Jul 3, 2009
July 4th
Happy 4th of July tomorrow. Let's remember what Independence Day is really all about, even if they call it just another paid day off in Washington, where they have traded in Free Speech for Cheap Talk.
Salute
Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute and soldiers from every country salute with their right hand.
July 4th Revisited
Imagine how you would feel if someone, maybe a sister or brother, or someone else kept telling you what to do all of the time and kept taking more and more of your allowance.
That is how the colonists felt in the years leading up to 1776. Great Britain kept trying to make the colonists follow more rules and pay higher taxes. People started getting angry and began making plans to be able to make their own rules.
They no longer wanted Great Britain to be able to tell them what to do, so they decided to tell Great Britain that they wanted to be independent. To be independent means to take care of yourself, make your own rules, and provide for your own needs. . . How soon we forget what our ancestors gave their lives for.
That is how the colonists felt in the years leading up to 1776. Great Britain kept trying to make the colonists follow more rules and pay higher taxes. People started getting angry and began making plans to be able to make their own rules.
They no longer wanted Great Britain to be able to tell them what to do, so they decided to tell Great Britain that they wanted to be independent. To be independent means to take care of yourself, make your own rules, and provide for your own needs. . . How soon we forget what our ancestors gave their lives for.
Date and Time
At 5 minutes and 6 seconds after 4 AM on the 8th of July this year, the time and date will be 04:05:06 07/08/09
Medical Imaging
Data shows that imaging equipment in rural regions of the country operates 48 percent of the time an office is open, while equipment in non-rural areas operates 56 percent of the time a center is open for business.
President Obama recently recommended CMS base its reimbursement formula on a 95 percent utilization rate for advanced imaging equipment. MedPAC has recommended 90 percent for equipment that costs more than $1 million.
The utilization assumption is a key component of the Medicare formula. Dramatically increasing the utilization assumption results in a severe cut for imaging reimbursements.
Spending on advanced imaging has already decreased significantly since 2005 and imaging use has essentially flattened due to low reimbursement rates. More imaging reimbursement cuts will severely disrupt access to diagnostic services, including long waits for appointments, and patients driving long distances to find an office that has equipment. Medicare reduces costs without appearing to reduce rates. Hmmm! This is just the beginning of rationing, without using the word 'rationing'.
President Obama recently recommended CMS base its reimbursement formula on a 95 percent utilization rate for advanced imaging equipment. MedPAC has recommended 90 percent for equipment that costs more than $1 million.
The utilization assumption is a key component of the Medicare formula. Dramatically increasing the utilization assumption results in a severe cut for imaging reimbursements.
Spending on advanced imaging has already decreased significantly since 2005 and imaging use has essentially flattened due to low reimbursement rates. More imaging reimbursement cuts will severely disrupt access to diagnostic services, including long waits for appointments, and patients driving long distances to find an office that has equipment. Medicare reduces costs without appearing to reduce rates. Hmmm! This is just the beginning of rationing, without using the word 'rationing'.
Jun 27, 2009
California Going Bookless
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced plans to phase out school textbooks in favor of digital learning aids.
The measure will allow California schoolchildren to ditch traditional math and science textbooks for digital versions later this year, the (Terminator) Governor told schoolchildren in Sacramento.
"The textbooks are outdated, as far as I'm concerned, and there's no reason why our schools should have our students lug around these antiquated and heavy and expensive textbooks."
California is the first state in the United States to introduce such an initiative. The move comes as Schwarzenegger looks to slash spending across a range of sectors in a bid to narrow California's projected 24 billion dollar budget deficit.
With the average price of a school textbook coming in it around 100 dollars, Schwarzenegger said initial savings from the plan would be between 300-400 million dollars. If the scheme was widened to cover more subjects, hundreds of millions more would be trimmed from the annual budget, he said. Next, some namby pamby organization will be asking for a tax increase to pay for the PCs to read the digital books.
The measure will allow California schoolchildren to ditch traditional math and science textbooks for digital versions later this year, the (Terminator) Governor told schoolchildren in Sacramento.
"The textbooks are outdated, as far as I'm concerned, and there's no reason why our schools should have our students lug around these antiquated and heavy and expensive textbooks."
California is the first state in the United States to introduce such an initiative. The move comes as Schwarzenegger looks to slash spending across a range of sectors in a bid to narrow California's projected 24 billion dollar budget deficit.
With the average price of a school textbook coming in it around 100 dollars, Schwarzenegger said initial savings from the plan would be between 300-400 million dollars. If the scheme was widened to cover more subjects, hundreds of millions more would be trimmed from the annual budget, he said. Next, some namby pamby organization will be asking for a tax increase to pay for the PCs to read the digital books.
How Much is a Trillion
If you counted 24 hours a day, it would take 31,688 years to reach one trillion.
Loch Ness Nessie Debunked
It wasn't until 1994 that the secret of the image was revealed, when a man named Christian Spurling, shortly before his death at the age of 90, made a confession. He described a plot involving Wilson, himself, and big-game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell (his stepfather).
Wetherell dreamed up the hoax. He asked Spurling to make a model of a serpent. Spurling did this by attaching a serpent's head and neck to a toy submarine. This model was then photographed in Loch Ness, and the picture given to Wilson, whose job it was to serve as a credible front-man for the hoax. The image given to the media was cropped to hide perspective, making the "monster" appear larger than it actually was.
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