Figs for Fruit Salad

I had an unexpected discovery a few days ago when I added a pint of figs (sliced into halves) into a fruit salad that was a combination of pears and peaches. After a few hours in the fridge, the flavor of the figs had permeated the other fruits, giving them a rich, alcohol-like flavor that was to my palate and mind, intoxicating. I'd never come across something like it and it's exquisite. Highly recommended.

List vs. Contracted Price

I've ranted here several times about the difference between the list price that doctors charge uninsured patients, and the negotiated rate that they charge patients with insurance.

Here's a recent example - my yearly mammogram: List price, $440, negotiated rate: $84. Meaning more than 5X difference, or a 400% markup for the uninsured. I think I'll take this up with my doctor...

The End of Skype as We Know It

Skype was great, while it lasted. Oh, it's still around, but in the last few months, those of you that use it have probably noticed that it's just not working properly. Calls keep getting dropped, if they're not dropped the sound quality is just poor, and this applies even to the paid calls, when you call from your computer to a land line or cell phone.

Special K

I just finished reading a book about Krishnamacharya, the person often referred to (and rightfully so) as the father of Modern Yoga. Born in 1888, he gained renown as the yoga teacher for Maharaja of Mysore, but for us L.A. yogis, probably what is most astonishing is that he was the first teacher of the three greatest popularizers of yoga in the west - BKS Iyengar, Sri Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi. The book itself seems to be out of print, and has the distinction of selling on Amazon at higher than its original list price. For a brief bio of Special K, this Yoga Journal article is great.

Bottom line though, I was completely inspired. This was a a person who took such an incredibly creative approach to yoga. Who invented much of what we consider today to be the basics of physical (a.k.a. hatha) yoga, who was an extraordinary intellect, an extraordinarily gifted philosopher and healer, and who should be ranked as one of the most important figures of the 20th century. IMHO.