JDPFu.com 2025

A few thoughts on health care reform.

Background

1. I pay for private insurance as an individual
2. I have a high deductible plan. Anything under $5K a year is my problem with ZERO insurance involvement.
3. In the last 18 months, I’ve had ZERO health claims or non-routine doctor visits.
4. My rate for coverage has gone up over 30% in the last 18 months.
5. I’m healthier now than when I first signed up since I’ve lost some weight and lead a much more active lifestyle.

Clearing some Brush

In May, I decided to use a 10+ year old lawn mower to clear some brush in my back yard. This was after I’d manually removed all the brush that was larger than 0.25" in diameter. I did this knowing that it would probably destroy the mower and I’d need a new one. That old Sears $189 mower did clear everything and ran for a few more weeks before it died.

New Mower

So, I do a model little research and head back to Sears for a new mower expecting to get 8+ years of use out of it. It is a $212 purchase. It runs for 2 mowings beautifully before I attempt to cut some of the new brush growth at the edge of my lawn. By accident, it lands on a 1.5 inch stump and stops cold. That error caused the blade to deform badly, but since I’m not finished cutting the yard, I continue mowing the front yard without knowing how much the blade was actually deformed. The mower strikes a few tree roots strictly due to the deformed blade. The mower runs, but very rough. So I

1. replace the out of balance blade and it still runs rough
2. take it to a repair center for an estimate

Estimate for the Fix

A new minutes ago, the repair center called with a $315 estimate to fix my newly destroyed lawn mower.

Brand new, it cost $212 about 6 weeks ago. I guess they shouldn’t be surprised when I don’t come and pick it up the old junk?

The good news is that my yard will get mowed a week sooner, since buying, yet another lawn mower is required. I probably won’t buy that same model again. I’ll find one with a crankshaft disconnect bolt that fails before engine damage can happen. Mowers are supposed to have this safety bolt built into them to prevent engine damage.

Happy Mowing!

And watch out for roots and costly repairs!

Many of you know that I’ve found the coffee mug that keeps me happy and my tea/coffee hot for hours a few years ago.

It is the Contigo Extreme Insulated Mug. Get the vacuum insulated version, not the foam type.

I got lucky and found a pair together at a local store, perhaps 4 years ago, for $20. I’ve told a few friends about my cups but didn’t know the name or model. Random searching today found them – at least some mugs that look like my favorite hot liquid mugs. Further reading was required.

Seems they make 2 versions.

1. Foam insulated
2. Vacuum insulated <— recommended

They don’t appear to sell the 2-pak any more. Too bad.

I like:

• Handle clips onto a bag so you won’t lose it when empty
• Rubberized base – nonskid.
• 1/4 turn lid to close
• Spill-proof lid
• Lid doesn’t melt in the Georgia summer heat (lost a few mugs with cheap rubber seals this way)
• Keeps liquid HOT for hours with lid, warm for hours without
• Easy clean, but not dishwasher safe
• Two for $20 – impossible price to get now

I didn’t find the same model, but the description on this seems really good for $35.

This planet, the Earth, is a death trap for all life on it. At some point in the future, everything on this planet will be killed off. That is a fact, not some possible future vision, but FACT.

An asteroid hit is the least of our problems. Don’t get me wrong, we need to watch for them and have a plan of action to shift the inbound rock enough that it doesn’t hit us. We’ll need a backup plan should the first shift effort not work well enough. We also need to search for asteroids in the hard to find regions of our sky to prevent another 20 day notice asteroid event like last year. That amount of warning isn’t quick enough to do anything but a hail mary attempt.

We have to get off this rock if we, as a species, want to survive. The further away from here, the better. Sadly, many of the things that will kill the Earth will also kill Mars and most of the solar system.

There is already a star pointed at us that will send high energy gamma rays AND will destroy all life here when it goes supernova. It is a matter of time and will probably happen before the Sun becomes a red giant and boils away all water on Earth, before expanding beyond Earth’s current orbit.

We need to take the first steps to get off this rock and find alternative travel methods beyond normal propulsion (throwing stuff out the back to move forward) to get to other star systems. There is no viable method of propulsion to get us (or anything else) to another star system currently. Ion, solar wind, etc are pure fantasy and CANNOT GET ANYTHING TO ANOTHER STAR SYSTEM in 1,000 years.

Steps to Get to the Stars

1. Look for suitable extra-Solar planets to colonize with water, a strong enough magnetic field and appropriate temperatures. Telescopes.
2. Research theoretical propulsion methods that don’t involve mass thrown out the back of the rocket. We can’t physically carry enough mass to another star. Solar wind is too weak for interstellar travel. Only travel faster than 0.5C or instantaneous travel are useful here. Generational ships traveling for 200+ year trips can’t carry enough mass to throw out the back.
3. Perform colonization efforts inside our solar system as local laboratories to learn how to live off the land everywhere we go. Expect 75% death rates.
4. Perform basic renewable farming research in completely closed environments until 50+ years of complete, perfect success. Determine the most efficient amount of space and stacked farming for long interstellar trips.
5. Perform artificial gravity at 1G trials that are sustainable for 50+ years. Humans cannot survive long-term in lower G environments without exposure to 1G for hours every day to maintain bodily functions and prevent HUGE bone and muscle loss. The best answer is for most of the ship to have 0.8-1.2G to support normal life, plants, animals, and for long term storage to be placed in the lower-G internal areas of the ship. Centripetal force created gravity seems like the only real answer here.
6. Perform heavy research on low-G conception, birth, and growth into adulthood for as many species as possible. I suspect bad things will happen to most newborns created in this way.
7. Test more efficient methods to get mass into orbit – probably aircraft-based launch systems, not rockets. Ground cannons and earth based energy pushing devices are also interesting. Space elevators are extremely dangerous. What happens when a 200 mile long 3 foot thick cable falls back to earth? It will be bad – earthquake or tsunami wave = BAD.
8. Perform heavy research on protective living materials against solar radiation, in space, on planets and moons. Planets must have radiation protection similar to our magnetosphere unless we want to live underground forever. Learn to remotely locate planets with this trait. To learn more, search on exoplanet magnetic fields

We need to get off this rock. It will take generations to accomplish. Every long journey begins with the first step, followed by another and another.

I saw this story from the BBC today. The headline was Hacker renews extradition fight. After reading the story, I got that he’s afraid to come to the USA.

Gee, I wonder why?

Charges

He allegedly broke into 97 computer systems at NASA and US Navy in 2001-2002 causing $800,000 worth of damage. He claims to have been looking for information on UFOs. British police arrested him in 2002. If convicted, he could face 70 years of imprisonment.

I’m sorry for that

Ship the guy here, put him on trial and, if guilty, send him to prison. Simple. His, “I am sorry for that” doesn’t cover the damages. The fact that he can’t work in IT anymore isn’t anyone’s problem, but his. If he did the crimes, he needs to be punished by incarceration, IMHO. His apology makes me believe he actually did the crime, unless there were circumstances we don’t know about (which is likely).

He claims that being taken from his family is a psychological hardship. Yes, it is. He’s going to be in prison where you have to do what you are told and normal freedoms are removed. Isn’t that the point? He should be happier that the time would be spent in lush federal prisons, not cheap state prisons.

Actions have consequences.

At age 42, he should have learned that already. If I hacked into a British military system, I would expect to be caught, extradited, tried, and, if found guilty, serve a sentence in a prison. Duh. Hackers should know by now that you always jump through systems in countries that aren’t friendly to your target system/country. Don’t do any damage to the middle systems. If you don’t know how to accomplish that, you have no business attempting the break in.

Reporters in North Korea

This article is about the reporters who were convicted of entering North Korea illegally while filming at the Chinese border in March 2009. I have to assume they did this act. Entering any country illegally has consequences. They knew that. Both Ms Ling and Ms Lee had to know they were doing something illegal (though ignorance is no excuse). The article says they would be sentenced to 12 years of “reform through labour”. This seems an excessive time to me, but I don’t make the laws of North Korea. If that is the normal penalty, they should serve it. I’m disappointed that the USA government is asking for their release. Laws need to be followed regardless of who you are or who you know.

I read an article today that said willpower and money are the reasons humanity hasn’t launched men towards the stars.

The barrier between us and the stars is not some insurmountable technology one, its a matter of money and willpower.

This is just 1 of the misconceptions that the average person has related to scientific items. Some things can’t be solved with enough effort and money in a given timeframe.

Fastest Man-Made Object

The fastest man-made item reached 150,000 mph (41.67 mi/sec). Voyager 1, launched in 1977, is going only 38,500 mph as it leaves our solar system.

Distance

The closest star to our solar system is about 4 light years away (5,800,000,000,000,000 miles away).

How Long is That Trip?

That works out to about 3,941 years to travel there at 150,000 mi/hr.

Remaining Problems To Be Solved

We definitely do not have the technology to accomplish or even begin that goal. We’d need a multi-generational ship, capable of growing food without sunlight. It would need to survive longer than any culture or nation has by far. There are thousands of other issues that would need to be solved too. Gravity, bone loss, fuel exhaustion, genetic diversity, long term power, …

So perhaps everyone can better understand why we aren’t planning to visit other stars at all?

Did I make any simple math mistakes?

Another big misconception is the fact that there are more stars in our universe than there are grains of sand on the entire planet Earth. Average humans don’t understand this. Large numbers and distances cannot truly be understood by our human brains.

Some data about the swine flu outbreak that I find interesting. The rate of spread is important. As of Thursday, the rate of spread appears to be slowing, except in Mexico where I expect it will eventually hit 2000 confirmed cases once their laboratory backlog is cleared.

Supercomputer models are reported to predict an explosion in cases next week and are warning that we aren’t doing enough to isolate our selves.

So far in 2009, about 13,000 people have died from normal flu complications in the USA. In a normal year, 36,000 people in the USA die.

Number of Cases Over Time

Mexico doesn’t/didn’t have laboratory capacity to test every sample, so those numbers are confirmed only. Not all of these numbers are perfect. I’ve started using WHO as the source for counts. Mexican confirmed counts appear to be off so much that these numbers are nearly meaning less. There were over 1800 suspected cases in Mexico on 4/28.
Laboratory confirmed cases are used in the USA. Obviously, labs take a day or two from the time the sample is taken to be processed.

• Google Map of known cases. This isn’t my map and it doesn’t appear to be completely accurate.
• The World Health Organization site.
• The CDC Swineflu site.

From prior reading, exponential increases in the number of cases is to be expected, so far only doubling has occurred. This is very good news. I expected to see clear trends in the data by 5/1, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. Perhaps a trend will become clear next week?

The last few days, headlines have been made after Chinese authorities quarantined guests in the Metropark Hotel in Hong Kong due to a single guest having tested positive for swine flu. This broad use of Metropark is unfortunate since there are over 5 Metropark Hotels in Hong Kong and across the bay in Kowloon. I’ve stayed at a Metropark Causway Bay in 2008 and it appears to be close to if not THE impacted hotel.

Mexico is criticizing China’s response, but what they don’t understand is that Chinese cities are extremely dense with populations. There is a cultural habit of trying to get around rules, so once this flu gets out, millions of people will be impacted. China is still fighting SARS and doesn’t want another virus to fight.

During the White House briefing around 1pm ET today, a reporter asked whether we should read anything into the fact that President Obama went golfing during this health crisis. Then they asked over and over about the steps and testing that our President has undertaken.

There are 20 confirmed cases in the USA as I write this and none required hospitalization. Mexico has 80 deaths, so we all want to know what the difference is between USA and Mexican health? Could it be that treatment for this flu in Mexico may be limited in rural locations and it is likely that the person with the flu isn’t completely removed from the infective agent. I don’t know if that is true or not. Most, if not all, people in the US were infected by someone who recently traveled to Mexico.

Duh. The President’s Health is Fine.

The President hasn’t been anywhere near anyone that could have the flu, much less swine flu, so there’s no need for him to get the flu vaccine (if he didn’t already get it a few months ago) or for him to start taking anti-viral medication or take “TheraFlu.” Heck, if I got the flu, I wouldn’t do anything besides eat, rest and shower every other day. I haven’t had the flu in years.

The President is fully connected to his staff at all times. He can be on a conference call in the time it takes to dial the number. He shouldn’t alter his schedule. He isn’t a Medical Doctor. What is he going to do that his staff and existing people in the CDC won’t do anyway? Nothing.

In short, relax folks unless you feel sick AND traveled to Mexico in the last 5 days and visited a location with impacted people or animals. Follow the CDC recommendations
- talk with a doctor if you have flu-like symptoms and could have been exposed
- stay home if you are sick; keep you kids home when they are sick
- wash your hands

I’d be interested in knowing the total number of flu cases today as well. Let’s guess there are 10,000 people in the USA with any form of flu and 20 of them have this version of swine flu. That’s just 0.02%. You are more likely to die an a car accident this year (1:6500). Are you going to stop driving?

Japan Taking Steps

So Japan is using thermal imaging to screen airline flights from the USA. I guess having a higher than normal temp is part of having the flu. While that’s true, I find that having an increased temp at the end of an international flight is common for me … usually because I didn’t get a chance to use the toilet before landing and really, really have to go. Then there isn’t a bathroom available until after customs, at least in 6 countries that I’ve traveled to/from. I recall just Costa Rica having toilets available before customs. There are no direct flights between Mexico and Japan.

There’s a least 1 major issue with high speed rail in the USA, once you get where ever you are going, then you either need to rent a car or take a taxi to get around. That isn’t true everywhere, but even in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, which have great subway systems, you probably need a car to get around. I can’t speak for other locations, since I’ve never been.

If the local mass transit systems don’t serve the local people well enough to be used, why are we spending money on high speed rail lines to connect cities when airlines already perform this task cheaply.

Joe Biden’s love of rail, doesn’t make it a good way to spend my tax dollars. Sorry, Joe.

I could use Amtrak rail to get between my home town and relatives 7 hours away by car. I used to fly, before air travel became such a hassle.

Is Amtrak competitive? Flying is the quickest way and cost competitive, IMHO.

I live in a metro area with a subway and many bus lines. I’ve worked where a subway stop was below the building, yet it didn’t make any sense for me to use mass transit for my commute requirements. I even paid about $50/month for parking. Many of the people working in and around that location did use the subway and bus systems. It worked for them, however, I know of a number of people who lived and worked on a subway line, yet still didn’t use the subway because of the perceived extra cost to use it and inconvenience to access areas that aren’t served. In this town, you really have to want to use mass transit.

Why didn’t I use mass transit to commute?

1. Driving commute was 35 min each way.
2. Drive to bus (20 min), take bus into city (40 min) – almost double the commute time, each way.
3. Occasionally, my job required me to travel to different locations in the metro area that were not served by mass transit. Perhaps 4 times a month, I’d need to drive into work and pay for daily parking at $6/day.
4. Couldn’t group work and errand drives together – yes, this is a weak excuse.
5. Mass transit cost – $75/month. I figured my commute costs were $80/month with the car.
6. Type-A personality. I like to be in control. As I drive to/from work, I’d routinely pass the express bus going to my part of town.
7. As telecommuting became more and more possible, commute costs dropped due to fewer trips and parking costs going down due to increased parking availability. I parked at 5 different parking lots over the years, following the cheapest rates. Paying for parking is just wrong.

So, I was listening to a podcast about Asterisk today with the founder of Asterisk (an open source telephony system and PBX), Mark Spencer. Anyway, he was describing all the things that the community had added to the base code and all the extensions that were available.

About 50% of Asterisk code was created by the community. The rest by the Digium company according to

A few extensions were mentioned, the one that caught my attention was Booty Dialier. There’s a nice flowchart at the link. The premise is that towards an end of a night out, single people may want to find some overnight company. You preconfigure your list. Then on the night out, you call a number and login with voice/dtmf commands. The Asterisk server calls your list in turn asking them the fairly direct question. If they answer yes, you are connected. If no, they get a prerecorded message. This isn’t a new extension, it is just new to me.

There are a number of other voice/computer interface systems for Asterisk.