Saturday, January 28, 2012
How to really know something.............
Ryan Holiday offers the unwelcomed answer (his post includes a
quote from blog favorite Richard Feynman). Full post here.
Excerpt here:
"That comes from rigor and discipline. From humility and understatement. It comes practices, checklists, from methods, and the scientific method. It comes from staying up late reading, not blogging. It comes from having deep connections with a handful of smart people who push you to be better, not networking. It comes from separating ideas from your identity—so you can pick up, discard, pick up, rearrange, discard and pick them up at whim."
quote from blog favorite Richard Feynman). Full post here.
Excerpt here:
"That comes from rigor and discipline. From humility and understatement. It comes practices, checklists, from methods, and the scientific method. It comes from staying up late reading, not blogging. It comes from having deep connections with a handful of smart people who push you to be better, not networking. It comes from separating ideas from your identity—so you can pick up, discard, pick up, rearrange, discard and pick them up at whim."
Believe.....................
From The Tao of Pooh:
"In order to take control of our lives and accomplish
something of lasting value, sooner or later we need to learn
to Believe. We don't need to shift our responsibilities onto
the shoulders of some deified Spiritual Superman, or sit
around and wait for Fate to come knocking at the door.
We simply need to believe in the power that's within us,
and use it. When we do that, and stop imitating others
and competing against them, things begin to work for us."
Friday, January 27, 2012
Knowing when to hold 'em...........
"Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but
sometimes of playing a poor hand well. "
-Robert Louis Stevenson
Opening paragraphs..............
"Selfmade men always do a lopsided job of it, and the sheriff had come out conspicuously short on the capacity to sympathize with anyone but himself. No doubt ears were still burning at the Fort Peck end of the telephone connection; he'd had to tell that overgrown sap of an undersheriff he didn't give a good goddamn what the night foreman said about dangerous, get the thing fished out of the river if it meant using every last piece of equipment at the dam site. This was what he was up against all the time, the sheriff commiserated with himself during the drive from Glasgow now, toward dawn. People never behaving one bit better than they could get away with."
-Ivan Doig, Bucking the Sun
-Ivan Doig, Bucking the Sun
On transitions...........
"In every winter's heart there is a quivering spring, and
behind the veil of each night there is a smiling dawn."
-Kahlil Gibran, Self Portrait
behind the veil of each night there is a smiling dawn."
-Kahlil Gibran, Self Portrait
To the ear of the auditor.................
The 100 Most Beautiful Words in the English Language list - here.
And no, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious did not make the cut.
thanks tigerhawk
And no, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious did not make the cut.
thanks tigerhawk
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Fun with statistics...........
Mathew Ferrara recently posted some statistics to help us
Realtors learn about, and understand, our customers. Our
company does not sell houses, but still...........useful stuff.
The full post is here.
Three things stood out for this reader. First, it is happily noted
that agents are more useful than the Internet, although I am sort
of curious about how that question was worded. Second, if only
1 in 10 U.S. adults owns a tablet computer and yet 40% of
iPad owners earned more than $100,000 last year, then why
wouldn't our fearless government be helping more people own
iPads? Just wondering.
The final thing, and maybe the most important lesson contained
in these stats, deals with the "generational" communication styles.
44% of Gen Y’ers prefer texting to face-to-face meetings
The typical Gen Y’er sends 3,000 text messages a month.
I can't fathom sending or receiving 100 text messages per day.
Of course, the statistics don't show how many of those texts go
to the same person. Maybe it takes 10 texts to convey the
same information as one face-to-face or one phone call. But
still, if as a salesperson, I am seeking a client relationship, it is
incumbent upon me to be flexible enough to communicate in
the style best suited for each client.
Except twittering. I draw the line at twittering.
Anyway, here are Mathews 33 stats us Realtors should know:
----------------------------------------------------------
Buyers:
-37% of recent buyers were “first time” buyers – a drop from
50% in 2010
-They typical buyer was 45 years old – up from 39 a year ago
-37% of buyers were under the age of 31; 32% were over 55
-While all buyers use the Internet to search for homes, for 35%
of them, it was the first step in the process; 21% started
by contacting an agent
-21% of buyers were single females; 12% single males
-64% of all buyers had no children under 18 at home
-Buyers found real estate agents (83%) slightly more useful
than the Internet (81%)
-92% said open houses were very- to somewhat-useful sources
of real estate information
-Buyers found the home they purchased in the newspaper 5%
of the time
-58% of buyers wanted to see videos when looking at property
online
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sellers:
-The average seller was a Baby Boomer (45-65 years old)
-The typical real estate consumer moved 18 miles from their
previous home in 2011
-66% of sellers remained in the same state; 67% in the same
county
-46% bought a larger home, 31% purchased the same size;
23% downsized
-25% of sellers sold their home within two weeks of entering the
market
-63% of sellers had no children under the age of 18 at home
-Job relocation and the need for more space were the primary
reasons people sold their home.
-Most sellers had been in their current home for 9 years.
-61% of sellers were repeat clients or referrals from friends
and family
-66% of sellers only interviewed 1 real estate agent
-Sellers found their agent through the Internet 3% of the time;
direct mail 2%; newspaper 1%.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Technology
-Gen X’ers (35-45) have doubled their use of social media since
2008
-1 in 6 minutes spent online is on Facebook
-$50,000-75,000 is the typical income range of a Facebook user
-Single women use social media more than single men
-200 million consumers access social media on their smartphones
-After Google, consumers search YouTube the most (2 billion
streams daily)
-Consumers spend 1 in 3 minutes watching video on their mobile
devices
-1 in 10 U.S. adults owns a tablet computer
-40% of iPad owners earned more than $100,000 last year
-44% of Gen Y’ers prefer texting to face-to-face meetings
-The typical Gen Y’er sends 3,000 text messages a month
-Gen X and Gen Y used web-based email 20% less last year
Realtors learn about, and understand, our customers. Our
company does not sell houses, but still...........useful stuff.
The full post is here.
Three things stood out for this reader. First, it is happily noted
that agents are more useful than the Internet, although I am sort
of curious about how that question was worded. Second, if only
1 in 10 U.S. adults owns a tablet computer and yet 40% of
iPad owners earned more than $100,000 last year, then why
wouldn't our fearless government be helping more people own
iPads? Just wondering.
The final thing, and maybe the most important lesson contained
in these stats, deals with the "generational" communication styles.
44% of Gen Y’ers prefer texting to face-to-face meetings
The typical Gen Y’er sends 3,000 text messages a month.
I can't fathom sending or receiving 100 text messages per day.
Of course, the statistics don't show how many of those texts go
to the same person. Maybe it takes 10 texts to convey the
same information as one face-to-face or one phone call. But
still, if as a salesperson, I am seeking a client relationship, it is
incumbent upon me to be flexible enough to communicate in
the style best suited for each client.
Except twittering. I draw the line at twittering.
Anyway, here are Mathews 33 stats us Realtors should know:
----------------------------------------------------------
Buyers:
-37% of recent buyers were “first time” buyers – a drop from
50% in 2010
-They typical buyer was 45 years old – up from 39 a year ago
-37% of buyers were under the age of 31; 32% were over 55
-While all buyers use the Internet to search for homes, for 35%
of them, it was the first step in the process; 21% started
by contacting an agent
-21% of buyers were single females; 12% single males
-64% of all buyers had no children under 18 at home
-Buyers found real estate agents (83%) slightly more useful
than the Internet (81%)
-92% said open houses were very- to somewhat-useful sources
of real estate information
-Buyers found the home they purchased in the newspaper 5%
of the time
-58% of buyers wanted to see videos when looking at property
online
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sellers:
-The average seller was a Baby Boomer (45-65 years old)
-The typical real estate consumer moved 18 miles from their
previous home in 2011
-66% of sellers remained in the same state; 67% in the same
county
-46% bought a larger home, 31% purchased the same size;
23% downsized
-25% of sellers sold their home within two weeks of entering the
market
-63% of sellers had no children under the age of 18 at home
-Job relocation and the need for more space were the primary
reasons people sold their home.
-Most sellers had been in their current home for 9 years.
-61% of sellers were repeat clients or referrals from friends
and family
-66% of sellers only interviewed 1 real estate agent
-Sellers found their agent through the Internet 3% of the time;
direct mail 2%; newspaper 1%.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Technology
-Gen X’ers (35-45) have doubled their use of social media since
2008
-1 in 6 minutes spent online is on Facebook
-$50,000-75,000 is the typical income range of a Facebook user
-Single women use social media more than single men
-200 million consumers access social media on their smartphones
-After Google, consumers search YouTube the most (2 billion
streams daily)
-Consumers spend 1 in 3 minutes watching video on their mobile
devices
-1 in 10 U.S. adults owns a tablet computer
-40% of iPad owners earned more than $100,000 last year
-44% of Gen Y’ers prefer texting to face-to-face meetings
-The typical Gen Y’er sends 3,000 text messages a month
-Gen X and Gen Y used web-based email 20% less last year
On work..................
"All growth depends upon activity. There is no development
physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means
work. Work is not a curse; it is the prerogative of intelligence,
the only means to manhood, and the measure of civilization."
-Calvin Coolidge
physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means
work. Work is not a curse; it is the prerogative of intelligence,
the only means to manhood, and the measure of civilization."
-Calvin Coolidge
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Seven wonders...........
The opening prayer at yesterday's Rotary meeting spoke to the
Seven Wonders. Not the Colossus at Rhodes, nor the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon, and not even the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Nope, we have been given the seven wonders of smelling, seeing,
hearing, feeling, tasting, laughing, and healing. May we use these
powers with awareness and appreciate the gift with a spirit of
gratitude. Can I get an Amen?
photo courtesy of
On stout heartedness........
It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject
to half of the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly
listlessness for fear of what might happen.
-Herodotus, The Histories, (as cited everywhere)
Far better is it to have a stout heart always, and suffer one's
share of evils, than to be ever fearing what may happen, and
never incur a mischance. Moreover, if thou wilt oppose
whatever is said by others, without thyself showing us the
sure course which we ought to take, thou art as likely to lead
us into failure as they who advise differently; for thou art but
on a par with them. And as for that sure course, how canst
thou show it us when thou art but a man? I do not believe
thou canst. Success for the most part attends those who act
boldly, not those who weigh everything, and are slack to venture.
-Herodotus, The Histories, Book 7, Chapter 50
as translated by George Rawlinson
Opening paragraphs..........
"I don't care what you say, 18,000 pounds (sterling) is a
lot of money. The British Government had instructed me to
pay it to the man at the corner table who was now using
knife and fork to commit ritual murder on a cream pastry."
-Len Deighton, The IPCRESS File
lot of money. The British Government had instructed me to
pay it to the man at the corner table who was now using
knife and fork to commit ritual murder on a cream pastry."
-Len Deighton, The IPCRESS File
Happy.....................
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being
happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the
world.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson
happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the
world.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson
Just some images...........................
...........to remind us, that while we are pretty smart, clever, and
inquisitive, there are just some things us humans are just going to
have to make our best guess about. Here is a quick run through
of some of APOD pictures for January. If you haven't visited
the Astronomy Picture of the Day site.........well, you're missing
something special - here.
inquisitive, there are just some things us humans are just going to
have to make our best guess about. Here is a quick run through
of some of APOD pictures for January. If you haven't visited
the Astronomy Picture of the Day site.........well, you're missing
something special - here.
 |
| A Full Sky Aurora over Norway |
 |
| January Aurora over Norway |
 |
| IC2118: The Witch Head Nebula |
 |
| Facing NGC 6946 |
 |
| Grand Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232 |
 |
| Saturn's Iapetus: Painted Moon |
 |
| NGC: The Little Ghost Nebula |
 |
| Infared Portrait of the Large Magellanic Cloud |
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