Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, WA Home Inspector (King of the House)

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Unpredictable Ripple Effect

Here in the USA, we have all heard about the increased violence in some of our border cities in Texas and Arizona as a result of the major drug war going on in Mexico. The current Mexican President Felipe Calderon is using the police and the military to go up against the drug lords and the drug lords are fighting back -- killing Mexican police and soldiers in record numbers.

Talk about unpredictable side effects: I saw an article in the local newspaper. As most of you know, Bellingham is only about 20 minutes away from the Canadian border. The major city of Vancouver is only a few minutes away, once you cross the border. The gorgeous city of Vancouver is focused on getting ready for the 2010 winter Olympics.

Vancouver has recently had an increase in gang-related violence. Police and authorities are blaming that violence largely on the drug war in Mexico. Obviously, President Calderon's drug war against the cartels must be having an impact because police in Canada say it has reduced the supply of cocaine. In so doing, that has made the prices go sky-high and the gangs are killing each other off to get the product. According to the article, many Canadians are, rightly so, upset by this turn of events. In some cases, gunfire has occurred on busy streets and innocent parties have been killed. The murder rate is up in Vancouver.

It is interesting that this war on the drug lords in Mexico -- an action that is praised by all and considered a bold move by a President of Mexico -- is causing so much violence and unrest as far north as Vancouver, BC. That is a ripple effect that would not have been predicted. Hopefully, if the government of Mexico can keep up the pressure, things will get less violent all over. I guess we will just have to wait and see. I know that, sometimes, things have to get worse before they get better. You can read the full article from the Bellingham Herald here.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

 

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

8 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 30 2009 10:42AM

Please! Don't Play Ceilito Lindo One More Time!

There are a number of similarities between traveling in Italy and Mexico. First, both countries have old buildings and a propensity for good food and bright colors. Case in Point: Below is a bar in Italy. Sicily to be exact. 

Case in Point: Below is an open-air cafe in Mexico, Oaxaca to be exact.

There is yet another similarity -- both latin-flavored countries have climates that lend themselves to performances by street bands, strolling bands, mariachi bands. Case in point: Here is a photo of a street band in Italy.

Case in point: Here is a photo of a mariachi band in Mexico.

Now let me describe another similarity that I have found between these two countries and their street musicians. They all want to play the same bloomin' song. And that song drives me crazy.  Typically, they will walk up to you in a cafe, instruments in tow, and they want to play Ceilito Lindo.

You heard me right -- Ceilito Lindo. I think of that as a Mexican song, but it is big in Italy too. Just so you know I am not joshing you, the video below is from Italy. This is the way this tune always sounds, no matter where you roam. The girl is better than the song.

 Having my craw full of Ceilito Lindo, I turned the tables on the street musicians last time we were in Mexico. A string band walked through the door of the cafe. It looked like a grandpa, son and grandson. The elder asked if we wanted a song. I said "sure." They said they would do "Ceilito Lindo". 

I said: "No, No, please no." So they wanted to know what song they should sing. I gave it some thought, thinking of any Mexican flavored song that came to mind. I could only think of a few -- Wooly Bully, La Bamba and then, yes I thought of one -- Guantanamera. Do you know that song? This is not our little trio below, since I did not have a video camera, but this is a typical street version of Guantanamera.

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To the credit of the grandpa, son and grandson, they scratched their heads for a few seconds over the lyrics and tune and then grandpa and son nodded their heads. Right there, in front of us, they played and sang my requested song. Now, I gladly paid a dollar more for it -- about five bucks -- but it sure was worth it, not having to pout through Ceilito Lindo on yet another vacation. Hopefully I have said goodbye to Ceilito Lindo for the final time.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

12 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 30 2009 08:58AM

Motivational Monday

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

6 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 30 2009 08:56AM

Oak Harbor Home Inspection (King of the House) -- Roll Roofing

Roll roofing, bottom line, is not a very durable nor a high quality roofing material. However, in budget operations or non-critical locations, it is sometimes used -- often on lower sloped roofs because it is cheap and more suitable for that application than conventional shingles. It is quite common on shed style roofs or garages. I am always concerned and look for problems when I find a home with an addition that is roll roofing, often it is being used on nearly flat surfaces. Even at it's best, roll roofing only lasts a few years. The photo below shows roll roofing, over a porch, that has installation problems and granular deterioration. It has numerous exposed nail heads which is an installation problem. You will see that it has been torn or deteriorated so rain is now able to run down onto the structural wood below. In my view, there is a place for roll roofing, but it is on non-critical out buildings that are built on a budget, where the budget is a primary concern. Woodsheds and chicken coops come to mind.

 

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

10 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 29 2009 09:43AM

Speechless Sunday

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

6 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 29 2009 09:42AM

If You Vanished Today, Would Anyone Notice?

It is hard to believe, in this modern world, that a person could vanish and nobody would notice that he or she went missing.

This true story involves a missing person. It is one of Bellingham's great unsolved mysteries. It is not the typical missing person story  where someone vanishes and the family and police are left looking for that person. This one is weird: A man's body was found and now, nearly 22 years later, he has still not been identified.

This incident occurred at the Georgia Pacific paper mill in Bellingham. My late father-in-law was a security guard at the mill when this incident made the news. I also knew the medical examiner.

On September 20, 1987, a G-P worker was checking the interior of the no. 9 chimney. Inside of it he saw a skeleton. The body was resting on super-heated boiler pipes and temperatures would reach 370 degrees in the chimney. Authorities estimated that the unidentified man had been there from a few days to a few weeks. The skeleton was badly burned and that hindered efforts to identify the body.

The man had zero ID -- no keys, wallet, rings, watch nor clothes or tools that might indicate that he was a worker who had, for one reason or another, been trapped or died on the job.

I know, from my father-in-law, that, not long before this occurred, major renovations had taken place at the mill so, at first, they thought this was a worker for a sub-contractor -- who was unknown to local mill employees and could have even been a worker from out of state.

Authorities contacted every company, who had had employees on-site at that time. Nothing. All workers and employees were accounted for. Some people suggested that maybe he was homeless, a possibility, but it was not like he had fallen into an easy access chimney. To access it, one had to climb a number of stairs inside the plant, and then get out on the roof.

As the mystery unfolded, authorities released an artist's drawing, of what the man might have looked like. This drawing is from 1987.

 

Then, in the year 2000, another drawing was distributed by police. 

   

While at first the drawings appear to be much different, if you look closely there are a number of similarities in the distinguishing features.

There is a missing persons website with further details on this case. While there are few specifics, there is lots of general information about the unidentified man:

  • Estimated age: 27 - 37 years old
  • Approximate Height and Weight: 5'8"-5'9"; 130 - 155 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: The victim had small feet, probably wearing a size 8 shoe.
  • Dentals: The man had had dental work, including silver and gold fillings and possibly a root canal. It was not indigent dental work, it was good quality care for that time frame the mid 1980s.
  • Clothing: Police found charred remnants of denim pants and a denim jacket, a lightweight shirt, and rubber-soled shoes. The coat was off and under the body, apparently to shield him from the heat. The shirt was draped or wrapped around one ankle, possibly to bind an injury. Police also found a burned remnant of a Continental Airlines ticket or baggage claim, but could not make out the numbers to trace the ticket.
  • DNA: The chimney heat destroyed DNA in the skeleton

This is an intriguing mystery that is part of Bellingham's weird lore -- like our connection to the Hillside Strangler, the DC snipers and maybe Ted Bundy. The G-P mill, once a major source of employment in this county, has been shut down now for a couple years.

This mystery has an eerie quality and it does make one pause and ask the larger question:

"What kind of life can a person have if he or she vanishes and nobody even notices that they are gone? "

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

24 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 28 2009 10:59AM

Bellingham, WA -- Air Fares Dropping

I could not hardly believe a story I read in the newspaper this week. I hear all this conflicting information about air travel -- everything from it is really cheap right now to prices are rising. One of the leading airlines in the PNW is Alaska Airlines. They do not fly into Bellingham anymore, but one of their affiliated companies or partners, Horizon Airlines, does fly in and out of Bellingham's airport daily.

Last time I took a Horizon flight a couple years back, honestly, I thought the price was ridiculously high. Maybe it still would be to where I was going -- simply a hop to Eastern Washington and the city of Pasco on business. It was on the order of $200.00 each way.

With that history in mind, I figured that it doesn't make sense to try to fly Horizon -- not cost effective. Then I saw the story in the local paper today. Horizon is offering $69.00 tickets to all sorts of desirable and relatively far away locations -- San Francisco, San Diego, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Reno and San Jose.

They are not direct flights. A person hops on Horizon in Bellingham, then transfers to Alaska Air at SeaTac. They state that the flight includes beverages, snacks, baggage check and other amenities not offered by some budget flights to similar destinations.

Fact is, I am not planning on going to any of those cities in the near future but, if I was -- or if you are -- then you might want to look into this. I know there are restrictions on when said trips may be taken -- booked by April 10 and travel dates from April 3 to May 31 of this year. I bring this up since I thought any Bellingham business travelers might want to check on this travel deal.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

12 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 27 2009 08:17PM

Stories Behind the Music -- What a Long and Glorious Ride

If a person was to try to rank the all-time most popular American male rock or pop group, the Four Seasons would have to be right up there near the top. These guys were cranking super hits before anyone ever heard of the British Invasion. The Four Seasons were "Jersey Boys" and they worked hard to achieve their success and fame. Frankie Valli, the lead singer, had been in the music business for ten years prior to his music catching on in the early 1960's. Valli's falsetto is legend in pop music. The boys took the name from a bowling alley, The Four Seasons, where they had an audition that went nowhere. At least they got a name out of the deal.

Sherry, the first of several #1 hits for the group, was recorded in 15 minutes. I could not find a video that was, exclusively, dedicated to their rendition of Sherry, but this is an early video and includes Sherry and a number of their hits through 1966. It is reported to be from an American Bandstand broadcast.

Sherry was at the top of the charts in 1962. But, if we race ahead 12 years, we connect up with the Four Seasons final #1 hit. The Seasons at that point, as far as original members, consisted of Frankie Valli and three recruits. A former member, with his wife, had been involved in writing the song that would be their last hit -- December, 1963. Bob Gaudio, co-writer, said that it described events that had taken place 30 years previously -- the repeal of prohibition. I do not think many fans knew that, but they liked the tune.

These guys had such staying power that, even now, there is a major musical about the group. It is playing at theaters around the world and on Broadway. The show is The Jersey Boys.

For more "Stories Behind the Music" click on the guitar

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

6 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 27 2009 03:43PM

Vinyl: Old Is New Again

You remember those, usually black in color, discs that we used to call records. The really old records played at 78 RPM, but many of us played, or still own, 45's and 33-1/3's. Those 33-1/3 LP records were first introduced by Columbia in 1949 and they were dominant for about 30 years. The discs were made of vinyl (some old records were wax or shellac) and the medium morphed into high fidelity sound and stereo for the masses. Let me also say that we liked our 45's too. Those cheaper, two-sided singles, gave us the latest hits before the albums came out.

 

Heck, of course we liked our records. That's how we first heard Elvis.

We first heard the Beatles on vinyl too.

That is how it used to be but, for the most part, once the compact disc came out, in the early 1980's, vinyl started to fade away and made way for those shiny little discs.

It did not make everyone happy that vinyl was replaced with CD's. Many of the discriminating audiophiles claim that the CD just does not have the sound quality of vinyl. The difference, they say, is analog vs digital. The analog process was direct -- when an artist or instrument was recorded a groove in the record was directly impacted by every nuance of a voice or an instrument. With digital, to a much larger degree, averaging, limiting and compression takes place. Another argument is that the tiny CD does not lend itself to the lavish artwork that was incorporated into the covers of some albums.

Now, I think that most of us still like our CD's for convenience and the fact they tend to stay trouble free. With vinyl, while it might be an authentic sound, often we are not careful and we end up with noisy records -- sticky grooves, scratches, skips. I cannot tell you how many times the wife and I would buy some LP album, then wreck it that first week. CD's are more rugged. I think I have only damaged, beyond repair, two CD's. In each case I dropped them in gravel and put huge gouges in the surface.

So where am I going with all of this history? Well, I got a surprise yesterday. I went to Fred Meyer, a major retailer here in the northwest. While browsing the CD's, I saw that they have a small rack of 33 1/3 RPM vinyl albums -- the LP's, a higher quality medium than the old 45's.. The sign above them says; "Music the way it is meant to be heard."

I knew that some vinyl records were still being pressed. But, for the most part, I only see vinyl in used record stores. I decided to do a bit of reading on the topic and found that vinyl has been making a comeback in the last few years. Downloads (10% of the market share) are seriously cutting into CD sales (89% market share) and vinyl is now at .2% of the market share. That might not sound like much but, according to a story in Time, Warner Music reported a 30% increase in LP vinyl sales in 2007. That is a ray of hope to a bummed-out music industry that is not selling the product it used to sell. Based on the trend, it looks like those folks with turntables can keep them spinning with old, and new, music for many years to come.

Many audiophiles are excited about this trend in recorded music. The record companies realize that the vinyl market is still small, but they want to move more product. So they will serve that niche market. I understand that, at many college campuses, it is very cool to have a turntable. I saw a store the other day that sold only vinyl and turntables and hi-fi accessories. We have some younger friends, 30-year-olds, and they prefer their turntable and records to their CD's.  It is, historically, a good thing that vinyl is making a comeback. No doubt about it, some of our greatest moments in recorded music were first preserved on record -- Click here.

 There is an addendum to this post. Analyzing the facts, it makes sense that Fred Meyer, the Pacific Northwest, and specifically the Seattle area, would be leaders in this trend of the old becoming new again. After all, Seattle has always been at the forefront of trends in music -- from Ray Charles pioneering rock n' roll, to the garage bands of the 1960's, to Hendrix, to Nirvana and the whole grunge scene,

And wouldn't you know it, two of our old Active Rain buddies, one who lives in the Seattle area and the other (a very part-time employee) who visits on weekends for the nightlife, are at the forefront of making the old new again. 

 Below, for your eyes only, is the ad slick for a new Seattle billboard that is going to be going up next week. It will be promoting a Seattle radio station that plays innovative music that, they say, flys under the radar.  (You can click on the billboard below, to go to their site.) And who are they counting on to get the public interested in their station? You got it, these two cool cats. Or, as they say: "Where's the sandbox mama, these two cool cats have got to go!"

 

For "Stories Behind the Music" click on the guitar

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

25 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 27 2009 09:27AM

Stories Behind the Music -- Don't Worry

Every once in awhile a song that can only be described as a novelty hits the top of the charts. I think that many years back, in the 1950's and the 1960's, there were even more big novelty hits than we have seen in the last few years. Did I say the last few years? It is amazing to me that the topic of today's post goes back 21 years. That sounds like a longtime ago, yet it seems like only yesterday.

New York City native Bobby McFerrin, who was known as a jazz artist, recorded a song for his album. The cut was reggae flavored and an a ccapella number at the same time. McFerrin's song got little attention at first. Then the music supervisor for the movie Cocktail (think Tom Cruise) was looking for a song with a Caribbean feel to it. It went like this. 

 

Don't Worry, Be Happy topped the charts for two weeks in September 1988. This song, by the way, is a favorite of my certifried assistant Nutsy. It has the offical Nutsy stamp of approval.

For more "Stories Behind the Music" click on the guitar

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

5 comments • Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector • March 26 2009 01:19PM