Darien Real Estate Slows in Last Week of 2015

Best wishes...

All the best for 2016.

Darien's residential real estate market slowed in the last week of  2015 ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- One new listings of property for sale;

-- No price changes;

-- No accepted offers;

-- No properties going under contract, and

-- Two closings.

For more: 

Buying Tip: Go For the Men's Version

Pay less...

Look for the men's version for a better price.

Radio Flyer sells a red scooter for boys and a pink scooter for girls. Both feature plastic handlebars, three wheels and a foot brake. Both weigh about five pounds, Danielle Paquette reports on washingtonpost.com.

The only significant difference is the price, a new report reveals. Target listed one for $24.99 and the other for $49.99, she wrote.

The scooters' price gap isn't an anomaly. The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs compared nearly 800 products with female and male versions — meaning they were practically identical except for the gender-specific packaging — and uncovered a persistent surcharge for one of the sexes. Controlling for quality, items marketed to girls and women cost an average 7 percent more than similar products aimed at boys and men, Paquette reported.

For more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/22/women-really-do-pay-more-for-razors-and-almost-everything-else/

Photo: Shoppers in Galeries Lafayette, Paris, from Pinterest.

Stunning: NASA's Latest Earth Shot From Space

New view...

Blue beauty.

NASA has just released its latest photo of Earth from lunar orbit, offering a stunning new view of the planet.

It is the latest in a series of Earth photos from space, dating to 1968 when NASA's famous Earth-rise shot was taken by astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission.

CNN's Armara Walker recently talked with Astronomer Robert Zimmerman about the photos and more in an interesting video: http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/12/25/iconic-1968-earthrise-photo-robert-zimmerman-interview-walker.cnn

Photo: NASA

A Sneak Preview of 2016

Looking ahead...

What's in the future?

Journalists get nervous when you ask them to predict the future - after all, the predictions we remember best tend to be the ones that completely miss the mark, bloomberg,com reports.

And yet, thinking about what could happen in the future is part of human nature, and sometimes it can even be fun. So, risking great personal and professional humiliation, 30 Bloomberg reporters have given their predictions for what will happen in the year 2016, the news service added.

For their thoughts:  http://bloom.bg/1WIy3MV

Gifs: Pinterest.

Kicking Off the New Week With a Smile

Fun ahead...

Shouldn't be a surprise.  People were even singing about it a few days ago.

Kick-off the new week with a smile: 

   -- GEICO: Spy and Mom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDP9KYXkfzs

   -- The Hartford: When the Unexpected Strikes:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plmEXVVdYjU

   -- Bike Rider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP-hhieRKG0

   -- Progressive: Swag:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG4tLPtAMcE

   -- GEICO: Countdown:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSE4DsEFmKo

Photo: Google.

Musical Moments: Handel's Messiah

Merry Christmas...

A remarkable photo of a magnificent place to accompany today's musical masterpiece.

Handel's Messiah, a classic for the holiday season: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2048262210690389164#editor/target=post;postID=6747464153737253988;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname

Photo: 

The Baroque Baldachin or altar canopy and St. Peter's Chair created by Bernini in the 1600s for St. Peter's Basilica from Pinterest.

Darien Wraps up Quiet Holiday Real Estate Week

Merry Christmas...

A long winter's nap.

Darien wrapped up a quiet residential real estate holiday week today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

 -- No new listings of property for sale;

 -- No price changes;

 -- One accepted offer;

 -- One property going under contract, and

 -- Five closings.

For more: 

Gif: tumblr.

For Calvin’s poem in larger type:

Christmas Eve

On window panes the icy frost

Leaves feathered patterns crissed and crossed.

But in our house the Christmas tree is decorated festively

With tiny dots of colored light that cozy up this winter night.

Christmas songs, familiar, slow, play softly on the radio.

Pops and hisses from the fire whistle with bells and choir.

My tiger is now fast asleep on his back and dreaming deep.

When the fire makes him hot,

He turns to warm whatever’s not.

Propped up against him on the rug,

I give my friend a gentle hug.

Tomorrow’s what I’m waiting for.

But I can wait a little more.

Miracles Really Do Happen During the Holidays

Santa's gifts...

Flying high.

For a great story about how some nice people gave some folks a very Merry Christmas:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIEIvi2MuEk

Pinterest: gif.

How Santa Showed up on NORAD's Radar 60 Years Ago

Where's Santa?

NORAD's operations center, Colorado Springs, around 1961.

Sixty years ago this month an Air Force officer unwittingly started a Christmas tradition that continues to this day – NORAD's annual tracking of St. Nick on his worldwide rounds, Michael Beschloss reports on nytimes.com.

For more, including how even President Kennedy reassured a Michigan girl during the Cold War that all was well at the North Pole, according to Beschloss: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/upshot/how-santa-claus-ended-up-on-us-militarys-radar.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone

To track Santa: http://www.noradsanta.org/

Photo: tumblr.

Santa will soon be on his way.

Photo: Pinterest.

A Great Last Minute Gift Idea May be on the Way

Down the road...

Look, Ma.

Looking for what could be a great last minute gift idea?

Here’s the story of an item that may be coming down the road sooner than we think.

For a neat report and video by Ashlee Vance, Peter Bohler and David Nicholson:  http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-george-hotz-self-driving-car/

Photo: Bloomberg.com/google.

Where Did Santa Come From?

Ho, ho, ho...

Santa making Christmas merry.

Any kid can tell you where Santa Claus is from—the North Pole. But his historical journey is even longer and more fantastic than his annual, one-night circumnavigation of the globe, Brian Handwerk reports on nationalgeographic.com.

The modern American Santa was born in the Mediterranean, evolved across northern Europe, and finally assumed his now-familiar form on the shores of the New World. Who is this Santa, and how did he get here?

I especially like this story because it turns out jolly Old St. Nick is buried not far from where I was stationed in Italy while in the Air Force.

For more: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131219-santa-claus-origin-history-christmas-facts-st-nicholas/?utm_source=hootsuite

Santa gif: Pinterest.

Musical Moments: Christmas Canon

Holiday favorite...

Ready for the holidays.

A holiday favorite, Christmas Canon by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cP26ndrmtg

Photo: Pinterest.

Accepted Offers, New Listings Lead Latest Darien Real Estate Results

Weekly update...

Tis the season

Six accepted offers and five new listings led residential real estate results in the week ending today.

Other results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

   -- One price change;

   -- No properties going under contract, and

   -- Three closings.

For more: 

Traditions Make the Holidays Memorable

Old favorites...

Hi there.

The winter celebrations are upon us, bringing with their glee the return of insecurities like: Is your centerpiece of the right niveau? Should you drape the banisters with balsam fir, or is boxwood more current?

As you muster your décor, mixing in, if you wish, some — but not too much — innovation, keep your focus on the gladsomeness, Liesl Schillinger writes on nytimes.com.

The memories you make have more to do with spirit than substance, she adds.

What will be remembered are the permanent patterns of each household’s tradition that give the holiday both meaning and resonance, she wrote.

A few favorites at our house are Home Alone, A Christmas Carol and A Christmas Story, which help make the season memorable.

For more of Schillinger's report:  http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/t-magazine/in-praise-of-the-good-enough-holiday.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&referer=https://t.co/mu6BzHvP0l

You better watch out.

Everyone's worried, Ralphie.

Photos: Pinterest.

Distracted Walkers Pose Problems

Digital hazard...

Oops.

While distracted driving has commanded lots of attention (albeit not a commensurate amount of correction), another digital hazard — distracted walking — is on the rise, with sometimes disastrous consequences, Jane Brody reports on nytimes.com.

We’ve all seen it, and often felt it, as people looking down to text, tweet, read or play games on their smartphones crash into us, typically as we walk in a straight line and they don’t.

A study by Eric M. Lamberg and Lisa M. Muratori at Stony Brook University found that distracted walkers veer off course by as much as 61 percent while texting and walking.

For more: http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2015/12/07/its-not-just-drivers-being-driven-to-distraction/?smid=fb-nytwell&smtyp=cur&referer=https://t.co/RcgSMA2Eh4

Photo: Paul Rogers/nytimes.com

The Origin of the Christmas Tree

Seasonal tradition...

Christmas tree at the New York Palace Hotel with St. Patrick's in the background.

Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter, history.com reports.

Discover the history of the Christmas tree, from the earliest winter solstice celebrations, to Queen Victoria and all the way to the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center tree: http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas-trees

Photo: Pinterest.

Snoopy's Foe: The Red Baron Few Germans Recall

Forgotten at home...

Watch where you're flying.

Snoopy, the World War I flying ace, never forgets his chief nemesis, the Red Baron, but most Germans have never heard of him.

Thanks to the new Peanuts movie, in which Snoopy engages the baron in his scarlet plane in a dogfight, a new generation of Americans is learning to curse the German fighter pilot.

But in Manfred von Richthofen's home country the baron is barely remembered, Daniel Michaels and Sarah Sloat report on wsj.com.

For a neat video about Snoopy and the baron:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/snoopy-remembers-the-red-baron-but-few-germans-do-1450057967

Gif: Tumblr.

Laugh out Loud: It's a New Week

Fun...

They did it!

Some fun to start off your new week:

-- Progressive: Flo: Hair Salon:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPXfN8Pbq2Q

-- GEICO: Boat Insurance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8woDYA1hhM

-- Mike Rowe: Moving Back Home:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlMGD2aQWx8

-- Honda: Out There: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4fdG8AiFYk

-- VW Trust:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSsRNyUsUqc

Musical Moments: Elgar, Nimrod

Classic...

Our neighborhood.

An Elgar classic: Nimrod:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhnMd1Jl7SA

Photo: bt-images.net/Pinterest.

Darien Sees Slower Real Estate Market

Weekly update...

Moon over Manhattan.

Darien saw a slower residential real estate market in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

  -- Three new listings of property for sale;

  -- Three price changes;

  -- Two accepted offers;

  -- Two properties going under contract, and

  -- Three closings.

For more: 

The Mighty B-52: Still Flying High After 60 Years

The dump truck...

Amazing plane.

OVER THE GREAT PLAINS — Glance down from the ageless expanse of blue sky into the cockpit of the Air Force’s largest bomber, and the panorama is decidedly more dated — banks of steam gauges quiver above aluminum levers built during the Eisenhower administration, obsolete knobs and dials unused in decades gather dust, Dave Philipps reports on nytimes.com.

And much of the rest of the mammoth B-52 bomber is just as antiquated, Philipps wrote.

“It’s like stepping back in time,” said Capt. Lance Adsit, 28, the pilot. He banked left to start a mock bombing run, wrestling a control yoke forged decades before he was born. Time had stripped it entirely of paint.

For more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/us/b-52s-us-air-force-bombers.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone

This evening, the B-52 was featured on bbc.com on PBS.

Why is this mighty plane still flying and scheduled for service for another 10-15 years or more?

One person summed it up this way, "It's like a dump truck -- nothing else has that type of range and capacity."

For the bbc video:  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33766644

In the cockpit of a B-52.

Checking a B-52 tail.

Photos: Pinterest.

IBM: Searching for New Eureka Breakthroughs

Patience is a virtue...

IBM researchers can now spot errors in quantum calculations.

IBM is at a defining moment, Mike Murphy writes on qz.com.

If it can keep plugging along, trying to sell clouds to giants, Watson might take off and help break the revenue slump. And the researchers in IBM’s labs will be able to continue their work, building to their next breakthrough, Murphy concluded.

Today, Murphy reported that the U.S. Government wants IBM to build quantum computers for it:  http://qz.com/569012/the-us-government-wants-ibm-to-build-the-worlds-first-true-quantum-computer/

For more on some of IBM's research projects, the company's achievements and contributions and what Murphy sees as its path back to greatness: http://qz.com/567658/searching-for-eureka-ibms-path-back-to-greatness-and-how-it-could-change-the-world/

IBM builds brain-inspired chip using phase-change memory.

IBM logo, Paul Rand.

Photos: Pinterest.

Nature Slide Show Lights up St. Peter's Basilica

Help the planet...

Lion projected on St. Peter's in Rome.

The Vatican has weighed in on the side of an environmental cause, coinciding with the final days of the climate negotiations in Paris, bbc.com reports.

It allowed St. Peter’s Basilica to be turned into a huge backdrop for an art show about nature.

For more, including a slide show: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35045850

Photo: bbc.com.

Big Banks Aim at Mortgage Market Take Over

Home loans...

Fannie Mae headquarters, Washington, D,C.

Seven years after their dubious lending practices helped push the United States economy to the brink of disaster, the nation's largest banks are closing in on a long-sought goal to unseat Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants, and capture their share of the profits in the country's $5.7 trillion home loan market, Gretchen Morgenson reports on nytimes.com.

Taking place largely behind the scenes, the movement to take over the mortgage market has been propelled in part by a revolving door between Washington and Wall Street, an investigation by the New York Times has found, Morgenson wrote.

For more:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/business/a-revolving-door-helps-big-banks-quiet-campaign-to-muscle-out-fannie-and-freddie.html

USS Zumwalt: Navy's Newest Destroyer Starts Sea Trials

Hi tech...

The USS Zumwalt heads out to sea.

The largest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy headed out for sea trials for the first time on Monday, David Sharp reports on businessinsidercom.

The futuristic 600-foot, 15,000-ton ship has electric propulsion, new radar and sonar, powerful missiles and guns, and a stealthy design to reduce its radar signature, Sharp wrote.

The Zumwalt, the first of three ships in the class, will cost at least $4.4 billion, he added.

For more: http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-largest-destroyer-built-for-navy-headed-to-sea-for-testing-2015-12

USS Zumwalt under construction.

Photos: Top: AP/Robert Bukaty; bottom: Pinterest.

How Editing Gave us the Famous Date of Infamy

Dec. 7...

Editing gave us an iconic phrase.

How did one of the best known and ringing phrases..."a date which will live in infamy"... come about?

Turns out President Franklin Roosevelt added it while editing the draft of an address to Congress.  His address about the attack on Pearl Harbor became one of the most memorable speeches in American history.

For more: http://fdr.blogs.archives.gov/2015/12/07/the-true-story-behind-the-most-important-speech-of-the-20th-century/

Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941

Photos: fdrblogs; Pinterest.