Froth Slosh B'Gosh

Leonard Nimoy Dead At Age 83

I loved Star Trek.  I'd beg my parents to let me stay up at night to watch, but when Trek moved to a time slot waaaaayyyy past my bedtime, it was no longer possible. But thanks to after-school reruns, I spend much of my youth watching Star Trek over and over again.  I never got tired of it, and I suppose I never will.  The cast of the orginal series is getting to the point where its just to be expected that they'll be dying off.

So I think I'm going to spend the next few days rewatching Star Trek TOS.  I have all the episodes.

My Employer Offering Paid Parental Leave

I don't normally blog about work, but this is a pretty big deal.

Nearly 1,000 Allegheny County employees will soon be eligible for six weeks of paid parental leave benefits.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced the new policy at a press conference this morning with officials including Pittsburgh Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak, who proposed a similar plan for 430 city workers last month.

"The fact that the United States still lags behind, really, the rest of the world when it comes to providing paid parental leave is unbelievable to me," Mr. Fitzgerald said in a statement. "Providing this benefit to employees of Allegheny County is the right thing to do for our employees, for their children and for our county."

The new policy doesn't cover me since I'm in a union, but Fitz indicated that the benefit will be extended to union members as the collective barganing agreements come up for renewal.  We're in the middle of that process right now.

When we had our foster child placed with us in August, I was able to use FMLA to jigger some unused vacation time in order to be with her for the first week she was with us.  Six weeks paid leave would have gone much further towards the bonding process.

Quasi-Resonant Rossby Waves!

Quasi-resonant Rossby waves!

Quasi-resonant Rossby waves!

Quasi-resonant Rossby waves!

Dear Winter.....

To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's  sake, I spit my last breath at thee.

It was -10 yesterday.  Its 34 today.  I'm grilling!

I Swear....

If I hear one more person say "So much for that 'global warming?'" I will scream.  Here's a pretty good, readable explanation for why its so damn cold in the east (and so damn warm in the west).

...the Arctic is warming much faster than elsewhere. That Arctic/mid-latitude temperature difference, consequently, is getting smaller. And the smaller differential in temperatures is causing the west-to-east winds in the jet to weaken.

Strong jets tend to blow straight west to east; weaker jets tend to wander more in a drunken north/south path, increasing the likelihood of wavy patterns like the one we’ve seen almost non-stop since last winter.

When the jet stream’s waves grow larger, they tend to move eastward more slowly, which means the weather they generate also moves more slowly, creating more persistent weather patterns.

If you want a denser scientific explanation, just google "quasi resonant Rossby waves."

Yikes!

A Bit Of Perspective

Number of US citizens killed by ISIS...4...maybe 5.

Number of US citizens murdered in Philadelphia in 2015...29.

I'm not trying to minimize ISIS...they're assholes.  BUT, residents of the US is in FAR more danger from their neighbors than they are from a bunch of extremists in the Middle East.

 

Dental Fun

Spent the morning in the chair having my gums sliced open to clear out an infection and have some bone grafting done.  Thankfully, I have decent dental coverage, so I can afford the procedure, even though my out of pocket costs will approach $3,000.00.  Without insurance?  I'd never be able to afford it.

The stupid thing is, this was all potentially not necessary.  I've had good coverage for over 20years.  Prior to getting my current job, I had no dental insurance at all once I graduated college.   As a result, I got out of the habit of going to the dentist.

Had I gone to the dentist once I was insured, its likely I wouldn't have had to endure what I went through today (and get to go through again in a few weeks for the other half of my jaws).

I can imagine that many people who went without health insurance for years, but have it now thanks to the ACA, may endure the same thing, as long neglected or undetected health problems will now get treated.