I’m now remembering an episode of Simpson’s where they went to Canada to smuggle in medicine. The reality of that never reality set in. Seems absurd that Cubans can get affordable medicines from Canada, but Americans can’t.
Things that frustrate us all
- Thread starter rhubarbodendron
- Start date
I’m now remembering an episode of Simpson’s where they went to Canada to smuggle in medicine. The reality of that never reality set in. Seems absurd that Cubans can get affordable medicines from Canada, but Americans can’t.
indeed. That's why we Europeans were so much for Obamacare. It's a system rather similar to ours.
Here's how the German one works: everyone gives a small percentage of their wages (it gets substracted automatically, like tax) and in return the insurance pays for all your basic needs and you have to pay only a nominal fee if anything at all. For example, my diabetes meds (Metformin, 500 mg) cost me 5 bucks for 3 months. Hospital stays are limited to 10 bucks per day, 4 weeks at most ( = 280 $ at maximum). If I need to stay in hospital longer, the insurance pays all. All surgical procedures, doctor's fees, meds etc. are included.
And if someone is hard up they can get a cut off these rates: the instant your fees sum up to more than 3% of your income (1% for chronically ill people), you don't have to pay any more for the rest of the year.
Very poor people, students and unemployed needn't pay any fees at all.
In other European countries the system is similar. That's why we are always so shocked to hear about Americans being unable to pay for meds or a doctor or a stay in hospital. It's unthinkable to us.
Here's how the German one works: everyone gives a small percentage of their wages (it gets substracted automatically, like tax) and in return the insurance pays for all your basic needs and you have to pay only a nominal fee if anything at all. For example, my diabetes meds (Metformin, 500 mg) cost me 5 bucks for 3 months. Hospital stays are limited to 10 bucks per day, 4 weeks at most ( = 280 $ at maximum). If I need to stay in hospital longer, the insurance pays all. All surgical procedures, doctor's fees, meds etc. are included.
And if someone is hard up they can get a cut off these rates: the instant your fees sum up to more than 3% of your income (1% for chronically ill people), you don't have to pay any more for the rest of the year.
Very poor people, students and unemployed needn't pay any fees at all.
In other European countries the system is similar. That's why we are always so shocked to hear about Americans being unable to pay for meds or a doctor or a stay in hospital. It's unthinkable to us.
Hope you’re doing better, you’re in our thoughts.
.
I think here you have many factors, like what kind of medication you're getting, what insurance company you're with, and everything like that. I last had to get antibiotics in April of 2017, I ended up needing two different ones because one wasn't effective, and each cost me like $10 for my whole course. I have two prescriptions I take for some of my ailments, and I just picked up three month's supply today, and my total cost was $3.
I see. Does the prescription fee vary then based on your insurance policy, or the medication? Here, a prescription charge is the same for everyone for everything, unless you’re exempt, or live in Scotland.
The insurance policy will have a co-pay amount that the patient is responsible for, and this will vary from policy to policy, as well as drug type. Sometimes there is a different fixed amount for generic drugs vs. brand-name, and sometimes it is a percentage of the total cost. It can get rather confusing.
Kor
Screw Microsoft. This is the third or fourth time that it has completely frozen my computer when it tries to update! Had to hard reset my laptop. Nothing like the sob's practically trying (for lack of a better way of putting it) to rape my poor laptop. That's what I consider what they tried to do.
The batch file is able to block it, but they keep on trying to brute force it onto it. Even when they know damn well that it'll screw up my laptop.
Onto backing it up tomorrow. Been rather busy with rl stuff, including having surgery done and dealing with the recovery... so I've been forgetting to do this. (And this is the kind of thing they try to blame people for not doing! Thing is, life does happen and people usually don't forget to back their computers up...)
I've had the freezing happen before I had the batch file on my laptop too, around the last 1709 update. (Before then, I didn't really run into any real update issues, apart from one with 19 updates and it froze during updating when it was on the update screen. Swear Microsoft sucks with updates...)
The batch file is able to block it, but they keep on trying to brute force it onto it. Even when they know damn well that it'll screw up my laptop.
Onto backing it up tomorrow. Been rather busy with rl stuff, including having surgery done and dealing with the recovery... so I've been forgetting to do this. (And this is the kind of thing they try to blame people for not doing! Thing is, life does happen and people usually don't forget to back their computers up...)
I've had the freezing happen before I had the batch file on my laptop too, around the last 1709 update. (Before then, I didn't really run into any real update issues, apart from one with 19 updates and it froze during updating when it was on the update screen. Swear Microsoft sucks with updates...)
I am still using Windows 8. Are you talking about Windows 10? If so then I am definitely not going to switch.
I have been using 10 since launch, I have only had one miner issue and that was a hardware issue and can't be contributed to 10. 8 though was a stinking pile of shite, why anyone would continue to use it instead of 10 or even 7 is beyond me.
I don't know: Inertia, better the devil you know than the one you don't...
Plus I guess hackers are more interested in sabotaging 10 than the "obsolete" 8...
Have a decent anti-virus software and also follow good practice with your online security, you'll be fine. The more you run 8, the greater chance of issues as Microsoft won't commit resources to it.
I guess my bigger issue is that I have to reboot the computer at least every other day or annoying problems keep cropping up. Like programs that take forever to start, desk icons that disappear... fortunately, a simple reboot wipes out all of these annoyances, most of the time...
Yep and I wish I could have stuck with 7. At least I had control over updates and which ones I'd put onto my laptop.
It sounds like it needs replacing.
And I wonder how much of this and your issues with 10 are user expectations and not actual issues with the OS itself.
Nope they aren't the former. Windows is shooting itself in the foot by forcing their updates onto people's computers.
They expect that people will keep on buying newer computers so their updates will continue to work (at least as far as they're concerned). Thing is, people aren't always able to do that. Or even to go and update anything internally part wise, that ends up costing as much as a new computer does. So there goes updating any drivers, since Windows considers the ones that are there to be the best ones for it, and who knows how they'll react to the newer updates.
Users just want to be able to choose updates and not be forced to put in ones that change features. Those aren't nearly as important as security ones. Those are the ones I give a damn about. But no... Windows wants to do the all or nothing approach where it thinks that all of its users are idiots and need to be told when and how to update their own systems.
It's issues with Microsoft and the OS itself in the end. How they're treating the userbase and how they're allowing updates to go out. The lack of control and quality control is insane.
I've only done a few graveyard shifts, it's surprising how much you can get done. But I've also done those shifts where I was there to provide additional training support if needed.
The way you describe it I'd urgently recommend a full harddrive and registry cleanup. Also, check your autostart folder and decide if you really need all these programmes running in the background.
Another important point is: delete cookies, temporary files and empty the waste basket.
Don't keep files on the desktop. Only keep links to the files there. It'll speed up your laptop considerably as everything on the desktop has to be loaded when you power the laptop up. Links are tiny, compared to files, hence the greater speed.
A slender OS starts faster and is more stable than a bloated one.
The registry cleanup is tricky for a layperson (it's open heart surgery on your computer) and I recommend you play it safe and use a special software for that one and back up your registry before you delete anything. Still, tidying it up really pays off. It might also solve your update problem.
(btw, I use 4 machines: 1 WinME, 1 WinVista, 1 Win10 and 1 linux
all 4 run smoothly)
Last edited:
The way you describe it I'd urgently recommend a full harddrive and registry cleanup. Also, check your autostart folder and decide if you really need all these programmes running in the background.
Another important point is: delete cookies, temporary files and empty the waste basket.
Don't keep files on the desktop. Only keep links to the files there. It'll speed up your laptop considerably as everything on the desktop has to be loaded when you power the laptop up. Links are tiny, compared to files, hence the greater speed.
A slender OS starts faster and is more stable than a bloated one.
The registry cleanup is tricky for a layperson (it's open heart surgery on your computer) and I recommend you play it safe and use a special software for that one and back up your registry before you delete anything. Still, tidying it up really pays off. It might also solve your update problem.
(btw, I use 4 machines: 1 WinME, 1 WinVista, 1 Win10 and 1 linux
Thanks for your informed advice, I'll do it as soon as I can gather up the courage to do it (I tend to be lazy when it comes to my computer). You're definitely on to something about the desktop as I have folders ( not links) of files there, gigabytes of them!!! in fact, most of the personal files on my computer are in a folder that's on the desktop!! It's a wonder it's still working.
I know someone that had vista for a year or so and the words he uses to characterize it can't be said in the presence of children...