Life is a learning experience, and most of us could write a book about the things we've learned along the way. I have a few things I probably wouldn't put in my book of life lessons, but they are important things I've learned. Such as: Never feed a gaseous dog broccoli. TSA agents do not have
...
08/21/2012
"I'd like to speak with the manager." The young girl who took that message looked terrified. I'm sure a certain amount of concern ran through her mind. Most employees don't like to take those calls or have that question posed without some sense of where the next conversation is going to go. A
...
08/18/2012
One of the short comings of email and texting is that you don't have the privilege of looking the sender in the eye while they are communicating with you. I have often received an email from a colleague or client and thought, "Wow! That was curt, nasty or down right mean." Then, when I get tha
...
08/18/2012
This morning, I had the pleasure of meeting an appraiser I've never met before. We got together at 9:00 am to go over the house I have under contract and what a great guy he was. Ironically, he had called my contracting company this past Monday to explain that he had an electrical issue he crea
...
08/17/2012
I know why the Chinese used water torture to break inmates in the 15Th and 16Th century. The idea was to restrain an individual and slowly allow water to drip onto his forehead which supposedly caused him to go insane. The rate of the drip was varied to keep the victim off balance. This is exa
...
08/16/2012
Some sellers need a lot of coddling when they get the bad news that their house is not worth what they think it is. I have found that an appraisal will help some snap back into reality, but there are those who need a second opinion. So, I typically talk them into a home inspection to confirm th
...
08/15/2012
I've only had a few short term jobs for employers in my entire adult life, and most of them were while I was in college. The rest of the time, I've worked for myself in businesses and jobs I created, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have never had a guaranteed paycheck. That might sound
...
08/14/2012
OK, I have to admit that I married a nature weenie. My wife was the farmer's daughter, but you would never know it. She's not a big fan of the outdoors, critters, bugs, sweating, livestock, gardening and now snakes in the pool. My son dropped by today to take a swim and was greeted by a snake
...
08/13/2012
I don't know about you, but old age is starting to look scary. In the past week I've seen commercials about: catheters, Depends for those awkward moments, hearing aids that look like wireless phone ear-pieces, recorders to help me keep from losing my car, alert devices to call for help when I fa
...
08/12/2012
In this day of technology, the average Realtor has an amazing advantage over years past. I can't imagine not having access to the MLS online, my cell phone, web-based tools, blogging and contact management systems and so many other things. So, it's always stunning when I run into an agent who h
...
08/09/2012
