The loan for my j70 sailboat is approved. The loan that I am getting is way more than what I wanted. The issue being that since I am getting a construction loan, the loan has to be over $50,000.

I needed to provide the obvious documents such as driver’s license, signed the invoice, HIN (Hull Identification Number) and the Trailer’s VIN number. I also needed a second form of ID. I ended using my college staff ID.

I had to plan where to keep the boat. The loan company needed an address of where it would be stored.

While buying the boat, you would think that there would be a reasonable order. You buy the boat first, then get the accessories later. What is holding me up is that I need to buy the Honda BF2.3 outboard motor.

The reason is that the motor is listed on the loan. No serial number, no loan. Simple as that.

I think, all that is left to do, for the loan, is purchase the auxiliary outboard motor, provide the insurance binder and then pay the closing fees.

I am a big Arch Linux fan. I would not use it for production IT, but for personal use. I have Arch Linux in a VirtualBox VM on my Windows 10 Desktop. ArchLinux will not start in X after you upgrade from Kernal 4.4 to 4.5. Arch Linux just hangs.

Until it is fixed, this is a good workaround provided by lyndon [1] :

Edit /etc/default/grub and append

iomem=relaxed

to the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT variable so mine now looks like this:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet iomem=relaxed"

Then I ran:

sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

This definitely works

I am making a second attempt on a boat loan. Looks like I can get a loan on everything minus the freight to get my j70 from Rhode Island to California. This time, around I am using a marine finance company.

J70s are custom boats. Normal banks like to “kick the tires” first before they give you a loan. I am currently working with Seacoast. The mortgage broker actually knows what she is doing. It is pleasant after being lead around for a month by the other bank.

Last time, the application process was basically signed your name, let them do a FICO check. This time, the application was more like refinancing your home. I had to provide a lot of documentation: W2, last 2 years of taxes, copy of bank statements. The banks are not taking chances with me.

A friend sent me a link to "Tim Urban TED Talk - Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator."

Very relevant for the day. Spent most of the day trying to get out of homework for a College committee. At times, I laughed because I can actually say: Been there, done that.

I ordered the trailer for my j70 today. Looks like I have a trailer without a boat.

Got a call this morning that the trailer maker needed their money today. The Trailer is $3,000 before the extras. Plus, California expects this type of trailer to have brakes ($600) and wants their pound of flesh (sales tax). It all adds up.

Why do I need a trailer before the fiberglass even molded? First, it needs to be built, second, the trailer is shipped to the manufacturer. The boat builder will put my shiny new j70 on the trailer before the boat is shipped across the country sometime early June.

Well, this just blows. Got a call from the bank that I thought I had a loan from. Three weeks later, I found out they will not do a boat loan without the physical boat in possession. The issue with j70s is that they are made to order. I am not sure if it is the case, but the perception that I have is that the bank just did a bait and switch with me. What the loan officer offered was a home equity loan 3.69%. With the Bush/Obama economy, why would I want to secure a boat with real estate?

My choice in the bank originally for the boat loan was based on the premise that I wanted to drive down to the bank and talk to someone. There is value in being able to talk to someone face to face.

My quest for a j70 still continues. Just that I will restart researching other lenders.

Time to start shopping around.

Update: Actually learn something later. What I am asking for is what is called a construction loan. Most banks do not do construction loans. I wished that someone had explained that to me three weeks ago. Essentially, what this means is that I have to front the money till the boat is built then get the loan. What a pain.

Talked to my banker today. The issue with boat loans through a bank is that regular banks rarely deal with custom boats. The new j70 that I am purchasing does not even exist right now. If you thought like a banker, wouldn’t you want to have an existing tangible boat that you can put a lean on? The boat builder, on the other hand, does not want to build a boat before they get some “I am serious about buying the boat” money. I am not completely happy with the situation right now, but hey, what can I do?

Looks like I may have to self-finance the boat till the boat comes in or part of it.

If I had to do this all over again, I might just go through a Yacht financing firm that only specializes doing boats loans to lower my frustration level.

Rebuilding the Blog.

Well, I have decided on a blog name. Using my name is real original. However, it was suggested by these two posts that one should actually use your own name for the domain name. You can read them here:

• HOW TO CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME

• 4 CONSIDERATIONS IN PICKING A WEBSITE NAME

I think I can live with this domain name. I think I may have gotten over my need to be a lurker on the internet. I think I want to graduate finally from being a wannabe blogger to a real one.

I still need to move over some of the old content that I had. Some of the posts are good, some posts desperately need to go through a spell and grammar checker.

I let myself go to pot starting in my last semester of my MBA. All I cared about was to finish the class with an excellent grade. Afterwards, the letdown did not help. I put on at least 25 pounds.

Yes, I know that BMI is a flawed system. However, it is a good estimate for average people. I am not going to allow the flaw in the system to be my excuse.

This year, it is finally all or nothing. My goal weight is 174 pounds. I decided to choose a number that was between health and overweight, then round down.

Some of the reason:

I want to feel good about myself.

This extra luggage is hard on my joints. I do not want to be an arthritic person when I get old.

I like being athletic. I feel that I need to be around 200 pounds before I can safely let myself go out.

I do not want to get diabetes or cardiovascular disease. If you want a scare, check out http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/guidelines/ob_gdlns.pdf. Especially Table ES-4.

This is Suzy. She came to my yard about 3 months ago abandoned and extremely emaciated. Probably is the sweetest cat around. I believe that she is the current Baroness of the yard. She does not do it by force, but by ignoring the boys and does not wander around.

I need to take her to the vet. I hope that she is not chipped. The last cat I took to the vet was chipped, but the previous owner did not care enough to keep their information up to date with HomeAgain Pet Rescue. I am concerned about going to the vet because she may also have a chip, and the previous owners may want to take her away.