Dear Gary,
Thanks for your kind words and for finding interesting my Essay. Concerning the points that you raised:
The possible analogies between an atom and a BH have been suggested for the first time by Bekenstein. I have always found such analogies very intriguing.
The event horizon's oscillations are also intriguing and mysterious. They can have imaginary frequencies and need very complicate mathematics. A complete solution of them has not yet found. I suspect such a solution is connected with the full quantization of general relativity.
I know that there are some the analogies between a BH and the visible universe, see here. It is a issue that always intrigued me. I think it will be my pleasure discussing that in future works, but, one one hand, I need to find the time. One the other hand, I think that one must be very careful in this approach.
The temperatures of stellar and galactic black holes are much lower than 2.7 K. Thus, being immersed in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, which is thermal radiation having temperature of about 2.7 K, they CANNOT currently emit radiation in order to do not violate thermodynamics laws. They will start to emit Hawking radiation when the Universe will become much colder. We need various eons to see stellar and galactic black holes emitting Hawking radiation... There is some conjecture of string theory about micro-black holes which should be relics of the early Universe. Being their temperature higher than 2.7 K, they should emit Hawking radiation. But nobody has yet seen such objects.
AE advice regarding prizes and such is very wise and precious. I completely agree with it too.
Finally, you are right. If having few paragraph breaks, the Essay should have been more elegant. But I had to remove them based on the FQXi rules on the maximum number of Essay's pages.
Thanks again for the very interesting issues that you raised and good luck in the Contest. It will be my pleasure reading, commenting and scoring your Essay soon.
Cheers, Ch.