Man O' Man, the hurdles thrown up sometimes

Sometimes you do the right things and it just doesn't work...

 My mom had Suddenlink set up on a draft from her account. 

 On 6/15 Bank of America moved her account to estate account, the same day Suddenlink tried to send a draft, Bof A returned it as NSF.

 I had cancelled the automatic draft last week and received a notice from B of A  today.

 So I called Suddenlink to make the payment, They tell me that I cannot make a payment by check, phone or otherwise for TWO months because of a NSF fund check payment.

 I explained but it didn't make any difference, in ending the phone call with Suddenlink, I said "I guess you don't want my money." They replied "That yes they do, but it is policy, no checks for two months"

 So anyway, I guess I have to transfer funds to my debit card or withdraw cash and go stand in line at the local Suddenlink office.

 One more fire to put out, Houston Anesthesiologist, Methodist Hospital and Baylor college of Medicine all filed with Medicare but not Moms supplemental insurance... two months to get them straight.

 Oh well, one more damn fire to extinguish.

Will Cheap Labor be a Thing of the Past?

I signed up for the Motley Fool newsletter awhile back, the one in Mondays VicAd with the dumbest investments.

Yesterdays newsletter was interesting so I did some research. Yes it is, very interesting.

3D Printing

It is not printing on a piece of paper, there just isn't another word for it currently.

Industrial 3D printers cost over a 100K, commercial printers about 20K, about five are marketed now for home use at about $1,500.

As of now 3D printers are used in every field imaginable, defense contractors, auto manufacturers, medical implants and bone and tissue replication, a kidney has been successfully made and transplanted using this techonolgy, jewelry creation, there is even a chocolate 3D printer that can make any image into a edible chocolate treat.

So far 3D printers can build anything using a CAD program in human bone and a few organs, metals, ceramics, glass, composite and other plastics, wood, paper and chocolate, butter and sugar.

The reason for the title of this blog is because this technology has the ability to replace the labor cost of manufacturing almost anything. It is a additive manufacturing process, where something is made from the ground up with zero waste for drilling, milling, boring ect, and zero need to manufacture new tools and dies to change a products design.

Search for yourself about 3D printing or see...

http://www.economist.com/node/18114221

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/115503-what-is-3d-printing

Some 3D printers are already self replicating, if one of the parts breaks it can make its own replacement part. I know sounds kinda like the Terminator movie, but the technology is here already and will only become a larger part of life.

Can't find your TV remote? Print out another one! How wild is that?

But it is coming.

Love and miss you mom...

Medical costs... Victoria vs. Houston

I have notice a trend in the billing submitted to Mutual of Omaha, plan f provider, since my mom broke her elbow and is still under care.

Two ER visits and a TWO day stay at Detar... Submitted $1750 for the two ER visits, annnndddd get this $60,448.08 for a TWO day hospital stay! The hospital stay charges where found in error, but Detar submitted them. Mom was transferred to Methodist in Houston, $270.00 a day.

The Doctors who visited her in her room at Detar... $250 to $395 a visit.
The Doctors who visited her in her room at Methodist, ( TMI Associates, Baylor College of Medicine, ect.), ... $103 to $250 a visit.

Victoria Orthopedic surgeon, who only cleaned out the infection she developed and did not set the chipped bone.... $1350.00
Houston Orthopedic surgeon, who set the chipped bone, grafted tissue and skin over infected area... $1840.00

Victoria anesthesiologist... $ 975.00
Houston anesthesiologist... $795.00

Does anyone not notice a higher fee charged in Victoria than Houston?
And in no way can you compare Detar to Methodist.

Something To Consider, feel free to comment

All the talk and vitriol displayed about ever single thing from the Keystone pipeline project, deciding who is going to challenge President Obama in the next election, who gets HOT funds and who doesn’t, re-districting, recycling, green energy, climate change, pro-life/pro- choice, Catholic, Christian, Mormon or nothing at all, racism or is it not?, section 8, food stamps, illegal aliens and immigration, gay marriage, Republican- Democrat- Libertarian or any other “cause”, all the way down to should the county of Victoria ban signs that have a X on them, they have one thing in common.

Every one of the above has been made a political issue.

If I can ask a simple question… Why?

People of every culture, nation and belief have a different idea of what is right and what is not right, even within every culture, nation or belief system some agree, some disagree.

By making the issues in the first paragraph political, depending on a election, coup or popular revolt, takes away some portion of the affected “Peoples” choice.

After all, governments don’t live together, people do.