Chuck Norris fast facts...

I'm sure all of you are Chuck Norris fans. If not you will be after clicking the link below.

Just a little senseless fun for the new month...

Click here or Chuck will personally roundhouse kick you into next week :0)

http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/page1.html

August 27th Mars as big as the Moon fact or fiction?

Hey gang... I was anxiously awaiting August 27th to view the spectacular that I had seen in several e-mails, and web site postings.

The story says that tonight Mars will be as large as our moon in the night sky. It is making a close pass (something like a gazillion and a half miles or so) by earth tonight. It seems that even though it does come closer to earth about once a year, it is still about 88 times as far away as our moon... not a chance to see the big red orb unfortunately.

Here's a link to snopes that describes the phenomenon and exposes the myth to this one... browse around snopes for fun next time you get an e-mail... you might find a myth or two busted.

Performing my civic duty, trying to keep you from wrenching your neck looking for Mars when it ain't there... :0)

http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp

Dave

The dog days of summer are here..

As I write this blog post the skies are overcast, and we're in the middle of a much needed rain system in the middle of the driest summer I can remember. Not that I'm complaining... on the dry golf courses, I think I've added 20 yards to my tee shots with the massive rolls.

July was full of fun, Jessy visited California mentally preparing for her push to earn her masters. She split time staying with her aunt on the coast, and her brother and niece at the Army base in the desert. She returned last week, and we spent a couple days moving her into her new apartment at Western, and assembling all the great furniture she picked out at Ikea... what a thrill that was.

Dave is apparently having withdrawals from Michigan as he has totally redone his backyard landscaping to include his new sod (see pic). He attempted to seed the yard, but the starving birds were doing a number on the plantings. Also note the recent pic of Dave & daughter. We hope they'll be home for Labor Day so Gramma can spoil Bella a bit.

Kelly & I spent a little time up north after the 4th of July relaxing & fishing with friends... (nice bass pic, and gratuitous Pennington collision plug :0)). Although we didn't ride in the Thin Blue Line this year, we perched on top of M-53 to watch the line of bikes go by... quite a site.

We had a minor computer breakdown this month. I was able to retrieve all the info lost to a blown hard drive caused by a power surge, thanks to a couple conversations with Jon & Justin and their helpful tech tips. I had to call on the expertise of Mike Whelan at your pc Pitstop to bail me out of a few glitches, and to speed up old betsy as best as he was able. He even sat with me at my house to go over keeping my pc clean and running fast with the newly installed firewall and anti virus stuff... very professional, and you can find a link to Mike above if you require a little coaching. Thanks Mike.

Real estate has been sluggish all year (again), but the last several weeks have been busy busy. I posted an article below that was forwarded to me regarding people leaving the state. I'm not sure we can say they're leaving in droves, but we do lead the country in households leaving the state for greener pastures.

Selling a home these days requires aggressive pricing, and/or complete updates to kitchens and baths. It's pretty competitive out there.

As always, thanks a bunch for your referrals. They are always appreciated, and treated as family.

See you in September

Dave

Michigan leads nation in outbound relocations...

United Way Research Mover Finds Many Saying 'Goodbye' to Michigan, Region

An analysis prepared by United Van Lines, the nation’s largest household goods mover, shows a growing number of Americans packing up their belongings and heading to the West and Southeast, leaving Michigan and neighboring states behind.
As part of its 30th annual “migration” study, the company analyzed households it assisted with moves in 2006, and the effect of Michigan’s continuing job losses is clear. United Van Lines found that the number of customers moving from the Central Northeast region, which includes Michigan, increased. The company tracks customer moves over 12 months, and reports on the communities that see large numbers of residents leave and their most popular destinations.
In its study, UVL identifies three categories -- high inbound (55 percent or more of moves going into a state), high outbound (55 percent or more of moves leaving a particular state) or balanced. Although the majority of states were in the balanced category last year, several showed more substantial population shifts.
States in the Central Northeast generally showed an outbound trend, according to UVL. Ranked No. 2 on the high outbound list in 2005, Michigan tied for the top spot last year with 66 percent of moves headed elsewhere. The 2006 rate is a 2.1 percent increase of over the prior year.
Other Central Northeast states that topped the outbound list include New York (59.5 percent), which has been a high outbound state since the survey was established, Indiana (58.2 percent), a high outbound state since 1993, and Illinois (55.7 percent), which has been on the list since the survey’s inception. Other list holdovers include New Jersey (60.9 percent, on high outbound list since 1997), Pennsylvania (57 percent, high outbound list for the past three years) and Ohio (55.8 percent, ranked since 1992).
The nation’s West and Southeast states were happy to receive in 2006. North Carolina emerged as the top Southeast destination (64.0 percent inbound) for UVL customers. Other Southeast states making the list include South Carolina (60.6 percent, and on the high-inbound list for 13th consecutive year), Alabama (57.5 percent, fourth appearance on the list) and Tennessee (55.8 percent in 2006). Although not considered high inbound states, others also welcomed large numbers of new residents. Georgia at 53.9 percent, continued its 25-year trend of high inbound volume, while Kentucky (52.9) percent is on a five-year and Mississippi (50.1 percent) saw its inbound rate last year rise 3.2 percent over 2005.
Movers are also going west, evident by the number headed to Oregon (62.5 percent high inbound, and a member of the list for 19 years). Nearby Nevada (59.9 percent), New Mexico (57.9 percent, a 3.7 percent increase), Utah (56.0 percent, up nearly 6 percent) and Arizona (55.4 percent) also made the list.
Idaho’s (59.3 percent inbound) ranking has held steady for the past 19 years, and Montana’s for five years (55.0 percent inbound).
Although not considered high inbound, other Western states experienced an increase over the prior year including Colorado (54.7 percent inbound), which saw a 1.2 percent increase, and Wyoming (54.4 percent inbound), which boasted a 4.3 percent rise.