As predicted Seth Mcfarlane was a Mediocre Host of the Academy Awards.

The Academy awards are the time honored, etiquette driven portrayal of Hollywood class. We connect character to actor but seldom realize their true personality and nature; sans tabloid perversions. The Academy awards give us a chance to see the grateful kind and sympathetic side of our beloved actors. We see their true emotional responses through disbelief, coy acceptance and sincere gratitude. This is one of the few nights our actors transpose their genuine character.

The host is to tread lightly as they 'Roast' winners and losers alike; maintaining the positive atmosphere that would beckon all to continue aspiring to their greatness no matter the outcome.

This being said, Seth MacFarlane may have been fooled into thinking he was fit for the job. His first couple minutes were cautiously humorous. Hope was that his 'Family Guy' persona would have been watered down to witty comments intermingled with his love for musical numbers. Unfortunately the opening number (or call to action that sets the tone of the night) was shrouded in debaucheries and confusion as to who was the true host: MacFarlane or William Shatner. Instead of invigorating our desire for exuberant musical rhapsodies, he chopped the opening into three small bits which lost the climax.

Throughout the night his comments walked a very thin line of embarrassment and entertainment. His closing number with Kristin Chenoweth brought his performance to a mediocre standard. This is funny because Seth predicted this review in the beginning.

The awards ceremony was saved due to the incumbent review of some of the greatest films of the year and well performed musical numbers. Adele and Barbara Streisand's separate performances were definite highlights and Daniel Day Lewis' well-spoken humorous acceptance speech validated his award by itself.

The Academy awards hold one of the last refuge's for celebrity class. They are inspiring, humanizing and celebrate the best accomplishments of all within the cinematic world. Seth MacFarlane failed a strong opening, cautiously maintained humor throughout and ended the ceremony with what little class he had left. Was it the freshman producers who were to blame or MacFarlane? If there is one thing to be said about Seth it's that he is always himself no matter the occasion. He may not host the Academy Awards (ever) again but his unique comedic style will never change. Unfortunately Billy Crystal's genius can only live so long and we may only cringe at what high society will be subjected to in the future.

Healthcare Providers' NurseLine; How it saves time and money

In the past when one in my family had a high fever, we would call or go to the hospital. What else can you do really? Yes you can self-diagnose online but not everything you see on the internet is true. So you drive to the hospital, wait forever, spend money you don't have but feel better that a professional helped you. Well in the past this has been a horrible experience and I have recently found a productive solution to the hospital issue. Through my healthcare provider (UnitedHealth) they offer a free NurseLine. This was an excellent service and helped us figure out our issues without the nuisance of the hospital environment. I will compare one of our recent hospital trips to the NurseLine service and let you decide for yourself.

Our last trip to the hospital was one of the worst. Our daughter was running a high fever and was not getting any better. I called the closest hospital to see if they could recomend something to us or tell me if this is really bad enough for us to come in (her pediatrician was unavailable). I spoke with a nurse at St.Mary's and she told me she couldn't help us over the phone. She told us to just come to the hospital if we think it's bad, but she cannot offer advice over the phone. Well I wasn't looking for advice, I was wondering if it was something to worry about and if we should come in.

We decided to come into the hospital because we didn't have much support.When we got there, people were everywhere! Bandages, pneumonia , and a crazed person high on something! It looked like a warzone medical tent mixed with a Salvador Dali painting.There was no place to sit and a four to six hour wait. Bye, see you never.

We drove to the next hospital. It was Childrens Hospital, one of the best in the city and it was only a little further away. We got there and it was a little busy with concerned parents and sick kids but no where near the last wait. We fillled out the paperwork and were told there would be a two hour wait. We weren't going to keep hospital jumping so we decided to stay. 4 hours later they brought us into a room. Our poor little girl was sick and tired, but we just needed to make sure she was going to be ok. They assessed her symptoms and after (what seemed) another hour, you know what they told us? Just give her some more Childrens Tylenol...really? From beginning to end we wasted almost 6 hours just to be told that?

We were happy she was going to be ok and it made us feel better but this is something that could have been answered over the phone. It would have saved us time and made things more comfortable for our daughter. Instead, we had to spend six hours and pay $200 for something we were already doing.

This seems like a first world problem but as I said, it was the most recent trip to the hospital. I vowed to never do this again. I was sick of hospitals and sick of having to pay for things I could do at home. I was able to find my solution through my healthcare provider. They offer a FREE NurseLine. This was exactly what I was looking for. A professional telling me if what we are doing is correct and if there is any need to proceed further.

I was recently able to use this feature and couldn't have been more pleased. My wife was sick with a stomach ache and had a bit of a fever last weekend. I was soo excited! Not that she was sick, but because I got to try out the NurseLine instead of wasting all our time and money. I called the line, and after giving some of my account information was on the phone with an RN. I expressed all the symptoms and what we were doing. At first she gave me a disclaimer, expressing that without being there she couldn't be certain. Then she told me that my wife had what sounds like the stomach flu. The Nurse went on to say how to best handle it and what to eat and not to eat. If the temperature went too high to immediately go to the ER. Then she asked how my daughter and I were doing and if there was any other health related questions.

I almost couldn't believe how helpful this was. I paid NO money, only spent about 15 minutes on the phone and received information and support from a healthcare professional. We applied the advice we were given and in two days my wife was better. This was an amazing feature (that I pay to have) and it was quick, concise and helpful. This nurse was caring, empathetic and wanting to know how she can help further. Is there anything better than quick and free professional help that works? Usually it is just assurance we require when there is a minor sickness and this nurse was able to provide that instead of us waiting for six hours and paying $200.

I am not saying that a service like this will apply to every symptom but it is definately the best starting point. The United Healthcare NurseLine can help you understand what is happening, offer you advice, and direct you further in case you have a bigger concern. I am thankful that something like this exists, if only for the quick response time it gave me. If you have healthcare I would suggest finding out what provider options are available to you. No one thinks they need to look into their coverage options until there is an issue. At least once a year you should check what they can provide, so that you can take advantage of great services like the NurseLine too.

Apple Theories: Tablet Computer and Smartwatch

With the Microsoft Surface Pro and Pebble Smartwatch creating popular markets for their seperate niche's, it's not going to be long before Apple comes along with their own models. That's what Apples does right? They wait for the demand to build and then create their own design that blows the others out of the water.

Lets start with the Smartwatch. In a previous article (Apple Smartwatch) I made a case that Apple will be developing one soon. This relied heavily on the release of the Pebble Smartwatch and Apples discontinuation of their square faced iPod Nano (which as many of you know, had watchband accessories). Pebble has had some issues with their product but nothing that would completely deter the consumer from buying into the market.

It wouldn't be hard for Apple to develop a smartwatch. Siri can easily be integrated and they have already moved to Bluetooth 4.0 on all of their devices. Now that the market has been created its my prediction that Apple will be working on the design and release a Smartwatch by the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014.

Evolving the iPad into a tablet computer has just recently (in the past 6-8 months) been discussed. Microsoft's Surface is paving the creation of this market and Apple is just the company to get it right. Recent developments have led to my theory that by the end of this year(or beginning of next) they will develop their iPad into a tablet computer, or at least provide the option through a partition.

Less than a week has gone by since the iPad got an upgrade to 128Gb storage. Why would they upgrade their storage capacity when they have been pushing iCloud so much? They need space on the iPad to install a proper operating system like Mountain Lion. Of course there are hacks available to install Mountain Lion on the iPad currently, but none as fluent and standard as what Apple could do. Recently, a job posting was put out by Apple (now removed) for an engineer to work on Siri for Macs. Siri is ingrained in the OS and with iPad sales exceeding the declining Mac sales it seems to make sense that they are looking to integrate Siri with Mountain Lion on a 128Gb iPad.

Other companies tend to create markets where as Apple waits for a demand before they release their new products. We had tablets before the iPad, MP3 players before the iPod and Blackberry before the iPhone. There is already a significant demand for Tablet-computer hybrids and Smartwatches are moving beyond Fads as wearable tech is becoming customary. The Apple powerhouse will lie in waiting until the demand has reached significance and then we will see a better-than-the-rest product out of them. This is a simple prediction but a likely scenario. Apple is good at two things: making durable products and money. I don't think they would pass on two of the biggest tech trends of the year.