Welcome home, America, Welcome Home!

From accessAtlanta, via the Real Estate Bloggers:

Things couldn't look better three years ago for Milton and Patricia Harper of Lake City, who giddily accepted the keys to a small castle, plus enough money to pay taxes on it for 25 years.

Now, the Clayton County house that "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" built is a two-story, turreted example of how things can go wrong. It's in foreclosure.

The Harpers used the house at 5489 Ahyoka Drive as collateral for a $450,000 loan, Clayton County mortgage records show. Records at the law firm handling foreclosures for the lender, JPMorgan Chase Bank, say it is in foreclosure. The four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage is scheduled for auction on the Clayton County Courthouse steps Aug. 5.

The Harpers, who declined interview requests when reporters knocked on their door Friday, told WSB-TV they got the loan for a construction business that failed.

So,... a half a million dollar loan. For a construction business. During a 'maybe it's a recession, maybe it's not'. Considering that the criteria to be the recipients of an EHM home is pretty stringent, you have to be in a fairly rough patch of life to get a home and beat out others. So you go from being in that position to taking out a half a million dollar loan and etc? Why do I not feel as bad for them as I do some others in this country that are struggling?

The Beer Fridge

One of my current goals is to dress out the full wet bar in my basement (in my new house) with a keg under the stairs, running the tap through the wall to the bar area. This guy

http://home.swbell.net/bufkin/beer-fridge.htm

has his own approach and I admire it. I like the idea of multiple taps. I might have to upgrade my goals a little bit.

Drinking For Two

the worst thing to happen to the cottage cheese industry was a single word. that word was 'discharge'.

http://www.drinkingfortwo.net/

Book Review

The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene

This is a must read for anyone interested in waging war against their neighbors, managing conflict at work or in life (in general), or if you are simply a war history buff. Wikipedia lists the chapters and sections of the book and the author, Robert Greene, also has his own site and blog. Greene has written some earlier bestsellers, but this one really got my attention. He breaks down the various strategies to waging war (offensive, defensive, unconventional, etc) and counters these sections with historical references about Napolean, LBJ, Mongols,...). The fact that he manages to write it in a way that allows it to appeal to the common reader is amazing. One could skip the historical tidbits and go right for the meat on how to wage dirty warfare against the co-worker that is trying to get you fired. Nor do you have to read it straight through. You can pick and choose the sections that relate to your life at the moment.


An invaluable book. Trust me. His blog is in-depth, intelligent, and thought provoking. He makes mine look like generic cereal in a bag. Check it out!

Why Not?

With credit to Smitty for his ATK review.

Killing Time

My blog duties have been ignored already. We bought a new house and are in the process of moving in and it's not fun. Trying to move tons of crap with two kids in tow sucks all the joy out of buying a nice house.

I unboxed my vinyl collection and my book collection last night. A couple hundred books weighs a ton, you know that? I lugged the equivalent of 12 dead trees down into my basement. And everytime I go down into the basement with another box I have to look at the bar that I haven't yet stocked and set up. I need a Bar Design Committee.

So, I'll post more and hopefully have some snazzy blog posts in the near future. I hope to get some topics in here that cause rioting in the streets and piss people off and maybe cause some people to gnash their teeth and wail in hysterics. Of course, I'd settle with someone just posting a comment but I have to advertise this blog first.

King of Beers being sold

The highly disputed 'King of Beers' is being sold to InBev, the Belgian brewer that owns Stella Artois, Bass, and Beck's.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080714/ap_on_bi_ge/anheuser_busch_inbev

Vinyl- My Other Love

I have a love for vinyl. I admit it. I love crate digging and finding albums at garage sales, music stores, etc. It's a nice high for me. I started my vinyl collection with some outcasts from an in-law. He was set to pitch out some classics like the Beatles White Album, Sticky Fingers by the Stones, Rare Earth, Three Dog Night, Bread. I grabbed every single one and set my love affair in motion.

Now, I have a few loves. I collect and shoot firearms, I buy way too many books for my own good, and I have a lot of tools and small machinery for wood working. I can't be monogamous with all this cool shit around me.

In the last handful of years, vinyl has been making a come back and many new albums are being released on vinyl. I think that's great and all but now all the sellers are cranking their prices up and good albums are disappearing. I don't care much for competing with others when it comes to finding a nice Dylan or Bob Marley LP. Maybe I need some hobby that doesn't attract a lot of people and leaves all the spoils to me. Maybe I can start collecting Beanie Babies and using them for target practice. Big surplus of those stupid little dolls and they're bargain priced! What caliber would work best on a beanie baby? 30-06? .223?