Update Season IX - "CAD, Kenya, CAD, Kenya, CAD, Kenya, CAD"

[memphis]

I'm home from a good orientation.   It wasn't anything to write home about,  but it was something that had to be done. Ready for school to start on Monday, August 5.

Are you worried about driving a half hour to school when it's winter time? 

No worries. He can just get a hotel and have a brief relaxation.

[memphis]

Your program is with the local public schools?

[memphis]

It's taken forever to sell that damn house! Hopefully you can use the proceeds to pay off your parents and some of your debt!

Proceeds? That's hilarious Duke!

[memphis]

It's taken forever to sell that damn house! Hopefully you can use the proceeds to pay off your parents and some of your debt!

We are going to use it to pay down some of my bills.

1. If it's a short sale, there are no proceeds...
2. A short sale affects your credit in the exact same way a foreclosure does.
Cite: http://www.smartcredit.com/blog/2011/03/24/fico-reveals-score-impact-of-mortgage-delinquencies/

[memphis]

So, my suspension of disbelief now has to include an $800/month mortgage payment in addition to all the hotels, gas money, and fast food? I'm gonna have to call shenanigans on this whole affair. There's no way this is real.

[memphis]

My new working conjecture is that Bushie is some sort of savant, whose
talent is storytelling. Somehow, my brain can digest that version of things better.

[memphis]

Bushie had chocolate fudge cake with ice cream for dinner.

facepalm.jpg

No one size fits all judgements, Lief. For his situation, that's a totally reasonable dinner.

[memphis]

Perhaps the Great Physician can cure the Brown Family Diabetes.

[memphis]

Spaghetti is not a good choice for a diabetic. Pasta will spike his blood sugar very quickly. Ditto for pizza, grilled or otherwise. It should go without saying that soda is not allowed either. I have a friend whose mom has gone blind due to diabetes. It's the saddest thing ever!

[memphis]

Bushie's attitude reminds me of the alcoholic who thinks he can just cut back and everything will be ok.

At least alcoholics know the difference between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Bushie and Company are completely clueless as to what constitutes are reasonable meal.

We started off the evening by eating at Braums, an amazing regional fast-food joint here in Oklahoma (we also have some in southern Kansas). I got a third pound bacon cheeseburger, while Jeff got a double third pound cheeseburger. We both chose to get a malt with our order (per his advice) - I got strawberry, though I am honestly unsure what he got.

[memphis]

I know some diabetics who are very careful about their diets. They're also slim because it's very hard to be even moderately fat on an appropriate diet for a diabetic. Obesity does greatly increase risk for diabetes but fit people can get it too. I would like to be more encouraging and less judgemental about his diet because I think that would be more effective in helping him change his habits. In that spirit, I'd like to encourage him to cook for himself more often. It's really not that hard, will help him lose weight, and will save a ton of money. What do you say about some fun kitchen time Bushie? I want to help.

[memphis]

I will provide detailed instructions with pictures for simple and nutritious recipes that you will also make in your home. Would you be willing to do this?

[memphis]

I will provide detailed instructions with pictures for simple and nutritious recipes that you will also make in your home. Would you be willing to do this?

I'd have to talk about it with the folks, first.

Ok. Let me know. I think this could be fun for both of us. You know how to use an oven, right? If not, no worries. That can be our first lesson.

[memphis]

Don't waste your time, Memphis. We've been giving him advice for 4 years that he's ignored.

Maybe it hasn't been structured in a way that was helpful to him. I want to try a different approach.

[memphis]

You hate that people with serious illnesses will be able to see a doctor? And most likely will be able to manage these diseases instead of waiting for an acute emergency to go to the ER? What the hell is the matter with you?

[memphis]

Inks, people like Bushie's family save the rest of us tons of money. They drop dead frequently without taking a penny in Social Security or needing super expensive care for dementia. I guarantee that you will cost the nation far more in upkeep over your lifetime than Bushie will in his.
Bushie, I'm disappointed that at the age of 31, you are not allowed to use the oven and probably don't know how. That's very unfortunate. I'm pleased that you have lost weight and are seeing a dietician. I think she probably meant for you to have fruit with lunch, not as lunch. Fruit, by itself, does not make much of a meal. Try to learn how to make meals for yourself, with or without me. It  may not be pleasant to think about, but Mommy isn't going to be around forever.

[memphis]

Bushie is far from the first person I've heard give the "Well, I'm from the South" excuse for obesity. I don't really understand what that line of reasoning is getting at. Most people try to spin it as people in the South being the best cooks, which is really silly. Also, I don't think of my cooking as "health food." It's more that it's food. And a lot of what Bushie ingests isn't Tonight, I had a pork chop, couscous, and spinach. It took a total of about 20 minutes to make. And I was all set to take pictures along the way and show Bushie how

[memphis]

What is the purpose of a salad?

And no, Oklahoma is not in the South. And yes, there is something wrong with Southern food, as you can see in this map:

I like how there's a 40% obese OK county across the Red River from an 11% obese TX county.  What cruel fate to be born on the wrong side of the river.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ojRQ15My7s

[memphis]

Regarding salad, I suspect the problem may be that you have only tried iceberg lettuce, which is a flavorless, colorless excuse for food. Fresh spinach is the way to go. I eat it almost every day, either on a sandwich for lunch or as a side salad with dinner. Fresh spinach, diced cucumber, chow mein noodles and small bit of Kraft Toasted Sesame Dressing make the best salad ever.

[memphis]

Olives are supremely nasty

[memphis]

Inks, people like Bushie's family save the rest of us tons of money. They drop dead frequently without taking a penny in Social Security or needing super expensive care for dementia. I guarantee that you will cost the nation far more in upkeep over your lifetime than Bushie will in his.

Your argument here doesn't really mesh with your stance on helmet laws.  You advocated for helmet use because those who don't use helmets and get hurt end up costing the taxpayers by being on the government dime.  Surely the percentage of people in motorcycle crashes without helmets and survive with disabilities is lower than the percentage of people who get diabetes and end up living to be somewhere between 40-70 and cost the government money.

People with traumatic brain injuries are, far and away, the most expensive to care for. Nursing homes can cost $100,000/year, and these folks can live for decades.

[memphis]

Inks, people like Bushie's family save the rest of us tons of money. They drop dead frequently without taking a penny in Social Security or needing super expensive care for dementia. I guarantee that you will cost the nation far more in upkeep over your lifetime than Bushie will in his.

Your argument here doesn't really mesh with your stance on helmet laws.  You advocated for helmet use because those who don't use helmets and get hurt end up costing the taxpayers by being on the government dime.  Surely the percentage of people in motorcycle crashes without helmets and survive with disabilities is lower than the percentage of people who get diabetes and end up living to be somewhere between 40-70 and cost the government money.

People with traumatic brain injuries are, far and away, the most expensive to care for. Nursing homes can cost $100,000/year, and these folks can live for decades.

But how many people driver motorcycles to begin with?  At that point, how many don't wear helmets?  At that point, how many are in an accident AND survive but have brain injuries?  I don't know the statistics on this, but it just seems like that number would have to be so small compared to the number of people who live costly lives with diabetes.  I guess it'd be interesting to do a comparison, but my mind seems to tell me that diabetics have to cost society more than they end up saving, but I could be wrong.

The number of people who ride motorcycles has no bearing on whether or not those who do should wear helmets. You're comparing apples to oranges.
Also, as much as I hate invoking Godwin, you're coming awfully close to this:

Blaming every person with a pre-existing condition for his illness isn't just stupendously ignorant. It's also incredibly callous. I sincerely hope you never experience the indignity of living with a chronic condition and being unable to afford medical care, either because of insurance costs or more direct expenses. Nobody in the United States deserves that kind of indignity.

[memphis]

I hate the part of Obamacare that made it so that companies have to ensure people with preexisting conditions.

Also, a major lol@ his dislike for the consumer who act irrationally. That's all of them. Every day. People are wildly emotional creatures.

[memphis]

I think what Inks means if he hates people who abuse the system. I am fine with preexisting conditions and I think it is a change we needed, but that doesn't mean it doesn't annoy the crap out of me when someone like Bushie, who has no self control and on the verge of diabetes, eats monster cake and develops migraines only to simply get the medicine afterwards to stop them so he can eat monster cake once again. Or his dad getting diabetes and then laughing about it while "considering" changing their horrendous diet when they will likely simply shoot up insulin till they all die while eating the same things.

I am fine with people who genuinely need healthcare getting it. No one should be blocked from having their cancer treated or whatever else, but Bushie and his family just irk me to no end the way they approach life. It's truly selfish.

Getting diabetes and making poor food choices is not selfish. It's foolish. Advocating large tax cuts for yourself while demonizing people on food stamps is selfish. See the distinction?

[memphis]

I think what Inks means if he hates people who abuse the system. I am fine with preexisting conditions and I think it is a change we needed, but that doesn't mean it doesn't annoy the crap out of me when someone like Bushie, who has no self control and on the verge of diabetes, eats monster cake and develops migraines only to simply get the medicine afterwards to stop them so he can eat monster cake once again. Or his dad getting diabetes and then laughing about it while "considering" changing their horrendous diet when they will likely simply shoot up insulin till they all die while eating the same things.

I am fine with people who genuinely need healthcare getting it. No one should be blocked from having their cancer treated or whatever else, but Bushie and his family just irk me to no end the way they approach life. It's truly selfish.

Getting diabetes and making poor food choices is not selfish. It's foolish. Advocating large tax cuts for yourself while demonizing people on food stamps is selfish. See the distinction?

Oh Memphis, you seem to have this habit of insinuating things like Bushie does that simply are not there.

Where have I advocated large tax cuts for myself? I firmly believe in a progressive system. If you make more, you should pay more. But this isn't about my personal tax beliefs.

Bushie and his family's behavior is selfish. It's all about them because they know they can just take meds until they die and continue eating what they want. It's selfish because they cost others money which they use Indian medicine, etc. It's their right to do it, but it's still selfish all the same.

You're right. This isn't about your personal tax beliefs. I don't know why you assumed I was talking about you. It was merely a counter example.
Being selfish suggests improving your own position at the expense others. I don't see their lifestyle as an improvement over eating better and being more active. I wouldn't want to sit on front of a tv, eating Enchilada Casserole and chocolate cake all day, while trying, if only half-heartedly, to summon the energy to walk for 15 minutes. Would you?
There are countless examples of Bushie acting selfishly throughout the Update. I don't see this as one of them.