OFN Update for May 29, 2008
Items Added to the Website
The following items have recently been added to The OFNetwork website:
A CRS Report on Increases in TriCare Costs has been added to the Readings Page (see more below).
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Military News
Memorial Day Slideshow. You might want to take a look at this slideshow before it disappears from the Internet - you may need Kleenex. Go to: http://www.scotteccleston.com/mem_day/
Websites of Interest. The Army’s newest Medal of Honor awardee, SPC Ross A. McGinnis.
Looking for a TriCare Form? TriWest has a website that permits you to download many TriCare forms you may need. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (www.adobe.com) to open the forms.
“On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs.” If you’ve not read this article before you may find it interesting. This link is to the author’s website: http://www.killology.com/sheep_dog.htm.
TriCare / Medicare Fee Reductions. Don’t forget to contact your Senators / Congressperson to try to head off the TriCare / Medicare fee reductions that are supposed to take place on July 1st. Along these same lines you might be interested in the report by the Congressional Research Service titled “Increases in TriCare Costs: Background and Options for Congress.” I’ve posted a copy on the “Readings” page. (Thanks to Dave Brunner for forwarding this.)
Changes to awards. An item of trivia: the word “medal” is being removed from some medals and others are being re-sized. For more see this Army Times article on medals.
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Personal News
Medicare Reminder. Are you approaching 65 or are you planning to move to Medicare soon? Or, are you currently using Medicare and thinking of cashing in some big investment? If “yes” to any of these scenarios you might want to read the article on the “Medicare Means Test“ and see if you will be hit with higher Medicare premiums.
The 5th Amendment. If you’ve got 25 minutes or so, you might want to listen to/watch the video on the 5th Amendment to the Constitution (the one about not being required to testify against yourself, in case you forgot). It’s an interesting, educational, and very entertaining, discussion of how to talk to (or not talk to) the police.
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Tech Talk
Getting Rid of an Old Computer? Before selling or discarding an old computer, or throwing away a disk or CD, you naturally make sure that you’ve copied all of the files you need. You’ve probably also attempted to delete your personal files so that other people aren’t able to access them. However, unless you have taken the proper steps to make sure the hard drive, disk, or CD is erased, people may still be able to resurrect those files. For more information see this article on wiping your hard disk.
Problems with Adobe Flash Player. You probably don’t know you have this piece of software loaded on your computer. However, if you can watch movies or other motion items on the web you most likely do. There is a problem with older versions that can allow hackers to load malicious software if you watch a video containing this software. You need to have the most current version installed. This software does not normally update automatically. Find out more (in tech-speak language) here . Or, just go to the Adobe website (www.adobe.com) and download the latest version of Flash. While you are there you might as well download the latest versions of the Acrobat Reader and Shockwave.
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Other News of (Questionable) Interest
How Gas Prices Work. To the average person, it probably seems as though there’s little rhyme or reason to how gas prices are determined. In this article, we will look at the forces that impact the price of gas at the pump, and we’ll find out where your gas money actually goes.
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Political Commentary
(Here’s the deal - I’m putting items here that I think are interesting. “Fair and Balanced” they are not.)
For a break check out “The Empire Strikes Barack“
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