I just saw my credit scores plunge, thanks to St. Mary’s Medical Center of Knoxville, Tennessee. While I worked in Tennessee back in 2003, my Year of Bliss, I wound up in the hospital for a couple of days due to a pesky kidney infection. Being an hourly contractor with a crappy health plan will make one reluctant to take sick days and see the doctor. I know I didn’t pay them whatever I owed them right away. I know I made a bunch of payments to St. Mary’s a few years back; I thought I had paid off whatever I owed. I never received any collections notices.
But suddenly I find that, not only does St. Mary’s think I owe them $360, but this is being recorded as a delinquency in two of three major credit bureau reports. Oddly enough, the account is listed as having been opened in November 2007.
Now, when a bill collector wants to come after you for a payment, they need to send you some official letter, in which they tell you that you’ve got 30 days to dispute the balance. By virtue of the fact that St. Mary’s could submit this debt to the credit bureaus, they must be able to obtain my current address. But I’ve received nothing from them.
I guess I’ll try to call them tomorrow and ready dispute letters for the credit bureaus. It was something like this that probably wrecked my construction loan plans a year ago. One mis-reported item, and your FICO score is 20-50 points lower than what it should be, and you don’t get approved for something that your loan officer tells you not to worry about. And you’re left with something that Tom Hanks and Shelley Long wouldn’t touch (or Cary Grant and Myrna Loy, if you prefer).
I just recalculated the Top 25 for the first time in four months. Since no one really rates songs anymore (listening is generally a prerequisite), there has been no need to recalculate these ratings weekly as I had been doing. I realize there was no reason to do them weekly when I did them weekly. In a parallel universe, these weekly ratings were eagerly awaited, like fans used to wait anxiously for Dick Clark to reveal the top songs on American Bandstand. A hobby is fine, arguably, for one’s own amusement, but after six years, and when one acts as if there are others who are amused when there really are not, one has to ponder calling it quits.
A couple of people have emailed or left a comment to let me know they still listen. The broadcast still exists in Second Life, apparently. But most of the listeners I used to have didn’t follow me when I got a new stream URL a few weeks ago. I suspect most of the listeners were just bots, ripping streams.
Average # of listeners:
March 2007: 20.7
September 2007: 14.5
March 2008: 14.3
April 2008: 5.1 (4/1-4/6: 14…4/7-4/27: 2)
For the record, I was never a big Delilah fan. I don’t gravitate to everything that is sappy, not even half of it. However, in the early 90s, I’d listen to a request show out of Philadelphia. I forget the guy’s name (Dan something?)butChristopher Knight (had to Google this, glad to see he’s still doing radio…for SoJO…South Jersey’s OWN 104.9…I didn’t know South Jersey had its own anything), he’d say, “You’re listening to Between The Sheets, on Star 104.5″. I had a couple of pathetic dedications go on the air. And then I’d be terrified to go to school the next day, even thought the odds of anyone in the school having hear the dedication, let alone the object of the ridiculous dedication, were about the same as Mike Gravel winning the North Carolina Democratic Primary.
Anyway…that was certainly an occupational aspiration, to host a dedication show on the radio. Like Casey Kasem? No. I’ll admit, some of the “long distance dedications” Casey would read during his weekly Top 40 shows were wonderfully weepy, but I didn’t aspire to read those. No, I wanted to host that Between the Sheets show. Like Christopher Knight.
I’ve digressed from my original intent, but, then again, now I’m right smack in the heart of the actual original intent of my blogging, which, as I’ve said a million times now, was actually to do the same journaling I was doing way back when…like back in 1990 when I’d write about how I needed to call up Between the Sheets and dedicate a song. If the internet were around back then (I’m not counting Prodigy), I’d be spilling my mind to the internet. I had no desire to keep my thoughts stuck in a stale notepad for the rest of eternity.
Ok, let me turn this ship back around to whence it came. So Toastie Radio…it’s been the main thing to fill up the imaginary “hobby box” for six years, and the fact is that it’s not much of anything. Regardless of one’s opinion of the music I was playing, at least I could say once upon a time that I damn good at collecting all the music. I haven’t bothered broadening my horizons (the playlist) within the last couple of years.
I don’t really know where I’m going with this…I’m just lamenting that a hobby that I hoped to be more than a hobby has ultimately been a bust, and perhaps, ok, probably, lots of things that have ultimately been busts.
As far as I can tell, there are two strong Democrats currently vying to take on Elizabeth Dole in NC. Since all your resources are going to Kay Hagan, though, you’re basically telling me and a few hundred thousand Jim Neal voters that our voices don’t matter to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Please don’t ever call me or send me a mailing to ask me to give a dime to the DSCC.
…
At least Hagan has finally agreed to debate Neal. Unfortunately, it will only be for an hour, and the candidates who really don’t stand a chance are being included, so Neal won’t have much of a chance to outshine Hagan.
Every time I listen to Sound Opinions on NPR, I have no idea what they’re talking about. No idea. It’s all a foreign language to me.
This is supposed to be a great area to go see live music. I never go. And it’s not just that I don’t go. The truth is, I don’t think I’d even like most live music. Then again, that’s mostly an assumption built up a lot of other assumptions.
I’m going to see some live music on Thursday–the North Carolina Symphony performing Beethoven’s 9th at Duke Chapel. But apparently it’s not even going to very good; The Independent doesn’t even label it an INDY PICK.
John McCain wants to suspend the federal gasoline tax, the 18.4 cents per gallon, between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This is going to save Americans a whopping 5% on their gas fill-ups. It hardly seems like a bold initiative, considering prices have gone up 22% in the past year. That road-tripping family of four will be able to eat at Applebees instead of McDonalds once or twice. They can stay one night at a Comfort Inn instead of a Sleep Inn. Meanwhile, there are a couple of free do-it-yourself actions to take to save over 5%.
Go 55 miles per hour. Your choice. Do it, and save 20% on your gasoline costs (versus going 75 MPH). Don’t do it, in the interest of saving time, taking advantage of the power of your vehicle that you’d otherwise waste, or perceived safety. Your choice. I find it difficult to go 55 on the highway for the latter reason. Everyone else on the road gets pissed when you go 55. If I could just find one other vehicle going 55 to tail, I’d feel a lot better.
Properly inflate your tires. There’s a 5% savings right there. Go to Sheetz in RTP; their free air pressure machine will automatically inflate to your specified PSI with the touch of a button.
You still want a gas tax break? I hope it’s not your car going over that collapsed bridge.
Three days after Sen. Hillary Clinton’s win in Pennsylvania, a new poll suggests a dead heat in the May 6 Indiana primary — the next crucial battleground that could decide the Democratic presidential nomination.
Gee, if I got all my news from credible news sources like the Associated Press, I’d think there was actually an even contest still going on for the Democratic nomination between Clinton and Obama. The mainstream media really can’t give up on this notion that the nomination is still up in the air. For nearly two months now, anyone doing a thorough analysis of the contest has concluded that Hillary Clinton has needed essentially a miracle to overcome her delegate and popular vote deficits. Before Pennsylvania, she needed to pick up over 60% of all the remaining votes to pull even in the popular vote or somehow convince a ton of superdelegates to switch to her. After Pennsylvania, which she only won by 8%, she needs to win all remaining contests with something like 67% of the vote. She’s going to lose North Carolina by 10-20 percentage points. Yet, the Clinton campaign and the media don’t seem to care. They speak as if Indiana, home of most fraternity and sorority headquarters and the most interstate highways per square mile, as if the nomination hinges on it. Clinton could win Indiana by 10 points, and it wouldn’t matter.
I don’t say this as a big Obama supporter or a Hillary hater. I am neither. I don’t think Hillary needs to drop out. But I also think it’s completely disingenuous for any responsible news agency to portrary the nomination contest as one that could easily go either way. Barack Obama would have to pull an Elliot Spitzer to lose the nomination at this point.
This is the first time I’ve voted in local elections for which I did not consult the endorsements of The Independent. I pretty much didn’t consult any endorsements other than a few personal testimonials I overheard. Between having heard a good many of the candidates speak at the Democratic County Convention last Saturday and an INC (Inter-Neighborhood Council) forum last night, a little bit of research, and just doing a little reading, I was able to make up my mind. I was hardly as informed as I could’ve been, and I certainly could’ve become more informed with two more weeks still to go. But I figured I was about as saturated by politics as I wanted to be, so today was a good day to put my thoughts on the ballot.
Early voting in downtown Durham was well-attended when I dropped by the Board of Election office around 4:15. Victoria Peterson and Don Moffitt were on hand to stump for their candidacies for Board of County Commissioners. Ms. Peterson is quite pleasant one-on-one despite her reputation for bitter tirades and public meetings.
Who’d I vote for? I won’t say, for the most part. Like I said, I could’ve been more informed.
President
Although I was tempted to vote for Mike Gravel, surprised to see his name on the ballot, I filled the oval for Barack Obama. I didn’t well up with tears casting this vote. Barack Obama doesn’t especially inspire me. There was another guy, a guy who lives nearby in North Carolina, whom I was excited about, but his name is not on the ballot. I want the Democratic candidate to beat McCain in November. Hillary Clinton has a far better command of the complexities of issues, but she’s showed herself to be a pretty horrid human being, in my opinion, with no remorse for the destruction she may cause. I do not blame her at all for remaining in the race. She should stay in the race as long as their is a legitimate chance of prevailing, and that is quite arguable, I realize. However, I wish she would run a campaign based on her own merits rather than giving the Republicans talking points for the fall to use against Obama. I actually feel sorry for her, for I’m sure she has yet to fully accept that her carefully plans of the last several years will fail to yield the desire result. In order to stay in the race, she must project resiliency and ignore reality to some degree. But she is smart enough to recognize reality on some level, and that must be devastating. She’ll probably just be a Senator for the rest of her life.
Senator
Jim Neal got my vote over Kay Hagan, and I didn’t have to think about this one at all. He’s got tremendous energy on the stump and definitely has a progressive streak in him. Hagan seems unsure of herself, the type of candidate who says things like, “I think I have the ability to go to Washington…” It should be assumed that one running for a position has the ability. To feel the need to express this quasi-confidence sounds to be like a candidate doubts herself deep down. Hagan is really saying, “I didn’t think I really had it in me, but Jim Hunt and Mike Easley and Chuck Schumer were horrified that a gay man was gonna run, so they convinced me I should give it a go”. Hagan, for sure, is not quite Elizabeth Dole with a “(D)” instead of an “(R)”. But she’s seemed willing to go along with a fair number of Bush policies that make her an unacceptable choice, given that we have a choice in this race.
Durham County Board of County Commissioners Note to incumbents and candidates: When you’re posed a YES/NO question on whether or not you support a general idea, I do not want to hear, “I’m inclined to support it, pending a public hearing”. What I hear is, “I’m inclined to support it, but I’m not prepared to expend any political capital on it”. Even if you’ve been on the Board for 20-30 years, I’ve only been paying attention for about 1 year, so I haven’t learned yet that you’re giving the best politically feasible answer. If I go to forum, I want to know what your position is on an issue, not your “inclinations”.
There are 10 candidates for 5 slots. Just to help bring about Barry’s Chaotic Scenario (BCS), I only voted for 4. (Also, I just couldn’t muster enough enthusiasm for 5).
Several other interesting races. Four candidates to replace Nifong; I could’ve voted for two of them. Lieutenant Governor; I could’ve voted for two or three of them. Governor (oh, I guess this one is kinda important)…Moore and Perdue both tick me off; I may a gut call here. Floyd McKissick’s opposition dropped out, but the opponent’s name was still on the ballot, which I suppose is why Floyd still put up so many enormous signs and still begged for everyone’s vote. If you’re unopposed, you probably want to get 95% of the votes; I’m interested to see what he winds up with.
On a somewhat random note, Wayne Goodwin, candidate for Commissioner of Insurance, gave the best speech I heard. But it would be silly to vote for someone based on speech, wouldn’t it?
One more random note…Republican Ken Chandler gave a thirty-second speech last night to campaign for Floyd’s Senate seat. I don’t think anyone in the room had ever met the imposing Chandler, who showed up in cowboy gear. As he walked up to the microphone and past the table of BOCC candidates, Victoria Peterson flashed a look of utter bewilderment in reaction to John Wayne’s appearance. It was priceless. I hope McKissick and Chandler have a debate this fall.
It’s not that I don’t have more important things to blog about. I just didn’t get around to them, and they’re the types of things I ruminate too much about and won’t write about coherently, like life and death and local politics. I snapped some shots of the creatures tonight, as I do far more often than I actually post about doing so.
First, my memory card had this video from late March. I find it fascinating, but only in the way that a parent would find a two-minute video of their sleeping child fascinating, I suppose. The completely coincidental background music helps. I actually prefer Aremid to a plastic bag…
