As I have noted before, I occasionally take on a client or two for Internet Marketing and PR. I was talking to Todd Fitch today, one such client, and he told me his phone is ringing off the hook since we started helping him build his online presence.

Todd is the owner of Hanson & Fitch, Temporary Site Services. We have written about Todd and his temporary fencing and portable toilets before.

Temporary fencing and portable toilets is just one of many businesses that can benefit from proper Internet marketing. I see too many businesses losing business because they feel their Internet presence is something they can get around to later than sooner.

The neat thing about talking to Todd is that the full impact of what we are doing won’t hit for another three months or so. My suggestion, add another phone line or two and at least one more person to answer the calls!

Whcih way is your mortgage interest rate heading?

Many people assume that when the Fed cuts interest rates it will lower mortgage interest rates, but this is a misunderstanding. Long term mortgage rates are not tied to short-term treasury notes.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point Tuesday, but don't expect mortgage rates to go down too. In fact, home loans could be heading higher.

Long-term mortgage rates (30 year) are tied to inflation concerns and not the Fed rate.

But, your Adjustable Rate Mortgage interest rate may lower because there is more of a connection between ARM’s and the Fed rate.

Related articles

• Pain relief for mortgage flare-up
• Fed to crack down on shady lenders
• Home Foreclosures Hit Record High
• Record Number in U.S. Lost Homes in '07

Do you have a manger or supervisor that insists on splitting your tips?

Starbucks has been ordered to pay employees $105 million because shift managers thought they deserved a cut of the tip jar.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Y. Cowett cited California law that prohibits employers from taking employees’ tips. The suit, filed in 2004, included about 1,400 Starbucks locations in California and was filed on behalf of 100,000 baristas.

You brewed it, you earned it!

• 6002 Hillbrook Place
• Dublin, CA
• $749,000
• 3 Bedrooms
• 3.5 Bathrooms
• 1,719 Square Feet

One man almost lost his leg in this violent shark encounter. Fortunately it looks like Kurtis Foster may recover after a prolonged rehab.

Wednesday night my good friend, and die-hard San Jose Sharks fan, Rudi Lang and I went to see the Sharks play against the Minnesota Wild. It was a great game that went into overtime and was decided by a shoot out which was won by the Sharks.

HP Pavilion was sold out and the crowd was ecstatic to see their favorite team win again. Unfortunately Minnesota defenseman Kurtis Foster broke his left leg in the second period. Foster, a third-year pro, hit the boards violently after a collision with San Jose rookie Torrey Mitchell.

The San Jose Sharks are now in second place behind the Detroit Red Wings. With another 10 games to play, there are a couple of exciting weeks ahead of us. 

On the way back to Danville we drove passed the Sunset Business Park offices on Crow Canyon Road in San Ramon; close to midnight people were still hard at work to get the facility ready for PG&E’s upcoming move.

The relocation of hundreds of PG&E employees will be good for the local community and exciting for the people that are moving here. Rudi and I were talking about how lucky we are living in the East Bay with great schools, safe communities and close to San Francisco.

As big sports fans we both agreed that we are also very fortunate in the Bay Area with two great Major League baseball teams: the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants (don’t forget about our Niner Training Camp), and two NFL teams: the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers. In Oakland we have the Golden State Warriors who are on fire this year in the NBA and the San Jose Sharks are having their best year ever.

What else can we ask for?