OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

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Rorie
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Rorie »

I had my eye examination, there is no deterioration from the last check up but however I have been referred to eye hospital in Melbourne (which means using Public Transport to get from Geelong to there, not looking forward to it, you arrive at the hospital well and truly before your appointment and you are waiting forever to get seen for something that takes less than that, back on track I have been referred for the second time to have a procedure called corneal cross linking considered, I had this done a few years back and now I could be due again to have it done, the whole experience is not pleasant, So I will request that they knock me out like the last time, afterwards when you wake you have a very sore eye, a drippy nose, and the whole ward staff telling you not to blow your nose so hard, wtf do they care? It is my body and I should be able to do it whatever the hell I want, and what worse? the garg food and garg coffee, that is what a lot of people hate about hospitals, I am sure that the other members of this forum are not alone!

Anyways I order my glasses A$236 I pay for it outright from my bonus, the last pair was over A$600, so I was glad to get it cheaper this time

And with my balance left over in combination with the remainder from the bonus I was able to put some money in my Superannuation, so I did not waste a cent at all from my bonus, only downside is I may not receive a bonus from my work next year, it all comes down to profitability
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by keenmaster486 »

A$236! Wow, I think I paid something like $130 USD for my last pair. Course, I don't have special lenses haha. No insurance or anything, just through the local Costco.

Hospitals suck. Especially where I live in southern Idaho, where there is so much bureaucracy and hoops to jump through that only the huge Big Hospital types can survive (and since they are the only ones they can provide crappy service!). Fortunately in the last ten years there has been a lot of small-clinic competition popping up and I've been able to avoid going to the hospital and hit up local clinics with independent doctors instead which are way better and cheaper too. I hope St. Luke's (the local big guns) goes belly-up like they deserve. They charged my dad $30,000 for one hospital stay when he needed emergency surgery for his finger. What they need is some real competition to put them in their place.

Also, apart from politics and economics: DOCTORS SUCK as well. You can go from doctor to doctor trying to get a proper diagnosis and they will ALL be wrong, until you do your own research, go to an independent specialist and discover the truth. This happened to both me and my mom! Turns out we have a genetic hypothyroidism disorder (my sister has it too). The endocrinologist knew exactly what was going on but every other doctor we went to had zero freaking clue.
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by nanomekia »

Ehh, the doc situation really depends on where you are. Take my section of farm country, for example. This town is a pretty good example of wee town trying to imitate bigger town but failing miserably, so yeah a good percentage of the doctors here aren't great (though I have found some great ones.)

However. I live two hours from a university hospital. This hospital is excellent. Not one single time have I gone there and been at all displeased with the care I've had. What's more, the doctors there listen - the main problem I've found, bouncing from doc to doc in my *mumble, grumble* years on this earth, is that doctors do not like to LISTEN to the patient. None of that at this hospital. They really know what they're talking about too (I do my research alright, one has to when living with as many conditions as I've got.) Contrast this to the ginormous medical complex I used to live about ten minutes away from before I moved out to this state; that place was horrible. No one listened, you were looked down upon as a hypochondriac if you even dared do research into your conditions on your own, and god forbid you have to see anyone for anything even slightly unusual because you'd just get a blank stare, a shrug and "I dunno what this is, what do you expect me to do about it?" And that complex would actually even be considered better, by several standards, than the university hospital here.

tl;dr good docs and bad docs, you just have to be too bloody stubborn to stop trying to find the good ones.
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Rorie
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Rorie »

keenmaster486 wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 15:23 A$236! Wow, I think I paid something like $130 USD for my last pair. Course, I don't have special lenses haha. No insurance or anything, just through the local Costco.
Even if with the current exchange rate your pair still works out cheaper to the sum of nearly A$165, with my pair I needed special lenses so the A$236 I paid still works out cheaper for me than what I paid the last time, I went to an actual optometrist without private insurance thankfully my government insurance card provided me with a discount but still I paid for the brand name that is GMHBA, and besides my examination was paid for by the government so how can I complain about the A$236 price tag for my new glasses? you could say that my work essentially paid for the glasses with the bonus I received!
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Keening_Product »

MoffD wrote: Sat Jul 08, 2017 17:22 Image
Not only does that site apparently exist, but the hyphen suggests the name was already in use somewhere else.

What a time to be alive.
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Rorie »

If Alcohol & Tobacco was heavily taxed and does it serve as a deterrent to discourage abuse?, No for all it's effort Caffeine may as well be taxed, if misused all 3 of these drugs can cause serious damage via addiction, in Australia we have a GST of 10%, mostly everything we buy and use here is taxed at that rate, tell me Aussie should we pay an extra 10% on our favorite cup of joe, would it do anything to encourage responsible drinking?, when I mention this I don't mean responsible drinking of Alcohol but all Caffeine based beverages
Last edited by Rorie on Thu Jul 13, 2017 7:28, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by keenmaster486 »

It's easy for me to not care about cigarette taxes.

But start taxing my coffee and I will turn into the Incredible Hulk.
I flermmed the plootash just like you asked.
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Levellass »

While all three can cause serious damage I would hesitate to put caffeine in the same category as alcohol and tobacco (I would in fact give serious consideration to alcohol being the worst of the three.) While not harmless marshmallow fluff you don't see nearly the widespread damage that is inflicted on society as you do with the other two.

As for deterrence, that's interesting. Alcohol has the (dis?)advantage that it can be easily produced; rising prices tend to cause a black market to flourish. (See also: Prohibition) which suggests that even making it outright illegal wouldn't do much. Tobacco by contrast DOES suffer under taxation due to being far harder (Even than canabis) to manufacture. (While addictive it also lacks the ability to drive people to illegal acts; banning tobacco will stress many smokers, as do rising prices but it lacks the kick of, say meth or cocaine to drive addicts.)

I don't drink (alcohol or caffeine) or smoke, so tax away I say, I like to see the misery spread around.
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Rorie »

keenmaster486 wrote: Sun Jul 09, 2017 20:42 But start taxing my coffee and I will turn into the Incredible Hulk.
You and me both, brother, you slap the 10% on coffee products in Australia whom which is not taxed and I will have having caffeine sickness!
here's the gst free list from the ato

coffee bags
GST-free
Schedule 2, item 5 of the GST Act applies.

coffee beans (green, roasted, ground)
GST-free
Schedule 2, item 5 of the GST Act applies.

coffee essence
GST-free
Schedule 2, item 5 of the GST Act applies.

coffee, instant (granules, powdered, freeze-dried)
GST-free
Schedule 2, item 5 of the GST Act applies.
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by MoffD »

Got some Costa-Rican Cousins who bring coffee when they visit, mmmm :D
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Rorie »

I brought a take away coffee at McDonalds today on the road and I was taxed the 10% on that, My burning feeling was that if coffee from the supermarket was tax free, is the cafe coffee taxed?, today answered my question, if you don;t want to be taxed on coffee from the cafe, then it is quite simple make it yourself!
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Rorie »

MoffD wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2017 20:23 Got some Costa-Rican Cousins who bring coffee when they visit, mmmm :D
Tell me mate, what is the coffee like from Costa Rica?
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by Rorie »

keenmaster486 wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 15:23 A$236! Wow, I think I paid something like $130 USD for my last pair. Course, I don't have special lenses haha. No insurance or anything, just through the local Costco.

Hospitals suck. Especially where I live in southern Idaho, where there is so much bureaucracy and hoops to jump through that only the huge Big Hospital types can survive (and since they are the only ones they can provide crappy service!). Fortunately in the last ten years there has been a lot of small-clinic competition popping up and I've been able to avoid going to the hospital and hit up local clinics with independent doctors instead which are way better and cheaper too. I hope St. Luke's (the local big guns) goes belly-up like they deserve. They charged my dad $30,000 for one hospital stay when he needed emergency surgery for his finger. What they need is some real competition to put them in their place.

Also, apart from politics and economics: DOCTORS SUCK as well. You can go from doctor to doctor trying to get a proper diagnosis and they will ALL be wrong, until you do your own research, go to an independent specialist and discover the truth. This happened to both me and my mom! Turns out we have a genetic hypothyroidism disorder (my sister has it too). The endocrinologist knew exactly what was going on but every other doctor we went to had zero freaking clue.
thought that's you like to know keenmaster486 I picked up my glasses I got the text message and visited the store on my way back from Werribee today
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by keenmaster486 »

Rorie wrote: Thu Jul 13, 2017 7:35thought that's you like to know keenmaster486 I picked up my glasses I got the text message and visited the store on my way back from Werribee today
Sweet man! Hope they work great and last a long time =)
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Re: OFF TOPIC THREAD: Where derailing the thread is impossible!

Post by MoffD »

Rorie wrote: Thu Jul 13, 2017 7:33
MoffD wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2017 20:23 Got some Costa-Rican Cousins who bring coffee when they visit, mmmm :D
Tell me mate, what is the coffee like from Costa Rica?
I really like it, I've had Colombian Coffee on several occasions and in my opinion it's as good if not better. Although as with everything it depends on the type and brand. In my experience it has a similar taste to Colombian, but very slightly different.
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