PimpYourWork.com

Before we move on to September, let’s look back at the best posts we had last August:

• Are you familiar with desk rage?
• Are creativity and inefficiency really incompatible?
• Sleep should be an essential part of your workday
• How to take a permanent break from work
• Falling off the productivity wagon

Here are the book reviews from last month:

• Escape 101: Sabbaticals Made Easy
• Jason Seiden’s “How to Self-Destruct”

Other articles I’ve written in the blogosphere this month:

• Keeping the good parts of office life
• What makes web working more difficult?
• Does teleworking offer more equal opportunities?
• 3 Easy ways to add creativity to our web work
• Becoming a stronger web working couple
• Four projects that break your routine
• How to prevent your personal blog from killing your career
• Cloud computing: Pros and Cons

September here we come!

Photo Credit: Image from Alem Jusic from stock.xchng

Share This

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

Gianni Versace’s Miami, Florida home Casa Casuarina has been a private club for years. Now the 1930 Italianate mansion on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach is open for a limited run of public tours. Versace bought the home in 1992 for $2.9 million and since his death it has been a private club and part of the Leading Hotels of the World group offering ten suites. The Casa also includes a mosaic pool, Observatory roof deck and member’s lounges including the Moroccan room, the Caviar Creator Club Lounge, the Polo Bar and the Davidoff cigar bar. Tours of Casa Casuarina cost $50 and are offered at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., through Sept. 30. In homage to Versace, the tours, which need to be booked in advance, will be given by a woman dressed in a Versace gown.

Read

Share This

Share This

Share This

Share This

Share This

The newest “thing” in the sub-prime loan crisis is this: Banks now are freezing credit lines (called HELOC’s - Home Equity Lines of Credit) because the amount borrowed (including both the HELOC and the mortgage) is exceeding the value of the home.

For example, CBS reports that Countrywide, one of the largest U.S. lenders, has frozen 122,000 HELOC’s. It will also be interesting to see what happens when the bank that gives the mortgage is different from the bank that gives the 2nd mortgage/HELOC. Who wins?

The CBSNews website had some good tips for dealing with this situation, including:

Don’t hesitate to question the bank’s value estimate.

In other words, as usual, forewarned is forearmed.

It’s been a long time since we Baby Boomers have experienced the phenomenon of lower home values. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember a time in my adult life when we didn’t have the expectation of increasing home values. Homes were bought as much for investment as for a place to live and raise a family. I have purchased and sold over 20 homes since I graduated from college (I’m betting this number isn’t that uncommon for a very mobile generation), and we always bought homes with an eye to resale.

I could state “I told you so,” but when the banks started coming out with “100% LTV (loan to value) 2nd mortgages/HELOC’s a few years ago, I wondered why no one was questioning this tactic. It seemed very risky to me, and I wasn’t even thinking of any kind of universal phenomenon of lower home values. I questioned the tactic because an individual might have to sell a home at lower cost.

I’m betting that this “credit line freeze” thing will lead to fewer HELOC’s and second mortgages in general. Hang on to your hats; the ride will continue to get bumpier before it settles down.

Share This

Share This

Share This

Nigeria police seize funds allegedly raised for Obama - Los Angeles Times
LAGOS, NIGERIA — Nigerian anti-graft police have seized $629,834 raised at a gala dinner in support of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, authorities said Sunday. Obama’s campaign said it was in no way affiliated with the group Africans for

Chicago’s Olympic potential - Chicago Tribune
For two weeks, Beijing was the talk of the world. Eight years from now, that might be Chicago. The Tribune’s Kathy Bergen reported recently that this city has emerged as the front-runner to be host of the 2016 summer Olympics . “It’s Chicago’s to

Michigan delegates to Republican convention raise money for Gustav - Detroit News
Michigan delegates to Republican convention raise money for Gustav relief Deb Price / The Detroit News ST. PAUL, Minn. — Michigan Republican delegates pitched in at a silent auction Sunday night to raise money to help any Gulf Coast victims of

India’s Reliance abandons stake transfer, has funds - Reuters
MUMBAI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.BO: Quote , Profile , Research , Stock Buzz ) has abandoned a plan to transfer an 80 percent stake in a deepwater block to its subsidiaries as it has raised the money it needs for the

Ad targeting based on ISP tracking now in doubt - Detroit News
NEW YORK — It sounded like a winning proposition — free money — for World wide web access providers. By tracking their subscribers’ personal Web surfing habits, they could help deliver ads targeted to the consumers’ interests, and claim a share of the

Oil rises on storm fears - MSN UK News
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Oil rose above $116 a barrel on Monday, as a quarter of U.S. crude production was shuttered because of Hurricane Gustav, while Asian stocks were stung by slumping technology shares. Gustav was expected to strike land west of New

Oil up on storm fears as Asia stocks slump - MSN MoneyCentral
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Oil rose above $116 a barrel on Monday, as a quarter of U.S. crude production was shuttered because of Hurricane Gustav, while Asian stocks were slammed by slumping technology shares. European share market futures pointed to a

Florida delegates focus on Gustav - Miami Herald
MINNEAPOLIS A pep rally for Florida delegates is being recast as a prayer breakfast. Money for a post-convention pool celebration is going to the American Red Cross. Gov. Charlie Crist may skip the whole thing, delivering storm briefings from Tallahassee

RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS WEEKAHEAD-September test for stocks - Reuters
LONDON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - September is when many major investors are back from their summer break, so this week will be the first test of whether they are ready to jump into battered equity markets to salvage a bad year. It will also be crucial for

Chinese bankers, wives found guilty in bank scam - Miami Herald
LAS VEGAS Two former Bank of China managers and their wives have been convicted of conspiracy charges in an elaborate, 13-year scheme to embezzle $485 million from a state-owned bank and launder the money in other countries. Former bankers Xu Chaofan

Share This

Share This