Today’s ballpark grass patterns have become as intricate as the game itself. From simple stripes to checkerboard, plaid and diamond patterns, for creative groundskeepers fields are a canvas on display for millions watching in the stands and on TV.

Known as striping, rolling or bending, the patterns appear painted on, but are actually a function of light reflecting on grass blades bent in different directions. Bending blades can be achieved with mowing equipment — which may have rollers attached behind cutting blades — or simple tools like a homemade roller, broom or water from a hose. Mowing initiates the pattern; the roller refines it.

Wall Street Journal - House of the Day: Historic Farmhouse - The owner, Susie Day, 69, purchased this 5-acre property in Cashiers, N.C., for $1.25 million in 2007, according to public records. The main building is a farmhouse that dates to the 1890s, according to a local historian, and measures 1,612 square feet. Public records date the property to 1918. Ms. Day, who owns another property nearby, was taking the scenic route to town one summer day when a 'for sale' sign caught her eye. 'Oh, I don't need that,' she remembers thinking. But she changed her mind that fall, when she returned and was struck by what the home looked like amid the autumnal colors.

Calculated Risk - Some musings ... One of the "givens" for 2012 is that the number of foreclosures will increase following the mortgage servicer settlement agreement. But I've been wondering just how big that increase will be...

A key recent development is the decline in distressed sales; distressed sales are a combination of short sales and lender real estate owned (REO) sales. I've been tracking this for a couple of years, at first just using data for Sacramento, and more recently data for several other cities too (compiled by Tom Lawler). This data shows two important trends: 1) overall distressed sales have been declining, and 2) there has been a shift from REO sales to short sales.

Now, after years of struggles, they are betting that the Las Vegas condo market is approaching a bottom.

Short sales are generally seen as a far better outcome than foreclosure. But figuring out ways to streamline the short-sale process, while avoiding fraudulent sales, has been difficult. For example, an Obama administration program that provides incentives for short sales has only helped about 35,000 homeowners as of February. Freddie Mac, meanwhile, says it completed nearly 46,000 short sales last year.

Calculated Risk - The NAR reports: Existing-Home Sales Decline in March but Inventory Down, Prices Stabilizing.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, declined 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million in March from an upwardly revised 4.60 million in February, but are 5.2 percent above the 4.26 million-unit pace in March 2011.

Total housing inventory at the end of March declined 1.3 percent to 2.37 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.3-month supply at the current sales pace, the same as in February. Listed inventory is 21.8 percent below a year ago and well below the record of 4.04 million in July 2007. 

Much has been said about how creativity works, its secrets, its origins, and what we can do to optimize ourselves for it. In this excerpt from his fantastic 1991 lecture, John Cleese offers a recipe for creativity, delivered with his signature blend of cultural insight and comedic genius. Specifically, Cleese outlines “the 5 factors that you can arrange to make your lives more creative”:

That’s what Barclays Capital estimates the bank will report in its first-quarter results, following decisions by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and Citigroup Inc. (C) to reclassify $4.1 billion of junior liens as nonperforming.

24/7 Wall St - 24/7 Wall St. performed a detailed analysis of the 10 most plentiful and valuable natural resources on earth. Using estimates of each country’s total reserves and the market value of these resources, we determined the 10 countries that have the most valuable supplies of natural resources.
 
Some of these commodities, including uranium, silver and phosphate, are not as valuable as others because of low demand or be cause they are too rare. However, in the cases of oil, natural gas, timber and coal, reserves can be worth tens of trillions of dollars in some countries, because demand is high and resources are relatively plentiful.

Economists surveyed by CNNMoney predict the unemployment rate will slip to 8% by the end of the year, not much of an improvement from the current 8.2% rate.

It's like "running in place," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University. The unemployment rate, which only counts people who have looked for jobs in the last four weeks, recently fell as people dropped out of the labor force. 

Weekly jobless claims totaled 386,000, seasonally adjusted, in the week ended April 14, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 388,000 from an initial reading of 380,000. It was the second straight time claims were revised higher by an unusually large amount.

Mr. Cuban had no job and no prospects when he was 24. He got rich by starting and growing companies. His creations, Microsolutions, Broadcast.com and HDNet, produced thousands of real jobs.