The clocks get turned back one hour earlier today at 2:00 am. Thank you very much Benjamin Franklin! the conceptual originator of Daylight Savings Time. This is one invention too many for old Ben as far as I’m concerned. I’m not the only one in Indiana that hates doing this now. Part of the reason is there are over a dozen clocks for me to reset twice a year now between home, office and cars. But mainly, so what if it gets darker earlier and days are shorter in the winter? It’s supposed to. It’s winter. I liked that our state was a holdout and was one of the only areas with common sense enough to refused to change it. I liked that Windows had a separate time zone setting for Indiana when you set up your computer. We were special. Now, we just bow our heads to the east coast, because that’s what time they are on. What they don’t consider is the actual east coast is 1,000 miles east and it gets daylight there an hour earlier than here. When business starts at 8:00 am in New York, it’s still dark here DST or not. I am now envious of Arizona, the only mainland US state that doesn’t observe DST. Good for you. These are the thoughts going through my mind as I manually set the clock on my fax machine, the 15th clock I had to change today.
Fall Back Position
Posted on November 6th, 2011 by Richard. Categories: Just for FunRehab Logic
Posted on November 4th, 2011 by Richard. Categories: For Investors
A few years ago, a small but consistent percentage of business out there came from rehab investors looking to buy a property, fix it up and resell at a profit. There were lots of people trying to do it. The good deals were always hard to find, and you really had to know your numbers on rehab cost estimates, holding costs and probable selling price, but a savvy investor who was careful and picky about which home to buy could usually turn a profit. The market was steady and you could count on the market turning up a buyer if the property was done correctly. But times have changed. Not that it’s impossible to do a rehab venture now, but you have to be even more careful than before. You’d think that with all the news you hear about foreclosures and short sales that there would be more homes that were candidates for rehab. But that’s not the case. Foreclosures or short sales are just a small part of all the properties for sale, and just because they are financially impacted doesn’t mean the sale price is discounted at all or enough to be a good investment. Market values for homes have softened in some areas which means the profit margin has as well. The main reason rehab ventures are tougher is there are a smaller number of buyers and more sellers than in a hot market, which means more competition from other sellers who often have had to lower their price in order to get a sale accomplished. If you can’t sell at a decent profit, why take the risk of an investment that might not work at all? There are safer things to do. Still, there are some homes occasionally available where the numbers actually work. Few and very far between, but they are there if you are diligent about looking, experienced and know what you are doing.
Fall Vista
Posted on November 2nd, 2011 by Richard. Categories: Community Feature
This could be a vista somewhere in Brown County, but surprisingly this view can be seen from right here in town, from the summit in Crown Hill Cemetery looking southwest. The spot where this is taken from was considered to be the highest point of land in Indianapolis for the longest time, 842 ft., until Unigov expanded the boundaries of Indianapolis to include all of Marion County. Sources say there is another point NE somewhere in Marion County that has a slightly higher altitude.
Colts 0 & 16?
Posted on October 30th, 2011 by Richard. Categories: Sports & Recreation
What would seem like a ridiculous, unthinkable scenario to the outcome of this season for the Colts is beginning to look like a real possibility. Loosing all 16 games. I can’t even believe I just said that. The problems with their play has little to do however with the absence of Peyton Manning. Some of course, but stupid and frequent penalties, dropped passes, fumbles, blocked punts, bad snaps and poor quarterback protection in the pocket has nothing to do with Peyton not playing. Those errors have made enough of a difference in games just on offense for it to be at least a 4 & 4 season so far. That doesn’t even consider their defense which has been erratic. Sometimes defense actually looks fairly good at times, but breakdowns on pass coverage wide and in the middle, and just stopping the run when needed have been consistent problems. The team has been plagued with injuries this year but still, 0-8 so far? Come on. I’m starting to look hard toward the coaches and management as the cause.
Let’s say the Colts end up with the worst record and somehow get first pick in the draft. They shouldn’t hesitate to take the very best player available, the one most coveted by other teams, Andrew Luck, a quarterback. Then they should work on a trade(s) immediately for 2 or 3 of the nastiest, strongest and LARGEST defensive players they can get for the middle of our defensive line. Peyton will come back from this with a vengeance and the offense should be stellar again. The Colts don’t need an overpaid young quarterback to sit on the bench as an understudy. Peyton has a number of great years left. But they need some top defensive personnel now, to stengthen the D-line, then running through the middle will be out for opponents offense. The rest of our fast-flying D can then make either side impossible too. Strengthen the defense, that’s what they need, thereby controlling the minutes. If the Colts offense is on the field the majority of the time, they win.
