Kenmore Undressed

Some Really Cool Things I Learned in 2008 – My Brain Hurts!!!

BLOGGING

I began blogging in April as a means to advertise my real estate business. At that time it was simply a dollars and cents decision. I thought it would be less expensive than print advertising (which didn’t seem to be very effective anymore). What I didn’t realize was how blogging would fundamentally change my perspective about EVERYTHING! It started out as a high-tech way to convey real estate statistics and talk about the market (not too exciting). It has ended up being far more than that:

1) It has become the creative outlet I’ve always wanted: writing, interviewing, interacting, taking pictures, educating, journaling and philosophizing ALL IN ONE PLACE!!!!!

2) Blogging has made me smarter. Really!!!  Just ask my wife. Strike that, just take my word for it!

3) Blogging forced me to incorporate a lot of new, useful tools and skills such as google, the “blogosphere” and social networking. We really are living in a hyper-connected world.

ITALY & ITALIAN

My wife, Virginia, and I first visited Italy in 1981 during a foreign exchange program in Kiel, Germany. My mother wanted me to visit our Italian relatives while we were in Europe as none of our immediate family had ever gone back to the “fatherland.” Needless to say, my family was wonderful. The funny thing is, it took us 25 years to return. In 2006 we went back for one month and discovered just how wonderful my families are (my mother’s family in Torino and my father’s family in Lucca). At that time we started learning Italian in earnest. We returned this last summer (August-September) for five weeks and during this visit we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary in Torino. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. I was with the woman I love, in a country of unfathomable beauty, celebrating with some of the most joyous people on earth: my Italian family. Good times! Today, Virginia and I can speak and understand enough Italian to be quasi-functional. I’m glad my family is understanding……

MY READING LIST

I’m a NON-FICTION reader these days. This is ironic because I studied Greek, Latin and Comparative Literature in college. I love all sorts of literature, but there’s nothing I like more than reading about the anthropology of this or the economics of that. Hey, I used to like Classical music but now I listen to Korn and Marilyn Manson………things change. So, here’s my reading list for 2008. If you click on the individual book pictures, you will be taken to some interesting reviews:

I read some utterly fascinating books in 2008. As you can see, I have a penchant for reading books about “how people/organizations/cultures work. I can still remember being knocked-over by the late anthropologist, Marvin Harris’ “Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches” way back when. I was hooked.

TECHNOLOGY STUFF

ALL THINGS GOOGLE – Google has become the most powerful player in the world of the Internet. If you are not already connected with several of the tools Google offers, I highly recommend you consider using the following:

GMAIL – Easy to use and universally accessible, having a email account through Google is one of those basics we all should have.

GOOGLE READER – As a blogger, I scan a huge number of publications every day. This seemingly difficult, time consuming chore is simplified by setting up a Google Reader. Click here to learn more.

GOOGLE ALERT – If you want to know if your name or other important word comes up on a google search, set up a Google Alert. I have mine set to inform me when the words Lupori and Kenmore are referenced in cyberspace. As a result, I’ve made contact with some Argentine folks who are also Luporis. As it happens, their ancestors come from a town close to my relatives in Tuscany. Wow, who would have thought…….

Google has a huge number of tools. Go there and find out for yourself. By the way, most everything in Google is FREE!

FLICKR.COM

Flickr.com is a Yahoo product that allows you to download your pictures (and video) from anywhere in the world to your own, personalized site. There you can edit, organize and store your photography. You can also see literally millions of other pictures from around the world. This is an amazing tool if you do a lot of traveling as you can safely put your pictures into Flickr.com. If you lose your camera, your pictures will be on Flickr when you get home. For $25 a year, you can download an unlimited number of pictures. It’s free to set up. How cool is that????

HOW FORTUNATE I AM

I’ve been a very fortunate man over the years. I’ll be 50 in April and, other than the gray hair (which I blame on my wife) I feel pretty good. How many guys can say they look good in an apron (a red one at that)? My greatest strength and gift in the world has been my beautiful wife, Virginia. We’ve been together almost 30 years and we’ve done a lot of wonderful things together. How she puts up with me, I’ll never know…….but I’m damn lucky to have met her.

We are living in extraordinary times. I have a sense that adversity will bring all Americans closer together and in that coming-together we will find new strength and vision. My most sincere hope is that the coming year will bring you all good health, joy and prosperity.

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