One More Thing…

If it's fall, it must be time for an iPhone refresh and today was the day.

I will readily admit I'm an Android user. It would take quite a bit to get me to leave that eco-system for Apple because I'm just too set up with my Android apps.

That said, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on today's product announcements. This should not be considered a detailed review, and just my observations gleaned while watching the streaming keynote.

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The new iPhones are certainly attractive and as close as they ever have been to pushing me towards Apple mobile products than before.

The iPhone has finally grown…literally.

At one time it had the largest screen of any smartphone. But, they stood fast while everyone else passed them by. In fact, they kept the 3.5" screen size until the release of the iPhone 5; adding a mere  half inch more.

Now, they're making a quantum leap to 4.7"! I really like that they jumped to the 4.7" screen. That's the size on my 1st Generation HTC One (M7), and it seems to be a sweet spot for me.

What's a little disappointing, is that the screen is the equivalent of 750p resolution, when you take pixel density into account. Better than basic HD, yet not quite the typical 1080p on most Android phones.

Will most people notice the difference? Probably not.

Additionally, they're releasing a bigger brother, dubbed the iPhone 6 Plus, which has a 5.5" screen. This is clearly aimed at the growing phablet market, dominated by the LG G3 Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Note models.

While I've got relatively large hands, I have to ask myself how large is too large? We're talking a phone, after all. Some of my friends swear by them though.

Apple bumped up memory, with both new models topping out at 128Gb of onboard storage. They still haven't added a microSD card. But, with cloud storage options more readily available, that's becoming less of an issue. (Though carriers need to wake up and raise their data caps to step in line).

Both new models come with 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity, and they're implementing a neat feature (where carriers allow for it) that the phone will jump onto available Wi-Fi if it can't reach a traditional cell tower.

Apple has also finally added an NFC chip!

Near Field Communication allows a couple of devices in close proximity to communicate with each other. Android phones have had this in a while now.

Why is this important?

Probably the #1 usage of NFC in phones has been for contactless payments, such as Google Wallet. It's great. Tap your phone against specific credit card readers, and the credit card you have attached to your phone will be charged.

Unfortunately, financial institutions came out with their own competing product, formerly known as ISIS, but recently redubbed SoftCard.

They actively discouraged carriers from allowing adoption of Google Wallet, until recently, with the release of KitKat (Android 4.2).

But, Apple isn't simply adopting someone else's version of contactless payments. Starting next month is Apple Pay.

Apple Pay will be a secure payment system that securely stores your credit card information so you pay just like the Android devices.

They're taking it one step further though as Apple Pay will not provide your account information to the merchant. Rather, it will use a one time number that the Apple Pay-equipped credit card terminal recognizes.

Your credit card information is stored onboard the phone, in a newly designed chip, which encrypts the data. A big advantage over Google Wallet is that it uses Apple's finger print authentication to allow purchases.

Should you lose your phone, you will be able to disable payments using the Find My iPhone service.

Apple Pay launches next month, and they've already announced some large merchants, including McDonalds, Walgreens, Whole Foods and Disneyland/Disney World.

Apple Pay is a game changer folks. While the financial institutions were able to put up stumbling blocks when Android-based phones introduced this, Apple is a juggernaut. Pretty much every person that has an iTunes account, has already provided Apple with their credit card number.

Providing existing merchants are allowed a relatively painless way to add Apple Pay, there's virtually no way for it to fail.

And then Tim Cook muttered that phrase made famous by Apple founder Steve Jobs

"One More Thing"

With that, the Apple Watch made its public debut.

I am absolutely impressed with what they've come up with. Despite using a square form factor, it's absolutely gorgeous. Rounded edges. Removable bands that come in fashion and sports versions.

The home screen looks like a kaleidoscope of polka dots. You then select app by clicking on its dot.

My favorite feature was Digital Tap, best described as rather Twitter-like. But, it provides suggested quick responses based upon content from the first message. It also allows images and unique tap sequences to be sent.

Apple Watch will also support Apple Pay, though your iPhone will need to be handy. Now you won't have to dig into your pocket for your phone, and can simply hold your wrist up to the credit card machine.

Pebble, Motorola, LG and Samsung need to be concerned as it looks like functionality is several steps ahead of what the competitors currently offer.

These are just some of my thoughts after watching the live keynote today.

* * *

IPhone Pricing (w/2yr contract):

iPhone 6:

• $199 (16gb)
• $299 (64gb)
• $399 ($128gb)

iPhone 6 Plus:

• $299 (16gb)
• $399 (64gb)
• $499 ($128gb)

iPhone Pre-orders start Sept. 12th, and start shipping Sept. 19th

Full pricing for the Apple Watch was not announced, other than it starts at $350, and will be available early 2015.

Apple should have the recording from today's iPhone and Apple Watch announcement posted shortly.

I am Cyborg

cy·borg [sahy-bawrg] noun
a person whose physiological functioning is aided by or dependent upon a mechanical or electronic device.

Origin: 1960–65; cyb(ernetic) org(anism)

* * *

For a long long time I've had bad vision. I had always chalked it up to simply being my eyes, which had an horrendous amount of astigmatism.

About 14 years ago, I looked into the option of LASIK vision correction, and while I was apparently a candidate at the time, the doctor refused to preform it because, in his words, I would not be "20/20 happy." (I supplied him with a laundry list of questions about the procedure, and that must've scared him off).

In retrospect, that was a blessing in disguise because a few years later I heard a dreaded "C" word…cataract.

By definition, a cataract is the condition where the lens of your eye starts to turn cloudy, thereby blurring your vision. In extremely circumstances it can go completely opaque, effectively rendering a person blind in that eye.

While I wasn't completely blind, my vision was pretty bad. Uncorrected, it was something like 20/500+, and even with my coke bottle glasses it had devolved to a point where it could someday become a hindrance to driving.

As I haven't had vision care for a long time, surgery was out of the question. Out of pocket could be upwards of $7000, or more, per eye.

However, thanks to Obamacare, I was able to finally get my eyes taken care of. I cannot stress enough that had the president not pushed for his changes in health care, I would not have been able to do this.

(And on a side note, I find the earlier comments by opponents that there would be less choice in health care ludicrous as I see more and more advertisements on TV for health care options I've never heard of until recently.)

* * *

I arrived at my appointment mid-morning last Friday. People asked me whether I was nervous? (How could I NOT be?!?). I said, "No." But, the truth came out when they took my blood pressure as it was all over the place. Not enough to abort the surgery. But, enough to make me take pause.

After copious amounts of eye drops, including some type of "cane" drug to numb the eye, as well as a mild sedative, it was time to wheel me into the operating room.

I was bummed that it wasn't equipped with a recording system, as my grandmother's surgery center had been. But, then I would be "the main event" so it didn't really matter.

The overhead light was all a blur. But, it kept moving all over the place and  so I eventually asked, "Have you started yet?"

Turns out he was already several minutes into the operation already when I asked.

Basically, they make a couple of small incisions in the surface of the eye and then use an ultrasonic wave to liquefy the natural lens of the eye. It's then sucked out and debris cleaned up, before the artificial lens is inserted; unfurling similarly to the solar wings on the International Space Station.

After a bit of tweaking to get the lens properly placed, they covered the eye with a shield (what you see in the photo above), and wheeled me back to the recovery room.

All told, I think I was in the operating room for 20-25 minutes. In fact, I was easily on my way home under two hours from when I first got there. Probably closer to 90 minutes!!

I had my first follow-up appointment the next morning and was shocked! I nearly aced the eye chart; missing only one letter on the 20/20 line. Granted, it wasn't crystal clear. But, it was pretty discernable.

Now, at today's second follow-up appointment, I basically slammed the 20/15 line with no problems, and my astigmatism is completely gone! Plus, I got the great comment that I healed a lot quicker than the doctor expected (which accounts for the ultra-high distance vision).

Perhaps the only downer is that I have to wait until June 13th to get my right eye fixed, and so watching TV and using the computer can be a chore at times.

I can either use my old glasses, which render my new eye a total blur, or I can use a cheap pair of reading glasses, which then totally blur out the right eye due to its astigmatism.

It's kind of strange to think that I will have a small piece of plastic in my eye for the rest of my life. But, in this day and age, where it's commonplace for people to get knees and hips replaced, why should my eye lenses be any different?

Plus, I now have the advantage that these lenses are better than the best sunglasses when it comes to blocking out harmful UV light.

About the only negative thing I will come away with is they are not multi-focal, like the natural human eye so I will be doomed to reading glasses for the rest of my life. But, that's certainly better than not being able to see.

Juicing Season One….Complete

After 23 days I have now broken my Juice Fast so that I can enjoy Christmas Eve, eating the same food as relatives when we get together.

That has always been the goal, so it's not as if I'm failing. Have to tell you though, there were times when it was a real challenge to keep going.

Over the last couple of  days I asked myself a few times if I should continue as I still need to lose a a whole bunch of weight? But, I recognized that I've been slowly burning out and the idea of continuing until February 1st (a brief pipe dream) just didn't seem realistic.

Still, I'm happy with the results. In 23 days, I've lost an estimated 30 pounds. I don't know what my blood chemistry looks like as I still need to talk my doctor into allowing me to take another battery of blood tests.

I may start up again sometime after January 1st. If not then, then definitely by March 1st. I'd like to lose another 50-70 pounds by the Summer. But, anything will be a victory.

Right now, I just have to teach myself better portion control and to keep an eye on what kind of ingredients I cook with. I've found a whole bunch of good ones on the Internet. Unfortunately, they're never single portion size!

My first official solid food since November 30th was a mixed green salad, with green onions, mushrooms, Blood Orange sections and water chestnuts. For a dressing it was Panera Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, which I got for free at Safeway. Can't beat free!!

When that first slice of water chestnut hit my tongue I thought I was in Heaven. Never underestimate the enjoyment of that crispy crunch!

A little bit later I delved into a bag of Tao Kae Noi Crispy Seaweed snacks, which I grabbed at Berkeley Bowl West the other day. So much more flavorful than normal potato chips.

While I didn't have to learn to chew again, as Joe Cross did after his 60 Day Reboot, I was extra careful not to bite my tongue by accident.

Not that I should be considering any type of juicing guru, but should people ask me for advice here's a few things I've gleaned from my juice fast.

1 – Get a really good juicer. You can buy cheap ones for about $100. But, they're a bear to clean up and wear out after extended use. I got a horizontal masticating one because I want to be able to use it for stuff beyond the juice fast. Before starting my juice fast one of the things I made was frozen banana sorbet. The texture was just as good as any fancy store bought variety.

2 – Plan on buying your produce at least a couple of times a week. When I first started I tried stretching it to a week and some of the stuff I bought had went bad. And when going shopping make sure to make yourself a shopping list. Sure enough, you'll forget something if you don't. I did a couple of times.

3 – Properly store your veggies. When you get home immediately remove the twist ties they use to bunch the leafy greens together. Additionally invest in some of those green ethylene produce storage bags. I had my doubts on them till I started using them. I had some radishes which were crispy three weeks later!

4 – Don't be afraid to try different juice combinations. Joe Cross' unwritten rule is to eat 80% veggies and 20% fruits in a day. Originally I had tried writing up a meal plan. However, it just didn't work greatly, and so I ended up adlibbing, usually with a 100% fruit juice for breakfast.

5 – You will probably eat more carrots and kale than you have ever consumed previously! At least the kale part. Kale is the main ingredient in one of Cross' most nutrient rich juices, Joe's Mean Green. Besides kale, it has cucumbers, lemon, ginger and celery. I doubled the lemon and played with the ginger to get a flavor I could drink.

Some juicers handle fruits and veggies differently. The one I bought blew me a way with the way it dealt with carrots. This was great because my favorite Go To juice was Ginger Paradise, which had carrots, ginger and apple. If I wasn't worried about burning out on it, I would have had this every day, twice a day!

6 – Get in the habit of washing your juicer immediately after use. I made it a practice of juicing, and then while the juice was sitting in the catch cup, I'd wash my juicer, scrubbing it with the big tooth brush they included so it would be clean and ready for the next meal.

7 – Don't be afraid to augment with healthy store bought juice if you must. I had issues with getting any juices that I really liked which included tomatoes. I ended up buying a bottle of Low Sodium Spicy Hot V8, and using the same glass size as I'd been juicing.

And as I pointed out, make sure to look for the low sodium variety. It slays me that they still sell the regular variety with all that salt added, when the low sodium one really tastes excellent.

8 – Don't be a scale watcher. Though it was really obvious I was losing weight quickly, I decided to only weigh myself on Sunday evening, and then wearing the exact same clothes as the week before. Seeing the scale go down 7-10 pounds in a week was a lot more exciting than seeing a one pound loss in a day.

9 – Don't buy properly fitting clothes three days before starting a juice fast. I bought some pants on Black Friday and three weeks later they're huge on me. Suppose a good problem to have.

Good luck to anyone that who takes up this type of a challenge!

Let the Juicing Begin…

A few months ago I was at the Albany Library surfing the DVD selection, hoping to find a few titles for the coming week.

Mid way through the collection I stumbled into the F titles, and amongst them was Joe Cross' Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. This 2010 documentary followed Cross as he transformed himself through a 60 Day Juice Fast.

Though it had been recommended to me a few times before, it wasn't even on my radar that day. But, once I saw the DVD jacket, something sparked me to take it home.

It's amazing what he was able to accomplish over a two month period; losing 80 pounds and kicking to the curb all sorts of medicines he was forced to take due to health ailments.

After watching the documentary I thought about it a bit, and realized it might be doable. After all, if it didn't pan out, I could always try something else. But, the most intriguing part, is that it seems nearly everyone who had attempted it, saw a tremendous weight loss, along with improvements in blood pressure and chemistry.

So, with much thought, I spent some time researching juicers. Half the enjoyment of buying a new "play toy" is the research in figuring which one to buy.

Most people who have even a general idea of what a juicer is, have probably heard of the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer. It's marketed very well, and can get a person into a juicer for about $100.

While I've seen it in usage, the cleanup looked like an absolute nightmare. Plus, there was a question about its longevity after constant usage.

Cross touts juicers made by Breville. They are apparently well known with foodies and have models that fit in any budget; from the mid-$100 to $400.

In doing research I always like to check out YouTube for video reviews. There's no guarantee the reviews will be accurate. However, when there's a common thread, I take that as a good indication.

It's through videos from Discountjuicers.com that I was enlightened about the Omega Juicer line.

Omega also has models to fit in anybody's budget. However, one of the big selling points for me was that they warranty their products for 10-15 years (depending on the model). They even have some models that are commercial grade rated.

Bed, Bath and Beyond carries some of the Omega Juicers (right next to the Breville juicers, which included a free DVD of Cross' film). While not all models are available in the store, many others can be purchased from the catalog, and shipped directly to your house.

With, BB/B 20% coupon in hand (the only way to buy big ticket items there!!) I ended up ordering the Omega NC800HDS. This is one of their masticating models.

There are two types of juicers. The centrifugal style which operates at ultra high speed. It juices fast, and models are generally cheaper. But, cleanup is involved.

Then there's the masticating, which uses a relatively slow speed. Supposedly, this has the added benefit of being gentile on the juice, and so it can last up to three days before it starts to lose its nutrition value.

The model I got not only makes juice. But, it can be used for making nut butter and frozen sorbets! Before embarking on the juice fast I tried out these two features and it's amazing, especially the sorbet. Frozen chunks of organic banana were turned into something resembling soft serve ice cream in less than a minute.

I figured that these extra features will be a good use a long time after I've completed the juice fast. However, long that turns out to be. And a big benefit is that cleanup takes about two minutes!!

In preparation for the big push, I've been juicing for lunch every day for the last couple of weeks. I broke that rule for Thanksgiving, and since Turkey Day came so late this year, I also took the rest of the month off (two days).

Anyone who knows anything about my favorite foods, has to wonder how this is going to work? The thought of the next few weeks without salami, cheese and other carnivorous goodies, sends a shiver down my spine.

To prevent temptation, I used up all food in the house, except for a few condiments in the fridge, and some frozen oxtails and homemade cranberry sauce.

Another hard thing will be no caffeinated coffee! To wean myself off coffee, I bought some decaf, so that my morning cup would be 50% regular/50% unleaded. Now, I'm moving on to full decaf.

Hopefully, once that bag is gone I can skip coffee totally, though I really do like the taste of black coffee. to help, I've also picked up some flavorful herbal tea.

And what about that No Alcohol rule Robert? I love craft beer, though I don't drink it all the time due to price. Still, it's nice to grab a pint when the mood strikes. I've went cold turkey before just to challenge myself, and I survived, though Hot Buttered Rum weather is upon us!

Don't expect to see any Before and After photos purposely posted. There won't be any. Stats will probably be kept to a minimum too. It's just not stuff I feel the need to share.

This blog entry has turned out to be a lot longer than I had intended. So much, that I will consider this a "pre-amble" to the main event, which I'll start in a different blog entry; perhaps later tonight.

No need to wish me good luck. Just keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Hoping Jake's kibble doesn't drive me nuts at feeding time. It's made with real herring, after all.

Doing the Lustrum Limbo

Last night I was surfing around Xfinity onDemand. After wasting ten minutes on the abysmal Meet the Spartans, I latched onto The Vow, a movie released last February, starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum as a couple who's marriage is divided by a horrific car crash.

While Leo (Tatum) makes it through with just some bumps and bruises, his wife Paige (McAdams) loses her memories from the last five years. At first she wakes up and it appears all is normal. That is, until she recognizes her husband as her doctor.

As Leo saying the in the film, "(I need to) make my wife to fall in love with me again."

This is loosely based on the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter. VERY loosely based when comparing the Carpenter's story vs. what's portrayed in the movie. Sadly, in real life, Krickitt never regained her memory. I won't spoil the ending of the film by saying what happened in case you want to watch it.

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While I was watching it, I started thinking about my last five years. If I was in an accident what would I not remember? Would I miss anything?

Jumping into the Wayback Machine and dropping myself off in August 2007, I still would have been working at my last job at a school photography business.

This would have been eight months before, what I consider one of my pivotal moments in life, going on pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan.

After the longest plane ride of my life, we landed in Amman, Jordan exhausted. Despite that, some of us took a quick walk looking for what was supposed to be the BEST knafeh shop in Amman. I can still remember the sugary aroma and sweet sights when we wondered in. The half dozen locals, ALL Jordanian men, looked at us in puzzlement, especially our Amerikiya that stood out like a fish out of water.

After sampling way too many sweets for way too late at night, we beat a hasty retreat back to the Golden Tulip Grand Palace Hotel.

There are too many wonderful memories from that pilgrimage to share in this blog entry, as it would be 2000+ words if I tried. Suffice it to say, every few days I think back to walking in the Holy land, amongst all the special places in human history.

That's probably my most precious memory that I would have lost in the accident.

Just as Paige remembered her first engagement as if it was just yesterday, I would still be grieving over the loss of Glacier, probably the smartest dog I have ever known. She was in our family basically all her 16+ year life, and she'd been caring enough to go around and thank everyone in the room with a weak nuzzle when she probably knew she was going to die in the next couple of days.

And Jake and Sally, my current Constant Canine Companions, would be total strangers to me. That hurts just typing it.

A not so happy pivotal event occurred sometime in March 2011. Our parents died in 2000. Despite good intentions we'd basically kept their stuff in the old house. While not being a hoarder in any way, shape of form, I also had a ton of memorabilia from childhood days gone by in my old bedroom.

I guess criminal elements in the neighborhood noticed nobody coming around the house much and so decided to see what they could scavenge for a quick fix in their vein, or to numb their brain. Lots of items were taken. Unique items that can never be replaced.

My father and I were members of a model train club. He'd always planned on building a home layout, and I can still remember him telling me a few years before his death, "these will be yours someday.

I can also still remember the creepy chill that went down my spine when he said it, and how it bothered me to think he'd die. Little did we know it'd only be a scant few years later.

I had always intended to carry through on that plan for a layout. However, that's pretty much all gone now. The thief took everything, including some that were in broken and in shambles. All I have left is one locomotive and a couple cars, which happened to be at my grandmother's house for whatever reason.

Not a week goes by that I don't tell myself I need to run over to their house and grab something I need, only to rudely wake up and realize it disappeared in the robbery.

I also think of the gorgeous ring/pendant which my mother's mother got when we was a young woman in Russia. Family lore was that it was given to her by a representative of the Czar. It saddens me to think it adorns some crack head, rather than my sister, as is my mother intended.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the thieves also saw fit to turn the place upside down. The place was a total wreck. It took us months to go through some of the rooms, and to be honest, there's still more that needs to be cleaned up.

Those are just some of the memories, good and bad, that I realize I would have lost. Everyone should do the same exercise and remind themselves what they should be thankful of.

* * *

A Lustrum was an Ancient Roman term for a five year period of time. However, it's more likely you're familiar with the term from when Rooster Cogburn was in front of Judge Parker, in True Grit.

Your Government at Work II (DC version)

Rep. Al Green (R-TX) compares the Obamacare Act with the alternative being offered by opponents (in his right hand) during Congressional debate.  - CSPN

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Over the past couple of days I've had the opportunity to watch the House of Representatives in action, courtesy of CSPN, the cable network which televises the United States Congress, as well as other governmental and historical programming. If you have cable, but have never availed yourself of this source, you really need to. And I hope that high school political science classes use this tool that's available to them. It's one thing to crack open a dusty text book, but another thing to watch them in action.

However, perhaps I should have said "House of Representatives in INACTION" in the previous paragraph. It's not a well kept secret that we have one of the most gridlocked federal government ever, but the last two days makes me shudder. It seems the word compromise is a four letter word as of late.

To be fair, both sides of the aisle seem to have issues, though the more conservative side seems to have an extra hard edge to grind. What they seem to forget is that while extra sharp steel may cut quickly, it also gets ground down a whole lot faster and needs more maintenance.

I'm sure by now you've figured out I was watching the debate and voting on HR 6079, a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act 2010. (Though it's usually used as a derogatory term, I'm going to refer to it as Obamacare for the rest of this blog out of expediency).

Obamacare was passed in March 2010, after nearly two years of discussion in the House and Senate. Almost immediately, efforts were brought forth by Tea Party members Rep. Steve King (R-IA), Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-MN) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) for repeal. None of those bills made it out of committee.

You would think that after dying in committee they might get the message. NOPE! That was during the 111th Congress. During the current 112th Congress, there have been THIRTY-ONE bills introduced for repeal, including the one voted on today. What was not introduced was a reform alternative at the same time.

And there were several Republican Congressmen who were only too happy to exclaim that if they did nothing other than repeal Obamacare, they'd be very satisfied. If my Congressman said he'd be happy with only accomplishing one thing during his two year term, I'd be looking for someone else to vote for.

I think the most perfect illustration of this was from Rep. Al Green (D-TX) who compared a five inch thick copy of Obamacare with an invisible copy of the proposed alternative.

While today's House vote was for repeal, it was a hollow victory because it will never pass muster in the U.S. Senate, nor is President Obama likely to sign it, should it actually reach his desk.

Both sides of the aisle say that healthcare reform is necessary. Obamacare was passed, and has been ruled Constitutional by the United States Supreme Court. People are certainly within their rights to try and repeal it. However, a more rational effort would be to propose alternatives to parts of the Act, rather than simply going back to the status quo; and doing it over and over and over when it's obvious their efforts will not succeed.

What is fascinating is there ARE common traits between Obamacare and Massachusetts healthcare, which was passed under Mitt Romney. I'm not going to say they're carbon copies, but there are things that both sides of the aisle can agree on, if they can get past the partisan bickering.

Massachusetts has a penalty if you don't buy insurance. So does Obamacare. Massachusetts requires companies with 11 or more full-time employees to provide insurance. That requirement doesn't kick in until 50 full-time employees with Obamacare. Both plans prohibit denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Both plans prohibit insurance companies from arbitrarily canceling coverage.

The biggest issue that needs to be worked on is exactly how to pay for it. This is not as easy to answer as comparing a state insurance program vs. a federal one.

Obamacare is basically being paid with new taxes. The sooner proponents admit that, the sooner they can move on to other discussions. Some of the taxes are minimal at best, and won't be noticed. Some are definitely going to hit people more the closer we get to 2018. This is where discussion would be helpful, rather than just sticking their heads in the sand, hoping it will go away.

On the surface Obamacare opponents exclaim they can't be made to buy health insurance. That was my initial reaction. But, then I have to ask how the states can require drivers to buy automobile insurance? You will certainly face a penalty if you're caught driving without it!!

Opponents say people won't be able to keep their current insurance. That's not true. The only way they don't have that option, is if their employer decides to cancel their employee's coverage.

* * *

One of the more egregious things mentioned today were stories of children that had life threatening illnesses before they were born, or immediately after, and had to get treatment just to survive birth. After receiving that treatment they were told they were uninsurable due to pre-existing conditions. How rational is that?

While I'm not personally familiar with those cases I can speak from personal experience.

Many years ago, I was covered by a national HMO under my parent's plan. After graduation, I was able to enroll in the same HMO through my first job after graduating college.

Like millions of other Americans I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, and was prescribed medication. Unfortunately, after the company went bankrupt I was laid off. I chose to use COBRA to continue my plan, and paid out of pocket.  When I first started paying it was $187/MTh. Over the next four years, there was a steady increase EVERY year until it was $488/MTh, which I couldn't afford so let it lapse.

What's somewhat ironic is my HMO claimed to be a non-profit, yet every year they finished in the black financially, and every year they constantly built new facilities around the Bay Area to the point of being one of the area's larger real estate owners.

As bad as that price increase looks on paper, it wasn't the most incredible part of the whole thing. My new employer happened to offer the exact same HMO for their coverage. I filled out the paperwork to apply. However, I was denied due to a pre-existing condition. They denied me for being treated for high blood pressure.

It would have been interesting to have had a blood pressure cuff on when I heard the reason. I explained to the person on the phone how ridiculous that was since it was their HMO which had diagnosed my situation and had prescribed the medication. There was silence and then a bit of telling me that's the way it was.

After multiple phone calls to multiple departments and mangers they finally woke up and gave me health care. I shouldn't have had to jump through all those hoops and loops to get care; and under Obamacare I wouldn't have.

* * *

It's a shame we have came to a point where we're basically required to get government regulated health insurance. Unfortunately, the emphasis on profit vs. society and legalistic treatment of individuals has driven us to it.

Eyeball Menopause

 

Admittedly, I tend to stay up way too late, and use the computer, or watch television, way too much. But, that's just the reality of things. Anyways, last weekend it was about 2am and I was watching Moneyball. Out of the corner of my right eye I something caught my eye. I looked over at the computer monitor, but found the monitor had went to sleep. Went back to the movie and it happened again a few minutes later. I decided I was up way too later (second night in a row) so I planned to go to bed as soon as the movie was over.

The next day I woke up about 9am and was immediately greeted with another odd flash in the corner. This was a little disconcerting. However, not nearly as bad as a few minutes later when I noticed a couple of "light halos" when I moved my head quickly to the right or left, with my eyes closed. Thought to myself, "OK, so perhaps this isn't a lack of sleep situation."

Like most Americans typically do, the next step was the Internet, to play Armchair Optometrist. My search was light flashes corner eyes. Lots of things came up. I honestly cannot remember which link I followed, but suffice it to say, I was not happy with what I read. Link after link suggested I might have a detached retina. At this point I had visions (pun intended) of those odd things that hold your eyes open for surgeons and then lasers. Then several month recuperation while laying face down on a donut-shaped pillow.

Over the next couple of days the lights started to diminish. However, when I move my eyes quickly to the left or right there's an odd "super floater" that seems to move its way across my field of vision, like one of the man-o-war jellyfishes swimming across the camera's view.

Luckily, I know someone that's recently opened a practice, and so I asked them what they thought might be the issue? Obviously, it's kind of hard to just guess based on descriptions. That's sort of like knowing what's wrong with your car by making some odd noise, like in that Mr. Goodwrench car commercial. I went ahead and made an appointment so they could do a thorough examination. It had been nearly two years since my last vision check anyways.

Fast forward to last Wednesday. Since they were going to dilate my eyes, I decided I'd better take the bus. After looking over several routes, I decided on a route, only to miss the bus by about 30 seconds!! Seemed like it was forever for the next one to arrive. I got to the appointment wish about 2 minutes to spare.

First order of business was the normal refraction stuff that people do when getting a prescription written up. The doctor was able to get my right eye dialed down to 20/15!! Alas, my left eye was 20/40, which was about the same as the last time I went to the eye doctor.

Next came the stuff I came in for, namely what was up with the lights and super floaters? We must've spent a good 20 minutes doing tests I'd had before, along with a few I hadn't. The verdict???

Apparently there's something that everyone goes through at a particular stage in life called a Vitreous Detachment, or as I like to call it, Eyeball Menopause. Basically, the jelly inside your eyeball starts to peel away from the back of the eye. This happens for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. The void that's created is filled with a fluid. If all goes well, the flashing and vision issues settle down after that period is over. The bad news is that it's during this time that there's a possibility of a detached retina.

Adding to the whole situation is that I have something called Lattice Degeneration, better know as thinning of the retina where it attaches to the eye ball. This is something that's prevalent in people with Near Sightedness and Astigmatism, both of which I have plenty!

Feeling better about the situation I left the appointment to catch the bus back home, only to miss it by a couple of minutes. Pray you will never have to wait on the east side of Shattuck Avenue in the afternoon waiting for over 30 minutes for a bus. It was bright out as it was, and with my eyes fully dilated it was a new experience. Not only a bright one, but basically a foggy/blurry one as well. I had to send my sister a text message and "Battery is dying. Will call from home" somehow became "nzttety ging emoll csll fr jr." Perfectly understandable, eh?

Anyways, that must've been the longest bus ride I'd ever been on. Soooo crowded, and then one time the dark glass shield they give you fell on the floor, and I was instantaneously bathed in bright light. Not wanting to walk the final two blocks to my house without protection, I picked it up. Once I got home I flipped the TV to some channel that I could get away just listening to, and lay down on the couch. I fell asleep and woke up around 8pm. My eyes still felt wiped from the dilation drop abuse, but at least it was dark out now.

Over the past week I haven't seen any flashing lights, and that super floater seems to be going away slowly. Without any further complications I can breath easier in about three more weeks.