Healthcare Hits Home

After almost nine years working for the same company I have decided to leave and go to a much smaller company. The two major factors in my decision to leave were (1) a very good opportunity to do what I love for a long term and (2) a much better healthcare package. I was very surprised by the second reason. I'm moving from a place that employs the equivalent population of a small city down to a place with about 50 people. You would think that a large corporation would have much better buying power than a tiny company, but I guess that isn't the case.

In 2001, I had a great health plan. The monthly premiums were low and most co-pays were about $10. I think the highest co-pay was $50 for an ER visit. Over the years I've seen all these costs go through a 100% to 300% increase. Finally, we had to switch plans from an HMO type plan to a high deductible plan. The monthly premiums were about the same but the yearly out-of-pocket expenses have increased drastically. As an example, the birth of our first child in 2002 cost a total of about $150. That included prenatal visits, delivery, recovery, and the first couple of well-child visits. Similar services for our third child born 12 weeks ago has cost us over $3,000. We're lucky enough to be able to afford these kinds of costs, but I can't imagine what it is like for people making a lower household income.

The new health plan is still a high deductible plan, however the yearly out-of-pocket max is much less than our old plan. We also have a much better health savings account where we can rollover unused money from year to year. The combination of the better healthcare plan and a good job made the decision to jump ship much easier. I only hope that I enjoy the work as much as I think I will.

Books Read in 2009

Here's the annual list of books that I read this past year:
The Android's Dream by John Scalzi
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
Equal Rights by Terry Pratchett
Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

As usual, almost completely dominated by SciFi and Fantasy. What can I say? I'm addicted.

You Gotta Love Military Propaganda

Before watching Avatar last night, I saw for the first time the new National Guard: At This Moment movie theater ad. What struck me the most was the faux Carmina Burana O, Fortuna style music. If you haven't seen it, check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVId6JLggNM

Here's O, Fortuna for comparison:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGbFBpP2sL0

About halfway through the ad, Nora leans over to me and says "This reminds me of the recruitment ads from Starship Troopers".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPDmJxLkh1o&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7-PQIuWwLo

I'm sure there's something else I could comment about it (e.g. military propaganda at the movies), but I find it funny that this add strikes up such different images from both of us, neither of which makes us want to join the National Guard.

Say "Hello" To The New Car

After 8 years of trusty service, I have traded in the Subaru for a used '05 Accord. While I'm sad to see the Subaru leave, it was starting to show it's age and the combination of more frequent service visits and cabin noise drove me to getting a new car. The Honda is by far the nicest car I've ever owned and I'm glad that I could help the economy by taking out a smart loan which I will easily be able to pay off. I would have never been able to afford this car if I bought it new.

Jon Brion

Today while listening to Sound Opinions, I heard an interview with Jon Brion from 2006. He's a producer (Kanye West, Fiona Apple), songwriter, and movie score composer (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Apparently, he performs every Friday night at Largo in Los Angeles. One of the things he does while performing is record a live tape loop of drums, then he adds a bass loop, and finally adds a guitar and singing (I take it he also does this with other instruments).

The following video starts with him doing a hilarious rendition of Tom Waits doing Radiohead's Creep. That's followed by one of these looped songs. The video is really poor quality, but you should be able to hear it just fine.

Valentines Day and Music

It's Valentines Day and I'm sitting at home writing on my blog for the first time in more than a month drinking a Cuba Libre (Rum and Coke for the non-hispanics). Nora is in San Diego for the weekend going to gay bars with her Uncle and his boyfriend. I don't know if I have had a weirder Valentines Day (ok, I have, but I'm not going to get into that now).

I've recently joined a carpool with 3 other people, which is really great considering that we have a 1 hour commute each way and I usually have to drive only once a week. The unfortunate part is that they have completely different political/social views from me. Between their commentary about the effort to overturn Proposition 8 in California ("don't they just get it, being 'tolerant' of gays doesn't mean you accept gays") and having to leave my house at 5:15 AM, it's been a little tough continuing with the carpool. So far, the savings on gas and wear & tear on my car are winning out.

One thing that has made this carpool bearable is that I've started listening to the Sound Opinions music podcast. It's a once weekly hour-long podcast with two music critics from the Chicago area who talk about recent music news, interview artists and producers, review mainstream and obscure albums, and play a lot of good music. They have an archive of podcasts that goes back to 2005, which is great for me since I haven't really listened to much music since I started listening to NPR in 2001. I can't stand commercial radio and I don't have the patience to listen to college radio stations to find the good music. I've had plenty to listen to by combining the new shows with the archived shows, and have found some really great music to boot!

However, I don't always agree with the "Buy It, Burn It, Trash It" recommendations that Jim and Greg make when they review albums. I've bought a couple of duds which they were raving about (Neil Young's Living With War and Tim Fite's Fair Ain't Fair) which I wish I hadn't wasted my money on buying the whole album. After these mistakes, I've signed up for the Rhapsody music service and I can easily say this is the best move I've made all year. For $12.99 a month I get to listen to all the music that I want and gauge what I want to buy (The Loon by Tapes 'n Tapes) against what I think really stinks (Sunday at Devil Dirt by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan).

Here are some of my favorite albums that I've found specifically through Sound Opinions:
The Loon by Tapes 'n Tapes
Finding Forever by Common
Steal My Horses and Run by Blackstrap
Remind Me In 3 Days by The Knux
Dear Science by TV on the Radio
In Rainbows by Radiohead
12 Angry Months by Local H
The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit
The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust by Saul Williams
This Gift by Sons and Daughters
St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley
Late Registration by Kanye West
Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo by Rivers Cuomo
Over the Counterculture by Tim Fite
Icky Thump by The White Stripes

Here are some of my favorite singles that I've found through Sound Opinions:
Black Stacey by Saul Williams
Effect and Cause by The White Stripes off of Icky Thump
The Modern Leper by Frightened Rabbit
You Really Got A Hold On Me* by She & Him
Jack Killed Mom by Jenny Lewis
Misunderstood by Common
I've Been Shot by Tim Fite
Dancing Choose by TV on the Radio
Can't Stop Partying by Rivers Cuomo
15 Step by Radiohead
The Iliad by Tapes 'n Tapes
The List by The Knux

*I don't like the album version of You Really Got A Hold On Me by She & Him. You've got to go to the archive of Show #142 on the Sound Opinions website. This recording sends chills down my spine every time I hear it.

What a Fun Show!

We've been watching "Weeds" as rentals from Blockbuster over the past couple of years. Quick synopsis, suburban wife's husband suddenly dies and leaves no life insurance. She turns to dealing pot in order to keep up her suburban lifestyle. Mary-Louise Parker stars in the show with an excellent supporting cast including Kevin Nealon (who is hilarious as a crooked accountant/city council member/pothead).

We just got finished watching the 3rd season, and the following scene is my favorite from this season (the fist bump at the end is classic):

Books I've Read This Year

I've been really bad with blogging at the end of this year. I'll blame it on trying to get a good grade on my master's degree class...yeah, that's it.

Here are most of the books that I've read this year:
Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell
Nimitz Class by Patrick Robinson (a real stinker)
Duma Key by Stephen King
A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
Forever War by Joe Hadelman
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
Little Borther by Cory Doctorow
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
Superpower: A Novel by David J. Schwartz
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik
Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
Forever Peace by Joe Hadelman
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
Space Propulsion Analysis and Design, by R.W. Humble, et. al.
Space Mission Analysis and Design edited by James Wertz

The last two are sort of cheating because I had to read them for class and I didn't read them from cover to cover, but I did read a majority of them. I'm also anticipating that I'll finish Agent to the Stars by the end of the year. There may have been a couple that I missed, but I think that is a pretty good representation of what I read.

Alright! I'm averaging more than 1 book a month. Let's see if I can bring it up to 2 books a month next year. Of course, that will mean keeping better records.

Honest Scrap

Julia tagged whoever reads her blog with the "Honest Scrap Award".

So, what does this award mean? It means – “leftovers, fragments, discarded material, and many times truth and honesty is discarded material, considered fragments and left over.” We tell it like it is and let the scraps fall where they may.

The honorees are to:
a) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
b) pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

1. I truly believe that I'm a moderate on most issues, but I know deep down inside that my viewpoints have got to be radical to other people, although I don't think that I would ever admit this to someone in person.

2. I can't stand most forms of remote communication. My least favorites, in order, are: (1) text messaging, (2) instant messaging, (3) talking on cell phones, and (4) talking on regular phones. However, I don't mind e-mail or blogs...don't ask me why, I'm just weird.

3. I like rap music, but I don't like it when the "n" word is prevalent in the lyrics. I don't mind a bunch of swearing, it's just the "n" word. I think it has to do with me accepting the fact that eventually my kids will be swearing (even if they don't do it in front of me) but I will never accept them using that word...ever.

4. The only thing that really keep me awake at night is if I start thinking about things that I've done in the past which I'm ashamed/embarrassed of. If I start thinking about one of these things it will typically take 2 or 3 hours before I can fall asleep.

5. For a period of 6 years beginning when I started in college, I made myself become an extrovert in order to make more friends. I'm back to being an introvert and am very happy for it.

6. While I'm very proud of my Puerto Rican heritage, I often wonder if I would have had the same opportunities in my life if my skin was darker or if I spoke with an accent.

7. If an e-mail says to forward the e-mail to everyone I know, I will never forward the e-mail. I consider it another form of spam and the e-mail will stop with me.

8. I have the worst memory with people's names and/or social situations. I wouldn't be able to remember who I met a couple of minutes ago, what I did last week, or what I said a year ago. Unless we really know each other very well, I will have a hard time remembering you if it's been a couple of years. I've been caught in many awkward situations because I didn't remember the name of someone who I should know.

9. I started playing rugby mostly to spite my mother who didn't let me play any contact sports while I was growing up. What a let down when all she did was say "oh really?" when I told her that I was playing rugby. On the up side, that was were I met my wife.

10. I can't read. OK, not really. But I think my own writing is atrocious. I feel sorry for all (2) of you who read this blog.

Per #7, I will not forward this to anyone. If you (a) actually read this blog, (b) have a blog of your own, (c) haven't already done this, and (d) actually want to do it, then tag, you are it.

Failing...

Thanks to Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog for this performance by Gary Karr of Failing by Tom Johnson.