Too Many Homes

I’m not sure why but I love looking at the rental section of Craiglist in cities to which I might not even be moving. The idea of suddenly just dropping everything and moving to some interesting new city has a certain appeal. In college, I often would have a backpack in my car trunk with an extra set of clothes and a toothbrush just in case I wanted to go on an adventure. Just the idea of leaving it all, even momentarily, was exhilarating.

After I got married, I stopped driving around with the extra set of clothes in the trunk in exchange for checking Craigslist rentals constantly. My wife and I live in the Santa Barbara area and love it here but also feel that at some point we’ll have to move. Checking out different areas to rent has been my way of putting myself into the head space of going on an adventure and checking out my options.  I get to learn about an area, to explore the streets in the town (via Google Street view), imagine what it would be like to live there – lame, I know. It’s like I have a hard time imaging that I won’t have to move despite the fact that I’ve been here for over a decade.

Most recently, my wife and I almost found ourselves moving up to Petaluma which is in the North Bay Area (about 45 minutes north of San Francisco). Melissa had an unexpected job interview for a school up there in September and we were suddenly faced with the very real possibility of needing to move at a moments notice. Melissa didn’t end up getting the job after all but before I found that out, I researched ever detail about Petaluma, checked out every home listing on Craigslist, and became all around obsessed. I don’t really have a way to segue out of this topic. I just know I’m glad we’re not moving. The idea of uprooting myself isn’t as fun of a concept as it once was and I’m too lazy to want to pack all my stuff and move inside of a few weeks, which is about how long we would have had if Melissa had gotten hired.

Since I dropped a few tips on the previous blog posts, I suppose I should offer a few here as well. Most of these tips apply to looking for a place to rent in general, not just in the context of looking via Craigslist:

1. Deposit
   Technically, it’s illegal in California for landlords to ask tenants for first and last months rent and deposit though they can ask for a deposit that is 2x rent so it just comes down to semantics. Be cautious on Craigslist when someone is asking for too much or too little. If they want no money then the post is probably a front for some kind of scam out to get your personal information and if they want too much money (like a deposit without signing any kind of paperwork) then it’s also probably a scam.
2. Look for Competitive Markets
   If you’re looking for an apartment to rent, be sure to check out where different apartment complexes are located in a city or town. If there are two or more complexes close to one another with different ownership, then you may be able to find a particular good deal as these complexes are forced to offer more competitive rates to attract new tenants.
3. Haggle
   This isn’t the same as haggling over a purchase. The haggling is more likely to revolve around monthly rent rates, location to the pool, or the duration of the lease terms, but it’s always good to keep an eye out for an opportunity to get a better value for your money.
4. Look at School Districts
   Even you don’t children and have no intention of ever having children, you should still keep the quality of schools in an area in consideration. If you are purchasing a home then the quality of schools can impact property value and if you plan on renting, it may indicate the quality of the neighborhood you may be moving to.
5. Scams
   As mentioned in the first point, there are scams on Craigslist. Some people are out to steal your money and/or identity. Be mindful of who you send your confidential information. Don’t just send anyone your Social Security number in the pursuit of finding a cheap apartment rental. And don’t forget the age old tip – if it looks like it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.

This has been entirely too much discussion about a site that is essentially a digital replacement for the classifieds, at least at it’s most basic level. I hope that you have gotten something out of all my rambling about Craigslist over the last few days though I suspect that most people have only learned that I’m on the site entirely too often.

Be sure to go back and read my other posts about Craigslist if you haven’t already.
Oh, and as a lil’ bonus, here are few links to some of my favorite Craigslist posts. Some of them are absolutely hilarious.

• 1325 Pope Hats – http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/phx/1258405496.html (This one is still my favorite!)
• Wanted: Pony – http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/anc/1272471632.html
• Free – International Ketchup Packet Collection – http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/nyc/1167074545.html
• 300 Stuffed Penguins Free to Good Home – http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/aus/1208932583.html
• Wanted: Taxidermist who watches a lot of Kung Fun – http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/phx/1190484174.html

Buying All Your (Slightly) Used Stuff

I love finding a good deal. Sometimes I think the pursuit of the best deal ends up being more enjoyable for me than the purchase of the actual item in question. At this point, Craigslist is my new eBay for buying used goods. I used eBay obsessively when I first started college but after several bad experiences and getting sick of losing bids at the last second (and realizing that my time was being drained on these stupid bids) I eventually gave up entirely on eBay. I still have friends that swear by eBay but I just can’t use it any more. Craigslist, on the other hand, is a perfect alternate for me. I can buy local, get stuff on the cheap, and the entire transaction doesn’t eat away at my time – a limited and valuable commodity. Of course, this kind of is negated by the fact that I spend so much on Craigslist in general but.. um… shut up.

I don’t really have many revelatory tips as to how to best buy stuff on Craigslist but these might help:

1. Cash only.
   Seriously, don’t mess around on this one.
2. Haggle
   Because you are dealing locally and have cash in hand, don’t be afraid of haggling. What’s the worst that can happen? They say no and stick with their original price that got you interested in the first place?
3. Be patient and check regularly.
   If you have a specific item in mind and have to get it via Craiglist, then you may have to check the site repeatedly over the course of time before something pops up. There are far fewer options than something like eBay, but it’ll feel like you struck gold when you find the thing you were looking for.
4. Check the next city over.
   If you don’t mind driving a bit and your geographic region allows for it, then remember to check out other cities near you when using the site. I live in the Santa Barbara area so that’s my go to, but I’m always in easy driving distance to Ventura, the next closest city listed on Craigslist.
5. Do your research.
   Always do at least a basic search of the item you might be buying online. Companies often make a huge array of similar products with widely varying degrees of quality and their naming conventions can be tricky to navigate. For example, you might be on the hunt for a computer monitor on Craigslist and think you’ve found a great deal only to find out that the monitor  product number starts with E instead of F and it’s the crappier version of what you want. Or you may find that the monitor in question happens to be on sale brand new for just a few dollars more with free shipping.

Be a Job Hunting Expert

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I’m a freelance web designer/developer (sometimes I describe as a graphic and web designer) and as such I find myself checking Craigslist all the time. The suggestions I make below can, for the most part, really be applied to anyone looking for a job through Craigslist, not just web related jobs.

Know this, intrepid job hunter – you WILL find a lot of job duds on Craigslist. Hopefully, with a few tips and a keen eye, you can weed out as many duds as possible and land some awesome gigs.  Keep in mind that some of my tips are simply basic suggestions, not strict rules, so take them with a grain of salt. For a much more thorough and detailed description of a web developer trying to effectively find work via Craigslist then I’d suggest checking out this.

If you’re applying to a job posted on Craigslist here are some things to keep an eye out for:

Avoid Applying to any positions that:

1. Mentions or requests students.

   This essentially translates to them not wanting to pay someone what they are actually worth for their services. They are trying to get the work done on the cheap. Unless you are absolutely starving, then I would avoid this option like the plague.

2. States there is a very limited budget.

   Everyone has a limited budget. Even Bill Gates can’t spend too many billions before he has to call it quits. Limits vary from project to project but if someone specifically states in a job that the work involved has a very limited budget then the part that is limited is what goes your way (most likely). These are the clients or employers that will nickel and dime you every step of the way. I’m all for wanting to get the most for your money but I also know that professional services are worth money and that micro-managing is rarely helpful for anyone, which leads me to my next point.

3. Request you show the manager, director, etc EXACTLY how to replicate what you are doing

   This is either them wanting to use you to exploit your knowledge and then quickly ditch you or someone want to micromanage.

You wouldn’t stand over a car mechanic and stop them every step of the way would you to offer your opinion on something? Wait, maybe that’s not the best analogy. How about this one – you wouldn’t constantly interrupt a private chef who charged by the hour would you? How about that? Subjective work done to solve a problem. The professional is hired to solve that problem and is an expert in his or her field. That professional will take information you provide to fit your needs and tastes. They may even be able to quickly modify the thing they are producing with feedback from you. However, you wouldn’t have the gall to walk into a professional chefs kitchen (private or not) and stick your finger right in the middle of their quiche. Okay, enough of that line of ranting.

On a different note, one of my biggest pet peeves when looking at potential job/employers via Craigslist is when said employer doesn’t list who they are. Why would you not clearly state your company name or link to your company’s website? It seems downright deceptive. On top of that, it is even worse since so many scammers will use this method to try and coax important personal information out of job hunters.



Whenever I am bored, I have the unfortunate habit (since I’m always at a computer while I’m working) to go to a few websites without much thought.  Some of these sites include Facebook.com, Digg.com, Amazon.com, sometimes Cnet.com if I’m researching some gadget, and most often – Craigslist.org (henceforth referred to simply as Craigslist for simplicity’s sake).

What is it

Craigslist is a tightwad, job-hunter, apartment finder dream come true. If you’ve never heard of it (which would be shocking to me) then I’ll let Wikipedia describe it: Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities, featuring free online classified advertisements – with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs,résumés, and discussion forums (source).

I’m fairly certain that Craigslist is helping to make newspapers (in their current form) obsolete – namely by taking away any need for the relatively profitable classified ads section. I don’t have any real proof for that assertion but it seems completely logical. Why would I pay for a newspaper and go to the very limited classified section to look for a job or buy a used sofa when something like Craigslist exists?

My Experience with Craigslist

My experience with the site revolves around a few specific items or sections. As a freelance web designer/developer, I routinely check jobs postings in the ‘art/media/design’ and ‘web/info design’ sections of my city and nearby cities.  As a side note, a friend of mine used Craigslist as an example of why you don’t need fancy design for a website to be successful, which is worthy of a whole other article, I think (and a smack).

I’m also a big gadget and video game nerd but don’t like to spend every last penny on these pursuits. While I am conflicted about the purchase of used video games (again worthy of an entirely new article), I’m not below partaking in it. Gadgets, on the other hand, are a “buy at your own risk”, though I’ve never had a bad experience.

The ‘apt/housing’ section has also been tread regularly in my hunt for the perfect home I’ve never moved to – more on that soon.

Of course, the other thing I’ve used Craigslist for has been to sell off items I didn’t want anymore but this is actually the LEAST used section (for me) of the four things I’ve listed.

Over the next few days I think I’ll post a few articles about the first three items I mentioned about how I use Craigslist – jobs, buying used items, and finding a decent home. I’ll toss out a few tips but most likely will go on many tangents about my own life so be prepared, dear reader!

Since becoming an adult (or at least voting age), I’ve become increasingly interested in things that I wish I had the opportunity to be involved in as a kid. Growing up, I loved science fiction films, video games, comic books, and so on but had no money to partake in these things to the degree that most of my school friends could. I’m not saying I was completely deprived but I definitely had limited options.

Half stories, big worlds

My only true unadulterated experience to comics as a kid were a handful of comics from the random corner store (I probably owned a total of about 12 comics throughout my entire childhood). Much more than actual comics, I got to partake in the world through a handful of comic-based 90′s cartoons like X-Men, Spiderman, and Iron Man. I LOVED those cartoons.  I wanted so much to be a part of the world I knew existed in the pages of comics, but we just didn’t have the money. I never got to finish a comic story arch. I never saw the beginning or ending of a series.

As far as video games went, I inherited an old NES and a handful of games from a deceased relative (not really the optimum way to obtain a video game system, I think).  I loved video games every bit as much as those comic-based Saturday morning cartoons.  But I was always a bit jealous of being so far behind the curve of most of my friends. When I got my NES, most of my school friends had had SNES and Sega Genesis for years and many were getting Playstations. In fact, that often worked out of my advantage since many friends thought of the NES as “that cool old system” and would trade me their Sega Genesis for my NES for the odd weekend.

My exposure to Sci-Fi films, like video games, was usually out-dated and generally involved films that had been out for years or two star or less movies broadcast on television on the weekends. I didn’t care, I loved them anyway. I loved the stories and ideas so much that the bad acting and cheesy effects didn’t matter at all. The Last Starfighter was wish fulfillment, Star Trek was a refuge, Star Wars a fantastic adventure.  It was a chance to think of something so much bigger than myself and be a part of a world that I could only see a glimpse of.

Come on an adventure with me

I think that’s what I loved most as a child about all these things – comics, video games, films – there were worlds both on the paper and on the screen that I could be a part of as well as a whole world of other people just like me that really existed on this planet that I could commiserate with while sitting there watching Saturday morning cartoons. The idea of being a part of a community, even if it was based around something possibly completely ridiculous, has always appealed to me. The concept of Trekkers is not surprising to me, even if I’ve never found myself dressed as a Klingon. The existence of rabid Star Wars fans is no shock. They all just love being a part of a world that instantly gives them connection to others and to something beyond the mundane of everyday life.

Too cool for school

It wasn’t until late high school or early college that I even learned about Comic Conventions or the idea of cosplay (where people will dress up at these conventions as their favorite geek world characters from films, games, etc.). I thought it was silly. At first, I probably scoffed. But inside I thought that was probably one of the coolest things I’d ever heard of. It wasn’t cool to be a nerd or geek when I grew up the way it seems to be now and I desperately wanted to fit in for most of my childhood so dressing up as a video game character definitely wasn’t on the agenda. It’s funny how things can flip around though. At this point in my life now, I simply don’t care to fit in. Fitting in is so boring. I haven’t had the chance to attend a Comic Convention yet but if I did I wouldn’t be opposed to dressing up. I just realistically wouldn’t dress up because I’m lazy, not because of fear of being “uncool”.

Life is too short

Much of my childhood was spent being jealous of what others had or what I didn’t but looking back I had a lot. I might not have had the latest gadgets or coolest toys, but I did get to see into these giant worlds of imagination. I was forced to fill in the details myself, to make the most of what I had and run with it. Didn’t get to see the ending? Oh well, make up your own. Can’t get that new game? Too bad. Go draw what you think the story might be. Some of my all time best friends were met because we struck up a conversation about video games we didn’t have or films we had never seen (but really wanted to).

Life is far too short to be concerned with what everyone else has or is doing. My love of art and drawing grew out of the need, the compelling, to be a part of these fanciful worlds that I only peripherally got to experience and for that I am eternally grateful. Go and partake, and if you can’t partake then make it yourself. There are never too many good stories in this world.

For the few of you who actually read this blog at all consistently, you have my apologies on the incredible delays and gaps between posts for the last few months.  As some might know, I have my own web/graphic design business called Immersus Media and the last few months have been… productive – at least as far as paying jobs are concerned (which is awesome and I have absolutely no complaints but I wanted to explain my online absence).  Since the last time I posted at the very end of April I started and unsuccessfully finished at least 4 blog posts but every time ended up not having enough time to actually do what I’d wanted because of piling up deadlines for work.  I’ve even hired an assistant for the summer.

I’m launching several sites for clients so stay tuned for those updates and I’m going and try and relaunch this blog with a much better design and layout later this summer if possible (oh man…).  I’m pretty sure the new design is going to kick butt (it already does in my head so let’s see if I can make that happen).

Oh, updates… got a second monitor a month ago.  It’s so nice having two screens again! (I used to have two behemoth CRT monitors and eventually replaced them with a 24″ LCD and now I’m finally back up to two – crazy screen real estate for me to look at all those projects that are due any minute).

I just got the new iPhone 3G s and so far it’s awesome.  I upgraded from an ol’ Samsung flip phone so it’s weird suddenly having what amounts to a small computer in my pocket.

I also FINALLY got Lightroom 2 and have it all set up to export directly to both my Flickr account AND directly to my blog (which should hopefully force me to actually get some consistent stuff up on here).  Thanks to all those that helped me decide between LR2 and Aperture.  I tried out both versions via trial editions and although I liked Aperture 2 more initially (it’s more integrated with Mac stuff, easier to use off the bat, less intimidating layout in my opinion), I decided LR2 was better overall.  It seems a bit more robust in it’s editing capabilities (you can edit specific parts of images more than you can with Aperture) and integration with other Adobe programs (which makes sense).  Plus I like how it handles the files (it’s basically a documents tree and you create a catalog whereas in Aperture it’s in a ‘Library’ which seems more restrictive to me – a small difference but could be big long term if Aperture loses any support while the way LR2 handles it, the files can presumably be handled by other applications in the future (in case LR ceases to exist or something).  For those of you that are interested, I’ll write up a quick little post sometime soon (cross my fingers) about plug-ins for LR2 that I recommend.

Melissa, my wife, is busy with school stuff so we’ve both been kind of haywire in general lately but I’m looking forward to spending plenty of time with her next month (road trip!).

I think that’s it about it really – lots of design work and a few new gadgets.  Good times.  Now I need a break from this computer.  Peace!

I like to find Photoshop tutorials and plow through and create stuff I’ve never done before to keep my skills sharp (or to procrastinate from other stuff… whatever).  One place that provides some top notch tutorials is http://abduzeedo.com/

Going back through my old design files from tutorials, I came across one based on replicating the bokeh effect in Photoshop.  Read more about the bokeh effect here.  The actual tutuorial  can be found at http://abduzeedo.com/awesome-digital-bokeh-effect-photoshop

I think the result is kind of cool.  Not sure where I can use this knowledge now but oh well.

Reminds me of Focus Features

As a side note, if you’d like to check out more design tutorials or other things that I like to bookmark, then I recommend you check out my Delicious account at http://delicious.com/IMMERSUSman.  Delicious.com is a social bookmarking service and is awesome.  They were pioneering tag based organization of web bookmarks well before the latest crop of web browsers.

For those of you out there that like music and who actually pay for it legitimately online, I just can’t recommend Amazonmp3.com enough.  Amazon’s offering is VASTLY superior to Apple’s iTunes it’s ridiculous.  Personally, I like owning something tangible for the most part.  Digital music has always seemed to be “less than” to me.  In fact, most of my music library is from used CDs (and CDs are starting to really tick me off on how easily they scratch).  Apparently, along with being a pack rat I’m also a tight wad.  Right.  With that aside, when I do purchase music online it has always been with a feeling of incomplete ownership.  And this is where my comparison of the two digital music stores comes in.

I am thankful that iTunes helped to break down the boundary of purchasing something digital online for the average person.  Kudos to you, Apple.  However, iTunes is a flippin’ rip-off at this point as it stands.  Seriously, $.99 for EVERY song.  Every one?  No discounts or special sales?  I just admitted I’m a tight wad.  Work with me here, Apple. (*UPDATE: Apple has, in fact, decided to “work with me” and the day after I originally made this post, Apple announced they would faze out their DRM and introduce a new pricing structure) You make it super simple to purchase music, you say.  Well anyone who sells music online should make that one of their goals.  And yes, Apple, has the one up on this category.  Purchasing music is unbelievably simple once an account has been set-up.  But then you’re not really purchasing the music are you?  You’re temporarily borrowing it.  It’s called DRM.  It supposedly helps prevent piracy but last I checked piracy is rampant.  What it really does is tick off the people who actually do purchase the product legitimately.

Case in point:  I’ve gone through a few computers and/or hard-drives.  Normal wear and tear kind of stuff.  Every time I transfer my music library for iTunes I am asked to approve the “new” device.  Same goes for replaced iPods.  I can put the music on something along the lines of up to 5 devices or computers.  This concept works great if I purchase music like I purchase something from the grocery store.  But what if I want to own my music for 20+ years (like a good record).  Assuming a replaced computer or iPod every… I don’t know… 5 years (X2, one for the computer and one for the mp3 player) then I’m looking at losing full control of my music library in 15 years or less.  And that’s being generous. (My argument still stand against DRM in general, regardless if it’s not necessarily going to continue to be an issue specifically with iTunes.)

Enter the Amazon MP3 store.  It’s messy, it’s muddled, it’s all over the freaking place.  And I love it.  It’s like wading through an old record store discovering new music and finding all the hidden gems and best deals.  Ok, I admit it.  It’s offerings are hard, at times, to shift through and it’s not as easy to purchase from as it is from iTunes.  But it’s getting better.  There are two main reasons I love amazonmp3.com though.  The first is that all of the music sold is DRM-free mp3.  The second is that they have sales.  Real, honest to goodness, all items must go promotional sales.  And I’m a sucker for both.  They have a daily sale with a new album (read ALBUM) on sale each day for often crazy low prices – like today you can get the new Evanescence album “Open Doors” for $1.99.  And their daily prices usually have each track hovering around $.89.  That adds up if you purchase a lot of music.  And you really own it.

A few days ago I went really crazy and purchased several albums at once.  But I almost couldn’t help it.  Amazonmp3.com was offering the top 50 downloaded albums of 2008 for $5 each.  Five bucks.  That is such a sweet spot for me.  It’s the “golden” price for an album as far as I’m concerned.  I checked again today and they have taken down that promotion but the sale prices on the individual albums still stand – it’s just harder to get to from the home page since the albums aren’t grouped on one page as before.  But I noticed that the link I originally used a few days ago still works so here’s the shortened version – http://tinyurl.com/9yrgah – which I think still works.

As a final note or thought or verbal barrage, whatever, I have to also admit that if I didn’t work at my comptuer constantly that I probably would never have gotten into the habit of housing all my music there.  Couple this with my increased rage over the lack of durability of my CDs and you have me seriously considering investing in vinyl, a turntable, and better speakers in my living room.  I don’t think it’s just me.

*UPDATE*

I guess I’m not the only one with the complaints with iTunes.  Apple has already announced it’s intentions to partly solve some of the issues I brought up.  Very interesting development.  Well… not that interesting but still…   http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/06/itunes-going-primarily-drm-free/

*UPDATE #2*

An article at cnet.com here discusses and compares iTune’s and Amazon’s digital music offerings in more detail.

Call me a sucker but I want a new Mac Book Pro so badly. I know, I know. It’s just an overpriced piece of machinery. But it’s so pretty. No, seriously though – with the new graphics chip, slight redesign and some other fancy updates, the new 15″ MBP looks awesome.

I borrowed this image from CNET where they talk about the MBP’s potential as a gaming machine.

A good friend of mine bought a MacBook Pro in the last six months and I think he’s bummed that a new one has come out.  But that’s always the problem with purchasing anything electronic, especially computers.  Something newer and better will always be coming out any day now.

As for the new laptop, even if I had the money to purchase one right this second (which I don’t) and even though I may want to purchase one right this second (which I do), I would still wait at least six months before I even thought about purchasing one.  For some unfortunate reason it seems as if most electronics and computer providers deem it fit to “beta test” their products with actual customers, which is a rather wank thing to do.  I’m fine with early adopters working out the kinks.

But still….who else wants one of these things?  I can’t be the only one.