recent prime example.  We have someone visiting us from the Midwest and yesterday this person needed medical attention.  He is not working and does not have health insurance so we called our doctor at “The Palo Alto Medical Clinic” to see if he could get seen.  We were told that they required a $300.00 deposit just for a visit of a new patient without health insurance.  Well I can tell you that this person can not afford that kind of cost and we asked if they could refer other clinics in the area that may not required such a large amount of money for a visit.  They gave us several names and we call a few only to find none of them had any openings immediately.

 So we discussed his options.  Because his symptoms were that his throat was swelling on the inside, we were afraid it might be life threatening and maybe a visit to a local hospital emergency room should be considered.  Of course, he would not have to outlay a “chunk of change”, but the final bill would probably be a few thousand dollars or more.

 Well my daughter saved the day.  She did a “Google” search for some local clinics that provide immediate attention for “walk ins”.  Walla!  She found a clinic named “Quick Health” and we called.  They said they charged $59.00 for a visit and off he went.  When he came back he went on and on about how great everyone was and that they saw him within a few minutes of his arrival.  As it turned out, he did not have a life threatening illness and the doctor told him how to treat the swelling after a complete examination.  The total bill was just under 100 bucks.

 Then two days later someone from Quick Health called him to ask how he was doing, as a follow up.  This impressed me.  This showed me that Quick Health was not just some “fly by night” company and if anyone in my family needs medical attention, Quick Health would be a strong choice.

  Thank heaven he did not go the local hospital emergency room and have to deal with that bill.  Thank you Quick Health!

  As a footnote:  I once went to The Palo Alto Medical Center and paid the $300.00 deposit for a visit.  The $300.00 was used up by my visit and the doctor’s diagnosis with an additional cost of $250.00 for the medication (20 pills).  Yes that’s right, 20 pills cost me $250.00.  (This in itself demands healthcare reform.)

 I have nothing to add at this time except “Please Mr. President, help us folks out here who need some help with our healthcare!  We are with you all the way!”

Medicare Application

I applied for Medicare today by calling 1800-772-1213. 

Before I applied I did some research on the web because I was only applying for Medicare and not the retirement.  The Social Security site said that I had to make an appointment at my local SS Office by calling the number above.  Of course right off I figured this was going to take all day and was not looking forward to it, but I knew it needed to get done.

 Well I have to tell you it was an awesome experience.  After I dialed the number all the menu intructions were clear and precise.  I answered several questions and then selected the option to talk directly with an agent.  The waiting list was over ten minutes and then I was given an option to leave my phone number and they would call me back when my turn came up.  I took this option.

 About 10 minutes went by and I received a phone call by an actual person.  Yes, a person called me back and I told him why I was calling.  He then told me that I could apply right now over the phone and did not have to go to my local SS office.  I took that option and he transferred me to another person.  I told her why I was calling and then she asked me several more questions.  She was very nice we ended up having a very pleasant conversation.  When we were done she said I would have my Medicare Card in 10 days.  I thanked her for making what I thought would be a nightmare in to a simple and clear experience.  She gave me anothe phone number and told me that if I had any questions to please call.

To any of you out their in cyber-space considering retiring I say “Do it now!”   “Don’t wait!”  The agents are there to help you in anyway they can and will give you all the information you need for your questions.  I found the web site very helpful in answering several of my questions before I called.  Here is the web site if you would like to do that before you call.  Click <Here>.

I sure hope all of you that “do it now” enjoy the experience as much as I did.  I feel like a load has been lifted and now I can continue on with other things.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there in cyber-space!

This is one dad that is looking forward to spending the day with his family and I hope that all the other dads out there enjoy the same experience. Nothing else could be better.