Under the knife...

Tomorrow I go under the knife to have one of these removed from my left ear. I should be back to work sometime next week.

Marcus and My New Favorite Movie...

Move over, Demolition Man, I have a new favorite movie.  Matthew, Chun and I saw it on Imax its first week out, then I saw it two more times at the theaters last summer.  I bought it last week and Marcus and I have watched it about four times since then.  It is definitely one of the most theologically rich movies I've seen since the Matrix.   Next time I'm in one of those "Movie & Discussion" small groups/classes I'm picking this one.  It's last year's "Superman Returns"

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Evolutionary Chemistry

Props to CH for alerting me to this.

Liquid "damage" and Verizon Scam

Over the past few years wireless companies have become increasingly ruthless with their customers (e.g., have you tried porting your existing # to a new provider?). One of the strategies they find increasingly profitable is handset insurance/replacement costs. My provider, Verizon Wireless, bills the 24 Month Upgrade as a "benefit" of their service. However, if you damage your phone and need a replacement prior to that 24-month period they'll stick you with a crazy high handset cost. Alternately, you can pay $5/month (+ a $50 claim fee) for handset-insurance. This insurance merely shifts the probability of profit for them. Without insurance, you assume a risk of damage in which case you may pay $150 for a new phone. With insurance, they assume the risk, but pay themselves $60 just in case you have a claim, and $110 if you actually file a claim. So, in essence, you're paying $60 for the option of getting a phone for $50 instead of risking a $150 fee if you lose/break your phone. Thus, unless you need an expensive smartphone, this is probably not a good risk for a consumer.

Those of us who have experienced "liquid damage" to our phones have already experienced the frustration of dealing with the issues above. But now, wireless providers are making it more difficult for consumers by adding a litmus paper dot to the back of your mobile phone to test for water damage. According the the article, these "dots" may change color whether the phone has ever been exposed to liquid or not.

Well, last week I had a funny talk with my Mom. She had just fallen into the pool at home (you've got to hear her tell the story!) and she had her phone on. She went to the Verizon store and tried to have her phone replaced. They went through the usual run-around about she wasn't due to upgrade for another 14 months and without insurance she was liable for the entire costs of the phone. If you know my mom, you won't be surprised to hear that she sweet-talked her way into the the gentleman's heart. After 30-minutes of discussing it, he finally relented and offered...

If I'm able to get the phone to work, will you pay a $40 service fee?

She agreed, and he simply replaced the battery and it worked flawlessly! I was amazed, because I had "lost" a phone last summer to liquid damage. So, I went online and ordered a new battery for it for $6 on eBay. The battery arrived last night, I charged it up and the old phone now works flawlessly! So, if you ever accidentally fall in the pool, or dive in after a little one (like I did), or lose your phone in the toilet (like I've nearly done...) try replacing the battery before you go pay Verizon $150 for a new phone.

Update: check out this link for more info on rescuing a wet phone.

Healthcare and Profit

Several times lately I've found myself frustrated by the economic realities of healthcare as an industry. I can think of almost no other industry with such minimal transparency, enormous information asymmetry, and necessity of blind trust in the professionalism of the provider. (Here is an overview of some of the issues from an economic perspective). The financial accounting industry has some similarities, but is less one-sided.

In any event, much like the financial accounting industry (e.g., the Big 4 Accounting Firms), the economic validity of individual healthcare providers is based almost entirely on trust. When patients no longer trust that a physician is pursuing the patient's best interests they will simply choose a new physician.

However, I've increasingly been frustrated over the past few years with the feeling that nearly all of the physicians I've seen have been more concerned about their own self-interest than mine. Now, to be sure, I'm not saying they aren't interested in my health. I believe they are. However, they are equally interested in their own economic self-interests.

This feeling was given more credibility yesterday when I read the following story from the LA Times. I believe this behavior is symptomatic of the larger cultural rush to a "bottom-line" mentality. It is not different than the behavior of CEOs who cancel pension contracts to meet the quarterly figures, private equity groups who privatize public companies only to bring them back for a new IPO and pay minimal capital gains taxes rather than income taxes on the difference (see Robert Reich's opinion here), or Arthur Andersen accountants who cook the books at Enron in order to maximize their own consulting fees without regard for the best-interests of the shareholders.

Let me be clear...I'm not saying that all healthcare providers are crooked, selfish jerks. I'm simply saying the following:

1. There are several structural elements of the healthcare industry that are grossly inefficient and can easily be biased towards the economic self-interests of those who have the information and thus the power in the doctor-patient relationship.


2. As a profession in a free-market structure healthcare is almost completely dependent upon the unforced trust of consumers.


3. As a culture we have become so obsessed with economic performance that we actually believe quarterly financial performance is the right (the only?) measure for almost every arena of life (see my further thoughts on this here). Healthcare providers are not free from this "rush to the bottom line" but because of the nature of their profession a bottom-line mentality can be detrimental to the trust of consumers and their industry as a whole.

A new photo toy

The Lunsfords came over tonight and we had a wonderful evening (after Michelle's uber-successful Southern Living At Home party. Janae showed me this cool new toy...

Photo Links Updated

I updated my photos page on my website to show all the photos I've posted in 2007. Check in for an update.

Off to space...

I leave tomorrow morning for a three-day adventure with 52 4th-graders from Webster Elementary School. We're going to Astrocamp to learn more appreciation for the explanatory and predictive powers of science. I hear the highlight is a rocketry experiment using a 2-liter bottle and a cardboard tube. I'll keep you posted when I return on Friday.

One of the interesting things about the camp is that it's pretty remote...no internet, no wireless, no blogosphere... So I'm actually going old school for the next three days. Today I went to the library and checked out a book recommended by my favorite librarian. I'll review it later.

By the way...while I'm on books...I bought and read a wonderful spy thriller on my trip to Prague. I recommend it for a fun reminder of why the Cold War was so HOT.

Minority Report

Do you remember that Tom Cruise movie from a few years ago titled "Minority Report"? It was a fun film about a futuristic society that was advanced in many ways, yet still plagued by crime, selfishness, and greed as we are today. There are several redeeming features of this movie, not the least of which my friend, NCJC & Pepperdine Alum Kathryn Morris stars as Tom Cruise's wife. Also, it has one of the coolest demonstrations of a GUI since the virtual database in "Disclosure".

However, the element of concern today is the "Department of Precrime" in Washington, DC. This Dept. uses three sisters with Psychic Abilities to predict (and prevent) "future crimes" that will be committed. Then Precrime Officers (like our own Tom Cruise) are sent to arrest and jail the predicted perpetrators before any crime is committed. Fantastic, huh? Wouldn't it be neat if we could prevent crime this way? Well, it seems the current fear of terrorism is leading to a similar approach. The AP today reports that six "Islamic radicals" were arrested for plotting to attack Ft. Dix in order to "kill as many soldiers as possible". Tragically, it would not surprise me if these "radicals" were shipped to GITMO and stored for a couple of years without a trial or even an official charge.

Don't get me wrong...I don't want to see any more of our soldiers or anyone else (rather they are Americans or not) killed. However, is it really a good idea to allow--and even pursue--swift justice for those who have yet to commit a crime? For now, forget the fact that its possible one or more of the "conspirators" could easily change their mind and not carry out the attack--heck, they could even work against it by turning evidence to State before the attack. Also, forget the idea that these kinds of "plotting to commit a crime" charges are easily manipulated to punish political foes. Just think about this...if this trend continues where will it end? Is this beginning of taking pre-emptive legal action across our legal system? For example...firing an employee because they have the genetic predisposition towards expensive cancer treatments (think Gattica), imprisoning high school and college students who have a psychological tendency to violence (think VT & Columbine), aborting a fetus because it does not have optimal personal traits...the list goes on and on. The only upside of this trend is that I could assign grades to my MBA students based on their current GPA. After all, numerous studies have found that GPA is the best predictor of course performance.

Is this the direction we want to go? Or...do we believe that people have the ability to change course even after making "plans"?

2007-Q2-New Macintosh

It's here!

Look what arrived today! If you've kept up with my blog you know I started this "online gift rewards" thing a few months ago. I wasn't sure if it was a scam or not, but after completing 12 online offers (wine of the month club, YourMusic.com...) I received a brand new MacBook Pro 15' Notebook valued at $2000. Based on my spreadsheet it costs me less than $200 (assuming a $0 value of time) and took less than 6 hours total. Not bad!

2007-Q2-Madison's Birthday

Madison's Birthday

Madison and Matthew both have birthdays in May. Here are some photos from Madison's special day.

Pepperdine Bible Lectures

The Bible Lectures were this past week here at Pepperdine (ironically--my wife was on the lecture program before I was! See her name on the first page under "Story Time for Children"). We had a wonderful time visiting with old friends and making new ones. Highlights included introducing David Keller, visiting with Bobby Bligh, a wonderful lecture on the "innocence" of children by Holly Allen, pie with Conejo friends, catching up with the Moneys (above), pie with the Kellers, the best sermon I've ever heard (by David Fleer on the message of Jeremiah), and seeing old friends like Evan, Jason, Leonard, Holly, Jason, and Shon. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Visit with Philip

My buddy Phil was in town for a conference last week. We enjoyed a few hours touring East LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Pasadena. It's always fun to catch up with old friends you see too infrequently.

The Joys of Pepperdine Baseball...

As I've said on these very pages, one of the simplest joys of life in Malibu is catching a Wave's baseball game (here's the upcoming schedule). The sun, the view, the slow pace of baseball, and oh-yeah...the Waves are ranked 14th in the NCAA. Well, in addition to all of that, the LAT reports that there is a new attraction...the team has been adopted by Pamela Anderson.

Only in Malibu.