Don't forget to count Blessings

A reminder to myself as much as anything...to count my blessings. to appreciate the life I've been able to find/make for myself and my family....and to realize what I'm working hard for....


Lots of people...even in America...even in California....don't even have a place to call home.

The signs, Tull said, are everywhere: from the father who pretends to work through the night at a computer at a 24-hour office supply center so his child can sleep safe and warm in a stroller to the mother who takes a baby to the emergency room at 11 p.m., knowing the odds are they won't be called until morning and can pass the night in the waiting room.Even in good times, Los Angeles County -- the most populous in the nation -- has more homeless people than any other metropolitan region in the country. According to a count taken almost two years ago, before the recession began, there were 73,000 people without homes on any given night

NBA time

The NBA is back in full swing, already a game or two under each team's belt. So I'm late with my prediction, but here it goes anyway.

Boston will still be the "team to beat", but I think another year older is going to play out to their disadvantage. Come the end of the season when it REALLY matters, the younger Lakers will meet them again, and this time prevail.

Watch out for the Trail Blazer and Heat too, they could rise up and slay one of the titans in the East/West this year and make it to the conference finals.

But I'm going with Phil Jackson and the Lakers as my 2009 NBA champion.

Anyone have a high Q mp3 I can buy for a resonable price?

I consider myself an avid music-lover. I listen to everything from Trance, Hip-Hop to Classic Rock and Jazz. Through the years I've built and maintained (upgrading from Vynil to Cassette to CD, now to mp3) a rather extensive music collection (30,0000 some-odd songs). I sold off my Giant CD collection after ripping each CD to an mp3.

I really want to be able to buy any song I want, from one simple website (like amazon), in the form of a high-quality mp3, for about $1 per song, $6 if I buy the whole CD. I want to be able to play that song anywhere, anytime, regardless of the device or software I choose.

Why is that so hard? Seriously!

Land of the Free (to panic)

S&P 1 Year.......Yuck.

Time will tell if this was the time to have a backbone or to bail out. seems like the majority opinion (or the majority of the money) is choosing to panic.

How bad is it out there?

A nice example of how bad the stock market has been this year, and how really terrible September was. The big Q I have is, where is all this money going? Probably on the sidelines, which speaks volumes when you consider there will inevitably come a day when the money starts pouring back in. I just hope it comes soon because this butt-kicking the market has put on anyone with a decent sum in it has been nothing short of brutal.

Did I mention that, even though the $700B bailout package passed the second time around, the market went down another 8%+ and counting? insanity!!!!

Crisis Management

Bailout package fails in congress, mainly the republicans voted against. The S&P drops over 100 points (8+%).

Paul Krugman said it best in only one sentence...

what we now have is non-functional government in the face of a major crisis.

Strange days indeed. And to all the "regular folks" who think all the money was going to go to the "fat cats" on wall street, and in a way forced the hand of their representative, I hope you're right. Because from where I'm sitting, there's now nothing stopping this thing from flat out collapsing and sinking into another deep recession where a ton of "regular folks" lose their jobs, houses, etc.

Bye Bye WaMu

....Another day, another major financial institution collapse. Anyone seen my portfolio? I think it just went down the drain. I wish that, as part of the Gov't gigantic bailout package, they budget in a nice fat check to every person who has paid all their bills and is making all their mortgage payments and does not live above their means.

Seattle-based WaMu, which was founded in 1889, is the largest bank to fail by far in the country's history. Its $307 billion in assets eclipse the $40 billion of Continental Illinois National Bank, which failed in 1984, and the $32 billion of IndyMac, which the government seized in July.

Anyone see a ray of sunshine?

WASHINGTON - New home sales tumbled in August to the slowest pace in 17 years, while the average sales price fell by the largest amount on record, demonstrating the depth of the problem that Washington is trying to solve.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that new homes sales fell by 11.5 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 460,000 units, the slowest sales pace since January 1991.
It was a much bigger sales decline than the small 1 percent drop that economists had been expecting. The average price of a new home sold in August dropped by a record amount of 11.8 percent to $263,900, compared to the July average of $299,100. The median price was also down, falling 5.5 percent to $221,900.
The big drop in new home sales followed news Wednesday that sales of existing homes were down 2.2 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million units. Both segments of the market remain under pressure from the steepest housing downturn in decades.
That housing slump has contributed to a record surge in mortgage defaults, leading to billions of dollars in losses by financial firms and spawning a severe credit crisis that is threatening to send the country into a steep recession.
In a nationally televised speech Wednesday night, President Bush said the credit crisis could trigger a "long and painful recession" unless Congress acts quickly to pass a $700 billion bailout plan for the nation's financial system. Negotiations on that plan were continuing Thursday with expectations that an agreement would be reached soon.Besides the weak housing report, the government said Thursday that new claims for unemployment benefits shot up last week to the highest level in seven years. Orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell by a much-bigger-amount than expected amount of 4.5 percent in August. Both indicate the rising pressures facing the economy.


Deeeeeep breaths.........

The fact is, I love my house. I no longer care much about the monthly ups and downs of it's value. I plan on making my payments every month, paying more when I can, and paying it off someday. In the meantime I enjoy doing small (and sometimes large) improvements to make it even more "my" home, my place.

8-1-2003 Live at Shoreline

"Maybe I'm crazy but laughing out loud makes it all alright" - Dave Matthews -Spoon

Bush legacy (in 32 words)

An excellent, and extremely concise, summary of the "legacy" the 8-year Bush administration will be remembered for. (this came from an article by one of John McCain's cousins by the the way)

Our nation has gone from a time of unparalleled prosperity and peace to one marked by debt in the trillions of dollars, record foreclosures, and a global reputation for warmongering and neo-imperialism.

Yup, that about sums it up.

125 days to go.....

Ugh!

Monday market an extremely ugly session on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 falling 4.7% -- marking the largest one-day percent drop since the first session following the attacks on September 11, 2001.

The Chargers (0-2) couldn’t believe they lost in the final seconds for the second straight week.
Trailing 38-31, the Broncos (2-0) reached the 1 but on third-and-goal, Cutler reared back to throw and the ball slipped out of his hands, bounced off the grass and into linebacker Tim Dobbins’ hands.
But referee Ed Hochuli blew his whistle, apparently ruling it an incomplete pass. After a review, Hochuli said that the Broncos would keep the ball because his whistle had blown the play dead. The Broncos got the ball at the 10-yard line, where it had hit the grass out of Cutler’s hands. Two plays later, Cutler hit Royal for the TD to make it 38-37.
The Broncos also benefited from an equipment malfunction that prevented the officials from reviewing Champ Bailey’s interception at the San Diego 29 in the first quarter. TV replays, which the crew didn’t have access to, showed Chambers’ left elbow on the grass while he cradled the ball in his right arm as Bailey was trying to strip it away.
Because the replay equipment wasn’t working, Hochuli waited the required 2 minutes, then ruled that the call on the field stood. San Diego wasn’t charged a timeout, but the Broncos capitalized with Michael Pittman’s 1-yard dive for their first touchdown against the Chargers in nine quarters.

Life.....sometimes it gives you lemons.....

An Inconvenient Truth

hmmm. Why is it that the people who first denied global warming existed, then said maybe it existed but it was not at all caused by man, are now backtracking and trying to lie their way out of their past ignorance/stupidity? Worse yet, some of these people are running for the 2nd highest office in the country.

Sarah Palin's assertion that she believes humans play a role in climate change — made in her first major interview since joining the Republican ticket — is at odds with her previous statements. Palin said she didn't disagree with scientists that the problem can be attributed to "man's activities."
"Show me where I have ever said that there's absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had any effect or no effect on climate change. I have not said that," Palin told ABC News in an interview broadcast Thursday and Friday.
However, in the past Palin has said she does not believe global warming is caused by human activity. She has told the Internet news site Newsmax, "A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. ... I'm not one, though, who would attribute it to being man-made."In an interview with a Fairbanks newspaper within the last year, Palin said: "I'm not an Al Gore, doom-and-gloom environmentalist blaming the changes in our climate on human activity." ABC cited the interview as being at odds with her statement.

NFL 2008/09 Let's Get it ON!

Here's the Super Bowl 2009 predictions of the guys at the well-respected Football Outsiders....


Aaron Schatz =New England over Green Bay
Ben Riley = San Diego over Dallas
Bill Barnwell = Indianapolis over Seattle
Bill Connelly = New England over Dallas
Brian Fremeau = New England over Carolina
Doug Farrar = Jacksonville over New Orleans
Michael Tanier = Seattle over Jacksonville
Ned Macey = Philadelphia over New England
Russell Levine = Jacksonville over Seattle
Sean McCormick = Indianapolis over Dallas
Vince Verhei = New England over Seattle



the real sad thing here is only ONE guy picked my beloved Chargers to even MAKE the Super Bowl! Well here's where I swing for the fences and make my bold prediction.....let's see who's right....



Paul = San Diego over Dallas

First Day of Preschool

The turn of a page. Little man was brave as usual and impressed his teacher with what a great guy he is after only one day.

The End of an Era for Movies

Truly the end of an era. Siskel & Ebert, thumbs up or down, love them and hate them, they were THE definitive voice. I can't think of how many countless times I would say to someone "This movie is supposed to be great, it got 2 thumbs up." It's times like this that I realize how everything in life changes. time moves on without all of us at some point. Jack will never know who Siskel & Ebert were other than perhaps reading about them in some history book. It also reminds me that life is about what you make of it, the memories you create for yourself, which is what makes Ebert's farewell so touching...

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/07/the_balcony_is_closed.html


Now the time has come to awake from my daydream. That's all history--treasured history, but past and gone, all the same. I remember what Gene said to me in that dressing room before the Carson Show: "Roger, we're a couple of kids from the Midwest. We don't belong here."

Karate Kid

Our little Samurai. Another great experience for him and of course he's taking to it with a ton of enthusiasm, just like he always does. Watching him earn his white belt (just for showing up the first day but who cares?) brought a tear to my eye. I'm constantly so impressed with Jack and happy we can provide these great experiences for him. Watching the huge smile on his face as he does battle with his black belt teacher brings me a sense of joy and satisfaction like nothing else.


It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself. ~Joyce Maynard

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back. ~William D. Tammeus

Space....

Our galaxy cranks out about 10 new stars per year. Now astronomers have found one near the beginning of time that's generating a whopping 4,000 a year. At that rate, the galaxy needs only 50 million years to grow into one equivalent to the most massive ever observed. Such rapid-fire starbirth and growth confounds theory.

This is why I'm optimistic. Despite what we think we know....despite what we think might happen in the years to come.....We really know VERY, VERY little about the universe.

It is awe inspiring to think of the discoveries we will make over the next 10, 20, 50 years. And the changes these discoveries will bring to the way we view the world around us, our place in the universe, and the origins and meaning of life.

Tent Trailer Stretches it's Legs

Donner State Park.

Little man got his first true taste of the outdoors, and he took to it like a natural.

Celtics Dominate NBA Finals

Celtics in 6 (and it wasn't even that close really)

Paul Pierce MVP

No longer Any Doubt about the Bush Administration

Physicians for Human Rights who examined 11 former detainees from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay say they "uncovered medical evidence of torture, including beatings, electric shock, sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation, sodomy and scores of other abuses."The detainees were never charged with crimes.

"We found clear physical and psychological evidence of torture and abuse, often causing lasting suffering," said Dr. Allen Keller, a medical evaluator for the study.
The report is prefaced by retired U.S. Major Gen. Antonio Taguba, who led the Army's investigation into the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in 2003.
"There is no longer any doubt that the current administration committed war crimes," Taguba says. "The only question is whether those who ordered torture will be held to account."

Go away Bush...Just go away.....

In a stinging rebuke to President Bush's anti-terror policies, a deeply divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign detainees held for years at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have the right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts to challenge their indefinite imprisonment without charges.

This really disgusts me to no end. The very IDEA that we have a president who has to be FORCED by the supreme court to allow individuals imprisoned by America to have rights under law!! I mean what the F&%^$ is the matter with this fool?

Sorry dumb-ass, even though you hand-picked half the supreme court, even they were not willing to go along with this completely UN-AMERICAN idiocy.

170 more days.......get the champagne on ice for the day this scumbag is out of all of our lives.

Happy to be in 96th place

I ran my first race ever on Sunday, 10k River City Run in downtown Sac. Really nice run along the river.
Goal#1 -Just show up! (check)
Goal#2 -Finish (check)
Goal#3 -Get a decent time (check!)

http://www.capitalroadrace.com/results/08_RCR_10K_OVL.HTM

Finished with 9:10 pace, which for me is excellent. I have barely trained and have been taking it really easy, with zero emphasis on pace. So it's nice to see I could perform well above where I've been training.

Now begins the "real" training....Cowtown half in October and the holy grail, the full marathon in nov. (Run the River Marathon Nov 15th).

Dream NBA Finals and my prediction

So a great year in the NBA boils down to a supreme match-up. Two storied franchises going at it once again, with very likeable players and exciting teams on each side. I, along with just about every other NBA fan on earth, am stoked to see this series happen. It will be a blast.


So in year 2 of my predictions, I'll start off with a critical posession in game 5 of Lakers-Spurs....

Thanks to Bill Simmons for summing it up for me better than I ever could........


There was one moment near the end of Game 5, well after Kobe had taken over, when the fans could sense it, and so could the Spurs, only he hadn't totally euthanized them yet. Leading by five and killing precious seconds near the midcourt line, everyone waited for him to make a move, all of us standing, all of us fully aware that something special would happen. Pau Gasol ambled over to set a screen, only Tim Duncan didn't even bother to go with him, knowing Kobe would drive to the hoop ... which he did. Even with Duncan (only one of the best defensive players ever) planted directly between him and the basket, Kobe dribbled left, put on an extra burst of speed and somehow got to the rim for the clinching layup even with Duncan anticipating every step of the play. When the ball fell through, you could see the life sink from Duncan's body, and from everyone else on the Spurs for that matter. They weren't beating Kobe. Not this year.


For the FIRST time, I entertained the idea of Kobe being as good as Jordan. He could not be stopped in a hugely important game when the other team, who by the way is a fantastic defensive team, HAD to stop him. Even more, you KNEW he would win the game by making the clutch shots somehow some way. That reminded me of Jordan.


And That's why my pick is Lakers this year. They have the better team overall. They have a much better coach. and finally, they have the best player by far. This is Kobe's dream, his chance to show the world what he can do with HIS team. It will be interesting to see if the Celtics can somehow stop him from reaching legendary status by winning the championship. I don't think they can.

Emmy Awards = Laughing stock

This just in.....Bill O’Reilly was chosen to receive the Governors Award at this year’s Emmy Awards ceremony. That’s the highest honor that they hand out.

'nuff said, the Emmy Awards are total crap. I feel for all the good folks who received, and are proud of, Emmy's in the past. They now mean nothing.

Future Water Polo player?

Ready for his first swim lessons.....

Game 2....Gotta pick the right beer

Game 2 Lakers-spurs....life is good.

Bulls or Knicks Job....?

So the Bulls get the #1 pick (they only had a 1.7% chance at it but got it anyway) and now the critics are really piling on D'Antoni. "bad fit" with the Knicks, the Bulls job is so much more appealing.

I'm not so sure. let's think about this for a second. Yes, no question about it, the Bulls are a better team now, and with this #1 pick will be a MUCH better team than the Knicks this year. So what? will they really be able to go all the way? there's a lot of great talent out there in the east now and I doubt the Bulls can make a serious run at a title (maybe a 20% chance at making the finals though). But what if you step into that job and, like the previous couple coaches, you don't succeed right away? the pressure is on to win NOW. if you don't get past first round of the playoffs you could be on the unemployment line again next year. but the Knicks job? well, is there a better job in sports than coaching the Knicks? even in their horrid state, they are still a huge presence in basketball. and they just hired a very well-respected "good guy" GM in Walsh. the pressure to win is there, but the expectations, thanks to Isaiah, are very low. you get to come in and make more money than God, you're almost guaranteed to have the job for 2-3 years. And you can start slowly, you get to be a hero (saving the Knicks from Isaiah makes you a hero even before you do anything!), you get to build and mold the team to your liking and coaching style over several years. if you go 40-42 this year you're probably in the playoffs and a certified stud of a coach. Compare that to the Bulls job where, more than ever with the #1 pick, you are expected to win right now and if not you stink as a coach. Worst-case scenario as Knicks coach is you fail but people will say "He did the best he could with that terrible team". Not so with the Bulls. If you fail in Chicago your coaching prowess will be seriously in question.

I believe this example is a microcosm of Americans way of thinking...you have to do everything right now! short-term thinking might get you immediate glory, but there's a lot to be said for taking your time, managing your career based on your own expectations. It seems people are quick to jump right into the frying pan in order to achieve immediate results. but they are ignoring the damage that these intense stress levels cause in their overall life.

Call me crazy, but I like D'Antoni's decision.

2 Stories....a Microcosm of the REAL housing bubble problem

You read so much about "predatory lending" and "lack of oversight" that are the root causes of this housing/credit crisis.

I respectfully dissagree.

While these were cetainly role players in the great game of B.S. that caused the horrible state we as a nation now find ourselves, they were not the main star of this show.

Nope, it was the folks who now claim ignorance or cry about how they are the vitctims of this whole downfall in housing. 2 case-studies that I think demonstrate my point....

AZ
“One of the market casualties is Daryl Fox, a recently unemployed cosmetics salesman. After his divorce several years back, Fox and his ex-wife sold their home in Chandler. It took a while to sell the house, and they had to reduce the price to find a buyer in the already-slumping Valley real-estate market, he said.”
“In April 2006, Fox took his half of the equity from the Chandler home and whatever other savings he had scraped up through the years and used them to pay 15 percent down on a three-bedroom home in Rancho El Dorado. The $212,000 purchase price was down from the home’s highest value.”
“He thought he was hitting the market at the right time, getting the most bang for his buck. ‘I thought the market had bottomed out when I bought it,’ Fox said. That’s why he was willing to take out a 2/28 adjustable rate mortgage from Chase Bank.”
“He did refinance right after closing, drawing the equity of that 15 percent down out of the house to finance a few renovations, he said. He owed the full $212,000 now. ‘My intention was to live in that house as my primary residence, that’s why I remodeled it,’ Fox said.”
“In June 2006, Fox met Teri Parks, his future wife, at the Native New Yorker. Parks soon moved from Minnesota to Maricopa, buying a home in Acacia Crossings. Parks’ house was the larger of the two, so it made sense for Fox to move in there and sell his place.”
“But the short market downturn Fox had expected turned into a free fall. ‘The median housing price in Pinal County ‘has steadily eroded from $220,000 in fourth quarter 2005 to $193,000 in third quarter 2007 and $156,160 for the current quarter,’ stated a report released by Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies t Arizona State University.”
“After spending thousands trying to hang on, Fox was staring down the barrel at foreclosure. A lawyer advised him just to walk away from the home, but he decided that he would try to sell the property in a short sale. Fox has a buyer willing to pay $90,000 as of early May…if the bank accepts that offer.”

why does the bank have to accept the offer? you either accept your end of the responsibility or not.
Secondly, why, when you could only scrape together 15% to put down on the house, AND you signed up for a very sketchy 2/28 loan, did you immediately refinance and take out that 15% to max out your obligation (that you obviously could not afford)?

FL
“Thomas Wilson strolls through his Stoneybrook at Heritage Harbour neighborhood, pointing out the subtle signs of financial fallout. Windows with views of empty rooms. Weeds sprouting through once well-manicured lawns. Small, bright orange stickers on front doors, the tell-tale sign that the houses have been abandoned.”
“Just on Wilson’s street, Stone Harbour Loop, 16 foreclosure actions were filed last year. In the first three months of 2008, seven more were filed.”
“He’s angered by the aggressive lending and poor oversight that have landed thousands of families in the same predicament. ‘It’s just terrible what they’re doing to people here,’ Wilson says. ‘They’re killing America and they don’t even know what they’re doing.’”
“He and his wife closed on their $522,500 home in December 2005. Five months later, they were sued for foreclosure and are still fighting to save their home. Wilson, who is not currently making payments on the loan, acknowledges that the couple should have looked at the loan documents more carefully.”
“‘I didn’t read the papers,’ Wilson said.”
“‘I’m not trying to weasel out of anything. If I owe you $530,000 I’m going to pay it,’ says Wilson. ‘Make this loan work with $2,500 (payments) like you initially said. And everyone walks away a winner. If you can’t do that, let us out.’”

Let us out? LET US OUT? You, my friend, got yourself into this. You admit you signed up for a loan of over 500k that you did not fully understand? and now you blame the lender? I'll tell you what, I'll buy your house....don't ask how much or what the terms are, just sign here.....

What do these have in common? these people are idiots! they signed on the dotted line knowing they either A) did not know what they were signing or B) could simply not afford the loan they were signing up for!!!!!

it all comes down to oridnary people doing dumb things. I submit that the overwhelming cause of this entire problem are the hundreds of thousands of people who signed on the dotted line and now can't pay.

the REAL victims? Honest people who bought a house knowing they would make the payments. These people had to pay more to buy their house because the idiots (who had no intention of paying the real price of their house) artificially drove up the prices. And these same honest people are now still making good on their commitment and paying every month even though the idiots are fleeing the scene, causing a horrible downfall in prices.

Music Upgrade

I've held out forever waiting for someone to develop a "better" mp3 player than the iPod. I never liked the idea of giving my soul to Apple as I've always viewed them as proprietary and closed.

Well, it's been 4+ years since I bought the somewhat crappy and very bulky Dell Jukebox, and it's staring to break down. Have I mentioned how horrible the software is that comes with it? Let's not even go there.

So I look to see what has come along and still nothing comes close to the iPod. So, in a true case of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em", I've devoted my entire 3,000+ CD collection to Apple...I'm all iTunes and iPod now!

Another arrow straight to the heart

After Hundreds of Billions of dollars and tens of thousands dead.....Bush has completely failed the American people...Completely.


From Crooks & Liars Blog...

Here is the title of a report from the General Accountability Office on combating terrorism released today:

The United States Lacks a Comprehensive Plan to Destroy the Terrorist Threat and Close the Safe Haven in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

This GAO report may be the most damning condemnation of the Bush administration’s counter-terrorism efforts. The report goes on to say that the Bush administration has failed to develop any plan to address the Al Qaeda threat. Worse, the report finds that Al Qaeda is now able to attack the United States and represents the “most serious” threat to this country.

The report’s opinion of the Bush administration efforts speaks for itself:
The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy the terrorist threat and close the safe haven in Pakistan…

Let the Playoffs begin (and my MVP vote)

So the NBA season has reached the apex....time to buckle up for what is the best time of year (for big NBA fans like me anyway).

A couple of wrap-up notes before it begins.

This was nothing short of a spectacular year. A team from he East (Celtics) is actually favored to win the title! Two great franchises (Celtics and Lakers) are not only relevant again but close to being odds-on favorites to meet in the finals. There were also some incredibly interesting and ballsy trades this year, unlike years past. And we watched perhaps the single greatest surprise in a long, long time.....

we watched a point guard perform at one of the highest levels of any PG in history. We watched him literally SAVE a franchise in New Orleans. And finally, we watched him lift a team that was slated to finish maybe in the 8th or 9th spot finish in the 2nd spot in what was one of the single most competitive conferences in the history of basketball!

That's why Chris Paul gets my MVP vote this year.

It was a Dark and Stormy Morning

This morning's cup of coffee in hand, I open up MyYahoo front page and look at the "AP Top Headlines". This is what I see....

-American cuts more flights; fliers fume
-Consumer confidence falls to new low
-Frontier files for bankruptcy protection
-Gunmen kill Sadrist official in Iraq

And the stock market languishing down 14 points (S&P).

Can I go back to bed?

Welcome Donnie Walsh...and Good Luck

As a fan of the NBA, this year has been nothing short of wonderful. So many excellent teams competing hard throughout the year, jostling for position and testing each other on a nightly basis to see who has the "right stuff" to get to the finals. Great trades that have caused huge swells in teams chances for a title, and great franchises reborn through aquisitions.

One team, however, is nowhere to be found in this mix of great teams, the Knicks. The atmosphere and legend that a great basketball game in Madison Square Garden represents is something every fan of the NBA recognizes, and something is lost when this is not at least a significant piece of any great season's puzzle.

This article pretty much sums-up the state of affairs in NY....
http://nymag.com/news/sports/45787/

sad...just sad.

But there is a ray of hope. Donnie Walsh is the new President of the Knicks. He has a REALLY tall task ahead of him to make this team relevant again, but he's the man to do the job.

Someday hopefully we will look back and think...the Knicks were THAT bad? and then we'll settle into our seats for a terrific (and meaningful!) Knicks/Lakers game with all the lore and electricity that only a place like MSG can bring.

The Simplest Summary of the Iraq War

1. The American people were mislead and in fact blatantly lied to by the Bush administration in order to coerce the country to go to war

2. The Administration claimed a premature victory in the war, even as they were horribly mishandling and mismanaging the situation, allowing it to quickly escalate out of control

3. Now that there are 4,000 Americans dead, and we are 5 years into a war the Administration claimed would take no longer than 6 months, they claim we now MUST stay the course because if we do leave, the situation will head into chaos and we would have to declare it a surrender.


Nice job Bush & Cheney....you WILL be remembered for the War-Mongering idiots you were.

Thank you Mr. Obama

To paraphrase what John Stewart from The Daily Show said.....Thank you "for talking to the American people like we are adults".

Race in America is a highly charged, difficult subject. No one since Martin Luther King has done a better job of hitting it head on and talking to the American people about this subject than Obama did in this speech.

We should all be thankful, in this time of great trial for the American spirit, that we have been given a real choice in this election. What type of president Mr. Obama will make is still years away from being addressed, but there can be no doubt that he does represent what is desperately needed at this precise moment in American history, and that is hope.....and change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU

Future Hall of Famer

Jack doesn't seem at all thrilled with T-Ball (bored out of his mind for the most part). And he dropped out of Soccer because he was so dissinterested. But if there's one sport he seems to like more than any others, it's basketball. Wouldn't you know that happens to be my favorite as well! :)

Bush's War

As far as I'm concerned, EVERY American should watch the new Frontline 2-part series "Bush's War". This is a comprehensive, detailed account of the war(s) post 9/11. Last night I was watching part one and found myself wanting to scream at the TV when the Vice President of this great country BLATANTLY LIED, saying "There is now no doubt that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction."

link to this excellent account of a war that has cost this nation dearly. Let us never forget the true idiocy of what has been the George Bush presidency.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/#

Tiger's World

I watched Tiger go for his 5th straight tourney win yesterday. His shot to the green and 25 foot putt were truly among the most clutch sports performances I've ever seen. The guy is absolutely amazing. I'm happy just to be able to watch his performances (like this one) live.

"He was tied with Bryant coming to the 18th hole when he produced what Woods called his best swing of the week, a 5-iron from 164 yards into a stiff breeze over the water to a skinny green with bunkers behind it. Then came a 25-foot putt that he was trying to make, without hitting it so hard that it left him a tough putt in case he missed.
As it crept toward the cup, Woods backpedaled — nothing new there — and when it tumbled in for a final birdie, he turned and removed his cap, spiking it to the ground and letting out a roar that was drowned out by thousands of sun-baked fans who were swept up in the moment, even if they had seen it before.
"I was so into the moment of the putt going in and winning the golf tournament," Woods said. "I kept telling myself, 'I've done this before. I did it against Phil. And this time, it's a little bit deeper into the green, and the putt has a little bit more break, and it has a little more grain. I've done it before and I can do it again.'"

Greed in the NBA - on being a fan

"I've taken enough history classes to know that most actions are influenced by a struggle for power. In the case of the Sonics' relocation, the NBA owners are obviously going to side with Clay Bennett. They want to preserve their power to force cities to buy $500 million arenas for them. Sports franchises hold immense power over the communities they cater to. Look at Seattle; we gave Paul Allen and the Nintendo Corporation taxpayer dollars for two stadiums because we didn't want to lose teams we loved. Professional sports franchises will continue to exploit their hometowns until more cities like Seattle refuse to buy jerks like Clay Bennett stadiums.
I'm not saying this as someone who doesn't care about the Sonics and simply doesn't want to pay extra taxes to keep them here. I grew up watching Shawn Kemp catch oops from Gary Payton, and am one of only two people who went to Sonics HQ to protest the sale the day it happened. I love the Sonics with all my heart, but I've realized that pro sports have exerted unfair power for too long, and their greed is ruining the relationship between communities and the teams and games they love so much." - Clay from Seattle

I think what is happening to the Sonics is an excellent microcosm of all that is wrong with being a fan of professional sports. You align yourself with a team or franchise, only to be dissapointed when the team doesn't give a damn about you. the bottom line for them is money. they price the tickets so an ordinary fan can't afford to take his family to a game with decent seats. They try to force the hand of the ordinary taxpayer to subsidize their riches through new arenas/stadiums. And if the city doesn't comply? they steal away the very franchise you always rooted for.

so what do you do as a fan?

Well for me, I'm chnaging my game plan as it relates to being a fan...starting now.

Instead of being a loyal SD Charger fan, I'm a fan of Football, and I root for my hometown team when applicable. When it's not applicable, I'll root for whoever I damn well please. And I'll refuse to align myself with any franchise where I don't currently like the players and/or owners, coaches or whatever.
Ultimately, I'm a fan of the particular sport, be it NBA or NFL or MLB, so long as they provide me with entertainment and enjoyment, I will support them with a very limited amount of my hard-earned time and money (an amout reasonable for relatively frivilous entertainment).
Call me a "fair-weather fan" or whatever, but I consider myself a realist. Why should I align myself with a team simply because I was born there, especially if an owner like Clay Bennet can steal them away from me? No, Clay Bennet will get zero support from me. I love the NBA, and his team sucks and it not worthy of my time. if the Kings decide to leave, let them. I have more fun watching the season unfold and the players play, the matchups, the excitement of the playoffs. The game itself.

On Deficits & Deaths

Two of the most important factors in judging a president are the financial state of our country and the safety of our people. Here's a break-down of Clinton vs. Bush on those two items....both from Factcheck.org

$236Billion surplus with Clinton, $4Trillion deficit with Bush.


As for the safety of our people?



"The truth is that more military personnel died during the first six years of the Bush administration than died during the eight years Clinton was in office, even counting military deaths in the U.S. from accidents, murders, suicides and natural causes." -Factcheck.org



324 more days of the worst president in history......

Snow Park

Me 'n my boy. :-)

He definitely has his papa's love for the snow. Next year he'll be skiing!

Shaq in the Land of the Suns

Hard to watch this an not realize how special Shaq is....
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3235460

Put me down among the minority who think this was the right call by Steve Kerr and the Suns. They simply weren't going to get there the way they were. Now they are locked in. Why does no one else see a Shaq and Amare combo inside, along with Hill, Bell and Nash outside/slashing as a wicked mix that can easily win it all?

Is it too late for me to change my vote for champ? Lakers and Suns sure have improved. OK, it's too late....but I still like Dallas' chances......everyone is trying to get bigger to compete with the Spurs....they are all alike. The Mavs are different, they have what none of these teams have...youth AND longevity together as a team.

Super Year in the NFL

What a year it was....





The one New England Patriot I feel for. Seau has been a great warrior, and he's on the verge of retirement. I would have been happy if they won only so he could have tasted a championsip.


















But alas...to the victor goes the spoils.

Congrats to the Giants for a huge, huge win. one for the ages.

Cheers to a truly great year of football.



Will L.T. be holding a newspaper like this next year? I can only dream.....

Taking on Jordan

Next time I tell myself "I can't", or try to talk myself out of something because the going gets tough or I think I'm not "built for it" or "naturally gifted" towards something....I'm going to watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Ng8l5h2QE&feature=related


Simply fantastic.

On the housing market's future

The housing market continues to struggle mightily.

“While 2007 slides into the record books as a real estate industry train wreck, few are predicting that 2008 will be much better.”
“‘A real recovery in the housing market is probably at least a year off,’ said Robert Kleinhenz, deputy chief economist for the California Association of Realtors. ‘The murkiest part of my crystal ball has to do with the liquidity crunch.’”
“‘People think it’s not going to hit their neighborhood, not going to hit their price point,’ said Thornberg. ‘But the reality is that it is only going to get worse in 2008.’”

My prediction is things will indeed drop another 10-20% in the next year or two. But things are already starting to shift. As I see it, bargain hunters are starting to look at the low interest rates (sure to get lower as the Fed continues to drop rates), and low unemployment, and think "I can get a house in San Diego/Orlando/Chicago/Sonoma/wherever for really cheap now...this might be my last chance to buy a house at this price point."....once that shift happens, and I believe it already has started albeit verrrry slowly, things will stabilize, and then the inventory surplus will start to dry up slowly and things will rebound in 2009/2010. not 20% per year maybe, but a good 10% jump is easy to imagine.