Feeling more settled

I’ve been contracting at my large network storage company employer for over 15 months now. I feel fortunate to have had a paycheck during this time but a contract job is not as stable as I would like at this time. I kept hearing that my bosses wanted to bring me on full-time but there were never any permanent positions available.

That changed this week. A spot opened that seems custom-made for me. Provided the details are worked out it looks like I could be a permanent employee by May. What a relief that will be!

Cabin fever breaks this past weekend

We really took advantage of the great weather last weekend. The sunshine and temperatures in the mid 70s spawned lots of outside activity. We played basketball with some friends and skated at our house on Saturday before watching Hallie’s soccer game. Then Kelly took the kids to a party while I helped my dad with a fix-it task. It was fun catching up with my parents.

Sunday morning we met a new friend who worked with Gerry for a family hike and picnic through Umstead Park. Hallie went to a birthday party while the rest of us played with the neighborhood kids. We made homeade pizza for dinner that night, which was fun making and eating.

LTE on school board

I just sent this letter to the N&O. I hope they print it.

In light of our area’s high unemployment rate and sagging housing market, I can’t think of a worse time for a costly social-engineering experiment with the Wake County School System: the heart of Wake County’s economic engine.

We’ll have five members of Wake’s school board to thank when our taxes get hiked to pay for this boondoggle.

The value of preventative health care

A commenter on Gawker, apparently a doctor, had an insightful comment on the value of preventative health care, something that the health care legislation might help. It describes how a patient with a simple, treatable issue, could rack up a tremendous hospital bill that the hospital will inevitably absorb because the patient can’t afford health insurance.

This kind of thing goes on all the time at my neighborhood hospital, WakeMed. See below for the Gawker comment:

40% of the patients at the hospital I practice at are uninsured. Those 40% cannot afford the $100 cost of a clinic visit. Here’s the way this thing normally works:

1) Patient comes to the ER for something simple. Let’s use an ulcerated lesion on the forearm as an example. EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) states that we are required to stabilize the patient if they are in distress. The patient is not in distress, so they are given an appointment for a dermatologist and discharged. they receive a bill for $500-$1500 (which they do not pay).
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Race? Race for a championship, maybe.

Some ridiculous thread on the WRAL Sports Fan website asks “Why do some NC.STATE Fans treat Coach Lowe different From TOB?? Does Race Play a part in this???” I didn’t bother wading through all of the 16 pages of responses because I already know the answer.

I like both coaches. I like both basketball and football. But there’s no denying that around here basketball is king. Our rivals frequently win national championships in basketball and State doesn’t. Does this put more pressure on Sydney Lowe than it does Tom O’Brien? Sure it does! If UNC and Duke were always contenders for national championships in football then O’Brien would always be feeling the heat.

It’s not about race, it’s about the neighborhood we live in.

Gerry’s memorial party

Gerry's Party

When I left off in my previous post, Kelly and I were on our way over to the party for Gerry. A party was something he had requested and it seemed fitting to toast him now that he’s gone. A group of friends was asked to organize it and many worked very hard to bring it all together in a week’s time.

A friend of Mandy’s dad had a place he would let us use and the planning group went to see it the Wednesday prior to the party. I arrived as everyone was walking in and was impressed by the facility. Mandy was there, too, and brought her kids. Seeing Emma and Caleb for the first time since the accident nearly brought me to tears again. Gerry so loved his family! Both kids were happy exploring the place so I kept my feelings to myself.
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WRAL misses the point

WRAL’s Cullen Browder brings news that some publicly run venues in N.C. are losing money. I have a few problems with this story:

1. Some privately-run venues are also losing money. In fact, many businesses are losing money now. How is this news?
2. Making a profit isn’t the point of public venues. Public venues are designed to put “heads in beds.” They are designed to generate revenue from the tourists who visit because the venue drew them here.
3. Said tourists spend lots of money on restaurants and hotels while they’re here.
4. Hotel and meal taxes from these tourists go to pay for the public venue.

See how it works? If venues can fund themselves through ticket sales, all the better. But that’s really just gravy. Public venues really fund themselves through the business they generate. For WRAL to miss this important point is quite mind-boggling.

Scam call from 724-978-8989

Some folks on the Internet are reporting a scam phone call from 724-978-8989, claiming the person called has won $3000 travel dollars or somesuch. I just got a call from the number on my mobile and never heard a thing. For the folks who are finding this from an Internet search, the number shown on your CallerID has been faked. Don’t attempt to drive to Pennsylvania to exact revenge.

It looks like the phone scammers are still at it. My blog has been getting many hits lately for Tuscany Industries. And many searches for warranty scams. Peruse my Meddling category for more of my sleuthing.

More posting pending

This is my busy week, with meetings Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings (and Travis’s piano lessons on Friday). It’s also the first week of Daylight Saving Time. And I’m coming off a cold. The combination of all three has really sapped my energy in the evenings, and yet I still feel compelled to blog about Gerry and other topics.

It will have to wait, though, until I come up for air.