jmooney

Very nice! I just trimmed my Holly Tree and was eyeing up the cuttings this morning while I had to dog out. There are a few promising pieces there.

Barbour prices are even more absurd over here in the colonies with the exchange rate being what it is. My advice is to hit up eBay. I've never bought a brand new Barbour. They usually last for years and like anything luxury priced depreciate as soon as they are bought. Just buy on auction and then send to Barbour for a rewaxing and Bob's your uncle.

Great pic! Best of luck with the wee lad.

Congrats mate! I've a wife and two daughters....everything 'round here is pink or has sparkles on it. You get used to it.... Best wishes to you and the mrs....nothing as wonderful as holding your little girl!!!!!!!

I hope you all have a great day! It's tough getting them in to this world sometimes but their smiles make the worry worth it!

Setter?

I realize I'm from the US but took it just out of curiosity to see what the questions were. Funnily enough the issues it asked about are pretty much the same issues we face in the US almost to a T so the questions were easy to answer in that respect. I got: Labour 80% Lib Dems 78% Conservatives 72% Scottish Nationals 66% Plaid Cymru 63% UKIP 58% Green 54% BNP 34%

I've sold a lot on eBay and I find when you open a case they usually side with the buyer. I had a case where I had pics and it didn't seem to matter. Just my .02....YMMV.

He's a keeper!

I was really hoping Ruddy would make the squad this time around.

I hope they are going to the way of the DoDo....I felt like I had to issue a public apology on here when I first heard of them. They are typical American shooting and fishing TV. I can't stand any of it. When I saw their ilk surface on your fine isles I felt like the early settlers giving smallpox to the Native Americans..... Good riddance I say....now where did I leave my Passion for Angling DVD?

Most hospitals have programs to deal with this, especially the hospitals with a religious affiliation. You'll get the op you need but you'll also get some of the bills after the fact. Hence the new laws requiring people to have insurance because people's lives would be saved medically but then ruined financially in the aftermath.

They generally don't have ops unless something life threatening comes up. The cost is a bit inflated due to the game the medical providers and insurance companies play. Usually the provider knows what it wants to get paid for something and it know what percentage the insurance will pay so they bill accordingly. For example, if a Dr. wants $2000 for something and they know the insurance usually pays only 25% of the cost they bill the insurance $8000 and then they get their $2000. Most insurances also make participating providers agree that they will accept whatever the insurance pays as full payment for the service so the Dr doesn't pass on the other cost to the patient, except in cases where the patient is responsible for a certain percentage out of pocket. In that case the insurance might give the Dr. $1900 and the Dr. bill the patient for the remaining $100. Sound corrupt and inefficient? Well, it kind of is to some extent. Now a days though you have to have insurance (the Obamacare you might have heard of) because many people didn't and didn't have access to healthcare. The costs haven't really gone down but the government is subsidizing the cost for people based on their income level. There are government benefit programs that are available too. Most common thing here is to get insurance through your employer. They pay part of the cost as an employee benefit and you pay part of the cost. I pay about $320/month to cover myself, my wife, and my two daughters for medical, dental, and vision coverage. I used to pay nothing out of pocket but now pay about 5% of the costs out of pocket up to $5000/year. The increase was due to the new healthcare laws and the cost of implementing them since students can stay on their parent's insurance until 26 as long as a full time student (use to be 22) and other things that employers have to do and offer now under the new laws. I don't pretend to understand how all this is working with the new laws and such but I am glad that more people have access to healthcare now. CHeers!

I was 349 lbs before the op and I'm 5 months out and I'm at 270 lbs now. My surgeon predicts I should get to 235 lbs with little trouble. I'm actually aiming for 215 just to see if I can do it... I'm in the US so no NHS :-) but my health insurance covered it. With the final bills having come in it'll be about $600 ( about 350 Quid) out of pocket for me. The op was the cheap part. The bill for the 3 days in hospital afterward was nearly $56,000.

I can say it's worth all the trouble. I've lost 5.5 stone so far since my op on 15 Nov. 2013 and if anything at all comes if it other than the fact that my daughters will have me to walk them down the aisle it would be a bonus. It may seem like an "easy out" to some but let me tell you it is not. It's a tool, an effective tool, but a tool nonetheless. I was put straight by my cardiologist who told me your heart is sound now but in 5 years we will be having a different conversation if you don't make some drastic changes. On top of that he told me that with my Rheumatoid Arthritis that if he put me on an exercise program to lose the weight that I would be crippled and they wouldn't give me joint replacements since I'm too young (37) currently. Since the op, I'll hike 3 or 4 miles with no complaint. Pretty soon I'll be able to out walk my mates on a rough shoot who would have left me in the dust in prior years. It's a new lease on life and I wish ANYONE who undertakes it nothing but the best and will gladly welcome them in to the club!