The Audiorium

High Anxiety

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:59:00 -0700

As a seasoned commuter in the Puget Sound Megalopolis, I try to lessen the High Anxiety by breaking the trip down into a point to point scenario. I don’t think too far ahead. Just make it to the next marker. Hopefully the little successes will add up and out number any failures and by days end (now home),

I’ll feel like a winner.

Keep it simple, (A) the points you dread, you know the one’s that are a ‘role of the dice’ everyday where anything is possible and likely to happen. When you successfully get by these with little or no incident, you win. Then you have (B) the High Anxiety points, when you pass these babies it’s a major mental catharsis and you spontaneously burst out loud,

“I’m free, I’m free, I’m finally free!”

One nagging question I’ve had for many years driving through Seattle is who in the heck decided that at the very point where you pass through the center apex of the states largest lovely city via its number one thorough fare, that spot should be marked with a Convention Center over the top of said freeway creating an eternal unalterable tunnel and choke point?

I was contemplating all that this morning.

Everyone merging from the left wants to be on the right, everyone on the right needs to be immediately on the left to make the Mercer St exit to our totally revitalized and chic (or is that sheik?) South Lake Union neighborhood.

In the tunnel everyone instantly becomes anxious to jam it to the floor and bust loose from the pack.

And oh!, let’s keep this thing interesting, throw in a few Semi’s that want the middle lane, a bus from the left that needs to exit right onto Olive St, then another that’s merging left from Olive St and cuts across all four to get to the commuter lane. This makes for a pretty exciting half mile most mornings.

When this bus passes me…

ANXIETY
WILL INCREASE YOUR PERCEPTION OF WAIT TIME
Education comes from all angles BECITYWISE…

Nice ad by City University of Seattle

How totally appropriate…

The Blackberry Chronicles
ARFCO Media ©2010

If I were a rich man...

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:38:00 -0700

If I were a rich man…

Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.

Remember those lines? I do…

———————————————————————————————————-

I’d build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen,

Right in the middle of the town.

A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below.

There would be one long staircase just going up,

And one even longer coming down,

And one more leading nowhere, just for show.

————————————————————————————————————

A story, in comparison, far more compelling than a recession for sure…

Remember the story… When the weight of the world became overwhelming (and in the story that was often), Tevye had long conversations with God. He never answered, but God did listen, and that was more than the milkman’s wife Golde, who constantly demonstrated to him the flaws of his logic.

These days I’m trying to lighten the load. After years of owning homes, I live in (what I affectionately call my place, a small) condo. I’m downsizing storage and cleaning out closets and going through boxes that have survived so many moves over the years I’ve lost track. Most of them, including this one, are all now in the ‘miscellaneous’ category. Yes, it says kitchen (on one end), music (on the top, crossed out), misc. computer parts (on the other end), and books (scribbled on the side). A true testament to life’s travels, changes, economies, and past relationships.

This box contains none of the above.

It’s a treasure hunt of sorts, a bunch of sentimental little souvenirs, a kaleidoscope of memorabilia with a street value of $0.00. Yet, they survived somehow for years and decades. I ponder that for a moment and feel, “I am so totally weird, hopeless, and helpless.” I hope my time is not running out to realize my dreams.

“Of all things I no longer have, how did these things survive?” I wonder…

I rummage though the brick-a-brack and come across a program for the musical Fiddler on the Roof.

It’s from college back in the very early 70’s and it’s autographed by everyone in the production. I played guitar in the orchestra. Those were magical times, I’ve never forgotten. It’s part of my myth, my mantra for life, it’s totally integrated into my personal philosophy. I put the program in the box, close the lid, say goodbye to the past one more time and back into the closet it goes.

Not today. I’ll deal with you another day.

Okay, so you went down memory lane, and today you believe essentially as you always have. The cornerstone of the American Dream is owning a home, not a house, but a home. It’s not an investment like a commodity, it’s my abode. You’ll find me here. This is my castle. I live here. I’ve changed poopy diapers, rocked out, cried, laughed, had BBQ’s, made music, loved and danced.

Equity can be calculated in numerous ways, but exactly by the dollar to be made is never the way.

There are other avenues of investment, like one’s own life. I feel like a whimp sometimes when I think of my grandparents and great grandparents. I’ve checked the dates. Media would have told you then that you couldn’t have picked a worse time to buy. But they did it anyway, they bought it and/or built it. They wanted the dream and they went for it. They gambled, they made it happen.

Those are the places of my youth and most fond memories, the wellspring of my strength. They demonstrated that dreams have more power than any economy.

If I were a rich man…

Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.

July 27, 2010 (originally published on ActiverRain)

The Blackberry Chronicles

ARFCO Media ©2010

Web 3.0... Here we come.

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:16:43 -0700

Seattle… “Is your head in the cloud? Are your feet on the ground?”

Driving to work this morning the tall buildings had their tops in the clouds. Ah, clouds, it got me to thinking about Google’s purchase of Metaweb a few days ago.

Metaweb invented Freebase, a massive semantic database using what it calls “entities” that improve search by distinguishing between singular terms that can mean several different things. In essence (and for the lack of a better term) Web 3.0 will turn the internet into a giant searchable database and our browsers into personal search assistants.

Instead of making separate searches and sifting through the results, we’ll type in a few sentences about what we’re looking for and what we want to do and the browser will analyze and search for relevant answers and organize it into a scenario. For all practical purposes, we’ll be having a conversation with our browser.

“I’m looking for a used compact car under $8,000 with less than 120,000 miles on it and after that I want to go to lunch, no fast food, either Mexican or Pho. Then I need to stop by a hardware store to pick up some potting soil for my deck plants.

The browser will do the search for you knowing your location, likes and dislikes, find and analyze what it thinks are the best results based on your history of likes and dislikes, distance, time of day, price, and proximity to each location for you, then present a few scenarios for you to chose from and/or respond to that you can tweak. This will be a big departure from our current search methods and habits online.

I’m excited and will be really interested to follow, yet I admit, there’s a little voice in my head that’s concerned. “Is my browser going to be way smarter than me?”

How about you?

Google Buys Metaweb for Better Search Results

July 20, 2010 (originally published on ActiverRain)

The Blackberry Chronicles

Localism 101, or is that Colloquialism 101?

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:13:00 -0700

One thing I really love about what I do is the opportunity to travel around the region and talk to real estate professionals in their community;

And there’s nothing like a good social media marketing conversation to quickly peel through the colloquial layers and get right down to the local state of the onion.

————————

col·lo·qui·al [kuh-loh-kwee-uhl] –adjective

1. characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal.

2. involving or using conversation.

————————

I am so jazzed when I enter into a conversation about the dynamics of a hyper-local market place. The issues and concerns of our clientele, learning who’s considered to be ‘the players’, who fess’s up that they feel technically challenged, who has issues with the internet, privacy, and it’s endless array of sites, tools, applications, and how will I ever have time to do this?

Let alone the divergent concerns expressed by local consumers who act (or more often react) to the news and goings on within their community. We all have an opinion.

When you’re face to face in their environment, see their surroundings, hangout in their office for awhile and talk, experience their traffic, their economy, and smell the air; you get a deepened sense of the unique social fabric that binds them.

We live in interesting globally connected times and on the surface that implies we (more or less) see and experience things the same everywhere. You know, the whole global village thing. That’s true to an extent, yet we physically live in ‘a place’, a community, which defines itself (and us) through a daily conversation taking place by it’s inhabitants. A lot of that conversation is driven by the geography and it’s proximity to resources and other communities. The climate and weather, employment, culture, history, where it’s inhabitants came from, recreation, life style (the communities collective attitude) all play their part. They shape the conversation we are attracted to, or ignore.

It’s true, social media redefined local. Any group of people that band together (online) around an idea no matter how many or where they are on the planet, is now local. I believe that also, yet that’s a virtual local (not quite physical). Much of what shapes our lives and our perception of the world, sustains our views, and impacts our attitudes, is generated within our particular geographic location, its people, events, and the conversation it has that we experience on a day to day basis.

Traveling around the Pacific Northwest I don’t find extreme differences from place to place, yet all the same each community, each geographic locale, has it’s own unique flavor and demographic. It’s the smaller, often more mundane things that create that local flavor and interest me.

For example, I grew up in Renton… The dictionary pronounces it [Ren-tn] (that’s kinda close), but that’s not how a real local pronounces it. Real locals say [Ren(t)-n]. The “t” finishes the tongue in readiness for the “n”. It stays on the roof of the mouth and doesn’t release to make the ‘tuh’ sound. It’s mostly silent, followed by a strong “n”…

When I hear it pronounced [Rent’n], [Ren-tun], or [Ren-town] I can safely assume pawdner,

“You’re not from around these parts, are you?”

Or like this morning (a fabulous example), I was in Puyallup (it baffles many) hosting a social media conversation. We pronounce it locally as [pyoo-al-uhp], but depending on where you come from, I’ve heard [Pew-ee-allup] (like the church pew), [Poo-allop] (we all know about poo), [Poo-ee-allup], and [Pie-ul-up]… I love this. It signifies to me the real (on the street) salt of the earth colloquial conversation.

I was caught one time on this very same thing in Oregon and the room totally cracked up when I made my feeble early attempt at pronouncing Scappoose.

Here in the Puget Sound area, especially over the past 20 years, we’ve experienced a great influx of people who have moved here from everywhere on the planet. The social fabric of our region has become a very rich and intricate mosaic of diverse cultures who are now part of the personality of our region.

Opportunity will be realized by those who are willing not only to adopt the emerging technologies of communication, but practice them. They will emerge as leaders if they understand, listen, and participate. They will be inclusive not exclusive. They will win the day because they fundamentally get as a core value their communities collective colloquial conversation. They are local and their view is global, and they share themselves within this evolving context.

That’s why being a spokes-person for localism is so vitally important and powerful.

The Blackberry Chronicles

The Narrows in Summer Fog...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:49:00 -0700

The Narrows Bridge…

Out of the office today and headed for Gig Harbor, Washington for a day of social media marketing with Amy Kalafatich at The Talon Group. A new wave of real estate professionals are discovering the necessity of having a good online presence.

The dynamics of relationship building are essentially the same as they’ve always been, but where they start and how they develop has changed. So much of our conversation within a group or community takes place online now. We speak to each other in person and live over phones, yet more and more via texting and over the web through networks. A lot of our conversation is asynchronous. We say something and may get an instant reply, or it may be later like a minute, an hour, day, or years later.

One of the principles of successful web or social media marketing is understanding how to put a conversation out there that people can find when they’re searching for their wants and needs. Be the conversation taking place that they want or need to find. As always in real life, you have to be able to deliver the goods. Yet your asynchronous conversation online can be a powerful tool of attraction and opportunity.

The Blackberry Chronicles
© ARFCO Media 2010

A thriving vibrant downtown say's a lot about a community.

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:49:54 -0700

When the recession hit here in Renton, Washington a couple of years ago the evidence was immediate in old downtown. In less than a year it seemed every 4th or 5th door was closed and there was a For Rent sign in the window. My heart went out to these small shop merchants. I use to be one. Back in a different recession in the 70’s I had a small music store, Renton Guitar Studios. I didn’t make a ton of money in those days, but as a young man in his early 20’s I was the proud owner of my own business.

As I drove past the empty storefronts I’d wonder where the owners are. What do you do after you close up shop? Good jobs are tough to get out there, so what do you put on your resume? “I had a small shop downtown for a few years, went broke because of the economy, and had to close.” (Ouch) I hope they’re okay and found something. I’m sympathetic, I’ve had my own bumps this last year.

Anyway, it hurt to see this decline. Renton was having a renaissance. It was vibrant with restaurants, cafes, bars, and all kinds of small shops, and yes its plethora of antique stores. After a number of years in stagnation, it was exciting to witness a rebirth.

I’ve noticed over the past couple of months driving through downtown that businesses are once again moving in. Vino’s Italian Restaurant is back after closing a couple of years ago, across the street there’s a new Tailoring and Alterations shop, and a new hair styling salon. N-Time Music Productions opened up in what use to be one of the towns two flower shops. They give music lessons and have a recording studio where you could produce your next hit single. On a warm evening it’s not unusual to see a crowd of young people outside talking it up.

A Pho restaurant, a Cookie Coffee and Tea place. Tyrannosaurus Records is an independent label and music store that promotes local musicians, the Spotlight Dance Studio, and we have an honest to goodness hamburger joint again, 5 Guys Burger and Fries. We haven’t had one of those downtown downtown for several decades when we use to Cruse the Loop. (I better not go there, I’ll really date myself.)

All in all, I’m very excited for downtown Renton. A thriving vibrant downtown say’s a lot about a community. It promotes a real sense of identity and belonging, and it’s good for real estate too…

The Blackberry Chronicles
© ARFCO MEDIA 2010

Eastlake & Lynn

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:06:00 -0700

Just a half block from work on a Friday morning. It’s gray and cooler this morning, but not raining. When I got off the freeway at Lakeview Ave I got hit by a sprinkler. It startled me and got my adrenalin pumping. Direct hit across the windshield from about 50 feet.

Headed for the office: The Talon Group, 2345 Eastlake Ave E…

July 16, 2010
Seattle, WA 98102

The Blackberry Chronicles
© ARFCO Media 2010

Music Concrete

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:38:00 -0700

Friday morning and yahoo the traffic is light. Headed north through downtown Seattle, coming up on Madison St, and headed for the Eastlake neighborhood.

I love the patchwork of grids the buildings create. It reminds me of music. When I was at Soundwork Studio on Capitol Hill, and the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College in Oakland, California, I wrote and performed several electronic, tape, and computer music pieces based on number squares, fractals, golden section, and Fibonacci sequences. The music scores looked similar.

In the tradition of Music Concrete, I loved mixing found sound (sounds of nature and the city) with synthesizers and traditional instruments.

Seattle, Washington July 16, 2010 @ 7:45 AM
The Blackberry Chronicles
© ARFCO Media 2010

The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle...

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:35:00 -0700

The upside for working late today is the traffic is light and I make record time getting home… Heading south on Interstate 5 around 7:00 PM the sky is a wonderful shade of blue and there’s ol’ Miss, her Majesty, Mt Rainier in the background. I’m at the northern end of Boeing Field.

I’m cracking myself up remembering as a kid watching ”Here Come the Brides” (1968 - 1970). As corny as it was, we thought it was so cool that there was actually a national TV show that was about Seattle, we hardly missed an episode.

The show was actually based (very loosely) on a true story. Asa Mercer (Mercer Island, Mercer Street etc.) brought young women from New England to Seattle in 1864 to be teachers and hopefully brides for the mostly male early settlers. They were known as the “Mercer Girls” …

Perry Como had a big hit on the theme song in 1969.

The bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle.

Funny today as I’m driving down the freeway the lyric rings (in a kinda wacky funny way) true…

Full of hopes and full of fears
Full of laughter full of tears
Full of dreams to last a year… in Seattle…

Maybe we think they’re so blue because most of the time they’re grey… Yet, a beautiful day is a beautiful day… enjoy.

I better clean my windshield.

July 15, 2010
The Blackberry Chronicles
© ARFCO MEDIA 2010

and the wind cries Mary

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:04:00 -0700

and the wind cries Mary…
Will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past?

The Pacific Northwest I grew up in was a quainter place, once upon a time. I was driving into Seattle passing an old familiar landmark today, the Chinook Motel. It was a Mom & Pop place, built in 1952. As I recall there were 8, or maybe 10 units. The owners (in the early years) lived on site in their home which included the lobby. There use to be a lot of places like this in the area.

It was located in an area of south Seattle a couple of miles out of Renton. The area has gone through several incarnations as the economy has gone up and down over the years. I find it interesting to watch transitions. I’m curious, “when exactly was the tipping point that brought change?” When did this once thriving family business become obsolete? It’s been closed now for several years and was purchased in 2005 by an investment group.

Today my mind is more about the quaintness of such places and especially their names. The Chinook Motel, how Northwest is that? We rarely use names like that around here any more. We’re just so cosmopolitan now. Most names now ring of technology, the future, or every town everywhere.

Before chains and franchises we used names with a very local resonance. Business names were either family or often included words that conjured up images of the great outdoors like timber, river, sky, and mountain. Words like Cedar, Rainier, Snoqualmie, Green, Tahoma, Puget Sound, Pacific Northwest, Cascade, Nisqually, and Chinook were common. Words that were distinctly ours, we grew up with them. They were given to us by the indigenous peoples and the early settlers.

Even the road has had several name changes over the years. When I was a kid it was Dunlap Canyon Rd, then Sunset Highway, then State Route 900, and for the past several years, it’s known as Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

Change is change, not necessarily bad or good. “Time keeps on slippin’ slippin’ slippin’, into the future”, as Steve Miller once put it. Perhaps I’m a little sentimental this morning, yet more so, I find it interesting to think about what it was and what it became.

“Will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past?”*

*from the song, The Wind Cries Mary, by Jimi Hendrix

July 14, 2010
The Blackberry Chronicles
© ARFCO Media 2010

Stop Freakin...

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:50:00 -0700

I had a great social media marketing conversation in Spanaway this morning with some clients at Crescent Realty. We were talking about how search engines work, how to develop an online presence, and creating your own personal brand. It was a fun and lively conversation.

On the way back to the office I was replaying in my mind some of what we talked about when I came up next to the Beacon Plumbing Truck. How apropos. What a great example of what we were talking about. Beacon Plumbing is a familiar icon in the Puget Sound area. Instantly recognized and hard to forget.

A few years ago they launched a very successful ad campaign that really stuck… a great job of branding I think. It’s definitely sticky as they say. If you’re from around these parts you instantly recognize
their signature line… “Stop Freakin, call Beacon!”

There’s a real marketing nugget here for all of us in the real estate related industries. Something direct, simple, hits the target, easy to remember, and hard to forget. It also plucks an emotional chord we can all relate to.

Google simply, “Stop Freakin” and look what you get at #1…

Seattle Plumber | Beacon Plumbing & Heating | Seattle Plumbing 24/7 The best Seattle Plumbers from Beacon Plumbing and Heating. Call 1-800-FREAKIN. 24/7 Seattle Plumbing Services.Toilets,Sinks,Bathtubs,Water Heaters, … www.beaconplumbing.net/ - Cached - Similar

July 13, 2010
The Blackberry Chronicles
© ARFCO Media 2010

Monday morning on the way to work in Seattle… “whoa,...

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:28:00 -0700

Monday morning on the way to work in Seattle… “whoa, dude!”

The Blackberry Chronicles July 12, 2010

North on Interstate 5, across from the Museum of Flight.

It’s Saturday, weekend chores… being Mr. Domestic....

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:13:00 -0700

It’s Saturday, weekend chores… being Mr. Domestic. In downtown Renton passing our square, the Piazza, July 10, 2010.

I love the sense of ‘center’ it gives to our downtown and I enjoy the Farmer’s Market. I miss The Spirit of Washington train and think King County flipped us off when they decided to revamp Interstate 405 & 90 and cut a chunk out of one of the few remaining old infrastructures left in the county.

Regardless, it’s the weekend, and a beautiful summer day.

Headed home on a Friday over Beacon Hill, Seattle WA...

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:14:00 -0700

Headed home on a Friday over Beacon Hill, Seattle WA 98144…

Jess Barber Shop on 15th Ave South, July 9, 2010

From The Blackberry Chronicles, random commuter pictures in and around Seattle.

The Peaceable Kingdom... Madrona, Seattle

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:36:13 -0700

The Madrona Neighborhood in Seattle, Washington has some of the area’s most beautiful views. I was heading home from the office, the freeway was jammed, so I opted for one my favorite drives down Lake Washington Boulevard. Don’t be in a hurry when you go this way. There are few stops and the traffic is usually light, but it’s mostly 25 miles an hour. But who cares?, there’s so much to look at. Just decompress, mellow out, and enjoy.

Madrona got its name from area pioneer John Ayer, he also donated the land for Madrona Park.
The Neighborhood’s motto is The Peaceable Kingdom…

The photo was taken at Madrona Park on Lake Washington looking South and East at Mt. Rainier. Note the Lake Washington Floating Bridge behind the boats. The day had been overcast with drizzle, then about 5:00 PM the skies cleared, the sun came out, and the light was perfect. I just had to stop. I laughed to myself as the sailboats were leaving the marina down the street as fast as they could to catch the late sunny afternoon on the lake.

This is from the same spot, I just turned East. We’re looking at downtown Bellevue.

You can view the images in full size on Flickr… just click the photo.

The Madrona Neighborhood is situated on a rather steep slope that starts at Lake Washington and rises west to the top of the hill and the Central District. It’s an old neighborhood with trails, parks, and a small business district. It’s hard to believe at times that you’re just a few minutes from downtown Seattle. There are great views looking east toward Medina, Bellevue, and the Cascade Mountains, and from the top of the hill there’s nice views looking west into downtown Seattle.

The area next to the lake was platted in 1889 by developers and in 1890 what’s now the core of the neighborhood was homesteaded by Dr. Georg Randell and his wife Emma. Their barn became the neighborhoods first school.

The typical home was built in the 1930’s. At this writing there are 39 homes listed in

The Peaceable Kingdom ranging from $350,000 to $3.2 million.

Click the link to view homes for sale… Madrona

Seattle Neighborhoods: Madrona — Thumbnail History

Map credit: From Estately.com by Google.

Commute

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:33:37 -0700

From the Blackberry Chronicles, random photos from around the Pacific Northwest.

Taking pictures with my Blackberry is a great source of entertainment while driving the work commute. I’m seeing things in a way that I haven’t before. Since I always have my Blackberry with me (8330 Curve), it’s handy. Eyes on the road, I pick it up and take random shots hoping I catch something of interest. The only time I actually look at the subject is if I’m stopped. Otherwise, Point, don’t aim, don’t look, and click. Then take a look at them later to see if I got something more than my dashboard or window post.

I love photo accidents, car not included…

Please Don't Outsource Your Personality...

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 08:05:00 -0700

A local company in town claiming to be social media experts has recently offered a service to real estate agents that will take care of your Tweets, Facebook updates, Linkedin, and blog content for a small monthly fee. They’re offering you a social media system.

(Isn’t that an oxymoron?)

Dear valued clients and all real estate professionals:
Please Don’t Outsource Your Personality…

When I give social media conversations I frequently get asked
“Is there a Big Easy Button that I can update everything everywhere online?”

“Because social media looks like a lot of work and I didn’t get into real estate to spend all day behind my computer.”

Point well taken and that is a valid concern…

My reply:

“If there was a Big Easy Button for social media, you wouldn’t want to push it.”

In life, we belong to many different groups and communities like family, work, school, church, the baseball team, fraternal organizations, and maybe the gang you hang with on the occasional boy/girl night out.

“Do you have exactly the same conversation in every one of these groups?”

I hope not.

The whole idea around social media is the opportunity to participate. Enter into any online community and you’re joining omni-directional conversation by people tethered together around shared ideas and a common framework. It’s no agreement fest, bring your likes and dislikes too, but please demonstrate respect to the community, its members, and the reason it exists by sharing authentically.

Is it possible I could hire that out?

A systematized you that’s broadcasting into the crowd (for SEO) instead of entering into the conversation runs the risk of alienating the tribe. Your fabricated purchased Tweets, Facebook updates, and personal blog content could be construed as diss’n the community. You might find yourself unwelcome, or worse, ignored.

Groups recognize (and tend to gravitate around) those who participate, contribute, and demonstrate value. How will we be able to engage you if you always talk and never listen? And, if your conversation isn’t even yours, how do you think that might influence us?

Word of mouth still reigns as the most powerful force in marketing.

Your brand and reputation are either created or inherited. You’ll own them either way.

The Pike Pine Triangle

Thu, 27 May 2010 09:26:00 -0700

The Pike Pine Triangle

It’s funny how things change over time… Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s I was a student at Cornish College of the Arts, then known as Cornish Institute. I lived on Capitol Hill just a few blocks from the school and studied music composition and performance. During that time I worked for And/Or, a Seattle nonprofit arts organization.

I was very involved in the music program Soundwork . We built an electronic music studio in a loft on the 2^nd floor of the Odd Fellows building at 915 E Pine St. Soundwork Studio was a public access studio and a performance hall for area composers. We gave classes, produced concerts, and I hosted a radio show on the now defunct KRAB FM.

Soundwork Studio, February 1982

Capitol Hill was (and still is) a great place to live with its close proximity to downtown. I enjoyed many a walk down Broadway from Cornish to And/Or on Pike Street. I fondly remember those days as a kind of Gothic / Renaissance Period (a lot of young people in black with boots, Mohawks, pink purple and orange hair with a lot of chain-like bling) and writers, painters, dancers, poets, musicians, and theater people everywhere.

There was always something going on and it all needed to be talked about. We frequented the Comet Tavern back then… cheap beer, free peanuts, and a communal can of Top Tobacco and papers on the bar. Life was good.

Fast forward to 2010 and behold, The Pike Pine Triangle, a vibrant neighborhood full of shops, cafés, restaurants, boutiques, and a newer hotel. Now there’s a high demand to live here and my agents are calling me to help them look for condos. They have buyers who want to live in this neighborhood.

The challenge is inventory to fill the demand. Most everyone I’m working with who has clients that want into this born again hotspot neighborhood really want 3+ bedrooms and at least 1600 (preferably more) square feet. I find it interesting that the new client demographic is so different from the single young urban professionals who were buying here over the past several years. Now they’re a little older, married, and many with kids.

I looked into the Pike Pine Triangle and found 40 studio units averaging a little over 600 square feet, 143 1 bedroom units around 800 square feet, and only 14 units with 2 bedrooms from 900 to 1200 square feet. Sounds ripe for further development, but until then condos that fit the need are elsewhere on the hill or downtown.

Title Insurance is Sexy...

Wed, 26 May 2010 19:27:00 -0700

At The Talon Group in the Pacific Northwest… Title Insurance is Sexy…

Take a virtual walk with me...

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:10:49 -0700

Last Friday afternoon a client requested information on a property for a potential listing in Gold Bar, Washington. Gold Bar is a small rural community in southeast Snohomish County about 55 miles northeast from my office in the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle.

You’re definitely in the high country heading into Gold Bar and the Cascade Mountains on State Route 2. If you continue east you’ll drive through several small towns and burgs then over Stevens Pass into Leavenworth (famous for its Bavarian motif), and finally to Wenatchee on the Columbia River in Eastern Washington. It’s a beautiful drive.

I was given an address of 429 Croft, Gold Bar, WA. But having been in the industry awhile and knowing Gold Bar is about as far off the urban grid as you can get and still show up on the map, chances are (with just one piece of information) it might not be so easy to find. I’m hoping luck is with me.

Did I mention its late Friday afternoon, after 4:00 PM? If you’ve ever spent any amount of time in a title company property information department you know the Friday afternoon axiom. The closer to 5:00 PM the phone rings, the more challenging the task will be.

After looking through my systems, I’m getting nowhere. I opt out to Google Maps to see if they have this address plotted. If I can just get a visual to work with I’ll be on my way. But, Google puts me here and I’m still not finding anything around this location that helps.

I grab every street named Croft in the county along with every address in the 400’s from my database and mash them up in hopes of creating a few matches in Gold Bar. A few do, but nothing close to 429 Croft.

I call the broker and catch her on her cell phone in her car. “You wouldn’t happen to know just one other tidbit of info I might be able to use to compare things with?” She does, “I think it’s a La Hacienda Restaurant.” Great, that should do it and I’m off looking for restaurants. My enthusiasm is short lived, dang, nothing near here.

Using Google satellite aerials I zoom in from above. “We are sorry, but we don’t have imagery at this zoom level.” I can’t get close enough to identify anything.

Okay, Google… this is it, you and me. It’s here somewhere, I know it. I look at the little yellow stick figure guy on the upper left of the map… you know, the drag me to street level icon. I’m assuming this won’t work but what the heck I give it a try…

AND BEHOLD, I’m on the street!

Google puts me here…

I’m not seeing a La Hacienda restaurant, are you?

The good news is Google drove down Highway 2 taking street view imagery and I’m there!

I turn my view in a circle to take a look around me then start clicking my way down Croft on a virtual walk heading east for about 6 blocks and guess what I find?

TA DA! Here it is… The La Hacienda Restaurant… Gold Bar, Washington.

My spirits lifted as I position my vantage point from different spots on the street and find I’m on the corner of Croft Ave and 5^th. I gotcha now!

As often is the case, the legal situs address (assigned by the county) is different from the mailing or postal address. The county carries it as 407 Croft, and the mail/street address is 429 Croft. I go to the Snohomish County Assessors website and look up that location on their aerials. Yep, that’s it, and there’s the tax number. ;0)

Who’d a thought a few years ago we’d have digital imagery online that we could virtually walk through?