Category: economics

my Mexican Dental Vacation

On By Rick McIn economics, health & fitness, product endorsements, travel, travel Mexico32 Comments

dr-stephen-mackey-smiling3.jpgThis is Dr. Stephen F. Mackey, my dentist in Mazatlán.

UPDATE – Dr. Mackey wrote to say: “I am no longer affiliated with Mexican Dental Vacation and do not reccomend them.” Also, they’ve moved to the Golden Zone and, last I heard, do not have a full-time dentist on staff.

The rest of the original post below:

He practiced for over 40 years in the Seattle, Washington area. Finally, after some minor heart trouble, the doctor decided to leave the rainy Pacific N.W. and head for the sun.

Mexican Dental Vacation, the business, was founded by a Canadian Nick Konev from Alberta. Nick recognized the opportunity to sell dental work at 50% the cost or less than what it costs in Canada and the USA.

This was my third time visiting a dentist in Mexico, but the first to have MAJOR work done.

My trip was precipitated when a big chunk of one of my front teeth fell out. I took that as a sign that I had put off major work for too long. I booked a trip to Mexico immediately.

I had done some research and the buzz on-line was generally very good for a company called Mexican Dental Vacation that caters almost exclusively to Gringos. I like that they are up front with the cost of work, posting it on-line, and stick to those prices.

On arrival Dr. Mackey drove me over to get a panoramic X-ray as I brought none with me from Canada. No appointment. No referral. Imagenes Diagnosticas de Mazatlan $18 was a brilliant beginning.

I was in and out of X-ray in 15min while the Doctor popped into Home Depot for building supplies. (In Mexico only 3 months, he was still making himself at home here.)

That same morning the doctor laid out his recommendations. He feels I need bigtime work.

We decided I would get 7 root canals, have four teeth extracted, and do some minor repairs this trip. Then, in future, as time and cash permit, put in 3 bridges and as many as 10 crowns. He did not feel I needed any implants.

To keep costs down, as much work as possible is farmed out to local Mexican dentists. I was sent to get my root canals done by Dr. Ernesto Bertrand Morales. He was excellent, doing 7 in 4 appointments over 5 days. Only one caused me any pain. The doctor recommended a pain killer called Flanex. I didn’t need it.

I like the personal attention you get here. None of that sitting in a chair waiting for someone jumping from patient-to-patient to finally attend you.

My cleaning was well done by the office of Dr. Roberto Coppel Azcona, the most posh dental office I have ever seen. It was a little too “Western” for me.

I had a couple of days recovery, then went to get 4 teeth extracted by Dr. Mackey in one appointment. Though that is a lot of freezing, this was supposed to be the least of my worries.

People ask me, “Rick — what if something goes WRONG when you are getting medical attention in a foreign country?”

That is a good question. My extractions went very, very WRONG.

Though my teeth have been poor my entire life, for some reason they do not want to be removed from my body. I was one of the most difficult patients Dr. Mackey could recall.

Finally, he decided to sent me to a dental surgeon. He and the dental assistant both drove me while I was still frozen.

The Mexican surgeon saw me immediately, but also had mucho problemas despite having a full surgical set-up. I was also one of his most difficult patients ever.

I don’t think anyone counted how many sutures I had in my mouth. Plenty.

On to antibiotics (Dalacin C / Clindamincina), an anti-inflamatory and yet more rest.

Dr. Mackey decided to do just one post / repair and save everything else for the future. I plan to return late January 2008.

All in all, I was very happy with Mexican Dental Vacation. There was no language barrier at any office. The city of Mazatlán is clean and modern. And certainly safer than Calgary or Seattle.

My COSTS aside from airfare:

$50 / day total – hotel, food, etc.

$18 – X-rays at Imagenes Diagnosticas de Mazatlan
free – quotation on work
$290 / root canal
$60 / extraction
$70 – cleaning

They guarantee their work for a period of 2 years.

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Dr. Mackey drove me to the airport. When is the last time your dentist did anything like that for you?

Next time you get a quotation for work from your dentist, check this chart:

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Mexican Dental Vacation – official website

Contact me if you have any specific questions.

should I get a REAL job?

On By Rick McIn economicsLeave a comment

The economy in Calgary is red hot.

… Perhaps I should save for a rainy day. (Or a rainy day in Hawaii.) Put away a few Reagans.

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image source – Counterfeit $1 million bill – Boing Boing

(I’m getting this peculiar urge to work for a living as I add up the costs of my dental work in Mazatlán.)

Yahoo Music spells it out to labels

On By Rick McIn economics, good news, musicLeave a comment

Vice President and General Manager of Yahoo Music, Ian Rodgers, gave a presentation to some members of the music industry last Friday at Digital Media Forum in LA.

He was blunt:

I’m here to tell you today that I for one am no longer going to fall into this trap. If the licensing labels offer their content to Yahoo! put more barriers in front of the users, I’m not interested. Do what you feel you need to do for your business, I’ll be polite, say thank you, and decline to sign. I won’t let Yahoo! invest any more money in consumer inconvenience. …

It’s over for Digital Rights Management.

I’ve read a dozen commentaries on Rodger’s speach, the best being Yahoo’s Ian Rogers To Music Industry: “Inconvenience Doesn’t Scale” by Mike Arrington on TechCrunch.

Like me, Arrington thinks these death struggles of the music industry will lead to drastically lower prices and far greater convenience.

I’ve hardly bought any music over the past 10 years. When songs cost $.15 each, and it’s no hassle to impulsively grab a track with my iPhone, I’ll buy plenty.

Long-term I expect the total value of all music in the world to stay about the same — a given percentage of disposable income of all the people in the world. But more artists will split the loot more equally. And many record executives will be selling real estate.

Subscribe to Ian Rodgers – personal blog.

I notice the front page of Yahoo Music links to Radiohead right now. They are siding with consumers now, not the labels.

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Yahoo Music beta

PS

I’ve been dissing Prince of late. (He has been acting even goofier than usual.)

But I like the fact he gave away albums for free in the UK. His corporate master Columbia, a unit of Sony BMG, was not amused.

Radiohead says f*** you to recording industry

On By Rick McIn economics, music, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Radiohead claim their groundbreaking decision to offer their latest album, In Rainbows, for any price consumers choose is paying off, proving the commercial viability of their direct-to-fans model.

read the details … Radiohead gamble pays off – Telegraph

Buy the new Radiohead album — In Rainbows — digital tracks directly from the band. Pay what you want.

You can even get In Rainbows on vinyl LP if you wish. Let the marketplace decide, not record executives.

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Next …

Less than a month after publicly calling executives at his music label unprintable names, rocker Trent Reznor has signaled that his days of working for a record label are over.

The only official member of the band Nine Inch Nails, Reznor announced Monday that the group is now a “free of any recording contract with any label.” Representatives from Reznor’s music label, Universal Music Group, were unavailable for comment.

Reznor provided few details in a note on the band’s Web site about how the group plans to proceed, but his announcement raised hopes among fans that he will follow the lead of British band Radiohead, which last week announced it would handle sales and distribution for its upcoming album, In Rainbows without the backing of a label.

Two well-known bands taking to the Internet to sell their own albums is not yet a trend, but it certainly must be a cause for concern in the halls of the four major music companies. The question raised by the defections is whether well-established performers need big music conglomerates in the digital age.

First Radiohead…now Nine Inch Nails bids adieu to music label

I’m keeping my fingers crossed this is a trend.

This is exactly what the idiots at the Record Industry Association of America deserve for suing their customers. ($222,000 for sharing old Foreigner tracks on-line – what?)

See what Xeni Jardin has to say – Radiohead lets fans pick price for new album

satellite radio is AWESOME

On By Rick McIn audiocasts, economics, music, product endorsementsLeave a comment

I’ve yet to meet anyone who tried satellite radio who later canceled the service.

I’m listening to SIRIUS RADIO right now.

The Coffee House station (Acoustic rock, singer-songwriter, a favourite of Dave and Lisa Adlard) is terrific. It’s only one of 69 streams of music and 65 streams of sports, news and entertainment.

Fantastic.

Perhaps commercial-free is the way to go for the internet too. Simply PAY for what you want to see.

Most of the channels are also available to subscribers via internet, as well.

Cost about $13 / month.

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SIRIUS radio Canada

Kanye vs 50 Cent

On By Rick McIn economics, musicLeave a comment

I expected 50 to win this rapper battle. (Great PR for the ailing rap music business, by the way. Dropping major releases Sept. 11th made for great press.)

But I do like Kayne West too. His videos are great.

The results are in and, as predicted, Kanye wins. According to Nielson SoundScan, his Graduation is the No. 1 album in the country, topping the inordinately crappy Curtis by 50 Cent, who had promised to retire if he were outsold (he will probably break this promise). Something no one expected, though, are the numbers — Curtis moved a still-impressive 691,304 copies in the six days since its release last Tuesday, but Graduation sold an amazing 956,936, giving Kanye the best first-week album sales in more than two years.

Kanye West Wins Sales Race, 50 Cent Inadvertently Saves Music Business — Vulture — Entertainment & Culture Blog — New York Magazine

Who’s Kenny Chesney ??

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To see the video Here’s the Good Life by Kanye West click HERE. (Couldn’t find it on YouTube.)

George Bush is NOT the problem

On By Rick McIn bad news, economics, governmentLeave a comment

For the real brains behind the Republican Party, Bush is perfect.

A perfect fall guy.

A simplistic diversion distracting the general public from what’s really going on.

What’s “really going on”?

The rich are stuffing their pockets full of money taxpayers dollars while the getting is good. It won’t be as easy when the Democrats come in.

The best example I can cite is a wonderful 60 minutes expose:

Perhaps the greatest convergance of corrupt activities in Washington over the past few years occurred during the debate and passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.

The story in a nutshell is that lobbyists wrote a one thousand page bill that was introduced hours before congressmen voted on it. The vote was then held open for three hours – the longest vote in the history of the House of Representatives – instead of the normal and required 15 minutes.

During the open vote the Republican majority twisted arms and used threats and bribes to gain votes for the bill. (Later, Tom DeLay and other Republican congressmen would be admonished by the Ethics Committee for their actions.)

When the bill was passed and signed by the President all of the main actors who helped pass the bill went to work for the pharmaceutical industry.

In Broad Daylight

Big Drugs literally “bought” U.S. Politicians with millions of dollars of cash.

This is the problem. Lobbyists run Washington.

Click here to watch the shocking video clip on Crooks and Liars: A Question of Corruption

economic models – FUNNY

On By Rick McIn economics, humourLeave a comment

Economic Models explained with cows – 2007 update

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk
away…

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called ‘Cowkimon’ and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy….

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

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original – flickr

Thanks George.

music – Weird Al Yankovic getting screwed?

On By Rick McIn economics, music, product complaints, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Lets say you love Weird Al Yankovic and want to make sure he gets as much money as possible from your legal purchase of his music.

How best to do that?

From Weird Al’s website:

Tim Sloane of Ijamsville, MD asks:

Al, which of these purchasing methods should I use in order to make sure the most profit gets to you: Buying one of your albums on CD, or buying one of your albums on iTunes?

Weird Al:

I am extremely grateful for your support, no matter which format you choose to legally obtain my music in, so you should do whatever makes the most sense for you personally. But since you ASKED… I actually do get significantly more money from CD sales, as opposed to downloads.

This is the one thing about my renegotiated record contract that never made much sense to me. It costs the label NOTHING for somebody to download an album (no manufacturing costs, shipping, or really any overhead of any kind) and yet the artist (me) winds up making less from it. Go figure.

So, buy a CD if you want to put your cash in Weird Al’s pocket. Or, better, buy directly from his website.

BUT … What percentage of your CD purchase does Al and his band actually bank?

That’s a convoluted and confusing topic. I believe Al’s cut to be 15% or less of suggested retail on CDs.

My complaint is the oligopoly of music companies that keep (possibly) 85% of the dollar I want to pay Al.

To me it’s almost worth downloading illegally, ripping off Al (who deserves the money) in order to stiff Volcano (Sony BMG), who I hate. (Why I hate Sony BMG.)

Obviously in future the artist needs to sell directly to the consumer, cutting out Sony BMG and that ilk as much as possible. Illegal downloads will hopefully speed that evolution.

But if you, like Weird Al, want to continue shoveling money into Sony BMG — buy Al’s most recent great album — Straight Outta Lynwood — through Amazon and I’ll take a 4% cut, as well. (Out of Al’s percentage, I imagine.)

Straight Outta Lynwood

(via Weird Al and a Messed Up iTunes Deal » Another Blogger and the digital music blog)

North American Free Trade Zone – not quite!

On By Rick McIn bad news, economicsLeave a comment

In the 1990s we bought gymnastics video tapes from the States. They were delivered to Canada with NO EXTRA CHARGES.

Free trade, you might call it.

Then, increasingly, the packages were held up by customs. I had to drive down to an office and pay a fee to take delivery. (Or convince the agent it was “educational materials”, exempt.)

At the same time I could buy from Amazon.com, no problems. These days I am afraid to have Amazon ship from the USA to Canada as my deliveries MIGHT be held up. (My purchases are mailed to friends in the States, instead.)

I’ve often wondered what’s going wrong with “free trade”.

UPS is the world’s largest delivery company.

But expect to get DINGED when you use them to deliver from the USA to Canada:

The normal procedure for importing goods from the U.S. for residential customers in Canada is relatively simple. They are required to pay 6% GST on the item, plus a $5 or $8 CAN handling fee collected by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on behalf of Canada Post.

This applies for items greater than $20 CAN and gifts greater than $60 CAN in value. UPS brokers or clear the item through the CBSA and transfers a cost to the buyer.

These fees are not disclosed at the time of purchase by the seller as many sellers from the U.S. are themselves unaware of this.

As a result , there have been two class-action lawsuits filed against UPS by Canadians. The first one filed in October, 2006 by Robert Macfarlane, a resident of British Columbia alleges that the UPS brokerage is “so harsh and adverse as to constitute an unconscionable practice.”

The second filed by Ryan Wright and Julia Zislin in Ontario claims “that UPS failed to obtain consumers’ consent to act as a customs broker; to disclose the existence and/or amount of the brokerage fee; and to provide consumers with the opportunity or disclose to them how to arrange for customs clearance by themselves.”

It is possible for the recipient to avoid these brokerage fees if the parcel is being shipped by an “express” service [4], that is, another service than UPS Standard (Ground), the most widely used.

UPS – Wikipedia

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Yes, I realize this specific problem to which I refer is caused by the Canadian government. But if George Bush was a proper right-wing politician, he should have been fighting to eliminate stupid trade barriers like this fee on both sides of the border.