dragons

This article gives some of the logic behind redistributing income this way: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/14/where...

The rich save more than the poor, and the more they have, they more they'll save. Money that's being saved isn't being spent, which means less business for everyone from the dry cleaner on the corner to the owner of a five-star hotel. In turn, that means less work for everybody and a lethargic economy.

To be sure, banks can invest the money that the wealthy save, which can stimulate the economy as well. Yet many observers... are worried that as a global society, we've accumulated too much in the way of savings already.

One more thing: my hygienist said I didn't have to use the waterpik every day, that it's fine to use it just a few times a week. So I'm trying to use it every other day now. I don't know the pros and cons of using it every day. Are there any long term studies which show that the waterpik is in no way harmful? I don't think so.

PS I didn't floss as a kid, so unfortunately I have tons of dental fillings. I started flossing as an adult, and I'm sure it helped a lot. I still floss once a day.

There's a list on wiki (not all USA): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_employee-owned_compani...

"Dental insurance, for the most part, isn’t covered under ObamaCare (the Affordable Care Act)...

"Even with cost assistance, when you reach the maximum,you typically pay 100% of the costs for dental work. This is the opposite of health insurance under the ACA where you pay 0% after your maximum.

"Dental works best for routine care, it is uncommon to find any insurance that covers major dental work past a certain dollar amount. ('The Dental Gap'?)

Here's a news story in which someone died due to a tooth infection: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/insurance-24-year-dies-toothach...

"When dentists told him it needed to be pulled, he decided to forgo the procedure, because he was unemployed and had no health insurance...

"When his face started swelling and his head began to ache, Willis went to the emergency room, where he received prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medications. Willis couldn't afford both, so he chose the pain medications.

"The tooth infection spread, causing his brain to swell. He died Tuesday"

"Imagine you have been invited to join one of two groups. Team A is composed of people who are all exceptionally smart and successful.... This team is efficient. There is no idle chitchat or long debates... Team B is different. It’s evenly divided between successful executives and middle managers with few professional accomplishments... At the end of the meeting, the meeting doesn’t actually end: Everyone sits around to gossip and talk about their lives. Which group would you rather join?"

I knew I'd want to join Team A: smart, efficient people who get stuff done without idle chit-chat.

If you believe the article, Team B will be less effective because they are too individualistic, and walk over other people. They didn't actually say "self-centered", but it was implied.

I don't see how you can't be both efficient, smart, and empathetic; I don't see why there has to a choice. I've worked with my fair share of a-holes, and it's no fun. But it's also not fun working with schmoes who spend more time gossiping over the watercooler than getting stuff done.

but if I were a mid-aged woman I would consider an IUD (with or without hormones) as an effective alternative to the pill

I take the pill as a treatment for severe dysmenorrhea which did not respond to any other treatments. To my knowledge, regular IUDs do not help with that. When I saw the 23andme results years ago, I didn't know there were any options beside the Pill for dysmenorrhea. I had to make the choice between continuing to hold down a regular job, and accepting the risk. I probably would have been wise to bring up the test results with my doctors, but I have low expectations of them (revolving door treatment). So I just made the decision on my own.

After hunting around, I see there are IUDs that come with hormones that have been known to help with dysmenorrhea: http://www.uptodate.com/contents/long-term-methods-of-birth-... It's something my doctors never mentioned to me.

I'm nearing the time when I should stop taking BCP, so I don't see the point in experimenting with other options, given I've survived till now (IUDs are usually planned to be used for 1+ years). I did find that I had to switch between a few different types of pills before I found one that had the best effect, and doing this for an IUD would be quite a production, if it even worked.

It's interesting to me that I've never had a doctor mention to me risks for DVT at all. Doctors ask for a family history (no history of blood clots in my family). Based on that, I guess they have assumed I do not have a high risk for blood clots.

Here's a relevant quote: https://bedsider.org/features/168-risky-business-2-migraines... "Some types of genetic testing can reveal a predisposition for blood clots or stroke (though it’s not clear if a genetic test that shows this predisposition actually predicts that the condition will develop)."

higher fitness -> lower heartrate -> slower circulation -> clotting

Interestingly, Serena Williams was reported to have DVT (she had a PE although I haven't found a source that said it was definitely from DVT). She had recently had an injury to a foot which required surgery and 18 stitches, and also it happened on a flight...

I am reasonably athletic, but my resting heart rate is about 80 bpm. Maybe that's something that's been helping me.

Aside from genetics, the risk factors for DVT are reportedly: 1) Smoking 2) Birth control pills 3) Hormone replacement therapy with estrogen and progesterone 4) Recent surgery, especially on the legs or belly 5) A long hospital stay involving bed rest 6) Some cancers 7) Pregnancy and childbirth, particularly with C-section 8) Age over 70 9) Obesity http://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20110302/serena-williams-pulm...

Notice they don't even mention travel at webmd....

So if I get off the BCP, avoid surgery, and die before 70, maybe I'll be fine ;)

I'm "middle-aged" but so far haven't had this happen, despite some extra risk factors - I've been on the Pill for ~20 years and I do sit a lot (I'm a software developer). I'm not a frequent flyer, but I have flown many times and never had a problem. I naturally shift position pretty often when sitting, so I'm not sure if this helps. Or maybe whatever gene is responsible is just there, and hasn't turned on yet. How to stop it from turning on? I don't think anyone knows.

I was surprised to see that OP got a DVT when he walks 1-3 miles every day. That seems far better than what most people do (I try to walk about 2-3 mi per day). I don't see how switching to running could be more preventive.

Based on prior experience, I could devote a few months to interviewing (which we agree is no fun!) and find a full-time job with a good salary and benefits. That would also lock me in to working all the time, with a couple of weeks of vacation per year. If I pushed it, maybe I could get 1 month of vacation.

The salary associated with a full-time job is very attractive, but far more than I need at this point in life.

A few years ago, I found contract work using craigslist. I've been able to generate about $2K/year on that (Boston area is not good for craigslist tech gigs). Other than that, I've found it impossible to make the ~ $20K/year that I need for my living expenses.

I wish I could advise you. I've heard you can make a low-stress "lifestyle business" that requires moderate work, but I have yet to figure out one that works. For example, the "retire early extreme" guy reported that he spent 4 hours per week typesetting articles in LaTex - http://earlyretirementextreme.com/my-4-hour-work-week.html I could do this! But I've never seen work like this offered. I've looked for similar opportunities (mostly on craigslist) but never saw anything like that.

I've heard you can work on open-source projects and find nice contracts that way. I'm sure it happens, but does it happen reliably enough to just pick some OSS project, start working, and wait for clients to call? I don't have the time put a lot of work into a project, and then after months find it does not lead to contract work. If you have time to burn like this, you may want to try it.

There are people here at hacker news who sell ebooks and info services and seem to do very well. But for every one who is successful, I suspect there are tens or hundreds of others who did poorly. So, it's something you can try... but like OSS work, it seems to have a high risk of failure.

The usual response for getting contract work seems to be to "network". I have a very small network of people that I know and trust. This network has helped me find FT work in the past, but it has never generated contract work.

I wish I could be more positive, sorry!

PS I haven't noticed much effect due to ACA, except that some services that used to require a co-pay became free. It will be nice not having to worry about pre-existing conditions, too.

I haven't seen enough info, either, but I got the same feeling. When I first read about Starfighter I thought "neat, maybe this is a way to avoid the obnoxious typical interview process by demonstrating what I can do with some kind of ranking system." The Starfighter site implies this "Starfighter is not here to fix the job interview. We're here to destroy it, and replace it with something better" http://starfighters.io/

From reading the OP, now it sounds like a way to filter out a few diamonds-in-the-rough in a very specialized area. The system may teach you something, but the people who will shine and rise to the top will (I think) have some natural talent that makes them stand out. What will the vast majority of players get from participating? And how many hours of time do you have to devote to this simulation before you get introduced to a company (if that even happens)?

Well, maybe I'm not the target market because I'd rather spend my free time building my own business than playing a game. I'm currently doing that. But if my business doesn't work out, and I need to go back to work at some point, I don't see this system helping me. I have no idea how much time it would take, and what the possible reward would be. I hope these questions will be answered eventually.

It's my understanding that some companies will still fund your education, although it's not as common as it used to be. Here's a sampling: http://www.businessinsider.com/companies-that-will-pay-for-y...

Maybe that's not really what you mean, though...

I think the kind of deal that you're thinking about between an employer and an employee may have made sense at one point, when companies thought of employees as long-term assets, and employees had a reason to be loyal. The only way this might work now would be for an employee to agree to reimburse the education expenses if they leave before x years of employment are complete. That sounds like a loathsome form of indentured servitude, to me. I guess if you're desperate then you'll take it, and that's why some people sign up to the armed services in the US. But someone who is capable of PhD quality work probably has more flexible options.

Thanks for posting about this; I've read Ferris but hadn't heard about this one.

FWIW I have showdead set to "Yes"; I want to see everything.

You may not want to trade based on "privileged information" either... if it's insider information you can get in trouble. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insider_trading

Looks like it's a family with a baby in the household?

This is true for some religious people, but not for others. Some religious people use their religion to tell you that you are in the wrong, and are going to pay for it if you don't come over to their views. For such people, their good wishes are a thinly disguised religious attack. And it can be annoying being their target.

Not exactly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris "Ambergris occurs as a biliary secretion of the intestines of the sperm whale..."