The inanity of the U.S. health care system, small-scale, on a Monday afternoon.

1:10pm - Show up to my general practitioner's office for my 1:15 appointment to get the last dose of a 3-shot vaccination* and fill out paperwork to update their "new" system -- you know; the usual [annoying, yet tolerable] stuff.

1:30 - Get called back at which time I'm informed that they can't actually give me the vaccine because they don't have any. Why not? Apparently "[health] insurance companies" (the nurse didn't tell me which ones) haven't been reimbursing them for it. The solution? I was given a prescription, told to have it filled, come back with the vial and they will administer it with their handy-dandy needles. Too bad I can't just drink the dose.

So all kinds of screwiness going on: Anthem (my provider) needs a fatty wrench to the corporate lug nuts if they're not reimbursing their clients. I *heart* my GP, but why didn't they call me last week so I could've gotten the prescription filled before my appointment today? And on that note, why wasn't this flagged this morning so they could've just handed me the prescription when I walked in instead of having me wait around for 20 minutes? Now I'll have wasted 2 lunch breaks and who knows if I'm going to get reimbursed for the vaccine itself, not to mention the doctor's visit.

Tighten up, wacky health care system. All this bureaucracy makes me feel like I'm in Brazil.



*Seriously, ladies: unless you're wearing one of these for life, kick cervical cancer in the face and get this biz.

Get Rich Quick: Home Inventory Business

Really? Really? I call shenanigans. People are actually buying these "kits" to start their own Home Inventory Business. Ridiculous. It's true, there is a lot to be said for keeping an inventory of your personal artifacts -- for your own obsessive impulse, insurance purposes, time capsules, whatever -- but I have to say, Innovative Software, LLC is pretty ballsy trying to push a $349 "start-up kit". Even the infomercial folks are smart enough to break that down into installments. And they don't even list the kit contents. I mean, if that cost includes the camera and some extra info that I can potentially read and maybe ponder what it might be like to own my own business, perhaps, but $349 for what will probably just amount to more marketing materials?! Inventory, please!

I want to give this entire outfit a big T-Up [<-- "T-Up" is my favorite so far] for the following: I was alerted to this "business venture" when an agent called me saying she has a client who conducts Home Inventories and would like to purchase some insurance. Turns out, he hasn't even started his business. He has just purchased one of these kits and is anticipating $25,000 in gross receipts for 2007. This guy will be lucky if he recoups the price of the kit, let alone twenty-five thousand dollars. I mean, most folks are more than happy to take videos/pictures of their own stuff themselves. And those who aren't? Well, they have personal assistants for that kind of thing -- they're not going to pay an outside entity for this service. We're on to you, Innovative Software, LLC. Stick to software development and consulting, if that's what you really do.