Forgive me for repeating myself.

I bought my first Kindle in 2008. It was the 1st generation. I loved it. Bought tons of e-books. My wife loved the fact that I wasn't taking up any more book shelf real estate.

I recently purchaced the 3rd gen Kindle, which I think is much better than the first version. Thinner, lighter, better contrast, faster response time, longer battery life, etc.

However, today I think I've seen what will kill the e-book readers. I was going to get a book that was reviewed in the Our Sunday Visitor. Went to Amazon's website, and they were asking $16.50 for the fricken' kindle edition! What the heck?

For just a few dollars more I could get a "like-new" hardback. That I can touch, smell and lend to a friend. Why should I pay that much money for 1's and 0's?

I know the publishers threatened to sue Amazon and are now the ones who set the e-book prices. But it costs the publisher's next to nothing to sell me the e-book, after it's been converted (once!). No paper to buy. No hard board for covers. No glue.

Kindle Book Prices too High now

I realize Amazon has lost control of pricing now, and that it's up to publishers to set the prices. But this is outrageous. Once the book is in electronic format, there is little to no cost to the publisher to let me download a book. I just looked at a book that Amazon was selling for $16.50!!! For a few 0's and 1's. No paper pages. No hardback binding. No shipping packaging.

I wrote a review of my first kindle back in 2008. I now have a 3rd generation Kindle, which I think is even better. But I doubt I'll ever buy another one.

It's one thing to get an e-book for significant savings, but when I can hold a real book for just a few more bucks, I'll take the real thing.

Rain, rain go away, come again another day

Man, will it ever stop raining? My back yard is like a swamp. I think we're gonna need a bigger boat.

May 1st, in history

On May 1st, throughout recorded history several important things have happened.

1. Adolf Hitler declared dead, 1945

2. Osama bin Laden shot & killed by US Navy SEALS, 2011

3. Blessed Pope John Paul II beatified, 2011.

Wonder what else happened on this date.

Gas Prices

Gas prices seem to be going up, up, up! And our president doesn't seem to care. When, at a presidential photo op, asked by a man what the President was going to do about gas prices, President Obama just laughed and said " if you're getting eight miles a gallon you may want to think about a trade-in.."

Once again showing how out of touch he is with real Americans.

They guy is having trouble buying gas, and the president just laughs it off. How does Mr Obama know what this guy drives? Maybe he already has a Prius or a Nissan Leaf? What kind of mileage does the presidential limo get? I know, he needs the protection. But still, don't make a joke out of something that is hurting most Americans who actually have to pay for what they need.

This sounds to me like a Marie Antoinette moment (let them eat cake...)

WikiLeaks

I'm torn by all this WikiLeaks controversy.

On one hand, the libertarian in me supports what they've done. I don't trust big government, whether it's Dubya or Barry. The thing that's kept this country great for so long is that our government leaders aren't deities, and we can reign them in by shining some light on their slime mold plans and schemes.

On the other hand, I can see how leaks of top secret government documents, especially military related plans, can endanger the lives of our young men and women in the Armed Forces. If my son were to be killed in, say Kandahar, and plans related to his units movements were plastered on the web, I'd want Julian Assange's head on a platter.

Just because one CAN do something doesn't mean one SHOULD do it...

I knew I liked sourdough for a reason

Turns out that plain, old-fashioned sourdough bread is healthier than whole wheat. According to the University of Guleph, in Ontario, Canada, people who eat sourdough bread have the lowest spikes in blood sugar, as compared to those eating white or even (shocker) whole wheat bread.

So I guess this makes Sourdough the Miller Lite of the bread world! (great taste, less filling!)

Vitamin D testing

Nary a day goes by when I don't read about how Americans are low in Vitamin D, and that "everybody" should get tested. (As a society, we get enough Vitamin D in our diets and by multivitamins to prevent Rickets, but still have sub-optimal levels).

Well, here's the truth about being tested for Vitamin D:

1. The testing is really expensive. From $50-$150, depending on the lab.

2. Most insurance plans don't pay for it, unless you have a proven low level of Vitamin D. How are you gonna know if you have low Vitamin D, if you don't know your Vitamin D level? (truth be told, odds are you are low. Just about everybody is.)

3. Vitamin D supplements are DIRT CHEAP. Everybody can afford it OTC. We're talking pennies a day.

So, instead of paying to check your level, just take 2000 units of Vitamin D3 every day, and get 15-20 minutes of sunlight daily.

Sourdough heaven

I've been experimenting with various sourdough bread recipes lately, and I've had some moderate success. Google the term "sourdough bread starter" and, surprise, surprise, you'll get a billion different sites. After spending several hours, and being told by my wife that I was obsessed, I narrowed the sites down to just a few.

Making sourdough bread is surprisingly simple, but to create your own starter takes some time. Following this method took me about 7 full days to get a starter that was nice and frothy. The only thing I did different was use King Arthur unbleached, unbromated bread flour. I didn't use any whole wheat flour.

On to the baking. There were several good recipies ( here, and here and here). But I settled on a video series I found on YouTube, by Chef Mike.

I haven't yet gotten the timing down just right, especially since my work schedule varies so much. Sometimes I'm ready to bake at noon, sometimes it's not until 10 pm! And, for some unexplained reason, my starter seemed to die after the 3rd loaf. Instead of throwing it away, I just added flour and water, waited 12 hours and threw away 1/2 of it and re-added flour and water, and 48 hours later my started was exploding again. Go figure.

Physician suicide

The New York Times published a disturbing article on Oct 7, 2010. It seems that physicians commit suicide at a much higher rate than the general population.

Most physicians are very driven people, having this deep, spiritual need to succeed. We were able to be at the top of our class in high school and college. And then we got thrown in a room full of over-acheivers, and life became a bit harder for most. Then we had to compete for residency positions, many of which only accepted you if you made all "A's" in med school.

Then there's residency, where long hours with little sleep (at least until recently!!!!) combined to wear us down. Some of us then still had to complete for that special fellowship.

Then private practice, where we suddenly had to pay bills, which we never did before. Our expenses continue to go up, but our reimbursement from Medicare and insurance companies goes down every year. We pull out our hair dealing with insurance companies' ever-changing regulations, forms, phone calls, etc. On top of that, our patients don't respect us like they did "in the good old days" (if those ever really existed). They are demanding, angry, don't want to pay their co-pays or keep follow up appointments; they want free care over the phone, internet, email, etc.

On top of that, there are those patients who we truly care about, but get worse or die anyway, despite us doing everything we can. After they pass, Duey Cheatem and Howe, Esq, send us the legal summons telling us what idiots we are for obviously missing the lawsuit-disease-of-the-month.

Most of us don't have the luxury of paid vacation or sick time. So we work to pay the bills, even when most of our patients complain about needing work notes.

To make matters worse, if physicians do admit to depression or suicidal thoughts, they are branded as "impaired physicians" for the rest of their lives. This makes it harder to get appointments to hospitals and insurance plans. Some could even lose their license to practice medicine.

This can weight down our souls, often times so much we miss the good times. The patient who thanks us for caring or helping. The little old lady who brings us cookies. The widower who thanks us for helping him get thru his grief afer his wife died. The child at the grocery store who yells "Hey, Doc!".


Stop right now, and say a prayer for your physician.

Kindle prices coming down, but not their e-book prices

Amazon's Kindle e-book reader has been an awesome experience, from my standpoint. However, after almost 3 years of use, I'm a little peeved that Amazon has been gradually raising the prices of their e-books. I don't understand why an e-book needs to cost over $10, ever. I mean, it doesn't cost Amazon or the publishers anything for me to download their product. All the money went to conversion to the e-book format. But there is no physical printing on their part, no paper costs, no binding fees, no shipping costs. I press one button, and in about 1 minute, the book is on my Kindle.

Amazon, KEEP YOUR PRICES LOW! I'll go back to real books if prices keep getting closer. At least then, I can let someone borrow the actual book.

I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill

I don't recall any "Slaughter" rule in that old Saturday morning cartoon about how a bill becomes a law. The House democrats are about to use unconstitutional means to pass a bill that can't pass by ordinary measures. If it passes, American health care will begin a rapid, downward spiral.

What's more, the Democrats will have opened a Pandora's Box with this trickery. Some day, they WILL be in the minority again. The Republicans, who have proven themselves just as slimy when they are the majority, will pull this same crap to pass something. The Democrats will whine and fuss about it. But, they will be reminded that the "Slaughter" rule is named after the Democrat who proposed it. Not like "reconciliation" which no one really knows which parted started using.

Democrats, reap what you sew.

Chuck Norris

There is no such thing as a theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures that Chuck Norris has allowed to live.

What an honor, or What the crap...

By now, everybody knows that President Barak Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

What the crap?? What has this guy done to deserve the Peace Prize? I suppose people have been miraculously healed just by passing under his shadow. Maybe it's for all those thrills going up people's legs.

Come on. Are we supposed to believe that Obama is more worthy than Mahatma Gandhi???

September remembrances

Anybody else find it odd that President Obama could make it to New York City for the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, but couldn't make it for the 8th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack?

Health Care reform.

I just watched the President's press conference tonight about health care reform, and I learned something about myself I didn't know. Apparently, I am an evil scumbag who just wants to take tonsils out just to make myself rich. Bad doctor.

Also, a reporter asked the big O if he would go on the record and promise that the government would NEVER deny a patient a service and that those types of services would only be decided by the patient & their Doctor. He also asked the president if he and the rest of the gubment would go on the Public option as being offered.

I was shocked that Mr Obama wouldn't answer either question. Must be because, A- you most certainly will be denied care just because some bureaucrat says so, and B- no way in hell will the Looters in DC be forced to take the crappy socialized coverage.

the Death of the Physician

Currently, the health care reform bills before Congress are 1000+ pages long. Obviously no one is going to be able to read this monstrosity before it is voted on.

However, a few pages have been brought to my attention, and I thought I'd pass them on. I believe this bill will be the death of the American physician.

Page 461 states that mid level providers (i.e. nurse practitioner) will be placed in charge of “a patient centered medical home.”

Page 463 states that primary care will be defined as being provided by either a physician or a midlevel.

Page 480 defines a primary care provider as “a physician or other health care practitioner (including a nurse practitioner) who specializes in family medicine, general internal medicine, geriatrics, or obstetrics and gynecology.”

And page 778 describes how midlevels will be paid the same as physicians for providing care.

So what this seems to say to me is that, as a primary care provider, I wasted my time going to medical school for 4 years and then on to 3 years of residency. I racked up $120,000+ of debt for nothing. I should have just gone to nursing school and I could have saved a fortune.

Is Health Care a Right?

A “right” is something to which a person is entitled to just because they exist. It is nothing they can earn. It is not provided by whatever form of government under which they live. It applies to all people equally, no matter their color, religion, sex, age, economic status or number of extremities. It is nothing that can lawfully be taken away. It is something that cannot be denied to them.

If healthcare is a “right”, then the government cannot limit one’s access to it. Just like government cannot limit their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. How else can this be done then by trampling on the “rights” of the health care provider? How else can the government tell people they have the right to health care without saying to their physician, “You have no right to your own mind, to your own thoughts, to your own actions”?

“I deserve health care. I want health care, and I want it free. It is my right. And I want it now,” is what people are saying.

With the right to life, no one is required to feed them, clothe them, and provide them shelter. The right to the pursuit of happiness is not a guarantee that anybody else will make you happy or even try to. Nothing is imposed on anybody but yourself. But the right to health care, by definition, must impose a duty on other people to satisfy your own needs; they have no choice in the matter. Their right to anything at another’s expense makes that other person rightless. Their “right” to health care makes the physician a slave to the desires of others.

Consumer Confidence CNN Crok

On June 30, 2009, CNN anchor Christing Romans did her best to brainwash the viewers.

She stated " We've seen a spring stock market rally that has been quite incredible! Job losses are slowing! Consumer confidence is improving! People are feeling a little better. They're feeling better because they're spending less. They're saving more money. They're getting back to basics. There's a new frugality that's making them feel better. "

Sounds awesome, doesn't it?

Except for one small detail. That same day, the Consumer Confidence Index fell significantly.

Too bad Ms Romans didn't actually get this news before she made a fool of herself.

What the ....

When will people wake up and see how dangerous this is? The editor of Newsweek magazine is seen here calling Obama "God" and Chris Matthews in gleeful agreement. This was broadcast on the show "hardball" on June 6, 2009. Shameful.