blogs: Reflections from Boomer’s Back Porch: Why are the Codgers™ Blogging on Active Rain?
- 02/24/07 12:32 PM
That is a question we’ve pondered more than once. We’re not real estate agents, lenders, stagers, appraisers, closers, or trainers (but we did sleep in a Holiday Inn last night). We used to help homeowners prepare their houses for sale, and new homeowners remodel their new homes—but age crept up on us, and we finally, regretfully had to retire from that as well. Why do the Raingods tolerate us? (Do you reckon a Raingod will read this post and offer an opinion?) We can’t offer any direct insights into improving your sales and marketing. We’re not blogging experts, and can offer no … (26 comments)
blogs: Thursday February 1ST on Boomer’s back Porch: NEW CODGER PRODUCTS INTRODUCED!
- 01/31/07 09:25 PM
It’s a brisk +/-0ºF (feels like -10ºF) on the back porch this fine morning. I’ve already had a sip or two from my Official Codger porcelain mug of organically & shade-grown, fair trade, Sumatran blend coffee, and my remaining synapses are firing in good order. Boomer, as usual has his attention deeply into the past, chronicling all those dead family members, Daisy & Medford are as usual beside me, whining about how cold it is—well Medford is. Today we release the February line of Codger Stuff! This month you only have 28 days to grab these soon-to-be-collector’s-items! DON’T WAIT ‘TIL … (7 comments)
blogs: Reflections from my Back Porch on a Warm Thursday Morning
- 12/20/06 09:27 PM
I can see the clouds approaching from the south, more ominous in the pre-dawn sky than what they actually represent. The main storm that hit Denver yesterday seems to be passing to the south of us. We remain unseasonably warm, and any snow we receive in the next couple of days will quickly turn to slush as the temperatures will remain above freezing. [Full Disclosure—Copied & Pasted From “The Weather Channel”] · Today: Cloudy with rain and snow showers. High near 40F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 60%. · Tonight: Periods of light wintry … (4 comments)
blogs: Reflections from my Back Porch Tuesday Morning
- 12/18/06 10:01 PM
It is +27F, and still this morning as I stand on my back porch with my (china, not stoneware) mug of coffee (gotcha—no description) warming my hands, and jump-starting my brain, making my synapses synapse. Today I made my first post exclusive to the group: “Codgers & Friends Conversations,” and I had heard such posts don’t qualify for points—darn—it’s true! Will that stop us—naw, the codgers and I are determined to have fun here, points or no. The “Old Men and Coffee Shops” series will now be exclusive to the group, but our “Reflections” series will remain right here, gentle … (18 comments)
Top Row: Jay Merton & Medford Ambrose (both re-drawn). Bottom Row: Carl McIntyre, Harold Peterson, & Fred Jaworski.
We are also considering the formation of a new AR group: “Codger & Friends Conversations” a niche group where conversation is encouraged, opinions are welcome, and the coffee is always fresh. To encourage free conversation, we believe all posts to this … (21 comments)
blogs: Old Men & Coffee Shops: Blatant Trolling for Comments or Active Rain Blog Marketing ?
- 12/14/06 09:08 PM
I didn’t linger long on my back porch this morning as the boys were assembling early at the café today for our daily meeting. It seems they actually read our posts, and have some concerns about the blog. “What is all this?” asked Harold the retired barber as I sat down at my usual place at out table, the one by the front plate-glass window, where during the summer months we might look out and comment on passers by. “What’s all what?” I replied, answering his question with a question. “This!” added Carl, the retired army sergeant-major, pointing at the screen … (11 comments)
blogs: Tuesday Reflections from my Back Porch—What happened to “REALTOR®” Teresa’s Face?
- 12/11/06 09:21 PM
A warm (39ºF), foggy, North Star State morning greeted me today as I stepped out on to the porch. I can linger a bit, and savor the warmth of my (china, not stoneware) mug of Kona blend coffee (I purchased a whole 1# bag, so I will have it for a while—good stuff, Maynard!). I spent the day yesterday knocking about with that old, retired Army sergeant-major, Carl—he’s a hoot to hang with! But some of what we experienced will constitute a whole post for another day (this is called a “teaser”—“story at 11”). WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO “REALTOR®” TERESA’S FACE? … (25 comments)
I am savoring my (china, not stoneware) mug of organically & shade grown, fair trade, French roast, coffee this fine Saint Paul morning on my back porch—the temperature under a clear & star-filled sky is 32ºF, with no wind—so I can linger here a bit. If you’re in my cyber-neighborhood, stop on by and have a chat! The coffee-maker is on, and the carafe is full of whatever coffee you might fancy on a fine Sunday morning. While you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and pay a visit to “Super-AR-Blogger-in-the-Making” the … (12 comments)
blogs: Reflections from my Back Porch, Friday, 8 Dec ’06
- 12/07/06 09:35 PM
It’s a balmy 11ºF with almost no wind, allowing me to remain on the porch with my (china, not stoneware) mug of (organically & shade grown, fair trade, Guatemalan roast) coffee warming my hands, and helping my brain fire on all synapses. Daisy did not spend the night here last night—she’s in the “dog-house” at her (as she calls it) “Boardmanpack” home, for her antics on the computer yesterday. I think I am in the dog house (a little) as well for not practicing computer security, and thus giving the little critter on-line access. I’m a little jealous of her, though. … (10 comments)
blogs: Decorating Our Blog for the Christmas Holidays
- 12/02/06 09:31 PM
by Jay Merton Maureen McCabe asked in her post, Real Town Bloggers: “Will you decorate your blog (s) for Christmas? Or ‘the holidays’?” Well, being the handyman, albeit retired, that I am, and encouraged by that ne’er-do-well techno-geezer, Medford I thought—why not? It can’t be too hard can it? I really should have answered that last question with a touch more thought than I did. The first thing I had to do was build it, and make it a reasonable facsimile of my bricks & mortar home (well—wood & nail home). Starting with a clean sheet of MS Word™ cyber-paper, and … (12 comments)
blogs: Reflections from the Back Porch, Friday, 1 Dec 2006, “Misfits, loosers and angry loners”
- 11/30/06 10:10 PM
This morning, Medford & I joined the “Misfits, loosers and angry loners” group, complete with the misspelled “loosers” (losers), a nice touch. We joined because Realtor® Teresa pointedly invited us in her focus statement: “Codgers are always welcome.” Although she did not send us an invitation, we were more than a little intrigued by the title. Opinionated old men (people, really) can be, and often are “misfits” ‘cause our opinions are often (quite happily) at odds with conventional wisdom. What an opportunity for us—a whole new venue to be cranky! The boys at the coffee shop will absolutely love this concept! … (13 comments)
I stepped outside on my back porch, as I do every morning, and was greeted by a +6ºF St. Paul morning—exactly as predicted. I may be old, but not stupid—my china, not stoneware, mug of organically & shade grown, fair trade, unpolluted with cream & sugar, coffee left safely inside my summer-kitchen/office, and cooling slowly-rather than the alternative. The codgers did meet yesterday, but try as I might, I could not edit together a cogent, humorous, timely-topical conversation. Fred refused to come out from behind his usual morning Pioneer Press, Carl only complained about his … (8 comments)
blogs: Reflections from the Back Porch, Tuesday PM 21 Nov 2006-IMHO, BBS, USNET, FAQ Et Al
- 11/21/06 12:22 PM
While reading some of the comments to various posts, I often come across the acronym: IMHO. I really hate to admit that I’m not exactly up on IM speak—so to speak—in kinda validates the opinion of some that seniors ar not with it—whatever it is. So I looked it up: IMHO: An abbreviation for “in my humble opinion,” this term is used in various online communications, such as e-mail messages or postings to newsgroups or BBSs; it usually appears in brackets like this: <IMHO>. Using this term is a way of making sure that others understand that you are merely expressing … (4 comments)
blogs: Friday Morning at the Coffee Shop—Funny Red Thing That Sneezed Outside the Window
- 11/17/06 11:20 AM
A pleasant, albeit cloudy, morning enveloped me as I walked to the coffee shop for my usual meeting with the codger elite. We were gathered at our table, the one by the front plate-glass window, each with his mug (china—not stoneware), filled with organically grown-fair trade-French roast-coffee, most without being polluted with cream & sugar—and Fred, buried behind his morning Pioneer Press. We were deeply engrossed in a spirited conversation about the latest goings-on at the city council when we heard first the rustle of a newspaper and then: “What th’ heck is THAT?” “It’s red,” answered Harold, the retired barber. … (7 comments)
blogs: Reflections from the Back Porch, Friday, Nov. 17, 2006
- 11/16/06 08:49 PM
Again on my back porch, this very-early morning, savoring my mug of hot, this time Guatemalan-fair trade-organically grown-coffee, and savoring the day that would soon dawn. As our loyal readership may have noted, we submitted no post (comments—yes) for your consideration on Thursday the 16th—it was kind of nice taking a day off. I received a new phone book the other day, one of several I receive each year. It’s still on my front porch. It’s still in the plastic bag. It hasn’t moved in three days. It’s not likely to. The last one arrived in July. After a week or … (15 comments)
blogs: Monday Morning on the Back Porch—For a Few Minutes
- 11/12/06 09:03 PM
My home-brewed coffee always tastes better, it seems, when encased in an old-fashioned china mug—not pottery, mind you—but china, with both hands wrapped around the mug for warmth, the vapor rising from the cup—take a sip, (just a sip, a brunt tongue does tend to muck up the experience)—and feel the coffee warming you to the soul—Ahhh, life is good, especially when you go back inside the warm house! Today we unveil our new weekday banner. I spent part of Sunday modifying the banner from our other site, the child-like drawings made entirely with the limited graphics capability of my old … (6 comments)
blogs: A CODGER REVIEWS COST OF OWNERSHIP –vs- SENIOR RENTAL HOUSING
- 11/11/06 10:10 PM
Edited by Jay Merton to protect Fred & Annie’s (not their real names) privacy. Parenthetical notes are mine. Jay asked us to review Lisa Dunn’s cost comparison schedules from her (post of 11/08/06). Annie and I sat down and plugged in our numbers. We had no idea what our home was worth, so we called Jay & Med’s friend (“REALTOR®”) Teresa Boardman and asked if she would tell us what our home would sell for. She came by, and we told her that we weren’t contemplating selling now, and explained why we wanted the figure. When she heard Lisa’s name she … (5 comments)
blogs: JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY
- 11/05/06 09:12 PM
Well, not exactly “manic,” its 4:20AM (CST), and I find myself standing on my porch enjoying the rather balmy 400F temp with no wind, and the quiet. The nearby thoroughfares, West 7th St, & Smith Ave, are still, or nearly so, as the City is only beginning to awaken. The day will dawn sunny, it appears. It was a fun weekend—in our blog-world, in the real world of preparing my urban estate for winter, and just getting out on foot into the neighborhood and visiting neighbors. In “Blog-World,” Medford & I thoroughly enjoyed our little “blog-war,” as Maureen Francis described it. … (7 comments)
blogs: WHADDAYA GOTTA DO TO EARN A "GOLD STAR?"
- 11/02/06 11:00 PM
After this morning's codger meeting, Medford & I removed to his place, and got to talking about AR's coveted "Gold Star" designation for featured posts. We are the recipient of one such award. We like gold stars! We really likethe bragging rights they give us with the codgers: "See, we told ya we could blog!" But what we don't know is the criteria for earning this coveted designation. We have submitted posts thatwe thought had more merit than the one that earned the star--and zippo--no comments--no nothin! Is it the time of day we post? Content relevance to the RE industry (we usually … (7 comments)
That is a question we’ve pondered more than once. We’re not real estate agents, lenders, stagers, appraisers, closers, or trainers (but we did sleep in a Holiday Inn last night). We used to help homeowners prepare their houses for sale, and new homeowners remodel their new homes—but age crept up on us, and we finally, regretfully had to retire from that as well.
;)
;)
