Monthly Archives: June 2005

Oregon Continues With Medical Marijuana

This is interesting, despite the Supreme Court ruling, Oregon is continuing with it’s medical marijuana program. So if the ruling “has not impact”, then what is the point?

“The (Supreme Court) decision has no legal impact on the operation of Oregon’s program,” according to a statement by Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers’ office.

House Hunting Week 4

The trend continues, I either like the house and not the land or I like the land and not the house.

This house kind of had a weird lay out.

  • I’m not so much in love with the sunken living room, especially since it was sunken about 6 inches or less it seemed.
  • The kitchen was small and it didn’t seem to have much room to expand
  • No back yard access with a vehicle

This was a Amrep house built in the early 1970s. I’m not a huge fan of Amrep homes (more on that some other time) but this one had a very nice layout. THe kitchen was very well done. The owners had already done most of the renovation work I would have with wood floors and painting and so-forth.

Unfortunately the yard was really that big (.25 acres or maybe smaller). And I wouldn’t be able to talk them down much considering the work that was done.

This house has a nice large back yard with block walls. It’s also a Amrep house and lives up the the “werid” design that some Amrep houses have. I don’t mind a 2 story house but this one was just not right.

Finally the last house of the week. Another Amrep house that has a interesting design. I liked it actually. They had put tile on the kitchen counters, it looked nice but was the kind of adobe tile that wasn’t uniform. Thus the counters are uneven. And of course the plot of land was too small/had no vehicle access.

Rafting In Taos

I ended up with a very busy weekend, with school, a friday trip and a party on Saturday there was no time to post. Not to mention the wireless I’m, er… borrowing, went down and I my trial of MarsEdit expired.

The fact that 2 people have died going down the same part of the river did not stop us from making a rafting trip down the Rio Grande river on Friday. That’s me in the picture, the blue hat in the back. I was a little worried at first, but it wasn’t really that bad.

The trip was suppose to take 3+ hours but took less than 1 1/2 because of the speed of the water. We also saw where the the unfortunate incident took place that lead to the death of Carolyn Whalen. Really, it’s a matter of a good guide keeping the boat from going in the wrong place and the river not forcing you there.

It was fun, were looking at doing “the box” which is a rougher part that’s farther north up the river.

Los Alamos Labs Whistleblower Gets Crap Beaten Out Of Him

This is pretty suspicious. I saw him on the news last night and he looks pretty bad.

A man who on Wednesday was to tell congressional staffers about financial problems at Los Alamos National Laboratory was savagely beaten over the weekend at a Santa Fe bar. Tommy Hook is currently in a Santa Fe hospital and both Santa Fe police and the FBI are trying to find the three or four men who pulled him from his car on Sunday and be at him in a bar parking lot. Hook’s wife and attorney believe the beating was an attempt to quiet the whistleblower.

House Hunting Week 3

After having two houses last week, this week turned out to have quite a few prospects, a good half dozen I would say. Many I rejected on paper, a few I rejected at the drive by. I almost had a winner, but it only upped my expectations.

Initially I didn’t give this house a second thought, but I looked at the MLS a day later and decided to do a drive by. The remarks said:

Great custom floorplan with a very large lot. Home features backyard access, great garden area, covered patio, storage shed, and a large inground hot tub. In need of some handyman work. Roof replaced in 2004. Some interior work still needed. Great investment opportunity. Look past what it is and dream about what it could be! Being Sold AS IS with no warranties expressed or implied. Hot tub room 187 sq ft. not included in home square footage.

The house was built in the early/mid 1980′s. The bathrooms looked like they were from the 1970′s. None the less it had some great character and layout out. The previous owner had added on a built in hot tub.

Being a flat roof house, it had seen some leaking problems. THe roof was replaced a few years ago but many rooms still showed damage. Drywall would likely need replaced along with new floors. The kitchen and bathrooms would need remodeled as well. The house is part of an estate sale, the owner had never seen it. THere is a room added on at the back porch with shelving and there’s a giant antenna in the back yard. I assume that a old ham radio operator lived here, died, and the daughter got the house.

Did I mention the antenna? Yeah, there is a giant telescoping antenna in the back yard. If anyone should own a house with a giant antenna in it, I should! The back yard is listed at .55 acres, with most of it in the back yard. There was also some huge trees back there.

I spent several hours there finally deciding that It had everything I was looking for. They had is listed for $134,000, but another house in the neighborhood went for $131,000. Considering the work that was need to fix the interior I could probably get it for much less. I had made the proper financial arrangements and was ready to get the inspection report so I could make an offer.

Sigh… The house had been on the marked for 50+ days, the day I find it and want to buy it, someone else signs a contract. Same thing happened on the first house I looked at. It will be difficult to find another house like this.

I actually like this house, the interior layout was pretty nice. It was built in the late 80s, so not quite as “antique” as some of the others.

It is listed as being on .5 acres, and yes it is on a large lot. But the whole area is very hilly, and half the back yard is sloping downwards. Most of the block fence is below grade, I would have to build fencing for most of it. One side of the house has neighbors higher than it and they can easily look right now on it.

The house does have a above ground pool with a deck. Although it would have made me pretty popular with my friends, I’m not very interested in maintaining a pool.