Comment Re:Thank God! (Score 1) 309
And for added fun, put it back together with a single edge flipped (or a single corner rotated), then jumble it up and leave it in the vicinity of a smart-arsed kid who thinks he knows how to solve it
And for added fun, put it back together with a single edge flipped (or a single corner rotated), then jumble it up and leave it in the vicinity of a smart-arsed kid who thinks he knows how to solve it
"The sonic screwdriver? But that's just a... Oh! Nevermind."
Well obviously the TARDIS is just a set, but the sonic screwdriver seems to work fine IRL, as Matt demonstrates in this footage from Glastonbury Festival this summer.
It's an interesting theory, but not really bourne out in reality - U.S. sports betting is usually done on a handicap basis, with the stronger side penalised a certain number of points.
The result of a match may be more predictable, but bookmakers do all they can to turn the betting opportunity into a coin-toss in order to increase the action.
I think if you look at qualifying performance and squad strength, you have to give England a reasonable chance. They are still a slightly false price at 8.6 on betfair, but that is nowhere near as overbet as they usually are for international tournaments
I wouldn't be surprised if they made it to the semis, at which point they would probably have to win two matches as slight underdogs (depending on the opposition) - not an overwhelming possibility, granted, but nowhere near hilarious; you'd have to tip someone like Switzerland or USA for that.
Speaking as a Welshman, I'd love England to get to the final - then get beaten by Argentina (with an Aguerro goal that had more than a hint of hand-ball
In modern usage, the term 'pirate' refers exclusively to copyright infringement - the correct term for those people who board ships in international waters and murder passengers and crew is now 'Israeli Government'
...And makes one pause when they try to equate it to economic 'communism' (central economic planning)...
You keep using that word my friend - I do not think it means what you think it means.
Many people have equated FOSS with 'communism', but no-one seriously sees any connection between Soviet Bloc state capitalism and the free software movement. The 'other side' pretend they do, but that's just FUD, surely? (Or perhaps not; the opposition to universal health care in the US confused the hell out of me - there still seems to be an almost McCarthyist zeal in America which denys that co-operation and concrete goals can ever, under any circumstances, be superior to competition and blind market forces, even though one gave you Apollo and the other gave you General Motors.)
Many people in Europe see the obvious parallels between FOSS and Socialism/Communism and have no problem with that, it seems that many in the US, even the ones that deride Bible Belters for blindly following an outdated and ludicrous ideology, are guilty of the same fault - the Cold War is over, guys - you won - why are you still drinking the same old Kool-Aid? Sometimes co-operation can be a "good thing".
In California (and a handful of other states), Kaiser Permanente offers pretty reasonable rates if you and your family are young, healthy and have always been healthy. Even something like childhood asthma can make you ineligible.. I'm insuring my family of 4 for about $600 per month with a maximum annual deductible of $7000 and no lifetime cap. Rates are higher if you can't risk that high of an annual deductible.
If you have a prior condition, it's nearly impossible to get insurance on your own. I have friends trying to set up a group plan and it's taken over a year to get going.
Also, keep in mind that if you or anyone in your family does get sick, you may not be able to leave the state and keep your plan, so pick a state that has good insurance rates available, will not drop you if you get sick and that you are willing to live in long term if you do get sick.
If you or any family member are or has been sick, you may want to look for states that have implemented some form of community rating. You may want to look for states that have guaranteed issue.
Good luck.
I'd love to here if anyone has done any serious research into Medical Tourism options. It may be cheaper to drive to Mexico for antibiotics when you think you need them and pay out of pocket or use a free clinic for basic things and then have some cash in the bank in case you get really sick - but I don't know of anyone whose actually done that.
Form a chapter-S (closely held) corporation, and name yourself (and you spouse, if applicable) as officers of the corporation.
And ensure you never get divorced.
True, and fair enough. Taxes support the majority of the system, with wealthier people paying more.
That said, the US health care system is the most expensive in the world, according to Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winning Economist and writer for the New York Times:
"Like denial management, however, marketing and underwriting cost a lot of money. McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm, recently released an important report dissecting the reasons America spends so much more on health care than other wealthy nations. One major factor is that we spend $98 billion a year in excess administrative costs, with more than half of the total accounted for by marketing and underwriting — costs that don’t exist in single-payer systems."
A huge portion of the money that Americans pay for health insurance is for administrative costs - every hospital negotiating with insurance companies over fees for procedures, etc. In fact, the reason it's so expensive is that it's not a unified system.
Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip around the Sun.