Horse Hockey!

I was in the car earlier this week and heard that Pfizer and Glaxo, two of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the US announced that they would discontinue supplying Canadian pharmacies that resell their product to the US. For more on the subject, visit the Boston Globe article from August 7, 2003.
The entire subject of the cost of drugs in the US riles me. We pay at least TWICE as much for the exact same drug as the Canadians, and other countries pay much less than the Canadians. It’s the exact same medicine, not a generic, but Americans are expected to pay through the nose “to support the cost of research.”
HORSE HOCKEY!!!
Those companies can sell their products for the same price to every country, and they might make a billion or two less in profits, and still be able to fund the research. They are going to find very rapidly, that the baby boomers in the US will NOT be able to pay their outrageous demands and their free ride will be over.
It can’t happen soon enough!

Power crash

I think New Yorkers will have another day to look back on. I sincerely hope that their trial is brief. They’ve had their share of misfortune.
When I was a child, I woke up one frigid winter morning to find that we didn’t have any heat. My father had built our home and we had hot water heat. The pipes in the unheated garage had frozen, cutting off our source of heat. Dad made a roaring fire in the fireplace in the living room and we sat close to the heat while my parents ferried breakfast to us. We heated our clothes by the fire and left it just long enough to dress.
We’re better prepared these days, but a loss of power could be a serious problem if we had severe heat or cold. I’m more aware of these possibilities because my mother lives with us, and due to age, she’s less adaptable. Fortunately, if we were to loose heat or air conditioning, I could drive her to my sister’s home for a stay.
I can’t imagine having my mother in a tall building in New York City, when there was no power. I’d NEVER get her down the stairs, so the only thing we could do would be to wait by a window and hope that help arrived, or the power was restored. Even if I was able to get her down a few flights of stairs, where would I have taken her, especially in the heat? I carry a cell phone in my purse now, so that I can get help if we are away from home. Did the cell phones work today? Do they have to go through switching stations that need electricty?
I’m a suburburn person. I have suburban street smarts. I’ve been very fortunate to have lived a safe, lucky life. Perhaps I need to plan for other contingencies. You know the saying…..”Be Prepared!”

Looking

I was browsing through the blogs, and visiting some of the links, and I found an interesting post on the subject of people watching at Broadatbat. Actually, she was writing about men watching women, and the fact that some women object to that activity on the part of their significant other.
Mamma taught me…..”If you can’t look, you might as well be dead.” You all know I am a people watcher. As I waited for my sister to join me for lunch yesterday, I watched the people walking by. Wednesday at 11:00 in the morning is not a great place to watch people in a mall. There was a preponderance of women pushing two seat strollers, all in a hurry to get where they were going before the kids decided to have a meltdown.
I wanna just SMACK those mothers who snarl at their children in public. I understand being at your wit’s end and having a bad day, and then have the kids go ballistic. But if that’s the case, you shouldn’t be out at the mall. If you’re treating the kids badly in a public place, what might you be doing in private?? Give everybody the day off. Get a little rest and relaxation, and do the mall another day.
So…okay….I got a little off topic. It’s been a hard day. When DH and I are out, if I see either something incrediblty odd or something really lovely, I’ll nudge him and try to direct his attention. He’s the only man I have ever met who is seemingly unaware of the people around him. I’m not pimping for him, just sharing what I’m seeing. I don’t mind him looking, although it seems a lot of women feel that is an insult.
My thoughts on it run this way. If he can’t look, then he may feel that I can’t look. Since it’s unlikely he will ever get me to walk around in public with my eyes closed, why shouldn’t he look? I don’t understand the insult in watching, unless your spouse or boyfriend is constantly comparing you to what he sees, and you always come up wanting in the comparison. Now, that’s rude!
Anything beyond watching is out, though. I’m not good at sharing. I’ve learned that from Jamie. An occasional kiss of welcome, or a kiss goodbye….maybe. But no touchy feely stuff. I mean….I’m reasonable on this subject. Look, but don’t touch.