Sacramento Appraisal Blog

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Random Stuff

Wonderful Results from the Project 680 Shoe Drive

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I am very pleased to announce that the final tally of donations for the Project 680 Shoe Drive is $3,601.51. This effort is something I fully support in my community, and I am very proud of the way things unfolded for the shoe drive. I have been posting about this from time to time, so you may have known that our goal was to raise $1,500 to purchase 100 pairs of new shoes for students in need within the FCUSD. Well, it looks like the community really bought into the vision and we ended up collecting far more. 

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Together we can make a difference – even in this economy. Do you believe that? Thank you to local residents, businesses, churches and organizations that partnered together to put shoes on the feet of students in need. I stand in awe.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Wonderful Results from the Project 680 Shoe Drive

Trick-or-Treating, Staying Home, and the Value of a Neighborhood

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obi-wan-kenobi-01-largeLast night I walked through my neighborhood with two Jedi knights. Yes, my boys both dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi for Halloween, and their light sabers protected my family as we trudged through the streets of our tract, visiting with neighbors, and of course collecting and passing out candy. 

Halloween can be a fun and bonding time for a community, but when it comes to trends I see in society, I’ll admit I feel concerned that traditional trick-or-treating is seeming to be outsourced to other local venues instead of experienced in the local neighborhood.

It’s become very popular in recent years for families to enjoy Halloween outside of a neighborhood setting. For one reason or another, people will travel to a big Halloween event at the local mall, enjoy a “Harvest Festival” at a church down the street, or find something else to do on the evening of the 31st besides spending time in the neighborhood. 

179Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying households should feel ashamed for leaving the neighborhood for one night. There is absolutely a place for a Halloween party elsewhere, a dinner with friends, and other fun and festive events. All I’m saying is it’s worth reflection to consider the outcome of the dynamic we’re seeing – residents being less involved in neighborhood life and kids going elsewhere to celebrate Halloween.

When we begin to replace traditional neighborhood events with other things outside of the neighborhood, or we get too busy or un-inspired to participate in community life, our neighborhoods begin to suffer. A sense of community in a neighborhood is about all the little things – waving to residents, talking to neighbors, watching out for crime, and even things like passing out candy. 

What do you think it would do for your community if more residents kept their lights on and passed out candy next year? Why do you think third-party Halloween events hosted outside of the neighborhood have become so popular in the past few decades? Feel free to share your thoughts.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Trick-or-Treating, Staying Home, and the Value of a Neighborhood

The Speed of Pitching for the Los Angeles Angels: ALCS 10-25-09

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I make trend graphs for my real estate appraisal work nearly every day on the job, and since I’m a huge baseball fan, I figured I’d make a scatter graph of the speed of pitches for the Los Angeles Angels during the last game of the American League Championship Series on 10-25-09. I know, it sounds a bit geeky, but when I get a random idea like this, sometimes I just have to make it happen. I would have also plotted the New York Yankees, but Fox did not display pitch speed for the Yankees’ entire first inning, and I was also feeling like tracking two teams was going to be way too tedious for a relaxing Sunday evening. Here is what I came up with:

Speed of Los Angeles Angels Pitching 10-25-09 American League Championship Series

If you notice, there is a gap of data between pitch 23 and 35, and that is because Fox did NOT supply the data for whatever reason. It seemed that most of the time Fox displayed pitch speed, but oddly they missed nearly all of the second inning for the Angels (as well as the first inning for the Yankees). You’ll also notice I missed a few pitches on accident (17, 123) and that during the 8th inning I called it quits. Between spending time with family, having two toddlers running around, and getting tired of watching more intently than I usually do, I figured it was time to hang up my MLB statistician hat and simply enjoy the rest of the game.

Key Points:

  • The spread of speed varied by about 20 mph.
  • Joe Saunders pitched from pitch 1 to pitch 115.
  • Ervin Santana pitched from pitch 116 to 130.
  • In the 8th inning when I called it quits, there were two more pitchers from the Angels who went to the mound (Scott Kazmir & Jered Weaver).

This was just for fun. Feel free to comment if you’d like. Or if you have any ideas for what sort of baseball stat I might experiment with graphing during the World Series, let me know what you think.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com The Speed of Pitching for the Los Angeles Angels: ALCS 10-25-09

Photos from the Field: ”Taco Bell” Buildings

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While in the field, I snapped a few photos over the past week that caught my attention. I get a kick out of architecture and design, and particularly old restaurants that have now been converted to different businesses. Below are two local examples of an old Taco Bell that was converted to something else. As a bonus, I included a shot of a former Long John Silver’s that is now a check cashing business. Enjoy.

If you have other local examples, please comment above, or better yet, email your pictures and I’ll post them (so long as they are original photos).

Starbucks at 1401 Alhambra Blvd in Sacramento:

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Carolina’s Mexican Food at 10179 Folsom Blvd in Rancho Cordova:

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Check Cashing (next to Carolina’s) – Formerly a Long John Silver’s:

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www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Photos from the Field: ”Taco Bell” Buildings

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