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Last Updated: 4/9/2008

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Gender: Male
City: Tucson
State: ARIZONA
Country: US

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Saturday, April 21, 2007 4:53 AM

Current mood:  calm
Category: Travel and Places
 Last night's stay at the Day's Inn in Ft. Morgan, CO was great.  I can not say anything bad, nor can I say enough good about the stay there.  It was nice to have a hotel that just had everything up, running, and as it should be.

The drive in from CO to Omaha was extremely windy, but sunny.  Fighting the wind was tiring, and I ended up stopping several times to take a break for 5 minutes and rest.

The rest stops in NE are well lit, clean and popular.  Not as good as some, better than others.  Overall, I'd give them a B.

There was a lot of construction in Lincoln and it added about an hour to my time.

Other than that, the drive was decent and I got to Omaha in fairly short order.
Currently listening:
Gaelic Storm
By Gaelic Storm
Release date: 28 July, 1998
 
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Friday, April 20, 2007 4:26 AM

Current mood:  cheerful
Category: Travel and Places

The drive from Santa Fe, NM was scenic.  One thing to note, get gas when you can.  I had a half-tank when leaving Santa Fe, and I just wanted to get out of town.  My stay there was deplorable and I didn't want to dawdle.

I missed the next few exits for gas, thinking that I'd wait until I was closer to a quarter-tank.  That was a mistake.  A hundred miles or so without an exit with services and I started thinking about how long AAA would take to get to me and if I could make a preemptive service call.

Luckily, just as I'm about to be on fumes, I hit an exit with a gas station.  It was the most expensive gas so far on the trip, but I took every drop I could put in the tank.

There was some construction between Boulder and Pueblo and I learned that Colorado drivers will stop, fully, on the highway, to gawk at anything on the side of the road.  More than once I found myself standing on my break while people stared at construction equipment or some other mundane thing.  I figured it was just me, until at one such occurrence, I heard the inevitable sound of tires squealing and looked to see a truck next to me sliding into his spot as cool as if he expected no less.  This led me to believe that this is just a natural part of driving in Colorado.

Colorado was nice, and very windy.  I took 470 to skirt Denver.  Although traffic was light, and it was a beautiful clear day, there was a $2 toll plaza every 2 miles.  It cost me $10 to do the 30 mile road.  Expensive, but I think that going through downtown Denver would have been worse.

I arrived at the Day's Inn in Ft. Morgan in decent time, checked in, and got some "real" food at a local Chinese restaurant.  The food was plentiful for the price, but the Dragon Village in Oro Valley is better.  But anything is better than McDonald's or other "road food".

Currently listening:
The Best of Sweet
By Sweet
Release date: 04 May, 1993
 
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Thursday, April 19, 2007 3:37 AM

Current mood:  awake
Category: Travel and Places
The drive from Tucson to Santa Fe was decent.  Nice weather, nice road, few other drivers.  But I have to warn people.  If you stop at a New Mexico rest stop (at least between Las Cruses and Santa Fe) don't expect much of a door on the toilet stalls.  I don't know what moron decided to put little half-height doors on the restrooms, but while that might be OK in a trendy clothing store, it's not a good thing in a rest room.  Especially when the toilets are next to the main entrance.  --  That's just WRONG.  --  Clean, sure, they were clean.  Well lit, yep, they were well lit too.  But come on people, put some doors on the toilets, will ya?  What the hell's wrong with you??

Well priceline did it again.

While I'm getting good prices from priceline, the hotels they chose suck.

Last night I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Santa Fe, NM.  It was hard to find, hard to enter/exit the parking lot, and didn't have very good parking.

The room itself was designed by a pissed off midget.  The toilet only came up to my shin, the shower head was lower than my shoulder, and the sink was only waist high.

If that wasn't bad enough, the bed was lumpy, the pillows were only about 1/2 an inch thick, -- I ended up folding the comforter to use as a pillow. -- there was no nightstand and my allergies went nuts from whatever air perfume they use.

The mad dwarf had left huge areas of unused space in the room.  For example, there was 3 feet between the toilet and the tub, but there was only about 3 inches between the toilet and the wall.  The single queen bed was in a room big enough for 2 kings, and there was a couch and coffee table on one side of the room, the other side was bare.

Now, I understand that they might have done this on purpose for ADA compliance.  I've stayed in handicapped rooms before, but they had grab bars installed in strategic places (by toilet, by shower, by bed, etc..).  One hotel even had a shower with just a drain in the floor (no tub), so that a wheelchair could just roll into the shower.  The lack of any such modifications, not to mention that the bathroom door was half as wide as a normal door, and I had to go through it sideways, disproves the American with Disabilities Act angle.

This is the second time I trusted priceline to pick a hotel and the second time I feel I've paid way too much by paying half what the original price was. 

How foolish must the people who paid full price must feel?
Currently listening:
Bridge
By Blues Traveler
Release date: 08 May, 2001
 
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Sunday, April 15, 2007 2:36 AM

Current mood:  pissed off
Category: Pets and Animals

Seriously,


Is there anything more annoying than a dog owner?


I've never seen someone pull a ferret out of their purse in a store.  Especially at a restaurant or grocery store.


I've never see someone take a goldfish to a seminar or a class.


I've never seen someone take a lizard to the pet store to pick out a toy and annoy other customers.


I've never seen someone take a cat for a walk and let it shit on the sidewalk or in someone's yard.  Or teach it to shit in other people's yard.


I've never seen someone take a bird to the grocery store and then leave it in the car with the windows rolled down far enough that it gets out.  Or forget to roll down a window and end up killing it.


I've never seen anyone complain that a neighbor's hamster was too loud and kept the whole neighborhood awake all night.


WHY DO WE PUT UP WITH IT FROM DOG OWNERS??


I'm not saying that we need to make it illegal to own a dog, but a dog really needs supervision and extensive training.  I think that you should not be allowed to own one if you don't live in a single family home.  And then you get 1 dog per acre, are forced to take classes and pass tests, and, if necessary, use shock collars and muzzles.  (Maybe on the owners too.)  And if you are ever found guilty of any of the above situations, you lose your dog and the ability to own one in the future.

Dog licenses should evaluate a person's ability to own a dog, much like how driver's licenses supposedly evaluate the ability of a person to drive.  (At least drivers can lose their license, but that's a whole other rant.)


I understand it's not the dog.  It's the owner.  So if you know someone like this, please smack them around until they realize that they are being asinine and they stop.

Currently listening:
The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
By Various Artists
Release date: 29 March, 1994
 
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Sunday, March 25, 2007 6:31 AM

Current mood:  contemplative
Category: News and Politics

Immigration_by_the_Numbers.mov



..>..>



Roy Beck's celebrated demonstration of the population consequences of current U.S. immigration policies has entertained and shocked audiences across the country. This video is packed with the facts and analysis that make moral and practical sense of a complex and highly contentious issue.


Personally, I think he's going in the right direction, but he's on the wrong track. Yes, we need to limit immigration, but I don't believe that's what's pissing off most Americans.

What we need to do is put better controls over illegal immigration. These people are not "undocumented citizens"! Every time some liberal-assed journalist refers to them as such I have an urge to wack them with a 2x4. These people are violating FEDERAL LAW, and anyone who aids and abets them is also breaking FEDERAL LAW.

Hey, I'll admit, my grandparents came to America legally in the 30's. I'm only 2nd generation American. Legal immigration doesn't bother me.

What bothers me is all the kowtowing and capitulation that we do for all the illegal immigrants, especially the Spanish speaking ones. Where were the bilingual classes for all the other demographics?

Here's a clue, the reason why no one objected to immigration prior to the 1980's is that they all worked hard to be assimilated into American culture.

Today's illegals come to America because they have more rights and benefits than citizens do. Free education. Free health care. Free welfare.

Shit! I should expatriate to Mexico and come back illegally so that I can live so well.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of France, but in the late 80's early 90's, they earned my respect when they rounded up all the illegals they could find and forced them out at gun-point.

How can we do less?

I think we should institute a "catch and release" program for illegals. When we catch them, we tag them, and send them back. If we catch a repeat offender, we shoot them for espionage and subversion.

This is why we need a president with balls. Someone who is capable of doing all the politically damning things for the good of the nation, instead of the good of the minority. We need leaders who can actually lead, not pass law that benefits big corporations (Republicans) or pass laws that gratify the wailing minority (Democrats).

We need leaders who will have the fortitude to fix America.
Currently reading:
Gaunt's Ghosts: The Founding (Gaunts Ghost)
By Dan Abnett
Release date: 27 February, 2007
 
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Sunday, March 18, 2007 3:21 AM

Current mood:  amused
Category: Pets and Animals
I have 2 insane cats.  Crack Whore and Fat Bastard.  Actually, he's not fat, his fur is very thick and puffy, and makes him looks fat.  When you pet him or when he walks around, you can see that's he big, but not really fat.

He is BIG however.  He's almost 20 pounds!  He reminds me of a linebacker or a wrestler.  He's just a big, muscular cat.

And He does have a sweet tooth. 

He and Crack Whore love fruit and would rather have something sweet than chicken or fish or whatever.  In fact he's dragged watermelon rinds out of the trash to chew on.  Fat Bastard and Crack Whore will actually fight over pieces of honeydew.  --  Which can be fun to watch.

Anyhow, I thought I'd seen the degree of his sweet tooth but this past week he really impressed me.

My friend had given me some home-made cookies in a little tin box for Christmas.  I had told her how much I had loved them, so when she made more last week, she gave me a bunch in a plastic bag.

When I came downstairs the next day, Fat Bastard had clawed open the bag and eaten big chunks out of a few of them.  And probably several ounces of plastic in the process.

The other day, I had decided to indulge my love for jellybeans, since this is the only time of year they are readily available.  I had some last night and put them away.
I had some for lunch, but forgot to put them away.  Instead, I folded the bag over and left them on the arm of my couch.
Well, Fat Bastard had pushed them off the arm of the couch and flipped open the bag.  Apparently he likes the cherry and the green apple the most since they had the most "kills". 

He also either didn't care that I was standing over him, or he was too busy to notice.  But I just wish I could have taken a picture while his head was fully encased in the bag.
With my luck, he'll puke them all up in about an hour of so.

Currently watching:
The World's Fastest Indian
Release date: 13 June, 2006
 
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Thursday, March 01, 2007 4:46 PM

Category: Travel and Places
This is a great hotel for short people.  Not being a small person (I'm 6'4"), I kept scraping my knuckles on the ceiling in my room, I banged my head on the shower curtain rod, and the shower head only came up to my chest.  My room was near the pool and therefor very clammy.  (Yuck!)  The A/C-heater barely worked and it didn't seem to matter if I put it on full blast A/C or heat, the same temp air would come out.  And all the seats (toilets, chairs, beds, etc...) were below knee level, which I hate.  The bed was lumpy and would creak every time I moved, which kept waking me up.  And when I got to my car in the morning, someone had had a good time at the bar because they ended up puking right below the passenger side door.  (Thankfully they missed my car.)  When I think that they charge $175 a night, I laugh.  Even at the $75 I paid on Priceline, I felt overcharged. Anyone would probably do better at the Comfort Inn or something.  Very disappointing.
 
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Tuesday, February 20, 2007 6:19 PM

Current mood:  annoyed
Category: Web, HTML, Tech
The other day, I was having a problem with a Linksys component and went to them for help.  Not only didn't I find what I needed, but was asked to fill out a customer survey.  The following was my response to the "how can we improve" field.



All I really wanted was to download a new "start here" CD for an old component.  But all you had were firmware updates.  Which was completely useless.  And the phone rep couldn't really grasp what I was asking for.  So you could begin by adding either a .zip or a .iso file for this purpose.

The next thing you could do is fire your marketing department.  I bought one of your first wireless routers and I loved it.  I thought the best thing was that it could be used as either a router or a bridge or an access point.  But all your new crap is router only, even though turning it into a bridge is pure software.  (I could purge the Linksys OS and put in a Linux based OS to force it to do what I need, but it's too time consuming.)  From what I see, the ONLY reason you don't add all those features that you used to have is that you now sell the features as separate devices.  Which makes you money-grubbing whores.
Currently listening:
Cowboy Bebop CD Box (Limited Edition)
By Japanimation
Release date: 21 June, 2002
 
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Thursday, February 15, 2007 8:02 PM

Current mood:  productive
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers
The nice thing about vacation rentals is you can charge 4X more per month.  But you have to also consider how long the rental season is for.  My theory is that to break even, you need to make all your expenses by the first half of the rental period.  This will help cover loss due to vacancies.  It can be done.  A friend has a neighbor with a multi-million dollar home.  He told me that he makes enough money renting it out for 3 months to cover the whole year's mortgage. 

Most books don't tell you that your monthly income from rent is negligible ($100 - $200 a month), and it's really the equity built over time that's important.  In fact, most of them recommend that you mortgage the property for 100+% of it's equity every 2-4 years.  This is for 2 reasons.  First is that this gives you tax-free cash to put into more investments.  And second, it allows for bigger deductions on your taxes.  But I don't like having that because when prices go down, like now, it makes banks nervous.  On top of that, the more you owe, the more you need for rent, which may overprice your rental and leave it empty longer.  And an empty rental is negative cash flow.

But that's how a lot of these people (Carlton Sheets, Robert Kiyosaki, The Rice Brothers, etc...) make their fortunes.  Get ANY piece of real estate, borrow as much as you can against it, then do it again.  This is how they can say that they "made" $50K in 4 hours.  They bought a house priced below market value.  Bought it, mortgaged it for 125% and walked away with the difference.

$20K down on a $200K house worth $250K.  Mortgage it for $300K and walk away with $80K (CASH) for 4 hours worth of paper signing.

Of course they usually don't talk about how to pay the $300K mortgage.  Even at 6% over a 30 year fixed, you're looking at $1800 a month in P&I, not including taxes, home owners/rental insurance, PMI, etc...  Which would probably bring your payment to $2500.  And good luck trying to get more than that in rent.  Even with a higher-rate interest-only loan, you're probably looking at $1200-$1500 a month before the etcetera. 

I've found that rent is usually 1/200th of the house price per month.  If it's a $200K house (market, not mortgage) then rent probably tops out at about $1000 a month.  So far it works just about everywhere.  But at the 6%, 30-year fixed, this is $1200 a month P&I.  Which means you're perpetually on the high end of the market.  So it's really a lose-lose proposition.

If one rental goes without a tenant for more than a few days, the whole thing unravels.  Of course, the more you own, the bigger your buffer gets.  And the more cash you have on-hand to cover the problems.  Do this plan with just 10 - 20 homes and you could have a million in cash (tax free) in the bank.  Or mattress.  Or shoe box.  Or wherever you like to keep your cash. 

And banks are a little nuts like that.  Have $80K in the bank, they'll give you 2 more $300K loans.  Have $200K in the bank, they'll give you 5 more loans.  What they seem to miss is the fact that all the money in the bank is their money.  After all, they just loaned it to you.

Congratulations!!

I just gave you the secret of making a million dollars in less than a year.  And I'm not even going to force you to go to a seminar or pay for "coaching" or buy a bunch of video tapes or anything.
Currently listening:
Torch This Place
By The Atomic Fireballs
Release date: 18 May, 1999
 
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Friday, February 02, 2007 8:37 PM

Current mood:  okay
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers
I've been looking at getting into rentals for about 3 years now.  The problem I saw was that the price of real estate was skyrocketing and the price of rent was stable.  To me, this obviously meant that profit margins were dwindling faster than I could read books or look at homes.

My friend had just flipped a home and made about $20,000 in profit from the 3 month ordeal.  And we spent the next 4 months looking for another opportunity.  Without success.  So, when he got a job offer, he took it.

Here in Tucson my friends and I, using different calculations, all came up with the same conclusion.  In late 2005 there was about 1 realtor for about every 40 home owners.  Now I come from a town of about 400.  I never saw a realtor until I was 10 years old.  I didn't even know they existed.  Never saw a "For Sale" sign.  Never saw a office sign.  I can't imagine that town having 10 realtors.  But that's what we had going on in Tucson.

Now I'm laughing at all the people who jumped into the market and are dying.  Another friend lives at a small apartment complex which recently changed hands.  The new owner paid $25M for it.  Now he can't even afford to cut the grass, much less keep the tenants happy.  And the mass exodus has started.  I am looking forward to following the bankruptcy on the property.

I laugh.  I've been working with realtors (as a computer guy) for 5 years now.  I look at the income property ads and I crunch the numbers.  EVERY ad I've ever seen is negative income.  Almost every ad states that the current owner is enjoying an income stream.  Well, Duh.  If you bought a property 5 years ago for $200K and can get $1500 a month in rent, then you're making around $300 a month in income.  But when you buy it today for $400K, and rent is still $1500, then you're losing about $900 a month.  And there's no way, around here anyway, to charge that much in rent.  If you do, you won't have a renter.  So, of course the current owner is making a monthly profit, and unless you buy it for what he paid for it, you won't.

And I'm impressed at how many people can't seem to do that basic math.

Flipping is the same.  The house is on the market at $100K.  It's going to take $50K to fix it up.  When it sells, it will be worth about $120K.  Ummm...  No.  I don't think I'll do that.  But within a week or 2, someone will buy it.  I've watched several homes now.  I love to see them put that $100K house on the market for over $200K and then it sits vacant for over a year while the asking price dwindles.

Heck, even a nice home like my neighbors went from an asking price of $497K in Oct of 2005 to a sale price of $390K in Jan 2007.

And that's just one of a dozen examples I personally know.

The only drawback in real estate I've seen is that the monthly revenue isn't much.  Couple hundred bucks a month, if you're lucky.  Most people make money flipping or holding on for a long term investment.

I see it like this.  I need $3000 a month to cover all my bills.  In Kiyosaki's perfect world examples, you'd buy a $100K house for $10K down and make $100 a month.  Which means I'd need 30 homes to break even.  Which means I'd need $300K to invest. 

OR

For $300K I buy a business (Quizno's, Dunkin Donut, Jiffy Lube ... whatever) and make $5k - $10K a month in income.

So, I get disenchanted with real estate as an investment vehicle rather quickly.

I think that prices will continue to fall for another few years.  Everyone seems to have a "wait and see" attitude.  By that time, I might be interested as it may be profitable again. 
Currently listening:
The Phat Pack
By Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
Release date: 13 June, 2006
 
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