GameUtopia

Well yesterday it sure turned cold. It was like it was sunny and warm one day and cold and nasty the next. It really don't get to terribly cold in my part of the country, but when it does change for the worse it is certainly noticeable.

I even put on a pair of pants last night. I generally wear shorts most of the time, but I finally gave in and went with pants.

It's fairly early in the season yet, so hopefully we will still be blessed with a few more warm sunny days. I'm not counting on it, but it sure would be nice!

Well yesterday was the first day of fall, and man it sure didn't feel like it here. It was 95 degrees and it's supposed to be around 90 again today. That is a little bit on the warm site, but that's OK. I am not ready for fall quite yet, and although it was a little too hot I will certainly take it. Nothing like wearing shorts on a 95 degree first day of fall!

I keep thinking about Twitter lately. All these Tweets are nice. You really can't say to much with only 140 characters, but I do think people read them more often because they are so short.

The biggest thing with Twitter I kind of worry about are all those shortened URL's. Tinyurl, Bit.ly, and others shorten a link so you can use more characters to actually says something. However, how does one really know where you will be taken to if you click on or visit the shortened URL posted? Will we be taken to some bogus site? A link to a virus? Malware? Spyware? Etc.? It just kind of worries me, and bugs me that I really have no idea where I'll be taken to if I click on one.

On the other hand the same could be said about other sites for that matter. Just because someone posts a link on their site it doesn't mean it is legit. Some sites are a little sneaky and try to hide the actual link in the status bar.

I guess just keep your anti-virus, firewall, spyware, etc. up-to-date at all times!

Well I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but here in the northern hemisphere the sun is setting much earlier now. It won't be long and it will be time to turn the clock back an hour to standard time again. I just hate winter and the lack of sun we get during this time. Summer just goes by way to fast it seems like. Oh well nothing we can do about it, just keep hoping for a few more nice sunny days before winter decides to fully set in.

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I don't know what is the more popular topic in the news lately, the swine flue or health care reform. If it's not one, then it's the other. Both are just as confusing. One day they tell you one thing, and the next they tell you the opposite.

I am still not sure about the swine flu vaccine. There are a lot of discussion about whether to get it or not lately. Both sides seem to have some good points.

I just think we really don't know what the potential side effects might be regarding the swine flu vaccine. I know it's an obvious concern, but it seems a little rushed. Since when does the U.S. allow something to be rushed to market without thorough testing? Maybe because it's a vaccine and not a drug this makes a difference.

I would get it if I knew there was more testing and we had a better idea what kind of side effects to expect. Since there has not been adequate time and testing, I am not going to run down and get one the minute it comes out.

So I feel that this is a very tough call. Do the benefits outweigh the negatives?

You ever notice how many advertisements there are on TV these days for all these new drugs & medicine?

Well I was sitting there watching TV tonight when one comes on. Usually I tune them out because honestly I am a little tired of them.

For some reason this time the advertisement caught my attention. Not because it was going to cure cancer, aids, the swine flu, or anything like that.

What this drug said it was for is for people who are already taking antidepressants and they need a little more. If your antidepressant isn't quite enough for you, then you should take this additional antidepressant.

Can you believe that? An antidepressant for an antidepressant. Medicine for medicine.

What next? Now I've heard it all!

I guess the drug makers have finally stooped to making more money by creating medicine for medicine.

I almost fell over as I listened to the advertisement on TV. I have been joking about something like this for years, and now it's no joke anymore. They have really done it now.

I can't believe a doctor would actually prescribe something like this. If you take antidepressants and they just aren't working for you, wouldn't your doctor just increase the dosage? Or find you one that works better and is more suitable for you?

With all this Health Care Reform in the news lately I can't help wondering a little about how much all these Doctors, tests, x-rays, scans, etc. costs. Do they really need to charge as much as they do? In recent years the prices have skyrocketed to say the least.

Here where I live a few years ago one could expect to pay $100-$125 for a standard family doctor office call. For some reason after a brand new facility was built where a lot of these Doctors practice at the fee jumped to $180-$225 for the same standard family doctor. Coincidence? I wonder if the brand new facility had something to do with it.

Same with a CT scan for example. Not to long ago it cost $800-$1000 now it costs almost $3000! I know these CT machines are very expensive, but I have a feeling at that price they will pay for it the first couple of months of operation or less.

It just amazes me how these things can go up so much in such a short amount of time, yet most normal people's wages don't go up anywhere near this amount or rate.

Medical seems to be the most drastic jump, but others have gone up considerably too.

Take the car mechanic for example. Not long ago I was paying $35-$40 per hour for labor. Now I am paying $60-$80 per hour for the same mechanic. This is ridiculous. The car makers don't help either with the way they build cars these days. They make cars in a way that the mechanic has to spend an hour removing other parts just to get to the part he or she needs to fix. Then, another hour putting the parts they had to remove back together. So the 30 minute repair, ends up taking 2 1/2 hours and costing me $150 to $200 in labor alone and that is figuring low in terms of time.

I am starting to get a little irritate and tired of hearing about all this health care reform stuff. Every day there seems to be some kind of new fight or argument. I highly doubt that they will come up with something that will benefit everyone, and most likely it will help only a small group. I think we do need some kind of reform, but it seems like it keeps changing and is getting a little out of hand. I'll continue to follow this for now.