About 400 years ago, gender was considered as nothing more than "what you're attracted too." A phrase we commonly used when discussing that era was "the time when women were women, and so were the men." The reason this phrase was so apt was because of the fashions and styles of the time, everyone wanted to wear lace and ruffles, the fancier and prettier, the better your status was. That meant that the men and women looked alike, so alike that if you accidentally slept with someone of the same gender, no one batted an eye.
That was also the time that religion had just began taking hold of the masses, a specific religious ideology actually, and people began to buy into the nonsense, people who couldn't afford the lace and ruffles. Now I am not one to deny a poor person their right to be jealous, I am always jealous of things other people have that I don't, however, what made this particular era so sinister was that this jealousy was used as a means to trick people into following a specific religion. This particular religion said it was "bad" or "evil" to be like everyone was at the time, giving the poor masses a false sense of superiority.
I am, of course, talking about the first of the christian religions. The odd thing was that it was not being "gay" or the cross-dressing that the religion stated as evil, at least not the part that the masses at that time were told about, they were told it was being wealthy or successful. But why tell them that? To keep the control, actually. The priests and religious leaders were all milking the poor people of their money, and status, just like all other eras, and all other religions.
The religious leaders did not stop there, to ensure that their power was secure they berated women holding any position of authority, undermining the authority of the queen, treason, essentially. To accomplish that the religious leaders had to convince the masses that women were inferior, incapable of making good decisions, and weaker. This was also to make the better dressed noblemen look weaker as well, they were, after all, dressing like women.
Throughout history this tactic is the most effective method of overturning a regime of any sort, paint the small group in power as something "evil" and the masses will agree, without realizing they are only giving that power to a different minority group, like preachers, for example. Ancient Egypt had a solution to this, though it was on intentional, their religious leaders were akin to political parties, each god representing an ideal. In turn, the party with the most willing followers was considered the will of the people, ultimately giving the people the real power.
The system is great, but as we have seen countless times, even today, it had the flaw of being too close to Anarchy to remain organized for long. However, the theocracies that we see in the more modern eras, and today, are worse because of the damage they do to the societies and cultures. Even today women are thought of as weaker, less capable, all because some preachers wanted to wrest power from one woman in the past.
This notion has been manipulated further by the modern religious leaders so that it attacks everyone who is not a straight, white, religious male. I use the word "white" because the notion of "race" has been decimated by too much misinformation, I will address that specific topic another time. This new trend of attacking anything that's different from what one person has labeled as acceptable has also corrupted the medical industry, financial industry, almost every government, and most of the cultures.
Ironically, even as we begin to open up, our cultures mend this damage caused by religious leaders, the progress is very slow. Mostly because we still allow the delusion that we call "religion" a free pass. Religion still has a free pass to do what it wants, people can still claim their beliefs trump even reality, allowing or even causing harm to others as a result. Today the medical industry will accept that the extremes exist, but continually ignore and deny the "in-betweens."
Now, I am not saying we should go out and jail, or worse, all religious people. That would make everyone else just like them. Instead we need to simply stop accepting their excuse of "it's my beliefs" and hold them accountable for all their actions, or inaction. We also should find treatment for those who are delusional enough to think their god talks to them directly, medical treatment, like how we treat all people who are delusional.
The trick is getting the professionals who do not have the same delusion to treat them.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Doctors Who Care
Nope, the title does not describe doctors in the US, not by a long shot. Perhaps one out of every thousand doctors here does care about their patients, but that's being generous. Medical doctors in the USA probably care less about you than moth being hunted by an owl cares about the owl.
One of the key pieces of evidence is how many doctors wanted the health insurance act proposed by Obama and many other politicians, including most Republican politicians, enacted. What does this act do? It certainly does not require doctors to care for their patients, it does not force hospitals to take any urgent care patients, nor does it require that a patient's rights are honored.
All this act did was force every patient to pay for a middle man to deal with the doctors. Why would the doctors support this? Greed, plain and simple. If you have insurance, they will be paid, in full, by someone, even if you die because of their mistakes, or lack of care. A medical doctor can now get away with ignoring all your symptoms, ignoring all your ailments, and still be paid all the money they want.
The key to why this is a problem lies in the fact that you need insurance, even for basic care, regular checkups, and life saving medications. I am not for "handouts" at all, especially handouts for those who own yachts and overpriced cars. The insult to injury in all this, doctors are not basing their practices on scientific research at all.
There's why I hate doctors so much. A university physics professor once said, on a national program, that he had failed most of the medical students for his classes. This is very easy to see, when you see a doctor and happen to know a thing or two about biology or genetics, you can easily test them. Most doctors still assert that asexuality in humans is impossible, when not only is nothing impossible (according to scientific research), sexuality is a genetic trait and this means every possible behavior that we know of is possible within every organism that has a genetic system. Meaning, not only is it possible for humans to be asexual, it's one of those traits that will always be present in the population.
That is the simple test I use, being asexual I get to see their reaction when I explain to them what I am. Their expressions are often the first sign, but how their attitude changes is the most telling. Almost every time they take on the attitude that I must be ignorant or lying, not realizing that I have been studying biological sciences for the last decade, lacking anything better to do really.
So now the doctors can do whatever they want, ignore scientific research and information, even kill their patients, and still be paid a lot more than they deserve. All because of patients buying into the lie that insurance is the problem. This is often referred to as a placebo, create a solution that only appears to address some problem, then convince the people it does.
The danger of placebos is that they ignore the real problem, the root of the problem, something doctors are very skilled at doing in the US. They often claim "pain is not a symptom" to me, which I know is complete folly as pain is often the first alert, and primary, symptom of the most deadly and serious ailments. This phrase is simply a cop-out, a method of placating the patient so they can still get paid without having to do anything. Their reasons for not wanting to do anything will vary, though it takes a cold heart to not care about a patient, a very cold heart indeed.
So what is the real problem here? Greed, in the only industry that greed should not be present. I am not one to be nostalgic, I love the future, but in this instance the old way of thinking is better. Doctors use to take a "Hippocratic Oath," in which they promised to do what they could to make people healthy, even if it opposed their religious ideals. They took that oath very serious, often even giving free medical care to uphold it, and only those who did care about their patients became doctors. Then doctors started being able to charge more money, the economy improved and even the least of us lived as kings.
That was when the oath lost all meaning, the greedy people, the ones who learned they could make a fortune by duping the uneducated and naive masses, they began flooding the medical industry. Doctors today abuse patients as a means of gaining more money than they are worth, everything from hiding the true costs to dismissing important symptoms. But the one fact that bothers me is that these are almost all doctors in the US.
Doctors in various other countries are often more giving, or more understanding. Many will even take cash on delivery, some do not get paid until the patient is healthy, others will listen to patients through long distance communications without any promise of being paid for it. Doctors in Washington state are some of the most greedy though, a state I am currently stuck in through no fault of my own. I am sure others exist in other states, but as a general rule any US doctor should be suspect of being driven by only greed.
One of the key pieces of evidence is how many doctors wanted the health insurance act proposed by Obama and many other politicians, including most Republican politicians, enacted. What does this act do? It certainly does not require doctors to care for their patients, it does not force hospitals to take any urgent care patients, nor does it require that a patient's rights are honored.
All this act did was force every patient to pay for a middle man to deal with the doctors. Why would the doctors support this? Greed, plain and simple. If you have insurance, they will be paid, in full, by someone, even if you die because of their mistakes, or lack of care. A medical doctor can now get away with ignoring all your symptoms, ignoring all your ailments, and still be paid all the money they want.
The key to why this is a problem lies in the fact that you need insurance, even for basic care, regular checkups, and life saving medications. I am not for "handouts" at all, especially handouts for those who own yachts and overpriced cars. The insult to injury in all this, doctors are not basing their practices on scientific research at all.
There's why I hate doctors so much. A university physics professor once said, on a national program, that he had failed most of the medical students for his classes. This is very easy to see, when you see a doctor and happen to know a thing or two about biology or genetics, you can easily test them. Most doctors still assert that asexuality in humans is impossible, when not only is nothing impossible (according to scientific research), sexuality is a genetic trait and this means every possible behavior that we know of is possible within every organism that has a genetic system. Meaning, not only is it possible for humans to be asexual, it's one of those traits that will always be present in the population.
That is the simple test I use, being asexual I get to see their reaction when I explain to them what I am. Their expressions are often the first sign, but how their attitude changes is the most telling. Almost every time they take on the attitude that I must be ignorant or lying, not realizing that I have been studying biological sciences for the last decade, lacking anything better to do really.
So now the doctors can do whatever they want, ignore scientific research and information, even kill their patients, and still be paid a lot more than they deserve. All because of patients buying into the lie that insurance is the problem. This is often referred to as a placebo, create a solution that only appears to address some problem, then convince the people it does.
The danger of placebos is that they ignore the real problem, the root of the problem, something doctors are very skilled at doing in the US. They often claim "pain is not a symptom" to me, which I know is complete folly as pain is often the first alert, and primary, symptom of the most deadly and serious ailments. This phrase is simply a cop-out, a method of placating the patient so they can still get paid without having to do anything. Their reasons for not wanting to do anything will vary, though it takes a cold heart to not care about a patient, a very cold heart indeed.
So what is the real problem here? Greed, in the only industry that greed should not be present. I am not one to be nostalgic, I love the future, but in this instance the old way of thinking is better. Doctors use to take a "Hippocratic Oath," in which they promised to do what they could to make people healthy, even if it opposed their religious ideals. They took that oath very serious, often even giving free medical care to uphold it, and only those who did care about their patients became doctors. Then doctors started being able to charge more money, the economy improved and even the least of us lived as kings.
That was when the oath lost all meaning, the greedy people, the ones who learned they could make a fortune by duping the uneducated and naive masses, they began flooding the medical industry. Doctors today abuse patients as a means of gaining more money than they are worth, everything from hiding the true costs to dismissing important symptoms. But the one fact that bothers me is that these are almost all doctors in the US.
Doctors in various other countries are often more giving, or more understanding. Many will even take cash on delivery, some do not get paid until the patient is healthy, others will listen to patients through long distance communications without any promise of being paid for it. Doctors in Washington state are some of the most greedy though, a state I am currently stuck in through no fault of my own. I am sure others exist in other states, but as a general rule any US doctor should be suspect of being driven by only greed.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The Double Standard of Typical
Often people will call something "normal" or "abnormal" when talking of human behavior, but not only is that inaccurate, it is also a double standard. The term "normal" cannot be applied to anything dealing in biological organisms, especially behavior, personality, and personal tastes. At best we can label it as typical or a social standard, however, to be more accurate it's nothing more than a common lie.
Let's look at one behavior, often thought of as "abnormal" or even a "perversion," the "adult baby." There are so many myths on this matter, so many false preconceptions that a psychologist could write an entire library to simply dispel the common myths. The most prevalent being that it's a sexual fetish. Yes, it is common for many to entwine sexual fetishes into the role playing, however that is not inherent in the term.
An "adult baby" is really just someone who acts, and enjoys doing so, like a infant or toddler, even to the extent of dressing as one and adopting a parental figure to help with the role playing. That's all it is, nothing more, no inherent adult themes or even any psychological traits. Many people enjoy role playing, there are two primary role playing industries that dominate every culture, the role playing games (RPG) and what is commonly mistaken for cosplay.
The role playing of sexual fantasies as a fetish is a subculture in the cosplay style role playing, though not, in any way, the larger portion of the industry. The SCA is the most dominant subculture in the cosplay style role playing, and yes, adult babies fit into the same type of culture as the SCA, the only difference are the types of roles played.
Suddenly this "adult baby" thing doesn't seem so strange, does it? Or perhaps the SCA culture seems stranger? There's the double standard I want to focus on. The SCA focuses on re-enacting the 17th century European life, though with so many inaccuracies it's almost laughable. The adult babies focus on re-enacting their childhood, with control over the way in which it develops. If you ask me, the adult babies are better than the SCA in that they admit they are taking artistic license with their role playing.
Other cultures also have this kind of double standard, the transgendered are another that is often forced into many double standards. First, many homosexuals will often treat transgendered as if they are somehow wrong, a double standard I have observed personally many times. Another is that even many transgendered think it's all about sex, even when some transgendered will be asexual, statistically expected, actually.
The other are video game fans, by those who claim video games make people violent yet go to a sports game where they bash in each other's heads for points. Video games cause complacency if they have any effect, this is something that was actually tested and verified through almost scientific methods. Turns out, when people are playing video games they can even ignore pain during surgery, their brain is too focused on the actual game. Quite the reverse of the common claim, yet we know that football has caused people to be violent on many occasions, the players are always violent during the game, since that is part of the game.
I put a bit more focus on the adult baby aspect for a special reason, I have a medical need that requires the use of something the adult baby types enjoy. But the standard versions fail to work so often. So I found a website that catered to the "adult baby," originally price shopping, and discovered their custom made products, designed for those who want more authenticity in their role playing, are actually superior to the standards of other companies. So, I now use those exclusively, even though it costs me a lot more than the others would since I cannot use insurance to pay for them.
So this double standard hurts me, a lot, and thus I see a reason to begin attacking all double standards like this. It's time we discard such childish things, and I'm not talking about the adult babies, and start advancing our species beyond the need to wrongly classify things as "normal" or "acceptable," just live, and let live.
Let's look at one behavior, often thought of as "abnormal" or even a "perversion," the "adult baby." There are so many myths on this matter, so many false preconceptions that a psychologist could write an entire library to simply dispel the common myths. The most prevalent being that it's a sexual fetish. Yes, it is common for many to entwine sexual fetishes into the role playing, however that is not inherent in the term.
An "adult baby" is really just someone who acts, and enjoys doing so, like a infant or toddler, even to the extent of dressing as one and adopting a parental figure to help with the role playing. That's all it is, nothing more, no inherent adult themes or even any psychological traits. Many people enjoy role playing, there are two primary role playing industries that dominate every culture, the role playing games (RPG) and what is commonly mistaken for cosplay.
The role playing of sexual fantasies as a fetish is a subculture in the cosplay style role playing, though not, in any way, the larger portion of the industry. The SCA is the most dominant subculture in the cosplay style role playing, and yes, adult babies fit into the same type of culture as the SCA, the only difference are the types of roles played.
Suddenly this "adult baby" thing doesn't seem so strange, does it? Or perhaps the SCA culture seems stranger? There's the double standard I want to focus on. The SCA focuses on re-enacting the 17th century European life, though with so many inaccuracies it's almost laughable. The adult babies focus on re-enacting their childhood, with control over the way in which it develops. If you ask me, the adult babies are better than the SCA in that they admit they are taking artistic license with their role playing.
Other cultures also have this kind of double standard, the transgendered are another that is often forced into many double standards. First, many homosexuals will often treat transgendered as if they are somehow wrong, a double standard I have observed personally many times. Another is that even many transgendered think it's all about sex, even when some transgendered will be asexual, statistically expected, actually.
The other are video game fans, by those who claim video games make people violent yet go to a sports game where they bash in each other's heads for points. Video games cause complacency if they have any effect, this is something that was actually tested and verified through almost scientific methods. Turns out, when people are playing video games they can even ignore pain during surgery, their brain is too focused on the actual game. Quite the reverse of the common claim, yet we know that football has caused people to be violent on many occasions, the players are always violent during the game, since that is part of the game.
I put a bit more focus on the adult baby aspect for a special reason, I have a medical need that requires the use of something the adult baby types enjoy. But the standard versions fail to work so often. So I found a website that catered to the "adult baby," originally price shopping, and discovered their custom made products, designed for those who want more authenticity in their role playing, are actually superior to the standards of other companies. So, I now use those exclusively, even though it costs me a lot more than the others would since I cannot use insurance to pay for them.
So this double standard hurts me, a lot, and thus I see a reason to begin attacking all double standards like this. It's time we discard such childish things, and I'm not talking about the adult babies, and start advancing our species beyond the need to wrongly classify things as "normal" or "acceptable," just live, and let live.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Life, Death - Why
Scientific research has allowed us to answer many of the questions in our reality, allowed us to begin to explore this cave we live in and see it with clarity no religion can offer. But there is one question no living thing has an answer too, the question of "why?"
I recently contemplated death, and life, the difference between living and existing. As I thought about death I came to a better understanding of why religion was invented, the sheer terror of thinking about just ceasing to exist sent me into a panic. For the first time in my nearly four decades of existence I was afraid of something, but it wasn't death, it was ceasing to exist.
So I pondered a bit, there is something unique about the human species, something that did change. Scientific research indicates that all our qualities and abilities exist in other species, so I had to dig for a difference between us and the other animals. That difference was not an easy thing to find, but it dawned on me, we ask "why?"
Whether the other species are capable of asking that one question, or they are simply unwilling too ask it, we cannot tell at this time. Though it's probably the single most important question in the universe. Eventually I came to the one question I cannot figure out an answer too, why am I aware?
Awareness is common, many species are aware of the self, but it dawned on me that we are the only ones who appear to have asked why we are aware. The discovery that I have made is that not all humans have, or are even willing too ask that question. Instead they take whatever promise they are handed and accept their fates. So maybe it's not all humans who are unique in this manner, perhaps it's only a few of us that are truly unique.
The problem with this line of thinking is the long list of implications that could, potentially, destroy the very fabric of society. In fact, it has several times in the past. Someone asked these questions, dreamed up some answer that they hoped was correct, and someone else, who was unwilling to ask these questions, saw the answers as fuel to placate the masses, to control the masses. We call these dreams "religion" now.
So here, as an atheist, I propose the new religion of the masses, the one with no invented answers, with only your own hopes to consider in place of a mass produced placebo. There has to be more than this life, not a continual life, or some form or reincarnation, but simply something more. How we live is not an issue, but consider that helping humanity progress and survive does help you to forgo death a bit longer, as well as ensure you at least have a chance to live on after your body dies in the memories of others.
Instead of accepting the dreams and hopes of someone else, keep asking the question, for if there is any hope of something beyond this, it's the questions that cannot be answered that will be the keys to gate. Instead of making decisions based on some ancient texts written to drive the masses into wars, make decisions based on well thought out logic.
The more you look at the universe with logic, the more sense all the simple answers make, like "how" or "when." Logic for these answers will also help you to make better decisions than some ancient texts filled with pipe dreams of barbarians and troglodytes. The most important question to ask is why you are.
I recently contemplated death, and life, the difference between living and existing. As I thought about death I came to a better understanding of why religion was invented, the sheer terror of thinking about just ceasing to exist sent me into a panic. For the first time in my nearly four decades of existence I was afraid of something, but it wasn't death, it was ceasing to exist.
So I pondered a bit, there is something unique about the human species, something that did change. Scientific research indicates that all our qualities and abilities exist in other species, so I had to dig for a difference between us and the other animals. That difference was not an easy thing to find, but it dawned on me, we ask "why?"
Whether the other species are capable of asking that one question, or they are simply unwilling too ask it, we cannot tell at this time. Though it's probably the single most important question in the universe. Eventually I came to the one question I cannot figure out an answer too, why am I aware?
Awareness is common, many species are aware of the self, but it dawned on me that we are the only ones who appear to have asked why we are aware. The discovery that I have made is that not all humans have, or are even willing too ask that question. Instead they take whatever promise they are handed and accept their fates. So maybe it's not all humans who are unique in this manner, perhaps it's only a few of us that are truly unique.
The problem with this line of thinking is the long list of implications that could, potentially, destroy the very fabric of society. In fact, it has several times in the past. Someone asked these questions, dreamed up some answer that they hoped was correct, and someone else, who was unwilling to ask these questions, saw the answers as fuel to placate the masses, to control the masses. We call these dreams "religion" now.
So here, as an atheist, I propose the new religion of the masses, the one with no invented answers, with only your own hopes to consider in place of a mass produced placebo. There has to be more than this life, not a continual life, or some form or reincarnation, but simply something more. How we live is not an issue, but consider that helping humanity progress and survive does help you to forgo death a bit longer, as well as ensure you at least have a chance to live on after your body dies in the memories of others.
Instead of accepting the dreams and hopes of someone else, keep asking the question, for if there is any hope of something beyond this, it's the questions that cannot be answered that will be the keys to gate. Instead of making decisions based on some ancient texts written to drive the masses into wars, make decisions based on well thought out logic.
The more you look at the universe with logic, the more sense all the simple answers make, like "how" or "when." Logic for these answers will also help you to make better decisions than some ancient texts filled with pipe dreams of barbarians and troglodytes. The most important question to ask is why you are.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Surviving is Not Living - The Medical Nightmare
Yes, I am still surviving, surprisingly enough, in spite of the medical industry of the USA. A quaint little story of my life will illustrate what I mean by that.
I have had some medical problems, lots of them recently, and each one has always been diagnosed wrong, resulting in nearly dying. Now I live with a lot of pain, and suffer every day because of the failure of doctors to diagnose something not only preventable, but common. So I went in to a specialist one time, they told me "pain is not a symptom," flat out denied the first symptom of any ailment.
I was attempting to get something diagnosed and stopped this time, before it became worse, before it cost taxpayers more money to correct. Yes, all my medical bills are covered by the taxpayers. Anyhow, the doctor simply denied there was anything wrong without a single test, the last time this happened I was admitted to the emergency room several times and needed an expensive, life saving, operation that could have cost only a few thousand dollars, but wound up costing the taxpayers more than $30,000 .... plus the costs of all those emergency room visits.
Anyhow, the answer to my complaint about it being a real problem was them attempting to lock me up, claiming I was suicidal in spite of me actually trying to save my own life again. A few thousand more from the taxpayers and they finally let me go. This is what psychiatrists are, a scam to be used by the state as a means of justifying more tax dollars to be funneled into the medical industry, nothing more.
So now the problem is getting worse, I am sleepless most nights, the pain becoming too great at times. But here's the real problem, doctors are not interested in the patients living, they are only interested in keeping the patients breathing so they can milk the insurance companies, and states, for every penny possible. Sounds like a bit of paranoia? Well, I would have thought it was nothing but paranoia 10 years ago, but nothing beats actually going through it.
But wait, there are statistics that help my case. This is where the patients are failing, you all need to start doing some research and demanding that doctors do their jobs. A majority of gallstone cases are diagnosed as "irritable bowel syndrome," basically means they are saying it's all in your head instead of something that will eventually kill you. Yep, my biggest brush with death was gallstones that were misdiagnosed. Thinking I was a rare case I didn't think too much of it.
Then I go online, yes, the internet. While there is a lot of junk online, there is also a ton of useful information, like the fact that my case is far from rare. Turns out I knew, personally, a dozen people online who had the exact same story about the gallstones. That piqued my interest and I started searching for more. To my shock, a Google search turned up more than a few hundred stories that were exactly the same.
Here's the kicker, the surgery for removing the gallbladder, in optimal situations, is only a few thousand dollars, and minimally invasive with a high success rate. The surgery required if there are complications is extremely expensive, and can be very invasive, requiring a longer recovery and hospital stay. Not to mention, there is a high chance of developing medical issues in the future because of the complications and invasive surgery.
This is a gold mine for the medical system, not the insurance companies mind you, but the actual doctors and institutions. Insurance companies have to pay for this, and if they don't, the taxpayers will pay for it all. The medical professionals are paid, in full, for their mistakes for the rest of what they call your life. But it's not really a life, is it? You are just surviving, pain and other problems making living very difficult, if possible at all.
This is the reality of the medical system in the US, the reality that is often whitewashed by the doctors and nurses, and administration. They point the finger at the insurance companies, to make sure you ignore their mistakes. It is time the US changes for the better, instead of one step forward, two steps back. We need to force this country to leap ahead.
I have had some medical problems, lots of them recently, and each one has always been diagnosed wrong, resulting in nearly dying. Now I live with a lot of pain, and suffer every day because of the failure of doctors to diagnose something not only preventable, but common. So I went in to a specialist one time, they told me "pain is not a symptom," flat out denied the first symptom of any ailment.
I was attempting to get something diagnosed and stopped this time, before it became worse, before it cost taxpayers more money to correct. Yes, all my medical bills are covered by the taxpayers. Anyhow, the doctor simply denied there was anything wrong without a single test, the last time this happened I was admitted to the emergency room several times and needed an expensive, life saving, operation that could have cost only a few thousand dollars, but wound up costing the taxpayers more than $30,000 .... plus the costs of all those emergency room visits.
Anyhow, the answer to my complaint about it being a real problem was them attempting to lock me up, claiming I was suicidal in spite of me actually trying to save my own life again. A few thousand more from the taxpayers and they finally let me go. This is what psychiatrists are, a scam to be used by the state as a means of justifying more tax dollars to be funneled into the medical industry, nothing more.
So now the problem is getting worse, I am sleepless most nights, the pain becoming too great at times. But here's the real problem, doctors are not interested in the patients living, they are only interested in keeping the patients breathing so they can milk the insurance companies, and states, for every penny possible. Sounds like a bit of paranoia? Well, I would have thought it was nothing but paranoia 10 years ago, but nothing beats actually going through it.
But wait, there are statistics that help my case. This is where the patients are failing, you all need to start doing some research and demanding that doctors do their jobs. A majority of gallstone cases are diagnosed as "irritable bowel syndrome," basically means they are saying it's all in your head instead of something that will eventually kill you. Yep, my biggest brush with death was gallstones that were misdiagnosed. Thinking I was a rare case I didn't think too much of it.
Then I go online, yes, the internet. While there is a lot of junk online, there is also a ton of useful information, like the fact that my case is far from rare. Turns out I knew, personally, a dozen people online who had the exact same story about the gallstones. That piqued my interest and I started searching for more. To my shock, a Google search turned up more than a few hundred stories that were exactly the same.
Here's the kicker, the surgery for removing the gallbladder, in optimal situations, is only a few thousand dollars, and minimally invasive with a high success rate. The surgery required if there are complications is extremely expensive, and can be very invasive, requiring a longer recovery and hospital stay. Not to mention, there is a high chance of developing medical issues in the future because of the complications and invasive surgery.
This is a gold mine for the medical system, not the insurance companies mind you, but the actual doctors and institutions. Insurance companies have to pay for this, and if they don't, the taxpayers will pay for it all. The medical professionals are paid, in full, for their mistakes for the rest of what they call your life. But it's not really a life, is it? You are just surviving, pain and other problems making living very difficult, if possible at all.
This is the reality of the medical system in the US, the reality that is often whitewashed by the doctors and nurses, and administration. They point the finger at the insurance companies, to make sure you ignore their mistakes. It is time the US changes for the better, instead of one step forward, two steps back. We need to force this country to leap ahead.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Level Playing Field
Yeah, this is about the latest pet peeve in the political scam arena. The idea that there is a "playing field" in the first place fails, unless you are talking about sports. But politics and business are not sports. So, comparing them to sports is inherently a failure. But the "level" part annoys me even more.
In a truly equal and level system everyone plays by the same rules. Rules are laws, regulations, etc. and to be truly equal, or "level", they must all apply to everyone exactly the same regardless of ... well ... anything. Gay, straight, black, green, purple, butt for head ... the laws (or rules) should be exactly the same, and that would be equality. But let's look at specifically the economic portion of this, business. Too many people think that businesses are what determine the rules, they do not. We do, though less directly because we have to push the government to enact the rules and enforce them.
But this is not what people are claiming, at least many many people. They are claiming business makes the rules, because "they have more money". Well, who is "they" ... singular, because for some reason these same people think that "they" is one huge entity that somehow lives on it's own. Here's a wake up though, businesses are "they" plural, as in you, me, and ... everyone who buys or deals with them. The truly ignorant part of this whole "level playing field" idea is the concept that we cannot control businesses.
Actually, we can make businesses do what we want far easier than we can make the government. The government can enact laws and such to silence us, businesses do not have that power. Businesses can suggest such actions to the government, but ultimately it is the government making them into laws. But how do we control businesses? By choosing where to buy products from. It's that easy. Well, it's that easy as long as the government doesn't enact laws preventing us from making a choice.
Yep, outlawing certain products, "encouraging" others with subsidies, all of that is taking away our ability to choose and control businesses. But will people crying about a "level playing field" ever see that? Not likely. Instead of choosing to let companies they don't like fall (bankruptcy and such) they instead want to give subsidies to others. Remember corn? Yeah, now they want the products made from the corn, that they pushed to be given a "helping hand", banned for reasons that it's unhealthy for us.
Come to think of it, the corn fiasco is the perfect example of how these "level playing field" cries are so bad for our world. Back in the past corn farms were exactly even with everything else. It was great, there was a variety of products people could choose from. But then people stopped buying so much corn. Why? The consumers didn't want it as much. So many of the farms were failing. Suddenly the outcry from people gave strength to lobbyists to run to the government and cry "help the corn farms!"
They did, they gave a bunch of money to corn farmers and incentives to new corn farmers. So the corn industry exploded, but no one was buying more corn yet. So, what to do with all that corn? Candy, soda pop, all the tasty treats you can imagine became so cheap and easy to produce. Well, the corn farmers weren't worried about losing money, so they kept making corn and the government kept giving the more money, and the people just bought junk food.
Then, someone says "we might be able to use this excess corn for fuel!" ... and instead of leaving the system alone, which was already broken, they added more subsidies and more money to the corn farmers. Increasing corn products even more. But, turns out that it was not as useful for fuel, so the corn was still being used for junk foods, since that was the only thing they had to do with all this corn.
Ahh, the system was broken so badly now, but .... it gets worse. Recently a group of doctors decided to rally against jun foods, "it's so bad for us we need to ban it!" But, no, we can't ban it for two reasons, the biggest reason being: The government's idiotic spending on corn farms would be found out.
So, instead let's tax it. The government hoping to get some of that money back. However they only succeeded in breaking the system, and making it far less equal and far less "level". Corn farmers make a fortune, all other farms have to struggle, so those other farms are moving to Mexico, does that really sound level?
I may continue this more, because this topic is pissing me off. But here's the thing, we all have the same opportunities until the government steps in and changes that. If you can't make a product anyone else wants, that's your lack of ability, not an unfair system, but if someone comes in and hands you money anyway, then you still lack skill and ability but have an advantage.
Yeah, this is about the latest pet peeve in the political scam arena. The idea that there is a "playing field" in the first place fails, unless you are talking about sports. But politics and business are not sports. So, comparing them to sports is inherently a failure. But the "level" part annoys me even more.
In a truly equal and level system everyone plays by the same rules. Rules are laws, regulations, etc. and to be truly equal, or "level", they must all apply to everyone exactly the same regardless of ... well ... anything. Gay, straight, black, green, purple, butt for head ... the laws (or rules) should be exactly the same, and that would be equality. But let's look at specifically the economic portion of this, business. Too many people think that businesses are what determine the rules, they do not. We do, though less directly because we have to push the government to enact the rules and enforce them.
But this is not what people are claiming, at least many many people. They are claiming business makes the rules, because "they have more money". Well, who is "they" ... singular, because for some reason these same people think that "they" is one huge entity that somehow lives on it's own. Here's a wake up though, businesses are "they" plural, as in you, me, and ... everyone who buys or deals with them. The truly ignorant part of this whole "level playing field" idea is the concept that we cannot control businesses.
Actually, we can make businesses do what we want far easier than we can make the government. The government can enact laws and such to silence us, businesses do not have that power. Businesses can suggest such actions to the government, but ultimately it is the government making them into laws. But how do we control businesses? By choosing where to buy products from. It's that easy. Well, it's that easy as long as the government doesn't enact laws preventing us from making a choice.
Yep, outlawing certain products, "encouraging" others with subsidies, all of that is taking away our ability to choose and control businesses. But will people crying about a "level playing field" ever see that? Not likely. Instead of choosing to let companies they don't like fall (bankruptcy and such) they instead want to give subsidies to others. Remember corn? Yeah, now they want the products made from the corn, that they pushed to be given a "helping hand", banned for reasons that it's unhealthy for us.
Come to think of it, the corn fiasco is the perfect example of how these "level playing field" cries are so bad for our world. Back in the past corn farms were exactly even with everything else. It was great, there was a variety of products people could choose from. But then people stopped buying so much corn. Why? The consumers didn't want it as much. So many of the farms were failing. Suddenly the outcry from people gave strength to lobbyists to run to the government and cry "help the corn farms!"
They did, they gave a bunch of money to corn farmers and incentives to new corn farmers. So the corn industry exploded, but no one was buying more corn yet. So, what to do with all that corn? Candy, soda pop, all the tasty treats you can imagine became so cheap and easy to produce. Well, the corn farmers weren't worried about losing money, so they kept making corn and the government kept giving the more money, and the people just bought junk food.
Then, someone says "we might be able to use this excess corn for fuel!" ... and instead of leaving the system alone, which was already broken, they added more subsidies and more money to the corn farmers. Increasing corn products even more. But, turns out that it was not as useful for fuel, so the corn was still being used for junk foods, since that was the only thing they had to do with all this corn.
Ahh, the system was broken so badly now, but .... it gets worse. Recently a group of doctors decided to rally against jun foods, "it's so bad for us we need to ban it!" But, no, we can't ban it for two reasons, the biggest reason being: The government's idiotic spending on corn farms would be found out.
So, instead let's tax it. The government hoping to get some of that money back. However they only succeeded in breaking the system, and making it far less equal and far less "level". Corn farmers make a fortune, all other farms have to struggle, so those other farms are moving to Mexico, does that really sound level?
I may continue this more, because this topic is pissing me off. But here's the thing, we all have the same opportunities until the government steps in and changes that. If you can't make a product anyone else wants, that's your lack of ability, not an unfair system, but if someone comes in and hands you money anyway, then you still lack skill and ability but have an advantage.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
How to Make Money Online
You thought I was above this .... fooled you! Well, not really. I have watched a ton of videos online, read a bunch of blogs, and come to a few conclusions. None of the people making money posting their work online ever ask that question.
Yep, the easiest way to make money with your content is not to try for that. Put what you want on there, enjoy making it. Because if you start making things with the intent of making money, you will fail. Even then, the only reason to want to make money on content is so you can make more content.
Which brings me to my gripe about some of those who do make it big online. They change their content or stop making more. That's just not cool. When you make a video or song for the internet and post somewhere, do it because you love making art. Do it for the fans. But most of all, do it because you want to. There is no excuse for changing what you do after the fact.
Which brings me to my new website, which will be officially launched soon. Digital Noise Graffiti which is 100% free, free as in freedom of speech and free in cost. But, and there's always a catch, you cannot make an impression on me if you are looking to make money so to get artist status you have to do what you enjoy with no other goal than to entertain the masses, or just yourself. You don't have to be popular.
I know a bunch of "get rich quick" seekers will find this, and I hope they do and read the whole thing. There is no magic bullet to financial gain, anywhere. People who make money adding content online didn't just wake up one day and find an email in their box saying "let us pay you for that!" They did what they enjoy. So, what makes their content popular?
Now there's a good question. Popularity is something everyone wants, even if you don't care about getting paid, and not all popularity is the same. So here's a list of things that make people popular on Youtube specifically:
In closing, don't worry about making money online, just don't. You will most likely be hurt by a scam if you are searching for it, and scams hurt. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, one day you can be famous at least.
You thought I was above this .... fooled you! Well, not really. I have watched a ton of videos online, read a bunch of blogs, and come to a few conclusions. None of the people making money posting their work online ever ask that question.
Yep, the easiest way to make money with your content is not to try for that. Put what you want on there, enjoy making it. Because if you start making things with the intent of making money, you will fail. Even then, the only reason to want to make money on content is so you can make more content.
Which brings me to my gripe about some of those who do make it big online. They change their content or stop making more. That's just not cool. When you make a video or song for the internet and post somewhere, do it because you love making art. Do it for the fans. But most of all, do it because you want to. There is no excuse for changing what you do after the fact.
Which brings me to my new website, which will be officially launched soon. Digital Noise Graffiti which is 100% free, free as in freedom of speech and free in cost. But, and there's always a catch, you cannot make an impression on me if you are looking to make money so to get artist status you have to do what you enjoy with no other goal than to entertain the masses, or just yourself. You don't have to be popular.
I know a bunch of "get rich quick" seekers will find this, and I hope they do and read the whole thing. There is no magic bullet to financial gain, anywhere. People who make money adding content online didn't just wake up one day and find an email in their box saying "let us pay you for that!" They did what they enjoy. So, what makes their content popular?
Now there's a good question. Popularity is something everyone wants, even if you don't care about getting paid, and not all popularity is the same. So here's a list of things that make people popular on Youtube specifically:
- Fun - they enjoy what they are doing and have fun making it. It's not about getting ahead in anyway. The most successful content makers for Youtube don't complain about being unpopular and they don't worry if they get some dislikes. It's just for fun.
- Originality - the biggest and most important element. Imitating your favorite ... whatever ... can be fun, yes, but not always original. Parodies are pretty much out dated now. Not that you should never do them, just, there's a lot of them already. Animations, been done to death, but animations using certain methods can be very unique. Just don't expect that parody of Lady Gaga to attract many viewers.
- Engaging - something I have come to learn is that engaging the audience will get you more subscribers. In the video actually ask for their comments. Don't beg, just ask. Give them a question, that seems to work well. Don't discourage constructive criticism either, if anything engage those commenters more. Viewers can't resist coming up with humorous or insane answers to even the most inane question. Not only will this get people watching more it will also give you a lot of laughs. Win-win.
- Moderation - too much of anything can be a bad thing, and special effects are one of those. Don't use them unless it's part of your art, even then, don't use them too much. CGI is great as an art form, but using it to replace reality will only detriment your work. Yep, one of the great things about computers is fading like a fad. People want real or art, not the replacement of reality. This is also a good thing for CG artists who can't make realistic work, people want to watch your disfigured images more than those who can make things like Dances with Smurfs .... oh wait, that was called Avatar.
In closing, don't worry about making money online, just don't. You will most likely be hurt by a scam if you are searching for it, and scams hurt. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, one day you can be famous at least.
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