Lakers v. KG

My hatred and disdain for anything Celtic is pretty well documented. The same pretty much goes for Kevin Garnett. In my opinion, he is not a winner (a whiner yes!, but definitely not a winner). He had to combine with Paul Pierce (he has his own set of issues) and Ray Allen (the only one of the three that I borderline respect), in order to win anything.

There are many things I can't stand about KG. So, I will only go back far enough to the event that brought us to our present scenario: the day that KG decided he wanted a trade out of Minnesota. I remember reading about Kobe asking the Lakers to trade for KG. I remember the Lakers considering it, but ultimately deciding not to make the deal, because they would have had to give up Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum to make the deal work. Anyway, KG wanted out of Minnesota, so he demanded to be traded. I have an issue with a guy wanting to be "the man" on a team, wanting to be paid like "the man", not producing enough wins to be "the man" and demanding to be traded (I have issue with Kobe for what happened in 2007 too).

KG was the highest paid player in the NBA. During the mid 2000s, he was one heck of a basketball player. He was the best defender in the game (still is one of the top 10). He challenged Tim Duncan as the best power forward in the NBA (he doesn't get the nod because TD has won 4 championships). His contract, as with most superstars, restricted the T-Wolves. They were unable to surround him with enough talent to win consistently; not to mention that they had some bad luck (Malik Sealy), made some bad decisions (Stephon Marbury), and did some bonehead things (Joe Smith). KG wanted to be the alpha dog and he wanted to be paid like the alpha dog, but he did not produce results like an alpha dog. So he wanted out. That is problem number one I have with KG.

I am not going to go into all my issues with KG, so let's just fast forward to this season. 2011 has provided me two more things that 'endear' me to KG. Let's start with the infamous tweet of Charlie Villanueva:

"KG called me a cancer patient, I'm pissed because, u know how many people died from cancer, and he's tossing it like it's a joke," 

To this KG replied by saying, 

"My comment to Charlie Villanueva was in fact, ‘You are cancerous to your team and our league.’ I would never be insensitive to the brave struggle that cancer patients endure."

I don't really care what KG said to Villanueva. I just think it is funny that he would have us believe that calling a guy 'a cancer to his team and the league' shows us that he is a sensitive guy. Well, I guess he didn't say that he was sensitive. He said that wasn't insensitive. And to be fair he was saying that he isn't insensitive to people with cancer, but who the hell cares how he treats another basketball player. This is my first 2011 issue with KG.

Second, I really struggle with him identifying himself with the Celtics. I know he has been there for 3 years and I know that he has experienced his greatest achievements there. But come on, he hasn't even been there for a quarter of his career. He doesn't get to embrace the legacy of the Celtics. He grew up in Chicago idolizing Michael Jordan. His new shoes with the all-time Celtics win-loss record against the Lakers on the tongue is annoying (I know I am homer). The record just happens to be 153-121 (55.8%).

It is annoying because HIS all-time record against the Lakers is 29-50 (36.7%). His record is only slightly better as a Celtic, 4-6 (40%). His best record against the Lakers is in the postseason, where he boasts an 11-14 record (44%). His teams have eliminated the Lakers only one time from the playoffs, in the 2008 NBA Finals.

In fact, no Celtic has much to brag about in this regards (I know, I know...I have covered this already), except those who played on the Celtics in the 60s and 70s. Because since 1980, the Lakers record against the Celtics is 36-23 (61%). This tells you that the Lakers and Celtics played each other a lot during the 60s and 70s AND that the Celtics dominated!!!

Anyway, when LeBron "took his talents to South Beach" my focus became beating the Heat. KG has done a great job of bringing the Celtics back into focus, and helping me realize there isn't enough room in my heart to actively despise two teams. So, Miami is safe...for now!

Corona Inventory

So, we tried to write a little bit more consistently, and it hasn't quite worked out. Anyway, it (and by 'we' and 'it' I mean 'ME') is a work in progress.

Standard Sales (301)

92879 (45)
92880 (64)
92881 (56)
92882 (66)
92883 (70)

Short Sales (648)

92879 (116)
92880 (172)
92881 (63)
92882 (147)
92883 (150)

REO (130)

92879 (25)
92880 (31)
92881 (18)
92882 (33)
92883 (23)

Here we are two months later and our inventory (from raw data, I am only going to dissect the numbers on a quarterly basis) has increased by 49 homes in Corona. We have 23 more short sales on the market, 43 more standard sales on the market, and 17 less bank owned homes on the market.

The number that intrigues me is the number of bank owned homes on the market. The number of bank owned homes on the market is the real market indicator.

Jukebox XVII

GAME ON!!! I am an really competitive person. I can remember playing Tetris with Hanssie when we were dating and she would always be SO cocky and arrogant when she won...I would have to destroy her for a few days, just to keep her in check (we ultimately stopped playing video games together, for obvious reasons). Anyway, a few friends of mine have begun a competition to see who can develop the best habits.

A very brief overview of the game is this, we get points for consuming under our 'goal' for calories, for sleeping 7 hours a day (my biggest area of weakness), for drinking 3 liters of water a day, for developing a good habit, for stopping a bad habit and for communicating with the people in the game. There is also an overall goal that if you are tracking every week, you get a bonus. This is my motivation for working out the past few weeks. And I have found it very hard to get this 20 minute workout in every day. So, I have resorted to taking runs with Bentley after dark.

Anyway, here is my game on work out list. I will warn you this is not a random shuffle. I put 6 CDs on my iPod and am random shuffling through those 6 CDs. The CDs are:

The Band Perry by The Band Perry
Hemingway's Whiskey by Kenny Chesney
Charleston, SC 1966 by Darius Rucker
Speak Now by Taylor Swift
The Incredible Machine by Sugarland
My Kinda Party by Jason Aldean

1. Postcard From Paris The Band Perry

The is my favorite cut from this CD (I don't know why I even said that, my favorite is definitely bound to change). I can't put my finger on why I like this band. Maybe their music just resonates with me. Whatever it is, this CD is in my car and it is on all the time. Well, besides the Jason Aldean CD...

2. Hip to My Heart The Band Perry

The first release off the CD, it is ok!

3. Every Girl Like Me Sugarland

I really like Sugarland, but I am not feeling this CD yet. I listened to Love on the Inside and I was sold on 10 of the records. This CD has been slow to catch my attention. Having said that, I like this song. 


4. I Got Nothin' Darius Rucker

I was cleaning the car one day and decided to give this CD a real good listening to. I need that one song to hook me, and Darius had that song Let Her Cry from his Hootie days (a special live version is on this CD). Anyway, that got me and I have been hooked on Charleston ever since. His first CD was really good and this one is a good follow up. Although, I don't think there are as many hits in this group (listen to me drawing conclusions like I am a music critic...and I am not through apparently).


5. Better Than Revenge Taylor Swift

Playing Tim McGraw to Tim McGraw a few years ago was priceless. I loved how raw and innocent she was. I liked Taylor Swift, I loved Fearless, I am torn on Speak Now. What I am certain about? I don't like this song. As a cute 16 year old, the bitterness and vindictiveness is a little more tolerable (I mean, not for my daughter, but for her), but as a 20 year old trying to be an adult...try being better at singing!


6. Seven Days Kenny Chesney

I like Boys of Fall, but this is the song that hooked me on the CD...the jury is still out on the rest of the disc!


7. Just Passing Through Jason Aldean

The more I hear Jason, the more I like him. I really wanted to see him last year at a festival in Lake Elsinore, but somehow missed the show. I don't think he comes out this far west often...

Existing Home Sales Report

I was reading an article by Rick Reilly a couple years ago. The article was a day in the life of Kobe Bryant, I won't bore you with the details of the article (the hyperlink is Kobe's name), just one story. Rick said that Kobe would spend all day watching the news. Rick asked him,'don't you ever watch Sportscenter'? Kobe replied, 'I live it, why would I watch them report it incorrectly'. Interestingly enough, Rick did an interview with President Obama and the opposite happened. Obama (according to Rick) only watched Sportscenter and Rick asked him if he watches the news. Rick said that Obama gave the same response as Kobe. Both of these men expressed the same sentiment as Thomas Jefferson when he said, "It is always better to have no ideas than false ones; to believe nothing, than to believe what is wrong."

It was this article that came to my mind when the December 2010 existing home sales report from NAR came out. The report said:
 
"Existing-home sales report, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 million in November, but remain 2.9 percent below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009."

All you have to do is read Bloomberg, Yahoo!, or the Wall St Journal to see that many economists are using this data to point to a strengthening recovery (of the US economy). Well, I have been saying for the past three years that '08 & '09 would be terribly down years. I believed that 2010 would bring some stability (maybe even a little false hope). But, 2011 and 2012 would be down years again. I firmly believe this to be the case. I do not believe that one month up 12% can indicate to us that we are in recovery. Well, at least not here in Corona. Here is the data for Corona:

Month     Closed     Gain (Loss)
9/10              264
10/10            299         13.3%
11/10            263         (12%)
12/10            314         19.4%
1/11              191         (39.5%) - projected numbers


When I see these numbers, recovery is not the first word that jumps into my head. Schizophrenia, that is a word that pops up in my head. We are living in a market that is all over the place. I was looking at the median price closed in Corona during the month of December all the way back to 2002. Again, the numbers are absolutely staggering. The median price for a home in Corona during December 2002 was $274,900. The peak was December 2006 when then median priced home was $554,900. In December 2010, the median price has retreated all the way back to $315,000. That is 14% growth over 9 years, or an annual rate of growth of 1.5%. 

By contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial average (the stock market) was at 8,400 on December 31, 2002. On December 31, 2010, it was at 11,578. This represents 37.8% growth or an annual growth rate of 3.6%.


If you invested $100,000 in the stock market in 2002, today you would have $138,198. If you invested the same $100k into real estate in Corona during the same time, you would have $114,444.


I know that Corona is not a leading indicator of the markets in America. But, what I do know is that things are not as the media would make it out to be. I, too, believe what Thomas Jefferson had to say about knowing nothing is better than knowing something false. The more that I examine the data and not what they want me to believe, I am inclined to believe that they are false.


Last thing, this whole topic reminded me of this George Carlin routine. It is literally one of the funniest bits of stand up comedy that I have seen. Here is the transcript of the bit and the you tube link, George Carlin Jammin' in New York:

"You might notice that, I don’t feel about that war the way we were told to feel about that war, the way that we were ordered and instructed by the United States government to feel about that war. See my mind doesn’t work that way. I got this real moron thing I do, it’s called thinking. And I am not a really good American because I like to form my own opinion. I don’t just roll over when I am told too. Sad to say too many Americans roll over on command. I have certain rules I live by. First, I don’t believe anything that the government tells me. And I don’t take very seriously the media or the press in this country."

El Torero, Corona, CA

El Torero
222 E 3rd St
Corona, CA 92879
(951) 737-2738









Growing up, my mom was a very simple cook. She had an arsenal of approximately 12-15 meals and we re-hashed them over and over again. For some reason (probably because we didn't have the money), we didn't have too many fresh vegetables. In fact, I thought fresh vegetables were shaped like a Del Monte can. (side note: kids hate vegetables because canned vegetables are horrible. My mom either drenched our vegetables in bacon and onions - green beans - or she covered our carrots in brown sugar, which just happens to be another popular way to get kids to eat vegetables). Spicy food in my house meant that we put a lot of salt on everything.  My food experiences were very limited growing up. I grew up in Redlands, CA, a college town approx. 60 miles east of Los Angeles. We had two Mexican restaurants, Cuca's and Rosa Maria's. We loved those places, in fact, we wore them out. We would go there all the time.

When I moved to Corona, I very quickly tried to find a place that would satisfy my need for Mexican food. I found a great place, El Torero on 3rd St. The home of the burrelleno. It is located behind Del Taco off the corner of Main St and 3rd St (basically just south of the 91 FWY on 3rd St). Back in the day when I was fat (like last year, hahaha) I used to get a chicken taco and a meat potato and cheese burrito. They use chile verde pork as the meat, and it is amazing!!! Their hot sauce is delicious.

They are known for their "world" famous burrelleno. I have not ordered this but they told me that it is very popular. Basically it is a burrito with an entire chile relleno inside of it. They have added breakfast burritos and other breakfast foods since the restaurant changed ownership in 2008. They have taco tuesday and special most days of the week.

Ironically, when I go back to Redlands, Cuca's and Rosa's can not compare to the restaurants I have found in Corona.