Long Tail – Calvin and Hobbes style. I am a sucker for anything Calvin and Hobbes.One of the best analogies regarding our current transportation morass.Rather than a seamless fabric stretching from the tip of Northern Virginia to the hem of Southside, the fixes being discussed in the legislature resemble a crazy quiltGrasping the obvious, referencing the proposed Biscuit Run development: (WINA link may not work, the story is titled, “City Councilors are urged to monitor the Biscuit Run project”Pfaltz says building thousands of new homes south of the city will affect Charlottesville traffic.
Date Archives September 2006
Correct attribution?
I cannot discern to whom attribution should be credited, but this thinking is one of my primary goals of every transaction with which I am involved. Just get it done, and get it done right.It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.- William James- Ronald Reagan- Harry S.
Wrapping up the recycling poll
Ok, so the “Poll of the Week” lasted slightly longer than a week.The question: How much would you be willing to pay for Curbside recycling?The clear winner (with 43% of the votes) was “I’ve never had to pay for curbside recycling in previous cities.” which was not one of the original selections and was added by a reader.Second place (23%) was had by “$5 a week,” third (14%) was “$10 a week,” and bringing up fourth (9%) was “I drive in to CVille everyday and recycle there for free.”… I wonder what political polls would look like if those polled were able to add their own answers, perhaps, “None of the Above?”I am befuddled and perplexed with the answer “I’ve never had to pay …” A better answer should have been “Recycling has always been a service provided by the local government, paid for with my taxes.”… I think this is an important distinction that (one of the many reasons) serves to dissuade private enterprise from making recycling a viable business.Recycling is something that is in greater demand from my clients. A “pulled from the air” analysis tells me that at least 50-60% of my clients either do or would like to do if it were readily available…. – Recycling is something that people would be willing to pay for as long as the cost is hidden from plain sight. Put your responsibilities in the hands of government and everything will be ok.The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it.
Trulia ups the ante
As promised, Trulia has released more comprehensive display of real estate data. The data’s not perfect (Crozet lists only 13 properties for sale, the MLS has 104 in the 22932 Zip Code. Using my educated guess-timation, there are probably at least 119 actively on the market) – but it’s much better than it was a few days ago. Nimble and creative private enterprise will out-innovate and out-deliver slower, large corporations (most MLS’) every time. It’s surprisingly difficult to find good, accurate and timely data anymore without digging more than time allows …
Popularizing your blog
Ripped from Pronet’s blog (all 5 tips are good):Teach don’t sellA lot of people are starting to blog because they want to make money. There is nothing wrong about making money or even blogging to make money, but try not to make a sales pitch in your blog posts. If you try to educate and teach people through your blog, it is possible that people will think of you as an authority in your industry which can lead to all kinds of great opportunities.If your blog’s sole purpose is to make money, readers will know and will shy away. Blogging to better oneself and one’s community will bring with it trust, credibility, and possibly/probably business. Relationships are built on trust.
Monday reading 09-25-2006
It’s far too easy to get a real estate license. This, from an Arizona point of view. Change the numbers a wee bit and the state to “Virginia” and I will just go ahead and say “ditto.”Ryan Homes pulls out of Old Trail…. I am still discerning what this means from a market point of view and second, my confidence in “the people” is heightened for some reason.I’ve said it before and I am sure that I will say it again – smaller, more efficient, smarter spaces are gaining traction. McMansions will be looked upon in the future with a sneer of derision.202 real estate blog posts in one day? They are nuts. Nuts I say!The Dinosaur speaks. Without resources such as Bacon’s Rebellion, many would never even know just who Sen. John Chichester is, and just how much influence he may have on our daily commutes.
Carnival at the Matrix
Jonathan Miller, blogger and New York blogger extraordinaire, hosts this week. He has broken the torrent down in an efficient manner for quality reading. Have fun!