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Thursday Morning Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 10:20:52 AM EST
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I've got a busy day at work. Here's an Open Thread, all topics welcome.

BTD - me too.

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    Thursday Morning Open Thread | 19 comments (19 topical)

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    Finance & Investing News... (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by kdog on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 01:36:59 PM EST
    A pony by the name of "Hit it Rich" took the 2nd @ Keeneland.  Heavy favorite in a scratch reduced 4 horse field, paid 3.60, but I invested a C-note on that bad boy.  That'll pay for Tedeschi Trucks Band tomorrow...woo hoo!

    And the best part, nobody got foreclosed on, oil didn't get speculated up to cripple the commoner at the pump, no layoffs to keep shareholders happy....Wall St. take note:)

    Or (none / 0) (#3)
    by CoralGables on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 02:09:14 PM EST
    you could reinvest it all on Winter Memories in the QEII Challenge Cup Stakes.

    Parent
    Probably a blue chip... (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by kdog on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 03:15:21 PM EST
    that one, but I'm gonna lock up the win and parlay on some non-investing entertainment....we've seen what happens when investors get too greedy:)

    Parent
    Interesting TV station. (5.00 / 2) (#15)
    by observed on Fri Oct 14, 2011 at 12:00:07 AM EST
    I have one English channel, and it shows RTTV,
    a production of rt.com.
    I believe it is Moscow based, but covers a lot of US news, especially financial news.
    One guy, Keiser, does a segment on financial news which is just  incendiary. A couple days ago he was talking about how the death penalty is a great idea for bankers, as well as showing pictures of Marie Antoinette and guillotines.
    He was explaining in very clear language how the banks have been robbing pension funds for decades, in two particular ways.
    You can probably watch his show if you go to rt.com.
    I recommend rt.com.
    segue: Russia. Heard Gergiev (none / 0) (#17)
    by oculus on Fri Oct 14, 2011 at 02:26:24 AM EST
    conduct the Mariinsky Orch. playing two Tchiakovsky Symphonies.  Very familiar music, but not played in a familiar style.  Wonderful.  

    Parent
    I ate my first horse meat last night. (none / 0) (#18)
    by observed on Fri Oct 14, 2011 at 02:48:03 AM EST
    No opera yet.
    Kazakhs say they eat the most meat of any people on the planet. I'm told that in a long dinner, lasting several hours, a Kazakh may eat 3-5 kg. of meat---or more!

    Horse meat was fine. I thought the texture of our cut was something like beef tongue.

    Parent

    Ugh. (none / 0) (#19)
    by oculus on Fri Oct 14, 2011 at 02:53:26 AM EST


    Parent
    I am glad that Kazakhs in the steppes (none / 0) (#20)
    by observed on Fri Oct 14, 2011 at 05:35:36 AM EST
    have more than their traditional diet, which I am told consisted solely of meat (mostly horse meat), horse's milk, and bread. Their beef generally tastes quite good, and the meat is very lean, unless fatty pieces are intentionally included.


    Parent
    Pardon the link to TMZ... (none / 0) (#1)
    by magster on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 10:40:36 AM EST
    ... but it serves as another example of Jeralyn's oft-stated rule: never talk to cops when you are a suspect in an investigation.

    I should know by next monday if (none / 0) (#5)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 03:43:38 PM EST
    I head for Colombia or Romania soon. No surgery, so what the hell. Where do I want to go to become a house of prostitution bouncer?

    At least it's honest work, not banking or Wall Street.

    Must have missed something (none / 0) (#6)
    by MO Blue on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 04:09:43 PM EST
    along the way. No surgery? Is another treatment being pursued or was the original diagnosis in error?

    Parent
    Insurance not in effect. (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 04:13:11 PM EST
    I'd have a lawsuit if I wanted to file it, but I'm too damned tired. I've been on the phone and sending letters since May, and the idiots had the wrong address and SSN... and my payment arrived late.

    So I am not covered. And I am angry. Very angry.

    Parent

    As well you should be. (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Anne on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 04:38:56 PM EST
    I guess the job description of the idiots you managed to get on the phone never included confirming your information with you?

    I mean, why do that when you can blame whatever the screw-ups are on you, right?

    Argh.

    Explain to me again about the wonders of the American health insurance system?  No, don't - that would be a total waste of energy.

    If you end up in Colombia or Romania, is the plan to have the surgery there?  Just please don't tell me you aren't going to have the surgery at all...

    Parent

    Are you living in Alabama now? (none / 0) (#9)
    by MO Blue on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 05:14:22 PM EST
    If you need surgery, there should be a way for you to get it even if you don't have insurance. Let me ask a few people some questions. May be a few days before I see one or two of the people I need to talk to and I don't have their phone numbers.  

    Parent
    When I read reports from (5.00 / 0) (#10)
    by KeysDan on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 06:39:26 PM EST
    HHS's US Preventative Service Task Force, it often makes me think that it should be renamed the US Preventative Costs Task Force.  The chair's specialization is pediatrics, but it seems that it might be economics, or politics.

    For example, the draft recommendation to end PSA screening for prostate cancer seems a backward step in preventative medicine. And, of course, the PSA test itself causes no harm, it is the concern that the information obtained will be misused or abused.  The PSA test offers important data that along with other factors, needs to be transformed into an individualized treatment plan. The Task Force report may prompt insurers to stop paying for the test (Medicare provides one test each year).  

    This is the same Task Force that recommended that mammograms be delayed until the age of 50 (from the previous 40) and to recommend against teaching breast self-exams, since that only resulted in more biopsies and imaging procedures.

    And, among my favorite studies, is the recent "research" reported in Lancet by Harvard Public Health School faculty, that did a count study of the number of surgeries in the last year of life for Medicare recipients. Yes, there are many (less with aging Medicare patients) and they are costly. However, looking only at people who died from the surgeries can give a skewed picture. And, because the surgery did not work out, it should not be assumed that the surgical treatment had no value--a count gives no insight into the appropriateness of the treatment decision, or, of course, how many of the same type surgery survived. The researchers did note that they did not know why the surgeries were performed.  Maybe to relieve pain and suffering?  To enable breathing and eating?  Or maybe, the death was from something not attributable to the surgery.

    Parent

    Jeff (none / 0) (#16)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Oct 14, 2011 at 12:19:23 AM EST
    i feel your pain. The doc has ordered a test for me that has to be done at the hospital and the hospital wants $800 up front BEFORE they even do the test and there's no question about the insurance coverage. So even if your insurance company hadn't screwed with you, there's always somebody else down the line willing to do it instead.

    Parent
    Jeff, won't someone w/ (none / 0) (#11)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 06:41:47 PM EST
    authority @ your former employer intervene on your behalf? Is the former employer at fault re providing incorrect SSN and mailing address?  Is there a politician in AL who might help?    

    Jeff, dumb question probably (none / 0) (#12)
    by Jeralyn on Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 08:43:33 PM EST
    but can you qualify for Medicaid to get it?

    State dinner (none / 0) (#21)
    by jbindc on Fri Oct 14, 2011 at 06:59:25 AM EST
    Photos from last night

    Check out Ruth Bader Ginsburg (slide 20) - she doesn't look so frail to me!

    Thursday Morning Open Thread | 19 comments (19 topical)

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