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How Many Megabytes Does Your Brain Hold? (video)

(If you can't see this video, click here.)

10 Words That Say, "I Love You" [infographic]

How do you say, "I love you"? On Valentine's Day some of us say it with flowers, balloons, cards, candy, coffee mugs, candlelight dinners, overnight stays, etc. But there are more ways to say, "I love you," than these.

I was brainstorming to come up with a list of words that probably aren't at the top of our minds when it comes to expressing love, but they are ways we say it, nevertheless.

See if you agree with...

(click image to enlarge, then in new browser tab or window click again)

Recipe for a Real Estate Recovery [infographic]

A History of Real Estate [infographic]

Source: Real Estate Almanac - History by Year

Trip to Italy (pictures)

(click pictures to enlarge)
(Monaco; Florence; Arno River, Italy)
(David, Leaning Tower of Pisa)
(Florence; Adriatic Sea; Croatia)
(Venice; St. Mark's Square; Venice)
(Venice; Venice; Sicily)

7 Protections Against Misjudgment

A misjudgment.

It's what happens when you have a specific set of data (circumstances) and you judge it to mean such and such ~ and so you proceed based on what you thought it meant only to find out later you were wrong and so now you're in a mess.

For example I see a "smile." A "smile" to me means there's happiness there. Right? (That's what a "smile" means.) And so I judge that all is well with the individual who's smiling and so I can just pass him by, wave "Hello" and go my merry way without any problems. Agree? Except the "individual" with the "smile" happens to be a "licking his chops because he hasn't eaten in a week" Grizzly Bear. (Youch!)

That's misjudgment.

And we may not be making that level of mistake in our judging (let's hope so), but I'd like to suggest that we make misjudgments all the time at a lower level and they can add up.

And so how can you protect yourself from misjudgment? I think by practicing the following...

7 Protections Against Misjudgment:

1. Realize you're susceptible (it happens some time to everybody).
2. Dig deeper by asking questions (seek out more evidence to go on).
3. Don't be afraid to see what you see ("Pooh Bear" versus Grizzly Bear).
4. Get somebody else's input on the matter (a "second opinion").
5. Sleep on it (allow time before you proceed).
6. Stay healthy and sober (helps with alertness, discernment).
7. Forgive yourself when you fall prey and commit to doing better.

You might also be interested in:

• 7 Clues That Somebody's Lying
• 7 Ways People Get Fooled

Parable of the Jogger

I am a jogger. That's me jogging at Christmas time in the clickable picture (or a very skinny Santa!). I get up in the morning and I run. (Not every morning. I'm getting older.) I've been running now for well over three decades.

I've run in the day. I've run at night. I've run in the rain. I've run in the snow (deep snow). I've run in the heat (100s+). I've run in extreme cold. (I think 17 degrees in downtown Minneapolis is still the coldest. We've had some lower 20s that I've run in here in the foothills towards Yosemite.)

I've run when I felt good. (I like those days the best.) I've run when I had a pulled muscle in my leg (ouch). I've run with a twisted ankle (double ouch). I've run with a sore neck and bad back. (I know. I should have taken those days off.) I've run and fallen down. (I pride myself on not falling, but it happens.) I've slipped on ice and landed on my rear. (Ooo. I can still feel that one.) Another time I dislocated my shoulder in a fall in a field where no one could hear my calls for help. ("Can somebody please help me? Somebody?")

I've been chased by dogs (including ravenous chihuahuas). I've been bothered by drivers getting out of their cars. (I won't go into that.) I've seen dead deer (road kill). (I had to break the news to one person about their cat lying crushed in the street. I hated that.) I've even been hit by a truck that ran a stop sign. I know it sounds crazy. (Thankfully, I saw it coming.)

There are just a ton of analogies from a jogger's experience (mine) that relate to real life (mine, too).

And we don't always "feel good", but we must keep going (living our lives, staying engaged, not checking out, aspiring to greatness). Right? And even when the snow is deep and the cold is extreme, we must keep going. And even when our ankle is twisted, our neck is sore and our back is bad, we must keep going. When we fall down, we must keep going. When no one can hear our cries for help (/listens to us), we must keep going. When we're being chased (by "barking" circumstances), we must keep going. When we're "bothered" (sometimes by people, too), we must keep going.

Were you about to give up?

You might also be interested in:

• 7 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Give Up (either)
• When We're Coming Apart at the Seams

Trip to Mount Rushmore (pictures)

(click pictures to enlarge)

Bad or Good? (a discussion)

(I asked my wife and a friend to read this before posting it "live." They gave me the green light.)

Good versus bad. Bad versus good. We deal with it every day.

Stock market goes up. Good. Stock market goes down. Bad. Traffic light is green. Good. Traffic light is red. Bad. Slept all night. Good. Had insomnia instead. Bad. (I'm grumpy today because of it.) Got the job. Good. Given the boot. Shown the door. Thrown under the bus. Bad. Bad. Bad. (I love all those analogies except when they're about me.) Hair turns out right. Good (hair day). Hair turns out wrong. Bad (hair day). It can be just about anything that is good or bad at any time, any place and for any one of us. Isn't it true?

But is good always "good" and bad always "bad"? (is really the point I want to talk about) Or is good sometimes "bad" and bad sometimes "good"?

I was out with my friends. I'm not proud of what we were doing, but we ended up in a car chase with the police. (Some of your eyes are bugging out. Who Mike? Yes, Mike.) We entered the parking lot of a store. My friends jumped out of the car and ran. Me? I couldn't get out (the seat wouldn't go up). I was stuck in the back of the car. (Good? Bad?) The cops came up. They drove past the car (with me stuck in it) and went after my friends. (Good? Bad?) I was finally able to get the seat up and get out. I looked and saw my friends getting arrested. Me? I was able to get away. (Good? Bad?)

And I guess if you're wanting to be a crook, it was "good" what happened to me. Being stuck in the car was "good." Having the cops speed by instead of stopping was "good." Getting away while my friends got caught was "good." On the other hand, it was all "bad" (being stuck in the car, having the cops speed by instead of stopping, getting away while my friends got caught) and it was all "bad" because I just might have been prevented from some of the other stupid things in my life if I'd gotten arrested, too. You'll be interested to know that I have (and did) come around.

And so sometimes good is "bad" and bad is "good." (Do you see that?)

And as it has to do with us who are law-abiding citizens (I'm including myself), some food for thought: Maybe it's not such a bad thing that's happening to you after all?

You might also be interested in:

• Pressure (Stopped by a Cop)
• There’s No Place Like Home

Beardsley Lake (3 pictures)

(click pictures to enlarge)

Snow in May? (Pictures to Prove It)

(click pictures to enlarge)

Test Your Knowledge of Easter

We took tests on Thanksgiving and Christmas (click both links to view). Do you remember? So why not one for Easter? Are you pretty up on things surrounding this celebrated day? Let's find out (answers below and page links to where answers were gained)...

1. Each Easter Americans buy the following amount of Marshmallow Peeps shaped like chicks, bunnies and eggs (of which yellow is the #1 color chosen):

(a) 7 million;
(b) 70 million;
(c) 700 million;
(d) 80 million.

2. The day of Easter varies from year to year. How is the date determined?

(a) mark 12 weeks from Christmas, multiply that by 3, then divide by 2;

(b) 7 possible dates are taped to a wall. The Pope then plays pin the tail on the donkey;

(c) it is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the blue moon that takes place on or after the vernal equinox of March 21;

(d) it is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon that takes place on or after the vernal equinox of March 21.

3. What percentage of Americans believe that Jesus rose from the grave after having died?

(a) 100%;
(b) 75%;
(c) 50%;
(d) 25%.

4. Among other things, the use of eggs on Easter stands for:

(a) the start of Spring;
(b) new life;
(c) an empty tomb;
(d) fruitfulness.

5. The bunny as a symbol of Easter is believed to have its origins in:

(a) Germany;
(b) Italy;
(c) Israel;
(d) America.

6. In its infancy Easter was celebrated on changing days of the week. Which political figure ruled that Easter must fall only on a Sunday?

(a) Henry the VIII;
(b) Julius Caesar;
(c) Constantine;
(d) Cleopatra.

7. The first one to see Jesus alive on Easter Sunday was:

(a) an angel;
(b) Pontius Pilate;
(c) the Virgin Mary;
(d) Mary Magdalene.

Answers: 1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (b) 4. (b) 5. (a) 6. (c) 7. (d)

(This test was developed and based on information from the following websites: The Christian Post, Easter - 123Holiday.net, Easter Candy Facts, Easter Egg - Wikipedia, Easter Bunny History, and Bible Gateway and The History of Easter.)

County Sales and Price Activity Report (Feb 2011)

(To view document, click picture or HERE)

10 Words That Say, "I Love You" (plus one bonus)

How do you say, "I love you"? On Valentine's Day some of us say it with flowers, balloons, cards, candy, coffee mugs, candlelight dinners, overnight stays, etc. But there are more ways to say, "I love you," than these. I was brainstorming to come up with a list of words that probably aren't at the top of our minds when it comes to expressing love, but they are ways we say it, nevertheless. See if you agree with...

10 Words That Say, "I Love You":

1. Smile
2. Praise
3. Touch
4. Kiss
5. Hold
6. Hug
7. Help
8. Care
9. Bless
10. Together

BONUS: Sorry

20 Hours of Snow in 38 Seconds (video)

Thanks Michael Black

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (video song)

Real Estate 12 Days of Christmas

(First release Christmas 2007) And so what if it was a real estate agent who wrote: "The Twelve Days of Christmas?" Might it have gone a little like this (don't forget the melody)...

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

Twelve escrows closing

Eleven lenders lending

Ten qualified buyers

Nine ripe referrals

Eight listing agreements

Seven sensible sellers

Six accepted offers

FIVE DAYS IN MAUI!

Four contracts signed

Three walkthroughs

Two no admin fees

And a new client with some money!

Have a Merry Christmas, everybody!

December Rainbow

(click picture to enlarge)