Redding Weather

What woujld happend if we woke up in the morning, and no more web space?

2008-04-02T03:22:06Z

I received a April's fool email from one of the SEO marketing companies that has been trying to get me to sign up for organic search. At first while reading the letter I thought there might be some truth to it as it told how many blogs per hour were being created and how it multiplied by the day, incredible and the band width was also getting over crowded. Because of You Tube, My space and all the other 2.0 web sites including all the new blogging communities and blog sites coming on line each day, the underlying word in the cyberworld community from the experts leaking to the government agencies were worried due to the multiplication that the web was going to be used up! It was determined by the authority of the Internet Institute's WSA said we just can't keep up with 120,000 new web blogs being created worldwide each day. which is about 1.4 blogs every second of the day. If we can't find a way to expand the internet won't be what it was today........ wow....... what would that mean? Maybe we would have to create Web 3.0 and run in a differnent media. Can you imagine the world economy that is now using thw web to communicate around the world come to a quick abrubt end. Active Rain would dry up, we would be in a drought.

How many times did you want to convert that file to a PDF for an email?

2008-03-30T01:58:51Z

The more expensive Adobe software has included a PDF printer driver, but for those who don't have those expensive programs I have found a program called Primo PDF, this is a great program it is free, and best of all the new version makes it simple to not only convert your file to a pdf but sets it up to email.

Majority of our files today are PDF files, but have you ever wanted to create your own pdf file and mail to a client from your laptop?

I know you can scan the file into a scanner and convert it to a pdf file and then email and or email direct but most of us don't have a scanner attached to our laptops.

With Primo PDF all you have to do is click print file, change your driver to Primo PDF and set your files you want to save the PDF file in and push print and you now have a PDF file in your archieves ready to send for email and or upload the file online.

Click on this link to go directly and download your free copy of Primo PDF: http://www.primopdf.com/

You can also ues their online service too, but then you have to subscribe and then there are those fees.......

I hope you get as much enjoyment out of this program as I have, I don't know if someone posted this already to the group or community, if so it might be the older version this version just came out. I use it all the time to email docs, I change my word files that I have created flyers, photos to send to a pdf file especially for those large photo files you want to send to a client.

What about your own wireless office? You might be vulnerable

2008-03-30T01:16:59Z

For those agents who have wireless at their office, you should take all precautions to protect your computer from some one who might be intereted in getting into you computer and the walls are thin sometimes it might be the guy in the coffe shop with a laptop wanting to learn more about what goes on in the office:

Some of the precautions I would recommend which I apply and reading blogs, are the following:

Turn your file sharing off
Keep your firewall software up todate
Keep password protected
validate with your company that they have a secure web key and that they change it from time to time
The company should also hide their signal so outsiders can't jump on.

Some firewall programs will let you know when you have someone at your backdoor, usually it will display a address, and depending on the way you have your firewall set up it will recognize it is not one of your approved addresses for access.

Most of the wireless offices have wireless routers which we use for internet access and to use print share.

If you have a wireless router at home you are also very vulnerable to someone sitting out in the street with a laptop or the teenage neighbor who knows more about computers than most. These are simple things to do to keep you from having a bad day with someone obtaining valuable information which could lead to identity theft and or someone really wanting to be mean and launch a wrom type virus.

We have alot of blogs in the tech groups thru out Active Rain, but I thought I would let the community know,

3603 Stokes Court, Redding, CA 96001 only $299,900.00

2008-03-28T18:01:16Z

Wow it seems most of my listings today have pools in Shasta County. I listed this one a while back and thought it would be good for the rainers from active rain to view and might know of a buyer in the learch.

Clean home built in the early nineties, approx 1700 square feet which includes a two car garage, three bedrooms, two baths, one bath located off the master bedroom. The owners have had several additions, one of the additions makes a great sitting room, and or nursery or hobby room, which is connected off the master bedroom. One of the other fine additons they made was to extend the kitchen and make a great eating area which lets in the morning sun. The home is situtated to provide a view if the new owners would want to cut down a few trees. The property occupies almost an acre with no neighbors behind to listen too.

The sparkling pool has been built by one of the finer pool builiding contractors in the area, the aggregate pool decking really sets off the pool and provides a great area for patio furniture to relax before and after going in the pool.

The only draw back and or feed back that I have been getting is the property sits across an area where there is sub station, now this could be a plus and or a minus, for those who don't like neighbors and like peace and quiet this is ideal, for those who don't like to look at sub stations well this could be a problem.

For more informaiton please visit the lisitngs site address: www.3603stokescourt.com and of for more information contact me directly and call toll free: 1-877-803-9394

Whose responsibilty would this be? I bet on the seller

2008-03-28T12:54:31Z

I have a transaction that his has now turned to a short sale and have an investor as the buyer. This is a brand new home that has not been finaled, in order to protect my client I wrote in the contract that one of the contingencies was to have the house finaled by one of the city inspectors, we have already had the general home inspection, there was no power to the house and I asked the builder to bring his generator if he had one.

Now I had to put on my electrical contracting hat and wire up the generator to the panel to light up the house, we found several small issues that are going to be fixed prior to final walk thru. The house checked out ok over all.

The problem I have is that this house still needs to have the proper service feed fron a nearby power pole that is locating on a adjacent property with a dis grunted neighbor. The seller somehow has provoked the neighbor and now will not cooperate to have PG&E go on his property to connect up an existing power pole to another neighbors property before it can be connected to the service lateral which runs underground.

I have been working with the seller's agent and she has been very cooperative to help make this a smooth transaciton. My buyers are getting nervous that the bank will not support the contractor. The selling agent has talked to the contractor and the contractor has told us that he would see if he can smooth things over in order to get permission to get on the property.

Now in the event the contractor is not able to convice the home owners to gain access to the property for PG&E, wouldn't you think the bank would get involved? The selling agent has talked to one of the assistants at the bank since the officer with the authority is out on vacation. We are hoping that the banking officer will return and help the seller convince the neighbors to provide access. The assistant told the selling agent that it would have to get their attorney's involved... isn't this a little too dramatic to get their attorneys involed, can't the bank make a call first to see what the problem is? The bank also indicated that we should get an attorney too.

I think before we get any attorneys involed the selling agent and the contractor should first have a meeting with the neighbors and if necessary I would also talk to the neighbors representing my buyer.

The FAA is out for lying on the medical issues - which I don't recommend.

2008-03-28T11:51:17Z

Flying is a serious business, especailly when you have the lives of ones that you love and have no clue on how to manuever an aircraft and land if the pilot has a medical issue in flight, kind of the same thing as not doing the pre-flilght, most accidents normally happen before the plane leaves the ground.

I understand that a gentleman named Ronald Crews lied on his medical and was sentenced in March to serve up to 16 months in a federal prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty in 2007 to four counts of making false statements to the FAA .

Crews lied about his diabetes and dependence on insulin injections. This is all resulted from an investigatioin in an incident in which the Mr Crews was teaching a student pilot while flying a Cessna 402 for an air taxi flight after he suffered a diabetic seizure.

I know of several old low time pilots that think they know it all and after a heart surgery continued to fly and not report the surgery, I told him that he was not very responsible and maybe when he has a problem he will hurt others. He is the same one that got bad gas and wanted to fly his Cessna 150 hundred miles to have the mechanic work on it after discovering all kinds of debris in the tank while checking fuel. I did manage to convince him to talk to our local mechanic and not fly. We will never know if he would have made the trip.

There is more about this article on AOPA online.

I spent alot of time with this pilot showing him homes and hanger flying at the same time. He told me stories that I wanted to pull his license right then, but not having the authority I had no way of pulling his ticket only to advise him that what he has done maybe could have jeopardised his life along with others. I never did get to sell him a home in Shasta County, he wasn't a first time home buyer, but convinced him to build and later sold one of his five acre lots.

Abilities to navigate the yoke with your knees while banking a turn taking photos

2008-03-27T23:33:36Z

I have talked to several pilots who say they take their own photos while banking around a property focusing on the subject below, I don't know if they know but even one of the best stunt pilots know for his flat spins, bought the ground while taking photos of his house in Ramona, CA.

I like to take photos of several of my large properties since an aerial shows the property in its entirity. I always fly the plane while having an agent and when I get the opportunity to get a amature photographer to take the photos, I once had an agent taking photos and he quickly wanted to get back down on the ground due to motion sickness looking thru the view finder.

Does anyone have any tricks and or tips while shooting out the window while in a bank turn entering your own turbulence? I have talked to individuals who take photos for a second living and several of them have actually had an area approved by a 337 to anchor a camera and have the camera looking thru a hole in the floor of the fuesalage. I don't want to go to those extremes.

I never go below five hundred feet, I always want to have an out in the event I need to make a emergency landing, I usually fly higher thinking about safety first, so while I am in slow flight taking photos i have my hand on the trottle instead of the shutter control.

My most rewarding photo taking episode was when I had a professional photographer for a magazine taking photos of one of my hanger mates doing aerobatics off my wing, I glanced out my right eye and couldnt beleive my eyes when I saw the under garage of his Zlin while during a four point roll about twenty feet off my wing tip. I quickly held my heading and my altitude since I did have confidence on my wing man doing aerobatics.

Now I do have to admit I have taken many photos at higher altitudes and or while on final, I have used the bank on my autopilot while setting the altitude hold, but don't feel to confident so my photos suffer since I am more aware of the plane flying itself.

Photographs tell a thousand words or so they say

2008-03-27T23:07:36Z

Last year I spent many nights looking thru other mls sites looking for properties in TN, thinking we might be relocating, I found that most agents like to upload photos of kitchens, dining rooms, not all would show master bedrooms, in door laundry rooms, garages elevations, bonus rooms, inside the garages, I know most of the secondary beds and second baths don't usually have anything exciting to take a photo, and the rooms are usually too small to take a full photo.

I was hoping to find more photos showing the front of the garage, photos on the inside of the garage and if their was a shop on the property to show photos of the shop. I would usually only find two to four photos which showed the front elevation, maybe twice, and the stairways, kitchen, nook and dining. I did find several homes that looked interesting from the detail page, and then was disappointed when I went to look for photos.

When an agent is representing a half million dollar plus house that boasts of a four car garage, indoor laundry area, huge master bedroom with fireplace, entertainment room, you would suspect to see photos of those areas.

When I list a house, I find sometimes it is difficult to take photos of all the rooms, because they are generic, but I always try to take a photo of the side load garages, indoor laundry rooms, foyers, along with the back yard, and especially if it has a pool. If the hosue has a large enough walk in closet and or the closet is orderly I try to take photos to show the size of the closet.

Maybe if I wasn't on the other side looking in I wouldn't have required the photos, but from what the statistics say most of our buyers come from the internet, so let's give them as many photos as we can load. Virtual tours are nice too, since they show from a perspective view walking into the home.

Another good feature which isn't always available is to put the floor plans up on the photo page too. Now that we are in the digital age I think we should all help each other and upload as many large photos as we can, afterall you might be looking for that special home someday too.

17477 Marianas Way, Cottonwood, CA Price to sell $430,000.00

2008-03-27T22:39:22Z

Beautiful home on 2.6 ares in Cottonwood. Ranch home with 1800 square feet, four bedrooms and or three bedrooms and one office, two bath, large living, family room area. Stay warm on those winter nights with nicely trimmed out fireplace which heats the whole house. Master bedroom with large walk in closet, sliding doors to outside patio for a mid night dip in the above ground pool. Large three car garage with driveway room for large party with off street parking.

Kitchen with oak cabinets, tile counters, stainless steel appliances. range, micro wave, indoor laundry area easy to bring in your groceries directly from the garage.

Lot has plenty of room to build another building like a shop and or a place for the kids to play. Rear yard is totally fenced in with a white vinyl fencing.

For more photos and vitual tour go to www.17477marianasway.com . For more informaiton and to schedule a showing please contact Rod Pierson 1-877-803-9394.

16630 Fortune Way, Anderson, Ca 96007 Only $539,900.00

2008-03-27T14:19:38Z

I just recently listed this property. Built in 2006 almost 2500 square feet on 1.3 acres, as you walk up to the home experience the sound of the water fall feeding a pond large enough for your prize koi fish.

Room for a shop. Elegant kitchen with granite counter tops, cherry wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, double oven, large breakfast nook area. Living room has coffered ceilings, with georgeous fireplace, all custom shutters have been designed to fit the windows and doors. Double entry doors to office off entry way with large windows that lets in natural light. Surround sound, split floor plan with large Jack and Jill bath off both of the front and rear bedrooms. Long hallway with hardwood floor thru out the home. Architectual ceilings with crown molding. Indoor laundry room with lots of cabinet space and tile counter tops. Powder bath with pedestal sink off the garage hallway. This home has it all. Central vacuum system, Large master bath with doors that lead to the rear yard. Master bath with jacuzzi, large shower stahl with glass doors. Large walk in closet.

This home has room for a large shop, or any other type of out building that the new buyer may want. Custom pool with beach shelf and automatic misters that are remotely controlled. Vinyl fencing surrounds this property with room to spare. Rear yard has plenty of room to use your imagination for the landscaping.

Large three car garage with finished floor, all the cabinets in the garage are negotiable. For those who like to work on their toys you won't be disappointed.

For more photos and virtual tour go to: www.16630fortuneway.com. For more information please contact Rod Pierson 877-803-9394.

My office

2008-03-25T13:54:44Z

I wanted to share with others during my day of showing property what my surroundings are in my enviroment that I look at everyday and where I take my clients to sell them on moving to our area. Not much wording, just photos. The photo with the CDF building in the background with Mt Shasta in the far distance is another one of my favorites outside offices I enjoy going to work when I am flying for clients and relaxing.

I don't normally bring my camera while showing properties, and it was a good idea I had it in my car this weekend. My clients were not from Shasta County and their camera ran out of batteries, so I took all the photos for them of the houses they were looking at and put them on a CD and gave it to them along the way I tood some of these photos while driving out to the properties they wanted to view. From now on I will always bring my camera, what a great service to provide to your clients.

Whiskeytown Lake with Mt Shasta Balley in the background.

Redding Airport with the CDF Building and Mt Shasta in the far distance

Leaving the Redding Airport looking West

Driving North thru one of our many neighborhoods

Mapping tool that could interface with Google Map

2008-03-20T02:48:22Z

I am working on a new web site and have been looking at many mapping software packages to enhance Google Map, has anyone found a interface for Google Maps that would let you gategorize your listings and organize on Google Maps?

I have had several emails letting me know about several mapping programs. I now have narrowed my requirements down to a program that could interface with Google maps, aor other mapping programs that could do a search by a radius from a designated landmark. I would like to be able to change the landmark and search by distance and or time from landmark

Again I thank all those who have already sent me emails and want to thank those in advance who hopefully with reply. One of the programs that looked promising would not work out of their territory.

Great Business Opportunity - Pizza Sports Bar - reduced now $210,000.00

2008-03-20T01:58:30Z

Family owned business, been in operation for over ten years, new owner purchased business over a year ago, revamped all the restrooms, removed all the tables and chairs from one of the banquet areas and installed a full stand up bar with all the bar equipment in the process of obtaining a liquor license to sell distilled alcohol. currently has beer and wine license, with all the restrictions on drinking and driving he thought it best not to serve hard liquor. He can mix just about any mix drinks that uses fermented alcohol. Many large flat screen TV's have been installed thru out the restaurant complete with distribution to watch separate channeling for sports.

Approx 4800 square feet for twenty five hundred dollars a month including common areas and maintenance on hvac equipment fixed for ten years.

Serves beer, wine, pizza, chicken sandwiches, has full walk up salad bar. beverage bar, full kitchen with walk in refrigerator.

Located in Northern California in Shasta County. This business has allot of un tapped potential, currently the owner is not doing any delivery and or catering business. The owners are having to sell due to health issues.

For more info and link to virtual tour please contact me,

Location of Lock boxes

2008-03-20T01:07:20Z

I am not sure this subject has been touch on before, but how many of you have been in nice clothes and practically have to stand on your head to operate a lock box, I feel for the woman out there in skirts who have to stretch over mud puddles, bend down on their knees to reach the lock-box and practically have to lay down to read it due to not being able to swivel up to operate.

I know security is important, but I have installed my lock-boxes on benches on the front porch, the new sentinol lock box sometimes binds on the front door, and many of my clients would prefer is located off the front door. I have never had a lock-box stollen and or tampered with, I think it is important to look out for our fellow agents to make their previewing easy and make the lock box visable, folks we have the big sign in the front yard it is no mystery that the house is for sale.

I showed property this evening and the agents placed the lock box on the front door and it was nice to just walk up and not have to hunt for the lock-box, but the other times I had to reach over and under and nearly get on my knees are not forgotten. The last house we looked at this evening was after sunset and it was dark and the placement of the lock box made my life easier....... thank you

Dyslexic Agents

2008-03-16T02:45:16Z

How many times have you showed property located in remote areas following the instructions written by the listing agent to find that they meant to turn right and not left and or South instead of North? It takes a little while longer to find the property, especially when in the country and you end up taken several back roads per unclear or incorrect instructions, you try to rely on a map book only to find the street not listed.

I have also found agents to post the wrong address to the listing they are representing. I usually take up all the space provided to give precise directions. Usually the house with the incorrect instructions is on the market longer too. I have given the agent the courtesy and called to notify them that the instructions are not correct.

Looking for land listings out in the country where there might be one sign and the property has been on the market for a long time only to drive back and forth on the road and finally find the agents sign laying over and or totally removed and thrown in a creek. I think if agents are to represent their clients they should drive out and check their signs to make sure they are in good shape and up and also put up directional signs and depending on the area put a brochure box on the post and put in some brochures with patt map info.

My other pet peeve is to drive by everyday and see no flyer's in the box and or see the flyer's all wrinkled up due to the rain and not printed on good quality paper and wax ink, I know it cost more.... but it def shows you are representing your clients.

Living off the grid in Shasta County

2008-03-14T02:48:24Z

More and more calls are from clients who want to find a large parcel with running water and in an area of seclusion and away from all the utilities to become totally self sufficient. There are many ways to provide sources of power substitutes depending on one's pocket book.

I have sold homes with systems as basic as a few deep cell batteries with a small solar panel mounted firmly on the roof facing the sun to more elaborate systems with combined solar panels and diesel generators.

Depending on what you want to spend and thanks to the Internet you can find many options to be totally dependent on the sun and wind, and if you have a year round creek with running water you can also devise a system to generate not only power but use the paddle wheel for mechanical energy.

I am not sure if living off the grid is totally cost effective, unless you plan to live off the grid for many years and can fabricate the system for less than having to pay to have power companies to install power poles to the property. The average cost to install a power pole and run service to a home is approximately $25.00/per foot per local utility companies, and this is depending on the terrain and power required to the building site.

In order to be fully self dependent of the local utility companies you should have a system that will generate electricity, heat hot water. With the high cost of propane, your system should be designed to power the home totally on electricity generated by one of the following or a combination of the wind, sun and running water.

If your system is designed well and have a larger capacity to store as well as sell power back to the grid, which would require you to be connected which would cost you $25.00/per foot for a connection back to the grid you can spend more money, and would not be cost effective to be off the grid with the intentions of selling the power back to the utility companies.

With rebates which are allowed in many states and California is one of the states that allows the rebates can help defer the cost of the system depending how far you are off the grid. Living off the grid is supported by the state of California income tax laws with incentives per the net metering laws which permit consumers to sell power they generate to electrical companies at retail rates.

On 12 April 2006, USA Today reported that there were "some 180,000 families living off-grid, a figure that has jumped 33% a year for a decade," and cited Richard Perez, publisher of Home Power magazine, as the source. Assuming the same rate of growth, there would be a quarter million off-grid households in the United States by late 2007. Because many third-world citizens have never had the chance to go on the grid, current estimates are that two billion people live off-grid worldwide.

Going off-grid can be done for altruistic reasons or to lower the environmental impact of living, as the typically limited amount of on-site renewable energy available is an incentive to reduce its use. It is often done to residential buildings only occasionally occupied, such as vacation cabins, to avoid high initial costs of traditional utility connections. Other persons choose to live in houses where the cost of outside utilities is prohibitive, or such a distance away as to be impractical.

One of the most practical sources of electricity providing the home was situated in an area of constant wind, and or design the wind turbine to be along the top of the tree lines to generate wind from the currents above.

A wind turbine is a machine that converts the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as a pump or grinding stones, the machine is usually called a windmill. If the mechanical energy is converted to electricity, the machine is called a wind generator, or more commonly a wind turbine

A wind turbine is old technology applied to meet new challenges. We need to adapt and use every means at our disposal to combat global warming and carbon dioxide build up, yet still provide energy for our modern (lavish) lifestyles.

Once the winds generate electricity the energy needs to be stored into deep cell batteries for those days when there is no wind. You might want to depending on your budget put in a diesel generator, but now you are back to burning fossil fuels, with some experimenting you can burn vegetable oil which can be purchased for less than diesel.

Living off the grid requires a lot of planning, the orientation of the house needs to be directed for the best sunlight and energy generated by the sun to take advantage of the suns rays to heat the home. A room should be designed to house the generator, storage cells, along with the electronics required to convert DC current to Alternating current. The home lighting electrical system should require design and research to use as little of the energy generated.

Insulation is very important as well as window glazing to keep the heat in during the winter and keep the cold in during the hot summer months. Depending where the home is built and the local and state codes, you might be able to take advantage of a wood stove to not only heat the house but heat coils in the floor and storage tanks for hot water.

Living off the grid is to be determined by ones life style, you can live on the grid inexpensively and or can install many new items that would make living as enjoyable as living in town connected to the utility system.

Some of the houses I have sold to people living off the grid only consisted of a few deep cell batteries, portable generator and a fixed photovoltaic cell on the roof. In order to take full advantage of the sun is to have a system that will track the sun and move with the sun all year round. If one is a Do yourself type individual you can live off the grid and maintain the system eliminating maintenance expenses.

Upscale homes near all hospitals for doctors and nurses

2008-03-12T00:45:33Z

Redding has many opportunities for the professional workers who want the best in housing and to have the outdoors as their paradise when they aren't working.

I specialize in locating homes near all hospitals for those professionals who require to be near a hospital. I have references from other professionals whom I have assisted in their real estate needs.

I can also help with your rental needs while locating a home in the greater Shasta Area.