"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
-- Washington, D.C.; December 18, 2002
Only 148 days left!
Monday, August 25, 2008
The End Is Near
As I prepared to post yet another entry from my "George W. Bushisms" calendar, it occurred to me that with the Democratic convention starting today, the reign of stupidity is finally nearing an end. It will surely be a sad day for the comedy biz when W finally exits office.
"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
Only 148 days left!
"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
Only 148 days left!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Cowbell!!!
Regarding previous posts about Hulu, they have now added a link to the SNL More Cowbell sketch with Christopher Walken on Will Ferrell's Funny Or Die site (see the update at the bottom of my original post here). The quality of the clip is not great and not sure why they didn't post a high-quality version directly on Hulu. Perhaps Ferrell has rights to it but no matter - at least it is available for our viewing pleasure.
If You Ever Need A Dentist in Bloomington, MN . . .
I am in Bloomington, Minneosta on business. It is an internal firm meeting and since my company has a headquarters office here, we are at the beautiful Sheraton Bloomington (Read that sarcastically. It used to be a Radisson which should tell you something about the quality).
This morning I lost a very old filling in my mouth. I mean old, like when I was 8-years-old old. I called my dentist in New York, Samuel Gold. Dr. Gold is the dentist for my whole family and we love him. He is earnest, professional, very careful and considerate, and an all around nice guy. He told me that as long as I didn't have any pain or swelling I should just go to a drugstore and get something called DenTemp which is a temporary filling material and then come see him when I am back in town next week.
Now as a New Yorker who is used to being able to get anything he needs 24/7 and within walking distance, this morning's adventure was a little hard to swallow. Let me put it this way. A $35 roundtrip taxi fare to Walgreens (including a 5 minute wait while I was in the store) enabled me to get the $4.49 package of DenTemp.
Anyway, the DenTemp did not take. Although I was in no pain, I was concerned about infection in the big jagged hole in my jaw, so I went to my dental insurer's website and found a nearby dentist. Let me now clarify nearby. I mean really nearby. I mean I could see the building from my hotel room window. They could see me in an hour.
Let me tell you more about what I mean by "nearby". I would guess that my destination was no more than a quarter of a mile away as the crow flies. The problem was that I was at one corner of an expressway intersection and the dentist's office was at the diagnoally opposite corner. It would mean crossing two expressways which, in Minnesota, is just not done on foot. Aside from the fact that I could see absolutely no sidewalks or pedestrian walkways, everyone I asked at the hotel kind of laughed at my when I suggested walking.
$8 each way between the hotel and the dentist's office. And I had to wait at the dentist's office because they had to call for a cab for the return trip. I guess they don't just cruise around Bloomington looking for fares.
As you might imagine, all of this was a little much for a city boy.
The silver lining in all of this was my brief but utterly enjoyable experience at the dentist's office. First of all, when making the appointment, the office manager was incredibly pleasant and professional. She took a modicum of information and asked me to come 20 minutes early to fill out paperwork. When I arrived at their very nicely decorated offices 30 minutes early, I filled out my paperwork and had just laid down the pen when I was called to be taken into the treatment room.
Yes. I was seen before my appointment time. No, that's not a typo.
The very nice and efficient dental assistant took a quick look and verified my history. The also very nice dentist then came in immediately and in short order sized up the situation. He told me that he could put in a temporary filling but because of the available tooth material, it would not likely hold any much better than the DenTemp. He said he could do the restoration work, but it would be the same thing my own dentist would do next week and he didn't think there was any danger in leaving it exposed until then - just keep it clean.
Maybe it's the cynical New Yorker in me, but I was somewhat surprised that he did not indicate the need to perform any work. What then really surprised me was that there was no charge for the visit.
No charge! I have insurance so it wouldn't have been money out of my pocket and yes, I was only in the chair for all of about 5 minutes, but no charge? Again, it's the cynical New Yorker in me that caused the most surprise.
They gave me a copy of the dentist's notes to give to my dentist and the last notation was "Nice patient" with a smiley face. Gosh darn, gee whiz they were nice folks! Maybe there's something to this Minnesota living.
Anyway, if you are ever in Bloomington, MN and find the need for dental care, I would highly recommend paying a visit to Dr. Greg Walling and the fine folks at Metro Dentalcare. You will thank me and so will your teeth.
UPDATE: If you'd like a great dentist in New York, feel free to give our Dr. Gold a call. His office is located at 185 West End Ave (69th St.) and can be reached at 212-787-8183 or by e-mail at DRSHGOLD@aol.com.
This morning I lost a very old filling in my mouth. I mean old, like when I was 8-years-old old. I called my dentist in New York, Samuel Gold. Dr. Gold is the dentist for my whole family and we love him. He is earnest, professional, very careful and considerate, and an all around nice guy. He told me that as long as I didn't have any pain or swelling I should just go to a drugstore and get something called DenTemp which is a temporary filling material and then come see him when I am back in town next week.
Now as a New Yorker who is used to being able to get anything he needs 24/7 and within walking distance, this morning's adventure was a little hard to swallow. Let me put it this way. A $35 roundtrip taxi fare to Walgreens (including a 5 minute wait while I was in the store) enabled me to get the $4.49 package of DenTemp.
Anyway, the DenTemp did not take. Although I was in no pain, I was concerned about infection in the big jagged hole in my jaw, so I went to my dental insurer's website and found a nearby dentist. Let me now clarify nearby. I mean really nearby. I mean I could see the building from my hotel room window. They could see me in an hour.
Let me tell you more about what I mean by "nearby". I would guess that my destination was no more than a quarter of a mile away as the crow flies. The problem was that I was at one corner of an expressway intersection and the dentist's office was at the diagnoally opposite corner. It would mean crossing two expressways which, in Minnesota, is just not done on foot. Aside from the fact that I could see absolutely no sidewalks or pedestrian walkways, everyone I asked at the hotel kind of laughed at my when I suggested walking.
$8 each way between the hotel and the dentist's office. And I had to wait at the dentist's office because they had to call for a cab for the return trip. I guess they don't just cruise around Bloomington looking for fares.
As you might imagine, all of this was a little much for a city boy.
The silver lining in all of this was my brief but utterly enjoyable experience at the dentist's office. First of all, when making the appointment, the office manager was incredibly pleasant and professional. She took a modicum of information and asked me to come 20 minutes early to fill out paperwork. When I arrived at their very nicely decorated offices 30 minutes early, I filled out my paperwork and had just laid down the pen when I was called to be taken into the treatment room.
Yes. I was seen before my appointment time. No, that's not a typo.
The very nice and efficient dental assistant took a quick look and verified my history. The also very nice dentist then came in immediately and in short order sized up the situation. He told me that he could put in a temporary filling but because of the available tooth material, it would not likely hold any much better than the DenTemp. He said he could do the restoration work, but it would be the same thing my own dentist would do next week and he didn't think there was any danger in leaving it exposed until then - just keep it clean.
Maybe it's the cynical New Yorker in me, but I was somewhat surprised that he did not indicate the need to perform any work. What then really surprised me was that there was no charge for the visit.
No charge! I have insurance so it wouldn't have been money out of my pocket and yes, I was only in the chair for all of about 5 minutes, but no charge? Again, it's the cynical New Yorker in me that caused the most surprise.
They gave me a copy of the dentist's notes to give to my dentist and the last notation was "Nice patient" with a smiley face. Gosh darn, gee whiz they were nice folks! Maybe there's something to this Minnesota living.
Anyway, if you are ever in Bloomington, MN and find the need for dental care, I would highly recommend paying a visit to Dr. Greg Walling and the fine folks at Metro Dentalcare. You will thank me and so will your teeth.
UPDATE: If you'd like a great dentist in New York, feel free to give our Dr. Gold a call. His office is located at 185 West End Ave (69th St.) and can be reached at 212-787-8183 or by e-mail at DRSHGOLD@aol.com.
Friday, August 08, 2008
The Power of the Internet
There have been many arguments regarding whether the Internet brings people together or whether it keeps people apart by substituting electronic interaction for interpersonal. I can make the argument for both sides, but yesterday it provided a meaningful example of how it brings people together.
We were on vacation in Mexico a few weeks ago. We had gone on a catamaran snorkeling trip at a reef off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula. As we weighed anchor and prepared to head back to the marina, we witnessed a very unfortunate incident at another catamaran anchored nearby. One of the snorkelers from that catamaran had returned to the vessel ahead of the others, presumably because he wasn’t feeling well, and suffered a heart attack just as he reached the ship. We watched valiant rescue efforts by the boat’s crew as well as a paramedic onboard our ship who dove into the sea and swam to the other boat to assist, and that of a speed boat that was dispatched very quickly from the marina. The victim was transported by the speedboat back to the marina, while attempts at resuscitation continued onboard followed by additional efforts by paramedics back at the dock. As we sailed into the marina, we watched as it was determined by the police and EMS teams that the resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful and the victim was draped in a sheet. Needless to say, it was a very somber and sobering event.
We had no information regarding the victim, but when we returned to New York I used Google News to find out that the victim was a man in his 30’s from Omaha on his honeymoon. His wife had remained with the rest of the snorkelers and was not even aware of what had transpired until the group returned to the catamaran. It was a very sad story to begin with, made all the more so since the victim had apparently not had an easy life and his new marriage marked a turning point where everything seemed to finally be coming together and he was happier than he had ever been in his life.
The news story that I had found on the site for Southwest Iowa news permitted users to leave comments. I left a comment indicating that we had witnessed the incident, conveyed our condolences to the victim’s family noting that I lost both my father and best friend to untimely heart attacks, and praised the crew of the ship, the staff at the marina, and the local authorities for their speedy and valiant though unsuccessful efforts. The comment showed my name and location.
Again, through the power of the internet and search engines, I received an e-mail from the victim’s sister yesterday asking if she had reached the Matthew Grob who had left the comment on the news site. We ended up speaking on the phone and she conveyed to me how much my comments had meant to her, her widowed sister-in-law, and the rest of their family. Being able to speak with me apparently brought a great deal of comfort, especially to their mother.
I remember how much it meant that a few months after my father’s death, we were able to meet with someone who had been with him when he died. We didn’t know this man, but just speaking with him brought a great degree of comfort and I was so pleased yesterday to have provided a similar service to another family.
You can say a lot about the power of the Internet, both good and bad. I am happy to report that at least yesterday, it was certainly a positive force in our lives.
We were on vacation in Mexico a few weeks ago. We had gone on a catamaran snorkeling trip at a reef off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula. As we weighed anchor and prepared to head back to the marina, we witnessed a very unfortunate incident at another catamaran anchored nearby. One of the snorkelers from that catamaran had returned to the vessel ahead of the others, presumably because he wasn’t feeling well, and suffered a heart attack just as he reached the ship. We watched valiant rescue efforts by the boat’s crew as well as a paramedic onboard our ship who dove into the sea and swam to the other boat to assist, and that of a speed boat that was dispatched very quickly from the marina. The victim was transported by the speedboat back to the marina, while attempts at resuscitation continued onboard followed by additional efforts by paramedics back at the dock. As we sailed into the marina, we watched as it was determined by the police and EMS teams that the resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful and the victim was draped in a sheet. Needless to say, it was a very somber and sobering event.
We had no information regarding the victim, but when we returned to New York I used Google News to find out that the victim was a man in his 30’s from Omaha on his honeymoon. His wife had remained with the rest of the snorkelers and was not even aware of what had transpired until the group returned to the catamaran. It was a very sad story to begin with, made all the more so since the victim had apparently not had an easy life and his new marriage marked a turning point where everything seemed to finally be coming together and he was happier than he had ever been in his life.
The news story that I had found on the site for Southwest Iowa news permitted users to leave comments. I left a comment indicating that we had witnessed the incident, conveyed our condolences to the victim’s family noting that I lost both my father and best friend to untimely heart attacks, and praised the crew of the ship, the staff at the marina, and the local authorities for their speedy and valiant though unsuccessful efforts. The comment showed my name and location.
Again, through the power of the internet and search engines, I received an e-mail from the victim’s sister yesterday asking if she had reached the Matthew Grob who had left the comment on the news site. We ended up speaking on the phone and she conveyed to me how much my comments had meant to her, her widowed sister-in-law, and the rest of their family. Being able to speak with me apparently brought a great deal of comfort, especially to their mother.
I remember how much it meant that a few months after my father’s death, we were able to meet with someone who had been with him when he died. We didn’t know this man, but just speaking with him brought a great degree of comfort and I was so pleased yesterday to have provided a similar service to another family.
You can say a lot about the power of the Internet, both good and bad. I am happy to report that at least yesterday, it was certainly a positive force in our lives.
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