July 22, 2007

Supercar wallpapers and screensavers

Like most young people, I bought Used Cars the first few times I needed wheels. They were nothing to write home about, but I loved those old clunkers that were all mine and got me from point A to Point B for many years. I gave them names, lavished them with affection and polished them until they shone as brightly as the day they rolled off of the assembly line. The finest of them, the one that still makes regular appearances in my dreams, was a 1976 Ford Mustang Convertible. I was on top of the world every time I drove that car.

My tastes are a little more refined these days, but when you’re talking about fine automobiles that’s a very good thing. I drive a rather sedate mid-sized sedan because it’s appropriate to my business, but maybe when I retire I’ll finally have my opportunity to indulge myself with something sporty and fast and totally classy. Until then I’ll just have to live on the stuff of dreams. One way to feed the fantasy is with these amazing Supercar wallpapers and screensavers.

If I’m going to dream, I might as well dream big. What do you think? Is the idea of an old, retired granny tooling along the beach in a Lamborghini too ridiculous? Well, that’s the nice thing about a fantasy life. It doesn’t have to be believable, just fun! Maybe staring at that sweet ride every morning while I drink my coffee will inspire me to work a little harder at building up that retirement fund, ya think? Which supercar do you dream of? Go check them out and you can download your screenaver or wallpaper picturing one the Top 10 Fastest Production Cars of All Time to keep you inspired. Think you know what they are? Check your guesses against the list at the Motoring News while you’re there. Just don’t drool on the keyboard, please. I’d hate for your fantasies to be short-circuited!

Technorati Tags: screensavers, sports cars, wallpapers, used cars

Graphic message

Slippers are an expression of personality in Hawaii. Since we take our shoes off at the door, they’re what we wear for anything less casual than a wedding (and I’ve known a few weddings where slippers were the appropriate footwear.) The day before Sunset on the Beach I was out at Maili Beach watching the setup. I was privilged to meet and spend a little time with the creator of this graphic reminder that pedestrian fatalities are on the rise. I meant to get a picture of the finished project the next day and forgot. Even incompleted, this picture is worth at least a thousand words.

Drive with aloha - please?

Technorati Tags: aloha, art, Hawaii, pedestrian fatalities, slippers

Self Portrait Sunday for July 22, 2007

How many times have you gotten flustered and maybe just a little miffed at family and friends who are supposed to know everything about your life, but don’t? You know what I mean. Like the good friend who says “You painted your bedroom blue? Why didn’t I know this?” And your answer is the same one we all give to such inane questions:



I’m so glad I can say it without saying it now. You should get on over to Digi-Cass and see what some of my friends are getting off of their chests.

Technorati Tags: self portrait, Self Portrait Sunday, photos

Posted by skeet @ 10:48 pm • Photos, Meme • 11 comments  

July 21, 2007

Kinder Joys

A couple of years ago one of the Table of Contents members picked up some Kinder Toys for us that she had found during a vacation. They are little foil-wrapped, hollow Easter eggs, each with a toy inside to assemble. I don’t think you can buy them in the US. The distributors would soon be put out of business because of the standards for choking hazards. It’s probably not too profitable to take on a product line that would require you to find attorney’s before you make your first sale. The Kinder Eggs can only be sold during the winter, too, because the chocolate eggs don’t keep well during the warm months. Well, friend Allysther picked up a whole slew of the summer version in Germany and gave them to us at our luncheon. These are packaged in a plastic egg instead of a chocolate shell.

The two halves of the plastic egg peel apart. One side contains a gooey cream with a couple of chocolate malt orbs. The other side has a spatula for scooping the goo.

Beneath the spatula is a toy puzzle surprise. Mine is a tiny fighter plane, complete with teensy little decals that are impossible for a bifocal wearer to put in place.

It takes a special kind of friendship to know that these silly little surprises were just what we wanted. Mahalo, Allysther!

Technorati Tags: friends, Kinder Joys, toys

And a good time was had by all

Any gathering of the Table of Contents is cause for celebration, but today went beyond special. Allysther and I both got a bit teary-eyed as we greeted each other, two years having passed since we last had that privilege. Her little man did not remember us, but quickly demonstrated that he is still the sweet and charming youngster we all love. He’ll be six next week, so he and I were both given birthday honors today. I was presented with two lovely leis, and the munchkin gifted all of us with Power Ranger masks to contribute to the festive atmosphere.

Friendship, food and books were on the agenda, as always. We talked story throughout our time together, catching up on each other’s lives and sharing a few laughs. Allysther and the munchikin presented each of us with Kinder Joy eggs, reminding us of a past gathering when we first discovered these delightful little chocolate treats with toy prizes inside. It’s late and I’m tired, but I’ll be doing a separate post about the Kinder Joys later. Islevampir likes them so much she was inspired to live-blog, taking photos and making posts from her phone (a technology that still scares me.)

Hyphen8 has just returned from a national origami convention, and made tiny, working spinning tops and pinwheels for each of us. We all opted to wear the pinwheels behind our ears where local custom dictates we should have tucked flowers. We’re not exactly a conventional group.

After desserts were ordered, Purple58 presented me with a gift bag and insisted that I needed to utilize it immediately. Ah, she knows me well! She somehow guessed that I’d be ordering the chocolate caramel ganache and supplied me with the appropriate attire.

I had ordered a small seving of chicken with pasta in a cajun sauce for my meal, but the ganache was still a bit much for me. Allysther and I shared its gooey, chocolate goodness.

Each of us had brought books to share or release. By the time dessert was finished our table was heaped with dirty dishes and each of us had selected a few books to take home. We inquired as to the reading preference of our wait staff and made sure each of them had a few books, too. Whatever was not otherwise assigned would be released into the wild by its last reader once we parted.

All good things must come to an end, but we’ll get together again next weekend, since we crave a little more time with our visitors before they continue on their journey to their new home. Ghir will be back from her annual fishing trip to Alaska by then, so I’m sure there will be new tales of adventure to keep the gathering lively.

Technorati Tags: birthdays, BookCrossing, books, celebrations, friends

Freeze It

Birthdays are a time for introspection. One of the thoughts on my mind today is that I’m that much closer to the time when most folks are thinking about retiring. I love my job, but it gets harder and harder to do as time passes. My advice to those of you still young enough to be choosing a career path is this: put some serious thought into whether your chosen profession is one that you can realistically rely on after you hit that fuzzy age zone known as “middle age.” When I was in my twneties and first entered pest control, I was thrilled to have finally found a job that was satisfying, paid well and offered me a lot of opportunity for advancement. I didn’t think about how physically taxing it was, because, well, that wasn’t a problem to my younger, more vigorous self. Now, at fifty-five, I’ll admit it’s getting harder and harder to be enthusiastic about hauling around a ladder and crawling around in attics and beneath houses. I have aches and pains in body parts that never gave me any problems in the first two decades of doing what I do. That’s why I was really pleased when I recently got a couple of sample packets of Freeze It in the mail. I’ve tried several similar products over the last few years and there has always been something that kept me from making them a part of my regular routine. The big thing for me has been the odor. It’s just doesn’t feel quite right for me to greet my clients smelling like I’ve had a bath in sports rub. That has meant that I could only use the products at the end of my day, after I was away from public scrutiny. Freeze It solves that problem. It’s got that same brisk aroma that we all associate with such products, but the fragrance fades away quickly. I can put it on during the day, before I hoist the ladder or get into my coveralls to scoot around in a crawl space. It goes on feeling icy cold and soothing, then warms up the joints and muscles in the area where it was applied, making it much easier for me to drag these old old bones around and do what I need to do. I’ve used it on my neck, shoulders, elbows and knees for several days now and my samples are almost gone. You can bet I’ll be stocking up a the drug store the next time I go, because Freeze It has already become a part of my day that I don’t want to do without!

Technorati Tags: aging, Freeze It, joint pain, muscle pain, pain relief

Happy birthday to me!

Yep, I’m older today than I was yesterday. I have much to celebrate. My dear friend who has been in Germany for two years is back in town. Her husband passed through on his way to Korea just in time for our BookCrossing gathering last month, and now she and their sweetheart of a son will be here for two whole weekends. The group is meeting at noon, and I’m hoping to get together with them again before she leaves.

My ISP has had an unstable connection for days. I’m thinking maybe the city dug into a cable while doing some of their neverending replacement of water mains and sewage lines. Whatever, things seem fine this morning, so I’m celebrating that, too. Tons of blogging to catch up on, but right now I’m going to get myself ready to go out and celebrate!

Technorati Tags: birthday, celebrations, friends, just stuff

July 19, 2007

Tuesday Teaser Photo Verification

Looks like I stumped everyone this week. I was afraid it would be too easy because I can’t think of anything else that has two wire clamps or bales at right angles. Y’all made a valiant effort though, and I appreciate all of the great guesses that were offered. The prizes for this week will carry over, so the winner next week will get two linky love posts and be entered twice in the gift card drawing for the winners from July. Mahalo to you all for playing! Hope you’ll all come back next week to get even with me for stumping you!

Technorati Tags: blog contest, contest, photo contest, photo puzzle

July 17, 2007

Managing rental properties

A good percentage of the real estate transactions that I perform inspections for involve investment properties. I see a lot of success stories - investors who use my service again and again because their business is profitable and they acquire new properties on a regular basis. I also see a lot of nightmares - amateur investors who don’t know how to manage their properties and loose their shirts (and everything else) through their poor business practices. Many small investors buy one or two properties, anticipating that the rental incomes and equity will provide for retirement. It’s wonderful when it works out that way, but so often it doesn’t. The reason for the failures is almost always the same: lack of expertise in managing the properties. Tenants need to be screened, properties need to be maintained and vacancies need to be filled promptly. If you own rental properties and do not have a background in real estate management, the biggest mistake you can make is trying to do it all for yourself. Rentals.com lists qualified property managers in every state that can help you turn a profit with on your investment. Check out some of the professionals in your area who can help you turn your investment property into the money-maker you need it to be.

If you have a property in need of tenants, Rentals.com is a good place to start. They’re a high-traffic website with over three million renters searching each month. Their user-friendly site will send you renters who are looking for your type of properties in your area. They’ll even supply you with free yard signs to encourage drive-by traffic to stop and check you out. Take a look at their site before your next vacancy needs filling. I think you’ll like what you see.

Technorati Tags: apartment rentals, condo rentals, home rentals, property management, rental properties

Tuesday Teaser for July 17, 2007

Can you identify the item depicted above? Take your best guess and post it in the comments below. If your guess wins, you’ll win a nifty prize. Here’s how it works:

1. Write a comment giving your guess as to what the item is.
2. First person to identify the item wins.
3. The author of this blog will be the sole judge as to what constitutes a correct answer.

What will you win?

1. The author of this blog will write a LINKY LOVE POST (review) about the winner’s blog. The LLP will contain the url for your blog plus at least two deep links and will be posted here on Skeet’s Stuff, a PR4 blog. Skeet writes good reviews.
2. The winner’s name will be entered into a drawing for a $10.00 gift card from Starbucks or Amazon.
3. Drawing for the gift card will be held on or about July 31, 2007, and will include all weekly winners for the month. There are five Tuesdays in July, thus the maximum number of people who will be eligble is five. That’s probably better than your odds at the poker tables .

Other stuff

1. All comments to this blog are time and date stamped. The winner will be the first person (according to time and date stamp) to provide the correct answer.
2. No hints will be given.
3. Answers must specifically identify the item. For instance, if the item depicted were to be a button on a remote control, the answer “button on something electronic” would not suffice.
4. Decisions of the judge are final. Don’t argue with me. I won’t answer.
5. I will attempt to post every few hours as to whether or not a winner has been declared, but I am not continuously at the keyboard so please be patient.
6. Entries must be posted before 12:01 a.m. Thursday, July 19, 2007, Hawaii time (GMT -10, approximately forty-eight hours from now.)
7. This is intended to be an ongoing feature at Skeet’s Stuff. If it turns out to be a dud it will cease to exist, but all qualified winners will get their prizes.
8. Skeet’s Stuff is a do-follow blog, so you get some link value just for commenting.
9. Let the fun begin!

Technorati Tags: contests, photos, photo contest, blog contest