Whenever you need to be hospitalized, gather your people around you. Be they friends relatives, co-workers, but gather the people you trust to be around you, to surround you and stay near you, so that the hospital staff and doctors are aware of them. The only necessity of the relationship is that you trust them and they trust you. When they need to be hospitalized, you will go with them and look out for their best interests as they will look out for yours.
I am not talking about money or possessions. I am talking recovery and health. The goal is to survive as much intact as possible to be discharged from the hospital with the best chance of recovering optimum health. Your people watch out for you so you recover and you will do the same for them. It's not that I don't trust modern health-care, mind you (I've worked in a hospital for 27 years.), but right now, today, health-care is more about generating revenue than caring about patients.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
I'll Send You the Bill
Let's think about this scarce commodity over which we have only limited control. If you live to be 90 years young (I'm feeling generous and hope you are healthy) that is 32,850 days or 788,400 hours. Take off one third for sleep and you are left with 525,600 hours.
Only the hardest working begin as teenagers, let's say 16 years old, but not full time. Once again we'll average and say you work for someone else, either a company, institution, the government, or your other self, your own business, 35 hours per week times 49 weeks annually (sort of an average) for 74 years (that seems way too much but I am assuming you live to work.) Get ready: that is 126, 910 hours which we'll deduct from 525,600 and see 398,690 hours.
But every day one must take time to eat (2 hours daily?), conduct personal hygiene (assuming civilized culture and significant means) and bodily elimination (2 hours daily). Deduct those combined 4 hours per day from the original 32,850 days (this might be better as a spreadsheet) and you get 131,400 hours which must be taken from those precious 398, 690, leaving 267,290 hours. One more obligatory deduction for schooling, college, training of all types to the tune of six hours times five days times 30 weeks annually for 16 years (for batchelors degrees). If we pull that out (14,400 hours) of your net above you are left with 252,890 hours, or 15,806 days or 43.3 years. It still seems like a lot.
You haven't spent any time traveling in any way, or waited at the traffic lights, or for the next train or bus. You haven't spoken to anybody on the phone. You haven't courted or had sex. You haven't had enriching or engaging hobbies like watching television or going to NASCAR races. You have to take time to be sick, injured or hungover. I could go on and on. The point being, one might consider pondering the worth, per hour, of one's free time. It is limited and finite. And probably much much less than 43.3 years.
Only the hardest working begin as teenagers, let's say 16 years old, but not full time. Once again we'll average and say you work for someone else, either a company, institution, the government, or your other self, your own business, 35 hours per week times 49 weeks annually (sort of an average) for 74 years (that seems way too much but I am assuming you live to work.) Get ready: that is 126, 910 hours which we'll deduct from 525,600 and see 398,690 hours.
But every day one must take time to eat (2 hours daily?), conduct personal hygiene (assuming civilized culture and significant means) and bodily elimination (2 hours daily). Deduct those combined 4 hours per day from the original 32,850 days (this might be better as a spreadsheet) and you get 131,400 hours which must be taken from those precious 398, 690, leaving 267,290 hours. One more obligatory deduction for schooling, college, training of all types to the tune of six hours times five days times 30 weeks annually for 16 years (for batchelors degrees). If we pull that out (14,400 hours) of your net above you are left with 252,890 hours, or 15,806 days or 43.3 years. It still seems like a lot.
You haven't spent any time traveling in any way, or waited at the traffic lights, or for the next train or bus. You haven't spoken to anybody on the phone. You haven't courted or had sex. You haven't had enriching or engaging hobbies like watching television or going to NASCAR races. You have to take time to be sick, injured or hungover. I could go on and on. The point being, one might consider pondering the worth, per hour, of one's free time. It is limited and finite. And probably much much less than 43.3 years.
Monday, August 6, 2007
No one knows
If a blog is written but nobody is told, is it still a blog? Blogs are written to be read, but what if nobody is told it is out there? This first step into the stream of this massive service of blogs (Thank you, Blogger.) is cold on my feet because so many words are flowing along this river of electrons. I don't mean to sound isolated or self-absorbed, but just writing this and then pushing the "Publish Post" button accomplishes both descriptions simultaneously. Thanks for stopping and reading just this little spittle of text. I'll give a little more thought next time. Oh, by the way, follow the leaders who want to bring the troops home safely but quickly. Seek alternative fuels for your life (hint: corn is not one of them.) Let's get our government into the business of putting for-profit health insurance companies, out of business. (Are those enough opinions for now?)
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