Archive for November, 2009
Cyber Monday
Everyone is well aware of Black Friday , the day after Thanksgiving and the opening day of Christmas and holiday shopping. The first use of the term “Black Friday” in conjunction with Thanksgiving comes from Philadelphia police officers referring to the heavy traffic as a result of the shopping madness.
Existing-Home Sales Record Another Big Gain; Inventories Continue to Shrink
RISMEDIA, November 24, 2009—Driven by the first-time buyer tax credit, existing-home sales showed another big gain in October 2009 with a strong uptrend established over the past seven months, while inventories continue to decline, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales–including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – surged 10.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million units in October from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in September, and are 23.5% above the 4.94 million-unit level in October 2008. Sales activity is at the highest pace since February 2007 when it hit 6.55 million
Happy Thanksgiving
No one really knows the exact date of the first historical Thanksgiving , though most trace the holiday’s roots back to 1621, when the Plymouth settlers held a harvest festival to celebrate a successful growing season at Plymouth Plantation. The accounts indicate that the foods served included game (duck, geese, venison), seafood, fruit, pumpkin, squash, and other vegetables.
The Curse of Knowledge
Authors of the book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, illustrate that knowledge can be a barrier in communication. Here’s an excerpt from the book regarding an experiment with “tappers.” Listeners had to guess the songs that were being tapped; in the end, 2.5% of 120 songs were correctly named.
Don’t let bad weather keep you from enjoying the outdoors…
Ghana In Fog from Paul Octavious on Vimeo .
How do you make an idea “stick”?
One answer given by Chip and Dan Heath in their book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die , has to do with the use of strategy.
Planning Year-End Tax Strategies in a Down Year
RISMEDIA, November 17, 2009—(MCT)—Year-end tax planning this year will be different from years past, largely because of the recession. For many taxpayers, the year has meant a job loss, a job with less income or perhaps a home foreclosure.
Consumers Would Rather Make Their Homes Prettier than Energy-Efficient, According to Energy Pulse Survey
RISMEDIA, November 4, 2009—A new national survey recently released finds Americans once again prefer aesthetic home improvements–a refinished kitchen or bathroom–over money-saving improvements, such as energy-efficient windows or a high-efficiency furnace.
