It's about to be an event-filled two weeks as I head on vacation from my real job. Having just touched-down in Chicago, we'll be exploring the Midwest this upcoming week. Then on Friday, it's the opening ceremonies and the 2012 London Games will be underway. Finally, July 31 is Six Man in Manhattan Beach. No, I don't have the date wrong, and yes, you're looking at the correct calendar. The legendary tournament and beach party is now on a weekday to deter the large crowds. I'll be there to see the effect this has on the fun-tivities. Keep the feed rolling!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Random Thought of the Day
Last night at a city council meeting, Compton officials raised the prospect that the city may need to consider bankruptcy in the near future, which could make it the fourth California city to do so since the financial collapse. At the same time, political campaigns raise hundreds of millions of dollars from deep pockets and celebrities just to blow on mud-slinging advertising.
I wonder what it would be like if celebrities and deep pockets channeled their influence through municipalities to promote electoral campaigns; would any of these cities have gone broke? I'd like to think Dre and The Game would have made the CPT a hip-hop tourist resort town, by now...
I wonder what it would be like if celebrities and deep pockets channeled their influence through municipalities to promote electoral campaigns; would any of these cities have gone broke? I'd like to think Dre and The Game would have made the CPT a hip-hop tourist resort town, by now...
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Introducing Costa Rica to Southern California
It's been six months, and I still have not experienced a comparison. Though Firestone Walker's new 805 Gold brew is legit, it still doesn't compare to the Tico tradition, Imperial. That said, I'm on a mission....to find Imperial in Southern California...and introduce it to YOU!
Home Remedies
So we recently bought a house, and as new homeowners had to figure a few things out the hard way. I thought that we'd pass along a few tips that may enlighten and hopefully help a few other people.
#1: RoundUp kills weeds and grass. Yes, it says so on the bottle, but apparently not quite as common of knowledge as one would think, and if you've already got a pre-made mix running, an off-the cuff question for confirmation can have a negative impact on your new lawn. I recommend Patch Master to correct that error.
#2: Raccoons are some serious SOB's. We had some that decided to camp under our deck and roll up the new sod in the yard to poach on worms and grub. As fun as it is to roll your lawn back over the bare ground a couple of times a week, we decided to take action...swiftly. First, we used Ammonia-soaked tennis balls and tossed them under the deck. This sent them packing for a few days, but they were back within a week. Follow up attacks included moth balls and Critter Ridder, which again worked for a limited time. In the end, what stopped the damn raccoons was depriving them of their food, and using their nocturnal nature against them. The worms and grub always came out when the sprinklers came on to water the grass, which prompted the raccoons. By changing our watering time from 4:30am to 6:15am we may have reduced the optimum utilization that the water companies talk about, but keeping the sprinklers on early (before it gets hot) but after dawn has turned our pests into ghosts. Not a raccoon trace anywhere since. Note to the people!
#3: CFLs are great energy saving tools. However, if you have your light on a dimmer switch (and literally every light switch in our house, save the kitchen and master bath, was on a dimmer), a CFL will not work properly. The reason is that they are already producing less wattage than a standard light bulb, so dialing the current back gives the light a flickering effect-- even leaving the light on high will eventually produce a flicker due to the variable current in the switch. So we changed out a couple of our switches to the standard [on/off] to handle the CFLs, and kept others with standard bulbs on dimmers. We won't save as much energy and risk our commitment to the environment, but it's nice to be able to adjust the intensity of some lights.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tebow Flirting With Hypocracy and Super-Egotism
Except, Tebow isn't upset for the reasons you would think. He's thinking about suing the company that created and is selling these T-Shirts on the basis of using Tim's likeness and celebrity.
Really, Tim? You're upset because they are using your likeness and you aren't getting paid. Is your name "My Jesus?" Why are you not pissed about the whole False Idolatry part? If you feel the shirt does, in fact, reference you, then aren't you enabling millions in the breaking of the Third Commandment?
But really, Tim, you own the cross and the name just as much as Komen owns the color pink. People may associate you with the symbol, but it isn't yours to cash in on. If you did, and if you even try, then you aren't the Christian that you say you are, or that your millions of fans believe you are.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Residential Lending is Still Stringent: Some Tips
Believe it or not, in most types of lending, credit standards are beginning to ease a bit. Most commercial banks are no longer requiring their guarantors to have liquidity of 3x the amount of their business loans, credit scores by themselves are less and less likely to be the determination for a denial of credit (the litany of short sales and loan modifications can be thanked for that) on an overall basis, and Banks have expanded their LTV capabilities on commercial property-- especially multifamily housing.
But perhaps because of the proximity to disaster, mortgage loan standards remain as tight as they have ever been, and at some points can seem completely unnecessary. If you plan on refinancing your mortgage, given the historic rates, or have realized that if there was ever a time to buy into the housing market it's right now, then here's a few things you should be prepared for.
Have three years' worth of Tax Returns available, first and foremost. Not only that, but just be prepared to explain-- in detail-- the nature of your primary lifestyle activities of the past three years. And by past three, I actually mean past four, given that the tax deadline was last month (if you're on extension, be prepared to have your EA/CPA prepare a draft return for you; this is non-negotiable with lenders still). Also, be prepared with bank account statements, retirement account statements, and any brokerage statements you may have....heck, life insurance statements if you have them, too.
Take my experience for example: My wife had no income to report in 2008 and 2009, as she was in school obtaining her doctorate. Her 2010 return showed her employment, albeit brief (beginning in October of that year), and associated income. Just stating that she was in school should have been enough to piece together the history, but that was not enough for our lender. We also had to provide sealed transcripts and her diploma in order to satisfy the lender.
Not only that, but the lender required the most recent two paystubs from both of us...twice. Once at the initial application, and once again when escrow closing was delayed due to the short-sale lender's process. Even on top of that, the lender placed phone calls to both of our employers to verify our employment....twice!
This is the kind of lender panic and fear that has led to the interpretation that its still impossible to qualify for a home loan still. And while that's not the case, persistence and overwhelming willpower are certainly keys to success in seeing the process through.
So get your ducks in a row; my advice is to get all of those documents into "The Cloud" as you start the process (we used Google Docs, now 'Drive'), and continue saving all of the lending info into the cloud as you fill it out and sign it. More than once we had an issue where the seller's Bank (the Short Sale lender) asked a second time for the same set of info we had already forwarded. Thankfully, since it was already "In The Cloud," I was able to immediately furnish the info to continue pushing our process forward.
And while I wish I could say that this was the only major headache in closing on our purchase, we also had to deal with the fact that we were buying a short sale, were buying someone's rental property that they had as an investment from out of state, a property that had tenants, and a selling agent that continually tried to get us to accept closing escrow before the tenants moved out. Then our insurer decided to get snippy with us about occupancy, though we've settled every outstanding issue and are finally going to move into our little piece of Southern California this upcoming weekend!
While our situation is under normal circumstances "unique," today's environment is anything but normal, with distressed sales amounting to 1/3 of all home purchases. So, that's the kind of madness you may be looking at in the real estate world. Hopefully now you feel a bit more prepared.
But perhaps because of the proximity to disaster, mortgage loan standards remain as tight as they have ever been, and at some points can seem completely unnecessary. If you plan on refinancing your mortgage, given the historic rates, or have realized that if there was ever a time to buy into the housing market it's right now, then here's a few things you should be prepared for.
Have three years' worth of Tax Returns available, first and foremost. Not only that, but just be prepared to explain-- in detail-- the nature of your primary lifestyle activities of the past three years. And by past three, I actually mean past four, given that the tax deadline was last month (if you're on extension, be prepared to have your EA/CPA prepare a draft return for you; this is non-negotiable with lenders still). Also, be prepared with bank account statements, retirement account statements, and any brokerage statements you may have....heck, life insurance statements if you have them, too.
Take my experience for example: My wife had no income to report in 2008 and 2009, as she was in school obtaining her doctorate. Her 2010 return showed her employment, albeit brief (beginning in October of that year), and associated income. Just stating that she was in school should have been enough to piece together the history, but that was not enough for our lender. We also had to provide sealed transcripts and her diploma in order to satisfy the lender.
Not only that, but the lender required the most recent two paystubs from both of us...twice. Once at the initial application, and once again when escrow closing was delayed due to the short-sale lender's process. Even on top of that, the lender placed phone calls to both of our employers to verify our employment....twice!
This is the kind of lender panic and fear that has led to the interpretation that its still impossible to qualify for a home loan still. And while that's not the case, persistence and overwhelming willpower are certainly keys to success in seeing the process through.
So get your ducks in a row; my advice is to get all of those documents into "The Cloud" as you start the process (we used Google Docs, now 'Drive'), and continue saving all of the lending info into the cloud as you fill it out and sign it. More than once we had an issue where the seller's Bank (the Short Sale lender) asked a second time for the same set of info we had already forwarded. Thankfully, since it was already "In The Cloud," I was able to immediately furnish the info to continue pushing our process forward.
And while I wish I could say that this was the only major headache in closing on our purchase, we also had to deal with the fact that we were buying a short sale, were buying someone's rental property that they had as an investment from out of state, a property that had tenants, and a selling agent that continually tried to get us to accept closing escrow before the tenants moved out. Then our insurer decided to get snippy with us about occupancy, though we've settled every outstanding issue and are finally going to move into our little piece of Southern California this upcoming weekend!
While our situation is under normal circumstances "unique," today's environment is anything but normal, with distressed sales amounting to 1/3 of all home purchases. So, that's the kind of madness you may be looking at in the real estate world. Hopefully now you feel a bit more prepared.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Who Named Big Bear, and Why?
Happy Friday, Angelenos and Southern California enthusiasts! Your random So-Cal facts for the day....
Do you know how Big Bear lake got its name?
Originally named Bear Lake, it received its name because of the abundance of bears present during an 1885 expedition to ward off Indians that were coming into the area, ravaging and plundering what they could.
The Lake was named by none other than Benjamin "Benito," B.D. Wilson, for whom the towering (litterally, with communications equipment) mountaintop of the San Gabriels is named. Wilson was twice almost killed by bears.
Do you know how Big Bear lake got its name?
Originally named Bear Lake, it received its name because of the abundance of bears present during an 1885 expedition to ward off Indians that were coming into the area, ravaging and plundering what they could.
The Lake was named by none other than Benjamin "Benito," B.D. Wilson, for whom the towering (litterally, with communications equipment) mountaintop of the San Gabriels is named. Wilson was twice almost killed by bears.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
From the "Wha?..." File
Nothing special, but I just had to share.....
I did a double-take yesterday while at 7-11, picking up a Big Gulp on the way home from work (no, the apple does not fall far from the tree). I was headed out the door when a guy who just walked in asks, "Do you guys have those little packs of gum, you know, the ones for a quarter?" Dude had just stepped out of a Jag to come in the door.
Theme Song: Big Timers, "Still Fly"
I did a double-take yesterday while at 7-11, picking up a Big Gulp on the way home from work (no, the apple does not fall far from the tree). I was headed out the door when a guy who just walked in asks, "Do you guys have those little packs of gum, you know, the ones for a quarter?" Dude had just stepped out of a Jag to come in the door.
Theme Song: Big Timers, "Still Fly"
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Calling the Music Industry to Task
It's midway through April, and I'm sure you've noticed. There is a distinct lack of decent new music right now. I should clarify what I mean by new-- an album released in 2012. This means that the Rihanna, the T-Pain, the Weezy, the Yeezy, Drake, Taylor Swift, and even the Gotye that are currently getting spins were all released for our ears during the year 2011. All the great talent in the music industry, and nobody wants to release an album during a time when there has literally been no competition for new content. It came as quite a shock as I downloaded Roman Reloaded, pulled up the iTunes playlist, and noticed that this was the first album with a 2012 tag.
Needless to say, it caused me a moment of disappointment in the music industry when I thought of all of the talent that's due for something new, but all there has been is silence. The foremost of which had better get his friggin' arse into the booth as soon as his honeymoon is over, because even when I checked over with my friends at Metacritic, Justin Timberlake is still nowhere on the upcoming releases list.
That disappointing news aside, I was pleasantly surprised to see the lineup of new releases for the rest of 2012 from names of familiar artists, and I'm sure that the following list will be further enhanced by some new talent that comes onto the scene as the year unfolds. As of now, information available on Metacritic suggests the following probable release dates....
Needless to say, it caused me a moment of disappointment in the music industry when I thought of all of the talent that's due for something new, but all there has been is silence. The foremost of which had better get his friggin' arse into the booth as soon as his honeymoon is over, because even when I checked over with my friends at Metacritic, Justin Timberlake is still nowhere on the upcoming releases list.
That disappointing news aside, I was pleasantly surprised to see the lineup of new releases for the rest of 2012 from names of familiar artists, and I'm sure that the following list will be further enhanced by some new talent that comes onto the scene as the year unfolds. As of now, information available on Metacritic suggests the following probable release dates....
Upcoming Album Release Calendar
All dates are for U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Release dates are subject to change, and often do.
| Jason Mraz | Love Is A four Letter Word | |
| SWV | I Miss Us | |
| Train | California 37 | |
| B.o.B | Strange Clouds | |
| Carrie Underwood | Blown Away | |
| Marilyn Manson | Born Villain | |
| Norah Jones | Little Broken Hearts | |
| Pennywise | All Or Nothing | |
| Chris Brown | Fortune | |
| Santana | Shape Shifter | |
| Tenacious D | Rize of the Fenix | |
| Joey Ramone | ...Ya Know? | [Posthumous release] |
| John Mayer | Born and Raised | |
| Slash | Apocalyptic Love | [Former Guns N' Roses guitarist] |
| Usher | Looking For Myself | |
| Kenny Chesney | [Title TBA] | |
| Smashing Pumpkins | Oceania | |
| Maroon 5 | Overexposed | |
| Ludacris | Ludaversal | |
| Green Day | Uno! | {Part of a trilogy of albums] |
| Green Day | Dos! | {Part of a trilogy of albums] |
| Green Day | Tre! | {Part of a trilogy of albums] |
Anticipated Future Releases
These albums do not yet have a firm release date, but are in various stages of development. If an artist appears multiple times, that means multiple albums by that artist are forthcoming.
| Aerosmith | [Title TBA] | Summer 2012 |
| Birdman and Lil Wayne | Like Father, Like Son 2 | Winter 2012 |
| Brandy | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| Busta Rhymes | E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) 2: End of the World | 2012 |
| Dr. Dre | Detox | 2012 |
| D'Angelo | James River | 2012 |
| Elton John | The Diving Board | Fall 2012 |
| Eve | Lip Lock | 2012 |
| Fabolous | Loso’s Way 2 | 2012 |
| Far*East Movement | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| Janet Jackson | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| Justin Bieber | Believe | 2012 |
| Lil Wayne | I Am Not A Human Being 2 | 2012 |
| Linkin Park | [Title TBA] | Summer 2012 |
| Lupe Fiasco | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| Matchbox Twenty | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| Missy Elliott | [Title TBA] | Jun 2012 |
| Mumford & Sons | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| Muse | [Title TBA] | Fall 2012 |
| Nelly Furtado | Lifestyle | Summer 2012 |
| No Doubt | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| Pearl Jam | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| Phoenix | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| The Killers | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| The Offspring | [Title TBA] | 2012 |
| The-Dream | Love IV MMXII | May 2012 |
| Timbaland | [Title TBA] | Jun 2012 |
After seeing this list, I decided a couple of months with nothing new will definitely be more than offset by what's to come for the rest of the year. Should be a great year for music!
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