Monthly Archives: October 2009

animals, Environment

Taylor Mitchell, Singer-Songwriter Killed by Coyotes

Taylor Mitchell
Taylor Mitchell

In a very unusual accordance, Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell, 19, was killed by coyotes in a national park in Nova Scotia, according to a park spokesman.

Taylor Mitchell, 19, was at the beginning of the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Tuesday afternoon when she was attacked, according to Chip Bird, the Parks Canada field unit superintendent for Cape Breton.

Bird said hikers saw the coyotes attacking Mitchell and called 911. She was airlifted to a hospital in Halifax, where she died about 12 hours later, he said.

For those of you who have been reading my blog, I wrote about my dog, Angel, being attacked by coyotes.  This happened sometime ago when I let her out of my backyard. When she did not come back right away, I started calling her and she finally came up the stairs all bloody, with torn flesh and puncture wounds, completely wiped out. After a visit to the vet and a routine of antibiotics she recovered completely.

This led me to a little research about coyotes and it is indeed rare for coyotes to kill anyone. The last recorded killing of a human by coyotes was in Los Angeles, when an 8 year old girl was killed in 1980. However, coyotes carry all kinds of diseases, including rabies. So don’t feed them, they become used to human beings, resulting in future attacks of humans. Here are some more facts about coyotes:

A typical coyote attack to a sheep or goat is to bite the throat just behind the jaw and below the ear, causing death from suffocation and shock.

Coyotes have justifiably a huge fear of humans. Usually coyote attacks on people occur when a coyote has become comfortable around people, often as a result of people feeding them. (Living With California Coyotes (pdf); National Wildlife Federation)

In the rare event that a coyote attacks you or someone near you, yell at the coyote to make it back off. Don’t run away since a coyote can outrun you (unless you can run faster than 30 mph!). (Los Altos Town Crier 7/24/96; Coyote Fact Sheet)

Business

How Business Owners Can Get Ahead in “This Economy”

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Lisa-J.-Lehr
By Lisa J. Lehr

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really tired of hearing the phrase “in this economy.” As in: “Everyone’s trying to save money…in this economy.” “Who can afford this, that, or the other thing…in this economy?” “Good luck getting a job, making a profit, running a business…in this economy.”

It’s as if “this economy” is a catch-all excuse for failure, inaction, and stuck-ness. Okay, certain things are out of our control. But let’s not throw everything that is within our control into the same hopeless bag. If you’re a business owner, there’s a lot you can do to secure an advantage over your competition who’s given in to the doom-and-gloom mentality of “this economy.”

Here are some starters:

  1. Figure out your USP, and tell everybody what it is. If you’re not sure if you even have a USP, it means “unique selling proposition.” So what makes you so special? If you’re not the biggest, the oldest, or the closest, you must have something else that no one else has. Dig it out, polish it up, show it off. Hint: what do your best customers say about you?

2  Make sure your website is as good as it can be. Please don’t tell me you don’t have a website! (Okay, do tell me…I can help.) Forget the flash and snazzy graphics. You need a clean, easily navigable, informative website. The more content, the better—both for getting more web traffic and for making your readers know, like, and trust you. People who know, like, and trust you will buy from you! And on that website

3. Put an opt-in form in a prominent place. This simple tool can literally bring in 90% of your sales. If you’re not sure what this is, I’m sure you’ve seen them on other websites: people enter their name and e-mail address and give you permission to keep in touch with them. Voila, when they need the product or service you offer, guess who’s top-of-mind—you!

4. Be famous. Not celebrity-famous—but establishing yourself as an expert in your field will put you light-years ahead of your competitors. This means you offer articles, news releases, blog posts, case studies, white papers, even an informative Yellow Pages ad—all kinds of free, no-obligation content that gets your name “out there” and convinces people you know your stuff. Secondary benefit: all that “free stuff” makes people feel indebted to you—and more likely to choose you over your competitors.

5.Have materials to hand out. Called “marketing collateral,” these are all the print pieces that support any sales messages you have: brochures, free articles, point-of-sale take-home pieces, catalogs, magalogs, white papers, and so on. These offline pieces have a “stickiness” that online content doesn’t have: people will keep, re-read, and pass along to others informative reading material. Make sure your contact info (including your web address!) is on everything.

5.Advertising can be expensive. And that “I can’t afford to advertise…in this economy” mentality has led to the failure of many businesses…especially in this economy. But the above relatively simple and inexpensive strategies will give you the visibility, authority, and distinction you need to remain competitive in your field. Even in this economy. Especially in this economy.

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

Construction

I’m Building a Barn, Part 4

barn-construction

October 28

I building a barn for clients whom I built their home in 2002, than a workshop last year and now they have decided to build a barn. We lost a lot of time last week because of the rains.  We finished putting the roofing on today, finished the rough plumbing and actually screwed in a lot of the interior walls which are plywood.  It takes a little more time to use screws in set of nails, but if the client in the future wants to remove some of the walls or put blocking in, it will make it easier for them.

barnc1

Today we get inspection for the framing, rough plumbing and hold-downs. Hold downs are so to speak, anchors into the foundation with brackets that attach to the framing. We should be close to finishing next week, and actually, the clients are putting hay in the barn this Friday.  They can do that and not be in our way at this stage of the barn building.

Let me know if you have any building needs……

nevada county fair

Nevada County Contest, Costumes and a Cupcake Walk

Mascot Nevada County Fair
Mascot Nevada County Fair

The Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation is hosting a carved pumpkin contest and a scarecrow contest at its Barn Raising Celebration on Saturday, October 31, from 2 – 5 pm at the Whitney Pavilion at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.

If you’re interested in entering the contests, your carved pumpkins and scarecrows should be dropped off at the Fairgrounds, at the Barns near Gate 5, after 10 am on October 31. Winners will be announced at 4 pm.  Additionally, a costume parade and contest will take place at 3 pm.

There will be games and treats for kids and even a cupcake walk! A live and silent auction will be happening throughout the day. We’ll be serving hamburgers and hot dogs and there will be toe-tapping live entertainment for all to enjoy.

It’s all happening, rain or shine, on Saturday, October 31 from 2 – 5 pm at the new Whitney Pavilion at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. The cost is only $5 per person and includes food, treats and entertainment!  Parking is free. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, at all Citizen’s Bank branches, at the Book Seller in Grass Valley, or on the day of the event. Call 530-273-6217, or visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com.

 

Source: Wendy Oaks, Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds

animals, Environment, Nevada County Information

Black Bears in Nevada County

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American Black Bear
American Black Bear

Coming home late from the office the other night, late enough that it was pitch dark, I saw a black bear crossing Banner Mountain Quaker road.  Fortunately, I was driving slowly so I did not hit the bear and I got a good look at him. What a beautiful animal, big, with huge feet.  From the back, other than its feet, it looked like a giant long haired black dog.

Black bears are fairly common in Nevada County and every once in a while they get a little ornery. One of my neighbors had his garbage can pilfered several times, dumping garbage all over the road. So he thought well, I’ll just strap the cover down and the bear will not be able to get into the garbage can. The next morning, he found his garbage can down the side of the mountain with big claw marks on the can. The solution was to put the garbage out first thing in the morning instead of the night before garbage was to be picked up.

The American Black Bears are from 5-6 feet in length and about 2.5 to 3 foot tall. They can stand as high as 7 tall which would be enough to scare anyone away. They can weigh as much 600 pounds for the male and about 400 pounds for the female. There have been reports of a male bear that weighed 880 pounds, but that is unusual.

Most of the time, they are as scared of you as you might be scared of them, so they tend to run when approached by humans.  However, be careful if you come across of a female with cubs, then it is different story. They’re out to protect their cubs at which point they can become aggressive.  If it’s any consolation, there are only 56 documented cases of black bears killing humans in the United States in the last 100 years.

black-bear-mom-cub

According to Wikipedia

“The cubs are generally born in January or February. They are very small, about 283 to 397 grams (10 to 14 oz), and are blind, nearly hairless, and helpless when born. Two to three cubs are most common, though up to four and even five cubs have been documented. First-time mothers typically have only a single cub. The mother nurses the cubs with rich milk, and by spring thaw, when the bears start leaving their dens, the cubs are fur-balls of energy, inquisitive and playful. By this time, they are about 2 to 4 kilograms (4 to 8 lb). When their mother senses danger, she grunts to the cubs to climb high up a tree. They are weaned between July and September of their first year and stay with the mother through the first winter. The cubs become independent during their second summer (when they are 1.5 years old). At this time, the sow goes into estrus again.

Cub survival is totally dependent on the skill of the mother in teaching her cubs what and where to eat, how to forage, where to den, and when and where to seek shelter from heat or danger.”

There have been numerous sightings of black bears in the Cascade Shores Subdivision, in which I live.  I had one standing on the road in front of my house last year during the night. Have you seen any black bears around your house or had some experience with them?

Business

Is the Economy Recovering or Not?

economy-recoverying
Photo Bend Oregon Realty

Are we in a recovery or not? You know, you can get ten economists in a room together and get ten different answers as to how the economy is doing.

But it seems like the roomful of economists are starting to come together and agree that we are bottoming out and coming out of the recession. The stock market has recovered 54% of its value from it’s low point and lower price homes are getting multiple offers.

According to the OCRegister, Kerry Vandell, head of UC Irvine’s Center for Real Estate stated that “The economy is recovering more rapidly than I would have guessed”

He went on to state that the residential market has began to recover but, there are some obstacles still in recovery’s path which he said are the following:

Massive wave of foreclosures is yet to come.

Banks are delaying “taking the hit” on those devalued properties.

Credit is still very tight.

Unemployment is still increasing.

State spending cuts will offset federal stimulus in California.

Prices and rents are still high.

So there you have it, we are recovering according to Kerry Vandell, but we’re not quite out of the woods yet. What do you think, are we recovering or not?

Entertainment

Mindworker: the Song – The Twist – Teacher Unhappy With Student

Mindworker - Song by Paul August
Mindworker - Song by Paul August

By Paul August

It’s somewhat of an American tradition to bash teachers in songs: “No more pencils.  No more books. No more teachers’ dirty looks.” Anti-teacher songs were common as I grew up.  The Coasters’ sang about “Charlie Brown,” the kid in school who caused trouble.  “School Days,” by Chuck Berry, complained about getting up each morning just to go to school. Pink Floyd pictured school kids as, “Another brick in the wall.” Other songs sang of kids unhappy with teachers.

So, I decided to write a song about a teacher unhappy with a student. Since I taught at Oakland High at the time, this song has an urban setting and street lingo.

During the 1980’s, I sang teacher activist songs along with rock ‘n roll.  This song started when I was in Washington D. C. at the National Education Association’s teacher’s convention. A group from Pennsylvania proclaimed themselves to be “United Mind Workers.”

I condensed this to “Mindworker” and began working on a song that would become the title cut to my first CD. As with most songs, it grew out of my own life experiences.

The song begins with a teacher confronting a hostile student in the classroom.  This is nothing new if you’ve taught inner-city kids. And, as in every fictional piece, the story quickly began to define itself.

As a songwriter, I know to keep it simple.  Consider The Beatles. Their songs are full of words like love, arms, hold, lips, kiss and other monosyllable words, repeated with melody, harmony and a beat. It sounds simple. There are not, however, many musicians out there singing Beatle songs because of the complex interaction of the chords and lyrics.

Some words don’t sing well but I used them anyway: “Don’t make me the target of your vulgar darts. I’m gonna drive your mind right out of the dark.” Target … vulgar darts. These are not common words for lyrics but I wanted to get the sense of conflict across.

I used street language to characterize the young student: “You better lighten up dude, get outta my face.” Again, most inner city teachers soon come to understand, and sometime use, the inner city students’ vernacular

The song has somewhat of a surprise twist when the Mindworker tells the student, “I was a more sarcastic kid than you.” And it twists again when the student gets up for another confrontation with the teacher but instead says, “Hey man, you know, I mean like, thanks.”

Writing the song is only the beginning.  I worked with an LA producer, Paul Chiten, who added the Beatlesque complexity to the tune. He built a solid instrumental foundation. I shared my music writing credit with him. When it came time to record in San Francisco, Chiten wanted to use David La Flamme, from It’s A Beautiful Day, to do the lead vocal instead of me.

It was kind of like being fired from singing my own song.  However, I quickly agreed because David (who appeared at the Psalms in Winters on Sat. Oct. 17th) has sold millions of records, including his hit, “White Bird”. My lifetime total sales were more like 210 albums to relatives and friends.

Mindworker - By Paul August
Mindworker - By Paul August

Paul August is a local writer and singer.
He also writes for the San Francisco Chronicle and The Union
You may buy his song Mindworker at cdbaby.com

Real Estate

Seeking Foreclosure Help? Be Careful

foreclosure

There is an amazing story in the August 2009 issue of the California Bar Journal about the growing number of complaints against lawyers and law firms offering mortgage help to homeowners. From investigating nine such complaints for all of 2008, the California State Bar is now investigating 391 complaints against 140 attorneys. What is causing this huge increase in the number of borrowers complaining about attorneys?

With the rise in the foreclosure rate over the past few years, it seems that many lawyers have gone into the foreclosure assistance business. Even in states like California, where loan mitigation companies are no longer allowed to charge an up-front fee from borrowers, attorneys can still charge a multiple-thousand dollar retainer fee before any work is done for a homeowner. This makes the foreclosure business very lucrative, and very attractive for the corrupt.

Also, what happened to all of the lawyers providing mortgage services during the boom for lenders, title companies, and home buyers? Many states require that borrowers and sellers both have an attorney at closing to represent them. With the falloff in new closings and refinances, these attorneys may have decided to enter the other side of the business — helping homeowners escape the predatory loans the lawyers should have warned about in the first place.

Many homeowners were given loans that were either misrepresented to them or were simply not explained at all. Too many lawyers hired to make sure the borrowers understood the terms of the contracts did very little other than collect several hundred dollars at the closing table. The law requiring legal counsel before a real estate closing had more to do with injecting unnecessary legal fees into the housing market than creating educated borrowers.

Some of the complaints against these lawyers now providing loan modification services are the same ones homeowners routinely file against loss mitigation companies. Some of the complaints involve no service being provided, up-front fees that are collected but no work is done, no refunds even though no work is done, instructing homeowners to stop contacting their lenders, even attempting to transfer money directly out of a borrower’s bank account.

This indicates that some lawyers have entered the loan modification business essentially just to steal money from desperate homeowners. Too many companies or law firms take payments from borrowers and then never provide any work — it is one of the most common foreclosure scams around, and one that homeowners keep becoming victims of as they try to save their homes.

But none of this really explains the shocking rise in complaints against attorneys offering foreclosure help. From nine in 2008 to close to 400 in the first seven months of 2009, it seems that more factors than just legal industry corruption are involved. Or, have attorneys in large numbers made the move from other less lucrative practices into the foreclosure business, where they can prey off the huge numbers of people struggling to keep their properties?

Source: Article Bliss”

nevada county fair

Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation to Host Halloween Event, Barn Raising Celebration

Livestock-Pavilion-

Bring your family and friends and come enjoy the festivities at the Nevada County Fairgrounds on Halloween day. Rain or shine, in costume or in street clothes, you’ll enjoy the many events planned inside the new livestock pavilion at the Fairgrounds. We’ll be serving hamburgers and hot dogs, and there will be live entertainment, treats for the kids, a pie auction, and special projects from the Ag Mechanics from our local high schools. You don’t want to miss the costume and scarecrow contests!

Hosted by the Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation, this Barn Raising celebration and Halloween event is Saturday, October 31, from 2 – 5 pm at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. This event is in celebration of the completion of the Fairgrounds’ new livestock pavilion, the Whitney Pavilion, as well as a fundraising event for the new building.

The cost is only $5 per person and includes food, treats and entertainment! Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, at all Citizen’s Bank branches, or at the Book Seller in Grass Valley. Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the event at the Fairgrounds.  Call 530-273-6217, or visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com for information.

Source: Wendy Oaks, Publicist Nevada County Fairgrounds

Real Estate

Nicolas Cage Facing Real Estate Liquidation

nicolas-cage

Nicolas Cage, one of my favorite actors, is facing a real estate liquidation sale, having to sell properties he owns all over the world. He has made millions of dollars over a long career, however, he claims his business manager has sent him “down a path toward financial ruin”.

Cage has filed a lawsuit in Los Angles against business manager Samuel Leven. In his lawsuit, Cage states that Leven was so reckless and incompetent with his money that he has been forced to sell off major assets and investments and is face with gigantic tax liabilities.

Cage claimed that his recently-fired business manager had failed to pay taxes when they were due and had placed him in speculative and risky real estate investments “resulting in (the actor) suffering catastrophic losses.”

In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and first obtained by celebrity web site TMZ.com , Cage said he had now been forced to “sell major assets and investments at a significant loss” because of the actions of his business advisor and accountant over the past seven years

Consequently, Cage has had to unload two properties in Bath, England, a Bavarian castle he owned in Germany, houses in New York, Las Vegas and California, and his 132-foot yacht.

Cage put his Gray Craig castle in Middletown, R.I., on the market a year ago for $15.7 million but has recently reduced the asking price to something in the neighborhood of $12 million.

The lawsuit said the advisor had also failed to alert Cage to the fact that his money was running out, and had over-extended his lines of credit with banks.

Cage, 45, is one of Hollywood’s most prolific actors with more than 50 movies to his name, including an Oscar-winning role as an alcoholic in “Leaving Las Vegas” and action movies such as “Face/Off” and “Gone in Sixty Seconds”.

Cage earned some $40 million last year according to Forbes .com