The Ranting Beaver

It's funny, you don't know how bad the healthcare industry is until you have to deal with it. I recently had to be in the hospital and while I was appreciative of the care I got, it blows my mind how inefficient the whole process is. For example, every time there was a new nurse on duty, I got the same 10 questions and had to re-explain what was wrong with me. I mean, don't they write this stuff down? Don't they have all the information on a computer? I am all for not assuming with patients, but shouldn't you reserve that for the important stuff -- like what medication was I given an hour ago and not how many days was I ill before I came into the hospital? On top of that, some of the equipment being used had to be almost as old as I am. I don't live in some backwater town, they should at least have more recent equipment. I know they charge you $300 for a box of tissues - where does that money go really?

I know we have issues with insurances (thank god I actually have insurance!) but realistically, I wonder how much time and money is actually wasted that gets billed to the insurance companies. Part of the problem certainly is the antiquated system that the hospitals have become. I think we need to review how this can be more efficient just as much as we are reviewing how insurance companies handle patients.

I know a lot of people are not crazy about the government option, but perhaps now that they will be involved a few of these items will be questioned. Maybe not, but one can always hope.

And no, surprisingly, this is not another rant about the state of Hollywood (although, I could go off on that too).

Two items came across my field of view today:
Apple is suing HTC for patent infringement
Nick Simmons (son of Gene) is apparently copying various manga for his comic

Both are two entirely different situations, but it boils down to the same thing -- if you can't do something, copy someone who can.

Couple of things up front:
1) I had no idea Nick Simmons was working on a comic. Or that he could (sorta) draw, really. I collect comics but apparently I have not been looped into what is going on in comics for some time. I am also a big fan of manga but no where near some of these folks who could make the comparisons they did.
2) I am not a big fan of Apple or it's tactics to ensure it's monopoly in the arena of music/players, and in this case cell phones. The real reason why you will never see the iPhone on Verizon is because Verizon is not stupid enough or desperate enough to accept the crap deal AT&T took. Not to mention all of the Droid and iPhone is on a lame network ads. I actually have an iPod touch and (grudgingly) like it.

Just wanted to point out that I am not a hater on Nick or HTC here. Still if they are guilty of what they have been accused of, then they should be held accountable. Granted, they won't be, they'll just be added to the ever growing list of people, companies, etc. that have decided it is easier to take the shortcut. And why not, it apparently pays off.

We Americans are a lazy bunch - we want our food fast and our TV/movies formulaic. We're dumb or at the very least dumbed down - and that is our comfortable place. Almost anything that strays from that or challenges a person to invest more than a few brain cells is quickly squashed. This is why big business sells us the crap we see - they buy into this notion, because it's not wrong. This is why we still have cars that run on gas and only get 26 miles to the gallon. This is why we get CDs with one or two "good" songs, only determined to be so because they have been in rotation for weeks on end on the Top 40 stations. This is why a TV show with some originality gets cancelled in a couple of weeks, because people are afraid to like it until the masses do. This is why we still have Jay Leno and not Conan O'Brien. Because it's safe and we like zombies fall in line.

In this country, invention is dying. Or at the very least it is being kept to the outer fringes. If you think about it, we haven't had a new product invented, probably since the cell phone but even that was an innovation to something we already had - a home phone. Much of what we have today is a riff on something that has gone before. As 3M might say, "We don't make the things, we make things better." This exemplifies the point I am trying to make here.

So, today I am calling to you all -- take a moment and think about what life would be like if things weren't so safe and comfortable. Imagine a world where competition was based on who produced a better product, not a better version of the same product. A world where more than the same lame choices existed in media. A world where good artists could get radio/TV time instead of some jackass who tried out for American Idol, knowing full well they were a jackass. A world where people didn't buy books because Oprah recommended them.

Your homework, should you chose to accept it, it to seek out something -- a CD, a book, a show, a movie, a cell phone, a gadget, an artist, a writer, a twitter page, anything! -- that would not typically appeal to the general masses and post it or a link to it in the comments. Hell, if it's your original idea/product/etc. even better. The one catch here is that it has to be something you genuinely like and not because you were told it was good. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

So yeah, some random guy decided to go shoot someone (anyone?) at a school again today. In Colorado. Wasn't another kid or disgruntled teacher, but really some random guy who had no (apparent) business being near the school. Don't we have enough crazy people here already? Sigh.

I'm a dad. I'm not an overly protective one, but I have often said that if anyone wants to hurt my kids then they better hope the cops find them before I do. Not that I am a violent person or anything either, but I think that would be something to send me over the edge. Think Mel Gibson in the movie Ransom. It's probably the one time I could care less about the consequences of my actions. All bets are off, an eye for an eye, etc. - you get the picture. I can't believe more people don't feel this way and I am probably offending someone right now.

I'll move on from this topic, but I just want to say one last thing. If you are an idiot and want to shoot someone, just do us all a favor and shoot yourself.

Let me say first that I actually like some "reality TV" - Ace of Cakes is one, Mythbusters is another - but by and large most of it is pure crap and more fake that a porn actress' chest. In fact, I often comment/joke that we love a train wreck so much (why else would these shows keep showing up?) that people simply aren't going to be satisfied until someone dies on live TV. I can't wait for the day that some TV exec thinks that actually making the The Running Man is a good idea. Good thing Jesse Ventura and Richard Dawson aren't doing anything, however they may have to wait for Arnold to stop being the Governor of California. It's coming. Just wait.

Think I'm wrong? Pay attention to how much CBS plays up the next time someone collapses on Survivor ...

This is not to even mention the lengths people are going to to get on these shows. If you're willing to break the law to get on a show, you're even more likely to do something worse to stay on it. There are no more boundaries at that point.

I was so glad to see I wasn't the only one that thinks things are getting out of hand, that I had to share. When I came across this today, it made me smile on a level that you may not understand. I am glad to know I am not the only sane person in a crazy world.

Good thing there is a sale on handbaskets, because we're all going to hell in a hurry. Some of us will just actually understand why.

Since it's been cold as hell here in the Denver Metro area, the subject of wind chill has come up again. Making it a point to give two different temperatures - the 'official' temp is and what it would be if the wind is blowing - is silly and helps no one. If you tell me it is -20 with wind chill, that is the official temperature in my book. I am not a thermometer, so what it feels like to me is the correct temperature. If the wind isn't blowing, and it feels warmer, then I say that's a bonus.

By the way, how the hell do they calculate that anyway? I'm sure there's some jenky math that could be used to explain it or some fancy doppler based 'wind-thermometer' but frankly I think it is nothing more than a SWAG. Much like the rest of predicting weather. This is why no two newscasters have the same answer, and some are as much as 5-8 degrees different from others. Must be much like interpreting art - each person is going to see the same thing different a way, but no one has a solid answer.

All I know is I don't put much faith in it all, especially the concept of wind chill.

The Beaver is going to hate this, probably my NY friends too, but I had to share.

For the Yankee fans, I know your team recently won the World Series and all, but it doesn't mean I dislike the Yankees any less. Sorry, there's no more room for me on the bandwagon (I'm not really sorry). After I saw all of the so called 'fans' come out of the woodwork, stuff like this cracks me up.

Thanks to The Chive for the image and the laugh.

A couple of weeks ago, I was out and about and stopped at a Target on the south end of Denver. While I was in the store a tops of 10 minutes, a cop came by and wrote a 'warning' note to let me (and the whole world too) know that my car could be a target for a break in. Apparently he was going from car to car in the parking lot and leaving a note for everyone that could be considered a potential target.



Not only is this a waste of time and resources in my mind, they are thoughtfully doing all of the survey work for those that would actually break in to a car. I am not kidding -- there is a spot on the mass printed form where the cop could list what would attract someone to my car. Real smart. Oh yeah, let's make this easier for crooks.

By the way, the reason listed why my car could be a potential target? I had cash in plain sight or so was the claim.



Want to know how much? About $1.26 in change, mostly in pennies. Really? If you need $1.26 in change that bad, then breaking into my car is the least of your worries. Especially when the car next to me has an iPod and a cell phone in plain view. Know how I know? I read the lovely note left for the owner on their car too.

Apparently they consider this a service that "sets them apart from other police departments", and say so on their site. I'd rather they actually focus on solving crimes instead of helping crooks by giving them useful information. Glad I don't live on that end of town ...

... the fact that the person chose a hammer to assault (or worse) his friends or the fact that the police/reporter are trying to insinuate that it was spurred by Dungeons and Dragons. Really? I can't tell who is the bigger dumbass.

Read more about it here.

If we let them blame a board game for this (this involved adults for pete's sake, not kids) then it just opens the door wider for them to blame video games for crap like school shootings ... oh wait, I forgot, people already doing that.

Make them take responsibility and admit that they are fucked up and irrational and stop blaming unrelated crap to help you rationalize why the fuck someone would take a hammer to his friends. If nothing else, at least draw more conclusion that it was over a woman which would make MUCH more sense. Jeez.

I'm sure you've seen the ads by now, some may even say that they've been annoyed by them by now, but you can't escape the overly enthusiastic character Flo. I'm sure you have said, "where the hell did this girl come from?" or "they actually had an audition to be that person?".

At any rate, little did you know, the actress that plays her has been around for some time. I noticed her in a small part in Mad Men, so I had to look her up. Her name is Stephanie Courtney and here is her IMDB page. Holy crap she's a busy gal.

Then I came across this gem as well ... a video of her standup routine:

A little rough, but entertaining. I love my comedians.

I guess the point here is this: we often see some character in a commercial as we zoom past it on our TiVos, often without a second glance, but we should probably remember them. They work almost as hard as any other actor, probably harder in a lot of cases, just to get a big break. Next time think about that when you catch yourself watching a commercial and hoping you had the remote in your hand to fast-forward. Show some respect and watch that damn commercial instead!

Well ... any of them except that annoying Geico commercial with the money and the googly eyes - go ahead and zoom past that, no one was working hard the day that was thought up. That's just plain creepy.

So, I have to say, I am tired of war.

We all know there is war in the world. Some of it has a cause, but most of it is purely political posturing. On top of this, Hollywood seems to think that people want to escape all the crap and the world and guess what ... see movies about war. What the hell? So, yeah, I am a bit over it all.

All this being said, here I wanted to say let's end war in my own way, so I put together a new shirt.



I call it 'End War 2.0'. It's pretty simple - black shirt with white letters, but I think it convey's the message. Also, it's a bit geeky, I know, but like I said, I wanted to say it in my own way. If you feel the same, order one today!

I know what you're thinking, a 2001 clip on the Dennis Miller show, right. Dave Grohl - what the hell?

This interview gave me a lot of respect for Dave Grohl. The wife and I were talking about it the other day (it actually comes up quite a bit), so thought I'd find the clip for her (thank you YouTube!). The best part starts around the 5:30 mark when they start to talk about Napster and Metallica. Once again, respect I say. Enjoy!



P.S. - Jolene, I told you I'd find it.

Given that Americans are so much overweight and some 'fast food' companies are trying a healthier approach, you gotta like the chutzpah of Taco Bell when they rolled out the Bacon Cheddar Gordita Crunch.

I think their goal is to see how many items they can get on the menu that can induce a heart attack in one meal. Just saying ...

Gasoline. We all want it and apparently, the breaking point is about $4.00 a gallon (give or take). The social experiment is over and now gas has settled back down to under two dollars a gallon. Seems a bit odd to me, but hey, we're all just happy to have the price more reasonable again, right?

I'm not a complainer. We'll OK, maybe I am, but not in this case. I actually like spending half as much for gas as I did a few months ago.

The thing that has been bothering me is that the price has never dropped so much and definitely not so quickly. Sept 4th - a gallon was $3.79 for me. November 3rd - a gallon was $2.21. That is a 41.6% drop in two months. Three weeks later the price was well under the $2 mark, at $1.64. That is another 25% drop in three weeks (and well over half-price since September). Craziness. This means one of three things - (1) things are REALLY that bad and the value of many things is virtually nil, (2) the oil companies have made all their profit for the year and wanted to give us all a break, or (3) gasoline was so overly inflated (you know our current leader is an oil man, right?) but the economy can no longer support it.

I'm not pointing any fingers, but it does seem kinda fishy that all this is happening amidst the banking and auto industry fiascoes. I'm hoping I'm not the only one to notice this. While we are distracted with the woes of those other industries, the price of gas has quietly slipped back down to normal. I am certain that the powers that be are hoping we are 'just happy to have cheaper gas' so we can spend our money elsewhere, including buying vehicles again. Meanwhile, the gas companies are quietly counting their millions and now are no longer square in the bullseye of the people's disdain. And the results of the social experiment are in, either people will not pay more than $4 a gallon or the economy cannot support it, so that IS the breaking limit. That is how badly we were being screwed.

Hey to all the Men In the Blog . Get your ass up and take care of your ladies It is mothers day SHe is the Queen 4 the day .. na mean

While I am glad to still have my job, a number of folks I have known for years now do not. Sure, now I am part of one of the largest online companies (I think you know who I am talking about), but it surely will not be the same now that I cannot share that with some people I have come to know and trust quite a bit.

This sucks. I wasn't directly affected and yet, I feel probably as crappy as any of them do. Perhaps it is because I have been through something like this before and I can understand. Perhaps I am just pissed at how the whole thing was handled with very little discretion -- hell even the online rags knew more than us employees did and certainly long before we were given any info.

I wish employees were treated like people (yes! we are people!) and not as commodities to be bought and sold when the whim strikes. Often enough, employees have about as much value as office supplies and that is wrong. I'm just thankful that we don't depreciate in value (at least as quickly) as the rest of a companies property.

Today will be a hard one to get over. But get over it I must. Ugh.

I know this link is likely to make the rounds today (it was the 12th anniversary of the last strip yesterday), but I'm feeling a bit nostalgic in the new year.

The top 25 Calvin & Hobbes strips

Enjoy and Hope 2008 is a great year for you all!