April 5, 2014

CNN layoffs

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/222548/cnn-atlanta-lays-off-16-braces-for-more-job-chang.html

according to my friend who is an videoeditor/producer 29 video editors were let go the other day. fortunately she was not one of them. she's been with them 22 years. she said "they don't want old people". she's not old. she's 46. IMO it's the money. she makes $80,000 a year -- they can get someone younger with less experience for probably half that. her hours suck too. she works 3pm to 11pm. she does after all these years have weekends off, but not holidays. she was able to get christmas off last year.

she knows she'll eventually be let go.

if this keeps up we'll be a nation of very rich and very poor people. there are not many left that are middle class.

her mom got screwed years ago. she was only in her 40s -- worked as an administrative assistant for JAL -- had a college degree. they closed the DC office she worked in and told her to either report to L.A. or New York City. she moved in with her daughter who was in college in brooklyn and drove back and forth to virginia where her home was on weekends. it was a long drive. about a year later she was let go, but she at least got a "package". now most companies don't even give you that.

i'm glad i'm 72. i'm very fortunate that when my husband passed i was able to collect his pension and his 401k. he was with IBM for almost 43 years. he had a special skill or he would have been let go years before. the bean counters were always after him.

i'm really disgusted. why are the CEO's still making the big bucks? shouldn't they get a cut in salary. how much money does anyone really need?

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/ceo-pay-ratios/

http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/04/technology/enterprise/microsoft-nadella-pay/

March 12, 2014

cat traps family in a room.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Portland-police-rescue-family-penned-into-bedroom-by-22-pound-cat-249355421.html

March 3, 2014

this is the first year that i have medicare part D.

i pay $12.60 a month to humana. yesterday i picked up a RX for eye drops my opthamologist prescribed. i paid $185.86. i asked if the insurance picked up part of it. she said "about $40.00" which means the actual cost was $225. i'm pissed. i'm also finding that most of my prescriptions are costing more than the plan i had through IBM which was discontinued.

for those of you who think medicare is great -- it's not -- it doesn't cover everything and the supplemental policies can be very expensive.

February 28, 2014

florida restaurant adds surcharge for obamacare.

http://www.medschat.com/news/64646

February 22, 2014

phoenix girl scout sells cookies outside medical marijuana dispensary.

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/phoenix-girl-scout-sells-cookies-outside-medical-marijuana-dispensary

-snip-

PHOENIX - A clever Girl Scout decided to cure the Phoenix munchies using a popular treat: Girl Scout cookies.

Lexi, a third-year Girl Scout, set-up shop Friday outside TruMed, a licensed medical marijuana facility in Phoenix.

The girl’s mother, Heidi, said her daughter has about 300 boxes left to sell and thought the spot would be good for business.

TruMed owner Lauren Gooding said she really liked the idea. "Why not? We're a licensed Arizona dispensary. There's nothing wrong with it. They'll probably sell a ton of cookies today," she said.

Gooding also said that they will be donating a box of cookies to each customer who comes in to purchase medical marijuana.

February 2, 2014

arizona woman accused of putting feces in husband's IV tube.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/01/justice/arizona-feces-iv-murder-attempt/

January 15, 2014

to those who have yahoo mail.

the past few days it's been really slow. takes a long time loading inbox and folders. anyone else having this problem?

January 10, 2014

whoever was responsible for

the closing of the GWB is a jerk. why punish innocent people -- many of whom were just trying to get to work?

nixon's dirty tricks was bad, but it least it didn't hurt the public.

December 22, 2013

"the reluctant fundamentalist"

is on showtime at 2:30 mountain time. great movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2032557/

December 18, 2013

i can't see how this can be good for america.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/16/white-house-trans-pacific-partnership-remains-a-top-priority-for-obama/

-snip-

The White House sent a strong signal Monday of its desire to create a huge Pacific free trade area, despite the slippage of its year-end deadline for the 12-nation project.

President Barack Obama gathered senior trade advisors in the Oval Office and invited news photographers to document the meeting, in the wake of the latest ministerial talks last week on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Singapore.

“This remains a top priority of the president because of the positive economic benefits that come from it,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

“Congress and the American public have high expectations for the TPP.

“The administration is determined to get the best deal possible, and we are pleased with the progress made towards achieving an ambitious, comprehensive, high-standard agreement.”

Ministers gave up last week on meeting the year-end goal of concluding the TPP, but US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who was in Singapore, and in Obama’s Oval Office consultations on Monday, said significant progress had been made.

Hopes for a swift conclusion of the TPP were dealt a blow when Obama was forced to delay his latest trip to Asia in October over a political crisis in Washington over a government shutdown.

The White House has already announced that the president will return to Asia in April, a trip that may offer new momentum to TPP talks, a centerpiece of Obama’s “rebalancing” towards Asia strategy.

The TPP is being negotiated by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.