Mishmash Musings

Skype was down early this morning for the second time in just a few weeks. Although the people at Skype keep saying that it affected a “small number” of users, I don’t buy it. Maybe they mean a small “percentage” of total users, but not a small number. In either case, these outages are becoming annoying. I actually pay for Skype credits because I need to use it to call landlines and cell phones, so when it’s out, I don’t want to hear the old, “Oh, it’s free, so what do you expect?” excuse. Hope these guys straighten things up soon. My business depends on it!

Has anyone ever used Peapod grocery delivery service? I’m seriously considering giving them a try. I obviously don’t need them all the time, as I am fully able-bodied and have a vehicle at my disposal. But sometimes I just get so busy or the weather is so bad that I just can’t or don’t want to venture outdoors. At times like those, it would be nice to have some supplies delivered. I’m just wondering if there’s a minimum order amount, if the prices are reasonable, if the food is delivered in decent condition, etc.

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the self-checkout lane at places like grocery stores and Wal-Mart! I think running all of the items I bought through the barcode scanner is fun, and I seem to be able to do it a heck of a lot faster than the cashiers working there. I use self-checkout whenever I can and just wish more places had these aisles!

So have you heard of the latest health care trend? It’s something called health travel, which is basically when someone elects to go to another country to have a medical procedure done — usually due to cost considerations. I’d heard of people doing this to take advantage of experimental treatments not offered in the U.S., but hadn’t really thought about folks doing it to save money.

One of the biggest destinations in health travel is Mexico, where most everything is around 80 percent less than similar procedures in the U.S.

Hmm, I guess if you really need something done and don’t have proper insurance, it would be worth looking into a trip south of the border.

I always read that you’re supposed to check your credit rating ever once in a while, regardless of whether or not you’re shopping around for financial services. The reason is that doing so is supposed to help you spot fraud or identity theft before things get too far out of hand, because loan applications and whatnot will appear on your credit report.

Anyway, there are lots of companies out there that provide credit report services, so it shouldn’t be difficult to take a quick peek now and then.

I have to admit that I’ve only checked my credit rating once in the past four years. I guess I’m just too lazy to follow through on advice even when I know it’s good. I’m gonna do it soon, though! (Yeah, famous last words….)

I was reading something about Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) today, and was kind of shocked to see this figure: according to a recent Social Security Administration (SSA) study, a 20-year-old worker has a 3-in-10 chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age. That’s a 30 percent chance, which means that almost one in three people will become disabled to some degree. Wow, that’s pretty frightening!

If this does happen, you can of course get Social Security disability insurance from the federal government — provided you can navigate through all the red tape and paperwork required to start receiving benefits. I know a couple people who have tried applying for SSDI, and pretty much gave up on the whole ordeal because they simply couldn’t get everything in order.

Seriously, this is kind of a scary knowing that I have a 30 percent chance of becoming disabled. And then I might not even receive the benefits that I’m entitled to just because of paperwork snafus? If something catastrophic ever happens to me or my husband, I would probably go to a company like Allsup for help. They provide social security disability representation, and boast a 97% success rate in getting benefits for people who go through the process with them. That’s comforting to know, especially when my family’s very livelihood would be at stake.

I have a friend who works in an automotive plant near San Antonio, TX. Gil’s job is to load steel coils into huge press machines, where the material will then be punched out into various auto parts. The steel coils weigh upwards of 1,000 lbs., so it’s very dangerous work. In fact, Gil told me that when he was transferred to the department, several of his co-workers mentioned that it would be a good idea to locate a San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer just in case legal services are required further down the road.

Since I had some free time on my hands, I decided to help Gil out by getting a couple of law firm names for him. One of the top personal injury law firms in the San Antonio area appears to be O’Hanlon, McCollom, and Demerath. Founded in 1992, some of the name partners have been practicing together since the early 1970s, and have a great deal of experience handling cases involving personal injuries due to motorcycle, ATV, automobile, construction, and workplace accidents. They’ve got an excellent track record at winning favorable settlements, and seem like a good bet for my friend.

At any rate, I’ll be sure to pass the info along to Gil so he can make his own decisions. Of course, I hope he’ll never be in a spot where he needs this kind of service, but better safe than sorry….

Jerry has been wearing contacts for about 10 years now, and is thoroughly tired of the hassle that goes along with them. Between revising his prescription every year, going through gallons of cleaning solution, and always having irritated eyes, he’s had enough. That’s why he’s really been pushing for Lasik surgery lately.

I haven’t looked into Lasik much in recent years. I know I checked it out in-depth when the procedure first became widely available, but the cost was prohibitive back then and we didn’t have enough money to pursue that option.

Now, however, I’m sure we could manage somehow. We’ve got some savings, and Jerry’s Christmas bonus should be fairly sizable this year, so maybe he’ll be able to have the procedure in early 2009. I’m sure he’ll be happy to finally be done with contacts for good!