Am I really doing this again? Shame on me. Its another MeMe post. - 12/29/08 04:10 PM

Me, aged 14, in Köln, Germany.
Last time I did one of these it took me a long time to get it finished.
Now that I think about, I still have the book MeMe laying about from Kristin Moran.  I better get to that one soon.  I guess that means I have to read or something (just kidding).  This MeMe is courtesy of Monica Vera.  If you want to learn the last seven things about me, feel free to read up on my weirdness.
Ok, on with the show.
I saw the Berlin Wall before it came down.  As you … (15 comments)

The Great ActiveRain Interactive Experiment - 12/26/08 09:56 AM
 
photo courtesy of YuviPanda
I wrote recently about commenting on blogs and had an idea this morning.
We all love to receive comments and some of us love to read them.  After writing the post, I kept thinking about how commenting on ActiveRain and other blogs I read has benefited me and the others who have started interactive conversations in the comments.  So the title of this post popped into my head.  I had a title, but what was I going to do with it?  I needed to use the title, that much I was certain of, but I had … (14 comments)

Christmas morning and the silence. - 12/25/08 04:04 PM

photo courtesy of infandum
There is that magic hour on Christmas morning, when the world goes silent.
Ever since I was a kid I noticed it.  Even when I was up before my parents, itching to tear in to that large box under the tree that I had no clue as to what it was.  There was always a moment or two...sometimes minutes, sometimes hours...where all was quiet.  I always respected that silence and even though I often broke down quickly and ran into my parents bedroom to force them out of bed so that I could play with my … (64 comments)

Dear George Bush Intercontinental Airport. - 12/23/08 07:42 PM

photo courtesy of Invisible Hour
As if flying wasn't traumatizing enough.
I've flown a lot in my 36 years.  By my last count, I have logged over 300,000 miles.  I forgot how many miles I've spent over the years on trips, so the estimate may even be a bit low - 300,000 are the miles I know I've flown.  Over all those flights, everything from puddle jumpers, to long haul commercial flights, even to a few private jets; I've come to realize something.  Flying is not fun.  When I was a kid, I loved the idea of getting on an … (5 comments)

Rivercenter Mall - San Antonio, TX is about to change - 12/23/08 07:14 PM

photo courtesy of Paul L McCord Jr
Rivercenter Mall in downtown San Antonio getting a new look.
Construction is underway for the new look for the Rivercenter Mall in downtown San Antonio.  In what is supposed to take up to five years, the Rivercenter Mall (or "Rivercenter" as its called locally), will undergo some updating, restyling, additions, and historical remodeling.  The first segment of the process will begin at the "lagoon" of the Rivercenter (Commerce Street) and is expected to take about 14 months to complete.  It is expected to house several upscale restaurants and the first tenant is Fogo … (3 comments)

San Antonio jumps at chance to renew waste into power. - 12/22/08 07:43 PM

photo courtesy of Mr. J Doe
A tweet by someone I follow showed me something I hadn't seen yet.
I follow a local here in San Antonio named @gharman who is a writer and journalist (who has his own blog, "harman on earth") and he's always full of interesting environmental tidbits and facts.  His own website sums it up best; "Dedicated to surviving the next hundred years in South Texas, with an eye to border & environmental justice."  I always enjoy his tweets although I haven't done much interaction with him, but today he sent out a tweet that caught … (6 comments)

Animal Defense League of San Antonio, TX. - 12/22/08 12:08 PM

photo courtesy of ittybittiesforyou
Animal Defense League of San Antonio, Texas.
In light of my recent posting about the stray cat living under my deck and the response to it, I thought I'd write a little about my favorite place in San Antonio for pets and the care for the animals that get left behind.  I'm speaking of the Animal Defense League.  I had never heard of the ADL when I moved to San Antonio, but thanks to Mike Osterhage and KSAT12 News, I quickly became familiar with them.  Every Thursday morning on "Good Morning San Antonio" at around 6:15AM, … (6 comments)

Lessons I'm learning from the cat under my deck. - 12/21/08 02:48 AM

image courtesy of g.originals
My wife and I have a tendency to find stray cats.
Since our last cat passed away, we have been noticing a little cat scooting about our backyard late at night.  Over time, we realized he was heading under the large deck in our backyard and assumed he must be living under there.  He was scared and jumped at any noise and headed right for his little lair of darkness.  Like we do every time we see a stray, we decided to name him ("Spaghetti Cat" was our choice) and started bringing out bits of food … (45 comments)

The Danger of Being Prolific? - 12/17/08 06:32 AM

photo courtesy of Old Shoe Woman
Recently I wrote more than normal.
Over the course of two days I wrote a little more than normal.  In those two days, I commented like mad and wrote 4 posts (2 a day) and even re-blogged one I thought more people should see (with permission of course).  I was feeling good about my recent uptick in activity and was even prouder of the content.  In all this good feeling (and flurry of commenting), I found true happiness in blogging.  I knew I liked it, but the sense of accomplishment I felt over those … (22 comments)

The world of Photosynth - imagine the possibilities. - 12/15/08 12:55 PM
I had watched in amazement when Photosynth was first revealed.
For those of you that haven't seen Photosynth before, let's start at the beginning (if you know what we're talking about, skip down a few lines). Photosynth is a project from Microsoft Live Labs that is absolutely mind-numbing. It takes photo viewing and video concepts to a whole new level. Watch this video from YouTube to see the concept and get an idea of what it does and once you've stopped drooling and saying "what the...?," let's get back to business.

What a cool toy.
After someone sent me the … (4 comments)

New inventory home released at KB Home's Woods Of Alon in San Antonio, TX. - 12/15/08 11:56 AM

2903 Zurich has just become available at Woods Of Alon.
"The Overland" floor plan from the Trails Collection of KB Home, this house has the optional fourth bedroom upstairs. A total of four bedrooms and three baths, an open floor plan connecting the kitchen, dining room, and living room in one giant living area, and spectacular views make this an amazing "move-in" ready home in the Woods Of Alon community. Check out the views of the lake available from almost all the downstairs bedrooms (including the master) and relax on the covered patio out back. While sitting out side, enjoy … (0 comments)

Should I list now or wait until spring ? - 12/14/08 09:23 AM
 
I usually try to stick to my own writing on my blog, but this morning I came across this post from Christopher and Stephanie Somers from Philadelphia.  The post says it is written as it relates to the Philadelphia real estate market, but in my opinion, it relates to just about everywhere and certainly to the San Antonio real estate market.  I think its sound advice for anyone looking to sell a home and applies to today, yesterday, and tomorrow as well.  Enjoy it and feel free to stop by their site to leave them some comments.
 
Via Christopher … (2 comments)

2009 shaping up to be a great year for construction in San Antonio. - 12/12/08 08:17 PM

photo courtesy of joelwillis
2009 is a great year to be in construction here in San Antonio, Texas.
New projects that will begin (or have already started) are all over our great city and with that comes jobs, population growth, and more tax revenue.  San Antonio's low cost of living, warm weather, short winters, and the work of various people through the city are bringing in new business and a need for expansion.  University Health System will begin work on the South Texas Medical Center and add a million square feet of space to the area (at the cost of … (5 comments)

A late night question on a friend's blog leads business to me. (or "What ARE-TEC did for me and my business.") - 12/09/08 08:23 PM

 
It was late at night and I was doing research on other Realtors' blogs.
I wanted to learn what made some of the people I admired tick.  I decided to randomly search out some blogs of agents I knew via Twitter and read through their work.  Learn from them.  Get to know what I liked and what I didn't like about their blogs as a consumer, so that I could better structure my site and blog to serve my visitors.  I actually do this quite often.  When I read through them I try to think like a consumer and … (8 comments)

KB Home's Woods of Alon releases new home to their inventory list. - 12/07/08 07:15 PM
A new home available for immediate move-in on Zurich at Woods Of Alon.
Recently I received news that another house at KB Home's Woods Of Alon community would be entering the market as an inventory home.  I will get some photos of it this week if possible to show you a sneak peak of it, but in the meantime, I thought I'd send the news out.  Its a gorgeous 1 and 1/2 story 4 bedroom home, right on the edge of the community's greenbelt.  The back of the home faces onto the greenbelt, as does the right side of the house, … (0 comments)

Sarah Palin - Governor or Genius Marketer? - 12/05/08 08:36 AM
Today I got a personal letter from Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska.
What could it be I wondered as I tore open the envelope.  I could see Obama or maybe even McCain sending me something, but the losing Vice Presidential candidate?  Didn't seem to make sense to me, but I was still curious.  Here's the front of the envelope...would you open it and wonder what was inside?

So I got inside and what was there?
Are you in suspense yet?  Inside was a letter, a letter from "Sarah" (as she signed it, we're on a first name basis these days).  … (59 comments)

The Stigliano Chronicles over at AgentGenius. - 12/03/08 09:39 PM
Its seems I've become obsessed by writing.
I write here, I write at AgentGenius, and I write in my sleep now.  As I've stated before, I love doing it.  It keeps me busy that's for sure.  I guess the reason I decided to write this post is that over the past few weeks, I've met a lot of new people here at ActiveRain and some of them don't know much more of me than what they read here.  I actually started my blogging "career" over at AgentGenius, when Benn and Lani asked me to write a series, title "The Stigliano Chronicles."  … (0 comments)

Community Center opens at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX. - 12/02/08 09:22 PM

photo courtesy of cliff1066
(the photo is of Brooke Army Medical Center)
Warrior and Family Support Center work completed.
A 12,000 square foot community center built for the use of families of wounded soldiers, at the cost of $5 million, is finally finished.  What started as a simple room in the post's guest house became a great gift to these soldiers families as builders, contractors, and donors gave time and money to complete the project.  The center first opened in 2003 at 1,200 square feet, but as the war grew in scope (and sadly, injury to soldiers) and the families … (0 comments)

San Antonio's downtown growth. - 12/02/08 08:53 PM

photo courtesy of paulwoolrich
There are still many opportunities in downtown San Antonio.
Stephen W. Yndo's recent report states there will be as many as 1,813 new residential units by 2011 in downtown San Antonio and areas just north of the city.  With a recent rise in number of urban-dwellers, San Antonio's downtown areas, could see some changes coming.  With many projects already in the works; including the old Pearl Brewery, St. B's (located at the site of the former St. Benedict's Hospital), Judson Candy, Altexa, Vistana, and Vidorra.  Several more projects are being started next year and 2010.
Since … (0 comments)

Your last chance to see it until 2052! - 12/02/08 04:53 PM

photo courtesty of jmtimages
If you're anything like me, you occasionally look up into the night sky.
Recently, while out on the deck with my wife feeding the strange cat that lives in our backyard, my wife and I noticed two very bright lights in the sky near the crescent moon.  We began to wonder what the lights were (aliens spacecraft was my first thought, but she shot that theory down) and couldn't stop thinking and wondering about them.  She offered the theory of the North Star, but they were out of place and there's only one North Star.  I … (6 comments)

GE Security announces timeline for Blackberry eKEY and makes special offer. - 12/01/08 08:44 PM

image courtesy of misterjt
I'm a Blackberry user.  I've got too much stuff in my pockets.
As a user of a Blackberry and a real estate agent, I often find my pockets crammed with stuff.  Keys, wallet, business cards, gum, my phone, my eKEY...you get the picture.  Sometimes I wish I could carry a purse, at least then I'd have room for more.  I guess I could carry one, but I think people might find it a bit strange to see.  Oh well, that's not the issue here.
Blackberry and GE Security eKEY have announced the eKEY Fob.  They actually … (11 comments)

If you love Spaghetti Cat, you'll love this. - 12/01/08 08:13 PM

Spaghetti Cat has become a legend.
If you haven't heard of Spaghetti Cat (or "SC" as he's come to be known by many), you probably haven't been surfing the web nearly enough or watching "The Soup." In what started out as an innocent and odd appearance of a cat eating spaghetti on a television show, SC sightings have taken over the nation. I for one am obsessed with Spaghetti Cat (even naming the strange cat that lives under our deck after him) and once you see him, you will be too.
So a friend sent me the video you see … (2 comments)