AARP may not be your best friend.

I've been checking into Medicare Plan F. When I called United Health Care I got one price. Then I called AARP. They also chose United Health Care, but at a much higher price. All the Plan Fs are identical, with the exception of those with a large deductible.

So I told this to my wife, and she asked (she never asks this), are you going to write this on your blog? I hadn't thought of doing this ... but why not? Anyone else have good or bad experiences getting Medicare supplementary plans? Does it seem to matter what company you go through?

Health insurance and contraceptives

I think we are missing the point in the debate about health insurance paying for contraceptives. Those who advocate that women should be able to get contraceptives say that health insurance companies should pay for them by law, and those who find contraceptives sinful advocate that they should not be provided by their chosen companies.

Both sides are passionate about their beliefs. And both, in my opinion, are assuming that because they feel a certain way, that it is the job of government to legislate the behavior of insurance companies.

We complain that insurance companies' rates are so high. If contraception costs $1000 then the company needs to charge someone $1000 plus some additional costs for administration and profit. It doesn't matter if the woman or a school is paying for the insurance, the cost isn't going to be a gift of the gods.

Is this a role for government to legislate what the insurance companies should do? How about if that legislation is counter to what many desire? You might say, yes, they should pay for contraception because you believe in it. And yes, they should pay for abortions because you believe in them. But how about for something that you don't believe in ... but that the majority of citizens do? Should they pay for that too?

I see nothing wrong with insurance companies creating custom plans for employers (and for individuals). I'd like to live in a country where they could do that. And the $1000+ that I might save in premiums can pay for other things that I might value more than contraception.

Short Term Rentals

There has been plenty of discussion on the Austin neighborhood elists about SRLs (short term rentals), pro and con. Some people have found them to be a blessing, and others found them to be a nightmare. "Good" and "bad" are labels used by the various contributors.

Some aspects of this discussion have caught my attention. One is how everyone is trying to sway others to their point of view. I'm reminded, as an alternative, to the Indian tribe that has discussions with a pumpkin in the middle. They are reminded by the pumpkin that there are many sides to an issue, and the challenge is to see all the sides.

The second issue is that I get the impression that everyone would like the law to enforce their point of view. For example, some say that the landlord should live in Austin. There may be more oversight if this occurs, but does this warrant a law? And what about a "out-of-Austin" landlord with an impeccable record? Should they be exempt from the law?

It is too easy to muddle our lives with laws—laws that force others to conform to what we think is best. But do laws really improve the quality of our lives? And do they support the dissenting opinion?

An equally important issue is whether we already have laws in place that, if enforced, would solve many of the problems.

Let's look at other means besides more regulations to solve problems. And let's be mindful that regulations create new problems as well as solve them.

Juicing Austin

I have both a Champion and a Vitamix for "juicing." I use the Vitamix every day. I use the Champion for making peanut butter.

The Vitamix is far superior, because you don't waste all the pulp... and you can put anything in it. It is a lot of money... but well worth it. You can find reconditioned ones at their site... and they have a long guarantee. There are also some on ebay.

Here's my typical daily juice (I actually have a glass at each meal.

1 carton soy or almond milk or rice milk (or sometimes just water)
two apples (no seeds)
one grapefruit
blueberries
carrots (1 or 2)
banana
bok choy or celery
red grapes
nutritional yeast
flax seed
sometimes absorbic acid (vitamin c) powder

It cleans up very quickly, which is another advantage. I just put some soap in it with water and turn it on.

Masticating and centripetal juicers waste all the pulp, are limited by what they will juice, and are a pain to clean.

If you have too many of anything to use up... freeze it, and then you can juice it later. Or you can pour your juice into an ice cube tray and use that as at a later date.

The Politics of Birth Control

In the NYTimes today, I was dumbfounded by the article, Bishops Criticize Proposal on Birth Control Coverage.

Under the White House’s new plan, religiously affiliated charities and universities would not be required to provide insurance plans that include birth control. However, if an employee wanted contraception services, the insurance company that administered the regular insurance plan would be required to provide it to that employee at no charge.

Once could rewrite this to read (without changing the meaning),

All insurance companies shall provide employees birth control, should an employee desire it.

We know that the "no charge" is bogus, for birth control will be an expense for the insurance company ... and like every other expense, it will not come from the CEO salaries.

There is another issue that Uncle Obama (aka Sam) shouldn't be telling insurance companies what they should provide for free or otherwise.

I liked this article on Money and Morals by Klugman. I thought that since Rick Santorum is now a viable candidate, the election is about religion (what Klugman calls morals).

Mr. Obama is trying to satisfy everyone, and Santorum appears to be stuck in the quicksand of his own set of beliefs. Apparently Santorum will slide to third place after Arizona, Michigan and Ohio... so birth control will once more be usurped by $$$.

Vegan Gluten-Free Bread

Here's a really good gluten-free bread recipe:
http://www.namastefoods.com/recipes/cgi-bin/recipes.cgi?Function=show&Id=151

Here are some hints:

1) Amazon sells Namaste Perfect Flour Blend. Best price is to buy 6 bags of the flour on the subscribe and save deal. You can unsubscribe after the purchase if you want, so you aren't signing your life away. It is 48.10 for 6 bags... and that's the best price I've found. It says on the package "not for bread" but the grandma of Namaste figured out how to use it for bread. Also for sale at Central Market in Austin.

2) There is also a recipe on their website for a bread machine, but it is too difficult to get my machine to do one rise instead of two (preferred with gluten-free bread). And the bread machine doesn't cook it for long enough. Some suggest to put it in the oven after you cook it in the bread machine. t have a great bread machine for sale (cheap).
2) Cheapest yeast is at Sams or Costco. I freeze most of it, and refrigerate the rest. I mix it with water at 110°.

3) The consistency is that of cake dough, though I've never made a cake. It isn't possible to knead this by hand. You'll need a mixer (like Kitchenaid). I have an old Hobart... which works great on even a double recipe.

4) I use olive oil. I think that gives it a better flavor.

5) I've used both rice milk and almond milk. I think rice tastes better ... but both are fine.

6) I use tapioca flour ... just because I'm anti-corn products.

7) I use Energ Egg Replacer (Central Market in Austin).

8) I cook it at 375° for 40 minutes covered with aluminum foil and 40 more minutes not covered.

9) Take it out of the pan when done and put it on a rack. Don't dare cut into it until it is cool.

10) I switch off between agave and honey. Some macrobiotic folks are suspicion of agave. I'm not sure what I'll do when I run out of agave.

11) You need to toast it to eat it... and it takes the highest number on my toaster. Though it is great in bag lunches... even if you toast it earlier.

12) Olive oil works great to oil the baking pan.

Let me know how you like it. I bought some non-gluten bread ($5.49 for a loaf) and it tasted like ? (not good).

More on Consciousness

Click on collage to enlarge

Miss S sent me this about John Cage:

On Monday evening during the second program in Sound Reimagined: John Cage at 100, the Juilliard School's weeklong tribute to Cage, some recorded excerpts were played from Lecture on Nothing. Cage gave this famous talk in 1949 at Darmstadt, a hotbed of avant-garde music in Germany. In his soft-spoken, almost expressionless way, Cage was an effective speaker.

At one point he says, "If among you there are those who wish to get somewhere, let them leave at any moment." Cage was not just graciously inviting uninterested listeners to leave. His point, I think, was that we all create our own perceptual experiences, including when we listen to music. If our attention flags during a Beethoven symphony, we are not failing the task of listening. Rather, our wandering thoughts become part of the musical moment. 

I'm beating myself up for moving between my sensations and my thoughts about the sensations. Cage is saying that listening is that movement. And to not only to include our thoughts about the sensations, but other thoughts as well.

So is it possible to be a bad listener? I wonder what he'd say. Probably, no. Perhaps only if you want to get somewhere else, you can't be here. Or perhaps if you want to gain anything, you can't/won't participate.