Posted by nathan on Aug 24, 2009 in
Eckenrode This past weekend, I played in my first ever cricket matches. There is a club at MIT that holds cricket sessions that is mostly made up of Indians and Pakistanis. They ran a little four team tournament over the weekend, which gave me the opportunity to play for the first time ever. As a batter, I did not fair very well. I did not score a run in either match, hence the two ducks ( in cricket a batsman who does not score is given a duck on the the scoreboard, I have no idea why this came about but I bet its quaint). Then in our third match, the top of our order played so well that when the designated number of overs were finished, I was not called to bat, neither were three other batsman from our team.
An over consists of six balls that are bowled at the wicket by the bowler. The batter then tries to strike the ball in order to protect the wicket and also to be able to score runs by running back and forth between the two wickets. There is another batsman at the other wicket and they communicate with each other about the running, which is exactly what did not happen very well in my second batting in our second match. The other batsman did not tell me he was running when I struck the ball very poorly, which left me with the decision to either let him get run out or to try to make it to the next wicket, which I did not do.
Since I did not bowl any during our matches it was not tested to see how well i would fair against these people who grew up playing the game. But I did prove to be quite decent at fielding, making a couple of significant stops that prevented the other side from scoring a lot of runs, and even at the end, I picked up a ball on the run and threw it at the wicket to knock the bails off the stumps in an attempt to run out a batsman; he got his bats just inside the crease before the bails flew but it was quite fun to have a go! I look forward to playing in a longer and larger tournament in September.
Tags: batting, Cricket, fielding, MIT-CC, weekend
Posted by steph on Aug 16, 2009 in
Eckenrode A cold.
A fish named Samonina who has “yellow stripes and green all over the place”.
A mother whom she now calls Emily.
Posted by nathan on Aug 11, 2009 in
Eckenrode The health care fight has turned ugly, fast. Right-wing mobs are crashing congressional town halls,1 lies are spreading via anonymous email chains,2and Sarah Palin bizarrely said that President Obama was going to set up a “death panel,” whatever that is.3
Many of these claims are just incredible—but if we don’t fight back with the truth, the right will continue to poison the health care debate. So as part of our Real Voices for Change campaign this August, we’re working to set the record straight.
Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!
The truth: These accusations—of “death panels” and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: “No ‘death panel’ in health care bill.”4 What’s the real deal? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.5
Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!
The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama’s reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options.6 Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.7
If you’re happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them.8 But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can’t afford health care now.
Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!
The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.
Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage.9 And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation.
Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens’ Medicare benefits!!!
The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.10 Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.11
Lie #5: Obama’s health care plan will bankrupt America!!!
The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy.
Right now, we spend more than $2 trillion dollars a year on health care.12 The average family premium is projected to rise to over $22,000 in the next decade13—and each year, nearly a million people face bankruptcy because of medical expenses.14 Reform, with an affordable, high-quality public option that can spur competition, is necessary to bring down skyrocketing costs. Also, President Obama’s reform plans would be fully paid for over 10 years and not add a penny to the deficit.15
We’re closer to real health care reform than we’ve ever been—and the next few weeks will decide whether it happens. We need to make sure the truth about health care reform is spread far and wide to combat right wing lies.
Sources:
1. “More ‘Town Halls Gone Wild’: Angry Far Right Protesters Disrupt Events With ‘Incomprehensible’ Yelling,” Think Progress, August 4, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51733&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=2
2. “Fight the smears,” Health Care for America NOW, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51729&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=3
3. “Palin Paints Picture of ‘Obama Death Panel’ Giving Thumbs Down to Trig,” ABC News, August 7, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51728&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=4
4. “No ‘death panel’ in health care bill,” The Associated Press, August 10, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51747&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=5
5. “Stop Distorting the Truth about End of Life Care,” The Huffington Post, July 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51730&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=6
6. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 11, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#i1
7. “Why We Need a Public Health-Care Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51737&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=7
8. “Obama: ‘If You Like Your Doctor, You Can Keep Your Doctor,’” The Wall Street Journal, 15, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51736&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=8
9. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#r1
10. “Obama: No reduced Medicare benefits in health care reform,” CNN, July 28, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51748&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=9
11. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#s1
12. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#c1
13. “Premiums Run Amok,” Center for American Progress, July 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51667&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=10
14. “Medical bills prompt more than 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies,” CNN, June 5, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51735&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=11
15. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#c1
Sources for the Five Lies:
#1: “A euthanasia mandate,” The Washington Times, July 29, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51732&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=12
#2: “It’s Not An Option,” Investor’s Business Daily, July 15, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51743&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=13
#3: “Rationing Health Care,” The Washington Times, April 21, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51742&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=14
#4: “60 Plus Ad Is Chock Full Of Misinformation,” Media Matters for America, August 8, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51734&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=15
#5: “Obama’s ‘Public’ Health Plan Will Bankrupt the Nation,” The National Review, May 13, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51744&id=16782-15211980-BHUO1xx&t=16
Tags: healthcare, Politics, save our country, USA, we the people
Posted by nathan on Aug 7, 2009 in
Eckenrode yesterday morning, the wife had to go to work very early, so we were all up to take her there. the kids were plopped into their seats and encouraged to fall back asleep as we made the early morning commute. After the transportation was complete, Bud, TheBubster and myself were at home with enough time before school to read the news, watch a little telly and pee on ourselves.
Then we walked to King Open and dropped TheBubster off with her class, while Bud and I went to the big field in the back and set up our wicket. I practiced bowling while he played in the grass. After a while, I managed to get a young fellow who was sitting on a nearby bench to bat. Then once I bowled him out, he had a go at bowling. I was a better batter against him than I have expected so I was batting for quite some time while Bud played at the other end behind the stroller. Once my wicket fell, we switched place again and I found Bud sitting on the ground. He had found the box of cookies I threw in the bottom of the buggy and had them scattered all over the ground. He was eating them two at a time with one in each hammy little fist, and when he saw me, he was so proud of himself that I had to bust out a full bellied laugh. Too bad I was not able to get out my camera in time for a photo.
Tags: bikkies, Cricket, early day, Family, funny, memory, School
Posted by nathan on Aug 5, 2009 in
Eckenrode A continuation of my studies in black & white of places in the world. my intentions are to develop a greater sense of realism through this process while further enhancing the personal appreciation of creative decision making.
now maybe i can get back to my studies, this took a week of my brain activity to finish.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
