Apr 3 2024

When All Bleeding Stops—a brief review

All Bleeding Stops is a mostly autobiographical book written by an experienced trauma surgeon, Stephen M. Cohn. During the course of the book, the reader learns how a trauma surgeon differs from other surgeons, how being a military doctor influenced the author, and quite a bit about the different ways that people end up in an emergency room. Chapter titles include “What Exactly is a Trauma Surgeon” and “Dealing with the Worst Injuries” which are the main focus of the book, but the author also has chapters on “Preventing Injuries” and “Managing the Public” which includes the author being involved in a high profile case.

I chose this title, in part, due to a mishap wherein I ended up in an ER and had orthopedic surgery. As Dr. Cohn says, patients choose elective surgeons and develop a bit of a relationship prior to their procedure, but in an emergency, whoever is on call becomes the doctor. I certainly didn’t choose the guy who rebuilt my shoulder, as I certainly didn’t plan to break it into four pieces! Anyway, I identified with some of the patients described in this book.

While I’d like to say this is a five star read, the not-so-linear organization takes it down a notch for me. That said, I really enjoyed this book, as it provides many anecdotal stories about trauma surgery, not only those performed by the author, but also those he heard about from colleagues. Many of the cases described survive, but there are those who don’t make it, and there is a certain dispassionate tone in this narrative. That’s not intended as criticism, but an acknowledgement that doctors who deal with trauma must maintain some distance in order to remain sane.

Again, I enjoyed reading this book, and for those who want to know more about how lives are saved and people put back together after terrible trauma, this book is quite enlightening.

Apr 17 2023

Body Suit by Suzanne Hagelin

Titles are important, as is the case with this trilogy opening novel’s title, but I almost didn’t read this one. Body Suit? Sounds like a fashion mistake from my youth. Once I began, the narrative style didn’t grab me from the outset, as the point-of-view characters switched back and forth between a soon to be indentured servant/colonist and a rather prissy seller of space suits. Hold on, y’all, because it gets better! Or maybe the author’s style grew on me. Anyway, the switching back and forth continues as the two-fold adventure develops, but each character fleshes out so well that I genuinely enjoyed each character’s time as POV.

The purchaser of the body suit, Silvariah Frandelle, initially travels to a space station called Guam, where she learns both how to navigate being a servant (called a Contractor in the book) and how to use the fancy body suit of the title, and then to Mars, as a miner at the new Resnik colonial facility. Back on Earth Walter Cuevas, who sold the suit for far less than its MSRP in exchange for some tips on how the suit performs, learns to act on the suggestions that the business savvy Sil Frandelle communicates to him. His fortunes grow by leaps and bounds as Sil helps him get lucrative advertising deals, then offers tips on which stocks to purchase based on her observations while in space.

Both Sil and Walter must deal with Artificial Intelligence entities, too. Sil is introduced to the Companion while on Guam, and the AI is also present with her on Mars. The Companion is really her Taskmaster, but the programmers chose a more benevolent title for the AI, as its job is multifunctional, assessing (or perhaps spying on) her, while also directing her industrial activities on behalf of those who own her contract. Walter, as he grows more wealthy entrusts Daisy, a personal assistant AI who is styled as a young female human, to assist him in his business matters as well as being a loyal and undemanding companion, unlike his ex-wife. But, like any program, even a personal assistant can be hacked….

There are almost too many minor characters to keep straight, quite a bit of action, and sufficient suspense to keep the reader swiping the pages. Sil’s stay on Mars only starts out boring. The plot moves along quite well, actually. I really liked this story, once I got into it, and I am tempted to buy the rest of the trilogy, although the book stands alone well-enough.

Body Suit is science fiction, obviously, but in the manner of great sci-fi, because it delves into some really controversial aspects of the role of artificial intelligence in society. As programs such as Chat-GPT are growing in popularity, the moral questions broached in this novel are timely. Without spoiling the suspense with specifics, the novel also touches on how eugenics might change society, too. But, more than that, there are some interesting word choices in this novel, which let the reader know that some thought went into this one! I highly recommend it.

Jul 23 2022

Why Medicare Advantage Plans are Bad by David W. Bynon

Right after my last post, I was injured, quite badly, in a fall. While I had read the title above, hubby had convinced me that Medicare Advantage was the way to go, because “we are healthy.” And, I was, until I broke my shoulder and damaged the nerves which traverse the Brachial Plexus. Within a month of my fall, I tested Medicare Advantage and soon found that I wish I had opted for traditional Medicare.

In Why Medicare Advantage Plans are Bad the author begins by explaining Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Even the name sounds good, right? They call it Medicare Advantage because there are certain perks, which vary depending on which insurance company provides coverage. For instance, mine has vision benefits, which I have used, and gym benefits, which I have not. This book also has a chapter explaining why the government actually prefers that people choose Medicare Advantage.

For those about to reach the age to file, this book, especially the opening chapters, would be most helpful. Also very helpful now (although I wasn’t concerned prior to my accident) is the 6th Chapter, which explains the downside of Medicare Advantage plans for those with chronic illness. The answer is quite simple: co-pays. As a holder of Medicare Advantage, I have to pay $25 (or more) every time I visit a healthcare facility. Right now I am seeing multiple therapists every week. Some days I pay $25 to the hand therapist, then walk to another therapist in the same complex and pay $25 again. Then I do it again a couple of days later. Medicare requires that medically necessary therapy be covered for unlimited visits. Medicare would not require those co-pays, however.

Perhaps I will get “better” although I have pretty much given up on being “well.” But, with multiple providers for everything from therapy to tests, this journey will be expensive. I wish I had read Bynon’s book before I signed up for Medicare Advantage. And, although I read this book, I probably wouldn’t have reviewed it if I had not become a victim of what a nurse in the ER described as a “life changing” event. I started out quite healthy, but that can change, and quickly.

For those who are just going down this path, this book is certainly worth reading.

Dec 28 2019

Want a book? Check eBay before you check out!

My daughter and I have been using eBay as our “go to” bookstore lately. As an eBay seller, I’ll assure you that the fees are far less when selling used items, including books, on eBay. When selling via the big A marketplace, the fees start at about $4, and go up incrementally. Obviously, selling anything other than textbooks or other high end items on the big A marketplace is not worthwhile. However, eBay’s current fee structure is 12% for books, which means sellers can offer better prices to customers. Also, big A has a flat fee of $3.99 to ship a book, unless the seller offers “free” shipping. As USPS offers “media mail” rates for smaller books, the shipping can be cheaper via eBay. Win-win, right?

Here’s an example of a book that I have placed on the marketplace for a client; basically big A gets $6 of the $17 price:

The fee for that book on eBay would be $2.04. The difference between selling via eBay vs big A is 23%, which is about $4 on a book that costs $17.

Let’s say you’re a bottom feeder looking for a deal. Here’s what happens with a $5.50 book listed via the big A marketplace:

The sale price is $5.50 and the fee for selling it via the marketplace is $4.21, which means the seller gets $1.29. Not many sellers will opt for such a small amount, which is bound to drive up the prices of used mass market paperbacks and/or popular hardcovers. By the way, as of this post, this same book is available for $3.34 on eBay, while the lowest possible price on big A is $4.75. Clearly, bottom feeders need to go to eBay for book purchases. And, while there, check out all the other goods available, from electronics, to clothing, to collectibles— often at better prices than you’ll find anywhere other than the neighborhood yard sale.

One reason buyers flock to big A is the user reviews. Unfortunately, those reviews are not particularly reliable. Big A is purported to fighting this issue, whether banning reviews by customers who have not purchased the item being reviewed, or attempting to control “paid” reviewers. Lately, the issue with reviews on big A is a problem with “hijacked” reviews, where in a product’s reviews are actually for a different product. Certainly, if you must read those reviews, really read them, and don’t be fooled by the number of stars highlighted. All in all, while there may be more variety available on big A, the prices are probably better on eBay.

As a matter of full disclosure, I sell on both big A and eBay. My eBay store is here:

The Alternative Article

Sep 24 2019

One hand…the other hand…Amazon

We’ve all heard the old saying that states it is not good when “one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing.” Basically, when an organization gets too big or too disconnected from itself, then there is at a minimum a loss of cooperation, and at worst, the organization works against itself.

A while back, I had to strip out all of the links to Amazon from this blog, due an email directive, and I have posted a screen shot of that message, which states plainly that I am no longer an Amazon Associate (a means of funding via promoting products.)

Yesterday, I got another email from Amazon. It seems they no longer remember that my account was “terminated” and want help me sell their expletive deleted stuff.

Honestly, this is just on example of the problems at big A. Lots of articles have been published about problems there. The most troubling ones (for consumers) are the fake reviews and hijacked reviews. I’ve mostly stopped shopping there, but hubby is addicted. However, the other day he was actually reading the reviews (and not just looking at the number of positive reviews) and realized that most of those reviews were not for the product he was wanting to buy. Fortunately, he didn’t buy from big A this time.

The bottom line is that Amazon is more and more a computerized “middle man” rather than a merchant, and buyers and sellers have little confidence that the platform is working for either side. Consumers should think about alternatives before using that one step purchase button. Sure, it is convenient, but it’s not good to get scammed.

As far as selling is concerned, lately, I’ve sold far more books via eBay than Amazon. More on that later.

May 30 2019

Book selling for negative profit?

I’ve sold books online via Amazon (and I’ve listed on eBay also) for several years. Unless I got very, very lucky, I seldom made much money on those books. However, recently, I’ve seen negative profits. That’s right— the fees and postage are so high that Amazon is getting all the profit.

See this screen shot:

Amazon fees

Basically, the math isn’t in the seller’s favor here. For a $2.00 book sale, Amazon charged me $3.69 in fees, and for a $2.50 book sale, Amazon charged me $3.76. Even with the actual shipping cost being slightly less than the customer paid, I lost money, as I had to provide shipping materials and get the item to a post office. The only reason I got paid at all was the $6.56 book had a fee of $4.37. Sadly, since my state (Georgia) insists that Amazon collect sales tax on these used book sales, the buyer is not getting good value either. That book cost the buyer nearly $7, which is not a good deal for a used pamphlet.

Clearly, Amazon is not the best solution for book selling any more, so I removed all listings wherein the “fee” was as much or more than the book. Those will either be listed on eBay, or donated.

While I really love putting books into the hands of readers who will enjoy them, there is no sense in losing money to this relentless corporation.

Visions and Revisions

A Blog by Author Pamela J. Dodd

Category Amazon