Monthly Archives: June 2014

Styrofoam Pellets

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styrofoam3NEVER PUT LOOSE STYROFOAM PELLETS IN YOUR GARBAGE CAN!! When garbage collectors empty garbage cans into their truck, they turn the cans upside down. When they do that, loose styrofoam pellets can get blown all over the neighborhood in even the slightest breeze. Styrofoam pellets are made out of petroleum. They do not biodegrade; they do not fall apart in the rain; and they do not get eaten by squirrels. They hang around in the environment for a long time. Styrofoam pellets should always be put into plastic bags and sealed before placing the bags into your garbage can. If you have a lot of styrofoam pellets, you can drop off bags of them at most packaging stores at no charge, where they will get reused. The UPS store in downtown Berkeley will accept bags of styrofoam pellets if they are clean and there is nothing else in the bag. Loose styrofoam pellets in your garbage can are a disaster waiting to happen!

What Happened To Logic?

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I had a tenant who told me, and more than once, that: “Landlords in Berkeley don’t take care of their properties as well as they used to, and I don’t think they ever did.” I told this guy that there was a flaw in his logic, but he didn’t see it. He thought I was telling him that he was being illogical because I was a landlord myself, and I was simply defending the people my business from criticism. After a while, this guy’s roommates started talking the same way. One of his roommates said to me: “Berkeley landlords never took care of their apartments as well as they used to.” It was very frustrating for me to listen to this. They were all college students, but none of them could see the flaw in their logic.


Logic. Many years ago, I took a course in logic at the University of Maryland, and I am glad that I did. It is a subject that I highly recommend. Most people today don’t realize how important logic once was as a subject of study. Back in the 18th Century, logic was a required subject at most major European and American universities. You couldn’t get a college degree if you hadn’t studied logic. Unfortunately, not only is logic no longer a required subject anywhere, most universities, including big ones, no longer offer even a single course in the subject. I don’t know why that is. It is certainly not because the ability to think logically is no longer important, and it is certainly not because illogic is no longer a problem in academia, business, or politics – especially politics. I sometimes listen to Congressmen and presidential candidates on TV saying incredibly illogical things, and it depresses me to think that these people run the country.

G. Harrold Carswell. Here is a example of illogical thinking by a politician that I remember well. In 1970, President Nixon nominated G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court. The nomination came under fierce criticism on the grounds that Carswell was an incompetent judge. His rulings were often overturned by higher courts on the grounds that Carswell failed to understand the applicable law. Carswell was also an unapologetic white supremest who said nasty things about black people. The Senate ultimately rejected Carswell’s nomination to the Supreme Court. One of Carswell’s few supporters in the Senate from outside the Deep South was Roman Hruska of Nebraska. Senator Hruska agreed that Carswell was a dim-witted judge, but Hruska argued that for that reason alone, Carswell should be on the Supreme Court. Senator Hruska said: “There are a lot of mediocre people in this country, and they deserve a little representation too.” In other words, the interests of incompetent people would be best served by having incompetent judges on the Supreme Court. Senator Hruska became a national laughing stock and was defeated in the next election. I don’t think Senator Hruska ever saw the logical flaw in his argument.
 

World’s Worst Applicant

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Logic, logic. I think the subject of logic is on my mind right now because of a phone call I got a few days ago.  A college student called me on the phone because he heard a rumor that I had a one-bedroom apartment coming up for rent. I told the guy that the rumor was not true and that I did not have any one-bedrooms coming up. He said he didn’t believe me. I don’t know why he thought I was lying, but I was telling him the truth. I was feeling uncomfortable about the way this guy was talking, and I wanted to end the conversation. Unfortunately, he wanted to keep talking. Finally I said to him: “Look, there is no point in going on with this conversation. I don’t have any one-bedroom apartments coming up for rent. There is nothing else I can say.” He became angry and said: “When there is nothing else to say, I will be the one to say it, not you!”  Then he hung up the phone. I am sure that this guy didn’t see anything wrong with his logic, but I was certainly not going to call him back and explain it to him.

Move-Out Notices

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It is very important that you give me a proper and timely move-out notice before you leave. For a number of legal reasons. I cannot rent your apartment or even advertise it for rent without a move-out notice from you. Your move-out notice must be in writing. That is in your lease. You have not given me a move-out notice by calling me on the phone and telling me that you are leaving.  A voice mail message is also not a move-out notice. An e-mail is not a move-out notice either. A written move-out notice means exactly that – it must be in writing. Your move-out notice must be dated, it must state the address being rented, it must include a specific date by which you will move out, and your notice must be signed. Your notice must also be definite. I sometimes get move-out notices like this: “I will be moving out by July 1 unless I can’t find another place to rent by then.” This is not a valid move-out notice because it is not clear that the tenant is actually leaving. I cannot rent your apartment to a new tenant if I do not know for certain that you are moving out. You can deliver your move-out notice to me personally or you can mail it.

Luxury Ice

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I am constantly amazed at the silly things that the super-rich spend their money on. The Glace Luxury Ice Company makes ice cubes, very expensive ice cubes. Each ice cube is hand carved out of a block of ice. Glace ‘luxury’ ice is available in cubes and spheres. 25 ‘luxury’ ice cubes in a hermetically sealed pouch sells for $200, but if you want to save money, you can buy 50 ice cubes for $350.
Mark’s Money Saving Tip: If you want to save even more money on ice cubes, buy an ice cube tray at Dollar Tree and make your own ice cubes. If you don’t know how to make ice cubes, send me an e-mail, and I will send you the recipe. Ice cubes are not hard to make.
You can order Glace luxury ice cubes directly from the company’s web site. The company claims that their ice cubes melt more slowly in cocktails than regular ice cubes. I don’t know if that’s true. It seems to me that the speed at which an ice cube melts in a cocktail is determined by how cold the ice cube is, not by how much it costs, or whether it is hand-carved are machine-made. I rent a house to a bunch of chemistry grad students. This sounds like something they should be able to figure out, so I will ask them.