CBO Budget Deficit Projections

Photo courtesy of http://perotcharts.com/

Enough Said.

I Hate Change....

I'm a little frustrated with American Airlines right now. I had to change seats three times today in an effort to adjust the weight distribution on an ATR-72 on my return flight leg from DFW to LIT. Three times. I started in 17B - the back row - which is really the front row considering the plane exits through the rear. Yes, I picked that seat intentionally so I could get off first but now I realize it matters not which seat you select because you are subject to being moved.

How high are the chances you'll be moved? I'm 2 for 2 as of today. You see, last week I also had to fly on this royal POS plane and was instructed to move then also. That time I started off at the front of the aircraft and was asked to move to the rear because of weight distribution.

I'm starting to think the flight attendant picks on me (really several of us had to move - 6 last week and today something like 5 then 8 then 5 again) because of my (cough, cough) weight. The captain calls the flight attendant on the phone and says we need "about 6 people to move from the rear to the front because we are tail-stand" and she spots me and thinks "he's got to move - that'll certainly help" and I get the finger. Literally. Today I got pointed at 3 times to move. I started complaining on the second finger-wag and she completely ignored my protest. The third time I inquired with an obvious question - why not let everyone get seated and all the luggage loaded and THEN decide how much weight (how many fat people?) to move? Might make a little more sense than bouncing the same fat guys all over the plane. But she was just following orders.

So why this plane? Why now? Last week the flight attendant sat near me and we chatted about the plane. That would be the nice flight attendant - not the evil, finger-wagging, ignoring automaton from today. I've ridden on the ATR-72 in the past - way back there. The one I was on last week looked ancient inside. She said that the peak DFW to LIT routes need more seats and the plane that had been on that route, an ERJ-145, only seated 50. This ATR-72 seats 72. Of course, I was perfectly fine with the ERJ because it was a 1x3 seat configuration and I could always land a seat on the 1 side. Having (cough, cough) wide shoulders (yeah, that's it) it's nicer for me. Plus, I really don't like people all that much and sitting as close as you do in those side-by-side seats really makes me ill. I'm not to the point of wearing a mask like a lady I saw today on another leg but close.

What else stinks about the ATR-72? How about it being a twin turbo prop? That take-off is anything but smooth. It's choppy with a wobble and that weightless feeling on and off while it climbs. Puke. Not at all like a jet.

And what chaps me more than anything - I have several of these already booked. Yeah, I had no idea. I thought I was booking a CRJ. . Unless I want to get back home on a non-peak period (early morning or early evening), I'm stuck on one of these monsters. Either that or switch carriers. I'm not sure it's worth that just yet.

Oh, it's also slower in the air and so my 58 minute flight is now something like 75 minutes. Bummer.

Tax Day Tomorrow

There are a lot of blogs and articles out there about taxes, fiscal responsibility, and the like. When considering the bleak financial outlook of our country, I get a sick feeling. I honestly believe some dramatic changes are necessary. Continuing to widen the base of the pyramid by expanding tax cuts and growing the number of Americans paying no income tax from 40% to 50% is not a wise move.

I like the concept outlined by Ari Fleischer here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123958260423012269.html

If you pay taxes, you'll find the statistics about how much the base has widened even under GWB from 2001 to 2005 interesting considering how we're told only the upper class received tax cuts during his Presidency. If you don't pay taxes, you probably won't like the article or Fleischer's suggestions.

President Obama has been preaching that the wealthy should be paying their "fair share" of taxes. Sounds good as he reads it from a teleprompter and sounds all Robin Hoodish and all but he cleverly doesn't define what "fair share" actually means. Currently 10% of Americans pays 70% of the taxes. Fleischer asks should it be 75% or maybe 95%? I wonder where it ends. I think we collapse before it gets there. What do you think?

"Shoddy and fraudulent pharmacy products..."

That's how January Payne describes Phenergan in her article in U.S. News and World Report.

Sigh.

This drug, promethazine, has been around for over 50 years. Wyeth received FDA approval in the early 1950's. It can hardly be called a "shoddy and fraudulent pharmacy product" and clearly the author of that article didn't do her research.

What happened to Diane Levine is tragic. You can read more about it here. Is she a victim? Yes. Should Wyeth have done more to warn against harm from arterial administration? You decide. I'll provide you with the warning labels below. First though, I wonder if the hospital/clinic, physician and PA involved in the initial "IV Push" were named in the suit? It seems to me they are just as liable, if not more so, than Wyeth. Maybe their pockets aren't as deep? You can never carry enough professional liability insurance. When I graduated I thought $1million/$3million was a bunch. Ha.

Ok. Here are the existing warnings:

Under “Injection Site Reactions”:

PHENERGAN Injection can cause severe chemical irritation and damage to tissues, regardless of the route of administration. Irritation and damage can also result from perivascular extravasation, unintended intra-arterial injection, and intraneuronal or perineuronal infiltration.

Signs, Symptoms, and manifestations of severe tissue irritation include burning, pain, erythema, swelling, severe spasm of distal vessels, thrombophlebitis, venous thrombosis, phlebitis, abscesses, tissue necrosis, and gangrene. Administration of PHENERGAN Injection has resulted in nerve damage ranging from temporary sensory loss to palsies and paralysis. Injection into or near a nerve may result in permanent tissue damage. In some cases, surgical intervention (including fasciotomy, skin graft, and/or amputation) may be required (see ADVERSE REACTIONS).

Inadvertent Intra-Arterial Injection
Due to the close proximity of arteries and veins in the areas most commonly used for intravenous injection, extreme care should be exercised to avoid perivascular extravasation or unintentional intra-arterial injection. Reports compatible with unintentional intra-arterial injection of PHENERGAN Injection, usually in conjunction with other drugs intended for intravenous use suggest that pain, severe chemical irritation, severe spasm of distal vessels, and resultant gangrene requiring amputation are likely under such circumstances. Intravenous injection was intended in all the cases reported but perivascular extravasation or arterial placement of the needle is now suspect. There is no proven successful management of unintentional intra-arterial injection or perivascular extravasation after it occurs. Sympathetic block and heparanization have been employed during the acute management of unintentional intra-arterial injection, because of the results of animal experiments with other known arteriolar irritants. Aspiration of dark blood does not preclude intra-arterial needle placement, because blood is discolored upon contact with PHENERGAN Injection. Use of syringes with rigid plungers or of small-bore needles might obscure typical arterial backflow if this is relied upon alone.

When used intravenously, PHENERGAN Injection should be given in a concentration of no greater than 25 mg per mL, and at a rate not to exceed 25 mg per minute. When administering any irritant drug intravenously, it is usually preferable to inject it through the tubing of an intravenous infusion set that is known to be functioning satisfactorily. In the event that a patient complains of pain during intended intravenous injection of PHENERGAN Injection, the injection should be stopped immediately to provide for evaluation of possible arterial placement or perivascular extravasation.

Under “Adverse Reactions”:

INTRA-ARTERIAL INJECTION MAY RESULT IN GANGRENE OF THE AFFECTED EXTREMITY.

Under “Dosage and Administration”:

The preferred parenteral route of administration for PHENERGAN Injection is by deep intramuscular injection. The proper intravenous administration of this product is well tolerated, but use of this route is not without some hazard. Not for subcutaneous administration.

UNINTENTIONAL INTRA-ARTERIAL INJECTION CAN RESULT IN GANGRENE OF THE AFFECTED EXTREMITY (see CONTRAINDICATIONS, WARNINGS—Injection Site Reactions). SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION IS CONTRAINDICATED, AS IT MAY RESULT IN TISSUE NECROSIS (see CONTRAINDICATIONS, WARNINGS—Injection Site Reactions, and ADVERSE REACTIONS).

I just don't see how Wyeth could have done more. Again, this drug has been around for decades. It's been administered tens of millions of times I'm sure. I know I've dispensed it both oral and IM/IV.

I'm not a big proponent of shielding drug companies from common-law liability suits but this is bordering on ridiculous. As Erik Gordon, an analyst and professor at University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, put it "This is like blood in the water for plaintiff lawyer sharks."

Watch D.O.G.S.

Today I served as a Watch D.O.G. at my daughter's elementary school. The Watch D.O.G.S. program is outlined here and the D.O.G.S. stands for Dads Of Great Students. There's also a nice article and video here at ABC News.

I had a great time and it was nice to serve in that capacity. I was surprised to see such a detailed agenda as I was booked down to the minute with probably 20 or so activities throughout the day. I got to assist with reading fluency, mathematics, observe during recess, patrol and monitor the buildings and property, and spend time with my daughter during lunch.

Some observations I took away...

• Teachers deserve more respect. Especially teachers who can keep their sanity while working with the very young. There's no doubt I would be exhausted doing that every day. I was there for 8 hours and probably spent 4 hours in classrooms and that was enough for me to see that it takes a special person.
  

• There are very few men in that elementary school (in fact, there are none employed there) and the kids seemed to like having a Watch D.O.G. hanging out. I was asked lots of questions throughout the day. Best question: "Is your name really Mr. Freeze?" followed by "Do you know Batman?"
  

• School food has improved since I was in elementary school. Today was cheese pizza, small salad (heavy on the cucumbers), red grapes (yum), and a marshmallow crisp washed down with some milk. Not bad for $2.50. And the lunch ladies aren't nearly as scary as I remember....

Not In Kansas Anymore....

.... thank God.

It has been a busy week. Being busy usually makes time seem to go by fast but not this time. I'm just glad it's over. TGIF and all that.

I flew to Wichita, KS on business and stayed at the airport Hilton. I usually try to get something more along the lines of a Hilton Garden Inn or, in a pinch, a Hampton Inn. I actually like these better and my employer likes the cost savings. In this instance, however, the others were booked even though I tried reserving over a month in advance.

My stay at this Hilton simply affirmed my feelings toward the HGI and even Hampton Inn's. Despite being placed on the concierge level with access to food and snacks 24/7, it's just not worth the money. Who needs turn-down service, anyway? I would feel lazy accepting that service. I quickly shooed the lady away. Good thing I was still dressed as she barged into my room at 9pm the first night. A curt knock and then I could hear the electronic buzz as she had swiped her access card. The door opened before I could look up from my laptop. The second night I hung the "leave me alone" sign on the door handle outside the room and latched the deadbolt and bar just in case she felt like the sign didn't pertain to her. Sheesh.

It also didn't help that the walls were very thin and I could hear commodes flush, various bodily noises (coughing, sneezing, etc), doors slamming, and so on unless I turned the TV up to a moderate level. After hearing how noisy it was on my "secluded" level, I noticed the wall thickness wasn't much thicker than the door. Certainly not standard wall thickness. The building looked pretty old, too, so maybe that's it. The name of the integrated restaurant, "Legends", even seems to lend to the age of this "joint". I certainly couldn't recommend staying at this location.

Disclaimer: For any co-workers who might read this, the room rate differential wasn't excessive and I was upgraded to the concierge level due to the HHonors level I've attained over the years. Besides, there weren't any other options aside from a sleep-cheap (sorry but NOPE) or a more expensive Marriott.

Other travel events this week: the rental car scenario at the Wichita airport (ICT) stinks. With the exception of the very small airports, National maintains an Emerald Club Aisle allowing members to bypass the counter and select a car of their choice. Members who rent frequently can attain Executive and Executive Elite status and pick from the nicer vehicles. This is tossed out the window at smaller airports and you get what they give you. I'm sure they are supposed to use status and assign from their fleet appropriately but it doesn't always work for your benefit. For me, I like to drive different cars. I'm going to pass over the Mustang and Malibu if I see a Jetta on the isle. I'll pick the Tundra or a Saturn Aura over the Volvo's. What did I get this time? An Impala. Yawn. The only redeeming quality in this rental was the new car smell.

The HVAC was apparently broken on the CRJ for the last leg of my trip - DFW to LIT yesterday. It was mid-80's in DFW and the large metal tube was getting hotter and hotter. From my vantage point in 13B, I could see hand after hand reaching up to touch the air vent as if somehow it might have spun shut on them while they weren't looking. It's common for the air flow to fluctuate while at the gate and taxiing to the runway but the airflow remained weak to nonexistent throughout the flight. It was pretty miserable. I've thought about emailing American Airlines and complaining. Might be good for a few hundred miles. :) At least the flight attendant was nice. Being PLT I got a refill on my water. Woohoo!

Airport Gate Seating

So what's up with the seating at airport gates? I suppose the question should be "what's up with the moronic passengers and how they choose their seat at airport gates?"

Most airport gate seats consist of rows and rows of adjoined seats. Generally, the airport tries to fill the space with as many seats as possible and use these straight rows to do so. The seats are adjoined (I'm sure) to keep people from moving them all around. Moving them not only necessitates the airport having to move them back but I'm sure the seat would wear out sooner if moved frequently. There are exceptions - some small airports have lounge chairs and I have to imagine they replace them frequently. Either that or the small volume of people moving through the airport allows them to use the nicer furniture.

As an observer of human nature who wants more cosmos than chaos in my surroundings, I am disgusted when I arrive at a gate and do a quick scan of the area for my choice of seat. There are those wonderful times when the gate is mostly empty and void of travelers. I now secretly relish those times. However, more often I notice a huge waste in seating due to Seat Hogs.

These Seat Hogs choose their seat so as to take up as many seats as possible. Let me explain. Most people can fit into one seat. It seems to be human nature for people traveling alone (there are those extreme extroverts out there though) to sit one seat apart from the next passenger. So I expect to see every other chair occupied. If the row contains 20 seats then I expect to see seats 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19 occupied allowing 10 people to sit. This alone is a huge waste in seating, I admit, but wait till Mr. Seat Hog enters the picture.

Mr. Seat Hog will sit in seat 2 and place a bag, newspaper or other item in seats 1 and 3. The next person coming along might sit in seat 4 but if Seat Hog has placed items in seat 3 that seem obtrusive (large bag or stinky food) then seat 5 is chosen. Such chaos! I see this all the time and I've thought about sitting in seat 1 several times. Just to piss off Mr. Seat Hog. But honestly, I don't think it would have that effect because this Chaos Generator is oblivious to the turmoil he creates.

Other airport gates, such as the B terminal at DFW, have seats positioned in pods of 2-8 seats. I'm sure the extrovert architect or designer that crafted this arrangement felt like everyone wants to sit facing their fellow passengers. Why? So I can see every move they make and they me? It works for the family traveling together but not so much for the singular traveler. As a result, many seats are wasted in these arrangements. I see more people standing along walls or around the gate area than I do people sitting in areas like these. Maybe 33% occupancy. Way to go architect! I get enough of Cozy Seating when actually on the plane, thanks.

So I'm usually left to shake my head in dismay and wonder. If you happen to notice a guy shaking his head with a look of disgust on his face in airports in the south - it might just be me. Please don't take up 4 seats, ok? Don't be a Seat Hog.