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Thursday, December 15, 2016
More Snowy Pictures From Bend Oregon
I wanted to share some more pictures of the 12+ inches of snow that fell in town. Shoveling snow is one heckuva workout! I was sweating like crazy last night in 14 degree temperatures shoveling the snow off mine and my neighbor's driveway and sidewalk for nearly two hours last night.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 2:57 PM No comments:
Monday, December 12, 2016
This Past Weekend's Snow In Bend And On Mt. Bachelor
This weekend's snow in Bend was beautiful as you can see by the photos below as the town was covered in snow that came and went starting midweek, carrying over through Sunday.
The snow at Mt. Bachelor was incredible! Seriously incredible with two feet of soft, fluffy snow falling over 48 hours. It was a great weekend for skiing, especially Red Chair, which is often a forgotten gem on Mt. Bachelor.
Below are some pictures from the past few days of snow in Bend, from River Bend Park, The Old Mill, Wanoga Snow Park, and Mt. Bachelor.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 8:17 AM No comments:
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Holiday Tradition: The War On Christmas Returns!
I secretly love "The War On Christmas" narrative pushed by media blowhards who want their loyal audience to believe that as white Christians in the United States, they have lost their right to say "Merry Christmas" in Obama's America, even though it sure looks a lot like George W. Bush's, Bill Clinton's, George H.W. Bush's, and Ronald Reagan's America. Hmm?
But still, that cannot be lost on those feeling the potential loss of Christmas as they knew it way back when before people of other faiths arrived on these sacred shores.
And you know what? I love it!
I love how ridiculous the story is and love how it keeps returning to the airwaves every year. Like it did last night in grand style!
Yes, Donald Trump will be the savior of survivors of the Christmas war. He alone will give people the right to say "Merry Christmas" in public spaces without fear of retribution by those who want to include all faiths, or lack of faiths, by using the all-inclusive "Happy Holidays!"
It's a stupid story. And it's stupid that I waste my time and actually look forward to seeing the red cups unveiled the day after Thanksgiving because I know that The War On Christmas nonsense is about to return. I usually wind up having a conversation with the barista about my love of The War On Christmas, which I think has primarily been inspired by The Daily Show, which has poked fun of "The War" for over a decade.
This "holiday" season, I'm grateful that "The War" has returned and that I'll continue taking great pleasure in seeing people talk with a straight face about "The War On Christmas" while others talk with a smile and smirk about how it's not a real thing, like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Yet, funny enough, their are millions of adults who believe that it's real even though they know that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are not real.
We are a funny species we white Americans who can compartmentalize our rational and logical thinking to believe in a made up "War" but not believe in the fat man who delivers gifts all over the world on one night from a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer!
But still, that cannot be lost on those feeling the potential loss of Christmas as they knew it way back when before people of other faiths arrived on these sacred shores.
And you know what? I love it!
I love how ridiculous the story is and love how it keeps returning to the airwaves every year. Like it did last night in grand style!
Yes, Donald Trump will be the savior of survivors of the Christmas war. He alone will give people the right to say "Merry Christmas" in public spaces without fear of retribution by those who want to include all faiths, or lack of faiths, by using the all-inclusive "Happy Holidays!"
It's a stupid story. And it's stupid that I waste my time and actually look forward to seeing the red cups unveiled the day after Thanksgiving because I know that The War On Christmas nonsense is about to return. I usually wind up having a conversation with the barista about my love of The War On Christmas, which I think has primarily been inspired by The Daily Show, which has poked fun of "The War" for over a decade.
This "holiday" season, I'm grateful that "The War" has returned and that I'll continue taking great pleasure in seeing people talk with a straight face about "The War On Christmas" while others talk with a smile and smirk about how it's not a real thing, like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Yet, funny enough, their are millions of adults who believe that it's real even though they know that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are not real.
We are a funny species we white Americans who can compartmentalize our rational and logical thinking to believe in a made up "War" but not believe in the fat man who delivers gifts all over the world on one night from a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer!
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 7:18 AM No comments:
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
I'm Grateful For Comedians Keeping Sanity In Light Of Trump's Coming Ineptitude
Comedians like Seth Meyers have been doing and will continue doing a great service to American citizens who are appalled and aghast by the nonsense coming out of malignant narcissist Donald Trump's mouth.
These coming four years will be pretty unbearable as Trump acts as the useful tool that the media focuses on while Congress goes to work ripping up the New Deal and Great Society programs in favor of transferring wealth upward to the billionaire class, who wholly owns this Congress that does their bidding.
The news media will focus on Trump's outlandishness because it's good for their business just like they gave him unparalleled attention during the Republican primaries and general election. While he's the center of media attention, which he thrives on, Congress will be passing laws that give more money and subsidies to "capitalists" (especially two libertarians from Kansas) who love anti-capitalist public subsidies (Carrier deal?) and monopoly / oligopoly protections that keeps competition out. So much for capitalism, eh?
At least we'll have comedians who will continue calling out how ridiculous President Trump is / will be and they'll continue to point out his incompetence, possibly uncovering Trump's Watergate-like moment or impeachable offense.
Comedians will play a major role in keeping the public informed about the nonsense and schadenfreude going on in the Trump administration, which I expect will be equal to or greater than Dick Cheney's benevolence toward the energy industry and defense contractors. I'm hoping the comedians cross over or co-opt their reporting with established investigative reporters to bring people into the loop about what's going on, rather than focusing on low hanging comedic fruit coming out of Trump's mouth. Taking on a Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" style along with independent investigative outlets like The Intercept would be excellent (at least for me).
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Mt Bachelor Snow In October 2016!
This morning, I was driving back to the house after taking Artie on his walk along the river trail and noticed that the Three Sisters were covered in snow. Then I checked the Mt. Bachelor website and saw the webcams, which showed the mountain covered in snow. Hard to believe that on October 6th, we'd have a mountain covered in snow.
I know that we'll go through some ebs and flows of this snow melting in the coming days and weeks. But still, this is a good sign that we'll have a nice cold, snowy winter here in Bend.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 10:02 AM No comments:
Selling Ignorance Is Amazingly Lucrative!
The only thing that I have to say about this clip is that preying on people's ignorance must be very lucrative because a lot of people are being snookered by this nonsense like voter fraud or rigged elections. And someone, or many someones, are making a lot of money peddling BS to the masses who want to apparently be badly deceived over and over again until they believe it to be 100% true.
One year from now, the Trump TV Network will be his silly campaign nonsense times 24, for 24 hours a day of non-stop Trumpisms and Trump worldviews. And people will eat it up! They will buy shirts with his face emblazoned on the front, wigs similar to his hairdo, steaks, wine, birth certificates, Rosie O'Donnell masks, Hillary for prison T-shirts, walls for Mexico, Sean Hannity wine glasses, softballs with the cast of Fox and Friends' faces, giant sized Donald Trump hands, "Make America Great Again" hats that were made in China, Trump ties that were made in Vietnam, Trump timeshares, Trump Tax Calculators, Trump college degrees in a week, penny stocks comprised of Trump casinos, prepaid legal services to sue the shit out of your neighbor, ghostwritten books, defective lie detectors that cannot detect a lie, and much, much more!
Running for president was merely the loss leader advertising campaign for the new network that will be hocking Trump gear all day long like The Home Shopping Network. It's going to be the best and classiest with the best people cutting the best deals. And one person will make a ton of money off other people's willful ignorance.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Snow Visible From Bend On Mt Bachelor
This morning from River Bend Park in Bend, we had the first sighting of snow up on Mt. Bachelor, which fell last night. Normally, I'd be pretty happy about the first sign of winter, but it's only October 3rd and I'd still like to experience fall here in beautiful Central Oregon.
Plus, it was very cold this morning with a slight wind that made it even chillier.
Hopefully, we have a sunny and not so windy October here in Bend because I'd like to get some running and cycling in before the snow arrives.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 12:53 PM No comments:
Location: Bend, OR 97702, USA
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Nice To See Ted Cruz Dropping Out Of The Race
I've never been a fan of Senator Ted Cruz and was pretty happy to see that he finally suspended his campaign last night after losing again in Indiana to Donald Trump. How he lasted this long in the race is beyond me.
His religious act comes off to me as condescending and false. I don't buy it one bit. To me, it's another ruse to gain the votes of honest, God-fearing Evangelical Christians, who sometimes get played by clever politicians like Cruz who know how to scare Evangelicals just enough to get gain their vote. (Yes, I know, everyone gets played by politicians).
Politicians like Cruz use colorful yet frightening fire and brimstone rhetoric to whip the congregants into a frenzy before swooping in with a simple solution from the divinity in the form of Candidate Cruz. Yes, God put him in front of them today to save them from all the evils in the political world.
When I say evils, I'm referring to people with a different philosophical worldview or who have many different life experiences that influenced that worldview.
Yet, Candidate Cruz cleverly sells that difference as evil in order to gain votes. It's not evil. It's just different. It's not better or worse nor is it lacking divinity nor is it pure sin. It's just different.
But saying that it's merely different doesn't evoke strong emotions nor does it scare the living daylights out of people. It doesn't paint gory pictures that offer a candidate the opportunity to place himself as the savior to this potential (and highly improbable) doomsday situation to save the day for the the loyal flock.
Even though Cruz called off his presidential candidacy, I think his best years are yet to come. When he gets elected out of the Senate, he'll become an even greater star in talk radio and will amass a great fortune as a televangelist. His polished message works in that sphere much better than it does from the White House and it will enrich him beyond his wildest dreams.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 4:46 AM No comments:
Friday, April 22, 2016
Pretty Cool Photos Of Palmer Chairlift At Timberline Lodge
Summer skiing is around the corner which means that Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood has opened Palmer snowfield for spring and eventually summer skiing.
I've skied Palmer each of the past two summers and it's a magical experience. There are people from all over the world skiing up on the glacier, from Olympic skiers to kids from Japan getting their two weeks of summer skiing in for the year. Add to that the summer tourist season and it's an overall awesome time to be on the mountain.
Take a look at some of the photos below:
Until then, we have spring skiing at Mt. Bachelor through May 31st, so I'm going to try reaching my goal of 50 days of skiing in for the 2015-2016 season.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 8:04 AM No comments:
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
If Shill Gets Dumped By ESPN, There's Always Fox News
Curt Shilling is doing a great job auditioning for a new gig as a paid commentator on Fox News with his latest opinion about all the new transgender bathroom laws that are going up in red states. I wouldn't be surprised if ESPN releases him from his contract as a baseball analyst so that he can go work for Fox News, telling the 3,000,000+ angry white viewers about how the sports world is also persecuting conservative Christians who stand up for traditional family values.
That would be just another in the long line of the persecuted who get paid by the "sorta" news network to talk about how tough life is for them under the oppressive Obama regime which is hell bent on taking down 1950s white Christian America.
I wish him the best of luck.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 6:11 AM No comments:
Monday, April 18, 2016
Grantland Was My Last Connection To The Sports World
Last night I figured out my cable box for the first time in three months and watched ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball between the Dodgers and Giants. It hit me while I was watching the game that I no longer have any interest in baseball, or sports for that matter. And that the last thing that kept my interest in sports was Bill Simmons' Grantland.com, which ESPN killed last year due to a conflict with Simmons and orders from the parent company to cut costs.
Grantland was the only sports site that I checked every few days. The writers were great, especially baseball writer Jonah Keri. I loved the in depth analysis of baseball even though I can hardly bare watching a game anymore. But, I like to know what team executives and scouts look at when evaluating talent or constructing a roster, and that's what Grantland gave me as a reader.
Plus, Grantland's pop culture articles were pretty awesome. Bill Simmons' article about The Eagles Documentary on Netflix led to a rekindled love of The Eagles for me. (I've seen the documentary three times so far).
Maybe one of these days, with kids playing sports, I'll start to watch sports on TV again. Until then, I'm crossing my fingers hoping to find another Granland-like site to keep my waning interest in sports alive.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 4:49 PM No comments:
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Hopefully The End Is Fast Approaching For The Spectacle
I've been glancing at news headlines this past week and it seems that the end is near for the Donald Trump presidential campaign after his latest comment about imprisoning women who underwent an abortion. Of course, his campaign PR people had to backtrack this comment very quickly and say that it was taken out of context and that he misspoke, which he of course didn't. They probably had to blame the media, ala Sarah Palin, or do something to make up for his unfiltered comments.
But still, the spectacle has gone on long enough for the benefit of his ego and the benefit of the news media who covers him nonstop for fun and profit. It's time to end the charade. He's not a serious candidate and never intended to be. He's playing a character that he probably doesn't even believe but he needs to keep being more outrageous to keep the momentum going, according a former PR campaign manager who recently quit and wrote an open letter denouncing his candidacy. You should definitely read it. She clarifies what the campaign is all about.
Here's the conclusion of the letter which sums up best what he's doing and playing the American people, with the culpable media's full support:
And here's what he tapped into: the unprecedented, unbelievable anger.
Because we are all angry — and we all have a right to be. But Trump is not our champion. He would stab any one of his supporters in the back if it earned him a cent more in his pocket.
Unfortunately, the more vitriolic Trump has become, the more the people responded to him. That drove him to push the boundaries further and further.
I also started seeing a trend of incompetence and deniability.
When there was a tweet that contained an error, he would blame it on an intern; when there was a photo containing a World War II Nazi Germany background, he would blame it on an intern; when he answered questions in an overtly controversial fashion, he would claim that he did not properly hear the question. He refused to take responsibility for his actions while frequently demanding apologies from others.
Imagine Trump wronged you, even in the smallest possible way. He would go to the grave denying he had ever done anything wrong to you — ever.
Trump acts as if he's a fictional character. But like Hercules, Donald Trump isa work of fiction.
This thing will end soon. It has to end because it's just too ridiculous to continue. The media execs will come to the conclusion that they are at a point of diminishing return on investment from Trump, much like an oil well that has peaked and profits are in decline. Trump got what he wanted out of this campaign - attention. The media got what it wanted - ratings. And we the American people got what we deserved for consuming this spectacle - entertainment.
I'm happy to say that this will soon be coming to an end. Hillary Clinton will probably be debating some Republican not named Ted Cruz. John Kasich, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, or someone else will probably emerge as the person to lose the 2016 election. But at least we won't have to see the Trump spectacle play out much longer.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 7:19 AM No comments:
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
The Brilliance Of Tom Petty's Wildflowers CD
Tom Petty's "Wildflowers" CD came out in 1995 during my senior year in high school. I remember playing it over and over, driving all over the Portland area for baseball games.
Now that it's available to listen to online, I'm reliving the genius of that CD. "Wake Up Time" is my favorite song. If you haven't listened to it, you must. It's excellent, especially if you're a Tom Petty fan.
That's all for today. Just listen to the CD. It's well worth it.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 10:16 AM No comments:
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
The Race To The Bottom Ratchets Up
As I've written before, Ted Cruz is very, very smart and will say whatever it takes to win the nomination, even if he probably doesn't believe it. And here is another example of him adopting the Donald Trump anti-immigrant rhetoric that has sadly taken the primaries by storm:
Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
I'm not an immigration expert but there's probably no way in hell that the government would be able to round up all 12 million people and send them back to where they came. Especially, if they had been in the country for 30, 40, or even 50 years.
Just like there's no way that President Obama was going to round up 300+ million guns owned by American citizens. But that didn't stop the opportunist profiteers from gun manufacturers, NRA crackpots, and disingenuous politicians beholden by the gun lobby to scare the living crap out of gullible Americans who went out and sent gun sales through the roof, crowning Obama as Greatest Gun Salesman On Earth.
Ignorance is a greater problem than illegal immigration. And we have a lot of it here.
We natives, myself included, don't always appreciate the opportunities available to us. In my day job, though, I work with many industrious real estate investors who came to the United States a few decades ago from places like Mexico, Pakistan, China, India, Vietnam, etc. They've all mentioned in conversation over the years about how great it is to have the opportunity to chart their own path in the United States versus living in a country where corruption, bribery, state controlled economics, or a caste system dictated their professional and financial destiny.
Rather than talking about "rounding up illegals" and riling up angry white voters who have seen their real wages fall starting in 1970, lost their jobs to globalization, experienced NAFTA job losses, and felt competition from Communist China and former USSR states opening trade and flooding the labor market with tens of millions of new low cost workers, it might be better to talk about how the real pressure on wages and jobs have come from the very top of the food chain of the ruling class who have benefited tremendously from the these circumstances they helped create.
Blaming illegal immigrants for "taking our jobs" is a great misdirection. Illegal immigrants have no economic or political power compared to super rich individuals and powerful corporations who own our political system and pay for laws to be written for their benefit.
Yet, angry voters have seen or thought they had seen some "illegals" in their town taking American jobs. And the "illegals" Mr. Cruz and Mr. Trump are subtly alluding to are Mexicans so why not scapegoat them with all this talk of building a wall and keeping them out. It's an easy sell to potential voters who don't want to take the time to think that maybe these guys are playing them for political and financial gain, keeping their attention of something trivial compared to the fleecing they're receiving at the hands of Cruz, Trump, and Rubio's campaign donors who stand to gain tremendously if one of these guys is elected president.
However, as much as I'd like to see the candidates use logic in their rhetoric, I realize they're going to continue using fear-based emotional rhetoric to motivate the voters to show up at the polling station. It's such a stupid strategy to me but it works. People don't get motivated or inspire by numbers and data the way I do. And that's probably why I'm not in the cable news business or working for a political campaign.
Enjoy your day and don't get swept up in the nonsense being spewed by all these guys on the campaign trail and the beholden big media that needs this flamboyant rhetoric to keep viewers and eyeballs glued to drive ratings and advertising dollars.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 6:02 AM No comments:
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
The NY Daily News' Great Article On The New Hampshire Primary
I gotta say that this article in the New York Daily News is absolutely brilliant, witty, and also terribly depressing. But they nailed it when summarizing the spectacle of Donald Trump's presidential candidacy.
"Clueless New Hampshire voters handed billionaire bore Donald Trump a "yuge" victory in the first-in-the nation primary Tuesday, providing the mad mogul with a new round of ammo a week after a disappointing second-place finish in Iowa."Then it goes further with the substance-free campaign claims he's been giving for the past year, back when everyone thought it was just a joke.
"We are going to make America great again, but we're going to do it the old-fashioned way," he said as an excited crowd chanted, "USA, USA." "Were going to beat China, Japan, Mexico.
"We are going to do something so fast, and so good, and so strong. The world is going to respect us again, believe me," he added, going on to double down on a handful of familiar promises.
"I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created," he said. "We're going to build a wall, it's going to be built … It's not even a difficult thing to do."Excuse me for being cynical, but this stuff sounds like the speech a high school football coach gives his players during halftime.
Sadly, people respond to this stuff.
Give Trump credit because he's a billionaire who knows how to connect with regular football-watching Americans, or people he's never associated with in his entire life. But, he's truly a genius at selling his brand of Donald Trump, which strangely appeals to people.
And it makes no sense to me. Nor to the NY Daily News.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 10:00 AM No comments:
Full Frontal's Funny Jeb Bush Sketch - Must See!
I can't add anything to the brilliance of this skit.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 6:32 AM No comments:
Monday, February 8, 2016
Bend Roundabout Road Rage
A couple of nights ago, I was running along Mt. Washington and from behind me heard the blaring horn that could only come from a roundabout infraction. Instead of just a quick beep, the driver blaring their horn continued and sped up to within 15 feet of the small car that had probably cut in front of them inside the roundabout.
It was ridiculous and the tailgating, blaring horn driver was being a total jerk. Get over it. It was probably a momentary lapse in judgment by the other driver. We've all been there in our roundabout experience. We've cut in too soon or been cut off by another driver who jumped in front of us, causing for a momentary dangerous driving moment. It happens to all of us.
But to blare the horn and tailgate another driver or something that might happen once every six months is completely stupid. Just give a "Serenity Now!" and move on.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 6:00 AM No comments:
Sunday, February 7, 2016
The American Dream Of Getting Rich Quick
When I was younger I wanted to be very rich and I wanted it to happen overnight. Every time I tried taking a shortcut, I was sent back to the very beginning to pay my dues until I learned the lessons that I was supposed to learn. Since I can be pretty hard-headed, this period lasted about fifteen years, starting when I was 22 years old and going to age 37.
Eventually though, I started to realize that I couldn't always make things happen overnight. Patience was the virtue that I needed to embrace. And this was pretty hard for someone with higher than average ambition to accept.
But now, patience is something I'm pretty comfortable with. If things don't happen overnight or on the schedule I wanted it to happen - oh well. In due time, I'll get the result I wanted or I'll get the result I was supposed to get.
In my day job of doing short-term private money loans for real estate investors and talking to aspiring real estate investors, I get to hear my past, present, and future self when talking to clients about the projects that they need financed. I like these conversations. They're the older and wiser conversations by people (me and the clients) who've been at it for a good length of time and have learned many of the tough lessons that come only with experience.
On the flip side, I often get to listen to my former self when aspiring house flippers call asking about financing. They have more than enough ambition to become a success. Unfortunately, they haven't put in the time, don't have enough money, and won't trust the little voice in their head telling them to not do the deal. (I ignored this voice on two deals and have spent about $150,000 over five years paying off the hard money loans with a personal guaranty all because I didn't listen to my voice of reason).
I hear desperation in the voices of aspiring house flippers. I hear them idolizing someone else that they think is really successful at the business. Chances are, the person being idolized is over-leveraged and taking on way too many projects than they can handle and if/when the market flattens or declines, will be in a tough financial spot.
It's nice to have nearly come full circle by paying the price in time and money for the mistakes that I made in my twenties. I've learned so much along the way that I can't begin to quantify. The big lesson is that becoming financially wealthy takes time, patience, persistence, etc. It's not an instant gratification thing. Rather, it's a long-term process filled with ups and downs, mis-directions and re-directions, spanning several decades.
It's nice to have nearly come full circle by paying the price in time and money for the mistakes that I made in my twenties. I've learned so much along the way that I can't begin to quantify. The big lesson is that becoming financially wealthy takes time, patience, persistence, etc. It's not an instant gratification thing. Rather, it's a long-term process filled with ups and downs, mis-directions and re-directions, spanning several decades.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 10:27 AM No comments:
Sunday, January 31, 2016
NY Times Endorses John Kasich For Republican Nominee
Kasich at least has experience across many levels of government and doesn't say a bunch of stupid stuff in order to curry favor and support from the talk radio listening crowd the way Trump and Cruz have done on their campaigns. He's been more diplomatic and hasn't gotten too heavily involved in Trump's game of baiting other candidates into his schoolyard name-calling experiment, which has hijacked the debates (of which I won't watch but will read the recaps a day later).
To me, Kasich appears to be a serious candidate who won't promise to do a bunch of crazy shit (Cruz's "carpet bombing" or Trump's "wall and mass deportations") just to get more airtime and maybe even the eventual nomination or to bring the nutcases out of the woodwork to show up at rallies.
Hopefully, the NYT endorsement brings Kasich more support in this year's ridiculous GOP primary. If not, it's going to be a bizarre year of Trump displaying his ability to manipulate the media with ever greater flamboyant and inflammatory statements that will leave more and more people wondering, "What the hell just happened?"
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 7:55 AM No comments:
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Seinfeld On Hulu Is the Best $7.99 That I Spend Each Month
I don't watch much TV but when I do, I love watching old episodes of Seinfeld, most of which I've seen 10-15 times. But that's okay, the show is still great. And so funny. It's still relevant (at least to me) and brilliantly written.
As a result of having watched the show so many times, I probably have at least 3-4 Seinfeld moments during the week. I'll come across a "low talker" or "close talker" or will just have a funny Seinfeld scene pop into my head. Things like this:
The show never gets old even as I get older. It's my go-to TV show when I need something funny after a long day of work when my brain is tired.
Thank you Hulu.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 8:27 AM No comments:
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
More On Hillary And Bernie In the Democratic Primary
I must confess that I didn't, haven't, and probably won't watch any of the presidential primary debates. For me, they're just so filled with rehearsed lines and answers that often seem pretty sterile and generic.
With that being said, I like to get my debate recaps from shows online like 'The Young Turks', which is hosted by Cenk Uygur. The Young Turks has been making the case for years that the establishment democrats are just as corrupt as the establishment republicans, something that some of my very liberal friends have a hard time seeing.
Even though she is an establishment democrat, Hillary Clinton is probably the most highly qualified candidate running for president. She's the sharpest and has the most depth of experience navigating government of anyone in the field. She would, and she probably will, make a great president.
Yet she is part of the establishment that has seemed to take the votes of the lower and middle classes while doing the bidding for the super rich once elected. The establishment generally writes laws that benefit their campaign donors, or at least that's what the Princeton study showed when they summarized their findings that the United States is now an oligarchy. The establishment has a middle class problem. The middle class doesn't believe in the establishment any longer.
That's why Bernie Sanders in 2016 is giving Hillary a great run for all of her Super PAC and 0.001% donor money. He's the advocate of the lower and middle classes. He's the anti-establishment candidate on the democratic side. Bernie is refreshing. And, coming from him, it's sincere rather than gimmicky like Obama's 2008 "Hope and Change" campaign. His track record proves it.
In the end, I think Hillary wins the nomination this year and become the next president. However, Bernie Sanders is playing a very important historical role in paving the way for that eventual moment (soon?) when the American public finally elects a president who fulfills the needs of the average person rather than doing the bidding of the super rich and super powerful.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 6:41 AM No comments:
Friday, January 22, 2016
I Find This Hard To Believe - No Coverage?
Sorry, but I find this story in Politico pretty hard to believe that Senator Ted Cruz doesn't have any health coverage. I could see this being the case if he was a self-employed businessman who was hit by hard times in a depressed economic region. But come on, he works for the government, who offers federal employees all kinds of health insurance options.
According to Factcheck.org, there are over 300 different plans to chose from:
According to the Congressional Research Service, the FEHBP offers about 300 different private health care plans, including five government-wide, fee-for-service plans and many regional health maintenance organization (HMO) plans, plus high-deductible, tax-advantaged plans. All plans cover hospital, surgical and physician services, and mental health services, prescription drugs and "catastrophic" coverage against very large medical expenses. There are no waiting periods for coverage when new employees are hired, and there are no exclusions for preexisting conditions.
Is it that hard for a guy or his staffers to start filling out the paperwork for health insurance? It's not like he, an Ivy League educated attorney who argued cases in front of the Supreme Court with a wife on leave from Goldman Sachs, couldn't afford the $200/mo employee contribution to an $800/mo family coverage plan.
I'd be interested in seeing what the fact checking news sites do with this little doozy. To me, the story doesn't hold water. However, maybe he really just let his insurance lapse as a political act of defiance against Obamacare, which he blamed for sinking the economy during a 21 hour filibuster in 2013.
With the financial means and a job that provides numerous health insurance plans to choose from, it's really hard to believe someone working in the Senate is uninsured. But, politicians have been known to fib from time to time when they need votes from unsuspecting voters.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 5:00 PM No comments:
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Interesting To Watch Economic Sentiment Come And Go
I read a lot online because I have this overarching need to understand how things work and so that I don't come off as uninformed when I write. My fear of not knowing something fuels my highest value of continually learning.
So in all of this reading, I came across an interesting information over the past week. This article in The Orange County Register, "Beige Book: Fed Sees Western Real Estate As 'Robust'", did a great job showing the incredibly strong demand for real estate on the west coast:
Quoting directly, here's what was said about Western real estate in 2016's first Beige Book:
Real estate market activity grew at a robust pace across most of the District. Demand for new residential units remains high, with contacts in many West Coast cities reporting ongoing reductions in vacancy rates.
Residential construction activity grew substantially, with a somewhat stronger market for multifamily units than for single-family units.
Housing prices rose further across the District, and contacts expressed concerns over affordability for low-income buyers.The Register, I think, did a brilliant job including Beige Book comments about where the market was five years ago:
And five years earlier:
Demand in District residential and commercial real estate markets was largely unchanged at very low levels. The pace of home sales remained quite slow throughout the District.
In addition, an abundance of foreclosed properties and short sales kept inventories of available homes elevated in most areas, which put downward pressure on prices and the pace of new home construction.Five years ago, the real estate market was a mess. Excess inventory ruled the day. Everyone wanted to sell and nobody wanted to, or could, buy. (Slight exaggeration).
Now, everyone wants to buy and nobody wants to sell. Prices have come back close to Housing/Credit Bubble levels. I hear people every week talking about how they want to get in now before prices get even higher, which makes me shake my head. Have they seriously forgotten what happened in 2007-2011 where prices tanked and homes became really cheap?
Which leads me to oil prices. Back in 2008, they peaked at $145.31 per barrel. Today, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading at $27.40! WTF!
In 2008, there was supposedly a shortage of oil in the world. Whether that was true or not or was just trader and producer manipulation, prices skyrocketed as the American and global economy was tanking, which didn't make any sense to me at the time. (Still doesn't).
But today, the world is apparently awash in oil and with Iran's sanctions lifted, more cheap oil is coming to a gas pump near you "while supplies last!"
Prices and sentiment across all asset classes fluctuate. What's true today was not true 5-7 years ago nor will it be true five years in the future. Oil prices will probably rise. Home prices will probably fall. Change is inevitable.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 6:35 AM No comments:
Friday, January 15, 2016
The Rise Of Bernie Sanders In The Polls
It may be a little too early to get as enthusiastic as The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur does in this YouTube video about the rise of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries, but damn it felt great to see Bernie taking the lead across all these polls.
Bernie Sanders is connecting with people because he's discussing issues that actually reach their level rather than Hillary Clinton paying lip service to the voters while doing the bidding of the billionaire and CEO classes.
Voters get it. They get that American politics is a pay-to-play scheme run by the wealthiest and most powerful people who can pay for new laws to be written in their favor.
Bernie Sanders' track record displays that he's worked outside the system, being a constant supporter in the Senate for average citizens rather than the rich and powerful. Voters trust him at his word more than they trust Hillary Clinton.
I hope the momentum continues because I'd love to see democracy get another chance in this country soon.
I hope the momentum continues because I'd love to see democracy get another chance in this country soon.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 6:57 AM No comments:
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Not A Powerball Winner And I'm Actually Pretty Happy About It
Of course it would have been great to be one of the three grand prize winners who split $1,600,000,000. Receiving a wire for $165,000,000 (lump sum payout after taxes) in two weeks or receiving the first of 360 monthly $750,000 after tax paychecks would be pretty intoxicating when that money finally hit the bank account.
Yet, as I was thinking about it on Tuesday night after buying a $20 ticket, I couldn't ignore the little bit of cognitive dissonance that I was feeling. My conscious mind was mapping out the ways I'd put the money to work after paying off some bills and buying a house.
At the same time, however, my subconscious mind was telling me that getting all that money would curtail all the work I've been doing personally and professionally. And that I'd probably wind up getting lazy when it comes to the things that interest me most like reading, writing, learning, growing my business, spirituality, running 10Ks, etc.
With all that money, I'd probably initially spend time being a wealthy ski bum, traveling the world in search of the best powder and helicopter skiing. But after a while, that would get a little old, and possibly lonely. Ski bums are a different breed and they're not a crowd that I can easily assimilate with because one drink is usually my limit. That would mean I'd be going to bed before the party got started or else I'd be sleeping the entire next day.
Beyond that though, the winnings would make me lazy and I know that within a few months I'd become deeply frustrated with a lack of discipline in all areas of my life. Spending money and living carefree can only bring happiness for a limited period of time. Yet, it's not fulfilling to most people, including myself.
I believe there's so much more to life than getting rich. Of course, money is a great tool for having a rich life. But receiving too much money too early in life without having to put in all the hard work usually derails human creativity and human potential. Hopefully I can continue down the path that I'm on, plugging away every day and getting a few lucky breaks along the way. That would be my jackpot.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 10:02 AM No comments:
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Do We Really Need Another GOP Debate Thursday Night?
It's not like the eleven candidates are going to bring up anything new. They're just going to rehash the same topics and hopefully be able to establish themselves as the most conservative of the group who also scored the best zinger or one-liner of the night at the expense of their competition.
So tomorrow night it will be another round of Donald Trump playing the most verbally flamboyant xenophobe on stage with Ted Cruz strategically riding his coattails by not criticizing in order to pick up Trump followers when Trump gets the boot from the primary by the party bosses down the road.
They will all vow that on Day 1 of their administration they will overturn Obamacare because it has been a job crusher (it hasn't). They won't say what they'd implement in its place (Canadian style single payer system or just repeal it and kick 17 million people off private insurance plans as rates skyrocket?). We mus'n't question the alternative. Just know, especially if Trump has an unknown plan, that it will be world class.
Meanwhile, every candidate will try boasting that they will be the toughest on ISIS by dramatically increasing defense spending (and cutting taxes which magically balances the federal budget(?)). War on Terror tough talk with tax cuts sprinkled on top makes the defense contractors smile. That's like a coded "shout out" to the true underwriters of the presidential primaries. Not the little people at home who dutifully cast their vote.
Planned Parenthood funding will be another hot topic, pandering to the anti-abortion voter cohort. Gotta make sure those voters at home know that after 43 years of Roe v. Wade being on the books and promises every campaign season to overturn it, this is really the time that it's going to happen. Trust us!
Guns are a hot topic. The shared response will be some variation of, "A good guy with a gun beats a bad guy with a gun." And how dare tyrannical Obama add a couple additional hurdles to legally obtaining a gun? See how out of control he is taking away your civil liberties? (We won't discuss the Patriot Act loss of civil liberties in 2001).
Shrinking the federal government and giving more power to the states. "States rights" has sometimes been considered coded language, especially from those running campaigns. Maybe this will come up. Maybe not.
America is broke! (It's not). Social Security is going broke! (It's not - just needs a few tweaks). We owe China all this money that we can never repay! (They invest their trade surplus into interest-bearing US Treasuries rather than holding dollar reserves which lose purchasing power each year due to inflation. As the currency issuer, we can print money to repay our debts. It's not like a household that has to earn money to pay its bills. The US Dollar is the most secure currency in the world. Stop scaring people into thinking we're going down).
More domestic oil drilling and 100% energy independence is a must so we can get out of these wars (that we started in the first place). Who knows, maybe with oil prices plummeting, energy exploration may not be a topic this time around?
Favorite book? The Bible, of course!
And finally, they will all declare that they are the most Ronald Reagan-like candidate on stage and that they'll make America great again like it was back in the eighties. Really? Who wants to go back to the eighties?
There you have it. There's likely nothing new under the sun in this debate. Now you can go clean up the garage or take the dog out for a nice long walk. Or do something productive rather than get lied to for two hours.
The Democratic debates aren't much better except for Bernie Sanders. Democratic voters don't really buy the Clinton campaign either.
Sorry to be so down on our politicians. The current US oligarchy makes these debates feel like a staged theatrical event to misinform and misdirect the voters. So why take it serious?
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 6:44 PM No comments:
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Sunshine, Snow, and A Mountain Summit
I took the afternoon off to get in a few runs in the bowl at Mt. Bachelor's Summit yesterday. The snow on the north side wasn't perfect, a little tracked out and icy/chunky on the high spots, but still, it was great. Having the right skis that can go through the chopped up crud makes a huge difference.
Like I wrote last week, moving to Bend was the best decision that I've made in a long time. Being able to drive 25-30 minutes from my place on the west side of town to the mountain has been great. Last year, it would take me almost 90 minutes to get from my place in Alameda to Mt. Hood Meadows, which was much more time in the car than I wanted to spend.
Plus, my 12.5 year old beagle doesn't like staying home alone so this short commute and get in as many runs in the shortest amount of time works well for the whole family. (He's a family member and pretty certain that he's a person).
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 7:42 AM No comments:
Friday, January 8, 2016
No, Obama Isn't Coming For Your Guns
Sadly, many Americans have been getting whipped up into a hysterical frenzy by the NRA and other PR people on the industry's payroll about the supposed threat that President Obama poses to the Second Amendment. After seven years of the Obama Administration, none of the fear-mongering predictions have come to fruition but that doesn't stop the hysterics.
In fact, this repetitive fear-based campaign has been so successful that gun production has doubled and gun industry profits are over $9 billion higher ever since Obama took office. Gun manufacturer stocks have been rising on expectation that gun sales will continue increasing over the coming year due to the "threat" (real or imagined) of new regulations and the fact that mass shootings seemingly happen every week in this country.
At what point do people stop and question that they're being played for someone else's benefit? Specifically, someone else's financial gain.
Or, in this case, someone's political gain:
The government isn't going to start rounding up the 300+ million guns owned by American citizens. Obama's not coming for your guns. He's not Hitler or some other tyrant that they portray him to be on talk radio and websites that use fear to keep the advertising dollars rolling in. In fact, last night, the President sat down with Anderson Cooper to dispel these claims, mentioning that the fears are being drummed up by those who will profit politically and commercially:
In fact, this repetitive fear-based campaign has been so successful that gun production has doubled and gun industry profits are over $9 billion higher ever since Obama took office. Gun manufacturer stocks have been rising on expectation that gun sales will continue increasing over the coming year due to the "threat" (real or imagined) of new regulations and the fact that mass shootings seemingly happen every week in this country.
At what point do people stop and question that they're being played for someone else's benefit? Specifically, someone else's financial gain.
Or, in this case, someone's political gain:
The fear of gun confiscation isn't very rational. In fact, it's an emotional sales pitch. People typically don't buy products when they're being rational and logical. They buy when their emotions have been aroused.
The marketers have repeatedly appealed to people's emotional hot buttons with fear of what could happen by delivering the message over and over to the point where it just gets accepted as true for the recipients. Logically though, the message doesn't hold water because none of the predictions have materialized and we have a seven year sample size to measure the predictions. In fact, the only thing that has materialized is dollars flowing to gun manufacturers and dollars to politicians who have hitched their name to the cause for political gain.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 7:00 AM No comments:
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Skiing The Backside of Summit Chairlift At Mt Bachelor
The bowls were chopped up and cruddy, but that was fine. Powder skis cut through the crud pretty easily. Making it out through the trees, however, where there was 2-3 feet of powder and several air holes(?), was another story. Luckily, I latched on with a group of three snowboarders for safety precautions to get through the trees and out to the cat track trail to the bottom of Northwest chair.
Forecasts call for traces of snow for the next few days and then a return of the dumping we had in December, which will be awesome. Here's the Wx Cafe's Rufus La Lone's prediction for next week:
"Mountain SNOW will again be measured in FEET during this projected wet cycle. The storms will tail into CA, as well, for a decent contribution to the Drought Relief Fund. While timing may be off 12-24 hrs, expect the strongest series of storms to arrive Sat Jan 16, Sun night Jan 17, late Mon Jan 18 and Wed the 20th."
Next week should be a great time on Mt. Bachelor. Until then, it's time to get back to work.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 8:50 AM No comments:
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Drumming Up Middle Class Resentment Without Letting Them Know What Caused It
Donald Trump's presidential campaign is doing a great job at blaming external factors on the demise of America, which he claims cannot win at anything anymore. Whether that's true or not, it's not, Trump is doing a great job at stoking the fire of white middle class America's resentment with its diminishing economic standing and growing financial insecurity.
While he points the finger at China, Mexico, and all the other winners who are causing Americans to be losers, he fails to let his supporters know that it's bigger than just winning and losing.
With the fall of the communist Soviet Union and the rise of China as a manufacturing power, who Trump correctly points out manipulates their currency, tens of millions of new laborers worldwide have entered the market, putting downward pressure on wages globally and especially here in the United States.
Many of the high paying manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas, where goods can be produced for a fraction of the cost because the workers only make $3/hr versus $30/hr in the states. Large multinational manufacturers have shuttered plants all across the US to take advantage in the savings gained from low-cost producers overseas, thus putting millions of Americans temporarily out of work, which floods the market with more workers looking for fewer jobs. Thus, the diminishing American middle class as more people are forced to take lower paying positions with less benefits.
I won't even get into the shift of unionized jobs from the Midwest to the Southeast, where non-union labor is king. (Those jobs could be coming back north, though). Nor, will I labor on Bill Clinton's NAFTA, which moved more jobs south of the border even though it was billed as a job creator but has reportedly cost 1 million American jobs.
I'm not an economist or even an expert in this type of stuff. However, I read a lot and like to know the answers to things that pique my curiosity. So when I hear negative emotion inducing rhetoric that contradicts books and reports that I've read in the past, my ears perk up. The soundbite foreigner culprits are too simplistic in a highly complex and ever evolving global economy that has wreaked havoc on the American middle class.
Trump, along with every politician running for president, knows this and they know their audience better than the audience knows themselves. They're easier to goad with fact-free flamboyant rhetoric than to have a fireside chat with facts and numbers. The people want fast entertainment with a lasting catchphrase or jingle. And they have no patience or interest in a candidate who will lay out the evolutionary details that has caused the shrinking of the American middle class. Besides, those candidates tend to be losers.
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 8:39 AM No comments:
Monday, January 4, 2016
Twitter Users Making Fun Of Both The Media And Protesters In The Oregon Thing
One thing that I've learned during the internet era is that there are some brilliant and funny people all over the place who can display their wit without having to be a trained professional journalist. Case in point is the Twitter users who responded to the militia men taking over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge building outside of Burns, Oregon.
Hashtags have been flowing such as: #VanillaISIS, #YallQueda, #YeeHawd, #YokelHarem, #WhitSIS, #FailQueada, #SaturdayNightTreason.
Hashtags have been flowing such as: #VanillaISIS, #YallQueda, #YeeHawd, #YokelHarem, #WhitSIS, #FailQueada, #SaturdayNightTreason.
I'm not sure if the Twitter users are making fun of these guys as much as they're making fun of our media's double standard of vilifying and fear mongering Islamist extremists (along with Black Lives Matter & Occupy Wall Street) while handling white Christian abortion clinic bombers/shooters, white school & mall shooters, and now white cattle ranchers with much softer rhetoric.
Ever since 2001, we've been inundated with all these news stories on what we need to be afraid of when in reality Americans are more likely to die from heart disease (junk food & soda), cancers, cigarettes, car accidents, accidental firearms, bicycle accidents, falling, talking on the cell phone while driving, excessive alcohol, medical mistakes, etc.
Yet, cigarettes, alcohol, junk food, cars, bicycles, guns, cell phones, and hiking trails over rocky cliffs are still completely legal. The US.gov doesn't spend trillions of dollars in a decade shutting down these industries like we've thrown away in the Middle East nor does the media provide non-stop coverage of imminent danger posed by smoking a pack of cigarettes each day while getting all three of your meals from McDonald's. No, this stuff gets swept under the carpet even though the products, like tobacco, could lead to one's early, painful demise with cancers or other diseases stemming from prolonged use of a product that has been proven to kill.
But that wouldn't be sensational and it wouldn't evoke the right emotional response from TV news viewers. Nor could the media evoke the good/bad, black/white story line. A slow death is boring. Explosions and car crashes, like the intro to every episode of CHIPs, is what the viewers want to watch and that's what the news gives them.
And since I mentioned my former childhood favorite TV show CHIPs, I thought I should give you what I know you definitely want to see and to keep the advertising dollars flowing to my blog. Oh, that's right, I have no advertisers. But still, I know you want to see a car crash that could never ever possibly happen on Southern California freeways. But still, CHIPs kept stunt men employed and kept the Detroit factories humming by wrecking all those cars. Enjoy!
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 8:00 AM 1 comment:
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Someone Will Love This Ugly Piece Of Furniture
Since it was too cold and windy yesterday up on the mountain to ski, I made a quick trip into a furniture store in town since I'll soon be in the market for new furniture. After wandering the main level of couches, beds, and dinner tables, I worked my way upstairs to what appeared to be the floor for less desirable furniture like Laz-E-Boy chairs and some ugly stuff priced at a discount.
Nothing upstairs caught my eye until I landed on these incredibly ugly specimens:
For those of you who have been living under a rock with the guy on the Geico commercial, Duck Dynasty is a show about this wealthy family of bearded men in Louisiana that runs a duck hunting supply company and does all kinds of silly things at work and in their home life. The patriarch has also become a much sought after speaker in conservative circles for his ability to rattle off such zingers like this:
Nothing upstairs caught my eye until I landed on these incredibly ugly specimens:
I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a three piece Duck Commander (A&E's Duck Dynasty show) living room set.
For those of you who have been living under a rock with the guy on the Geico commercial, Duck Dynasty is a show about this wealthy family of bearded men in Louisiana that runs a duck hunting supply company and does all kinds of silly things at work and in their home life. The patriarch has also become a much sought after speaker in conservative circles for his ability to rattle off such zingers like this:
The man best known as the Duck Commander was briefly suspended by A&E in 2013 after he made anti-gay comments in a GQ interview. "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men," Robertson told GQ.
I actually watched an episode once and found it to be incredibly boring. Granted, I prefer watching documentaries or reading history books, so I'm probably not the targeted audience. But still, the episode I watched was basically a bunch of bearded guys screwing around at work while the son who ran the company tried to get the guys back to work. Then they went home to their beautiful homes and beautiful wives. And the oldest brother rented a luxury RV to go hunting which upset a younger brother, which looked like a staged reality TV scene to create drama and conflict to be resolved at the end of the show. You know, real reality!
Even though I didn't find the show appealing and I don't really agree with the old man's political beliefs, I admire how this family is capitalizing on their 15 minutes of fame, which is approaching a decade and appears to have long-term staying power. These guys went from having frosted tip hair to having full ZZ Top style beards, taking their supply company to the airwaves, capitalizing on the explosion of cable TV and America's demand for "reality" television, which networks love because they're so cheap to produce until the stars get famous and can command more money.
The business acumen and ubiquity of the Duck Dynasty guys is really impressive. They've been quite the sensation for nearly a decade and are now part of American pop culture, with numerous branding and merchandise deals that Forbes Magazine estimated was as high as $400 million.
It shouldn't have been a surprise to me that they now have a branded furniture line. Someone here in Bend is going to see that three piece living room set and realize that it's the perfect finishing touches to their "man cave". And in the end, the Duck guys will get to cash another check for another camouflage branded merchandising product that they sold. Good for them - only in America!
Posted by Ted Spradlin at 7:54 AM No comments:
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Maria heading for Dominica; Hurricane Warning remains in effectDominica News Online - Monday, September 18th, 2017 at 7:42 AM
Hurricane Maria is heading towards Dominica and a Hurricane Warning remains in effect.
A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case within 24 to 36 hours.
At 6am, Hurricane Maria was located near latitude 145.6 degrees north and longitude 59.5 degrees west or about 130 miles east southeast of Dominica.
Maria is moving west northwest at 13mph. Maximum sustained winds remain near 90mph.
Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Maria could become a dangerous major hurricane during the next 48 hours. On the forecast track, the center of Maria should pass just north of Dominica during the overnight into early Tuesday. All preparedness activities should be completed as the island is expected to be impacted by Hurricane Maria today (Monday, September 18th) into tomorrow (Tuesday, September 19th).
A deterioration in weather conditions is already evident across Dominica and expected to continue during the next 24 hours with cloudy to overcast skies, moderate to heavy showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds up to tropical storm force and to hurricane force by this afternoon and rough to dangerous seas. This activity is expected to continue into Tuesday.
Expected rainfall amount for Dominica is between 8 to 10 inches (200 to 250mm) with higher amounts in elevated areas.
· Persons in areas prone to flooding, landslides and falling rocks are advised to be extremely vigilant and to exercise extreme caution as life threatening flash flooding and winds gusting to tropical storm force or higher are possible from Monday into Tuesday.
Swells generated by Maria have already started in the Lesser Antilles. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions and coastal flooding.
A small-craft Warning means in this case that surface winds greater than 25knots and seas equal to or greater than 3m (10ft) are already affecting or expected to affect the marine area.
A High-Surf Advisory is issued when breaking wave action poses or is expected to pose a threat to life and property within the surf zone.
Mariners, persons living near the coast and other users of the sea should remain extremely cautious and make all necessary preparation to protect life and property and do not venture out of port. Sea bathers should stay out of the water.
The Meteorological Service will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.
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5 Comments
Brp September 18, 2017
Keep Hope Alive, pray, stay in doors, listen to the Authorities, have A survival kit at the ready, example, flashlight, Battery Radio. Water, medications, secure important Documents ect, ect, no looting, help each other, and look after the Elderly. This is serious situation.

subset: commoncrawl


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Carl Panzram: the Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance is one of the most chilling documentaries about a serial killer and vile human being. It is worth every uncomfortable and squeamish moment to study.
Panzram wrote 40,000 words at the behest of a guard named Henry Lesser who encouraged him in 1928 to tell his twisted and horrifying life story. The guard smuggled the pencil script out of the prison (against regulations) and unsuccessfully tried to publish it for 40 years. No one wanted to read it or to believe it.
Now on DVD and streaming video comes a documentary film, reenacting the scenes related by Lesser as an elderly man in an interview from the 1970s.
Panzram will haunt you for his timeless sense of life and death. He was self-educated, brutal and brutalized, and admitted to sodomizing thousands of men in his life, most by rape. He is the epitome of 21st century violence and hatred, caught in a time warp that defied credibility in the early years of the 20th century.
If man's inhumanity to man ever needed confirmation, the life of Panzram provides definitive evidence.
John DiMaggio reads the words of Panzram during the re-enactments with chilling effect. Henry Lesser, the man who encouraged the autobiography and smuggled it out of the prison, is seen in archival interview footage. Their unlikely 'friendship' bespeaks of someone seeing an unusual quality in the killer—which we would never call redeeming. Lesser made the right decision to document this bizarre case of human psychology.
A battery of psychologists and criminologists weigh in, but their words are hollow next to the sharp, clear, incisive prose of Panzram.
The story is so disturbing that no traditional movie version with a big name star has appeared, though we would never rule it out as time marches on.
In the meantime, real horror is far beyond the manufactured stuff of moviemakers. This is not for the squeamish.
You may sample William Russo's movie reviews in MOVIES TO SEE–OR NOT TO SEE, now available in softcover and e-book formats on Amazon.com.


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*Integrate ONE theoretical model that explains development of disorder (Bulimia)
*Discription of the course of disorder (What population does it most affect? Average age offset? How long do symptoms last?)
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In recent weeks, the latest news about the UK's handling of Brexit has been depressing. The aspects I always liked about the UK seem to be dying; less outward thinking, more navel-gazing, and "grandstanding" rather than actually using skillsets the UK were world leaders at, using soft power to provide influence on the world stage.
In two weeks, we have had warnings from; Airbus, banking Industry, universities, Rolls-Royce, farming, fish factories and distribution centres, haulage firms, pharmaceutical industry, airports, warnings by HM Government on medical supply shortages and delays to the food supply chain............................... It goes on and on......
These aren't warnings, we have been told. This is just 'scare-mongering'. Well, from my side, may I congratulate the Remainers then if that's what they have been doing because I'm bloody scared. They have managed to get competing companies; the city of London, industry, all of the Universities, and many more all singing off the same panicked Hymn sheet. We can't even get the University of Cambridge to agree with the exact amount of colleges we have; yet they have united the entire sector.
Mission accomplished because I am truly shit scared.
Mainly because when experts, like say, a doctor, tells me "you are sick" I don't normally go and ask for a second opinion from the Janitor.
Yesterday, when I came home, after going to a leaving party for my best friend and his lovely partner that have also made plans to evacuate the UK before we conduct this nation-wide lemming suicide pack - I had dinner.
It was so good. So good, I thought, I might do dinner again tonight.
It turns out I like eating. Warnings about our food supply chain do worry me because unlike some of these Brexiteers, I cannot eat "sovereignty" or "control", only food. I'm assuming, of course, that "sovereignty" will end up being the British version of "Soylent green"..... (Now with 48% liberal!)
It will be okay, however, because our Lord and saviour Jacob Rees-Mogg (whose own company in Ireland is advising their clients to evacuate the UK and set up bases in the EU) says a no deal Brexit will be fine.
This draws complete parallels with my military career. This is exactly how we all did military planning in the Navy. You took in all of the intel, from various sources, from various experts, asked for their predictions based on sound evidence, and then thought "Fuck it, I'll ignore all these eggheads, I think we should attack under the cover of daylight because we had a vote on it in the mess, and some of us don't like navigating in the dark."
Oh, wait, no it wasn't. It's was always listen to the experts. Especially when nine out of ten of them are screaming "are you trying to commit economic suicide?" you might think "maybe my plan needs adjustment".
We live in a parliamentary democracy. This is why Margret Thatcher was right when she said "a device of dictators and demagogues". Referendums are great for simple, basic questions. This was a complicated question put in a simple format, combined with a terrible debate, led by Prime Minister David Cameron who's only reasoning in doing the vote was to silence the 'bastards' in the Tory party, but instead opened pandora's box of the UK's right/left-wing crazy.
Yes, I'm including labour on this. You can't keep saying "your plan sucks" and then have exactly the same plan. "Where is the government?" they cry.
Well, where the hell is the opposition? I've heard from so many people that it isn't "Labours" job to come up with a plan. Yes, yes it bloody well is. This is why oppositions have a shadow cabinet.
Although, at the moment, I think an actual cabinet from IKEA would be more reliable. I also think an actual IKEA cabinet would be more "strong and stable" than our current PM as well.
So, here we are. We can see the edge of the cliff. We have the option to put our foot on the accelerator, our foot on the break, or to slow down and delay our eventual cliff edge exit out of the European Union.
Buckle up, I think we are about to hit warp speed...........
I will be leaving to work in Estonia from the 1st September, however, I want to get one thing clear. I am very excited about my new challenge in Estonia, working with an amazing team, and having a brand new adventure. I gain no pleasure in seeing my beloved country head towards this cliff edge though.
No one would get pleasure from seeing a car crash from the sidelines, knowing they are powerless to stop it.
Well, unless if you are Jacob, Michael, Boris, or Nigel of course.
They must love it because they do have some power to stop this madness, yet do not. The order from the bridge is still "full steam ahead to Brexit Island".


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Kozan Matsunomi Pine Cone Tetsubin, 50 oz.
Traditional antique brown tetsubin with pine cone knob handle.
Since this is a kettle type tetsubin, it does not come with a stainless steel infuser basket.
Dimensions: 6-3/4" in diameter, 6" from base to top of knob, 9-1/2" from base to top of the handle.
Capacity: Holds up to 50 ounces.
Made by the artist Kozan in the Nambu region of Japan.
Click on picture to see detail.
Limited quantity.


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Lookers Ford offer a huge variety of used Ford's cars and used Commercial vehicles and across the UK.
View our used Car and used Commercial offers below.
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Hip Extension Single Leg Resistance Band Exercise
- Secure the resistance band across hips and loop the ends of the band around hands.
- From the supine position, lie on back, with knees and hips bent, and feet slightly in front of butt.
- Lift and straighten one leg, keeping upper though of both legs at the same angle.
- Extend hips, forming a straight line from knees to shoulders, then return to starting position.
- Don't let butt touch the floor at the bottom of the exercise.
- Perform an equal number of sets for both sides.


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VetSOAP is pleased to welcome Dr. Lyndi Gilliam, equine internal medicine specialist from Oklahoma State University. As a large animal specialist, Lyndi is well acquainted with specialists in equine internal medicine, food animal internal medicine, equine surgery and equine sports medicine and rehabilitation, giving her direct access to engage this important demographic in the VetSOAP mission.
We are thrilled to have Dr. Peter Weinstein join us as the second primary care veterinarian on the board. Currently serving as the Executive Director for the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association, Peter is also an MBA and we look forward to tapping into his vast experience in multiple sectors of veterinary medicine.


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2018 Rosters
|Pat Gilhooly
|Jim Hall
|Joe Terri
|Tim Lyons
|Chris Rosso
|Jason Rech
|Amado, Tommy
|Adalpe, Jake
|Bartecki, Braden
|Barry, Michael
|Biggs, Devin
|Burchett, Vinnie
|Gilhooly, Patrick
|Botta, Quinn
|Czerwinski, Jimmy
|Bilas, Max
|Dickman, Colin
|Goggin, Declan
|Brady, Luke
|Cipolla, Robert
|Doran, Brendan
|Doyle, Danny
|Gobby, Thomas
|Hughes, Tommy
|Bravo-Hassan, Armani
|Demas, Nick
|Keenan, Nolan
|Duffner, Billy
|Nardo, Jake
|Jacobsen, Billy
|Breier, Luke
|Elwood, Grady
|Kratzer, Joe
|Duggan, Charley
|Niksic, Leo
|Lombardo, Joey
|Conway, Robert
|Haggerty, Sean
|Kummer, Tyler
|Dunleavy, Luke
|O'Connor, Gavin
|Mangin, Patrick
|Hall, Nikola
|Harmon, Matthew
|Lyon, Q.
|Green, Josh
|O'Hare, Gerald
|Sheehan, Brian
|Kelleher, Dylan
|Holmes, Brendan
|Lyons, C.
|Kummer, Nick
|Rech, Ryan
|Stapleton, Dillon
|Keyser, Caleb
|Lieske, Paul
|Lyons, O.
|McKeon, Tim
|Valdez, Aiden
|Tomkins, Jack
|Maloney, J.D.
|Murray, Thomas
|McClorey, Charlie
|Pacheco, Jake
|VanDellen, A.J.
|Tomkins, Kevin
|Pierce, Christian
|Osbourne, Jack
|Sullivan, Matt
|Rosso, Luke
|Visser, Jimmy
|Dennis, Sean
|Rubalcava, Asael
|Terri, Daniel
|Wollenberg, Casey
|Wheeler, Dominic
|Washington, Isaiah
Our Purpose
The object of this club will seek to implant in the youth of our community ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty and courage.
This objective will be achieved by providing recreational activity for as many of our youth as the organizational personnel deems necessary and as parental participation will allow. All shall bear in mind that exceptional athletic skill and the winning of games are secondary and that the formation of sound character is of prime importance.
Though the name Evergreen Park Boys Club may be construed as limited, registration of participants will be open to any child, male or female, within the age limits of their respective playing divisions.


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Nothing like interupting the teacher during the introduction to announce: "Miss Maria...Devin's laughing at me!"
@1min,46 seconds: Devin! Devin (stomp foot for emphasis)!
@ 21 seconds: Oh Devin! Oh Sweetie!
@40 seconds: Mommy call Devin!
@50 seconds: Devin!
He has asked Santa for: a High Flying Adventures Backyardigans DVD, skates, a wallet (seriously?), sparkles (again...WTH?), new PJ's (I thought kids never asked for clothes?), and most recently walkie-talkies (the funny part is he asked for them before asking me what they are/do).


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The question of sustainability
Many homebuyers today are looking at location from a new angle: sustainability. Here's a look at which is greener—the city or the suburbs.Full article
June 11, 2014
Location, location, location. Even before you start thinking about how to buy a house, you're thinking about where to buy it. Most younger homebuyers are hooked on an urban or urbanesque location. Buy maybe you're not big on demographic loyalty. We tracked down a first-time buyer who chose country living for its familiarity, privacy, and affordability.
Meet Carly, 29, who with her husband, Peter, bought a house in Gill, Massachusetts, population 1,400. A Malthusian nightmare compared to where she grew up, actually: nearby Heath, 800 strong.
"I was definitely born and raised in the country," says Carly. "I don't consider Gill far out at all. At Amherst College, where I work, most people live in town, and the thought of having a commute that's twenty minutes is out of the question. But growing up in Heath, that was just part of my life."
Not that she would choose Heath now. "It's not close to anything. Here, we can get to the Wagon Wheel in like four minutes." The Wagon Wheel is known locally for its "creative road food." "We didn't want to be far away from general stores and that kind of thing, but we also didn't want to be in even a suburb."
If the Wagon Wheel makes this sound like tumbleweed territory, rest assured, there's much more within reach. Massachusetts is, after all, the country's third most densely populated state. Amherst College is one of five in the area, which makes for a diverse and energetic community. And Boston is a two-hour drive. Yet Gill is isolated enough to offer privacy and affordability.
"We have two acres," says Carly. "My parents have ten, and my grandmother has thirty-five, so I grew up with that as part of my life. In Gill, We can't see any houses from our house. That wasn't a specific goal. It just happened to be a total bonus that we now feel we could not live without. We don't have blinds, because we don't need them. It's a luxury. It's nice to be able to go outside in the morning with the dogs and not worry about what you're wearing—a bathrobe, a nightgown."
The couple looked at a few places in downtown Greenfield (population 14,000), about 7 miles from Gill, but it was too cramped for their taste, especially for Peter, who also grew up in a small town. "Peter had a really strong reaction to having neighbors that close. I loved the inside of the house; it was gorgeous. But he grew up with no neighbors. He was willing to have neighbors we could see, but not that downtown feeling."
Carly did sample urban living for a while. She took a job near Boston and was living north of the city, in suburban Concord. But it quickly became clear that density did not sit well with her or with Peter. "If you were out grilling," Carly recalls, "you were practically part of someone else's conversation. We had neighbors we liked, and neighbors who just wanted to talk your ear off. We really enjoy that that's not part of how we live anymore."
And of course there's the fact that there's simply less competition for homes in less-populated areas. In affluent Concord, according to city-data.com, the median home value is over $700,000. In Gill, it's about $213,000. Even locally, Gill is "far out" enough to be more affordable. Amherst's median home value is about $327,000.
On the sustainability front, there is the problem of all the driving, although Carly does make her commute in a Prius. On the other hand, she and Peter have a vegetable garden well underway, and they use a clothesline. "It was just being able to spread out and have those things that was always a desire of ours. In the country, it's easy to hang a clothesline and have a garden."
READ NEXT: The question of sustainability
Ready to take the next step in your homebuying journey with all the confidence of a smart and savvy homebuyer? Our comprehensive online homebuyer course is simple and easy to access on your computer, tablet, and mobile device. It's all the information you need, all in one place. Go ahead and get started today.
Filed Under: For Homebuyers


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Peter Piper Pizza Night
Join us on February 13, from 4-8pm at the Baseline and Gilbert location. The whole restaurant has been newly remodeled! Teachers eat free and a percentage comes back to our school!
Come as a pre-Valentine's date with Mom and Son, or as a whole family.
We can't wait to see you!


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The Ohio Wesleyan men's soccer team's 5-1 win over Denison on Saturday was more than a crucial step toward a North Coast Athletic Conference championship. It marked the 600th career victory for Battling Bishop head coach Jay Martin.
Martin, in his 35th season at Ohio Wesleyan, becomes only the second college men's soccer coach to reach the 600-win mark, according to records of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the National Collegiate Athletics Association. The only other men's college coach to reach the 600-win mark is Joe Bean, who compiled 607 wins at Quinnipiac, Bridgeport, and Wheaton (Ill.) from 1962-2006. He recorded his 600th win during his 45th and final season as a head coach.
Martin's 600th win did not come without some tense moments, however. Denison outplayed the Bishops in taking a 1-0 halftime lead before Ohio Wesleyan erupted for 5 second-half scores.
"It's a relief," Martin said. "I knew I was going to get (600) this year, but there was some pressure building. I didn't want it to become a distraction, but it did in the first half.
"Until recently, these milestones were meaningless, but 500 and 600, I'm pretty proud of—when you look at all of the people who have coached men's soccer in college, that's something to be proud of."
Martin has had phenomenal success since taking over the Bishop helm in 1977. His overall record is 600-114-49, a winning percentage of .818. Ohio Wesleyan compiled the best winning percentage in the NCAA—regardless of division—during the 1980s, a lofty .815. The Battling Bishops topped that during the 1990s, fashioning a winning percentage of .825, and improved upon that during the 2000s, with a winning percentage of .827.
Between 30-40 former Battling Bishop players representing all of those eras—even all the way back to Martin's first Ohio Wesleyan team in 1977—came to Granville in hopes of seeing the milestone, and they were not disappointed.
"They are great players, and great guys," Martin said. "I appreciate the fact that they came back and that they were part of a great program. It's kind of cool to know that you had a little impact on some of those lives."


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Need a quick hostess gift idea for Easter and you don't want to bring a plant? How about a custom made Easter basket filled with treats and coffee? I put this basket together with a few favorite items from my local grocery store and now it's ready to go for Easter. One less thing to worry about for this upcoming weekend.
Lets start with the chocolate. Lindt bunnies and truffles.
Next is a little container of fruit slices.
Easter? Then you gotta have peeps.
The hostess has a Keurig so I thought I'd add some k-cups to the basket.
Rather than use grass I decided to use a pretty dish cloth to cover the tissue paper I used to fill the basket.
The basket. I think it's pretty and feminine.
A few minutes later and I had what I think is a pretty gift that is perfect for any hostess.
Oops. I guess one truffle didn't make it into the basket. 🙂
Have a happy Easter!
The Cookbook Diva


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The Hive is Live!!
Want to get an inside look at the latest in technology?
If you're a leader in an online group or website that helps others get more out of their PCs, and you're passionate about consumer technology, then this is the place for you.
The Hive beta is your exclusive place on the Web to:
- Connect with other community leaders in an exclusive environment.
- Get insider news and information about Microsoft® Windows® products.
- Share tips and cross-pollinate ideas to help improve your own community, and use The Hive to send your message out to the rest of the world.
- Win* Sweet Stuff just for participating.
Read Q&A at activewin.com: Microsoft launches "The Hive," a beta site for community leaders" Interview with Josh LevineBink.nu also participates in The Hive


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Iron Grate BBQ | Twist & Sprout
Season 7 Episode 11 | 26m 46s
Start the morning with chef Aaron Patin as his stokes a fire that will eventually smoke the meats at Iron Grate BBQ Co. in Milwaukee. Then, join Aaron at Twist & Sprout Farms to meet farmer Cam Pauli and look over the Red Wattle hogs that will eventually be used at Iron Grate.
Aired: 06/29/17Video has closed captioning.


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Firefighters pride themselves on appearance of their uniform and the fire apparatus, and we waive to children when we pass them on the street. We see how happy it makes them. I like seeing how amazed children look when they see a female firefighter in the group, but it shows them that girls do it too. It wasn't until fire prevention events when I heard the reactions of girls pointing me out as a female firefighter that I understood that we can make an impact on someone by how we look, even before we even share a safety message.
Firefighters have the potential of greatly impacting students during fire prevention assemblies in October. It may seem simple to teach children to not play with matchers or lighters, but many will do it without understanding the dangers of it. We recently assisted at an apartment building fire that investigators said began when a child played with a lighter under a bed.
During lectures on origin of fire, the instructor asked us if we thought a fire that began in a closet could have been arson. At first we thought it would be and the instructor said it could be. However, he added that it could also have been a child hiding in the closet playing with a lighter.
During fire prevention assemblies, the East Brandywine firefighters visited the four elementary schools in their first due coverage area in Downingtown and Coatesville. The assemblies focused on fire prevention tips and other important emergency topics such as how to react in an emergency, how to call 911, and understanding home escape plans. Firefighters also encouraged students to learn their home address in the event they need to tell a 911 dispatcher about an emergency at their home.
East Brandywine Deputy Chief Joe Edwards, who oversees the fire prevention program, said the firefighters educated more than 2,500 students on a "variety of topics that could save their lives." Kids can practice such skills at the fire department's open house event where kids can have fun without thinking about the dangers. If they ever need to use those skills, they will remember what to do.
|East Brandywine firefighters assist children operating a booster line at the open house.
Growing up I went to open houses and I wish the "smoke tunnel" was available back then. Earlier messages mostly informed people to exit their homes, find your family at a pre-destined meeting spot and stay out. During the open house event, kids practiced crawling low in a "smoke tunnel" which simulates a smoke-filled environment. While it's a tool that teaches them what to do during an emergency, most kids came out on the other side with a huge smile on their face. We can't help but smile back.
|Kids crawl low out of the "smoke tunnel" during the East Brandywine Fire Company open house in October 2017.


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Everybody else is doing this so: 25 things
1. I am soon to be married to a remarkable and beautiful woman who is far above me and of whom I think the world.
2. I call my dog, Beethoven, a dogote because I heard that dogs and coyotes can inter-breed, and I find the thought of such hilarious.
3. I work at a bakery and never tire of the smell of fresh baked bread.
4. I'm starting classes in March to be confirmed in the Episcopal Church.
5. I received a rick of firewood for Christmas for use in my previously unused fireplace – very cool.
6. I've seen John Williams in concert three times. Almost got his autograph once.
7. If Alison didn't insist I carry one, I'd get rid of my cell phone. I hate both the devices and the cursed corporations that provide the "service."
8. I have a cardigan and house slippers that I wear often.
9. I enjoy board games, especially strategy/conquest games. Axis and Allies is a favorite and an easy transition from Risk. Kremlin is a little known gem I don't get to play as often as I would like.
10. I was, very briefly, in a regiment of Civil War re-enactors – 39th Indiana Infantry Volunteers. I fought at one battle and died. The time and monetary commitment was too much, though. Perhaps later in life I'll re-enlist.
11. I try to read a book a week. Generally, I do.
12. My first celebrity crush was Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years.
13. I enjoy mowing yards. I find it relaxing.
14. You can buy boxer shorts at Aldi; this continues to impress me. What a great store.
15. I've seen Beethoven's Nineth performed twice. It gives me goosebumps just remembering those concerts. Everyone should experience that piece live at least once in their life.
16. I wish I had studied music more seriously when I was younger.
17. I generally don't correct people if they assume I'm related to Adlai Stevenson. Occasionally, I even encourage this myth. :)
18. I gave a guy $20 so I could conduct the polka band at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich.
19. I watch the musical 1776 every 4th of July. I like my Founding Fathers to spontaneously break into song.
20. I am not a morning person; every day, the simple act of waking up is pure drudgery, except when I am going to Al's Donuts.
21. My other dog, Hanna, is half dachshund and therefore has a comically long body.
22. I'm going back to school to get a masters in Library Sciences/Public History.
23. I attended a Guy Fawkes party last year at the home of some transplanted Brits.
24. Over-baked cookies make me very, very mad. How dare you dishonor the cookie dough!
25. I keep meaning to write my Great American Novel about the Civil War (I know, its been done many times already) but distractions like this delay my efforts.


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The first 10 year old single malt released by Sweden's top distillery and aged in a combination of Swedish oak, Ex-Oloroso Sherry oak and new American oak casks.
Nose: Egg custard tarts, fresh sappy oak, buttery cake (madeira cake) ripe orchard fruits, apple blossom, almond milk, dusting of cinnamon and clove. Fresh summer meadows, rum & raisin fudge.
Palate: Golden syrup sponge pudding and vanilla custard, meringue, sugared almonds, honeycomb, juicy sultana, rum bhaba, french toast, salted caramel, ripe orchard fruits, pineapple on the griddle with a dash of icing sugar caramelised on top.
Finish: Marzipan, meringue with spiced tropical fruit (pineapple, mango and passion fruit) aromatic oak, turkish delight, sappy vanilla, white chocolate bon bons.
A lovely fresh and summery single malt with very inviting fragrant and fruity flavours, much to admire here and if you were to try this blind you could have easily mistaken this for a much older (and more expensive) Lowland single malt.


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"I have been a roots guitar player specializing in blues, country and rock and roll for over 30 years. I have been lucky enough to share the stage/studio with some of the finest musicians in the business such as Gary Clark Jr., Delbert McClinton, Double Trouble, James Cotton, Billy Joe Shaver, Greg Rolie, Uncle John Turner, Redd Volkaert and many more. For the last few years, I have split my time playing lead guitar for Shelley King and Clay McClinton.
Aside from live performance and recording, I have been a sought after guitar teacher for over 25 years. Specializing in blues, country and rock n roll, from beginner to advanced, all ages and levels. I began my teaching career in 1990 at McDonald's Music Store in Marquette, MI. After relocating to Austin, TX I taught at the Austin Guitar School for 8 years, before branching out and starting my own private guitar school from my home."
For more information and to schedule an initial lesson, contact Tony here.
"Tony is a gifted guitar player and teacher. He enthusiastically helps students explore the the music they love while encouraging them to stretch themselves as musicians. My son, now a long-haired rocker teen, began studying with Tony when he was just a little fourth grader. Tony's patience, musical knowledge, and intuition for instruction has transformed him into a fine guitarist in his own right." – Anne-Charlotte Patterson
"Tony is the best teacher I have ever had. He is incredibly patient and instills confidence in every student he teaches. I have been taking lessons from Tony for over 10 years. I sincerely recommend taking guitar lessons from Tony whether you are a beginner or just want to hone your craft. I wouldn't be the musician I am today without him" – Gabrielle Pena (student since the age of 12)
Tony has been my weekly guitar teacher for the past 7 years. He has taken me from a beginner guitar player to a much more capable player during that time. Tony has all of the qualities it takes to teach guitar and to motivate his student towards continual practice and learning. He is very patient with his students and always takes time to answer their questions. He will re-explain guitar skills and technique when the student forgets or doesn't understand. He is a professional player himself, versatile and able to expertly teach everyone from a beginner to professional guitar players looking to increase their skills. The student will quickly recognize that Tony loves all things guitar, and loves to share that knowledge and skill with his students. I look forward to my weekly lessons and I know that I am a much better guitar player because of Tony. – CL Evans


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House for sale
31 Florida Road,
Palm Beach, NSW
5 3 3
Please Contact Agent
North Aspect - Barrenjoey Lighthouse and Beach ViewsExclusive Penthouse Style Living - 250m Walk to Beach
Positioned to capitalise on a brilliant north aspect with views spanning the coastline of Palm Beach, this architect designed residence captures the very essence of contemporary beachside living.
This ultra modern home is immersed in nature and offers three levels of flawless open plan interiors, vast entertaining decks, sumptuous accommodation and bespoke joinery throughout.
- Less than 250m walk to Rockpool and Kiddie's Corner via the pathway through Hordern Park
- Light-drenched, open plan living on main floor features spotted gum floorboards and floor-to-ceiling glass
- The dazzling kitchen includes sealed concrete benchtop, integrated Miele appliances and walk-in pantry
- King sized bedrooms each feature custom built-ins, whilst the master retreat includes sitting room, deck and sublime views
- Ultra-contemporary bathrooms with stone finishes, mosaic tiles and European fixtures
- Study off the main living area, ducted heating, ample storage space throughout
- Lower level can be fully self-contained 2 bedroom guest accommodation with separate lounge, deck and private entrance
- An internal lift from the double garage makes moving around the home easy
- Easycare grounds, designer lighting, built-in bbq, bi-folding doors and extensive use of glass louvres for cooling sea breezes
- Touch screen entrance and elevator security with video intercom
- Very private and secluded from neighbours
It's rare that a new home of such unsurpassed quality, design and dimension comes to market in Palm Beach, not a single detail has been overlooked. A superb holiday haven or low-maintenance full-time residence, it's just a short stroll to the iconic oceanfront cafes and clubs that dot the shoreline.
For more details please visit www.31floridaroad.com
Last updated: 08:27AM on Nov 16th 2018