One Day More...: July 2015

Friday, July 31, 2015

My Doc Likes Me

Yesterday I commented about Medicare and that I will be enrolled effective on Saturday. It will be a good feeling to cut up my current health insurance card that is costing me over $500 each month and revert to my new three cards (Medicare, BCBS supplemental and Humana prescription drug supplemental). I'll be packing around three cards now instead of one. As I said in yesterday's post, nothing is simplified with Medicare.

One of the advantages of Medicare is the covered annual "wellness" physical. So, first thing Monday morning I'll be going in for the annual. The past five years or so I have been going in for an annual anyway, but now instead of the pesky copays and deductibles it will all be paid for by insurance. I see copays, deductibles and limits in coverage as the insurance company's way of dissuading you from going in, unless you are catatonic.

I don't mind most of the physical, since I have been going to the same doctor for over 30 years. He was fresh out of med school and residency when he started his practice and I was one of his first customers. He literally knows me inside and out. It is mostly a painless exam - mostly.

I like the fact that he spends a lot of time asking questions and knows me as a person. Most times he cautions me about my weight and does blood tests every time. During one of the annuals he kindly suggested maybe cutting back on beer. I just gave him the "deer in headlights" stare.

Whenever the nurses go over the checklist they always ask if I have experienced any dizzy spells. My response is, "only after the first eight beers." They chuckle, but I expect they are thinking "smartass." But, they get their payback. This is the year for the dreaded c-scope, aka the "buttcam" and they always have a smirk when they tell me that.

I'm just glad my doc likes me. I think.

Just one day more...

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Medicare At Fifty

On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law. Former President Harry Truman and his wife Bess were the first to sign up. I was 15 years old then and clueless.

Little did I know the impact Medicare would have in my retirement. In August I will be enrolled in Medicare and the planning leading up to it was nothing like I expected. Understanding Medicare is no simple task. No doubt, that without public service agencies helping seniors, many would be lost in the Medicare maze.

Anyone who is on Social Security is automatically signed up for Medicare, unless they decline. Their monthly premium is deducted from their social security. However, thanks to the lobbyists, Medicare does not cover all the medical costs. That’s where supplemental (private) insurance comes in.

Not unlike the Affordable Care Act, private insurance companies made sure they got their pound of flesh in Medicare. Anyone who doesn’t want copays, limits in coverage and deductibles in Medicare has to turn to private supplemental insurance, with an alphabet soup of plans. Again, with different levels of coverage, deductibles and copays. The more coverage you want, the more you pay.

Then there is the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, which is a misnomer. It is not administered by Medicare and is solely private insurance, with onerous mandates. Once again, the insurance lobby made sure they were covered, and again, the amount you pay monthly depends on how much coverage you want.

To make sure they get their dues, the insurance company lobbyists had a penalty provision enacted in Part D. Essentially, if you do not enroll in a drug plan when you are first eligible for Medicare, there is a 1% per month penalty added onto your premiums when you do decide to enroll. I had to purchase prescription drug insurance just so I wouldn’t incur a penalty if I needed more prescription drugs later in life, but the premiums will cost way more than the annual cost of the one prescription drug I take.

Since retiring, my monthly cost for health insurance has been over $500. My monthly cost for Medicare, supplemental insurance and prescription drug insurance will be just over $250 each month.

Pundits are warning that Medicare will be insolvent by 2024. With baby boomers enrolling in Medicare en masse, there will be more demands on the system. Add to that the costs of the VA medical, Medicaid, the ACA and skyrocketing medical costs (at least in America) and by the time Medicare is 75, there won’t be much left.

It’s time to stop spending money on piecemeal health care programs. It’s time to combine them all into realistic health care. It’s time for true universal health care. No doubt I won’t live long enough to see that happen.

Just one day more…

Thursday, July 23, 2015

What Are You Smoking In Maricopa County?

On Monday U.S. District Judge Murray Snow rejected a request to put on hold a racial profiling case against Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and scheduled hearings in September on civil contempt charges against him.

Snow ruled in 2013 that Arpaio and his deputies racially profiled Latino drivers during traffic stops and wrongfully detained them.

The judge also ordered that the sheriff's office undergo reforms and he appointed a monitor to oversee its operations and prevent any repeats. Arpaio has rebuked the judge's orders.

A separate civil rights lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department continues against Arpaio and his deputies.

Yesterday Arpaio doubled down on his lunacy. While being interviewed on CNN, he was asked about his continued assertion that President Obama's birth certificate was faked.

Not only is Arpaio a court proven racist, he is now in the Donald Trump birther group of loons.

What the hell are you people in Maricopa County, Arizona smoking that you keep electing this clown?

Just one day more...

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Just As It Should Be

Wowzer... it's hot. Really hot. Especially uncomfortable when the humidity is upwards of 80% and the heat index in the 100's.

By 7:00 in the morning it is already 80º, so in order to get any work done outside we have to be out there at 5:30. By about 10:00 it is so hot it is time to retreat into the house.

Temp at 6:45 AM

Since it is so hot during the daytime, I've gotten back into working on models. It is a bit tedious, however sure passes the time.

We just got back from Minnesota where it is also hot during the day, but the humidity doesn't seem to be as high. Our daughter's family was moving into a larger apartment now that our grandson has come into their lives. He is nearly 7 months old and seems to think he needs his own room, other than a cardboard box.

Not much else going on here on the farm as we go about doing the job of being retired. Just as it should be.

Just one day more...

Friday, July 10, 2015

Do The Job Or Be Fired

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) has ordered the state’s county clerks to honor the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision and allow same-sex couples to marry or to resign from their jobs.

In a statement Gov. Beshear said he would not grant a special legislative session to discuss the matter as requested in a letter signed by 57 of the state’s county clerks.

In contrast, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has advised county clerks, magistrates and others who have religious objections to same-sex marriage that they may opt out of providing services to same-sex couples seeking marriage licenses.

Who's next on Paxton's list that they can have religious objections to? Athiests? Agnostics? Pagans? Muslims? Paxton is a perfect example of why religion has no place in government.

Most public officials take an oath to uphold the Constitution, including those with the authority to issue marriage licenses, and especially attorneys like Ken Paxton.

Gov. Beshear is right. These officials should do their job or be fired.

Just one day more...

Friday, July 3, 2015

Model T - Day Seven - It's Alive

This morning I cleaned up the timer and reinstalled it. The timer works the same as a distributor on a modern car and on a Model T is adjusted with a lever on the steering column.

If the timer is clogged with gunk and oil it will not allow proper contact. The roller and inside of the timer's contacts were cleaned. The wiring from the coils to the timer were attached and the timer was installed. I always put a dab of vaseline on the roller to make it contact better, even though there is a small lid to add a few drops of oil. Oil has a tendency to gum up the roller.

With the timer installed it was time to move on to the radiator. After about an hour the job was complete.

Once my friends arrived and after a couple of beers it was time to see if the Model T would fire up. Since there is no starter it has to be hand cranked. Within a few hard turns of the crank it started. It still needed some adjustments in the carburetor and timing.

After a few adjustments it wasn't long until we got it running like it should.

It was a fun project and I'm really glad to get this old Model T running again. When my friends pulled into the farm this morning they were towing another Model T they just bought.

They have about twenty Model T's (3 they got from my restorations) in different conditions. I wonder what they will ask me to work on next.

Just one day more...

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Model T - Day Six

The plan for this morning was to put the water pump and radiator back on the car, however it is much easier to do the wiring with the radiator out of the way. After cleaning up the attachment point on the block I put the water pump back on, then moved on to the wiring.

The Model T had an internal magneto coil and magnet system, fixed to the flywheel of the engine. The magneto provides current to the four ignition coils, one for each cylinder, which in turn intensify the electrical charge to create a strong spark at the spark plug. The discharge from the coil sends the charge to the timer, mounted on the end of the camshaft on the front of the engine. In 1915 the Model T did not have a starter, so it had to be hand cranked. A battery was required to provide the needed spark to the coils. After the car is started on battery it is switched over to magneto. (stock photos)

The wiring on the Model T was in bad shape, so I had my friend order a new wiring loom. It didn't make much sense to try to get this car running and then have to track down an electrical problem in the process.

It is essential that the wiring from the coil box and wiring to the spark plugs makes good contact. To make sure this happens I removed all the old wiring and used a dremel tool to clean up all the contacts. I used a wiring chart to install the new wiring loom.

In addition to the new wiring loom I replaced the old spark plugs with new ones and cleaned up the spark plug wires to make good contact.

Tomorrow when my friends show up we can finish connecting the wiring loom to the timer and install the radiator. We might even get the old Model T to fire up.

Just one day more...

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Model T - Day Five

Today it was time to prep the Model T for replacement of the old radiator. My wife helped me push the car out of the barn so I could rinse out the block.

I had suggested to my friend a chemical flush, but he said just a good rinse would be fine. He doesn't use antifreeze and drains the radiators in the fall. I always used antifreeze, not just for cooling, but for the anti-rust in the antifreeze. I also drove my Model T's in the winter, especially the two trucks I restored, so antifreeze was essential.

After the block was rinsed I spent the rest of the morning rebuilding the water pump. Model T's did not come with water pumps from the factory. It wasn't uncommon for a Model T to boil over. A number of companies made aftermarket water pumps for the Model T. Since this one was period correct for the car I decided to get it working again.

The water pump was spinning, however much too tight. I took off the back cover to inspect the propeller to see if it was seized. A little cleaning with WD40 got it spinning loose again.

Model T's did not have zerks for greasing the bearings. Instead they had grease cups which required routine adding of grease to lube the bearings. This was another area on the water pump that needed attention since the grease in it was old and crusty. One way to quickly check if the grease cup is plugged is to squeeze grease in with your thumb. In this case I couldn't get any pushed in, which meant the cup was plugged with old grease.

Once the dried plug is removed the old grease can be cleaned from the cap and fresh grease can be forced into the cup, pushing out the old grease.

Then it is just a matter of adding fresh grease to the cap and spinning it back on to force grease into the bearing. That is done enough times until grease comes out of the edges around the bearing.

With the propeller lubed and the bearing greased, the propeller cover could be replaced. Since the water pump is likely 75+ years old, there isn't a replacement gasket. Even though I was careful in removing the old gasket, it came off in pieces. A little gasket maker on the old gasket worked to replace the cover.

Tomorrow the refurbished water pump and new radiator will be put on the Model T. My friends are coming to the farm this weekend to do some work on the tires and wiring. I hope they like the progress I have made. No doubt we'll have a few beers. The question is, how much work we will get done on the Model T.

Happy Canada Day to our Canadian friends!

Just one day more...