il_serpente Posted October 6, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 6, 2022 8 hours ago, mjmooney said: Americans - and sung lyrics generally - get something of a pass. It sounds MUCH worse in spoken 'estuary'. Speaking of Dylan, though, compare The Byrds' hit recording of 'Mister Tambourine Man' with the writer's: Byrds: "...there ain't no place I'm going to" Dylan: (and he heavily emphasised the word in live performance) "...there IS no place I'm going to" Fank God you clarified! I was worryin' that if we ever ended up meetin' in person you weren't goin' to like me at all. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 8 hours ago, Mr_Dogg said: Have you tried a plunger? Or a plumper. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted October 7, 2022 Moderator Share Posted October 7, 2022 12 hours ago, foreveryoung said: tenant has managed to crack the shower tray, damage really. Landlord fitted a shitty cheap shower tray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 VP getting a pink concert No Arctic Monkeys though 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
il_serpente Posted October 8, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2022 On 27/09/2022 at 10:38, il_serpente said: Not quite sure where to post this, but it ties in to the discussion on here about emergency services, so decided to put it here. I had a close call last night. I got hit by a car while riding home from work on my bike. In the end, I'm ok. No broken bones, just a lot of bruising, some abrasions and one stitch in my elbow. My helmet likely saved me from a concussion, or possibly worse, as I felt and heard it hit the pavement with a thud. But my head didn't hurt and I had no grogginess. If you ride, wear a helmet. The US ER experience: The guy who hit me took me to urgent care vs ER at my request, as I was confident I had no broken bones or damaged joints and didn't want to tie up an ER bay or possibly sit for hours in a waiting room while more severe injuries and illness took precedence. The urgent care said they were full and could take no more patients and if I wanted to be seen I needed to go the an ER, so off we went with me anticipating a long wait to be seen. I was brought in within half an hour for a quick look-over and sent back to wait to be taken for x-rays, which was a 15-minute wait. By the time they brought me back out they had a bed waiting. They were probably cleaning my wounds within another half an hour. If they'd had the lidocaine available when the doctor first came around to stitch me, I'd have been on my way in about 2 1/2 hours total. In the end, it took almost another hour because she got tied up and didn't make it back to me for a while. Compared to my other ER experiences in the US, it highlights the good and bad of the US health care system. I live in a major metropolitan area, in one of the more upscale parts (Silicon Valley, lots of tech folks and professionals). The ER was in excellent shape, hardly seemed understaffed, and the staff were efficient, competent and friendly. I've also had significantly worse experiences at ER's in less upscale areas, so it's clear that who you are and where you live can make a big difference in the care you experience. Also, I have good health insurance, so I'm not at all worried about the bill for this. I imagine the charges at this particular hospital for someone with no insurance or a high-deductible plan would be a lot higher than at an urban public hospital. You get what you pay for, or what you're able to pay for. I imagine even something as simple as my treatment would cost into the thousands of dollars if I was paying out of pocket, and for a lot of people in these parts that would be a life-changing event. It sounds like the NHS has gone downhill in recent years, but at the moment I'm contrasting a horribly inequitable system in the US where you get great, timely care if you're lucky, but that will bankrupt you if you have no insurance, to a "free" system in the UK that potentially provides uniformly shitty care to everyone. That's a sad state of affairs. I know there are other western countries with public healthcare that's much better than what's been described, and I'm a big supporter of adopting a single-payer system in the US, but I also know none of those systems are without their own issues. I don't know what the answer is, but I'm not sure the world has found it yet. Following up on this, I got the bill from the hospital yesterday. For them to check me in, take my vitals and take a quick look, wheel me to x-ray and shoot a half dozen films, bring me back to a bed for a couple of hours and clean my minor wounds and put in one stitch came to a grand total of $10,787. They then applied the self-pay discount so that the amount due is $2,600 and change. The claim hasn't gotten to my insurance yet and I should end up paying a $200 co-pay when all is said and done, but it illustrates how crazy things are here. Even if my insurance didn't cover it that bill isn't going to be life-changing for me, but there are a lot of people around here living paycheck to paycheck who would potentially miss a rent payment if they got hit with a bill like that. And the crazier thing is I know that when I get the itemized statement from my insurance company, the cost of each line item to them will be substantially less than the costs on the bill I got (prior to the self-pay discount) because the big insurance companies have clout and negotiate much better rates than what they charge individuals. Individuals pay extra to compensate for the low rates they're giving insurance companies. So the ones who can't afford health insurance, and presumably are least able to pay, get charged the most. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's Your Round Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 13 hours ago, villa4europe said: VP getting a pink concert No Arctic Monkeys though And worse still, they’re sending ME notifications about it! Why TF do I want to know about a Pink concert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trekka Posted October 8, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2022 1 hour ago, It's Your Round said: And worse still, they’re sending ME notifications about it! Why TF do I want to know about a Pink concert Run, as fast as you can... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 8, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) 8 hours ago, il_serpente said: Following up on this, I got the bill from the hospital yesterday. For them to check me in, take my vitals and take a quick look, wheel me to x-ray and shoot a half dozen films, bring me back to a bed for a couple of hours and clean my minor wounds and put in one stitch came to a grand total of $10,787. They then applied the self-pay discount so that the amount due is $2,600 and change. The claim hasn't gotten to my insurance yet and I should end up paying a $200 co-pay when all is said and done, but it illustrates how crazy things are here. Even if my insurance didn't cover it that bill isn't going to be life-changing for me, but there are a lot of people around here living paycheck to paycheck who would potentially miss a rent payment if they got hit with a bill like that. And the crazier thing is I know that when I get the itemized statement from my insurance company, the cost of each line item to them will be substantially less than the costs on the bill I got (prior to the self-pay discount) because the big insurance companies have clout and negotiate much better rates than what they charge individuals. Individuals pay extra to compensate for the low rates they're giving insurance companies. So the ones who can't afford health insurance, and presumably are least able to pay, get charged the most. All of that would be totally free here. Problem is you would probably still be stuck in A&E now Edited October 8, 2022 by sidcow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 **** Pink is sublime and amongst the best live. Getting her at VP is an excellent coup. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 8, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2022 58 minutes ago, Seat68 said: **** Pink is sublime and amongst the best live. Getting her at VP is an excellent coup. You've clearly never seen U2 live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 5 hours ago, It's Your Round said: And worse still, they’re sending ME notifications about it! Why TF do I want to know about a Pink concert 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted October 8, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2022 People using 'moral', when they mean 'morale'. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentVillan Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 15 minutes ago, mjmooney said: People using 'moral', when they mean 'morale'. And vice versa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelVilla Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted October 8, 2022 Moderator Share Posted October 8, 2022 48 minutes ago, mjmooney said: People using 'moral', when they mean 'morale'. Have we done "based"? What does it mean? That one has been pissing me off this week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post It's Your Round Posted October 8, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted October 8, 2022 55 minutes ago, bickster said: Have we done "based"? What does it mean? That one has been pissing me off this week Based: (verb) @blandy based the fish with gravy. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 8, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2022 Currently hiding in my bedroom because the house is full of teenagers getting pissed and listening to the shittest music know to mankind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Xela Posted October 8, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted October 8, 2022 8 minutes ago, sidcow said: Currently hiding in my cushion shed because the house is full of teenagers getting pissed and listening to the shittest music know to mankind. FTFY 1 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 14 minutes ago, sidcow said: Currently hiding in my bedroom because the house is full of teenagers getting pissed and listening to the shittest music know to mankind. Any Thom Yorke or Pet Sounds? Spoiler 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 8, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2022 11 minutes ago, Xela said: FTFY They're currently using the cushions. If I wake up tomorrow and find them covered in piss and vomit there will be hell to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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