Angeles Crest Highway reopened!

While most of the Angeles National Forest is still closed, Angeles Crest Highway just reopened after closure due to high winds, falling rocks. Sweet. Looks like one can go into the areas not burned by the fire then, and drive through the fire zones.

I’d like to get up there before the snows arrive, and they close the road again for winter.

If only the weekends weren’t packed already this month.

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Buying a home: Still on hold

I’ve been in the wait and see mode for buying a home for almost 5 years. Prices are cheaper now than 5 years ago, or at least so some people say. Also, depends on the area you’re looking in, I’m primarily interested in eastern LA county, northern Orange County.

So why not, after this housing crash, buy soon, and take advantage of that 8 grand housing credit? One, the housing credit is artificially inflating prices, and I’d prefer not to have the credit and pay proportionately less
in property taxes. Two, the housing crises isn’t over yet.

The at homes risk of foreclosure are still increasing, to 14.4% in Quarter 3 of 2009, vs 13.2% in Quarter 2.

Calculated Risk: MBA: Record 14.4 Percent of Mortgage Loans in Foreclosure or Delinquent in Q3

Also, in California, the foreclosure rate to unemployment rate is still in the “danger Will Robinson” zone.

So despite the slight increase in prices in the past few months, I’m still content to wait and see.

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Photo testing from droid

image

An easy day at the launching ramp.

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Droid posting

This is a test post from the android app wp2go

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Nobody ever expects a hurricane to show up!

Hurricane Bill out of nowhere

Least of all like that at day break!

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Crazy Weather

Just the other day I was commenting that I wanted Santa Ana winds to blow into town, and get rid of the June Gloom that stuck around for August. Now, we have a chance of thunderstorms today. Not bad I suppose, just so long as it doesn’t tease us. Either become a booming thunder head, or go away, don’t just stick around over our heads mugging up the day.

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The Associated Press: Tropical Storm Bill forms in the Atlantic

The Associated Press: Tropical Storm Bill forms in the Atlantic

Watch out world, here I come on a rough and stormy day!

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North Big Pine Creek

Third Lake, North Big Pine Creekedfaдивани

Last weekend, I helped take a Troop of Boy Scouts up to Big Pine Creek, and we stayed in Palisade Group Campsite. While the boys and the rest of the adults went to fish for dinner, Jorge and I hiked up towards Palisade Glacier. That’s an 8 mile one way outing. We didn’t get quite that far, just 6.25 miles in, but it was still a good hike. A little bit of drizzle and rain, and afternoon clearing. Despite the photo above, the sun did not come out till we got almost back to the campsite.

I’ll need to go back and do that trip again, as part of a 3 or 4 day backpack trip.

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How Michael Osinski Helped Build the Bomb That Blew Up Wall Street

Well, we have a confession: The man who blew up Wall Street.

How Michael Osinski Helped Build the Bomb That Blew Up Wall Street — New York Magazine .

Good read. A little bit of code, a few interesting ideas, expanded upon over a few decades, and *bam* he causes the entire economy to melt down. His great ideas, done in a conservative fashion worked, but when turned out willy nilly for everyone, caused a few years of over affordable credit, driving up housing prices and the stock market, until it collapsed.

Well worth your time to read!

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Work email while on holiday?

Don’t you just love it when you get a very important work email on a paid holiday? Hopefully my answer will suffice until Monday when I’m able and willing to put actual effort into researching their question.

It’s a good one though, and I don’t want them to feel blown off. I just want to enjoy my 3 day weekend!

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