Went for a little stroll today for excercise, meditation and people-watching.

There were lions in the trees.

Then I saw this beautiful home I've been intending to take a picture of -- pictures don't do it justice. The flowers are incredible.

So I took several.

It was too overcast. Not good pictures at all.

But I kept trying, and walking and meditating.

It looked like rain, so I headed on back.

Then caught this rare creature -- Shingle style.

Will some people be turned off? Yes, no doubt, but then I will take that risk to state my opinions and write about what I believe. I respect authors who take a chance and state their beliefs and opinions, even if I disagree with them. One of the powerful aspects of blogging is getting conversations going across the net to hopefully re-evaluate old ideas and learn new ways of thinking about different topics, or just to clarify our own ideas. I respect everyone's beliefs and I am open to being convinced of them.

Not everything is about business, that's why I started this blog -- to have a place to spout off and to record some my ideas about the industry and everything that touches it. I hope what I write is never seen as proselytizing -- it's just thoughts, ideas and opinions I've developed through studying different topics and forming a view of life.

I forget sometimes that people have a hard time thinking objectively, so I have been called a right-wing fanatic, a fascist, a racist and all other mean names when I discuss what i think is objective and criticize some of the ideas on the left. I also get people on the right questioning why I am for a woman's right to choose on the abortion issue, or why I think we should stay out of the middle as an ongoing strategy -- it's because they mistake some of my ideas as being Republican in a partisan way. I am not partisan in any way, I try to be objective.

I started out on the left and I am not "right", now. I am for freedom, small government, reason and capitalism/free market. Whatever that makes me, that is what I am. I tend to think of myself as objectivist. That explains my viewpoint more than anything else. I am against much of what McCain stands for, but I believe he will do less harm to our country than Obama.

Then there was the initiation of the income tax, then eminent domain and environmental regulations, wetlands and such. But underneath a lot of real estate bashing and politcal meddling is a socialist leaning de-construction. However, in a way, new-age agents online, wired and irreverent, are deconstructing real estate as we have known it -- this decontruction is an act of innovation, though, not destruction disquised as critical reporting or "consumer-protecting" regulation.

Real estate has been taken apart and that's where most deconstructionist leave things, in pieces as they smugly smile at their anti-creation. There are leftist intellectuals who would be satisfied with all property being under the control of the state. However, "property" is a big part of what defines us as free people -- that's why it was originally drafted life, liberty and property.

To own property is an act of freedom, although many people are trying to undermine property ownership through reductionist ideology -- some even say we can't own it, that it belongs to the natives of this country. It's futile to argue this because progress has created societies that go by rule of law, not spiritual associations with land.

As time goes on goverment controls more and more land, and more and more regulations are created that control how we can use property. Ownership means nothing if you aren't free to use property as you see fit. It's like in fascist regimes where private companies own their companies but the state controls what they do with their companies -- that's not ownership and it's certainly not freedom. Our country is not that far gone, but we are on a slippery slope as we accept more and more regulation and control.

In this year's election, if I had to choose a candidate that I felt understands freedom and property ownership it ould be McCain, because I believe Obama is as far left as American politicians get, yet donations from real estate professionals are favoring Obama. At times I feel as if we are a country slowly going to sleep intellectually-- we no longer have the ability to understand, discuss or even tolerate big ideas, nor do most Americans have any notion how these big ideas can affect our daily lives.

We are still in a phase of short-term thinking, still trapped in the cult of personality and subjectivism -- what feels good is more important than what IS good. I'm not a The-World-Is-Ending fanatic, but I'm troubled by the lack of understanding of what property means to us. As real estate agents we should at least understand the big idea of property ownership.

If we listen to the old media and leftist intellectuals they will convince us that we should rent, that ownership is passe and not important, just a capitalist ploy to enrich the greedy, or a means for the rich to control the nation. They will control the conversation so that if you stand up and defend ownership and real estate and suggest someone buy, you are a brainless, NAR-controlled cheerleader who wants to soak someone for 6%. Their tactics are subtle and gradual. We are inundated with how screwed up the real estate profession is and we hear over and over how the rich are evil and how government needs to protect us -- this is a form of indoctrination and many are falling under the spell. Big ideas, we are told, are the contruction of dead white European males -- what is important is now and the little guy, redistribution, regulating the rich to create a level field -- owership and possession are signs of greed and selfishness.

This is hardly ever stated explicitly but it's underneath all the attempts to bring "big" business to its kness and to undermine ownership, and it's underneath a lot of the environmental fanaticism. The small real estate entrepreneur gets caught in the trap, dealing with regulations, now paying $4.50 for a gallon of gas, open to frivolous lawsuits brought on by irrational laws made by legislators who don't have a clue how the real world or the free economy works. Yet, more donations from real estate pros are going to Obama.

It blows my mind.

However, I still don't like flash -- to me it's distracting. I hate to open up a site with flash, blinking, sound or other distracting devices. I ain't no flasher.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080630_349921.htm?chan=search

Microsoft has the money and can hire the talent to turn Powerset into a real player. This will be interesting -- to my mind, it might be a better move than buying Yahoo.

It's easy to talk about principles, especially when you are marketing your business and bringing on agents, but the test is in the day to day practice and living the principles. Most problems almost always surround money issues and internal politics. It's the rare broker who can maintain honesty and fairness when it's not financially advantageous to do so -- people can rationalize anything. But rationalizations are the beginning of the problem - it's where you begin to compromise on principles one little lie at a time. Say the broker has a policy where he (and yes, yes, yes, she, too) hands out leads on a rotating basis, but a lead comes in that is high dollar, so he breaks the rotation and gives it to Sandra. Let's say the real reason is because he likes Sandra and thinks she would be good with this client for subjective reasons he can't even really explain. So, Tom complains, and then the broker begins rambling trying to rationalize his decision, trying to make good sound judgement out of a poor decision. No matter how good the broker is at spinning situations, Tom knows deep down it just ain't right. The beginning of distrust.

Distrust is like a cancer, because it sharpens your awareness of negatives and can even engender a little paranoia, at least unhealthy suspicion. It can breed a slow smouldering resentment and eats away at trust. The smart broker knows this and respects his agents to a point of not playing these games. The game playing sets up the distrust, the negative talk in the office, dissatisfaction and eventually turn-over. The smart broker knows that respect and trust lead to success. Living by prinicples 24/7 is tough. It's so easy to manipulate for a few extra bucks, but what have you gained? The smart broker thinks long term and realizes that immediate gains from compromised principles are very expensive in the long run.

The thing is principles can't be faked. You can't say, Okay, I'll act principled and the agents will trust me. If you aren't principled you will fool your own self, but no one else -- principles are real and others can detect their natural display in your day to day actions, and they can detect a phony just as well. It's the subtle things and the things an unprincipled person doesn't even grasp -- "What? I'm principled!  What do mean I didn't handle this right?" Doesn't even have a clue, because he never developed the character for it -- it can't be faked. The delusion of an unprincipled person trying to fake it is a sad spectacle -- the agents then have a diminished view, not even angry, just saddened by such a clown. But they leave anyway.

The smart broker knows he is nothing without good agents. The smart broker knows he is less then nothing without principles.

http://gigaom.com/2008/06/26/whats-wrong-with-yahoo/

This link leads to a good article and comments about what has happened to Yahoo. It's a very good lesson in losing direction and purpose, mediocrity, and lack of leadership. It's a good lesson for individuals as well as companies. On a micro level individuals can flounder and let the rest run by -- through boredom, a misguided idea of letting things happen without making them happen, or misjudgement that leads one to believe that business will continue on yesterday's plan and past successes.

This is a fast world with boocoodles of talent and the aimless drifter in business is lost.

(photo from www.oceansatlas.org)

It will change search and it will solve the problem of personalization and context. The site that can take a request like "I'd like to live in an upscale urban area within walking distance to shops, nightlife and restaurants, under $700,000 with room for a couple" and have the results immediately produce 10 listings that meet the criteria and give all the information of the surroundings, recent sales and agents available to call in that area, will be the supersite.

Will Google be first, or will some start-up get backing from a company like Microsoft? That will be the next big thing.