Healthcare in the News

I found this story on MSNBC while perusing the current events as is my daily routine in the morning. What I found interesting about this particular story is that even someone from a very reputable news company and a well known healthcare insurance still ran into the huge red tape of what is becoming normal with the current healthcare industry. With days probably making a difference with her current cancer condition, she has to deal with the somewhat idiotic bureaucracy of her healthcare provider. In short, its a telling tale of some of the endemic problems with healthcare.

For me this is an example on why we need to overhaul our healthcare system. As the writer notes at the end of her article, "I'm in despair. I think back to last year, when I signed up for early Social Security. It took one phone call. Fifteen minutes max. Everything was loaded into their system and I could look it up online. All the information was there. It was all correct. My checks come like clockwork on the same day every month. I've never had one problem. Last year my husband signed up for Medicare. Same experience. No problems, no complaints. This is your government at work. Some bureaucrats know how to get it right." If the government bureacrats can get it right for the healthcare insurance problems than I'm all for them overhauling the system instead of leaving it to the current private industry bureaucrats.

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Photo Tips

Good article from my Olympus newsletter called, "Seven Tips for Snappin' Good
Social Networking Pics". Since social networking and viral marketing is very popular, these tips will make your social network photos even better!

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Ten Social-Media Blogging Tips for Photographers

For those of you like me who've been blogging for awhile, David Saffir wrote a great article on blogging, "Ten Social-Media Blogging Tips for Photographers".

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Health Tips

Good article on "8 best (and worst) natural cold and flu remedies". Its still Flu season, so keep up your health guard against getting the cold and flu.

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Photo Tips

Yesterday I sign up for "Graphic Authority 101 - ADVANCED - David Cuerdon’s Favorite Photoshop Tips! 4 Parts - Tues's, Feb. 9th - March 2nd, 5:30PM CST". For those of you like me (not a beginner nor an expert Photoshop user), this is the perfect class for you. David is asking each person who signs up for his class to send him a sample photo which he will show everyone step-by-step in Photoshop on how to make it better. For me, there's a certain style of post-editing in Photoshop that i've been trying to mimic (i.e. magazine look with vibrant or saturated colors). I'm hoping David can show me how to do it.

This is the 2nd webinar I've attended of his. He definitely has experience and talent in this area. I highly recommend you sign up for one of his free and/or paid webinars. Here's the link.

Plus they have a page for some self-taught Photoshop tutorials here.

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JPP Daily Photos

Happy Belated Birthday to both Bryonna and Martin. Bry celebrated her 16th bday and Martin his 18th bday this past Saturday. Here are a selection of photos highlighting their party!

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JPP Daily Photos

While I try to carry my Nikon DSLR and kit with me everyday (to catch that photo moment especially for my humble blog), its not always practical to carry my whole gear around. I've been playing with the idea of getting a point and shoot digital like my old Canon G2 but it doesn't always have all the features I look for when taking photos. Well Olympus recently launched their "OLYMPUS PEN DIGITAL E-P2". Which judging by the specs might be the ideal carry around camera for me. I've got my tax refund in hand but still not sure if I want to spend it all on the E-P2 kit which is roughly $1200 US MSRP. Or I could spend a fraction of that amount and get a Nikon coolpix or Canon G series. Decisions! Decisions!

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P.S. I've attached some sample photos from the E-P2 with built in art filters.

Photographer Products

Well, I did it! I bought Gregg's *Triple Package Deal on Monday which includes: The Ultimate Bounce Card, The New Big-Light Bounce Card & The ABBC Mini-Light Bounce Card. Hopefully with the 3-4 days shipping time I will receive it before Saturday so I may use it for an upcoming birthday party in Milpitas. Otherwise I will definitely use it for Juvenal and Erlin wedding the following weekend. I'll post some samples of the photos when they are available.

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Tips & Advice

I found this great article from a friend's blog entry.

I would like to quote (because I agree with his point entirely), "This is a great article that I wish more people have had a chance to read. It's amazing how some people believe that they have built strong connections without following points #2 and #3. I usually find people who have met me already asking for favors. I'm usually willing to help whenever I can but some people are just takers. I hope you all enjoy reading this article as much as I have."

Anyways, the original article is a great read for networking.

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