Power and Money

 Wow, we got a cold one outside!  23 (F).  Yikes.  In fact, we've got a few days of coldieness ahead of us, but then this is to be expected, we are only 9 days for winter.  I'm interested to see if this year continues the trend of cold Decembers and early Januarys and then a warm-up into much more moderate temperatures. 

Yesterday was sort of a meh day, and yet it wasn't.  A bag of tomatoes and a half bag of onions went through the dehydrator.  My house smelt like a tomato salad.  It wasn't bad.  I did some writing.  A leg workout was done, though now my quads are a bit on the sore side.  Rather than ride today, I'm going to be putting some time on the treadmill.  

I also worked.  It was fine.  Slow.  No departments are making plan this week.  I'm don't work until Sunday.  That's right, this is one of my 15 hour weeks.  I have one next week as well.  However, Christmas week I'm back to my regular 20 hours.  This is a good thing because Howie's initial visits to the Vet are $$$.  After this round of shots is over, they'll become less expensive.  Sadly, they are already trying to get me to buy treatments he doesn't need, such as a very expensive heartworm  med, that needs to be administered monthly and costs $180 for 3 months.  Heartworm is a serious issue down south.  Up here in Central PA, not so much because this parasite is passed to the dog through a mosquito bite, and where I live, mosquitos are a season issue.

They also push pet insurance, and this meme is so very appropriate.

The same thing applies to pet insurance.  In fact, it applies to all forms of insurance, and it isn't just United Health Care.  There was a time when insurance was a good idea, when it was affordable, when it actually paid for claims, whether they be health, home, or vehicle related.  At some point, though, their value began to decline for those being insured.  In most states, car insurance is required if you own a car.  When I hear what young people have to pay for car insurance, I am flabbergasted.  That's corporate greed.  Health insurance is even worse.  When I was fulltime, I was paying $165 a month and that was for bare bones coverage for a single individual.  I stopped paying that when I retired (7 years ago).  That cost has gone up.  Family coverage is far more expensive.  And, if you do need to file a claim, there is that inevitable deductible that needs to be paid first, and then you find out your insurance is only going to pay a percentage of your bill.  Is it any wonder Americans are upset? 

And for all you stupid cultists out there:  The Orange Anus said that there's good possibility that prices are going to go up.  I wonder how long it will take them to realize he doesn't give a shit about them.  The only things he cares about are power and money.