"The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers." - Scott Adams

It's really hot here. I went to the gym this afternoon and made two stops on the way home. Places are pretty much deserted (pun intended).
I tried working on Ilsa this morning but by 8:00 I was too hot to concentrate, and wiring requires that.

One week from tonight I speak at the conference in Seattle. As soon as I was asked and told my assigned topic I was wired about the opportunity and my head started working on it. The past two weeks I've been getting it down on "paper" and creating the slide presentation. The difference between that early ambiguous version in my head and the concrete edition required for actual delivery is troubling. It's not right. I've got more work to do.
Under normal circumstances I'd go for a long walk to sort out my thoughts and get 'em into an effective flow but it's too dang hot!


If you follow tennis you know that Rafael Nadal is always a favorite on any surface. He won Wimbledon in 2010 and played in the final in 2011. A few weeks ago he won the French Open easily. Today he was eliminated - whooped - in the second round, losing to an unknown Czech, a guy named Lukas Rosol who's rated 100 in the world.
I loved it.
Nadal, at least the public Nadal, is an unpleasant grump with a long list of superstitions and mannerisms. If things aren't in accord with his anal retentive routine he complains. Today Rosol beat him in especially convincing fashion. Anyone watching it (I saw the last half of the match) would have guessed their rankings were reversed and Nadal was #100. Part of the post-match discussion is how much of the outcome was because Rosol got in Nadal's head. He served quickly, denying Nadal the time to go through his precise routine of swiping, brushing, tugging and pulling. When it was Nadal's serve Rosol bounced up and down on his toes as he waited, which bothered Nadal enough that he complained to the umpire. "Is that really fair that he does that?" Uhm....yes. At a crossover Nadal gave the Czech a shoulder bump and kept walking. His head was had.

The Affordable Healthcare Act was upheld by the Supreme Court. I readily confess this is another issue too complex for me to wrap my head around. Pam says she sees an increasing number of patients whose charts are marked that the patient will be paying the bill ... or not paying. That's code for no insurance. And in that case the doctors and the hospital eat the sometimes very high costs. Law prohibits them from refusing treatment.
People with serious medical issues who lose their job and with it the employer provided health insurance can't get other insurance because of that pre-existing condition.  And even if they could it would cost them way more than they'd make if they did get another job. Treatment? Meds?
Doctors order unnecessary tests because they increase revenue. The system is designed to reward more medical services, needed or not. That pumped up revenue pays the ridiculous insurance premiums.

It's broken.
Is this the appropriate fix? I dunno. Probably not, given that it was created within a political context by people who care at least as much about keeping their constituency happy. I'm generally skeptical of the government's ability to fix problems. They're much better at creating new, previously unimagined problems.

But the sky is not falling. This new law doesn't threaten our security or freedoms, and it doesn't throw open the back door to the Taliban. The President is not evil for writing this law nor the Supreme Court for ruling favorably on it. A decade from now, Deo volente, we'll still be here doing pretty much the same things we are now. We might be paying more of our paycheck to the govt., but that certainly shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, regardless of the mechanisms. Our medical care might be complicated by six more layers of bureaucracy and wait times for appointments lengthened to near intolerable levels. But we'll still have some of the best medical care in the world. 

I expect the politicians to respond with political bombast and dire predictions. But c'mon, people. Let's take a deep breath. Keep it in perspective. Disagree vigorously, but do it with respect and civility. The worst case scenario rarely plays out and the electoral system almost always find a balanced solution. It may take two or three cycles, but it will happen. In the meantime, stop with the vitriol. We're better than that.
Or not.