Get Into the Real Estate Game!

Right now, the ever-changing world of real estate is presenting wonderful advantages for buyers. If you're looking for a home, now is an ideal time to be in the real estate game. Why are you still renting? When you rent, all you're doing is paying someone else's mortgage. You're not building any equity or getting any price breaks -- it's crazy! Build anest egg right now and start taking a real close look at real estate. It's time to take a gander and consider your options. It just makes good financial sense. Find a good location, take a shot at getting a good loan with an attractive rate, and then go for it. Get in the game, baby. Be in it to win it!!

"Just Quit, Baby!"

The Raiders denied a report Friday that owner Al Davis had asked Coach Lane Kiffin to resign.
Citing unidentified sources, ESPN reported that Davis had drawn up a resignation letter for Kiffin two weeks ago but that the coach had refused to sign it. Kiffin, 32, has two years left on the contract he signed in January 2007."There is no issue here," Raiders senior executive John Herrera said. "There was never an issue here. There's nothing to it."

Yes, unfortunately, there is an issue here. In fact, there are a ton of issues here. The Oakland Raiders have long been the laughingstock of the NFL. Their “Commitment to Excellence” has changed into a “A History of Incompetence.” There are entire generations of Raiders fans out there who have known only losing year after year. The team’s long list of bad moves and stupid decisions goes on and on.

And everyone knows what – or rather who – the problem is. His name is Al Davis. The once brilliant owner has deteriorated into an old, bitter, litigious geezer who is incompetent, overbearing, stubborn and just plain cranky. His beloved Raiders have been out-of-control for so long that putting them on the right track is probably going to take at least a decade.

Long ago, George Steinbrenner, owner of the NY Yankees, pulled this same kind of guano. But, even Georgie Porgie eventually figured out that it was a better idea to hire good people and let them run the team. When he did that, he won a lot more world championships, and even though he can still be obnoxious at times, the Yankees are a much better team when he’s in the background.

No one in their right mind will want the Raider’s job now if Kiffin does indeed get the boot. Who wants to work for a boss who is constantly up your derriere? Anyone with any talent who wants to have a future coaching in the NFL will run from this job like the plague. Remember – Davis fired Mike Shanahan and John Gruden couldn’t get away from the man fast enough.

Davis doesn’t want a coach. He wants a bitch, a yes man and a lackey who will do whatever he says without displaying a backbone or voicing an opinion.

Speculation about Kiffin's status began three weeks ago when reports surfaced after the season that he wanted to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. The Raiders dismissed those reports and announced that Ryan was staying on as coordinator.

There were also reportedly problems between Kiffin and Davis during the season. Kiffin was upset when Davis didn’t get JaMarcus Russell, the first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, signed and into training camp. Instead, Al haggled with Russell and his agent, which meant the rookie was pretty much not available for the entire season. When Russell did get into a few games late in the season, he looked unprepared and overmatched. The team went 4-12 in Kiffin's first season in Oakland, doubling the team's victory total from the previous year.

Stand by to see how this plays out. The sad fact is that the Oakland Raiders will be terrible until Davis lets someone else run his team. The man should be forced to sell, but the NFL is afraid to get sued, so it will never happen.

The sadder fact is that you can fire a coach or cut a player. But, you’re stuck with an owner, whether you like it or not. And that is why the Raiders will suck until Al Davis decides to “Just Quit, Baby!”

(Portions of this article courtesy of www.espn.com)

Oops - I messed up. Instead of a photo of Al Davis, I accidentally inserted a picture of Bette Davis!

A Great Charity

I found a great charitable organization called Car Angel (www.carangel.com). It's a wonderful non-profit company that uses car and other donations to make videos for kids and teens. They have given away over 2.4 million videos, so these people don't just talk the talk; they walk the walk. A lot of these car donation places just take your vehicle and sell it and pocket the majority of the money. But, not Car Angel. They're the real thing and are doing really valubale and special work. It's a win-win situation if you have a car that you want to donate to a good and useful charitable cause. Check out this video from www.carangel.com. Do something special -- make a car donation to them today!!

Budget Software

Organizations must possess the specialized ability to fully and effectively manage very complex and highly intricate financial functions. A significant number of these functions include consolidation, job costing, budget control, cash flow analysis, costs tracking, purchasing processes, major and minor allocations and currency management. PROPHIX has the budget software that allows you to easily handle the many variables involved in performing these complex financial analyses. If you are a member of even a small organization, you need budget software that will help you stay ahead of the game.

HDMI Switches

With the high-definition boom at full strength, people are more interested than ever when it comes to obtaining high-end (High Def Multimedia Interconnecting) HDMI switches. And the thing is -- there are a lot of inferior (most produced overseas) HDMI switches, and it you don't know what you're doing or looking for, you could really get reamed on the deal. If you're going to go HD, why not get the very best switches available. I mean, that would be like buying a brand new Rolls Royce and putting a Radio Shack radio in it. That just does not make any sense at all. If you want the best, forget the rest!

Engraved Plaques

If you're awadring someone with engraved plaques, there's a great Web site where you can order high-quality, very affordable plaques and trophies online. It's called www.quicktrophy.com and I am going to be ordering a few plaques from them myself for my annual charity event, The Yuletide Yuckfest. Engraved plaques are great, because people can hang them on their wall, and it's a great way to recognize someone for doing something special. Plus, if they're not too intricate, they won't cost you an arm and a leg!

Dog Portrait

Gabriele Bungardt, an amazing dog portrait artist who I highlighted in an earlier article, is working on a painting of our dogs, Ratdog (left) and Shelly (right). Here is an early look at what the portrait will look like. Check it out.

Mark Your Calendar: 12-21-12

What would you do if you knew with certainty that the world would end in less than five years? I mean, not just speculation or conjecture -- but what if you really knew the exact date on which our entire civilization would cease to exist? How would it change your life?

I know what I’d do. First, I would tell my rather annoying boss to shove it (which would undoubtedly lead to my eventual termination), withdraw all of the money from my bank account and head to Europe to party and travel and just hitch hike around. I would probably make Amsterdam my headquarters, journeying from time-to-time to places like Spain, France, Germany, Italy and Greece, depending on the season.

I’d run with the bulls, hit Oktoberfest, spend summers on the beach in Greece and along the Amalfi Coast in Italy. I’d eat the best food and drink the best wine and meet great people and live a carefree life right up until doomsday. Or until my cash ran out.

The reason I am mentioning this is because lately I have heard a lot of talk about the end of the world. The date everyone is targeting is December 21, 2012. The main reason for this particular date is that’s the very last day listed on the Mayan calendar. The Mayans were a bloodthirsty race that was very adept at building extremely sophisticated astrological equipment when they weren’t killing other tribes and sacrificing virgins.

The Mayan calendar, created thousands of years ago, is uncannily accurate – scientists and astronomers have marveled at its precise nature for centuries. The achievement is even more incredible when you consider the fact that the Mayans did it all without telescopes or satellites.

One of the most amazing things about the Mayans is their calculation of the lunar moon. They came up with the number of 329.53020 days, which turned out to be only 34 seconds off. That is incredible when you think about how long ago they lived on this planet. It also makes you wonder if they had any help from extraterrestrials, but that’s a whole other topic.

Then, when you add in several other factors besides the Mayans, 12-21-12 starts to look even more possible, if not probable:

Sun storms: Our sun has been acting quirky lately, bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy that it’s been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites.
The Atom Smasher: Scientists in Europe are constructing the world’s largest particle accelerator – a 27 km tunnel designed to smash atoms together in order to determine the origins of our universe. But, some experts are saying that using this device is not a smart move and could eventually lead to some catastrophic results, like creating tiny black holes, capable of crushing our planet like an empty beer can.
The religious factor: Even the religious prognosticators agree that 2012 is a probable date for the end of the world as we know it. The Christians say that Armageddon, the definitive war between good and evil, is going to occur on or around 2012, and the Hindus are on board as well. If you read the I Ching (aka The Chinese Book of Changes, which you won’t find on Oprah’s Book of the Month Club), you’ll also see that they are predicting the same.
Super Volcanoes: Yellowstone National Park is home to the world’s biggest volcano, one that has a pattern of exploding every 650,000 years. Well, it’s way overdue and scientists are starting to worry about an eruption that could send us into a winter that could last for approximately 15,000 years. When it does blow, it will make Mt. St. Helens look like a small fart.
The Pole Dance: The North and South Poles like to switch places every 750,000 years or so, and right now they’re about 30,000 years behind schedule. Scientists have noticed that they’re drifting slowly apart (approximately 20-30 kilometers per year), much faster than ever. A pole shift is eminent, we know that. But, will it cause havoc by 2012?

Many people have predicted the end of the Earth in the past and, of course, they were wrong. A group of people in the Philippines predicted the demise of the planet in 1999. They went into a cave for a month or so with rations, etc. Boy, they must have really felt dumb when they emerged from that cave and saw that not only was the planet still around – but someone had built a new Wal-Mart in Manila!

12-21-12. Will it be the end of the world? Or just another big shopping day? I don’t want to be in a position to say I told you so, because it will be the last thing I will ever say. But, as all my friends will tell you, I enjoy getting in the last word.

Were the Mayans right? Will 12-21-12 be our last hurrah? We’ll know in about 1,797 days, now won’t we?

Veloce is Molto Bene!

This weekend we had an opportunity to try an amazing spirit called Veloce. We were amazed at its wonderful and unique taste. We loved it!

If I had to describe Veloce, I would say that it’s a nutty, clean-tasting and very refreshing liqueur that goes down smoothly and warms the soul. We’re going out to buy some – to both drink it and attempt to cook with it.

Originally sold many years ago as an elixir, Veloce is a northern Italy winter wheat grain spirit, infused with a 100-year-old Sperone family herbal recipe and a new infusion of peach and apricot flowers.

SFGate recently gave Veloce a great review, saying:

“Another Italian infused liqueur has hit the market, and it's a blend of old and new. Antonio Sperone married the Sperone family's 100-year-old herbal recipe and peach and apricot flowers, and a touch of red wine grappa, resulting in Veloce, a double-infused wheat grain spirit that is light on its feet. The Venetian-themed Ducca restaurant shows it off in the Veloce Sport, a sprightly blend of Belvedere vodka, Veloce and grapefruit juice that might just be the modern-day incarnation of Herb Caen's Vitamin V (vodka).”

If you want to find out some other great drink recipes using Veloce, visit their Web site at: http://www.velocespirits.com/.

Treadmills Can be Part of Your 2008 New Year's Resolutions

Have you kept your 2008 New Year's resolutions so far? I have, but man, it's been tough. I am trying to do what half the population is also attempting -- to lose weight in a big way and get my health back on track. I'll be 50 this year, so it's time. Anyway, getting on the treadmill is not an easy thing to do, but once you get on it you can get some momentum and then it becomes a lot easier. I have been looking at a lot of treadmills to try and find one that will work well for me. I will keep you posted to let you know which one I decide on.