Social Security

     Signed up for SS in October 2017, three months before my birthday as recommended on the government website. Because of the way the system is administered, I will not receive my first payment until March 23rd, more than two months after my birthday.  Your government at work. Had I waited another 4 years to begin collecting benefits, it would have required 13 years to accumulate the $48,000 dollars I will collect in the interim, which is the $300 monthly difference between reduced benefits versus full benefits multiplied by 48 months. ( $300 x 12= $3,600 x 13=$46,800)
    That money will be accumulating an average of 6% growth in my IRA, which will add another $10,000 by the 4 year mark. Many factors can be considered as to when a person should begin collecting SS, but I personally do not agree with those who advise to wait until full retirement age. I think that is propaganda by a government headed towards bankruptcy because of incompetence, and
I prefer to handle my own money and enjoy life while I am relatively young and healthy.
    The way that the government set up my particular payment schedule( the 3rd Wednesday of every month) is that there are occasionally five weeks between checks rather than the customary 4 weeks in a month.  Although the annual payments are the same, fortunately I am not living paycheck to paycheck as some people are, hence the extra week is a nuisance rather than a hardship. Your government at work.

Pipes

   We had the pipes replaced last week- not because of any leaks- rather because the old cast iron was original to the house and we figured we would circumvent any future problems. After 68 years the pipes had some corrosion and clogging but still functioned surprisingly well. The designers/ builders of this house had kept all the plumbing exposed in the basement which made replacement  simply a matter of removing the old iron and putting up the PEX, then threading it through the existing floor holes into the kitchen and bathroom. Talk about intelligent foresight! In fact this entire

            'craft' style house was well built and remains low maintenance all these decades later. I suspect few modern houses will be able to make that claim.
           

Misc Winter Babble

     It has not been as cold here as in the midwest, but the temperature will not be going above 32F until January 8th, which  will have been about two weeks. Some people of course confuse weather with climate and so try to debunk the global changes that are being measured by scientists, but weather extremes are part of their predictions and so here we are. These are some pics from recent walks I have taken, the lower two at Allegany State Park just across the border in New York. When the wind blows at 15F or less it is difficult to do more than a couple miles, but at 20 degrees and

sunshine the winter becomes a beautiful memory from childhood.
   My only political comment this blog is about the governments (..and I use that term to describe the Bush, the Obama and Trump administrations) intimidation of journalists. It has become common practice for the justice department to threaten and sue journalists in order to learn their sources, or as they call them their "leaks", but to me a free press is the foundation of our democracy. So to see people in power try to shut other people up for exposing the truth is just plain dangerous. I really don't why truth is held in such low regard
by some people but that seems to be the case, and generally such people hide behind lies and deceit in order to conceal what is unethical or immoral behavior. That is why I prefer scientists who at least Try to discover truth, and even when trying their best find Truth elusive.

Same Old Thinking, Different Era

 " I can't keep up with what's been going on...I guess my heart must just be slowing down"- Jackson Browne
           We are 'friends' with Saudi Arabia, a culture which until very recently put women in jail for driving a car (read the above book for details on that repressive society), and in Alabama many voters would rather put a borderline pedophile in power than 'lose' an election to a Democrat. There seems to be a lack of moral compass among those voters that resembles the thinking that had the south supporting slavery. Meanwhile our Supreme Court is debating whether a bake shop owner has the 'religious' right to deny baking a cake for a gay couple. The baker sincerely believes that his interpretation of 'religious freedom' is correct, but I wonder if he asks his other clients whether they beat their wives or children before he serves them. Does his religion not disapprove of those acts at least as fervently as homosexuality? In my experience, a true religion embraces LOVE and unity and equality, not rejection and separation and inequality.
          On a positive note there seems to be a revolution of sorts going on regarding the sexual harassment of women. Perhaps the momentum can translate into genuine change whereby women are paid and promoted the same as men, but I think it will require more women in power to balance those scales.
           Meanwhile our president continues to shake things up simply because he Can. I am waiting for World War III on his watch, and wonder if evangelicals and other supporters will welcome war simply because Trump says it is necessary. His crude style seems to appeal to them regardless of the consequences, although I hope they realize that there will be nowhere to hide if nuclear war comes.
 POSTSCRIPT: Alabama voters decided to remain in the civilized world by rejecting Roy Moore. 
            
            
      

Halloween

       This Halloween Beth and I did a small experiment of sorts by which we set our container of candy on the edge of the porch, just at the top of the stairs. We sat in the chairs and welcomed the kids as they approached and encouraged them to take some. They all did but showed mild hesitation at our unorthodox method and we noticed that only 4 out of 23 children said 'thank you'. So we modified our approach and personally held the candy bucket while on the porch and later when we went back inside the house. In the latter cases all of the children said 'thank you' and seemed much more relaxed about the whole encounter. There was something about holding the candy container that personalized the exchange and made it more specifically from us rather than the impersonal top of the stairs. That so minor a difference would increase the politeness and social 'civility' of the kids was surprising, but real.
    Research has shown that merely holding a warm drink versus a cold drink causes people to regard strangers as more trustworthy, so there are many ways we respond to the world- sometimes unconsciously. This Halloween observation seems to be one of them.

The Fall of Rome

   For several years during the mid 90’s I passed thousands of solitary hours in what the Buddhists would call a “walking meditation”-thinking, and writing, and observing Nature and the world. In that time I experienced states of mind and insights that come only after one has quieted the mind and removed distractions. In science they describe such inspirations as “favoring the prepared mind”.  That is, such ‘discoveries’ are available to anyone who puts in the time and study, for it enables them to see things not apparent to the casual observer. Jane Goodall first observing tool use and extreme violence among chimpanzees is an example.
  One evening in 1996 I had been concentrating on atoms and electrons and photons and trying to figure out how such energy systems related to what we call life and consciousness. Suddenly (… a relative expression, for I had been focusing for over an hour) I experienced a low energy mind state that I had not had before and have not had since. The sensation was as though my mind was suddenly dulled to a foggy, yet still fully alert awareness, at which point I seemed to notice a pervading intelligence in the rocks and other traditionally non living matter. I recall walking another mile in this seemingly lower energy state, questioning its validity, asking the powers that be if I was supposed to accept that there was intelligence in door knobs? Yet I could not deny that this perception was as real as the light striking my retina or the sounds on my eardrum, and I had not noticed it before because I had not heretofore put in the time and effort. In a real sense until that particular walk I was not prepared to experience that insight and would have derided myself as delusional without a second thought. For a scientific comparison, humans were ignorant of many phenomena until we developed the proper instruments to perceive them, but that did not invalidate their reality. They just needed to be discovered. In that way I consider the human mind capable of perceiving many things that cannot necessarily be measured with instruments-yet-but that does not invalidate their reality.
         When thinking on these things there is always skepticism because people sometimes hear voices or experience mind states that are genuinely delusional, yet it is the direct experience of this ‘universal intelligence’ that convinced me of its reality;  no amount of analysis or scientific inquiry since that moment has lessened my conviction. Science and logic no more touch that kind of perception than they touch emotion or explain color to a blind man. No doubt it is a fine line between ‘seeing is believing’ and ‘believing is seeing’, but the line exists and many things require an open mind-not a gullible one.  
          One persistent thought over the years as I have watched the news and contrasted the outer world with the inner states of my solitude is that-in universal terms-we human beings are an immature species. It is profound humility rather than vanity that has me thinking that way, for this so called universal intelligence seems to imply that we have a long way to go to attain the loving, inclusive wisdom that truly defines Creation. If there are no borders, and no superior races, nor species, and an indivisible, unified thread pervading the Universe, then the walls and divisions people put between themselves and other species is the true illusion/delusion. They expose our ignorance regarding the underlying nature of reality. Yet Never have I perceived our immaturity in a negative sense, rather this higher intelligence suggests we are children striving to advance to some better, more loving and tolerant awareness within the Universal stage.
     So I watch the emotionally dysfunctional men in power and it troubles me to know that they have the capacity to launch nuclear weapons. I watch the intolerant, divisive behaviors of racists and homophobes and sexists and religious fanatics and know that they are miles..no, thousands of hours of reflection away from comprehending esoteric ideas like universal intelligence. Because we are each responsible for our own personal growth, I fear such people will never learn humility before it is too late for the planet. As Voltaire observed, “Anyone who has the power to make you believe in absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.” I do not despair over such things, but mourn for the loss of reason and compassion, and wonder if human nature shall ever rise from this quagmire before we destroy ourselves. So Rome fell after a long flourishing, and in this interconnected, overpopulated, world there is less and less room for bravado and ignorance, yet that is precisely what has gained favor. It is incumbent upon the reasonable to defend truth wherever they must, and I draw upon my long ago meditations for the courage to do so.
    POSTSCRIPT: To that end I am inspired by Aaron Courtney, the man who hugged the Nazi sympathizer in Florida yesterday and asked him "Why do you hate me?", to which the man replied, "I don't know".

More Healthcare Crap

      I have a tongue in cheek saying around the office ( I work part time for my brother in law who is a family practitioner with over 30 years experience) that " It's all crap"- meaning all the bureaucracy and spin that accompanies the modern age. At any rate, in addition to their numerous TV commercials, drug companies also buy time and influence from doctors by purchasing lunch for them and their staff in return for the 'privilege' of talking to the doctor for 20 minutes while everyone eats. So for $70 or $80 per lunch, drug reps come into the office once or twice a week to promote their latest medicine. Some doctors enjoy more free lunches per week and some less, depending on how much they want to be bothered, but my brother in law does it twice for the benefit of his staff. This practice happens thousands of time per day around the country, and one can imagine the unseen perks that politicians are offered to peddle influence.
      Last Tuesday a rep dropped off this paper for the drug Belsomra, a sleeping aid for insomnia. It shows that the PA State employees negotiated a co pay of $18 from the Merck company, and also shows the low tier copay rates that various other entities have negotiated. Below that is an assessment of Belsomra by Consumer Reports, which is one of the few remaining news outlets that has any semblance of objectivity in this day and age.

 

    Consumer Reports> "We commissioned two drug safety experts—Steven Woloshin, M.D., and Lisa M. Schwartz, M.D., both at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth—to review the research and prepare a Drug Facts Box for Belsomra. Schwartz served on an FDA advisory committee of experts that looked at Belsomra in 2013.
Their analysis shows that people who took a 15 mg or 20 mg dose of Belsomra every night for 3 months fell asleep just 6 minutes faster on average than those who got a placebo pill. And the Belsomra group slept only 16 minutes longer—6 hours and 12 minutes total vs. 5 hours and 56 minutes for the placebo group.
Those small improvements in sleep didn’t translate to people feeling more refreshed. Instead, more people who took Belsomra felt drowsy the next day compared with those who took a placebo.
In fact, two people who took the 20 mg dose the night before were so drowsy the next day they had to stop a driving test. Slightly more people in the Belsomra group were involved in driving accidents or got traffic tickets and reported hallucinations or sleep paralysis—a feeling that you can’t move or talk while falling asleep or awakening.
The 10 mg dose was only studied in 62 people, and it’s unclear whether it improves sleep. Even Merck, the manufacturer of Belsomra, doubts whether it’s better than a placebo. “The overall picture is that 10 milligrams is not an effective dose,” said W. Joseph Herring, M.D., Merck’s executive director of clinical research, neuroscience, and ophthalmology, at the 2013 FDA advisory committee meeting. Yet, the FDA’s internal reviewers said the 10 mg dose improved sleep more than placebo. The bottom line is that the 10 mg dose is probably less effective than the 15 or 20 mg dose and it might not be much better than a placebo pill.
And it’s unknown if the 5 mg dose will help you sleep: It’s not been studied at all.
“The FDA has set a disturbing precedent by approving an untested dose of a drug,” Schwartz says. “For a deadly cancer with limited treatment this gamble might make sense, but not for a condition like insomnia and where Belsomra doesn't appear to work any better, or more safely, than available treatments."
Also, Schwartz and Woloshin worry that if people don’t sleep better with the 5 mg or 10 mg dose, they may take additional doses, increasing the risk of side effects.
If Belsomra’s slight benefit and potential side effects aren’t enough to make you think twice before trying it, consider it’s high price tag: about $70 for 7 pills. That’s more than four times the cost of the same amount of our Best Buy pick, zolpidem, the generic version of Ambien. Our Best Buy Drugs report found that people who took zolpidem fell asleep 20 minutes faster and slept 34 minutes longer on average than those who took a placebo&lt."<<
      .... So, as the information indicates, the price of medicines follows a flexible scale depending on what the Healthcare companies or corporations or governments are willing to pay, and the drug companies negotiate because they want to have their drug accessible to the millions of people in a particular insurance plan, corporation, or government entity  . If they don't negotiate, a rival drug maker will do so and that drug will become the drug of choice. This is capitalism behind the scenes-nothing illegal- but then again not exactly on the evening news or out front in political healthcare discussions. What is unethical-but again perfectly legal-occurs when drug companies whose brand name medication patent is about to expire, file frivolous new patents by changing a minor ingredient or a minor step in the manufacturing procedure. This effectively shuts out and delays generic drug makers from introducing a cheaper version of the drug. Happens all the time and explains some of the high cost of drugs and the decades long absence of some generics.
      ...and I hope everyone saw the October 15th episode of 60 minutes in which Republicans Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Tom Marino of Pennsylvania were exposed for the blood they have on their hands for their support of a bill that stripped the DEA of the legal power to stop drug distributors-primarily Mckesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen-from oversupplying opioids to bogus pharmacies. Your government and capitalism at their worst...What does all the scheming and double dealing mean?...besides the consumer being screwed and people dying?...... 'It's all crap...'