My Soap Box

Do you really have to fill out all the census information? I have seen e-mails to the effect that you only have to answer the first question (How many people live at this address?) according to the constitution. Supposedly that question is in a little different shade of highlighting than the rest.... Sign in to see full entry.

In the old days, doctors were seen as semi-gods, you did what they said and didn’t question them. Now, it pays one to view the doctor patient relationship as a business deal, since they are essentially selling their services. It is time to demand the same kind of consumer satisfaction and protection... Sign in to see full entry.

Costs spiral out of control, something needs to be done to be sure, but can the government really bring about substantial change? I doubt it. I would like to think it could be fixed, but the system we have is seriously flawed. That flaw is that healthcare is a for-profit business. For-profits,... Sign in to see full entry.

The post office is in trouble. It seems they have to reduce costs by reducing service. Now I know a lot of us think the best thing government can do is to cut costs even if it means cutting services; however government at this point is supposedly pouring lots of money into the economy in hopes of... Sign in to see full entry.

Amelia Earhart is remembered most for her failed attempt to be the first woman to fly around the Earth at the equator more than for her other exploits. This film fills in some of her history making life and days after I watched it, I still find myself transfixed. I have read quite a bit on line... Sign in to see full entry.

Well ok, writing isn’t really all that hard, in fact it is easy, just sit down in a chair and type away on a computer keyboard. What to write about? Now that’s the hard part. Gone are the days when I would furiously type away every night trying to keep my ratings up. That, and it was fun to just run... Sign in to see full entry.

Modern times have a lot of new fangled devices in them and at the top of that list, the one thing we all use most every day, the automobile. New cars have computers in them that adjust all sorts of parameters on the engine to reduce emissions and keep the engine performing at its best. When an... Sign in to see full entry.

As you know, Toyota motor company has been having some troubles of late. The complaint is unintended acceleration causing the car to crash. I drive a Toyota, a 2007 Camry, one of the recalled cars and here is what I know. A TV report calls for examining the gas pedal itself, with the engine off, of... Sign in to see full entry.

So, it appears its takes the lens of a powerful earthquake to focus our attention on just how poor a country can be. Sure, we’ve heard the reports down through the years about the abject poverty and the complete inability of the government there to do much of anything about much of anything. We’ve... Sign in to see full entry.

The fallout from “Late night gate” (yes, you heard it here first) could be the restructuring of late-night TV as we know it. First Leno moves to 10:00, WTF? Conan takes the reins of the Tonight Show and Fallon moves into Conan’s old digs in New York. Letterman gets in a heap ‘O’ trouble and reaps a... Sign in to see full entry.