In a related note to Thursday's BBT (thanks to Jamie)

Your Quirk Factor: 36%
You have a few little quirks, but you generally blend in well with society.
Only those who know you well know how weird you can be.How Quirky Are You?

That's probably about right.

This is pretty cool. Waste five minutes today playing with it. Why? Because it's fun, quick, and it'll tell you a thing or two about brand you.

I saw this at CJ Hill's Blog and had to do this!

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd 

Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works.

It's okay. I understand.

Using foreclosure.com as the source, foreclosure figures are listed first, pre-foreclosures are listed next, with the % of pre-foreclosures moving forward to foreclosures in parentheses. These are cumulative numbers. Special thanks to reader moqui for Aug '05 and June '06 data.

San Diego County
08/25/05: 83/3,087 (2.7%)
06/15/06: 354/4,382 (8.1%)
10/31/06: 998/4,983 (20.0%)
11/30/06: 1,304/5,245 (24.9%)
12/30/06: 1,251/4,637 (27.0%)
01/30/07: 1,475/4,760 (31.0%)
02/27/07: 1,879/5,008 (37.5%)

Hosted by Between the Covers

I discovered that I already have books on my list that fit into this challenge. No new books added but another challenge to participate in. Sounds good to me!
Here are my choices:

1. The Bootlegger's Daughter - Margaret Maron
2. The Nazi Officer's Wife - Edith Hahn Beer
3. The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
4. The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak

Alternates/Extras:

• Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
• The Archivist's Story - Travis Holland
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid
• The Welsh Girl - Peter Ho Davies

And just for fun I took this quiz that I have seen bobbing around the book blogs. Here are my results:

This quiz has been making the blogging world rounds. Sounds about right too.

Tracking Sacramento/El Dorado/Placer/Yolo Counties, California

Population 2006: 2.07 million
1/02/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:217
7/30/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:119

01/2006: 10,582 (1,309)___01/2005: 3,597 (1,873)
02/2006: 11,215 (1,338)___02/2005: 3,554 (1,919)
03/2006: 11,833 (2,060)___03/2005: 3,793 (2,965)
04/2006: 12,989 (1,739)___04/2005: 4,423 (2,925)
05/2006: 14,824 (2,439)___05/2005: 5,284 (2,967)

Tracking Maricopa & Pinal Counties, Arizona

Population 2006: 4 million
1/30/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:123
9/30/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:73

01/2006: 32,512 (5,260)___01/2005: (9,360)
02/2006: 36,176 (5,460)___02/2005: (7,935)
03/2006: 39,852 (7,265)___03/2005: (10,035)
04/2006: 44,290 (5,980)___04/2005: (8,735)
05/2006: 47,187 (6,870)___05/2005: (10,425)
06/2006: 50,974 (5,460)___06/2005: (11,545)

In a series of posts, I have raised various points Judge Richard Posner makes in his fascinating new book, How Judges Think. To put it with a bit of exaggeration, Posner skewers (with great style) just about everyone who says anything about judging, with the exception of pragmatic judges and advocates of pragmatic judging. A main theme of the book is his attack on the many delusions of "legalists." His prime example of a legalist is Justice Scalia (he identifies me as a legalist as well, so it's a broad category). Here is one of his more interesting arguments about legalists:

Tracking San Diego County, California

Population 2006: 3.07 million
1/01/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:220
7/31/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:131

01/2006: 16,161 (2,898)___01/2005: (3,324)
02/2006: 17,262 (3,035)___02/2005: (3,442)
03/2006: 18,261 (4,367)___03/2005: (5,018)
04/2006: 19,480 (3,974)___04/2005: (5,345)
05/2006: 21,175 (4,480)___05/2005: (5,141)
06/2006: 22,588 (4,533)___06/2005: (5,663)

Dustin Pedroia was indeed voted the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year today, and it wasn't at all close. Here is the official vote:

Tracking Clark County, Nevada

Population 2006: 1.89 million
1/30/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:120
9/30/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:77

01/2006: 15,744 (2,233)___01/2005: (2,426)
02/2006: 16,978 (2,271)___02/2005: (2,508)
03/2006: 18,418 (3,167)___03/2005: (3,864)
04/2006: 19,871 (2,807)___04/2005: (3,649)
05/2006: 21,168 (3,161)___05/2005: (3,847)
06/2006: 22,479 (3,097)___06/2005: (4,079)
07/2006: 23,221 (2,501)___07/2005: 13,276 (3,937)
08/2006: 23,957 (2,609)___08/2005: 13,722 (4,145)
09/2006: 24,300 (2,177)___09/2005: 14,289 (3,654)
10/2006: 24,103 (2,046)___10/2005: 14,925 (3,226)
11/2006: 23,634 (1,871)___11/2005: 14,784 (3,042)
12/2006: 22,208 (2,016)___12/2005: 14,368 (3,024)

Population 2007: 1.9 million

Tracking Orange County, California

Population 2006: 3.07 million
1/02/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:422
7/30/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:176

01/2006: 8,430 (2,868)____01/2005: (2,903)
02/2006: 10,420 (2,928)___02/2005: (2,890)
03/2006: 11,762 (4,203)___03/2005: (5,033)
04/2006: 13,268 (3,563)___04/2005: (4,547)
05/2006: 15,048 (3,762)___05/2005: (4,548)
06/2006: 16,692 (3,862)___06/2005: (4,898)

I notice that the NY Times has now caught on to the meme that the Obama candidacy has been accused of creating a cult of personality, a term redolent with overtones of Stalinism. (The "cult of personality" was the central theme of Nikita Krushchev's famous 1956 secret speech criticizing Stalinism.).

During the 2007 season, I saw a guy at Professor Thom's one night that made me do a double take. He was wearing a David Ortiz jersey, and the resemblance he bore to the Red Sox slugger was simply scary.

His name is Chris Johnson, a native of Massachusetts who currently lives in the New York area. I remember saying to my friends, "Hey, David Ortiz is here!" I got to meet Chris, and he's just like Big Papi, even personality-wise. He's a big, hulking guy with a broad smile and very outgoing personality. Just a sweetheart of a guy.

I saw Chris many times during the season, and he always greeted me with a wide smile. It was fun watching a game with him, especially when Ortiz did something big. I remember Papi hit a mammoth home run one night, and it seemed like most people in the bar looked at him and "thanked" him for the home run. All Chris could do was smile and say "you're welcome" or "it was my pleasure."

We decided recently to expand our department's musical repertoire beyond Murray's ever-thumping playlist. So last week some Vampire Weekend, Jay-Z, and Amy Winehouse floated from various speakers.

However, new research indicates that we were unwittingly exposing ourselves to association with personality stereotypes based on our selections.

Tracking Maricopa & Pinal Counties, Arizona

Population 2007: 4.1 million
01/01/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:85
10/31/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:63

01/2007: 51,913 (4,520)___01/2006: 32,512 (5,260)
02/2007: 53,598 (4,280)___02/2006: 36,176 (5,460)
03/2007: 57,615 (5,385)___03/2006: 39,852 (7,265)
04/2007: 59,616 (4,855)___04/2006: 44,290 (5,980)
05/2007: 60,800 (5,220)___05/2006: 47,187 (6,870)

Population 2006: 1.22 million
11/27/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:143

11/2006: 8,426
12/2006: 7,953

Population 2007:
01/01 Listing per population ratio 1:159
05/31 Listing per population ratio 1:131

01/01: 7,677
01/31: 7,673
02/28: 7,609
03/20: 7,802
04/30: 8,657
05/31: 9,251

A month ago Jim the Realtor reminded us of the backlog of REOs using the Deutsche Bank as an example. In his survey back in December of '07, Jim found the following:

Here is the survey of 123 Deutsche REOs in North County:
--64 active listings
--18 pending listings
--41 homes not on market yet (33%)

Jim reported at the time that his foreclosing neighbor at the time was still living rent free 4 months after their foreclosure. Which reminds us of this gem in 4Closure Ranch...

Tracking Sacramento/El Dorado/Placer/Yolo Counties, California

Population 2007: 2.1 million
01/01/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:178
08/30/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:116

01/2007: 12,480 (1,149)___01/2006: 10,582 (1,309)
02/2007: 12,947 (1,154)___02/2006: 11,215 (1,338)
03/2007: 14,272 (1,459)___03/2006: 11,833 (2,060)
04/2007: 15,755 (1,462)___04/2006: 12,989 (1,739)
05/2007: 16,553 (1,581)___05/2006: 14,824 (2,439)

Tracking King & Snohomish Counties, Washington

Population 2006: 2.46 million
01/02/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:305
10/10/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:173

01/2006: 8,425 (2,468)___01/2005: (2,491)
02/2006: 8,527 (3,391)___02/2005: (3,244)
03/2006: 8,724 (4,772)___03/2005: (5,285)
04/2006: 9,284 (4,585)___04/2005: (5,259)
05/2006: 10,018 (5,027)__05/2005: (5,470)
06/2006: 11,415 (5,597)__06/2005: (5,797)

Few of the interesting points here regarding these 11 homes:--2 out of 11 are listed for sale--11 out of 11 were purchased or constructed after 2003--11 out of 11 were refi'd, purchased or constructed after 2004--4 of 11 are from 4S Ranch proper--2 of 11 are from Santaluz
11353 AVENIDA DE LOS LOBOS #E, SAN DIEGO 92127
--1,230 sqft
--11/04/2005: purchased for $390,000
--05/30/2008: NOD
--not listed or pending

17081 W BERNARDO DR #102, SAN DIEGO 92127
--1,040 sqft
--09/27/2004: purchased for $362,990
--11/21/2007: listed for $224,777-$249,777
--05/30/2008: NOD

16588 GETTYSBURG DR, SAN DIEGO 92127

Tracking San Diego County, California

Population 2007: 3.10 million
1/01/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:191
09/30/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:131

01/2007: 17,109 (2,772)___01/2006: 16,161 (2,898)
02/2007: 17,544 (2,863)___02/2006: 17,262 (3,035)
03/2007: 18,638 (3,218)___03/2006: 18,261 (4,367)
04/2007: 20,122 (3,436)___04/2006: 19,480 (3,974)
05/2007: 21,169 (3,385)___05/2006: 21,175 (4,480)

Tracking Ventura County, California

Population 2006: 817,000
11/26/2006 Listing per population ratio 1:122

11/2006: 6,593 (855)___11/2005: (1,235)
12/2006: 5,677 (978)___12/2005: (1,134)

Population 2007: 825,000
01/01/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:150
06/10/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:139

01/01: 5,435
01/31: 5,641 (689)___01/2006: (804)

Tracking Clark County, Nevada

Population 2007: 1.9 million
01/01/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:86
09/30/2007 Listing per population ratio 1:61

01/2007: 22,748 (1,715)___01/2006: 15,744 (2,233)
02/2007: 24,068 (1,684)___02/2006: 16,978 (2,271)
03/2007: 26,794 (1,946)___03/2006: 18,418 (3,167)
04/2007: 27,620 (1,677)___04/2006: 19,871 (2,807)
05/2007: 28,577 (1,941)___05/2006: 21,168 (3,161)
06/2007: 29,646 (1,820)___06/2006: 22,479 (3,097)

Much less REALTOR®-related NODs in eastern Carlsbad this week. Only 3 out of the 9 new NODs filed between December 6th to 12th are connected to REALTORS®.