Appraiser Street Gangs

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 1:02 PM
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This was sent to me by an appraiser colleague (obviously) and used without formal permission, but hey, I am plugging this strip – it has always been my favorite. Now I know why.

Talk Like A Pirate Day: September 19, 2011

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Monday, September 19, 2011, 9:08 AM
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Over the last 7 days, we’ve had several notable anniversaries including the 3rd anniversary of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy that marked the onset of the credit crunch and the 20th anniversary of the birth of Grunge music with the album release of Nirvana’s “Nevermind.”

Even New York State’s tourism efforts recognize the draw of Talk Like A Pirate Day (translated: “Even New Amsterdam State’s tourism efforts recognize th’ draw ‘o speak like a scurvy pirate day.)

For those who think I’m crazy, here’s proof (that I’m not) Talk Like A Pirate Day actually exists.

the day is the only holiday to come into being as a result of a sports injury. He has stated that during a racquetball game between Summers and Baur, one of them reacted to the pain with an outburst of “Aaarrr!”, and the idea was born. That game took place on June 6, 1995, but out of respect for the observance of D-Day, they chose Summers’ ex-wife’s birthday, as it would be easy for him to remember.

At first an inside joke between two friends, the holiday gained exposure when John Baur and Mark Summers sent a letter about their invented holiday to the American syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry in 2002. Barry liked the idea and promoted the day. Growing media coverage of the holiday after Barry’s column has ensured that this event is now celebrated internationally, and Baur and Summers now sell books and T-shirts on their website related to the theme. Part of the success for the international spread of the holiday has been attributed to non-restriction of the idea or trademarking, in effect opening the holiday for creativity and “viral” growth.

Forget the history you’ve been taught in school or reading in the paper, matrix celebrates the history that matters to its readers:

Talk Like A Pirate Day: September 19, 2010 (was too busy keel-haulin’ in 2010 to post)
Talk Like A Pirate Day: September 19, 2009
Talk Like A Pirate Day: September 19, 2008
Talk Like A Pirate Day: September 19, 2007
Talk Like A Pirate Day: September 19, 2006
Talk Like A Pirate Day: September 19, 2005

Note: Me blog was hacked a few years ago ‘n all me barnacle-covered scurvy pirate photos in th’ older posts were dleted ‘n me back-up failed.

Google’s special web search gets the day’s significance – notice the pirate talk menus on the left.

English to pirate: Translate now!

Arrrgh!

Calculate This: HP 12C 30th Anniversary Today

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Thursday, September 1, 2011, 12:48 PM
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Ok so my son, who is studying engineering in college, texts me a trivia question this morning: “What is so important about today? You have 5 minutes.” Of course I see this a no brainer since he’s in engineering – my answer: It’s the 30th anniversary of the HP 12C calculator today! (It actually is) “No”, he corrected me, “it is the start of WWII“. Of course I’m thinking Pearl Harbor and December 7th but that’s only the US entry point.

Where’s reverse polish notation (RPN) when you need it?

This year I reluctantly retired my HP 12C after 25 years of loyal service. I bought one in 1986 when we launched our appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Since 1986 I’ve only changed the battery once, its logo fell off, 3 footpads are missing, there was gunk on the screen and lots of dents in the metal. However, it had done billions of dollars in calculations and was a great thing to have handy at all times.

I wore the longevity of my HP 12C like a “badge of honor”

I eventually got an HP 12C app for my laptop and one for my iPhone and iPad. The built-in calculator for macs now has a setting for RPN -> think “1 enter, 1 +” instead of “1 + 1 =”

Earlier this year, several number buttons wouldn’t work without pressing very hard, so I eventually made the painful decision to replace it. I even considered dragging my new model behind my car for a few miles to break it in, like stone washing a pair of new jeans.

Ok, back to work.

What Does Today’s East Coast Earthquake Mean To The US Housing Market

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Tuesday, August 23, 2011, 6:16 PM
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Image source

Nothing.

UPDATE

[Here's a Sign] When You’re Not Happy With Your Bank…

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Sunday, August 14, 2011, 3:07 PM
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Frank L. DeFazio, Esq., a real estate broker in Philadelphia and reader of Matrix, liked my last post and shared a few photos with me that he came across – apparently someone was fed up with Bank of America.

Put up a sign…

…across the street from a branch

Gotta love our country!

(My beef with BofA is with their behemoth appraisal management company, Landsafe.)

[The Daily Show] “The Forecloser” Bank of America Gets Foreclosed

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Friday, August 12, 2011, 9:14 PM
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Hat tip to AppraisalScoop.com for this one!

This is a fresh take on last year’s story about how Bank of America (owner of Landsafe AMC), attempted to foreclose on a house that did not have a mortgage, and had the tables turned on them. BofA is getting a lot of flack for many other foreclosure actions as well.

B of A’s public relations department has to be frantically trying to find any good news in a sea of bad news.

With millions of foreclosures to occur before this bad dream is over, it’s easy to pick on a large lender like BofA who is dealing with a massive amount of administrative headaches with plenty of mistakes to be made. But on the other hand, no one made BofA purchase Countrywide who was already known as the poster child for bad mortgage lending. Countrywide owns the poster child for bad appraisal management companies, Landsafe. BofA might have escaped relatively unscathed from the foreclosure crisis if they had not purchased Countrywide.

So while there are many smart, nice people, some of whom are my friends, we have license to make fun of BofA, the institution.

[Curbed Scribe] Being Less Powerful Than 98 People

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 5:38 PM
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Although I posted on this topic this morning, Joey Arak over at NY.Curbed asked me how I felt about being ranked 99th in the New York Observer’s Power 100. I shared the raw emotion of it all after realizing I was wedged in between two media types:

[Read it!]

In fact my emotion was so powerful, word travelled to Washington DC faster than Amtrak ever could (even Acela!).

[Update] New York Observer Responds: Jonathan Miller Is Still No. 1 in Our Hearts…

[3.141592653] National Pi Day

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Monday, March 14, 2011, 4:55 PM
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Well, it’s that time of year – the most important day of the year of numbers geeks, second only to Talk Like A Pirate Day (for all remaining geeks) – National Pi Day.

Not to be confused with National Pie Day because it’s a lot more cerebral.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology often mails its application decision letters to prospective students for delivery on Pi Day.

Congress officially recognized the day back in 2009 but the GOP transition team is trying to remove “commemorative resolutions” (say it isn’t so!).

One thing for sure – despite the proliferation of cake shows on television, and the continued heated debate on the merits of each…

PIE (PI) trumps CAKE anytime.

Ok, I’m full.

Getting Back To Basics (Matrix) Without Going Charlie Sheen On You

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Thursday, March 3, 2011, 8:00 PM
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Everything that has a beginning has an end.
–Matrix Movie 1999.

Back in the summer of 2005 I started blogging here, beginning out of frustration with the sham property appraisals that banks demanded, the looming collapse of the economy and the insanity of mortgage lending. It’s been a journey, one of admittedly blowhardy passion coupled with a whole a lot of self-indulgence (like this post).

Ironically, the opportunities made possible by being transparent about the real estate matters at hand tempered the amount of content here over the past year which again has brought more personal frustration (no I am not starting another blog to examine that).

My appraisal firm Miller Samuel is coming up on our 25th anniversary (I co-founded when I was 5 years old – you do the math) and Matrix will be 6 so I think it’s time to “end” my inconsistency.

Planning a redesign and more content.

Tiny-house Enthusiast

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Thursday, March 3, 2011, 11:30 AM
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Source: NY Times

Ok, here’s a quirky NYT human interest story, more about creativity. Think “Age Against the Machine.”

Reminds me of runway models wearing eccentric clothes that no one will actually wear but will inspire a new design trend.

Read-on…