The kitty in this image looks eacatly like Ambush. I could see him doing something like this too. He eats almost anything.
Archive for August, 2008
Sweets Make Young Horses Harder To Train, Study Finds
19
Aug
Ever wonder if feeding sweetfeed to your horse could make him/her more rambunctious? A Montana State University study shows that two year olds fed sweet feed were higher strung than their counterparts fed only hay.
Googlephone is coming soon
19
Aug
T-Mobile will launch an Android phone this year (most likely the HTC Dream, which recently passed FCC approval) and with Google allowing developers access to version 0.9, we’ll soon see if it has managed the finesse of an iPhone with Nokia-grade functionality.
Odd offer on the house
19
Aug
The house has had four showings in the past week. That’s great traffic — more than it had last month.
My agent called me a few minutes ago. She said a lady contacted about doing a lease with option to buy at the end of six months. My agent thought the deal sounded fishy because
- The woman initially said that she is going through a divorce and would like to buy the house in October, no make that November, no wait… December, well maybe do a six-month lease with option.
- The woman supposedly was going to have cash from the divorce and would buy the house once she had the money.
And the grand-daddy of all reasons: The woman has never seen the house. Why do you make an offer on a house without seeing the interior?
Maybe I should give this woman the benefit of the doubt. Based upon my agent’s description of the conversation, the entire situation sounded fishy because the details kept changing to have a longer time frame. When I was going through a divorce, I knew the dates involved and had made arrangements. (I was also very lucky to have an amicable situation.)
My agent and I declined the offer. We did talk about the possibility of putting the house up for lease, but I’d rather not do that. Once someone gets into a house in a lease or rent situation, it is difficult to dislodge them if something goes wrong. It can take like six months or more.
Of course there comes a point where the monthly out-go is too high and I would have to do something. If I do lease the house, I would use a leasing company. The house would probably have to be rented/leased for a few years until the market comes back up. My agent said that there is a 17 month supply of houses in Knoxville right now. With so much inventory available, people will have to drastically cut house prices to sell.
Arg.
Gmail Account Hacking Tool
19
Aug
If you use Gmail, beware: a new account-stealing tool is being released in to the wild. Just in time, Google is updating the web mail service with an option for usering secure-socket layers (SSL). If you have Gmail, you should turn this option on.
Article summary:
A tool that automatically steals IDs of non-encrypted sessions and breaks into Google Mail accounts has been presented at the Defcon hackers’ conference in Las Vegas.
Top Indie Games You Wouldn’t Mind Paying For
19
Aug
This list was posted on Slashdot today. Great list. I’ve played a few of the games, especially Depths of Peril which, unlike most games, has versions available for Mac as well as Windows.
Lead-in for the article:
If you are sick of the boring and overpriced commercial games, then have a look at this list. These are some of the best indie games out there, innovative, immersive, great gameplay and very reasonably priced (some are even free).
Showing, again
17
Aug
The house is supposed to be shown today. Maybe, just maybe this will be result in another offer… Four showings in one week is pretty good, considering the market right now.
Maybe I should be more optimistic. I’m trying. I really am. I’m just getting frustrated and feeling like things will never work out.
Be patient. Have faith. Everyone keeps telling me that. I am trying, really.
Very Bad News
14
Aug
My real estate agent just called me. The lady who was going to buy the house could not get her financing in order. She had been pre-approved. Apparently something new turned up on her credit report from the time the offer was made until now. She is going to try and get things situated but who knows what will happen…
My agent was very upset. She said the buyer came in yesterday (my agent’s birthday) with the bad news. The buyer was devastated. She loves the house. She has been talking to different mortgage brokers but none of them have been able to help her.
My agent said that she felt like someone had punched her in the gut. She mentioned that there is a 15-month supply of houses on the market in Knoxville currently. She has plenty of homes available, but no buyers.
I had really been looking forward to having this past me, of being able to afford things again. Isis will be here, at least. I won’t be able to afford half of the stuff I wanted to for her.
Hopes for graduate school? Gone. I have no idea at this point when I might be able to go.
I guess the one upside is that there has been a flurry of activity on the house this week. My agent said that she is going to talk to all of the people who have looked at the house and tell them it is available again. Maybe something will come up…
My agent and I talked about putting the house up for rent. We’re going to wait a week to see if anything pans out from all of the showings.
Until something happens, I’m stuck. I had wanted to get on with my life instead of feeling tied to the house. I care about all of my friends and I do miss them. I am just over feeling pulled in two different states.
Maybe something will come up. Hopefully. There is nothing else left to do but to hope something will happen.
LOLCat that looks like Ambush
13
Aug
Ambush, the White Wondercat, helping keep the laundry warm:
The kitty on lolcats who looks like Ambush, if viewed from the bottom:
Another showing
13
Aug
Yesterday after I posted here, i received another email detailing a second showing for the house. All good news, especially if something happens to the current contract. I don’t remember having this many showings mid-week for quite a while.
Maybe it means the market is picking up over all? Or maybe it’s just a fluke?
