THE GREAT WAHL

Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop.

Wahl — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:20:46 +0000

I try to limit the amount of Packers coverage I put on this blog. But I just can’t stop. There is so much love for the team. It’s starting to scare me, though. No unanimous ‘analyst’ preseason Super Bowl pick has probably ever actually brought the Lombardi Trophy home, but there’s always a first for everything, right???

Packers unanimously picked to reach Super Bowl XLV

My own 2010 NFL preview isn’t set to be due out until next week and (***SPOILER ALERT***) I have a strong feeling that I will have a similar outcome as the fine folks from NFL.com above.

And, yes, I am well aware that all this hype will more than likely end in a crushing loss.

TGI Finley’s.

That’s Her Husband??!?

Wahl — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:41:07 +0000

Most of you probably know that Christina Hendricks of Mad Men fame has long been a big favorite of the staff here at The Wahl. And if you didn’t know, you do now.

The rest of the world finally caught up on the beauty when Esquire magazine named her the Sexiest Woman Alive earlier this year.

While it was unfortunate that the bandwagon got full fast, it was manageable. But then I just happened to see a picture of her with her husband:

I had come to accept the fact she was married. But to this guy? The sexiest woman alive is married to a guy who seems like he’d have trouble picking up a lonely housewife at the local dive bar? Sure, Mr. Arend is an actor in ‘the biz’, but still…the whole thing just doesn’t seem fair. Good pull, sir.

Just a Little Taste

Wahl — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:17:02 +0000

The Packer bandwagon has gotten so full, I can’t even keep up with all the love that’s out there. But I’ll do my best to just give you a quick little taste:

The latest USA Today NFL Power Ranking now has the Packers as the #1 team:

The note that goes along with the Packers reads: “Aaron Rodgers could tie Brett Favre in Super Bowl wins with his first one.” I agree. “Favre Who?”

And while I don’t normally read Bill Simmons because he just writes so damn much, I do pay attention when he ranks Rodgers just behind Brees, Manning, and Brady as QBs he’d want to go to battle with.

But more than anything, I’m just happy there is an alternative to having to watch baseball anymore for the rest of the year. Go Pack.

Well-Preserved

Wahl — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:45:56 +0000

Hey McDonalds, use preservatives much?

137 days sitting out, and it still looks just as (un)edible as Day #1. I’m sure that’s healthy.

I think you could probably die from eating McDonalds for every meal faster than that burger would start to mold.

You can see more intermediary pics from the art project here: Why We’re Scared of Happy Meals

I Have a Scheme

Wahl — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:54:36 +0000

I am not a violent man. In fact, I’m quite docile. But it’s a low-key Friday night and I’m staying in and watching last night’s episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on the DVR. The opening segment is about Glenn Beck — and it’s got me riled up. I’ve never really wished physical harm on anyone before, until now…take a gander for yourself and see if you don’t agree with me:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

I Have a Scheme

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

And just for sh!ts and giggles…and good ol’ memories: Sarah Palin at Work

Favre Who?

Wahl — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:53:14 +0000

(Update: 3:30PM — Version 2.0; A newer, cleaner design but still a ways to go)

————————–

I know it’s only the preseason, but after watching the Packers preseason ~~game~~ rout against the Colts last night, I can’t help but to be very, very, very, very, very excited about the prospects of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers this season. It lead me to put together a rough draft this little beaut in Photoshop this morning:

Fair use, correct, my lawyer friends??

I’m tempted to add it to my Wahl-Mart and, at the very least, print myself off a shirt for this year. Maybe it’ll catch on like the “Brent” Favre t-shirt and I can make myself a little side biz. I know you want one.

Wicked

Wahl — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:03:30 +0000

Good thing I spent all that time building out KohlerHome.com for my parents this month. If today’s housing data is any marker, and knowing my dad’s lack of urgency to sell for anything but a great/fair/pre-2008 price, it’ll probably be a bit before they sell:

The Atlantic:

How Bad Was July’s Plummet in Home Sales?

The housing bears were right: existing home sales fell off a cliff in July. As my colleague Megan McArdle just noted, they sold at an annualized pace of 3.83 million, down by 27% versus June and 26% below July 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors. This is the lowest rate since NAR began keeping track of monthly sales in 1999. It’s also far worse than the rate of 4.7 million sales that the market expected.

- The Atlantic: Maybe the Recession Never Really Ended

Home sales collapsed after a federal tax credit for buyers expired in April. Since then, the manufacturing-led expansion, which began in the second half of 2009, has been waning, with jobless claims rising and factory orders falling.

“If foreclosures continue to mount and depress home prices, that could send the economy back into a recession,” said Celia Chen, an economist who tracks the industry for Moody’s Analytics Inc. “The housing market and the broader economy are closely intertwined.”

- Wall Street Journal: Existing-Home Sales Plunged in July

“The report shows the housing industry has hit more turbulence, is not leveling off and is worried about a nose-dive,” said Mitchell Hochberg, a principal at Madden Real Estate Ventures in New York. “Unemployment, foreclosures and shadow inventory are keeping consumers on the sidelines waiting for prices to drop further.”

A chart from the National Association of Realtors clearly demonstrates the drop:

…or perhaps this is a more appropriate image to show the relative impact of July’s drop in the housing market:

The house began to pitch. The kitchen took a slich. It landed on the Wicked Witch in the middle of a ditch. Which was not a happy situation for the Wicked Witch!

iWahl

Wahl — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:46:59 +0000

I’m slowly refining and updating this site. Trying to make it more comprehensive and deeper than just a blog. Tonight, I’ve roughly started to update my Photo Gallery, the Wahl of Fame, Wahl-Mart, and have also recently added a page with some basic links to my music from Pandora. And I’ve even just created a page around my wonderfully useful iPhone — and will hopefully build out the page a lot more down the road.

For now, it simply has some very useful instructions to get this blog on the go from your awesome/superior/fantastic iPhone. These same instructions can also apply to your iPad/Serving Tray and iPod Touch:

I’m sure there are probably ways to do it on other “smart” phones, but I don’t know how. So you’re on your on for that one. I do know Hitt has a a similar shortcut link on his phone somewhere, so at least Droid does a little something.

Google Analytics tells me that nearly 7% of my traffic last month was via the iPhone:

With Apple selling a million iPhone 4s an hour, and now that I’ve provided easy instructions how to get a quick Great Wahl shortcut to your homepage, hopefully that number grows. Enjoy — on the go.

Wrong Number

Wahl — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:51:24 +0000

One of the best parts about using Google Voice for my voicemail is that you can easily share messages with the masses. I received one such share-worthy wrong number voicemail this morning (if the embedded audio player doesn’t work for you, you can listen to the file here):

The opening is classic and her laugh at the end is also quite entertaining. I know Felicia sounds like a great person to talk to, and you probably want to give her a call — but I cut out her phone number, so I’m sorry if I ruined your fun, my Mexican friend.

Water Cooler Economics

Wahl — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:48:01 +0000

While trying to recover from yesterday’s House Boat party, I came across a number of interesting economic articles that probably will make good water cooler talk with your coworkers this week.

1. Fashion designers don’t want Snooki, of Jersey Shore fame, to be associated with their brands. So, they are sending their competitor’s bags to her (Thanks for the heads up on this, Chelsea). And in case you can’t get enough of your Jersey Shore fix, check out the new carnival game found in Seaside Heights, New Jersey: “Shoot the Guido” (Thanks to Joey Yanks for the heads up on this).

2. Wall Street analysts are using daily satellite images of Wal-Mart parking lots to forecast sales revenue numbers:

“UBS proprietary satellite parking lot fill rate analysis points to an interesting cadence intra-quarter and potential upside to our view,” the report read.

UBS analyst Neil Currie had been looking at satellite data on Wal-Mart during each month of 2010, and he’d concluded that there was enough correlation between what he was seeing in the satellite pictures of Wal-Mart’s parking lots to the big-box chain’s quarterly earnings, that he was ready to incorporate that data into UBS’ report on Wal-Mart…”

3. Chinese Bench Torture:

Park officials in China have found a way to stop people from hogging their benches for too long – by fitting steel spikes on a coin-operated timer.

If visitors at the Yantai Park in Shangdong province, eastern China, linger too long without feeding the meter, dozens of sharp spikes shoot through the seat.

The spikes are too short to cause any serious harm – but long enough to prevent people from sitting on them comfortably.

Gotta love the Commies.

4. Looking for an exciting new restaurant to try out? Try Dinner in the Sky.

In the states, you have to travel to NYC, Miami, or Vegas. Not cheap, either. But quite the experience, I imagine.

5. Up to 30% of the traffic in central business districts is from drivers looking for curb parking. Curb parking rates are, on average, just 20% of parking garages, so it gives drivers incentive to drive around looking for a spot. I know I do. The cumulative impact?

Over the course of a year, the search for curb parking in this 15-block district [in Los Angeles] created about 950,000 excess vehicle miles of travel — equivalent to 38 trips around the earth, or four trips to the moon. And here’s another inconvenient truth about underpriced curb parking: cruising those 950,000 miles wastes 47,000 gallons of gas and produces 730 tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

That’s just for LA. Now multiply that out for every urban district across the country and world. Adds up to be quite a bit.

San Francisco is trying an interesting new experiment to help combat the problem: Demand-driven curb parking meters. Rates generally range from $0.50 to $6 an hour. For special events, rates could go as high as $18 hour. The “goal” is to have around 85% of the spots occupied. Enough revenue for the city. Enough chance of finding a spot. If this is successful, I imagine other cities will start adopting this en masse. $25 million to put in the meters into a select number of SF neighborhoods. But they got a $20 million federal grant to help pay for the project. Thanks, Obama.