I mentioned above how they do some things well but in others…
One thing that got me in both the UK and Australia was the cost of parking at a hospital. It is right up there with the cost of parking at airports, incredibly expensive. Not so here, it is very reasonable which given that when you need to use the facilities you do not have much choice is great.
Which reminds me, parking at airports is also reasonable here (or so I have found thus far) whereas in both Australia and the UK it costs a fortune every single time.
Another example of how they do things well are school buses. I have mentioned before that they have dedicated buses for school kids and how traffic has to stop (in both directions) when kids get on or off. Having seen this in operation a lot more I am a great fan of how it all works. There were so many accidents with kids getting off “school” buses in Australia (normal buses that are hired by the State to make school runs during specific school times). Of course, the UK does not have any school bus system at all.
If you are driving during school time in Australia traffic is supposed to slow to 40 kph, (about 25 mph) which many cars do not. Here you have to slow to 15 mph which seems really slow as it is approximately 24 kph. They also seem to enforce it strongly. I have seen lots of police cars with their radar guns out at such times. Personally I think it is great.
Mind you, I have also noticed that schools do not seem to have fences around them. Having been a school teacher I tend to notice such things as in the UK there was always a fence around the grounds. I seem to recall a similar situation in Australia. Here they don’t seem to bother which seems a little strange to me.
Motorway tolls are another thing that have surprised me. In Australia you pay an extortionate amount whenever you use a toll road. Going to the airport from where I used to live in Sydney meant I paid money on the M7, the M2, the Harbour Bridge/Tunnel and the Eastern Distributor. A round trip would cost me not far off $20 having traveled about 50 miles on the toll roads. I recently drove more than 50 miles on a toll road here and it cost me around $4.00!
Another example of how they can do things well comes to pets. In the large pet stores you can get your animal’s nails clipped, their fur cut and shampooed and in some cases they even arrange vet clinics so you can get their shots done. The cost of these services is actually very reasonable and much less than I used to pay in Australia.
Whilst talking of pets, you can even take your pets with you when you go to many hotels. If you are going away on holiday say, you can take your pouch with you and during the day put it in the day care facility! Makes things so much easier.
Another example is when you are buying something in the supermarket. How many people have tried to work out which brand of something is cheaper. Invariably the sizes are different so you have to try and work out some form of conversion in your head. Not so here. For every item (or so it seems) they have a little part of the price label on the shelf that gives you the unit cost. So when buying cereals for example, you can check out how much each packet is per pound in weight. So not matter what you buy you have right in front of you the unit cost in what ever unit the item is sold in. The producers simply have no way of avoiding the comparative costs. Great stuff!!!!
They also allow manufactures to make comparisons on the label. For example, if a generic brand is like a name brand, they can say quite clearly on the label, compare to… and you can check the ingredients or whatever as well as the price. Once again, makes comparative shopping so much easier.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Medical system
This is really a country of bizarre contrasts. In some areas they do things so very well, in others, you wonder what on earth they are doing.
Take medicine for example. I had to go to visit a doctor recently, something you try hard not to do here as it is expensive. I have temporary health insurance which actually is a discount scheme. I tried to arrange an appointment to see a doctor and it was all about my health insurance first. I eventually found one that the scheme I am in stated are part of the discount scheme. When I got there they spent sometime checking my scheme details and then decided I could see a doctor. However, before that you get checked out by a nurse, who then gives your details to the doctor. She was very good as well and gave me a thorough examination.
I then had to see the person responsible for sorting out payment. She was excellent, trying to contact the people in the scheme I belong to. After quite some time she found that the scheme did not actually accept that Doctor’s practice (even though I got the details from the web site of my scheme). The Doctor was annoyed (with the scheme) as was the person I was dealing with. They all felt bad and charged me the minimum amount and the Doctor gave me free samples instead of me having to get some things on prescription. The whole process really illustrated the best and worst of the system.
My daughter had an experience that also showed these two sides of the process. She injured her shoulder and needed to see a doctor urgently, that took 8 hours. She eventually saw a emergency doctor who stated she needed an urgent MRI. The surgery arrange all this it seems (unlike Australia and the UK where the patient does everything) which sounded good. Except, it was done this way because the practice had to make sure the insurance scheme would cover the cost. So some clerk in an office somewhere had the final decision…
She eventually got an MRI a week later, despite loosing sensation in her arm would was an indication of serious nerve damage that could have been permanent. As it turned out, things were not as bad as feared but that had nothing to do with the system. In fact because of the system my daughter could have had to have surgery and may have permanently lost sensation in her arm, which given that she is in nursing school would have meant she most likely would have been forced to leave the course!
Crazy system. No wonder Obama is keen on reforming things.
Take medicine for example. I had to go to visit a doctor recently, something you try hard not to do here as it is expensive. I have temporary health insurance which actually is a discount scheme. I tried to arrange an appointment to see a doctor and it was all about my health insurance first. I eventually found one that the scheme I am in stated are part of the discount scheme. When I got there they spent sometime checking my scheme details and then decided I could see a doctor. However, before that you get checked out by a nurse, who then gives your details to the doctor. She was very good as well and gave me a thorough examination.
I then had to see the person responsible for sorting out payment. She was excellent, trying to contact the people in the scheme I belong to. After quite some time she found that the scheme did not actually accept that Doctor’s practice (even though I got the details from the web site of my scheme). The Doctor was annoyed (with the scheme) as was the person I was dealing with. They all felt bad and charged me the minimum amount and the Doctor gave me free samples instead of me having to get some things on prescription. The whole process really illustrated the best and worst of the system.
My daughter had an experience that also showed these two sides of the process. She injured her shoulder and needed to see a doctor urgently, that took 8 hours. She eventually saw a emergency doctor who stated she needed an urgent MRI. The surgery arrange all this it seems (unlike Australia and the UK where the patient does everything) which sounded good. Except, it was done this way because the practice had to make sure the insurance scheme would cover the cost. So some clerk in an office somewhere had the final decision…
She eventually got an MRI a week later, despite loosing sensation in her arm would was an indication of serious nerve damage that could have been permanent. As it turned out, things were not as bad as feared but that had nothing to do with the system. In fact because of the system my daughter could have had to have surgery and may have permanently lost sensation in her arm, which given that she is in nursing school would have meant she most likely would have been forced to leave the course!
Crazy system. No wonder Obama is keen on reforming things.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Assumptions
I have learnt that it is not a good idea to make assumptions about things. I have previously mentioned how the language is subtly different and how assuming things mean the same can get you into difficulties (which I still encounter from time to time). I have also discovered that certain products you buy are the same, but not. I used a particular brand of deodorant for years in Aus, but here, the exact same brand has caused me to come out in a painful rash. Different ingredients it seems.
Another issue is the date. I am used to writing it in day month year order, here of course they do it in month day year order. This has and still is causing me problems. However, I discovered why it is different here. When asked the date I invariable answer 9th February 2009 for example. Here they actually say February 9th 2009, i.e. the way they write it mirrors the way they say it. Helps explain it, but does not help me when I have to write the date out (I usually write out the month or at least its abbreviated form).
Books you would think would be the same. Wrong, the covers are all different. When I go hunting for books I used to own, I am constantly surprised at how different they look here with totally different designs on the covers. I assume the contents are the same and apart from the first Harry Potter book, I don’t think they change the title, or at least not very often. Talking of Harry Potter, in Aus and the UK you can buy both adult and children’s versions of the books. Meaning that the covers are different. You will also find Harry Potter books in both the adult and children’s sections of a bookstore. Not here, they are only available in the children’s section ???!!! The covers are very different and to me seem childish, but who am I to judge.
I have also discovered that you can get DVD’d very cheaply here. I love Science Fiction and have purchased the Babylon 5 series that was five years worth of shows, plus five full length films (made for TV) and another special, all for a ridiculously low price. Remember that a season of shows here is anything between 22 & 24 shows (unlike the UK where it can be as few as 6 shows). The cost of the Babylon 5 series worked out at about US$20 a season, or less than a dollar a show. I have also acquired the Star Gate SG1 series, all ten seasons. This was more expensive. It cost me about US$25 a season, or just over a dollar a show! I did pay more for the two most re cent films, all of about US$10 a show. I am slowly collecting the Star Gate Atlantis which is costing me between US$20 and $25.00 a series. Just so expensive….
Another issue is the date. I am used to writing it in day month year order, here of course they do it in month day year order. This has and still is causing me problems. However, I discovered why it is different here. When asked the date I invariable answer 9th February 2009 for example. Here they actually say February 9th 2009, i.e. the way they write it mirrors the way they say it. Helps explain it, but does not help me when I have to write the date out (I usually write out the month or at least its abbreviated form).
Books you would think would be the same. Wrong, the covers are all different. When I go hunting for books I used to own, I am constantly surprised at how different they look here with totally different designs on the covers. I assume the contents are the same and apart from the first Harry Potter book, I don’t think they change the title, or at least not very often. Talking of Harry Potter, in Aus and the UK you can buy both adult and children’s versions of the books. Meaning that the covers are different. You will also find Harry Potter books in both the adult and children’s sections of a bookstore. Not here, they are only available in the children’s section ???!!! The covers are very different and to me seem childish, but who am I to judge.
I have also discovered that you can get DVD’d very cheaply here. I love Science Fiction and have purchased the Babylon 5 series that was five years worth of shows, plus five full length films (made for TV) and another special, all for a ridiculously low price. Remember that a season of shows here is anything between 22 & 24 shows (unlike the UK where it can be as few as 6 shows). The cost of the Babylon 5 series worked out at about US$20 a season, or less than a dollar a show. I have also acquired the Star Gate SG1 series, all ten seasons. This was more expensive. It cost me about US$25 a season, or just over a dollar a show! I did pay more for the two most re cent films, all of about US$10 a show. I am slowly collecting the Star Gate Atlantis which is costing me between US$20 and $25.00 a series. Just so expensive….
Monday, February 9, 2009
Punxsutawney Phil
Remember the film Groundhog Day where they mentioned the Groundhog that was supposed to predict the weather? Well I have just discovered that it is true, the bit about the Groundhog that is. Believe it or not, Punxsutawney Phil even has his own website!
www.punxsutawneyphil.com
There was extensive news coverage of Punxsutawney Phil emerging from his den just after dawn on 2nd Feb in front of an estimated 13,000 witnesses. When I say emerging, I actually mean the poor animal was dragged out of his den and did not look too happy about it either.
It seems this annual ritual takes place on Gobbler's Knob, a tiny hill in Punxsutawney, a borough of about 6,100 residents some 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. According to superstition, if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on February 2nd - the Christian holiday of Candlemas - winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early. Since 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, hasn't seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. He ‘predicted’ another six weeks of winter so we will have to wait and see how accurate he is.
www.punxsutawneyphil.com
There was extensive news coverage of Punxsutawney Phil emerging from his den just after dawn on 2nd Feb in front of an estimated 13,000 witnesses. When I say emerging, I actually mean the poor animal was dragged out of his den and did not look too happy about it either.
It seems this annual ritual takes place on Gobbler's Knob, a tiny hill in Punxsutawney, a borough of about 6,100 residents some 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. According to superstition, if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on February 2nd - the Christian holiday of Candlemas - winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early. Since 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, hasn't seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. He ‘predicted’ another six weeks of winter so we will have to wait and see how accurate he is.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Adapting to the Cold
I have been finding the cold weather particularly affects my head as I have very short hair (one way of hiding the grey!). As I left my beanie in Australia I decided to get one as they are very common here. Unfortunately I forgot that the term Beanie is not used here and so had to ask some one with such a hat where they got one from as no one in any of the stores had heard of a Beanie. I eventually got one from the VF Outlets for all of $4.00 (see previous Blog about these outlets) and immediately started using it. Whilst my head was now warm, I suddenly had a cold neck as the contrast was significant. Time to break out the scarf as well.
We have also had quite a bit of snow. Strange as it may sound, it is actually better when it snows as it is less cold (as opposed to being warmer). I had to think about that and realized that of course when it is snowing there has to be cloud cover and so any radiant heat in the ground is reflected back. When we have had the really cold times there has been an absence of cloud cover especially at night. As a result it got extremely cold.
I have also been using the American snow shovel. This is a very large type of shovel that has a slightly curved handle and lip on the leading edge. We had about six inches of snow today so I went out to shovel the paths clear. Hard work but not too cold compared to last week when the temperature was between minus 15 & minus 20 Celsius. Today it is around freezing and so does not feel anything like as cold.
I have also noticed that the Snow plows are out in force as are the salting trucks. My daughter’s house is close to a major highway and I noticed that they were not letting cars on to either of the ramps to go on to the freeway until they had been well salted. This ramp is straight but quite steep.
On that note, the turn on/off to major roads is somewhat different here. In England and in the UK, when you turn off a motorway/Freeway, you usually travel in a straight line up to a junction that is slightly higher than the Freeway. Here it is quite common to enter the slip road that is leaving the Freeway and find yourself doing a relatively tight 270 degrees curving round to the exit. This is often the case when you join such roads as well, i.e. you can turn through a tight curve to get on to the Freeway.
Not long ago (when there was no snow around) I actually saw a car on its roof on one of these roads. I can only presume he can up the ramp too fast, over-steered as the road curved round and flipped his car (it did not roll but just flipped on to its roof and spun round slowly). I must admit I am always cautious on such entrances/exits, especially when it is likely to be icy.
I have also noticed a number of pickup trucks with snow plows on the front. It seems you can set your vehicle up and register it and then can be called out to help clear the roads. The call can come at any time but I understand the pay is fantastic as I heard of one chap who got called at 2.00 am one morning and was clearing roads all that day, but earned more during 12 hours than he normally does in a week. Having the equipment is probably not cheap, especially as the plow would be quite heavy, but I would imagine they can pay it off very quickly. Sounds like a good idea to me.
We have also had quite a bit of snow. Strange as it may sound, it is actually better when it snows as it is less cold (as opposed to being warmer). I had to think about that and realized that of course when it is snowing there has to be cloud cover and so any radiant heat in the ground is reflected back. When we have had the really cold times there has been an absence of cloud cover especially at night. As a result it got extremely cold.
I have also been using the American snow shovel. This is a very large type of shovel that has a slightly curved handle and lip on the leading edge. We had about six inches of snow today so I went out to shovel the paths clear. Hard work but not too cold compared to last week when the temperature was between minus 15 & minus 20 Celsius. Today it is around freezing and so does not feel anything like as cold.
I have also noticed that the Snow plows are out in force as are the salting trucks. My daughter’s house is close to a major highway and I noticed that they were not letting cars on to either of the ramps to go on to the freeway until they had been well salted. This ramp is straight but quite steep.
On that note, the turn on/off to major roads is somewhat different here. In England and in the UK, when you turn off a motorway/Freeway, you usually travel in a straight line up to a junction that is slightly higher than the Freeway. Here it is quite common to enter the slip road that is leaving the Freeway and find yourself doing a relatively tight 270 degrees curving round to the exit. This is often the case when you join such roads as well, i.e. you can turn through a tight curve to get on to the Freeway.
Not long ago (when there was no snow around) I actually saw a car on its roof on one of these roads. I can only presume he can up the ramp too fast, over-steered as the road curved round and flipped his car (it did not roll but just flipped on to its roof and spun round slowly). I must admit I am always cautious on such entrances/exits, especially when it is likely to be icy.
I have also noticed a number of pickup trucks with snow plows on the front. It seems you can set your vehicle up and register it and then can be called out to help clear the roads. The call can come at any time but I understand the pay is fantastic as I heard of one chap who got called at 2.00 am one morning and was clearing roads all that day, but earned more during 12 hours than he normally does in a week. Having the equipment is probably not cheap, especially as the plow would be quite heavy, but I would imagine they can pay it off very quickly. Sounds like a good idea to me.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Cold
I have been through what I would have happily described as Artic winters in England. The worst was just before we left for Australia when the temperatures went down to -8 Celsius. I will admit that felt cold, especially as we were living in Poole in Dorset at the time and some friends came to visit with the view that as we lived near the sea, we should go to the beech. I can honestly say that I have now seen frozen sand!
Just as an aside, we left England at that time (i.e. -8 Celsius) and arrived in Melbourne on the first day that year they had reached +40 Celsius. It was literally like walking into a brick wall. A real shock to the system....
That little experience notwithstanding, I can also recall being cold in Australia, but it was different. This was brought home to me by the experience of a friend of mine when he was talking to his father in England. My friend was saying how cold it had become in Melbourne whilst his father was saying how warm it was in England. It turned out that it was the same temperature in both places. In the UK it had warmed up as the temperature had risen to around 20 from below 10 whilst in Melbourne we had gone through several days of 40 degrees and it had just fallen to 20 very quickly, which in relative terms meant it felt cold.
I have even had to scrape frost off my car windscreen in Sydney and I must admit it felt colder during the winter there than it did in Melbourne. But, being cold here is something totally different. I have already explained about the snow and ice storms but I am now facing what has been described as abnormally cold weather.
I have been slowly getting used to the temperature hovering around 20 degrees Fahrenheit but now it has dropped well below that. The temperature has dropped to negative territory Fahrenheit. With the wind chill taking it down to -10. To put that in perspective, that means the air temperature is almost -18 degrees Celsius and with the wind chill it is colder than -23 degrees Celsius. Trust me, that is COLD.
Apparently, this is the sort of weather where you can very easily get frost bite if you are not careful. As a result, I am now using more layers of clothing than I have ever used before, and am wearing gloves whenever I venture out I am also looking into getting a Beanie as you can lose a great deal of heat through your head. I am glad to say this type of weather is not normal but why did it have to arrive during my first winter here?????
Just as an aside, we left England at that time (i.e. -8 Celsius) and arrived in Melbourne on the first day that year they had reached +40 Celsius. It was literally like walking into a brick wall. A real shock to the system....
That little experience notwithstanding, I can also recall being cold in Australia, but it was different. This was brought home to me by the experience of a friend of mine when he was talking to his father in England. My friend was saying how cold it had become in Melbourne whilst his father was saying how warm it was in England. It turned out that it was the same temperature in both places. In the UK it had warmed up as the temperature had risen to around 20 from below 10 whilst in Melbourne we had gone through several days of 40 degrees and it had just fallen to 20 very quickly, which in relative terms meant it felt cold.
I have even had to scrape frost off my car windscreen in Sydney and I must admit it felt colder during the winter there than it did in Melbourne. But, being cold here is something totally different. I have already explained about the snow and ice storms but I am now facing what has been described as abnormally cold weather.
I have been slowly getting used to the temperature hovering around 20 degrees Fahrenheit but now it has dropped well below that. The temperature has dropped to negative territory Fahrenheit. With the wind chill taking it down to -10. To put that in perspective, that means the air temperature is almost -18 degrees Celsius and with the wind chill it is colder than -23 degrees Celsius. Trust me, that is COLD.
Apparently, this is the sort of weather where you can very easily get frost bite if you are not careful. As a result, I am now using more layers of clothing than I have ever used before, and am wearing gloves whenever I venture out I am also looking into getting a Beanie as you can lose a great deal of heat through your head. I am glad to say this type of weather is not normal but why did it have to arrive during my first winter here?????
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Ice & Driving
I have discovered another difference between living here and living in either the UK or Aus. I am used to the idea of having to scrape frost off car windscreens. In the UK and even did this on occasion in Sydney. In both countries you could purchase small hand held scrapers which were used to remove the offending frost induced ice. However, here such scrapers are much bigger, two to three feet in length and you need two hands to use one. I have found out exactly why.
I mentioned in an earlier Blog the ice storms that are part of the winter landscape here. What I did not mention was the fun and games required to actually get into you car after a night of freezing rain. I found the vehicle was totally encased in ice. When I finally managed to get a door open (not as easy as it seems) I retrieved one of these large scrapers and proceeded to remove sheets of ice up to ¼ inch thick (i.e. almost a centimeter). This was not frost but thick almost clear ice and it was not just on the windows (as in ALL the windows) but covered the entire vehicle. I never liked the idea of people starting their cars and then clearing the frost off their windscreens. But, with this thick ice I had no choice.
The car also had numerous icicles hanging off every surface most of which I had to break off before I could move as they would have been dangerous flying off when driving (dangerous to others that is). I really had the difference between frost and this ice emphasized as over the course of the day it got warmed and the ice gradually melted. However, overnight their was a severe frost and I was out scraping frost of the front windscreen first thing. It was pretty thick frosted ice but nothing like the sheets of ice of the previous morning.
I have come to realise that you can see foliage in several different forms during the winter here. Everything covered in snow is one thing as the world is white. After a frost it is different as everything is still white but has a silver sheen to it. But after an ice storm, when everything is encased in ice, the world looks distinctly silver. I have never seen this difference before and still find it intriguing.
I have also been driving much more (especially as my daughter is away visiting her mother in warm and sunny Australia at the moment). I have come to realise some more subtle differences. In both Australia and the UK, when making a right turn into a four lane road, there are normally two lanes going each way so you effectively have two lanes out of four to turn into. Here, when making a left turn (the right turn equivalent) it is not uncommon to find yourself only having one lane out of four to turn into. This is because invariably on the road you are turning into, one lane is for the traffic to turn left, one for straight ahead and one for those turning right. Does not sound like much but it came throw you when you are making such a turn, especially if the road is clear. You really have to be careful you don't end up on the wrong side of the 'center' line. I have not made that mistake but often have to think very carefully about it even now.
Just a few more of the little differences I am still discovering.
I mentioned in an earlier Blog the ice storms that are part of the winter landscape here. What I did not mention was the fun and games required to actually get into you car after a night of freezing rain. I found the vehicle was totally encased in ice. When I finally managed to get a door open (not as easy as it seems) I retrieved one of these large scrapers and proceeded to remove sheets of ice up to ¼ inch thick (i.e. almost a centimeter). This was not frost but thick almost clear ice and it was not just on the windows (as in ALL the windows) but covered the entire vehicle. I never liked the idea of people starting their cars and then clearing the frost off their windscreens. But, with this thick ice I had no choice.
The car also had numerous icicles hanging off every surface most of which I had to break off before I could move as they would have been dangerous flying off when driving (dangerous to others that is). I really had the difference between frost and this ice emphasized as over the course of the day it got warmed and the ice gradually melted. However, overnight their was a severe frost and I was out scraping frost of the front windscreen first thing. It was pretty thick frosted ice but nothing like the sheets of ice of the previous morning.
I have come to realise that you can see foliage in several different forms during the winter here. Everything covered in snow is one thing as the world is white. After a frost it is different as everything is still white but has a silver sheen to it. But after an ice storm, when everything is encased in ice, the world looks distinctly silver. I have never seen this difference before and still find it intriguing.
I have also been driving much more (especially as my daughter is away visiting her mother in warm and sunny Australia at the moment). I have come to realise some more subtle differences. In both Australia and the UK, when making a right turn into a four lane road, there are normally two lanes going each way so you effectively have two lanes out of four to turn into. Here, when making a left turn (the right turn equivalent) it is not uncommon to find yourself only having one lane out of four to turn into. This is because invariably on the road you are turning into, one lane is for the traffic to turn left, one for straight ahead and one for those turning right. Does not sound like much but it came throw you when you are making such a turn, especially if the road is clear. You really have to be careful you don't end up on the wrong side of the 'center' line. I have not made that mistake but often have to think very carefully about it even now.
Just a few more of the little differences I am still discovering.
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