Obamacare - Health Reform or Health Insurance

With Obamacare about to go into effect in a few days, I thought I would write about what I think health reform should have been, and it's not insurance, although some of that did need regulating.  Things that health reform should have been about (and I'm probably leaving some things out, as I want to keep things short) are the following:

1.  Educate people about nutrition, including mandatory school courses starting very early, and continuing through High School.  Include the dangers of fast foods, sugar, fructose, hydrogenated fats, anything artificial in foods, etc.

2.  Lower the costs of hospitals, emergency room visits (my brother stepped on a nail, went to the emergency room, got a bill for $1,400), ambulances, etc.

3.  Outlaw prescription drug ads (we are only one of two countries that allow this).  Prescription drugs are not something you should be shopping for - they are for your doctor to prescribe.  They kill over 100,000 people a year in the U.S. - when properly prescribed.  They have some very nasty side effects, perhaps worse than the condition you were taking them for.  Your doctor is hopefully smart enough to decide if you may want or need a prescription without you asking your doctor if drug X is right for you.

4.  Start eliminating environmental toxins.

5.  Preferably get rid of GMO foods, but at least make labeling them mandatory.

6.  Eliminate the use of antibiotics in farm animals and the spraying of these on all foods.

Thankfully, I educated myself on all the above.  Before doing that, here is list of some maladies I had:
1.  Measles, mumps, chickenpox, bronchitis.
2.  At least 4 colds a year, plus every flu that was going around - some severe.
3.  Ulcer, and a few years later, nervous stomach (including nausea, severe cramps, etc.).
4.  Dandruff
5.  Headaches

After making the changes and adding vitamins and supplements, all of the above are a thing of the past, except I still get sick about once every five years, and no flu for too many years to remember when I had it last.

The above is the health care reform I would have liked to have seen.  As someone once said, "who has health, has hope, and who has hope has everything."

I guess the best photo for here would be of  healthy people and since Halloween is just around the corner, well...

These people look healthy, no?

TO COMPLETE THE ABOVE STORY:

When I was little, there was no internet, nor any reason I knew to study nutrition.  Same for my family.  The typical diet back then was margarine, white bread, bologna, salami, soft drinks (what's water, LOL?), etc.  Then at college, got on the typical college diet - lots of spaghetti and pizza because they were cheap, 4-6 bottles of coke/pepsi/royal crown soft drinks a day and on and on.  Oh - and lots of sugary candy.  And desserts.  Luckily I have always been active, or who knows how many more health problems I would have had.

When I was 30, I was diagnosed with the nervous stomach.  The doctor told me all I could do was stay out of stressful situations.  I decided to explore other options.  There was a guy I knew from the beach when I lived in Santa Barbara who was the healthiest looking person I've ever seen.  I asked him what he did.  I figured who better to ask than who practices and lives good health.  He told me to get a book, "Health Secrets of the Hunza" and follow their diet.  All whole, natural, organic foods.  Within 6 months, no more nervous stomach.  And many other benefits - less sickness, more energy, etc.

Then several years later started studying vitamins and supplements.  And started supplementing for things I might not be getting in my diet.  And more noticeable benefits.

This concludes my thoughts on what health care should have been.  I would welcome you comments.

Many New Posts Coming

I have been a bit lax with my blogging.  In order to not forget about doing this more often, I set a calendar daily reminder, sent as an email, to post here and on Facebook.  So there will be a lot more posts.  Along with photos.  The first one today is from my old family album, and was taken in Frankfurt, Germany in 1892 (not by me!) by Fritz Kuhl.  Shown is the front and back of that photo.  I don't know who they are or what the relationship is to me - perhaps a great great grandmother???  If anyone who happens by here and knows who they were, please let me know - although I have a better chance of getting hit by lightening, no doubt.

This next picture is a more recent photo - shot April 21, 2013 (121 years after the above) - and it is something that everyone should do more often.  Great exercise, doesn't use gasoline, and is fun.  This was along Venice Blvd by Centinela in Los Angeles.

That's it for today.

Another July 4th Come and Gone

Hard to believe July 4th. 2013 is now in the past.  I was taking some photos at Muscle Beach in Venice, California, and played some paddle tennis at the courts next to Muscle Beach.  Here are a few of the photos I shot:

Over the years, there has been controversy about whether to shoot RAW or JPG.  I used to shoot only in JPG, but then experimented with RAW.  What's the difference between them?  JPG throws out a lot of information during in camera processing of the image.  If all your settings are correct, you will still get excellent results; however, if any settings are off, quality will suffer.  My advice is that if you are shooting something that is important (weddings, portraits, etc.), shoot with RAW.  If you are just having fun (like I was on the 4th), JPG is fine (as in the above photos).

Things to Consider When Hiring a Photographer

I just listened to a Webinar (a seminar on the Web) given by a professional photographer.  Afterwards, I went to her website to check out her portfolio, prices, etc.  She also had reviews on Yelp.  After analyzing all the data from these three sources, if I was looking for a photographer, it wouldn't be her.

First, she had no guarantee.  What does that mean?  You are taking all the risk if you decide to get your photos done by her studio.  Whatever the cost, you will not get your money back regardless of how the photos turn out.  She also hires assistant photographers, so she may not be the one who photographs you.

According to the Yelp reviews, there were several people who were very dissatisfied with the results, to the point they did not want to share them with anyone; they didn't receive what they had wanted.  There were also many happy clients, but what if you are one of the dissatisfied ones?  The photographer may be very nice, personable, and friendly (as this one was), but if they don't back up their work with a guarantee, and the photos are no good, that won't help you.

What should a guarantee include?  Two things - a free re-shoot if you are not satisfied with the results,  and if you're still not happy, then all your money back that was paid to the photographer (every penny, including any deposit).    Note:  Hair and make-up may be separate, so you may need to negotiate with that person for a refund.  Or you may want to schedule your session in the late afternoon, then go out for a night on the town afterwards (because you'll be looking so great) - that way, the hair and make-up will be put to good use either way.

Second, check out the photographer's portfolio and see if you like his/her work.  Keep in mind that most people will show you their best work.  So if their portfolio doesn't look good, you know it's time to move on.

Third, how much time will they spend with you?  This includes meeting with you before the day of the session to answer all your questions and offer suggestions (such as what to wear, how many changes of clothing, poses you might like, what your photos are for, what do you like best about how you look, etc.).  The more the photographer knows about what you want, the better your photos will be.

Fourth, if reviews are available, check them.  Also testimonials, although they won't post them from unhappy clients, so they are a bit limited in value.

Fifth, always, always meet with the photographer before scheduling a session.  You have to make sure you feel comfortable with them.

I'm sure there are more things to consider, but this was off the top of my head.  Hope this helps.

Health in the U.S.

Very short post today - just a link to a great article about the state of health in the U.S. and some of the reasons why it's not what it should be.  Hope you learn something useful, change some of what you do, and improve your health in 2013 and beyond.  I am my own proof that eating healthy makes a huge difference!  I've eliminated several health problems and reduced others.  I take no medications, only natural supplements, and eat a healthy diet.  Some of the past problems that are no longer problems:  ulcer, "nervous stomach," headaches, allergies, and a few others.  Reduced colds and flu's from 4-5 times a year to one every four to five years (about a 95% reduction).  Here's the link to some of the reasons and things that can affect your health:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/23/united-states-health-ranking.aspx?e_cid=20130123_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130123

You will need to copy it and paste it into your address bar.

Best of Health to all in 2013 and beyond.

Nightmare at Amazon; but not with my Photography

The following recently happened to me when I ordered a camera case from a third party seller on Amazon.  I placed the order on Nov 22, 2012 and was notified that it should ship by Nov 26 - 27.  Early in December there was no word about it having shipped, so I emailed seller through Amazon (only way to contact a seller).  No reply.  So after a couple of days, I emailed seller again and said I cancelled the order.  Still no reply.  When I placed the order I paid part with credit card, and part with the credit card's reward points.  The credit card was not charged, but the points were used.

This is the point where Amazon gave me the worst customer service of anyone.  Ever.  They said I could not cancel the order, that the non-responsive seller had to cancel it.  And that I had to wait until Dec 19 to file a claim, and then it would take 1-2 weeks after that to get my rewards points refunded.  Well, that is, unless the seller decided to suddenly send my order (which I had already bought from someone else) - then my claim would be cancelled.

I have never done business with a company whose policy says that if you cancel an order, before it is sent, that the order isn't cancelled until the seller cancels it (even though he doesn't respond to you), and that the seller has three weeks to either send it or cancel it.

Luckily, this was for a small item.  But imagine if it was for a large screen TV for the Superbowl.  You wouldn't be able to order another one because they might send the first one, or not.  Even though you cancelled it, the seller didn't, and he didn't send it or contact you, either.  I hope I have saved someone the problems I had with Amazon.  BTW, I had ordered a big screen TV from Amazon, and several days later got notification that the order was cancelled, so ordered from Adorama for the same price, and had no problems.  Plus Adorama has excellent customer service.  I'll go into that story on my next post.

With my Photography, I have the best possible customer service, as that is at least as important as the quality of the images we would get.  MY policy is this:  if you don't get the images you had hoped for, regardless of quality or anything else, you will first get a free re-shoot if you would like, and second, if you leave with no images because they weren't what you wanted (either after the first or second shoot), you won't pay a penny, and will get a refund off all money already paid.  And no hard feelings.  That is how customer service should be.  If you choose me to photograph you, I want to make sure you take absolutely no risk.

Photography Blog Posts for 2013

For 2013 this blog will be posting more images; initially, things I have shot in the past.  Plus, I plan on posting other thoughts, ideas, or whatever I may be thinking of at the time.  Of course, there will always be posts about the importance of health, with information about how you might be able to improve yours.

I've been doing digital photography for about 10 years and always make immediate back-ups onto external hard drives and/or CD's.  Unfortunately, my computer recently got a virus and crashed.  Had to reformat and re-install windows, and restore all my data.  That's when I found out I didn't have a back-up (or at least can't find it) for two events I photographed this past year.  Luckily, it wasn't anything really important - Memorial Day at Venice Beach, and the IFC Awards in Santa Monica (from the sidelines).  I may still find these files at another off site hard drive.  The lesson - even if shooting just for fun, which these were, always review what you've shot during the day and back up immediately.

As the year goes on, I plan on transitioning from shooting as a hobby to more semi-professionally or professionally, as I have done in the past.  I enjoy photography, and especially photographing beauty, so that will be my main emphasis.  But for now, here are some past photos that I had fun shooting.

Paddle tennis courts at Venice Beach.

More paddle tennis.

Harlem Globetrotters at Venice Beach basketball courts.

Spectators in warmer weather at Venice Beach basketball court area.

Scene along Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA.

007 - Daniel Craig at IFC Awards at Santa Monica Beach

Lucy Liu at IFC Awards

Stay tuned, more to come in future posts,  Meanwhile, have a great 2013.