Fixodent and Greenhouse Gas

Well, one is a new term that has moved into my life. It a decrepit sign of the times. And, the journey was another sign. The other is an off topic weekender view.

I mentioned in the blog the other day that my life’s journey was going to now include dentures. My folks got them late in life and I’m joining the club. They seemed normal and didn’t bitch about it. I wish they had. It isn’t a pleasant experience. I’d at least had a bit of warning.

The day kicked off with a pre-dawn drive down the toll road. Along the way sat a trooper’s car with lights flashing ahead. Slowing I saw a nice buck with a good size rack laying on the shoulder. This is deer country. I’ve had them in my back yard and the nasty neighbor just totaled a car about two blocks from the house when he hit one. Saw him yesterday walking from the car with a crutch. Fall around here has them moving from hunting pressure and being in rut. They do it annually instead of our constantly – but most of us don’t run out in front of tons of speeding steel.

It was early but the toll road oasis is open and has a Micky-D. I pulled in for a bacon, egg, cheese biscuit. It had a hard, stale biscuit and a rubbery egg that tasted like there were chicken feathers in it. It sailed out to the roadside to compost after one bite. I got there (South Bend) in a bit over an hour and found I was an hour early. Fortunately, it was in a shopping center with a big box home center that was open for the contractors. That was very fortunate. Micky-D had provided not only a really bad breakfast biscuit but a case of Montezuma’s Revenge. Its handy restroom was a bit of salvation. Another 20 yard would have been a real problem.

From there on though the day went well. The place I went is less than half the price of the local options. They were understanding and professional. I got measured for the temporary (6-8 month) teeth and selected the premium permanent ones. The oral surgeon appointment was for 3 P.M. I stopped by and they’d had a cancellation so I got in early. Hell of a nice guy there too. He’d been to Iraq as noted by the old military head protection he was wearing with unit info etc. We chatted and he confirmed that he’d been stationed in the Suni triangle for his tour and it was nothing like the media was reporting. He felt safe on base and the people were friendly and appreciative. The opponents were in the category of mostly inept. Said most of his work was on local needs.

Anyway… I got them pulled. It was a struggle for both of us. He said he was putting more time into my extractions than all the rest for the day. I have deep/double roots. But out they came and stitches galore and I’m back to the other clinic with a Vicodin scrip to fill for pain. I get the teeth installed and am still bleeding and salivating like a bovine. That carried on through the rest of the day and into the night. Next day was much better. Only took one Vicodin and that was at bed time as a precaution. Didn’t really need it. No real pain. Hey, one thing had to go right.

I have ‘new teeth’ and the old and failing ones did way better. This ‘bridgework’ makes it seem like I have the Brooklyn bridge in my mouth. Chewing is a whole new idea. It just doesn’t work. I tried some French toast for breakfast and didn’t have much success – even with its close to custard consistency. Trying to talk with all this has me sounding like a lisping retard. I returned to the clinic for follow up that day with a couple of more trips scheduled. I’ll get the ‘real’ dentures next July if all goes according to schedule.

So that it. I can say that the experience has to improve my poker play. Bad beats are a back burner item after all this. Instead of worrying about your next one, use the time saved to brush an extra time. Unless you have some hereditary problems like me, you be avoiding a really serious bad beat.

ADDENDUM:

The Feds are after you and me via the UIGEA and they are after greenhouse gas in a new bill to penalize utility companies for operating coal fired generators. They have an even worse record in infrastructure than they do in regulating gambling.

The idea is penalties and charges. These are regulated industries. They will go to state agencies and get not only the new cost but a ‘reasonable’ profit on top of that. These utilities love to be charged for things and get that addon the states allow and even mandates for them.

Our local utility got a new president. He was from out of the area. They bought an expensive home in an exclusive area for him to live in during the week. Each weekend they had a private jet fly him to his ‘real’ / old home. Not a problem though! That is a cost of business and the state board allows them to mark up such cost for a profit. So if it cost them $20K a week for this boondoggle, we reimbursed them in our electric bills for $22-24K. By being stupidly inefficient, they were more profitable.

These are regulated industries and subject to lobbyist and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Now we are going to charge them for using basic infrastructure that we are responsible for paying off in a ‘reasonable’ manner as they add that to our monthly bill.

To do away with greenhouse gas, they need to make the penalties on new coal plants. That would move us to nuclear energy. You remember that energy. When the public was scared of it the same politicians forced the utilities away from that and to the coal fired plants they wanted them to use instead.

So write your congressman and point out that they are the source of unintended consequences and for them to quit having deep thoughts and allow the marketplace to function without their leadership. Even regulated utilities have figured out the public is interested in their being responsible. And it is unlikely they could get a permit for a big coal fired plant.

The bill, America’s Climate Security Act, is sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA). (Notice the use of the word ‘Security’ which is a top word for a politician to use these days.)  Just outlawing new ones doesn’t give it enough punch, evidently. Why do these idiots always look to penalize instead of lead?

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 4th, 2007 at 9:51 am and is filed under Journal, Off Topic, Pols and other Crooks. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.