Life takes us in many strange directions and wonderful discoveries. It never turns out the way we thought it would.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
JacksMars: NASA Mars Orbiter Preparing For 2016 Arrival of Ma...
JacksMars: NASA Mars Orbiter Preparing For 2016 Arrival of Ma...: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4670&utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NASAJPL&utm_content=da...
Sunday, July 26, 2015
A Drunk Driver Kills A Man On Pacifica Streets
The Surf Spot is a restaurant where Elena and I often eat. They make some of the best Fish N' Chips on Planet Earth. Early yesterday evening a woman who had been eating and drinking there and possibly drunk allegedly pulled onto Highway One North. She should have turned right to get into the north-bound lanes. Instead she turned left and had a head on collision with a SUV. The 54 year old driver was killed.
This is a tragedy for the whole community. Elena and I often travel on Highway One. Our car could have been the one hit. One family has lost a beloved family member. The driver of the car that hit his vehicle is facing anywhere from 4 years to life in prison. Even the Surf Spot could be in trouble under what is known as a "dram law." In other words if a restaurant or bar keeps giving alcohol to an obviously drunk person and they later are involved in an accident, the establishment serving the alcohol could be liable for serious civil or even criminal penalties.
Everyone is a loser here. Please do not drink and drive. As the actor Broderick Crawford used to saw on the television program Highway Patrol 60 years ago: "The life you save may be your own."
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
We Had An Incredible Triumph Last Night!!!
We had an incredible triumph last night. Elena has been with Sacramento Credit Union since 2008. They have always been wonderful people who have always done everything possible to help us and give us wonderful service.Lorna Rae Warrington and Deri Ross are wonderful examples. A couple of months ago Elena and I decided to refinance the awful subprime loan that we have on the house. I had to work very hard for two months to convince them that we qualified for the refinance of our awful home loan to a new one at 3.5% interest. I had to, as the old saying goes, "jump through hoops." I had to produce a lot of paperwork and explain every aspect of our financial life. I told Elena that it must be like the financial examination a person goes through when they are considered for a high-level government job. A couple of times it looked like we were not going to make it. I refused to give up. The appraisal was conservative. They ended up making us a loan that was 60% of the actual price of the house. As I went through the process, I realized that they were being tough and conservative to make sure that they did not make the bad loans that caused so many people to lose their homes and almost put this country back into another Great Depression in 2008. We got approved. A representative from Fidelity National Title Company came by at 7:30 PM. Elena signed all of the papers for the new loan. A special thanks to Lorna Johnson and her team at Fidelity National Title Company in Sacramento for doing a wonderful job on all of the title work and closing. I still have to pinch myself to make sure it really happened. My friends when you buy a new home or refinance your existing home, get ready for a tough ride!!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Netflix Surpasses General Motors In Market Capitalization
This technology revolution that we are living through is amazing. General Motors took almost a century to reach a market valuation of 48.35 billion dollars.. Imagine all of the hard work and devotion tens of thousands of people put into building such a fortune Imagine the millions of General Motors cars on roads all over the world. With less than 10 years in business Netflix has surpassed General Motors with a market capitalization today of 48.62 billion dollars.Netflix employed far less people and manufactures nothing with the exception of some original series.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Jack's Africa: A Big Pay Day Coming Due To Relaxed Iran Sanctions...
Jack's Africa: A Big Pay Day Coming Due To Relaxed Iran Sanctions...: My dear friends my day is off to a good start. The probe made it to Pluto and I'm so excited about what they are going to find. Do not...
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Friday, July 10, 2015
I Have Two More British Kings As Ancestors
On Ancestry.com I have done further research on my grand mother Margaret Eunice Fair. One of our ancestors in King Henry I of England. Another amazing find is that King Richard I (King Richard The Lion Hearted) was also an ancestor.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Some Amazing New Discoveries On Ancestry.Com
Everyone I have been exploring the family of my grand mother (mother's mother) Margaret Eunice Fair. Her family goes back many centuries . One of her and my ancestors is King Henry II (1133 AD-1188 AD) of England. He was made famous in the William Shakespeare play Becket and in the 1964 movie Becket. (Peter O'Toole played King Henry II and Richard Burton played Sir Thomas Becket.)
Tonight I made another amazing discovery. The French Count Of Boulogne Geoffrey (1061-18 July, 1100) died fighting in the Holy Lands during the Crusades. I am learning so much about my family and it's fascinating!!!
Jack's South America: Deutsche Bank Defied The Wall Street Pigs And Gave...
Jack's South America: Deutsche Bank Defied The Wall Street Pigs And Gave...: Last updated: July 5, 2015 6:30 pm Deutsche Bank in legal wrangle over Argentine bond issue James Shotter in Frankfurt and Joseph...
What Is Special About The 4th Of July For Me
The 4th of July for me was a day that started with a huge hassle. I n the dead of the night a smoke detector went off because its battery had gone out. It made a shrill beeping noise. I had to take down three smoke detectors and do trouble shooting to find the one with the problem. It ruined my sleep. I was exhausted after that. I had my swim workout and drove Elena to work. I came home and was physically and mentally exhausted. I had some crackers and cheese with wine and rested for some hours. I reflected that 16 years ago I started the morning sleeping on a floor in a church in San Jose, California. I assembled all of my humble belongings and put them in the back of a pickup truck. Some staff member drove me to the Glen Willows apartment complex in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, California. I went to the apartment manager and got my key. The Inn Visions staff member helped me to load my meager goods into the two-bedroom apartment. All I had to sleep on was a sleeping bag but I did not care. I did not care for the first time in a long time I was not homeless. I had some hope and dignity in life. Part of the reason that I was there was the generosity of Rebecca Snyders Darr and her organization. They provided me with a $400 grant to pay the damage deposit. The following week I went back to a Catholic Church where I had slept on the floor. They gave me some nice free furniture. I got a truck to deliver it. Joao Santos later helped me to pick up a king-sized bed at a non-profit in San Jose, California. The bed would not fit in the elevator. We had to haul it up to the stairs. I started out working two part-time telemarketing jobs and riding a bicycle. Three months later I started a job at Telewave, Inc that would last for 8 years. Almost 13 months later I met Elena. She came to live with me in that apartment in early February of 2001. Some weeks later we had our wedding ceremony in that apartment.I have never gone back to the world of homelessness. That is what is special about the 4th of July for me.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
I Just Got An IRS Scam Call
Please be advised that I just got a very disturbing robo call. The caller had a British-type accent. He warned me that a criminal docket had been opened with the IRS. If I did not return his call, I would be taken to US court or a magistrate judge. The tone of voice of the caller was most menacing. I was given a number to call.If one calls this number they are instructed to go to a drug store or Safeway and buy up to thousands of dollars in prepaid bank cards and send them to an address or upload these to a website. Once you pay the money all of your tax problems go away.
In real life if one is under criminal investigation by the IRS, you will be visited by agents with guns and badges. Regardless of if you make restitution or not, you will be prosecuted and taken to court.You very well could end up in prison.
In real life if one is under criminal investigation by the IRS, you will be visited by agents with guns and badges. Regardless of if you make restitution or not, you will be prosecuted and taken to court.You very well could end up in prison.
Iran Eyes $100 Billion Of New Oil Investment Once Sanctions Are Eased
July 1, 2015 10:39 am
Iran hopes to secure $100bn of fresh investment in its oil and gas sector once international sanctions are lifted and has finalised details of new and more lucrative contracts for multinational energy companies.
Mehdi Hosseini, an adviser to Iran’s oil ministry and the man tasked with drafting the Iran Petroleum Contract expects Hassan Rouhani, the president, to approve the new contract in the coming months, with details to be announced by the end of the year.
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IN IRAN
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The current system of buyback contracts, which does not allow companies to book reserves or take equity stakes in Iranian companies, has proved hugely unpopular with multinationals and deterred investors even before sanctions were tightened.
The Islamic republic, which has the world’s largest gas reserves and fourth-largest oil reserves, has ambitious plans to increase its oil production capacity to about 5m b/d by the end of the decade and has been working to revise the contracts for almost two years. Completion of the process would mark a huge change for a regime traditionally wary of foreign ownership of its oil and gas sector.
The nature of the contract remains vague. It will be a service contract, Mr Hosseini said, which will have a “flexible fee”, one that addresses the risks of each project and takes market fluctuations into consideration. Under some circumstances, reserves can be booked, but foreign companies will not be able to own oilfields, he said without giving further details.
Details of the scheme and the dozens of available upstream offshore and onshore oil and gas projects will be released at an investment conference in London, probably in December.
By then, US oil majors, which left in 1979 after the Islamic revolution, should be able to participate, assuming a nuclear deal has been signed between Iran and the six powers. A June 30 deadline has already been missed.
“The value of these contracts may exceed $100bn,” Mr Hosseini told the Financial Times. The conference had been scheduled for September. Any fresh delay is due to “logistical issues”, he said, pointing to the gap between signing a nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions.
“What is the point of holding the conference if international oil companies cannot participate at the highest levels because of continuation of sanctions-related issues?” he said. “We are not waiting for the Americans but it is better if they come and we hope they do which will mean more competition between Americans and Europeans and that will be better for us.”
In depth
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is looking to pursue a foreign policy of moderation after tough financial sanctions have brought the Islamic Republic’s economy to a standstill
Further reading
Further reading
Executives from Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni have already visited Iran to discuss new investments, amid rumours that other western companies have followed suit.
Oil majors such as France’s Total, Shell, Eni and Norway’s Statoil — which have been invested in Iran since the late 1990s despite sanctions — have refused to develop more fields because of the low rate of return under the buyback contracts and Iran’s failure to cover unexpected cost overruns.
Even as companies welcome any overhaul to the contracts, many still voice caution. “If anyone thinks negotiating with Iran over oil projects is easier than nuclear negotiations is completely wrong,” said a western oil consultant in Tehran.
Iran’s oil exports have halved from more than 2mbpd in 2012, when sanctions were introduced, and Tehran does not have access to most of its oil revenues, estimated at $100bn, stuck in Asian banks.
Iran insists it will regain its market share, much of which was lost to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, once sanctions are lifted, even if this leads to further oversupply. “Iran will not sit idle,” said Mr Hosseini. “There will be competition and Iran will adopt policies by which there should be place for us, too, or there will be no place for others.”
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