They meet twice a year, every year, but it's been a while since these meetings have meant as much as they do today.  It's total nostalgia for someone who grew up in the 80's watching Magic and Bird duke it out every year.  Tonight's game hearkens back to those days, as the Lakers played the Celtics tight through one overtime period, finally pulling out the victory on a missed last second shot by Paul Pierce.  They missed almost half their free throws, Kobe was cold until the end of the fourth quarter, their big man was out and they still managed to beat the Celtics.  Sweet.

Kobe and Pau Gasol were the big guns as they shot down the Toronto Raptors 115-107, winning their fourth straight.  They go to Boston next, then to Cleveland.  Big games, especially with Bynum out.

Bynum was out with a knee after Saturday's win over the Grizzlies.  Then Kobe dropped 61 on the Knicks tonight.  They looked good, but Bynum will be out for six to eight weeks.

Given all the bad news regarding our nation's economy lately, I decided it would be a good idea to talk to a professional and get some tips about what the average person can do for their own financial well-being.  Greg Schowe is a financial advisor with LotusGroup Advisors.  I met with him the other day and we had a long and wide ranging conversation about the economy in general and personal finances in particular.  The following are excerpts from this interview.

Greg Schowe, LG Advisors
Hermosa Happenings: How did you end up in Hermosa Beach? Greg Schowe: I was born and raised in Los Angeles, near Pasadena.  For college, I went up to the University of Oregon.  I got a job in the LA area after college, in Burbank.  I had friends living around [Hermosa Beach], ended up paying volleyball one random Sunday with some people, found a place to rent and ended up moving to Manhattan Beach and kind of lived between Manhattan Beach and Hermosa for the last eight years or so.

...people can tend to stay young forever here...

HH: What's your favorite thing about Hermosa Beach? GS: The volleyball courts and the beach.  The sheer number of courts, different places to play.  Also the fact that it's kind of a bubble.  You don't need to leave on weekends.  I pretty much park my car on Friday and don't get back in it until Monday.  And you have all the restaurants and night life and everything that you want to do here.  It's kind of a self-sustaining type of place that has lots of good dining and bar options, a little something for everybody.

The most important thing: Get yourself to a cash-flow positive position.

HH: Give me one anecdote

It's the end of January and Hermosa Happenings is celebrating its first month of publication!  Thanks very much to all of you who come back every week to see what's happening.  Here is a list of the best and most popular articles of the past month:

• The Horse Chick - the post that started it all.
• Hermosa Interview - Luthier, Michael Peters
• Max, the Wheaten Terrier
• The Demise of Indie 103.1

Also,  I've set up a poll on the sidebar to get your input on what you like.

Don't forget to come back on Monday to read my interview of financial advisor Greg Schowe of LGAdvisors.  Even if you have no plans of outsourcing your finances right now, I think you can benefit a lot from some of the tips he shared with me for getting through these economic times.  Enjoy the SuperBowl!

...you can benefit a lot from some of the tips he shared with me...

Well, Indie 103.1 announced their demise over the airwaves a couple of weeks ago.  I turned the station back on today and heard some of this: <A HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fhermoshappen-20%2F8014%2F978d3009-1588-46bb-a655-babafddafb54&Operation=NoScript" mce_HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fhermoshappen-20%2F8014%2F978d3009-1588-46bb-a655-babafddafb54&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A> Either Indie is back and going way off the beaten track, or it's now a Spanish language station.  I guess it makes sense that that would be a profitable market here in southern California.

Lakers 132, Timberwolves 119 Lakers kick off their longest road trip of the year by beating Minnesota.  Bynum had another big game as they basically scored at will.  Timberwolves tried to make it close towards the end of the game, but the Lakers were too much for them.

The parking permit renewals are out!  I got mine in the mail last week.  Make sure you mail them in soon, otherwise you'll be like me every year and have to actually go into City Hall with a utility bill or lease to get renewed. It's forty bucks this year. If you can't renew by mail, go here, Monday through Thursday, 7am to 6pm...
View Larger Map From the city website:

A set grace period is in effect until March 22, 2009. Enforcement begins at 8:00 AM on Monday, March 23, 2009. For further information, see the Parking Permit Information Page or call (310) 318-0217 or (310) 318-0251.

Lakers 110, Bobcats 117

Well, after blowing out the Spurs and the Wizards, of course they lose to the Bobcats.  It took them two overtimes, but Charlotte did it.  Bynum even took out Gerald Wallace with an elbow to the ribs, Fish shot a clutch three-pointer to end regulation and Kobe scored 38 points before fouling out, but the Lakers still lost.  Oh well, might as well get it out of their system now.

Hermosa Beach is a dog kind of town - anyone walking around the Strand on weekends can attest to that.  For our first featured pup, we have Max, a Wheaten Terrier and companion of longtime visitor and sometime resident Lori. Max came to visit Rob and Gab for the weekend as Lori was out of town on a trip.