Fred's ramblings

[SUP]

Sorry to hear about your eye problems. Glad you are getting it done and they can be straightened out. And your NHS. What a blessing that is. Wish we had something similar here.

[rhetorice]

On 1/25/2024 at 7:31 AM, fredk said:

Last August thru September a chap came on to the forum and offered Craftaids and tools from his late grandfather estate

The thread is locked;

Did anyone receive anything?  The last  I heard from the chap was on 1st - 3rd December that the items were sent. I was sorting out how to pay him. No money was paid over and even if it had been it wasn't for much, $15. But I've not seen what he sent, if he sent it. I'm disappointed. The chap hasn't been on the forum since maybe 29th December 

 

Hi!!! I'm back, life got absolutely insane. I did send it, and last week, it got returned to my place... 3 months after sending.... sigh... USPS, man. It apparently didn't even clear customs (says it failed electronic customs clearance, whatever that means). Bummer, since I paid 30 bucks for shipping too. Looks like we might have to give up on this one. My sincerest apologies, I really wanted to get this stuff out to people who'd be able to use it more - however, it looks like some people got their stuff (some of the U.S. based ones) Checking up on it right now. Yeah, I'm not really a regular member on here- some of ya'll are so talented its a bit scary. One of these days, maybe, when I'm a lot better at this stuff, I'll post my own work. 

[Handstitched]

On 4/11/2024 at 7:18 AM, SUP said:

And your NHS. What a blessing that is.

We have something similar in Oz  , Medicare. Its not perfect, but it 'works''.   I  can go into our local Dr get treated, and walk out again, no charge, its 'bulk billed'. Not all Dr's can do that, some are private.. . The same goes for most public hospitals. Go in , have a stay, get well,  come out and no charge. But for anything like  specific surgeries, people end up on a  loooong waiting list, thats where its not perfect.I live in the bush, so our "major" public hospital is 70kms away, or Royal Perth Hospital  is 3 hrs away. Too far for me.   Private hospitals and specialists and Dr's   are  the money munchers   We also have whats called  the 'PBS', Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme . A lot of meds are listed on the PBS, so  For those on  benefits, pensions etc. meds etc. are heavily discounted. Capped around $6.00.  But there are a lot of meds that are not on the PBS, and we have to pay full price and can be quite e$xy. 

HS 

[SUP]

@Handstitched everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Free medical treatment, free education etc. all have their downside as well, just like our paid systems here. Nothing is every really free, is it?

[fredk]

We pay for our National Health Service (NHS) Every working person pays National Insurance tax. About 5% of wages above a certain minimum.  But it means that no-one is denied medical aid or faces a bill after treatment

[SUP]

@fredk I wish we had something like that here. I'm sure most people would not mind the 5% increase in taxes. But the insurance lobbies and their political lackies will not allow it.

Now getting out of this topic before people jump on me about it!

[Sheilajeanne]

Canadians have government medical coverage too. The most expensive part of my cancer treatment was the parking at the hospital. I even caught a break on that, as they made the parking free during the COVID pandemic!  Prescriptions were covered too, as I'm a senior, though the pharmacy charges a small dispensing fee. 

[dikman]

Handstitched, if you've got a dr. that bulk bills consider yourself very lucky! We don't know any that do, they are (very) few and far between. My dr's clinic used to do it but they stopped sometime ago as they were losing money due to the pittance that the government re-imbursed them. Even with the recent increases from the government (first increases since medicare came in many years ago) they still can't afford to bulkbill because of all their other rising costs. In theory Medicare is a great system, in practice it's struggling, and guess why? The incompetence of successive governments.

[Handstitched]

On 4/20/2024 at 1:53 PM, dikman said:

Handstitched, if you've got a dr. that bulk bills consider yourself very lucky!

Yeh I agree, but we never take it for granted, it could stop anytime. Our lil ol' 'town only has 1700 people, and the majority are elderly, the original people that were born here, so perhaps thats  why we have a bulk billing Dr . But for any specialist care or treatment, we have to travel, thats the downside, the disadvantage of living in the bush.

I also agree with SUP, perhaps not to get into it too much, don't want '" polutiks '' clouding the issue  

HS

[fredk]

I finally got around to making some pouches for my stitching chisels. They've been in a small box in my tool box, all mixed together. Now I won't have to waste time sorting them out each time I need them. Nowt fancy, just some scrap upholstery grade leather, cut into strips, folded over and glued along the edges and a resin snap added to keep them closed. I'll have one more to do soon as I've ordered 5mm chisels

Edited Thursday at 09:31 PM by fredk