Gloves, gloves, gloves... - 10/31/11 12:10 PM
What with the weather getting cooler here in the Midwest, and downright frightful on the east coast, i thought I would wax poetic a bit about a favourite winter garment. (and thank you Tammy Langford Baker, for the inspiration).
Gloves, Gloves, GlovesGloves, Gloves, Gloves
There's something you can wear that's lots of fun.There's warm fingers galore when you are done.It can be difficult but if you wiggle you can get them all in place.It's easy.

It's one thing you can wear that you can wave.From frostbite your fingers can be saved.You don't want them to be blue and brittle do … (18 comments)

Halloween in Evanston and the North Shore - 2011 - 10/30/11 04:12 PM
For those moms and dads who are wondering when the official time for the City of Evanston's trick or treating is... the city's website lists the official date/time frame as Monday October 31st, from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
So send the little ones (and some of the big ones) out in their costumes, door-to-door, to "ahem" collect for the good cause (hey, those dentists still need clients ... fluoride is quickly putting them out of business).  Make sure to check their "take" when they come home to make sure everything is safe. 
Personally, I think that any snickers bars are unsafe, … (10 comments)

I've never been more happy to hear that. - 10/27/11 05:32 PM
I admit to not being 100% sure what they're trying to say here.
This is from a listing in our MLS, and I think they're trying to tell us that this listing doesn't require adult diapers?
Good to know, right... 'cause that's a major concern, when dealing with foreclosures these days!
… (23 comments)

Warren Buffett for president? - 10/26/11 05:19 PM
There's an e-mail that's been running viral on the internet, popping in and out of virtual mailboxes across the country.  It's been attributed to Warren Buffett, so I checked on Snopes.com, and sure enough it actually was something that Warren Buffett said in July in an interview with Becky Quick of CNBC.  The gist of his comments follow, along with some of my own personal commentary.  Why do I get to post any of my own comments alongside Warren's??  Cause it's my blog, that's why!
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law … (38 comments)

Are you a twit? I am! - 10/25/11 09:53 PM
I've always considered twitter to be a young person's game.
I've never understood the value of Twitter... why on earth would someone care to know (in 140 characters or less) where I am, and what I'm doing?
"I'm at Starbucks drinking a frappucino" (who cares?)
"I'm riding the train" (so what?)
"I'm at a closing" (well, I know why I'm interested, but have no idea why anyone else, other than my wife, would care about that).
Today, I attended a class conducted by Karen Arenson, the techy managing broker of one of our local Coldwell Banker offices (actually two of them).  … (40 comments)

Siri-ously. - 10/24/11 03:56 PM
I have been absent from Active Rain (as well as many other places) for the last several days, not purposely, but because on Saturday morning... I managed to be one of the few who was able to reserve a Sprint i-phone 4S.
That's right... Siri and I are like this [holding up two fingers intertwined].
I am a serious Macaholic, so this seemed like the appropriate step for a Mac Junky, and while most Apple products (if not all) are fairly straightforward, and in keeping with their world-famous motto: "The computer for the rest of us"... (indicating that they're simply and … (24 comments)

The evolution of the Spammy Spamsters. - 10/21/11 11:15 AM
The spammy spamsters have become a little more subtle.
(and yes, I have blurred out their website... I have no interest in helping further their cause)
In addition to their 12 inch posts advertising the benefits of purchasing Nike sneakers, Nike hoodies, Nike visors, Nike thong, and possibly a pair of True Religion underwear, they have now branched out into a smaller, less noticable post, only a few lines long advertising how advantageous it is to work from home on the internet...
So... what can we do?  We can report them, and get points, points, points for it.
Just yesterday, … (50 comments)

Hey, where ya goin? Stand and defend yourself, ya smarmy marmot! - 10/19/11 01:39 PM
There are a handful of folk, here in the rain, who like to comment controversially on many posts.
I have been the recipient of a few.  I'm not complaining about that, mind you.  I can handle a controversial comment, as long as it's presented politely, quietly and logically.  I won't respond to angry, ugly comments, in fact I've been known to delete a few of them... (although I much prefer to call attention to them, and allow them to look like bungholes themselves by allowing their comment to hang there in mid-air for all the cyberworld to see)...
But there are … (31 comments)

Augmented Reality - 10/18/11 06:02 PM
In an article this morning, the Chicago Tribune talks about augmented-reality.  A term not that familiar to the average person, including some tech-heads.
What the heck is 'Augmented Reality'?... No, it's not something achieved by a Hollywood plastic surgeon, and a couple of synthetic baggies... it refers to a newer technology some of us have seen as part of apps like "Google Goggles".  You point your smart-phone (or smart-device, such as an ipad, or some other tablet) at a street scene, and it "augments" the image with additional information, such as the street address, the names of businesses, and perhaps the … (78 comments)

The true adventures of Spam Assassin! - 10/18/11 10:04 AM
There has been a wild proliferation of spam, here in the rain, recently.
Many featured posts have been inundated with comment after comment toutin the virtues of pillmalls, nikehangouts, and lots of other shopping venues, that undoubtedly would take your money.
These strange visitors from another network, have come to Active Rain with links and offers beyond those of mortal bloggers.
Now, Spam Assassin, who can change the course of mighty conversations, bend tootsie rolls in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Alan May, mild-mannered blogger for a great metropolitan social network, fights the never-ending battle for truth, justice and … (45 comments)

The time you saw only one set of footprints, was the time that I carried you... (with Muddy Boots). - 10/17/11 11:36 AM
That season is upon us (for those of us located in northern climes, where the seasons actually change)... the leaves have changed, the temperatures have dipped, and it's bound to be followed by beautiful crystals that fall from the sky and must be shoveled away in the bazillions.
As real estate agents, we show lots and lots of homes. And as listing agents we wait for calls from our sellers telling us that:
"They didn't take off their shoes in the foyer, and tromped footprints all over my clean floors, or all over my freshly cleaned carpeting.  There were dirty footprints … (104 comments)

Added Value or Sleazy Bribery? - 10/13/11 11:36 AM
So... a hypothetical for y'all.
You are the owner of an apartment building as well as a Realtor.  You tell all of your tenants, that one of the benefits of living here is that if/when they decide they'd like to purchase a home, you'd be available to assist them with that.
Oh, and an added benefit would be that you'd allow them to stay as long as it takes to find and close on their new property.  They could break their lease eariy, or extend it on a month-to-month basis, as long as they use you as their agent.
So... is … (210 comments)

Who are we hiring today? - 10/11/11 04:27 PM
I just had an interesting conversation with our Regional Director, who spent the last couple of hours in a meeting reviewing online media (such as Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, YahooRealEstate.com)...
He told me that in that meeting they did a "Who are we hiring today?"  
They do a little exercise, and pretend they're a buyer or seller, just wandering through one of these websites in search of a Realtor.
Since they were sitting here in my office, using the big flatscreen on the wall, they went to Trulia and punched in Evanston, IL, and then they punched in "find a pro".
… (71 comments)

MagicPlan - 10/10/11 11:13 AM
In our morning meeting an agent brought up a new "app" for your iphone, that I thought was worth sharing.
For those of you with i-phones (it appears to be only available for i-phones, at the moment, as it required a device with a gyroscope) it's a very cool little application.
It's called Magic Plan, and it will create a floor plan for your listings, just by using your i-phone.  You stand in the middle of the room, and turn and face different directions... and push a handful of buttons, and then it creates a digital floor plan that you can … (75 comments)

Kol Nidre - All vows - 10/08/11 04:08 PM
All personal vows we are likely to make, All personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this day of Atonement and the next day of Atonement we publicly renounce.
Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, Null and void, neither firm nor established.
Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.
May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are at fault.
May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their … (16 comments)

When worlds collide - 10/05/11 05:25 PM
While I was waiting for my car, today, at the dealership, there was an older man standing, also waiting for his car.
(I have to be very careful when saying "some older man", cause he probably was thinking the exact same thing about me).
He was hunched over, and seemed kinda not-paying-much-attention, his posture stating his age, more than anything else.
As we were waiting the service manager came up to him and told him that they were washing his car, and would have it ready shortly... and that they'd scheduled his next "service" for two weeks from today.
He nodded … (48 comments)

Requiem for a Dream (or a nightmare?) - 10/04/11 08:56 PM
I just learned, through Pat and Wayne Harriman, that Redfin has taken down their controversial Scouting Report, saying that it was too inaccurate to stand the scrutiny, and that without accuracy, it tainted the entire program.
Here is their post about it.
I have mixed feelings about it.  The Scouting Report.... A scouting report of some kind is a great idea for the public.  Something of it's type should exist... it would be a boon for consumers to check on an agent's production.  Granted, it's a sword that cuts both directions, but this type of information, in my opinion, should be … (45 comments)

Benevolent-Transparency-Bringers? I don't think so! - 10/02/11 11:02 AM
Well, now that the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled from the "shot heard round the real estate world", as Redfin announced that they are now publishing the sales statistics of every agent in the marketplaces they serve in a format called a Scouting Report.
You can go on Redfins' website and view the Scouting Report without even the need to register on their site.  So they're not even cloaking this one in "they're our clients" camouflage as they did when they allowed their agents to "review" other agents and agencies listings.
It's a controversial move, to say the … (109 comments)

 
Moviealan Ambassador_large

Alan May, Coldwell Banker Realtor® Evanston, Illinois & Northern Suburbs

Evanston, IL

More about me…

847.425.3779 almay@aol.com

Address: Attn: Alan May, Realtor®, 2929 Central Street, Evanston, IL, 60201

Office Phone: (847) 425-3779

Cell Phone: (847) 924-3313

Email Me



Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog