"I Even Bought the Foam Finger..."

A Blog for Blogging's Sake

There you have it.

Over the week, I've had a number of blogs that have popped into my head, but just haven't been near a computer. I mean seriously, down to having the first two sentences, literally, in my head. But by the time I got home, forgotten about them and the blog altogether.

So, what's in my head now? A number of depressing things that I'm not going to elaborate. On another note though, I will say its sad when you are sort of provided clues into who a person is, but you not to say disregard it, but pay more attention to the person they are in the moment...and then at some point, you have those prior clues validated in a way that you realize you can now no longer be friends with that person.

I mean, I guess its sad whenever you lose a friend...it just smarts when it happens this way (no pun intended).

Cheers.

"Off the Record"...at the Hay-Adams Hotel

This is where I will watch the State of the Union address from now on (sorry for the blurry image). It's already a political hot spot / watering hole. The showing of the State of the Union address only makes it that much more the place to be to watch it. Tipsy republican and democratic staffers / big whigs taunting / flirting in code. The "political side" District at its purest.

They even have "State of the Union" Bingo, where the words are potential words Obama would use in his speech.

And yes, someone got bingo before the end of the speech.

Cheers.

Post #100!!!!

If I had a Facebook page, my status would read...

"Big Fred is cised, not only because he made it to 100 posts on his blog...but cuz the District might actually be redoing his sidewalk."

You know you live in a city when these types of things excite you.

You know what it is...it's sort of like why I want to rehab another house on my block. I know after going through it once, I not only know how the process works (so hopefully things would go MUCH smoother), but I also know what I would do differently. More importantly, I have an idea of what it would look like and want to see if its as good/functional as I picture it.

Back to the sidewalk. First off, the District and commercial real estate developers are alike in saying that they're going to do a project and many times they don't get it done until 3 to 5 years later (if at all). Now, I had heard rumors that they were going to redo the streetscape along my street, but I never fully bought in. Furthermore, if they did, I wouldn't have been surprised if they only did the other side of the street as that side is the C-M (commercial/industrial) zoned side and has the "future" Uline Arena development. My side was the R-4 (residential) zoned side with the uninspiring small row houses.

Still, I bought into the neighborhood cause I felt that one day it'll happen (whether I'm still here when it happens is another story altogether). I have this idea of what it would look like when finished and redoing the streetscape is the first of MANY things that need to take place before my vision could take hold. I've seen what its done to other areas nearby (see the first phase of the H Street redevelopment--north side of H between 3rd and 7th NE), and am eager to see what a new streetscape would do to my block...and how right I was as to how the look would look.

Anyways, I wake this morning to the sounds of MORE and LOUDER construction work than normal (mind you, one block to the south, there are not one but 2 mid-rise residential projects going up and the train/metro tracks are one block to the west). I leave the house to go on my jog and lo and behold, they are tearing up the sidewalk across the street. I held my excitement throughout the jog and upon returning (very winded, mind you), I approached one of the workers and asked what was going on. He told me that they were doing the whole of the west side sidewalk (opposite side) and that *fingers crossed* they were going to be replacing certain (older?) portions of the sidewalk on my side of the street. I asked how long it was going to take and they said they'd have it done by today. Yeah right I thought. Got home at around midnight and sure enough, about 3/4 of the sidewalk on that side was done...and the Bobcat was parked at the end of my side of the block.

Who knows, I may just get a chance to see my vision of a revamped streetscape more "concretely"...pun very much intended.

Cheers.

Conspiracy Theory...?

I wish they wouldn't use that "Cheaters"-type narrator guy. I think a History Channel-type narrator would lend some more "verbal/non-verbal" credence to this video.

I will say, I wouldn't be surprised if this is true.

Cheers.

Mine is a Mental Struggle...

So here I am, less than 30 days away from 30 years of age, and I find myself torn.

I have friends, family and colleagues whose ambition I admire...but to a certain degree, I feel its the money and fame that drives them--neither of which particularly appeal to me past the point of affecting my freedom.

On the other hand, I also have friends, family and colleagues whose freedom I admire...but to a certain degree, I feel its sloth and indifference that drives them--neither of which particularly appeal to me past the point of affecting my ambition.

So I guess that's the thing...are they mutually exclusive? I don't know, but it seems that everyone I've seen with ambition, is a slave to their drive. And everyone with freedom to "do what they want", doesn't really seek to do anything of real consequence.

An even bigger question, even if they aren't mutually exclusive...will I have any friends left, as I won't be driven enough for those with ambition and too ambitious for those who "do what they want".

Just my thoughts, I'll probably feel different tomorrow.

Cheers.

When was the Last Time you Wrote in Cursive?

For me, before last Saturday, it was...I'd say...at least 15 years.

I had to copy a 4 line paragraph on Saturday.

It took me 15 minutes.

No, I'm not remedial, I just prefer print and shunned cursive once we weren't required to write that way in like 6th or 7th grade.

My hand hurt like hell afterwards too.

Cheers.

P.S. This was supposed to be Saturday's blog.

Friz'z Top 5

1. Tupac
2. Jay-Z
3. Eminem
4. Ghostface
5. Redman

They ask every artist this question on allhiphop, so I figure I'd address it myself.

Tupac

This example sums it up as best as I can describe it. When quoted by non-rap publications, all other rappers are first mentioned either by their stage name--"Rapper 'Fabolous' said, 'I like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.'"--or by their name with their stage name in the middle--"Music mogul Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs said, I like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on my yacht on Tuesdays with a side of Malaysian breast milk.'" Tupac Shakur was the ONLY rapper to be quoted/mentioned by non-rap publications by his name alone--"Rapper Tupac Shakur said, 'F*** peanut butter and jelly, I make my own sandwiches with 2 butter pecan 'Ricans.'" Quite simply, he was and currently is, the only rapper bigger than his name. And he would have meant SO much more to us had he lived to see the age of at least 30.

Jay-Z

What he has accomplished musically and financially is the 'platinum standard' for all aspiring baller rappers (i.e. 99 percent of em...and he's 100% respected by the remaining 1% for his lyrical ability and what he's accomplished). It's like being the 4x over chip leader at the no limit hold 'em table. You can fold as many hands as you want til you get the grand slam of a hand you want, or you can call anyone's bluff that you want to erase from the table.

Eminem

I could spend very long explaining this one, but I need to get to bed and I promised I'd keep my blogs short. Quite simply, he's the Hank Aaron of rap.

Ghostface & Redman

These both were and are my favorite rappers cause I feel they are...genuine. And I mean that in the sense that when they're not in the booth, I feel they'd be just as entertaining...only not rhyming. Ghost's stories and Red's metaphors are absolutely...they come from somewhere else and for someone, anyone to have the ability to capture it in the fashion that they do is...amazing.

Cheers.

While We're At It...

Can you believe it?!...I have jury duty tomorrow morning! Ahh, the trials and tribs of being a District resident. Still, I have another blog in my head and its Conan's last week so 'I'll kill two more bird's with one stone' (i.e. watch Conan and type this post) before I head to bed.

These aren't a part of my new year's resolutions and I won't necessarily be bummed if I don't accomplish them. These are more like goals I keep in my head to keep my eyes on the prize:

• Join a photography group and meet with them twice a month (maybe use meetup.com)
• Play chess twice a month (either with Yves or through meetup.com)
• Play ping pong twice a month on Monday's at Rock 'n Roll Hotel (maybe with Josh)
• Pursue my MAI designation
• Read a book a month
• Cook a meal once a week (and I mean a real meal from a cook book)...if only for my refrigerator's sake
• Construct a retaining wall for, fence and level the backyard; install the pervious pavers in the front yard and install blinds on all the windows

This so reminds me of the journals I used to keep. I wonder how I'd feel about the 'goals' I had penned in there 10 years ago?

Cheers.

Random Idea

I would suffix this with a number but I'm not sure if the next one will make it to the computer next time. But never worry, I have a million of these that come and go.

Anyways, I wonder if there is a service where people can pay a culinary student/chef/critic to meet them once a week at a grocery store. The two then purchase the food they'll need to cook for that evening's meal. Well, ideally it wouldn't be just one store but a number of organic or ethnic or off-the-beaten-path or farmer's markets where they would not only learn about food they otherwise wouldn't have tried, but also learn how to shop for these things (as well as the foods of which they are all ready aware).

I say this after reading an article in the Wall Street Journal where they talked about 'noodles made with konjac fiber, often called shirataki or yam noodles', that 'are widely available in Asian grocers, usually refrigerated and packed in water.' After my introduction to H-Mart, I would love to learn more about and, possibly, cook with these noodles. But I wouldn't know which brand is the best, what is the difference between brands, nor how to cook them...let alone go to the Asian market at all (much less a general grocery store these days--you should see my refrigerator).

Such a service would allow me to kill several birds with one stone.

Cheers.

What Would You Do?

From greatergreaterwashington.org...

"Another obstacle the District faces is getting 2010 Census forms to those who live in what the Census calls "transformed housing". Homes that have been subdivided into multiple units often only have one mailing address. A number of homes, especially in more urban communities, have basement apartments that are rented out separately from the rest of the house, but there is only one mailbox. Since the Census Bureau uses mailing addresses to send out forms, this means that a house that has multiple units but only one official mailing address will only get one form. Each unit/household should get their own questionnaire to make sure all persons are counted correctly."

Now, there are a number of people who have English Basements in the District that they "illegally" rent out to another person(s). I say "illegal" because unless you have a Certificate of Occupancy in order for that unit to be legal (registering the unit with the District, getting it separately metered, etc.). Those that don't get a C of O for the unit typically do so because extra scrutiny that is now on them from the District--and I mean scrutiny in the sense of increased financial obligations (ex. the cost to get the unit separately metered, the increase in your assessed value (and ultimately taxes) now that you have an extra "dwelling unit" in your residence, I believe there are annual "C of O" fees that are associated as well, etc.). On the flip side, not getting the C of O opens up a litany of potential problems--mainly, should you have to evict that person, you really wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on because you don't have a C of O (I've been told leasing out an English Basement without a C of O is akin to a legal land mine). But that's getting off topic.

Let's just say you were leasing out your English Basement, illegally, to someone. Would you go out of your way to make sure that person receives and fills out a census form? Worse yet, would you go out of your way to make sure they didn't fill out the form?

And yes, I know the District government and the census bureau are two completely different entities that probably don't share info (that which isn't public). Even further, as slow and ssa drawkcab the District government is, they probably wouldn't make the change or do anything if you walked to their offices and told them that the person illegally leasing out your English basement was counted in the census. But still, for the sake of argument...what would you do?

Cheers.

Olbermann on Robertson & Limbaugh

Here's what Robertson said...

And here's what Limbaugh said...

Cheers.

So This is How They Get You...

Sometime back during 2009 Christmas season (I think), Walmart had a special on a 32" flat screen for $399. I thought that was a good deal seeing that the Chocolate room will need a TV at some point (although the width needs to be lees than 31", but that's another story altogether). In any event, I didn't get it.

Fast forward to today and I find myself in a Fredericksburg, VA Super-Duper Walmart getting normal housewares. On the way to picking up the Windex, I pass by electronics and see a number of TV's that look used and have paper stars taped to their upper right corners. I run back over to the hardware section of Walmart and pick up a tape measure then head back over. Come to find out, there was a Emerson (I think) 32" flat screen with a 30" width--perfect size. However, it didn't have a "star" price on it. I asked the Walmart electronics guy to do a price check and he went to the back. While he did so, I did a price check on the exact same (unopened) floor model and saw it was $339 (and went over and got some Windex too while I was waiting). Back at electronics, I noticed that all the other opened models seemed to be at a $50 discount to the regular unopened models, and $300 was my threshold. So...if this guy came back with a price less than $300, I was gonna cop it. What did he say?

"$298."

I was all in. Just one question..., "Even though its opened, it still comes with the mounting kit, right?"

"No, none of our TV's come with mounting kits, only the stand you see here."

I noticed some mounting kit packages lined up right next to the TV's. "Are these opened as well?"

"No, these are unopened and regular price."

"Do you have any opened ones."

"No."

"How much are they?"

"He took his scanner" [beep] "$114."

"WHAT?!...So I'm paying almost half as much as the TV just to mount it on the wall?!"

"Sorry :-("

"..."

The Chocolate room is still emp-TV.

Cheers.

What About Conan O'Brien?!?!

The funniest thing is that this is on nbc.com

Cheers.

NoMaHst Land

Talk about an epiphany.

A lil' background. The neighborhood association to which my residence belongs is called the "Capitol Hill North Neighborhood Association", otherwise known as "CHNNA" (everytime I get an email from the google group I see "China"--but that's getting away from the point). A pet peeve of mine (I'll include it on #2) is when an emerging or transitional neighborhood that is adjacent to an established neighborhood tries to throw a directional suffix at the end of the established neighborhood in order to swagger-jack the established neighborhood's name. You see this a lot in Montgomery County where White Flint is now called "Bethesda North" and Gaithersburg (around Montgomery College) is now called "Rockville North". Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Burleith or Glover Park was once called "Georgetown North" by some overzealous real estate agent trying to make a sale on an over-priced listing.

Needless to say, the name "Capitol Hill North" has been a splinter in my mind for the longest. While I understand why--the housing stock is quite similar and Florida Avenue does make a good northern boundary--I still don't agree and it strikes me as the quick fix for a neighborhood that has always had its own distinct identity separate from "Capitol Hill" (H Street has always been the unofficial but visual boundary between these two worlds). Moreover, given the introduction of the New York Avenue Metro Station (to the west) in the early 2000's and the re-emergence of H Street as a destination entertainment corridor (to the east) in the mid- to late- 2000's, I feel that the boundaries should be expanded east of the current 8th Street demarcation. Personally, I feel that the character/atmosphere of the area is best defined by the triangular boundaries of Florida Ave to the north and east, H Street to the south (maybe G Street if you want to get it all) and the railroad tracks to the west. With this area definition, you get the full scope of the area:

• Homes Adjacent to the Tracks - homes that are less "architecturally significant" but well-located given the proximity to the metro; additionally, given the prevalence of industrial zoning that still remains around this area, the area has the upside of redevelopment potential for large scale mixed-use or residential projects in the future
• East End Homes (east of 9th) - homes that also aren't as "architecturally significant" as those in the "Heart", but are also well-located given the proximity to the entertainment side of H Street (both these and the above will serve as good rental stock over the long term
• Homes in the "Heart" - these are the homes that are roughly between 4th, 8th, H and L. The stock and size is nearly identical to those of 2-stories on Capitol Hill; these homes probably sell for the most north of H street given they're perfect starter homes for young couples looking to start a family, most of which have English Basements, and, from Fall 2008 to probably July of 2009, were affordable.
• H Street - the "spine" of the area that all those within the area use in one way or another--whether to travel (auto or public transit), entertain, or satisfy basic needs (i.e. Rite Aid, Chinese/Fast Food, small grocers, etc.)--and others outside the area travel to for entertainment purposes
• G Street - the most expensive homes in the area due to their proximity to Capitol Hill--indicating the influence, albeit somewhat limited, the adjacent neighborhood has on our neighborhood...let me put it this way: I bet we go into Eastern Market and Barracks Row and their local corner stores and laundromats as much as they come to H Street, Florida Ave Market and use the NY Ave Metro.

The name for this area a few years back was "Near Northeast", but somehow that got lost in the shuffle. So, for the longest, I've been racking my brain trying to think of a clever name. It came when I least expected it. I was in Sova on H Street and looking at their blackboard of drinks inspired by D.C.'s local neighborhoods and streets. I didn't see my specific area and I made a mention of such to the bartender saying something to the effect of, "I'm trying to think of a name for where I live to use for a drink but its kind of a No Man's Land..." And then I realized it...

The emerging commercial area west of the train tracks is called "NoMa" for "North of Massachusetts Avenue. This is the commercial area that many people that live in my immediate area (adjacent to the tracks) are pinning some of our hopes to in that it'll be bringing jobs and a Harris Teeter grocer to the area. I thought for a second of maybe calling it "NoMaD's Land"--in honor of those who ventured like nomads to this area over the last several years to buy and live (yes, I know there have been people that have been living here for 30 years plus and they're quick to scream gentrification, but I'm meaning "venturing" in a more economical/future sense in that they were willing to take a chance, with their money, for what they felt was a good deal in light of future goods/services and upside they had faith would come to the area...hate it or love it, call it what you will).

But how do you explain the "D".

What if you replaced it with an "H" and threw "st" at the end...

"NoMaHst Land"

It probably looks better on a map. And if it were to get used as a designation, I'm sure there'd be plenty of jocular variations in the vein of "No Mas Land" or even back to "Nomad's Land"...but at least its better than riding the sweaty ball sack of Capitol Hill.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers.

Let There Be Heat!!!!

(insert pic of thermostat)

OK, this is the story for another blog.

I could go into the background of the contractor/owner relationship with Victor, but for the sake of keeping this blog as short as possible I'll say he quite simply saved my 203K renovation. And I'm very happy with the end product. However, some things were outside of his direct control, and given the many hiccups that came along with this project and the relatively small margin he was getting on it, to a certain extent, he didn't want to bother himself with it. And I understand that from a business standpoint. Lemme get to the point...

A general contractor (GC) on a gut-rehab project like mine is most likely going to hire sub-contractors (subs) to do certain tasks within the overall project. One of the subs he's going to hire is one that specializes in the mechanical (or HVAC--Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning) aspects of the job. Long story short, I didn't like his mechanical sub. I saw it from the beginning when they started framing the duct work where the ducts come into the house from the outside shed (they put it too low) and in the middle when the put the duct work behind the bathroom mirror instead of the adjacent wall (see If I Could Do This House Over #1 blog) and towards the end when issues with where and how to place the return came up. But it wasn't until the onset of the coldness of Winter '09/'10 that I saw just how much these guys didn't know what they were doing.

Now, the women that had been to my house always complained that it was cold, but I figured this was a women thing cause its been proven that women are more sensitive to cold than men and none of the guys that had been to my house complained it was cold. However, towards the end of December and the beginning of January, I began to see that the thermostat never got about 55 degrees. It was time to get a second opinion. So Mom recommended a guy they use around their house and sure enough, there was an issue with the HVAC...well, 'not technically'. It was an issue with the return duct, it wasn't wide enough to suck air out of the house at a faster rate than what the HVAC was pumping it into the house. This all stems from the fact that the mechanical subs on the renovation used what's called 'flex' duct work

(insert picture of flex duct work)

The diameter on the duct work was too small to adequately handle the air flow being pumped into the house. It gets even smaller when it has to turn a corner. Needless to say I needed larger metal duct work to do the trick. Given the small crawl space under the joists (between 6" and a foot), I needed 8" x 18" duct work.

(insert picture of metal duct work)

However, Mom's guy quoted WAY too much--I don't know if he over-charges Mom and figured I'd be a sucker too or he just didn't want to do the job cause it would have involved a lot of dirty work (i.e. crawling through the crawl space of the house and staying down there while you install it). In any event the second quote (courtesy of a guy that does the HVAC work for Darryl, a contractor friend of mine) was less than a third of what was quote prior so I went with them. Btw, I had other reservations about the first dude cause he said the ceiling fan should spin the wrong way in the winter and summer months (that's another blog too) and he charged me a trip charge of $99 on top of the $129 for an hours worth of labor to diagnose the problem. Maybe he knew he wasn't going to do the project and hit me on the front end.

In any event, dude came by and did it today. Came back around 5pm when he was finished (still a bit skeptical cause while I heard the HVAC pumping air through the vents louder than before (a good thing), it was only through a couple of the vents downstairs. So I put the thermostat up to 80 and went back to work. Got back around like midnight and sure enough, we were at 80!

Back to buck-ed naked time!

Cheers.

Pet Peeves #1

Yet another recurring series...

• Metro train operators that pronounce 'Judiciary Square' as 'Jew-dis-SHU-wary' Square. WHERE'S THE SECOND 'U' AT?! And don't make this into a D.C. accent thing because...you're a bamma! On to the next one...
• Homeless people that get mad at you when they ask you for change and you say 'No'. F*** that, even when you say you don't have any they get mad and say stuff under their breath. I'm sorry, since when did I have an obligation to have money when you asked, much less give you some if I did have it, much less support your pandering?...
• When someone asks me to resend an email that I sent to them prior that they said they received but its either somewhere in their inbox or junk mail. Is like you're passing the work of "finding" the email onto me. LOOK THE ISHT UP YOURSELF! Why should I have to search through my "Sent Items" folder and resend it to you, worse yet re-type the damn thing. I went through the trouble of sending it to you, now you go through the trouble of finding it! On to the next one...
• When the dude with the Hispanic accent on the Metrobus radio commercials they play on 980 AM says, "Not technically, but they all run on alternative fuels" (just the 'not technically' part). Great, now I'm gonna have that suck in my head for the rest of the night.

Cheers.

What About Jimmy Fallon?!?!

With all this Leno/O'Brian shake-up news...what's gonna happen with Jimmy Fallon?

I mean, I heard that after the Olympics, Leno's gonna be on at 11:35p for a 1/2 hour, then Conan will be on for an hour starting at 12:05a. After that, then Jimmy Fallon'll be on...but what happens if Jay's show isn't as popular as he was back when he was the host of the Tonight Show or he throws a hissy fit asking for an hour? Then, unless he leaves, Conan's going to get bumped back to the late night slot and Jimmy's screwed.

Man, I'm just saying this cause 1) he's got the Roots as the house band and from what I've seen and heard, they're really refreshing to the whole late night format; and 2) Jimmy Fallon is actually kinda funny. I literally 'lol'-ed watching it with Grandma last week.

My 2 cents.

Cheers.

Operation Weezy F. Baby

In case you haven't noticed, I get these from illseed.

Cheers.

Eat a Bagel!!!!

Too funny.

Jonah would love this.

Cheers.

Verizon Arenas

I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible...

First and foremost, now I didn't research this but, if carrying an unlicensed firearm in the District is illegal and punishable by jail, then that's the law that should apply to Arenas--by now we know that he brought unloaded guns into the MCI Center that weren't registered in the District of Columbia, nor MD nor VA nor any other state as far as I know.

**Right now, Rihanna singing, "where dem bloggas at? where dem bloggas at?" is pulsing through my head...in part because I'm here writing as a partially (maybe mostly) uninformed individual. But this is my opinionated blog that no one is reading so...**

Anyways, and I've said this for Tiger Woods, athletes and entertainers are not only abnormal people because once they become famous (or the people around them realize they will one day become famous), I feel they are shielded from "life on the ground" as most of us know and understand it, but also because at that level of professionalism, all of them possess an "abnormal" competitive nature/drive...otherwise they wouldn't be there. And I personally feel, you CAN'T disassociate that from the person they are off the court. In other words, if I will myself to win this game at any cost, I'm also going to use that same will to bag the baddest chick in the room, do the "dare" that no one else would do in "truth or dare", disrespect to a greater degree that dude that I feel just disrespected me...

Feel me?

Combine the fact of being shielded from reality ($1,000 dollar gambling bets on team private jets, making jokes with real unloaded handguns, thinking that because the threat of violence wasn't apparent to those that witnessed the exchange there is no harm to be had legally either from the heated exchange on the plane or in the locker room with the "Pick One" post it note) and the natural competitive "one-upping" nature of professional athletes (Arenas taunting Crittenden on the plane to the point of saying he'll blow up his car to Crittenden saying he'll shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired knee to Arenas bringing 4 unloaded handguns to the Verizon Center so Crittenden could "pick one" to Crittenden allegedly throwing one of the guns across the room then allegedly taking his own weapon and cocking it (i.e. loading a bullet in the chamber) and allegedly walking around the locker room singing to Arenas then laughing at Crittenden's whole act), and voila!...there you have it, the situation we now find ourselves in. (sorry for the super run on sentence).

As Chris Rock said, I'm not saying I agree or condone his actions...but I understand (why it happened).

Cheers.

P.S. As for the pregame "Shoot 'em up" picture taken before Monday's Philly game, I think the same holds true--those that were there feel that the perceived non-threat of violence speaks loader than the fact its illegal to have unlicensed guns in the District...much less the Verizon Center.

If I Could Do This House Over #1

Time for another recurring post.

And I knew this would happen too. While rehabbing my house last year, I got kind of anal about certain things cause, knowing me, I knew that certain things, if done wrong, would forever stick out and urk me like a...perpetual hangnail. Anyways, thanks to my efforts (and the semi-patience of others as I pointed things out), I'd say I got it about...90 percent right. Still, its that 10 percent that I get reminded of almost everyday.

I have a running tally in my head of the things in my house that if I were to do it again (and have a larger overall budget, not to mention), I'd implement. Please note, most of these were realized only after moving into the house (i.e. these wouldn't have occurred to me during the initial process), some are more cosmetic than others, some would be considered more functional. Anyways, I promised myself I wouldn't be doing those novel-long blogs of my Frankfurt heyday so I'm only going to write four at a time and try to keep these short and sweet...coming back to write more installments over the long haul.

• Heated Floors in the Kitchen Tile...and maybe in the bathroom ;-). While the bathroom would be more of a cosmetic (i.e. sexy) thing to put in (coming out the shower on heated tiles is the hotness, no pun intended), the downstairs actually has a more functional purpose. With the onslaught of Winter '10 in full effect (read: cold as hell), you really develop the appreciation of a certain law of physics--heat rises. Now, aside from the fact that my HVAC return duct is inadequate to service the house (right now its literally below 50 degrees on the first floor and I'll probably have to spend more than a couple grand to get that redone...but that's another story), its ALWAYS cold on the first floor, even with a working system. This is exacerbated by the fact the floor of the 1st floor is the lowest (read: coldest) point of the house and the ceramic tile in the kitchen IS AN ICE BLOCK in the winter! Even with socks on. Its to the point that if I wake up in the middle of the night thirsty as hell, I'm just like "F*** it, I can't get to the refrigerator". Long story short, having heated kitchen tiles would not only reinvigorate the idea of cooking in my house during the winter, but would also probably lower my overall gas bill cause the radiant heat from the floor would actually serve as an alternate (albeit small) heating source for the lower level.
• Light Above the Kitchen Sink. I have a corner sink. I also eat out more than I eat at home so it makes more sense for me to wash the limited dishes I use by hand than to load up the dishwasher. Unfortunately, the placement of the lights in my kitchen (a centered rectangle of 4 recessed lights), creates a shadow over the sink when I'm washing. Not that I can't see what I'm doing, but it would make tons of sense to have another light there right above. This would also be functional for any future corner shelving I put up there over the sink.
• Install a Recirculation Pipe. Ok, now this one may be a bit difficult to explain, but I'll try. I installed a tankless water heater in my house. Your traditional water heater stores like 30 or so gallons of hot water that the house draws on as needed. As the water is used the tank fills itself back up with regular water from the street and heats it up til the entire tank is back to the temperature you set it to hold the water at (hence, when a whole bunch of showers have been taken in the house, you only get lukewarm or cold water cause the tank is dealing with a sizable portion of fresh water from the street that hasn't been heated yet). Conversely, a tankless water heater doesn't store any water. Rather, it heats the water right as it comes into the house (with a gas or electric heater that is more powerful than the heater used on a water tank). The good thing, aside from being energy efficient in the amount of gas or electricity used to heat the water, is that you never run out of hot water. But there is a downside, and its on the front end...it sometimes takes a number of minutes for the water to get hot (sometimes up to like 2 to 3 minutes...literally). The reason for this is that once you turn of the water and don't use it for a while (ex. over the night), the water in the hot water pipes gets cold. Then, when you turn on the water in the morning, all of the cold water in the hot water pipe needs to get flushed from the pipes before the newly heated water, provided by the tankless water heater, reaches the spout. There is a way around this though...a recirculator pipe. What this is is a 3rd pipe (in addition to the hot and cold water pipes) that allows for you to set the water heater to a specific time that you'd like for the water to be hot (say, 6am). Then, at that time, what the system will do is drain the leftover cold water from the hot water pipe into the recirculator pipe, thereby allowing for newly heated hot water to fill the hot water pipe and be used as needed (with no wait for the water to get hot). The cold water in the recirculator pipe is then recirculated back into the system to be reheated and reused. Make sense?
• Placement of the Bathroom HVAC Vent. Now, this one I knew about before I moved in, but by the time it was done, redoing it would have costed more money than it was worth. Basically, drywall is hung over wood studs that are about 3 inches wide. This space behind the drywall allows for many of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing elements of the house to be hidden from view (sort of like the guts of the house). In the bathroom's case, they placed duct work for the HVAC vent behind the wall of the bathroom mirror. So what does this mean? It means that I can't have a mirror that has a recessed medicine cabinet behind it cause the area behind the drywall where the recessed medicine cabinet would go is now occupied by damn duct work. How does this affect the bathroom? That means I had to pay like $500 more than I should have for a stand-alone cabinet that I hung over the wall above the toilet as opposed to paying less for an all-in-one mirrored cabinet. Had they put the duct work behind the adjacent wall (like they were supposed to...meaning, I told them to do it), I would have not only saved money but had extra room on the wall where the current cabinet is to, I don't know...hang a picture or something. I guess that's why I didn't stress it too much--the aftermath was primarily cosmetic, even though the issue had structural origins. But, this was just one of the many issues I had with the HVAC subcontractors my GC on the project used. But that's a $2,000-$3,000 story for another blog.

On the next installment, I'll talk about how 3 inches affected the layouts of the whole 2nd floor.

Cheers.

P.S. Guess I just can't get away from novel-long blogs.

The Denman-Werlich Residence

I could appraise properties like this all day and never get tired...

Finished my first report of the year in 3 days, and I must say, it's pretty thorough...and not even for the summary report that it is, I mean this thing could pass for a self-contained.

I think part of the reason for the beastiality, aside from the fact I'm trying to get more focused in the new decade, is the fact I thoroughly enjoyed inspecting, researching, analyzing and reporting all of the facets of this property's value...not to mention the fact its "goooo-gious" as Kadija would say.

Seriously, if I could be the dedicated guy in the office to do these types of properties in the once-in-a-while chance a request for bid comes through our office...I'd do it for half the price.

Real talk.

Cheers.

Maintenance Man...beta

It's an iterative process.

Cheers.

...talk about a mind f***

From this Morning's Jog...

I'm in the hall already

On the wall already

I'm a work of art, I'm a Warhol already

On a another level, on another plane already

Frankfurt Freddie, I got my own frame already.

Cheers.

I'm Full...courtesy of Jamie Oliver

Spanish Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

Chorizo
Onions
Garlic
Celery
Spinach
Tomotoes
Chickpeas
Chicken Stock
Salt & Pepper
Spanish Ham
Olive Oil
Eggs

Prep takes FOREVER!!!!
Cook the sausage
Add the onions, celery and garlic
15 mins later, add spinach, tomoatoes, chickpeas and chicken stock
40 mins later, puree 1/3
Season to taste
Add the ham
Grate hard-boiled egg on top

Cheers.

Resolutions

Ok...

So one of my resolutions was to blog at least 5 times a week. So what do you do for the first Fri-Sat of the new decade...? Well I'm off to a great start (as you can see by the date and time of this post). And I jogged yesterday (another of my resolutions)...but not today.

The decade is off to a great start.

Cheers.