Howard Owens

Here's some hot Bakersfield Real Estate.

I've started blogging again at HowardOwens.com.

It seemed like a good night to record my own take on Streets of Bakersfield.

On Jan. 27, Western Union, the company that sent its first telegraph in 1851 and pioneered stock tickers and money transfers, announced that it is getting out of the messaging business. The telegraph, an icon of international communication for more than 150 years, is dead. Technology -- phones, e-mail and SMS -- has finally swept it aside.

The day before the death of the telegraph was announced, First Data, the parent company of Western Union since 1994 (Western Union was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s), announced it was going to spin off Western Union into its own publicly traded business. Why? Because Western Union has become First Data's most profitable unit and it only made sense to deliver more share holder value by segregating its market power from the rest of First Data. In 2005, Western Union did $4 billion in business and showed $1.4 billion in profit.

So while the telegraph died, Western Union focused on a once small part of its business and turned it into a worldwide necessity -- money transfers -- transforming itself and ensuring its survival, at least until technology does away with cash.

I think there is a lesson here for newspapers.

As a journalist in San Diego, I got to know a lot of the other local media types, and one of my favorites was J.D. Crowe, who was the cartoonist for the Evening Tribune. When the Tribune closed, the new Union-Tribune decided to keep Steve Kelly and drop Crowe. Wrong decision.

After a couple of years, I lost track of J.D. Through a media blog, I learn he's now in Mobile and he's getting some attention for this cartoon about the state of the newspaper industry.

To me, there's some irony, because when Copley decided to close one of it's papers, not only was the wrong cartoonist kept, the entire wrong staff was kept. The Evening Tribune was by far a much better newspaper than the anemic San Diego Union.

There's a great deal of consternation within the newspaper industry about what Google's up to. You've got Google local aimed at newspaper markets, and Google AdSense, which is a threat to traditional advertising, and of late, Google Base, which seems aimed squarely at newspaper's classified revenue.

As a dedicated Google watcher, I'm using Google's customizable start up page as my home page, and every day, Google serves me up three interesting quotes.

Here's today's quote:

Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock. - Ben Hecht

Do you think Google is trying to tell us something?

My friend Bruce sent along this link of wonderfully strange paintings.

I happen to think Bakersfield is a great, but some times that seems like a minority opinion. And the younger a person is, the greater the hosility toward Bako. This very funny rap video encapsulate's ever cliched complaint about "The Armpit of the State."

This house is now ours.

I got an e-mail from Network Solutions -- a domain I used to own that I let expiree (companytown.com) sold (turns out to a broker) and NS paid me a comission.  Amazing. I never expected that. A total of $8.86.

• The Edsel debuts.
• Movies and TV from 1958
• An H-Bomb was lost.
• The Braves won the World Series.
• Bobby Fisher, at 14, won the Chess Championship
• Iraq's monarchy is overthrown.
• NASA is formed.
• Gary Numan is born.
• So is Neil Finn.
• And Thomas Dolby.
• W.C. Handy died.
• They gave out Oscars in 1958.
• In 1958, the Grammy Awards started, with Louis Prima and Keely Smith among the winners, with no award for rock and roll (though the Champs won for best rhythm and blues) and album covers were honored. Now, that's cool.
• There were also Emmys in 1958.
• There was fashion in 1958
• Buick put out a pretty cool coupe in 1958.
• This was how Chevy was marketing the Impala in 1958.
• Here are some books from 1958.

These are things that home sellers do (both FSBO and agents) that are irritating and potentially cost them sales:

• Advertising an open house, then not open up.
• Hang a for-sale sign, then not include an info box on the sign pole.
• Hang an info box, but let it run out of flyers and not restock it.
• Hang an info box, stock it with flyers but neglect to include the asking price.
• Almost universally, neglect to mention the square footage on the flyer or in the newspaper ad.
• Worse, leave square footage off the Web site listing.
• Not include the year built on the flyer.
• As a FSBO, state on your flyer that you won't deal with a buyer represented by an agent.
• As a FSBO, over value your house -- pretty much a universal FSBO mistake.

If leaving the price off the flyer is considered a business strategy, it's a pretty shitty one. It communicates, "we care less about serving you and more about looking for an opportunity to hard sell you." We pretty much have a policy of trashing flyers without pricing on them, unless the house, from the outside, looks too good to pass up. So far, no house without a price has met that criteria. There's a ton of homes for sale in Bakersfield. There's very little incentive for us to put up with seller who from the get-go are determined to frustrate you?

We just finished watching The Life of Emile Zola staring Paul Muni. It's the third or fourth Muni we've watched recently.

Muni isn't a name you hear much about these days -- and it was only through a mention by a co-worker at the Star that I thought to add him to the Tivo wishlist -- but he was a hell of an actor. These days people lionize Bogart and Gable, but Muni was an actor decades ahead of his time. While men like James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson largely played themselves from movie to movie, Muni really acted. He adapted himself to the role and transformed his personality to fit the part. He has more in common with Dustin Hoffman or Al Pacino than John Wayne or Spencer Tracy.

The only thing I can figure is Bogart, Wayne, Robinson, Cagney et. al were towering personalities, where Muni lost himself in his roles, so people identify less with him than the iconoclastic figures of the era. I don't know much about who the Nick Cages and Kevin Spacys admire from the mid 20th Century, but I've got to believe actors who really know acting know all about Paul Muni.

P.S. In honor Bob Denver, we're now watching an episode of Gillian's Island that Tivo was nice enough to save for us.

I was fortunate enough to see New Orleans in June. My little photo tour begins here. Sadly, I'm guessing this great restaurant didn't make it.

A Small Victory is blogging good news stories related to Katrina.

Rescue Task Force, an aid organization based in San Diego, is shipping non-perishable food and water to victims of Katrina. Click here to donate.

My donation is going to RTF because I know the leadership and am confident my money will go to its intended use.

The guy who wrote "Streets of Bakersfield" ... turns out he lived here for all of two months, and he wrote the song in 10 minutes, in a fit of anger at how Buck Owens' publishing company was treating him. That's where the first line came from, "You don't know me, but you don't like me ..."

The complete story is in this blog entry.

Friends know I don't go to hair stylists. I go to barbers.  Those who used to read howardowens.com know I was particular fond of Phil the Barber in Ventura. I hated leaving him behind as my haircut man. Phil, at 90, was a helluva guy.  I made a point of stopping in to say bye to him before I left town.

I think I found a good barber shop in Bakersfield today. It's on Oak and has been there for some 40 years. It's a two barber shop and both have more gray hair than the Web has blogs.  I'll post a picture of the shop tomorrow after I get e-mail set up on my new Treo650.

Speaking of my Treo, I've switched service from SprintPCS to Verizon Wireless. I made the switch both because it's what the IT guy at the Californian recommended and because I know from previous experience Sprint service in Bakersfield is spotty.

I'm a little dissatisfied with Verizon after the first day, however.  Unlike Sprint, Verizon doesn't have a driving directions service, and they require a password to access voice mail. Both are hassles, but I figure I'll be buying a car with a navigation system, and I can probably adapt to the password inconvenience.

In other news, I stopped for a smoke at the 17th Street Cigar shop this evening.  It's not quite the neighborhood atmosphere of Smokers Castle in Ventura, but it's close to work and it does seem to have its regulars, so I'll probably make it a regular habit. There are, however, some other smoke shops around town and I might check those out, too. Hell, there's more smoke shops in Bakersfield than there are in all of Ventura County.

And that's your Bakersfield news for the day.

It topped out at a 102 degrees today. I must be getting acclimated to the heat already, because yesterday seemed hotter, but it was only in the 90s.

As I drive around town, see various sights, spy the local stores, see the things to see, meet more people -- I think I'm going to like it hear.

When I told people in Ventura I was moving to Bakersfield, I got two kinds of reactions -- what the hell and hey that's great.

The response was about 2-1 "what the hell," but the "that's great" group instantly got it -- housing prices, though the more informed also understood what a great company I was joining.

Among the "what the hell" crowd, they seem to know one thing about Bakersfield -- heat. Baking sun. Cloudless, endless skies. Sizzling sidewalks and steaming asphalt.

Sure, Bakersfield's got all that -- but there is a reason 300,000 people live here, and it's not just because of the Crystal Palace.

Bakersfield actually has everything anybody could want -- all the entertainment, beautiful neighborhoods, shopping, recreation, professional sports (granted, not major league), civic involvement, etc. And much of what Bakersfield has to offer is more conveniently located than in Ventura County. In VC, you would need drive clear across the county to get to some of the stores or entertainment venues that are just around the corner in Bakersfield. Bakersfield is also a bigger media town than Ventura County, which will make my work much more interesting.

For all the "what the hell" crowd, I have a song:

You don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

Sure, it's an obvious response, but it confronts a prejudice against Bakersfield I've known for many years. There are people throughout Southern California who will run down Bakersfield all while knowing nothing about Bakersfield. Unless you've spent some time here, which I did long before moving here, you don't know anything about Bakersfield. Don't judge what you don't know.

With the new job comes an opportunity to get a new car, so I've been on several test drives over the last couple of weeks. Here's what I've driven:

Chrysler Crossfire -- My first choice at first, but now not even under consideration. One of the best looking cars on the market. Looks great, sounds great, drives great, but I don't fit. Cut my feet off or raise the roof by an inch, and I'd buy it, but after a 10 minute test drive, I had a headache.

Chrysler 300 -- Great style, but it's a might big car. Still, you can get some nice luxury appointments at bargain prices. Smooth, responsive ride.

Infiniti FX35 -- Beautiful vehicle. I'm a little concerned about the gas milage, but I like the way it handles.

Infiniti M35 -- I keep insisting this is out of my price range, but the salesman and sales manager keep insisting they can get me in this car within my monthly-payment range. I remain skeptical. Nice ride, absolutely gorgeous interior, and it's got all of the luxury appointments, including air cooled bucket seats, which would be great in Bakersfield. But ... am I ready for a sedan?

Cadillac CTS -- An affordable luxury car. Handles well with plenty of oomph. A contender, but I worry about its probable rapid depreciation.

Nissan 350Z -- Now here's a sports car. I drove the 300 hp version. It's a freakin' rocket. Power, luxury, speed, handling. It's just small, that's all. There's room for my golf clubs, but if Billie and I take a driving vacation, will it hold our luggage?

Mustang GT -- I once owned a '67. I've loved and hated these vehicles. Ford has made some truly horrendously ugly Mustangs over the years, but the last couple of models have recalled the glory years. The new Mustang harkens to the early '70s and is truly an attractive machine. In the 'stang, I wouldn't get the luxury, but I could still get a helluva a sound system. The GT is a pure muscle car. It goes straight great, but doesn't corner well. The drive is stiff but you feel like you're bucking a few hundred horses. Like every muscle car I've ever driven, when you floor it there's a moments hesitation before it takes off. That has it's own charm.

BMW 325 -- Another nice luxury car with attractive styling. The interior is attractive, but no match for the M35. The engine is responsive and powerful, but I found the handling a little loose. I would have liked to test drive the coupe, but the new model isn't out yet.

Notice that all of these vehicles have something in common -- style. I want an attractive car, not a box or an egg. No Ford Taurus or Toyota Camry for me.

If you have any thoughts on these vehicles, that's what comments are for ... which one do you think I should buy? Which one do you think I will buy?