Last week, for the second time, the battery in our '05 Focus was no longer charging. Had the alternator replaced in August, 2010, the dealership charged just over $600, and that was for a rebuilt. Since then, I've been charging it overnight at home (damned if I'm going to spring for another one before trying to get a wiring diagram of the charging system, cause it may just be a relay contact or some other minor fault). Yesterday's charge got us through a round trip of 37 miles, with a couple stops on route. Today, went to the bank, the liquor place just across the OK border (lower tax), and to the dentist for a sudden toothache (how do my teeth know when a long weekend looms ahead?). From the dentist to the drug store for the 'scrip. Then on the way to the library (where I am now typing this), lo and behold, it's charging again! Glad I waited. Thank you, God! :)

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013...y-weekend?lite

Northeasterners!

Hold off summerizing those snow blowers and snow shovels, you may need them to reach the BBQ.

Check out the advancement of robotic technology from USC and DARPA. This is way cool and a little scary. Imagine one of this walking into your bedroom.

I think this technology would be much better for space exploration such as landing on a planet where they now have to issue instructions via a little movement at a time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK7cws0Ilsw

K2WH

saturday the 25th of may is national geek pride day. wahooooooooooooooooooooooooo! i get to be me!

i'm so proud

so, who is the only u.s. president to hold a u.s. patent? hint, he's no longer president.

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Stupidity has reached new heights, of all the dumb, stupid idiotic laws anybody can come up with, this has to be in the top five.
Looks like New York State is becoming Californated.

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S3043738.shtml?cat=566

http://rt.com/news/stockholm-violenc...eak-fires-671/

Fusing metal with fire!

These rambunctious and highly skilled kids if anything, are
persistent and dedicated to enhancing their resumes.

Five days and counting...This cannot end well.

Today, Friday morning, I came to work as normal. Maybe a little early. I arrived before 5 and all was dark and silent.

Switching on the plant lights, I made my way to my workbanch and prepared to sit down. As I reached for my chair, to my HORROR, there it was!!!



Yes, folks, that is a BROWN WIDOW SPIDER. Brown Widows are just about the same as Black Widders, only brown. Just as deadly. Just as DANGEROUS!!!

And this one was right under my chair, waiting for me to sit down.

Had I not seen it, I would have sat down and the WIDDER would have sunk it's TEETH into me (OH WAIT!!! They have FANGS, not TEETH!)

The poison would immediatly immobilize me, and no one would be coming in to rescue me and get me to the HOSPITAL! Around 8AM, the lady up front would arrive at work only to find me DOA on the FLOOR!

At first, they would suspect a Heart Attack, but the AUTOPSY would show I had passed away from a SERIOUS WIDDER BITE!

I whipped out my Camera to take PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE of it, and then took a long stick to gently pull the WIDDER off the chair. The widder fell to the floor where it was summarily STAMPED ON!!!!!

Now, all day long, I am going to be very WARY and think I feel things crawling up my leg. I can already feel it in my shoe. NOTHING is there, but the FEAR is, and I just KNOW there is ANOTHER widder, here somewhere, ready to take me out when I LEAST expect it.

I put the HX-10 in the back room, as I could not get it open to inspect it after removing it from the trunk. It came from the area where BROWN RECLUSES resides, so there is a good chance one of those came back to San DIego with me. I will open it VERY CAREFULLY, watching for anything moving as the cabinet is removed.

Meanwhile, there are MORE WIDDERS here at work. I need to do a CAREFULL nighttime inspection with my flashlight. It is WIDDER SEASON!!!!! Going to be a LONG LONG YEAR! Don't know if I will make it to Christmas!

Love your dog? How long is your best friend likely to be with you?

Try the DOGULATOR

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22479412

Cheers

John G4ALA

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2013/05/...o-budget-cuts/


911 Dispatcher Tells Woman About To Be Sexually Assaulted There Are No Cops To Help Her Due To Budget Cuts
__________________

Wow! A major thoroughfare bridge (Interstate 5) for the Northwest is down this evening!

http://youtu.be/qgVRSGp8RC4

This is an small economic disaster for the Northwest... and British Columbia.

I have, in my lifetime caught up to fraudulent billing for services not provided and in some cases services provided on days that I was not even there.
In one case up in Washington I was getting bills from my HMO showing that a medical testing lab had been paid for services on given dates and that they had been paid. Now I had no co-pay due in many people would just ignore the bill totally. But in looking at the dates of service and the doctors that it billed for it I noted that I had not been in that facility on any of those dates on approximately 6 instances. I called my HMO and got their interest in the matter and I wound up making a statement to the Atty. Gen.'s office in Washington state about it and after an investigation it turned out that this lab was billing various medical insurance companies for services never rendered to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars a week!

Today I got a bill paid by BCBS on my behalf from my local VA hospital. About 2 months ago I injured my foot and went in for care. They in turn, after x-raying my foot, sent me to PT to try some crutches but due to an old shoulder injury the crutches hurt me to use them so I did not take them.
I called Blue Cross Blue Shield to find out what they had paid for (and my co-pay is $23.55) and sure enough they told me it was for crutches and I told him that was either fraud or a mistake as I never took the crutches.
My point is my insurance company didn't seem to be a bit interested in recovering the money. They placed it on me to call the VA hospital and get the matter corrected and have them submit a new bill to Blue Cross Blue Shield correcting the matter.
Why should I be the guy that has to do all the legwork? I am certainly not going to pay the co-pay!
I will call VA and make an effort to get them to correct this matter but I don't understand why these 2 billing agencies can't take care of the job themselves once I notify one of them but the charges false.

My point is that most of these insurance companies think it's just easier to go ahead and pay the bill and be done with it and they don't care even when it's brought to their attention that possible fraud and/or erroneous billing has been done. And they don't care if you have a co-pay involved are not.
I also suspect that a lot of elderly people get the statements from their medical insurance companies showing that something has been paid with or without co-pays due and people just blindly pay whatever the amount shown on the bill is and they don't even look at the bill to see if the date of service corresponds with a date that they actually had service somewhere.

It's no wonder medical fraud is so rampant.

Monsieur, I challenge you in a race to Paris. The prize will be a magnum of champagne, and a night of bliss with Madam Froufrou in the Hotel Grandeviste. Do you accept ?

http://www.siberiantimes.com/other/o...st-in-Siberia/

Mel G0GQK

I don't normally get lurk / look / post to QRZ in the middle of the work day. Today though I've got the mother of all sore throats and a head cold to boot. Yuk.

I'm home and have been dosing with Nyquil-D (The "good stuff") and trying to sleep away the misery and enjoy the wild and crazy dreams... between bouts of wakefulness and meandering through QRZ.

Time for another shot and back to sleep. My next two or three posts might be interesting Smilie QRZ 100%-Green Big Smile.jpg. Mods have now been warned Smilie QRZ 100%-OMG Scared Big Eyes Smile.jpg.
Wheeeeeeeeeee

(Technicolor madness :-)

Say goodnight now...

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Medical researchers have discovered how to make itching disappear

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...n-8629833.html

Mel G0GQK