Tag: General

Today is the 24th anniversary of 9/11

Back then we naively believed that the enemy was largely outside our country.

We united as a nation and we wiped out one of the top five military forces on the planet in less than a week.

24 years later, it looks like the enemy is not only at the gate. They’re within!

We’ve been divided, set against each other and some of our people are celebrating the murder of a 31 year old man who simply spoke what he believed, and asked questions.

24 years ago, I was watching the endless replays of the towers falling and was every bit as angry then as I am today. I was confused, and didn’t understand why we were being attacked, or who was attacking us.

I had family in the area, 24-36 hours followed where I honestly didn’t know if they were all okay.

Today, I clearly know who the enemy is.

They were standing in the House last night in a House session of Congress.

Some of them were standing in Congress 24 years ago as well. Were they always what we’ve seen them to be recently?

I don’t know.

I have mixed feelings. Today we’re supposed to be remembering those who died on 9/11. But 9/10/2025 has to some extent reopened old wounds.

Hulu, has a “New” package which includes news and local channels that costs ~$89 a month, and DirecTV is offering a better priced package, but it’s still not al la carte.

The DirecTV option is actually better, but DAMN! They’re charging what they once charged for the basics where you had a dish on your roof and they provided the DVR. Hulus pricing is obscene. Spectrum cable provided all the channels + internet service for about that same amount just 3 years ago.

The difference? Now you’re paying for the internet service separately + their streaming fees.

Meaning that you’re still paying about the same price for channels that you don’t really want to, or never watch. “BET”? When was the last time you even noticed what they were running? I guess some households watch it, but really? Most channels in their “Lineup” aren’t that interesting.

I think the streaming companies and cable companies really aren’t getting it. If a household only watches 5 or 10 channels, it’s not worth it. Especially if that same household can get those channels via streaming or over the air for free.

What these folks need to do, is say, “For $30 you can pick 10 channels.” I’d probably go for it since I’m in a blind area and can’t see Mt Wilson. Let me pick the local channels, that’s like 5, then let me pick other channels that I’d be interested in.”

That’s value!

Instead it’s another bait and switch that has you paying over a $100 per month just to get the 10 channels of 500 that you actually watch. Only now, all they have to do is connect their output to the internet and verify you’re a subscriber. They don’t provide anything in the way of hardware, or cabling.

Sadly, there will be people that pay the fees thinking they’re cutting the cable & going to save a few bucks.

I suppose if you already have internet that you’re paying for, and you’ve got a DirecTV box or two, you might save a few dollars but honestly is it worth it?

If I lived on the other side of the mountain, I’d be getting what little TV I watch using an antenna. As it stands right now, If there’s breaking news, I can use one of the local stations free streaming app.

During the hurricanes last year, I was streaming a live news feed out of a TV station in Florida via their app. Their coverage was much better than the LA coverage, and surprisingly the live coverage out of a Lexington, KY TV station was even better. Both those options were free.

President Trump announced a new health data transmission program today.

On the one hand, that’s kind of cool. In theory, transferring your medical data records could come down to simply authorizing access. Trump also said that the data wouldn’t be in a central database, which means that they’re talking about an actual transfer of data and in theory, the deletion of that data from the source system when it’s transferred to a new doctor.

If that’s how it works okay, but I know that there’ll be backups and that somehow patient data won’t be deleted from one system when it’s transferred to another system. My concern is that the data will end up exposed in a data breach.

Another concern is the insurance implications. I was once told by a doctor that I trusted, not to reveal too much about family history, because if he put the data in my records, which were shared with the insurance company I could find my insurance rates greatly increased on the possibility that I might illustrate those same problems.

If all the medical data is available and concentrated (including misdiagnosis) into one medical file, it could be misused by insurance companies to unfairly raise your personal healthcare insurance rates.

Trump said if you want to opt out you can. Maybe I’d believe him, if it wasn’t for Obama saying, “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.” Which actually wasn’t the truth.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a great idea for the patient to be in control of their data. The potential for abuse of that data is where I’m concerned.

The other thing this new system is supposed to do, is get rid of the doctor’s clipboard. Shit! I’ve been to, and left doctors, who spent the entire appointment staring at their computer screen instead of looking at me, the patient.

If the doctor isn’t going to actually interact with me, personally as in, actually listening to my heart or lungs, then what’s the point? I might as well not physically be in the office. Perhaps, part of this will involve remote telemetry so that in the future, physical office visits won’t be necessary at all. If we get to that point then the only interaction we’ll need will be with the ER / Hospital staff. Individual doctors will be a thing of the past.

In theory, an AI with remote monitoring, and occasional bloodwork results could be just as efficient (perhaps more so) than a human doctor. Based on constant remote monitoring, an AI might be able to anticipate a problem and direct the patient to the appropriate medical facility before a disease process became debilitating.

My 3 year old Apple Watch collects a wide variety of data now, that it sends to my phone. That data can, at my option be shared via print or email with a medical professional.

The problem is, most doctors are completely unaware of this ability, few think to ask for it, and most are quite surprised when the patient can answer questions like, “How are you sleeping?” With a pretty accurate number of hours slept and changes over time. In my case, I can give a doctor literally years of BP data, exercise data, weight variations, medication compliance, O2 saturation, and all kinds of other data. Shortly, there will be more exercise data and variety because I’m likely going to join a gym. A lot of gym equipment has the ability to sync your effort on the equipment to the heart rate, respiration, and other data, devices like the Apple Watch collects. The data from the gym equipment increases the depth and quality of the exercise information.

While that’s very cool and can be used to guide my exercise routines for better results I don’t know how much I’m going to be sharing with a doctor. As a rule, I answer the questions they ask and nothing more. So obviously, I’m not opposed to having the data available, I’m opposed to that data being used to rate my worthiness for insurance, or treatment.

I’d hate for medical care to become regulated based on your medical telemetry. That sounds a whole lot like the social credit scores in China and I’ve got some fundamental issues with that system.

I’m going to reserve judgement until the new agency, regulation, law, or whatever gets rolling. But I’ll be watching it closely.