Personal
Personal reflections, comments about things I've been doing, etc.
Foreclosure Redux
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 04/10/2008 - 14:01Several months ago, I spoke informally with a friend of mine that is a lawyer about our financial situation. At this point, we had already moved out of the house being sold in foreclosure and had started putting our lives together for whatever the next phase would be.
The information she provided was extremely valuable, particularly as it applied to the legal aspects. However, she also spoke about the emotional aspects. Seeing a house you have lived in for years, that you’ve raised your family in, sold on the auction block can be emotionally draining. She warned about it being an emotional roller coaster. Unexpected turns will leave you reeling. Today, I received an email that is the latest of the unexpected turns.
I have three competing interests in the foreclosure drama. I want to see the house bought by someone that will love the house as much as I did, and that will be able to do restorations which I could never afford. I would love to see the sale address as much of the financial debt that I have as possible. Finally, I would like to see this brought to an end, so I can get on with the rest of my life.
As things stand right now, as I understand things, I remain the owner of the house until such as point when the court approves the Motion for Approval of Committee Sale and then the bank closes on the sale. Until that point, I could delay the process by filing bankruptcy, by raising objections to how the foreclosure has proceeded, or perhaps on other procedural grounds. Until that point, if I can work out a deal that will meet my desires as well as the desires of the lien holders on the property, I can proceed with such a deal. After that, it goes to the bank to handle the marketing and subsequent sale of the property.
Today, one of the registered bidders contacted the lawyer for the committee to sell 247 Old Long Ridge Road suggesting that the information distributed by members of the historical commission may not have been accurate, may have dissuaded potential bidders from bidding, and might be grounds to conduct a new auction.
My understanding is that the information presented by the historical society was correct and that the reason people did not bid had nothing to do with that information. Instead, the primary concern seemed to be about the ability to meet the requirement of finding funding within thirty days. Given the current credit crunch such funding would be extremely difficult and would constitute a significant risk to any bidder.
That said, numerous people have expressed an interest in bidding, if a new auction were arranged. So, while I’m seeking closure and moving on, if you have thoughts or ideas about trying to arrange a second auction, let me know.
Lissencephaly
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 04/05/2008 - 19:36Lissencephaly? Until today, I had never heard of it, and if it wasn’t for something horrible going on in Florida, I probably never would have heard of it. Yet from horrible situations, it is possible to bring about some good, raising awareness about health issues and how the government doesn’t always respond wisely.
Lissencephaly, which means ‘smooth brain’, is a genetic defect caused by mutations of genes on chromosome 17 and X. For the biology geeks, ‘Classical lissencephaly may be caused by mutations of genes in chromosome bands 17p13.3 and Xq22.3-q23’, according to the lissencephaly research project. The Wikipedia article about lissencephaly states that “The prognosis for children with lissencephaly varies depending on the degree of brain malformation. Many individuals show no significant development beyond a 3- to 5-month-old level. … Many will die before the age of 2”
So, what do you do for a 19 year old woman, who has managed to keep her child alive to age four, even though he has only managed to grow to ten pounds? Perhaps you find special ways of helping her with this difficult situation, provide her with extra support, or something like that.
Well, that isn’t how they handle things in Florida. Instead, she was charged with second-degree felony child neglect. She was arrested and spent more than four days locked up, held on $100,000 bail before a judge ordered her release.
Today, I received emails from a few different sources. Each of them were forwards of messages sent by Dr. David Ledbetter of the Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Dr. Ledbetter is noted for his work on Lissencephaly and was sending on a request from Dianna Fitzgerald. Ms. Fitzgerald is president of the Lissencephaly Network.
She has started a petition to Exonerate Erin and Give her child back. The petition asks Florida Governor Crist to “Drop the charges against Erin and send her son home.” Personally, I think the petition asks for way too little. There needs to be a serious investigation into how the Santa Rosa County’s Child Protection Team could have handled this so badly.
So, please, sign the petition, and use this to help raise awareness of lissencephaly and other childhood illnesses that parents struggle valiantly to cope with.
April Fools Day, Twitter Style
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 09:25Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit. It must be bunnies! April Fools. I enjoy many of the April Fool’s Pranks online, but this year, I just don’t have the energy to come up with anything interesting myself right now. We’ll see if I get some inspiration later in the day.
So far, I’ve enjoyed the YouTube prank (go to YouTube and select any of the Featured Videos). Another video I really like is the Flying penguins found by BBC programme, as reported in the British newspaper, Telegraph.
I’m also really like Virgle. Moist importantly, using Gmail Custom Time™, I can send all of my emails on April Fool’s day, whatever day it really is. Hat Tip to friends on Twitter for highlighting these pranks. Who says that Twitter isn’t a valuable source of information?
Decompressing
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 03/31/2008 - 13:26Today, I am still fighting something, perhaps a combination of allergies, a virus, too much stress, I’m not sure. I managed to do some Drupal work, playing with various modules for a Drupal 6 installation, and have a bit of work to do no that. I’ve also had several phone calls and emails concerning the house in Stamford. Things are still very much up in the air with that.
I’m trying to get a bunch of different things written. I have an article that should go up on SLNN.COM soon about Virtual Worlds 2008.
Meanwhile, the unread emails and dirty laundry continues to pile up.
Foreclosure Reflections
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 18:14As I reflect on the foreclosure, an old feeling comes back to me. When I went through my divorce, there were times that I felt like some flotsam or jetsam carried down stream by a raging river.
riverrun, past Eve and Adams, from swerve of shore to bend of bay,
At times, I felt carried along, rapidly, jostled by torrent. At other times, I found myself going around in circles in eddies beneath large rocks. All that was left was to go with the flow and hope I ended up okay.
to wound the autumnal city.
So howled out for the world to give him a name.
The quote from the beginning of one great story leads to another, and then another.
Someone must have traduced Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning
I find it interesting that my mind has drifted to the beginning of great stories, since perhaps that relates to divorces and foreclosures. “What the caterpillar thinks is the end of the world, the butterfly knows is only the beginning”.
So, where does the butterfly head?
“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.
I have a lot to do this week, but I’ve got a splitting headache, I think from allergies acting up, compounded by stress, so, instead of working on the computer and doing a bit of writing, I will mostly rest for a little while.
