Archive for October, 2007

school calendar changes are challenging

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

Over the past years, Hillsborough County has been adjusting the school calendar to better accommodate studies for FCAT testing. Those changes resulted in area students trudging back to school weeks before the rest of the country was even thinking about education. After public uproar, the state demanded that local school boards return the summer schedule to a somewhat normal calendar, and now classes can not begin earlier than two weeks prior to Labor Day.

Good. I thought it was crazy to see it change every year over the past few in a row. Of course, the local School District of Hillsborough County fought the change as much as they could, and settled for starting classes on August 20 - the earliest possible day.

Now, I look forward on my calendar to the holiday season and see the HCSD has attempted to make up for the summer correction by altering the winter break. It HAS ALWAYS been the week before December 25 and the week after. Kids would always return to school the first business day after New Year’s. This year, the first day off school is December 24, and they all return back to school on January 8.

Some divorced parents of children in the Hillsborough County School System have the winter break custody split spelled out, including the 2nd grader’s. That agreement says that in odd numbered years, Dad will have custody from the first day of winter break through Christmas Day, and Mom will have custody from Christmas to the return of school. The school schedule has had those same two weeks off for such a long time that Hillsborough County courts have used this schedule in custody resolutions since my parents divorced thirty years ago.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this new twist in the HCSD calendar will screw up custody orders all over the county. This year, Dad is to spend less than two days with his child for the winter break, while Mom will enjoy 13 days of family togetherness. Thankfully, the 2nd Grader’s parents get along, and have worked out a more equitable arrangement, but some divorced parents will take advantage of this to screw the other parent.

But why should we have to? Why do elected school officials keep messing with our schedule? So I asked. I contacted the HCSD to learn how and why they would want to make these radical changes. Here is the official response:

(more…)

bad luck is really bad decisions

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

Update 11 Dec 2007: Due to the overwhelming SPAM on this post, comments have been shut down.

The headline begs you to sympathize, but the story is really one of personal responsibility. Melanie Ave wrote the piece for the St. Pete Times: Foreclosure leaves them just this side of homeless.

No, it’s not the foreclosure that did this to the family. It is the family that did this to themselves. Read the entire article and tell me if you come up with a different answer.

Meet Evangeline and Nader Qandil, a married couple with two kids. They’re not meeting their bills, can’t afford to eat, and embarrassed about asking for public assistance.

I’m embarrassed that the Times paints them as unwitting dupes. The beginning of the article suggests that the foreclosure is only partly their fault:

Like many, the Qandils’ foreclosure came as a result of poor financial decisions, bad luck, the sluggish economy and a complicated mortgage.

The “poor financial decisions” are just lumped in with luck, the general economy, and “complications.” This is insulting to all of you who don’t purchase beyond your means, accept responsibility for your own decisions, and pay your bills on time.

We are not interested in telling a well written heart-wrenching story, so we’ll take info from the article in chronological order instead of the wonderful writing style that Melanie uses:

After selling a 900-square-foot Pinellas Park home for $205,000, they discovered a 1,400-square-foot home in Seminole… The Qandils agreed to buy the home when they heard the price had dropped to $249,000… Nader, a certified mechanic with Autoway Ford for four years, was earning $17.50 an hour, bringing home about $3,400 monthly… Evangeline, a certified nursing assistant, was opening a new children’s consignment store in Largo with her mother. They hoped Little Sprouts on busy Ulmerton Road would bring in $200 a day in sales.

$3400/month is $40,000 a year. And HOPING for an additional $200/day in gross sales for a new business is akin to HOPING money grows on trees. With $40K that they thought they could rely on, the most these people should have spent on a house is (three times annual salary) $120,000 plus their equity in the Pinellas Park home. If the consignment store should prove to be financially viable after a year, then upgrade the home, but you cannot expect to make money from a new business immediately.

But they chose not to use the previous equity for the new house:

With proceeds from the other home, the Qandils paid off debt from Evangeline’s 2004 bankruptcy, which she said she filed because of bills from an emergency gallbladder surgery that wasn’t covered by health insurance… They also bought furniture, including a carved mahogany bedroom set, and inventory for the new store… Christmas in their new home was the family’s best ever.

A previous bankruptcy because of inadequate health insurance, fancy new MAHOGANY bedroom set, and start-up money for the business. All of this is well and good, but you have now limited your house purchase to $120,000. So they bought a place twice as expensive as they could afford, and then had the “best Christmas ever.” Working on that next bankruptcy already.

In the spring, Nader left his commission-based mechanic job when business slowed. He found another job that brought home $1,400 monthly — less than the mortgage payment… The consignment store floundered. Its profits barely covered rent and utilities. Some customers complained about its erratic hours.

Wait - the job was commission based? That adds even more uncertainty to the equation. And then he took a job at less than half the pay? I call bullsh*t. I’m guessing that both incomes may have been exaggerated to the lender.

And the new business had “erratic hours?” Is this more “bad luck?” or the “sluggish economy?”

The Qandils realized they were in over their heads and put the house up for sale in April for $294,000, a Realtor’s suggestion… In July, Deutsche Bank filed a notice with the court… So began foreclosure.

So, if they sell the home for that price, all will be well. But there is that sluggish economy, and the “complicated mortgage” mentioned above.

While the Qandils bought the home for $249,000, public records list the sales price at $210,000. The couple say they did not understand and paid $39,000 directly to the seller… The discrepancy puzzles potential buyers, who wonder about the large asking price given the home’s $210,000 recorded sales price.

They did not understand. Did they ask questions? Did they use a Realtor? Once again, this has nothing to do with bad luck or a sluggish economy. This was a bad decision, period. Cut your losses and move on.

The Qandils drop the price six times, settling at $229,000… One person finally makes a serious offer: $200,000…

Take it. TAKE IT.

The Qandils say no, hoping a better offer will give them money to move and repay money her father loaned them for the down payment… Mortgage and bills aside, they hope to amass $3,500 — first and last month’s rent plus a security deposit because of their bad credit — to move into a nearby three-bedroom apartment.

More of that HOPE. They don’t have much money, but they have an abundance of hope. I hope one day to have a pool like theirs. I hope one day to win the lottery. But Hope don’t pay the bills.

So now we move on to the endgame. The mortgage payment hasn’t been made in months. Now utility bills are being skipped.

Nader… was in an auto accident on 09/10/2007… a doctor put him on three different pain medications for two bulging discs and muscle spasms. He was restricted to light duty. Nader says his company didn’t have any light duty, so he was sent home. He filed a workers’ compensation claim and was told he would eventually receive about $920 a month, or 66 percent of his pay. He has yet to receive a check.

I’ve never run a consignment shop, but I’m guessing that it could qualify for “light duty.” And speaking of light duty, how is the wife helping out? If Nader is unable to work, then his wife needs to get a job.

Evangeline sits at the computer, typing as many ads as she can think of on the free classifieds Web site Craigslist.

She posts a listing for the house, now almost a daily ritual: DO NOT take my word this home is WELL BELOW MARKET VALUE!!!!!! A MUST SEE FOR YOURSELF!!!!!!

She writes one for the bedroom set: I waited 9 years for this set and now I am forced to sell it … we paid over $4,600 less than a year ago … we are asking $3,500 OBO. MUST SEE!!!!!

I wonder if Evangeline realizes that Craigslist also has job listings. Get to work.

They owe $12,000 in other bills, and she heads down to DCF for assistance.

“It’s so embarrassing,” she says, clutching a small Coach purse and a stack of unpaid bills. “But what can I do? I don’t have a choice.”

A Coach purse? Coach? Embarrassing, indeed. And yes, Evangeline, you DO have a choice.

These people have made some horrible financial decisions. Furthermore, their pride seems to dictate much of their motivation. They should be living in an apartment, but my gut tells me that they didn’t want to accept reality in choosing where to live. Tell me how I am supposed to feel sympathy for these folks.

airport public auction

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Tourists leave more than just their money here. It’s time for the airport to get rid of all the stuff that you left behind.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AVIATION AUTHORITY

NOTICE OF PUBLIC AUCTION OF SURPLUS AND OBSOLETE PROPERTY AND LOST AND ABANDONED PROPERTY FOUND AT TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a sale by public outcry will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2007. Bidding begins promptly at 9:30 A.M. Pre-registration is available online at TampaAirport.com. Bring the printed form to the registration table on the morning of the auction. Individuals searching for lost items must call (813) 801-6086 prior to November 1, 2007 or arrive and register between 7:30 A.M. and 7:45 A.M on the day of the auction.

For those wishing to view items for sale, doors will open at 8:00 A.M. Sale will be located inside the Airport Maintenance Hangar located at 4102 N. Westshore Blvd., Tampa, Florida (South on Westshore off Hillsborough).

Items for sale include: Clothing, Jewelry, Luggage, Electronics, Computers, Cameras, Sporting Goods, Airline Club Room Furniture, Office Furniture, Office Equipment and other miscellaneous items. All sales are cash currency, Master Card, and Visa only, “AS IS” condition and all sales are final. Some items may be subject to a reserve price.

Oh boy! I’ve never been to “a sale by public outcry” put on by the airport. Shop Victoriously!

emerge or scourge?

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Someone doesn’t care for a certain group of local young professionals. Check out this new website - emergetampabay.com

Welcome to the Scourge of Tampa Bay!

We are a pack of narcissistic do-nothings who demand attention. All we do is drink, it is our grand plan to support and lead the young professional community of Tampa Bay by keeping young professionals to drunk to notice the high cost of living, low paying jobs and lack of advancement. Plus we hope the drunks will accidentally reproduce and grow our local YP population. We are leaders because we say so and no one contradicts us. We desperately want to maintain the status quo and hope with docile obedience and generous ass kissing we can advance ourselves without having to work at it. Are you arrogant, lazy, and dumb enough to be part of Scourge Tampa Bay, the scourge of young professionals?

There is a group called Emerge Tampa Bay. Their website is http://www.emergetampa.com/.

ABOUT EMERGE TAMPA BAY

Emerge Tampa Bay is a leadership program of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce designed for emerging leaders ages 21 to 35. The program concentrates on six main segments: TALK, VOICE, CONNECT, GROW, INTERACT and BUILD. Each segment is led by two Segment Co-Chairs, who report to the two Emerge Tampa Bay Program Co-Chairs that lead the program. Each segment’s mission statement and goals are listed under the Segments section.

mozilla prism

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Looks like WebRunner grew up a little in the past week. Version 0.8 is now known as Mozilla Prism. Now all you need to do is run Prism and set up your own “web apps” on your desktop, start menu, or quick launch bar.

So what makes this cool for the non-geek out there? You can make a web application look and feel like a desktop application. Without all the “chrome”, the stuff that makes a web browser look like it does. No address bar, no status bar, and none of the plugins. Granted, the plugins are what makes Mozilla Firefox so cool, but they do tend to slow things down a bit. I have found many uses for this application. I have several on my desktop, including GMail, Facebook, Google Calendar and Google Reader. They load in its own very frisky browser window with no frills. Just the app, ma’am.

I found Prism very useful to help create a “walled garden” for my five-year-old. I make apps for sites that I approve. Anything else is blocked, as I have Firefox disabled on her profile. Wicked cool.

growth is inevitable

Monday, October 29th, 2007

For those of you who think growth can just be completely stopped, think about this.

Imagine a January Monday “up there” somewhere - you wake up early, pile on a bunch of clothes, put a parka on over that, and go start the car. Then you grab your snow shovel, create a path for the car, and consider scraping the ice off the windshield. Shoveling Snow Deciding to let the car heater dissolve the ice instead, you head back inside for a cup of cocoa and flip on the TV, where Al Roker is telling you about the clear, bright, cool day in Tampa, with a high of 70.

And you think about BREAKING THE LAW:

(Toledo, OH)

521.01. Removal of snow and ice from walks.

(a) The occupants of each single residential, commercial or industrial property and the owner of any multiple residential, commercial or industrial property or of any unoccupied or unimproved property, abutting upon public walks shall clear the walk of snow, ice, dirt, or any other debris within twenty-four hours after such deposit.

(1952 Code § 7-4-29)

(b) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

You think about DEATH:

…he passed away today, suffering a critical heart attack while shoveling snow in his driveway.

The Great State of Florida is among the most wonderful locations in the world. The miles of beaches and wintertime weather here have drawn people to visit the area for over a hundred years. Along the way, hoteliers, roadside attractions, and other entrepreneurs have made the place even more enticing, giving the impression to the rest of the world that the entire state is just a big playground. How many of your out-of-state friends wonder if you just hang out at the beach on the days you don’t go to Disney World?

So when those pasty folks up north begin to contemplate a change, it should be no surprise that the SUNSHINE STATE almost always makes the short list of places to go.

Florida’s population increases by more than 1,000 people every day. Natural increase (births minus deaths) account for less than 13% of Florida’s population increase from 1970 to 2000. So net migration (people moving in minus people moving out) is about 872 each day.

But at the very least, sixty-two of those moving here find their way to Hillsborough County. The average household size is around 2.5, so those 62 people are gonna need about 25 households. EVERY DAY. That’s over 9,000 households a year. Traditionally, about half of those are gonna be single family detached homes, so we’re looking at building more than 350 houses a month in Hillsborough County.

So the question is not whether we “want” growth, the question is where do we want to direct our inevitable new neighbors?

report from happy hour

Monday, October 29th, 2007

Wow.  I mean… wow! It was great meeting everyone that showed up at Bobalouie’s on Friday. Tommy, Wifey, Brett, Bob, Micheal, Miguel, Mariella, Lisa and more. Would have been nice to have a bigger turnout, but for short notice it was great fun.

It hearkened back to the “glory days” when we had the Tampa Bay Blogger Fest meetups in fall of 2004. We had one at Splitsville in September, and the turnout was great. Then, it was SoHo’s turn to host and we had a Blogger Pub Crawl in October. It was decided to put the TBBF on hiatus until after the holidays, and it was set to resume in February of 2005. I am not sure how or why but it all fell apart.

I think the problem with the TBBF was we tried to outdo the last one, make it bigger and better than the one before. There was a website, a forum, etc. We also had a web ring (remember those?). But it kind of collapsed under its own weight.

I would like to see something maybe monthly along the lines of the Happy Hour. Just a meet and greet, we’ll put on those silly “HELLO MY NAME IS _____ ” name tags and get to know each other. Spread the word from our own blogs, and of course here on Sticks, and see how may bloggers we can fit in one room. We’ll talk shop, have a few beers, and just socialize and fellowship.

I would be willing to spearhead this effort. Hell, it’s about time I did something here on Sticks (right, Tommy?). I think all we really need to make it work is word-of-mouth to other bloggers. Maybe a mailing list or something to communicate, but above all just keep it simple and fun.

Discuss…

out of the mouth of dr. ruth

Sunday, October 28th, 2007

If you’re straight-laced, uptight, buttoned up, repressed, you probably won’t want to wade through the first two minutes of this video clip of a 2006 Arsenio Hall show to reach the most hilarious bit ever featuring a tiny Jewish sex expert who once trained as a sniper in Israel.

While she and Arsenio visit an L.A. boutique, Condomania, Dr. Ruth Westheimer takes aim at safe sex techniques. I won’t even link you to the Condomania at website, which will certainly get you in trouble if you visit it online at work.

Suffice it to say, Condomania does NOT sell condominiums.

That very same Dr. Ruth is coming to Tampa in a couple of weeks to speak at a fundraiser for the West Central Florida Area Agency on Aging.

You don’t have to be a person in the fullness of life to attend. In fact, Dr. Ruth can teach even those young things who think oral sex isn’t sex a thing or two.

For tickets, visit http://www.agingflorida.com/information/special.odb or call 813-676-5583.

Dr. Ruth knows that people of all ages have sex, including those over a certain age. Even if you’re safe from pregnancy, you can still get sexually transmitted diseases. So safe sex at all ages is critical.

In her book, “Sex For Dummies,” Dr. Ruth, who will soon be 80, even includes a chapter for those who believe they are too old to engage in sex.

She says, Hogwash or BS or something like that.

If you want a taste, so to speak, of her attitudes and advice, visit this YouTube clip that features Regis Philbin reading from that segment in “Dummies” with hilarious results.

If past performances count for anything, Dr. Ruth’s visit to the Bay area should be enlightening, tittilating and flat-out funny.

See her at the Tampa Hyatt Regency, downtown Tampa Friday, Nov. 9. Individual tickets are $65 or $600 for a table of 10.

The event begins at 5 p.m. with a cocktail hour and raffle. Dinner will be served at 6.

Dr. Ruth is dessert.