Happy Halloween!

I knew I was going to find something cool to post about halloween. Well, thanks to Diana at Noodlefood, I have it.

Extreme pumpkins. Don't try this at home kiddies!

Random Thoughts

1. People are their own worst enemy. I think this comes from a lack of introspection and self knowledge. If more people would ask themselves "what do I feel and why do I feel it?" they would be better off. I have a friend who is having a crisis right now for this very reason.
2. I've had several people tell me that their twenties were the worst for them, that they changed the most in their twenties, and thank god they are in their thirties. I also heard someone else say "never trust anyone under 30." I haven't thought about this much since I've only been in my thirties for a year, but I think there is some truth to this. So with my birthday approaching, "here's to the next decade, may it be better than the last."
3. I grieve slowly and randomly. When my grandpa died, I felt sad about it at random times. And still, today, I miss him.
4. Recently, I had two close friends lose their mothers. One of the women I knew well and felt close to. Last week I felt the full weight of their loss while watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I actually couldn't stop crying while I was watching the show.
5. I have three very good friends who are all wicked smart. Oddly, I could refer to them as my Id, Ego, and Superego. I'm not a Freudian, but they each highlight a specific part of my personality when I'm around them.
6. I hate daylight wasting time---oh, wait, I already said that.
7. I'm going to be sailing on my birthday this year. :) But only if I don't get blown away by a hurricane. :(

Daylight Wasting Time

For me today is the beginning of winter. I hate today! From now until spring, the dark will rule the evenings. Evenings, which should rightfully be bathed in sunlight, will be covered in darkness.

Growing up

I have a friend who I've known for almost ten years now. In the couple of years, she lost her mother, her father was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, she got married, and she lost nearly everything in Katrina. I just talked to her a few days ago about her upcoming trip to Denver before she goes back to work in MS. I am so impressed and proud of her. She has dealt with more things in the past year than many people with deal with in five. She did it with maturity, perseverance, and courage. She is a true champion and I'm happy to know her.

Research to report the obvious

In the study above they showed that Darwin and Einstein handled to mail the same way we respond to email. Some of their mail was immediately replied to, some of it was trashed, and some of it was responded to somewhat later. Am I missing something? Is there anything Earth shattering about this? To me, this reads like "Einstein and Darwin consumed food and drink to remain alive".

Science discovers Tut's drink of choice

Tina always sends me these interesting articles about history and archaeology. In this one they discovered that King Tut drank red wine, or at least the evidence points that way. Amazing!

ABBA wins

I really WANT to hate ABBA, to mock them, to make petty jokes about them. I guess it is that old "I love Rock and Roll and everything else stinks" premise I had when I was in high school.

The problem is that I don't. As much as I hate to admit it, I actually like ABBA.

So with that being said: congratulations to ABBA and their award. (See above link)

Hat Tip: Martin at EGO

Art or science

Chicago Real Estate Blog just posted an article posing the question about whether appraisal is a science or an art. I think it is both.

The art comes in as you search for sales and rents. You have to put yourself in the mind of the buyers and sellers in the market. If it is a downtown loft, you have to become a 20 something professional with money to burn. If it is an office building, you have to become an investor. If it is an auto shop, you have to become a grease monkey. You have to be creative and to think differently.

The science of appraisal is how you treat the sales and rents. You need to make adjustments to the comparable's sales price to account for how it is different from the subject. The amount of the adjustment is sometimes a science, ie something you can well establish. Sometimes it is an art, and you have to be creative in determining how to adjust for a feature. Regardless of how you determine the size of the adjustments, the method of adjusting the comparables is the science being real estate appraisal.

The art part of real estate appraisal is the reason that computer aided appraisals will never take over the appraiser's job completely. A computer can't "think like a buyer" or make judgments based on a physical inspection of a property.

Learning to sail...

...is like learning to make love; it can't be done from a book.

As you might notice, I'm a little frustrated with my reading assignments. I can't believe they sent me FOUR books to read before I get there. I enjoy it, but it is just abstraction until you're on the water with the wind at your back.

Can't wait for November.

If

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run --
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man my son!

Occasional Quote

If Passion drives, let Reason hold the reins.

-Poor Richard 1749

Occasional Quote:

George Washington
"Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."

Dumbledore

WARNING THE LINK HAS SPOILERS

I had the same suspicion about the surprise at the end of the Half Blood Prince as the authors of the link above. We'll see what Rowling does.

(Hat tip: NoodleFood)

Serenity in 2000 words or less

This is a funny summary of the movie. Warning, plot spoilers.

(Hat tip: Noodle Food)

Occasional Quote:

Women and Cats do what they do; there is nothing a man can do about it.

-Dr. Richard Ames in The Cat who Walks Through Walls by Robert Heinlein

The Secret Life of Blogs

Stephanie Klein of Greek Tragedy writes about the problems of having a blog and knowing who may or may not read it. I have had a few discussions with the Milk Maid about this and I really don't know. I know that I am more aware of what I write here than at any other time that I'm writing. I guess this is the process of finding your blog voice. I'm new to this so it feels a little like wearing cowboy boots for the first time. You start out feeling like you're in costume, but hopefully end up feeling a few inches taller and tough as nails. I guess I'll figure it out as I go.

Comments?

Package

I just received my packet of information on my week long sailing lesson in St. Pete. They sent me FOUR books. In their letter, they casually say, please read these before you come to class. :) Looks like I have a lot of reading to do! Actually, I think the books have a lot of overlap, so it won't be that bad.

I'm really excited for this class. I'll receive my Bareboat Chartering certification from US Sailing when I finish. Part of why I'm taking this class is just to go sailing, enjoy the ocean. The other part involves this long term goal to sail in the Greek Islands with a group of friends. My best friend's wife is Greek, so they take an annual trip to Greece to visit her family. My friend is excited, but I think it is just theoretical right now. It isn't real enough for him to feel like it could happen.

Anyhow, I started sailing by taking sailing lessons here in Denver. (Yes, you can sail in Denver.) Obviously my location limits me somewhat. So this class is the next big step. Sailing on the Ocean rather than on a pond. Eventually, I hope I'll feel comfortable enough to sail solo in the Mediterranean.

Verdi

I have been listening to the Teaching Company's class on how to appreciate opera. I'm not sure I'm ever going to be a die hard opera lover, but I've learned to appreciate it a little. The one opera composer I've come to admire through the course was Verdi. He was incredibly independent minded and didn't care what his critics or his fans thought. I am excited to read more about him.

Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off

I am not a big country music fan. I do have a few favorites here and there. I heard a song on the radio that made me laugh. The lyrics are in the link above. It is the image of a naked woman holding a bottle of tequila that gets me.

The Milk Maid Says:

"This Blog is Boring."

I just thought the other two readers should know.

Logic by Beavis and Butthead

They left out the bit where Beavis proclaims that he hates numbers because there are just so many of them.

VIA Noodlefood

Sailing Alone Around The World

I just finished reading Captain Joshua Slocum's "Sailing Alone Around The World". I thourally enjoyed it. Slocum was an experienced seaman, an able shipmaker, an adventurer, and an entrepreneur. He built his ship, the Spray, himself and sailed her around the world. He endured the elements, pirates, and hostile natives. He was the first man to sail alone around the world.

His style took some time to adjust to, but it becomes engaging and funny. This book is witty and fun.

I'll end with a quick quote:

To face the elements, to be sure, no light matter when the sea is in its grandest mood. You must then know the sea, and know that you know it, and not forget that it was made to be sailed over.

Going to Florida

I just signed up for a week long sailing class in St. Petersberg, FL. It'll be my first experience on "real" water. By real, I mean a body of water that you can't see the shore on the other side!

More later.

Occasional Quote:

Pierre Corneille
"When there is no peril in the fight there is no glory in the triumph."

Wind

There we sat, gently rocking in the middle of the lake. The same rocking motion we'd been experiencing for the last hour and a half. The waves gently rocking the boat back and forth. We almost forgot that we were there to be sailing and not just to shoot the breeze. The boat rotated slowly in circles during that time as power boats past us, their waves pushing us this way and that.
With only the slightest warning, the wind picked up, filling the sails, and propelling us forward. We pulled the sails in tight and headed up to close hauled. We were flying. Our sudden speed was a remarkable contrast to the stillness of the last hour an a half. We gathered speed, tacked and milked the wind and the sun for the last half hour of sailing for today.

Although short, it was a good evening of sailing.