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104 Wagner Street, Talent, For Sale

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Hello and thanks for asking about the Historic Wagner Street House in Talent, Oregon right across from the post office.     The lot size is about 11,000 square feet and the house is a 2 bedroom one bath craftsman built about 1911.   There is also a large shed on the lot.

This was the residence of one of Talent’s early families and I was told that they ran a pole making operation across the street at what is now the Talent Post Office, turning logs into poles that were loaded onto the train.

House Details coming soon.

This is one of Talent’s best commercial locations although it’s currently zoned for “mixed use” or residential, which means that you could run a business and live there.    Any  sale can be made contingent on rezoning the large lot as commercial – in the past the planning department indicated this would probably be acceptable depending on the commercial use that is planned.

Many basic repairs are needed to restore the house to it’s historical beauty.   I’m hoping to have most of those completed in Spring of 2011, I’m planning to ask  for $265,000 when those are done.  I can offer excellent owner financing options with a modest down payment.    I’ll consider lower offers for the house in “as is” condition but please don’t send me lowball offers – I’m not in a hurry to sell this house.   This is a great mixed use / business location in one of Oregon’s most wonderful cities and the right buyer will come along eventually.

I’ll be posting more information here as the remodel continues, but also feel free to email me jhunkins@gmail.com or  call me at 541-324-4800 or 541-535-7640

…. to be continued …

Got Travel Content ?

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The rumors are true – this quirky site, basically created without much human intervention, is now online: 004Travel.com

One of my business partners and I are discussing the importance of “content” in terms of online empires. I’m experimenting with a new Godaddy service that actually builds a site for you and loads it with articles from around the web based on keywords you select. The cost is extremely cheap – 8 per site one time charge and far less in bulk. It’s a VERY interesting concept that really begins to blur the distinctions between super junky “auto generated” material and “real” but sort of “canned” material that is actually somewhat relevant for some readers.

Google generally frowns (reasonably) on irrelevant content that simply tries to optimize for valuable keywords, but they have always struggled (sometimes unreasonably due to non-transparency) with relevant content that is manipulative of their algorithm. It’ll be interesting to see how the amazing Googlebot treats 004Travel.com , a Godaddy auto-generated site using keywords like “Travel” and “Twitter”.

One humorous side of this is an article about “Time Travel”.

Obviously users are not served if their search takes them to irrelevant content, but much of this is “fair” content by my definition – certainly better than much of the stuff provided by the millions of sites that have no intention whatsoever of providing good material to users. Yes, that’s something of a rationalization here because I love the idea of creating fairly robust relevant websites for a few dollars. Let’s see what happens, OK?!

Brain Test

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This just in from the “Quirky Internet Tricks” Department.

Update:  Fun but fails for most!

It’s fun and only takes a moment, so please try and let me know the result in the comments.

Begin the test …..

At the end of this message, you are asked a question.
Answer it immediately …
Don’t stop and think about it.

Just say the first thing that pops into your mind.
This is a fun ‘test’ …

See if you are among the 98% or the 2%. You’ll understand what that means after you finish taking the ‘test…’ Now – just follow the instructions as quickly as possible.

Do not go to the next calculation before you have finished the previous one …

You do not ever need to write or remember the answers, just do it using your mind..

You’ll be surprised..

Start:   How much is: 15 + 6
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21

3 + 56
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59

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89 + 2

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91

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12 + 53

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65
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75 + 26
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101
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25 + 52
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77
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* 63 + 32

95

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I know! Calculations are hard work,

but it’s nearly over..

Come on, one more! ….

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123 + 5

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128

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QUICK! THINK ABOUT
A COLOR AND A TOOL!
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Scroll further to the bottom….
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A bit more…

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You just thought about a red hammer, didn’t you?
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Discussion of this trick:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Urban-Legends-3056/2008/2/2-98-red-hammer.htm

Got Dead?

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One of the biggest legitimate beefs with the media and our own silly perceptions of the way the world works is how foolish we are with the math of death.    Breathless news reports talk about a death here or a few deaths there, ignoring the fact that death….happens a lot.    Only by a good review of the statistics can we begin to understand the significance – or in many case the insignificance – of reports of violence and death.     We tend to confuse “unusual” or “interesting” events with significant ones, and I think this is getting worse as the media increasingly depends on keeping the prurient interest of mathematically inept viewers.
From Centers for Disease Control – 2007 stats:
Mortality experience in 2007
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In 2007, a total of 2,423,712 resident deaths were registered in the United States.
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The age-adjusted death rate, which takes the aging of the population into account, was 760.2 deaths per 100,000 U.S. standard population.
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Life expectancy at birth was 77.9 years.
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The 15 leading causes of death in 2007 were:
1.
Diseases of heart (heart disease)
2.
Malignant neoplasms (cancer)
3.
Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)
4.
Chronic lower respiratory diseases
5.
Accidents (unintentional injuries)
6.
Alzheimer’s disease
7.
Diabetes mellitus (diabetes)
8.
Influenza and pneumonia
9.
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis (kidney disease)
10.
Septicemia
11.
Intentional self-harm (suicide)
12.
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
13.
Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease (hypertension)
14.
Parkinson’s disease
15.
Assault (homicide)
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In 2007, the infant mortality rate was 6.75 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
Here are the numbers for the top 10 (also from CDC for 2007)

  • Heart disease: 616,067
  • Cancer: 562,875
  • Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 135,952
  • Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 127,924
  • Accidents (unintentional injuries): 123,706
  • Alzheimer’s disease: 74,632
  • Diabetes: 71,382
  • Influenza and Pneumonia: 52,717
  • Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 46,448
  • Septicemia: 34,828

Yosemite2010 134

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Yosemite2010 134

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The Clouds Rest hike in Yosemite was fantastic – one of the best hikes I’ve ever done in terms of scenery, modest difficulty, and drama as you ascend the last portion to some of the best views in the park (which, in the case of Yosemite, means some of the best views …. on earth…

We camped at Sunrise Lakes, a very steep hike of about 3 miles, then up to Clouds Rest the next day. It’s 10 miles round trip but the elevation gain from the lakes – which are at about 9200 feet – was just moderate.

At the top of Clouds Rest you can see most of Yosemite, with magnificent viewing for the entire 360 degrees. Especially spectacular is the look down Tenaya Canyon into Yosemite Valley far below. Half Dome hikers are visible with binoculars making their way up the cables that cover the last few hundred yards of the Half Dome hike.

The Half Dome hike offers great views and a huge sense of accomplishment when you make the top, but I’d say Clouds Rest is even more scenic.

Yosemite – what a great American Masterpiece!

Geschmack ist KING

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Ben’s Europe Set D

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Munich, Germany.

The influence of US culture was remarkable in Europe, especially given how much Europeans tend to resent US cultural encroachments. McDonald’s, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken stores were fairly common, though many seemed to adjust to the local cultural flaire. The McDonald’s in Paris had a beautifully appealing selection of croissants at a counter specially designed for breakfast.

Yahoo Bing Search Update

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UPDATE:  Hypothesis appears DISproved.  After under an hour Google has correctly posted Technology-Report.com’s coverage of this issue “yahoo bing search” ahead of JoeDuck.com’s  at Google Blog  Search.  This is the RIGHT answer.   Good work Google!

————————

(( This is mostly an SEO test post – please ignore or read at your peril.   If you were looking for a political argument, please see other posts ))

OK, so the “real” and  meatier post is over here:  Yahoo / Bing Search Update, but I predict Google is going to index this one way above that one for the reasons I discuss …. over there!      JoeDuck is an old site and has a lot more Google Authority than Technology Report , so even though I’ve got a picture of over there of me  hanging with no less than Google CEO Eric Schmidt,  I’m thinking this one will get a much higher rank for “Yahoo Bing Search” than the real post at Technology Report which is far more insightful and relevant than this one.     Hmmm.

Rome Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill

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My son summed up the situation well about the Roma Pass, which probably isn’t worth the $25 Euros to most if they can avoid the Colosseum lines, which I think you can do if you buy that ticket as a combo ticket at the Palatine Hill Entrance to the Ancient Rome area.

It’s important you see the Forum and Palatine Hill as well as the Colosseum, and with an audio tour of these three you’ll spend perhaps a half to full day in this area for about half the cost of the Roma Pass. The Vatican is NOT included in the Pass so our 2.5 Rome days involved only one where we used the Pass. We DID get to skip a huge line at Colosseum but I think we could have done that with the combo ticket you get at Palatine Hill or Forum area where lines are likely to be much shorter.

Ben:
“We decided to buy the ‘Roma Pass’ which lets you skip lines, get into the Colosseum and stuff, and ride public transportation for free. We picked up the passes in the station for 25 euro each. The kit it’s contained within is well put together, it contains a little map and some tourist information. However, in hindsight we’ve determined it wasn’t worth the cost in our case – mainly since the metro here is cheap, only 1 euro a ticket.”

Buffett vs Krugman: Economic Optimist vs Pessimist

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When I hear Paul Krugman -brilliant nobel laureate economist – fret about the economy and global warming I’m always confused by what seem to me to be grossly overstated concerns about both the health of capitalism and the health of the planet in general.    Krugman’s views – to me – seem poisoned by the tendency of smart people to “overthink” problems and “understate” the potential for innovation and technology to rescue people from our foolishness.

A good example of this intellectual defect were the grossly overstated concerns back in the 70s that the earth simply could not sustain the inevitable population increase, and we’d have massive starvation and horrors … by now.       Although it’s VERY important to note how poor many people are in the world, this is NOT at all a function of carrying capacity of the planet and does NOT lead one to the conclusion “don’t feed or they will breed” which is nonsense.  That view is fundamentally naive and misguided and I’m amazed how many people still cling to it – extensive research now makes it crystal clear that the best path to lower birth rates and better quality of life is poverty reduction, education, and health initiatives in the developing world.

But let’s go back to the health of the economy.   Buffet’s the man to listen to, not Krugman: Buffet on Economy

Obviously these are still perilous times, but fretting isn’t called for.    It’s time to fret less and innovate more.   Let’s GO.

The Singularity … will return after this message from our sponsor?

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First, note that I’m a big fan of the concept of “The Singularity” and of Ray Kurzweil, the brilliant technological evangelist who is creating a film to introduce the concept, The Singularity is Near. However I find it more than ironic that the film is delayed.    It’s not even clear from the website if it’s out yet – I think screenings at a couple of film festivals went more poorly than expected so I’m (wildly guessing) they are making some changes before widespread distribution.    But in any case it was supposed to be out in 2009 and it’s not even out yet.

Nitpicky?   To some extent yes, but I think a major  challenge for the pro-singularity, pro-technology movement is that despite the brilliance of many advocates, we need to see a lot less talk and a lot more action.    Skeptics reasonably point to a history of failed promises of artificial intelligence, where advocates like Kurzweil reasonably counter-note that you can’t call these major shots to the exact date, that there is every indication processing power will equal human brainpower very soon, and that technology is clearly advancing in exponential  fashion – basically  that technological progress over the last year is far greater than that of the preceding year and we can expect this accelerating rate of technological progress to continue.

Still, it’s conspicuous when somebody insisting that “The Singularity is Near”  can’t get the movie launched in the year it was supposed to be out.    Perhaps, Ray, your timeframes are too optimistic?   I sure hope not, because I’m rooting for the singularity ASAP, but ….