stewart penn: TESLA Motors - Encouraging News from this Electric Car Manufacturer
- 06/23/09 04:35 AM
Last month I blogged about Tesla - the all-electric car manufacturer. I was impressed by their first mass-produced highway-capable electric vehicle, the Tesla Model S. Yesterday, Reuters reported as follows: Los Angeles (Reuters) - Electric car start-up Tesla Motors Inc. has slashed production costs for its flagship Roadster sports car by 43 percent to about $80,000 per vehicle as of June, its chief executive said on Monday. This is great news for this fledgling company that is pioneering mass produced electric cars. Additional good news was announced last month - German luxury car maker Daimler (Mercedes Benz) paid about $50 Million for a … (11 comments)
stewart penn: The Mayonnaise Jar and Your Life
- 06/23/09 02:03 AM
Today I received an email with the story about The Mayonnaise Jar and Your Life. You may have read it before but I think it's worth reading again, and again! When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 Hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.He then asked the students, … (12 comments)
stewart penn: Record $15 Million "Fixer-Upper" - Frank Llyod Wright's Ennis House in Los Feliz
- 06/22/09 07:47 AM
Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House in Los Feliz has been listed For Sale with a record breaking $15 Million Price Tag. (Hilton & Hyland and Dilbeck Realtors have the joint listing). The significance of this unique listing is that in 1991 Frank Lloyd Wright was recognized by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time." The original house (measuring 10,000 sq ft) and chauffeur's house/garage were damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake and were red-tagged. In 2006 a FEMA grant was issued and together with a $4.5 Million bank loan, initial restoration efforts commenced and were completed in … (10 comments)
stewart penn: JetBlue - Now flying to and from LAX (Los Angeles International)
- 06/18/09 02:02 AM
JetBlue has announced the launch of two daily non-stop flights from LAX to Boston and New York (JFK). The New York based no-frills airline offers consistently good service at highly competitive prices. LAX joins JetBlue's two other L.A. Basin airports, Burbank and Long Beach, to offer more options and more value to coast-to-coast jetters. "JetBlue Airways is dedicated to bringing humanity back to air travel. We strive to make every part of your experience as simple and as pleasant as possible." "Even in these tough economic times, JetBlue is demonstrating that the path to recovery flies through Los Angeles," said Mayor … (4 comments)
stewart penn: Barry Manilow's Malibu Road Beach Home - Reduced to $10,900,000
- 06/17/09 01:25 PM
Barry Manilow's Malibu home has been reduced from $12,600,000 to $10,900,000. The property has been on the market for 131 days, according to the CLAW MLS. Originally purchased in 1999 for $3,000,000, the 3500 sq ft property has expansive coastline views. The 6969 sq ft compound is situated on one of the most sought-after and expensive roads in Malibu - Malibu Road. It's not unheard of for homes on this stretch of beach to change hands between $10 million - $27 million. The main house features 4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths, a two-story living room, media room and has a … (20 comments)
Since then I've kept my eye on The Zillow website and despite my reservations about their "Zestimates", I have to admit that the site does get significant traffic. So about 6 weeks ago when I was contacted by a sales rep from Zillow, I listened to what he had to say. He explained the advantages of being a paying advertiser on Zillow. He went on to explain how I could have a featured showcase ad when a visitor to Zillow's site searched the 90069 zip code (a major part … (26 comments)
stewart penn: California running out of $10,000 tax credits - CNNMoney.com
- 06/14/09 05:32 PM
CNN Money recently featured an article about the $10,000 tax credit available to California residents. The article stated that "The state set aside $100 Million to help home buyers purchasing newly built homes, hoping to jump start the moribund residential-construction market. But only about 20% of the pot is left." According to CA.Gov, the California Franchise Tax Board website, the number of applications received is significantly higher than the number of certificates for tax credits actually issued. So in effect there is almost $70 Million of the $100 Million still available to be allocated. CNN's article assumes that all applications (processed … (9 comments)
stewart penn: Bill Maher - Still saying it like it is ....
- 06/14/09 05:21 AM
I'm a huge fan of Comedian Bill Maher. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bill Maher is one of the smartest, wittiest and on-the-mark comedians around. He says it like it is and diesn't mince his words. Last Friday was no exception when he compared President Obama to Lindsay Lohan: "in the papers a lot but not doing very much." "This is not what I voted for," Maher said, arguing that Obama has maintained his personal popularity but failed to make real progress on health care, banks, or climate change.
stewart penn: Redfin Real Estate - Is Redfin really "a better way?"
- 06/12/09 08:30 AM
"Redfin is the industry's first on-line brokerage for buying and selling homes, half Century 21 and half E-Trade. This means we know when you want to use the web and when you want to talk to a real person. Our goal is to change the real estate game in consumers' favor by offering you more data, better-performing agents, and a significant commission refund" This is the bold statement on Redfin's website. This week I received a call from an out-of-town buyer who wants to buy a condo in Los Angeles. He found me through my on-line marketing and was impressed … (106 comments)
stewart penn: InsiderPages.com - Testimonials and Ratings
- 06/12/09 02:43 AM
A word-of-mouth referral is one of the best ways to grow one's Real Estate Business. Testimonials and recommendations are so important to enhance credibility and to ensure referrals from past clients. These are the best leads a Realtor can hope to receive. There's a great site called InsiderPages.com which allows business owners to request feedback and a rating from clients. It also allows you to rate other businesses, which in turn increases your online exposure. In this new age of maintaining a strong internet presence, InsiderPages.com is a great resource. … (9 comments)
stewart penn: RepealProp8.com - Repeal Prop 8 in 2010
- 06/12/09 02:28 AM
Proposition 8 was a California ballot proposition that was passed in the November 2008 general election which restricted "marriage" to couples of the opposite sex, effectively banning same-sex couples' right to marry. The California Constitution was changed to eliminate equal rights among all Californians. The validity of Prop 8 was challenged in the Supreme Court but the Court upheld Proposition 8 in a May 2009 ruling. As an American Citizen, Californian Taxpayer who happens to be a gay man, I believe Prop 8 is inheritenly wrong as it goes against the fundamental rights and freedoms upon which this country was … (23 comments)
stewart penn: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - Is it still relevant in 2009?
- 06/09/09 05:12 PM
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a theory in psychology proposed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation". I remember being fascinated by the basic logic of the theory when I first learned about it in school - it was so simple but it was so brilliant. While reading comments made by fellow ActiveRainers on my post "New iPhone from Apple", I became reflective when I read a comment by Mark McKenzie: "I really find these devices and their evolution very amusing. It seems like every year or so a new bigger and … (15 comments)
stewart penn: West Hollywood Condo Report - May 2009 versus May 2008
- 06/09/09 11:51 AM
WEST HOLLYWOOD CONDO REPORT: May 2009 versus May 2008 Average Selling Price: $545,000 / $582,000 - 6.3% decline Average List Price: $579,000 / $604,000 - 4.1% decline Median Price: $502,000 / $522,000 - 3.8% decline Total Sold in Dollars: $14,170,000 / $15,137,000 - 6.4% decline Number of Units Sold: 26 / 26 - no change Lowest Price Condo Sold: $265,000 / $326,000 18.7% decline Highest Price Condo Sold: $900,000 / $1,029,000 12.5% decline Average Days on the Market: 124 / 101 - 22% more time (Statistics extracted from The CLAW MLS and rounded off for ease of comparison. Statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed) … (4 comments)
stewart penn: New iPhone from Apple - It just keeps getting better
- 06/08/09 09:59 AM
Today, Apple launched it's newest and fastest iPhone - The iPhone 3G (S). The eagerly anticipated new iPhone has a few new features that were surprisingly not offered by the earlier phones. There's now a built-in video camera, voice activated controls, a compass, and enhanced messaging capabilities. Apple is also providing existing iPhone users with a free iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update. The new phone will have a 16-gigabyte model for $199 and a 32-gigibyte version for $299. Apple will continue to sell a second-generation iPhone 3G with 8 gigabytes of memory for $99 -- the cheapest price yet for the … (11 comments)
stewart penn: June Gloom in Los Angeles
- 06/06/09 04:42 PM
California, and more specifically Los Angeles, has some of the best weather in the country. Most days are sunny and warm. Winters are mild, Summers are hot without unbearable humidity. And, like the song goes: "(Seems) It never rains in Southern California". But June is different - we have "June Gloom" - a marine layer of fog. This weather pattern that results in overcast skies with mild temperatures during late Spring and early Summer causes cool foggy mornings, where the sky is grey until about midday. Eventually the low clouds "burn off" and there's a hazy sunshine. Some people find this … (5 comments)
stewart penn: Did you know you can operate Windows on your Mac?
- 06/06/09 02:43 AM
I have an iMac and a MacBook Pro - and I love them both. They're smart, dependable, and low maintenance. What's really great is that I can operate Windows-based programmes on my Macs. Did you know you could do that? The newer Macs include a utility called Bootcamp, that effortlessly allows the user to partition the computer's hard-drive and allow Windows to run on one of the partitions. It's important to note that you need Windows XP with Service Pack 2 to work your Mac. Forget about Vista and the other products that Microsoft brought to the market. Just stick with … (16 comments)
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