Apeboy's Musings

Johann Hari (of whom I’ve never read anything else from) really nailed a recent opinion piece I found on digg,  The Republican Party Is Turning Into A Cult

I wish the article had more links to all of the stories it references, but I otherwise know the occurrences they talk about, and they are really concerning.

Palin’s death panels lie (which has now spread to VA Death Books for veterans… more outright fear tactics. The guy authoring that opinion tried to sell the VA his own life planning book, but they refused. Bitter?), Laffer’s lack of understanding on Medicare, etc. etc.

If the mainstream republican response revolved around a constitutional discussion on the role of government, a constitutional lack of mandate for health care, or a debate on interstate commerce exploitation, then I’d be ready for that discussion. It would be intelligent, it would be practical, and it wouldn’t involve blatant lies and distortion.

While I’m not ready to agree completely with Hari that much of this hard right logic is based on “faith”, I will say its a very interesting observation that can probably help explain many of the irrational arguments and memes the right has been throwing around.

We had been talking about laying click style bamboo (non-glue) floors for a bit, so we finally pulled the triggered.

We picked up a ‘natural’ coloration from Home Depot, and went to work. Pictures after the break.

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This commentary by Taunter Media, ‘Unconscionable Math‘ is an incredible glimpse into one of the games insurance companies play with their policy holders.

I’m especially outraged by them today, seeing as how I received my 2nd ‘denial of claim’ response from CIGNA for my wisdom tooth extraction. 4 years of paying premiums with no claims, and that’s what I get.

I had an emergency procedure out of network, while at the same time had some wisdom teeth removed (at the suggestion of the physician). Apparently wisdom teeth removal was far too outrageous of a claim for CIGNA to compensate me for, and I am thus DENIED. I think the solution will be to cancel my policy, pocket the $360/yr I send to CIGNA, and pay my EXTREMELY RARE dental procedures out of pocket.

I think in the end it’s their loss. How many significant dental procedures does a young male actually have in his life? I guess this is what a ‘free market’ approach means to Health Insurance. I buy a service, I get ripped off, and I’m forced to eat it and walk away. Normally it’s a lesson learned, but when it deals with your health, it just doesn’t seem right to me.

Just watched Top Gear‘s last episode of this season, and at the very end they had the Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Aston Martin has, hands down, some of the most beautiful cars in the world, but I was shocked to see the wheels of their car, sitting in the Top Gear studios — almost identical in design to my Borbet Type XL18s! Obviously theirs are a far more superior reinforced version, but the design makes me feel pretty good about my pick.

Check out the screen capture after the jump..

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Indie has achieved immortal status on the interwebs: he is now a Treeing Walker Coonhound breed ambassador for Wikipedia!

Some of the info written on this page is spot on with Indie, i.e.,

They love to carry plastic soda bottles.

and…

In general, they are oblivious to commands when trailing a scent, much like a beagle or basset hound, so it is imperative for a Walker hound to have serious training and a safe running area free of cars or other potential dangers.

We’ll see if the edit’s and photos stick… we inserted a photo of him as a puppy, and of him standing at the park. The previous profile photo was horrible and difficult to tell exactly what it was.

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So for years now, our backyard garden is been pretty horrible. It’s basically just a dirt mound with some weeds.

Due to the shade from the trees, never ever really took.

Well, we’ve had enough — couple weeks ago we went crazy and completely redid the backyard. The photos should speak for themselves.

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Went to Petsmart today and decided to bring Indie along with us.

…and look what we found!!

Indie wasnt impressed, however. He wouldn’t go near the little thing. It even got frustrated and started barking (not howling) at Indie. O well… I guess we’re gonna have to invest in some doggy-shrink time.

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Anya’s dog Disney, rolling on it’s back.

So after a year of neglect, I decided to do something nice for the Altima, and get her some news shoes (and stereo).

The wheels are Borbet Type XL 18s, wrapped with 225/45ZR18 General Exclaim UHP, courtesy of Tirerack

The shipping was super fast, and the packing was good. Hats off to TireRack for a completely painless experience… their site made it easy to outfit the car and pick the right hardware without any work.

As for the stereo, it’s a Pioneer FH-P8000BT. I wanted something that could rock bluetooth (both from the phone for calling, and from a media device for streaming audio), and this unit did it. I wired the iPod cable into the glove compartment box, where an iPod classic sits, locked up away from prying eyes.

The unit turns on super fast, and is playing my music before I even take the car out of reverse.

My only complaint right now is apple, and their lack of AVRCP support with the iPhone. AVRCP is the bluetooth profile that would let my stereo control my phone (so I could go through songs without connecting it). Let’s hope they fix their implantation of it soon.

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New site is up — you’d figure with all the work I do on website and blogs, I would have my own… or at the least have my own with a unique theme.. not someone elses!

O well… looks like I’m more of a lazy gorilla, instead.