Get well soon Kristin

Sounds like a rough start to the week!

Candy Sandwich: Fashionable

Candy Sandwich: Gift giving

I think dear Kristin is helping to keep the US Economy afloat :)

Candy Sandwich: Gift giving

Test Video Blog

This is just a TEST for the Chris von Simson Video Blog.
Yes, the lighting worked out OK, but the rest is all very dull. But at least it seems to function OK. I had no idea the lighting would turn out to be so dramatic, but it works OK. The built-in iSight camera seems to work really well.
Of course when I made this video Lisa was in the next room falling asleep, and I was tired so I forgot that really I should have said hello to everyone, not just Helen and my parents. So hello to the rest of you as well :)

Programming less (Scripting News)

More great software design principles from the mind of Dave Winer. I have long enjoyed the concept of the "elegant" code solution, and yearned to get closer to it when programming. In some ways the current work of creating a wiki structure is similar: how to convey the maximum meaning with the optimum number of pages.
Programming less (Scripting News).

Ahead of the Curve | Tom Yager | InfoWorld | AMD Spider weaves its own worldwide web | November 28, 2007 03:00 AM | By Tom Yager

I wonder if Jochen is already reading Tom Yager? The hardware grok seems right up his street...
Ahead of the Curve | Tom Yager | InfoWorld | AMD Spider
What is a grok? I hear you cry... here you go.

Back in the car today

preview7
Originally uploaded by lkdemik

My legs were just too tired to do three days of bicycle commuting in a row this week. Maybe next week :) Hopefully I'll still have the strength to pop to the gym tonight.
In other exciting news, I think I have managed to finalize my Christmas gifts for my family in Europe. Now if I can just get the last two items over here fixed up then that'll be perfect!

Church of the Customer Blog on when to cut a marketing budget

I like these ideas, but then I am a firm believer in customer and word-of-mouth marketing.

Your Marketing Budget is too big when...

Possum and the Moon

Possum and the Moon
Originally uploaded by alexkess

I saw a little something like this on my bike ride home last night. I found it quite exciting, as it was the first possum I have seen alive, outside, in nature - OK, in suburbia: Arlington VA.

Back on the bike - riding into work again

So yesterday I got back on the bike and rode to work and back - and it was lovely, if a little cold, and a little dark and wet on the way home.
There was a bonus on the way home as well. I saw what I think was a possum. It was mostly in silhouette. How do I know? Well I checked out flickr this morning, and saw the next post :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Now, where's the coffee and the recipes....? :)

More local Arlington Hawk spottings: The Green Miles: There's a New Sheriff

TheGreenMiles.net: There's a New Sheriff in My Backyard

Lovely and slow ride in today

I had to get the muscles awake after a long rest :)

It was lovely to see the colors on the trees, and the squirrels scampering around. Lisa tells me she saw a sparrow hawk on the way to Falls Church this morning.

Cycling really has become a super way of getting to work, and also just enjoying the outdoors;
plus nice things happen, which is rare for the commute. Today for example a delivery truck stopped and waited for me. I gave the driver a big smile and a wave, and he waved back. A nice human interaction. Maybe part of what makes us bad in cars is that they dehumanize both the driver and people who just see the car, not the driver. On the bike I may be a wash of fluorescence and light, but I'm still definitely me :)


Photo of Sparrow Hawk by Andrew Pescod

Back home at last

Just got back from our first anniversary and before that from a week presenting in Paris. Lovely weekend and a very interesting trip. But those will have to be longer posts with pictures coming soon :)
Here's hoping you are all well. Let me know on your blogs, or post a comment :)

A blog recommendation

Not earth shattering stuff, but a wealth of good habits, and good writing, and getting better and better.

Keep up the good work Trent

3% of UK economy gone: $81 billion bust...

The British Government is supporting Northern Rock to the tune of 40 million UK sterling.
That's half the price of Apple Inc. Maybe a third of Google. It's 3% of the entire British economy.
Can't a bank ever fail in Britain? Now it's de facto nationalized, as there's no way they'll pay that back in short order and they are still probably losing money...
What a blunder. This is a good example of what I characterized to Jochen Demuth as a big, fast, stupid mistake.

Northern Rock's Wholesale Run: BBC NEWS' Robert Peston

Higgy's on Video

Ah the glories of embedding! Well done Pete!
and just to show off :)


Untitled from pharnett on Vimeo.

Update: it seems Vimeo's embed code works in fully viewing a post, whereas Youtube's works there and in a full RSS feed. Not sure if it is an HTML code or image serving difference at this stage...

Higgy's Mindnumbingly Boring Blog

Loving the tranquil biking

Bikepath Overpass
Originally uploaded by Jimski

It's great when the trail gets a bit quieter. In the summer it can get really busy, with whole families charging around on the warm summer evenings. This time of year it is crisp and clear and almost deserted, with the just the keenest cyclists and the dedicated runners out. It really reminds me of a nice autumnal day in Buckinghamshire. I noticed the legs getting a little tired towards the end, but I also went quite a lot faster. I also took a few pictures, which I'll upload tonight.

Frost! A chilly ride into work this morning...

Frost!
Originally uploaded by elliottcable

But so good to get back on the bike. The traffic home last night was truly horrible, and boring, and oil is at $93.53, and the extra exercise will be good for me, so...
It was cold setting off and I should have worn the outer gloves as well, but it was very, very nice - even cycling through Ballston on the Fairfax Drive bike lane on the way to the Custis trail. Joining the trail there was a gigantic traffic backup on the Ballston on-ramp, so of course I felt smug about winding my way along at about twice their speed.
Gradually the sun rose enough to shine on me and it was lovely. The playing field about a 1/3rd of the way along was fully covered in frost - hence the pic and the exclamation mark! Tomorrow I'll bring the camera along and snap what I can see.
I also started to think about how much it must cost to drive those ten miles. Maybe as much as $10-15? Yikes.

The Neutron Bomb of Holiday Photos

That's right, TouristRemover! at Snapmania (via Lifehacker and Photojojo)



Image Editing: Remove Tourists from Photos with Tourist Remover

The image is great, but I couldn't see an attribution. Happy to attribute if it's yours...

Bought my tickets! London and Paris here I come.

Friday 9th November
UA 922:
IAD 0940 am > LHR 10:00 pm

Monday 12th November
Eurostar 9018:
Waterloo 10:40 am > Gare du Nord 2:17 pm

Thursday November 15
UA 915
CDG 12:00 pm > IAD 2:35 pm

Looking forward to seeing family, friends, sights, and some menus :)

Evidence Based Scheduling - Joel on Software

Now this is superb! I know it shows off how geeky I have become in software product management, but so be it.

One item I note probably pushes me even further into geekdom: I notice that Joel Spolsky recommends
"As estimators gain more experience, their estimating skills improve. So throw away any velocities older than, say, six months."
Now we in the Business Intelligence business cannot bear to throw data away, and those out there with an interest in Data Mining and Operations research (you know you're out there), will remind us that one could analyze the increasing accuracy of estimating skills, and then one might choose to reward it. Now if I could only remember the classification of analysis that would do the job...
Either way, bravo Mr. Spolsky, bravo.

Evidence Based Scheduling - Joel on Software

Apple's Leopard is in the stores

So I popped over to the Tysons Corner Apple store for a minute and lo and behold the iMacs are all running leopard.

I'll pop back sometime after 5 .30 to get in line for my copy.
Oh and the store had a sign saying they'd be closed from 4-6 pm...

Travel plans to the UK and France.

Fly out with United on Friday 9th November IAD > LHR.
Stay with Parents at Homemeadow Friday, Saturday, Sunday.


Travel via Eurostar to Paris on Monday after the rush hour. (I may need to move this to Sunday evening, if I have extra Keynote preparations, which is maybe likely).

Monday night at the Hotel, practicing the keynotes some more.
Tuesday Wednesday presenting a lot in French :)

Thursday AM travel back to London via Eurostar.
Thursday PM travel back LHR > IAD.
Maybe this Thursday travel I can do better going direct from CDG > IAD. Hmmm.

Au Revoir Krista

Jeremy.jpg
Originally uploaded by chrisvonsimson

This is actually the estimable Jeremy Billy raising a glass in honor of the departing Krista Townsend - she is off to Charlottesville for some months.

As usual the Liberty Tavern had excellent beer, but man that place is NOISY!

Lisa and Mum in Alexandria

Lisa and Mum.jpg
Originally uploaded by chrisvonsimson

It was great to have my Mum and Dad over for a few days last week. We had a superb time! Great to know they got back to the UK OK.

Travelling to Paris soon

I am off to present at the MicroStrategy event in Paris in mid November. I'll be back just in time for Lisa and my first anniversary. Happy thoughts :)

Something new in News (Scripting News)

Keywords for News. Another huge leap forward :)

So RSS makes blogs and subscription easy by dates, but not by subject. Now there are keywords :)

OPML rules concepts. It owns knowledge, particularly at a user scripted level.

Something new in News (Scripting News)

I wonder if you can see this map?

View Larger Map

I made this random collection of local stuff, including a map of the bike ride Lisa and I did with Jochen and Astrid to the Solar Decathlon and the Berlin Cafe up on Capital Hill. Made me think of visiting Tim and Sharon next year. More tomorrow. Yawns - goodness I am tired. Beer and a nice ride home through the monuments makes for a happy Chris :)
Goodnight.

Getting excited for the weekend

Forest Path (Afternoon)
Originally uploaded by Rice Matters

Just a very quick post, as I have to leave work in about 60 minutes. Lisa and I am meeting up with Brian Fabio and a friend, and going camping in Prince William Forest Park.
The car is packed, the autumnal weather has arrived, and I'm getting excited for the weekend.
On Saturday we should be back in Arlington at some point in the afternoon.
On Sunday were going down to the Solar Decathlon on the national Mall; and with a bit of luck will meet up with Jochen and Astrid :)

Florida Mum tagging photos superbly

Summer2007 102
Originally uploaded by demikfl

And a lovely shot of the North Carolina trees in late summer - looks like a glorious place to sit.

Abra on the Potomac Heritage Trail, VA

Potomac Heritage Trail, VA
Originally uploaded by abragrace

Great pic of the trees and the streams running down tothe river. Whereabouts on the trail is this I wonder? Maybe upstream from Potomac Overlook (from where Lisa and I walked from downstream towards the Key Bridge)...

Wonderful to see Amy Blake blogging away

And to think it was just last week that I told Lisa I'd love to see Amy blog.

Yes, the URL does capture some of the spirit of the content:

http://www.babiesonline.com/journal/journal_view.asp?be=b/blakebaby

Happy Birthday Heather Martin!

Happy Birthday Heather, lots of love from Washington D.C. from Lisa and I. Here's hoping Neil broke out some of the Chablis, or a yummy Muscadet.

Congratulations to the multiple Harnetts of Sacramento

Lili is here! How Cute!

Full(er) details here.

Two reasons to celebrate today

It is my brother Tim's birthday: Happy Birthday Tim!
...and having just spoken to the Happy Berlin couple via skype he tells me that he and Sharon are pregnant! Congratulations to both!! (Due in April)
Now I'll be smiling for a long time :)

The Strength of Weak Ties

No I'm not talking about a badly knotted four-in-hand...
What a wonderful world we live in, where a Harvard Business School professor can blog about the impact of weaker social links on business productivity The Ties That Find and link to a superb and hugely influential paper on The Strength of Weak Ties from 1973!
So maybe it's the fostering of weaker ties in a community that brings the greater benefit. Part of that good feeling of people in a neighborhood saying "Good Morning" as one walks by :)
...or maybe I've just been watching too many Frank Capra movies recently...

Steve Ballmer still doesn’t understand social networking « Scobleizer

I think Scoble provides a good way of thinking about the value of online communities (and identities). Just like in the real world it is hard to have a strong, significant, or meaningful presence in many places at once. You have to choose, and then you build, and invest...

Money Quote:
"It is NOT about the technology. It’s about the community, and unless you have something that’ll convince them all to switch all at one moment you’ll never be able to take the market. Translation: it’s too late, people won’t leave the community even if you demonstrate 5x better technology."

And one last thing about the dismissive line of "I could do that if I wanted to", whether applied to software, Art, or cooking, or gardening, or almost anything. The best riposte is simply, "But you haven't"...

Steve Ballmer still doesn’t understand social networking « Scobleizer

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: The electric grid and the computing grid

One sees this and thinks instantly of Jochen Demuth, seeking Kilowatt savings per CPU cycle, per Business report.

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: The electric grid and the computing grid

Lisa Squire-Harnett on Bedrest

This is a super post. I think Lisa is stellar myself, though not of course as spectacular as Pete, or as amazing as my own dear Lisa.
Keep well, and know that lots of us are wishing you all (3 at the least!) the best.
Lisa Squire-Harnett posting on Higgy's Mindnumbingly Boring Blog

A blog directly from Burma

Amazing to see freedom in gestation - and it's not free...

ko htike's prosaic collection

A map of economic blogs

Visualization telling a story :)

Business Illustrations - Portfolio.com

Penn Quarter Living

Picture Courtesy of Penn Quarter Living

One see these kinds of interesting blogs by Neighborhood from time to time. I have my Arlington blogs (at Share Your OPML) and here is one for Jane and Bob Maruszewski, denizens of Penn Quarter Living

My favorite clip of Ira Glass on Storytelling

So I keep having to remember where and what this is, and it is just essential viewing for anyone thinking of telling a story.

Here you are:

What blogs am I reading besides Kristin Stadum?

Thanks to RSS, a goodly amount.
The list of my RSS feeds is here at Share Your OPML.
What are you reading?

P.S. Thanks to the genius of Dave Winer

Picture Credit to Brian Solis

Holly and Jeremy

26 holly and jeremy
Originally uploaded by lkdemik

It has been too long since Lisa and I saw this lovely couple :)

Maybe this weekend they might be in town? With a bit of luck I might even get out on a bike ride! Hmm. Maybe Jeremy has got one of those toddler trailer things for his bike - now that might slow him down a bit on the hills so I could keep up better.

Washington DC Solar Homes Tour, October 6 & 7, 2007

I'm really excited to see this forthcoming tour, and will blog about it once we get back from it. If you live in Washington DC, you could come along too, check out the link.

For those of you who live elsewhere there may be a tour near you too! :)
Check it out here

Heron & Ibis

Heron&Ibis2
Originally uploaded by demikfl

Nice to see Edi posting pictures to flickr again. Thanks Edi and Harry for a lovely long last weekend in Boca.

Congratulations to Jen and Aili

jen and aili
Originally uploaded by lkdemik

Engaged last night!

This is superb news! Makes the day.

With much love and happiness,
Chris

Candy Sandwich: Baking

Love these posts. I can fully understand how a trip to France would engender a sense of the importance of madeleines :)

PLUS: What about a picture next time? :)

Candy Sandwich: Baking

Seth's Blog: Thinking about this war

So, I ramble on about this here. Seth Godin writes about ideas that need speading, not shutting down communication. Seth's Blog: Thinking about this war

Two quick thoughts.
1. The Western World is doing this already, just doing it slowly, and also pursuing military goals at the same time, which makes the war of ideas harder.
2. This reminds me a little of the popular stories of the problems that set off the Depression: When things (Stock Market) get tough, pass laws (Smoot Hawley Tariff Act) that shut everything down. Then watch as it (economy) collapses.
So the war of ideas gets tough, the risk is to pass laws shutting down media, the internet, etc. But a media collapse would be a very serious thing.
Media is how a society communicates with itself about ideas and morality, and also about goods and prices. The solution is to have a better idea, and then to spread it. Not to try to shut down the other guys bad idea. Debate=Media=War of ideas.

For Kristin Stadum

Exploratrice extraordinaire.

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/

Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries (Curious Expeditions)

One sees this and thinks of Edi DeMik. Happy Sunday Florida Mum:

Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries (Curious Expeditions)

Single Family Home in Falls Church City...

And another

Single Family Home in Falls Church City...

House rental: Within Walking Distance to West Falls Church Metro

Within Walking Distance to West Falls Church Metro

Charming House Available for Rent

And another, this time two doors down from The Land.

Charming House Available for Rent

Rental prices keep going down. E.g. this place.

Now this is interesting!

Grandma's house - not for everyone but great location!

Get well soon Dave Winer

Here's hoping you have lots of interesting stuff to read.

Scripting News for 9/7/07 « Scripting News Annex

metrocurean: Up On The Roof at Charlie Palmer

Lisa and I are planning on doing this as soon as we get back from Florida, and hope it's not raining on the... searches the diary... Thursday September 20th :)

Matt and Abra, what say you?

metrocurean: Up On The Roof

Congratulations to Andrew Sullivan

A fellow Brit in DC. Not someone I know personally, but a superb blogger!
Great Marriage vows as well.

The Daily Dish Wedding Pics

1823 N Nelson St, Arlington, VA 22207 - Trulia Real Estate Search

I think this maybe is the land that Lisa and I saw last weekend. $700K in Jan 2005 and an empty lot for two years and 7 months, with no sign of activity...

1823 N Nelson St, Arlington, VA 22207 - Trulia Real Estate Search

Calculated Risk: Shiller on Housing

Fascinating interview. Lovely Wyoming backdrop :)

Calculated Risk: Shiller on Housing

Happy Birthday Kristin Stadum

Happy Birthday Kristin and good traveling: Candy Sandwich: Packing

Welcome to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

I'm really looking forward to potentially visiting this glorious piece of architecture over the Labor Day weekend.

Welcome to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

Do Not Fly Spirit Airlines... - alexrudloff.com

Lisa and I flew once with Spirit Airlines. We dreaded the return flight. We will not fly with them again. Ever.

Do Not Fly Spirit Airlines... - alexrudloff.com

Philip Larkin | "The Whitsun Weddings" | poetry archive | plagiarist.com

Found, having first been read in maybe1982 , in a hot summer in Buckinghamshire.

Philip Larkin | "The Whitsun Weddings" | poetry archive | plagiarist.com

The best and worst cities in the world to live in

Always interesting, especially when prefaced by some cheeky remarks from Danny F.

Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG: The best and worst cities in the world to live in

Marginal Revolution: My favorite things Pennsylvania

I agree with this in some ways. Certainly Pennsylvania seems to me to be typical of what I thought of long ago as America. But things change. One gets to see the Southeast a little, the mid-west, New England, Vegas, the North Pacific coast... Maybe the "Typical" is ultimately a question of aggregation: typical of Virginia, typical of Arlington, typical of Clarendon, typical of me, typical of me in my 40's....

What I'd love to see next on Tyler's Pennsylvania musings is what's worth eating near all these things :)

Marginal Revolution: My favorite things Pennsylvania

Shiller column up

More wise words from Robert Shiller. Major assets will decrease in real-terms for some time. At least until 2009/10. It takes a long time for many people to change their minds conclusively about most of their major assets.

Project Syndicate

The Simple Dollar » Tackling Breakfast: Healthy, Inexpensive, And Easy Meals To Get Me Started In The Morning

I think I am going to make the breakfast burritos this weekend


The Simple Dollar » Tackling Breakfast: Healthy, Inexpensive, And Easy Meals To Get Me Started In The Morning

Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide: El Charrito Caminante

I am mightily tempted to try the tacos here :)

Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide: El Charrito Caminante

Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide: Don Arturo's Restaurant

This is around the corner from Lisa and I :)
YUM!

Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide: Don Arturo's Restaurant

Eli Barlow - take your wife jere

OK, so it's not queens, but man, that Sicilian looks good :)

NJ Dining: Lodi Pizza « Off The Broiler

I saw this and thought immediately of three people

And I apologize if I should have thought of more.

Tricia and Eli Barlow, and Amy Blake, use a napkin and enjoy these pictures of what looks to be awesome pizza.

Anyone else looking for amazing NJ Italian American pizza?

NJ Dining: Lodi Pizza « Off The Broiler

Ratings, the beginning of the bigger criticisms

Here is a useful pointer to what Brian and I were talking about the other night.

This has a LONG way to run. Moody's, S&P, Fitch, and the others have so much work to do.

Calculated Risk: Growing Criticism of Rating Firms

Sub-prime visualization

Hat-tip to Calculated Risk, and Trading for the masses.

Source: Financial Times.

Nice graphic design work as well. One wonders if a cumulative vie and a Dollar view would lend additional perspective.

29d73c76-473b-11dc-9096-0000779fd2ac.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)

A little inspiration from Jason Calacanis

Well done so far. Now that I am back on a Joe Bullis challenge I feel better too. I am not yet on a winning streak, but getting much better at this. With a bit of luck this week I'll be able to crack 215, then next week go for 212, etc. Maybe 3lbs a week is possible...
I suppose the main thing is keeping on keeping on, eating right, working hard...
Back to work...

185 -- or four things I've learned about losing weight.

US real estate charts - reports

Another great set of charts to pore over.

real estate charts - reports

YouTube - 10 Things I Hate About Commandments

Funniest thing I have seen and heard in quite some time :)

YouTube - 10 Things I Hate About Commandments

First pics of Britain are up

Lisa and I uploaded the first tranche of pics to flickr last night

Link: http://flickr.com/photos/lkdemik/sets/72157601133643431/

Real Simple's Tips on Storing Produce

This is a superb set of information, and a great way of presenting it as well.


They Call Me Mommy: Real Simple's Tips on Storing Produce

Relais de Venise

Lisa and I found this in London purely by chance, on a rainy cold evening, for a superb easy-going dinner. Highly recommended.

Relais de Venise

The Cork & Bottle Wine Bar

The Cork and Bottle is a very useful place to go in the tourist trap of Leicester Square. Best thing to eat is the raised Ham and Cheese Pie, especially with a nice glass of one of their wine finds; other food options here can be less inspiring... Can be crowded, but still worth a look.

Welcome to the Cork & Bottle Wine Bar, @ DonHewitson.com

Good Pub Guide Search

A recommendation for Rob Beeler on his forthcoming travels to the UK (and I don't mean the University of Kentucky). An indispensable way of getting some good options when traveling in the UK - and a great link to have on one's iPhone :)

The Good Guides to Britain

Envious of your movie-going

Sounds like a super movie, and an even better Dad!

Hoping you're doing OK :)

Candy Sandwich: The irony

ARM reset schedule

Now this chart is exactly what I've been looking for.

For all those I've talked to about the Real Estate market - here is one fundamental factor exposed.
Adjustable Rate Mortgage Reset Schedule (image)

YouTube - Dinner with Barack Obama

Astonishing to actually see this exists...

YouTube - Dinner with Barack Obama

Thinking of you Kristin

Wishing you well. Typing with fingers crossed...

Candy Sandwich: Me olvid�

Recommended Reading (or not): Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books - Azar Nafisi

Once again Lisa (Squire Harnett) makes me think differently about a book and about reading. Thanks Lisa :)

Recommended Reading (or not): Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books - Azar Nafisi

Finally Back at home

Got back from my month away in the UK. What a great trip we had. Hundreds of photos being prepped for a big flickr upload. Blog postings aplenty, etc. How lovely to be home as well. Heat, sunshine, both welcome :)

A Beginner’s Guide to Once-a-Month Cooking ∞ Get Rich Slowly

Interesting to try when I get back from vacation :)

A Beginner’s Guide to Once-a-Month Cooking ∞ Get Rich Slowly

Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG: Hasn't Sir Alan Sugar read Moneyball?

I like the idea of the older wiser person being of more value :)

Roll on 42! :)

Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG: Hasn't Sir Alan Sugar read Moneyball?

A game of inches - Joel on Software

I love this idea of dedication to incremental improvement. Maybe it is also an argument for dedicated product managers, and good bug tracking software Joel :)

A game of inches - Joel on Software

The Green Miles: Beyond Green Buildings: Excellence in Sustainable Architecture

We will sadly be too busy for this, but hopefully we can make the next one!

The Green Miles: Beyond Green Buildings: Excellence in Sustainable Architecture

Shop Once, Eat For A Week - Men's Health

This is interesting. Lisa and I were talking about a decent meal plan for the week - Maybe this is it?

Shop Once, Eat For A Week - Men's Health

What's Up Arlington: Big Read Architecture (Green) - Sunday

What's Up Arlington: Big Read Architecture (Green) - Sunday

This looks interesting. Maybe I'll use it to distract myself from wondering when Lisa will be back from NYC :)

The Housing Bubble Blog » A Record One-Month Price Decline

Back to the 70's. Nationwide New Home Prices report came out today.

Money Quote

“The median price of a new home dropped 11 percent last month, the biggest decline since 1970, to $229,100 from $257,000 a year earlier, today’s report showed.”

The Housing Bubble Blog » A Record One-Month Price Decline

Chris's Profile on traineo | Fitness & Weight Loss Community

I have started doing a decent log of my workouts at Traineo. I don't know if you will be able to log in and see it:

Chris's Profile on traineo | Fitness & Weight Loss Community

Crossing the Styx

Great to see Mike Kalyan blogging. Welcome Mike :)

Crossing the Styx

Travel: Get the best exchange rates for cash while traveling abroad - Lifehacker

Just another little note in preparation for our England and Scotland Trip.

Travel: Get the best exchange rates for cash while traveling abroad - Lifehacker

Superb Ride on the way to work today

Superb ride in this morning!

Perfumed air full of the bouquet of honeysuckle, tweeting birds, the rustle of leaves in the trees, and saved $5 to boot!

Sometimes the Custis Trail is just lovely. Picture Credit: Eye Captain at Flickr

The Housing Bubble Blog » Who Made This Mess?

The Housing Bubble Blog » Who Made This Mess?

An astonishing post about the current and possible future state of the mortgage industry.

Money quote from Duane LeGate, president of House Buyer Network, a specialist in short sales and foreclosure prevention:

If you took into account every person with a lawn care service on the side, there wouldn’t be a blade of grass left in the United States.

Fatblogging to the five minute mile

Fatblogging to the five minute mile

Good to see progress. I am down as well after 2 x 2 hour hikes over the weekend. Good luck all,

BITE # pubs and bars - beerintheevening.com

BITE # pubs and bars - beerintheevening.com

This could be a good way of finding nice pubs near where we are staying in the UK.

A Home That Heats and Cools Itself - Pogue’s Posts - Technology - New York Times Blog

A Home That Heats and Cools Itself - Pogue’s Posts - Technology - New York Times Blog

More on this interesting idea :)

Hybrid Solar House > Home

Hybrid Solar House > Home

Fascinating stuff as Lisa and I look at houses and potential homes.

Amazon.co.uk: Cool Camping: England (Cool Camping): Books: Jonathan Knight

Amazon.co.uk: Cool Camping: England (Cool Camping): Books: Jonathan Knight

This seems like a super book

Sonic Impact Technologies - iP22 Portable

Sonic Impact Technologies - iP22 Portable

Maybe we should get this for the UK trip?

Yay a new post!

Finally got around to fixing the cookies! Now perhaps I'll be able to friend's blog wonderfulness :)