Bay Area Houston

Rising Contact Lens Prices: 2022 vs 2024

November 24, 2024

I compared prices of contact lenses back in 2022. You can read that article here. This year I bought another 8 boxes of Acute Oasis for Astigmatism. That is 48 lenses which would usually last me about two years since I only wear 1 lens. Here is the cost from various vendors. The price includes all charges. In 2022 the cost of the lenses were very reasonable until you added the “fees”. This year most are not showing the “fees” as something extra. Notice the difference in cost. Some are 70% higher than 2 years ago and yet some are just about 4% higher. (Which tells me inflation excuse is bullshit.)

Here is a list of companies and their prices.

Company	Cost 2024	Cost 2022	Notes	Increase
Costco	298	262		13%
Web Eye Care	369	228		62%
OptiContacst	371	237	Includes $37 in fees	56%
EZContacts	408	239		70%
Contact Lense King	380	260		46%
Glasses USA	368	278		24%
Lens.com	302	290	Includes $177 in fees	40%
DiscountContacts	343	303		13%
CVS	383	338		13%
Walgreens	511	438		17%

Leave a Comment » | Consumer | Permalink
Posted by johncoby

Cuts coming to NASA/JSC civil service employees

November 23, 2024

In the words of Jack Reacher, “Remember, you wanted this.”

Tom Cruise had a great line in Reacher. Before taking on 5 guys in a fight Reacher warned them about taking that final step. “Remember, you wanted this.” He then beat the hell out of all of them. It’s a great scene. Go watch it.

So all the NASA MAGAts of Johnson Space Center might be facing their own Reacher named Vivek Ramaswamy (BTW did you know he is an anchor baby?) who is teaming up with the Vice President Elect Elon Musk to cut spending in the federal government. For NASA that means privatize services at the expense of civil service employees. The argument is easy to understand even though it’s not true. Civil Service employees do not add value to the NASA program. Instead of paying Civil Service employees a salary and great benefits, just pay the contractors like SpaceX. After all most of NASA’s money is spent on contractors.

And you know how much trump loves Elon. So be prepared for an early retirement. And remember, you wanted this.

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: NASA | Permalink
Posted by johncoby

Harris County Dept of Education Trustee to be sanctioned

November 22, 2024

Eric Dick. Again. Prior to the meeting I ran into Dick in the bathroom. Gross.

The Harris County Department of Education voted unanimously to sanction Trustee Dick after a grievance hearing yesterday. I filed the grievance. From the Houston Chronicle:

“Trustees are elected officials. Taxpayers should expect them to do some basic things, tell the truth, follow the laws of the state, honor subpoenas issued by judges, pay your fines assessed by the state,” Cobarruvias said at Wednesday’s hearing. “What happens if you and I don’t pay our parking tickets? You know, it’s pretty clear. But the worst part about all this is that he’s thumbing his nose at the law.”

Eric Dick has owned the Texas Ethics Commission $30,000 since March of 2022. He owes $10,000 for another ethics complaint that he settled back in 2023. He agreed to pay this fine but has yet to pay it. The Texas AG’s office has demanded payment and yet he has refused. In the article he claims he is challenging the TEC’s fines but I haven’t seen any indication that this is nothing more than bullshit.

In 2022 the TEC had 387 complaints filed. Only 3 went to a formal hearing. One was for Dick and another was for his buddy Philip Bryant who was also involved in the original complaint filed against Dick. Like the formal hearing Dick failed to show up at the HCDE hearing to defend himself.

This new Republic Party doesn’t give a crap about honor, dignity, truth, or abiding by the laws of our State. At least the HCDE did what they could legally do and sanctioned Dick. You can read the long, but interesting, final disposition by the TEC here.

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: Ethics, Harris County | Permalink
Posted by johncoby

How to lobby elected officials (on home insurance)

November 18, 2024

If there is a guide on “How to lobby elected officials” I have not found it. So I will give you an idea of what we could do just based upon my experience as a consumer activist years ago. I don’t expect to know it all so if you have ideas, I am all ears.

Be focused. Stay on message. For the insurance issue the message should be very clear: We want our premiums to be lowered, our deductibles to return to a fixed amount not more than $1000, and we do NOT want a deduction in coverage.
Develop a relationship to your elected official or their staff. Call your elected official in Austin and ask for the staff member assigned to insurance issues. Ask for an email address. Then keep in touch. Make sure you send them any information you think is important to the issue. For our area contact Greg Bentch at greg.bentch@house.texas.gov with State Representative Dennis Paul and Matt Patterson at matt.patterson@senate.texas.gov with Senator Mayes Middleton’s office.
Contact the members of the specific committee that will hear the bill(s) you are concerned about. The insurance bills in the House will most probably be assigned to the State Affairs Committee. The Chair lives in the Corpus Christi area and has an interest in this issue. I have collected the contact information for the members. I have listed them below. Again, contact each one with your specific information. If you can, call and email them.
Visit your elected officials office. Make an appointment in the district. Talk with someone about your insurance issue. Dennis Paul’s office is at 17225 El Camino Real Blvd Suite 415 (281) 488-8900. Senator Middleton’s office is at 174 Calder Road Suite 900 League City, TX 77573 (281) 332-1000
Spend a day in Austin. What I have done in the past was to make appointments with the staff members of the elected officials on the committee. The State Affairs Committee has 13 members. If you spend 15 minutes with each you might talk to all of them in 1 full day. That is a tough day. When you visit make sure you have a written copy of what you intend to talk about. Keep it to the point. Make sure they hear and understand our message.
Attend a hearing. This will be covered in a later email.

So. You can start now. Here are some important contacts:

State Representative Dennis Paul
Insurance Committee
C/O Greg Bench
greg.bentch@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0734 Austin phone
17225 El Camino Real Blvd Suite 415
(281) 488-8900.

Senator Mayes Middleton
Business and Commerce Committee
C/O Matt Patterson
(512) 463-0111 Austin Phone
174 Calder Road Suite 900
League City, TX 77573
(281) 332-1000

You can find the contact info for members of the State Affairs Committee here. They will be hearing the bills.

I am working on the Business and Commerce Committee.

Leave a Comment » | Consumer | Tagged: Insurance | Permalink
Posted by johncoby

Experienced Leadership Abandoning Sheriff Elect Jimmy “Full of S***” Fullen.

November 18, 2024

It’s almost funny. Almost.

Kudos to Scott McLendon of the Galveston Daily News for his article concerning the mass exodus of deputies of the Sheriff’s office. From the GDN:

“A retirement exodus of long-time Galveston County Sheriff’s Office deputies that began when an outsider candidate won the Republican primary in March had by Friday reached 19 people who represent about 639 years of experience, Sheriff Henry Trochesset said.” “I don’t blame them. The last thing we need is someone in charge of enforcing the law that is breaking the law.”

Ok. That last part I made up but it is on everyone’s mind except for those who voted for Fullen. Breaking or ignoring the law has become a trademark of the New Republic Party. Republic voters don’t give a shit about someone who falsified government documents (unless their name is Hunter Biden). They don’t care about Fullen having his law license revoked due to falsifying documents. After all they voted for returning a bankrupt bitch to League City Council. They returned an impeached Attorney General back to office. And they returned a twice impeached, convicted felon, who has over 50 felony indictments, including stealing classified documents, looming over his head to lead the most powerful and most pitiful country in the world.

So who really cares about “law and order” or conservative values, or decency, duty, honor, country or any of that shit? Voters don’t but at least 19 deputies do and they are leaving the office before Jimmy Full of Shit Fullen takes office.

LOL. I made some funnies. Bankrupt Bitch. Jimmy Full of Shit Fullen.

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: Ethics, league city | Permalink
Posted by johncoby

Pics from Africa

November 17, 2024

You can find a review of the trip here.

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Posted by johncoby

America is full of suckers.

November 17, 2024

And people are making money off of them. How can we get on this gravy train?

The Tyson/Paul freak show proved there are a lot of suckers in America willing to pay to watch a 58 year old former boxer soil himself for a $20 million payday. Tyson looked great, for a 58 year old boxer, during his training throwing combinations to the body and bobbing and weaving like he did when he was 20. It was a great piece of propaganda to sell the “fight”. It was just a quick 10 second video to con people out of their money. It worked. Go watch it then go watch the “fight”.

Tickets for the 8, 2 minute rounds with oversized boxing gloves were selling for hundreds of dollars, in the cheap seats. They all got what they deserved. Tyson left it all in the ring, the one he trained in. The only thing worse than his display of aqua aerobics was the announcers who claimed this was the sporting event of the century. Paul was Paul. He ran like a scared little bitch refusing to fight Tyson. For those of us who followed boxing it is clear his skills in fleecing the suckers of America are much better than his skills in the ring.

Couple this freak show with the trump freak show developing in front of our eyes and you have a country full of fucking suckers ready and willing to give someone their hard earned money.

All aboard!

Leave a Comment » | Consumer, Political | Permalink
Posted by johncoby

Newly elected Sheriff, Jimmy Fullen is above the law

November 15, 2024

Well for fuck sakes.

A new law taking affect in Jan of 2025 will shield the newly elected Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen from being removed from office for lying under oath on an official government document. Just like his buddy trump, he is above the law and will never be held accountable. The Galveston County Daily News has more.

For everyone else, including you, if you lie on an official document you could be indicted, convicted, fined, and/or jailed. For Fullen the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement had recommended his law license be revoked making him ineligible for the position of Sheriff. The County DA, Jack Roady, won’t take action because Fullen is a republican and Roady is on his way out anyway. The new DA is Fullen’s buddy so don’t expect anything to come of that. If Fullen was a Democrat the DA would have been all over this like trump on a porn star.

But he is a member of the Republic Party and they are above the law. Fullen’s past is well documented on the website https://therealtruejimmyfullen.com. The owner has the receipts. He has the papers. None of it is pretty including the assault charge with a fucking BASEBALL BAT! Jesus fucking christ people? What does one have to do to make you stop voting for him? Get convicted on 34 felony counts?

Oh. Wait……

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Posted by johncoby

Texas Bill Watch: Jail time for business owners who hire illegal aliens

November 14, 2024

This would solve at least half of all the immigration problems. It won’t solve the problem of illegal workers coming from Germany or Ireland, but it is a start.

Bills are already being filed for the legislation session starting in 2025. The Welfare for the Wealthy School Voucher bill will be considered high priority as well as the bill requiring school districts to post the 10 Catholic Commandments in schools. I’m wondering if a bill to reduce our home insurance will be filed or passed. But the one I like is jail time for any business owner who hires illegal workers.

I’ve always wondered why they just don’t tackle the problem at the root. If businesses would stop hiring illegal workers the problem will go away. Steep fines and jail time would discourage businesses from doing business with illegal workers. The reason this hasn’t happened is because the megadonors to the Republic Party told them not to. Read the OP-ED in the Dallas Morning News by 36 of the biggest companies in Texas to Congress pleading for immigration reform. These owners include Bob Perry of Bob Perry Homes, Red McCombs, Bo Pilgrim, and others listed below.

So. Put one of these rotten fuckers in jail and they will think twice about hiring illegal workers. In the meantime, help your elected officials and report any business you know who are hiring illegal workers.

1 Comment | Political | Tagged: Immigration | Permalink
Posted by johncoby

Millionaires lose in Friendswood ISD elections

November 12, 2024

$50,000 down the drain. Again.

Our Senator, “Money” Mayes Middleton, and another millionaire out of Dallas, donated $50,000 to FISD candidate John Scott. He lost. As noted before, the district has only 6000 students in 6 schools. Why anyone would need $50,000 to run in such a small district is beyond me, but this is Texas where money rules.

What is surprising is that Friendswood is a blood shot red MAGAt city. They probably voted for trump, three times, and yet the $50,000 didn’t sway them from returning the incumbents back to office. That is odd. Maybe the trump voters found a bit of morality and voted against the nasty attack ads. Who knows?

It’s definitely an interesting situation one that CCISD trustees should be looking at very closely. If they align CCISD elections with the November elections they will be inviting unlimited money from every white wing millionaires and billionaires in the country with the sole purpose of taking over school districts. Those running for the right reasons will never get elected and would never be able to compete.

Maybe the Friendswood election is a freak occurrence.

1 Comment | Political | Tagged: Education, Ethics | Permalink
Posted by johncoby

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Bay Area Houston