yep, good ole Unified State of Avarice, health care not included.
Americans seem to confuse the most EXPENSIVE health care system with the BEST health care system...
don't get me started, oops too late. ; )
on that note- goin'to bed.
btw, just watched 'Black Death' very grim flick. i'm sure germans were behind it.
I just read about the case of James Verone, the guy who robbed a bank (1$) just to be sent to prison, so he could receive medical treatment.
People without having an insurrance are not treated at all in the US?
That made wme wonder how expensicve health insurrances are?! In Germany it's literally impossible to be not insured (unless you are homeless and live on the streets).
They are treated only in emergencies, and then only whatever is necessary to remove them from an emergency status. There are reduced fee clinics that they can go to, but even they still charge a price. In his case he had chronic problems that without health insurance (or money) would be very difficult to receive ongoing treatment for. I don't recall all of the details of the story, but it seems to me that he was hoping to get a three year sentence so that he could apply for Social Security when he got out. The thing is, if he was destitute before this, he could have applied for SSI/SSDI based on his health problems alone, it wouldn't have gotten him as much monthly income but he would have received Medicaid or Medicare.
It may have taken him awhile to get approved, and it would have been a difficult task, but many states in the US have state funded programs that a person is eligible for while they have a pending application for SSI/SSDI which provides basic health care, a small amount of cash and food stamps each month. He definitely did not need to rob a bank in order to receive health care, but it may have been the most effective method I can see.
In the US though, the cost of health insurance relies almost entirely on your health status when you first applied. Many insurance companies will not accept you if you have prior health issues, others charge you a significantly higher price if you do. Otherwise, it is dependent on age, occupation, family health history, personal health history, whether or not you smoke, whether or not you frequently consume alcohol etc. Then you not only have the cost of the insurance, but also the cost of premiums and co-pays to attend to as well.
@Shifty Are you Australian or stationed in Australia? It sounds like being in the service is pretty well the same the world over, lol.
@Zyren. I'm active duty. I have been stationed in Okinawa for quite sometime now and about ready to get back to the States. Time here has been great, but I'm ready to get back to civie life.
Well guys, it's almost 2 am here so I think I'm headed to bed. I'm guaranteed to not get much sleep tonight as it is, my best friend had to go to the ER tonight and I have her little girl here sleeping on my couch. They'll be calling me when they come to get her, and I've made her man promise to keep me updated meanwhile. So, I hope you all have a good night/day.
Here I be! I envision Harl looking more along the lines of a Warhammer-esque dwarf carrying his large waraxe and nordic style round shield. He wears his flame red beard in multiple braids festooned with clasps. He is a very classic dwarf in that he is opinionated, bigoted against all the usual dwarven enemies, but with that classic streak of begrudged appreciation for those who prove him wrong. Oh Solaric, we shall have great fun. It seems like I've heard of such friendship before....hmmm.;)
Something I like to do is ask the people I'll be playing with what they see when they hear a few traits of one of my characters adn work some of that into his personality or appearance. I feel like it provides a bit of tangibilty in the overall connection to the other players. So what comes to your mind when you think of a dwarf paladin from Druma?
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@ Bilbo:
Now I get it, for a moment I thought you might be a poor member of the Japanese forces trying to mop the Fallout off the beach...
@ Bree and Vodoo:
For me that sounds ridiculous, being in jail for three years generates beter medical treatment than being just poor...
@ Marl:
Warhammer dwarves are pretty cool, I like him :)
@BBB - Australian.
As to healthcare, well taking my example, I was admitted to a Public Hospital as an Emergency patient those few weeks ago; although I have Private Health insurance as well, I ultimately went through the Public System.
I went in on a Sunday and was discharged on the Thursday, I got the joys of an ambulance ride, a battery of tests and scans, and then underwent surgery under a general anaesthetic with a top surgeon.
Total cost to me - $50. (about $52usd)
Had there been room/time when I first arrived, I would have got my own room in a private hospital and been placed in relative luxury instead of a ward full of people and sharing a room with a bunch of noisy idiots, would have been able to pick and choose my surgeon, anaesthetist, and just about any/every selection a patient could have made.
if I didn't have the Private cover I also would have had a $300 bill for the ambulance ride (about 310usd)
Either way though, its a great system.
I almost ended up there, but they went ahead sent me on to the school I was slotted for instead. Some of my friends who went have to worry about the exposure they recieved while there and a couple are only 23 and now likely to recieve full disability when they get out due to the high potential of future problems. Crazy,man....
On a less somber note, I have always loved the Warhammer imagery. They have some pretty cool stuff. Not for realist, but this is fantasy and who doesn't love a dwarf with a mohawk!
@ Bilbo:
That sounds really bad :(
Regarding the game: Why don't you just bump into the group now that they're about to leave the village.
Nice, just found a bunch (about a dozen) Hardcover roleplaying books for 1 cent each, lucky me :)
@ Voodoo:
I'm a big time fan of Sean Bean (not because of LOTR but rather of films like the oxford murder series). And yes, it's really a partly German movie...hey, do Americans think Germans are that gothic, lol?
@ Shifty: Is Nik A alright and through his work madness? Even though he left us, he was a nice guy and comitting player :)
Shifty, please send Nik my regards. He was a great player and his characters had such color and depth. He will be greatly missed!
Will do!
Does the group have a name they go by or are they just group of like minded individuals?
Karcau's Chosen they are :)
Just gonna let everyone know that due to Real Life being an ass and me being slightly depressed, my posting is going to be erratic, if you didn't notice already >.>
meh
@DMZZ - Well it got harder for NikA, his PC died, which delayed him getting assignments in etc... and he's unable to attend the next game session at this rate (even after canning the last one) which is interesting as he's the GM :p Oh well guess I will be the GM that day.
@BBB - 'Karcaus Chosen' seems to be the default.
@Emil - Bummer :(
And yes, it's really a partly German movie...hey, do Americans think Germans are that gothic, lol?
um, think? didn't you just post a work picture of your girlfriend that could be Exhibit A? LOL!
btw 'Karcau's Chosen' sounds like a cheese to me. and to be honest we weren't chosen by the city, just the academy. if anything we ought to be the 'Honor Students' or something like that.
@ Voodoo:
That's funny, people like her are mostly referred to as Rockabillys here :) (lots of tattoos and piercings I mean^^) Anyway you're right, she surely has a "gothic past"^^
Solaric invented Karcau's Chseon, didn't he?
@ Shifty:
Oww that's really tough luck.
@ Emil:
What's wrong?
Solaric invented Karcau's Chseon, didn't he?
Yeah, that's another thing that Pitr needed to talk to Soliliquy about...thanks for reminding me ; )
btw we have Rockabilly here, too. of course. i do find it pretty funny how Germans are really crazy for off-the-wall Americana: i.e. Cowboys, '50s stuff, etc.
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Personally I celebrate International Gnome Day by watching movies like Gnome Mobile, Goosebumps Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, (the movie I waited over a decade for) Gnomeo & Juliet etc, curl up with a good gnome book like Fang the Gnome, and take pictures of my 300+ lawn gnomes... I'm not obsessed ^_^
I don't know if I could sit through Gnomeo and Juliet (it looked awful) but I COULD listen to Spill the Wine all day.
sign me up : )
@ Zyren it is, and I hate our healthcare system as it stands.
@ Sable, no, no that's perfectly normal. We all have 300 plus garden gnomes...
^whenever I play Fallout I end up with this crazy collection of garden gnomes. I felt like I was saving them from the wasteland.
I was so diappointed by both new Fallout parts :(
Did you like them Kabal?
Sadly I havent gotten either of the DLC packs yet. But it looks like theyre not worth it huh?
I quite liked New Vegas but the new fallout is nowhere near as entertaining as 1 or 2. Just doesn't have the humour.
I didnt play either of those also.
New Vegas has some cool changes but it doesnt have the edge that #3 did.
COme August 5th or sooner I will no longer have a job due to my company moving everything to California
On top of that my roomate is a dick and I have to make sure me and the wife move out in Feb, and we need to get a car.
STRESSSSS
Jeez Emil, that sucks :(
Hopefully it all works out quickly though!
@HOL
Sorry it took a while, but I went back and had a look at the wrap up from the Count.
Generally it was a bit of a mess working out how to divvy up the goods but this is how it panned out:
Pitr – Amulet (1500)
Kirk - Dagger & Boots (20802) (Dagger is crazy money)
Zahur -Ring (8000)
There was that ring which we bagged for our general admin too.
On top of that we sold off the vest which gave us a decent amount of gold, my proposal is to allocate the funds as
Solaric - +2 Full Plate
Pitr - Works out as about 4k worth - which means +1 Full Plate and change, or a +2 Breastplate (which is over budget, not as badly as a +1 Mith) - wasn't sure if you were sticking with lighter armour as a preference or out of budget!
I am also trying to factor some cash in for sundry potions or a Heal wand. We have some ok healing for those lighter days, but when girl siply HAS to be sure...
Guys let me know preferences.
Cheers
Victoria has a new use for that Ring of Arcane signets.
Anyone attached to the party will all be marked on their LEFT hand with an invisible Arcane mark. Similarly all valuable items will also be discretely tagged.
I will (from time to time) start marking key NPC's.
The Signet only requires to be brought into contact with skin, so I think a handshake (or extending her hand in a courtly greeting) should work where possible, or whatever I can get away with.
As they don't get a saving throw...
Anyhow, a Bluff should get her past if they are been a little more attentive :)
Her sigil will be the silhouette of a Succubus.
Going to throw myself down a hill on a bit of wood and plastic again on the weekend, this time in Belgium. Means I won't be able to post from Friday to Sunday evening. So DMPCs all round.
Pitr - Works out as about 4k worth - which means +1 Full Plate and change, or a +2 Breastplate (which is over budget, not as badly as a +1 Mith) - wasn't sure if you were sticking with lighter armour as a preference or out of budget!
to be honest I hadn't really thought about mithral. I also wasn't aware that it reduced armor penalties so that mithral FP is actually slightly better than standard BP. I still tend to think of him in BP though, seems more functional and down to earth. if we have the budget, i'd prefer +2 BP...at least for now.
Yeah we have the budget, +2BP it is.
Once Solaric comes back with his yay/nay I will wrap off the details.
@DMZZ - Is a circlet of persuasion allowed? ;p
@ Shifty:
Good work soting that out.
Interesting use for the ring, I can already imagine the implications^^
Sure is the circlet allowed, I just wonder if you still need more bonus? :)
@ Kanyk:
Thanks for the info, are you some kind of pro that you travel all around europe just for skating down a hill?
@ Emil:
Bah that sounds bad, you think you find a new job fast?
@ Kabal:
This one DLC where ou had to fight the Chinese forces in Alaska was really good.
@ All: Mornin'!
Afternoon!
Sure is the circlet allowed, I just wonder if you still need more bonus? :)
I thought about it and thought about it... then really liked it.
Otherwise I was going to bank the cash for something bigger later.
Fallout 3 & NV - Totally loved them both.
My favourite in the FPS genre at the moment is still the STALKER series, Call of Pripyat is exceptional. Dark, nasty, gritty, and just the sort of dirty 'semi realism' I like.
@BBB Afternoon :p
Hey guys and gals, I'm still alive and still checking the posts periodically. I'm really sorry that I havent posted anything in the past week. Once I have this proposal sent off for a contract, I promise that I will spend more time on the PBP game, I'm really enjoying the game Zyren and it is through no lack of interest that I have been silent.
If my share has been to big with the ring, feel free to take it and sell it to make the share more even.
Zahur, given the nature of the items we get things will always be a bit 'lumpy' though I reckon over time it should all sort of even out. So keep a hold of the ring (as its good for you!)... personally its worth holding on to big ticket items, and just offloading what we definitely WONT use (like the vest) to buy the day to day items and staples.
Poor Solaric was still kicking around at L4 with Banded mail! :p
Hey Zahur, happy to see you're still around :) We miss you, but that's a good sign isn't it?! Looking forward to having you back.
If I got some time besides the things one has to do and PBP^^ I normally play some rounds Battlefield Bad Company 2, need competition to motivate myself :)
Hey again. So, I wrapped up my character, but totally forgot how to make an alias. I'll call Garabbott tomorrow to check and see how to do it, but for now, my character is under my account. Hope the formatting is up to par. Can't wait to get started!
Also, super new to this :P
Sheet looks very good-well done!
I can guide you through the alias process:
1) Scroll to the top oof the page
2) Click on "my account"
3) Maybe reenter password
4) Click "create new alias" in the left column
5) Choose avatar and name
6) Edit that new Alias and enter your char sheet.
7) After that you can always choose when writing a post under which alias it shall be posted.
Think I got it to work. And luckily my HD rolls were amazing. Thanks again for having me!
Oh yeah, very nice.
I'll introduce you asap.
Good to have you aboard-think we lost Aesoph already...jeez
Operation Anchorage was good Zyren and I still have to get around to checking out the Pitt but honestly since Ive found this PbP board a couple of months ago Ive completely neglected my xbox.
Oh yeah same here, I rather take a look at the boards than play PS3 :)
think we lost Aesoph already...jeez
WTF?
At least I fear so, only one short post since he was chosen :(
Uhuh, on Monday... now Thursday night... NEXT!