There are always fascinating options out there for residential dwellings. And, there will always be the kind of person who embraces the slightly different and capitalizes greatly. I have recently been researching storage containers. A friend/client is in the container business and is very hip to the vast possibilities. For a multitude of reasons these large metal containers are amazing. They are built incredibly strong and for the most part are inexpensive. Traditionally they have been used to bring large quantities of products on ships and trains all over the world. But, some creative people have seen containers as a great way to recycle, help the needy and create some absurdly cool living situations. I for one was bowled over when I realized what people were doing with them. They are stackable and of course can be laid next to each other for greater width. Here is a movie that my wife’s company did the music for about these containers through Lexus. www.thepowerofh.com/

Here are a few links to show how this is done and some final products:

http://www.jetsongreen.com/2008/09/incredible-harb.html

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2006/09/container-home-kit.html

http://weburbanist.com/2008/06/01/more-cargo-container-homes-and-offices/

http://shippingcontainerhousedesign.com/containerhome_1280.html

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=los+feliz+container+house+photo&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title


Happy holidays,
Steve

Weather, good music and Dishwasher Magic

OK – here I am again. After a few moments of weather here in LA I have to say, it’s kind of nice. Last Friday I played golf in the early morning and tennis as the sun was setting. Three days later there’s snow on the mountains and I was able to turn my sprinklers off. Now that it’s December Trader Joes is carrying Candy Cane Joe Joes. All is right with the universe.

Speaking of right with the universe:

Just over two years ago my wife and I remodeled our kitchen and went the high end appliance route. We ended up with a Miele dishwasher. It is most fancy! First off, it is built into our kitchen to be indistinguishable. It looks to be just another drawer or cabinet in our kitchen (if I knew that was the plan we could have gone for a cheapie model). For the amount of money we spent on it, I kind of want it to be the first thing our friends see when they walk into our house. Right there in the front foyer with a spot light on it. “Wow, I didn’t realize Steve and Ceinwyn had such a high end dishwasher”. Secondly, it its some cool cutlery rack on top. Who knew? Anyway, it started acting up about a year ago. Dishes were not getting clean and it was backing up every couple of months alerting us with a series of beeps that made the neighborhood dogs take notice. Unfortunately, I figured out how to take it apart and clean it out. This became a fairly regular event until two weeks ago I called a Miele repairman to come out to take a look. I was prepared for a huge and costly problem. But the guy told me that "hard water" is causing calcium deposits to accumulate in the filters and inner workings of the dishwasher. “Hard water?” I guess Glendale and many areas in LA have this hard water problem. He suggested a product called “Dishwasher Magic”. Really? This has got be a joke or a scam or something that won’t fix my dishwasher but will cost me a bunch of money. Well he supplied us with five bottles of this stuff at $19.00 a bottle. This shit is incredible! Our dishwasher now looks brand new and cleans the dishes! I am serious, it cleans the dirty dishes. The filters are clean, the drainage problem is gone and now the symbiosis between my wife, children and me is back.

Here is the kicker: With twenty five seconds of research I found Dishwasher Magic for $5.95 a bottle. I am buying a case and running one bottle through at the beginning of every month. This’ll be my new year’s resolution.

Off to my daughters winter musical and then to the Hotel Café with some friends to see Gary Jules play.

Some weather, good music and Dishwasher Magic… Life is good.

coffee and solar panels

Today I remembered that Los Angeles is home to some really good people. I, like most, have become fairly cynical and yell back at drivers who yell at me. It’s actually become a great way to pass time in traffic, now that I’m limited by this preposterous cell phone law.

I met my buddy Eric for some coffee and bromance at the Coffee Table in Silver Lake. Man, it’s remarkable what a couple of hours of hanging with a buddy and shooting the shit will do for the soul! He’s an incredibly talented record producer with an awesome family. For a moment, I even forgot about how badly the Lakers got their asses handed to them last night.

But, let’s bring this around to real estate for a moment - as he is a client as well. He’s considering selling his house and getting a new place. I advised him to hold on to his home in Silver Lake and rent it out. That being said I also encouraged him to buy something as soon as possible (as it is a great time to purchase). Prices and rates are low and opportunities are everywhere!

On a slightly different parting note:

Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House only to have Ronald Regan REMOVE them when he took office.

Has anyone seen this? I am completely obsessed with technology and cars, so this thing is driving me nuts. It appears to be everything that home builders and developers should be taking a closer look at. It is completely self sufficient and uses space ingeniously. How there is not a mandate for all new dwellings to run off their own power is a mystery to me.

To see more, go to: http://verdier.ca/

On a separate note, watching my two kids dance together in the living room this morning was a great way to start the week.

ClarkLiving.com

Coffee, soccer and some sleep

Last night Ceinwyn and I attended a charity even in Pasadena for the Childrens Guild. Our good friend Michelle is the President and it was a great event and huge turnout. I for one was very appreciative of the desert table and Pete's coffee they had available. As is normal, I had to leave early to get to rehearsal with Egg. It was our first rehearsal in our new space with the new line up. We have never sounded better and with the exception of the Lakers getting their asses handed to them by Detroit, I had a great Friday night.

Up and out this morning for some coffee with the kids and then Lucinda's soccer game at Victory park. That little kid plays some fierce defense! Silas and Lucinda are now napping, Ceinwyn and I are relaxing, and tonight is an Egg gig in West LA.

400%

As I do every Thursday morning, I met with my buddy Tom for some coffee at Swork in Eagle Rock. Anyone notice that the meters on Colorado have gone up 400% in the last week? This seems slightly ridiculous. On the flip side, the coffee and coversation were excellent.