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Since I’ve come down with the flu and, under instructions from the spouse, am not allowed to do very much that involves activity, I get to spend even more time at the computer. As a result, you get even more updates than usual, what a thrill!
Medicare Premiums and Deductibles
The official position as of October 16th, of the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) regarding Medicare premiums and deductibles for 2010 can be found at the CMS website. The Fact Sheet on this page provides a pretty good explanation of what to expect unless there is some change to current law. There’s also information on who might be impacted by the rate increases (again, unless there’s some legislation to prevent it) found at the Medicare website. There’s also some information for those with higher income levels (i.e., those affected by ‘IRMAA’ – ???). All this subject to change, of course, as things get stirred in the Congressional Pot.
Military Items
The 2010 Silver Caduceus Association reunion will be in Colorado Springs, CO from August 26 to 28, 2010. The reunion will be held at the Marriott Hotel, 5580 Tech Center Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Room rates are $79.00 (plus tax). The Marriott has set up our reunion on-line for our members to place their room reservations now if they would like at www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/cosmc or by calling 1-800-932-2151. The reservation group is under: "SCA reunion 2010." If members would like to stay anytime before or after the dates 26-29 Aug 2010, or if you would like to request a king or 2 double beds, or room view, they should call the Marriott directly themselves to book.
COL (Ret) Jimmie Kanaya, MSC, is one of 12 World War II veterans who will be featured in a new History Channel series, “WWII in HD.”
During World War II, COL Kanaya was the medical detachment sergeant for a regimental combat team attached to the 34th Infantry Division in Italy. He received a battlefield commission in the Medical Administrative Corps in September 1944 and was appointed the battalion surgeon’s assistant when the assistant battalion surgeon was wounded and evacuated.
Kanaya was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in Italy, and he redeployed with his regiment to southeastern France where it was attached to the 36th Infantry Division. There he was captured by the Germans in the Vosges Mountains. Initially held by the Germans in Schubin, Poland, Kanaya, along with another MAC officer, 1LT Les Brown, was forced-marched 360 miles to Nuremberg, Germany, in the winter of 1945. Kanaya, the only non-Caucasian of 1,400 POWs, kept a prohibited diary in which he described liberation by a task force from Patton’s Third Army in April 1945. He narrowly escaped being killed while a POW.
The program is scheduled to begin airing on November 15th with two episodes a night for five days (Sunday through Thursday nights). COL Kanaya will be in episodes #7 and #9, Wednesday and Thursday, and there will be still shots of him in promos. For more on this program, click on the title, above.
MG Bill Lefler, former Chief, Army Dental Corps. Nice article about MG Lefler (some of you may know or at least remember him) published on the web. Click HERE or on the picture.
VA-DOD Medical Records
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has completed work on the first phase of the Lifetime Electronic Record and is now preparing to put the records on a national health exchange platform. “The record will contain information from both Department of Defense (DoD) services and VA health services. A DoD/VA interagency office has been developing interoperability between those medical record systems since 2007. In the second phase, DoD and VA health records for about 15 million people will be made available for secure exchange with public and private organizations, including health care providers and insurers through the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). The NHIN is a pilot project sponsored by the Health and Human Services Department to demonstrate national-level secure exchange of health data. The system currently is used by several federal agencies, state and local health agencies, and private providers and insurers. Moving the data to the NHIN allows for exchange of medical information with private hospitals and doctors. For example, if a veteran receives treatment by a private doctor, eventually that record will be included in the lifetime record. The third and final phase for the system will be developing protocols to securely provide the DoD-VA patient’s medical information at the point of care. For example, if a veteran who goes to a private hospital, the goal is that the hospital doctor will be able to access all, or parts of, the veteran’s health record.”
For more information, go to: Lifetime Military Medical Record.
Tech Stuff
FireFox Plugins – How to Keep Them Up To Date. I don’t use Firefox as my preferred browser (please don’t try to convert me) but I do open it once in a while. For those who use it frequently, here’s an extract of an article I came across about how to keep your plugins up to date. For the complete article, click HERE.
“What about Plugins, which make it possible to open PDFs right in your browser, view Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight videos, update your Google applications, and the like? Firefox doesn’t do automatic update checks for Plugins, but thanks to a new Mozilla site, you can run a check yourself. It’s called Plugin Check, and using it is as simple as visiting the site. In just a few seconds you’ll see the results for all your Plugins. Hopefully they’re all green, meaning "up to date," but you may see some that are yellow, meaning an update is required. No worries: Just click the corresponding Update button to download and install it. If the checker can’t determine a particular Plugin’s status, you’ll get a gray Research button you can click to run a Google search. That’s not particularly handy, but at least you can find your way to the Plugin creator’s Web site.”
©PCWorld.com and The Washington Post
Windows 7 Comes Out on Thursday, October 22nd. I ordered copies for all three computers last June from Amazon.com and hopefully they’ll be delivered by Friday. There’s certainly lots of literature, pro and con, about this new product. I’ll document some of my personal findings in future updates as I proceed with the updates to the household computers. I plan to start with my XP laptop (it used to be my wife’s but she has taken ‘my’ Vista laptop as her own because she claimed the XP laptop was “…nothing but problems…”) as it’s the least ‘critical’ of the computers in the house. I came across this comment about upgrading an XP computer in a recent review of Windows 7: “But upgrading an older machine from XP to 7 is a recipe for pain even if the computer meets 7’s hardware requirements. Your first warning should be a flyer in the 7 box that begins "Please read these instructions carefully and completely . . ." — as if it were the manual for a new circular saw.” So, I can hardly wait.
Fake Security Software (from Yahoo Tech). “Tens of millions of U.S. computers are loaded with scam security software that their owners may have paid for but which only makes the machines more vulnerable, according to a new Symantec report on cybercrime. Cyberthieves are increasingly planting fake security alerts that pop up when computer users access a legitimate website. The "alert" warns them of a virus and offers security software, sometimes for free and sometimes for a fee. "Lots of times, in fact they’re a conduit for attackers to take over your machine," said Vincent Weafer, Symantec’s vice president for security response.”
Click on the link to read more about this problem.
More Health News
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched a Web page for consumers with information on how to dispose of certain drugs, including several high-potency opioids and other selected controlled substances. The FDA recommends that these medicines be disposed of by flushing down the sink or toilet. Since these medicines have the potential to be harmful, even deadly, in a single dose if taken by someone other than the intended person. The goal is to keep them away from children and others who could be harmed by taking them accidentally. Medicines not listed should be thrown away in the household trash after mixing them with some unpalatable substance, such as coffee grounds, and sealing them in a bag or other container. Another option is to dispose of them through drug take back programs, if federal and state law permit. All medicines listed have disposal instructions in their professional prescribing information; however, this information is targeted to health care professionals. The Web page provides clear instructions for consumers on whether a medicine should be flushed or disposed of in the trash. The FDA worked with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to develop the first consumer guidance for proper disposal of prescription drugs. The ONDCP federal guidelines were first issued in February 2007.
Things to Do with WD-40
(From the WD-40 “Tip of the Week” email) It’s fall, and that means that leaves are everywhere and there’s probably plenty of yard work to be done. WD-40® can help make outdoor chores a breeze. Use it to:
- Keep grass from sticking to lawnmower blades (Never spray WD-40 while operating any equipment)
- Prevent rust from forming on rakes, hoes and other gardening tools
- Drive moisture from tools and accessories left out in the rain (Be sure to unplug any electrical tools before spraying WD-40)
- Dissolve sap and stubborn garden messes from pruning shears (Never spray WD-40 while operating any equipment)
Check out more uses at wd40.com/uses-tips!
The Last Words
Traffic is something every driver despises. Whether in the morning or evening rush hours or any other time, it’s frustrating and headache-inducing — and oh, so slow. However, there’s a simple fix for traffic nightmares: honking! Simply honk your car horn and watch your frustrations give way to smiles as you zip along to your destination. The results will truly surprise you! Play the video
And, finally, are the Obama’s really out of touch? The Onion reports, you decide! Play the video!
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Disclaimer
This newsletter and blog is solely for the enjoyment of its readers. None of the information contained in this newsletter or on the blog is to be considered as legal or financial advice as the author is neither a lawyer or financial advisor. In so far as it is possible to determine the material is correct but has not necessarily been fully researched or verified; here’s the bottom line – you use it at your own risk. Wherever possible the source of the information for a particular article is displayed as a reference.
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