A Toast To Helen & Grace

Vero Beach

NoLL

My mother's name was Helen. Her sister was my aunt Grace. Grace lived in Hialeah, Florida, near Miami. Helen was a freqent visitor in the 1940s and 50s. When the two of them were together they had great fun partying.

One story that I and my siblings often heard was how Helen and Grace would drive from Miami up to Vero Beach to go to a certain restaurant that they really loved. It was the Ocean Grill. It just happens that the Ocean Grill is still there and that it is less than a mile from the marina where Tarwathie is moored.

Sunday was Libby's birthday. Coincidentally, it was also my brother Ed's birthday. To celebrate this double birthday I invited Ed to join us for dinner at the Ocean Grill. So Ed came with his wife Sally and his daughter Kristi, and Kristi's husband Phil, and Kristi's new baby, Natalie -- age 10 months.

We all had a great time. We imagined that we were sitting at Helen and Graces's favorite table and we raised our glasses in tribute to our much loved but passed away relatives.

Below, Phil and I clown around with Natalie.

Tiller's Excelent Adventure

Vero Beach
No LL

Tiller

Don, Margaret and Tiller on their W32 are rafted up with us. We have been friends since we met Don in Searsport Maine in 2006. In the past few years, we've had a lot of fun together here in Vero.

Tiller, the 3rd crew member, is a cat extrodinare. He is pretty, healthy, active, and he apparently loves the boats. When rafted up, he roams from boat to boat at his pleasure. He especially likes sleeping in Libby's lap.

Don told me about one peculiarity of Tiller's. He likes riding in the dinghy. Don figured this out after long experience. Tiller has less interest in going ashore in the dinghy than the dinghy ride itself. Well, yesterday Tiller really outdid himself.

Libby and I were out to lunch with our friends Dave and Jonni from Melbourne. I first met Dave while working on projects at NYISO. We have been good friends ever since. Yesterday, they drove down to Vero to meet us and then treated us to lunch at a nice restaurant right on the water in Sebastian. Thanks much Dave & Jonni.

Back to the story. When I returned to the boat, Margaret said "you just missed all the excitement." It seems that Tiller managed to set off on his own in the dinghy. He was drifting away all alone with no human on board and heading for the nearby mangrove forest full of alligators. Don and Margaret panicked and had to beg help from anyone nearby to launch a rescue mission to fetch Tiller and the dinghy and return them. The mission was successful.

So how did Tiller manage this feat? I didn't quite get that part of the story. Actually, I would rather not know and use my imagination instead.

Shown The Bum's Rush

Vero Beach

NoLL

We still have a lot to learn about dealing with the Medicare health care system.

• I was fearful of being able to find doctors who accept new Medicare patients. Since we travel so much, every time we need a doctor it is likely to be in a new city.
  
  
• Our first experience with the "Welcome to Medicare" checkup went well.
  
  
• I signed us up for AARP's Medicare Advantage system provided by Secure Horizons. My theory was that they have a nationwide network of doctors who would be required to accept in-network new patients.
  
  
• Yesterday I showed up for a follow-up visit. I told the receptionist that since my first visit, we have new insurance from Secure Horizons. She abruptly told me that they don't accept that. Also, because we have Secure Horizons, Medicare won't pay for a doctor visit. She cancelled my remaining appointments, and told me to leave the building. That's called the bum's rush.
  
  
• When Libby checked with her doctor about follow-up visits, they said the same thing.
  
  
• I went to the Secure Horizons web site to find doctors who do accept their insurance. I asked for any doctor, any specialty within 100 miles. It came back saying "contact us." Uh oh, not a good sign.
  
  
• I called Secure Horizons and asked for doctors in Vero who accept their plan. The man on the phone said, "Sorry none." I asked about Fort Pierce - "none", Stuart - "none", Marathon - "none", Melbourne - "none",Daytona Beach - "none."
  
  
• I asked if we could go to a doctor not on their list and paid cash, would they reimburse me? "No."
  
  
• Before giving up, I re-asked the question a different way. Are there any doctors who accept Secure Horizon even though they are not "in network." "Yes," came the answer. There are three, out several thousand in the area who do.
  
  
• Libby called all three and on the third try, she scored. She now has new appointments and the first doctor will forward her records. "Whew," I was scared that I had ruined her chance to get medical help by signing up for the wrong thing.

I signed up for this AARP program to enhance our access to doctors. It actually had the opposite effect. It severely limited our access to doctors, almost to zero.

We never do well dealing with bureaucracy. Heaven help us in the coming years. If Obamacare passes it will be still worse, I'm sure.

p.s. Wish Libby Happy Birthday, Sunday December 13.

Google Dashboard

Vero Beach

NoLL

Google seems to invent new services and features every week. Libby and I own stock in Google so we take delight in reading their news every week.

One new feature is Google Dashboard. It lets you see what private information Google has about your, and even to change or erase their records of you.

Just for fun, I looked up my Googling history for a day a year or so ago. I must confess that it makes me sound like I have ADD.

I wonder if you could psychoanalyze someone based on their search history.

Nov 23, 2008

7:23am http://www.crn.com/networking/212101460

1:03pm Searched for fairhaven ma library

12:05pm Searched for word usage - Viewed 1 result

http://www.bartleby.com/64/

11:38am Searched for newport nh

11:36am Searched for fairhaven ma library

11:17am http://video.google.com/videoplay=3603147563299262701

11:17a http://video.google.com/videoplay=2391308350805431527

11:17am http://video.google.com/videoplay=2443320849446641695

10:40am Searched for link 10 battery - Viewed 1 result

Owner's Manual Link 10 Xantrex Link 10 Battery Monitor - asmomarine.com

10:08am Searched for xantrex - Viewed 1 result

Xantrex Technology Inc. - xantrex.com

10:08am Searched for link 10 battery

7:50am Searched for singular value decompsition - Viewed 1 result

Singular value decomposition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - wikipedia.org

5:08pm Searched for NIMH batteries - Viewed 1 result

All Rechargeable Battery - www.BatterySpace.com

8:30am Searched for

8:22am Searched for fear of long words

8:19am http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/us/21myspace.html

1:01pm Ludwig Boltzmann - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Notable and Quotable

Vero Beach

NoLL

Overheard near the marina: "We have been together for 26 years. We've never been married. Now, we are going to find out if we are compatible."