A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A HEALTHCARE ALARMIST

This is hilarious.
For all the 'get the government out of my life, the government sucks' people.

This morning I was awakened by my alarm clock, powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service (of NOAA - the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating a breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food.

At the appropriate time (as regulated by the US Congress and kept accurate by NIST - the National Institute of Standards and Technology - and the US Naval Observatory), I got into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads built by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve bank.

On the way out the door, I deposited any mail I had to send via the US Postal Service and dropped the kids off at public school, run according to state and national government guidelines.

After work, I drove my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to a house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.

I then logged on to the Internet (which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration) and posted on FreeRepublic.COM and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the Government can't do anything right.

A Note About the Oscars

I got home about halfway through the Oscars last night. I was ok with that, because I found the whole broadcast utterly boring. Hosts were not funny. The horror montage was lame-and scary. I don't like horror movies. And the presentations of the awards took way too long.
Oh, and Sandra Bullock DID NOT deserve that Oscar.
No way, no now.
I am so upset about The Blind Side and how it has been distorted. I will save that rant for another day, but here is a tidbit that I hope people realize: The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game is a book by Michael Lewis. It's about football and the evolution of the right tackle position. And it is the story of Michael Oher. It is not a story about the rich white woman who took in a poor black boy, despite what the movie may have you think. The main character of the story is actually Michael Oher, not Leanne Tuohy, which was the role played by Sandra Bullock. I refuse to watch a movie that makes such a mess of the original source material and turns it into a feel-good tale of redemption.
This is the problem of reading. I read too many books, and then hear that they are turned into movies that completely ruin the story. Like the movie "21" based on the book "Bringing Down the House." argh.

I am happy about a few things though.
1. Avatar did not win anything major. I have never seen the movie, and I have no desire to do so. I'm just glad it didn't win. I have an unreasonable dislike for blockbuster movies. See: Titanic.
I think I also have an unreasonable dislike for James Cameron. But perhaps that's reasonable. The guy just seems like a jerk.

2. Glad the Hurt Locker won for so many things, even though I also have no desire to see that movie. Realistic war movies don't do it for me.
3. SUPER GLAD that Christoph Waltz won for Inglourious Basterds. I LOVED his performance in that movie. And yes, I am a Tarentino fan. I was prepared for the blood and gore. Even though I didn't necessarily like it, the story was so good and the acting so amazing that I can easily handle some exploding heads. And besides, the ending was awesome!

Beauty Tip

So if you read fashion mags, you'll always see little blurbs about how to get "luminous skin."
Well, folks, I think I have achieved that mythical luminosity. It's really quite fantastic! And it's hard to describe, but I was looking at myself one morning, and I realized that my skin does, in fact, have a glow to it.

My secret?

Moisturizer! (among other things)
Here are my steps:
Morning
1. Around lower eye area: Skyn Icelandic Relief Eye Pen
2. L'Oreal Revitalift Complete Moisturizer with SPF 18
3. Stila Hydrating Primer with SPF 15
And then the eyes:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Sin
Followed by: a variety of eyeshadows in neutral shades of brown and beige, sometimes with a hint of shimmer.
And: mascara, either Clinique or Yves St. Laurent (in one of two shades: sublime gray, or deep night)
And maybe a touch of eyeliner-Urban Decay or Make Up for Ever Aqua Eyes

Back to the face:

4. Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15 in Shade 1
5. Laura Geller Bronze & Brighten Blush
6. Yves St. Laurent Touche Eclait concealer under the eyes.
7. Lip gloss/balm

And Voila!

It looks fantastic! This is a picture from a few months ago taken on the way to work, at about 6:45 in the morning. (I have a long light to wait at to get out of my complex. I was not driving) I think I look pretty luminous here! My cheeks look a bit too pink, but that fades quickly into a more general glow.

Note:it takes about 10 minutes total to do this.
I don't like spending a lot of time getting ready, but I have discovered the perfect way to get my face looking fresh, not overly done, and awake in the morning!

At night:
1. Clean face with makeup remover
2. Wash face with soap
3. Apply Target Up & Up eye lifting serum
4. Apply L'Oreal Advanced Revita Night Cream.
5. Get lots of sleep!

And here's a pic of my products and tools, because everyone likes pictures!

Did you ever notice?

That most people's blogs are terribly boring?
Some people think that they are SO INTERESTING and that everyone will want to read about how they cooked arugula in a cast iron pot with a little bit of sea salt and a touch of pepper and it turned out so perfectly nom nom nom.

The self absorption of bloggers is hilarious. People take themselves so seriously.

Maybe the problem is that most of these would-be 'writers' really aren't very good writers at all. They think they're being hilarious with their witticisms and clever photos, when in reality, they're just boring, bad writers.

Meh. Perhaps I am just profoundly misanthropic.
Or perhaps I just hate the cult of domesticity and the fact that people think they're somehow superior because they use organic vegetables and they painted their room in a particular shade of teal. I love cooking, but I don't spend a lot of time reading cooking blogs, unless they are by well known people like Mark Bittman. I like looking at housewares in IKEA, but whenever I see a blog about decorating, I am reminded of the classic scene from Old School, where the newly married couple is talking about all the exciting things they're going to do on a Saturday:

"Well, um, actually pretty nice little Saturday. We're uh, gonna go to Home Depot, yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, and Beyond I don't know. I don't know if we'll have enough time."