This has been a bad week for my peripheral neuropathy. I mentioned earlier that I had an attack early Tuesday morning. It prevented me from driving to work, and I blocked off all afternoon for naps. Fortunately, that attack subsided in the afternoon, but my left big toe started hurting again that evening. By Wednesday morning, it subsided enough that I was able to drive to work after Tesla service replaced the 12V battery in my car.
After that, I thought the worst was over. I have never had two attacks in 24-hours and I was hoping I get a long break. Well, that was wishful thinking. I can feel an0other attack starting. It is in my left foot again, and this time it is between the first two toes and higher up on the foot. That is three major attacks in four days.
Series I savings bonds protect you from inflation. With an I bond, you earn both a fixed rate of interest and a rate that changes with inflation. Twice a year, we set the inflation rate for the next 6 months.
These are savings bonds issued by the US government with rates that are tied to inflation. Since inflation has been crazy recently, the current rate is 9.62%. This is well above any other “riskless” investment, such as bank CD’s and other Treasury bills/notes/bonds. The only downside is that you must hold the bond for at least 12 months, and if you cash out before five years, you lose the last three months of interest. The bonds mature in 30 years, which means no more interest. Also, you can only purchase $10,000 of I bonds annually, and the interest rate is reset every six months. Confusing, huh?
My mom and I purchased $10,000 each back in April to capture a 7.12% rate, knowing that the next rate will be 9.62%. The estimated rate starting November 2022 is 6.48%. High-yield savings accounts are paying between 2.0% to 2.5% so I bonds are a good deal. If the rate stays high, then keep holding the bond. Once inflation drops and the combined interest rate falls below savings accounts, then cash in the bond.
To get more bonds at the 9.62% rate, you can also gift I bonds to other people. I did this with my mom as we each purchased $10,000 gift bonds for each other. The bonds have the same interest and date restrictions as a regular bond but is held in limbo until the recipient accepts the bond. The recipient must still adhere to the $10,000 limit each year. So next April, when we know the next I bond rate, if it is higher than 9.62%, then we will purchase a new bond. If not, then we can accept the gift bond from this year. More confusion.
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We have also been purchasing 4-week treasury bills. This is like buying a one-month non-cancellable CD. Last week’s auction resulted in a 3.487% rate. All the short-term T-bill rates will likely continue to increase so this will remain a viable investment for a few more months. If I was more tolerant of duration risk, I would buy some one-year T-bills as it has the highest returns currently.
There is a lot of K-Pop collaborations with Western countries, but this was not something I expected. Jennie Ruby Jane here is Jennie Kim of the K-Pop girl group Blackpink. This is the. press release from Porsche:
Jennie Kim, known as Jennie Ruby Jane or simply JENNIE, is a famous artist in South Korea. The 26-year-old is a member of girl group BLACKPINK, but has also won the hearts of many fans as a solo singer of rap and K-pop (Korean pop music). As part of the Sonderwunsch programme in collaboration with Porsche Korea, her own personal dream car has been built based on the Taycan 4S Cross Turismo.
The Taycan 4S Cross Turismo was one of the cars on my fantasy EV list. It is likely the car I will get next since I doubt I will spend $167k on a Bentley Bentayga. However, I do question Porsche’s marketing strategy here. Sure, Jennie is famous and has a huge social medial following, but are Blackpink fans really Porsche customers? The list price of the Taycan 4S CT is $113k, which even makes me have second thoughts. As evident in several prior posts, I listen to K-Pop girl groups, including Blackpink. This Jennie x Porsche collaboration has zero impact on whether I end up purchasing a Porsche. I would like to know how much it costs to have your own custom logo and embroidery if I want to do the same thing.
A massive peripheral neuropathy attack just started on the outside of my left big toe. This is an uncontrollable scream-out-loud attack. Luckily, I am working from home today due to the bad 12V battery in my Tesla. I tried to massage the sore spot since it appears only skin deep, but like before, it did not have any effect.
I managed to clear my calendar for the rest of the afternoon. I did take two Tylenol capsules, but so far, the pain has not subsided. I wanted to try and sleep it off, but it is too painful now to try and sleep. I am hoping the pain will subside a bit later so I can get some work done. Otherwise, I may need to take a sick day since I have been very unproductive so far.
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Luckily, the pain went away at around 5:00 pm. I did not get to sleep since the pain was keeping me up, but I watched a mediocre movie called Bloodshot starring Vin Diesel. A solid 5/10 for me. Now I have to get back online and do some work for the next few hours.
The 12V battery in my Tesla Model S needs replacement. Even though the car has a huge main battery, it is wired at ~350 volts. Since all car electronics run on 12V DC, Tesla cars have a 12V battery that is charged by the main battery instead of an alternator. The original 12V battery was replaced after about 18 months while under warranty.
A typical 12V car battery lasts from three to five years. My purchased his Honda CR-V about the same time and he had to replace his car battery about a year ago. Instead of going into a service center, Tesla is sending out a mobile technician to replace the battery. This happened previously as well. The battery is buried behind the plastic frunk (front trunk) lining, so it takes a bit of work to replace it. Since the car is out of warranty, I will have to pay for the battery replacement. Tesla is charging $165 for the battery and $43 for labor. I believe the 12V is lithium-ion instead of lead-acid. The price seems fair as it would take me much longer to either drive to the service center or try to replace the battery myself.
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I just checked Costco’s website for battery pricing, and they (through Interstate Batteries) do not sell car batteries for Tesla cars. It is not even an option in the drop-down menu for car makes.
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I got this in an Instagram direct message. Based on my count, this post about Tesla service and my dead 12V battery is post #1337. Is the world just one big Internet meme now?
I just saw this movie with my friend who travels to China regularly. It was his suggestion that we see this movie. It tells the story of a 2022 Falun Gong (FLG) hacking the Changchun TV station new program to broadcast a rebuttal video against CCP persecution.
I am not that familiar with the FLG, other than it may be a Buddhist cult. Now I think that it may be influenced by CCP anti-FLG propaganda. Even though I have not heard about this incident previously, the narrative is sadly familiar. The CCP is concerned about control and when they feel threatened, the party will crush and perceive opposition, then lie to conceal their actions. Out of all the people involved, many were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered by the local police and the government. Two of them are currently outside of China and were featured in the movie. The actual historical scenes were animated instead of live action but does not take away from the storytelling. Anyone with interest in modern Chinese history should watch this movie.
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Over a decade ago, I purchased a bunch of discount AMC movie tickets from work. I thought they were lost but fortunately I found them, and they were still useable. Since this was a matinee, the ticket price was “only” $10.69; the regular adult ticket price is $15.69.
Also, since this was a documentary and in Mandarin (with English subtitles), the theater was pretty empty. When I walked into the theater fifteen minutes early, I was the first person in the room. Eventually, about twenty people walked in, which I guess is great attendance for a Sunday afternoon.
Yesterday, I had lunch with an ex-coworker. He started as a MBA intern while I was at my previous company. It has been close to fifteen years, and he is still working at the same company. He is a car guy and currently owns a new mid-engine Corvette. We ended up talking about cars and I mentioned I am thinking of replacing my six-year-old Tesla Model S.
The car still drives fine but since it is several generations old, the range is not that great. I typically charge up to 90% and that only gets me 192 miles. The computer is HW 2.0, so it is using the older Nvidia-based system and will not run some of the latest software. After driving an EV for six years however, I cannot go back to a gas car, so I am looking for another EV or plug-in hybrid.
This is just a wish list so I will likely end up with something low on the price list.
Purple Bentley FTW! Most of the cars on my list are super expensive, even considering my Model S was about $80k out the door. The regular Bentayga Hybrid starts at $167k so the Azure edition is closer to $200k. That seems crazy for a car, though the Model X Plaid is around $150k. The Hyundai is looking better as I check prices on the rest.
I have had good luck with my Tesla so far. Maybe I can drive it for another six years. Meanwhile, I can get a mid-sized hybrid SUV for road trips.
With the prevalence of the various Omicron variants and many people contracting COVID, there seems to be less media focus on the pandemic. Just from my anecdotal observations, mask use has gone down at work and locally in Orange County. I know I am less careful now that I have had COVID and received a bebtelovimab injection.
This is also visible from the case count history. Here is the past twelve months in Los Angeles County:
The January 2022 spike was the original Omicron variant. The long low bump is likely the BA.4/BA.5 variant finally hitting the US after spreading in Europe first. Does this mean the pandemic is almost over? There are more spikes in the worldwide case chart, but new cases have also flattened out to about 450k cases daily. For now, I am still going into the office only two days per week. If the numbers continue to drop, will work revoke my medical exemption to work from home?
I have stopped using the Libre 2 continuous glucose monitor. The supplier needs another prescription from my endocrinologist before they send me more sensors. In the meantime, there is still a lot of claim and billing activity. I finally checked the Medicare site and saw the following claims:
Date
Claim
Medicare
Paid
Co-pay
6/7/2022
$937.59
$493.23
$390.63
$98.65
7/7/2022
$445.48
$234.60
$183.93
$46.92
8/7/2022
$668.22
$234.60
$183.93
$46.92
The first claim includes the monitor/receiver plus two sensors. In the Medicare claim, there are two separate lines. The monitor was billed at $492.11 and the Medicare approved amount was $258.63. My co-pay was $51.73. I am still upset that no one mentioned there was an iOS app so I did not really need the monitor. Anyway, I received seven sensors total so the last claim must be for three sensors. Interesting that Medicare did not adjust the approved amount.
If you look at the billed cost, each sensor is about $223. They only last for fourteen days so it works out to $16/day. That seems like a crazy high amount. If you make minimum wage in California, that is about 90 minutes of work after tax. For just the co-pay, it comes out to $3.35 per day, which is much more reasonable. Remember, this is just for the sensor to measure your blood sugar and does not include any doctor visits or medication.
I have Google Timeline turned on and it tracks my movement 24/7. I do find that if I am on the move a lot, then Google’s data is fairly inaccurate. Maybe it is due to how often the system polls my location. Even though storage is cheap, Google cannot store everyone’s data every second… yet.
Looking through my September history, I find the data appears accurate for the days that I go into the office. On those days, I typically leave for work around 7:00 am and come back home after dinner. I assume each data point has a long enough duration for Google to log properly. Here is a summary with departure/arrival times for each trip:
Date
Leave home
Arrive work
Leave work
Arrive home
Sept 6
7:39 am
9:08 am
6:46 pm
7:39 pm
Sept 7
7:20 am
8:41 am
5:23 pm
6:32 pm
Sept 8
7:12 am
8:26 am
6:25 pm
7:18 pm*
Sept 13
6:36 am**
8:10 am
8:55 pm
9:39 pm
Sept 14
7:16 am
8:25 am
8:14 pm
9:02 pm
Sept 20
7:21 am
8:24 am
8:46 pm
9:27 pm
Sept 21
7:32 am
8:44 am
6:33 pm
7:35 pm
Sept 26
6:18 am
7:07 am
7:11 pm
7:57 pm
Sept 27
6:42 am
8:09 am
1:43 pm***
2:30 pm
Data from Google Timeline
* I drove to my church cell meeting a restaurant close to home ** I needed to take my sister to LAX so I left home earlier than usual *** I felt sick that day so left work early to nap at home
If you look at the leave/arrive home columns, I am often out of the house for twelve, thirteen, or fourteen hours. I often find myself extremely tired on both commutes as I still have problems sleeping through the night. This is one of the many reasons I am considering retirement or finding a part-time job close to home.
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It is 6:18 am and my Alexa timer is ringing. I need to get ready for another exciting commute to the office.
For the past few months, I have been uploading movies to a friend’s Baidu cloud storage. The files were either MP4 or MKV files, plus the occasional SRT file for English subtitles. She lives in Beijing and a lot of movies are not shown in China. Some movies are banned due to censorship, others do not make the quota cut.
At first, all the files were uploading fine. I have a VPN running 24/7 on my PC from Private Internet Access (PIA) for privacy reasons. Having the VPN active did not affect the upload. A few weeks ago, I tried to upload a few movies and the SRT files were blocked, but the large movie files were transferred. I tried uploading a PDF of a translated book (Red Roulette) to test further, but my friend got a warning message about inappropriate content when she tried to open the file. This is extra concerning since the pages were images and not text.
Today, I tried to upload a few more files. This time, nothing would upload, not even the MP4 or MKV files. Thinking this may be more censorship, I disabled the VPN and suddenly the movie files were uploading. The SRT files with English subtitle text were still erroring out so maybe the CCP is blocking everything with characters. I was not sending anything political or subversive. They were just the most recent James Bond films with Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
Perhaps the restrictions and censorship will reduce after XJP gets his third term as emperor on October 16th.
When I was on hemodialysis the first time, I would get a lot of cramps in both my upper and lower legs. This was usually due to removing too much fluid during the dialysis session. Things would be better during the six months of peritoneal dialysis as leg cramping became rare. Likewise, when I was back on hemodialysis the second time, there were occasional cramps, but nothing like the frequency or intensity before.
For about a year after transplant, I would still get occasional cramps, but more often in my ankles rather than legs. This subsided about six months ago, so I was quite surprised to have both calf muscles cramp hard early yesterday morning. My right leg cramped so hard that my calf muscle was sore for the entire day. Thankfully, the cramps did not return this morning and things are fine again.
My lab results were mostly normal, so it is not due to low sodium, potassium, or phosphorus. I have been peeing a lot recently, so I am not dehydrated either. Strange.
I did not own any game consoles while growing up. Our family was not poor, but we were lower-middle class when we moved to Canada in the 70’s. While my cousins and friends owned Atari 2600s and Intellivisions, we did not have anything until I purchased a Sony PlayStation 2 as an adult. Many years afterwards, while on a business trip to Canada, I bought a PS3 in Mississauga and brought it back on the return flight. Along the way, I also picked up a Nintendo Wii from my sister, and bought a Switch to play Zelda: Breath of the Wild during dialysis sessions. The Switch is on permanent loan to my younger niece.
When the PS4 was released, I was still playing games on the PS3 so I never purchased the new console. For the PS5 release, I was extremely interested in purchasing one, but like everyone else, I could not find it in stores easily. Now, almost two years after its release in November 2020, I am still unable to purchase a PS5.
While purchasing something else on Amazon, I saw they were taking orders for the PS5 disc version for $500, which is the list price. However, below the price, there is a tag that said invitation only. I have never seen this on any other products on Amazon. To be honest, I was weary of checking stock and prices at various stores online and had not thought about getting a PS5 in months. However, this approach seemed much more convienent so I clicked the button and now I am on the request list.
I do not know what criteria Amazon is using to grant requests, or if I actually want one at this point. It is likely your account history, specifically how much you ordered/returned. You can run order reports on the Amazon website. My orders were:
2022 year-to-date: $3,887
2021: $3,045
2020: $3,389
That is over $10k in a bit less than three years. Is that enough versus the average account spend? I guess I will know (maybe) if I do or do. not have my PS5 request granted.
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Per this website, the average Amazon account with Prime orders $1,400 annually. I am well over twice that each of the past three years. Also, per the article, I am in the top 20% by order dollars. I hope that is enough to get a PS5 for $500.
I discovered a book online titled Timeless Journeys published by National Geographic. The subtitle is Travels to the World’s Legendary Places. I could not find the book listed on NatGeo’s website, so I had to use a picture from Amazon. I have an EPUB file of the book.
The book lists many locations grouped by continent. Each location has a brief description, gorgeous photos, a few travel tips, and a random historical anecdote. For example, here is the passage for Carthage (Tunis). I did see many Roman ruins when I visited in 2014.
Recovering a Lost Civilization
The powerful Phoenicians sailed the Mediterranean and traded with the Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Egyptians for a thousand years. In the 1970s, the National Geographic Society funded grants to explore their ancient world.
Researchers uncovered and lifted a complete Phoenician warship near Sicily, likely sunk during the First Punic War in 250 B.C. Archaeologists speculated that it was likely almost new and went down on its maiden voyage, in a storm or in battle. The shipwright’s Punic characters were still visible on the wood.
In Lebanon, Dr. James B. Pritchard’s excavations of the lost city of Sarepta unveiled a matchless record of the Phoenicians’ daily life, from the stone basins where they crushed olives for oil to the small temple where they worshipped Baal. “We have uncovered at least nine different cities, representing more than a thousand years of Phoenician history,” Pritchard said. “Every inch, every bit—600,000 fragments of pottery—has been measured and charted and recorded.
Compared to Travel Bucket List #1 from Forbes, locations in this book feel more exotic. I have also visited a lot less places in this book compared to the Forbes list. Here is my score by continent, and where I have been:
Asia: 2/12 Great Wall of China, China Kyoto, Japan
Europe: 3/13 Île de la Cité, Paris, France Rome and the Colosseum, Italy Pompeii, Italy
Africa: 1/9 Carthage, Tunesia
North America: 3/13 (I am embarrassed) Route 66, Western U.S.A. Niagara Falls, Ontario/New York Chichén Itzá, Mexico
South America: 0/10
Australia and the South Pacific: 0/7
Total score: 9/64 🙁
That is pretty dismal. In my defense, a lot of my Asian destinations did not make the list, nor did the places I visited in North America. I have been to New York City, but never visited the harbor. This analysis also says that I must visit South America and the South Pacific.
I am not a good writer. I can make the excuse that English is my second language, except that my Chinese (first language) is much worse. One measure we used to compare in high school was the difference between your math and verbal SAT scores. If it was really high, you should study engineering; if it was negative, then English or History. Mine was +210. As proof, I have two degrees in electrical engineering.
This lack of verbal/writing skills is more evident after I installed the Microsoft Editor extension in my browser. It unfailingly highlights my poor grammar and word choices. Even after 45 years of speaking English, I still confuse verb conjugation, especially stuff like was/were and has/had. I also write in the passive voice quite often, something that multiple English teachers have mentioned to me. Finally, I use a lot of wishy-washy words (probably, likely, maybe) and redundant adjectives (definitely, positively, totally).
Ever since I installed the extension, I try to correct everything that was flagged, so hopefully the writing quality is a bit better. I did go back a few earlier posts to fix errors (SIEU instead of SEIU for dialysis proposition posts) and it was depressing to see how many words and phrases were flagged for correction.
I should hire a ghost writer if I ever get more than three subscribers to my blog.
The definition of ‘insanity’ is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
NOT Albert Einstein
There is another election next month, and in California, we have another dialysis related proposition sponsored by SEIU-UHW. This is the third time the labor union has used the proposition process to try and force themselves into the dialysis industry. I was so upset about it last time that I posted on the topictwice. Here is the list of propositions so far:
Proposition 8 was focused on limiting profits for dialysis centers to 15%. The vote was 59.9% against the proposition. Two years later, SEIU tried again but changed the requirement to staffing each dialysis center with a physician. This also failed with a vote of 63.4% against. For 2022, SEIU is resubmitting the same proposition as 23, but will allow a physician assistant to fulfill the staffing requirement.
This is political blackmail. SEIU is claiming that dialysis clinics are not allowing them to organize. I realize my experience is anecdotal, but all the nurses and technicians were against the prior two propositions. My clinic was part of St. Joseph hospital, but many of the providers previously worked for one of the major for-profit dialysis companies.
I predict proposition 29 will fail by about the same 60/40 margin. SEIU knows this, but their goal is not to pass the propositions, but to use the proposition process to blackmail the dialysis companies into letting them organize. This is totally fucked up. As I posted before, adding a full-time physician to each dialysis clinic would hugely increase cost with minimal benefit. SEIU is morally bankrupt and should be fined for intimidation and abuse of the proposition process. It is also telling that there is no political support for proposition 29. The Democratic party usually carries the union’s water, but there is no endorsement this time, as there was for proposition 8 and 23.
Proposition 8 (2018) support (plus two huge list of organizations and unions):
Proposition 29 (2022) support:
We still have another month until the election. Perhaps the usual suspects union supporters will speak up before the vote. If nothing else, the union has cost the dialysis companies a lot of money.
My fistula surgery was in early 2020 so I have had it for about two and a half years. There are a few photos in earlier posts when it was in use, but I have not used it since the transplant surgery twenty months ago. This is what it looks like now:
The bumps disappeared quickly, and all that is visible is some discoloration at the three needle insertion points. The fistula is still working fine as you can still hear and feel the high-pressure blood rushing through the vein.
There have been some changes recently, however. I often feel a slight burning sensation in my forearm near the fistula. At the same time, I also feel an increased numbness in my right hand. I often feel cold or numb in my right hand while using the fistula since it diverts a portion of the arterial blood flow into the surface vein, bypassing the hand. This is the first time it has been noticeable post-transplant.
Sorry for two K-Pop posts in a row but one of my favorite girl groups just released a single after three years. I believe this is for their ten year anniversary as a group.
Here is their most popular song that became #1 years after it was released.
Finally, their lead singer Solji has an amazing voice. I love all her solo songs, especially this one.
She had to take a long break due to medical issues so it is great to see her recover and sing again.
TWICE was here in Los Angeles several months ago for a concert. I briefly thought about getting tickets, but I was still wary about COVID, and going to a concert full of screaming teenage girls is not a smart choice. It looks like Blackpink will be performing at the same stadium in November. Here is one of their new songs:
I have followed Blackpink since their debut, but I am not really a huge fan of their songs. YG artists seem to be more unconventional in their music as compared to SM and JYP, the other two large K-Pop production companies.
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Wow, Blackpink concert tickets are expensive. On the venue website, the cheapest tickets are $319 for the back corner. If you want to be next to the stage runway, those tickets are $2,034. I have been to a total of about a dozen concerts. I do not think I would pay $2,000 for a concert ticket, no matter how close, unless I get to meet the artist backstage as well.
Also, those are Ticketmaster list prices. The $319 ticket will cost you more like $550 after all the fees that Ticketmaster tacks on.
Or hopefully, nobody likes Xi Jinping (XJP). A 2020 report from the Pew Research Center shows that since 2002, views on China has trended towards more unfavorable in many countries. Here are the results:
The green line is favorable and blue line is unfavorable. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) likes to blame the U.S. for anti-Chinese racism, but the dislike is widespread, including non-Western countries like Japan and South Korea. Some of the 2020 results can be attributed to COVID-19, but I feel most of the negativity is due to XJP and his wolf-warrior foreign policy. The chart above also specifically calls out 2011. That was when China started claiming the island in the South China Sea in earnest using the bullshit 9-dashed line excuse.
Here is another question that focuses on XJP:
I am unclear why South Korea had confidence in XJP early on, but that has changed, likely due to the THAAD fiasco. Now, with the zero-COVID nonsense, even the local Chinese people are starting to dislike their rulers.
As a Chinese person, I wish there was more accountability within the CCP so one asshole cannot ruin everything. This happened with Mao, and it looks like history will repeat with Xi. However, it does appear that the CCP has entrenched itself through years of fear, corruption, and brainwashing, so I cannot envision a peaceful way for the Chinese people to overthrow the CCP mafia without violence and much bloodshed.
Life with chronic diseases 