Seth Weinstein predicts the fall, June, 2006

Sethe Weinstein, of Hannah Investment (or something – they do real estate development) rebuilt the Showboat Inn into the Delmar, transformed Stonington’s dilapidated waterfront and has done interesting, successful rehabs and renovations throughout Stamford, Fairfield and New York City. In short, he knows about real estate. So it’s interesting to see him interviewed here back on June 19, 2006 about the prospects for residential real estate. Among his predictions: there was too much construction in the New York metropolitan area, and too much inventory combined with too high taxes would make for a buyers’ market and even negative appreciation. He didn’t like Miami’s or Las Vegas’s prospects, either.

The most hopeful thing I’ve learned about Obama so far

From Esquire, Bill Richardson on his debate experience :

As I’m chatting with Obama, the moderator says, “Governor Richardson, what do you think of that?” And I look at him like a deer in the headlights. I was about to say that I hadn’t heard, when Obama puts his hand over his mouth and says, “Katrina.” So I gave my four-point plan on Katrina. When I was done and the debate moved on, I looked over and said, “Thanks, you’re okay.” He said, “Nothing to it, brother.”

I could learn to admire a man with that kind of class.

Macs still virus free

20 virus attacks a year vs. 20,000 – 30,000 per day for Windows, according to Forbes.

 Apple devices are safe “right out of the box.”

That sounds like a bold statement–but at least for now, it’s also true, say security researchers.

Even as Apple’s share of the computer market has risen, the incidence of viruses and Trojans has–surprise–gone down. In the last six months, Finnish cyber security firm, F-Secure, has detected 13 new samples of malicious software, or “malware,” targeting Apple’s OS X operating system.

By contrast, every day F-Secure pulls from the Internet between 20,000 and 30,000 new samples of malicious code aimed at PCs. “I can’t even calculate the percentage that targets Macs,” says Patrik Runald, a researcher with F-Secure. “It’s peanuts.”

I was told by a tech guru that Greenwich Academy switched to Macs some years ago because the kids kept wandering off the reservation with their Windows machines and bringing down the entire network. I don’t know if that’s true but I’ve used Macs since 1988 and never had a problem with viruses or worms or whatever the hackers dream up.

Kiwis don’t like bad news either

New Zealand real estate agents breaking bad news to sellers about their home’s worth. It’s getting nasty down under.

Can’t say I disagree

Hi Chris, I always read your blog and appreciate your viewpoint on all facets of ‘Greenwich life’ and otherwise. However, I worked at Merrill Lynch during Henry Blodget’s tenure (and demise) and find it amazing that anyone listens to him anymore. He was unethical, arrogant and…wasn’t he banned from the securities industy? Blodget was one of the people who gave Wall Street a bad name, which is a shame since most of us were early risers, hard workers and focused on making money for our clients first and foremost! There are lots of excellent financial journalists out there – let’s leave Blodgett where he belongs …. residing in the ‘where are they now’ pile of cast-offs.

Morgan Stanley/Goldman Sachs merger?

The two principals are wining and dining, it says here. If they do merge, Mssr. Blodget predicts that 49% of the combined workforce would become redundant. That’s a suspiciously precise figure, no?

Really?

NPR this afternoon announced that Barak Obama had named a “key figure in his administration”. Turns out it was Bill Richardson, appointed to be our next Commerce Secretary. I’m sure that Governor Richardson is a fine man and our country will be well served by him but “Commerce Secretary” and “key figure” seem to me to be mutually exclusive terms. Can you name our current Commerce Secretary? Without Googling? I can’t.