Sack Hasselbeck..And Mora Too!

It sadly has come to this: Matt Hasselbeck needs to go, either cut or traded. He needs new scenery, we need to thank him for the nice run that saw Seattle reach a Super Bowl and let him go. The Matt Hasselbeck era is over.

There are still Matt Hasselbeck believers out there that strongly feel all of Matt's troubles this season can be pinned on a sub-par offensive line. There is some truth to that as the O-Line has once again been riddled with injuries. However, the woes of the O-Line don't account for Hasselbeck's poor decision making, the lack of zip on his passes (every pass seems to float forever...I think Chad Pennington, the ultimate noodle armed QB, throws harder than Hasselbeck these days and he's coming off of shoulder surgery), and his inability to rally the offense. Hasselbeck has not only digressed as a passer in the physical sense, but also as a leader. He has no command of the offense mentally or physically and needs a fresh start where he can end his career with some dignity.

If Hasselbeck ribs/back/shoulder are injured, I wish he'd be upfront about it as he isn't doing the Seahawks, the fans, or himself any favors. If injury is why he can't break a pane of glass with his passes these days, he needs to say so. The season is lost so no one will be upset if he shuts it down. Injuries are part of the game. Yes, there is a macho 'play when hurt' expectation to prove your toughness in the NFL, but if injuries are preventing a player from performing at even a journeyman level then that player needs to sit. Otherwise, Hasselbeck is hurting the team and himself by continuing to play.

The Seahawks next GM needs to evaluate the Hasselbeck situation, maybe look into trading him for a 3rd or 4th round pick (the Vikings are reportedly interested). The next GM needs to also evaluate Jim Mora Jr as head coach because this Seahawks team has quit on him.

All you Jim Mora Jr fanboys need to realize something - Mora is an abysmal head coach. Sure, he may be a great guy, but as a coach he his a disaster. The Seahawks defense barely goes through the motions while on the field and looks disinterested and unprepared. That is a reflection on coaching. Mora has lost the team and he too needs to be shown the door...and he can take TJ Houshmanzadeh with him.

Happy Friday!!!!

Ah, nothing like working for a company that, for the third year in a row, has deferred any and all salary increases. Not only that, the company will not make any 401k contributions either....

Goal for 2010 - new job and new career.....and dropping 35 pounds.

The Weather Outside Is Frightful

I'll take clear skies and bone marrow cracking cold over this crap ass overcast/rain/drizzle we've been cursed with since the cold snap...snapped. Cold = Christmas in my book, mild and rainy = Late Jan/Early Feb borderline suicidal doldrums...

Given the above, I am not in the Christmas spirit at the moment. All of it rings hollow. I'm hoping to snap out of it because I am someone that usually really, really loves the Christmas season. Maybe when I wrap gifts and get them under the tree I'll feel better...

The girls, on the other hand, are all over Christmas, especially Maddy. She's made and mailed her list, made amendments and sent those...we'll go to NorthPole.com tonight to send off the last revision. Jossy is excited as well, and I can't imagine Christmas without kids...what did I do before them? Oh yeah, got loaded and acted up...a lot....

Maddy uttered some of the saddest words to ever hit my ears last night...The Winnie The Pooh Christmas special was on and I asked her if she was going to sit and watch it with me, Jossy, and Katelyn...and she replied, 'Papa, Winnie The Pooh is too babyish for me' - I almost began to sob uncontrollably because last Christmas we must have watched that 10 different times if we watched it once...time is something that most definitely seems to be accelerated when you have children....

First Time For Everything

I'll be 40 in January, and in nearly 40 years of life I had never ever tasted egg nog. There was absolutely nothing about egg nog that sounded appetizing...raw eggs, sugar and milk whipped into a frothy drink and spiked with brandy? Yeah, no thanks...

Well, today I relented and finally tasted egg nog, albeit egg nog in an egg nog latte...and it was very okay. A little too sweet for my liking, but the nutmeg added a nice spicy little kick to it. The price was steep, and I felt like pulling a Vincent Vega after ordering a $5.00 milk shake...no, not entering a twist competition, but asking if they put any bourbon in the damn thing. They don't, but it would have cooler if they did.....

So, egg nog is okay, I won't be seeking it out or anything during the remaining holiday season, but if offered I'll partake...as long as bourbon is involved.

Eastbound And Down

My apologies for the lack of new posts, but I was experiencing internet issues...and by issues I mean I had no connectivity. Apparently, the modem Comcast provided me decided to stop working during the early afternoon and into the evening. Internet connectivity would reestablish itself after 10pm, but I'll be honest here...I'm normally fast asleep by 10pm because I am up at 5:15am every morning (I sleep in until 6:30 on weekends).

Anyhoo, I needed a new modem, which begat drama with my mama. After nearly a week of spotty internet connectivty, I finally contacted Comcast to dispatch a tech. An appointment was scheduled for the next day, which happened to be the day my mom watches the girls. Since I am a working man and am saving my PTO for the week of Christmas, I didn't want to take the afternoon off. So, I asked the Customer Service Rep to have the tech call me at work before arriving at my house. The reason for this was simple - I needed to be able to alert my mom that the tech was on the way if it coincided with the time she picks my oldest daughter up from school. We would then ask our neighbor, who was on standby if the tech would arrive at that time, to escort my 6 year old home from class...but the neighbor needed to know by 3:00pm as she had an appointment..she would be late for her appt if we needed her, but if not she was going to leave on time.

Of course, 3:00pm arrives, the neighbor takes off, and my mom prepares to pick up Maddy from school. As she was loading up the car with my 3 year old and 18 month old girls AND my sister's 3 year old boys (they are visiting from Alaska), a Comcast truck pulls up. My mom told the tech the situation and asked if she could wait a few minutes (picking up Maddy takes 10 minutes tops since the school is so close, but no way am I letting my 6 year old walk home unescorted) while she picked up Maddy and was told, 'Absolutely not, I don't get paid to wait.' Yes, well.

The night before I had prepared a document detailing the nature of the outage, the times it seemed to occur, that only internet service was impacted, if diagnostics could be run from the street drop to the house, etc. Again my mom asked if the tech could review what I wrote and troubleshoot from the outside while she drove to get my daughter. She was met with another, 'No, you have to reschedule.' as the tech walked back to her truck. As a last resort, my mom asked if the tech could at least call me, and the tech refused, but she must have felt somewhat guilty as my mom was coralling 4 kids into her SUV because she asked where the modem was. The tech ran into the office, saw the modem was working, and told my mom I'd have to call back if it was an issue later that night, and took off.

Now, what's missing from the above, besides the pre-arrival phone call from the tech, was the fact that the tech was beyond rude to my mom. Being short with someone is one thing, and I can sort of understand the tech's position. What the technician didn't need to do was act in an aggressive manner. My mom is a tough customer, I've witnessed her stare down overzealous Mexican federal police angling for bribes on trips to Mexico. It takes a lot to get under her skin, but when she called me near tears to tell me what happened...well, let's just say Comcast Customer Service is lucky I was heading to a meeting...otherwise I would have torn into the first person that picked up at their 800 number.

When I got home that evening we of course had no internet connectivity. Now, The Better Half's new job requires her being on call at night, and that requires an internet connection, so this is more than just not being able to jump on Facebook and WoW. She works for law enforcement and if their laptops are down while out in the field, they need to be able to contact their techs to assist them. It's kind of important that we have connectivity.

I called Comcast, didn't go into Hulk mode, and spoke with a nice rep named Bob. This rep scheduled another tech and placed in the work order that I needed to be called before arrival because the appointment was scheduled at the same time Maddy needed to be taken to school. I was going to leave instructions with our nanny concerning our internet problems, but at the last moment decided to wait for the tech myself (taking the time off without pay so I can take Christmas Eve off). This time everything went smooth as silk...tech called ahead, he eliminated potential reasons for the connectivity issues one by one, and at the end of it all determined that it was just the modem causing so much grief. He replaced the modem and we haven't had an issue since.

Now, this is NOT a rant against Comcast. They have been nothing but good to me over the last 15 months. This modem issue was the first time we have dealt with an extended outage in that time frame. However, I am thinking that the first tech they dispatched was one of those bastard contractor mercenaries from Prince Telecom, and in my experience, nothing ever goes right the first time with them. They get paid by the job, so they are always in a hurry and wanting to move on and usually leave a mess of cable behind and issues to be resolved later. If it wasn't a Prince Telecom contractor, then here's hoping I never run into that 1st tech...you don't show up at my house and behave rudely to my mom....that's unacceptable even if company policy is that you can't wait. Be nice. That's all she had to do...well, that and make a FARGIN PHONE CALL before showing up as requested. All of this would have been avoided with one phone call....

Conspiracy Theories About WAMU Gain Steam

Puget Sound Business Journal has done a fantastic job of digging into the mystery shrouding WAMU's sale to JPMorgan Chase. It seems the Obama administration is picking up where the Bush administration left on when it comes to transparency concerning the WAMU failure in that they are stonewalling. Any information released to the Puget Sound Business Journal by the FDIC under the Freedom of Information act, such as emails, have the text entirely blacked out.

Read the whole thing here at Portfolio.com, PSBJ's sister site.

Eau De Doofus

Now YOU too can smell like a mouth-breathing dork! With ruddy top notes of pepperoni pizza Hot Pockets and homemade nachos, a touch of the sweet dankness of mom's unfinished basement, and a spicy kick of DefCon 3 BO, sporting this cologne will definitely have the ladies checking you out at that next Warhammer 40,0000 tournament!

Tiberius, it brings out the ham-fisted ground beef gorged dork in you!

Kenneth Cole Has No Sole

I buy a new pair of dress shoes once a year. These shoes are usually a variation of the classic black loafer. For the past 7 years my shoe of choice has been Kenneth Cole. Sketchers just didn't fit correctly, leaving the arches of my feet aching...and my one foray into discount shoes at Payless was nothing short of a disaster. I don't like skimping on shoes, but I also don't like paying a small fortune for them. That's why I go with Kenneth Cole shoes, they look great, fit like a glove, and usually last a year if not longer....

Yeah, usually..this last pair hasn't lasted 4 months. Both soles have holes in them, which I discovered on a rainy walk at lunch last week. Nothing like arriving at the excellent Ooba Tooba for some chile relleno with soaking wet feet...you would have thought I was trudging through the bush in Viet Nam, not walking the streets of Bellevue.

I haven't purchased a replacement pair yet, so I put the now dry shoes on this morning. That is when I noticed the stitching on the right shoe is unraveling and the heel on same shoe has come loose. Since I don't have a back-up (old shoes were dismissed during a recent stuff reduction ceremony...doh!) I am wearing shoes not even fit for a homeless person.

Now, I bought these shoes at Nordstrom, a store that used to have a very favorable to the consumer return policy. Will they take back a pair of 4 month old Kenneth Cole shoes that have fallen apart faster than Obama's economic policies? If they don't take them back will they give me a discount on another pair?

Kenneth Cole has more or less lost me, which is too bad because I really like Kenneth Cole shoes. I'm willing to try another brand, but again, I'm kind of on a budget and anything over $125 is a deal breaker...this should be interesting.

The Day After

The entire office smelled like The Old Country Buffet this afternoon...way too much turkey and stuffing being reheated in the microwaves located in the breakroom....

Today's Million Dollar Idea

This here is practically a license to print money.....a chain of gay sports bars with an MMA/Ultimate Fighter theme called 'Rear Naked Choke'...now who wouldn't get behind that? Wait...what?

Nanny Search

My apologies for the light posting - our nanny quit without giving notice and has left us scrambling....we have been conducting interviews, and while hilarity has not ensued I've noticed most of the gals The Better Half offers interview to have what most would consider stripper names...Misty, Torie, Harmony, Brittany.....

Midnight Oil

As Shelvis would say, this post has nothing to do with 'Beds are Burning', extremely tall honorary Aboriginees that double as front men for Aussie rock bands, or the Blue Sky Mining company.

I had the fine folks at Greg's Japanese Auto diagnose the oil leak in my 1994 Toyota Camry. The findings? The rear valve cover gasket(s) had to be replaced since they were 'shot'. I also needed new spark plugs because the plugs in the car were 'flat'. I, of course, agreed to have all of the above work done because I really don't know a whole lot about cars...I mean, the technician could have told me I needed the flux capacitor replaced, the warp core was breached and needed repaired, and the Dilithium crystals needed charged and I would have agreed because I fear looking stupid more than being ripped off...which is interesting because allowing oneself to be ripped off is rather goddamn stupid....

ANYWAY, the rear valve gasket or gaskets have been replaced and the Camshafter has new plugs. So far, the garage floor is oil drip free and the new plugs have dramatically improved performance. The cost for all of this was a tidy $602.00, and I gotta tell you that kind of hurt...especially when paying cash. However, that is a one time shot and not a recurring payment for the next 60 months. In this still very uncertain economy I really do not want any kind of debt acting as a millstone around my neck.

I do have to say that seeing a certain Facebook friend posting photos of his brand new Audi did stir the inner new car demon....but I'll just have to admire from afar...for now...

Ken Ober, RIP

Ken Ober, famous for hosting the game show Remote Control (one of MTV's first forays into non-music programming), passed away. He was 52.

I used to love Remote Control, check that...I used to love Kari Wuhrer on Remote Control and tolerated the annoying Colin Quinn and a then unknown Adam Sandler while waiting for Kari to grace the screen. I'll forever be grateful to Mr. Ober for introducing Kari Wuhrer to the world....may he RIP.

Brock Lesnar In Bad Shape

I've gone on record as someone that despises Brock Lesnar...I hate his image, his attitude, and the retarded WWE antics he introduced to the UFC. Lesnar, in my opinion, was bad for the UFC and MMA in general because he was too readily identifiable as a WWE knuckleheaded goon and delegitimized MMA. I was looking forward to the day that someone would beat the living p*ss out of him in the octagon.

Sadly, that day may now never come. Lesnar is now laid up in a hospital and according to UFC president Dana White, 'in rough shape'. White has been light on details and heavy on worst-case scenario proclamations:

"He's in a hospital up in North Dakota somewhere right now," said White. "He went to Canada and some bad stuff happened to him, so we've got to figure it out.

"He doesn't want to talk about it publicly, but he's in bad shape. He's not well and he's not going to be getting well anytime soon."

White also commented to TMZ.com that Lesnar 'may never fight again'.

In the meantime, White has said an interim heavyweight championship fight may be needed as Lesnar will be unable to defend his belt anytime soon.

All of this comes at a fragile time for the UFC. Georges St. Pierre has a groin strain, Lyoto Machida is laying low, Rampage Jackson left the UFC for Hollywood (he's B.A. Baracus in the completely unneccessary 'A-Team' movie), Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddel are yesterday's news. White was counting on Lesnar's rising star (love or hate the prick, he could not be ignored) to propel the UFC into 2010 and beyond. All of that is up in the air right now. There are certainly some interesting heavyweights on the horizon, but Lesnar was poised to reign as champ for a long, long time.

Again, I can't stand Brock Lesnar, but this is not how I wanted to see him go out. Here's hoping he can make a full recovery and can get back into fighting shape.

Washington Leads The Nation...In Troubled Banks!

Good golly, I'll have to say I was surprised that WA state is #1 when it comes to troubled banks. According to Calculated Risk's Unofficial Troubled Bank List, 26.3% of WA states banking industry is either under formal enforcement action or just flat out failed. Not good.

Seattle leads the nation in delinquent construction loans as well, with a whopping 30% default rate. See the graph in this NYT article here.

During the early days of the housing bubble bust you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a real estate agent or local economist telling anyone that would listen that 'Washington is different' and would not feel the downturn. Well, WA state certainly is different in that it is leading the way.

I'm not sure how all of this is going to shake out, but it is not going to be good.

Taxing The Grid

It is that time of year, the time of year where I begin planning out the outdoor Christmas light display. Last year, I didn't plan and ran into several issues:

My power distribution was uneven and limited, hindering my light display. It is difficult for lights to illuminate when they have no electricity flowing to them...or after the GFI outlet senses a massive current disruption and shuts the whole operation down. Two years ago my light display was a thing of beauty and the GFI outlets never tripped....last year I spent many a night outside rearranging lights and plug-ins and making sure connections were tight.

Since moving into our palatial estate (ha!) I have gone with a candy cane garden theme. This year will be no different, however, I do augment the candy canes with icicle lights that are supposed to hang all icicle like from the roof line. Last year, they did not hang, the strings of lights were bunched together so instead of icicles I got ice balls (tee hee!). Perhaps this year I'll tie very small fishing sinkers to the end of each string...which is just insanity, but damn it all I want icicles!!!!

More and more of my lights are of the LED variety, and they are quite lovely and all Earth friendly...but the tone of the lights varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some of the white lights have a bluish tint to them while the others are brilliant white. This simply will. not. do. Because besides the candy canes and the icicles, the rest of the outdoor lights are white and red...except for the bluish white lights that standout. I can't have this. Therefore, I am going to have to try and find the manufacturer of the white white lights and replace the bluish back lights with those....although I am pretty certain that all of my lights are made in a Chinese sweat shop and it was complete dumb luck I got white lights to begin with. Or the bluish lights were tainted by the tears of the poor Chinese peasant that slaved away on them....either way, I gots to have white lights.

The Better Half purchased a soft tinsel lighted snowman our first Christmas at the new house. He has seen better days. Countless windstorms and the elements have robbed him of any tinsel and glitter that once allowed him to sparkle at night. Now he's a dull white husk of a snowman, dimly lit and glum...he needs to be replaced by a snappier happier snowfella...which will be difficult to do since TBH bought him and he does have sentimental value.

All of the above hinges on my ability to get juice from the garage to the front yard...so tonight I'll start measuring out extension chords and mapping out where lights need to be placed. I'll post photos once all the lights are up!

1994 Camry Oil Leak

Since I gave up the rollickin' Ford Fusion to save money when things looked bleakest for the family, I now tool around in a 1994 Toyota Camry with 220,000 miles, a busted up stereo, and a profound oil leak. The oil leak has become so bad that I can smell it burning when the engine heats up...this is not good. In fact, I have a feeling that it is very, very bad....

I'm calling Gregg's Japanese Auto to have them take a look and diagnose the problem. My fear is that the repair will come close to costing 1/2 of what the car is worth (thanks to Cash For Clunkers, the resale value on used Camry's ticked upwards) - when I registered the vehicle the DMV placed a value of $4700.00 on it, which was a shocker considering the miles.

Anyway, if anyone out there has any experience with older Camry oil leaks, I'd like to hear from you. Here are some more details:

The oil is pooling directly under the rear portion of the engine block, but drips all over. I can smell burning oil as the engine heats up and I am losing about a quart every two weeks driving less than 100 miles in that time frame....

Is it time to put this Camry out of its misery, or can it be saved?

Bon Jovi Blows

I think we all know how I feel about male Bon Jovi fans, and that is that I feel nothing but disdain and disgust when it comes to that particular lot. Seriously, how does a male Bon Jovi fan even look at himself in the mirror? If I may revert back to 10th grade for a moment, Bon Jovi is and always will be a 'bitch band'...like Poison and Winger. Their crap music and contrived image has always been directed at the ladies, so it baffles that males still support them...

Due to their longevity, Jersey Jacknut Jon Bon Jovi now takes himself seriously as a musician and songwriter. He carries himself with an undeserved arrogance. Yes, he's made literal boat loads of money, but his 'art' is crap and appeals to the lowest of the lowest common denominator demographic.

If you are a male Bon Jovi fan, I dare you to leave a comment justifying this...that is if you can tear yourself away from your wine spritzer and drop the latest issue of Tiger Beat long enough to do so.

Doing My Part

I am sporting an oragnic cotton dress shirt I purchased for 40% off at Nordstom, a smokin' deal if I may say so. It is wrinkle-resistant as well, which is good in case I decide to drop to the floor and flop like a gaffed marlin in the middle of a meeting for no good reason whatsoever. The shirt also looks good and fits well, there is no shirt fat pouch near the beltline...and being organic cotton, this shirt does not kick our sweet Mother Earth in the shins.

So, what have you done for your Earth Mother today, dickweeds?

20 Years Of Bleach

Sub Pop released a 20th Anniversary remastered deluxe version of Nirvana's 'Bleach' today, 11/3/09. A second disc is included, a full show recorded in 1990 at the Pine Street Theater in Portland, OR.

'Bleach' is my fave Nirvana album, with 'In Utero', 'Incesticide', and 'Nevermind' falling in behind. Although 'About A Girl' was pummelled into the ground after the 'Unplugged' session, the overall exposure of 'Bleach' was minimal....so I am not sick and tired of hearing songs off this album. Also, unlike 'Nevermind', it has not been set in the amber of the early 1990's alterna moment...so it doesn't sound nearly as dated. Still, I'm not sure if I'll pick this disc up....If I couldn't be bothered to buy remastered Beatles CDs I doubt I'll muster the consumer beast that lurks within to repurchase an album I already own in two different formats...

No recess!

The Kids Are Alright

Halloween was a little out of the ordinary this year. The past four Halloween's we dished out a metric ton of candy, running out of sweets early our first two around 8pm when there were still loads of kids making the rounds. I resorted to handing out juice boxes and Grandma's Cookies to get through the nighs as I really didn't want some kid egging the house or setting it ablaze because we had no treats to offset their tricks. This year? We had a 104 kids total and now have bags and bags of candy leftover as we bought enough to handle the usual onslaught of 350-400 kids we normally see. I'm not certain where all the kids were, but I'm kind of thinking that the older junior high and high school kids that pad the numbers had better things to do...like underage drinking and dope smoking...or something.

Speaking of high school kids - year's past would normally mean a parade of high school girls dressed up like hookers in cheerleader/cat/bunny/pirate costumes. I'm happy to report that the hooker/slut factor in the few older kids was non-existent this year...and here's hoping that by the time my girls are in their teens and decide to trick or treat that dressing as nuns will be all the rage.

The high school boys were rude and stupid though. Nearly tossed one kid into the beauty bark for being a dull-eyed dolt that nearly trampled a group of much younger kids to get up our front steps. He got one measley Starburst...and almost complained until he saw the maniacal look of disdain on my face. Bastard.

Anyway - all in all, a very decent Halloween, even though it was underwhelming. Hope everyone had fun! Now onto Thanksgiving and the Christmas!

Chevy Camaro

I really kind of wanted to like the 2010 Chevy Camaro...but I can't. There's something about muscle cars, even the reimagined ones, that screams acid wash, Billy Squire, and dumb as rocks metal chicks....and I just can't abide by that. Your thoughts?

Audi Reclamation Project

Back in my mid-20's I dumped a very cute, stable girl for an extremely hot, mentally and emotionally unstable girl. The cute girl was dependable, never did anything to annoy me, was trustworthy, and I never had to worry about her cheating on me on nights she hung out with friends. The hot gal, well, where to begin? She was a lousy drunk, went out of her way to draw attention to herself in all social situations, had horrific self-esteem that led to an eating disorder, aspired to be a stripper, and could not be trusted under any circumstance (we got together when she was seeing someone else while going through a divorce, that should tell you everything about her loyalty issues). Still, she looked great (until the eating disorder and alcohol got their claws into her) and when things were good, they were really good...and since I'm a gentleman that is all I'm going to say about that.

ANYWAY, there's a point to all of this cute/reliable vs hot/crazy chat. The 'coolest' car I ever owned was a Audi A4. I loved that car, it looked great, performed great....it was literally my dream car. Then bad things started to happen. The front and rear windscreens weren't sealed correctly and rattled at freeway speeds...the cruise control stopped working....the electrical system fried the rear defrost and then the AC console. By the time the turbo crapped out, I was done with that car. As much as I adored it, I had to let it go...it was unreliable and spent more time in the shop thnn on the road. I traded it in for a 'cute' Honda Accord.

My point? The hot crazy chic was great when she wasn't absolutely batsh*t mental, but after a while all her nonsense took a toll. Her attractiveness could not trump the gargantuan pain in the arse she was to deal with day in and day out. My Audi was the same way. I never knew what to expect when I started that car up. Somedays I wondered if it would start at all, but for a while I ignored the warning signs that I had a lemon on my hands and fought the good fight...kind of like with the insane hot gal...she was a walking red flag of dysfunction, but I ignored it because she was good looking.

Walking away from the Audi was easy when the time came. I took it to the local Audi dealer and traded it in for that Accord. Stepping away from crazy gal wasn't so easy as she liked to scream and yell and throw things. Either way, we all need to know when to cut our losses and move on. Which is what I did.

So, here I am, moved on and such...and then I run across this write up for the 2009 Audi A4...and I gotta tell you, I'm wanting an Audi back in my life. Sadly, I don't have the income to support such a purchase, and with 3 kids an A4 is hardly practical...but my goodness, that is a fine looking car! I figure if I can save up some decent scratch I can probably get a 2009 or so in 3-4 years for what, 1/2 price of what they are today?

Crazy hot girls will always be crazy. There is no Quality Control or R&D division that exists on this planet to work out their kinks. Audi, on the other hand, has improved their reliability rating over the last 8 years...whatever issues they had nearly a decade ago have surely been resolved. Therfore, I am officially launchnig my Audi Reclamation Project. By 2012, just in time for the world to end, I'll be tooling around in a finely tuned German engineered car. The Taurus SHO looks to be a fine car, but it's merely cute when compared to the Audi.

Oh, so what happened to the cute girl I dumped? She hired a personal trainer, lost 10 pounds and then compeletely remade her image and made the leap from cute to hot, but without the crazy. The crazy gal wrecked a couple of marriages, possibly more, and may still be nutso to this day for all I know. The Better Half totaled the Honda Accord I traded the Audi in for, so I had to get another Honda...which was totaled by a third Honda driven by uninsured teens. That's when I got the Fusion...my taste for Honda's tainted by one too many car wrecks.

Rough Week For Seattle

Wednesday was particularly harsh for the Seattle area. First came news that Boeing selected Charleston, SC as the site for the second 787 Dreamliner assembly line. This move will cost the state of Washington thousands of jobs, but to this blogger also sends a clear signal that Boeing is more than willing to pull up stakes for greener business pastures. To that I have to say, nice work IAW! You union hacks gambled with jobs and lost in a big way...but you'll still collect your dues, won't you?

Then came news that Walter Jones was placed on IR and is officially done for the year. Walter Jones will be a first ballot Hall of Famer, so it is sad to see his career wind down this way. While Jones stated during his press conference that he wants to play next year, I don't see that happening. Walter's game was leverage, foot work, balance, and strength - he combined all of those skills to become the best left tackle since Anthony Munoz (Jonathon Ogden was fantastic as well, but I give the nod to Jones for his superior footwork and speed). Chances are if Jones does somehow manage to play somewhere, it won't be for the Seahawks. He signed a 7 year contract 5 years ago, and most NFL contracts are backend heavy, so he'll be expensive. The 'Hawks will either have to cut him (which would be a rough PR move) or trade him (not much better PR wise), or hope that he would be willing to take a big pay cut. We'll see what happens.

The Downfall of WAMU

Excellent article on the last days of WAMU, including confirmation of the bank runs that had been discounted as rumors last year...

I'll be honest, this article won't be easy to read for those that had a vested interest in WAMU. My first 'grown up' job outside the service was with WAMU, and I gave them almost 8 years of my life. Reading about the bank's sad collapse was depressing...

Yep...

...I've got nuthin' right now....except a pile of fun sized Butterfinger candy bars that have just about sent me spiraling into sugar shock....

You Make Me Feel Like A Whore

The level of hate I have for my current job is beginning to take on inhuman proportions. In fact, I think it has gotten so out of hand that I could use that hatred as justification to drive in the HOV lanes, my displeasure riding shotgun with the seat leaned back and playing lazy. Yet, no matter how unchallenging and frustrating I find my current situation, I can't just quit...and the job market is more sparse than the shelves of a pre-Glasnost Soviet grocery store. So, I'm kind of stuck for now...

Anyhoo, I got to thinking what would make me like this job any less, and it took me a while since I though every shred of hatred I could muster was already in use...then I discovered that I could indeed despise this job more, and like Nigel Tufnel's customized Marshall amp, my hate goes to 11! Sweet!

So, what was the one thing that would make me unhappier than an Emo kid at Disneyland? An dramatic increase in pay. That's right, more money would not cure my plight and would only make it more difficult for me to quit because the company would then literally own me.

It has taken me a good long while and many, many painful lessons to learn that money and/or possessions do not equal happiness. The industry I support is in shambles, propped up by taxpayer funds. Our customers are shady, crooked, and some are nothing more than thieves. It makes for a tough day at the office.

To make things better, I am looking to cut my expenses, deleverage at all costs and have begun to save as much money as possible...all in an attempt to be able to one day not be an indentured servant at a job that, for all intents and purposes, is making me miserable day in and day out....

I saw this posted at another blog, I'd link to it if I could remember which one it was, but it makes perfect sense. It was a profound yet simple statement:

I hate work.

The more stupid stuff you buy, the more you have to work.

I hate stupid stuff.

Yes, indeed......

Pssst, You Wanna Buy A Toyota FJ?

As all four of my faithful readers know, The Better Half's father has taken ill. Seriously ill. We may need to liquidate some of his very many and cluttered belongings soon.

On of the more interesting items we may need to sell will be a vintage Toyota FJ Cruiser. I think it is a 1973, but getting info on it has been tough. The engine will turn over, but needs work, and the interior is shredded from hauling a moose carcass in it. Rust is setting in, and the hood is missing and all four tires are flat....

This vehicle will make a great restoration project for any single 4x4 enthusiast with time and resources to get the FJ back in shape. It will also make a great restoration project for any married 4x4 enthusiast that would like to be single...'cause some serious hours will need to go into this bad boy.

Here's a photo of the vehicle:

SHO 'Nuff?

If I had the money and hadn't just terminated the lease on my Fusion early, I would most definitely find myself interested in the Ford Taurus SHO. This isn't your daddy's relegated to the rental fleet Taurus...

Boasting a 365 HP V-6 EcoBoost engine, all-wheel drive, and an aggressive exterior and interior redesign, I'm thinking Ford has something to compete with the Germans and most definitely the Japanese. Toyota may have the lion's share of the sensible sedan market covered with the Camry, but the Camry is dull to drive and the Cylon inspired sheet metal leaves much to be desired. I'm thinking the Taurus SHO (Super High Output)can peel away some Toyota and even Honda advocates...while the SHO is no A-4 or 3-Series, it is in the same class as the VW line and for the price, I'd say VW should be worried (Subaru lost the plot a few years ago, went boy-racer demographic, and has yet to regain my goodwill after a horrific dealer experience).

The only negatives I can see will require some work from Ford, mainly in dispelling the perception that Ford vehicles are crap. I loved my Fusion, it was fun to drive, had a great interior, and I never had trouble with it. Most Fusion owners feel the same way, so I'm thinking the bias against the Blue Oval is melting away. Hopefully, the Taurus SHO is just as reliable. Price could be another concern. Introducing a car with a sticker price pushing up hard on 38k may be folly at this particular point in the recession. With the job market showing no signs of recovering Ford may be hard-pressed to find buyers. The Better Half and I may be in the market for a car in the next 12 to 18 months, but 38k is not what we'd be willing to spend....criminey, 8k is probably too much after the prolonged joblessness we endured last year.

Anway, I think the Taurus SHO is a sharp car and a solid effort from Ford. Maybe if they had concentrated on a Taurus redesign 8 years ago and laid off the SUVs, they would be in better shape?

WAMU's Strategy Doomed The Bank

A must read for all ex-WAMU employees and anyone else interested in what really lead to Washington Mutual's demise. It is a lengthy two-part article, but well worth it as it clearly illustrates that WAMU's leadership led it to slaughter by demanding growth and profit over quality...and I would say the hiring of Craig Davis from American Savings was one of the dumbest moves of Kerry Killinger's career. Criminey, O.J. Simpson even makes a cameo...the article is here.

No Fear Of The Underdog

My fantasy football team is a 39 point underdog today...and that's with all my 'studs' in the lineup, so that should tell you something about the sad state of affairs my team is in. I've never been a 30 point dog before and I gotta say, I don't like it...but there is absolutely nothing I can do about it at this point.

Links!

Fellas, having a tough time dressing yourself in the morning...or running into difficulties maintaining a professional wardrobe? Well then, let me suggest Wardrobe Oxygen's list of essential items every male should have at their disposal! I actually kind of dig the Wardrobe Oxygen site, I stumbled across it while researching gifts for The Better Half's b-day. The list I linked to is from 2006, but I feel it is still relevant three years on....anyhoo, the site is mainly geared towards the ladies, and there is an update essentials list on the home page of Wardrobe Oxygen (fashion is much more fluid on the womens side of the house).

You'll have to get past the lunkheaded graphics that populate the page header, but once you do it will be well worth it. Yesterday I wrote about saving as much money as possible, what I left out is being prepared for the worst...because we are so far from being out of the woods financially that a systemic crash is still a real possibility. Greg Simmons has an excellent post and writes with a clarity this is criminally lacking from the so-called financial genius talking heads on MSNBC and CNN.

And always remember to pay yourself first!!!

Vanishing Seattle

Oh, a trip down memory lane....I know most of the buildings/stores on this site from the 1980's on...Squire Shop, we hardly knew ya....

2012

I have absolutely no interest in seeing '2012'...it looks stupid and brainless and nothing is more annoying than watching actors 'react' to imagined action on a green screen. Just thought I'd share.

I am, however, still trying to figure out a way to go see 'Paranormal Activity' - it is showing down the road from me and I am working feverishly to set up a viewing for this Saturday, like a matinee...if The Better Half and I can work out a sitter for the girls, would anyone be interested in joining us?

Save A Little Bit

Given the current state of the economy, the unemployment picture, and consumer deleveraging, I have become a fanatical saver. One of the tools I have been using to save up an emergency fund and for a family trip to Disneyland is an ING Savings account. I have a set amount taken out of my checking account with the increasingly annoying and aggresively incompetent Chase and have it deposited into ING Savings accounts. It's quick, painless, and easy to set up...and since my company no longer does 401k matching I've upped the amount sent to ING every pay period (I'm still contributing to my 401k, but lowered the amount of the deduction from my pre-tax paychecks).

I've also got the girls in on saving as well on a small scale - they get all the nickels and pennies from any change I acquire during the day to put into their piggy banks (I save the dimes and quarters - the dimes I've amassed over the last year will pay for Christmas presents and the quarters eventually go to my savings account...). The loose change concept is a popular one, but I've actually taken it a step further by refusing to spend $1 bills I receive in change. This, in essence, makes everything I purchase with cash cost at least $5.00 because the change has to be saved, not spent. While this makes for some interesting times in checkout lines as I fish for a $5.00 bill to pay for a $1.99 gallon of milk when I have a wad of $1 bills in my pocket, it is effective. Last month I deposited $250 into savings in the form of $1 bills, much to the chagrin of the teller processing my transaction (the auto-bill counter was offline).

These are interesting times we are living in, and I honestly believe things are going to get worse before they come close to getting better....so prepare yourself for the mother of all economic double-dips down next year and save a few bucks here and there....

Apple Of My Eye

When, and not if, my latest PC dies I am converting and stepping over to the Mac side. I've had it with Windows and all the compatiblilty issues and security failures that don't exactly inspire confidence.

The problem, besides price, is I don't know thing one about Macs...wouldn't know where to start, really. All I would need is a stable notebook to edit photos, video, store music and update this tatty ol' blog....but I don't want to underbuy and get stuck with something that won't suit my needs...nor do I want to overbuy...so, any suggestions would be much appreciated...

Now, I'm not looking to make this purchase until sometime next year...unless the PC dies before that...but even then I would have to wait as I am very, very credit adverse these days....meaning I'd have to save the cash and not dip into savings to replace the PC....but I do like to research and hear both sides of the story....

A Zippy Caffeine Free Life!

Quitting caffeine was tougher than I first imagined. A few factors worked against me:

1. The social aspect of buying coffee seemed to be as big a driver, if not the biggest, of my coffee consumption. I'll admit that I liked the banter with some of the baristas, especially the cute ones. Why? Because I'm a guy and just about every guy I know enjoys being spoken to by attractive women. This became glaringly obvious when I was the 7th car in a long line at the local drive-thru coffee stand and I noticed every car had males in them. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I witnessed a female patron at my fave coffee stand...and no, it's not one of those naughty latte stands where the baristas dress like hookers. I have standards! Anyhoo, starting my day off with a quick conversation with a 20 something year old barista has it's appeal...until you realize you are a brainless pig spending money on a product that leaves you feeling queasy.

2. After a couple of days of blinding headaches, I finally broke through my need for caffeine. Breaking free of caffeine's demon talons was difficult enough when it becomes a social habit, but combining that with the physical symptoms of kicking it cold turkey had my sympathizing with smokers that can't get off the nicotine. Smokers almost always seem to be smoking in packs on their breaks, so the social aspect is there as well as the physical need to nic out. Same went for me with coffee...I had a physical desire for the caffeine, but also a social habit to break. Not good times.

3. Peer pressure was tough to work around as well, especially when you are the one that used to rally the troops for a Starbucks run. Your peers have a tough time adjusting to your change in lifestyle (and again, my sympathy to smokers that are trying to quit) and will continue to ask you to join them. I had to be honest and tell my coffee group that I was 'off the coffee'. Everyone is fine with it now, and I'll sometimes join them for the walk across the street to Starbucks, but I don't buy anything anymore.

4. Having 3 kids equates to never getting more than 6 hours of sleep in one stretch, so there are days that I am dragging. Avoiding coffee on those days has been tough....

So, what have I done when tired and needing something to kick start the day or afternoon? I've switched over to Zipfizz. I don't get the jitters or dehydration I did with coffee and it doesn't interfere with my running because I'm not cramping up...plus, it is a much more sustained boost and doesn't make my heart race or skip beats the way caffeine used to impact me. I'm not a big fan of the grape flavored Zipfizz, but I do like the orange soda stuff.

While I will always love the process of buying coffee, and do miss the taste of a well made americano, I just can't deal with the downside anymore...

Seahawks...Where's The Heart

Every NFL team experiences injuries to key starters during the season. What separates the good teams from the bad teams is how they respond to the injuries. I think yesterday's game against the Cardinals made it clear to all what kind of team the Seahawks are.

I don't think anyone on the Seahawks staff anticipated having to start a make-shift offensive line as shifty as the one Seattle started yesterday. However, at this point in Walter Jones' Hall of Fame career - a point where just putting on his socks should be considered career threatening - it is a bit disconcerting that Seattle has no real contingency plan to deal with Jones missing games. Equally exacerbating is that the Seattle coaching staff has not adjusted to the injuries on the O-line...but just as troubling, if not more so, is that the players filling in for their injured teammates are playing with no sense of urgency or enthusiasm.

Ask any coach at any level of football, and I guarantee that all of them will tell you that a less talented team can come close to leveling the playing field against a more talented team with two things: hitting and aggressiveness. The Denver Broncos were supposed to struggle this year, but they are undefeated due to scrappy play on offense and a hard-hitting relentless defense. The Broncos make things happen for them during the game while the Seahawks, at least yesterday, let Arizona dictate the game.

Nothing frustrates me more as a footbal fan than watching a team that has just given up, and the Hawks gave up yesterday. There was no fight or passion on either side of the ball.

Now, no team in the NFL can survive long term when their offensive line has been gutted by injuries...but that is no excuse for not competing or making adjustments to augment strengths and mitigate weaknesses. The Seattle coaching staff and players need to come to terms with the loss of Tatupu, but also the loss of Walter Jones because it just doesn't sound like his knees will allow him to play anymore...and should he suit up, I doubt he'll be able to play anywhere near the level he did 4 years ago.

One last thing...am I the only person sick and tired of watching Matt Hasselbeck scream and yell at everyone after sending a pass into the turf or 10 yards over a receiver's head? It's as if he never makes mistakes. Granted, he was getting hammered in the pocket, but show some professionalism out there! Hasselbeck is supposed to be the team leader, but how can he lead a team when he's running around and shrieking like a little girl with a spider in her hair after an incompletion?

Right now I'm saying the Hawks finish the year out at 6-10, but wouldn't be surprised if they go 5-11 after that putrid display yesterday. I've seen some bad Seahawks teams before, but yesterday was one of the rare times I have watched a Seahawks team give up. It's not something I want to get used to.

Nike Pegasus '83

The conversion to barefoot running has been interesting. While my knees, shins, and back all feel much better than they did when I ran with a heel strike, the same can't be said for the bottom of my feet. The blisters have just been unrelenting.

So, I'm back to wearing shoes, but not modern running shoes with mass amounts of padding in the heels and motion control. Nope, I'm going with some old school Nike Pegasus with the waffle sole and low-profile heel. This should help keep some semblance of the barefoot running style that I am now using.

I looked into POSE running as well, but good criminey, it sounds like a tough, tough transition...and with all the hamstring issues I've had I am not sure if POSE would work for me....

Calling Shelvis

Can anything remotely related to the Buffalo Bills come close to even going right? Open this link and take a look-see at the photo of the wood carved statue near the upper righthand corner....that's supposed to be Thurman Thomas.

Anyhoo, somebody rightfully thought that the statue was so ridiculously crappy looking that he took it from the parking lot. He assumed it was left behind because 'no one cared about it' and that it was part of a radio station promotion that had ended hours earlier. In fact, other tailgaters were dumping hot coals from their grills at the statue base, perhaps wanting to burn Thomas in effigy for losing his helmet right before kickoff to one of the four Super Bowls the Bills lost.

Read the whole story here...and Shelvis, you may need to find a new team...the Bills may be lost in the wilderness for a long, long time.

Keeping The Hounds Of Illness At Bay

I've been fighting a cold/flu/ebola sickness off for about a week now. I'll do fine for a day or so, and then I'll be hit with a fever and chills + sore throat...which is where I am right now....makes the afternoons that much more unbearable here at work....

Sherwin Williams

Every now and again I'll run across some website that demonizes the Sherwin Williams logo. For those of you unfamiliar with said logo it is really quite simple and brilliant: A can of paint being poured over our fair blue planet with the words 'Cover The Earth' inscribed inside the globe.

Lots of hypersensitive eco-loons become all bent out of shape when discussing this logo because they are idiots and take the image and words literally...that Sherwin Williams wants to dump paint all over the planet.

A quick Google search turns up quite a different meaning. From the Sherwin Williams website - Our historical logo is one of the most recognized company logos in existence. Created in the late 1800s, the logo’s purpose was to represent the company’s desire to help beautify and protect the buildings of the world. It was a symbol of a young company’s enthusiasm, idealism and hope regarding its future and the possibility for achievement that hovered on the nation’s horizon.

The painters we hired to add some color and dynamics to our house used Sherwin Williams products, and we've been very pleased with the results. Having three kids will put paint through the ringer...sharpie scrawls, crayon drawings, Play-Doh, and various drinkable liquids have found their way onto our walls and the paint has held up remarkably well. Sherwin Williams paint has indeed succeeded to 'help beautify and protect' our walls.

So, the Sherwin Williams logo, when taken in the context of the original intent behind the inspriation for the design, makes perfect sense...the company doesn't want to dump paint into rivers, streams, lakes, and all over playgrounds...get over it enviro-goons.

Star Wars In Concert - A Mini Review

Maddy and I went and experienced Star Wars In Concert last night at Key Arena, and it was very, very good...not exception or fantastic.

What was good, you ask?

John Williams' score is amazing, especially the music for the Original Trilogy. Lucas made a wise choice in Williams and opting for a classical score. The music from the OT is as iconic as the films themselves.

The entire spectacle was hosted by Anthony Daniels, the actor that portrayed C-3PO in all 6 movies, and he was outstanding. Daniels is there as a fan and his enthusiasm and love of the Star Wars movies is evident in his excellent narration.

SWIC is indeed a spectacle, a full-blown orchestra, choir, and three story HD LCD screen displaying action from all 6 movies...and fire effects! Maddy was enthralled with the setup, the size of Key Arena (bigger than a movie theater!), and the giant LCD screen.

I couldn't help getting swept up in all the pomp and circumstance when Key Arena went dark and the words, 'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...' appeared on the big screen...followed by the timeless Star Wars logo and the symphony breaking into the Star Wars theme. I was seven years old again and mesmerized by the screen...and to experience that with my six year old daughter is something I'll always treasure.

The cantina scene music was just friggin' awesome. That tune, when listened to as a piece of music, just swings. The Star Wars orchestra brass section really tore into that one and played with some gusto. The percussion section, especially the hep cat on drums, popped as well...and the song has been stuck in my head ever since.

Best piece of the night? The Imperial March. If I ever become an MMA fighter, that's the music I enter the octagon to...while dressed in my Darth Vader underoos.

Best video of the night? The fall of Anakin Skywalker, which almost made up for George Lucas's ineptitude and incompetence as writer and director of the Prequel Trilogy. Lucas is an idea man, and his ideas for Vader were solid...it was the execution of his idea that was horrific. The clips and editing used last night almost erase Lucas's failures in handling the story of pre-Vader Anakin.

Lots and lots of kids dressed in Leia, Boba Fett, Jedi, and Clone Trooper costumes...that was great.

So, what didn't work?

The props and costumes on display were nothing really that special...I really could not care less about the costumes of C-List Jedi's and background characters. Plus, the setup was less than ideal. Each costume was encased in glass with a spotlight shining on it, so any photos you took got double glare...it's like someone attached a glaucoma lens to my camera...and that's if you got close enough to get a picture.

After a while, Maddy and I got tired of wading through a sea of pear shaped geeks, goofy gals in Leia outfits, and hipster doofus types. Little kids in Star Wars costumes are great...grown men wearing shirts made of their Star Wars sheets is just stupid.

The entire display area was a clusterfarg and disorderly...and it was the kids that suffered for it...seriously, kids were at a disadvantage due to their height so Maddy and countless others didn't get to see a lot of the displays...and it was the kids that really wanted to get in close to see Chewbacca, Ewoks, Padme's gowns, and what have you...

Some of the musical passages were low energy and sucked some of the air out of the flow...

The 20 minute intermission was kind of a kneecap job as well...

And my biggest bone to pick - interlacing Prequel footage into Original Trilogy music and sequences. I'm thinking this was LucasFilm meddling and another attempt to tie the middling Prequels into the far superior Original Trilogy.

Oh, and price...every bit of merchandise was overpriced by about 200%...programs were 30 bucks and the t-shirt I was going to buy Maddy was $45...luckily, she agreed that $45 dollars was too much for a t-shirt and told me she was just happy to be there.

I have the greatest 6 year old daughter in the world, and I'm glad we shared the experience together, flaws and all...and I'd still recommend Star Wars In Concert because everyone will take something different away from it and, at least for this reviewer, a new found appreciation for something familiar.

3 1/2 out of 5 Wookies awarded!

Dow 10,000

The Dow crossed the 10,000 mark earlier today and Wall Street partied like it was 1999 all over again. While I will agree that Dow 10,000 is an important psychological barrier to break, it doesn't mean we have come close to solving any issues...like unemployment, a decaying dollar, foreclosures, ....

Now we'll see if the bulls can hold of the laying in wait bears. Me? Let's just say I think 10,000 is a nice number, one we hit a decade ago...but an economic recovery still isn't in the cards...

Just Say No To TO, Chicago!!!

The rumor mill is churning overtime today about Terrell Owens and a possible trade from the Bills to the Chicago Bears. While the trade makes sense if you are the Buffalo Bills since that is a team going nowhere and defining new ways of getting there in a hurry, I don't see what the Bears would gain.

Jay Cutler has a good thing going with the young WR corps on the current Bears roster. Making a trade for the petulant Terrell Owens would not only overturn that applecart, it would strip it clean for parts and leave it in flames. Cutler has enough pressure on him as it is due to his childish behavior on his way out of Denver, he has a lot to prove...and he doesn't need a selfish d-bag like Terrell Owens adding to that burden.

Listen up, Bears - don't make this trade, work with the young talent you have and let Cutler continue to develop rapport with his teammates...TO will only set your franchise back and for what, an extra win or two? He's not worth it...let him languish and rot in Buffalo.......

Captain Lou

Captain Lou Albano has passed away...and the only thing shocking about this news is that I was rather certain he died a few years back.

RIP, Captain!

Here Comes The Fall

Summer was over entirely too soon. As much as I love Christmas and the occassional snow storm, summer is still my favorite season. There is just more to do and see in the summer - the girls can play outside, ride their bikes, etc. Me? I enjoy sitting on the back porch with a cold drink, especially as the sun sets and a soft breeze blows in....if I'm lucky, I'll have at least 30 more summers to enjoy...

Planted about 60 tulip bulbs yesterday and have about 75 more to go. This is in addition to the tulips that are already in the ground, hibernating like the War Of The Worlds killbots, waiting for the perfect time to unleash their fury. Well, no...but you get the idea.

The tulips are more for the benefit of the girls than my own, they get a kick out of monitoring the tulips progess from bulb to sprout to bloom to sad droopy dead thing that has to be cut back. However, what they enjoy most is cutting the flowers to give to The Better Half and the grandmas....

Had to mow the lawn again, which was a bit of a surprise as I thought last weekend would be the last mow of the season. I'm not willing to call this mow the last of the year since all the fertilzers, performance enhancers for the grass, still seem to be working. With a long spell of rain in the forecast I am hoping that the mower is done for the year as mowing a wet overgrown lawn is about as much fun as planting tulip bulbs.

Upon release, The Blair Witch Project was probably my favorite 'scary' movie. I enjoyed the films premise and the way that we never really saw the antagonist on screen...the fear was generated in the viewers head. While the TBWP didn't hold up under the pressure of repeated viewings (which may explain why it didn't really enter into heavy rotation on cable) doesn't diminish the impact the 1st viewing had on many movie goers. Now we have 'Paranormal Activity' in select theaters, and reviews have been glowing by critics and viewers alike..and again, this is a 'found footage' horror movie in the Blair Witch style...and I really, really want to go see it.

Paramount Pictures has done a remarkable job creating buzz for 'Paranormal Activity', a movie that came close to being relegated to the direct-to-DVD dustbin. Instead, Paramount has trickled the film out to select markets and has allowed word of mouth to build the current buzz the movie enjoys for them. As more and more theaters get added the closer we get to Halloween, I expect 'PA' to climb up the box office receipt charts. It's feels odd to heap praise upon a movie studio for doing something right, but Paramount has handled this film perfectly.

I'll report back with a review should I get around to seeing it sometime soon...it started playing down the street from my office last week....

California Dreaming

The only green shoots in the California economy are of the medicinal kind...'cause things still aren't going well down south:

State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements in September. For the first three months of the fiscal year, total General Fund revenue was nearly $1.1 billion below the recently amended 2009-10 Budget Act estimates.

“Revenues more than $1 billion under estimates and recent adverse court rulings are dealing a major blow to a budget that is barely 10-weeks old,” said Controller Chiang. While there are encouraging signs that California’s economy is preparing for a comeback, the recession continues to drag State revenues down. I urge lawmakers and the Governor to prepare for more difficult decisions ahead.”

Look, the only reason California even twitched while on life support was due to government intervention in the housing market and the Governator slashing billions from so-called safety net programs. California is going to have to hire some very, very creative accountants and in a hurry.

Thanks, Comcast!

Comcast made my cable/Internet decision rather easy as they stepped up to the plate and worked with us. Now, I know a lot of folks give Comcast grief, but big companies wear big targets on their back (so Target, based on their name alone, is wearing one of the bigger 'kick me' signs out there) that seem to beg for abuse...but as I posted earlier, Comcast has been nothing but easy to work with the past 12 months and their outage time has been next to nil in our neck of the woods. That, I think, says a lot about their commitment to changing the perception of their company. Add in their willingness to work with customers during some interesting economic times and I'd say they have more than earned my business...and this is coming from someone that had to be dragged kicking and screaming from DirecTV over to Comcast.

Now, if only other large companies would follow Comcast's lead the entire consumer experience would improve.

Fred Taylor

ESPN is reporting that Fred Taylor, my favorite football player this side of Walter Payton, is undergoing ankle surgery. Doesn't sound like he will miss the rest of the season, but I was kind of digging his stint with the Pats...he has been running hard and even managed to move past John Riggins on the All-Time rushing leaders board...

Get better soon, Fred!

Comcast or DirecTV

I've been dreading the following decision: Since my promotional rate with Comcast has ended, and we really can't be paying $180 a month for cable and internet, I have to choose between ditching Comcast or scaling back our cable package.

DirecTV is currently offering an excellent deal: Five months of their premium package for 60 bucks a month...including NFL Sunday Ticket (so I can finally watch those totally sweet Tampa Bay and Oakland games...ugh). Of course, at the end of 5 months the rate skyrockets so I'd be back at square one.

Now, I love DirecTV, they have the best sports packages around, but there aren't enough 'drops' at my house for DirecTV and Comcast Hi-Speed internet to coexist. We are talking cats/dogs, Israel/Arab World, Beta/VHS levels of contentiousness. That means I'd either have to switch back to DSL with the increasingly facist Qwest or try Clearwire...but Clearwire reps have not been too hip on providing details on the level of service I'd receive at my address. A stable internet connection is sorely needed at my house, and Comcast has been rock steady over the last 12 months.

Outside some initial setup issues, Comcast has been nothing but stellar. I think we've had one or two outages...if that....in the last year. I know a cable/internet provider is doing their job when I don't even think twice about connectivity or service. Qwest was not even in the parking lot of the ball park when it came to connectivity issues, and again, they were horrific to work with on everything from billing to getting the right equipment out to us.

We have also grown quite fond of OnDemand and their HD programming, which is always expanding...but again, I can't justify close to 200 bones for cable/internet...I have kids that need stuff like clothes and food, and $200 is just too much to pay.

So, I am asking all four of my readers, 'What would you do?'...scale back on the service you have been happy with for a year, or switch providers to take advantage of a 5 month special offer that includes the ability to watch every Clevland Browns game when I really could not care less about the Browns...especially after they traded their best player, Braylon Edwards, to the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets!!!

Oh, When The Saints Go Over There...Oh, Over There!

I would like to extend a heart felt 'Thank You' to the New Orleans Saints defense for salvaging my fantasy football season. While week 4 is kind of early to throw in the towel, I still dreaded going 1-3 to start the year...that's a big hole to dig out of.

Anyhoo, thank you Darren Sharper, your two pick sixes were just what I needed to save the day...and thanks to the rest of the Saints defense for their multiple sacks and a forced fumble. The Saints monster day helped offset putrid performances from just about everyone else on my squad...the exception being Jay Cutler...he played well....

Taking The Points...

Outside of Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne getting injured during pre-game warmups, I can't think of any scenario in which the Seahawks beat the Colts.

Seneca Wallace is NOT a starting NFL QB. He's too short and inaccurate and still makes 3-4 boneheaded throws a game. I watched Seneca Wallace after catching Mark Sanchez and if I didn't know any better I would have thought Wallace was the rookie QB. All the Seneca fanboys need to let the dream die that he can be a viable starter and win consistently in the NFL.

I'm down on Housh - going into the season I had high hopes that he would be a bigger, faster version of Bobby Engram. He has underwhelmed so far, to the point that I dropped him from my FF roster. T.J. might play better when Hasselbeck returns, but what I saw from him before Matt's rib injury didn't really scream out that he would have a career season.

Julius Jones is running with conviction, but he isn't getting enough touches...and although Dwight Freeney may be out of Sunday's game, I don't see Jones getting a chance to tote the ball all that often as Seattle will be playing catch up. Indy proved against Miami that they can beat you with limited opportunities, the offense and Manning are that good. Seattle should try and hammer the ball with Julius Jones to keep Indy's offense off the field...but they have to score TDs or Manning is going to make them pay with a quick strike downfield. Seattle will abandon the run early, giving Indy too much time to score often on offense.

There is no way Seattle's defense can keep Indy out of the end zone, even with Tatupu back (which might not be the case). The Hawks just don't have the playmakers to stop the Colts.

Final Score: Colts 37, Seattle 13

Running Up That Hill

Fed up with constant hamstring and knee issues, I decided to try a new running style - barefoot, landing on the balls of my feet (not striking with the heel first as most runners do), knees slightly bent and legs never fully extended, and always making sure my feet land directly below my hips.

This running style was awkward at first, and I got some strange looks from fellow gym members, but after one session I felt a remarkable difference - my knees and lower back didn't ache, I was able to run 2 miles at a 10:30 minute clip at a 2% incline, but my calves feel like they have gone through a wood chipper...but that is to be expected.

Running in this manner is what makes the Tarahumara Indians of central Mexico (State of Chihuahua, actually, where my mom is from) some of the finest long-distance runners in the world...we are talking ultra-marathon runners, 100 mile long foot races over brutal terrain.

I'm planning on a follow up run today, but my calves may need another day of rest. All I know is that I am pleased to have run 2+ miles at an incline with no knee pain...

Here Comes The Suck

How do you know when you are creatively bankrupt as a songwriter? Probably when you are planning to release a collection of songs you previously recorded as 're-imagined versions'....which is exactly what Art Alexakis of Everclear is doing. I'm guessing 'reimagined' means more acoustic guitars and keyboards as I doubt Alexakis will record a polka version of 'Santa Monica' or 'Heroin Girl' backed by the USC marching band...but, you never know....oh, Art...you had such promise as a songwriter earlier in your career, then you started taking yourself way too seriously and churned out treacly dreck like 'Father Of Mine' and that stupid soccer mom song...I'm wishing Mr. Alexakis the best of luck, but I remember what he did to 'Brown Eyed Girl' and really don't have much faith in this latest project....

Random Randomness And The Beatles!

Spent the last two days caring for a 14 month old with a wicked case of the flu and a three year old enduring the discomfort of 2 molars cutting through her gums. The flu-ridden child slept a lot, but would only sleep when being held. Three year old child has been hypersensitive and touchy, plus she will not eat because her teeth hurt. That makes her even more difficult...in short, it's been a rough week for yours truly...and I picked the wrong week to stop ingesting caffeine by the bucket.

Lamar Odom, self-proclaimed candy addict, is marrying Khloe Kardishian, she's the Kardishian with a touch of gigantism. Frankly, if all the Kardashian's disappeared and were never heard from again, I'd be just fine with it. I mean, they are only famous because Kim Kardashian filmed herself getting pounded by some C-list black dude...and that is pretty much her only talent outside of having a gigantic ass. Kim dragged her less attractive and even more retarded family members into the spotlight created by her self-leaked sex tape...and then I blog about I much I hate her and her stupid family and how I wish they would all die in a tire fire. Anyhoo, Khloe and Lamar's baby will be hideous and the size of a wooly mammoth, but should provide the family with additional revenue stream from freak show appearances.

So, how many people have been thrown through the windshield of the Matt Forte and Steve Slayton fantasy football bandwagon this year?

If anyone out there is currently using Clearwire, hows 'bout dropping a line in the comments to tell me about your experience?

Here's another group of males I will never understand - any male that says they prefer Def Leppard's 'Hysteria' to 'Pyromania' - 'Hysteria' was made for female listeners, it's the audio equivalent of a Lifetime movie. 'Pyromania' is a classic early 80's hard rock album that I can still listen to without being an ironic hipster doofus about it.

I'm kind of wondering how The Beatles 'Rock Band' is selling...and kind of wondering how many units of the remastered albums have moved as well. I am one of the bigger Beatles fans around, but even I couldn't be bothered to pick up any copies of the remastered CDs...and I sure as hell won't drop $60.00 for a copy of 'Rock Band', let alone $250.00 for the full blown version of the game. While I'm certain the albums and games sold well, I have to kind of think that the overall state of the economy plus rythym based games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band falling in popularity have acted as a drag on sales. I could be wrong, but lots and lots of copies of both the games and CDs have been stacked at the local Toys R Us and Wal-Mart...could it be that the release of the game and CDs happened too late? The Beatles have tens of millions of fans, but do the remastered CDs, especially the mono versions, appeal only to hardcore fans, collectors and audiophiles? Personally, I loved what George Martin did with the 'Love' soundtrack...he took what was familiar and made it new...the remasters don't really do that, which is why I haven't picked any of them up....but I listen to 'Love' quite a bit because it is a different take on some classic songs...

On the other hand, the Jay-Z/Beatles 'grey album' is just plain stupid.

How long before the NFL bans hitting a quarterback when they are diving forward? It is already illegal to hit a QB once they begin to slide feet first, but two high-profile QBs in as many weeks are going to miss time with fractured ribs...ribs fractured when they were hit in the back while diving head first into the end zone. I am willing to wager a remastered Beatles CD that the competition committee at least visits the topic this off-season....

Have I mentioned lately how I loathe my job at times? Ugh.

Java Stop

I quit drinking coffee and coffee based drinks today...no more runs to Starbucks or stops at the various espresso stands on my way to work. The reasons are two fold:

1 - It simply doesn't make sense for me to drop $15-20 a week on coffee when at any moment I could lose my job. While $20 a week doesn't appear to be that much on the surface, over time that $20 adds up. I would much rather up the amount of money I am tucking away into savings for a family trip next year than slam down an iced americano to 'wake me up.' Which brings us to the next reason...

2 - I have a crazy theory that my coffee consumption goes hand in hand with my various muscle cramping issues. There is nothing for me to really base this on, aside from the caffeine in the coffee being a diuretic. Could I be dehydrating myself early on in the day by knocking back a quad americano, meaning I am playing catch-up leading up to my afternoon run? I think so. I also think the caffeine is blanching my system of electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals, so there is an imbalance that is never remedied...regardless of how much water I drink before I run. Again, this is all wild speculation on my part, but I am tired of worrying about my hamstrings seizing up when I push the pace or my calves knotting up like a stored away strand of Christmas lights.

So, day one with no coffee....and I have a searing headache. It could be coffee withdrawal related...or it could be from a raging case of tetanus. I sliced my left index finger wide open yesterday wrestling with a bag of organic weed & feed and hedge clippers. Now, this is the same finger I smashed black & blue with a framing hammer a few weeks back, so it was still about 40% numb when I managed to cut it. I didn't realize how bad I was cut until I started bleeding all into the bag of weed & feed (now even more organic!). I ran into the house, ran the cut under tap water, rinsed it some more with peroxide, and then slathered a concoction of Neosporin and super glue into the wound to prevent infection and to seal the cut. Then I wrapped some gauze around it, taped it off, and called it a day....not until this morning did I think, 'Hmmmm, those hedge clippers were kind of gross...maybe I should have gone to the ER for a stich or toe (the cut is almost bone deep) and a tetanus shot.'

If I come down with a case of lock jaw, we'll all know I should have gotten the tetanus shot....

Another Addition Of....

....Bank Fail Friday is upon us! OMG, OMG, OMG , which banks will bite it today?!?!?! Any more local banks (I'm looking at you Frontier!) going down in flames?!?!? What about a big player, like Wells Fargo? Karl Denninger certainly thinks WF is in trouble....

In related news, the company I work for received a non-compliance notice from the NYSE because our stock is trading for less than hobo pocket change. Again. We x number of days to make things right or it is off to the pink sheets. That would not be a good thing....

Guacamole Doritos

Hey, what happened to the totally awesome guacamole flavored Doritos that totally made me forgive the Doritos folks for changing the taco flavoring recipe? Now I hate Doritos again for ruining the original taco flavored Doritos AND taking the guacamole Doritos off the market.

You've got a lot of explaining to do Doritos people...a lot of explaining to do.....

Cedar Cove

This weekend I discovered two things - one, my fantasy football team is a non-TD scoring disaster....and two, a series of books are set in my hometown of Port Orchard, WA.

I'll get to my FF team later...

So, yeah - I was kind of surprised to learn about the Cedar Cove series of books. I try and keep a pulse on the goings on over in Port Orchard, so this caught me unaware that a best selling series is loosely based out in South Kitsap country...until I saw that these are basically romance novels. I'm not putting down the romance novel, they just aren't my cup o' tea, especially since I am a coffee man...yes, well...um. Moving right along.

The author, Debbie Macomber, is a Port Orchard native, but I'm not sure if she still lives there. With over 100 million books in print (holy Jeebus, that's a lot of books!!!) I kind of doubt she's still hanging out in the PO, but you never know...

Anyhoo, I've often thought of writing short stories based out of Port Orchard, but I think they would fit into a different genre than Mrs. Macomber's...and I think I would chose different landmarks...although I used to work at Tweeten's Lighthouse restaurant, now Gino's, back in the day...and there are some stories I could tell coming out of that place...

Bank Fail Friday!

Posting this a little late, but Friday are now officially called Bank Fail Friday because in most cases that is when the Feds shut down financial institutions.

We had three failures today, a light docket since the FDIC has been average around 4 a week since January.

The big failure was Corus Bank - this one is going to leave a mark.

Not to be outdone, Washington had Venture Bank shut down by the federales this afternoon...and Rainier Pacific Bank is now operating under a cease and desist order.

Good times!

I Can See Clearly Now

Suddenly, many of Shelvis's conspiracy theories have begun to make sense. Government is indeed attempting to use Swine Flu as justifaction to pass new legislation giving even more power to the so-called authorities:

"A "pandemic response bill" currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance.

If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues."

What better way to round up dissidents and 'enemies of the state' than saying they are diseased and they are being quarantined/imprisoned for their own good?

Also of note is a link from Drudge to the Updates On Iran blog. The blog is reporting that recent declassified documents link Iran to the Lockerbie bombing. Of course, that particular terrorist act is front page news again due to the inexplicable release of the Lockerbie bomber by Gordon Brown. Could it be that a 'case' is being made for military action against Iran and their nuclear ambitions? Hard to say, but it's all kind of convenient, no?

I hate thinking like a conspiracy theorist though, because there are so many legitimate reasons to dislike this current administration. However, the way authorites are reacting to flu outbreaks makes me think something is going on....

Thoughts?

Freefallin'

As stated earlier, the company I work for is no longer going to contribute to our
401k accounts. What I want to know is if I should continue contributing without the match, or should I stop my deduction and up the amount I set aside at an ING Direct savings account?

I realize that there are some real advantages of saving pre-tax dollars, but I also believe we are about to see some serious stock market cliff diving...so I'm also seriously leaning towards keeping my money in a old Maxwell's coffee can buried in the backyard.

What to do, what to do.....

No Match

The company I work for made an announcement yesterday - no more 401k company match on employee contributions. Yeah, that's an awesome sign that the company is in good shape...actually, I'm pretty sure we are still hemorrhaging money due to loan losses.

So, what's the over/under on the date for the next round of layoffs? Sept 30?

Flesh For Fantasy

The 8th Annual MexFL Fantasy Football draft was held this past Saturday, and for the 8th year in a row I despise the team I cobbled together through a brown haze of Maker's Mark.

My running back situation is outstanding, anchored by Michael Turner, Steven Jackson, and Pierre Thomas. I do get queasy thinking about Jackson though - the Rams are a disaster, and with Avery out with a foot injury he is the only weapon that team has....Meaning every team playing them will put 10 men in the box to stuff the run with a loan safety to swat down Marc Bulger's lame ducks. Thomas proved to be a playmaker over the second half of last season, and Turner is a stud, so I may start a combo of Turner/Thomas more often than not. Nothing like burning your 2nd pick just to use him to plug bye week roster holes!

Quarterback wise I am in decent hands. I'm looking for the Seahawks and Matt Hasselbeck to bounce back this year...and that means hoping Hasselbeck's back holds up. His spine has more tricks than a Port of Tacoma pimp. I also picked up Donovan McNabb, who may or may not be pouting over the Michael Vick signing. McNabb is more insecure than a once chubby high school girl that lost all kinds of weight but still sees herself as fat. Perhaps I should send McNabb a couple of Hot Wheels and a box of Uncrustables and tell him that he is still appreciated.

My weakest link, again, is at Wide Receiver. I missed out on all the really big guns like Fitzerald, Andre Johnson, Boldin, and Moss. Steve Smith was available when I picked, so I nabbed him in hopes he wouldn't sucker punch teammates again and get suspended. Once again feeling the Hawks are going to be much better than last year, I drafted T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who is a lot like Larry Fitzerald...only not as fast, strong, quick, or dynamic and plays in a much different offense. I have no idea who my third receiver is...so, that should tell you something right there....I will be undone by my WR corps again. Oh, my third WR is Steve Breaston...who is currently undergoing an MRI on an injured knee.....

Draft day is always the best day of the fantasy season, mainly for the company but also for the goofy crap that takes place during the draft....like the Pescado brother picking Jason Witten in the 2nd round just so he could have a player on his team ranked #1 at something (not sure which publication he was using that placed Witten as the top TE...the Cowboys media guide?). Shelvis's pre-pick justifications are always entertaining, although I could have done without some of the Holocaust denial speechifying during the mid-draft break. Lutes is always steadfast and serious, which is why he has been a constant in post-season play. Not sure why EB decided to pick fights with everyone and everything, but maybe that is why his wife placed him on a 6 month drinking hiatus...

Anyhoo, I can't wait for the NFL season to start...and go Hawks!

From Armstrong to Zappa

Les Paul, a true American genius and creator of one of rock & roll's iconic guitars passed away today. He was 94.

Les Paul collaborated with Ted McCarty in the design of the Gibson Les Paul, a solid body work of art.

Besides creating the guitar that 'made the sound of rock & roll possible', Les Paul is also credited with developing multi-track recording, overdubbing, and delay effects.

He was also a brilliant, brilliant guitarist and will be missed...although the musical legacy he leaves behind is epic.

Gibson Les Paul's have been played by a who's who list of rock, jazz, and country musicians.

How Many Shots Would It Take...

It would take 29 shots of Whiskey to kill me

Created by Bar Stools

Brock Lesnar Is Bad News For The UFC

The UFC has an image problem, and its name is Brock Lesnar. For the longest time I resisted becoming an MMA/UFC fan, but eventually gave in and sprung UFC 66 and then I was hooked. I found MMA to be much more interesting than boxing, learned to appreciate the ground game, and soon began following certain fighters (my favorite is Lyoto Machida, and I was ecstatic when he knocked Rashad Evans out). It was difficult to ignore the lunkhead factor when it came to a majority of UFC/MMA fans...and by lunkhead I mean a certain greased up d-bag segment of society. While it was nice to see Mandy Moore in the crowd shots at UFC events, even she couldn't negate the presence of several thousand liquored up wannabe goombahs and all-around idiots in the stand. But ignore them I did because their collective idiocy was relegated to the stands, not the ring. Then came Brock Lesnar.

Brock Lesnar is a former collegiate and professional wrestler, and by professional wrestler I mean the WWE. He's freakishly athletic and quick and has been a quick study in the Octagon, but he has brought an element of the WWE to the UFC that is both unwanted and unneeded.

To call Lesnar a boorish dolt would be too kind, he's rude, knows nothing of sportsmanship, and has no respect for other fighters. While there may be bad blood between other fighters, that ill will never carries over after a fight. The same can't be said for Lesnar, who went after a still dazed Frank Mir after their match had ended.

UFC president Dana White needs to make it abundantly clear to Lesnar that his WWE stupidity has no place in MMA. If Lesnar wishes to play up his bad guy role, fine, he's free to do so...back in the WWE where he can act up to that functionally retarded fan base. The more Lesnar wins, the more compelled he will be to continue his routine, a routine that is an embarrassment to the UFC...and should Lesnar's antics go unchecked and he is rewarded with more lucrative fights, the more up and coming fighters will adopt his methods - and that will turn the UFC into nothing more than the WWE, but with actual strikes and submissions.

Here's hoping Dana White has put Lesnar on some kind of notice that his pro wrestling hack show will not be tolerated. I won't purchase any future UFC events with Lesnar on the card, and will turn my back on the sport if fighters begin to emulate Lesnar. It's bad enough being a fan of a sport where more than half the fans repulse me....but should that sport devolve into the ridiculous spectacle that is the WWE, well...count me out should that ever happen.

Part Of My Teen Years Just Died

John Hughes, director of the 80's classics 'Pretty In Pink' and 'The Breakfast Club', passed away today. RIP, Mr. Hughes, the 1980's would not have been the same without you.

The Idiocy Of Government

So, what happened to all those cars that were traded in during the 'Cash For Clunkers' subsidy of the auto industry? This is almost too absurd for words, but the government is paying to have them destroyed...driving up the price of used cars and parts in the process, and because this is the government we are talking about the cars can't even be crushed...because an industrious and handy frugal owner could still find parts to use to keep the car they didn't trade in...and we can't have that:

Kevin Helliker in the WSJ: [S]odium silicate is the designated agent of death for cars surrendered under the federal cash-for-clunkers program. To receive government reimbursement, auto dealers who offer rebates on new cars in exchange for so-called clunkers must agree to "kill" the old models, using a method the government outlines in great detail in its 136-page manual for dealers: Drain the engine of oil and replace it with two quarts of a sodium-silicate solution.

"The heat of the operating engine then dehydrates the solution leaving solid sodium silicate distributed throughout the engine's oiled surfaces and moving parts," says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration publication. "These solids quickly abrade the bearings causing the engine to seize while damaging the moving parts of the engine and coating all of the oil passages."

Your government at work, people. Why not just invalidate the VIN on each car, so they can't be sold but can still be used for parts? That seems to be a much better solution than the one in place. Oh, but that wouldn't be good for the environment, but pouring sodium into engine blocks is....

This was nothing but another bail out for the auto industry and one more way government is trying to keep us as nothing more than debt slaves. It won't work because as soon as this subsidy ends, the auto industry will again be in the gutter...unless they extend the program indefinitely, which would drive the price of used cars and parts even higher.

These are the same inefficient idiots some of you want running health care. What happens when this same type of crude efficiency is applied to hospitals? Don't think that can happen? I suggest you think again...

Ultimate 80's Top 5

An alien from a galaxy far, far away lands on Earth and shows up at your front door. Said alien wants to know all about music from the 80's and asks you to name the five songs that define the 80's musically for you. What is your top 5?

Someone Needs A New Listing Agent

The other day I took Katelyn out for a walk - we were without a sitter, due to some communication issues between The Better Half, our normal sitter, my mom, her mom, and the neighbors. Therefore, I had to burn some PTO and stay home with her.

As I mentioned in my old blog, which is 100% dead, parts of our neighborhood are a hot bed of foreclosure activity. Baby Katelyn and I only walked about 2 blocks into one of the hardest hit areas and ran across the following:


Someone needs a new listing agent because this one is still thinking it is 2006:



Seriously, asking 649k on foreclosure lane? Just about every other house for sale on that street has big fat 'Price Reduced' signs on them...and this joker thinks he can ask 649k. Either the seller or the agent is delusional. If it is the seller, then the agent did a crap job of communicating the reality of the market..so he's sub par. If the agent went along with this asking price, he's in worse shape than the sellers because as a 'pro' he should know that he is competing against not only short sales, but superior houses less than a mile away. The kind of scratch they are asking for on a home from a builder with some issues is way out of line with reality.

Here are some comps:

For 650k even you get this stucco monster....

How about some overrated golf course living in this 649k odd photo effects listing?

But a real crusher is this Steve Jensen home,a superior builder to Polygon Homes, coming in 20k less....

Here's why this seller/listing agent are way off base - same street, same builder, comparable square footage...but this one is 180k LESS than the listing in the photo I took. Compare them both - here's the house for 649k....and here's the one for 469k...do you see any compelling reasons as to why the 1st is 'worth' 180k more than the 2nd?