Studio711.com – Ben Martens

I wrote about having a chunk of skin removed back in January, but I feel the need to send out another warning message. Since that time I’ve had 6 more areas sent in for testing and one of them was bad enough that I had to get it cut out. That means I’ve now got two big ugly scars. You can laugh at me when I stop to put on my sunscreen before stepping outside, but I’m officially done with the sun. I guess Seattle is a good place for this type of behavior in the winter but in the summer, it’s one of the driest and sunniest places in the country. And don’t think that you’re safe just because it’s cloudy. Clouds still let UV through and unless they are super thick, you still need protection.

Please also consider a trip to the dermatologist to get checked. Best case is that he says you have no concerning areas and you walk out the door 15 minutes later with all worry removed. Worst case is that you have to get some treatment, but isn’t it better to catch it as early as possible? If you have a problem, it’s not going to disappear if you ignore it.

If you’re anything like me, none of this will actually convince you to go. I’ve had many friends tell me the exact same thing I wrote above and the only thing that got me to make an appointment was Tyla basically making it happen. I’m glad she did! Now I’m on a regular checkup schedule.

My employer has good benefits for women taking maternity leave which isn’t too surprising, but they also have benefits for guys. New dad’s can take up to 12 weeks off within the first 12 months from the birth or adoption! The first four weeks are paid and the rest of the weeks would be unpaid. I’m taking the four weeks off and today is my last day of work. I won’t have to go into work for the entire month of September! It’s a huge blessing and we’re looking forward to taking advantage of it. There are no major plans but we’ll be catching up on projects around the house, having a visit from my parents, and enjoying some small day trips. I’m sure that October 1 will come all too quickly.

On my latest drive through Stevens Pass, I saw a few signs for savetheriver.org. After checking it out, I learned that the Snohomish Public Utility District is attempting to put a dam in the Skykomish River. The dam will supply 30 megawatts (power for roughly 10,000 homes.) The dam itself seems like a neat idea. it can be inflated and deflated as desired to let debris, salmon and water flow past the dam. The dam would only be inflated in the winter when the flow is the highest.

Of course environmental protection groups do not like the idea of adding a dam to the river and they have a pretty good argument. The river is part of the state’s Scenic River System and much of the PUD’s power already comes from hydro dams.

That being said, this design seems like a pretty good compromise design. It provides power and helps decrease the use of fossil fuels for power without having a huge impact on the land. If this isn’t good enough, I wonder how the environmental groups propose that the PUD should move to more renewable energy sources? The comments I read were all just renewable energy in someone ELSE’S back yard.

How much does it cost to have a child at the hospital? We had some wild guesses going into this, but I think we’ve finally received all of the bills related to the birth. Now remember that Elijah’s birth was probably one of the more expensive ways possible, but still, this will at least give you a ballpark idea. All of the doctors and companies involved billed our insurance for $36,224.50. Our insurance said “Ehhh…. no… how about your charge us 52% of that and we’ll call it good?” And then, obviously we didn’t have to pay 19k since our insurance picked up a good chunk of the tab.

How much would you pay to have a healthy wife and child? It was definitely money well spent! We’re very thankful to have such incredible medical care available within walking distance of our home.