Work Stuff

Today at work we found out that we are in the top 5 workplaces in Orange County as named by the Orange County Register.

I thought that was pretty cool, but then Jessica pointed out that it's actually kind of depressing. Hah!

In this economy, I'm thankful for just having a decent job.

Labels: work

Another Day at the Office

I always have a hard time explaining to my friends what I do at work... so I made you a video:

Labels: funny, work

Blogging at the Office

I've finally convinced everyone at work to start a corporate blog. Some of the guys are really getting into it. It's probably not interesting unless you happen to work in Human Resources, but check it out anyway. The Employee Benefits Blog

Labels: technology, work

Rising Health Care Costs are "Worth It"

Everyone loves to complain about the rising costs of health care and health insurance, but we seldom take a look at what we get for our money.

Harvard and the University of Michigan compared changes in health care costs vs. life-expectancy over the last 40 years and discovered that we're not getting ripped-off as much as we'd like to think.

Here are some interesting extracts from coverage on the report:

"The rising cost of health care has been the source of a lot of saber-rattling in the media and the public square, without anyone seriously analyzing and discussing the benefits gained," says Cutler. "But the dramatic increase in life expectancy that we've seen over the last decades shows that rising medical costs have been largely justified."

Conservatively adjusting for nonmedical factors in longevity such as lower smoking prevalence and reduced death rates from accidents, suicide, and homicide, the researchers attributed 50 percent of the increase in life expectancy since 1960 to improved health care.

Following this methodology, Cutler and colleagues estimated that from birth, the increased life expectancy since 1960 (approximately seven years, from 69.90 to 76.87 years) has cost $19,900 per added year of life.

Labels: random, work

Saving gas

Today I discovered that there is an express bus route from downtown Fullerton, where I live, directly to the University Research Park, which is the commercial complex at UC Irvine where I work. The bus had plenty of room, was air conditioned and took the carpool lane all the way down the 55 freeway. I got to work in about 45 minutes door-to-door, which is about the same as it would take me to drive... except I got to read the newspaper instead of pounding my fists in traffic.

Cost: $1.25

This could be a new thing for me.

Labels: orange county, work