T minus 1 day...

I haven't really made mention of it but moving day is tomorrow. I'm anxiously waiting for my lawyer to receive the final paperwork from the builder so i can pay up the outstanding amount and get the 'dance for the keys' music started.

On the packing front, pretty much everything from the closets and cupboards are now packed up. There are still some loose items in various piles around the apartment right now and the TV & Computer are holding firm to their positions. Luckly, we have no crawling children or dogs right now. It's definitely a high choking risk environment.

Of course, the Tabata's milestone plans continue to be a magnet for extreme weather. Our engagement cruise was into the eye of the hurricane, the wedding was the second coming of Noah, and now they are predicting an ice storm tomorrow. I won't be surprised to see an entire burg fall from the sky. Wish us luck, and we'll be back to ranting the day after tomorrow.

I love this kind of stuff....(back to ranting)

So has anyone watched the movie "An Inconvenient Truth"?

In it, champion of the blue planet, Al Gore (and inventor of the internet too isn't he?) lectures that our current energy use is causing a dramatic increase in the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. He builds a case that the level of carbon dioxide is directly related to the global temperature, and we will melt the ice caps, cease the ocean currents, flood a gazillion miles of prime real estate, and plunge us back into another ice age at our current pace. Basically, if you've seen "The Day After Tomorrow" that's what will happen if he's not voted president when he announces he'll run.

Anyways the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has published the following on it's web site.

Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

Like i said... I love this kind of stuff.

Today's Random Photo

Another photo

In honour of Julia's birthday, here's a picture of her and Mommy in one of my all time faves.



child services can relax.... all of the boozing guests emptied the bottle before Mommy could get a grasp of it.

Keeping it fresh...

Okay... not much to write today. On the townhouse front, the cabinets and counter tops are now in, and they have set a delivery date for the appliances. Basically, everyone is starting to line up to be paid.

In a shameless attempt to increase blog traffic, I have new photo of the day theme. (okay, maybe not every day)

Anyways, here's today's photo. Please use the comments to log an appropriate caption.

Cheers.

All Aboard !!!

Okay, last nights game wasn't what you could call a "convincing" win but 5 in a row ain't bad and I wasn't the only one wearing a Leafs Toque on the streetcar today.

Of course this preamble is just an excuse to post this....

Getting Policital

Okay... i must be getting old cuz now it's politics that is pissing me off. Everyone has now seen the new Conservative party ads.



I may be 'pro' liberal but still you have to admit that these are the stupidest ads you've seen in a long time. Why didn't they just use voice over to say: "Mr. Dion, are you a racist, kitten kicking, animal tester that sucker punches preoccupied pregnant women in the gut?" then splicing in some video of him saying "Absolutely" from some unrelated press conference.

Does anyone actually feel that this sways their vote away from the Liberal party? It could be just me.

There really should be a law outlawing commercials by any political party when there is not an official election scheduled. Really, I could have been watching some of the American Superbowl commercials instead!!!

Celebspotting

Check it out !!! Mike's dad hanging out with Paris, Nicole and the king of Pop !!! He looks a little pre-occupied... the Jays game must be on.

Live Rant... just opened my mail

Okay, the bane of my customer service existence sent a letter today. Rogers sent a notification of rate increases. Within the letter was this line:

"The regular monthly rate for your Rogers Digital VIP Cable package will increase by $58.97, plus applicable taxes." By $58.97 ?!?!?! WTF !!!

Chalk one up to the proof reading police because it should have read "to $58.97"

Not to be out done with incompetence, Talvest Mutual Funds is writing to inform me that a backup computer file has recently gone missing while in transit between offices!!! This file may have contained by Name, Address, Signature, DOB, bank account numbers, beneficiary info and Social Insurance Number!!!

Unfriken believable !!!

Quick update.... (no photos)

So we walked by the house today to check on the progress. I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll be good to move on the 1st of March, but as some point I guess you have to commit to the date.

From the front door, we were pleasantly surprised to the walls painted, all the base boards and trim was in. The stairs leading upstairs had been stained so it looked like it just needed pot lights finished and the under pad & carpet laid.

Going around back revealed the main floor was in similar shape with the paint & trim, but it also had the hardwood floor completed as well. I'm just waiting to see those cabinets we ordered.

Fingers are still crossed.

Photo test for Danny

Warning.... Photo geek posting ahead.


So Dan was asking about how different the depth of field is between f1.4 and f1.8 I had the same question when I was thinking about getting a 50mm lens. Is the f1.4 worth the price?

Here are the results. All shots were from the same range, all focused the "Favorites" text. Also, the camera was set on aperture priority so the shutter speed was calculated automatically.

Dont forget you can click on the photo to zoom in for details.

Shot @ F1.4 shutter 1/125



Shot @ F1.8 shutter 1/100



Shot @ F2.8 shutter 1/40



Shot @ F5.6 shutter 1/10 (so if its blurry is probably me)

The Voice of the Nation

So we're at the home show on Sunday and are approached by this reporter & photographer. He asks us what we think of the energy conservation program announced that day. We're expecting some lifestyle question about what you're shopping for etc. but really, i had no idea what he's talking about. So he gives us this 3 minute synopsis of the announcement and asks what we think.

"Ron Tabata, of Toronto, who was wandering through the Home Show with his wife, Julianne, also had misgivings. "I don't think you will get as many people taking advantage of it simply because of the upfront costs and then you don't know if you are going to get it.""

from todays Toronto Star

Makes me think about quotes in the newspaper. What value is my comment on something I really didn't know anything about?

Thinking more about it, the act still sounds stupid. I mean anyone who wanted to renovate to conserve energy would have already done it for the energy cost savings, not a stupid rebate. If you did upgrade, you probably don't have the cash to do so anyways so a rebate is no help. The group that would benefit the most would be a real estate speculator who's buying a dated property and planning a full renovation to flip it anyways.

Either way... i guess i still got to go out and pick up a copy of todays paper.

Boxing Day Shopping

So with no clear purchase agenda, Julianne and I drove down to the Eaton Centre to see if there were any bargains to had. HBC gift cards in hand, we checked out the Bay... but there was really nothing that we really needed. We did pickup 8 bowls to match our current dishes, but of course they were regular price.

Venturing into the mall, Julianne was keen to check out Thyme Maternity and Motherhood stores... both had very unimpressive deals. I mentioned to Julie that I thought the GAP had a maternity section and that's where she hit the mother load. (so to speak) Everything was 30% off the price that was already discounted. The find of the day was a pair of white capri pants for $6.99 All in all, I think she got about 10 items for under $100 total.

Here are a few she picked for Baby Bata.

Merry Christmas !!!

Julianne made her contribution to the ongoing quality of content of the blog site by presenting me with a 50mm Nikon f1.4 lens for Christmas. She explained to me how she debated between the f1.8 and f1.4 FYI the 1.4 cost about double what the 1.8 does, but she felt that it would 1.4 was worth the price for the better image quality. What a great girl.

So I'm totally digging the superflat depth of field. However, the non-zoom nature of the lens is forcing a little unplanned exercise in getting the shot just right. Here are a few shots from Christmas dinner at Nelene's

Deanne & Timmies wedding day

So as the pictures show, the weather cleared for the wedding day.

It was an interesting experience to be around the brides place on the big day. It was really a hive of activity with videographers, photographers, hairstylists and makeup artists negotiating around family members, all making the last minute preparation. It was definitely a far cry from the scotch and pizza pre-wedding snack we had on my day.

After a morning of preparation, we trekked down from the Villas to the city of Scarborough (yes, Scarborough is the capital of Tobago). Scarborough is very hilly and the church is on the side of a hill that overlooks the bay. The ceremony was performed in a full church. It went off without a hitch. The only slight unforeseen event was that the rings may have slightly shrunk in the island heat as rumour is that they were a little tight to squeeze on.

We returned to Stonehaven Villas for the reception. Dinner and dancing was great by the highlight for me was the dunk in the pool to end the evening. More photos can by found by following the "my photos" link

Tobago days 1-3

Okay, well really day one and two. At least it wasn't snow... and actually it only rained in short bursts and dried pretty quickly. I'd still take the occasionally wet 28 odd Celsius over the big zero it was back in Hogtown. We stay the first few days on the Tobago Hilton properties, Plantation Villas. It's an assortment of the hotel, semi-detached condos and detached villas. Our place was very nice, two bedrooms and bathrooms with a large private deck. Julianne's dad also was nearby in one of the detached villas. A 4 bedroom home with a private pool backing on the golf course.

Honestly, the first few days were pretty low key thanks to the rain. We visited Storebay, a public beach and market but is was pretty quiet due to the unpredictable weather.

On the 3rd day I did get a chance to play the Tobago Plantations course. A PGA ranked course and stop on the seniors tour.



Definitely a nice course with great weather but the highlight was the 3rd hole where the rolling waves against the rocks backdrop the green. (an impressive single bogey on the most difficult hole on the course)

So for the LuMBeR crew... the verdict...well read it for yourselves... and only 6 lost balls.

Movie review... I mean finally...

Okay, finally a movie review. I felt this one was worth blogging because many people probably never saw it or will likely not see it.

Two things you should know about myself as a reviewer.
1. I am NOT and environmentalist. I believe that climate changes are a natural part of the big eco-bubble we call earth and dramatic changes have happened in the past. Also, i don't believe the last hundred years of temperature data we have is enough to draw conclusions on a weather system that has existed for billions of years. (for some interesting 'fictional' arguments about global warming, read Michael Crichton's book "State of Fear")
2. I am a car enthusiast as my prior entries illustrate. I love the power of my 333hp BMW even though it gets less than 100km/10litres on most tanks. I believe any car should have enough power to go when you want it to go, regardless if your doing 40km/hr or 140km/hr.

So that brings me to the movie... I don't know if it's because i'm getting older, but it seems like there are a lot more entertaining documentary films than there was 20 years ago. All of the Michael Moore films, or one with the guy that ate all the McDonalds food (name escapes me right now... brain cramp)

So the electric car follows the birth and death of the GM EV1. It does a great job in establishing the force and technology and promise behind the birth of the car. For those unfamiliar with it, its an odd looking car, definitely has a cuteness factor... feels a bit like Herbie by the midpoint of the film.



This is important, because if you don't root for this little car, you'll miss the impact of its demise. The film does a great job of portraying various 'evil empires' by attempting to erase history.

I can't ever see myself protesting over a car but I would say that it's an engaging movie and it was successful in having me raising the question of why not having an electric car.

Especially if it was this one. I just need to figure out how to come up with the 100k or so pay for it. Tesla Motors

336 accepted !!!

Quick update today.... I don't want to go into too much details yet because it's still pending financing so I won't consider it done until Monday.

Cheers

Offer Update...

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Interestingly, from all sources (comments here, email, the S2ki forum) it feels like the vote is split between take the money(or split the diff) and wait for a better offer.

I like the comment Brian, and I don't like bending from my "firm" counter offer but I'm re-countering at 336k otherwise were done for today. Keep your comments coming and I'll keep you posted.

Offer on the table... (finally a real "rant")

So after a flurry of visits (well, two more) to beat the 7 pm submission, we now have 1 offer. (Thanks Todd, for the delusions of grandeur)

As you know, our listing price was $339,900 and the initial offer was $333,000. Once the offer was presented, the agent left us to discuss the offer. We and Nick (our agent) then reviewed the recent selling prices of the similar units and noted the pluses and minuses of each unit. All of the recently sold 2bdroom units were on the 3rd floor, as opposed to our top (forth) floor unit. The prices were all around $335,000. We are now the only remaining 2 bedroom available under 400k.

Now, when I purchased the condo, I paid a $7,000 premium to be on the top floor. Now $7,000 plus the initial offer of $333k takes us over my initial asking price of $339,900. Obviously, I can't expect to recoup full value of my premium on a counter offer.

I told Nick, that based on the other sales, a premium over $335k should be set due to the difference in floor. So I picked $337k as a fair recognition of the floor premium, and showing the buyer we are willing to compromise. It was given as a final offer. The buyer then countered at $335k.

Being true to my word we rejected their counter and $335k and asked the agent to thank the buyer for her interest. I talk with Nick to ensure my rational is clear. By accepting any offer, I am precluding any offer to do better. So although the difference is $2000, I'm sacrificing my possibility of getting my asking price or better.

$2000 extra on your mortgage amortized over 25 yrs is nothing in terms of monthly payments. Of course, the same argument can be had by the buyer... is it worth not getting the place you want for $2000. The buyer owns a house and is looking to downsize and give up the chores of home ownership, and find a pet friendly building in the neighborhood.

However, $2000 in the short term, means that Julianne and i can take a vacation before the baby is due. Or buy a new bed, or two bugaboo strollers.

Even though $2000 is less than 1% of the purchase price, the entire price is really irrelevant. I could sell at $320k within a day, so lets say 320k of the price is irrelevant, thus 2000 of 15k is now 7.5% Two thousand dollars now become a much bigger piece of the pie.

So anyways, we had left the TV on the lobby cam channel. We notice the agent is standing in the entrance on her phone. Obviously she has received further instructions. Our agent's phone rings. They have come back offering to extend the duration of the offer from 9pm that night to 11am the following morning. (tomorrow)

The offer has a clause for financing approval, but the closing date matches what we've asked for in our listing.

What do you all think ???? Should i concede on my price, or see what else my come in? It was listed on Tuesday and we've done only one open house.