The Backstory: North vs. South Austin tug of war 1987 | KVUE

This seems like material for a good Austin trivia question.

Here's a 2001 Austin Chronicle article which provides more details:  https://www.austinchronicle.com/features/2001-04-13/south-austin-secede/

Online Events: Trivia Tonight

Are you looking for some socially distant excitement tonight? Great, because there is an event for you. I'm hosting Floyd Real Estate Trivia Series event from 6:30-9 tomorrow evening. Come solo or in a team from 2-6. It's free to play, though I ask that you quantify your fun and donate to the Central Texas Food Bank accordingly. Here's the link for tickets (which will result in Zoom log-in info):  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/floyd-real-estate-trivia-series-tickets-114360671848

Moons Size Comparison

With trivia coming up tomorrow night, this seems appropriate to share.  I have been known to ask moon related questions.

Podcast Recommendations

I have been listening to a couple of good podcasts lately.  I figured I'd share, in case you were looking to be informed and entertained regarding science and/or Austin history:

• Star Talk:  Neil DeGrasse Tyson and rotating co-hosts discuss scientific concepts in a humorous  way.  I've already learned a lot about volcanoes and black holes.  If you are coming to my next trivia night, it's possible I've pulled some questions from this podcast.  
• Austin Found: If you want to know more about Austin history and culture, then tune in to this one.  Long time Austin American-Statesman journalist Micheal Barnes and Austin radio personality J.B. Hegar are the hosts.   I think of myself as reasonably knowledgable about Austin history, but I've found out lots of interesting and hitherto unknown to me information from these podcasts.  

And here's a fun fact:  Neil deGrasse Tyson has an M.A. in astronomy from U.T.-Austin.  Hook 'em!  

Food: Butter. Wonderful, Delicious Butter

I don't usually get excited about buying butter, but I'll make an exception in this case.  The Lewis Road Creamery's garlic and chives butter is excellent (it's grass-fed and traditionally churned too, if you care about such things).  I ran across it last month while shopping for prime ribeyes on the Central Market website.   I thought it might be good tp melt some thick garlic and chive butter over the steaks while they were resting post-grilling.   My intuition was very correct and flavor expectations were exceeded.  Also, this stuff tastes great on bread, potatoes, and just about anything else which goes well with garlic butter.

I bought another unit of this butter in my most recent Central Market order.  It's in the the fridge waiting on a pair of grass-fed ribeyes slated to hit the grill soon.

[speaking of Central Market: grab some of their Hatch chile tortillas while they are in stock.  They taste great, especially wrapped around a sausage fresh off the grill.]

Floyd Real Estate on Social Media

A Few Photos From Our Listing on Cat Mountain in Austin

Are you in Austin?  Are you interested in buying investment property or moving here?  Are you a small business owner interested in commercial real estate in Austin?  If so, you should follow Floyd Real Estate, LLC, on these social media channels:

• Floyd Real Estate on Facebook
• Floyd Real Estate on Instagram  

And stay tuned, I have some information coming soon about the Floyd Real Estate Trivia Series... 

June 2020 Austin and Austin-Round Rock MSA Real Estate Statistics

Visit ABoR.com/MarketStatistics for more information and a full press release from the Austin Board of Realtors.  The above statistics compare June 2019 to June 2020.

Visit us at Floyd Real Estate, LLC, if you are thinking about buying or selling property (residential, commercial, or land) in the Central Texas area.   We would be happy to advise you on your real estate related needs.  

Floyd Real Estate is a Texas real estate brokerage, TREC Lic. #9003790

Seinfeld Law Blog

Do you (1) like the TV show Seinfeld a lot, and (2) enjoy reading about the law?  That's a yes and yes for me, and if it is for you as well then check out the Seinfeld Law blog.  

You can catch all 9 seasons of Seinfeld reruns on Hulu right now.   The show will move to Netflix in 2021.  

Heat: Be Careful

At least it's a dry heat and cool at night, unlike summer in Austin.

It's July in Texas, and while heat's an issue it's still nice to get outside for some socially distance fun and exercise.   Unfortunately, there is the danger of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.   Check out these articles to learn more:

• KVUE post, with chart.
• My May 21st post, also with chart.

Have fun, wear light clothes, and stay hydrated.   If you are feeling adventurous, you can do what I do and enjoy summertime night biking.  It's cooler than during the day, plus you don't have the sun beating down on you.  

COVID-19 Risk Chart

Find out more by visiting the Texas Medical Association's COVID-19 resource page.

May 2020 Austin and Austin-Round Rock MSA Real Estate Statistics

Visit ABoR.com/MarketStatistics for more information and a full press release from the Austin Board of Realtors.  The above statistics compare May 2019 to May 2020.

The numbers here are low compared to a good year in the Austin area, but we are of the opinion that our optimism (considering the COVID-19 situation) has been correct.   Furthermore, inventory is still quite low and tilted in favor of sellers.  People who are in a position to buy (and are well qualified) are finding great interest rates.  Thus if you are casually thinking of selling property, it would be worthwhile to take deeper consideration.   

The Austin residential market has been slowed, but not stopped, by COVID-19. The above data represents a snapshot of activity in May 2020.   As for June, what I can say is only anecdotal: we have seen in our brokerage and title practices any increase in activity over May.   Of course, please take my anecdotal observations with the appropriate caveats and grains of salt.  

Visit us at Floyd Real Estate, LLC, if you are thinking about buying or selling property (residential, commercial, or land) in the Central Texas area.   We would be happy to advise you on your real estate related needs.  

Floyd Real Estate is a Texas real estate brokerage, TREC Lic. #9003790

80's TV Homage: Knight Rider for 8 Cellos

I was recently playing team trivia (via Zoom) with some friends and after a TV theme song round the group's conversation turned to our favorites from the 80's.  I voted for the themes songs to Miami Vice (by Jan Hammer) and The Equalizer (by Stewart Copeland of The Police) as tied for my favorite (though I could give Magnum PI honorable mention among a few others).  The theme to Knight Rider, of course, came up during our group's discussion.  Thus, shortly thereafter I was delighted to run across a Mashable article about a cellist who covered the Knight Rider song by playing the eight cello parts herself.  After listening, I like the cello cover better than the original.

Here you go:

Sci-Fi: Star Wars Ships to Scale; 1980's Flash Gordon

I was on Facebook earlier, and I noticed a friend had posted that The Empire Strikes Back premiered 40 years ago today.  And damn, that is correct information.  I remember Empire well, as it's one of the first live-action movies I saw in a theater.  It was (to me, at that age) and unbelievably amazing spectacle (and to me at my current age, it remains my favorite of the Star Wars movies).  It also helpfully put into context all of the Star Wars toys we were playing with (having mostly learned about the plot of the original Star Wars from older kids).

With the above in mind, it seemed appropriate to share this video I ran across (via Nerdist) on Twitter:





The scale of the Star Wars franchise spacecraft is pretty impressive.  It was fun to see them next to various real-life objects for scaling purposes.

Thinking back to the days when I was a kid and we played with Star Wars toys a lot:  later on, after having seen Empire Strikes Back, I recall going to a Star Wars themed birthday party.  When it was over, the moms in charge piled us into station wagons and took us to see another sci-fi movie.  In this case, it was the 1980 cult classic Flash Gordon (the one with the excellent theme song and score by Queen).   If you haven't seen this movie, it is hard to emphasize how confusing Flash Gordon is for small children.  I know.  I was one of them.  We all walked out of the movie, highly confused, and promptly went back to Star Wars as our sci-fi outlet of choice (we certainly didn't appreciate the performance by Max von Sydow or the whip fight with future 007 Timothy Dalton).   I watched Flash Gordon again about 25 years later whereupon it (a) was immensely more enjoyable and (b) made a lot more sense.

If you are an adult, you halfway like the sci-fi genre, and you have a good sense of humor about campy things: then by all means have a couple of drinks and watch Flash Gordon.  It is awesomely and hilariously campy (or incredibly, delightfully weird... however you want to define it).  I started to describe it, but then deleted all of the sentences I wrote because I (a) did not want to set your expectations and (b) could not describe it in a way which does it justice.  Just see it for yourself and enjoy.

Also,  the original Flash Gordon comics, movie serials, and TV series were major influences on George Lucas as he came up with the initial concepts for Star Wars.  Lucas first wanted to revive the Flash Gordon character but Dino DeLaurentiis (producer of Dune, Three Days of the Condor, and Blue Velvet, among other movies) already had the rights.  Thus, Lucas decided to craft his own space opera.  The more I've learned about Star Wars over the years, the more interesting it is to look at the some of the material which inspired Lucas.  Furthermore, it's interesting to learn more about the role his wife (at the time) Maria had in shaping the original Star Wars movie.  

I'm cutting myself off before I go down any more sci-fi movie rabbit holes.  Now you have a few ideas for your next movie night.

Summertime Fun: Heat-Related Illnesses

While reading about a national park's plans to re-open, I found this handy chart from the CDC:

Spoiler Alert: All of these Heat-Related Illnesses Are Unpleasant

Summer is just around the corner, but it's already getting hot in Austin (it's 92°F as I type this post).  Some of you can handle the heat better than others.  I'm not here to judge, just to remind you that it is entirely possible to overexert yourself in the heat of the Texas summer.   I have never experienced heat stroke, but I have ventured into mild heat exhaustion territory and it is no fun.

For beating the heat, I try to wear fishing shirts or dry-fit shirts if I'm outside and active.  That along with hydration and staying in the shade seems to work for me.  Also, during the summer, I shift most of my bicycling activities to the night (or occasionally early in the morning) and move cardio into the gym (which presents a challenge this summer, thanks to COVID-19).   Kayaking also becomes an early morning or evening activity.

An extra note on sunburns:  if you are up in the cool, delightful mountain air remember that mountain air gets a lot thinner as you go up.   That means less shielding from UV rays, and thus the potential for some nasty sunburns.  Speaking of the mountains, I really want to get up into the mountains of New Mexico this summer.

An extra note on bicycling: check your helmet.  A little ventilation goes a long way.  I have two helmets, and my lighter (more ventilated) Specialized Echelon makes quite the difference when it's warm out.

April 2020 Austin and Austin-Round Rock MSA Real Estate Statistics

Visit ABoR.com/MarketStatistics for more information and a full press release from the Austin Board of Realtors.  The above statistics compare April 2019 to April 2020.

At our office we looked at the numbers and concluded that while COVID-19 is obviously affecting the local residential market, the numbers were not as bad as we expected and they indicate that there was still plenty of activity in the market.  Based on what I've seen on social media, observed in our office, and heard anecdotally (from Realtors and title professionals) there has been an uptick in activity for May.   I'm throwing a huge caveat on that last sentence as it is not based on objective or data-based reporting; however, what I've perceived is more action and optimism in the real estate community.  

We'll see if the optimism is correctly placed or grossly misguided as Texas continues to open back up from COVID-19 restrictions and as the local/state/national macroeconomic effects are more fully realized.  

Visit us at Floyd Real Estate, LLC, if you are thinking about buying or selling property (residential, commercial, or land) in the Central Texas area.  

Floyd Real Estate is a Texas real estate brokerage, TREC Lic. #9003790

COVID-19

The City of Austin has release a chart explaining Stages 1-5 in its COVID-19 Risk Based Guidelines:

Visit AustinTexas.gov/COVID19 for more information and to check on the city's stage status.

Also, the Texas A&M Real Estate Center has just release updated economic projections based on COVID-19.

If Rockets were Transparent

Flashback to New Mexico

On Top of Wheeler Peak, the Highest Point in NM

I'm currently sitting in my home office in Austin; however, Facebook has been gleefully reminding me that two years ago I was camping and hiking in the Taos area.   That trip was a lot of fun.  After a quick flight to Albuquerque, we drove up to Taos and made a campsite along the road to Taos Ski Valley.   It was a nice site right along the Rio Hondo (too bad I can't packed fly fishing gear).   Our group had a great time hiking on Wheeler Peak, hiking to hot springs in the Rio Grande Gorge, and eating in Taos.   If possible, I'm road tripping back to the Taos area in the summer (this time, with fly fishing gear and possibly my mountain bike).

A note on the gorge:  I don't know what COVID-19 has done to the river rafting industry in northern New Mexico.  However, when you can, you should try out rafting the Rio Grange through the gorge on what is called the "Taos Box" run.  I did this a while back and it was fantastic.  I'd like to do this again, along with a trip down the Arkansas through the Royal Gorge and (of course) the eventual Grand Canyon rafting trip.

Austin REALTORS: Guide for Showing Properties

Austin REALTORS, our friends at ABOR have published this infographic with advice on how to handle a showing during the COVID-19 crisis:

I'll reiterate the disclaimer:  agents, talk to your broker about these recommendations; brokers, talk to your attorneys about these recommendations; everyone, talk to your clients about what they are comfortable with.

Central Texas COVID-19 CRE Update

Our friends at Capstone Title put together this webinar with a speaker from CoStar who discussed the effects of COVID-19 on commercial real estate in Central Texas.  It's full of interesting information for commercial and residential real estate agents:



The Foskitt Law Office is a fee attorney for Capstone Title.   Contact us for your real estate closing needs in the Central Texas area. 

Watch Apollo 11's Moon Landing in Amazing Simulation

Keeping on with the moon theme, here's a video simulation of the Eagle from Apollo 11 landing on the moon:



To add to the excitement as you watch this: the Eagle's computer was overloaded and had the lander heading for touchdown in a boulder field.  As the computer was overloaded and trying to reset itself, using it to aid in the final approach to landing wasn't an option.  Neil Armstrong had to guide the lander in manually and fly it until he found a safe place to land.

(read about this and 49 other facts about the Apollo 11 mission)

What's inside of the Lunar Module?

You may be wondering why I'm posting a video about the lunar module from the Apollo program.  Well, I've been reading One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon (by Charles Fishman).  I'm enjoying the book, and on the side I've been looking up a lot of information about NASA programs from the 1960's.  Thus, the following video which you may enjoy:

Virtual Fusebox Festival: Texas Monthly's Review

Check out what Texas Monthly has to say about the 2020 Virtual Fusebox Festival.

Energy Efficiency Tips

Here's are some energy saving tips from our friends at the Austin Board of Realtors:

I have a couple of additional thoughts on this one:

• If your house needs it, add insulation.  For example, if you live in an older house (like I do) then there may be some advances in insulation from which you can benefit.  We had more put in our attic this year, and now that Austin is warming up I can tell the difference.  After the virus situation abates, we'll probably have more put in under the house.
• If you've recently moved into an older house, check door seals and windows.  You may be losing cold air.
• Get you ducts checked and cleaned.  Also, check the condenser and make sure the coils are clean.
• If you are considering a smart thermostat or lighting system, read up on the company's data and privacy policies.  Also, look into how said company has handled support for older systems (is there a long tail, or do they tend to deactivate units?).  
• If you don't want the oven to heat up your kitchen, you don't have to resort to microwaving your food.  Toaster ovens are great, and I use mine year-round when I want to cook something too small to merit heating up the regular oven.   Also, you can always go outside and grill.   
• Investigate options for solar panels and available rebates.
• Investigate rebates for installing more energy efficient air conditioning units (e.g., Austin Energy has a rebate program).

In addition to my points above, visit Austin Energy to learn more about making your home more efficient.  

Virtual Fusebox Festival

Fusebox Fans:

It's almost here.  The Virtual Fusebox Festival is April 24th-26th.  http://virtual.fuseboxfestival.com/

Austin Real Estate: Buying and Selling Residences During COVID-19

Are you in Austin and thinking of buying or selling a residential property right now?  First, you may be surprised at how much activity is still going on in the Austin area real estate market.  Second, check out these FAQ pages from the Austin Board of Realtors:

For more information, visit ABOR.com/WorkSafe.

I'll put up a separate post with Austin's February and March residential statistics.   I can say anecdotally that the residential side of our brokerage is still busy and we have generally seen a lot of action in residential through our law firm/fee attorney office.   Thus, there is still action out in the Austin market in spite of the COVID-19 situation.  

If you are thinking of buying or selling, please contact us at Floyd Real Estate.   And, of course, we're here to help with general real estate advice.  

Welcome to Fusebox Virtual Edition!

The Fusebox Festival is going to be virtual this year.  It's scheduled for April 24-26.  Watch the video below for more information: 

How Does 2012 mac mini perform in 2020

It was interesting to watch this video about the virtues of the Late 2012 Mac Mini, as I have been using one since March of 2013.  And by using one, I mean this is my workhorse home office computer which gets used about 5-6 days per week.  It's been the best value I've ever obtained from a computer (I spent about $900 on it 7 years ago).  At this point, I plan to keep using it until it can't take any upgrades or it becomes obvious a new Mac Mini needs to be procured.

Anyway, watch keep going and watch the video if you are curious about Mac Mini longevity (or bored, because of COVID-19 related cabin fever):




Note on the differences between mine and the one in the video:

• Video Mac Mini: has Catalina (the latest OS), 8GB ram, a 256GB SSD hard drive, and an i5 dual core processor.
• My Mac Mini: older OS (but may go to Catalina soon), a 1TB conventional hard drive, and an i7 dual core processor.

Note on how mine is functioning:

• I have noticed, of late, that the MS Office 2016 apps are starting to act a little weird.  At some point I am going to upgrade to Catalina and Office 2019.  What I haven't assessed yet is which of my usual programs are 32 bit and won't function in the Catalina OS.   I imagine I will have to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud and pay for a few other upgrades after going to Catalina.  However, in general the computer works well and gets the business/personal/creative work jobs I need done.    

[Update: As of December 2020, the old Mac Mini was finally retired and replaced with the 2020 Mac Mini sporting the new M1 processor.]

Food: Austin Take-Out During COVID-19

Grass fed, dry aged NY strip from ALC Steaks.

Eater Austin is maintaining a list of Austin restaurants open for take-out during the COVID-19 pandemic related business shutdown.  There are too many great options for me to list them all.

ALC Steaks (as featured in the photo) is open for take-out from both the restaurant and their food truck.  I added the photo above because it was the first food photo I found when looking for a visual aid to add to this post.  But, it was a lucky pick of the draw.  The above steak is the 44 Farms dry-aged, grass-fed ribeye about which I have waxed rhapsodic in past posts (and if you know me, in person).  The steak in the photo was served Oscar style, with chimichurri covered asparagus and flash fried spinach (probably not the healthiest spinach, but delicious).  Anyway, order a steak from ALC if you can: you're supporting a local business and treating yourself during this unpleasant time period.

Movies

First, The Bad News:

You can add Top Gun: Maverick (along with No Time to Die and many others) to the list of movies with release dates delayed owning to COVID-19.  At this time December 23, 2020 is the newly scheduled release date.


Now, Some Good News:

The 2020 SXSW Film Festival will stream this year's films through Amazon Prime.


More Good News:

Thanks to the 13 Days of James Bond marathons in the 90's, my studying for certain final exams took a hit (it's like the jerks at TBS knew I'd rather watch The Man With the Golden Gun than review my notes).   Well, now that I'm temporally distanced from college and we're all social distancing, it's a good thing multiple titles of old James Bond movies have been released on Amazon Prime this month.  There are some bad ones (I'm looking at you, Moonraker) on the list, but we also get From Russia With Love, Thunderball, and Goldfinger in the mix.

A View to a Kill is already on Amazon Prime (for free), and other Bond movies may be as well (you can look for yourself).  While certainly not the best movie in the Bond franchise, it does come with: Christopher Walken as the blimp-loving villain, Grace Jones as a bad Bond girl, and a great theme song from Duran Duran.  If you don't believe me about the theme song, just watch the video.

[note: it does appear these movies will no longer be free after 5/1]

Netflix Party Lets You Interact Over Movies While Social Distancing:

The Netflix Party browser extension lets you watch Netflix with friends (virtually).  You can chat, play/pause in sync, and so forth while drinking at home and maintaining your social distance.  The folks at CNET have an article which will instruct you on setting it up.


And Finally, a Movie Rec:

I have been watching more TV series than movies these days.  Last weekend, though, I watched Collateral (2004).  This movie stars Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.  It was directed by Micheal Mann (Miami Vice, Heat, Last of the Mohicans).  I hadn't seen this one since 2005, and I'm glad I took the time to watch it again.  Tom Cruise plays a very intense hitman who forces Jamie Foxx's cab driver to take him around Los Angeles while he kills his targets.  If you haven't seen it in a while, it's worth a return visit.