Hurricane Tomas

Photo of October 26th Storm - NASA
Record Low Pressure in Minnesota

In the last week we had an un-named storm in the Mid-West (above picture as of 10/26) and now we have Tomas approaching the Antilles in the picture below (10/30/2010). This is truly strange, powerful weather for this time of year. The gurus are studying this stuff, like why the central pressure can drop so fast and so low. Climate change? We'll see.

Enhanced Photo if Hurricane Tomas - NOAA
Water Vapor

Hurricane Tomas has a large circulation and is expected to go Cat 2 or 3 before running into wind sheer, and blending into a cold front. Very dry air extends from the Yucatan through Cuba. The storm in hot pink color on the right appears to be redeveloping and is already quite large.

Graphic - Unisys
GFS-x Model

This is a roughly 6-7 day future scenario when Tomas is now east of Cuba, the blob in the lower right. It is the pushing force of that big Mid-West storm as shown in a big red-orange loop at the middle of the picture, how much and when. Various models do different things but you can get a sense of the spaghetti after a while. Gawd I love spaghetti.

Health Insurance

This is not a post about Obama-care but I can say that we've been having hell over the medical insurance. To make a long story short, Lori the wife had a public school job with cheap insurance, she left, COBRA didn't work although it would have been nice for 18 months, and we're faced with monthly payment of over $850 and that includes a $5000 deduct on major hospital stuff. After applying with several places and getting quotes, they're calling back wanting to know when's the last time I had sex, and personal questions like that.

Humana rejects people for being slightly overweight and another says that mild hypertension is cause for WWIII. Asthma, forget it!

Then I got to figuring. Assuming I'm healthy and including the dang dentist, we spend no more than $5000 a years on drugs and doctors, both of us. But the insurance costs $10,000! I guess they're banking I won't stroke out or something ... but remember they want $5000 if I get the farts and think it's one, just to visit a hospital.

Now something is wrong here. I want my insurance to cover my arse for the regular stuff and if I want the hospital stuff, well I can add that on as the economy comes back all rosy and ducky-wucky. Ten years and I can draw retirement, retirement insurance, Medicaid, and all kinds of freebies. I have to wonder about this all ... but I plod along, and send them documents, and keep going because it is the American way, being a good boy. It is getting tiresome, though.

For all this, Lori is seriously thinking about working for the man again, like a school district, since they insure you for everything even if you are a walking medical time-bomb. That's about half the cost, perhaps $400 to $500 a month. It just doesn't seem right to screw the independent small business person, though.