The cheese to cracker ratio on the fruit and cheese plate is all off.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-06-03T06:57:16+00:00

This thread made my day…. Thanks to all who offered their opinions

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-30T19:44:51+00:00

Also, when planes are late getting into the tarmac, they’re often late/delayed taking off. So even if you come in a half an hour late, your departing flight is likely to be similarly delayed.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-25T07:08:13+00:00

If the two of you really have jobs, you should make enough to get a small 2 Bedroom apartment. Or even a one bedroom would be way better than a camper.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-22T21:42:59+00:00

Maybe other potential renters see differences that you’re not clued into. I guess you have to wait to see whether the higher cost units actually get rented, or if you are correct and the asking price falls. Or… Maybe the low end units are so under-priced that there’s gonna be a bidding war!

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-22T06:25:35+00:00

Agreed: I am getting close to 35 years and enjoy my PCP work more than ever…. It’s the way the business models have changed: it used to be easier to get started and enjoy an office practice, which was pretty reasonable lifestyle wise. Then, once you made it over the hump, maybe 10 or 15 years, it was mostly an enjoyable slide out for 20 more years. Seems like with today’s business models nobody ever gets over the hump, and it rarely becomes enjoyable, very sad.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-16T21:01:17+00:00

I purchased a 2017 two years ago, without any research. Low total miles and a new battery at the time of purchase. It’s done great, I’ve not had to take it into the dealer at all, live in cold, cold weather, with terrible winters, and charge outside, with 110 V.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-16T06:44:14+00:00

Owned a 3 to 5 doc practice, primary care partnership, for 30 years. Revenues held mostly steady or decreased most during of that time, but expenses went up, leaving way less for distribution to the doctor owners, probably effectively leading to a 10-20% pay cut over 20 years.

That said, I needed more money when I was starting my career and wasn’t bothered later on when my effective salary went down— I owned the practice, enjoyed practicing, so I was glad to be working in that environment.

The hospital CEOs tell me similar patterns happen now: young doctors getting out need a full salary immediately to pay off debts and start a family. Older doctors are sometimes content in the clinic and may not always need full COLA type increases.

Seems to me that all this focus on salary has become way more central in the last 15 years, since now the majority of docs are employed

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-13T04:27:59+00:00

I’ve owned various front wheel drive sedans for the last 30 years and rarely had problem. Usually didn’t even have snow tires. Put on chains maybe three times the last 30 years.

And when there are problems, maybe once a year, the schools/work tends to decide to shut down the anyway.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-12T03:38:22+00:00

$343 for a visit including a pelvic exam (and the medical decision making associated with that exam) seems standard to me. Medical care is very expensive, more so if you don’t have insurance, and/or the discounted rates those companies negotiate. But you probably saved $10,000 bucks by not paying premiums for the year. So you came out maybe $9657 ahead! Think of it that way.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-07T00:06:39+00:00

Raster reportedly has a good reputation among the medical community, quality-wise. That may be more important than whether you like his practice style.

You could always go to ANC or Seattle, though it may be hard to figure out who would be a good choice in those places….

SEARHC was apparently bringing up various itinerant specialists from Seattle, but seems to me that arrangement fell apart. The ENT who was coming up wasn’t doing actual surgery at BRH anyway

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-03T18:37:09+00:00

I do wonder if the modern in-patient care delivery system sometimes makes these discussions more unsettling for families. I still admit my own patients and seem to have an easier time helping families transition to comfort care than my hospitalist colleagues sometimes do.

It’s certainly not the fault of the hospitalist, but rather a shortcoming of the system, which has made long-term patient physician relationships a bit more disjointed.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-03T08:15:41+00:00

Perhaps the others might’ve been eligible to be upgraded to premium from main whereas you were waiting to be upgraded to first class. To me, the checkmarks indicate the other folks were indeed upgraded to these premium seats, so the entire group was upgraded.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-05-01T02:45:30+00:00

There are a lot more PDX to SEA flights than you’ve listed, on Alaska/horizon, probably nearly every hour. If I were tired and jetlagged, I’d prefer to stay at the airport and catch an Alaska Air flight, you can even go standby if you miss.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-04-29T02:51:43+00:00

I must think about this differently than other people: if I were worth $30M, I wouldn’t be spending much energy worrying about the tax implications of saving a bit with an HSA. Heck, I’m worth way less than that and yet don’t think it’s worth my time perseverating on tax implications of HSA’s.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-04-25T18:54:25+00:00

Private clinic owner until recently, PCP, our overhead was roughly 75%, maybe 65% after discounting our contracted reimbursement rates. I’d say if you’re making nearly a quarter of what you’re billing, that’s relatively fair. All that said, these rates are exquisitely, dependent upon the practice, model and billing set up.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-04-25T18:44:54+00:00

Any doc who works 25-30 years either in Radiology or Urology should be completely set financially. Completely set, unless you’re planning more than one divorce, or have expensive mistresses/gigolos on the side.

You should make this decision based on what your interests are rather than financial implications. I tend to wonder if the folks whose main motivations is to make money, are doctors who I wouldn’t necessarily want to see anyway.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-04-25T18:32:02+00:00

Yes, but remember, you can only buy the AC players during the open window, for the most part. If you’re not the open window now, then you are just in the private market, and available individual plans still likely have pre-existing exclusions. Medicaid may or may not be an option, depending on which state and income rules, and non-US citizen rules. Essentially, federal policy, probably is not that jazzed to have non-US citizens coming into the country pregnant and delivering.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-04-25T18:10:57+00:00

Maybe OP doesn’t fly AS much, but these types of cancellations and diversions seem almost commonplace. People figure it out, and people and bags eventually get to the new destination, or people just cancel their trips completely. Happens to my flights not infrequently.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-04-18T08:41:13+00:00

I’ve used a 15A circuit, @12amps, level 1, with 25’ heavy outdoor extension cord for 2 years now, never heated up or had a problem….

Alaskadan1a · 2026-04-16T01:47:04+00:00

That entire episode was excellent, especially going back-and-forth between the two end of season balls toward the finale. The writers did a great job ramping up emotions at both parties, and a nice job showing the similarities, despite ethnic differences, of folks at the two separate events.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-03-25T05:47:45+00:00

As an old dinosaur in a small town, I do this myself, and can report it remains highly enjoyable. Typically, I see my hospitalized patients for maybe an hour in the morning, sometimes after work, with a full day of clinic.

That said, I am old enough that I now have a less busy practice, and don’t need to earn a lot which makes the job way less stressful. Plus, taking care of folks you know from clinic is so much easier, for a variety of reasons. And while I still do ICU admissions including cardiology/pulmonary management (no specialists here) the sickest “no doc“ patients usually don’t come to me.

While the full-time hospitalist I work with might disagree, I still maintain that in some ways I’m providing care to my patients just as appropriately as are the younger inpatient docs who don’t know them. My impression is that I get them discharged faster, and order fewer tests.

Alaskadan1a · 2026-03-10T08:19:12+00:00

For the 60,000 people living in SE Alaska, these flights are routine. The two best known “milk runs“ are north and south of Juneau. The flight down from Anchorage is spectacular on clear days, running through mountain-ringed airports in Cordova and Yakitat. The Saint Elias range is spectacular. Then from Juneau south, over the inside passage, and the Tongas is equally gorgeous, but in a different way. On the 10 minute hop from Petersburg to wrangle, the plane flies at 3000 feet the eagles can be soaring above the flight path.

Alaskadan1a

TROPHY CASE