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My familiarity with Mr. Bittman was strictly as a fond reader of his Dining & Wine “Minimalist” column in The New York Times (and watcher of related how-to videos). I am very glad to know that his words add up to more than what he eats. I am even more glad to know that his How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (sequel to How to Cook Everything) is a bestseller — particularly interesting considering he is not a vegetarian. (Neither am I, yet I very much want this book.) Not long after this talk, Bittman’s related article “Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler” was also published in the Times.

While there are certainly lots of folks talking about this sort of thing (this talk might be considered a la the likes of Michael Pollan and Al Gore [links to his most recent TED talk]), he smacks two things over our heads worth noting: livestock production is the second highest contributor of atmosphere altering/climate altering gases — its impact is higher than that of transportation. The idea that industrialized food causes more harm to the environment than cars really stops the traffic. I mean, we don’t have to drive a car in order to live. But we do have to eat.

The second point is how the American collective consciousness about how we eat actually means something — what I eat directly affects the environment.

Yeah, okay; duh. But for many people, that reality just isn’t something they think about when reaching for a bag of chips, can of soda or frying up some burgers. And for the majority of my life, I have been incredibly guilty of this mindlessness because eating is easy. I can walk into a Wendy’s with $1* in my hand and buy six chicken nuggets [*plus a few cents for tax]. Easy.

While I appreciate this talk on a googly level — it’s always nice when the course of one’s celebrity manages to reveal that he is actually a decent human being — I also appreciate that it waxes plainly, honestly. It also continues the mark of a trend that I can only hope continues: the popularity of books like The Omnivore’s Dilemma (or any of Pollan’s other bestsellers) means that at least people are curious, they are thinking about where there food comes from. The next part involves increased frequency of assertions of Mark Bittman et al that our eating habits and climate change are inextricably linked.

Sure, more duh stuff, but the hammer is just not hitting hard enough. While writers/journalists/scholars may have the onus of delivering facts, it is ultimately in the hands of consumers to affect any sort of change — there is still way too much money involved to get this going by any means other than from the consumer, up. And it is only if this impact can be viewed in dollars by the companies responsible for putting food on our plates as a mass loss of profits that will convince them to develop any sort of alternative corporate model. This requires a huge commitment on a vast scale, but the good news is that if everyone is, if I am, just a tiny bit more mindful of how we consume our food, we will make giant strides towards revamping the current system.

This is maybe the first thing in my life that I’ve felt like I could actually do; that could mean as much personally as it could on a much larger scale. I am only hoping that way more people than me feel that way, too.

By David Swanson

The Declaration of Independence is frequently cited but rarely read, and even more rarely updated. Remarkably, it needs very little updating to apply to the latest King George III. A couple of years ago, in preparation for July 4th events, Veterans for Peace (VFP) came up with the Declaration of Impeachment, which changes very few words from the original Declaration of Independence: http://afterdowningstreet.org/declarationofimpeachment

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In case you haven't heard, former Governor Jim Gilmore won the U.S. Senate nomination today at the Republican Party of Virginia's state convention. Later in the day, Delegate Jeff Frederick was elected the party's new state chairman. Their opponents were, respectively, Delegate Bob Marshall and former Lieutenant Governor John Hager.

I spent most of my hours in the convention hall taking videos of the proceedings (lots of speeches, mostly exhortations to the party faithful to work hard to elect John McCain and defeat Mark Warner in November).

Setting aside the video camera for a few minutes, I took some snapshots of the political activists gathered in the Richmond Convention Center. Here are a few that survived the odd lighting:

By David Swanson

The Declaration of Independence is frequently cited but rarely read, and even more rarely updated. Remarkably, it needs very little updating to apply to the latest King George III. A couple of years ago, in preparation for July 4th events, Veterans for Peace (VFP) came up with the Declaration of Impeachment, which changes very few words from the original Declaration of Independence: http://afterdowningstreet.org/declarationofimpeachment

The long-awaited Rules and Bylaws Committee met today and decided on the best of a bad set of options where the Florida and Michigan delegations were concerned: halving both of them and compensating for the problems posed by Obama's absence from the Michigan ballot. On the surface, the decision removes one major albatross from the remaining campaign. This is a reasonable outcome, it is

Last October I forecast open rebellion in the Republican Party if they nominated Gilmore to run against Warner. Between now and November, let’s see how accurate that proves to be. I think it will be even more pronounced than I’d predicted. Hager, having served in Warner’s cabinet, would be understanding of Republicans who choose to endorse Warner. I’ll bet that Frederick will show zero tolerance for it, driving Republicans out of the party and into the DPVA’s waiting arms.

I’m reading the Commission on Mental Health Law Reform’s research on commitment hearings in May of 2007.  It’s a long read but last night I skipped to the part about the commitment rate per jurisdiction and figured out 16 was Charlottesville and that the numbers weren’t lying and that in May of 2007 only one [...]

By David Swanson

So, the Democratic National Committee has bent the rules for Senator Clinton and effectively given her 87 delegates and Senator Obama 63 from two states that were not supposed to be counted. That gives Clinton a grand total of 1,580 pledged (more or less) delegates, and Obama 1,711. While, technically that still leaves Obama with “the lead,” there are 86 pledged delegates remaining to be awarded in Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota. This means that Clinton can still pull it out if she picks up 153 percent of the remaining delegates, an improvement on the 181 percent she would have needed to pick up if not for the Michigan-Florida deal.

after 20 hours of physical activity they ran down this mountain, turned around and ran back up alone. Them and God, their creator and sustainer. If He did it, so could they.

A favored infotainment site and two bits of small humor realized while dogwalking. More entertaining than it sounds, if only slightly.

In the current market with such a large inventory of homes for sale homeowners need to do everything they can to make their home be the one that buyers want.  If you are dealing with a small home it is important to make sure that the rooms appear as large as possible.  One of the most inexpensive ways to make a room look larger is through paint.

We all have heard that lighter paint hues make a room look larger and that dark colors make it look smaller.  However we do not necessarily have to resort to pale colors.  If you do want to use a darker color try covering it with a coat of clear satin polyurethane to add some shine.  Or use white trim with your deeper paint color to give  a crisp feel.

Another thing to do is to make one wall a focal point and paint it in a deep color.  Then paint the other three walls in a lighter neutral tone. 

You can give an illusion of space through painting the room in thin vertical stripes in two similar tones.   Or try a faux finish to give the walls a feeling of depth.

After painting be sure to declutter.  Also surfaces that reflect light such as glass and mirrors can help make a room look larger.

Pam Dent, e-PPRO, SRES
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, VA
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.Charlottesville.virginiablogpage.com

 

 

The Daily Progress has an article about swelling fees for new sewer connections (Builders to see swell in fees | Charlottesville Daily Progress)  Here’s a quote:

In Albemarle, a developer or anyone building a new house needing sewer and water connections will pay $14,079, including other fees specific to Albemarle, starting Sept. 1. This year they paid $11,790. The city of Charlottesville’s fees are generally about $1,000 less for residential units, though the proposed fees, which would increase, have not yet been adopted by the City Council.

I have a couple thoughts:

First, while $14K is a lot of money, it is paid by the user.  I’m a fan of me not paying for someone else’s sewer.  It’s high but I guess it’s expensive to run a municipal sewer system.

Second: $14K is a ton of money… I had no idea.  I recently had estimates done for a septic system and it was between $2 and $6K depending on what kind.  And that’s pretty much a one time fee.  There is some periodic maintenance but very little.  And if you need to have a lagoon because of soil quality it’s unsightly.  But it’s way cheaper.  Even cheaper still I’d bet if you could share a larger system with a few neighbors (though people with septic tend to have far-off neighbors). 

I was doing some research on month end numbers for sales in our local MLS and several things popped out at me.

First a little background on me. My life before Real Estate was in engineering so I am naturally interested in numbers, statistics and charts. I am sometimes overly analytical.

Second, the numbers for sales in our area (like a lot of areas) are down year over year. Nothing really surprising there, here is a chart that you may find interesting:

These are sales in just Albemarle County (excluding the city of Charlottesville) going back to Jan or 2004.

Third, I have noticed an increase in local agents blogging, not only on active rain but other places on the Internet as well. In fact in AR we now have 74 bloggers just in Albemarle County and a year ago it was only a hand full.

 So, you know what I did next…. I cross referenced the bloggers to see what their sales numbers were in our local area and found out something interesting.

There are a lot of people with “little or no sales” spending a great deal of time blogging.

It seems that “Some Blog and Some Sell” but the agents that excel will Do Both!!!

If you are an agent and are new to blogging, do not get too caught up in the fever of blogging. You need to be out there making sales too.

In fact if you are not making sales and are spending a great deal of time blogging, you may find that you are addicted to blogging and it is keeping you away from the day to day business of selling Real Estate.

Try to keep things in perspective and do not forget to be out in the public doing business!

If you are a consumer and you are reading real estate agent’s blogs, ask the hard question of the agent, “how do you have so much time to Blog and work for me full time too” Ask about sales and referrals, buying or selling your home is too important.

Agents, it is all about “Perspective“

Your RE/MAX Agent in Charlottesville Virginia!

I was doing some research on month end numbers for sales in our local MLS and several things popped out at me.

First a little background on me. My life before Real Estate was in engineering so I am naturally interested in numbers, statistics and charts. I am sometimes overly analytical.

Second, the numbers for sales in our area (like a lot of areas) are down year over year. Nothing really surprising there, here is a chart that you may find interesting:

These are sales in just Albemarle County (excluding the city of Charlottesville) going back to Jan or 2004.

Third, I have noticed an increase in local agents blogging, not only on active rain but other places on the Internet as well. In fact in AR we now have 74 bloggers just in Albemarle County and a year ago it was only a hand full.

 So, you know what I did next…. I cross referenced the bloggers to see what their sales numbers were in our local area and found out something interesting.

There are a lot of people with “little or no sales” spending a great deal of time blogging.

It seems that “Some Blog and Some Sell” but the agents that excel will Do Both!!!

If you are an agent and are new to blogging, do not get too caught up in the fever. You need to be out there making sales too. In fact if you are not making sales then you may find that you are addicted to blogging and it is keeping you away from the day to day business of selling Real Estate. Try to keep things in perspective and…..Sell, Sell, Sell!!!!

If you are in the public and reading real estate agent’s blogs, ask the hard question of the agent, “how do you have so much time to Blog and work for me full time too”

It is all about “Perspective“

Your RE/MAX Agent in Charlottesville Virginia!

Last week I suggested that an Obama administration, of it were extremely lucky and everything went smashingly, might eek out 3 big achievements in the first term: wind down the war, reform health care, and institute a cap and trade regime to cut carbon emissions. After thinking about it for a bit, it occured to me that Obama doesn’t really have 4 years. He really has less than 18 months before the 2010 midterms start to vie for Congress’ attention.

Via Ezra Klein, here’s what Obama himself is saying about his first 100 days:

After sitting down with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to figure out a strategy in Iraq, “[G]et our health care plan moving. We need a bill…by March or April to get going before the political season sets in.”

So that’s one and two. The carbon emissions legislation can probably wait, since the environment has grown considerably more popular, pressing, and mainstream as an issue in the last few years. In fact, energy reform could even be an issue to run on in the 2010 midterms rather than run away from.

Charlottesville Real Estate update (year to date) May 31,2008

Let’s Talk Charlottesville Real Estate! 

We are very fortunate to live in such a wonderful area. We have four season, Blue Ridge Views and the University of Virginia! Sales are starting to pick up in Charlottesville and our year is off to a good start.

• In Charlottesville City we have SOLD 221 HOMES.
• There are currently 363 HOMES on the market.
• Our average DOM (Days on the Market) is at 120 Days .
• Our Average selling price is $310,340.

NOTE: These are just homes in the city of Charlottesville 

 

Click Here for a link to see Great Neighborhoods in our area!

Please visit my website at Charlottesville Real Estate for details about our area and other homes on the market in Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the surrounding counties like Nelson, Greene, Madison, Fluvanna, Orange and Louisa.

 

Please look at our local phonebook for contact information on local companies.

Your RE/MAX Agent for Charlottesville Real Estate
Charles McDonald

Come visit and tour our area anytime!

Albemarle County Virginia Home Information - YTD May 31, 2008

When you are looking for Charlottesville Real Estate remember that Charlottesville is in Albemarle County. We have grand estates and horse farms in Albemarle. The back roads will give you a feeling of peace and harmony as you drive by these beautiful properties. When you are ready to tour, just give me a call, it is my favorite thing to do in our area.

                                       

Albemarle County Virginia Home Information 

The Real Estate market everywhere is constantly changing and Charlottesville and Albemarle are no exception.

• In Albemarle we have SOLD 417 HOMES.
• There are currently 1111 HOMES on the market.
• Our average DOM (Days on the Market) is at 111 Days .
• Our Average selling price is $400,373.

We have some excellent neighborhoods to see like:

Glenmore  Foxchase  Old Trail  Forest Lakes  Dunlora

Click Here for a link to other Great Neighborhoods in our area!

Please visit my website at Charlottesville Real Estate for details about our area and other homes on the market in Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the surrounding counties!

Nelson, Greene, Madison, Fluvanna, Orange and Louisa

Please look at our local phonebook for contact information on local companies.

Your RE/MAX Agent in Charlottesville
Charles McDonald

Come visit and tour our area anytime!

Bang-up piece, as per usual, from Mark Schmitt, this time on conservatives’ brand of identity politics: “we’re real Americans and the rest of you are, well…. not.” Hard to excerpt a money quote so you’ll have to go read the whole thing.

Louisa County Virginia Home Information 2008 YTD (May 31, 2008)

The Real Estate market everywhere is constantly changing and Louisa County Virginia is too.

• In Louisa we have SOLD 101 HOMES.
• There are currently 285 HOMES on the market.
• Our average DOM (Days on the Market) is at 96 Days.
• Our Average selling price is $323,120.

We have some excellent neighborhoods to see close to Nelson like:

Glenmore   Foxchase   Old Trail   Forest Lakes   Dunlora

Click Here for a link to other Great Neighborhoods in our area!

Please visit my website at Charlottesville Real Estate for details about our area and other homes on the market in Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the surrounding counties!

Nelson, Greene, Madison, Fluvanna, Orange and Louisa

Please look at our local phonebook for contact information on local companies.

Your agent in Charlottesville

Charles McDonald

Come visit and tour our area anytime!

 

Very interesting and hearty exchange here.

In a wish come true, Delegate Jeff Frederick has been elected RPV Chairman, replacing Lt. Gov. John Hager after less than a year on the job. The 32-year-old Frederick is considerably to the right of Hager — your stereotypical angry Republican — and he’s all but promised to accelerate his party’s plunge off the cliff.

Given Frederick’s pledge to surrender his HoD seat if he won, Democrats can safely notch this up as yet another special election won, making it easier still to secure the majority come the November 2009 elections. Frederick’s last serious challenge came from Democrat Hilda Barg in 2005, and he squeaked out a victory with just 51% of the vote. The 52nd district is deep in Democrats’ territory in Northern Virginia. It’s quite possible that the RPV won’t put any resources towards retaining Frederick’s seat.

It seems that nobody leaves the RPV chairmanship — they’re all thrown overboard. Hager was elected a little over ten months ago, replacing Kate Obenshain Griffin, who was forced out in November 2006 in the face of a divorce and Sen. George Allen’s embarrassing loss to Jim Webb. And she replaced Gary Thompson in 2003, after Thompson joined the enormous roster of RPV leadership caught up in their jailarious wiretapping scandal.

The pattern is rather like a guy who tells his new girlfriend that all of the women that he’s dated turned out to be tramps. A smart woman knows that she’ll be one of the “tramps” before long. Frederick may hold on longer than Hager (assuming that the base doesn’t want to switch horsemen in the middle of the apocalypse), avoiding getting tossed out until Republicans entirely lose control of the General Assembly come November. Then the incredible shrinking party can select somebody still farther to the right, and continue to wonder why they’re losing. Repeat as necessary.

Nelson County Virginia Home Information - YTD May 31, 2008

Located just South West of Charlottesville is the incredible county of Nelson. With graceful roadways and the Blue Ridge Parkway Nelson is a truly magical place. We have Wintergreen Resort for Snow Skiing and great golf! When you are looking for Charlottesville Real Estate remember Nelson County our Southern neighbor! Let’s take a tour together!

 

 

The Real Estate market everywhere is constantly changing and Nelson County Virginia is too.

• In Nelson we have SOLD 56 HOMES.
• There are currently 340 HOMES on the market.
• Our average DOM (Days on the Market) is at 158 Days.
• Our Average selling price is $318,635.

We have some excellent neighborhoods to see close to Nelson like:

Glenmore     Foxchase     Old Trail      Forest Lakes     Dunlora

Click Here for a link to other Great Neighborhoods in our area!

Please visit my website at Charlottesville Real Estate for details about our area and other homes on the market in Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the surrounding counties!

Nelson, Greene, Madison, Fluvanna, Orange and Louisa

Your REMAX agent in Charlottesville

Charles McDonald

Come visit and tour our area anytime!

Fluvanna County Virginia Home Information - YTD May 31, 2008

Fluvanna County is located South East of Charlottesville. One of the main draws to Fluvanna is the Lake Monticello Area. Here you can get a home on a lake at a great price and the commute to Charlottesville is about 30 minutes on beautiful county roads!

 

The Real Estate market everywhere is constantly changing and Fluvanna County Virginia is too.

• In Fluvanna we have SOLD 145 HOMES.
• There are currently 362 HOMES on the market.
• Our average DOM (Days on the Market) is at 127 Days.
• Our Average selling price is $284,481.

We have some excellent neighborhoods to see like:

Glenmore     Foxchase     Old Trail      Forest Lakes     Dunlora

Click Here for a link to other Great Neighborhoods in our area!

Please visit my website at Charlottesville Real Estate for details about our area and other homes on the market in Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the surrounding counties!

 Albemarle, Nelson, Greene or Fluvanna counties.

Your Charlottesville REMAX agent

Charles McDonald

Come visit and tour our area anytime!