If you bring me your computer and ask me to put in a new DVD burner but somehow I remove your hard drive and leave a screwdriver inside your computer, how would you respond to me asking you to pay for the "service" rendered? Wow! You can stop with the profanity it was only a hypothetical question. Now imagine that You've come to the General Hospital in Ohio to get your right leg amputated and we accidentally remove your left leg, and then had the audacity to bill you for not only the correct amputation but also for the mistaken one! You may be as surprised as me to know that only 23 states have rules against charging a patient for certain mistakes!

As I look at my state of residence there is nothing official to stop them from billing me for a medical error. Instead I am supposed to take comfort in the knowledge that they have adopted guidelines to deal with cases such as these. Unfortunately despite these wonderful guidelines the local hospital has in the recent past billed at least one individual for surgery on both of her knees, after initially operating on the wrong one. If nothing else, I can be assured that my insurance company will fight these charges with the same tenacity they fight legitimate ones. That's kind of comforting. . . not!

Mistakes of this kind are referred to by hospitals as "never events", a slightly ironic term since they seem to be happening rather often nowadays. Maybe we can lobby for better legislation and a name change to classify these occurrences as "never say never events". Before you initial your limb for surgery next time be sure to find out what mistakes, if any your state provides protection from.

The Supreme Court's decision today to overturn 69 years of case law on gun issues was not really a surprise, given its down the middle voting record. They went for something kind of middle of the road, weaselly really: they claim that the individual has a right to bear arms, but that it's somehow not an absolute right; the government can put reasonable restrictions on that right.

This ambiguity is inviting a boatload of challenges from anybody facing a gun charge in any jurisdiction across the country. When the Bush administration started throwing around the theory that the Second Amendment gave individuals the right to own any gun they wanted, the New York Times covered how defense lawyers immediately took up the cause, clogging the courts with Second Amendment challenges. Even the most hardened members of groups like Gun Owners of America, which thinks the NRA is weak, may pause before wiping out every weaponry law. Do we want felons owning machine guns? If the court had suddenly decided that the right to bear arms was both individual and absolute, imagine what would happen to our entire justice system?

I'm not going to get into debating the Second Amendment. I could write a book on the subject. And have. I do think the the justices, while giving in to the idea of individual right to gun ownership, also gave into reasonable regulation of guns. The justices write that "Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited." Then they say that other courts have already decided it's OK to ban carrying guns, bringing guns to school or "laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms." While other rights only have small restrictions (you can't cry fire in a crowded theater, etc.), the restrictions they're putting on the right to bear arms are pretty large. Imagine if they thought the same way about religion (The government might say Catholicism was okay, but snake-handling was going too far.) The decision might be the right one for a political compromise and might even reflect the ambivalence we feel as a country, but if you're running a state or local government, you better get ready to spend some money defending your gun laws.

The combination of cell phones and driving is a hot button issue these days, and well it should be. My research indicates that cell phone- related crash statistics are sketchy at best but it seems that almost everyone agrees talking on a cell phone while driving can quickly lead to tragedy. I have a cell phone and it remains turned completely off and in its case when I'm driving. Other people have different opinions on the subject and I'm not here to chastise them for their choices.

What got my gander up today, and caused me to call my local police dispatcher was that I witnessed one of Park Falls, Wisconsin's finest, talking on her cell phone while on duty, driving, and one handedly navigating a dangerous curve.

According to Deloitte & Touche, between 2 and 10% of gift card dollars go unspent. What happens to that money is a topic of much debate.

About half of states think they should get at least some of the cash under unclaimed-property laws. Of course companies would like to keep the money to give their profits a boost (Revenue that carries no expenses can improve margins nicely!).

I don't know enough about the legality of all this to offer an opinion but here's my idea: What if the unspent portion of gift cards were donated to children's charities like Toys for Tots to provide presents for kids less fortunate than those gift recipients who didn't get around to spending it.

That way, the companies could still book normal profits on the cards -- just as though they'd been used by the intended recipients -- and people who receive gift cards they don't want could just let them lapse, knowing it would go to a good cause.

Sound like a good idea? Too bad it'll never happen.

Pssst, Hey buddy, have I got a deal for you.

Every once in a great while you might get an approach similar to that at your friendly neighborhood resale shop. That can be especially true if it's a shop you're not very familiar with. When a thrift store employee or operator brings out something from under the counter which they have "saved for special customers,"... watch out! The chances are good that you'll be looking at an item from a questionable source.

Take for instance that mint condition collection of Buffalo Head nickels, or a complete set of sterling silver flatware in its own velvet lined case. The sales person may tell you that it came from an estate sale they were at that same morning. Take care about your purchase or you could become guilty of receiving stolen property. It's a dead giveaway when the store clerk suggests that you go outside to look at items they have in their car. Yeah, it's not on the shelves and it's not on the books. Ask them if you really look that much like an idiot.