K and I bought a new HDTV not long ago and we’ve enjoyed it so far.  But tonight it REALLY came into it’s own.  We’re watching a show on Planet Green called “Deep Blue” that has the most amazing cinematography I’ve ever seen, and on HD it just defies description.  WOW!

They just showed a gorgeous coral reef.  The colors were amazing! (I’m running out of adjectives.)  I’m sure if God were watching He’d say, “Yeah, I nailed that one.”   

Fin asked in a comment why I just didn’t build smaller, more affordable homes and appeal to a broader market?  Here’s why, Fin:  To build homes in the 2,000 +/- square foot range I would be going head-to-head with the large volume builders like Pulte, D R Horton, K&B, etc, and that would be suicide.  Their business model is based on making a small net profit on a LOT of homes.  That would require tying up vast numbers of lots, having substantial staff, offices, overhead, etc, and THAT requires MEGA $$$$$.  (NOTE:  Even a small net profit is hard to come by….1/3 of the national volume builders in the Dallas market have packed up and left.)

By contrast, bro and I can concentrate on building just a few VERY high quality homes for the wealthy, people who are in need of major handholding and are willing to pay for it.  While volume builders hire subcontractors and vendors based almost solely on price, I hire mine based almost solely on quality.  That’s what it takes to keep my clients happy.  The volume guys wouldn’t know where to begin if they tried to compete in MY market, and I would get slaughtered if I tried to compete in theirs.  Their customers come via massive (and expensive) advertising campaigns.  Mine come from referrals and repeat customers.  Nobody I know has so far been able to work both sides of that street.

Now you know.   (If you even care.)

S

OK, so America is a couple ‘o hundred trillion dollars in the hole.  Not to worry….I’ve got a plan.

In fairness I must give credit to this event held this past Saturday in Reno, Nevada:

It’s a take-off on what they’ve been doing somewhere in Spain for years, but no matter.  Last Saturday Reno held a rotten tomato food fight in their town plaza.  Thousands paid $10 each to throw 25 tons of tomatoes at each other, $50 to bomb the Mayor, with the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.

So I’m thinking, why not take something like this to the Halls of Congress?  Can you imagine how long the line would be with people willing to pay….oh, let’s say $100 each….to throw rotten tomatoes at our Congressmen and Senators?  I think Nancy Pelosi would look absolutely stunning “wearing” a couple of hundred pounds of rotten tomatoes, don’t you?

We’d have that pesky old national debt thing paid off before dark, with money left over to cure cancer and feed the hungry, too.

Who’s with me? 

Sugarcane…you’re up.  Let’s start with a cool poster…….

S

It looks like for the first time in  months we can actually DO something at work.  Not just move papers from one side of the desk to the other, but actually BUILD something.  We have to play “Meet the Banker” today at 1pm…I have no idea what for…and then tomorrow Dr & Ms M will sign papers with said Evil Banker.

I have my concrete contractor ready to set forms (the perimeter boards that outline where the foundation will go), and then it’s off to the races.   A goal is to get the foundation in and the home framed and roofed before fall/winter rains arrive.  (Here in Texas we have the bulk of our rain in the spring and fall, the summers usually being bone dry.)  Trying to build in the dead of winter out in the open is a killer.

Tomorrow morning I’m meeting with a developer about possibly doing a small venture with him.  It’s a long shot, but certainly worth a try.  Plus we’re meeting with M/M R this week to try and salvage a job there, too.  Work is just damn hard to come by these days.  Have y’all noticed that?

Y’all keep praying and thinking good thoughts for Westy, and for all our KCL friends who are in need of help.  And click on those ads!

S

Happy Birthday old man.  38, huh?  That’s absolutely ancient.  Hope you have a great day!   Now go and gum a big ‘ol piece of birthday cake.

S

So I’m thinking, if I’m gonna bounce a check for an ultra-fancy car what should I get?  Although I’ve never even seen one in person, I’m gonna go for a Bugatti Veyron.  Only 300 will ever be built, so they’re rare, and they’re “different looking”, so they’re guaranteed to turn heads.  A cool $1.3M and one of those babies can be mine.

But then I read something in my new Evo magazine that just soured the whole deal:  Bugatti says you should change tires every 2,500 miles.  They cost $10,341 EACH! $41,364 FOR A SET OF FREAKIN’ TIRES!!

And every third tire change you have to change the wheels, too.  Prepare to cough up another $48,886 for that.

Well, at least it comes with a two-year waranty.  Maybe this is a car you should spring for the extended warranty on:  $62,130 for one additional year.  $103,000 for another two years.

I wonder how much a ticket is for going 253 in a 65? 

S

I think I’m jinxing myself.  Every time I get to bragging about how great our iMac is, it throws a rod/blows a gasket and then grinds to a halt.  This morning K turned it on and we immediately heard the dreaded BEEP..BEEP..BEEP, meaning it needs to be taken back to Apple for repair.  I did speak with Apple and am set up with an appointment with Mr Fixit, but this is still aggravating.  I did learn that if it breaks again, which would be the third time, THEN they’ll just give me a new one.

Otherwise it’s a beautiful day here in Big D.  We went to church, then by McDonald’s for an Angus Deluxe burger.  Believe it or not, it’s an EXCELLENT old fashioned hamburger.  And their sweet tea is good, too.

We drove back down Fun Street on our way home and saw a yellow Ferrari Scuderia just leaving.  The driver looked like he was having trouble starting it, but K said she saw dealer tags, so the guy may legitimately have not been aware how to operate it.  Now I’m wondering….what kind of car do you have to bring in for service that they give you a new Ferrari Scuderia as a loaner?  WAY over my pay grade, I assure you!

Y’all have fun.  Later 

S

I guess it’s to be expected as Dallas is a relatively “young” city that all the cool cars here are new.  If you wanna see new-ish Ferrari’s, Maserati’s, Aston Martin’s, etc, I can set you up.  New money + conspicuous consumption = expensive new cars.

But I wanna see beautifully restored vintage automobiles, too.  I missed the North Texas Italian Car Club show earlier this month   , which would have been my best chance to see some of the finest automobilia anywhere.  I think for the other 51 weekends of the year they’re all hermetically sealed in sparkling clean garages ’round town.

Moments ago as I perused KCL I saw that Effstop had photos of some outstanding examples of vintage cars I’d kill to see.  (Well, OK, maim then.)  He’s not sharing.    He’s hogging all the cool stuff.  Somebody make him share.

S

(Just kidding, friend.  Maybe.    )

This has turned out to be a pretty nothing day after all.  Not bad, understand, but just a non-starter.  The usual errands, then the bookstore where I bought one of my favorite Brit car magazines (Evo), then finally back at home where I opened the mail to find 3 more waiting for me.  Score!

Tonight…who knows?  The Cowboys play a pre-season game tonight.  It’ll be on TV, so I might stare at it for a while.  If they’re playing in Dallas it might be fun to watch the punter kick the crap out of Jerry Jones’s absurdly expensive giant screen.  

It’s been perfect weather-wise all day, and I’m guessing the lure of a cool psuedo-autumn evening will be too much to ignore.  I’m thinking at least a few minutes on Fun Street will be in order.

K installed the new iMac Snow Leopard whatchamacallit on the ‘puter this afternoon.  See any difference?  Me either.

S

Come on guys.  We gotta read the ads here on KCL or else. Matt’s already been dipping into his “frontal lobotomy fund” to keep this place up and running this long.  It’ll only take 30 seconds.  No excuses.  Just do it!

6am feels like it comes earlier than usual on a Saturday.  The dog’s bladder doesn’t know Saturday from Tuesday, though, so up and at ‘em we were.  Outside it felt great….67 degrees.  I haven’t felt coolness like this since last spring.  

Last night after dinner we had to go to the FedEx office to pick up our new iMac Snow Leopard operating system. K will install it later today and we’ll have…I don’t know what…but it’s supposed to be better.  It’s way too geeky for me to understand.  Mac still rocks!

I know it’s gonna be a great weekend because of “the Omen”.   The first thing I saw last night on Fun Street was this:

You like the Maser in yellow?  K was ready to cut a check on the spot.  I figure we’d have 2 days, tops, before the bank came after us.  It might be worth it, though.  Still thinking…..

S