Housing bubble burst

Toxic mortgages had the predicted impact on Wall Street. 500 points yesterday. Yikes. The question is whether the fed or the government will continue to react shortsightedly trying to stop things from unraveling, or buck up and take their medicine. Sad to say, but the sooner we hit bottom, the sooner we can start climbing back up out of it. (of course, they may have said that in 1929 too) Meanwhile, there are a lot of people who mistook debt for wealth, and many of them live in houses they cannot afford. We hear about the many baby-boomers now retiring every day. Many must be wondering whether that’s a good idea right now. Whilst this might not seem practical for all of us, those who have worked hard enough and are financially stable enough could consider retiring early. This younger generation of people who have enough money to consider slowing their lives down have ensured they have enough in their bank accounts to allow them to start enjoying their lives more. When considering retiring at such a young age, it’s vital to make sure that you’re happy with the home you will be spending a lot more time in. For many of these younger people, they will be retiring whilst they still have their children at home with them. This means that they will probably need a family-friendly home in a safe neighborhood. For many people looking at retiring, they have been looking around Main Line Homes and other real estate communities. When retiring, it’s important to find a house in an area with a slower lifestyle that is still safe for children. Hopefully, these baby-boomers will enjoy their new retired lifestyle.

Redding looking north

McDemolished

Mc Donalds in Redding
You deserve a break today.
Mc Donalds in Redding
The drive through is now a drive over. Oddly enough, as long as I’ve lived here, I never went in this building once. it’s not that I don’t like McDonalds or anything, but I was always kind of a PacOut guy when that was nearby, and now I live closer to the McDonalds in north Redding. This one always seemed for tourists. Out with the old, in with the new.
Mc Donalds in Redding

DMV sculpture

Sculpture in Redding
I remember when this sculture went up in front of the DMV. There was quite an outcry in the paper about misuse of public funds for art. The outcry has faded, but the art remains. Art can be funny like that.
Sculpture at DMV in ReddingSculpture at DMV in ReddingSculpture at DMV in Redding

Butch

Butch is the neighbor’s cat. He’s no ‘fraidy cat. I think you’ll agree he’s got good color for hunting in this terrain. Only his pink nose betrays him. And the fact he likes to roll around on his back a lot.
Butch the cat in Redding

After the fire

After fire in Mc Connell Arboretum
They opened the trail back up this morning so I went to see the aftermath of the recent fire. It smelled like burnt weenies, and the ash was still blowing into your eyes in the still-strong (still dangerous) north winds. It looks like most of it burned fast, and not too hot. I expect we’ll see a lot of the oaks return to life. It will be interesting to see the recovery over time. Fire is a natural cycle of events here, which is easy to say when it’s not BURNING TOWARD YOUR HOUSE.

I posted more photos at Flickr HERE
Turtles at Turtle Bay
The local turtles seemed not to mind at all.

One of my favorite bands -Tunng

Tunng. Or an official Tunng site at the link.
Tuung
The first link is to their Myspace page. It’s called Folkltronica by people who like to put music and things in categories. You can listen to their music there. They also have links to their videos on the page. The “Woodcat” video is brilliant. “Bullets” is moving, and I can’t really say why. Check it and see. And hear.

Will Folktronica become a bigger genre? Hope so.

Hey, note the similarity to my photo:
Skip Murphy holds a home
Okay, only remotely similar. I used this image in past real estate marketing materials, but more than one person said it looks “evil” somehow. Another said it looked like the book cover for Twilight! Ugh, maybe I should get a real estate SEO marketing company to do my marketing for me.

City Councilman Unearths Magical Zoning Amulet

ROCHESTER, NY—After years spent poring over mysterious and arcane plat sheets and deciphering long-forgotten building codes, city councilmember Mike LaMere unearthed the mysterious City Zoning Amulet Friday.
From the Onion

Mike LaMere, wearing the Ever-Evaluating Eye of Surr-Vey.

“Behold!” LaMere said, holding aloft the solid-gold amulet, which is emblazoned with the Ever-Evaluating Eye of Surr-Vey, Lord Of Demarcation, He Who Measures And Assesses. “With this sigil, the power of zoning comes. Through me, the power of zoning flows! All will behold my power, and I shall bow to no man when designating matter-of-right developments for major retail and office spaces to a maximum lot occupancy of 75 percent for residential use!”

From the Onion of course.