The Ant Urine Diagnosis

Hi there Friends and Neighbors.  Oh what a wonderful example of our medical system have I been exposed to this last weekend.   I am convinced that Mike Judge is a prophet.    In his film Idiocracy we see a horrible future the likes of which Nostradamus could not have imagined.   I suggest you all watch it. 

This past week, Ms. Bat came down with a heavy duty fever.  Chills and aches joined her pain and we were off to seek medical attention.  When we arrived, it was raining something fierce.  Cobra and their weather machine again.  Well no time to deal with them, or so we thought. 

The attending nurse was not at all concerned with answering any questions.  Rather she wanted to fill in boxes on the computer.  She did not even look at us.  She asked questions, yes or no, only to check boxes off.  The system ran on Windows XP, as if that wasn’t bad enough, but it was so generic I was appalled.  What kind of diagnostic is this? 

I have to admit, the temperature was taken in a rather cool fashion.  She clearly had one of Dr. McCoy’s tricorders because the instrument was lightening fast and noninvasive.   Then she proceeded to take the Blood Pressure. 

You want to talk about high prices?  Medical waste?  The blood pressure cuff was disposable!!  Not like a tongue depressor or a cover for a canula, but the cuff itself disposable.  I wonder how much those cost?  Don’t give me safety, you can clean that rather easily.

So the Doctor was no Dr. O.  he looked at her, suggested it was a UTI.  She said, “what about Staph, I have a history…”  He ignored that, said that the mark on her leg was due to ant pee.   One more time… ANT PEE.   So we waited 3 hours.  Finally he comes back in, sputtering in whatever language he spoke- poorly – and gave her some prescriptions.  The visit alone – 300 dollars  + fees.

Fast Forward a couple days, she is hurting more and her leg looks like mine did back when I had the plague.   We go to Warren Clinic.  160 dollars down and a much more acceptable and amicable doctor says – “Ant Pee, really, why would he say that?”  Yep,  it was as we thought.  Staph.  Bactrim to the rescue.

The point of today’s tale is that our medical system is run by a plethora of adults who were “not left behind.”   One of the most revered professions is in a pretty sad state.   It took over 500 dollars to tell us what we suspected in the first place.  Had he listened, might have saved us some time and money. 

And I still don’t think it should be free healthcare.

Be Excellent to Each Other,

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=)

~BAT

Ms Bat's Musing- Festivities on the Brain

Hey there blog land peeps! Today is Thursday and the week is almost to its close! Much is abuzz here at Starbase523 as we knock ideas around for a most Astonishing tale yet to come!  As I posted a few weeks back, Mr. Bat has asked me to marry him, and I have acquiesced to his request most wholeheartedly!

The most important part of all the ideas and such are to conform to a budget, for which we hope we can afford! Everything costs so much these days, that we feel for the friends and neighbors participating in our adventure that must travel any distance to attend the celebrations. Gas and airfare are just expensive!!!!! And that sucks!

I shall not give away too much of our ideas, however I will say that our guests and wedding party shall have a swell time no matter if you’re a cool cat or a full bird! :P

So folks, mark your calendars for July 7, 2012 and get ready for the Astonishing events forthcoming! Until next week, “Ciao”

~The Lady Bat

Overdue Review: Nightmare House Volume 1

Good day Friends and Neighbors!   Today’s installment of Overdue Reviews is about something you have probably heard us talking about on here from time to time.  Fewdio’s Nightmare House Volume 1 is a collection of short films by one of the rising stars in the world of Horror.  They create nightmares.    This series runs the gamut from humor to absolute horror – and most often they are masterfully intertwined.   In the vein of Tales from the Crypt and the Twilight Zone, this DVD collects some of the internet shorts and frames them around the locale of the Nightmare House.   Highlights from the DVD include:

The Collector:  Directed by Drew Daywalt and David Schneider; starring Azure Parsons, this tale is a must see of all of the fans of justice horror.   The tale is all about that all too possible scenario that is in the back of our minds every time we go into a parking garage late at night.  All alone, our heroine is assaulted by a creep who is hiding underneath her car.  He attacks and takes her back to his sinister lair.  Much like in The Last House on the Left, Mr. Rapist has another thing coming.   Soon the victim becomes the victor with the use of her specialized abilities.  I won’t ruin the end for you but I will say that the Collector is very good at what she does…

The Prey:  Directed by Steven Johnson; starring Karl Calhoun.  Here we have an example of dark comedy at its finest.   This is the kind of story that really gives hope to all of those who have ever been wronged in the world; a tale that exemplifies the horror trope wherein the guilty are punished for their crimes one way or another.   The street thugs make their living off of the suffering of others.    One day Del, Lincoln and Daryl decide to rob an old crippled man who was exchanging jewelry for money.   So they proceed to thug up and go to his home and threaten him.  Soon they discover that the old man is not so helpless as they thought.  Next thing you know it is their blood on the floor and their gold the old man is selling. 

The Tale of Haunted Mike:  Directed by Drew Daywalt and David Schneider; starring Mike D’Alonzo.  Haunted Mike sells items and trinkets on eBay.  Mike is a bit of a scam artist, selling various items as haunted or cursed to the hapless folks in eBay land.   He has made a decent living at it.   He acquires old items of no particular value and gives them a new history.   Soon however, his luck seems to change.  In what would be a standard sale of a little girl’s prosthetic arm, given the back story of a curse and murderous history, Mike comes across a very real nightmare. 

Nightmare House Volume 1 features thirteen fantastic horror shorts that I highly recommend.  From the humorous and witty The Easter Bunny is Eating My Candy that shows that parents should listen to their kids sometimes to the absolutely terrifying psychological terror that is Cleansed - good times will be had with this one Friends and Neighbors.  You will never get in your car the same way after watching Creep and you will think twice about cheating on your girl after viewing Anniversary.   So get out there and watch it!

Be Excellent to Each Other,

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=)

~BAT  

Stupidity of the Week: Spring Spheres

Hi there Friends and Neighbors.  Today we find ourselves inundated by a barrage of political correctness the likes of which have not been seen since Jeremy Piven  did battle against David Spade at Port Chester University.   The most recent absurdity is?   Spring Spheres. 

                Oh Seattle, land of rain.  A little girl is bringing some treats to her classmates.  This action is fine with the administration, so long as she does not call the brightly colored ellipsoidal containers “Easter Eggs.”   My o my, how offensive!  They aren't even spherical!!!

                Look folks, here is the truth.  We are aware that there are other belief systems out there.   Possession of an article of faith does not make you any more of a practitioner of that faith than a victim.  First of all, we are talking about candy and eggs.   The word Easter is - to the point of the average kid – time for bunnies, eggs and most importantly candy!   The fact that some kid wants to celebrate with Easter eggs is no more pushing religion than Halloween candy is.   

                The teachers and administrators need to get some “Spheres” and quit allowing these preemptive strikes against issues that need not be.  Nobody should care what is given to them, unless it is obscene or inappropriate.   Candy filled eggs may be, at the worst unhealthy, but are not going to have any kids rallying to church to pray.  To that point – most conservative churches find issue with the secularity of the Easter eggs and the whole bunny thing anyway.  

                Let the kids have their eggs.  If you are offended, throw them away.  Teach your kids at home what you want them to believe.  You can’t shelter them from everything.  If you plan to do that – don’t send them to a school – private or otherwise.   As for school administrators – worry less about offending some kid by letting them have Easter eggs and worry about doing your job and teach the class.

It is by far a more offensive thing to have an ignorant child grow up into an uneducated idiot. 

Be Excellent to Each Other,

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=)

~BAT     

Ms. Bat's Musings: Procrastination: My friend and yet my enemy

        Howdy folks! Today I want to talk about procrastination.  We all do it to some degree, procrastinate I mean. There have been times where you know you should just get the job done, but then you find other things to do.  For some it’s the lure of the online game or the television. I always have the best intent, but then it is down to the wire and I am scrambling to complete what I should have already finished.

        When I have procrastinated, I am always upset with myself. Mostly because I knew better and just blew my time away with TV, games, and Face Book.  It is like the current procrastination: Algebra. I hate the subject so I ignore it until something is about to come due for turn in. Also, Essays are a big procrastinator for me. I enjoy writing for writings sake, but having to turn in these papers about a specific topic stifles my creativity. Thus I leave it until the last minute and beat my head against the wall in trying to sort it all out.

        Is there a solution to procrastination? Perhaps there is, but I have yet to search for one. Maybe I will find the answer… Tomorrow is a good time to start!

Until next week blog readers!

~The lady Bat