Dear United Health Care

Just saw another one of your clever commercials with humorous injuries and how easy it is when you have UHC. That got me to thinking.

Maybe you should do an ad featuring me!

Picture this, me coughing my lungs out feeling like I'm about to die. Diagnosed with double pneumonia and being told if I'd waited another day to go to the doctor I'd have ended up hospitalized. Then flashback to 2 hours earlier when I discovered you'd assigned me a new primary care physician that isn't accepting new patients. Frantic phone calls to try and change my PCP to the one doctor I could find that could see me that day, only to be told I'd have to wait until May 1st (a week later) to have my PCP changed. Then fast forward to me paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket because of YOUR mistake. What should have been a $35 office visit and a $35 chest x-ray turned into credit card debt. I have insurance. I pay dearly for it every 2 weeks. Yet it did me absolutely no good.

The Affordable Care Act was a step in the right direction, but it's not enough. The healthcare system in this country is fundamentally broken.

Maybe you should move some of the money in your advertising budget to get your shit together and take care of the people you're supposed to be here to help.

Wherefore Art Thou Siri?

With the announcement today of Google Home (joining the ranks of the Amazon Echo) it's even more obvious how far behind Apple has fallen in the 'Digital Assistant' category, despite having a massive head start with Siri.

Almost 5 years later and Siri has gained basically no more functionality than it had when it was first launched with the iPhone 4s. It's a little faster and slightly better at voice recognition, but when compared to the competition it's laughable. Most queries lead to a useless list of web links and the lack of an API has kept it woefully underpowered. While Google and Amazon users are ordering pizza, getting Uber rides, finding out the weather, buying flowers, turning on their lights and being read the news - we Apple die hards get to ask where to hide bodies, just like we did in 2011.

Here's to hoping this is another category like the iPod. Apple will be late to the game but their offering will be so much better than everyone else's it will be worth the wait. Their recent history though (ahem, Apple Music) doesn't inspire as much confidence as it used to.

#WriteInRoss

C'mon guys, let's do this.

If NHL fans can get a little known enforcer into their All Star Game and Royals fans can damn near hijack the ballot last season, getting a journeyman catcher with a career .220 average who's never played more than 70 games in a season to his first All Star appearance before he retires shouldn't be that hard.

Vote Now!

Better Captions

I can think of more than a few articles that would be better suited to go with this photograph:

  • 12 Clues You're A Living Portlandia Sketch
  • 12 Clues You Need More Gluten
  • 12 Clues You've Never Owned An Iron Maiden Album (but desperately need to)
  • 12 Clues Your Mustache Makes You Look Like A Child Molester
  • 12 Clues Your Bangs Are More Interesting Than You Are
  • 12 Clues You Buy Too Many Vinyl Records

Shall I go on?

This Is Sickening (Link)

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/13/followers-of-christ-idaho-religious-sect-child-mortality-refusing-medical-help

Religion has long been the enemy of scientific progress. This is just the latest and one of the most horrific. Parents witholding medical care for their children based on their antiquated religious beliefs. Not cutting edge, experimental treatment - but established routine procedures. That's nothing new unfortunately, but this is primarily about the laws in place to prevent prosecution of what is tantamount to if not child abuse, then definitely neglect.

Every time I think we've come so far as a society all it takes is reading an article like to realize we've still got even further to go.