Mark Turner

Highlights of 2015: Health investment

Back to my Highlights of 2015 (it’s March, right?).

I made a lot of investments in my health in 2015. Working on Centennial Campus, I began to take regular walks around campus during lunchtime, often clocking 20 minutes or more of walking that way. When I took my new job in October, my office was within easy walking distance of my home. I began walking to work on a regular basis. Add this to a morning dog walk most weekday mornings and an occasional evening dog walk and I routinely clock over an hour of walking each day.

I also got on board with the Veterans Administration healthcare. This was spurred on by my ususal health issues that I suspect are related to my Gulf War service. As I mentioned recently, the VA has taken pretty good care of me. I am also now in the middle of a drug trial for prednisone for treating Gulf War illness, but that started in February and not 2015!
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The Case for Bernie: 5 Reasons the Vermont Socialist Deserves Your Vote | News | Indy Week

Bob Geary on Bernie Sanders. I wholeheartedly agree.

Decimated. I’m watching Bernie Sanders following the South Carolina primary, and he’s not putting any gloss on the rout he suffered. Decimated is the word he uses.

So here’s where we are, Bernie fans. We had a tie and a close loss in the first two caucus states. We won big in the New Hampshire primary. We lost twice as big in South Carolina. This is all-too-familiar territory for those of us in Wolfpack Nation. Some early-season successes. Blown out by our first tough opponent. What did legendary N.C. State basketball coach Jimmy Valvano advise in such circumstances? “Too bad,” I think he said. “We’re hosed. We can’t win. We should drop out and root for Carolina.

”No! He didn’t say that! He said never give up! Never, ever give up! You know, like Hillary Clinton said this country will never, ever figure out how to ditch the insurance companies and save everybody money with Medicare for All—Bernie’s plan.

Well, Hillary has her never, ever, and Bernie supporters should have ours. We should vote for our guy if we want to, knowing he’s unlikely to win, but so was the ’83 Wolfpack—until they reeled off nine upsets in a row to take the national championship.

Notice, I am not trying to persuade Hillary’s fans to vote for Bernie. That would be like asking people in light blue shirts to put their thumb and middle fingers together while holding up the other two. Can’t happen.

Hillary’s voters have a right to their belief that the way the country’s going is the best we can hope for—and so what if we’re moving steadily to the right, ceding more and more power to corporations and the wealthy few? Because if the Republicans take the White House, we’d be worse off, and besides, Hillary has experience.

But for those not sold on Hillary, I offer these five reasons to vote for Bernie in the March 15 Democratic presidential primary.

Source: The Case for Bernie: 5 Reasons the Vermont Socialist Deserves Your Vote | News | Indy Week

Hallie to the rescue

During a recent school event, one of Hallie’s classmates suffered a medical emergency. While her other classmates stood around and watched, gripped with panic, Hallie leaped into action and performed first aid (the amusing thing is that up until now she considered the first aid class she took to be a waste of time). Once her friend had recovered, Hallie continued with the event as if nothing happened, and didn’t even mention it to us afterward. We were clueless when the child’s parent passed on her praise Hallie for her reaction, not knowing anything about our daughter’s quick thinking (and acting). It was only last night that we managed to pry the details out of her. To Hallie it was no big deal.
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Raleigh’s accent

Some friends were discussing accents the other day. A buddy who was born and raised in Raleigh was told his accent sounded Midwestern. As a Raleigh resident who was raised all over the South, I have to say I don’t hear much of a Southern accent around Raleigh.

Maybe it’s because of the way Raleigh draws residents from all around the country and world. Companies like IBM set up shop here in the early 1960s, bringing new residents in from all over (and particularly the North). As these groups assimilated the accents all blended, too. Raleigh is a melting pot of people and accents. So I suppose one could say that Raleigh does have its own accent but it’s indistinct. Maybe boring. And boring might not be a bad thing.

On a related note, last night I met with a group of very friendly transplants from the North. For all the grief my daughter gives me about suddenly sounding Southern when I’m around my Southern friends, last night I caught myself actually slipping into a New England accent. 🙂

An Open Letter to Bill Clinton, from a Former Neighbor and Bernie Sanders Supporter

Devoted liberal that I was—I now refer to myself as “progressive,” by the way—I defended you in subway stations, in billiard halls, in mall food courts, in tobacco shops. When others accused you of playing politics with Operation Infinite Reach and Operation Desert Fox, I came to your defense. You were my President, and I your devoted voter. (Meanwhile, of course, our military was slaying innocent lives. I am now ashamed I ever supported a person’s political existence at the expense of innocent lives.)

But what the heck, those were the gay 90s. We had a balanced budget. Everywhere we looked there was growth, growth, growth. Glass-Steagall-Schteagall. No matter how one defines “is,” after the Reagan and Bush years, it was good to support a Democratic President. I even once came to your defense in Kramerbooks, of all places.

Yet, despite my years of ardent support, this past week and with a toss of the wrist, you threw me and millions of others, Slick Willie willy-nilly-style, under the Tea Party bus.

Source: An Open Letter to Bill Clinton, from a Former Neighbor and Bernie Sanders Supporter

Quit knocking socialized medicine

Stethoscope-2
A conservative friend posted a snarky commentary on failing socialist countries on his Facebook page. Another conservative friend of his added his comments:

Absolutely. Question to us do we really think our govt can run it any better? They can’t run even things like VA.

This guy knows nothing about the VA. He’s not a native American nor has he ever served in the military. He has no expertise on the VA and he’s calling it a failure.

I’ve been to the VA for healthcare a number of times over the past year. Yes, appointments are made well in advance but they always promptly see me once I arrive. Never have I had to wait an hour like I did when I had to see my ENT last month. When I go to the VA I never have time to even get my phone out of my pocket before they’re calling me back. They make me feel like a rock star.

Too often, I will be lucky if my private practice doctors spend 10 minutes with me before they’re off to the next patient. I rarely have time to describe what’s wrong with me before it’s – BOOM – time for him to go. The VA takes time to listen to me. I have never felt like I was a burden.

I got a copay bill from the VA last month and so I promptly paid it. Yesterday, the Treasury Department mailed it back to me. Covered. Nice.

The one thing I don’t like about VA healthcare is that I have to drive 25 miles to Durham to get my tests done. It could be more convenient – a full hospital could be built here in Raleigh, but then again few in Congress want to actually meet the government’s promise to properly take care of veterans. It’s a shame. Yet in my experience the VA does well with what they’re given.

I still fondly recall how ten years ago the government of Italy cared for our infant son when he got sick during our vacation there. Didn’t cost us a dime. If only we as Americans could grow up and realize we would all save money (and a lot of goddamn frustration, frankly) by totally revamping our sorry health care system. The VA has shown me that it can be done.

Sometimes walled gardens are good

I often knock Facebook as being like the new AOL: a wonderful walled garden designed to keep you from ever wandering elsewhere on the Internet. There’s some truth to that, sure. But it occurred to me that the vast majority of really inspiring, uplifting news I’ve gotten has come from sources like Facebook.

Sure, Facebook gets repetitive (“cat-video-du-jour!” “you won’t BELIEVE what happens next!”) and often the choices made by Facebook’s feed algorithm feel claustrophobic, but a lot of news offered by the traditional media seems too often biased towards the negative (“if it bleeds, it leads.”). To my surprise I’ve discovered I have soft spot for the “fluff pieces” found on Facebook.

Poor Tech Bro Writes Open Letter About How He ‘Shouldn’t Have to See’ Homeless People in SF 

This guy is a real douche.

The unfortunate tech bro insurgency in San Francisco continues with a guy named Justin Keller, who has lived in the Bay Area for all of three years (that means we can still return him, right?) and recently felt entitled enough to write the mayor and police chief about his distaste for the homeless. Cool, cool.

In an open letter to Mayor Ed Lee and police chief Greg Suhr— as if those men don’t already know about the homeless situation in a city where they’ve no doubt resided for longer than 36 months—Keller wrote the following fuckshit, excerpted at the Guardian:

I am writing today, to voice my concern and outrage over the increasing homeless and drug problem that the city is faced with. I’ve been living in SF for over three years, and without a doubt it is the worst it has ever been. Every day, on my way to, and from work, I see people sprawled across the sidewalk, tent cities, human feces, and the faces of addiction. The city is becoming a shanty town … Worst of all, it is unsafe.

Poor, poor Keller, founder of some server-centric startup called Commando.io which I hope I never come in contact with, was miffed because he ran into a few drunken and mentally unsound homeless people while his parents were visiting from that place he should go back to. Fine, but his entitlement makes native Northern Californians like myself want to catapult him onto Alcatraz and hope the ghosts get him.

Source: Poor Tech Bro Writes Open Letter About How He ‘Shouldn’t Have to See’ Homeless People in SF 

A Medium post by Jim Gavin has a nice response:

As “Justin” says, there is no “magic solution,” but believe it or not, there are many people working really hard to deal with the homeless situation in San Francisco. They are motivated to help individuals who are suffering. That may not interest “Justin,” but in the end they want the same thing he wants: to get people off the street. So next time, instead of crying to the mayor, “Justin” should consider donating to the Homeless Youth Alliance or going someplace like St. Anthony’s in the Tenderloin (links below) and volunteering to serve meals.

Stretching one’s wings

A few years ago I would sometimes take my airplane-crazed son over to watch the planes at RDU Airport. One Saturday we were watching from the General Aviation terminal as a private jet pulled up. A couple about my age hopped out, walked out to their expensive SUV, and drove away. At the time, I didn’t consider this the part of the show that my son wanted to see but the scene stuck with me.

It was a moment where my mind was opened to new possibilities. Who were these people and how do they afford to travel by private jet? How could I one day travel by private jet? This couple didn’t look much different from me and yet they’re high flyers while I’m just a lowly blogger.

I recently set up some simple gear that tracks airplanes as they fly over (I am a radio geek, after all). Occasionally, I’ll see one cruising over at 45,000 feet. Private jet, of course, and I can feel my mind kick into gear again, plotting a course to someday reach that same altitude.

It’s funny how that works. I don’t really want for anything. My life is pretty sweet, and then something comes along that gives you a peek into a new world you didn’t really know existed.

I don’t need to travel by private jet, but it’s fun to imagine being there some day.

Raleigh’s Bike Share is key to Raleigh’s growth

A Bike Share bike rack in downtown Boulder, CO.

A Bike Share bike rack in downtown Boulder, CO.


Raleigh City Council is considering sponsoring a bike share program. This was a project first begun a year or two ago, resulting in winning a federal grant. Now that grant is in danger of expiring next month if the city does not move forward.

I am reminded of the presentation former Raleigh City Planner Mitchell Silver gave a few years ago on our society’s changing demographics, an eye-opening look at today’s new workforce. Today’s new workforce does not want to drive anywhere (sorry, RTP). The new workforce wants their living, working, and playing all to be nearby. One need only see the massive investments recently made in upscale apartments clustered around downtown, N.C. State, Cameron Village, and other commercial areas. Durham’s American Tobacco Campus is the same way.
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