Knight Club (Castle)

Ye Royal Arcades (Jesters Ring, Pizza/Coffee Table, Red Carpet, King Chairs, Thin Ice, Astro Barrier)

Boiler Room (The Smithy, Old Newspapers)

Cave (Treasure Room)

Ye Olde Coffee Shop (Coffee Tables, Fireplace with Goblet pin, Ye Olden Library, Orange Juice, Coffee, Cream Soda, Bean Counter)

Gift Shoppe (outside decorated only)

Dock (Traveling Black Smith, Free Square Tunic, Hydro Hopper, Cloths/Tunic Washing Area)

Beach (Black/Wizard Tower with Big Crystals)

Lighthouse (Potion Room)

Beacon (Fire Pit, Wizard’s Flying Machine, Telescope)

Mine (Switchbox 3000, Big Red Dragon, Cart Surfer)

Forest (Secret Tree House Room Entrance)

Tree House (Big Red Target, Cream Soda, Tree With Black Puffle)

Cove (Twelve Fish Play at Cove, Twelve Fish Play Script, Catchin Waves)

Pet Shop (Puffle Stables, Puffle Roundup, Puffle Catalogs)

Pizza Parlor (Huge Pizza Feast and Pizzatron 3000)

Siege Forts (Catapults, Club Penguin Clock)

Ye Arena (Jousting Arena, Bow n Arrow Targets)

Ski Village (Tour Area, Winter Shop, Evil Castle)

Did I miss anything?

-I may have more pics of the rooms decorated later!

~Lux1200 President~

20. Grease

Man I had such a crush on Olivia Newton John. I still do. I've seen this movie a hundred times. I still dig it, and love the songs.

19. The Great Outdoors

This was my favorite film when I was 9. I think it still holds up. It's just great. Classic John Candy and Dan Ackroyd at their peak. Like most of my favorites, this is something I can still watch today.

18. Die Hard

You can't have a list without Die Hard. Because... it's fucking Die Hard!

17. Armageddon

Yeah, yeah. It's a Michael Bay film. The plot makes no sense. But it's balls to the wall action, with an awesome cast, and possibly the greatest bit of unintentional humor of all time.

16. Jersey Girl

People give Kevin Smith so much shit over this movie, because of Gigli and the whole Bennifer nonsense. The fact is this is his best film. It's beautiful in more ways than I describe. Not to mention the fact that Affleck proves once again that yes, he can act. Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms, yo!

15. Stripes

Fuck this is a great flick. This is one of those movies as a kid that made me want to be a comedian. Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Judge Reinhold, and John Candy! Sometimes when the going gets rough I remind myself that like Ox I too am a MEAN. LEAN FIGHTING MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!

Also I want to have sex in a trunk. And an RV. And Communist Russia.

14. My Best Friend's Wedding

This isn't just a hilarious movie sporting Julia Roberts on one of the few times that she actually is a knockout (not to mention Cameron Diaz). It also happens to be the first realistic romantic comedy I've ever seen.

13. Beverly Hills Cop 2

Eddie Murphy was never funnier than in this movie. Which is kind of sad. It was pretty much all downhill after this film. Still, it holds up all these years later.

12. Good Morning Vietnam

Robin Williams was my idol growing up. Seeing him now as his own worst impersonator depresses the shit out of me. But whenever I want to go back and see the real Williams, I pop this in. It reminds me that, yes, Robin Williams is the shit.

11. Cars

I had to put a Disney film on this list simply because I am a Disney nut. I'll grant you that technically this is a Pixar film, but even so. It was this or The Incredibles. This won out simply because this is the last one I watched, and I watched it just about eight times. It seems ridiculous off the bat (not to mention completely illogical) but there's something incredibly charming and funny about this film about anamorphic automobiles. It also brings me back to my time in Arizona. I can't wait for Cars 2.

10. Pirates of the Carribean

He's Captain jack Sparrow, love. How can you NOT dig this movie? The perfect blend of action, comedy, and horror... and it's a Disney movie... based on a frickin ride!

9. Walk the Line

I saw this because I'm a Cash fan and I didn't know much about his history. And it was beautiful. Joachin Phoenix and Reese Withspoon did an amazing job.

8. Serenity

Firefly is one of my all-time favorite shows. Though the movie spinoff is much darker... hell, it's still chock full of Whedon-y goodness. And I have a man crush on Nathan Fillion. So there's that. This movie makes me proud to be a Browncoat.

7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones is one of the last true Icons of my generation. I chose Crusade because it has Sean Connery in it, therefore making it twice as awesome. I also love John Rhys Davies' last line.

6. X2

The second X-Men film is arguably the best live action comic based movie that's been made so far. There wasn't a whole lot of Cyclops, but aside from that complaint, this movie delivered better than advertised. It's pretty much a two hour geek-gasm.

5. Ocean's 11 (2001)

I can watch this movie over and over again and never get sick of it. It's just fantastic. It made me like Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. Soderbergh's best work. Brilliant story. Great Actors. Awesome Cinematography. Like Benedict, I never saw it coming.

4. Transformers (1986)

Fuck Keanu Reeves. I'm down with the original Matrix, bitches! R.I.P. Optimus Prime.

3. Batman Mask of the Phantasm

Ask any real fan what the best Bat-film was and you're likely to get one response: Phantasm. No live action movie will ever come close to doing what this animated film was does. It puts the one true vision of Batman on the screen.

2. Garden State

This is the movie I would make if he hadn't done it first. It's about life, and pain, and acceptance. It's just beautiful. And incredibly funny.

1. Return of the Jedi

It's damn near impossible to choose just one of the Star Wars films, but I've always been partial to Jedi. Not sure why. Maybe it's the yub yub song. Or Vader vs Luke. Nah, I know what it is! Three words:
LEIA'S. METAL. BIKINI.

So, I guess that there are several steps to conquering jet lag. All of which I (more or less) followed, but the most important step is to give yourself time to get some rest and don't plan something really stressful on the first day.

1. Get a good night's sleep before you get on the plane- and don't get drunk the night before. Flying hungover, as you can imagine, is not fun.

2. Get some sleep on the flight if applicable. You know when you're on a "we expect you to sleep flight" (ie going to Europe) and when you're on a "you'd better stay awake" flight (ie coming back from Europe). A good rule of thumb, if your flight is 14 hours, you'd better sleep at some point. 14 hours awake on a plane? You'd better sleep or have someone with a straight jacket waiting for you at the gate.

3. Drink a lot of water and juice on the plane and off the plane. Most airlines have little self service areas with juice and water so you can get a drink during the flight without pushing your attendant call button. You also should drink a lot cause it will force you to go to the bathroom.

4. Move on the plane. Otherwise you could get a deep vein thrombosis.

5. Get moving or get to bed depending on the time when you arrive. If you get to your destination at 10 AM you should spend the entire day up and doing something. If you arrive at 10 PM then you should go to bed, so make sure that you know what time you're going to get to your destination and be sure you prepare on the plane accordingly.

6. Don't drink alcohol for a while. Flying makes you dehydrated so its a good idea to avoid alcohol during your first day(s).

Well, I'm not doctor- and there are people out there who have flown WAY more than me, so here are some links to some experts.

The Mayo Clinic

The no jet lag web site- they're trying to sell you something but they seem to have some good tips.

My parents find that their jet lag is worse when they come back to the US than when they go abroad. If you have a lot of problems with it, it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor.

1. She's been up since 4am.

2. She worked her ass off at boot camp class today.

3. She ended her work day with a stressful meeting where people were yelling.

4. She left work with the beginnings of a migraine.

5. She then went to happy hour at Croc's where her friend, Jason, works.

6. She had two Vodka-7s w/ lime.

7. The she went to the Samba room with Jason to say hi to his love, Jeremy - and had another Vodka-7.

8. Her head still hurts - despite taking ibuprofen, aceteminophen, and Aleve (not all at once).

9. She has to get up to go to work tomorrow morning.

10. She has to get up early enough to take out the trash.

11. She's tired. (wow that makes too much sense!)

12. She really likes sleep.

13. Did I mention how late it is?

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

So, the list continues...

Andre 3000 has had more impact in about 40 bars this year than many peers can boast on their entire albums.

No album, no single, only two guest appearances — Andre did even less this year than he did in 2007. There's not even a handful of verses to judge him on. Should the Hip-Hop Brain Trust members be found guilty of treason for giving Andre a slot in the top 10 despite minimum output?

Absolutely not.

Tres Stacks has illustrated natural bravura over brainless bravado, dropping judiciously dope couplets laced with gentlemanly swagger that brew to a crescendo and shed every note in their way.

Splendidly subtle N.W.A reference here, magnificent drug metaphor there — before you know it, this legend has had more impact in about 40 bars than many peers can boast on their entire long-play discs. 3000 may be the most inspiring MC right now, because everything we've heard from him in the past several months has been methodically dead-right. His album isn't slated to drop until later this year, which could be 2009 in Andre time. It's all good, as long as all this teasing of his excellence results in another classic opus.

Read the rest of MTV's feature article on Andre 3000 after the jump

Co-Signer: Rick Ross
"I just heard a verse Andre did today on the radio that I never heard. He's just incredible. He's a pure lyricist. And I think a lot of us as fans, we grew up to Outkast's music. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik made such an impact where we was at. If he only put out one disc, you respected him as a lyricist. He just keeps blossoming. Andre has swagger and lyrics. I think to be the best, you've got to have both. This game is so competitive, you got to be on top of your sh--."

Blistering Ballistics
"She said, 'Why in the club, you don't make it precipitate?/ You know, make it rain when you could make it thunderstorm?'/ I'm like, why? The world needs sun/ The 'hood needs funds/ There's a war going on and half the battle is guns/ How dare I throw it on the floor/ When people are poor/ So I write like Edgar Allan to restore/ The 'hood be requesting my services/ Oh, don't get nervous, it's step-your-game-up time/ These ain't them same old rhymes/ Designed to have you dancing in some club." — From DJ Drama's "The Art of Storytellin' Part 4."

Hot Streak

Albums
N/A

Selected Mixtapes
N/A

Singles
N/A

Street Bangers
N/A

Key Guest Appearances
UGK's "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)," DJ Drama's "The Art of Storytellin' Part 4," Big Boi's "Royal Flush."

Business Ventures
Building his brand in Hollywood with films like "Semi-Pro" and "Battle in Seattle."

Tours
N/A

Peace, Love & MTV's "Hottest MCs In The Game"

SpeakerBox

Aggregate

• Avg
• Count
• CumulativePercent
• CumulativeSum
• First
• Large
• Last
• Max
• Median
• Min
• Mode
• Percent
• Small
• StDev
• StDevP
• Sum
• Var
• VarP

Crosstab

• CrosstabAvg
• CrosstabCount
• CrosstabMax
• CrosstabMin
• CrosstabSum

Data Type Checking

• Asc
• Char
• Integer
• IsDate
• IsNull
• IsNumber
• IsTime
• Long
• Number

Datawindow information

• CurrentRow
• Describe
• GetRow
• GetText
• IsRowModified
• IsRowNew
• IsSelected
• LookUpDisplay
• Page
• PageAcross
• PageCount
• PageCountAcross
• RowCount
• RowHeight

Day, Date, and Time

• Date
• DateTime
• Day
• DayName
• DayNumber
• DaysAfter
• Hour
• Minute
• Month
• Now
• RelativeDate
• RelativeTime
• Second
• SecondsAfter
• Time
• Today
• Year

Miscellaneous

• Bitmap
• Case
• If
• ProfileInt
• ProfileString
• RGB

Numeric

• Abs
• Ceiling
• Cos
• Exp
• Fact
• Int
• Log
• LogTen
• Max
• Min
• Mod
• Pi
• Rand
• Round
• Sign
• Sin
• Sqrt
• Tan
• Truncate

String

• Fill
• Left
• LeftTrim
• Len
• Lower
• Match
• Mid
• Pos
• Replace
• Right
• RightTrim
• Space
• String
• Trim
• Upper
• WordCap

...would have a detached garage out back, with a room above it for Jeff's study.

...would be in a quiet, established, older neighborhood where none of the houses match, and where the streets are a practical grid--not just a maze of cul-de-sacs.

...would be old and sturdy and authentic and lived-in and loved.

...would have have chairs and a swing and some hanging plants on the big ol' porch, and grass growing up between the bricks on the front walk.

...would be filled with a collection of furniture accumulated from antique stores and refinished by me, each piece picked out and adored, and the end tables won't match each other, and the bedframes might be wrought iron.

...would have a warm, comfortable kitchen, sunny and large with a breakfast nook in the corner.

...would have wide-open windows as frequently as possible.

...would have a clothesline in the backyard, and an old picnic table, and maybe a couple chickens and a chicken coop.

...would hold books on built-in shelves in the living areas--kids' books on the lower shelves, mine on the middle ones, and Jeff's at the top.

...would have a dining room with a big, loooong table of dark wood--maybe with benches running along either side, and that's where we'd eat most evenings.

...would hide nooks and crannies and practical storage in unexpected places, with no space wasted.

...wouldn't bother with massive bathrooms or a master 'suite' when smaller spaces work just fine.

...would have an attic just like in the movies, with enough space to store baby clothes and Christmas decorations and all that other good stuff.

...would have a girls' room and a boys' room and the girls might have a pillow-filled play loft for reading and playing princesses, and the boys' room would have a super-secret 'cave' for playing dragons and having daytime campouts.

...would have a yard filled with old, old trees and some peony bushes and a bench at the back, and a redbud tree and some more nooks and hidden areas for playing, and a vegetable and herb garden right outside the kitchen door.

...would be the kind of place where we could live for 40 years or 50 years and never want to--never have to--move.

...would have a basement with rickety stairs going down, and shelves for holding canned fruits and vegetables, and the washer and dryer in the corner, and might be haunted.

Is that so much to ask?  Guess we'll find out in a few years...

• Save $120 (which is a totally random amount)
• Pay off my citation which I was dreading
• And buy some much needed clothes and shoes (I have a conference coming up and I cannot afford to look shabby)  I won't spend that much
• Optional pay for an eye exam or GRE (which is sad because i should put this above my clothes and shoes, but I am not.)
• I just want a pant, a shoe, and a couple of shirts

Hour 1

Avalon Superstar ft. Rita Campbell - All my love (Soulseekerz Radio Edited)
Bionik Phunk - In My Head (Playmaker And Pilch's Silky Club Edit)
Jewel - Only One Too (Lenny B. Club Edit)
Pet Shop Boys - The Resurrectionists (Goetz B. Edit)
Ohsha Kai - Free Your Mind (A Whole New Georgie Radio Edit)
Carole Sylvan - Just Doin What We Love (Pete Doyle's Kentish Man Radio Edit)
Lasgo - Hold Me Now (Giuseppe D's Gemini Remix Edit)
Stefy - Chelsea (Chris Cox Club Edit)
Sherrie Lea - Nothing Better Than Life
Chris Willis - My Freedom
Dive ft. Sarah Washington - Joy is Free (Nylon's Radio Mix)
LeAnn Rimes - And It Feels Like (Friday Night Posse Remix Edit)
Lauren Hildebrandt - Dance With You

Hour 2

Until - The Place Where YOu Belong (Stardustmusic Clubbers Remix Edit)
Ian Van Dahl - Tears
Bananarama - Look On The Floor (Hypnotic Tango) (Sollaso Remix Edit)
Gnaris Barkley - Crazy (Richard Vission Remix Edit)
Front ft. Monaq - Feel The Love
Michelle Weeks - Give Me Love (Kamasutra Radio Edit)
Paul Gardinder And Hugh Gunnel ft. Juliet Roberts - Free Love 2006
John Kano Project ft. Gia 7 - I Feel For You (Rosabel's Vox Club Edit)
Jessica Folker- To Be Able To Love (Johnathan Peters Radio Edit)
Modulation - White Flame
Jason Nevins ft. Holly - I'm In Heaven
Heather Small - Proud (Josh Harris Pride 2006 Edit)
Oceaniab ft. Justine Suissa - Clear Blue Water
Pleasure Center - Getcha Some

Hour 3

Danni Minogue - Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling
Roy Gates - Lose Myself
Rihanna - Unfaithful (Tony Moran Radio)
David Morales with Tamra Keenan - Here I Am (Kaskade Radio Edit)
Africanism Allstars - Summer Moon (Bob Sinclair Remix Edit)
Kathy Phillips - When You Say Nothing At All
In Between ft. Win Marcinak - It's A Dream (Hothead House Radio Edit)
Taras - Where Your Heart Is
Dj Encore ft. Engelina - Chemistry
Gav McCall - I'm Alright
4 Strings - Come Closer

Hour 4

Jenna Drey - Why Should I Believe You (Love To Infinity Radio Mix)
Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous (Ralphi's Dirty Vocal Edit)
Plumb - Cut (Bronleewe And Bose Club Edit)
Daft Punk - One More Time
Jonathan Peters ft. Sylver Logan Sharp - All This Time
Allie - Living In A Whisper (Anton Bass Original Edit)
Mickey 'Mixin' Oliver - Nothing More To Give (Mickey's House Edit)
Paris Hilton - Stars Are Blind (Tracy Does Mixshow Edit)
Soul Avengerz ft. Angie Brown - Sing
Bunny Rugs - Now That We Found Love (Norty's In The Club Edit)
Samantha James - Rise (Eric Kupper Remix Edit)
Above and Beyond - Far From In Love

16th may

• medieval party begins

23rd may

• new furniture catalogue
• new pet catalogue
• igloo contest begins
• new pin hidden

29th may

• Writing contest results announced

30th may

• Book published

~hasta la vista, baby!

It’s that time of year for Hip Hop heads and haters alike. MTV’s Top Ten “Hottest MC’s in the Game” list is coming out. And it’s sure to be filled with mayhem and foolishness and I’m sure some really hurt feelings (i.e. 50 Cent and Snoop after last year’s listing). Numbers 9 (Andre 3000) and 10 (T.I.) have already been released the rest will be announced on May 16th, on MTV.

So the great debate is who will make the list. While anyone with sense ( and over age 20) is probably hoping for real lyricists and conscious rappers to make the list., I’m pretty sure some ignut mess will slip in. So who do you think are the hottest MC’s in the game??

I’ll share my list--- ( no particular order)

T.I.
Common
Lupe Fiasco
Ludacris (yeah he’s got some nasty lyrics but he also has some good songs too. It’s all about balance people)
Kanye West (that concert sealed the deal)
Jay-Z
Rick Ross (I’m a Florida Girl, what can I say?)

I’ll stop there because I generally have complaints about most of the other MC’s out right now.

Share your list. I promise not to clown you (unless of course you list Soulja Boi, Then all bets are off lol)

1. Woke up to The Shins' "Wincing the Night Away" CD.
2. Read the lyrics for "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" and "I Know It's Over" by The Smiths. Excellent lyrics. I wish I had discovered them sooner.
3. Tripped twice. It's Day Two of Sandals, so I guess I'm still getting used to them. Or I'm tired.
4. Ate spaghetti and pork chops and oatmeal muffins for breakfast. Plus tea.
5. Did the dishes.

Now it's time for a snack:

"Below are the top 106 books tagged “unread” in LibraryThing.

The rules:

Bold what you have read, italicize books you’ve started but couldn’t finish, and strike through books you hated. Add an asterisk to those you’ve read more than once. Underline those on your To Be Read list."

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Anna Karenina

Crime and Punishment

Catch-22

One hundred years of solitude

Wuthering Heights

The Silmarillion

Life of Pi: a novel

The Name of the Rose

Don Quixote

Moby Dick

Ulysses

Madame Bovary

The Odyssey

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Eyre

A Tale of Two Cities

The Brothers Karamazov

Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies

War and Peace

Vanity Fair

The Time Traveller’s Wife

The Iliad

Emma

The Blind Assassin

The Kite Runner

Mrs. Dalloway

Great Expectations

American Gods

A heartbreaking work of staggering genius

Atlas shrugged

Reading Lolita in Tehran

Memoirs of a Geisha

Middlesex

Quicksilver

Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West

The Canterbury Tales

The Historian

A portrait of the artist as a young man

Love in the time of cholera

Brave new world

The Fountainhead

Foucault’s Pendulum

Middlemarch

Frankenstein

The Count of Monte Cristo

Dracula

A clockwork orange

Anansi Boys

The Once and Future King

The Grapes of Wrath

The Poisonwood Bible

1984

Angels & Demons

The Inferno

The Satanic Verses

Sense and sensibility

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Mansfield Park

One flew over the cuckoo’s nest

To the Lighthouse

Tess of the D'Urbevilles

Oliver Twist

Gulliver’s Travels

Les misérables

The Corrections

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

Dune

The Prince

The Sound and the Fury

Angela’s Ashes

The God of Small Things

A people’s history of the United States : 1492-present

Cryptonomicon

Neverwhere

A confederacy of dunces*

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Dubliners

The unbearable lightness of being

Beloved

Slaughterhouse-five

The Scarlet Letter

Eats, Shoots & Leaves

The mists of Avalon

Oryx and Crake : a novel

Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed

Cloud Atlas

The Confusion

Lolita

Persuasion

Northanger Abbey

The Catcher in the Rye*

On the Road*

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Freakonomics

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The Aeneid

Watership Down

Gravity’s Rainbow

The Hobbit*

In Cold Blood

White teeth

Treasure Island

David Copperfield

The Three Musketeers

However you can't do that if you want to define your field as a site column because the field is not added to any list at the time it is being defined and therefore your can't lookup into a list that doesn't exist yet. It would be useful though if somehow you could use some sort of "late binding" and choose the list later but when you are creating the site column from the UI you will have to pick up a concrete lookup list.

But there is antoher way. You indeed can define a reusable "late bindable" lookup field as a site column which will lookup into the same list as the list it is added to. How to achieve this is revealed if you look at the SPFieldLookup.LookupList property getter in Reflector:

If you have defined lookup site columns using schema xml and SharePoint features you will know that the List attribute should be the ID of the list. What the code above tells you is that if you use the string "Self" as the value of the List attribute then this will indeed refer to the list itself.

So the solution is to deploy your field as a SharePoint feature and set its List attribute to "Self". For example this is how SharePoint defines the "Related Issues" site column:

Interestingly there are two other special lookup lists, other than "Self", which are "UserInfo" and "Docs". "UserInfo" refers to the special peoples list SPWeb.SiteUserInfoList whlie "Docs" refers to the Docs table in SharePoint and allows you to lookup any of the database columns in the Docs table. This is what SharePoint does to retrieve the "Last Modified" column:

and then second being number 1638 on the Million Blog List experiment.

Are you interested in Investing in Real Estate?

Let me guess, you attended a real estate seminar where they sold you a bunch of books and promised to teach you how to buy real estate with NO money down and next to 0% financing.  You're now ready to go out and search for property that with a total investment of $1,000 is going to turn into $1,000,000 because you bought the property.

Once you find your commercial or residential real estate investment property you'll need financing.  If it is commercial you'll probably hit up a couple specialty financing firms that offer 5-7% interest rates on a 75%, 30 yr am, 10 fixed, 5pt loan, with a 20% Mezzanine at 8-9 over prime and 5% down.  Sounds good right? Let me guess, you didn't understand half that, and when you hand the mortgage broker an upfront "Admin" fee of $4K and he returns the favor with a 75% bridge loan at 10-12% over prime, you'll be scratching your head wondering how the bank ran off with your money and you still HAVE NOTHING!

0% Down... not a chance... 5% maybe in 2005... 10% maybe in 2006... 20% not since sometime in 2007, 25% now we can do business, if you have 15 years of experience a networth of double the value of the subject property and 3 other gaurantors.

Don't buy a book that has been sold to millions of others telling you you can buy property for 5% down. It isn't going to happen.... and if it was going to happen EVERYONE else would be doing it.  In real estate you can't be a Cow and stay in the pasture, you need to be a Bull and venture out... the grass is always greener where less teeth have chomped. 

FIRST, pick your approach.  Are you looking for a value add property, or fully leased NNN Commercial Property? Do you want Residential or Commercial Property?

For the purposes of prosperity let's focus on Commercial property.

Investors will tell you "DO NOT put all your eggs in one basket" What are the eggs? ...and What's the basket? In Real Estate the "eggs" aren't just your dollars, they are your tenants. Unlike Residential Real Estate, when you sign a Commercial Lease, you sign a 5+ year partnership agreement. Successful tenants are worth more to you than just money... they are the "egg."

Many investors look for NNN Single Tenant investments, for example, the Walgreens or CVS store on the intersection closest to your home is actually owned by some 1031 Exchange buyer who bought the property for a good CAP Rate return. 

JUST THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MINUTE.  The property is 100% occupied by a AAA Credit tenant who pays ALL Expenses associated with the building (NNN).

But who is AAA?

Would you rather have Blockbuster or Dollar General?

If you said "Blockbuster" you just made your first $2 million dollar mistake. Dollar General is a AAA tenant, whereas Blockbuster is CC.

Even if you are able to pick your tenant's wisely they could be forced out of business over night, and when they do your 100% NNN leased investment just became a worthless 100% vacant investment property.  Just look at Bombay Company... they went bankrupt, consolidated, and closed up shop.

If your strategy is Commercial Real Estate Investment, stick with multi-tenant properties.  A strip mall with four tenants is much more stable than a McDonalds on the corner of two major interstate highways.  Why? Because if one leaves you have continued income from the others while you release the property.

Banks looking to finance your property will frown upon NNN Single tenant deals. The first thing they look at is worse case scenario.  Worst case scenario is your tenant leaves and you can no longer afford to pay the loan.

If you are looking at purchasing a multi-tenant property, chances are the seller has an asking price similar to the properties fully leased CAP rate value. If they are only 25% leased the property isn’t worth anything close to the CAP Rate, and you won’t get the financing.

The best thing you can do when investing in Real Estate is find a Real Estate broker you can trust and stick with them.  A good Real Estate Professional will guide you through the process of acquiring property and stick by your side as a Real Estate Advisor for years to come.  If you are investing consult a Commercial Real Estate Broker.  Even if you are looking at single family homes, Commercial Real Estate Brokers analyze properties and rents on a daily basis, Residential Real Estate Brokers do not.  However, some Residential Real Estate Broker 's are more qualified to assist property investors than others.  If you choose to use a Resdiential Real Estate Broker, interview them and make sure they are equipped to run a proper analysis of your investment.

When using a broker always use a LOCAL broker.  For example, if you are in Greensboro North Carolina and want to buy Commercial Property in Raleigh North Carolina, don’t bring your broker up from Greensboro, use a local representative.  If you are good friends with your Greensboro Commercial Broker, let him find the Raleigh Commercial Broker and work together.

Nobody knows the market better than the local brokers. A Cary Commercial Real Estate Broker knows Cary, NC the best.  A Raleigh Commercial Real Estate Broker knows Raleigh, NC the best.  If you are looking throughout the Triangle Area in NC, you need a broker who knows Chapel Hill, Durham, Cary, Raleigh, RTP, and surrounding areas.  When interviewing a Commercial Real Estate Broker ask him/her what makes them an expert in the market they are working in, how many days a week to they spend researching their markets?  How often do they do deals in different markets?  What qualifies them to be your Commercial Real Estate Broker?

After reading the rider I decided to cherry pick what I found to be some of the more amusing items and put them here. I guess this will fuel an ever so amusing rider from BrokenOrchestra some day too. Here we go:

On the matter of food: "let's try to think outside the box as we consider the CHICKEN BREAST. A bunch of lightly cooked chicken breasts with goo on them are not fun, not exciting and definately not going to GET YOU A HUG FROM OUR BASS PLAYER, NATE. (He's the real people person, not the guy from Nirvana)."
"Here are some cool things to do with meat and meat examples.. Fried turkey, fried chicken, fried anything, really. Sausages, Veggie sausages. Big ass kielbasas that make men feel self conscious..... Bacon. I call it "god's currency." Hell, if it could be breathed, I would. Bacon in any form is great."

No salads then, I guess. On the non-dietry requirements the Foos also demand the following:

"24 Large Bath Towels - if they are new and unwashed, you will receive a wedgie."

"1 bag of Pirate Booty. Not Johnny Depp's."

As for accommodation: "Any effort to make the dressing room comfy and sexy is much appreciated. We like to lounge about and convalesce in the dressing room, so feel free to shoplift some cool Ikea furniture."

Having pointed out that "Fat roadies have to eat immediately so they can begin their arduous 70 to 90 minute workday" the band makes a heartfelt plea:

"We are just another band trying to make enough money to fuel our private jet. Please help."

While I sit and ponder whether this is amusing or, in the eyes of a concert promoter just receiving this rider, an arrogant attempt at humour from a band that used to play shows in sheds and a guy who should know better, I'll provide the link to the whole rider for those that want to make up their own minds.

Au revoir for now.

So, the credit here goes to Dad, for making me write this, and for helping me keep it all of these years. Lots of these characteristics come from the man he is in my life.

Here goes, exactly as it was written my first year of high school...

 
Sarah Ann Richard
My Standards

• Puts God first
• Gentleman
• Gets along with my brothers and my dad
• Loves his family
• Taller than me
• Smart
• Deep enough to read my writings and not laugh
• Considerate
• Treats everyone equally and with respect
• Likes traveling
• Knows what he wants
• Has high standards
• Doesn’t care whether or not I have makeup on
• Not girly… likes sports, macho, etc. ;)
• Self confident
• Humble
• Heart for the lost
• Knows how to have (clean) fun
• Treats ladies nicely (opens doors, girls first, etc.)
• Honest
• Gentle, but still likes to “be a guy”
• Someone who would dance with me and not feel stupid
• Strong physically
• Strong personality
• Doesn’t care what anyone thinks
• Thinks I’m beautiful
• Romantic (but not too sappy)
• Puts others before himself
• Willing to stay pure
• Likes kids
• Goes to church
• Can hold an intelligent conversation
• Not shy
• Willing to have fun but has limits
• Can be stupid, but can be serious
• Sensitive to other’s feelings
• Knows when to stop teasing
• Holds my hand
• Doesn’t care what position my dad or grandpa is in--- is respectful regardless, but not too intimidated
• Brave but not cocky
• Doesn’t smoke/drink/do drugs
• Knows he’s not perfect
• Not too flirtatious
• Only says I love you when ready to give a piece of himself up/ or is totally sincere.. Because I love you is such a serious thing to say
• Will watch movies with me… even chick flicks
• Is a leader (leads me in the relationship, leads others)
• Evangelistic - Witnessing is important to him and lives a life for Jesus
• He sets boundaries for himself

Political correctness would never work because I find the philosophy offensive. Thats right, I honestly find it offensive. That goes to prove it would never work; if a philosophy, or practice's whole goal is to not offend anyone, at anytime, and that same practice offends some, then the whole idea is struck down completely. Not a very strong idea if you ask me. Is the practice of not offending people(when possible) good? Yes, its great, but when you go overboard with it, it becomes an obstacle of free speech. When I say free speech I don't mean you should be able to say anything you want without any consequences at all. I believe their should be freedom of speech as long as your not imposing on the rights of others. I.e say your at the local Mc donald's drive thru, and you take forever ordering while the driver behind you starts to get more, and more angry. If freedom of speech was absolute, then that driver could walk up to your window and tell you that since you pissed him off he's going to rape your child. As long as he never actually did that, it would be completely legal to express that thought(in a politically correct society). That's why there are boundaries to this freedom. When that driver told you that, he is imposing on your personal rights. Firstly he is communicating threats, and secondly he is using words that you find offensive in the order he placed them. If he came up to your window and said "my daughter was kidnapped and raped, keep a good eye on your child." You wouldn't find that offensive. Why? Because he wasn't directing a vulgar threat towards your child. Sentence structure alone can cause an offense.

Are there absolutes? Some would say "No, I decide what is right and wrong,according to what I believe." but many would say, "Yes, there have to be absolutes,otherwise anything goes." If you were among those that don't believe in absolutes maybe you should think again. Do you believe I should be allowed to kill you without any consequences? Well you must, because if there are no absolutes then everyone decides what is right and wrong according to their own beliefs. So it would be ok for the guy in the airplane to kill the pilot and fly the plane into a building because there are no absolutes, and he is doing what he feels is right. Who are you to tell him that your absolutes are right, and his are wrong? You would be suggesting that you are a more superior being, and that would certainly be politically incorrect, because if you are superior than that would mean someone else is inferior(obviously). When you really study "political correctness" you will find that it takes either a very ignorant, or naive individual to really believe it.

What is the unforgivable sin(uh-oh, i said sin, politically incorrect) of pious, politically correct individuals? Intolerance. You must be totally tolerant of anything, and everything, which is completely asinine. It is impossible to be totally tolerant of everything, it just doesn't make sense in any way, shape, or form. How could you be tolerant of everything if there are intolerant people? Are you supposed to do away with the intolerant people? Who's to say that's ok? The founder of the philosophy? That would mean he was some sort of god to be worshiped, and that once again goes against the entire idea. It's a major flaw in the "system". Looking at political correctness is like "The Butterfly Effect" the cover looks really cool, but when you watch the movie it's completely flawed, and riveted with plot holes. That doesn't mean it didn't have some cool ideas, or scenes but as a whole it just doesn't work.

-RhyeKno

ComboBox
↓
List
↓
ScrollBar

The problem is that the ScrollBar inside the List component can't be manipulated directly. So for an easy fix here's what you do. Warning: Some art work required. Create skins for buttons (up/down), track (the portion behind the scroll thumb) and the thumb itself. The buttons have the states: up, down, over and disabled. Write some css for styling the List in the combobox as follows:

.customDropdown {
    vertical-scroll-bar-style-name:myCustomVertScroll;
}

.customVertScroll {
    up-arrow-up-skin:Embed(source="assets/upArrowUp.png");
    up-arrow-down-skin:Embed(source="assets/upArrowUp.png");
    up-arrow-over-skin:Embed(source="assets/upArrowOver.png");
    up-arrow-disabled-skin:Embed(source="assets/upArrowUp.png");

    down-arrow-up-skin:Embed(source="assets/downArrowUp.png");
    down-arrow-down-skin:Embed(source="assets/downArrowUp.png");
    down-arrow-over-skin:Embed(source="assets/downArrowOver.png");
    down-arrow-disabled-skin:Embed(source="assets/downArrowUp.png");

    track-skin:Embed(source="assets/scrollTrack.png");

    thumb-up-skin:Embed(source="assets/scrollThumb.png", scaleGridLeft="4", scaleGridTop="4", scaleGridRight="26", scaleGridBottom="26");
    thumb-over-skin:Embed(source="assets/scrollThumb.png", scaleGridLeft="4", scaleGridTop="4", scaleGridRight="26", scaleGridBottom="26");
    thumb-down-skin:Embed(source="assets/scrollThumb.png", scaleGridLeft="4", scaleGridTop="4", scaleGridRight="26", scaleGridBottom="26");
    thumb-disabled-skin:Embed(source="assets/scrollThumb.png", scaleGridLeft="4", scaleGridTop="4", scaleGridRight="26", scaleGridBottom="26");
}

Note that there the first css class us for the drop-down which exploits the style for the scrollbar.

Here's some sample MXML on how to use it ...

<mx:ComboBox id="combo" dropDownStyleName="customDropdown" width="200">
        <mx:dataProvider>
            <mx:String>Item 1</mx:String>
            <mx:String>Item 2</mx:String>
            <mx:String>Item 3</mx:String>
            <mx:String>Item 4</mx:String>
            <mx:String>Item 5</mx:String>
            <mx:String>Item 6</mx:String>
            <mx:String>Item 7</mx:String>
        </mx:dataProvider>
    </mx:ComboBox>

Make sure the button, track and thumb skins are sized to an appropriate desired width. They must all be the same width atleast (for a vertical scroll bar). Its a dirty fix but works ... Time to yell out to Adobe again I guess.

P.S. I was a bit lazy designing the skins, put in the effort and the results will be wonderful.

MTV's annual "Hottest MCs In The Game" countdown has begun over at MTV. And even with the first entry, things are already looking very different from last year!

And #10 is...

T.I. was a top-spot contender last year, but legal woes have forced the MC to scale back his output...

Why He's Hot
Hold up. Just last year, T.I. was up for debate to be #1, and now he slips to #10? What happened? First of all, let's be clear: Tip's decline in ranking has nothing to do with his skills. We all know that he is still one of the best in the business and his popularity is still intact. Unfortunately, since almost topping the last list, Tip had to take an unforeseen, unwelcome hiatus when he was arrested in November on a slew of gun charges, leading to more than six months of house arrest. Promotions for his platinum T.I. vs. T.I.P. came to an end. The kibosh was put on the single "Hurt" and its video. Any chance of dropping another LP at the top of '08 was thwarted quick. Movies, endorsements — everything shut down. He says his arrest probably cost him between $10 million and $12 million. Musically, he was inactive for months while many of his peers continued to put out sterling material...

Find the rest of the feature article after the jump

Flame Thrower: T.I.

Why He's Hot
Hold up. Just last year, T.I. was up for debate to be #1, and now he slips to #10? What happened? First of all, let's be clear: Tip's decline in ranking has nothing to do with his skills. We all know that he is still one of the best in the business and his popularity is still intact. Unfortunately, since almost topping the last list, Tip had to take an unforeseen, unwelcome hiatus when he was arrested in November on a slew of gun charges, leading to more than six months of house arrest. Promotions for his platinum T.I. vs. T.I.P. came to an end. The kibosh was put on the single "Hurt" and its video. Any chance of dropping another LP at the top of '08 was thwarted quick. Movies, endorsements — everything shut down. He says his arrest probably cost him between $10 million and $12 million. Musically, he was inactive for months while many of his peers continued to put out sterling material.

In March, he pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to more than 1,500 hours of community service. He still faces a reported year in prison. But Tip didn't fall completely off the map during his time on the bench. In a testament to his following, he brought several thousand fans to the Web site StreetCred.com simply by posting a video message telling folks he was OK. Tip's swag was at Hugh Hefner level, talking to his fans via webcam in a robe and slippers. In March, he made headlines simply by taking his family to church and speaking on the serious issue of AIDS prevention.

While his popularity transcended music years ago, his songs are still the foundation of his ability to generate interest. We've had a few sprinklings of him on remixes here and there, but we just got his full-on return with the first offering from his upcoming Paper Trail, "No Matter What." Although the cut has a few indignant retorts for Shawty Lo and others who he feels questioned his street credibility, Tip's commitment to sincere commentary on his life, no matter how painful, will always keep him at four-star-general ranking.

You can bet the house on Tip in 2008. He's back to writing down his raps, which is only going to make him that much deadlier on the mic. Plus, the Atlanta native is a fiery beast when everything is all good. Imagine how strong he's going to come now that he feels he has something to prove? The recording sessions for Paper Trail are almost at 100 songs deep, and he's working with Kanye West, Danja and longtime collaborator DJ Toomp among others.

Co-Signer: Lupe Fiasco
"T.I.'s got raw energy. I've been a fan of T.I. since I'm Serious. To me, that was like his Illmatic. The next few albums was cool, but it wasn't like the I'm Serious T.I.P. Then he came on the remix for 'Superstar,' and I was like, 'Yo, dawg. Reeee-diculous!' I think it's the adversity, the time he had to sit down and think and write. Whenever I look at dude's face, it's like he's got a point to prove. Not that he's king of the world or nothing like that, but he always got something to work forward to. That right there is unstoppable."

Blistering Ballistics
"Pain's a small thing to a giant/ I was born without a dime, out the gutter I climbed/ Spoke my mind and didn't stutter one time/ Ali said even the greatest gotta suffer sometimes/ So I huff and puff rhymes, lyrics so sick with it/ Set the standard in Atlanta of how to get, get, get it/ Whether I still live in the 'hood or just visit/ Whatever you can do in the 'hood, I done did it." — From "No Matter What"

Hot Streak

Albums
N/A

Selected Mixtapes
N/A

Singles
"Hurt" from 2007's T.I. vs. T.I.P., "No Matter What" from the upcoming Paper Trail

Street Bangers
N/A

Key Guest Appearances
Lupe Fiasco's "Superstar" remix, Usher's "Love in This Club" unofficial remix, Rocko's "Umma Do Me" remix, DJ Drama's "5000 Ones"

Business Ventures
CEO of Grand Hustle Records, Partner in StreetCred.com

Tours
Second leg of Screamfest '07

The 2008 version of "Hottest MCs in the Game" airs Friday, May 16, on MTV at 10 p.m. — and you can also hit MTVNews.com once the program is over to read more in-depth about the Brain Trust's choices. [SOURCE: MTV.COM]

Peace, Love & MTV's "Hottest MCs In The Game"

SpeakerBox

Responsibilities:
•Reviewing and researching business data
•Accurately/flawlessly updating business information

Requirements:
•BA/BS degree
•Attention to detail with the ability to complete a large volume of work quickly
•(...)

Yes, now candidates for data entry jobs "need" undergraduate degrees. What's next? Will SF cab drivers need BA/BS degrees?

Of course, maybe this is just a reflection of the unusually high applicant/job ratio in the Bay Area.

You stand accused of the following improprieties during your 8 years of non public service:

• Lifting $44,000 from the public till to finance 124,000 miles worth of personal round-the-world trips with your family at the expense of missing 132 days of public service and 16 city council meetings (many of which were focused on city planning). Burning 125 metric tons of fuel is not how you clean up our air. You stand accused.
• Sacramento's ominous 6th place ranking as the smoggiest city in the entire union. You stand accused.
• Sacramento's ominous 5th place ranking as the city with the poorest quality roads in the entire United States (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_Oct_2/ai_n16833975).
• Sacramento's soaring crime rate that has resulted in a 55% increase in violent crime since the year 2001 and made Sacramento the most dangerous city in California to live, second to only OAKLAND! That's right, thanks to YOU Fargo, Sacramento is now more dangerous than LOS ANGELES!! You stand accused! "...The most disappointing thing about Fargo's response to a series of questions about the [crime] issue was her almost total lack of curiosity. She displayed only mild interest in figuring out why Sacramento has a problem or what she might learn from studying the experience of other cities..." (http://www.sacbee.com/110/v-print/story/932913.html)
• A $58 MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET SHORTFALL that will result in MASSIVE cuts to the city's many social programs and loss of countless Sacramento City jobs. You stand accused of gross negligence in managing our city's budget! And don't blame the economy either because Elk Grove is in the black this year and about to give the city staff a RAISE! You stand accused.
• Unchecked cronyism with developers and insiders that has resulted in the complete tidal wave of commercial development in Sacramento. You have brought 5.5 million square feet of it to Sacramento, but you fail to mention not even HALF of it is occupied. You stand accused of filling all of our landscape with warehouse and office space the community can not even support. You stand accused.
• Running my city into the ground. Since you took office the air quality is worse, crime rate is higher, the quality of life in the city is in exponential decline for families.
• For having a degree in Environmental Planning and Management, then citing your greatest mayoral accomplishment as adding 5.5 MILLION SQUARE FEET of brick, mortar and stucco to the Sacramento city landscape, and having the brass to say you want Sacramento to be like Portland of all places!! You stand accused.

You stand accused. Please don't go away mad Heather, JUST GO AWAY and let someone who truly cares about the city and its residents a chance to save it.

Joe Sacramento

FHM’s annual 100 Sexiest Women in the World list was released today, and to no one’s surprise, our very own Megan Fox took top honors. Here’s what the top ten looks like:

1. Megan Fox
2. Jessica Biel
3. Jessica Alba
4. Elisha Cuthbert
5. Scarlet Johanson
6. Emmanuelle Chriqui
7. Hilary Duff
8. Tricia Helfer
9. Blake Lively
10. Kate Beckinslade

To celebrate this first place, we publish more photos of these wonderful woman. You can see FHM's complet list here.

Put these photos on your web or blog.

<a rel="attachment wp-att-90" href="http://famosass.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=90"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-90" title="60541_megan_fox_-_fhm_usox03_123_896lo" src="http://famosass.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/60541_megan_fox_-_fhm_usox03_123_896lo.jpg?w=240" alt="Megan Fox" width="240" height="300" /></a>

FHM’s annual <strong>100 Sexiest Women in the World</strong> list was released today, and to no one’s surprise, our very own Megan Fox<strong></strong> took top honors. Here’s what the top ten looks like:

1. <a title="View all posts filed under Megan Fox" href="../category/megan-fox/">Megan Fox</a>
2. <a title="View all posts filed under Jessica Biel" href="../category/jessica-biel/">Jessica Biel</a>
3. <a title="View all posts filed under Jessica Alba" href="../category/jessica-alba/">Jessica Alba</a>
4. <a title="View all posts filed under Elisha Cuthbert" href="../category/elisha-cuthbert/">Elisha Cuthbert</a>
5. <a title="View all posts filed under Scarlet Johanson" href="../category/scarlet-johanson/">Scarlet Johanson</a>
6. Emmanuelle Chriqui
7. <a title="View all posts filed under Hilary Duff" href="../category/hilary-duff/">Hilary Duff</a>
8. Tricia Helfer
9. Blake Lively
10. <a title="View all posts filed under kate beckinslade" href="../category/kate-beckinslade/">Kate Beckinslade</a>

To celebrate this first place, we publish more photos of these wonderful woman. You can see FHM's complet list <a href="http://www.fhmonline.com/100sexiest" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">here.</span></strong><!--more--></a>

<a href="http://u-nbamr9icl.urlcash.net" target="_blank"><img src="http://img134.imagevenue.com/loc600/th_62064_megan_fox_fhm_0307_01_123_600lo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <a href="http://u-sbamrjbzs.urlcash.net" target="_blank"><img src="http://img109.imagevenue.com/loc754/th_62097_megan_fox_fhm_feb_2006_02_123_754lo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <a href="http://u-1bamrky3u.urlcash.net" target="_blank"><img src="http://img144.imagevenue.com/loc1146/th_62133_megan_fox_maxim_hot_100_party_014_123_1146lo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <a href="http://u-7bamrlanz.urlcash.net" target="_blank"><img src="http://img9.imagevenue.com/loc967/th_59964_Megan_Fox_Francis_Hills_shoot_06_123_967lo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <a href="http://u-1bamrm0ad.urlcash.net" target="_blank"><img src="http://img136.imagevenue.com/loc242/th_61134_Megan_Fox_wallpaper_2_123_242lo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <a href="http://u-0bamrnhfw.urlcash.net" target="_blank"><img src="http://img129.imagevenue.com/loc18/th_59865_1_Megan_Fox_Transformers_Soeul_Press_Conference_03_123_18lo.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a> <a href="http://u-kbamro5qi.urlcash.net" target="_blank"><img src="http:/