Delaney Logo2
In This Issue
The Space Shuttle Program and Plan for the future
What happened to the American flags on the moon?
The time to buy is now
All Star Baseball
British Open
Farewell to Harry Potter
Championship Challenge

Quick Links

  
  
  
  
Quote 

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the 

 home of the brave

- Elmer Davis

  
OUR BRANDS

 

CALLAN

 

DELANEY

 

  
PRIVEX

 

Join Our Mailing List
Delaney Post
JULY 2011 

Greetings!

 

Hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Independence Day and at some point during the holiday paused to be thankful for the great country we live in.  God Bless America!!

 

On July 20, 1969, I celebrated my sixteenth birthday as Apollo 11 made its first landing on the moon.  I was in Kansas City at the drive in theater with my friends on that hot, moon lit summer night and still remember with awe that we actually had landed on that bright far away spot in the sky.  My birthday became National Moon Day!!  No comments please!  This Friday, July 8th NASA will launch for the 135th and last time when Atlantis propels into space (weather permitting).  It has been 30 years since Columbia's initial launch in 1981 which was the first orbital flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program.

 

It was during that time 30 years ago in 1981 that I was a first time home shopper in the Atlanta market.  I was five years out of college and mortgage rates were as high as 18%.  I recall thinking, if I could just get a fixed thirty year mortgage at 12% I would be one happy camper.  Now today's rates are as low as 4 �%.  Certainly seems like "the time to buy is now."  

 

Also in this newsletter, All-Star baseball, the British Open and Harry Potter. Have a great month!

 

Michael O'Bryan

President

Bits and Pieces 
The Space Shuttle Program and plan for the future 
After Atlantis returns to Earth, NASA's space shuttle program will officially come to a close.  We will have completed 135 missions (at an average cost of $500 million each), in a fleet of 5 Shuttles (Endeavour cost approx. $1.7 Billion to build), and carried 777 passengers (tragically 14 never returned home).  Needless to say the costs of the 30 year Shuttle program were tremendous however the research and advancements in health & nutrition, medicine, science, environment, industry and technology (not to mention TANG, Velcro, and Teflon) are immeasurable.  NASA is ending it's 30-year shuttle program to focus on developing new spaceships for explorations beyond low-Earth orbit, such as missions to Mars.  However, until the next generation vehicles are ready the agency will have to rely on Russian-build Soyuz spacecraft to reach the International Space Station where further research & innovation will continue.

 

Side note:  hundreds of items commemorating the final mission will ride aboard Atlantis on Friday, including the first iPhone into orbit.  Tweeting in outerspace? It's been done.  Follow your favorite astronaut on Twitter in space or view their profiles


What happened to the American flags on the moon?  

As a symbol of the 4th of July holiday, it is easy for the conversation this time of year to turn to the iconic American flags, like the flag the marines raised at Iwo Jima; the one firefighters put up at ground zero; and the ones planted on the moon by Apollo astronauts.  It is believed that the first flags planted on the moon may not have survived the ignition gases of the lunar liftoff.  Chances are, with so much of the space program coming to an end, it is not likely that American astronauts will be the ones to discover whether, after the rocket's red glare, our flag is still there.

  
The time to buy is now

There's nothing equivocal about the little word "now."  When exploring the question, "is now the time to buy a home?" you must go at it skeptically, rigorously, and honestly.  In this economy we can't be sure of much, however if you have a stable job and expect to live in the house for ten plus years, then the benefits of buying in the near-term appear to outweigh the costs at this time.  Even if prices decline a little farther, rising interest rates could wipe away a big portion of your buying power if you wait.  It's hard to see how buying "now" could be a big mistake, if you're in the right position to do so.  U.S. Deapartment of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan is calling the bottom in housing prices.  "it is very unlikely that we will see a significant further decline."  The real question is when will we see significant increases.  Some think by the end of this summer or this fall.  Home sales have increased in six out of the past nine months and the number of property owners in default is declining.  Housing prices will begin rising as the number of foreclosures declines.  This conclusion confirms what home builders have been observing of late, which is that customers returning from the sidelines are looking for homes they plan to be in for 10 years or more.  If you think about it, that changes the value proposition.


All Star Baseball  
The 2011 All Star baseball game will be played at Chase field on July 12th in Phoenix.  (Chase Field is the first stadium ever built with a retractable roof and natural grass.  Imagine watching baseball in air conditioning??)  The first All Star game was played on July 6th, 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.  The game was won by the American League 4-2.  Since 1970, the fans alone vote for the selection of the starters for each team.  2011 fans cast a record 32.5 million votes.  On July 6th, 1983, Fred Lynn came to bat with the bases loaded against Atlee Hammacker.  The only All-Star grand slam in history was hit at that moment.  Mickey Mantle (1954-1960), Joe Morgan (1970-1977), and Dave Winfield (1982-1988) are the only three players in All Star history to reach base safely in seven back-to-back All Star games.

  

British Open

Claret Jug

Royal St. Georges Golf Club will host the 2011 British Open. More commonly called the Open Championship,it has been held for 150 years at fourteen of the finest links courses in Great Britain and Ireland. 

  

The winner of the first Open Championship in 1860 was awarded a belt made of Moroccan leather, adorned with silver buckles and emblems.  This somewhat gaudy "trophy" might still be awarded today if it weren't for the golfing expertise of Young Tom Morris.  It seems the home of the first 11 British Opens, Royal Prestwick, had a list of rules that included one stating the "belt" would become the permanent property of any golfer winning the Open Championship in three consecutive years....which is precisely what Young Tom Morris did in 1870.  The British Open no longer had a trophy or a plan to replace it - 1871 came and went with no Open Championship being played.  The following year, Royal Prestwick proposed sharing the Open with two other courses who could take turns hosting the event.  The three clubs each contributed money for a new trophy and in 1873 the first Claret Jug was awarded.

 

Noticeably absent in the field of players this year will be Tiger Woods, still rehabilitating from a knee injury. There is no clear favorite in this years tournament. This month's Championship Challenge will be to pick the winner. 

  
Farewell to Harry Potter
Saying goodbye to Harry Potter will be bittersweet for millions of fans who grew up reading the books and watching the films, but perhaps no one appreciates the finality of the last film more than its stars, who've grown up before our very eyes.  Not only have they achieved widespread fame but they've racked up a fortune over the past 10 years.  Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, was paid a salary of $20,000,000 for the final Harry Potter film due in theaters July 15th.  His net worth has now surpassed that of Princes William and Harry.  

Harry Potter creator, J.K. Rowling has also achieved incredible notoriety and wealth.  Forbes has named Rowling the first person to become a U.S.-dollar billionaire by writing books.  That's a long way from where she was in 1990 when she conceived the story.  Rowling at the time was receiving "benefits" (welfare) from the government in order to support herself  and her daughter.  

 

Harry Potter Pop Quiz- Do You Know?...

1.  the make and model of Mr. Weasley's flying car?

2.  the headmaster of Hogwarts before Dumbledore?

3.  the last name of Nearly Headless Nick?

4.  the Hogwarts school motto?......

 

Get the answers on our FACEBOOK Page.  See the link below. 

CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE

Click Here to submit your British Open Champion

 NO LATER than Wed. July 13th. 
 

Winners will recieve a Delaney Golf Gift Pack! 

Find us on Facebook