Monday, July 16, 2012
Man with Too Many Countries, The Sequel
In July 2011 I wrote a blog called Man with Too Many Countries which was inspired by a project I was working on that involved identifying the best online payment methods available for most of the countries in the world. I find myself in the unlucky position of again having to search for the 2 digit ISO codes of a large number of countries, and I have again learned something new. That Gabon, for exampe ("GA") is actually a country and not some kind of monkey. And that the person who assigned the country code to Morocco probably couldn't spell, because Morocco's code is MA, where as Macao's code is MO. Go figure.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Kayaking on Tomales Bay
Acting upon an inspiration from Dan Berger two years ago, I finally booked a weekend campsite at the boat-in sites on Tomales Bay, in Point Reyes National Seashore. We took the trip with 9 friends and an assortment of sea kayaks, river kayaks, and a raft to carry all our gear. There were lots of choices of campgrounds, and Dan secured us a nice one with easy access to Hog Island and minimal impact from the wind and tides.
Pulling into camp which was directly across from Miller Point Boat Launch
Bob, Garen, Amber, and Candace relax on the beach
(too bad no one put on sunscreen - we all paid later)
Our camp is established
Paddling around Hog Island
The seals - best when you stay upwind, they smell horrible!
Despite Amy's threats to beat us with her paddle, Bob and I remain asleep in our kayaks
Nesting Cormorants - they were on the island but made a tremendous amount of noise which sounded like the laugh track of a sitcom. We could hear them all day at our camp.
Dan on Sunday morning - putting up with the mist. It drizzled from about 6 PM Saturday until we left at 10:30 AM on Sunday
Garen is cooking cajun spiced salmon for the Eggs Benedict
Amy stirs the Hollandaise sauce
Tyler assembling his Eggs Benedict
Returning what's left of the beer to the people of mystery, who left the beer and all their gear on the shore the day before, then never returned. Maybe they got lost in the fog. The tide kept rising so we had to move their things uphill three separate times. The whole sand beach behind Garen disappeared at high tide.
Hmmm. How did that get there? It should have a life preserver on it, wouldn't want it to fall overboard and float to the south seas...
Tyler and Courtney head home
Taking all the gear back through the fog
End of the journey: A trip to Hog Island Oyster Cmpany for cold Lagunitas, plates of fresh oysters, and cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery - a perfect ending to the trip!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Insurance Pains
Marie ended up needing surgery so I have had to extend my stay in Boston. I'd planned to return home on Monday the 30th but her surgery was scheduled for that day, so I was thanking my lucky stars I'd bought trip cancellation insurance for $16 from Priceline. I would need to stay a few days longer to care for my daughter.
I called priceline to inquire about changing my flight and having it covered by the insurance. They referred me to the insurance company but also to their web page which had some info about the coverage, which included phrases like "pre-existing conditions are no problem" and "coverage provided for illness to yourself or your immediate family members". Looked good so far. That is, until I met Melanie. Melanie promptly informed me that since Marie's arm was broken before I bought the insurance, the claim may not be covered. What about the pre-existing condition statement? "Oh, that. Well this is a different kind of pre-existing condition. I can't tell you for sure but it might not be covered. You need to book your replacement travel with the airline where the tickets were purchased and then file a claim and we'll let you know."
Hmm. Doesn't sound good. I call the airline. "Oh, sorry. There's nothing we can do to help you. You bought these tickets through priceline so you need to rebook there. We're really sorry you sat on hold for 45 minutes, but please keep us in mind for your future travel requirements! We'd love to take you for a ride!"
OK, back to Priceline. "What, this has to do with insurance? Oh, let me transfer you to our "special" agent. I get Ana, who is very nice. We are disconnected and she calls me back! Wow. I am feeling a little better. "So," she says, in that tone doctors use on TV before they tell their patients they have terminal cancer. "Here's the thing. I know you paid $199 for your ticket from BOS to SFO, but it really only cost $139. The rest of the money was for taxes and fees which are not covered by the insurance. To get you a new ticket home on Thursday will cost $467. The airline will also charge a $100 change fee, and we charge a $30 change fee. So you are looking at a cost of about $600. Now, your original ticket only cost $139, and the insurance only provides coverage up to the cost of the original ticket, so you will need to pay an additional $460 to change your ticket. Would you like to proceed?"
What? But on Virgin America's website, the tickets on Thursday night show that they only cost $199! Why would you, a price discounter, charge me $467 for the same ticket?
"Well, those are special fares, only good for internet purchases directly from VA's website. $467 is the best we can do. Would you like to purchase the new ticket? Or, you can save money by just buying the $200 ticket yourself and forgetting about the claim."
Note to self: don't ever buy trip insurance again. Also, don't ever buy a ticket from anyone but the airline directly. I already knew this, but I was in such a hurry to get this trip booked and everything was such a mess that I just went with what was easiest at the time. C'est la vie.
As it turns out, this was just a warm up for the real insurance nightmare. On the day of Marie's surgery to repair her arm, as they were wheeling her out of pre-op to the OR, I looked at the forms she'd signed and noticed that her school doctor had authorized the surgery, but she was listed as the approving doctor for Kaiser. I knew Kaiser knew nothing about this surgery and that the doctor who approved was part of Marie's Blue Cross student insurance plan. I asked the nurses if this was an issue because I wanted to ensure we had coverage for the surgery. They quickly talked to hospital business office who said we had better get Kaiser or Blue Cross on the phone to get an approval. We didn't have Marie's Blue Cross number with us so we tried Kaiser, as the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and nurses stood by. At one point the surgeon grabbed the phone and started yelling at the Kaiser rep, saying this was an emergency and they needed to approve it so we could get her into the OR before her meds wore off. In the end, no approval was granted but the doctors took her away, crying. I spent the next two hours in the business office of the hospital trying to get things cleared up. As I was leaving, the hospital told me Blue Cross would be providing coverage based upon the fact that her primary care doctor with Blue Cross' routine care medical plan had provided approval. Blue Cross was non-committal however. I think they are keeping the door open to subit the claim back to Kaiser. And you thought the Superbowl was going to be a good fight...
Now we are back at the hotel while Marie recuperates, and our room is full of narcotics - Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Advil. And Marie is surprisingly hungry (maybe this is how crack addicts feel?) - she's eaten cereal and milk, bananas, applesauce, crackers, udon soup, chicken broth with more crackers soaked in it, scrambled eggs, a pastry from the breakfast buffet, a cereal bar, lemonade, and some chocolate mochi. And the best thing of all, a new form of gourmet cuisine on the go, the SunBeam Quesadilla - all melty and grilled to perfection right in our own room (see picture below). Ingredients courtesy of Trader Joe's and Whole Paycheck, both of which are practically adjacent to our hotel.
I called priceline to inquire about changing my flight and having it covered by the insurance. They referred me to the insurance company but also to their web page which had some info about the coverage, which included phrases like "pre-existing conditions are no problem" and "coverage provided for illness to yourself or your immediate family members". Looked good so far. That is, until I met Melanie. Melanie promptly informed me that since Marie's arm was broken before I bought the insurance, the claim may not be covered. What about the pre-existing condition statement? "Oh, that. Well this is a different kind of pre-existing condition. I can't tell you for sure but it might not be covered. You need to book your replacement travel with the airline where the tickets were purchased and then file a claim and we'll let you know."
Hmm. Doesn't sound good. I call the airline. "Oh, sorry. There's nothing we can do to help you. You bought these tickets through priceline so you need to rebook there. We're really sorry you sat on hold for 45 minutes, but please keep us in mind for your future travel requirements! We'd love to take you for a ride!"
OK, back to Priceline. "What, this has to do with insurance? Oh, let me transfer you to our "special" agent. I get Ana, who is very nice. We are disconnected and she calls me back! Wow. I am feeling a little better. "So," she says, in that tone doctors use on TV before they tell their patients they have terminal cancer. "Here's the thing. I know you paid $199 for your ticket from BOS to SFO, but it really only cost $139. The rest of the money was for taxes and fees which are not covered by the insurance. To get you a new ticket home on Thursday will cost $467. The airline will also charge a $100 change fee, and we charge a $30 change fee. So you are looking at a cost of about $600. Now, your original ticket only cost $139, and the insurance only provides coverage up to the cost of the original ticket, so you will need to pay an additional $460 to change your ticket. Would you like to proceed?"
What? But on Virgin America's website, the tickets on Thursday night show that they only cost $199! Why would you, a price discounter, charge me $467 for the same ticket?
"Well, those are special fares, only good for internet purchases directly from VA's website. $467 is the best we can do. Would you like to purchase the new ticket? Or, you can save money by just buying the $200 ticket yourself and forgetting about the claim."
Note to self: don't ever buy trip insurance again. Also, don't ever buy a ticket from anyone but the airline directly. I already knew this, but I was in such a hurry to get this trip booked and everything was such a mess that I just went with what was easiest at the time. C'est la vie.
As it turns out, this was just a warm up for the real insurance nightmare. On the day of Marie's surgery to repair her arm, as they were wheeling her out of pre-op to the OR, I looked at the forms she'd signed and noticed that her school doctor had authorized the surgery, but she was listed as the approving doctor for Kaiser. I knew Kaiser knew nothing about this surgery and that the doctor who approved was part of Marie's Blue Cross student insurance plan. I asked the nurses if this was an issue because I wanted to ensure we had coverage for the surgery. They quickly talked to hospital business office who said we had better get Kaiser or Blue Cross on the phone to get an approval. We didn't have Marie's Blue Cross number with us so we tried Kaiser, as the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and nurses stood by. At one point the surgeon grabbed the phone and started yelling at the Kaiser rep, saying this was an emergency and they needed to approve it so we could get her into the OR before her meds wore off. In the end, no approval was granted but the doctors took her away, crying. I spent the next two hours in the business office of the hospital trying to get things cleared up. As I was leaving, the hospital told me Blue Cross would be providing coverage based upon the fact that her primary care doctor with Blue Cross' routine care medical plan had provided approval. Blue Cross was non-committal however. I think they are keeping the door open to subit the claim back to Kaiser. And you thought the Superbowl was going to be a good fight...
Now we are back at the hotel while Marie recuperates, and our room is full of narcotics - Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Advil. And Marie is surprisingly hungry (maybe this is how crack addicts feel?) - she's eaten cereal and milk, bananas, applesauce, crackers, udon soup, chicken broth with more crackers soaked in it, scrambled eggs, a pastry from the breakfast buffet, a cereal bar, lemonade, and some chocolate mochi. And the best thing of all, a new form of gourmet cuisine on the go, the SunBeam Quesadilla - all melty and grilled to perfection right in our own room (see picture below). Ingredients courtesy of Trader Joe's and Whole Paycheck, both of which are practically adjacent to our hotel.
Using the hotel room appliances is not really such a bad idea. We heated up the chicken broth by running it through the coffee maker, where the water is supposed to go. It tasted fine, no coffee after taste or anything. I ran a couple of pots of water through afterward to clean up - all seemed OK, so I decided to be more adventurous and I tried warming a tortilla on the coffee machine warmer, but it was too small. Then I got the idea for the quesadillas using the iron, and now there's no limit to what I can make. Anything George Foreman can do, I can do better with my sleek white SunBeam. And the misting attachment is great for sprucing up the salad. Ahh. the Good Life. Bon Apetite!
The Mobile Office
I am enroute to Boston to check up on Marie, who broke her arm while snowboarding a couple days ago. She apparently attempted to cartwheel down the hill but her puny little arms couldn’t handle the torque. You’d think someone who got an A in Physics at MIT would have known better.
Since this trip was unexpected, I have had to bring along my work with me, and thank goodness today’s modern planes are fully equipped. I am flying Virgin Atlantic, which offers wifi (slightly faster than dial up internet) and power ports on all flights. I arrived first to my row and quickly snagged both power ports. I would share, if asked. But so far no one has asked. I guess I am the only workaholic. The other woman in my row is reading and also watching Oprah on the free satellite TV. At least she gets the multi-tasking thing.
I have answered or sent about 20 emails so far, and am trying to get up enough nerve to log onto Skype to try to make a call. That might be pushing things a little too far. There is no one sitting next to me, so I have already claimed that real estate, laying out my files and using the extra seat's tray table for my supplies and coffee. Haha! I just got an idea! Maybe I should offer to pay the woman in my row to do some admin work for me? She might be able to earn enough to cover the cost of her flight! But then again, she might get economy class syndrome while working and file a worker's comp claim against me. I guess I'll just keep to my side of the row for now.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Mountain-Standard Time
I came up to NorthStar for New Year's and planned to return home on Monday, but somehow I got waylaid. It is beautiful and relaxing here, even if there is no snow. Best of all, the internet is fast so I have been able to work from here. Therefore, when Marie suggested we stay a couple more days, I couldn't say no. (Plus, it meant I could wait a couple more days before cleaning all the bathrooms and locking everything up at my dad's place... doesn't take much to convince me to put off those chores!)
For work, I have been interfacing with groups of people in India, Europe, and the Philippines which has meant getting up early for 5 AM or 6 AM calls, then staying up late for 9 PM or 10 PM calls. It makes for a long day. And this afternoon it dawned on me -- why am I working on their time zones instead of the other way around? I have decided to create my own timezone. I am going to call it Mountain-TMS timezone. The business day runs from 6 AM to 10 AM, and then ends and starts again from 4 PM to 10 PM. The time in between is for skiing, sort of like a First-World siesta break. Hmm, it's 10 AM now. Quitting time!
For work, I have been interfacing with groups of people in India, Europe, and the Philippines which has meant getting up early for 5 AM or 6 AM calls, then staying up late for 9 PM or 10 PM calls. It makes for a long day. And this afternoon it dawned on me -- why am I working on their time zones instead of the other way around? I have decided to create my own timezone. I am going to call it Mountain-TMS timezone. The business day runs from 6 AM to 10 AM, and then ends and starts again from 4 PM to 10 PM. The time in between is for skiing, sort of like a First-World siesta break. Hmm, it's 10 AM now. Quitting time!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth
A man named Jim Porter wrote an article for the Sierra Sun in which he discussed the Stolen Valor Act. This law has two provisions, the intent of which is to prohibit people from giving the impression they have won an honor such as a Purple Heart when in fact no such honor was bestowed upon them. He discussed two provisions of this law – 704 (a) which among other things makes it a crime to knowingly wear a medal which was bestowed by Congress in connection with the Armed Forces if that medal was fraudulently obtained, and 704 (b), which makes it a crime to falsely represent yourself as having been awarded a medal if in fact you haven’t (i.e., lie about having been awarded a Purple Heart).
In his article, he talked about how the court struck down a case which was raised pursuant to 704(b) of the Stolen Valor Act because they felt the defendant was entitled to free speech, even if that speech was untruthful.
So my question is, if there is a specific law which states you can’t lie about a particular thing, but this is unconstitutional because your right to free speech protects your untruthful speech, then what do we make of any other law which requires truthfulness?
What about the laws which require us to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth when we testify in court or in a deposition, or sign a statement about truthfulness for employment applications, loan applications, college applications, etc.? What is the difference between lying when approaching this type of speech and lying about having earned a Purple Heart? In the case cited, the person was lying to try to make himself appear to be a more appealing candidate for public office. We should all be happy to know that our politicians can now justifiably lie as part of their free speech --- but I guess they have always known that.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Other People's Money
Don't you just love the sound of it? Other People's Money, OPiuM, the new drug of choice for the American crowd. I am tired of everyone using my money. I want to feel fully American. Patriotic even. I NEED to use OPM. It's my right!!! Since I don't qualify for the normal entitlement programs (yet), I have to figure out other ways to get access to the your money.
How about this: I go out to dinner with my Dad, but cleverly forget to bring my wallet! Thanks Dad! I'll pay you back later! (See, I already sound like a politician!)
Or maybe this: I am invited for an afternoon visit to Tahoe with my friend who has rented a fabulous house on the lake's edge. Hey Bruce! Glad to see you! Let's have a drink! Oh, shoot! I left all the wine at home, and I had a really good bottle, too! Darn! What? You have some? Ok, I'll try just a little. (Hours pass) WooHoo! This sure is a nice placsh! Hiccup! I can't find my car keys! Hiccup! Where could they be? I thinth I will need to stay over night. Hiccup! zzzzzzzz....
Then there's vendor largess: Wow! Thanks for these free skybox tickets to the Sharks games! Sure I'll send some business your way! You betcha! Hey, can you pass the chicken wings and Dove bars? Who are you anyway? Do I know you?
Taking advantage of neighbors is always good: Hi Amy, just wanted to drop by and leave you with these lovely roses I picked (from Lena's garden). Yumm! It smells good in here! Did I catch you at dinner time? The fabulous smells of your great cooking are making me hungry! I wish I could make dinner too, but my stove and refrigerator are broken. Such a pity! Oh no, no! I wouldn't dream of intruding! Well, if you insist! Isn't it lucky I also have these gladlock containers in my purse for the leftovers?
More neighborly love - best if left in a note pinned to the front door, while your neighbor is out getting his Saturday morning coffee: Hi Brian! Buddy! How's it going? Hey man, I hope you don't mind, this morning I needed to borrow your lawn mower, pressure washer, tool chest, barbecue, and chainsaw. Took them with me to Mariposa - see you Sunday night! Have a good one, man! By the way, can you take care of our dogs this weekend? Food's in the pantry, but if you run out, get the jumbo size bag at Safeway and I'll pay you back later!
Ahhh. I am really liking this OPiuM business. I am starting to feel just like a real American. Everyone should have the opportunity to walk a mile in someone else's shoes! Speaking of which, who might have some shoes I can borrow? Ma-rieeeeeee!
How about this: I go out to dinner with my Dad, but cleverly forget to bring my wallet! Thanks Dad! I'll pay you back later! (See, I already sound like a politician!)
Or maybe this: I am invited for an afternoon visit to Tahoe with my friend who has rented a fabulous house on the lake's edge. Hey Bruce! Glad to see you! Let's have a drink! Oh, shoot! I left all the wine at home, and I had a really good bottle, too! Darn! What? You have some? Ok, I'll try just a little. (Hours pass) WooHoo! This sure is a nice placsh! Hiccup! I can't find my car keys! Hiccup! Where could they be? I thinth I will need to stay over night. Hiccup! zzzzzzzz....
Then there's vendor largess: Wow! Thanks for these free skybox tickets to the Sharks games! Sure I'll send some business your way! You betcha! Hey, can you pass the chicken wings and Dove bars? Who are you anyway? Do I know you?
Taking advantage of neighbors is always good: Hi Amy, just wanted to drop by and leave you with these lovely roses I picked (from Lena's garden). Yumm! It smells good in here! Did I catch you at dinner time? The fabulous smells of your great cooking are making me hungry! I wish I could make dinner too, but my stove and refrigerator are broken. Such a pity! Oh no, no! I wouldn't dream of intruding! Well, if you insist! Isn't it lucky I also have these gladlock containers in my purse for the leftovers?
More neighborly love - best if left in a note pinned to the front door, while your neighbor is out getting his Saturday morning coffee: Hi Brian! Buddy! How's it going? Hey man, I hope you don't mind, this morning I needed to borrow your lawn mower, pressure washer, tool chest, barbecue, and chainsaw. Took them with me to Mariposa - see you Sunday night! Have a good one, man! By the way, can you take care of our dogs this weekend? Food's in the pantry, but if you run out, get the jumbo size bag at Safeway and I'll pay you back later!
Ahhh. I am really liking this OPiuM business. I am starting to feel just like a real American. Everyone should have the opportunity to walk a mile in someone else's shoes! Speaking of which, who might have some shoes I can borrow? Ma-rieeeeeee!
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