Cartagena

This week's news about Secret Service and Pentagon military personnel bringing 21 Columbian hookers back to their hotel rooms- the same hotel they were to house Obama at this week, Hilary Clinton dancing the night away at the Havana Bistro, Obama declaring he was on Columbia scouting out his next vacation and senior managers from the GSA in front of Congress pleading their 5th Amendment rights against incriminating themselves when questioned about a Las Vegas soiree with $4 shrimp, iPads that mysteriously appeared in the Western Region Managers daughter's hands, photos of the manager basking in a Jacuzzi in his room and an $900,000 bill for the event that us taxpayer's are expected to pay - Animal House! WTF?

Be Happy With What You Have

Just Do It!

If you want to live the good life, just do it.
If you want your marriage to be a success, just do it.
If you want to be looked up to, successful, respected, just do it.
If you want the best that life has to offer, just do it.
Just do it and do it and do it and do it and do it.
Never quit. 
Just do it.

Since January 23rd, I have been walking 2.5+ miles most days with Sundays off for good behavior. It has helped me a lot physically and even more mentally. I am beginning to see what is really important in my life and how the ego gets in the way of living a true and meaningful life. Now if I can figure out what I can do to earn a living while performing meaningful work, I'll really be on track.

General License At Last

Yesterday, after 6 hours of cramming, I took the American Radio Relay League's General Class License Exam and passed! My head felt like it was about to explode after six intense hours of study. Passing the test was almost anti-climatic, more of a relief than a celebration. There were several questions on the test we had not studied in the question pool and one answer we studied was incorrect. So now I have high frequency privileges and hope that maybe someday I can successfully test out for the top license, Extra Class.

Now where can I install that 200 foot antenna tower?

Stimulus II

Our fine President, Obama, spoke last night at a joint session of Congress assembled on short notice at his behest to present his "American Jobs Act". It seems to be a let gasp effort to keep his job as he only spoke about jobs for construction workers, teachers and one-year tax breaks for employers who hire new employees.

What we need is government off our backs - smaller government, fewer laws - and a flat tax code that has a consumption element to it. When GE makes $14.2 Billion and pays a negative $3.2 Billion in taxes, you know something needs adjustment.

November 2012 cannot come fast enough.

This Ship of State Is Going Down

This Titanic Ship of State Is Going Down

The Obama Regime is causing the United States to come apart at the seams. We are going down down down. Down into the abyss of a depression that will take a complete rewrite of current tax, environmental and other laws and a repudiation of all of the legislature passed or put in place by Executive Order before we can begin to come out of it. We got what we deserved when "we" voted Obama into office.

Don't see many "Hope and Change" bumper stickers anymore.

July 4th

July 4th

Time to take stock of life in America after another year. Lets see, I've lots $400,000 on my current house after dropping another $400,000 on our house in Half Moon Bay. My IRA's are down $300,000 and my savings are down another $300,000. So this disaster of an economy has effectively wiped out $1,400,000 of my net worth.

Retirement sure is not going to be what I thought it was. Not even close. So its back to work for me probably until I am seventy. Hope social security is still as safe as my beloved government tells me it is. Or is it really the Ponzi scheme I suspect?

iPad 2

I recently received a new iPad 2 that I'd ordered online - it is sweet! I now understand why everyone has gone gaga for iPads. It is thoughtfully designed, the layout is remarkably simple and the pen-to-paper feel is almost spot on. When I hold it, I want to creat, write, explore, become one with it. it will be very very hard for anyone else to top the experience the iPad brings. There isn't much I can't do with the iPad. This is going to cost me a lot of time and money, I can tell.

Help!

Hello,

I'm writing this with tears in my eyes, My family and i came down here to wales United Kingdom for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at a the park of the hotel where we stayed all cash, credit card on us got stolen including our cell phone, luckily for us we  still have our passport with us.

We've been to the embassy and the police here in wales but they're not helping issues at all but we;re having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills, I'm freaked out at at the moment.

Bob Ackerley.

Memorial Day 2010

Memorial Day Weekend is over. The party has ended and all have gone home. We decided to celebrate Lisa's 50th birthday and Memorial Day holiday Saturday and Sunday and had a great time. Lots of old friends came and we enjoyed spring-like weather - not too hot and not too cold. Thirty two people came to the house on Sunday and 12+ girls spent Saturday with Lisa led by JoDee who planned the day and evening. Nice events!

Monday, we boated to Orowood Resort for breakfast with Jenn then went for a Delta cruise before returning home. Today will be recuperation day. We got up at 3:15AM and Lisa drove Jenn to SFO for a 6:15AM flight back to Minneapolis. Much too early for me.

Road Trip

Getting ready for a 11-13 hour road trip tomorrow that will keep us away from home for 10-14 days, I think of what I'd like to have with me and end up over-packing by at least 50-100%. It will be good to get away from all that is Obama and the insanity of today's politics and relax, read and see new people and places.

I discovered Amazon's Kindle software for my Blackberry 9700 and love it. I also tried out B&N's Nook software but it doesn't compare with the intuitive ease of downloading and reading books that Kindle does. I am already 51% of the way through my first book and find it a very gratifying way to read a book. Now, how do I resell books I've read or trade them with others? Is there a service for that? There must be. I accidentally downloaded the same book twice and Amazon immediately responded to my request for help and resolved it favorably. I love Amazon!

Obama are

The Obama health care bill (H.R. 3952) was passed by the House of Representatives on Sunday night after much arm twisting, bribery and outright lying by our President and Speaker of the House. President Obama signed it into law Monday, March 22, 2010, a day that shall forever live in infamy. Like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, this event will forever change the course of history. It marks the beginning of the end of the United States as we know it. Just as Rome fell, we are on the path to socialism and bankruptcy. I, as a patriot of this great country, will do everything in my power to turn the ship of state away from the cliff it is headed for. Enough of the Liberal agenda. Enough of the Statists who want nothing but more and more handouts, bigger and bigger government and less and less freedom. Tyranny will not stand.

The Crash of 2008

The financial markets have imploded, the stock market crashed, Obama is President - elect and all else is trash. Lehman Brothers is bankrupt, Merrill Lynch gone, bought by B of A and renamed Lynch America (joke hahahaha.) Wachovia sold to Wells Fargo, Bear Sterns bought by JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual bought by another large bank and National City by PNC. AIG 80% owned by the Federal Government, GM, Ford & Chrysler all in desperate need of a bailout. GE shored up by a $5B Warren Buffet investment that gets paid a 10% annual dividend with rights to invest another $5B at the same price. Thank God I had 25% in cash and only 25% in equities; although the 50% in real estate is showing some signs of stress - down 20%.

A lot of people's retirement dreams are in ashes, purchases postponed, retailers are hurting and futures look grim. This too shall pass as it always has. Just wait it out, don't panic, learn to be frugal and save all you can. Sure wish I had a job right about now.

It Is Personal Now

Down $200,000 and dropping. A year after buying our new house at Discovery Bay, the market has tanked, people are being foreclosed on in record numbers and houses like ours have been sitting for months. One across the street bought by a flipper started at $1.3MM and is now $1.099MM and not moving. Next door is one for $1.049MM. Our old house would sell for around $599M now vs.the $799M we sold it for. So its a push and we didn't have to make the $100,000 worth of repairs it needed. Last week I filled out a county tax assessor form requesting a reduction in the assessed value of $300,000 for tax purposes. I'm sure we'll get close to that as I have comparable sales very close to that number.

So I am unemployed having been laid off by my employer of 9 years with only 10 weeks of severance. Bastards. I've been close to three jobs and have a couple others working but think I may need to go set up my own company and get back into the fray. I've owned LeasingInsider.com for 8 years and am working on activating it and using it as my business platform. I'd need to form an LLC to provide some protection for my assets should anyone decide to sue me for any reason. Lisa too becomes unencumbered June 30 so things could get tight. Her prospects for a new job are much better than mine. She has one job already offered and is receiving calls from recruiters and friends in the industry. So hopefully she'll land quicker than I have.

Ruminations On Life

Who or what is behind the glasses that allow these eyes to write and read these bits of light? Is it a person, a soul, or a quark of stray energy left over from creating the universe billions of years ago? Am I so different from you, your energy, your soul? Or are we all a piece of one whole?

I recently celebrated the 90th birthday of my mother with sisters, friends and extended family. It was a wonderful event at which we all came together to joyfully delight in life. There were several people there who I had not seen since leaving home for the last time 40 years ago! Some I knew very well and others not at all. With some, were it not for being related, I would have no connection at all with them. With one however, it was as if our relationship had never suffered this 40 year gap! We leapt right back into conversation as if we lived right next door. All of the experiences of a lifetime were as if they'd never happened and we were just as if we were kids again. Wow!

I think there are too many of us here on earth using up the few precious resources now left at a frightening pace without regard to others. There are too many of us running and stumbling through life oblivious to the effect we are having on earth and each other or the power we possess to do something about the wrongs we see and care about.

There are too many of us here now and too few really good friends.

Five months later... the move is over and we are enjoying hot summer weekends on the Delta in our new house. We had it painted outside, built two new workbenches in the garage, have a huge new dock and slide, family room has been painted, installed a new widescreen TV and sound system are and all but a few boxes are empty. Closet organizers have been installed, crown moldings installed where there weren't any and new deck furniture bought, assembled and set up. Several parties have already been held and the big fall party is this coming weekend. We love it here. So does Sammy. Still lots to do to make it our own.

Sleep like a baby tonight!

Today I took four truck loads of boxes and bags over to the new house. I just had to start moving even though we have movers coming to pack and load us on Friday, April 13th. (What a fine date for a move.) Anyway, how could I not start moving in on the day I officially own the place?

I let carpet cleaners in at 2:30 and when I came back at 4:30 found they'd missed two large closets. Do I have to stand there and supervise them? I guess so. That's why they're carpet cleaners and I'm not?!

The sellers left a pile of junk in the garage. They wouldn't sell me their furniture for $1,000 and instead, donated it to the Salvation Army. They were never at the house, never used the oven or micro or trash compactor or much of anything. They never had garbage service! The house was built in 1998 and it is essentially brand spanking new!

Anyway, these guys had a security service to protect from breakin but wouldn't pay $80 a month to haul trash. They had a yard service and ATT cable TV and DSL but no trash hauling! How cheap can you get? The guy left stuff indicating he'd lived in Paris, France including travel guides, a reservation for golf at the Paris Golf Club, a car wash and maintenance card for his Ferrari at the Paris Car Club, etc. What a fucktardo!

I love the new house. It is amazing! New new new. The boat trailer has never been used other than to haul the boat to the Delta and launch it. The house is the same way. The oven, stove, microwave and trash compactor have never ever been used! Seven year old house and its brand new! Wow. I am in awe.

Mission accomplished!
Home sold.
House bought.
Money spent.
Moving day is in sight.
Now can I start to sleep again?

Friday is officially moving day but I found an "Allied Van Lines" moving package at Costco and we've started boxing and bagging up non-breakable items to help shorten the move time and reduce the packing material costs. It will still likely be an all day project that costs $2,000.

We officially get ownership of the house today and have possession now as I have keys and garage door openers. I'll start moving items there today. Tomorrow we get the carpets stretched and cleaned and the tile and grout sealed.

Monday I got the utility change over scheduled, ordered the transfer of insurance, phone, garbage, rekeying and pest services, changed mail delivery and confirmed the movers. A lot to remember. I'm sure I forgot one or two things and that another one or two will get screwed up.

The really stressful part is over. Let the fun begin!

Sleep comes short and rarely these days. The past few weeks have been very very short on sleep. Our new house purchase has me awaking at all hours of night remembering things I have to do to prepare for the close of escrow and moving on Friday.

Last night the item that woke me at 11:30PM was a $1,500 credit the sellers offered in lieu of repairing deficiencies specified in a house inspection report. The closing statement from the title company we signed on Friday did not list the credit. So off went an email at 12:30AM asking the title company to revise its closing statement to reflect a credit to buyers and a debit to sellers as previously agreed upon in Request for Repairs - One.

This morning Lisa came up with a couple more items to add to the "ToDo" list - locksmith to rekey the house (with me to change garage door opener and alarm codes) and carpet company to seal the tile and grout in the house as it is very light in color and probably has never been sealed. It sure would be nice if I could gain access to the house Tuesday/Wednesday. An extra day or two would be very helpful!

I have a ToD list that would choke a horse. The nice thing is that we aren't fixing up an old decrepit 25 year old money pit. Rather, we are building for the future with an essentially new house that has never been lived in and making it ours.