“What’s in YOUR Wallet?” I don’t collect stamps or coins or baseball cards. I collect other Realtors’ business cards. Not as keepsakes — no one’s that nerdy — but to get design ideas. What makes for a good Realtor business card? One that stands out — in a good way. Miniature Billboards The business card’s...Read More
“Isn’t That Obvious?!?” “Kids Say the Darndest Things” was the title of a TV show hosted by Bill Cosby, and decades earlier by Art Linkletter. It came to mind hearing my six-year old daughter (not her, that’s a stock photo) talking on our (Skype-less) phone to her paternal grandparents in Arizona earlier today. Presumably fielding...Read More
Technology Time Capsule Want an x-ray snapshot of where technology is headed? Juxtapose an earlier version of a time-tested product used by millions — in this case, Honda’s best-selling minivan, the Odyssey — and compare it with the new-and-improved version, the just-released 2011 model. Evolutionary, not Revolutionary Faced with an increasingly long list of deferred...Read More
Christmas & the Housing Market There are plenty of reasons to explain why the housing market decelerates around the holidays: it’s customarily a time to celebrate with one’s family; take a respite from work (vacation, even!); and generally reflect on one’s — shall we say — existential circumstances. Plus, the weather (at least in Minnesota)...Read More
21% Over Asking Price! Take an A+ location in Minneapolis’ tony Lowry Hill neighborhood, strategically located in between Downtown Minneapolis and picturesque Lake of the Isles. Add a huge, 4,800 square foot all-brick triplex. Then put it on the market for $314,900 — a whopping $351,600 below tax assessed value of $666,500. What do you...Read More
Infinite Markup? Why is Whole Foods selling stolen bread? (and for so much, too). And isn’t announcing it to the world rather brazen? The explanation, for fellow dyslexics, bad spellers and/or Emily Litella fans (Gilda Radner’s old SNL character): that would actually be “stollen bread,” a Christmas specialty (guess who celebrates Chanukah?).Read More
