Fraud Alert: Fake Healthcare.gov Websites

I've heard a report that there are over 700 fake Obamacare websites trolling for victims.
Supposedly, most of them look almost exactly like the authentic version except for one critical feature: You can actually log on and apply.

Caveat Emptor.

Bad Day at Work

What a crummy day.

If you don't know, I work in a medical lab, with lots of high-tech equipment and computers and stuff. Even when things run smoothly, it can be challenging. But when things go awry, it can be insane.

Today when I got there, they were changing the tanks that purify water for our chemistry analyzers. We need our water to be very, VERY  pure, in order that it doesn't affect the analysis of the whatever's being analyzed.

So, the day starts out with me having to carry jugs of water across the lab and filling the reservoirs by hand. And those analyzers go through water by the gallon. 

And one of the analyzers was just starting to go out on me, which it proceeded to do right about the time first shift left.

And my quality control wouldn't work, so I had to recalibrate, which is time consuming.

And I kept running out of water, because I had to keep filling the jugs and lug them out and empty them. Which makes the analyzers stop cold. And to get them to work correctly again they have to be shut down and restarted. Which takes 15 minutes.

So, I had an analyzer I couldn't use, because it was starting to throw out random values, which is an indication that something ain't right. I had analyzer that kept running out of water and needing to be restarted. And my "automation" line was lighting up and screaming at me from one end to the other.

I put automation in quotes because I really don't think it's very automated when you have to keep getting up and fixing it every time it malfunctions, which is about every five minutes. I'm pretty sure the concept of automation is to AVOID doing everything manually.

And then all the interfaces went down. The lab computers couldn't communicate with the control system, which was having trouble communicating with the analyzer. Which meant, again, everything had to be done manually.

Add to that the fact that the user interface on the analyzers appears to have been programmed by a bunch of chimpanzees pounding on keyboards and it gets frustrating. The "troubleshooting" "help" is like something out of Lovecraft: If you look directly at, it you'll go mad. I'm pretty sure it's translated from some foreign language by someone who thinks throwing random English words onto a screen is the same as actually writing instructions in English.

I am usually pretty cool under this sort of pressure, but almost everything that COULD go wrong, DID go wrong. I didn't panic, but I sure was on the edge of losing it.

It was truly a testament to the fact that our second shift ROCKS that the work left for third shift was negligible, except for the analyzer that was down, which would have had to go down anyway for maintenance when they got in. I love my supervisor.

So, I hope your day/evening went a little better.

No One More Than He

Has anyone else noticed that in ever speech, TOTUS forces Obama to use the phrase, "Nobody's more _____ Than I am?" The most recent example was the botched rollout of Obamacare, following which he informed us that :No one is more upset over this than me." He absolutely must be the angriest, most upset, smarter, what ever than anyone else, every time.

I've thought of a few more that would fit the pattern that likely won't show up on TOTUS:

Choose your favorite:

Nobody is more _______ than Obama.

• Angry
• Unqualified
• Unvetted
• Incompetent
• Mis-educated
• Of a cipher
• Opaque
• Profligate with other people's money
• Devoid of Actual Accomplishment
• Overrated.

I'm sure someone out there can think of a few more. Feel free to leave some  in the comments!

Beggar's Night

Well, I finally got my wife and kids through the door of my church on Friday night for their annual Halloween get-together. It went better than I expected.

There was a potluck dinner, followed by games for the kids, then trick-or-treating through the building. There was a pretty good turnout, from what I understand (I'm fairly new to the church), and there were a lot of kids for my kids to play with.

The kids got so much candy they could barely carry it all, and when I told them that that's what every Sunday is like, they ALMOST believed me.

For my wife's part, she met the wife of one of her co-workers, and some of the people I know from Sundays, and she talked with a number of them. I think she was a little surprised our heads weren't spinning around, or that we weren't chanting backwards in Latin.

It's a good thing we put of the sacrifice of the virgins until next week.

Anyway, some small hope for the future...

Bending the Cost Curve

When the democRats forced Obamacare through Congress, they kept telling us they wanted to "Bend the cost curve of healthcare downward." Well, now that people are finding out how much their new policies are going to cost (because the old ones they could "keep" suddenly went away), let me remind you of why healthcare costs are so high in the first place: democRat government programs. Here's an illustration:

Those are real numbers by the way: For a unit of blood cells to be transfused, the government reimburses the hospital less than the hospital pays the Red Cross for that unit. And consider that at my hospital, approximately 60% of transfusions are to Medicare patients. 

So, where does that extra $17 come from? Take a wild guess.

This happens in other departments, as well. Ever wonder why a hospital charges $3 (or more) for a Tylenol pill? The government reimburses the pharmacy less than the pharmacy pays for a large variety of medications. 

So the democRats get the credit for "providing healthcare," and you get stuck with the tab.

And this is just ONE example of how liberal policies have CREATED the "crisis" that the democRats now claim that only more government can "solve."

Never let a crisis go to waste. And if there's no crisis, create one. It's the liberal Alinsky way.

Metaphor of the Day

It's been quite a while since I captioned this picture, maybe a year or so, but I think it is still not only relevant, but captures the subject matter perfectly.

A Rumor

I heard a rumor that the old rumor that Cookie Monster from Sesame Street was going to be renamed Veggie Monster to coincided with Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" Program.

Apparently, all the fourth graders at my local school HATE her, because Cookie Monster is COOKIE MONSTER, darn it.

When you've lost the fourth graders...

In Praise of RINOs

I still like to consider myself an independent, though I have sworn never to vote for a democRat again. That doesn't mean I will vote for the Republican. It means he or she will have to earn my vote before I will mark my ballot for them. But, I have to admit: I've taken quite a liking to some of these RINO Republicans. You know, like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.

Wait, I hear you say, "Those are the people who are standing up for the conservative cause, all the stuff on the Republican platform!"

Okay, I'll grant you that, but answer this: When was the last time you heard the Republican Party actually fight for what they say they stand for?

As far as I can see, since at least the late nineties, the Republicans have mostly been the democRat Party Lite. The government grows and grows and freedom slowly dies. While I would take Bush to Empty Chair any day of the week, we know we got more Medicare spending, and a behemoth Department of Homeland Security that seems to be doing everything but what it was supposed to be doing: Coordinating intelligence and security to keep the nation safe. Instead, we get Grandma felt up at the airport scanners, While burka-clad somethings get a Political Correctness Pass to go where they please. Does anyone really think an actual terrorist would have a problem putting on a burka to get through a scanner?

And despite being elected to the majority in the House of Representatives, the modus operandi for the past 3 years seems to be little more than SAYING they oppose Barry before they bend over and let him have his way.

Yes, the Republican Party is pretty pathetic these days. And they demonize those among them who who stand up for what the party ostensibly believes.

So, we now we know what a real Republican is: Some one who talks a good fight, but kneels before Caesar Barackus every time.

Give me RINOs like Cruz and Lee any day.

Why I Hate "The American People"

Okay, so the title's kind of misleading. I don't hate the American People. I hate THE PHRASE, "The American People." It's typically used by some strutting, preening, posturing politician who wants to justify their latest piece of crap legislation by saying "But it's for The American People," as if that's justification enough.

For a prime example, you need look no further than Nancy Pelousy. This sad sack of something uses it constantly. The latest time I heard it come out of the rectal oriface on her face was when she was bleating about Obamacare. It went something like this: Finally The American People will be able to get the Healthcare they deserve.

You know what, Nancy? YOU DON'T REPRESENT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!

You simply represent one district, and what a district it is: San Francisco. I will acknowledge that you represent them well, considering they're mostly drug-addled perverts who want to suck on the government teat. (Seriously, the fat old naked guys that walk the street are offended by the idea they might put a towel down before they sit. When did your "right" to wander around with your junk hanging out supersede my right not to have to sit in the snail trail of butt sweat you leave behind?) But the rest of the country? NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!

You'll hear the Searchlight Strangler himself, Harry Reid, talk about how the Tea Party Terrorists are holding the nation hostage, and they need to get out of the way, so our Benevolent Overlords can do the work of The American People. Well, you know what Harry? I'm one of those Tea Party Terrorists, I'm an American Person, and the only thing being held hostage around here is sanity, and it's the dumocRats on Crapitol Hill that have the nosse wrapped around it's neck.

For Harry the Pederast, it makes perfect sense to threaten to shut down the government while blubbering about Cowboy Poetry, but not over the takeover of one-sixth of the nation's economy.

You know what, Harry? I DON'T REMEMBER VOTING FOR YOU.

Of course, I don't live in Nevada, so I couldn't. Not that I would have. You know what? YOU DON'T REPRESENT ME, SO STOP PREDING YOU HAVE ANYTHING BUT ANIMOSITY TOWARD "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!"

And the Loser-in-Chief, in the Oval Office. Is there a speech in which the phrase isn't loaded into the teleprompter at least a dozen times? My favorite instance was the time he said, "The American People deserve better," and I thought, "You're right, we do. So. When can we expect your resignation?"

This moron trashes half the country he purports to represent and he does it on a non-stop basis. And then gets indignant when we complain. You know what over half "The American People" want? OBAMACARE REPEALED. So don't get into telling me what the American People want or need. You're nothing but a community agitator with no skills beyond that one speech you give over and over and campaigning. That's why the last four (almost five) years have been nothing but disaster after disaster, failure after failure, and YOU KEEP ACTING LIKE IT'S SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT!

This country is like a ship without a rudder, with a captain who'd rather play spades than steer.

And the Republicans have the same disease.

"The American People want..."

"The American People need..."

"The American People deserve..."

Well, THIS AMERICAN PERSON IS SICK OF HEARING WHAT I WANT, NEED OR DESERVE FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS NO IDEA I EVEN EXIST! SO STOP USING THE PHRASE LIKE YOU REPRESENT THE WILL OF EVERYONE IN THE COUNTRY!

Maybe it's just me.

Descriptive Second Post

Okay, according to the Law of New Blogs, I'm supposed to write what amounts to the cover letter to a resumé and wow you with my bona fides.

Well, obviously, I'm Arik (note: see blog title), and I've been blogging on and off for years, most recently at Nuking Politics, where recent, stupid actions on my part made it best if I make a gracious, if abrupt, exit. Before that, the 2008 election cycle convinced me to try my hand at commentary. I wanted to be the next Thomas Paine, or maybe Ann Coulter, except mean. Instead, I ended up being the Dane Cook of political commentary. If you've ever seen Dane Cook, you know what I mean: He's up there doing SOMETHING, and it's obvious HE thinks it's funny, but no  one else can really be sure, either what it is he's doing, or whether it actually is funny.

Born and raised in Ohio, I've lived here all my life except for the four years the Navy sent my to California. I joined to see the world, and as far out of the country as I got was Avenida Revolución in Tijuana. However, while there, I learned the trade in which I continue to this day. I'm a med tech, and pretty good at it, I think. I work at a couple of hospitals, one full time, the other part time, and when I'm not working, I sleep. And sometimes do this. You may have seen some of my lolbamas over at IMAO.

Anyway, I think what I want to do here is more general and less political, about stuff that really irritates me. Some ranting, some raving, and maybe some sober reflection. But mostly the ranting and raving. I've got a lot of thoughts, and sometimes feel the need to share them, and all of you are going to be in the splash zone, so either bring a plastic tarp or be prepared to get covered in some sort of vegetable matter. Watermelons have totally been done, so not them.

Sucky First Post

According to "Harvey's Rules of Blogging for Beginners," this post should suck righteously.

So, here goes: I'm Arik, and these are my rabid rants, wherein I rant rabidly.

Me: Hey! I have a blog now!

You: Oh wow, how'd you get a blog?

Me: Oh, my folks drove it up here from the Bahamas

You: Oh wow, you're kidding!

Me: I must be, the Bahamas are island. Also, blogs don't have wheel.

So anyway, second, descriptive post upcoming, then some rants, some raves, and likely some googly eyed cute stuff.

All rave and no play makes Arik a cranky(er) boy.