Author: Skip@RR

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A Black Swan event in Anderson

Gaia hotel
Thursday’s Chamber of Commerce Greeters was held at the beautiful Gaia Hotel. It’s a lovely property, built with the deliberate use of environmentally conscious materials.
Greeters at Gaia hotel
Great turnout, and the food was terrific. The staff was first rate. These movers and shakers of the local business community remain upbeat in the face of the economic downturn. It seemed to me that there was more of an air of grim determination than I had noticed before.
Swans at Gaia hotel
These are 2 of the hotel’s 4 swans. A Black Swan is a metaphor for something that seemingly cannot exist, and then suddenly, it does.

1. Event has appeared by complete surprise.

2. Event has a major impact.

3. Event, after it has appeared, is ‘explained’ by human hindsight.

“The problem Taleb identified with banks and trading firms was that they were very vulnerable to Black Swans and were exposed to huge losses beyond what their defective models projected.”

Greetings from a world where Black Swans do exist.

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The Statue of Income Tax

Inflatable Liberty
It’s a sign of the times. In our town, waving a sign isn’t just a job, it’s a career. Here we see Lady Liberty and her employees, on Lake Boulevard.
Sign guy
There is dignity in all labor, but you’d be hard pressed to identify that quality here; dressed up as a mock Statue of Liberty, hawking income tax services to passers by. I am in the car reflected in the window.

I was reminded only a little of the real statue. The original statue is a powerful monument, along with nearby Ellis Island, gateway to waves of hopeful immigrants. Below, we see one of my favorite family photos, from one of our trips to New York. It was taken by a passerby, who got on the ground with my camera to fit us in the frame with the non-inflatable version of Lady Liberty. It was a nice moment.

Family in New York

Our icons are disposable, apparently useful to the extent to which we can commercialize them. I just hope I don’t ever have to wave signs to eat.

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Amphibian affection

Frog
One of the big (secret)bonuses of being a real estate agent is going into so many houses, and seeing how people really live. I’ve seen some unusual pets, but I hadn’t seen a frog in somebody’s livingroom before. She said it was two years old, and had arrived as a tadpole you could see right through.

I moved up close for a better look.

“Kiss me” it said, “I am a frog prince.”

“Uh, sorry,” I whispered. “Not today.” A talking frog.

“Lick me then.” the frog continued, “I send colors you can hear, and sounds you can see.”

“Hmmmm,” with wrinkled brow as I looked it in the eye, “Gonna have to pass on that. Hey, isn’t that whole licking thing about toads, not frogs?”

The frog spoke no further.

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Insane Clown yard art

We drove by this on our way to show the house next door, southeast of Anderson. Every Realtor’s dream, to have yard art like this in the neighbor’s yard. Needless to say, our client was not thrilled with the house next door. Looks like a really bad horror movie scene.
Insane clown yard art
And of course they felt compelled to put it under cover for protection. Of course.

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How we didn't win $76m in the Lottery

By now you may have heard the news. We’ve been getting lots of calls.

A group of teachers and staff at the school district where my wife has worked for nearly 30 years in Shasta Lake City won the lottery prize of 76 million dollars. My wife chose not to play, although it was offered to her. The callers are all wondering if she was one of the winners. Nope.

It’s a weird feeling. Lots of “what ifs,” and not a just a little irony.

But first, its great to think that these educators won. It will be interesting to see the stories that come out of this. We probably know all the winners, some very well. Shasta Lake School and the Gateway District in general is not an affluent area. Many of the teaching and admin staff are not primarily motivated by big money, or they would be somewhere else, doing something more lucrative. But who wouldn’t like to win the lottery?

More to follow….

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Canadian band Fear Zero

Ok these guys aren’t local to Redding, but a friend told me I should check out the video below. The guy can shred. Plus he has a cool accent, eh.


Octane – Fear Zero from Ken Mason on Vimeo.

They do more than shred. They have some catchy tunes and a new CD to promote. Check out the free download of radio friendly “Breathe Again” and you’ll see what I mean. Caution: this tune sticks in your head. The band link is HERE. I like what I’m hearing, they got me moving. I expect good things for them. Rock oot, eh!

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Record Searchlight marijuana legalization stance is timely and courageous

Wow. Things have really changed in my hometown. Maybe you missed this giant sweep of the weather vane indicating the winds of change, but I do believe an editor of our local paper, the Record Searchlight, has just opined that we should legalize marijuana. No really. Seriously. Check it out HERE.

Ok, he only goes so far as to point to a blog that states the plainly obvious, but even that’s a big step. A huge step. Of course, he’s not the first person to hold a pro-marijuana opinion. Many people who get weed from places that are on a missouri dispensary list will advocate for full legalization, along with millions of others. Bruce Ross and I have had big differences of opinion, and I have often thought that the newspaper he edits reveals an alarming lack of common sense, but here he goes and proves me wrong. Go figure.

I am not an advocate of drug use. I am, however, an inhabitant of the real world and recognize that individuals are moral agents and should be able to decide for themselves what they put into their bodies – if they see products online that they would like to try out (https://www.leaf2go.co/INDICA_c_45.html), far be it from me to tell them otherwise. I would put marijuana use pretty low on the spectrum of illegal drug problems, unlike say meth, and the resulting tweakers. Marijuana enthusiasts can stay up date regarding the latest weed news by reading something like the speed greens blog. Marijuana is not really a major problem in society, but marijuana prohibition is pretty high up on the spectrum of societal costs, due to the resulting enabling of crime profits and criminalization of potheads. The Cheech and Chongs (and Michal Phelps) of this world are not the proportional threat to you and me that is represented by tweakers and Oxycontin addicts.

If it takes the guise of a budget problem in Sacramento to put an end to this lunacy, then so be it. All that really matters is that we examine and face the facts about the real costs versus the benefits of the current prohibition. I seriously wonder if taxing a weed that you can grow just about anywhere will actually provide any real revenue, but we really should end the idiocy and hypocrisy of our current arbitrary laws about this plant. New dispensaries opening in California will have to be compliant with california marijuana laws.

Our small town paper takes a bold stand for sanity, and I hope this puts the conversation in motion. It will be interesting to watch for the reaction. Thank you RS for your courage.

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State of the City, our Mayor speaks at the Cascade

The Mayor speaks
We attended the free version of the State of the City address at the Cascade yesterday evening. Mayor Rick Bosetti made references to Yogi Berra and Ronald Reagan. Ok, that was weird, but he did touch on some good points. We have many great things happening here, despite the tough times. New bridges, boulevards, and trails. A spectacular library. A new business park. I felt proud of my city, as I watched the presentation.
The Mayor speaks
Our city is well run, with a bright future. The event was sparsely attended, but I’m glad we went. I took several shots of local civic celebrities, but nothing came out worth posting.
The Mayor speaks
The same presentation was made earlier with lunch included for $30 per seat. Oddly, it appeared that the earlier version was much more well attended than this free version, despite the cost. In these economic times, I find that surprising.