If you are single, with lots of money but not much sense of logic, then I have I got a deal for you!

How about a studio condo starting at about $1000 per square foot? Yes, the real estate market has not fully crashed yet in San Francisco, and the latest entry in the overpriced category is Cubix Yerba Buena. They are marketing studio condos (no bedrooms, just like a studio apartment) that are sized from 250 to 350 square feet. The prices start at $275,000 and top off at $330,000. That does not include monthly homeowner dues of $270. So you are paying between $942 and $1100 a square foot.

Why anybody would want to buy an overpriced closet is beyond me. It’ll be interesting to see how well they do. They have sold three units so far. The location is not that great, kitty corner from a major freeway onramp in a mixed residential / industrial / commercial neighborhood. It just amazes me what people are buying.

Their website is:
Cubix

Interesting article in the Telegraph, a UK paper. It discussed the dollar’s recent rise, and China’s contribution to that. China has bought 50 billion worth of dollars recently, which is part of the recent dollar rally. Interesting to read about the recent slowdown:

Much of the clothing, footwear and furniture industry has been hit, leading to mass plant closures in the Pearl River Delta.
"During the first half of this year, about 67,000 small and medium-sized companies went bankrupt throughout China, leaving more than 20m people out of work," said the National Development and Reform Commission. "Bankruptcies of textile and spinning companies have numbered more than 10,000. Two thirds are on the brink of bankruptcy."

Looks like the Chinese are feeling some of the pain that American manufacturers have felt the last few years.

Link is below:
Telegraph Article

Today (Aug 28) is the 101st anniversary of UPS. My wife and I learned this last night watching the Colbert Report. I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, so I went online to check. Sure enough, he was correct. Turns out UPS was started 101 years ago by two kids, one was 18 and one was 19. Amazing how things progress.

The Wikipedia link is below. There is an interesting note about how UPS reprogrammed all their routes to minimize left turns and maximize right turns, in order to save time, gas, and money.

That part in their ads about running the tightest ship in the shipping world is correct. The drivers tell me that they are closely watched. I know in their mechanic department, UPS has a complete list of all mechanical repairs. For each repair, there is an exact number of minutes for how long the repair should take. If you don't come in at plan, there is hell to pay.

Wikipedia link:
UPS

A friend of mine sent me the following link to a collection of statues from around the world. Just absolutely amazing. If you want some examples of artists contributing to a better world, this is it. Some really, really creative and beautiful work.

Sculptures

A few disappointments popped up Saturday.

First was the news that Obama picked Biden for his running mate. So much for the idea of change. I guess Biden’s foreign policy experience was the key. I see another Washington insider, in the pocket of the credit card companies, who has lied and plagarized in the past. Maybe McCain will be bad enough to lose, or the war and economy will kick it to the Democrats, but Obama’s move seems likely to disappoint Obama’s female supporters as well as the young.

This sort of ties in to the cell phone announcement they failed to deliver on. Leaking to the mainstream press before emailing your subscribers is another example of not following your word. It’s a little thing, but doesn’t bode well for the future. If he is elected, we’ll see if Obama has the guts and morals to do the right thing, or if he’ll end up being another pretty politician who makes nice speeches.

On the local front, one of my neighbors caught the newspaper deliveryperson attempting to steal his garden hose at 4:30 in the morning. He happened to be up at the time, heard the newspaper land near the front door, then looked out the window and saw the guy backing up his driveway and getting out to grab the hose. When the neighbor went out, the delivery guy said “Sorry”, and threw the hose back and drove off. Really strange. Why try to steal a used hose that is not that expensive to buy? I’m still scratching my head on this one.