Friday, October 27, 2006

The Real Estate analogy

Or rather this piece quite simply, puts in plain english with regards to unlimited growth, expectations and our survival in the face of loss of our perceived notions of what is and isn't society. It's been a fool's game with regards to the Real Estate market here in So Cal and elsewhere. But it seems the sun has affected our mental constitution here to such a degree that we or at least some (many?) of you thought things could continue unabated. Ha, and a big fat one you dopes.

Any way on to the punchline, things all over are in the same mess. And this guy very adroitly spells out in long form (but worth the read) what is and what may just lie ahead.

Make no mistake sports fans, things are not as they seem. Fool yourself into believing 'the same old same' old will prevail but I for one have been changing the trim of my sails. Things are a blowin' in the wind and I'll be goddamned if I know what they are per se, but they will not be 'the same old, same old'...

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Wither thou goest


I'm pretty sure we all had in our childhood a friend, a pal, a tag-a-long companion made of fabric and poly fill. I vaguely (oh so vaguely..) recall a floppy hound tan with long, brown ears but this has been 40 years hence so I can't verify the accuracy of this memory. Anyhoo Doodles has a poly fill stuffed companion in the form of a penguin. He goes everywhere, and I mean everywhere, and he is loved. To death practically... But I digress.

Penguin Baby as he is known to us all has made his way to the Georgia, Yosemite, Fisherman's Wharf, Bodie and countless other locales far and wide. And of course he has made a few unscheduled layovers as well. Once in the backpack of the child above us for several days, and was almost returned (by mistake) by his mother to the child's daycare. Whew, close call Penguin Baby. Then there was that junket in the movie theater, fortunately for us we didn't have to resort to our substitution doctrine... Yes thank god for eBay. Since Penguin Baby was a commercial entity, finding a clone was reasonably easy on fleaBay. Doppleganger in hand the wife and I were prepared for any situation, of course now we had to work on our substitution speech but this was a small price and easily reconciled to the larger problem of not having 'the' Penguin Baby.

I did say that he is loved, right and to death? And that it shows? Well a penguin is normally black and white and possibly a touch or 2 of some other colors but the dominant ones being black and white. And penguins love the water right? Not this one. He started out predominantly white and black but as time goes forward he begins to take on a gray and black appearance. Unless of course you wash him, or at a minimum scrub the outside with soap and a sponge.

So this is what I found myself doing this Sunday night. Good god was that guy dingy, so I gave him the once over and sat him in front of a fan to dry. Doodles is always happy to see that Penguin gets a bath, but he never wants to participate or take the initiative to do it hisself it seems. I guess he's content to leave it up to us like so much else about life, why stop at Penguin Baby...

Not again..

Oh well 1st offer fell through, as did another more recent one. Just can't get above the bar on this one it seems. Refi looking high on the board again, but damn it I'd rather cash out and have some funds to work with instead of being in the same place but only less broke at the end of the month... hmm could be worse, could be rainin'. Wait a minute it's threatening to...