Don’t Trip on the $500(?) iPad on the Floor! (or is it??) I did see it in the foyer of a swanky, $1 million home in Minnetonka. But, that’s not an iPad (or tablet computer) on the floor, instructing Sunday Open House visitors to please remove their shoes. The hosting agent assured me that it...Read More
Flyover Country, Circa 2019 “Even the most modern communication technologies are limited: They can’t carry as much information as a real-life, face-to-face collaboration. Slack, email and instant messaging are famous for their inability to convey tone, and the resulting crossed wires.” —”Where You Should Move to Make the Most Money: America’s Superstar Cities“; The Wall...Read More
A Win For the Luddites (or, ARE They??) What if there was a home security system that had all of the following virtues: it was simple and easy-to-use; (very) cheap; crash-proof; hack-proof; and never needed a software patch, update, or monthly subscription? (see, “very cheap”). Fortunately, there is. Give up? It’s called, “a key” (or,...Read More
Coming Soon: Fractional Home Shares? Wall Street’s fling with the housing market didn’t go so well (see, “2008 Financial Crash”). Will Silicon Valley’s housing-related ideas fare better? Consider this one, recently floated by a Silicon Valley venture capitalist: “Why not sell a portion of your home? With the right financial vehicle, a sovereign wealth fund...Read More
Call it a “High Tech Wash” (At Least at the Societal Level) “Racing the Clock, Saving the Heart: Faster Care Helps Death Rate Plunge 38% in Decade.” –Headline; NYT (June 21, 2015) “A study published in 2012 that tracked women for 10 years concluded that stressful jobs increased the risk of a cardiovascular event by 38%.”...Read More
Nature’s High Tech Factories “Natural organisms have managed to do everything we want to do without guzzling fossil fuels, polluting the planet or mortgaging the future.” –Janine Benyus, “Biomimcry” (1997) In her 1997 book, biologist Janine Benyus speculated about a world where human manufacturers would unlock the secrets of spider silk and abalone shells to...Read More
