Efficiency???

It was an interesting day today. I have been fighting a bout of bronchitis which is slowly but surely getting better. My doctor had electronically transmitted a prescription to a CVS pharmacy near my work so I could pick it up on the way. I arrived at the pharmacy an hour and a quarter after the prescription was sent only to find that I still had to go to the order drop off. I guess they need to make sure I really am coming even though the doctor sent the prescription here and for me to get it elsewhere would require that the prescription be transferred.

I then got to watch a pharmacy with 9 people behind the counter getting in each other's way. 1 person would be faster than the 9 of them were.

Someone tell me in what way this is faster? We pay more so everyone can upgrade to computer s and then they completely ignore the fact that computers can make things so much faster and more efficient.

Corporations so desperately need to have someone, ANYONE, with a bit of common sense to oversee this kind of thing. I suspect that this company upgraded to computers to be able to comply with some regulation somewhere but are only giving lip service to the intent.

 

What a day!

Common sense in action?

Finally we see what I consider to be some common sense. Barack Obama has finally started pushing for Nuclear Power Plants and it is something that should have been done years ago. We need to have more power available to make it a bit more affordable.

I am not at all a big fan of government regulation but we can see with the removing of the rate caps why we had them in some places and why we should put them back. Power companies are utilities that have historically always paid dividends to their stockholders. The fact that they were able to pay dividends means that they were making a profit. It may not have been huge profit but they were not losing money. Now the rate caps come off because "competition" will control the costs.

The very first thing we heard when the rate cap removal was announced in this area was that our electric bills would be going up by anywhere from 30% to 70%. That tells me that competition is not exactly alive and well. It says that the power company executives and boards of directors are out there dancing a jig and saying "WooHoo now we can charge as much as we want" we all know that there truly is no competition because, while in many places you can indeed choose the company that generates your electricity it is the same old company that has to transmit it to your home and now that rate caps are gone they can charge whatever they want for the transmission fees because they are the ones that own the lines.

Enjoy your heat and light while you can because the rate cape removal also means that those poor souls who have lost their jobs will get to freeze to death as well because this change also means it is no longer illegal for the power company to turn off the power in mid-winter.

I would never say that you should not pay your bills because if you use something you need to pay for it but killing off those that are falling behind on their bills may not be the best PR campaign.

Winter is still here

Obviously winter is still here since it is only February but we have had so much snow over the last week that it seems as though winter is here forever. We are expecting even more snow tomorrow and no one really seems to be willing to give any kind of hard estimate as to the amount of snowfall expected. Where I live we have had 53 inches of snow in the last week. Today's snow fall will range anywhere from a dusting to 10 inches or more depending on the source you look at.

I understand that in many areas of the world 53 inches is not uncommon but for this area to have that much in such a short period of time is actually pretty rare so no one was really prepared. And of course when it snows you get every idiot around that considers themselves immortal out driving around in their cars.

Tonight is a good example. I was on my way home and I had some one behind me that was giving plenty of lead time most of the way but every time I got to an area where drifting snow had made the road pretty dangerous they immediately came right up and rode my ass the whole way through the area. At one point this person was so damned close to me that I was not able to see his headlights in the mirror. Where are the police when that kind of thing is happening??

Snow, Snow and More Snow

I live in the Northeast of the United States in Pennsylvania. The weather patterns this year have being causing us a few problems. In the last 2 snow storms both in less than a week we have accumulated over 50 inches of snow where I live. My biggest problem here is not with the snow itself (although I could do with a bit less) but with the way people handle it. We get snow of some kind every single year, and year after year everyone seems to forget entirely how to drive in it.

I would like to put forward a few simple rules that may help a lot.

1. If you are afraid or nervous about driving in the snow. DON"T GO OUT IN IT!!!
   
2. Having a big SUV does not in any way make you invincible. That 4-wheel drive will get you going in just about any weather but it doesn't stop you one damned bit faster than any other vehicle on the road and it probably takes longer for you to stop since an SUV tends to be a lot heavier than a regular car.
   
3. In this area of the world we are not in the middle of nowhere. It is not necessary to stock up like you are going on a several month long safari. All you need is enough for a few days. (For those of you that live in temperate climates, if you go into a grocery store a few hours before a snow storm you will see absolute panic and in many cases you will not find a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk to be had.)
   

Please read the above and if you can't abide by them then you really have no business living anywhere that it might even flurry a little bit.

We are expected to get a bit more snow on Monday so I expect the mania to set in on Sunday with folks emptying grocery store shelves with no regard for those others that might like to be able to eat a little as well.

My apologies

I have been remiss in posting to this site over the last several months but the problems have passed and I will be posting regularly again. If you wish my thoughts on any particular situation I would be happy to do so. I am 50 years old and have led a pretty full life and have many experiences from which I can pull advice and give my opinion on things.