Major Mike's Musings

We just received a letter from the U.S. Department of Commerce telling us that our 2010 Census form will arrive in about a week. I’m glad the government is spending billions to tell us this. Last year we received a letter from the government telling us that our stimulus check would arrive in about a week. Anybody else think this is a waste of money?

Apparently, I really offended my dentist, Dr. Adam Still, (or his operations manager, Stacy Markle), of Laurel Manor Dental. Offended enough that they no longer want me (or Mrs. Major) as a patient. Here’s what happened:

About a year and a half ago, Dr. Still recommended that I replace the crowns on teeth 18 and 19 as they were beginning to “leak” and I would begin to get cavities underneath them soon. He gave me a treatment plan for the two crowns at $2200.¹ I have this minimalist dental insurance² that was already maxed out for last fiscal year, so I tried to negotiate with the doctor on the price. He pretty much laughed me off.

I waited until the beginning of this fiscal year and attempted to renegotiate a better price for the two crowns. He refused. When my perodontist also recommended that I get the crowns replaced, I began to shop around to see if a local dentist would do them for less. The good folks at Royal Dental concurred with Laurel Manor Dental’s diagnosis and agreed to replace the crowns for $699 each. I requested that Laurel Manor Dental send my x-rays to Royal Dental so that they could do the work. Which they did for the agreed upon price. They did a great job, too.

A week or so later, I got a letter from Stacy Markle stating that Laurel Manor Dental was sorry to see me leave and was wishing me the “very best in your future dental care.” I called Ms. Markle several times but was unsuccessful. The last time I left her a message on her voicemail stating that I was not changing dentists. I just wanted to save $800 on my crowns. Other than the price for the crowns, I was completely satisfied with Laurel Manor Dental.

Yesterday, I received a “Dear John” letter from Ms. Markle. I quote it here:

As referenced in my letter to you dated July 20^th 2009 it is my understanding that you have chosen to seek dental care elsewhere. You indicated such to us when you requested your radiographs be forwarded to another office in order to have your treatment performed there. As a practice policy, we do not assume responsibility for treatment received outside of this office when we have diagnosed treatment and established a relationship with our patient. Therefore, as stated in my letter, we regret your decision, however, wish you the very best in your future dental care.³

A nice, friendly letter making it seem like I had abandoned our relationship. Figuring that a business manager would be loath to loose two valued customers in these tough economic times, I called Ms. Markle. I was astounded that, indeed, I was fired as a patient. They had cancelled my appointment for a cleaning for Wednesday.

I guess we’ll have to find another dentist.

1. Actually $910 per crown and $195 each for buildups…so it’s really $2210. [↩]
2. It’s The Retiree Dental Program for retired military which we pay for. It doesn’t cover all the costs and for crowns there is a max per crown that is very low. They only pay 50% with a max of $350 per crown. [↩]
3. I can’t help it. The punctuation in the first sentence is amiss. And one doesn’t diagnose a treatment; one prescribes a treatment. [↩]

Last month Comcast changed their bills to full color. This month they raised their rates.¹ I guess they figure if they look cool we won’t notice the rate increase.

1. Perhaps to pay for the full color. [↩]

A trillion here, a trillion there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money.¹

1. Paraphrased from the original Everett Dirksen quote [↩]

Does anyone think that fake pricing is not only annoying, but also immoral?

Now, airlines regularly sell seats at a price, but tack on other fees not mentioned therein. For example, we recently bought airline tickets to fly from Orlando to Miami for $89 (including taxes, tags, license, and union dues). We were encouraged to pre-purchase baggage tickets¹ to save money and ensure our bags would be on the same flight as we will be. I did that today on the Internet. The cost? $55.00. That’s over 61% of the ticket price.

Travel agents are famous for this, quoting one price for a vacation or a cruise then in tiny print reveal that the price does not include government taxes and other fees. Is this materially different from the bait and switch tactics of retailers who advertise an item at a bargain price but have only more expensive items in stock?

What other examples of this kind of fake pricing have you encountered?

1. to check the bags [↩]

How many calories did all the athletes burn during the olympics?

Why is it that we get every single vault, twist, pirouette, jump, pose from gymnastics about five times each and we only get 10 seconds of the women’s shot put, discus, and pole vault? Could it be the Chinese don’t stand a chance in field events?

Last week 90 some people were rounded up in a drug raid in San Diego. More than 60 of the culprits were students at San Diego State. One of the students, a criminal justice major, asked one of the arresting officers, “Do you think this will hurt my chances of employment with federal law enforcement?”

Ya think?

Is it today’s cultural influence that causes someone to even ask that question? Or are today’s college students just dumber than they were decades ago? Or was it just this one?

From the Campus Ministry Update February 2008 by The Ivy Jungle:

 Endowed Bathroom:   A venture capitalist has given $25,000 to the University of Colorado to endow a bathroom.  The lavatory in the business school will have a sign outside it featuring the inspiring quote:   “The best ideas often come at inconvenient times.  Don’t ever close your mind to them.”   (Inside Higher Ed January 29, 2008)   

“I know I did it. I don’t know how I did it, but I know I did it. There was nobody else around,” said Jeffery A. Asbury after he killed his wife in front of the Fox Lake, WI, police station. Full story here.

The shame of it is, “earlier this month, he called his wife 10 to 20 times threatening to kill her, his children and his in-laws.”

This man needs some prayers. And there needs to be a better system of protecting folks who are being threatened.¹

1. The article doesn’t say whether his wife complained to anyone about the harrassment [↩]