So, besides working, I’m spending a lot of time following the market, specifically in a few key spots. I have found the following sites to be useful, and I read them everyday.

1) patrick.net – this site is Cali based, but it really keeps me balanced. When the entire populace is drunk on homeownership because it’s been beaten into us for years, this site helps me avoid the social stigma and focus on the math. Plus, they aggregate a ton of articles daily that are market related.

2) njrereport.com – this is a blog about NJ housing, wiht most of it’s readers in the bloomfield area I think. Most of them seem to be savvy, many are in the market or work in the business, and they tend to be pretty short the market obviously. But I have learned a lot reading this every morning.

3) I just picked up on Reggie Middleton and his website. From what I have read so far, I like his analysis. I also check out zerohedge.com often as well, but it’s not really focused on housing.

From these sources, I feel very confident that the worst (or best, depending on where u stand) is yet to come, and I think the longer we can prolong our purchase decision, the better off we will be. I scan listings on zillow.com probably once every two weeks, and try to focus on the closed houses. Most of them are shorts and REO, so it’s tough to get any photos, and trusting the MLS data is like believing a used car salesman when he tells ya the breaks were done last week.

In the end, I’m finally putting my Ivy League economics degree to work, and every bit of info that is meaningful suggests that the market isn’t just going to go down, it has to go down and go down hard. Right now, sales are dead. We’re in this limbo period where existing bagholders who are underwater or just late to the game are slapping signs on there lawn with ‘07 prices, hoping some young couple will come along and assume the position. But there is no one to assume the position. The NAR data will say sales were up 4% this past month, which is laughable. Sure, investors who are buying bundles of homes under the 270K threshold and flipping them quickly are artificially inflating this metric. But in reality, the market is beyond dead right now. There is such a tremendous gap between sellers and true price discovery right now, I’m enthralled at what the future will hold the next few months. I’m also curious to see as these homes are eventually unwound and more tax appeals are won, what is that going to do to the already stretched local budgets. This will be the new normal for years now, layoffs of public workers and emergency funds, magic accounting to save jobs as the taxpayer/union battles go on and on.

Should be interesting.

• First, Aaron Rodgers’ stock is off the charts. I was able to land him at #7 overall in 250, but he went 2nd overall last night in Chris’ league. He looks poised for 5K, easy. They just dropped 50 on the Colts last night.
• I’m starting to get concerned about Cutler, now that I am extremely invested in him. I think he’s going to have some great weeks, but he’s going to lose me a couple games this year. We’ll see. I think if he averages 38-40 tosses a week, he should be right around that 4200 number that I need out of him to justify the moves I made to get him. I also traded Brees in Cheeba for the 2nd overall, knowing that Cutler was going to be there at the end of the first round. I grabbed Austin.
• Matt Forte is going to make or break a lot of team’s seasons this year. He consistently went in that late 3rd/early 4th round spot as a #2. He looks healthy, like he has his burst back. I did watch every 22 carry 49 yard effort last year. The line was pathetic, and he looked slow. However, he still finished in the top 12 in our league. I can’t see him not being there. He is capable of 20 touches a week easy without wearing down. I’m starting to think I should try and get him now.
• Guy’s I’m high on – Cutler, Kyle Orten, Stafford – Spiller, McCoy – Nicks, Knox, Gaffney, Mike Williams (TB) – Daryl Washington

We’ll see how things go, but I am happy with how my drafts went. I think I got a tad sloppy in Spielman and missed taking Finley when I know I should have in the 4th I think. My brother jumped all over him. I wish I had that pick back. I didn’t need a 3rd Receiver at that point.

However, the setlist just didn’t really do it for me. After comparing last night’s list to Thur and Tues night, I would have taken either one over last night. Now, listening to Mike close with Ledbetter and the National Anthem is worth $100 all by itself, and Eddie could have lectured all night and told stories and I would have been happy. The point is, the setlist matters too. You have to love the songs I guess. Believe me, I love many of their songs…..and was kinda bummed that a great number of them didn’t make last night’s list.

I know my friend’s think I’m nuts (nothing new here), but last night isn’t resonating as much as it did after I saw them in Uniondale a few years back, or the last Garden trip. We’ll see, after I get the MP3’s and give a few listens, maybe I’ll come around.

The band was unbelievable though. They are so tight it’s ridiculous. And they are, have been, and still will be the best band to ever walk the face of the planet. I’m not feeling guilty….maybe I just had too high expectations….I think in the back of my mind, I thought they were gonna play Brother again, maybe Sad or a few more rarities besides Sweet Lou (sorry Jeff). I left satisfied, but was kinda hoping for a better setlist of songs (that I like).

Wow, it took me 8 months, but I finally blogged. How bout that, look at me!

• Yanks…I think they are going to do well this year. As much as the rest of the country doesn’t give a shit and sure, this team is bought….but there is something about how they play that reminds me of the late 90’s team. I really think this could be it for them. Of course, A-Rod is gonna have to have a big game or two. We’ll see how they start tonight. Bad weather (windy) for the game.
• The Bears – hurting on defense, playing well at times, weak in the secondary. Cutler is the Man. No questioning it now. I just dont think Turner can call a good game yet, nor can he get their running game going. I am very happy with 3 -1, but I’m not confident. Hopeful, but confident. They are making plays on offense though when they need to. Not consistently, but showing signs of big plays in pressure spots, which is always a great sign. Robbie “Gould is Money”.
• Fantasy Football – another great season in the NFL. you really can never tell what’s gonna happen, and every year I learn a new lesson that I forget to apply the following year. Maybe I’ll read this next august and remember. #1, handcuff at least one stud RB. #2, its still all about the QBs, and remember that Peyton Manning is the best QB that I have ever seen play. I’ve never seen anyone play as well as he has the first 4 weeks this year. What he’s doing defies words. Someone like me can’t do it justice with words.
• Let’s make a list of hits and misses of who I liked (you’ll just have to trust me)

  Liked

  Eddie Royal – would have been happy with hi as my #1 WR, which actually happened in 2 leagues. So far, a massive disappointment. He’s killing me.

  Antonio Bryant - I liked where I was able to get him, as my #2 or #3, but his return from surgery went bad, he tweaked it, and then he just looked flat out slow. Teams were jamming him at the line knowing he was having trouble with his knee, and it’s been a mess so far with the QB position. I like his chances as the season goes on, cuz they sure as hell wont be running the ball much.

  Darren McFadden – Came out looking like they could be this years version of the Ravens pounding the ball against SD.  Then Russell dropped back to throw and he put his accuracy on film.  The next 3 weeks, no one is letting them run, daring them to throw, and between his putrid accuracy and a massive amount of drops, they are in deep shit.  Then he tore his meniscus.  I actually feel bad for him.

  Dis-Liked

  Cedric Benson – I have my reasons for not wanting him, but like many people, I didn’t think he would look like he did at Texas.   I thought Scott would have taken the job from him by week 6.  Couldn’t have been more wrong here.

  Willis McGehee – I just crossed him off the list before the draft, right after Jamal Lewis.  He was not gonna be on any of my teams.  I chuckled when people drafted him.   Once again, there is a lesson to learn here.

  I’ll write some more soon, I just got some work to do.

Let’s see what happens tonight with the Yanks, and I’ll write some more tomorrow.

I have to admit, I am blown away by this platform. The fact that it is free in amazing. In short, the platform allows you to get an E-Commerce website up that has almost all of the features and functionality you would find in a large, custom application, the likes of Amazon, Overstock, etc. for much less then anyone would ever imagine.

Now, this product has been out for over a year or so now, and it was highly anticipated from what I have read. I do my best to try and keep up with all of the latest open-source platforms out there, but I must admit, I can’t keep up with everything. However, after diving into this for a few days, I realized it was extremely important for me to have the ability to build a website using this platform in my arsenal, because I think it is only a matter of time before it becomes the preferred e-commerce platform for start-ups.

Now, like most CMS or E-commerce platforms, it may claim to be easy to use and simple for the non-techie. But we all know that isn’t the case. The learning curve for Magento was definitely somewhat steep, and I can’t say I know the product inside and out. The fact that it was so new, meaning there were less forum posts, wiki articles, and basic tutorials available than say, a WordPress, made some customizations a bit tricky. The front-end architecture also has some very specific setups that require you to re-read some of the tutorials a few times.

However, in the end, once you get the front-end HTML/CSS and template setup and run through the features and functionality a few times in the admin, learn where everything is, etc., you realize you have a dangerous weapon at your disposal. I feel confident now in saying that within a week I could have a full fledged top of the line e-commcrce site built. I’m talking DONE done, with categorized products, customized e-mails for every customer notification/interaction, multiple options for payment, fulfillment management, user management, coupons, gift certificates, product ratings, reviews…the whole 9.

The Azurskin website only had 4 products to start out, but I see the potential to manage hundreds. Also, you can easily build multiple sites using the same backend layout, skin them differently, and create various websites that would seem to be competing against each other, but are all managed from the same admin. It’s definitely going to be a reason some small shops blow up into bigger household names

I am anxiously waiting for the next project I get to build out another site using Magento. I also am trying to come up with some ideas for my own business, as this platform has finally made me feel like if I can get the right product set, I have everything I need to let the idea take off. If anyone has any great ideas for an E-Commerce product suite, please let me know. I’m dying to get something off the ground.