Health Care Reform Starts Here

DISCLAIMER: I am a currently employed by a subsidiary of the Hawaii Medical Service Association, but these thoughts are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer or its parent company.

I believe health care, in its current state, is broken and unsustainable. This post, however, has nothing to do with the legislation that President Obama signed in March. In my mind, the only real solution lies within each and every one of us. It's about KULEANA, personal responsibility. Physicians, the government, and even insurance companies can only do so much. To effect real change in this system, we must change ourselves.

The first step would be to take an honest look at your health-related habits and behaviors. Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables? Do you exercise enough? When was the last time you had your blood pressure or cholesterol checked? If you happen to be an HMSA member, there's a great tool available to you called Succeed. It is a health risk assessment that assesses your lifestyle and basically gives you a grade when you're done. Click here if you are interested in learning more. If you complete the HRA before October 15 and enter promo code JG494, you could win one of three gift cards: $500 to Costco, $200 to Walmart, or $100 to Foodland.

Secondly, you should get connected with a primary care provider. Why is it important? Check out this video by Emmi Solutions. Basically, it comes down to better coordination, which translates to better care. So who benefits most from a strong physician-patient relationship? YOU DO.

This isn't rocket science, folks. Make it happen!

My AT&T iPhone Upgrade Conspiracy Theory

In Monday's WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs mentioned that anyone who is eligible for an upgrade in 2010 through AT&T can get a new iPhone 4 at launch. Initially, that made me very excited because I would be able to purchase two phones (currently, my wife and I are on alternating contracts so one of us can always have the latest and greatest). The more I thought about it, however, the more I began to wonder... there must be more to this seemingly benevolent offer. After all, the deal seems just a little too good to be true. So, the wheels started turning and I came up with this conspiracy theory: I suspect that Apple is already working on an LTE (4G) iPhone and that phone will be made available to Verizon customers sometime in 2011. It's no secret that Verizon is aggressively rolling out its LTE network over the next several months and that could be in anticipation of a future relationship with Apple. This is probably making AT&T nervous and cause for them to try to get as many customers as possible to lock in to another 2-year agreement with the newly imposed $325 early termination fee. What better way than with a shiny new iPhone? We'll see how it all pans out.
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Incidentally, I came across this cool little trick. If you dial *639# on your phone, AT&T will send you a text message indicating what your eligibility status is. Both of my iPhones are currently displaying this message:

Pacific Soul | Honolulu, Hawaii

Wow, I just realized that this is my first food post in over two months. I know, I know, I'm slacking. Thing is, we haven't really gone out to eat very much recently and when we do go out, we usually fall back on one of our usual spots. Tonight, however, we were in the mood for something different. We decided to hit up a new restaurant in Kaimuki called Soul. Owner and operator Sean Priester (@pacificsoul) has created quite a buzz recently with his mobile "Soul Patrol" truck and just recently opened this establishment at the corner of Waialae Avenue and St. Louis Heights Drive. The food was tasty and the portions were very generous.

Blogger and Social Media Maven Melissa Chang (@Melissa808) happened to be dining there tonight too. She took some pictures of us and our food. We'll probably pop up in her Urban Mix Plate blog or Metromix.

Pacific Soul
3040 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 735-7585
Website

You have the option of sitting indoors or out. We opted for inside because of the air conditioning and ambiance.


I ordered the fried chicken because of the rave reviews it's been getting. I must say, it is by far the BEST fried chicken I have EVER had. The combination of spices and drizzled honey was absolutely amazing. Everything else on the plate (cornbread, cilantro coleslaw, collard greens, and black eyed peas) was exceptionally good too. The cornbread practically melts in your mouth.


My son ordered the hot dog plate with vegetarian chili. My wife ordered a salad (I forgot to take a picture), but she ended up sharing most of our food in the end because the portions were so huge.

Make a Powerful Point Without PowerPoint.

Twitter was slightly abuzz this morning as a result of this article by the New York Times. I did some further reading and came across a related blog post by Seth Godin on the subject. Both were entertaining reads, but the sad reality is that it's all true... and I'm not just talking about the US military. I've seen it happen in conferences, lectures, and even churches. A person gets up in front of the crowd, armed with a laptop, ready to change the world. It's almost as if they believe PowerPoint has magical powers that will transform their material into something relevant and send everyone home with happy thoughts and warm fuzzies. It won't.
Personally, I think of PowerPoint as a magnifying glass. If your presentation rocks, PowerPoint will help drive the point home. The content and your delivery, however, must stand on their own. Likewise, if it sucks, well, no amount of pretty pictures, flashy animation, or fancy fonts and layouts is going to save it.

This is why I shop at the farmers' market

Several weeks ago, I wrote this post about personal responsibility. It goes along with an earlier commitment to buy locally grown and/or organic produce whenever possible. Because we had such a successful shopping trip at Saturday's KCC Farmers' Market, I was motivated to cook dinner on Sunday night.

Here's what we ate:
1) Oven-roasted Molokai Sweet Potato
2) Braised Kale with Soy-Ginger Dressing (garnished with fresh Waimea strawberry)
3) Homemade Vegan Patty


This image was not digitally altered - the colors really were that vibrant. Wifey said it was the best meal I have EVER made for her. Wow. I wish I could say it was all me, but it really comes down to using the freshest ingredients possible.

Next week, I plan to try something a little different by picking up a CSA box from Ma'o Organic Farm (@maoorganicfarms). Stay tuned for posts from that adventure!

Here's the veggie patty recipe I came up with for those who are interested:
• 1 can black bean (pureed in blender)
• 1C cooked Oatmeal
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1/2 package panko
• 1/4 cup soy-based mozzarella
• 2T egg replacement
• 2T shoyu
• 1T garlic
• 1T ginger
• 1t curry powder

Mix all the above in a bowl and form into patties. Brown in a frying pan with extra virgin olive oil.