Teeny-tiny TV Antenna

Using an incredibly small antenna as a remote source (these tiny marvels are physically located in Brooklyn), every Aereo member can watch live, HD-quality television in their browser on computers, tablets and smartphones. Since Aereo is browser-based, there is no download and no set-up. Since it is entirely remote, there are no wires, no boxes and no clutter. Integral to the experience is a straightforward program guide and search tool, making your particular programs easier to find.

More than re-broadcast (like Hulu) or virtual rental (like Netflix), Aereo provides real, live broadcast television, including all the major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX, CW) and more than twenty other local channels. And unlike the mobile applications from cable and satellite providers, Aereo is completely mobile and free of the restriction to your own home network.

Through real-time Facebook and Twitter integration, Aereo brings a feeling of communal involvement to an inherently isolating experience. Just as tantalizing is the virtual DVR with 40 hours of cloud-based storage that comes with membership, enabling a user to record individual shows or set season recordings with the simple touch of a button from any device.

There are still a few caveats. The service is limited to residents of New York City (all five boroughs) with compatible iOS devices. But even with that substantial hurdle, the fully functioning service proves that television via mobile device is not only possible, but available now if the broadcasters/networks/providers are willing.

I signed up immediately after the NY Tech Meetup and have been using it extensively since, both over 3G and WiFi, with near perfect success. Suddenly, my family has a TV in every room and (more importantly) I get to watch what I want, even if Spyro and his Skylanders have taken over the living room.

Upon joining, members receive a 90-day, free trial followed by a $12 monthly fee. For more information, visit aereo.com, Twitter @aereotv or Facebook/Aereo.

• Optionality on developing or selling each individual parcel
• Optionality on, if selling the parcel, buying back the retail component
• Optionality on retaining ownership of part, or all of the public parking component
• Disparate equity investors with different promote structures across the horizontal and vertical development components
• Optionality on Master Developer as Land Equity contributor to vertical developments
• And more

While complicated, it’s all doable, and it starts with a basic framework as shown below. From there it becomes tens of millions of spreadsheet cells which all feed into a Master Cash Flow summary.

Let us know if REFM Consulting can help you model your major mixed-use project! We like doing these for clients, because it’s essentially a giant puzzle, and we like puzzles!

Mark Zuckerberg wears his hoodie to Wall Street.

Mr. Zuckerberg caused quite a stir this week when he showed up on Wall Street wearing his hoodie. Many saw it as a sign of rebellion or that Mark doesn’t really care. When I grew up, we dressed up to go to church, get on an airplane or go to school functions; that’s just the way it was. It wasn’t until the middle 60′s that female school teachers were allowed to wear pants. Steve Jobs had custom-made black turtlenecks (by Issey Miyak), and it’s rumored that he had enough to wear every day for the rest of his life. According to what I read, it was his lucky turtleneck.

Through the ages, we knew who had money by the way they dressed. Then there was the ”dress to impress,” the hippy era, what to wear on a cruise wear and prom attire. Isn’t there a special dress for “the mother of the bride?”

The question remains, do we really care? Apparently so or at least the Wall Street types in their Hermes ties do. Is it really a crash of two cultures, and does Mr. Zuckerberg represent the new culture? Maybe it really means, “I  don’t really care what you think.” Personally I didn’t really like the color–a little too drab for the spring, and I wouldn’t have shown up in a hoodie–only because “it’s just not me.”

Maybe the hoodie is what inspired him to build Facebook. We know that professional athletes button their shirts a certain way for good luck and there are salespeople that have lucky shirts, pants and ties. Maybe it’s just a hoodie and nothing more, or like Steve Jobs and his black turtlenecks.

So, ”does it matter what you wear?” Personally I would say it does matter. My hunch is some of that comes from my background and my age, and some comes from my preferences. “When in doubt get overdressed” is my motto.

I recently attended International Wool Textile Organisation where the fashion types and the business types merged in the same room. The business types were all dressed in suits and the fashion types were dressed in more interesting outfits. I think everyone was dressing as expected.

Here is another expression, “When in Roman do like the Romans.” St. Ambrose coined this expression in  387 A.D. Basically, if you’re in Rome, follow their customs.

In sales we we call it building rapport. We feel most comfortable when we are with people who look like us, act like us and, yes, dress like us. Have you ever been to an occasion when everyone was dressed up and you didn’t get the memo? When you’re shopping don’t you feel better when someone your age waits on you? We expect that since we are close in age that they probably understand us better or even have a better idea of what we want.

My thoughts are that if you want me to be on your side, it’s best that you do whatever it takes to make me think we’re alike. I looked at some photos of a White House Dinner, and Mr. Zuckerberg is wearing a white shirt. My hunch is he did it “because he could.”

{Abby’s Footnotes}

 

The day I met Kevin, he actually gave two presentations. The American Marketing Association Leadership Summit scheduled him for two sessions. I attended both. His morning session included interaction with a smaller group. It was clear that he made mental notes which added value and relevance to the keynote presentation to over 500 people that evening.

Remarkable Leadership is a practical handbook written for anyone who wants to hone the skills they need to become a remarkable leader. This book outlines a framework and a mechanism for both learning new things and applying current knowledge in a thoughtful and practical way. It provides a guide through the most important leadership competencies, offers a proven method for learning leadership skills, and shows approaches for applying these skills in today’s multitasking and overloaded world of work. The book explores real-world concerns such as focus, limited time, incremental improvement and modes of learning.

Kevin is a true believer that leaders can be made. The book identifies behaviors that remarkable leaders exhibit. He gives practical ways to develop these behaviors for those who aspire to be remarkable. After his keynote you could feel the motivation of chapter leaders starting to emerge. In my book, he is a motivational speaker if the mood in that room is any indicator. Thanks Kevin!

This doubling serves a second purpose in Feng Shui, where a wall mirror that reflects something good  - think a treasured family portrait or beautiful objet d’art picked up on your travels - that positive energy will be doubled, too.

Here a framed wall mirror blends in nicely with the ceiling moldings.

This room is all about doubling the space. A whole wall of mirrors conceal cabinets for added storage. Clever solution!

This classic fireplace is beautifully framed by a whole wall of mirror tiles.

In this beautiful dining room design by Patricia Gray, she used a clever combination of a glass table, acrylic chairs and an oversized mirror to widen the space.

Another very elegant dining room by Patricia Gray includes a huge mirror reflecting the amazing Murano chandelier.

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For more information about Interior Design email Marie Burgos at marie@marieburgosdesign.com, and visit www.marieburgosdesign.com.

Apple purchased exclusive rights to LiquidMetal back in 2010. The metallic alloy is said to offer greater strength and durability than glass, while remaining incredibly light and easy to shape and mold into whatever design Apple may need. In fact, Apple has already used LiquidMetal in their work before they bought rights to the stuff. The iPhone 3G, for instance, houses LiquidMetal in its SIM card puller.

So, as these rumors begin to pick up steam and Apple fans dream sweet dreams of metallic-backed iPhones, Business Insider decided to go straight to the source to get some answers about the use of the alloy in the new iPhone. The resulting headlines cast a pall on the LiquidMetal clad iPhone, but did the interview really tell us anything yet to be known?

Steve Kovach of the Business Insider spoke with Atakan Peker, a co-inventor of the LiquidMetal alloy. Though Kovach said he wanted to get some answers “straight from the source,” it’s likely he missed a few key points. CBS News takes Kovach to task over a few things, namely the fact that Peker doesn’t work for LiquidMetal anymore, hasn’t worked there since 2007 and therefore wasn’t around when Apple bought exclusive rights to the stuff.

It does make sense, of course, that Peker would know how the metal could be used in phones and computers. He did, by the way, mention that two phone manufacturers have already used the alloy in their products - Nokia and Apple’s best Frenemy, Samsung.

The part of the interview which is garnering headlines, however, is Peker’s prediction that Apple will spend “on the order of $300 million to $500 million — and three to five years — to mature the technology before it can (be) used in large scale,” as well as his estimation that, “a MacBook casing, such as a unibody, will take two to four more years to implement.”

The claim that Apple will “likely” spend 3-5 years maturing the technology may be true, but it has also been at least 2 years since Apple bought exclusive rights, and 4 years since Apple last used the technology in the iPhone 3G. Should Peker be correct, the time is about right for Apple to use LiquidMetal in the iPhone, even if it’s only used in a small capacity.

Peker’s no fool, but is he an accurate source to cite on the matters of Apple’s future plans to use an alloy created by a company he no longer works for? The fact that he doesn’t work for LiquidMetal anymore probably played a huge factor in his deciding to speak with the press in the first place. Further raising doubts on his credibility, Peker also takes time to mention Apple’s long-rumored “breakthrough” product which can only be made by harnessing LiquidMetal’s special qualities. Apple’s “religion of secrecy,” as it’s been called, would have excommunicated Peker had he given the same interview while under LiquidMetal’s employ.

All this is well and good, but it doesn’t answer the question of whether or not Apple will use the fancy new metal alloy in their new phone. Like every year, we’ll just have to wait and see.

How Land Equity Is Represented in a Real Estate Development Pro-Forma

Within the Uses of Funds

• Contributed Land Equity Value (instead of Land Cost)
• Hard Costs
• Soft Costs
• FF&E
• Financing Costs

Within the Sources of Funds

• Contributed Land Equity Value (instead of Cash Equity above and beyond the amount represented below)
• Contributed Cash Equity
• Debt Financing

How Lenders Treat Land Equity

Land equity is addressed differently by different banks and differently for different transactions. Typically, a Lender will give a Sponsor credit for Contributed Land Equity that is based in part on the following:

• If the land has traded recently, 100% of the Purchase Price at which the land traded is in an arms-length transaction. However, if the transaction was not arms-length (say a Master Developer entity sells the land to its owned Vertical Developer entity for a Purchase Price of $10.00) or if the land has been owned for a very long time and has such a low basis that it is not a reasonable number at present, then the Lender will base the amount on the following:
  • A stated value based on recent comparable land sales (an Appraisal is not always ordered by the Bank if comps are available), or
  • Some percentage (less than 100%) of an Appraised value.

The final dollar amount for which credit will be given for Contributed Land Equity will be the result of a negotiation between the Sponsor and the Lender, and will be influenced by the following:

• the track record of the Sponsor
• how aggressive the current lending environment is, and
• the amount of Contributed Cash Equity from the Sponsor.

The Lender’s Loan-to-Cost % will be applied against the Total Project Cost inclusive of the Contributed Land Equity Amount even though the Land is not a cash cost. As a result, the Lender will have a first lien on the land.

Do you have a different view on or experience with this? Let’s hear about it in the Comments section below.

That question is very interesting. Most of us when asked are quick to provide a short answer that might include a job description, title or general profession. Many these days are struggling with a delicate way to advise that they are “in transition” and looking for a career opportunity. Business coaches often encourage people to fine-tune their “elevator speech”, so they can quickly identify who they are and what their ideal prospect oropportunity might look like.

Personal branding is important as you leverage the “conversation” in social media. The theory is that people are in fact brands. People need to be true to their brand and deliver on the brand promise. In this way, one can improve the chances of winning in the game of networking. It is often said that people do business with people, and they prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust. Your personal brand becomes part of the answer to the question “So, what do you do?”

Here’ some food for thought. No matter what you do for a living, you are a human being. Have a little self-respect, and make an effort to respect other human beings on the planet Earth with you. We all have worth that is so much more than the somewhat unfair and arbitrary paycheck, commission or fee for a product and/or service we provide.

Remember, you are who you are, not what you do!

Jim Lambie Zobop (1999). Picture © Jim Lambie

This is a beautiful white and navy zigzag rug and decor by Jonathan Adler. 

 Turquoise and yellow Dining room - Jonathan Adler

I love this next entire room from the Madeline Weinrib zigzag rug, to the Suzani inspired bench fabric from “Dzhambul” from Brunschwig & Fils. (Home of Krista Ewart featured in Domino, June/July ‘07)

Zigzag rug and Interior by Madeline Weinrib 

  Breakfast Nook with Zigzag Rug from West Elm - Source Made by Girl

In this next interior, Jamie Drake’s blend of zigzags, blue paisley and blue stripes on the sofa is absolutely masterful.

     Interior by Jamie Drake  

Here’s another bright example!

 Yellow interior design - Source Cottage Living

Here’s a softer, wider version on the settee in this beautiful dining room designed by Barbara Howard and showcased in Atlanta Homes magazine. 

Settee designed by Barbara Howard  

Sabbe Interior Design made this chevron wall with contact paper! (found via Design Sponge)

  Sabbe Interior Design with chevron wall

And finally, here’s an eyecatching, bedroom design by Billy Baldwin.

Zigzag Wall paper - Interior by Billy Baldwin  

Which one is your favorite? Let me know about it by leaving a comment!