<rss version="2.0"><channel><title>RSS feed for InstantSpot site Dave Shuck&apos;s InstantSpot</title><link>http://daveshuck.instantspot.com</link><language>en-us</language><copyright>This work is Copyright &#xA9; 2008 by Dave Shuck&apos;s InstantSpot</copyright><generator>RSSVille ColdFusion FeedMaker, version 1.0</generator><pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:33:33 GMT</pubDate><item><title>Apparently &quot;bringing about real change&quot; means spamming me to death</title><link>http://daveshuck.instantspot.com/blog/2008/02/04/Apparently-bringing-about-real-change-means-spamming-me-to-death</link><description>&lt;p&gt;Here is a little free advice to those running for office this election year, considering the fact that you have no idea what normal people do or what makes them tick.  People don&apos;t like spam.  In fact, there are billions of dollars spent every year to stop people from sending unsolicited email to people that are not interested in buying (or buying into!) services.   You have become part of the problem by sending me emails telling me about your &amp;quot;solutions&amp;quot;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If I am on the fence about a particular candidate - and I&apos;m not - and you really want to seal the deal and drive me to making a decision, then by all means go ahead and send me more spam.  I will remember that when I don&apos;t cast a ballet for you on election day.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Oh yeah... and about the &amp;quot;opt out&amp;quot; form thingie on your website that you apparently ignore.  In the &amp;quot;internet world&amp;quot; that means that you are supposed to stop sending emails to the person that submits it.    Seriously Senator, stop going out of your way to push me away.  Your work is already done.&lt;/p&gt;</description><pubDate>Tue, 05 Feb 2008 04:42:00 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://daveshuck.instantspot.com/blog/2008/02/04/Apparently-bringing-about-real-change-means-spamming-me-to-death</guid><category>Rant</category></item><item><title>RANT:  Remember when insurance was a benefit?</title><link>http://daveshuck.instantspot.com/blog/2007/01/05/RANT--Remember-when-insurance-was-a-benefit</link><description>&lt;p&gt;
It is time for my yearly complaining about health insurance&amp;nbsp;becoming more and more ridiculous every year.&amp;nbsp; The insurance premiums that are offered by my employer are now more than many people&amp;#39;s salaries!
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&lt;p&gt;
For those of you that work for big companies, you are going to likely be shocked by these numbers, but this is the email I receieved this morning from the owner of our company:
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&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;[unnamed company] will be renewing its agreement with United Healthcare in March.&amp;nbsp; The new premium amounts are as follows:&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;
	&lt;tbody&gt;
		&lt;tr&gt;
			&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Current&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Renewal&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;/tr&gt;
		&lt;tr&gt;
			&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;Employee Only&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;340.59&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;
			&lt;p&gt;
			&amp;nbsp; 381.46
			&lt;/p&gt;
			&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;/tr&gt;
		&lt;tr&gt;
			&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;Employee and Spouse&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;747.51&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;837.21&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;/tr&gt;
		&lt;tr&gt;
			&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;Employee and Child&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;665.22&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;745.05&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;/tr&gt;
		&lt;tr&gt;
			&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;Employee and Family&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;1140.77&lt;/td&gt;
			&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;1277.66&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;/tr&gt;
	&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;If you have any questions, please see [HR person].&amp;nbsp; Also, please appreciate the additional amount that &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;[unnamed company]&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; is paying on your behalf.&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;May you all have a healthy 2007!&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Barf!&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
So the obvious answer is to go get private policies, right?&amp;nbsp; Here is the catch.&amp;nbsp; For those of us (which was me until last year!) who are still planning on growing our families, to the best of my knowledge it is not possible to get reasonable maternity coverage on a private policy in Texas.&amp;nbsp; It has been determined that this is an &amp;quot;elective procedure&amp;quot; according to my insurance agent. &amp;nbsp; So for you big company employees who consider going to smaller shops, or you single guys how consider going towards families.... take heed!&amp;nbsp; Life ain&amp;#39;t cheap. &amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;
</description><pubDate>Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:22:29 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://daveshuck.instantspot.com/blog/2007/01/05/RANT--Remember-when-insurance-was-a-benefit</guid><category>Rant</category></item><item><title>We have landed</title><link>http://daveshuck.instantspot.com/blog/2005/07/10/We-have-landed</link><description>&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot; face=&quot;Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif&quot;&gt;Well, I have installed my blogging software.&amp;nbsp; Time to play. :)&lt;br/&gt;
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