Soooo...elections next week.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Anybody running for Alderman-At-Large who's particularly egregious in any way?  And what do we know about the guys running for Alderman in Ward Three?  I'm happy with my alderman but local coverage can be spotty about this stuff, and I still remember the Curtatone challenger who turned out to beat his wife.

Phone Service

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have any experience with any of the cheap landline phone services I've seen advertised? Thinking I'd like to keep my landline for emergencies, but what I'm paying Comcast is way out of whack with the amount I use the phone. Don't want to jump from the frying pan into the fire, though, so I'd appreciate any feedback.

Doctors without ridiculously long lead times to schedule an appointment

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for a primary care doctor who doesn't have ridiculously long times until the next available appointment.   Is this possible?    I don't need to see a doctor often, but if I have something that might be serious I don't want to have to cry or raise a stink to be seen in a reasonable amount of time.   My last experience was a doctor that only worked for that hospital on Thursdays.  It seems like this is typical, doctors that work at more than one hospital, teach, research etc.  

Any suggestions on how to go about this search?  If you use a doctor that you think fits, how long do you have to wait from when you call to make the appointment to when they are available?