CFL's
 

Just had another one of those miserable things burn out. Personally, I don't think that they're saving me enough money to pay for themselves. Used to buy commercial service 130V bulbs, and they lasted every bit as long.

But it doesn't matter, we're saving the World, and I'll do my part. But when the goose steppers come for my vacuum tubes...well, things are gonna be different,

Chas

Can't use 'em, Flourescents ruin my wife's eyes. Often wonder what all that flickering does for people with certain diseases?

They give an odd, not-too-strong light...An' we won't even talk about what they do to radio reception....An' the "cycling" that they do bugs the hell outta me, too, Rob...

I would be real curious to see what it does for an epileptic, I notice that whenevr they show a clip that contains flashing lights, the newscaster on the BBC news warns the listeners. My late brother-in-law suffered from epilepsy. They thought it might have been brought on by thr guns aboard ship, he was a fire ccontrol type on destroyers in WW II in the Canadian Navy.

Maybe overcautious? Not all epileptics are vulnerable to flashing lights but because some are, they have to warn everyone. It's like the labels supermarkets stick on everything "may contain nuts"?

Caution rules. I've just started on some new meds after a fit I had over a year ago. The list of possible side effects runs to two pages under three headings; "very common (over 10 percent)", "common; (between 1 and 10 percent)" and "rare (under 1 percent). They could make me aggressive, depressive, suicidal, cause stomach cramps and diarrhea and cause memory loss. Put that lot together and it sounds like a fun afternoon........ That assumes I don't blow myself up pulling the gas fire apart to try to find if there's a bird's trapped behind it.

My sympathies, every time we see one of the commercials for some new "wonder drug"* on TV the side effects sound worse than the disease. I feel damned lucky that pushing 79 as I am the only drug I take on a daily basis is an 81mg aspirin. Good luck with the new stuff.

* Wonder drug = I wonder if this one will work

Yeah, don't those commercials TICKLE you ? Sometimes I barely get the name of the damn drug, or what its actually FOR, 'cause they spend all of their time telling you WHY you SHOULDN'T take it...And 99% of these stupid pills I can't just be-bop into my friendly local drug store & pick up a few of 'em to "test drive", they're prescription only. So why go the trouble of hawking them to ME in the 1st place ? That's my DOCTOR'S job to keep up w/this stuff, not mine-I could care less about this pill over that pill...

and those are the ones that they admit to, normally in very few studies with few participates for short durations.
IMO the FDA and the local DA's need to look hard and long at the "omissions" of the side effects that come to light when drugs are mass used.

Here is the twist, the pharmaceutical sales people are the ones that primarily educate the doctor about the pills. How is that for a conflict of interests.

Well guys there is one you don't need to worry about - don't take Yaz.

Then there is the one that shrinks your prostate Avodart, they say women should not take it - who was the last woman anyone knew that had a prostate?

An' then good ol' Dr Kronkhite gets a nice little "honorarium" for all of 'em he pushes on folks...

Pharmaceutical Sales
 

Well, my neighbor is a drug dealer. Not the dime bag type, he drives around in a Vette with his golf clubs in the back, treating doctors, hospital administrators, etc to a game of golf, a nite at the Ritz, and picks up the tab with his company Amex card. I don't think he educates them as much as he bribes them.

Interestingly enough, about a year ago the pharmaceutical companies decided that it looked bad with them handing out all of those freebies to the medical profession. So they decided to cut back on the free pens, cups, and the other goodies...like the free PDR they gave my wife (RN). They were reforming themselves.

Funny thing is, I haven't noticed my neighbor's Vette setting still for any length of time. And he makes DAMN good money.

Chas

Oh, my dad was a high muckety-muck where he worked, we got all manner of boodle & swag when I was a kid-Pens, pencils, cups, trinkets, paperweights, all kinds of junque like that...The only kid who had more was a buddy of mine whose daddy was the doctor...

That sometimes has an advantage, the heart specalist that saved my wife by changing her BP medicine gave her about a two month supply from the drug company's handouts. Mind you I know how they can afford to hand out all that stuff. In late 2004 when she started on it it was $300 for a 90 days supply, in January this year that same 90 day supply was $475.

Last night I was watching all the 'experts' debate health care, what a bunch of maroons. At the start they admitted that we spend twice what the other industrializd countries do, and we don't cover everyone, plus in comparison it is disease care not health care. Then when they talked about covering the 47 million who have no insurance they say "But how can we afford it?" Duh, well if we are spending twice what the countries do that cover everyone . . .

The Doc
 

When I was a kid, we had three or four doctors in this podunk little town. The one we used had one nurse, and himself. You'd go see him, he'd look your over, poke a cigarette in his mouth, tell you what was wrong with you, give you a sack full of those free pills, and you were out the door. And people just paid him, didn't really need insurance.

A few years back, my Dad slipped on the ice, fell down, and split the back of his head open on the sidewalk. It really wasn't that bad.

So we took him to the emergency room just to be safe, we were worried about a concussion. I'll bet we dealt with at least ten different people, set around for an hour or so. Finally a doctor shows up, spent about a minute, said don't worry about a concussion, but the cut needed stitches.

Then some intern who looked like he was about 12 yrs old came in, and sewed my poor dad up. This kid couldn't sew a button on a shirt, I suppose he had to learn, but Jesus Christ, this was costing real money, and the service was miserable.

Now I don't know whether to blame the medical profession, the drug companies, the insurance companies, or the government...so I'll blame 'em all.

What we need is a bunch of Doc's with a cigarette hanging out of their mouths who want to be doctors, and not millionaires. And get rid of the people who are just trying to get a piece of the action.

Chas

Amen, Charles ! I've gotten I dunno how many bills from this Doctor's Group or that Medical Association for all the "consulting" work they did when I had my Bariatric Surgery back in Feb...Most of these jokers I never even saw-and don't remember many of the ones I DID see, I was pretty well high the whole time I was in there. But ever one of 'em wants at least $250-300 for stickin' his nose in the door-and God Bless Blue Cross-for some reason, almost NONE of this "consulting" is covered, don't meet deductible, haven't met the deductible, blah blah feckin' blah...Its ALL a big gawdam racket, if you ask me. OTOH, I've had relatively few problems from this operation, & have lost so far, 105 lbs, so I spose its been worth it...

105 lbs???
 

I'm impressed, you're doin' good. I could stand to lose 50, but it ain't gonna happen if I keep poppin' the tops on these Silver Bullits. I prefer Heineken, but it has too much horsepower.

Back when we were poor, and I mean dirt poor, my wife wound up with a couple of surgeries, once without insurance, and once with lousy insurance. To tell the truth, unless you have really good insurance, you're almost better off without it.

It's amazing the bloodsuckers who come crawling out of the woodwork. The pathagoligists? (can't spell for shit) were the one's that really got to me. I didn't see that they did anything other than send me a bill. I'll skip the $10 asprins and the $20 plastic piss pot.

Anyway, both times I wrote them a form letter, filled in their names, and how much I was going to send them each month. And we paid them off.

As to the lousy insurance we had. The insurance company said that we had been overcharged, and applied what they said was a fair charge to the deductable, which was everyone but the hospital, and paid them off. By the way, they were in cahoots with the hospital. In other words, we were stuck owing four separate people at the same time.

When I queried the young lady for the insurance company on the phone, as to why they did what they did, she said, "Well, we saved you a lot of money. Actually, we saved ourselves a lot of money."

Well, I'll give her points for honesty.

Finally, after a few years, the rest of them gave us the rate which the insurance company said was fair. Thank God.

When we had no insurance, we got the good rate from the get go.

Something out there stinks.

Gimmie Doc Gallagher with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Chas

We have a close friend who has COPD and diabetes as well as a thyroid condition. The meds to treat all that ailed him amounted... to more monthly than his SSI. As a Korean War Vet and meeting income qualifications...he was accepted at Vet's for treatment and pays a small co-pay for meds. Get this...it was suggested he continue to carry insurance. :confused:
It will be very interesting to see how O'Bam Bam carries off the insurance dilema.

The problem he is facing in fixing health care (and BTW, we have disease care, not health care) is the brainwashing that has been done to the hoi poloi. I still see that barking idiot Boehner on TV "Do you want some government type making decisions your doctor should be making?" What a load of bovine excrement, doctors don't make these decisions today, Aetna, US Healthcare, and the other insurance companies make them based on profit margins.

So do I believe we will see health care reform? No, quite frankly I don't and never mind the "it will be another 16 years before we get the chance again" as we will not survive as a nation for 16 more years if we SNAFU this one. We spend twice what other nations do and get lousy health care. It is predicted to rise exponentially. If 65% of bankruptcies today are medically related, what exactly do you propose doing with a nation where 99% of its citizens are bankrupt? Who is going to drive our consumer driven economy when there are no consumers except the super rich?

Oh yeah, one more comment about that hypocritical SOB Boehner, he does not seem to mind the government making decisions regarding women and their doctors.

They are pieces of garbage..... They dont light as well,its un-natural light,etc.......

I will keep using traditional bulbs as long as I can as they are the best and always have been!!

They are still readily available, although I don't think a single one of them is made in this country, anymore. Probably made in a Chinese factory across the street from Trumps necktie factory..... his "America First" campaign being the bullshit that it is.

Hehe you speak good words!!