Woodstove advice sought

Headmistress is looking for information on small woodstoves selling for less than $300 - where to look and what to buy.

Taking yourself off the map

Do you ever get the feeling that the fine folks at Google lead remarkably sheltered lives, and simply don't realize they could get somebody killed or kidnapped by making it easy for just anybody to find someone's house? Sigh. Apparently they've now made it so that if somebody types in your phone number, Google will provide a map to your house, unless you remove your number from the list.

I checked our business and residence numbers. The residence didn't show up (I suspect my husband got us off the list earlier and just didn't mention it). Our business number, on the other hand, had so many wrong addresses attached it wasn't even funny. Some of that is because we've moved the bookstore since we got the phone number. And some is because we've had some sort of phone book curse, that has had us listed wrong in multiple phone books in multiple ways over the past decade or so (including one phone book that put us in the wrong town altogether, which was really a cute mistake, I thought). A funny thing about phone book curses: the wrong listings seem not only to acquire a life of their own, but somehow seem capable of swamping the correct listings. Here's hoping you never get attached to a clerical error that doesn't ever seem to go away no matter what you do. We've reached the point that whenever a new phone book comes we make a game of seeing whether the most recent attempt at correction told hold, or if an old error came back from the dead, or what. (When you don't know whether to laugh or cry you should laugh, right?)

Open letter to present and future historians: Dear Historian, Phone books are another first draft of history. They do not necessarily prove that a business existed when and where the phone book says it did. Trust me on this. Besides the typos, there's the fact that old listings for defunct businesses have been known to hang around, advertising what have become phantoms. I'm sure you can verify this if you apply just a bit of effort. Sincerely, K. Judson.

Anyway, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that what Google and others are doing, in effect placing international bulls'-eyes on people who only wanted local attention, will speed the demise of landlines altogether for private parties. At the very least, I expect fewer and fewer addresses to show up even in local phone books. In the meantime, you just might want to see if you can get yourself delisted.

In a slightly related vein, the other day while I was waiting in line at the bank I was treated to a bank official trying her best to get an ex-hippie to understand that these days it makes sense to not put the driver's license number on checks - that it used to be the in thing, but thanks to a spike in identity thefts it really isn't done anymore. The ex-hippie kept saying that it was so convenient to have it there in case a store clerk asked for it, and the bank official patiently kept trying different ways of explaining that she thought it was a very bad idea. They were still at it when I left, but I think the bank official was beginning to give up.

I can't remember the last time I wrote a check, to be honest with you. For what I do in the way of transactions, cash or plastic work just fine, thanks. Someday maybe I'll learn that newfangled all-electronic stuff... but I doubt I'll ever go back to checks. Time will tell.

Added: My husband says he did delist our personal number at Google maps. There was a several day lag between his filing for delisting, and the actual delisting, but eventually it worked.

What it costs to book speakers

The fact checking continues on some book manuscripts I'm proofing. One of the things I had to find out was how much it costs to book a middle tier motivational speaker these days. The ms said this character made four and sometimes five figures a speech. It looks like that guess turned out to be right on the money.

I spent more time than I probably should have this morning just scrolling through that list and others on that website, marveling at who charges what for a speech, and also at the sheer variety of speakers being advertised.

Making money with money (serial number edition)

I'm getting better at looking at the serial numbers on bills. Until recently, I had no idea that some people collect dollar bills with "fancy" serial numbers. But go check eBay. It's amazing.

Many of the bills that go to auction don't go for more than face value, or barely more than that, but sometimes something pops, so we've learned to check the bills that come into the bookstore, and also the bills I get in change at the grocery store. We haven't found very many worth trying to auction, but having sold a twenty for twice face value got me hooked.

I'm still a rookie, so haven't figured out the ins and outs and categories yet, but what I'm currently looking for in money that passes through my hands are bills that have years in them (for instance, 19792001), that have the same digit four or more times (25555346 or 23535551, for instance), that feature number blocks in mirror image (for instance, 54322345 or 35644653), bills that don't have any digits that repeat, especially if the numbers are in sequence, (for instance 24358760 might get bids, but 2345678 almost certainly would), bills with only two digits (23323232, for instance), really low numbers (00000007, for instance), or bills that have the same repeated digits front and end (22254222, for instance). There are also bills that supposedly somehow feature "good poker hands" but I haven't figured that out yet. Then there are "lucky number" bills, like those featuring lots of eights. I haven't got those figured out yet, either, not really. (How should I know what someone else considers "lucky"?) Condition also matters, but we've sold some bills in not very good condition to people who apparently really, really wanted a bill with that serial number.

I might caution you that a few of the buyers and sellers in this field seem to be into occult stuff. Not many, but, well, forewarned is forearmed and all that.

As a funny side note, the other day when my husband went down to our bookstore cum gas station, as luck would have it just then a one dollar bill very near the top of the stack in the cash register had what looked to be a pretty good collectible number. A tourist came inside, saw my husband looking at the bill, noticed the serial number, and offered $20 for it. The customer left happy, and we were happy, too. It's a smallish store. Nineteen dollars to the good is nothing to sneeze at. But... after the man left, my husband and our employee started wondering about what had just happened. 'Wait a minute. Wasn't that the man who just paid for gas a couple of minutes ago? Did he pay anything in one dollar bills?' We're not sure, you understand, but we have a funny feeling the man might have paid twenty dollars for a one dollar bill he'd just spent with us. Maybe not. But it's a distinct possibility. But he was pleased as punch I'm told, and apparently had money to fling about without doing harm to himself, and so... we're trying to ease our consciences some by counting it as charity on his part, if, indeed, he did buy his own bill back, so to speak. (And thank you, sir, if that's what you did. Twenty bucks may not be anything to you, but to us it's a blessing.)

Anyway, I don't have any yen to collect bills for their serial numbers, but I'm quite happy to help collectors fill out their collection, if I can. And, besides which, it's a bit like going on a treasure hunt every time I get bills back in change at the grocery store or post office. I put newly acquired bills in a different place in my purse than already-checked ones, and sit down later to go through them. It's a bit of a sport, really. And it costs me nothing. Such a deal.

That book you've been meaning to ship to a friend?

If you live in the United States, you might want to clear out your to-mail or to-order stacks in short order.

New postal rates go into effect May 14.

I keep looking at the new media mail rates (for books, CDs, DVDs, etc.), and cringing. Under the new rates, postage for the least expensive package -- one that weighs less than a pound total -- is $2.13.

For comparison, the current price (in effect since January 8, 2006) for the same package is $1.59.

Ouch.

Rates go up for other types of mail, too. (But pardon me if I focus on the media mail. My husband and I are booksellers.)

The Network of enlightened Women (aka NeW)

This is interesting, and encouraging. Conservative women on college campuses are organizing NeW Chapters, which sound much more civilized than NOW Chapters. Much. The movement (there are enough chapters already for me to feel justified in calling it a movement, albeit a small one yet), started as a book club at at the University of Virginia in 2004. Book discussions are still part of the program.

hat tip: Is Feminism Finished?, by Jennifer Roback Morse, Townhall.com, April 2, 2007 (via Lightweight Feminists Never More Apparent, by Julie Ponzi, No Left Turns, April 2, 2007).

AgrAbility helps disabled farmers keep farming

Claire Martin, writing in the Denver Post, 3/22/07, takes a look at Colorado's AgrAbility program, which provides help to disabled farmers. Several other states have similar programs. (I didn't know that. Did you?)

For more information, including a directory for federal and state projects throughout the United States, visit the National AgrAbility Project website. It also features resources and tips, some of which might be useful for non-farmers. See, for instance, Assistive Technology.

This is not to mention that the website features a few inspirational stories. For instance: An older Mississippi farmer who didn't let either a stroke or Hurricane Katrina stop him. A young woman who went blind but went on to open her own greenhouse, specializing in plants with bright colors and fragrances. A man who broke his back and suffered spinal injury, but is back to farming and ran for and won a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Katrina rebuilding continues

One thing some people don't quite seem to understand about America is that, by and large, when Americans see a need, volunteers from around the country quietly pitch in. Even after the news cameras go home. (Sometimes especially after the news cameras go home.) And without going through the government. Just because.

Rebuild Lakeshore is a website of the Lakeshore Baptist Church of Lakeshore, Mississippi, a community hit with the full force of Hurricane Katrina. The site is full of story after story of not only community members helping one another out, but of total strangers showing up to do hard and often-dirty work of rebuilding. Just check out the teams that showed up just in February.

Is this a great country, or what?

They still need a lot of help down there, in-person and otherwise. Check out the website for more info.

Oh, and don't miss the post on 50 Lessons From Mississippi, written by a young woman named Sarah Ascol after she did a stint of volunteer work in a kitchen set up to feed volunteers. Some of it's insightful. Some of it's laugh out loud funny, too. How can you not love a post that includes such gems as "45) Singing together gets the job done faster - unless you stop to dance" and "30) Soap bubbles in your hair works almost like hairspray" and "22) Nine young adults are really no match for 51 kids full of candy-corn" and "14) Even teenage boys get blue when they miss their Moms"?

hat tip: Cindy Swanson

Public Radio is advertising for new talent

Doug Payton notes that Public Radio has a talent competition coming up: the tagline is "Wanna be a radio star?" Considering that he's got something of a background for it and plans to take a shot, it's decent of him, I think, to invite the rest of us to compete with him.

From the Public Radio Talent Quest website (emphasis in original):

Do you have what it takes to be public radio's next great host? Do you have that most elusive of qualities - hostiness? Now is your chance. We're casting a wide net to find new talent for public radio, and giving away over $70,000 along the way.

I'm out for lots of reasons (lack of appropriate skills being a big one), but I'd love to see the gene pool expanded in radio, so if you've got talent (and can forgive the awww-cuteness of an appeal for 'hostiness')...

A side note: It's funny that the website mentioned "casting a wide net." Just this weekend I learned about a story supposedly told by astrophysicist Arthur Eddington about a researcher who was studying deep sea life, using a net with a three-inch mesh. After collecting numerous samples, the fictional researcher concluded that there were no fish less than three inches long in that part of the sea. In other words, how you fish can determine what you can catch.

Make of that what you will.

If you'd like the actual Eddington quote (as opposed to the one I was handed this weekend, which bears only a faint resemblance to the original), scroll down at Quotations by Arthur Eddington (which I found via the Wikipedia entry on Arthur Stanley Eddington).

A Gathering of Eagles

There will be a gathering of people in Washington D.C. on March 17 to stand silent guard at war memorials threatened by anti-war protesters. This is to be a non-confrontational, nonviolent, nonpartisan effort done out of respect for the memorials and for the people honored by them, with the goal being to defend, not attack. Apparently anybody who agrees with the mission and is willing to play by the rules is invited to participate in person, or in spirit (by signing a petition). Anna has more info and links.

Oh, you're paying for it? In that case... : Revisited

I invited the blogger at Joust the Facts to weigh in on this post since I remembered him posting on similar topics, and since he's someone who has to deal with this firsthand. He was kind enough to reply. His reply is in the comments box at the original post, but I think it warrants a post of its own, especially since some of it was surprising, at least to me:

Thanks for the invite, Kathryn.

I do have something worth adding to this discussion, possibly. I'm an orthopaedic surgeon, and I'll be the first to admit that my prices are artificially high. But they're not high in order to milk the system; they're not high so I can "get rich quick and retire early"; they're not high because I have an inflated sense of what I do.

I'd be more than willing, happy even, to cut my "usual and customary fees" by 40-50% if someone would simply guarantee me that I'll be paid - by all insurers - what I bill. I'm not. That fact makes my practice's gross income extremely unpredictable, as it's dependent each month on what the insurance mix was for the cases we did.

For some of the complex reconstructive procedures that I do on shoulders government payors and the HMO's pay me, on average, about 24-25 cents on the dollar. You read that right.

As a result I need to keep my fees artificially high because I need the occasional "good insurer" or workman's comp carrier (the private ones pay fairly well) or wealthy self-payor to make up what I lose on the government contracts. I've often said that if everyone paid like Medicare my four physician Ivy League trained group would be out of business. And we would, unless we started practicing impersonal high-volume medicine, which we don't.

So keep pushing for Medicaid, Medicare and HMO's to hold down physician payments and you'll continue to see a warped and unaffordable system for those not so privileged.

You may be interested to know that at high profile medical centers, like the Mayo Clinic, and for in-demand large city physicians most insurances aren't accepted. You pay cash, and if you want some of it back you submit your bill to insurance for re-imbursement. I have a friend from medical school who practices internal medicine in Washington DC who takes no insurance. As a result, he gets what he bills.

This may or may not be related, but it should tell you a little bit about where I'm coming from in this discussion. It took me a long time to realize that our bookstore was never going to survive if we didn't take into account people who wrote bad checks or otherwise managed to take stuff off the shelf without paying for it, or otherwise cost us money through no fault of our own (placing a special order and then not buying the book can hit a small bookstore very hard; more on that someday). It was a hard lesson to learn. It goes against my idealistic streak and a sense of justice to ask honest people to help pay for what dishonest people do, but for the life of me I can't see any other way to do it since we must pay for inventory regardless of what happens to it. We are always working on ways to minimize what dishonest or heedless people can do to us (and by extension our honest and more considerate customers), but the fact remains that every now and then we cross paths with someone who manages to make us bleed financially, and that has to be written into the business plan.

Oh, you're paying for it? In that case...

My husband recently crossed paths with an old friend, and they talked of this and that. At one point, the conversation got around to the costs we've faced because of my husband's illness and that our friend faced when his wife was dying.

Hearing that J.'s experience was so close to ours made me think that there might be some of you out there who could benefit from something we learned along the way, his family and ours.

Long story short: When we staggered, weary and worried, into the medical supply store to arrange for an oxygen concentrator for home use, we ran into a problem. We didn't have insurance that would cover precisely that and we weren't on welfare of any sort and didn't intend to be if we could help it. And the rental fee for an oxygen concentrator was something like $380 or $385 a month. I forget the exact figure, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back; just enough to push us onto welfare, at least for the time being. We didn't want that. On the other hand we had to have supplemental oxygen; under the circumstances an oxygen concentrator was the difference between life and death. The lady watched us crumple in surrender to cruel fate, and then, taking pity, she said it might make sense for us to buy one.

We braced ourselves and asked how much that would cost.

She said we could probably find a refurbished one for around $500. Sometimes you could even find one for $450. Sometimes they cost something more than $500. They were in short supply, but she'd see if she could find one for us, if we wanted.

We wanted. Oh, how we wanted.

She came through for us, for what she'd estimated.

You read that right. To buy a used but refurbished and perfectly adequate oxygen concentrator cost us less than two months' rental fees.

J.'s wife's concentrator also cost him about $500. He'd had insurance, but the co-pay was high enough that it made all the sense in the world to buy instead of rent.

On a related note, when my husband was battling heart failure and pneumonia a hospital nurse told us that they'd ordered up a hospital bed for us to use at home. We asked how much that would cost. She gave us a variation on 'don't worry about that, dearies.' We told her we had to worry about that because we were self-pay. They obviously don't have a lot of self-pay patients; most folks apparently have insurance or government assistance or are deadbeats who have no third-party coverage but also no intention of paying their bills. After taking in that we really were people who paid their own way we got the information that as long as he slept at an incline we'd be all right. The point was that he'd suffocate and die if he tried to sleep without being propped up. A recliner would do nicely, if he could sleep in a recliner. And so we managed with a recliner, which we already had.