What the Cell Phone Sees

As I travel around the country and look at real estate it always amazes me what I see in different areas.

 

This was seen in the middle of a pasture.

 

A rooster and an old fence

 

And that was what the cell phone saw today.

Petrino replaces Petrino

This is what I think and I got this idea from Bruce James on 103.7 the Buzz on the Show with no name with Tommy Smith, David Bazzel and Roger Scott:

Give Paul Petrino $1 million with incentives for certain wins.  Tell him it is a one year deal.  Let the team proceed just like it would have been if Bobby Petrino was there coaching.

During the year - sit back and wait.  The great coaches will come out of the wood works to get this job and work for Jeff Long.

My thoughts today.

Deep Breath Arkansas - Life After Petrino

Arkansas Razorback Fans - take a deep breath.  The Bobby Petrino scandal is not the end of the world.

It may be the end of the Hogs taking off next year as we thought that they would but get real it is just a game.

Who believes that Petrino will be fired!

Crowd Control

It is that time of the year again when the summer time, fun time events take place that draws the great crowds in Arkansas and many other places around the world.  Yes, there is the need for crowd control at the wonderful water park that I will soon be taking the grand kids to.  It is there that they use  stanchions to keep the kids and the adults in the lines to get on the water slides and rides.   

Then there is the great plays at the local dinner theater that I like to attend.  These are a little more formal than the water park but there is still a need to keep the crowd moving smoothly as we wait to get into the theater to eat and then enjoy the great show.  Since it is a little more formal they now use the old red carpet feel and use a  velvet rope to keep us in line.  This makes me feel like the wait is ok since I am in a elegant atmosphere.

Then there is the lines as fall rolls around at the great local college and high school football games.  For some reason we all gather early to get the best seats and here we go again with the need for the crowd control.  You guessed it here there are things more like  barricades  rather than stanchions at the water park or the velvet rope at the dinner theater.  

With all of that you still get the idea that there are many ways to keep people in line and under control.   What way would you use to keep the lines moving and the people happy?

What is it!

It is Yellow and is on the car.

It is Yellow and it washes down the street in the rain.

It makes grown men cry.

What is it.

POLLEN

Arkansas and Dancing

Arkansas men are not playing.

Arkansas Women are still in it in second round.  They are behind right now.

UALR - out first round murdered. 

What does next year hold.

Eagles in Arkansas

Late winter and early spring is a great time to watch for bald eagles in Arkansas..  I have seen them along the Little Red River.

They have been sighted around a sewer pond in Searcy.

A few years ago there were many of them around a lake in Center Ridge.

Many of the lakes have eagle watch cruises.

Have you seen an eagle in Arkansas.?

Beautiful Day on The River

Yesterday was beautiful.  I could not resist going to the Little Red River and going trout fishing.  Wading out on the river is so peaceful. 

I got on the river about 1 pm.  and stayed until about 3:30.  Saw lots of stocker fish but I caught none. 

Did I not enjoy the day because I did not catch.  No Way.  It was beautiful.

Arkansas - Great for Fishing.

Myself and son-in- law went on a fishing day the other day with a guide that knew the Little Red River like the back of his hand.  The day started catching easy rainbow trout when no one else was even thinking that it was good fishing on the river.

By noon we had pulled in many rainbows and life was good.  After lunch the guide decided it was time for one of us to go after the big brown trout.  This opportunity was given to the younger one of the crowd. 

Guide told us that we would not catch many but those caught would be big ones.   Here is one of the two big ones that we caught.   Life is good in Arkansas.

Full Time Student

Guest post written by Joseph Finch

Being a full-time student is actually not the easiest thing in the world. I feel like a lot of people don't give college students credit for having to balance studies, social life, and lots of the time a job with everything else going on in life. It's tough being stuck in the middle, not making enough money to fully support yourself and also be periodically tested on things you're learning. I'm 23 now but sometimes when I see the 18-year-old freshman on campus I wonder how it is anyone ever makes it through their first year college. I've buckled down in the last couple of years… Getting high speed mobile broadband for the house and meeting with my professorson a regular basis to make sure our on track, but that doesn't mean it's easy to juggle everything. I'm actually really excited to be done with school and to get out in the real world where I can earn my money and make my own schedule rather than being under someone else's thumb.

Jamie Rouse Fly Fishing

Going to be doing this with him in 5 days. Hope for better weather. Will report back soon.
---------------

9 Days

It is only 9 Days before I get to go on a guided fishing trip on the Little Red River with Jamie Rouse. 

I am excited.  I hope the weather cooperates.  I would like 60 degrees and sunshine.  However, I will take anything that I get.  What I see is that Jamie Rouse is one of the best guides for trout fishing and I expect to catch fish.

That is what I expect. 

Arkansas Pictures.

I am taking pictures for fun and to learn.  I will be posting a few here from time to time.



A Walk through the Heights in Little Rock gave the opportunity to snap this picture of an old wheel chair under a tree.  It was someone's yard art but gave me the thought of the story behind the chair.  Maybe grandma used to sit in the chair and enjoy the outdoors in her latter years. 

The fishing dock on Beaverfork Lake in Conway.  Great time of day with great light.  Maybe soon spring will come and I can snap a fisherman getting a big one.

 Toad Suck park and Dam is one of this photographers favorite spots for taking shots.  This is a shot taken of the dam and bridge taking the world from one side to the other.

25 days and Counting

I am getting excited.  about 25 days until my son in  law and I go on our guided fishing trip with Jamie Rouse - one of the premier trout fishing guides in America.  We are going on a trip on the Little Red River looking for the great trout that can be found there. 

If you think I am crazy, take a look at Jamie Rouse Website and Blog.  Great Fishing

I am like a kid getting close to Christmas.

Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been hearing about this for some time on Arkansas television.  Some other pharmacies are trying to play this up as if Walgreens is just not wanting to do Express Scripts.  Walgreens is my personal pharmacy and I could not believe that there was not more to it.  Well there is more to the story.  As Paul Harvey would have said "You have heard about Walgreens and Express Script now you will know the rest of the story."

For the past year, Walgreens has negotiated with Express Scripts for a new contract to continue as part of its pharmacy provider network. Those negotiations were unsuccessful, and the contract expired on Dec. 31. As a result, Walgreens is no longer part of Express Scripts’ pharmacy provider network as of Jan. 1, 2012. This includes all Walgreens pharmacies nationwide and Duane Reade pharmacies in the New York City area.

This situation of forcing pharmacy patients to go elsewhere to use their in-network pharmacy benefits was unnecessary. Express Scripts’ actions are causing disruption with no significant benefit to patients or their health plan. Patients covered by an Express Scripts plan now find themselves not only having to change their pharmacists, but many are having to drive farther to get prescriptions filled at pharmacies with less convenient hours for their hectic schedules. Walgreens offers more 24-hour and drive-thru pharmacies than any other pharmacy in the country.

And patients are not seeing their costs go down in exchange for the increased hassle they’re being subject to. It’s all pain with no gain.

Avoiding disruption and keeping costs flat
During negotiations, Walgreens offered to hold rates for a new contract flat and did not seek an increase in rates. The response from Express Scripts was to insist on being able to unilaterally define contract terms, such as what does and does not constitute a brand and generic drug. Express Scripts also proposed to slash Walgreens reimbursement rates to levels below the industry average cost to provide each prescription.

Express Scripts itself has stated that clients will not see any significant savings from excluding Walgreens from its network. In fact, costs may even go up without Walgreens because we offer competitive pricing, additional savings by dispensing less expensive generic drugs more often than other pharmacies, and savings through 90-day supplies of medications at our retail pharmacies versus three, 30-day refills.

Express Scripts could offer substantial savings to its clients by promoting 90-day refills at retail pharmacies, but it conflicts with its own mail order 90-day prescription business that it profits from. In addition, while profits per prescription among retail pharmacies have been flat or declining in recent years, Express Scripts’ profits have grown at a rate more than two times the average of peers in health care.

Express Scripts puts America’s military in the middle
One of Express Scripts’ clients is Tricare, which is the health and prescription drug program for America’s military service men and women. During negotiations, Walgreens took the unprecedented step of offering Express Scripts an ironclad guarantee that Walgreens prices would match or beat the average costs per adjusted prescription of all other pharmacies in the Tricare network.  Walgreens did this in an effort to prevent our country’s military personnel from being caught in the middle. Walgreens also offered to contract separately with Express Scripts for Tricare from other Express Scripts commercial business, but these offers were rejected. Express Scripts continues to refuse to negotiate a separate contract for the benefit of the Tricare program and its beneficiaries.

What this means for Walgreens patients
Many patients under an Express Scripts plan have used Walgreens pharmacies for years and have a personal relationship with their Walgreens pharmacist. In an effort to minimize their disruption and inconvenience, Walgreens unveiled a comprehensive national effort to make this transition as smooth as possible and is doing all it can to help patients continue to use Walgreens when possible, or take care of them as they are forced to leave Walgreens in order to use their in-network coverage.

Only patients with certain prescription insurance plans managed by Express Scripts are impacted. It is best to check with your local Walgreens pharmacist to find out for sure if you’re impacted. Patients also can check the back of their prescription insurance card – if it has Express Scripts’ name there, then they may be affected. If it doesn’t say Express Scripts, then they are not affected.

Among the steps Walgreen is taking to minimize the disruption is offering a special discount on annual membership for Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. An individual can join during a special January promotion for only $5, or $10 for a family membership, and receive savings on more than 8,000 brand name and all generic medications. More than 400 generics are available with a three-month supply for less than $1 a week. Regular annual membership is $20 for an individual and $35 for a family.

Express Scripts is a health care system middleman
Express Scripts acts as a middleman between pharmacies providing the health care service and employers and health plans who pay for the medications. Because Express Scripts is the middleman, most payers don’t see the rates Express Scripts pays to Walgreens. They only know what they pay Express Scripts. When they do see what Walgreens is paid, many health plans and employers are making decisions to continue to ensure access to Walgreens because they find our prices to be competitive and believe that we can lower overall health care costs.

Express Scripts continues to gain financially from its position as a middleman as its profits have grown at a rate more than two times the average of peers in health care. Historically brokers in a marketplace take a percentage of the cost of a product for putting the buyer and seller in contact.  In Express Scripts’ case, the broker is growing profits faster than the provider of the service.  When the middleman is more profitable than the providers, the relationship is out of balance.

Beyond the contract issues, this issue between Express Scripts and Walgreens is really about the value of your local community pharmacy. Express Scripts wants customers to use their own mail order pharmacy business instead of your community pharmacy whenever possible. This could threaten all community drugstores in your area. Remember, community pharmacies are a valuable presence in your neighborhood when you need a pain medication as you leave the emergency room at 2 a.m., or need a flu shot and haven’t been able to get to the doctor’s office. Community pharmacies are often the first point of entry for many people into the health care system, and the value they provide by lowering overall health care costs should be recognized by Express Scripts.

Employers want Walgreens in their pharmacy network
A Walgreens proprietary survey of 823 executives and managers who are key decision makers for pharmacy benefit decisions or provide input found that 82 percent of employers said that they would not exclude Walgreens for less than 5 percent savings on their total pharmacy spend. Sixty percent of employers would not exclude Walgreens for less than 10 percent savings, and 21 percent would not exclude Walgreens from their network regardless of the amount of savings. These findings on employer attitudes are consistent with recent research published by several leading equity research analysts.

Employers value having Walgreens as a pharmacy option for their employees, but Express Scripts wants to take that choice away.

To follow this ongoing story, especially if it affects you and your family you should follow Walgreens on Twitter  or you can also follow Walgreens on Facebook

I believe something needs to be done about this. 

Tebow

I believe that God does not care who wins the ball game.  I also hope and believe that Tim Tebow believes the same thing.  It is my goal to give him the benefit of the doubt at this time.  I believe it was proven last night as the Bronco's took a whipping.  

I believe that we should all be as bold to express our belief before men.  My Bible says that if we deny Him before men that He will deny us before His Father in Heaven.   It is therefore my belief that Tebow is simply following what he has been told to do by our Great Creator.

I will believe that this is his motive as long as I do not see this Tebow bow in a commercial that he does.  That is when I will believe he is using a marketing ploy and not praying and confessing God before men.

That is my thoughts for now.

Ahhhh. Downtime!

Guest written by our friend Sergio Chaney

The programs offered on direct tv springfield are some of the best out there. My husband and I purchased a satellite package shortly after moving into our new home in Springfield and we have thoroughly been enjoying our TV time ever since. After such a big move, all we want to do is settle in and catch our breaths. One of our favorites is the National Geographic Channel. We have learned so many cool things on there. They seem to have a fresh perspective on topics you may have previously watched a documentary on. We look forward to curling up on the sofa after a long day and enjoying some downtime with remote in hand. The movie channels have been offering up some great original series’ and our DVR is bursting with great options. Also, living in a new city, watching our local channels and news is important to get a feel of what our city is all about and has to offer….Now we just need to put the remote down and head out the door!

Snow Time in Arkansas

Is it ever going to get cold was the question last week?  Today it is cold.

The next question is will it snow?

Anybody have any thoughts.  I am wanting some snow.  A snow day would be good.

Where is it Snowing now. 

Take me there.

HNY

HNY

Holiday Themed Zenni Optical Frames are Coming to Town!

In Arkansas we use eyeglasses as conversation starters. Yes, we like to use them as fashion pieces not just for seeing.  Wow.  Is that different than any where else in the world.  Who knows?  The thing that I do know is that Christmas is over and if I had bought those great cheap eye glasses from Zenni Optical I would still have the frames that people would be talking about during that great New Years Eve party. 

Yep, with that purchase I could have saved a ton of money and that would allow me to go out and by some great year end gifts for all of my friends.  I could probably buy them some sparklers and firecrackers.  Yes, firecrackers.  These firecrackers could be sparkling and firing as I walk into the party with these great glasses.

So, readers.  Do you understand?  These things are awesome.  Each one of you need to get to Zenni Optical and get your some of these great glasses for cheap prices and then we can all parade around together looking cool.  You need these because even though they are cheap, they are made with quality and they skip the middleman to get these things to us at the right price.

That is my thoughts for now.