I’ve been subscribed to a service (MyCreditInform), which allows me to look up my credit score at any time, as well as giving me some good pointers and advice on WHY and HOW certain items in my credit report are affecting my score, and DETAILS on what accounts I have open, balances, etc.  There are also what-if tools which allow me to “test” things like “What if I cancel this particular card” or “What if I pay this card’s balance down to less than 50% max limit”, etc.  Overall I’ve been rather happy with it.

I DO know we are allowed to get a FREE report from each of the three credit reporting agencies once a year.  If you time each of the three out across the year, that’s a free report every 4 months. The government webpage describing free access to credit reports is here.  The site they refer to is AnnualCreditReport.com which will give you access to all three reporting agencies.

A new (free) site I recently heard about on Clark Howard’s national radio program is CreditKarma.com which seems to have LOTS of the same tools a MyCreditInform for evaluating why your credit score is what it is.  As well as showing what your current score is, and many other goodies.  The only thing this site doesn’t seem to do is give you all the full details about exactly what accounts you have open, and specific account history.  Again, you can get that free at AnnualCreditReport.com (total 3 times a year) or for a small monthly fee at MyCreditInform.com (unlimited).

Anyway, one of the MAIN reasons I wanted to write this particular entry was because last quarter my score had been up around 790, but has now dropped to near 760!  Of course, I had to look in to why, and found some (now obvious) information I thought I’d share to perhaps help others.

The main reasons for the rather large drop is because I was looking to get my first Discover Card and Home Depot credit card to have a few more different types of cards, and since one of my earlier cards was closed out on me (due to inactivity).  So, I have those 2 new inquiries showing on my report, PLUS now that I have them (and they are brand new), they are adding to a reduced “average age” of all my cards, which is now at about 3.5 years.  Since I got a late start with my credit (had been always paying cash), my oldest card is only 8 years.  Along with that, I got 2 other credit cards a few years ago, which now means 4 new accounts in the last 24 months which is having an additional negative effect.  On top of the credit cards, I’ve been looking to buy a new house (property) and not being very picky, so the “looking” has been going on since last October, and so now there have been 3 hard credit inquiries for that spread out over the last 12 months.  And something I hadn’t thought of…. I have a balance (owe something) on 50% of my cards.  Now THIS is a bit odd for a negative, because I do pay off the full balance of all my 12 cards each month, but because 6 of them currently have some balance (even $4 and $12) they are seeming to have an effect.  According to CreditKarma.com, 29.7% of their users have 11-20 cards, but I’m surprised to see that even 21% have 21-30 cards.  I also just finished refinancing my current house with a new lender, and while there is no clear sign of the effect, I am sure that plays in a little as well.

Overall, I’m not worried about the current drop.  As the 2 new cards get some time passed they won’t affect the average age as much, and the new cards will help to build a higher score, and help to keep current usage under 50%.  The hard inquiries will drop off in several months, and I’ll finally make it over 800 for the first time! — I’d say by next Summer that goal will be reached.

Some final info (as found on Credit.com)… Payment History accounts for 35% of your score.  Amount of Debt accounts for 30% of score, which is calculated as Total Balances / Total Credit Limits = Your Revolving Utilization, and so having more cards while keeping balances low can have a dramatic effect.  Types Of Accounts determines 10% of your credit score which can be a bit confusing, but described well here. Basically the message here is to have a wide variety of accounts (mortgage, auto, credit card, student loan, signature, etc) - and even historical (closed) accounts count.  Having a mortgage is a “must” (the page says) and auto loan counts big too.. as well as “not too many” credit cards… avoid finance companies… but a lot of this Account types section is more fuzzy than Payment History and Amount of Debt.  Age of Accounts (oldest account and average) makes up 15% of your score.  And finally, (hard) Inquiries over the last 24 months make up the last 10% of your score. A VERY good description and example of how inquires can be bad is seen near the bottom of this page.

Hope this helps someone else too!

David

After taking several online versions:
http://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test.php
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-quick-amp-painless-enneagram-test
http://ancientpathspersonalgrowth.org/test/test.html
http://www.enneagram.net/tests/sampler/samplerlogin.aspx

I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I’m most likely a Type 5, but also very likely a Type 1 or possibly a Type 3!

Even after 2 days of intense reading and comparing Type descriptions (which Type would do that?) I am still not quite sure.

Some things I have read suggest that you really have to look beyond the “actions” of each Type and focus on the “motivation”.  One site (EnneagramInstitute) has some really good Type descriptions, and even several pages on how to identify Mistypes!

After reading up on how Type 1’s are commonly mistyped as 5’s… I found one main difference seems to be that 1’s are more likely extroverted while 5’s are more likely introverted, so I found an online test to “confirm” that too. My results?

Very Introverted

You prefer your own company or that of your partner’s. You don’t have many friends, but the ones you do are the kind that are loyal. You’re always misunderstood as being grumpy, but often it’s that you simply don’t care to talk. If people constantly question your mood, it can actually make you grumpy and you wish they’d stop asking if you’re okay. Ideally, you’d prefer to be in a vocation where you can work alone. A quiet night with a book, movie or computer is preferable to going out and battling with a crowd of people lined up at the popular nightspot in town. You’re a deep thinker and thrive on analysing life, current events and your own original views. You’re mature for your age. If financially viable, you’d rather live alone (or with significant other) and don’t like many visitors. Compared to an extrovert, you’re cooler and probably less neurotic. You can be trusted with a secret. Change is probably something that you don’t embrace a lot, as you prefer familiar and routine. You won’t have nearly as many jobs as an extrovert. They get bored easily. I like you.

Compared to other takers

• 81/100 You scored 76% on Introvertpints, higher than 81% of your peers.

… and although I can certainly accept I am most likely introverted, there are parts of my personality (and time periods in my life) which really point to an extrovert (running Actual Reality BBS, going to raves, I DO like working with a small group of people to help keep motivated and on task, share ideas, etc… I’ve really enjoy teaching for 12 years now, etc).

Along with that, “While Ones certainly do think, they are primarily people of action, and are only interested in ideas that lead to some practical result. Fives, however, are truly a mental type: they can ponder any proposition or idea and do not particularly care about its practical ramifications.”  .. and most often I find myself trying to think about how to get a result or deciding which action to take. “Ones are keenly interested in applying their principles to daily life.”

Here it becomes a little unclear to me: “Ones judge situations from idealistic standards based on what they think should be the case. Fives are constantly investigating and questioning assumptions, not to mention standards and principles.” — I usually do have a strong gut-feeling about how I think something SHOULD be, but at the same time I am constantly trying to research all sides, and question everything just to be sure I’ve got the correct answer.

Another point: “Ones are deductive, operating from principles to specific applications; Fives are inductive, operating from given data to form more sweeping theories.” — For this I actually spent about 30 minutes to research the difference between deductive and inductive and feel that I use BOTH methods to come to my conclusions. I suppose if I have experience with something I’ll use data from that, but if not I’ll probably have general principles to work from.  In either case, when I’m coming to my own conclusion I generally like to gather as much data from all sides as I can — so, inconclusive?

Another: “Both are philosophical, and love knowledge: Ones as a means of perfecting the world, Fives as a way of discovering more about the world.” — I’m not sure I ALWAYS try to perfect the entire world, but it could often be that I see a flaw in something and am trying to fix that, or make others aware of better alternatives. (or is that a Type 3?)  I suppose at some level, I am less interested in making things “perfect” and more interested in just discovering the “right” answer… either for myself (Type 5?), or more likely to apply in some way (Type 1?).

And finally: “Ones tend to be teachers and moralists, not inventors and iconoclasts like Fives.” — 13 years ago I never thought I’d be a teacher, and in fact, even as I started in the profession I was EXTREMELY anxious about being up in front of class. However, after doing it for even just a couple months I felt very comfortable with it, and now see myself teaching for (possibly) MANY more years.  I think I fall in to the “moralists” category as well and don’t feel I fit in with iconoclasts.

Anyway, the distinctions between Type 1 and Type 5 still remain aloof for me.

This brings on a later interesting twist with Type 3!  “Average Threes, by contrast, are efficient pragmatists, not idealists. Threes are driven more by their goals than by standards–they care more about getting the job done than about the particulars of how it gets done. Ones tend to be attached to particular methods or procedures (”This is the best way to do this.”) Threes are more adaptable, and will change tactics quickly if they feel they are not getting the desired result.”  — Which perhaps even seems to fit me better.  I am usually all for IMPROVING a way something is done, and again, it’s more about getting to a result (quicker/better).  When doing most tasks I seem to always be thinking of ways to improve it.  I don’t feel I am stuck in a the rigidity of always doing something the “right way” (Type 1) when there is a better/easier/faster way to do the same thing (Type 3).  I certainly don’t mind (or fear) adapting.

Another aspect: “Threes are more able to mask whatever is bothering them. On the surface, they rarely appear emotionally disturbed for long by anything. Ones are far less able to conceal their irritations and disappointments.” — Which I  can certainly see for myself.  I am quick to let things appear to slide off my back.  And with Threes “the impression of aloofness and of emotional coolness comes more from a detachment from their feelings rather than a suppression of them.”– This is tough, as I am not really sure if I am more detached from my feelings or suppressing them.

However, “Threes tend to present whatever emotion seems appropriate at the time. If seriousness is called for, they tend to project seriousness. If levity is required, they will ‘do levity,’ smiling and being chatty, even if inside they are feeling frightened, overwhelmed, or even sad. For better or worse, Threes are more skilled at projecting charm and ‘personality’ than Ones. However, we can discern the underlying detachment from deeper feelings when Threes are ‘performing’ by the abruptness and ease with which they can adjust their affect from situation to situation and from person to person.” — and this really seems to lock in a Three for me, since I do seem to have an ease at adjusting according to situation and/or person(s).

And finally: “Both types have in mind some sort of goal that they want to achieve. The difference is that Ones attempt to discover which objective means will best lead to the desired ideal, whereas Threes are pragmatists who work backward to find the most efficient means to achieve their goal.”  — I am definitely GOAL oriented in my thinking (as opposed to Fives?), but it’s hard to say if I use an “objective means” as opposed to “pragmatic”.  However, if the words “the desired ideal” as opposed to “their goal” really are vitally important to the concept, then I might have to say I care less about some “desired ideal” that others might see, and generally am more concerned with meeting MY goals… if they match up with some global ideal that’s even better, but not required.  That’s not to say I try to massage the data to fit what I want, but rather I try to find the answers for myself and not overly concerned with what might be a more widely desire/accepted answer.

MBTI

I wasn’t overly satisfied about an earlier test showing I was introverted, although I wasn’t stubbornly opposed to it. Today I took two separate  Myers-Briggs personality tests with these results:

ISTJ   and   INTJ

I guess I should just accept that I’m introverted, but with some very extroverted-like exceptions in various aspects of my life.  The second test also came with these “strength indicators”

Introverted     Intuitive       Thinking        Judging
89                50                  88                  67
I took those tests to help get a better feel for my enneagram type.  There are several pages I’ve seen that elude to some correlation, and in fact this page has a good chart to match up types.  On that chart it shows all Type 5s to be Introverts, while all Type 3s are Extroverts, and Type 1s can be ISTJ or ESTJ.  I still feel reluctant to rule out Type 3.

Well, it’s getting late, and I’m sure I’ll be at this more tomorrow.

Long live the NEW BlackBerry (Tour 9630) !

So, yes.  I’ve got this new BlacBerry Tour 9630 smartphone I’m starting to play around with now.  Probably a bit overkill for what I need, but the main advantages (buying decision points) that it has over the Pearl are (in the order of importance to me):

1) Much larger screen size and resolution
2) 3.2 Megapixel camera (as opposed to 2) with autofocus and image stabilization
3) Longer battery life
4) QWERTY keyboard (finally)
5) 3G connection speed
6) GSM (worldwide) network service (although I probably won’t use this much)

The very FIRST things I’m enjoying are the new holster and belt clip that came with the box, as opposed to my old Pearl which had some flimsy  pouch thing which I discarded after the first day.  The lack of a good holster and clip was probably the MAIN reason my Pearl got dropped over a dozen times.

After the new phone was activated, I tried taking it and the Pearl to Sprint so the data could be transferred, but since the Pearl would not even power on, they said there was nothing they could do!  I found that VERY bothersome… I KNOW the data is probably on some chip, unharmed, or at least MOST is recoverable.  Another Sprint rep approached while I was making a fuss, and let me know that the Sprint techs there have very basic skills, perhaps capable of replacing a cover, fixing various small issues, but certainly nothing like unscrewing the phone mechanisms and getting to the motherboard where the internal data is stored.

He DID add one other bit of advice… telling me about Skydeck.com which is an online web site that can get access to your phone (Sprint, AT&T, Verizon), as well as  importing contact lists (directly from your phone, or Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook, MAC Address Book, and more).  From there it can keep sync’d to your phone, and always show up-to-date info about current contacts, as well as save/store all phone text messages, voicemail, calls, etc both incoming and outgoing. As well as provide you with a way to send messages from the site, or place calls via help from Google Voice using your computer, use a search function on all your text/voicemail, and more. Anyway, I got signed up today with Skydeck.com as well, and am very impressed this first couple hours of playing around with it.

Tomorrow I need to contact someone at AustexPCS to check on pricing of data recovery from the old Pearl.  Their card (and site) show quite an extensive list of services, including data recovery from water damaged phone.  Being the digital packrat that I am… I guess I am most interested in getting the 1.5 years worth of saved text messages off the phone, and certainly my always important contact/address list.  It is an extra hassle to have to find, download, and reconfigure ALL those nice Blackberry apps I already had set up on the Pearl, but I’m pretty sure nothing can be done about transfering my app configs (which includes GPS locations etc), but I’ll ask.  Ultimately, this is another FINE example of my growing lifestyle where I do not want to store data on any particular device, which could get lost or damaged…. data should be able to be stored (and sync’d) to remote places, as automatically as possible for safe, off-site storage/retrieval in a none proprietary way.

It looks like Google has a new app (Latitude) which will share your GPS location on a Google map, AND show you the locations of all your friends who are showing their locations too! Yippie!  I’ve wanted this from Google for a couple years now, and I think more friend’s phones are capable of GPS tracking.  Should add a lot of FUN to social networking :)  You should be able to see my live tracking map right under my main picture on the far left column of this blog site.

It’s late. I’m off to bed, but will add more to this post as I get more Apps set back up on the new phone.

Of course, there’s also a LIVE TRACKING MAP right here on this site (rock808.com) also… just look in the lower left, under the Green Navigation column.

David

But this post is about the work / progress with the house!

Things are coming together VERY well, and I thought I’d post a few pics of the “work in progress”.  Much has been finished even since these pictures, and I’ll have the most recent ones posted soon, but for now….

David

Bought a new digital SLR camera to play around with…. try to get a little more professional with my photography. I decided on the Canon EOS 40D.

There’s not really much I can say about it right now, since I’ve just barely opened the box, but from several reviews on the web it seems to be among one of the top notch prosumer level cameras out there. 10 megapixel, 6 frames/sec, and a host of other cool features. I’m sure I’ll be posting some new pics here and on my Flickr account soon!

Until then, here’s more specs:

Canon EOS 40D Kit W/ EF 28-135mm IS

The Spirit of Photography.

• Superb image quality: 10.1 Megapixel CMOS Sensor, extensive noise reduction technology, and 14-bit conversion for outstanding color tones and gradations.
• Outstanding performance: 6.5 fps, burst rate up to 75 consecutive JPEGs or 17 RAW images and DIGIC III Image Processor.
• Strong, rugged build quality: magnesium-alloy exterior, shutter durability-tested to 100,000 cycles, top speed 1/8000, top x-sync speed 1/250.
• New AF system with 9 cross-type sensors, and world’s first diagonal high-precision cross-type AF at center point with f/2.8 and faster lenses.
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System, Picture Style settings, Spot metering, and Highlight Tone Priority for advanced in-camera image control.
• Large 3.0-inch LCD monitor and advanced Live View Function with new options for reduced shutter time lag and quiet operation.
• Wide range of accessories, including interchangeable focusing screens, extensive remote control options, and new battery grip BG-E2N.

Welcome to the next generation of digital SLR photography-the Canon EOS 40D. The EOS 40D combines Canon’s tremendous know-how in both the digital and photographic worlds, creating a camera that not only does everything one would expect of a traditional digital SLR, but one that incorporates staggering leaps forward in technological innovation. With new features like Canon’s EOS Integrated Cleaning System, Live View Function, a more powerful DIGIC III Image Processor, plus a 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 3.0-inch LCD monitor and more, the EOS 40D elevates digital photography to new heights, enhancing the shooting experience, and delivering images one could only expect from a Canon. (http://www.camerax.com/show_item.php?140-19017@1794)

This month, it looks like this:

Your Current Equifax Score is: 777

Over time, your score has changed as shown:

738   743   746   777   Apr ‘07 Jul ‘07 Oct ‘07 Jan ‘08

twittervision:
I have talked about the twittermap.com site before, but actually I think my page on twittervision.com is more cool.  (Yes, both sites are from Dave Troy).  Not only does it show where I am at on the google map, but also shows SEVERAL of my last posts, in case you missed one or two.  Id REALLY like to embed the twittervision map and log to my rock808.com front page some how.  I looked at the API page a little, and found a cool way to update just my location from the Linux command line, but nothing about embeding the map and log…. yet.

facebook:
I have also decided to do more on facebook rather than MySpace.  I think they are providing more interesting things for people to do, and do together, and the fact that facebook has a mobile app for my BlackBerry, as well as a tool for using twittervision has just really boosted my desire to make the switch.  Facebook also seems to have a way for directly accepting my uploaded images.  I’ll have to see if I even need my ITookThisOnMyPhone account any more….. I’m really not happy about having to use all these various external websites for mobile social networking.  I know we are REALLY headed in that direction fast, but I’m technologically impatient.

More on all this later.  I’m pretty worn out from a couple days of long hours, so heading to bed.
Be sure to check out the map to see where I’m at and what I’m doing !

David

Work:
Very stressful Monday morning, trying to get set up for the class I’m suppose to teach in just a couple hours, and not having complete documentation as to how to do some things, and also not having a few needed files! Some of it I could have (should have) avoided by grabbing the files and shooting an email to a couple folks last week, but even last week was busy. Still, not really an excuse. In the end the class got set up, and from that point on everything fell in to place perfectly! Back in my element…. and by just Tuesday, I was feeling happy and alive again. Teaching really does do it for me. :)
Had a cute girl in class this week!   Cute girls and Linux are a rare combination.  Some how those classes always just seem a little more fun.  However, I must also say I’ve never taken it beyond a light flirt, hardly enough to be noticeable, as to not single anyone out or disrupt class.  There has only been one time in 10 years I met up with someone who had been in class, and it was she who contacted me afterward.  We tried to date for a few months, but the distance was an issue.  Anyway, class ended a bit after lunch on Friday (as usual). Made it to the airport, caught my flights back home, and nothing extremely exciting to report.

House:
Nothing really new on the house front. I am getting a daily report of various property on the market, and have looked over a couple, but need to spend more time doing that. Thanks to my mother’s help, my current house has still made a little progress toward being ready to rent out, even with me gone last week. Hopefully I can find extra time to put in to it this weekend.

Wrap-up:
Well, looks like it’s about time for my 2 miles today! I’m looking forward to getting the job route back up to three miles, but that will take a couple more weeks at this point! Whenever I get out of it for a while, and back in, I always feel like such a big fatty…. not because I think I’m fat, but just because some muscles have loosened up and everything seems to jiggle around a lot more… hmmm… at least it won’t be too much longer and THAT will stop.. heh (EDIT: 1st mile in 10 min flat.  2nd mile… oops.. still having to walk a quarter to half of that… hmmm)

Lots of other things I want to do today (shopping for travel items, lunch with family, re-pot some pepper plants, pack up things in house, etc), so I’m off!