Navy Training

Posted on October 4, 2006 by scottsoapbox

I went on quite the scenic run today… along a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean here in San Diego.

Run 3.04miles – 31:01 (10:11 pace, 445 cals)
Cooldown .85miles, 143 cals

Housing Boom Levels Off

Posted on October 4, 2006 by scottsoapbox

Another article about "the end of irrational exuberance" in the housing market. This one is more rational with less gloom and doom and more reality check. Not only for the excited home owners, but also the 250,000 new realtors wanting to cash in on the boom.

During the boom’s peak from 2002 to 2004, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) saw memberships soar 26 percent. Today, over 1.2 million Americans call themselves Realtors.

While many thought a real estate license would be an easy way to make money – most are learning the opposite. Like any commission job, there is more to sales than showing up. And even with the right sales techniques, it can take a while to buildup your sales pipeline.

The NAR reported in 2005 that those who have been in the business for two years or less had an average income of only $12,850 a year. Long-time brokers – those with at least 26 years of experience – had an average of $92,600.

Real estate downturn hits agents

Thanks Dre

Karate Training

Posted on September 26, 2006 by scottsoapbox

Taking a page from the Karate Kid… "Paint the fence Daniel-son."

Well not exactly paint. I set out to seal the wood reverse scalloped fence that contains my dogs into a half-acre, third-wooded, canine wonderland. Yesterday, I walked both sides of the fence spraying off all of the dirt and spiders with an extremely long hose (actually 3 long hoses). Today I painted it.

Notes on painting a fence – any fence but especially a not contiguous fence…

Buy a paint sprayer. You can get a good one for around $300. If you can’t afford the sprayer you can’t afford the fence. Go chain link. Besides the sealant itself will cost you more than that. I personally went through 18 gallons of sealant and one fairly young back covering my fence.
Get the longest lasting sealant you can find. Trust me. After the first time you won’t want to do it again any time soon. You’ll be kicking yourself for not paying $20 more for the 5 year sealant instead of the 2 year.
Schedule a massage.

Oh yeah, I finished in one day, but shortly afterwards I collapsed for about an hour on my back before I could get up and walk again. The cause? Well apparrently far to times stooping to reach the bottom of the fence. Some quick calculations revealed that I covered around 950 feet of fence (you have to do both sides) with about a 6" spayer. Add in cross braces and such and that’s 2000+ reps with a 2 lb barbell – oh I mean spray nozzle.

The end result is a very pretty fence – I went with a slight cedar tint in my sealant – that will actually stay that way. Nothing like watching all the money you invested in a fence slowly rot away before your eyes. The other result was a few days out of commission from training. I was able to do pushups and pullups but my back prevented situps and running for a few days. Basically until it was time to leave for my camping trip of course. ;)