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Elizabeth Weintraub
No HBO Go App for my LG OLED Smart TV
If somebody had told me I could not get the HBO Go app on my LG OLED Smart TV, I would have figured they were wrong. Blows my mind. The TV is only a year or so old. It was pretty expensive, as far as Smart TVs go. But the HBO Go app is definitely not offered in the premium apps in my LG Content tab. A search for it specifically turned up nothing.
Wouldn’t have even mattered but I found a movie I want to watch from reading the story about Laura Dern in Vanity Fair. Reminds me of when I was at the Apple store in Honolulu over New Year’s. It took so long to transfer my data from my old iPhone to my new iPhone XR that I had plenty of time to play with all the gizmos in the store.
Believe it or not, I did not know what Apple TV was until I saw it in the store. The Apple guy said I could play whatever videos I had on my iPad or iPhone on TV. Would I ever do that? No, I said no. But now that is exactly what I want to do. I want to play my HBO Go app on my LG OLED Smart TV, and I can’t do it. I could do it if I had Apple TV, though. Since it’s only this one movie I want to watch, I think it is better to spend $8 on Amazon Prime than it is to pay $100 for Apple TV.
And at least I have HBO Go on my iPad now. Theoretically, if I wasn’t in first class, I could watch movies on my iPad on a plane as long as I downloaded them first. Actually, I don’t know if I will ever watch HBO Go on my iPad.
As I pondered this situation, I then realized I could call LG TV and get a customer service rep to walk me through this situation. The woman on the other end of the phone helped me to search for: videos and tv for LG Smart TV cast. Found an app and downloaded it to both my LG OLED Smart TV and my iPad. Connected it. Voila.
However, I needed the URL for the HBO Go app video, and when I clicked on HBO Go, I became disconnected. The cast works by sharing your screen. Except there was some step missing, and this was beyond the pay grade of the person on the phone at LG.
Hey, you know what? This is not the only TV in the house. I bought another TV for $300 that I’m using as a monitor to run my Sacramento real estate business. I plugged in that TV, downloaded the HBO Go app and it works like a charm. Of course, it’s a 32-inch screen. Who can watch TV on a 32-inch screen when I have a TV twice that size?
Of course, there is the problem that I cannot download the HBO Go app on my LG OLED Smart TV.
Amazon Prime it is.
Climate Change in Sacramento by 2080
Obviously, this photo is not climate change in Sacramento by 2080, but it is a photo of the ocean as viewed from Kona Haven Coffee on the island of Hawaii, where I happen to be at the moment. Waves have been seriously pounding the wall at Kailua Village over the past few days. Winds are atrocious. Sudden 25 mph gusts. Not a good time to hang capiz windchime shells on the lanai. The wind was so strong yesterday that I worried it would blow my laptop off my table outside.
And then I read this AP story. A study published in the journal Nature Communications says children today may still be alive to witness the dramatic effects of climate change. The climate change in Sacramento by 2080 could mean we will see temperatures like those in Southern California. The lead author, Matt Fitzpatrick, says the climate in 540 cities on average will move 528 miles to the south if we don’t take action today.
I know what some of you are thinking, Orange County or even San Diego is not so bad. But it won’t be coastal weather. It will be inland, desert-like and HOT. What can you eat that grows in the desert? How about cactus?
If we do take action and the world decides to cut back on carbon dioxide emissions, we can reduce that distance down to maybe 319 miles by 2040. Still, climate change in Sacramento by 2080 is worrisome. All over the world extreme things are happening with our weather. What used to be normal is not normal anymore.
You can read more at this link, but be forewarned, it is very heavy with traffic. Check out http://shiny.al.umces.edu:3838/futCitiesApp/cityApp/.
Photos of Our Hawaii Remodel in Kona
Who knew this Hawaii remodel in Kona would run 45 days past its completion schedule? Hey, it’s Hawaii. We all know. All I can say is it’s a good thing I extended my stay in Kona this winter because we needed that extra time to get the remodel finished. The major hangups were damaged cabinets (which Shenandoah had discontinued) and the quartz install. Those cabinets had to be outsourced and when they finally arrived, one of the replacements was damaged in four areas. Oh, man, just fix the first cabinet.
I paid for a perfect cabinet and ended up with one that had a defect. No way around it unless I wanted to wait another 8 weeks. Will Lowes give me a refund or credit for that damaged cabinet? Ha, ha, ha. It’s a Hawaii remodel in Kona.
Most of the problem with the Lowes kitchen remodel could have been avoided if I wasn’t dealing with Lowes. The contractors were fabulous, but the systems Lowes uses need work. It may surprise you to hear that Lowes has discontinued its PSI program for remodeling projects, but it doesn’t surprise me. I heard their new CEO put the kabash on that program last month.
The cabinets are distressed maple with a glaze and the pulls are Amrock pewter. Our previous kitchen was all white. Although a little bit nervous about stainless steel in a coastal environment, I suspect it will last longer than I estimate.
Both the stove and microwave are GE, and I purposely chose a design with the knobs on top so I won’t accidentally turn them on by leaning over the stove to operate the convection microwave. Counter tops are popcorn quartz, which shipped from Honolulu (twice) because the guy who sold them to me can’t measure. But what do you want from a guy who works out of a storage unit?
Unfortunately, his contractor went to Maui for a bigger job and pretty much stranded me with sub-par workers. It took the quartz fabricators two and half weeks to cut and install the quartz counters in the kitchen, plus the idiot cut the long backsplash by mistake so we have an unnecessary grout line. He also set the pre-rinse faucet back too far on the sink. His sidekick told me he hasn’t done a quartz remodel for 13 years.
This is the first bath remodel that the workers finished, which was completed last October. Except for the counter top guy who cut the hole in the wrong place for the faucet, this part of the project went well. We replaced a 9-inch deep fiberglass tub with a 15-inch deep, steel and enamel tub.
If I am giving in to my picky side, and why not, the tub faucet and lever is not perfectly aligned with the overflow, but only a person sitting inside the tub would notice. And there was having to call the quartz contractor guys back to connect hot water on the left. Now that I think about it, the Lowes contractor also had to fix the master shower connection. Out of 5 connections for water, only 1 was installed correctly.
The master bath was an easy project as well. We coordinated the shower glass installers to place it in channels, instead of with clips. Which sent the general contractor into a tizzy because it meant his tile guy would have to cut a lot more tiles all the way down on both sides. Lowes wanted to charge me more, but it wasn’t my fault they didn’t include that in their bid.
Nobody asked: are you using clips or channels? Lowes just told me to go to a glass contractor and referred me to Reflections. But I do like the bamboo design embedded in the glass. No water spots. These guys know what they are doing. Unlike the flooring guys who had to lay the floor 3 times and still messed up. No attention to detail.
From start to finish, this was a 6 1/2 month job, for which I made 4 trips to Kona to complete. But then I walk into the master bath around 4 PM in the afternoon, when the sun is low in the sky, and the Schoenbeck chandelier is shimmering on the walls and ceilings, and I don’t care how long it took or how screwed up the process was.
Although, I will say out of all the remodeling projects I have done in my life, and I’ve done many with my very own two hands, this Hawaii remodel in Kona was the worst. Like banging your head back and forth between door jambs, it feels so good when you stop.
Why Do Sacramento Realtors Try to Wear So Many Hats?
Often I wonder: why do Sacramento Realtors try to wear so many hats? But then I think back to when I started in real estate in the 1970s. I wore every hat I could get my hands on, and some hats simultaneously.
One hat in particular that I really adored and lost somewhere was a wide brimmed black felt brimmed with pheasant feathers. The side of the hat sported two long pheasant feathers, so if I happened to be sitting close enough to another person, like, say, planted on a barstool, I could slap the person next to me in the face with my feathers simply by innocently turning my head. So you know (don’t you), how much fun I had with that discovery.
Topics like dual agency and agents who work with both types of clients came up today while talking to a buyer who found me online. She had been looking at homes for sale in Sacramento and Placerville, and decided it was time to talk to a Realtor. I was the first agent she found, and of course I answer my phone.
Because I don’t work with buyers directly, and refer all buyers to an appropriate exclusive buyer’s agent on my team, I did not want her to feel like I wasn’t interested in her. Why do Sacramento Realtors try to wear so many hats? I had to explain that we do not. Our team each wears his or her own hat.
Do you realize what kind of superior skills can be developed by working with the same type of person over and over? It’s mind boggling, that’s what it is. For example, a Sacramento listing specialist comes to know listings inside and out, and forms an intimate relationship with sellers. By focusing on one particular aspect of real estate, we become true experts, in every sense of the word.
Clients don’t get that from agents who try to wear too many hats. Most agents work with both sellers and buyers. Some even try to sell mortgages, too. Further, the scary fact is the majority of agents in Sacramento sell 2 or 3 houses a year. That is why Sacramento Realtors try to wear so many hats. Because they don’t do enough business to support themselves in real estate by focusing on one single aspect.
So they become a master of none.
The buyer who called seemed very excited to speak with Barbara Dow from the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. Barbara is a few years older than I am and still going strong as well. We’ve been working together for a long time. When I explained how Barbara works solely with buyers, and is an exclusive buyer’s agent who is dedicated, the buyer sighed in relief. She had never considered finding an agent who only works with people like her.
An agent whose life mission is help her buyers find the perfect home in the best location at the best price. Barbara’s years of successful negotiation strategies help her to guide buyers in the right direction. She is a walking, talking gold mine for buyers.
If other agents would just pick a specialty and not try to be all things to all people, consumers would probably be better off.
By the time I ended our conversation, about 30 minutes later, the buyer said, “I am so lucky to have found you.”
Why Did You Cancel the Listing?
An agent called a few days ago to ask why did you cancel the listing? She was gonna show it, and now the listing has been canceled. It was there yesterday, she said, and now it is gone. Does this mean I can’t show it, she asked.
Immediately I offered assurance she could show the home. Just put the property address into MLS and you will find the listing, I suggested. I did not really cancel the listing. Felt no need to go into the long explanation of how to reset the days on market, which is exactly what I had done.
In fact, I received another call from a seller who wanted me to reset the days on market for his listing, but he was listed with another agent. Not sure what kind of role he thought I played in writing that blog, as I imagine I had made it fairly clear that I am a Sacramento listing specialist who solely represents sellers when selling a home. Maybe he thought I possessed magical powers or knew some secret to share for a fee?
But I could tell for certain that the agent who asked why did you cancel the listing was not overly familiar with that tactic. She worked at a discount brokerage, so I automatically assume those buyer’s agents are newbies. Whether she was I don’t know.
However, she was adamant that the listing had been canceled. When I explained the home had been re-listed, she seemed relieved. You would think the first thing an agent would do is check to see if the home has been re-listed. Well, they will learn.
Now that the market is beginning to pick up, I have reset the days on market on all of my active listings. We had good open houses on Sunday, too, which indicates we might be leaving the seasonal slow down. I hate to see buyers automatically and wrongly assume there is something wrong with a house because it sat on the market through the winter.
