Tag Archives: Rants

Pardon my Rant

Chiriquí Neighborhood Watch, Health Insurance, Healthcare, Hospitals, , , ,

While I was waiting for Marion to finish a laboratory test last week, I started thinking about some of the recent discussions on some of the local forums.

Entirely too many people are moving to Panamá with no plan for their healthcare. This really concerns me.

They my be ignorant about Medicare not covering them in Panama. They may think their health is good and they don’t need insurance. They may not have money for insurance and think healthcare in Panama is cheap. They may think the country healthcare system won’t turn them away.

Let’s consider these thoughts.

First people need to understand that Medicare is not valid outside of the USA. If that is their plan, then they are not covered. They will not be admitted to any private hospital in case of emergency without providing proof of payment, often $4,000 dollars or more for admittance.

One should never think that good health is a reason not to have insurance coverage. Look are the increase in home invasions sending people to the hospital. Home invasions, automobile accidents, being in the wrong place at wrong time. Many things can send you to a hospital.

Since I moved here the private hospitals are becoming more insistent on proof of payment prior to admission. The minimum I have heard was $4,000 and normally it is $5,000 or more and depending on what the hospital expects the total care to be, it may request a payment plan. Continue reading Pardon my Rant →

Time For A Rant

Rants

As the title says, I am not a happy camper.

First, there are YouTube videos, going viral, that show Latin American children using foul language protesting a U.S. politician. I don’t care what your political affiliation is, this is just disgusting.

And the fact that many of these foul mouthed videos are being supported by English speaking internet sites, forums, FaceBook and network TV, bothers me as well.

Political disagreement can be done in a respectful manner. Using children, in their formative years in such a video, scorches my mind. In my opinion, this is akin to brain washing youth using youth.

Another, speaking out against this video, was on NING. The poster was called out for it not being relevant to Boquete, but I disagree and support the author’s premise. These videos are creating a divide or increasing an existing divide.

Other children will see the children, in the video, as heroes and role models. This creates more anti-American hate and can translate into crime against American Citizens in Latin American countries. Continue reading Time For A Rant →

Small Rant

Rants

I am in the process of cleaning up my files. I have been saving too many files that no longer need to be saved.

I came across a 2003 letter I had received from the Lewisville ISD in Texas. I substitute taught for one day for the Lewisville ISD in 2002, while I was waiting for my house to sell.

The Lewisville ISD withheld a whopping $14.60 from that day’s pay. I was told it was placed in a 3121 Premier Plan administered by MidAmerica Administrative & Retirement Solutions. The letter further stated that the money could be disbursed at the age of 70 1/2.

Shoot, I can have a fairly nice meal on $14.60, so I decided to contact MidAmerica.

Upon calling MidAmerica, I was told that as of 2006, they no longer administered that plan and it had been turned over to JEM Resource Partners.

I called JEM Resource Partners and sure enough they did have my account on record and it now contained a little over $11. Then the person on the phone said he could send me the form to close out the account, but since it contained less than $15, they would make no distribution.

I am glad I was able to learn this without sending mail at close to $1 a letter.

I just wrote an email rant to the Lewisville ISD and thought I would cleanse my mind, but making one last rant here.

The fund lost 25% in 12 years and I only lost $14.60. I guess I should feel lucky.

As I told the Lewisville ISD, my thought on the practice of only paying out funds that have over $15 is this. Whether you are stealing a little or stealing a lot, it is still stealing and should be considered a criminal offense.

There. I feel better. I may still drop an email to the Texas Representative that represents Lewisville.

Really Time To Dump Google

Rants, Technology,

In the past I have mentioned that I do not like Google as a company. I think they are a predator and I do not like their business practices.

I have moved away from Google search to using Bing. Google was tracking all of my searches. I have wanted to drop all my gmail accounts, but haven’t had the full motivation until this article came out yesterday.

Now that Google has officially made it clear that they are scanning all email, the motivation is here. I will make a conscious effort to change my email with all companies and websites I have registered it with.

I will most likely only leave the gmail address that I use for this blog and move all others. Since I have my email addresses listed with many credit cards and other sites, it will take time, but I am going to do it.

I use Apple products and will most likely move all my emails to the Apple iCloud address, However, if I wasn’t an Apple user, I would consider moving to any other provider (Yahoo, Microsoft, ,,,). It would be nice if all email was encrypted, but at the present, that isn’t easy.

You have no privacy with Google. Join the band wagon and dump Google. For me that means all products that use Google technology too. No cell phone that uses Android. No Amazon Fire that uses Android. No Blogger.

I wish Google had not bought Waze because I will continue to use it, but I will support no other Google product. To see all of the Google products, look HERE.

Google has become to electronics and technology as GMO has become to agriculture.

Goodbye Google.

What’s Up With Cable Onda

Rants

The last few days, my Internet speed has been very unpredictable. Read that as often lousy.

I just tried to stream some music and there wasn’t enough speed to even do that and songs don’t take up much time to download.

I had an Apple update today and started it. It said 3.4 MB/sec. I thought WOW. That is great. 5 seconds later it changed to 69 KB /sec.

I don’t know if the problem is all over or just in my neighborhood, but I don’t like it. If it slows down too much, I may have to do some work.

Rant Time

Panama Journal

It has been a while, so maybe I am entitled to a rant. As I mentioned, Lilliam is up to her neck in a major remodeling project. Luckily, it is starting to wind down and yet there is still two and a half items on the list left to do.

I had my electrician out for the last three days installing a 30,000 BTU AC in the living/dining area. I will mention that I found my best deal at RefriCenter on the InterAmerican highway. It did take some special consulting with their staff to get it wired correctly. I must have bought the first 30,000 unit of this model that they had sold of their Viking brand. I thought a 30,000 BTU AC for close to $700 was a pretty good buy.

It is all installed and works great. We rarely use AC, but there are times if you have a lot of family in that you need a little cool down and with all the other construction going on, now was the time to do it.

Back to my rant. If there is one thing that I have disliked about Panama builders, it is the electrical wiring. They never plan for enough plugs on the walls, enough plugs in bathrooms for razors or other items, etc. Of course the person that built this house was tight as a tick and if he should have spent $10 to do something right, he figured out how to get by for $4. Between his cheapness and the sorry electrician he used, the entire wiring of the house needs to be redone in my opinion.

Some day if I have more money than sense, I may bring my electrician and rewire everything. Continue reading Rant Time →

Rant For The Day

Rants

It has been a while since I have had anything to rant about. I have done a fair job of shedding the Type A personality that was a requirement for the 30 years I worked in Ross Perot companies. Every once in a while I get a flash back and things, that might not bother others, bother me.

Today was one of those days. I went to Boquete to visit a friend that lives in Valle Escondido. I have been other times without problems, but today was different. If you have never been to Valle Escondido, it has a guard gate you must pass through.

Since I was going to a residence, I had to request a card that allowed passage through the automated gate. Today, the guard asked to see some identification. I assumed it was to record my name for security reasons. I had no problem with that and handed him my pensionado card. He took it and returned with the electronic gate card.

I asked about my pensionado card and he said he would give it back when I left. I told I didn’t like that, but since I was on a tight schedule, I went on. Continue reading Rant For The Day →

First ATM Problem in 8 Years

Rants

Yesterday, I was at the SuperMarket El Rey in Plaza El Terronal. I used the ATM at Banco Universal to Make a withdrawal of $200. The machine made all the noises like it was getting the money and then a message appeared saying it didn’t have enough money and to try later.

I then went to the other ATM in El Rey and requested the same amount. I got some message that made me think the machine was not working.

I walked over to HSBC and tried one more time. This ATM told me there was not sufficient funds in my account. Now I knew that the first machine had registered the withdrawal and just hadn’t given me the money. Grrrr!

I walked back to Banco Universal and it was not open. All other banks were open, but not this one. So today my schedule has an appointment to return to Banco Universal and issue my complaint.

I have printed my bank statement showing that it removed the money from my account and have called my bank and put in a dispute for the money.

I guess an ATM problem every 8 years is not too bad, but I was not in the mood for it yesterday.

UPDATE October 18, 2911 – I met with a very nice lady at Banco Universal, Sujeily Cedeno. She said it would take from 5 to 8 days for their bank and the bank in the U.S. to reverse the transaction. I expect, based on that conversation, that everything to be resolved within 10 working days. My bank in the U.S. had said it should be 3 to 5 days to see the money back in the account.

UPDATE October 20, 2011 – I just checked my account, this morning, and see that the missing funds have been replaced. I had called my bank on the 17th, so I think that was very good response.

Ya BASTA (Enough already)!!

Rants

From……: Maria
Email…..:
Url…….:

Good morning, Don –

I write with the attitude of “Ya BASTA (Enough already)!!” Please, if you think this appropriate, publish it:

What beautiful and forward-thinking our country has shown with all the new 1st World improvements being made in the capital city! The Cinta Costera, the new Metro, the new buses and the plans to amplify Amador are truly marvelous feats. Yet here in Boquete, we are left to live as a 3rd World Country.

The electrical outages we have endured daily since the beginning of the new 4-lane highway should cause shame to Union Fenosa and to our government. Not only do we suffer these outages, but we also suffer extreme surges and brownouts in the current such as to damage our electrical appliances and electronics. Not many people can afford to replace their computer and related equipment, refrigerator, microwaves, light fixtures, telephones, cables, etc.

We try to do our part as conscientious citizens while lowering our demand for power by using fluorescent and LED bulbs, but these surges only cause them to explode. Those that don’t explode burn out prematurely.

Mr. President and executives of Union Fenosa, these problems are causing your people in the Interior much expense which we can ill afford. We are extremely proud of the improvements to our nation’s capital and would value your focus on the Interior as you have focused on the Capital.

We desperately call for your immediate assistance!

Respectfully,
The Forgotten People of Boquete