Healthcare in the US
The United States is very wealthy country. Contrary to the popular belief outside the country the health care here sucks to no end. It has been a much debated topic recently. Universal health care, which the President is touting, I am afraid won’t work. The compromise being worked between the present administration and Republicans to impose mandatory health insurance will only make matters worse. This will only drive away more companies and jobs to other countries. Anyone with a small business here knows that compliance costs are ridiculously high. Add to that mandatory health insurance and you have perfect recipe for the worst case scenario.
Universal health care won’t work in the United States. People who compare United States to other countries need to realize that unlike other countries the population here is a lot higher, the population growth rate is almost as high as India and add to that the largest immigrant population every year. You don’t need be an expert economist to realize that the costs would only mean one thing higher taxes. With the US loosing out to developing countries, who for uninitiated now have highly skilled labourers, with respect to tax breaks would only make these countries more and more attractive everyday for companies in the United States.
From where I come from, Bengaluru, health care is mostly a non issue. India does have universal health care but it has lot to be desired, the quality of services provided there is what you would expect from a third world country. So why is it a non issue? It so happens that the solution problem comes from private enterprises and not the government. Let’s consider Narayana Hrudayalaya. It is a state of the art facility that treats people with heart ailments. The elite , the rich, the poor all them use it. If you can’t afford to pay you are not turned down. You don’t need to have an insurance policy. So if you are think they must have some incompetent doctors you are wrong they are some of the best. A lot them have trained, worked in this very country. They have successfully implemented Tele-medicine. People from neighbouring countries use this service.
There is no way a country like India or the United States could provide good universal health care. Ironically a once socialist country is now teaching capitalism to the one it learnt from by providing a fertile ground for entrepreneurs.
While the debate continues here is an idea for people in the United States to reduce their health care costs. Only a few people know that with a HSA plan you get health care services outside the United States. If you need to get a major surgery you better off getting it done in India. Your costs will be minimal and you can use tax free dollars from HSA account. Better yet the insurance company will incur any expenses beyond your deductible.
The retro sound and look
If you thought it was only their music was retro check out their website (http://www.theraconteurs.com/).
The best Clint Eastwood finish
Go watch Gran Torino it’s the got the best Clint Eastwood finish ever.
Feminism
Feminism is a concept often misunderstood and misapplied. Feminism has been around longer than most people think. The 20th century feminist movement in the western world wasn’t the first time women fought for their rights. More often than not women have fought for the wrong rights since then. Two of the noblest things that any human can do is replenish the earth and create wealth. The latter was what was taken away from women very early in our history. When we began creating tools it required a lot of physical strength. But things changed as we evolved we learned to create things which did not necessarily need a lot of physical strength but we did not change our views.
When women began to create wealth we accused them of witchcraft and burnt them. When they dressed as men and won wars for their country we executed them. And even today they are discriminated in every walk of life and are rarely treated equally at most workplaces. People are yet to realize they are equally good at this noble deed as are men are. More so the feminist should understand they need to do a great deal to fight for this right and educate the younger ones. Instead, unfortunately, symbolisms like sexual freedom became higher priority in the 20th Century. It is no wonder that a lot of “Real Americans” believe that feminism is all about promiscuous sex and so do most girls getting into colleges. Glorifying these symbolisms isn’t going to help any young girl to understand what it means to be a feminist. The freedom to make their own choices in any matters at hand is an important one but it isn’t the most important.
It is unfortunate and sad that we even need to educate people on this. Think about all the wonderful advances we would have made if we hadn’t erred in our thinking.
Reading Project Gutenberg books on OS X
So you can’t read a book on the computer, I don’t blame I couldn’t for a long time either. Check this out. He can do UI like no other.
Parody or Real?
Is this, http://www.conservapedia.com/, a parody or real? Their article of the year is Atheism. Can somebody tell them how many times they have contradicted themselves in that page, no wait first teach them what a contradiction is.
Web Developer San Diego
We are two person startup in San Diego. We are currently working on product to build a new UI metaphor for a very common application. We are building on top of an existing open source project and have done quite a bit of work on it. We are looking for someone who is well versed in UI programming, especially on the web.
If are interested in working on it and are comfortable with Javascript, Objective-J and Java please send me an email. You would be the first employee and I assure you won’t be disappointed when you hear about what we are doing. We need someone who can work in San Diego full time. Working remote is not an option.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=397929
Psychedelic is back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtUI5MC9tVM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVnRzEjpUmE
San Diego Budget
Apparently the City of San Diego has problems with their budget and the mayor has warned of the hard times ahead. This doesn’t come as a surprise considering this what they spend the tax payers dollar on.
These people on Segaways are called Safety Ambassador and job function is listed as follows “Ambassadors act as an extra set of “eyes and ears” for law enforcement and property owners.” The cops hate them, they can’t give tickets to anyone and I have never seen them doing anything but cruise around.
Nobody would buy San Diego bonds a couple of years ago, it seems nobody will in a year again.
So how about this Mr. Sanders, you fire those people and sell those Segaways at discount to people like me.
Where is John Galt?
“That’s not true! It’s just that bankers are sabotaging the Plan. Those bastards, who used to give us loans in the old days, with no security at all except our own railrod, now refuse to let me have a few measly hunderd-thousands, on short term, just to take care of few payrolls, when I have the entire plant of all the railroads of the country to offer them as security for my loan!”
“We couldn’t help it!” he cried. “It is not fault of the Plan that some people refulse to carry their fair share of our burdens!”
James Taggert (Atlas Shrugged)
“Almost no one expected what was coming. It’s not fair to blame us for not predicting the unthinkable.“
Daniel H. Mudd, former chief executive, Fannie Mae
The more I read the news these days the more I think where is John Galt?
Is it you or is it me
Through the window I look
On the street a gorgeous
Is it you or is it me
Beingness makes no sense
Reality and Dreams
Are they the same?
My eyes are useless
Everywhere I look
Is it you or is it me
Feels Good
Legs trembling
Lips bleeding
Arms locked in
It feels good inside
Hide
The world, it is so cruel.
Need a place to hide.
Hide, I can’t
‘Cos it is in your heart
Choices
Americans have a lot choices or so we are made to believe. I am not certain of that. Let’s look at some of the choices they have.
They currently have two choices for their future president. One who wants be Robin Hood, steal money from people who work and give it people who don’t want to work. The other wants to steal money from the working class and make the filthy rich richer. Not much of a choice in my opinion.
Food, oh there is so much food here. All super enriched delicious carcinogenic agent. You could eat or smoke cigarettes, pick one it doesn’t really matter which one.
Television, oh man there so many options here, any show you pick is guaranteed to make you dumber. Your other option would be see their movies which will have the same effect.
I can go on with more less obvious lack of choices but I guess you get the point. Americans need to Wake Up before it is too late.
Into the Wild
Jena Malone is the cutest actress ever and it is first thing that is good about the movie. That aside the cinematography is amazing, the soundtrack is very moving and the screenplay is just about good. The acting isn’t all that great and the reason I believe are not the actors but the screenplay. The conflicts that story is explores isn’t dealt in depth. It would have been better movie only if fewer conflicts of his life were explored but in more detail. I believe what Sean Penn was trying to do is get a broader audience to relate with the pains that Christopher McCandless went through. Nobel cause but it doesn’t work.
Affection is the Essence of Life
Affection is the essence of life. Affection, after fear, is the most powerful of our emotions.
We humans differ in many ways when it comes affection. I have never able comprehend for instance at our desire to show affection towards inanimate objects. I show none but most people do. People also tend to be affectionate towards other species which is also a mystery for me. Showing affection and getting it definitely has a positive effect on people.
What your are today, your personality, your behavior, your intelligence, your likes and dislikes, your beliefs or lack of it is related to the amount of affection you received as kid. More of it is not necessarily good and less of it is not necessarily bad. No that is not a contradiction. Certain traits and virtues develop in people at both ends of the spectrum.
Who or what people choose show affection towards is random at best, people don’t seem to be able or want to ascertain it. When it comes to other humans more often than not people seem to choose others based on their virtues or vanities unconsciously or even instinctively. People are the same time very conscious about the fact that affection can bring them both joy and sorrow.
What I have been able to gather studying affection is that people are strange.
You are mine
Trying to capture a characters feelings from the novel in am reading in the form of a poetry.
The moonlight they try to find you
Naked as you lay in my arms
I laugh at my desire for you
To be mine and only mine
I don’t want the flowers to smell you.
I don’t want the wind to feel you.
I don’t want people to sway you.
All I ever wanted was you to be mine.
I don’t want the birds talk to you.
I don’t want the sun to see you.
I don’t want the sea to touch you.
What it means for you to be mine?
Won’t let the heavens steal you
For joy is all they can give you
Sorrow is for me to share with you
I know what it means for you to be mine.
Won’t let the devil get to you
For pain is all he can give you
I don’t own you. You do.
You are mine.
I drink your milkshake
There Will Be Blood is the best movie I’ve seen in years. Acting by Daniel Day-Lewis by far the best by any actor in recent times.
Lives of Others
The best part of the movie is the sonata. It is the best I have heard in a long time. If you want learn to how to or how not to destroy a nation you got to see the movie.
Skin Color
“My experience with Americans is that they often have opinions about a racial or religious group but that they are nearly always willing to put those opinions aside and consider an individual.”
That is very true of Americans. I am not sure they would apply that to someone who would be their next President. Especially the religious folks. Time will tell. My money is still on McCain.
Leave him alone
If you are a programmer you probably heard or tried out Arc by now. Every programmer on the face of this earth is eager and keen to play with it thanks to Paul Graham’s wonderful writing skills. But please stop it. I cannot for one begin to imagine why people were expecting anything more than what Arc is today. He has never claimed to replace your favorite language anytime soon. I have programmed in Lisp and I love it but I cannot for one imaging it replacing C based language anytime soon. Like it or not we don’t yet have an alternative to C based language yet, Python is half way there. The fact that Python 3.0 is going to be backward incompatible shows that it is hard it is achieve that and it is going to take time.
Predictions
The Democrats had really good chance last time but nothing compared to this time around. So they are obviously finding creative ways to screw up. A women or black guy for president, after a year in this country I know for sure that won’t happen. It might be the worlds biggest economy but it is one hell of racist nation. This may be the place for feminists but more than half the population here believe feminism is all about promiscuous sex. John McCain, as I’ve been telling all along, is gonna walk over the Democrats. And Iraq is going to be Vietnam all over again.
Disclaimer: I am not racist, I support feminism and I never vote.
Inside Out
What did I do on my birthday? I wore my shirt inside out, not deliberate mind you. Nathan, he works with me at Intuit, notices when he is in my office. We have a good laugh at it and then I thought of changing as soon as he leaves. I forget completely about it after that. So around late afternoon we are playing pool and somebody else notices it. I am so embarrassed by now I don’t even care to change it.
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