The Tiny Lizards...

Disclaimer: Most of my income derives from being a marketing assistant for a very successful real estate agent. I spend about six hours a day doing anything from website maintenance to helping stage homes for sale. I enjoy what I do, because it allows me time to go to school and watch and cover sporting events. While the realtors I work for are very smart, not much can be said for the rest of the industry. Majority of realtors are just plain dumb, they make grammar errors in their brochures for clients and more importantly make spelling errors on a public forum that every realtor in California has access too. It’s actually quite funny at times and it gives me laughs. Today while going through documents I found this little gem on a contract.

For those who can’t read the small print it says:

"4. The purpose for the whole in the ground is unknown by the seller. The tiny ladder is for the lizards to climb up and down."

Well first off they mean "hole" not "whole" but the sad truth might be that this person is so oblivious to this. Second, lizards use ladders? Hold up!

This realtor is completely leveling the rest of us and if that’s the case "well played sir!" though I think just plain silliness might be the true culprit.

At any rate, does anyone know how much a lizard ladder costs?


-Mark

Did Mark Zuckerberg just “Coke” us all out?

Mark Zuckerberg and his virtual world of Facebook made another huge splash in the social media industry, when it was announced that Facebook purchased the photo app Instagram for what I’d like to imagine its extremely wealthy founder would probably call “a cool billion dollars.”

In 1931, the depression was still wreaking havoc on the country, and the Pepsi-Cola Company entered bankruptcy, due in part to the failing economy and to heavy financial losses obtained through questionable investments in the market.  Coca-Cola often referred to simply as “Coke” had the luxury of being number one in the Cola Industry, yet on three separate occasions between 1922 and 1933 Coke declined the opportunity to purchase the sinking Pepsi.

While Coke still remains number one in the Cola Industry, it doesn’t take a business degree from Northwestern to be able to see how much money and market share Coke unknowingly gave up all those years ago.

Mark Zuckerberg the genius Harvard drop-out is exactly that, a genius.

It took 551 days for Instagram to be worth $1 billion.  At its core the app is essentially a creative picture cropper that allows its users to share photos with their friends. Yet this simple app’s ownership rights were traded for a check that contained nine zeros in it.

Instagram users are said to exceed 30 million users and Zuckerberg put it ““This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all.”

Translation: Yeah we essentially paid a billion dollars for a photo sharing app, but don’t think we’re going to be making every app developer insta-rich, we bagged our Pepsi, so app developers hoping to strike gold, keep dreaming.

More importantly Instagram’s meteoric rise in popularity began making Facebook honchos like Zuck very nervous, “allegedly.” So Facebook didn’t waste any time and instead of facing a possible risk, Facebook created another opportunity for itself and purchased Instagram while it still had the chance.

What should be said for the man who can prove that studying history is actually worth something?

In my opinion a whole hell of a lot should be said. At every possible progression a company can take Facebook has been able to rise above expectations by showcasing its ability to innovate an industry they righteously pulled from Tom at MySpace.  For Zuck and Facebook to purchase what allegedly could’ve been their number two competitor is incredibly brass and insightful.

While I am sure Coke executives cringe and roll their eyes anytime someone mentions the missed Pepsi opportunity, (not once, not twice, but three times) Facebook head’s may leave its future heads resting assured that when the day came for Facebook to extend the curve in the industry, they didn’t just bite at the opportunity, the mauled it to death.

Friday Night Sports Fest!!!! Vin Scully and Life

Friday night sports fest!!!!

Every now and then sports seasons bleed into each other. The best time for this is the beginning of baseball season and the last month of the regular NBA season and two more months of playoffs.

Tonight was opening night for the Angels; The Dodgers played game two of their new season at San Diego, and the Lakers were home at Staples Center; today was a good day to live in Southern California.

The 10 Year Ago dilemma:

Royals at Angels @ 7 p.m.

Dodgers at San Diego 7 p.m.

Houston at LA @ 7:30 p.m.

What to do???

Obviously this would have sucked 10 years ago, but with the amazing advent of the DVR this hasn’t ever been a problem for me J

Either way I DVR’d all three and decided to tune into the Dodger game first to hear Vin. I waited 15 minutes so I could forward through commercials. The plan was to watch the Dodger game till I couldn’t forward anymore and then tune into the Laker game and do the same thing with the Angel game. Surprisingly enough I got to the 7^th inning before I had to change the channel.

I was going to email my little brother today and tell him to watch as many Dodger games on TV as he can this year. Vin Scully is the greatest sports broadcaster of all time. His story telling skills are unmatched, and just flat out amazing. Men like Vin Scully only come around once, and while we can still hear him call games we should all watch as many Dodger games as we can.

I have never watched one Dodger game and NOT learned something by hearing Vin call the game. I can only hope Magic can convince him to stay forever and that science figures out a way to keep Vin alive forever.

Last year when it was rumored that it might be Vin’s last year I heard a rumor about him possibly being encouraged to call the World Series games as a farewell to MLB, fans, and just for the sheer greatness of hearing him call the fall classic. I think this would be great, I mean who wouldn’t watch all seven games with Vin calling the series? Why hasn’t baseball dropped the cash cow on him to do this every year? I think with baseball’s popularity fading they need a grand move like this. Nothing against Tim McCarver or Joe buck, but imagine Vin Scully doing 3 years of the world series? I just think this would be great for all fans across the country. Dodger fans are so extremely lucky to have Vin call the home games, the country would be in for a treat if he was shown and heard nationally all over again.

"Vinnism" that made me laugh the most tonight:

The Padres were coming to bat at the bottom of the fifth inning and Vin was reading he box score and the camera had a perfect shot of a full moon and this is what he said…

Vin:  and a magnificent shot of the moon, can you believe we put a man on there? But then again I will never forget, I told this story before, in Las Vegas on an elevator the night that they were televising all the historic things that were going on, on the moon, two men got on the elevator and one said to the other “you watch the guy on the moon?” and the other man said “yeah.. how long can you watch?” yeah how long can you watch? One away.

I mean this is classic Vin, tells a story, and right as the story finishes Dee Gordon catches a pop fly and vin gets back to baseball “one away.” Perfect!

Random thing your learn listening to Vin:

When Jerry Hairston Jr. came up to bat in the top of the eighth Vin dropped this lil gem for everyone.

Vin:  and the batter Jerry Hairston…. Jerry will be 36 at the end of May, he is a 3^rd generation MLB’er….and like so many, these are all fine athletes, he also played a lot of basketball, in his area Kevin Garnett and Antoine Walker also lived there, fouled away still 3-and-2.

Who knew KG coulda been balling with Jr.?

Min Life Update:

So this week was pretty mellow, it was spring break for school so I just chilled and watched the national championships and Laker games. I so wished I had planned a cool trip somewhere, I kind of feel like jetting off somewhere. I know that when I figure out my situation with what to at the end of my lease, I plan to  save a ton of money and spend the summer taking weekend getaways, and trying to find a week in the summer to just go somewhere cool.

I am just hoping school comes out good; I need so badly to pass all my classes I need a momentum booster. I just need two science classes and one math class and then I can bounce and try to get my degree as fast as possible. If I can get good grades I know I will go in to summer wanting to take a class and hopefully get lucky and score a science class haha.

So this has been my life lately, writing, working, and relaxing. I am so blessed to have the life I have and I know this. I wake up every morning and thank God for another day of life. I know we only get one and I am just trying to live it right so I can find happiness and favor with the Lord.

I have a ton of HW but tomorrow it’s a three game day playa!!!! So I will just hang out and maybe do somehow in the night and then crush it all Sunday with some revising and proofing left Monday.

Happy Easter!!!

-Mark

Hello You Beautiful Morning

I woke up this morning feeling like a sloth. I even threw my arms to get up and let them hang as I rose out of bed to emulate this so-called "sloth."

It’s really sunny today, I always hope for some gloom to appear, life is better with a gloomy sky.

I ate pretty crappy this morning; I had half a cinnamon roll and a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. I mean that’s like a hall-of-fame meal of “shit” for your body.

I definitely need to start working out again, but I am just being lazy and using the stress of moving as an excuse to sulk and not do much.

I didn’t read much yesterday so I did some reading this morning and just finished Peter King’s MMQB and man that guy has such a great job. He lives in NY travels around the country covering sporting events, and seems to have so much fun doing it. He has my dream job.

I mean I guess in all honesty my dream job would truly consist of anything that wouldn’t make me angry to get up early for.

I have spring break this week and have nothing to do. This weekend I watched a ton of basketball.

I saw the national championship last night and watched the Clippers beat up the Mavs, kind of pathetic.

I am excited for the Laker game tonight, and glad I don’t have class to keep me from watching it.

Baseball starts this week, so it will be nice to finally have sports on TV every day till June.

Easter is this weekend!

I have been on a Minus the Bear session lately… and have been listening to this CD a lot…..

Noteable Tracks:

• Knights
• Double Vision Quest
• White Mystery

I usually drink all water at work, I felt like some soda so I reached in my pocket to buy a soda at the machine, hit the wrong number and got stuck with this…

I don’t care if its diet, just give me the fizzy…

-Mark

The Water Saga

At work I try to drink as much water as I can, but I find I more often leave 2 or 3 cups of water lying around.

Which gets me thinking, do I waste more water brushing my teeth twice a day, or trying to hydrate my body?

I get poked for it and its funny to think of someone hibernating water, but I guess I just find it easier to get as much water as I can so I leave my desk less through the time I am here.

at any rate, here are today's victims...