The LuxMob Info Tags

A look at the February numbers for the four county Sacramento area real estate market is encouraging but I have reservations about being overly optimistic. The Sacramento Bee article, “Home Prices Rise in County”, points out, “After five straight months of falling sales prices for Sacramento County homes, values edged up slightly in February, signaling a potential rebound for the regions most populated county.”

DataQuick, the research firm that follows and reports the real estate numbers, indicated all four counties, Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo, all saw increases in the median price for sold homes during February.

The sales volume was also up slightly from January to 1,743 homes sold in the area. Although this number is up from January it remains 26% lower than February 2005.

Inventory of homes on the market continued to grow. At the end of January there were 9,267 homes on the market. The number available in February increased to 9,870. A year ago there were only 3,554 homes to choose from. The average number of days on the market for homes sold in February was 58 days compared to last year when it took an average of 37 days to sell.

In some of the local areas, where I have been working recently, the median price increases from last year were almost all positive. El Dorado Hills median price in February increased to $606,500, up 9.3% from last year but down from January. In Rocklin, zip codes 95677 and 95765 we saw price appreciation of 34.4% and 7.9% respectively from last year and both areas were up from last month in terms of price and volume. The three zip codes in Roseville. 95661, 95678, and 95747 all had increases in the median price fro last year and from January. Sales volume was down double digits from 2005 and flat compared to January numbers. Granite Bay, zip code 95748, reported 11 sales, down from last year and January. The median price paid in February for a Granite Bay home was $730,000, down 3.2% from a year ago but up $20,000 from last month. For more detail, take a look at the chart by Zip Code produced monthly by the Sacramento Bee.

The January numbers were “to early to tell” how the 2006 real estate market in Sacramento would shape up and now we have February reports which are a bit more positive than we have seen for the past few months but still don’t paint a very clear picture of what is going to happen this year. If it were just the numbers, I would say some of the local pundits are correct in predicting a “return to normal” after the last five years of double digit increases and bidding wars on anything with a for sale sign in the front yard.

Based on my personal business and talking with collogues the past few weeks, the steam we started to feel building in mid January and early February has been dampened by the last three weeks of winter weather. The rain and cold seems to be keeping buyers inside or at least not driving from the bay area. Right now, I am not feeling as bold as I was last month when I made three positive predictions. Even though I was right about modest growth in the median price and increased sales volume, I was wrong in predicting a slight decrease in the inventory of homes for sale. With the prediction for more rain, I don’t think we are going to see February as the start of a new positive trend for the year. I will predict, when the rain ends and warmer weather gets here, there should be a nice surge in activity as the buyers start getting out and looking again.

Julie Jalone is an experienced professional Realtor serving the need of buyers and sellers of residential real estate in the Greater Sacramento area including Placer, El Dorado, Yolo and Yuba counties. Some of the communities served by Julie include Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln and Granite Bay. Julie is a wife and mother living in Rocklin. For more information see her website, http://www.jalone.com, which includes listings, local real estate market analysis, news, resources for buyers and sellers and her daily weblog, “Keep it Real in Sacramento.”

This is a simple to do project that will get you fantastic compliments. You will be asked to “make some for me please”. When you hear that you know you did it right!

Getting started.. You will need your usual cement, sand and water. Or you can get a sack of redi mixed concrete for your first one. Once you see the result you will want to make more. That means that you will need to mix your own concrete. Redi-mix can get a little expensive.

You will need enough 2″ x 4″ lumber to build a mold. That means if you want a paver that is 18″ square you need enough lumber to frame it up. Make a frame with your 2 x 4’s and to make it easy to get your stepping stone out I suggest you use screws to assemble it. When you want to take it off you just take out a few screws. This saves a lot of aggravation. . (A note here - You should not make these any larger than 24″ square. They will be very heavy! Even if you make them 2″ thick it will be difficult to move them alone without a cart or wagon.)

Now place your frame on a flat surface that you have covered with a sheet of plastic. Next line the inside of your mold with plastic. I use a garbage bag that I have cut so that it is a single sheet. Once you have done this find a leaf or two, depending on the size of your mold. Using your artistic instinct place the leaves in the mold. Have you got them just right?

Mix and pour your concrete on top of the leaves. Wait a couple of days and unscrew the form. I turn the form over before I unscrew it so I can take the plastic off without damaging the still “green” concrete. You might want to leave the plastic for a couple of days. If you are like me you will want to “see how it looks” and will pull the plastic off as soon as the form is out of the way. Be careful! More than one stone has been spoiled this way. Let the paver sit, keeping it damp for about a week. You will be able to wash the leaf out of the concrete with a garden hose. If it does not all come out, don’t worry you can get the rest later when the stone set up more.

These stones look great and each one is a little different so they are truly unique.
Once you have seen how good they look you will want to go into full production. I have seen people start with a couple and finish with a complete patio done this way. Others have done driveways! They all looked terrific!

Go ahead and do a test stone today. You will love it.

Copyright © 2005 Delmar Germyn. All rights reserved.

Author - Del Germyn Web site http://www.delsmolds.com

My web site is setup to help you and I learn more about molds and casting in general.

YOU WILL FIND….

Articles on how to mix your concrete, hypertufa, etc for different uses.

Free information on how to make your own molds. Tips and hints on their use and care.

Free information on making and using various types of molds to cast concrete, plaster, cement,
ceramics, and molding with hypertufa.

Suggestions for projects that you can do in a couple of hours that will make your yard / garden look great.

All the information on the site is free to use and share.

I am hoping that when you see what I have (or have not) set out you will send in your tips and stories. By sharing we can learn from each other. We can also help newcomers to the hobby / business. The site will be constantly added to as time passes, so please check it often.

To see a fisherman perfectly mastering a double-handed fly rod is rare enough. When the fisherman turns out to be a woman, we are in the realm of the exceptional. It was on the banks of the river Blackwater in southeast Ireland that we met Glenda Powell. She teaches the art of salmon fishing with talent.

Portrait
Northern Irish - Glenda grew up in the suburbs of Belfast. A place where you learn quickly not to let others walk all over you. Her uncle was the best fisherman in the family. She was only nine years old when he died and left her a precious legacy - all his fishing tackle. Under the amused gaze of her three sisters and other boys of her age, she decided - with a determination well beyond her nine years - to learn to use it by herself. Not easy by any means, but more a question of pride. Within a few years, many Northern Irish trout had paid the ultimate tribute to her ability with the worm and then the fly rod. Even as an adolescent, she knew that fishing would be the focal point of her existence.

Good, and now ……….
Do we go fly-fishing or would you prefer that we go and catch a salmon?
Glenda’s question is clear.

The fly is beautiful, and she has just given us a superb demonstration. Single Spey or double, roll cast, snake roll and other subtle variations on the theme of double handed fly-casting, she executes them all gracefully.
But the Blackwater is running bank high and the water’s colour lives up to its name. Not much hope with a fly rod in these conditions. For the worm, on the other hand, the conditions are good.

But her preference is to teach fishing and fly casting, to teach her clients the basics of double handed fly casting or to correct the bad habits of the more experienced anglers (we all have them!). She loves teaching fishing. “I prefer teaching individuals or small groups. The most important factor is not to stress the clients. A beginner must feel at ease. Before he picks up the rod, I always start by explaining what he will have to do - how and why. Always in plain English. I demonstrate how it should be done, and break it down into the important steps. The pupil must see the correct movements - his goal is to emulate them. Then, before he starts to fish, I point out the stages which could cause problems. It’s easier to avoid an impasse if the pupil is aware of the difficulty”.

For Glenda, this psychological aspect is very important.
“It’s no good drowning the pupil with details, but to bring out the essential points. If he has problems with a particularly difficult movement, I don’t insist. We go on to something else, less difficult, but in any case different. When he has regained his confidence or changed his ideas, we go back to it - and things invariably go better”.

Consequently, even during a fly fishing lesson, she won’t hesitate to suggest a couple of runs with the worms or a few casts with a spinner, just to put him at ease.

“I’m not a fly fishing purist. I love fishing worms in particular. To fish them with the right weight & speed down the right line isn’t so easy. Then - the sensation of the salmon taking the worms whilst we give him line - the suspense is much more prolonged than a pull on the fly or a hard hit on the spinner”.

I watched Glenda fishing with worms. She knows exactly what she’s talking about.

In fishing, a woman’s place is always marginal.

In spite of a competence and experience of Atlantic salmon fishing that few people of her age possess, we could well ask if the fact of being a woman isn’t a handicap in her chosen profession.

“Of course, some men don’t like the idea of learning to fish from a woman. But they are few and far between and, overall, I think it’s positive for the learning process. Advice is often better accepted by a man from a woman than from another man. Not getting blocked, vexed or stressed is undoubtedly easier. Not withstanding, a woman doesn’t have the right to make a mistake. Much more than a man, she must strive for excellence to remain credible.

As for female pupils, they are still few and far between in Glenda’s clientele. But her observations paint an interesting portrait of the fisherwoman.

“A woman who fishes is rarely average. If she does so solely to please her man, without real motivation, she’s a lost cause. At best, she will remain mediocre, and progress little with time. On the other hand, if she fishes for herself with a real passion, then she will probably be extremely good. To persevere in this predominantly macho sport where women are at best tolerated, necessitates an approach & motivation which permits her to progress above the level of the normal fisherman.

The Spey-casting Myth
Teaching and perfecting the use of a double-handed rod are Glenda’s speciality:

“There is a myth surrounding the Spey cast. Many fishermen who master the use of a single-handed rod for conventional casting have a complex about spey-casting.

It’s true that to learn the spey-cast is complicated by the habits of casting single-handed.
Generally, the right-handed fisherman who picks up the double-handed rod completely underestimates the role of the left hand. He imagines that it only serves to support the rod, which requires two hands purely because it is longer and heavier.

In fact, it’s the scissor movement between the two hands that gives all the power to the cast.

Until this manipulation is mastered, it is impossible to cast correctly. The rest in simply a variation of a roll cast. When a pupil already knows how to do this with a single-handed rod, they already feel more at ease”.
Glenda has some memorable moments in her time as a casting instructor of which she is particularly proud. The story of the sturdy man, who in spite of being a keen fisherman, had given up after trying for years to spey-cast properly. After 20 minutes of teaching, he was casting right across the river. Tears of relief flowed down his cheeks as the frustration of so many years trying in vain evaporated. Two days later, a large bouquet of flowers arrived for her with the message “I’ve always been in the dark with my spey-casting - thank you for showing me the light”.

Then there was the story of the guy who caught his first salmon on fly with her on the Blackwater after fifteen years of trying in Scotland, Norway & elsewhere.

But her favourite tale is the one about the Royal Air Force veteran with two wooden legs as his were blown off in the Second World War. At the tender age of 86, he caught his first ever salmon on his second day fishing with her.

Indulging one’s passion throughout the seasons on a magnificent salmon river, it’s the little boy’s dream that still haunts many a fisherman.

In a Belfast suburb, a little girl had the same dream……..

Glenda Powell’s webpage: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Tuition/Tuition.htm

Original Article written by Olivier Plasseraud (editor - Salmo magazine) & translated & edited by Ian Powell from the French original.
Ian Powell can be reached via the website
Angling for Salmon on Ireland’s Cork Blackwater on
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net

Have you ever met with a financial planner? If you haven’t, you can expect to go through a certain process. You will be asked about your financial goals. One of your goals will likely be that you want to plan for retirement.

You will be asked about your present income. You know the answer to that one. You will be asked about your expenses. That one will be tough. Everyone underestimates their expenses because most of us have no idea what we’re really spending and what we’re spending it on.

You will be asked about your assets — what you own. You know what you own, but it will be tough to put a market value on some of it. You will be asked about your liabilities — what you owe. For most people, facing the reality of their debts is rather daunting.

You will be asked when you want to retire. I would say the average age most people give is 55 years old. I don’t know why that is, but 55 seems to be a popular number. Then the financial planner will tell you that you will need to accumulate enough money to live another 40 or 45 years after retirement. After all, if you live to 90 or 95 you don’t want to run out of money, do you?

You will also be asked about your risk tolerance so that the planner can determine what kind of annual rate of return to factor in for your investments. If you say you have a low risk tolerance, the planner will consider low-risk investments that will give you a lower rate of return. If you say you have a high risk tolerance, investments that could provide a higher rate of return will be considered. You can’t have it both ways. If you don’t take risks, you can’t get a very high rate of return on your investments.

Then all that information will be dumped into a financial planning software program. The software will print out a plan that will say you need to accumulate several million dollars by the time you’re 55 years old. Oh, and it will be exact to the penny. For example, $5,387,234.23.

You will look at the plan and you will think, “My gosh, there is no way I can do this!” You may get started doing a few things that the planner recommends. But it won’t last very long and you’ll go right back to doing things the way you’ve always done them.

So what’s wrong with the traditional financial planning process? Plenty! First of all, it’s ridiculous to try to look decades in the future to predict what’s going to be happening in your life. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, much less decades from now.
Also, traditional financial planning doesn’t take into account what financial freedom actually is. You’re financially free when your passive income (money you don’t have to work for) equals your expenses.

So if you have no passive income right now and your expenses are $50,000 a year, and you can get a 10% return on your investments, you need to accumulate $500,000 to become financially free.
If you can get a higher return on your money, you can reduce the amount that must be accumulated. If you settle for a lesser return because you’re risk averse, you will need to accumulate more. You should also consider inflation. Of course, if you invest for inflation, it will already be factored into your investments.

Understanding financial freedom as the point where your passive income equals your expenses is a much more realistic way to look at it. Most people who are committed to being financially free can achieve their goal in a matter of a few years, not decades.

Visit http://www.Money-Management-Wisdom.com for your common-sense guide for debt-free financial freedom.

Copyright 2005

Larry Holmes is a Wall Street trained financial advisor with over 30 years of experience. He is also an accomplished public speaker who has presented well over 1,200 financial seminars and keynote addresses to audiences throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.

Copyright 2006 David Lumsden

I would like to apologise to 5 good, innocent decent people who
took my advice. Their names are John Bridger, Fiona Chapson,
Angie Perrin, Sonia Perrin and my best friend Graham Gardener.

They took my advice and invested their money in the 12DailyPro
autosurfing scheme. At this moment they have not lost their
money as such as the program is still operating, however the
maximum return they can expect is a refund of their investment,
but the minimum is nothing.

Do I feel guilty? By thunder Yes I do. They trusted me to give
them sound advice but this time I let them down.

Now there is a mitigating circumstance. I am not making excuses
but if you have got this far, please hear me out. 12DailyPro had
up until recently all the way from May 2005 paid out on time
every time.

Then a series of events occurred. The first one was surprising,
but understandable, there had been some difficulties experienced
by members about payments made from 12DailyPro to E-Gold
accounts. This was a time issue, not a non-payment one. However
12DailyPro told their members that they would no longer take in
payments from E-Gold.

With me so far? As a consequence members were told to either
switch to Stormpay or open an account with EMO. Many members
took this up and payments to 12DailyPro started to be made via
EMO.

To summarise, 12DailyPro continued to accept payments in from
both Stormpay (the majority of members processor) and from EMO.
Payments out would continue to both Stormpay and E-Gold until
all payments were fulfilled, then payments in and out would use
the Stormpay and EMO systems.

This was a shudder unlike the earthquake that followed and even
this started slowly. Stormpay told 12DailyPro that it would only
continue business with them if Stormpay became its sole
processor, otherwise it would shut its account.

Due to the large amount of funds held by Stormpay 12DailyPro
were forced to give in to this request. Members were informed
and it appeared all was settling. 12DailyPro would process all
outstanding orders via EMO, but would only accept new payments
in from Stormpay. And that should have been the end of it, but
instead the earthquake came.

This may not be based on fact, but I will try to explain it as I
see it. Stormpay froze the account of 12DailyPro AND many other
autosurf programs, such as dadndaves (a highly respected
program) among others. As the majority of American citizens use
Stormpay this caused a ’storm’ of chaos.

The freezing of accounts stopped the payments out in their
tracks. The whole autosurf industry was basically grounded, the
fight with Stormpay with each blaming the other goes on
unabated, and the position is still unresolved.

To cut the legal side short, Stormpay say they are quite within
their rights as the Autosurf programs are either ponzai or
pyramid schemes and do not reflect the company programs put to
them when signing up with Stormpay. The Autosurfers totally
disagree, saying their programs were fully explained and
accepted by Stormpay. The legal battle continues.

But what about the investors like my friends and I, where does
this leave our investments and us? A scam is a scam is a scam!
What normally happens is that an autosurf or HYIP program is set
up, money is taken in, some given back, more join, more money
goes in and the website disappears. Scam over. A recent example
of this was 15DailyCash which came and went in 10 days!

So what is so different this time? Both 12DailyPro and dadndaves
are still here, they appear to be doing everything possible to
save their investors. (I have not taken you down the road to
what Stormpay appear to be doing with the 12DailyPro Stormpay
investors accounts).

Who is the guilty party? I wish I knew, both sides are blaming
the other, the end is not in sight yet. Who will take the hits?
My friends and me possibly, probably, but as yet not definitely.
The real answer looks like Stormpay, for if they have lost the
trust (even if unfounded) from the risk takers, their earnings
loss will be enormous. After all Storm pay’s business is largely
based on the fees they earn.

My advice is simple. Let the dust settle. I restate what I said
before: Only invest what you can afford to lose. However there
is, yes there still is, one scheme I have the nerve to put to
you. It is called isurf2. To take a look, please click on the
URL below.

At present, it pays 15% daily for 10 days with you autosurfing
40 sites a day. The maximum investment is $200, which would earn
you $30 a day. Total amount payable would be $300. (I was paid
yesterday using a processor not called Stormpay!

Again, I apologise to my friends and hope over time I can
re-gain their trust and respect. Fortunately they have all told
me I have not lost their love.

Born on May 18, 1983 in Houston, Texas, Vince Young began his quarterback career at Madison High School. It was here that he participated in the school’s football program and quickly began his road to athletic stardom. Among the honors that he received include the National Player of the Year as named by both PARADE and Student Sports, 2001 Texas Offensive Player of the Year, The Sporting News top high school prospect and was the proud recipient of the Pete Dawkins trophy. In addition to Young’s love of football, he also managed to letter as varsity in both basketball and track and field during his high school years. While his athleticism was apparent in any sport that he chose, football remained a constant in his life and one that he would carry with him throughout college and beyond. After high school, Vince Young was accepted to the University of Texas where he immediately joined the Longhorns football team. In 2004, during his sophomore year, Vince Young led the Longhorns to a season record of 11-1 and the University’s inaugural participation, and win, in the Rose Bowl. In 2005, he was one of the top three finalists for the coveted Heisman Trophy, but finished second to Vince Young. That same year, Vince Young was recognized once again as he was named the best college football player of 2005 by College Football News.

In January 2006, Vince Young announced his plans to enter the NFL draft. After deciding to decline his last year of NCAA eligibility, Young began preparing for the next National Football League draft. Experts predict that he will be selected early in the first round. Even though he decided to forego his final season of college football, the awards continued to roll in. In 2006, Young was presented with the Manning Award and also the Rose Bowl MVP for the 2005 season.

His love for the game is evident in his actions, as are his talents on the field. No matter where the road leads this Texas native, he will never forget his hometown of Houston. And how could he? In his honor, Houston declared January 10 as ‘Vince Young Day.’ It appears that his hometown will never forget him, either. If history does repeat itself, then both college and NFL football fans are sure to see more of Vince Young and his award-winning athleticism in the years to come.