Defending From and Fighting Against Corrupt Medical Service Provider Contracts

Latest update: August 6, 2022
Page URL indicates original publication date; meanwhile, times change and the updates continue.

If you have a personal situation going on, these government websites can help you: List and Information.

Never Blindly Sign a Medical Contract Without Reading It First. Learn to Say "NO"!

Medical Service Provider Corruption - Patients Forced to Sign SWAG Medical Contracts Under Duress

[This page was originally entitled "Medical Imaging and Diagnostic Centers Saying Medicare Part B Reneges on Paying for Preventative Services" and was about a local incident. The page has since been expanded to include other local incidents and as they relate to the national issue. Bottom of the page has a list of government bookmarks for helping patients deal with unethical medical conduct. There is also a phrase I add whenever signing a medical contract.

First Incident

Per doctor's written instructions, I went to an imaging/diagnostic center (name temporarily redacted) for chest/lung X-rays. I had been to this place before a couple years ago and there hadn't been any problems.

As with most medical service providers, I was first directed to the Hallowed Contract Signing Room. And there is where everything fell apart...

They placed a second contract in front of me that basically said (paraphrasing):

• We will take the X-rays.
• We will bill Medicare.
• Medicare will note the bureaucratic coding error and deny payment (this part was buried in legalese).
• When Medicare recognizes the bureaucratic coding error and refuses to pay, then you must pay instead (this part was buried in legalese).
• If you refuse to sign this contract, we will refuse to do the X-rays your doctor ordered.

I refused to sign.

The reason they did this was because they immediately realized the doctor had filled out the requisition incorrectly regarding Medicare reimbursement procedures (this was a clerical error, not a medical error). Instead of informing me of this so that the clerical error could be corrected, and thus having a loyal patient for life, they instead tried to con me into being financially responsible for the easily fixable bureaucratic, clerical mistake.

As a side note, I asked for a copy of the contract to show the doctor as to why I didn't get the X-rays and the imaging/diagnostic center flatly refused. I can't help but wonder how many other patients this CT diagnostic center attempts to victimize and does victimize each month

Second Incident

Per doctor's written instructions, I went to a local blood lab (name temporarily redacted). While in the back room, they came in with a contract saying certain medical codes were missing and I would have to agree to pay for what Medicare wouldn't pay because of the missing codes. I declined, at which point they said they would contact the referring doctor's office and get the codes.

They then came back and said they had got the codes and proceeded to take my blood. I never had to sign anything and all appeared well.

When I got home, it occurred to me to call the doc's office to see if the blood lab really did call them and get the codes.The  doc's office said they never received any such call. They further said they would look into and deal with it, and that I would not be responsible for any bills.

I waited to see how this would sort out before acting further. Fortunately, I never signed or otherwise consented to being billed. And no bill was ever received. I can't emphasize this strongly enough, don't automatically sign whatever piece of paper a medical provider puts in front of you; read the thing and don't be afraid to say no when you perceive something is not right.

When I first reported about this second incident, I received input from others stating such things as...

• They have been nothing but trouble for people with Medicare or PPO health insurance.
• Credit card numbers demanded in advance before agreeing to do blood work.
• Collection agencies being used on unwarranted/disputed bills.

This incident is considerably worse than the first incident, in fact it makes the first incident pale by comparison.

Third Incident

Per doc's referral, I went to an eye doctor place (name temporarily redacted) and made an appointment. After making the appointment, I then perused their frames selection. The prices were literally double to triple the prices that can be found elsewhere, presumably the lens prices would be equally exorbitant.

The place was packed with patients/customers, noticing this caused me conflicted emotions...

• On the one hand, I am pro capitalism. If a business entity discovers an unending supply of customers who voluntarily pay double to triple the going rate for a product or service, then you really can't fault the business entity for taking advantage of that.
• On the other hand, pretty much all the patients/customers there were extremely old people who just plain no longer apparently had the mental faculties to know any better or the ability to realize what was going on. I'm not an attorney, but this could easily be perceived as a case for elder abuse. Most insurance does not pay for frames and lenses, only for the exams. Then again, maybe all the patients there were rich and just didn't care.

At any rate, I mulled things over and cancelled my appointment. I may or may not work up the energy to look into that particular situation further.

The National Problem

[This page started out being about the actions of a single medical service provider. However it has now become about the national issue of medical service providers denying patients medical care unless the patient agrees to sign what are known as SWAG CONTRACTS.]

Continuation and Update

I called the doctor's office. Yep, apparently most imaging/diagnostics centers are now pulling this stunt.

A patient being held responsible for a bill, because they falsely claimed they were insured, is indeed as it should be. However, a service provider attempting to force a patient to be held responsible for an insurer's breach of contract, bureaucracy, bad faith conduct, mistakes, or even just a misunderstanding is not.

The contract is between the service provider and the insurer, it is their responsibilities to understand and agree to the terms. Any attempt by a medical service provider to make a patient responsible for an insurer's actions is, to me, an essentially bad faith action on the part of the provider. Basically, the medical service provider is extorting the patient to insure the provider against the actions of the insurer, the threat being the withholding of needed medical care if the patient refuses to do so. In other words, patients are being forced to sign contracts under duress.

Proposed Solution

Is it any wonder most countries think America has the most corrupt Medical Establishment on the planet? Our government keeps trying to fight it. But the greed and corruption is so entrenched, ingrained, embedded, and widespread (there are media reports almost daily on the subject) that nationalization of the medical industry may indeed be the only answer.

There would still be private sector medical professionals, but the government would be the single insurer and the only legally responsible payer. And it would be illegal for any private sector medical entity to try to coerce a patient into signing any sort of contract. Proof and authentication of identity and coverage would be all that is required, pre-authorization for medical procedures implemented on an as needed basis. Premiums would be based on income. Service providers (including hospitals) would no longer have to worry about being paid. Patients would no longer have to worry about being thrown into financial hardship or outright bankruptcy.

You might try suggesting the service provider get pre-authorization from the insurer. However and for some unknown reason, there are apparently some medical service providers who refuse to make the 3-minute phone call, the initially mentioned imaging and diagnostic center being one such case.

On a personal note, I am aware versions of this situation have been going on for decades. I have always circumvented the problem by simply adding the following sentence directly above my signature in caps: "ONLY PROVIDE INSURANCE COVERED SERVICES ONLY". I am not an attorney, but it seems to work. The service provider then gets everything pre-authorized and there has never been a problem.

This Has to Stop

A Bookmarks Reference List of Patients Bill of Rights Resources

I figured while I was at it, I might as well compile a list of resources regarding the rights patients are legally supposed to have. All listed websites are government or other well-known, reputable resources. All links go directly to the website's patients rights and assistance pages. I might add to this list from time to time. The list is at Government Help for When Victimized by the Medical Profession, particularly relates to financial and billing misconduct.

A side note, you might want to select the MedFin (Medical Financial) label below. If you see a relevant article title, select the title.

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Daylight Savings Time Ends Sunday, November 3, 2024, 2:00 am; East and West Coast, Central, Mountain. More info.

Latest update: September 24, 2024. Page URL indicates original publication date; meanwhile, times change, and the updates continue.

USA Daylight Saving Time: its meaning; about it in general; when is it; where is it; more.

All about and dealing with the Daylight Savings Time (DST) changes in the US and around the world, plus some resource links. Technically, it's actually called "Daylight Saving Time", without the "s". But we all seem determined to add that extra letter and we all seem fine with it. This page briefly covers:

• The what and why of daylight savings time and some time zone notes.
• The current US schedule for when daylight savings time begins and ends.
• Where is daylight savings time in the US and some time zone notes.
• Dealing with changing all the clocks.
• Daylight savings time around the world.

Daylight Saving Time Around the World

Why Have and What Is Daylight Savings Time?

This page is US-centric; but except for the start and end dates, it's pretty much all the same.

The purpose of Daylight Savings Time is to conserve energy. There is some dispute as to whether this objective is accomplished or not. The methodology used is to move one hour of sunlight from the morning to the evening by resetting the clocks.

The official abbreviation for Daylight Savings Time is DST (Standard Time being ST). So, for the east and west coast time zones for example, the designations alter from EST and PST to EDT and PDT and vice-versa.

When Does Daylight Savings Time Start and End in 2024?

Daylight Saving Time Begins: Sunday, March 10, 2024, 2:00 am (dates updated yearly)

To move one hour of sunlight from the morning to the evening, clocks are reset ahead one hour every spring. Currently this is done on the second Sunday of every March at 2:00 a.m. At the appointed time, the clocks are reset forward to 3:00 a.m. ("spring forward").

Daylight Saving Time Ends: Sunday, November 3, 2024, 2:00 am (dates updated yearly)

To make things as they were and move that extra sunlight hour back to the morning, clocks are reset back one hour every fall. Currently this is done the first Sunday of every November at 2:00 a.m. At the appointed time, the clocks are reset from 2:00 a.m. back to 1:00 a.m. ("fall back"). Generally, folks aren't amused when this happens; they have become used to not having to commute home in the dark every evening.

Where Is Daylight Savings Time? East and West Coast. More.

Not all of the US engages in this adventure. Both Hawaii and most of Arizona decided they wanted nothing to do with it. Most US territories also do not observe Daylight Savings Time. These entities remain on Standard Time year-round.

The Clock-Changing Reality...

 Be glad you don't have to mess with this one...

Yb (Ytterbium) Lattice Atomic Clock (NIST)

What one is "supposed" to do is reset all the clocks and watches before going to bed. However, more often than not, this usually does not happen. The clocks, watches, etc. generally get reset Sunday throughout the day, usually because there are so many of them. Personally, I start doing the resetting beginning mid Saturday morning. By the time I go to bed, I've pretty much already adjusted to the time change.

The various computer and computer-related clocks are invariably checked to see if they were indeed coordinated enough to do what they were supposed to do.

If you are looking to reset everything accurately right down to the precise second, you can do so at www.time.gov. Daylight Savings Time changes are also supposed to be the bi-annual reminder to check and/or change your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and batteries.

Daylight Saving Time Around the World

DST World Overview List

• Canada is as the US; most provinces and territories take it, some leave it. Mexico is the same.
• Central and South America mostly want nothing to do with Daylight Savings Time; however, Chile and parts of Brazil do indeed do DST.
• Europe mostly does do Daylight Savings Time. Russia, China, and all of Asia want absolutely nothing to do with it.
• Australia is as the US, Canada and Mexico; majority do, but some don't.
• Africa is 90% don't do DST and 10% do DST.

Looks like our species can't even agree on what time it is. But that's OK, we somehow still manage to keep muddling along. In all seriousness, geography and cultural differences do sometimes necessitate adjustments.

Non-US daylight savings time start and end dates can usually be found at www.timeanddate.com.

World Time Zone Non Standard Abbreviations

There sure are a lot of them... Not only that, but many of the abbreviations are also not unique. The whole thing is a complete, non-standardized mess. The reason is each country makes up their own locally relevant designations. The timeanddate website appears to have the best compilation of the non-standardized world time zone abbreviations currently being used.

There is also a World Standardized Time Zone and a World Standardized Time Code

• GMT (0/-/+) is the time zone abbreviation for Greenwich Mean Time. Many other time zones will refer to themselves as GMT, plus or minus the number of hours difference between their time zone and the GMT time zone.
• UTC (0/-/+) is the time code abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time or Universal Coordinated Time. This is the military and civilian standard mostly used these days.

Neither GMT nor UTC observes DST; instead, the -/+ offsets are adjusted at the local level. In other words, as Daylight Saving Time comes and goes, the GMT/UTC offsets change. As an example, for the US East Coast, the GMT/UTC offset changes from -5 to -4 during DST. For the US West Coast, the GMT/UTC offset changes from -8 to -7 during DST.

UTC / GMT Map

"-" means it's an hour earlier.  "+" means it's an hour later.
Note that each time zone also has its own letter designation.

Random List of UTC/GMT Offset Examples (during non-daylight-saving times):

• 0 London; Paris
• -5 New York; Quebec; US East Coast. (-4 during DST)
• -6 Winnipeg; Dallas
• -7 Denver; Edmonton
• -8 Los Angeles; San Francisco; US West Coast (-7 during DST)
• -10 Honolulu
• +1 Berlin
• +3 Moscow
• +8 Shanghai; Perth
• +9 Tokyo
• +10 Sydney

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How to Make Your Own Bookmarks Manager Web Page

Latest update: August 29, 2022. Page URL indicates original publication date; meanwhile, times change and the updates continue.

An Update. The Mozilla Firefox browser now automatically puts bookmark icons of your most frequently visited websites on the opening page and new tabs. They call them shortcuts. In many cases, this obviates the need to create your own bookmarks page. As a side note and for many reasons, I avoid the Google browser like the plague.

Make the Browser's Clumsy, Old Bookmarks List into an Online Bookmarks Manager Document Page or Website.

A quick lesson on how to create your own bookmark manager app. Setting up a bookmarks web page or online document is easy. You will be so glad you did.

No Technical Skills Required

And Much More Fun

How to Make Your Own Bookmarks Manager App

If you can...

1. Type text.
2. Highlight text.
3. Click a link icon.
4. Copy/Paste an URL from the browser website address bar.

Then you can create your own personal template, bookmark webpage or online document.

Why Make Your Own, Homemade Bookmark Manager App?

Quite simply, because it is incredibly convenient. Laying out all your links exactly the way you want them is so much more efficient than any browser bookmark list or pre-made app can ever be or do for you.

Plus, the bookmark manager web page or online document will always be there for you across all devices. Convenience factors include:

• Always available no matter which or whose computer or mobile device you are using.
• The ability to organize your links in rows as well as columns.
• Never losing all your bookmarks, due to accidental deletion or browser corruption.
• Never losing all your bookmarks, due to desktop/laptop/smartphone problems.
• The convenience of grouped-by-type links.
• The convenience of grouped-by-subdomain links.
• The convenience of grouped-by-frequency links.
• The ability to set the background and your link text to whatever color, size, and font, that is easy and best for your eyes.
• The ability of your bookmark lists to change as your needs and preferences evolve.

How to Organize Your Bookmarks. And Things to Include in Your Lists.

You will probably want to put your most frequently visited websites near the top. Only you can decide what those might be.

As for groups, some examples would be:

• A row of the search engines you use.
• A row of the news sites you regularly visit.
• A row of your frequently visited social media sites.
• A row of your blog websites.
• A row of your email websites.
• A row of your less frequently visited social media websites.
• A row of utility websites, e.g., weather, calendar, etc.
• A row of whatever doesn't fit somewhere else.
• Subdomain rows of a website.

As for the last one, Facebook might be a good example. If you regularly go to certain accounts all the time, it would make sense to set up a convenient row of links to those accounts.

How to Make Your Bookmarks Manager Online Document Page

Here is a Demo Bookmark Template (opens in new tab).  Feel free to copy the template for use as a starting point on your own document. The links are set to open in new tabs, which is a necessary feature. If that attribute fails to transfer when you copy, you will need to reset them to that option.

If you are not already using an online document app that lets you publish to the web, then I recommend G-Drive for your first cloud experience. They are owned by Google, so they will be around for awhile; it is free. It is as easy to use as any other word processor. Once you are familiar with it, you will probably use it for other projects as well.

Side note. Sometimes, copying from one app or format to another results in an unusable mess. If that happens, try copying into your document using the web page version below. In addition to the template, the next section also has additional, worthwhile information.

How to Make Your Own Website Bookmark Manager Web Page - Website Building the Easy Way

Eliminating Constraints

Going the website/web page building route will give you considerably more design capability.

Here is a webpage version of the Demo Bookmark Template (new tab). Only highlight and copy the portion between the lines, the objective being to omit as much unnecessary HTML and unwanted  format and other attributes as possible.

If you are not already using a website design app or software, then Blogger/BlogSpot is free and easy to use; no degree in rocket surgery required. It is also run by Google and so will be around for awhile.

Since you are creating this template site for your own personal use, you will probably have only the one post. You will frequently re-edit it as desired.

Once you've created the blog and are ready to do the post, it's pretty straightforward. After copying over the template into your new post, just type in and arrange your additional destination titles as desired. You don't have to do all of them at once. Start with your most frequently visited websites. No problem leaving the post open in edit mode as you are visiting the other sites. Then, as you are visiting your sites, take a moment to copy/paste the URL into your titles.

Always set the link to open in a new tab. The planned routine, once you have everything set up, is for the bookmark page tab to always be open and available at the far left for desktop and laptop. For smartphone, you don't want your bookmarks page (located in its own folder) disappearing every time you select one of the links.

A Blogger/BlogSpot editor note. When attempting to space from an existing link to add text in preparation for the next link in the row, the editor extends the hyperlink attribute into the space. To circumvent, don't do the space; hit enter instead. Then enter your space and text on the new line. Then go back to the end of the previous line and hit delete to bring your new line up to the existing line. It will then be as it should be.

Last, but not least, organize everything so all your bookmarks will fit on a single screen. Your objective is convenience, having to scroll all the time would defeat that purpose.

Once published, set the page as your new browser home.

Privacy Options

You can restrict public access to your bookmarks page to whatever degree you wish. You will find the privacy options under Settings on the left-side menu when in design mode. Turning off the visibility to search engines is certainly a good start.

No matter what privacy settings you use, do keep in mind the internet is the internet. So it would be wise to not include bookmark links to such things as your bank, credit card, or utility accounts. For that matter, such links should not be on your browser bookmark list either. Those links can be accessible to any malware that might happen along.

Other Blogger/BlogSpot Options

For those who are not already familiar with Blogger/BlogSpot, the platform has all sorts of other capabilities. Some of those capabilities include:

• Adding 3rd party HTML/JavaScript
• Images
• Videos
• News feeds
• Lots more

And if you know basic HTML, you can create templates and bookmarks pages like this webpage example or this webpage example. Personally, I don't bother with the table format; the format the templates use is more to my liking

Some Final Thoughts...

Once the bookmarks manager page was set up the way I wanted it, my overall efficiency had a marked increase. Somehow, it caused me to become a real tab management pro. Projects involving repeated, multiple website access were not only easy and quick to do; they were fun again.

And besides, any bookmark manager webpage or website you create and customize exactly the way you want can't help but be:

• 10 times better than anything Mozilla Firefox could come up with.
• 10 times better than anything Google Chrome could come up with.
• 10 times better than anything Microsoft Explorer could come up with.
• 10 times better than Safari or any other prefabricated, standardized, generic website could come up with.
• 10 times better than anything a third-party vendor could come up with, simply because only you really know what you want.

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How to Convert Base 4 and Base 8 to Decimal Base 10 System Lessons - Quaternary and Octal Numbering Systems

Latest update: March 6, 2024
Page URL indicates original publication date; meanwhile times change and the updates continue.

Quaternary Base 4, Octal Base 8; Includes Tables

Numbering System to Decimal Base 10 Lessons

HAL says hi.

Introduction and Start of Base Number Systems Tutorials

These four base numbering system lessons use the exact same teaching methodology. As such, when you have learned one, you will have learned them all. There is also some repetitiveness, purpose being to reduce unnecessary scrolling. Comparisons of different base number systems can also prove useful.

If one understands the everyday, base 10 decimal number system; then you already understand the base 2, base 4, base 8, and base 16 numbering systems. You just don’t know that you know yet.

As you know, we use the decimal, base 10 numbering system in our day-to-day lives. The decimal base 10 system has ten numbers (0-9) and orders of magnitude that are times ten. The lowest-order number represents itself times one. The next-order number represents itself times ten. The next order number represents itself times 10 x 10 or itself times 100. The next order number represents itself times 10 x 10 x 10 or itself times 1000. And so on.

An example of the decimal base 10 system would be the number 7824. This number means there are:

• Four 1’s,
• two 10’s,
• eight 100’s,
• and seven 1000's.

Which represents 4 + 20 + 800 + 7000; for a total of 7824.

Tutorial continues below for the base numbering system lesson of your choice. This is a large file, your selection may take a few seconds to display the correct section.

Table of Contents

• Base 2 – Binary (removed)
  
• Base 4 – Quaternary
• Base 8 – Octal
• Base 16 – Hexadecimal (removed)

There are also separate tutorials for Base 3 Ternary and Base 5 Quinary and Base 12 Duodecimal.

Lessons and examples follow

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Binary Base 2 to Decimal Base 10 – How to Do and Convert Base 2 to/from Base 10 – Number System Conversions – Includes Examples

0's and 1's

Removed

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Quaternary Base 4 to Decimal Base 10 – How to Do and Convert Base 4 to/from Base 10 – Number System Conversions – Includes Examples

0 1 2 3

How to Do Quaternary, Base 4 Number System Conversions.
Includes Examples.

Base 4, also known as the quaternary number system, is predominantly used in DNA genotyping and some electronics applications, etc. [A year 2019 update. Scientists have added four more letters to the DNA alphabet, so base 8 may also be relevant.]

This lesson gives you everything you need to know for converting from quaternary aka base 4 to decimal and for converting from decimal aka base 10 to quaternary. If you understand the decimal number system (or the binary base 2 numbering system for that matter), then you already understand the quaternary (base 4) number system.

Per the introduction, base 10 has ten numbers (0-9) and orders of magnitude that are times ten. The orders of magnitude are l, 10, 100 (10x10) , 1000 (10x10x10), etc.

An example would be the number 7112. This number means that there are:

• two 1’s,
• one 10’s,
• one 100’s
• and seven 1000’s.

Which represents 2 + 100 + 100 + 7000; for a total of 7112.

How to Do the Quaternary Base 4 Numbering System

Base 4 uses the same base 10 structure, the only difference being the orders of magnitude. Base 4 has four numbers (0-3) and orders of magnitude that are times four . The lowest-order number represents itself times one. The next-order number represents itself times four. The next order number represents itself times 4x4 or itself times 16. The next order number represents itself times 4x4x4 or itself times 64. The next order number represents itself times 4x4x4x4 or itself times 256. And so on.

Orders of Magnitude in Base 4

1 · 4 · 16 · 64 · 256 · 1024· 4096 · 16384

Positional

16384 · 4096 · 1024 · 256 · 64 · 16 · 4 · 1

A basic, first example of a quaternary number would be the base 4 number 11111. This would mean there is:

• one 1,
• one 4,
• one 16,
• one 64,
• and one 256.

Which represents 1 + 4 + 16 + 64 + 256; for a total of 341 in Base 10 decimal.

Another base 4 example would be the quaternary number 321. This number means that there are:

• one 1’s,
• two 4’s,
• and three 16’s.

Which represents 1 + 8 + 48; for a total of 57 in decimal.

Another base 4 example would be the quaternary number 3023. This number means that there are:

• three 1’s,
• two 4’s,
• no 16’s,
• and three 64’s.

Which represents 3 + 8 + 0 + 192; for a total of 203 in decimal.

Orders of Magnitude in Base 4

1 · 4 · 16 · 64 · 256 · 1024· 4096 · 16384

Positional

16384 · 4096 · 1024 · 256 · 64 · 16 · 4 · 1

Table: Quaternary (Base 4) to Decimal (Base 10) Conversion Examples

Column headings in the following table are simply a convenience relist of the relevant positional orders of magnitude as applies to each column.

4 · 1	16 · 4 · 1	64 · 16 · 4 · 1
0=0	21=9	200=32
1=1	22=10	222=42
2=2	23=11	223=43
3=3	30=12	333=63
10=4	33=15	1000=64
11=5	100=16	1100=80
12=6	102=18	2000=128
13=7	120=24	2030=140
20=8	122=26	3122=218

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Octal Base 8 to Decimal Base 10 – How to Do and Convert Base 8 to/from Base 10 – Number System Conversions – Includes Examples

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

How to Do Octal, Base 8 Number System Conversions.
Includes Examples.

Base 8, also known as the octal number system, is mostly used in electronics and some DNA applications, etc.

Here is everything you need to know on how to convert from octal aka base 8 to decimal. And for converting from decimal aka base 10 to octal.

As previously stated: if you understand the decimal (base 10) number system you use every day, then you already understand the octal (base 8) numbering system.

Per the introduction, base 10 has ten numbers (0-9) and orders of magnitude that are times ten. The orders of magnitude are l, 10, 100 (10x10) , 1000 (10x10x10), etc.

An example would be the number 2375. This number means that there are:

• five 1’s,
• seven 10’s,
• three 100’s
• and two 1000’s.

Which represents 5 + 70 + 300 + 2000; for a total of 2375.

How to Do the Octal Base 8 Numbering System

Electonics and Base 8 Octal

Base 8 uses the same base 10 structure, the only difference being the orders of magnitude. Base 8 has eight numbers (0-7) and orders of magnitude that are times eight. The lowest-order number represents itself times one. The next-order number represents itself times eight. The next order number represents itself times 8x8 or itself times 64. The next order number represents itself times 8x8x8 or itself times 512. And so on.

Orders of Magnitude in Base 8

1 · 8 · 64 · 512 · 4096 · 32768 · 262144

Positional

262144 · 32768 · 4096 · 512 · 64 · 8 · 1

A basic, first example of an octal number would be the base 8 number 11111. This would mean there is:

• one 1,
• one 8,
• one 64,
• one 512,
• and one 4096.

Which represents 1 + 8 + 64 + 512 + 4096; for a total of 4681 in Base 10 decimal.

Another base 8 example would be the octal number 321. This number means that there are:

• one 1’s,
• two 8’s,
• and three 64’s.

Which represents 1 + 16 + 192; for a total of 209 in decimal.

Another base 8 example would be the octal number 4075. This number means that there are:

• five 1’s,
• seven 8’s,
• no 64’s,
• and four 512’s.

Which represents 5 + 56 + 0 + 2048; for a total of 2109 in decimal.

Orders of Magnitude in Base 8

1 · 8 · 64 · 512 · 4096 · 32768 · 262144

Positional

262144 · 32768 · 4096 · 512 · 64 · 8 · 1

Table: Octal (Base 8) to Decimal (Base 10) Conversion Examples

Column headings in the following table are simply a convenience relist of the relevant positional orders of magnitude as applies to each column.

8 · 1	8 · 1	512 · 64 · 8 · 1
0=0	15=13	100=64
1=1	16=14	165=117
2=2	17=15	200=128
7=7	20=16	534=348
10=8	25=21	1000=512
11=9	34=28	1100=576
12=10	50=40	2000=1024
13=11	55=45	2006=1030
14=12	77=63	2011=1033

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Hexadecimal Base 16 to Decimal Base 10 – How to Do and Convert Base 16 to/from Base 10 – Number System Conversions – Includes Examples

Hex: 0-9, A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f

Hexadecimal (base 16) is the primary base numbering system used by computer programmers. Hex code is used in everything from core dumps to color codes and everything in-between.

How to Do the Hexadecimal Base 16 Numbering System

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The Nextdoor Website Is Not Safe, Useful, nor Pleasant. A Negative Review.

Latest update: January 1, 2025
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A regretfully negative review of the Nextdoor website for years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020. 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. Unfortunately, the plethora of inquiries from people on the search engines wanting to know how to close, delete, cancel their Nextdoor accounts pretty much substantiates the conclusions drawn by this review; not to mention all the BBB complaints. I've also noticed there are search engine queries for:

• Is Nextdoor Toxic?
• Nextdoor Horror Stories.

"Frankly, I've never seen so many hate-filled trolls
and worse in one place at one time."

I discovered a social network website known as Nextdoor. Despite the above quote, every neighborhood Nextdoor forum could be different, so your results or experiences there could vary. There's just no way of knowing in advance.

Posts to the site are made by you and your neighbors in the surrounding areas, sometimes even the police and fire departments will contribute generalized information. The Nextdoor website is supposed to help people know what is going on in their neighborhood but fails miserably in that regard. Unfortunately, there is also the possibility of immediately being subjected to unwanted contact and worse.

Nextdoor has all sorts of customization settings available. You can control which nearby neighborhood posts you see. You can control which neighborhood posts you receive email notifications about; settings range from all, some, or none.

The Nextdoor forums are supposed to be a good social network experience. However, attempting to participate can often result in very bad experiences. It is unfortunate this review has been forced to become a negative description of the Nextdoor website and to conclude the site is outright unsafe.

The Nextdoor Forums Have One Very Bad Flaw

Bullies, trolls, and worse are apparently not monitored nor restrained in the Nextdoor forums. They are free to launch personal attacks, make false accusations, and even try to do you real harm in the real world. Remember, these are your neighbors and real names and addresses are used. In most cases, they just want to humiliate and inflict as much emotional pain as possible for sport. However, the potential for real world spillover is also a major concern.

It all depends on what forum you happen to be forced to visit or use.

If you happen to live in a neighborhood where bad people haven't yet taken over the Nextdoor forum, things could be ok.

But if you discover it's one of the forums where there are groups of people who automatically want to hurt strangers in any and every way they possibly can just for the fun of it, it is best to depart before there are real world ramifications.

(The gun in the Clint meme is misleading. Extreme emotional distress, false accusations affecting real world situations, vandalism, or legal consequences are the actual, main dangers.)

If you choose to go near there, here's hoping your neighborhood and corollary Nextdoor forums are one of the normal ones. Take care.

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WebsiteWithNoName.com is For Sale!

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Years 2017, 2018, 2019 Updates (6 entries). Year 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 updates follow.

Item #1 In the event you are subjected to personal attacks and you attempt to defend yourself, you will be the one Nextdoor will ban. Nextdoor lets the lowest common denominator rule, reason being there are so many of them and Nextdoor really doesn't have much of a business choice in the matter. The banning might also be for your own protection, objective being to prevent escalation to the level of real world consequences. There are indeed people inhabiting some of the Nextdoor forums who will do or try to do you real world harm.

Item #2 Based on what I have personally witnessed and what the search engine results say, I wouldn't go there. Nothing of value is ever posted there anyway. And the possibility of negative consequences are just too great.

Item #3 Long story short, better to type your city or neighborhood name into Facebook search. You will invariably find a group dedicated to talking about your neighborhood. There will be regular posts about what crimes have just occurred, both positive and negative comments about experiences at local businesses, what the police and fire departments are currently dealing with, reports of what's going on at specific locations, what's happening at city hall and other government offices, locations to avoid, locations to visit, lots of videos and pictures, and all sorts of other useful information. If you happen to not find a Facebook group for your town, you can start one and be the admin.

Item #4 I found very little of what I described in item #3 at the Nextdoor website. Sadly, the site is useless and can even be dangerous. The intentions of the site owner(s) were no doubt just to duplicate the Facebook groups and provide similar positive experiences. I respect them for trying. It is just plain bad luck the Nextdoor forums were taken over by undesirables.

June 2019 Update

The BBB (Better Business Bureau) now has 184 complaints against the Nextdoor "social" website. Yep, definitely best to stay away. I'm no avid fan of Facebook, but Facebook is definitely the better option.

October 2019 Update

I kind of feel sorry for the Nextdoor.com, good faith, website owners. Theirs was a good business idea, only to be destroyed by trolls and others who wish to hurt people. The BBB complaints are now at 235. A lot of time, money, and labor went into the creation and building of that site. I would imagine maintaining the site is no picnic either. Time will tell.

Year 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Updates

January and February 2020 Update

The BBB complaint count was 269 in January; the February count when I checked is at 287. The complaints generally continue to reflect the opinions stated in this review and accompanying comments. As previously mentioned, the Facebook Groups are your better bet. If a Facebook Group goes bad, one can simply select another (Facebook usually has more than one group per town); with Nextdoor.com, that option isn't available.

April 2020 Update

Well, I dropped by the BBB website. The complaint count was 312 when I looked. Nextdoor is now demanding that people send them copies of their drivers license. It also now appears that whatever one's right to privacy one has had has now gone up in flames. Also, accounts appear to be being deleted for no reason. Even if there weren't the rampant troll problems, the site just doesn't seem to be worth the bother. As mentioned before, one can just go to one of the city groups on Facebook for the same benefits and without all the aggravation. My speculation is that Nextdoor.com is trying to get rid of all the trolls. Unfortunately, there are too many of them and innocent people are becoming victims in the collateral damage crossfire.

July 2020 Update

The complaint count for Nextdoor.com is now at 360: BBB website. They still require that one verifies their home address with either their drivers license or other personal information (rent bill, passport, financial statement from bank, utility bill, mobile phone address match, etc.). Search engine results continue to show postings about privacy invasion and about Nextdoor.com selling your personal information to advertisers (I seriously suspect this also includes telephone solicitors); the Better Business Bureau is now posting a warning: "...BBB recommends consumers review the company’s guidelines & policies section prior to using NextDoor.com services.".

January 2021 Update

The complaint counts for Nextdoor.com now stands at 450: BBB website. In addition to everything else, these days posting any sort of political comment on Nextdoor.com is not a good idea.

April 2021 Update

Apparently due to the high volume, the BBB is no longer posting all the complaints about Nextdoor.com. The BBB says in part, "...or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business."

June 2021 Update

The comments following this review do not bode well for Nextdoor.

October 2021 Update

The BBB complaints now stand at 527.

October 2021 Update According to the news, Facebook is also having problems. And so it goes...  It is not just Nextdoor that is a mess. It is society that is a mess.

January 2022 Update

Nothing really new to report. Meta (Facebook) is famous for misinformation. Nextdoor is famous for trolls. 

April 2022 Update

Here is an interesting newspaper/website article about Nextdoor: Is media platform Nextdoor a friend in need or a vigilante nightmare?

 

August 2022 Update

I found this to be rather amusing... There are all sorts of nextdoor domain names for sale, including nextdoor.net, nextdoor.info, and dozens more. Here is the List at Sedo.com.

 

September 2022 Update

Meta aka Facebook is shutting down their neighborhoods project. As far as I know, it was basically a clone of the nextdoor.com website. Meta decided that it's existing Facebook neighborhood groups is the way to go. In other words: if it's not broke, don't fix it. The page is at engadget.

January 2023 Update

If the comments here and on the BBB website are any indication, Nextdoor does not seem to have any sort of functioning system in place to vet or supervise those who are responsible for moderating the neighborhoods.

April 2023 Update

Nextdoor upper management could learn a lot about their site by reading the visitor comments here.

May 2023 Update

I'm actually beginning to feel some sympathy for Nextdoor. It's not that Nextdoor wants to be toxic. It's the plethora of users there that are toxic and ND's insufficient financial situation to solve the moderator problem. I guess it is just the nature of our species. People's truer personalities come to the fore when they can hide behind a keyboard and screen. What brought on this update was an article from Engadget: Nextdoor is using a generative AI to encourage users to ‘rephrase’ mean posts.

June 2023 Update

The comments here continue. It's ok to mention specific neighborhoods, but naming people's names is not a good idea.

February 2024 Update

Mainstream media, both national and local neighborhood newspapers, are now frequently reporting about the toxicity of Nextdoor. And they are not reporting it as their opinion, but as a fact. It appears that Nextdoor has become much worse than when this WebsiteWithNoName review was originally written.

April 2024 Update

If your particular Nextdoor neighborhood has basically degenerated into a high-schooler mentality due to immature neighbors and bad faith moderators, it's time to walk away. It is not going to change. Meta/Facebook and many other alternatives are available.

June 2024 Update

Well, I see that the circus continues. Here is an opinion piece from the Washington Post: Nextdoor has gotten way out of hand.

October 2024 Update

Our species continues to be a mess. The BBB complaints are worse than ever.

January 2025 Update

From the Microsoft Bing search engine: complaints about Nextdoor neighborhood - Search Videos

 
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Is Yahoo Email Any Good? A Negative Review - Includes Updates

Latest update: June 14, 2024. Page URL indicates original publication date; meanwhile, times change and the updates continue.

Yahoo Mail - If You Love Ads, You Will Love Ad-Infested Yahoo Mail

This ongoing review is in reverse chronological order. Following the updates is the original review. Well worth the read and could save potential new users a lot of aggravation. The passage of time has also made the original review hilariously entertaining. Some of the comments are also of interest.

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WebsiteWithNoName.com is For Sale!

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Update, June 2024

According to a news search, Yahoo mail sure does seem to crash a lot. Is it because of all the advertising code crammed into the application? Could be. Yahoo has now also incorporated AI into the system. That probably won't go well for them either.

Update, January 2023

For the purpose of doing this update, I decided to visit Yahoo.com. I first used Google Chrome and cleaned out all the existing cookies. I then visited Yahoo and scrolled thru the entire home page, I made it a point to not click anything. A total 0f 62 cookies arrived on my hard drive by the time I was done. If you know anything about cookies, then you know that is not a good thing. I then performed the same procedure using Mozilla Firefox. Only 21 cookies made it to my hard drive. This makes sense, Firefox is much better than Google Chrome in blocking cookies, etc.

Update, January 2022

It has been awhile now since I've used a Yahoo mail account and written the original review. Is Yahoo still an ad-infested, bandwidth-clogging disaster? Or has Yahoo mended their ways? If you have had current or recent experience with Yahoo mail, please drop a note in the comments section below. Meanwhile I've re-read the previous updates and the original review, it is entertaining to say the least.

Update, May 2021

Verizon sells Yahoo. Here's the article from NBC News: Verizon sells Yahoo and AOL businesses to Apollo for $5 billion. Verizon has proven to be smart in the past. A few years ago, Verizon sold the landline part of their business to the telephone company, Frontier. Frontier then ended up filing for bankruptcy. This does not bode well for Apollo and Yahoo.

Update, January 2021

Since I have long departed Yahoo mail, I can't speak to that particular situation anymore. However, as to Yahoo's main page and other pages, the ads do indeed continue to clog things up as to scrolling and switching pages. I guess Yahoo is just plain the-site-that-never-learns. Presumably their email app is still the same.

Update, October 2020

Out of curiosity, I decided to do a quick search to see how Yahoo email is doing. Yep, still nothing but complaints. Meanwhile, I noticed Verizon is completely shutting down Yahoo Groups. Is Yahoo email eventually going the same route? Don't know and fortunately don't have to care anymore. 

Update, July 2020

Well, based on the last comment; Yahoo still hasn't learned their lesson. I well-remember the ads full of skin infections and rotten teeth. They were indeed awful to look at, but Yahoo is still apparently using them. My guess is they are also still doing the high CPU usage, high bandwidth usage, high memory usage ads; the kind that blitzes your device into non-functionality.

Please do keep those comments coming in, both pro and con.

Update, May 2020

For the reasons stated below, I've abandoned Yahoo mail. So this page is now soliciting the opinions of others. If you have an opinion about Yahoo mail, please mention it in the Comments Section below. Contradictory opinions are fine. If a website manages to redeem itself, that should be known.

Update, January 2020

Well, I see the Yahoo search engine blockade-contract has gone away. I don't know what that was about, nor do I care. As for the Yahoo mail service; since I don't go near it anymore, there's really nothing in the way of new or personal experiences I can add. I have noticed something rather peculiar with the Better Business Bureau page concerning Yahoo. It appears that all the complaint descriptions have been replaced with the phrase, "Complaint Details Unavailable". I don't recall ever seeing the BBB do that before. I have an unpleasant suspicion regarding this; but since it is only a suspicion, I will not elaborate.

Update, September 2019

The Yahoo search engine is dead to me. Tried to visit their site this morning. Blocked me, demanding I sign a contract first. The contract apparently has terms going way beyond the usual privacy issues. I'm not going to take the hour(s) required to read and understand it. I am not going to just blindly sign the thing either. For all I know: their paid services could now include general visits, visits to certain categories, email, and who knows what else? Maybe I'm misunderstanding something here; time will tell.

Update, August 2019

I was unable to access my two accounts. However, a new account showed that Yahoo still loves plastering all their email account pages with their neverending ads. As for not being able to access my accounts, darned good thing I had quit using them anyway.

Update, January 2019

The account was actually functional this time. Has Yahoo finally learned the error of its ways or did I just get lucky? At any rate, I was able to compose and send a message without any problems. Also, the ads on the sidebar weren't nearly as obnoxious as has been in the past.

A reminder that Yahoo was sold to and is now owned by Verizon. Maybe Verizon has gotten around to cleaning up the mess and firing the appropriate idiots.

I reread the rest of this page. Quite humorous actually, excepting for the hacker stuff.

Update, January 2018

Well, I just checked. Yahoo is still using highly animated, CPU clogging, memory clogging, bandwidth-clogging ads that slow your account and computer to a crawl or even freezes it altogether; forcing users to just give up and close the associated browser tab. The train wreck that never ends. Oh, well. Not my problem anymore. I'm finally rid of them and only check in once in awhile so as to update this page.

Update, October 2017

Well, I am pretty much rid of them. I drop by the accounts maybe once every 2-3 months just to check on things. Nice guy that I am, I even clean out the spam to give their servers a break. Unfortunately, having had the accounts for over a decade, I still occasionally find a reference to them in my rolodex as to being the email address of record. Needless to say, I then go to the indicated website and fix that.

Update, February 2017

There are now media reports the hackers are now getting into Yahoo user email accounts without even having to know your password. Apparently the Yahoo cookies are so simplistic that the hackers just make there own and use those to get into your account.

Update, December 2016

Yep, Yahoo has done it again; this time to the tune of 1 billion accounts. And apparently they are going to force you to change your passwords this time, New York Times article. So you might as well do it now while convenient. Jeez, I am so fed up with those guys,. Fortunately, I am already pretty much rid of them.

Update, September 2016

News excerpt: "Yahoo confirms 500 million user accounts had information stolen in 2014". Yep, happened over two years ago and now they're finally telling us. Yet another reason to not ever use a Yahoo email account. Oh, well. Then again, Verizon is much more professional than Yahoo has ever been. So maybe somewhere down the line, Verizon will do the necessary mass firings to clean out the incompetent and unethical managers around there. As for why it is my opinion the managers at Yahoo are both incompetent and unethical, see original review below.

Update, July 2016

Verizon has purchased Yahoo. Will Verizon do something about Yahoo's barely functional email accounts? We can only hope.

Original Review – Basically, Yahoo Mail Is Useless Anyway. So Why Even Bother to Have Anything to Do with Them in the First Place?

To make a long story short, avoid having a Yahoo email account like the plague. The Yahoo ads they display on your email account page clogs up your CPU and/or ISP bandwidth so much, your account is barely able to function. This is especially applicable when trying to compose a new message.

Yahoo has always been famous for obnoxious ads, but this page isn't going to even bother complaining about that; millions of others already have done so to no avail. One would think after all these years, Yahoo would finally figure out how dearly this practice costs them; but obviously this is never going to happen.

This page is about Yahoo's high intensity, high pixel, highly animated ads hogging your computer and ISP resources and bandwidth to the point the Yahoo email app, itself, is barely able to function.

Switching between folders isn't too bad, the wait time is still tolerable. And in all fairness, I should mention Yahoo's email spam filter is pretty good.

It is when one tries to compose a message is where everything really falls apart. The computer starts beeping almost immediately. Sure enough, most of the characters typed never made it to the screen. Meanwhile, the ads are all gyrating to a fare-thee-well. I would imagine attempting to compose a Yahoo email message via phone would be even more impossible. On those rare occasions when one isn't getting slammed with highly animated ads, everything works fine.

Use an ad blocker? Yep, that did indeed solve the problem for a long time. Then one morning I clicked the mail app on Yahoo's main page and was duly informed the ad blocker must be turned off before I would be allowed access to my email account. This went on for awhile and then suddenly stopped. I don't know if there was some sort of user revolt, "official" complaints or violations, or what.

Things were once again ok for awhile...

But now Yahoo is pulling a new stunt. If one is using an ad blocker and visits Yahoo's homepage, the mail menu option simply isn't there. If one visits the homepage without an ad blocker, then the email menu option is there. Cute.

So there you have it. Can't compose messages without an ad blocker. Can't access email account with an ad blocker.

Are you using an ad blocker and not having access issues? Give it time, Yahoo simply hasn't gotten around to your browser/blocker configuration yet.

Yahoo Mail User

Just my opinion, though I have had none of these problems with any of my other web-based email service providers.

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Scope and Meaning of Metaphysics - Examples - Thinking Outside the Box

Latest update: July 25, 2022
Page URL indicates original publication date; meanwhile, times change and the updates continue.

What Is Metaphysics and the Metaphysical –
Science / Philosophy / Spiritual

An artist's rendition of metaphysics - Source: NASA

The Undefined Science

Metaphysics – not even Stanford and Wikipedia can agree on neither a succinct nor an encompassing meaning or definition for metaphysics. This is because:

• The definitions and meanings of metaphysics and the metaphysical keep changing.
• The study and science of metaphysics includes an almost unlimited number of subcategories.
• The most respected minds in academia, the sciences, and even in the general population are continually unable to reach an agreement as to the perfect meaning or definition.
• There are disputes as to what does and does not belong in the study or category of metaphysics and the metaphysical.

One definition or meaning for metaphysics could be the sciences and non-sciences that cannot be put in another category are put into the category of metaphysics. However, this meaning or definition would not be complete; because there are sciences that are studied and categorized in other categories that are also included as a part of metaphysics and the metaphysical.

For certain disciplines, the discipline is a subset of metaphysics; and metaphysics is a subset of the discipline. In other words, each is a subset of the other depending on the context and/or the parameters used.

An example:
A. There is the philosophical part of metaphysics.
B. There is the metaphysical part of philosophy.

What is Metaphysics and the Metaphysical -
Thinking Outside the Box

Problems can have more than one solution.

The scope of subjects such as cosmology, ontology, physics, philosophy, existence, time and space, astrobiology, perception, etc are generally undisputed as being both part of metaphysics and outside of metaphysics. It all depends on the subcategory of the main subject being addressed.

Other examples and subjects continually being associated with the scope of metaphysics include paranormal, astrology, New Age, spiritual, meditation, wisdom, karma, determinism, fate, shaman, unity, reiki, psychic, mind and matter, meaning of life, feng shui, etc.; the metaphysical and quasi-metaphysical list can be a long one.

Metaphysics is the perfect place to “think outside the box”. One is allowed to research any theory or hypothesis you wish. You are allowed to follow any chain of logic to wherever it goes. Combining what first appears to be unrelated subjects to derive unusual metaphysical conclusions is perfectly acceptable. In other words, the scope of metaphysics allows one to explore and experiment without constraint.

Philosophy vs Metaphysics -
Perception / Perspective / Reality

What Is Spiritual Metaphysics

Spiritual metaphysics versus religion. What is spiritual metaphysics? It is similar, but not the same as religion.

• What is religion? Religion is where one makes up whatever they want.
• Spiritual metaphysics on the other hand, attempts to base its conclusions on logic. As humankind's logic and thinking abilities evolve, so does spiritual metaphysics.

Metaphysical and Philosophical Thoughts, Quotes, Ramblings, Examples... And possibly a little scattered humor.

• In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded.
• With all that goes on in life and reality, the only possible conclusion is we are all lab rats.
• Most everything means nothing.
• Time can sometimes cure a problem all by itself. Though can be an excellent excuse for procrastination; it is more often than not, not a wise choice.
• Free will exists. But it is limited. And it is more limited with some than with others.
• Sometimes one can actually choose whether a problem exists or not.
• Faith is the death of intelligence.
• The fatal flaw of logic is its presumption of being aware of all relevant premises. However, awareness of all relevant factors is seldom the true situation. The best one can hope for is a probable prediction.
• No one belongs here more than you.
• No one belongs here less than you.
• One of the most important lessons a person can learn in life is that other people are as real behind their eyes as you are behind yours.
• Miscommunication can cause more problems than all other factors combined. Always examine a perceived negative statement twice; it may not be negative at all. Give others the benefit of the doubt.
• Time and Space. Can't live with it. Can't live without it.
  
• Life is an iterative process.

More quotes of all kinds: Best Quotes.

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