Why does the Cleveland Clinic Suck Pt 1

I'm talking about the premier Hospital in the Cleveland OH area. Don't get me wrong, it is always listed as one of the best hospital in the country, usually only topped in the rankings by John Hopkins in Baltimore, and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. It is commonly considered the best hospital in the country for Health Care.

So what is my issue with the Clinic?

Well, it seems that if you are just a normal person, who is only looking for normal preventative care, or minor procedures, well, you really don't matter to the Cleveland Clinic. It seems like the only way you matter to the Cleveland Clinic is if you have some ailment that they can bill your insurance company lots of money, or if you are a wealthy foreign dignitary who is making some highly publicized visit here, you just don't count. They even brag about how they treat their V.I.P. patients. I have heard that they even have a special private floor for those who have the money.

My experience was that I had a small lump on my side that was not that big of a deal, but it was extremely painful. I took two separate times off from work to see my primary care doc. Both times it was told that he didn't know what it was, but these kind of things usually just go away. Finally on the third time of taking time off from work, my primary care doc wasn't in, so I took the first available. This do was quite nice, and almost immediately said that he thought it was something that should be looked at by one of the surgeons.

So, finally three weeks later when I get in to see the guy, he pretty much agrees with the primary care doc, and said I would need to make yet another appt. to come in for the procedure that would remove the lump. So two weeks later I got in for the procedure. It went OK, but obviously was yet another day where I had to take time off from work. Once the procedure was done, the Physician's Asst. came out and told me that I would have to make yet another appt to have the stitches removed.

So, if you were counting, the Cleveland Clinic got six visits out of me, and I had to take time off from work 6 separate times. Times like these I really miss my old doc who is retired. I would like to think that he would have diagnosed it right the first time, and removed it right there in the office on the same visit.

More to come later

christmas is coming

OK, so I promise I won't do another rant about how people have their undies in a bunch because people say happy holidays instead of merry christmas.

But I suggest those that do, buy a crow bar to pry the undies out.

OK, so this was kind of fun. I saw it on a friends blog

You are a Social Liberal (63% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (41% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist (41e/63s) Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

War on Christmas? -- Give me a break!

Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, or a happy whatever event you, your family and friends celebrate at this time of year.

Sorry I haven't posted in quite a while, but then again I probably only have between zero and one regular readers of my blog, and that number includes myself.

Now it's time that I crawl on the soapbox.

I'm sick and tired of people complaining about how some retail organizations are asking their people to say Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas. Don't those two phrases mean essentially the same thing? Besides, I don't believe any of those retail organizations said anything about not wanting to experience the Christmas holiday. Let's face it, most retail organizations live or die by the sales during the Holiday season. (I used "Holiday" because the season lasts over multiple holidays, including Thanksgiving and New Year).

Now some news organization(s) have picked up on it, and are reporting it like we are in the middle of a culture war because of it. Personally, I think that is blowing thing way the hell out of proportion. News stories and commentary like that does nothing but inflame disgust and hatred in the far right fan base they cater to, towards moderates and liberals that they are portraying as being behind the movement (or war as they state) against Christmas.

If you are someone that believes that there is a War on Christmas, why don't you become someone on the front line and do something in the Christmas spirit. But what does that mean? Does it mean that you are supposed to make snide, sarcastic comments to anyone and everyone about how we aren't supposed to say Christmas any more, because it might offend someone? I don't think so. Does it mean that you should boycott a retail establishment that asks it's employee to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas? Well, I think that is a little extreme. Besides, like I mentioned earlier, doesn't Happy Holidays mean pretty much the same thing as Merry Christmas? I don't think anyone has ever been accused of being a heretic because they said Happy Holidays.

I'm so confused, What should I do?

Someone tell me what to do, Please.

It's been a while, Obviously

Oh, how my life has changed since I last posted in Dec of 2004.

Carrie and I have bought a house. Carrie had back surgery, and I got laid of from my job, all in that order, and in about a months time. And I got laid off about a month and a half after I went to my boss, asking since I have all of these large, long term financial obligation coming up, if I had anything to worry about. I'll let you guess what his answer was.

I has the good fortune to go to Indianapolis twice to see the United States Grand Prix. If you follow Formula 1 racing you may remember that last years race only saw 6 of the 20 cars start and finish the race due to some political bickering between the teams and the series owner. Well this year only 9 cars finished, but at least all 22 cars started. It was an action packed race. But let me tell you, sitting in 95 degree (F) heat with moderately high humidity on aluminum bleachers with 20,000 of our closest friends wasn't fun.

Carrie and I were there for the whole 4 days of events including the Pit walkthrough. They allow anyone who has a raceday ticket to come into the pits while the teams are setting up on Thursday. It was awsome. And I'll try and get some pics posted in the near future.

I have also gotten a new job. I'm now working for a university, which is cool because I get free tuition. So I have also started back to school. This time it's for my MBA. It will be challenging though. It's only part time, all evenings. So it will be 2 nites a week for over three years. The hardest part will be adjusting to the time commitments. It's been 14 years since I last took classes, and I have gotten used to working only a 9-5 job. Oh well, it should be a good investment in our futures.

later

Christmas is coming, OOppps, I said Christmas

This is one thing that is really bothering me lately. You see all over the mainstream media (yes I am talking about FoxNews) that Christmas is under attack. It seems like all over, city and state gov't are removing any reference to Chirstmas. and that retailers are not promoting Christmas, but Christmukah. It's all freakin' rediculous.

What the worst part is though is how FoxNews is making it seem like it's all over where it's happening, when in reality, it's only a view places. They are even attacking retailers who have changed their Christmas ads. In my opinion those ads that they are attacking is just fun and querky, and jews and chirstians should be offendend that someone is trying to push those two holidays together.

Don't get me wrong, I love FoxNews' news coverage. The problem is, there is less and less news coverage, and more an more opinion and editorial. FoxNews slams some of the larger newspapers for their liberal agenda, but what is being slammed is primarily in those papers Op/Ed section. Yet you don't see FoxNews stop the news coverage, and promote that they are going into an Op/Ed piece. They just keep going like it's actual news that they are covering.

Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now

A look back -- Post Election, Final

OK, so I had some illusions of grandure on this whole election process. Through the whole election and just after I though that if I voiced a few things, it would change the way people though... Over the past week, I realized that is just not what I am about. I am more of live and let live kind of guy. I cherrish other peoples thoughts and opinions, and I believe in free speech.

By the way, I voted for Kerry (like you couldn't have guessed).

And my final election issue, Where I live we had a local tax levy to give more funding to the schools. It failed, for the 7th straight time. Now our local school district will be placed in a fiscal state of emergency. The state will come in, fix what it feels needs to be fixed, turn control back over to the school board, then require repayment of what it spent. So, in the years to come, we will get control of the school back, with higher expenses, which will require a tax levy to pay for, and we will have to pay back the state. In my opinion it would have just been better to pay for it now, and keep control.

My wife and I are wanting to buy a house. We are sure that it won't be in the city we currently live in. Although we don't have children, and aren't that concerned with the quality of the school, it does affect the property values. Currently prices are really low, which makes it attractive. But who wants to live there? The town will have a hard time attracting families because of the school system.

I know that I'm ranting now, but what I'm trying to get to is a problem in the Cleveland metro area. The general feel is that "It's not my problem, let the state change the way it funds education" The state needs to give us more. Granted, Cleveland is rated as the poorest city in the U.S. If taxes are raised, it won't effect that many people, since they are mostly not paying taxes anyway. Just give me more. It's almost as if this city wears it's problems on it's sleve like a badge of honor.

Now, you would thing that with who I voted for is contradictory to my thoughts about Cleveland. I don't think the problem with Cleveland is with the politicians in D.C. or even the state capital. I do think it is with, to some extent, the politicians in the City level, and more so with the general attitude of the public. In the City goverment there are a lot of good people there, doing good work. But there are also way to many corrupt, well, politicans.

I'm sorry, as I look back on this post, even I have a hard time following it. But that is the way that I am. I just think aloud most of the time. And I'm going to leave it as is.

Mandate from the People -- Post Election #3

Sorry It's been a couple of days.

There is something that is troubling me. I have heard many times now from the Spin out of the white house and the GOP that the Bush administration has received a mandate from the public. Yes, Bush (jr) is the first US president to receive the majority of the vote (greater than 50%) since Bush (sr). But I would hardly say that he received a mandate from the people. When you look at it, he won by just over 200,000 votes (that was the margin of victory here in OH). Had Kerry won Ohio, the results would have been different. Yet the administration gets up in front of the camera and acts as if it had won by 15% or more. When in reality they barely edge Kerry out.

I think it's a sad state when the race is so close, they consider it a major victory if the election isn't decided in the courts.

My point is, will this lame duck president follow the will of the people, or will he only go more conservative, because he knows that he won't be up for re-election in four years. One thing is for sure, this adminstration will be different for his last. There are already rumours that the big players in his cabinet are leaving (Rice, Powell, Aschcroft, Thompson, Ridge and maybe even Rumsfield sorry if I mispelled any of them). Will he replace them with people that better reflects how divided our country really is, or will he replace them with even more conservative people?

One thing I find outright scary is how much of Karl Rove we have seen since the election. For those of you who don't know who he is. He is the presidents main political advisor. It is even rumoured that he is the one responsible for speading romours about John MacCain, having a black child out of wedlock, during the 2000 election. If that is any indication of things to come, it scares me.

My prediction, if Bush goes more moderate, it will start to heal the division in the country, but alienate the hardcore conservatives. Yet if he goes more conservative, it will deepen the divide in the coutry, and all of the conservative will be basking in glory. If the later happen, look for a really ugly election in 2008.

Up next -- Who did I vote for?