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The Crossland Team
Sylvia Crossland, Broker Steve Crossland, MPM (512) 301-5811 |
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Understanding Your Economic Stimulus Payment
August 9, 2008
I received this nice letter from the IRS called “Understanding Your Economic Stimulus Payment”. I got out a calculator to arrive at my own understanding and, from what I can tell, my stimulus award was taxed at a rate of 92.17%, which is the percentage of the $1,800 total that was taken back because we make supposedly earned too much in 2007. That leaves us with a whopping $140.90 which which to stimulate the economy.
That’s fine, I don’t really care about the money, but what irks me is that politicians run around spouting the gross figures, as if it has been rebated to everyone. But those of us who worked too hard and contributed too much toward our nation’s tax base were not the only ones who got left out.
I did a bit of searching and came across a blog article from a self described “Crazy Old Lady” who, along with her dog and cat, is getting by in life on $573 per month SSI income. She didn’t get a stimulus rebate either.
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Right Brain Left Brain Spinning Girl
November 12, 2007
Someone sent me a link to this spinning girl and I found it interesting.
Which way is she spinning for you? For me, she is spinning to the right (clockwise) 100% of the time. For Sylvia, she is spinning to the left (counter-clockwise) 100% of the time. For our kids, she randomly switches back and forth for no apparent reason. The way my brain processes the image (seeing clockwise rotation) is suppose to mean I’m a “Right Brain” person. Counter-clockwise indicates Sylvia is a “Left Brain” person (which is why we make a great team even though we often disagree about things), though the description given of the Left Brain person more closely match who I am. Weird.
The main point this puzzle brings up for me though is to remind me that, as humans, we interpret and view things in life differently. What I see may not be true for you, and vice versa. This is why eye witnesses often tell completely different stories about the same event.
Being in an occupation where subjective opinion and interpretation plays large in how decisions are made, I have to remember that people don’t always see things as I do. I’ve often scratched my head when a Buyer passes up on a home that I view as being exactly what they say they want, but they simply don’t see it as their perfect home. Or when a buyer falls in love with a home that isn’t at all what they said they wanted, but for them, they see the perfect home.
If you see the woman spinning left and I see her spinning right, is one of us wrong? No. Can you convince me she is spinning left? Well, I might believe you if you say that’s what you see, but I still don’t see it. I’m trying though. Comments on the site where I found this indicate that if I try long enough, I should eventually be able to see it go both ways.
Why you should register YourName.com
July 7, 2007
A Realtor friend of mine, from a city and state which shall remain unnamed, called me the other day to ask if I knew what could be done about the fact that a disgruntled party in one of his deals (not his client) had registered the dot com of his first and last name and put up a “this Realtor Sucks” website. He called me because he knows I know a lot about this stuff. Unfortunately, all I could suggest was contacting an attorney. Once that domain is registered by someone else, he has no control over the content of the website. I checked in with him a couple of days ago and the attorney had drafted a strongly worded letter and was taking quick action. The person who did this could actually be in big trouble for liable and slander. Hopefully the site will be down soon.
This brings up a good point though. Even if you are not in an occupation that requires regular public interface, such that your name is part of your business and branding, you should register yourname.com, if it’s available, so that someone else can’t do what was done to my friend. I’ve registered mine and my wife and kid’s names for that reason.
You never know when your 15 minutes of fame might strike and suddenly yourname.com has value as a destination that curious people type into their browser and search engines. More importantly, you want to have it so someone else can’t grab it and do what was done to my friend, or worse. What if your angry ex decides to put a site up at yourname.com with some embarrassing home photos or movies? It’s a different world we live in now-a-days. In the case of my Realtor friend, a Google Search for his name brings up the offending site already as the number 2 result, right below his real website. That’s not good.
For $5 or $10 per year, there is no reason not to register yourname.com. Go to GoDaddy.com and see if yours is available and grab it while you can.
Happy Independence Day - July 4th
July 4, 2006
When is the last time you read the entire text of the Declaration of Independence? Last night, while talking with my kids about what the 4th of July really means, and that which we celebrate, I couldn’t remember the exact wording of the following …
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
It bothered me that I could not remember this (which I have known since being a small grade schooler), so I re-read the entire Declaration of Independence. What a fantastic document! I’ve reposted it below. This is what the 4th of July is all about - the celebration of our freedom. We are truly blessed to be Americans and to live in a country where anyone can obtain and own real estate. It’s easy to forget that there is perhaps nowhere else in the world where this level of personal achievement is as readily possible and obtainable as in the United States of America.
About Blogging - Thanks to Tom at 4WebResults.com
April 26, 2006
It’s been 10 months since I started writing blog articles on this website, and it’s been about 3 years since my good friend Tom Parish told me I should start a blog. I’m sort of stubborn, so it took me a while. Tom’s a Website Promotion and Internet Marketing Consultant. He helps people make their websites more visible and easier to find. He owns www.4webresults.com. We are next door neighbors, occassional walking buddies, and our daughters attend the same school and are good friends.
Tom kept on me for years - “Steve, you need to start writing a blog”. I thought, “what in the heck am I going to say?”. Tom said, “just write about all that stuff you talk about when we go walking.” So finally I did, and he was right. It’s a great outlet for me, a way to make our real estate website more alive, and we get wonderful feedback from our clients and a steady stream of new leads who say “love reading your blog“. When I look at the web stats to see which pages are the most viewed, it’s the blog articles by a long shot, not the static pages about us and what we do.
So this is a THANK YOU!! and a plug for Tom Parish at 4WebResults.com and the great service and expert advice he provides. Thanks Tom!! You were right!
Doug and His Friends
March 31, 2006
A couple of weeks ago Sylvia and I found ourselves standing in a homeless encampment off of South Congress with her two brothers, her neice, her ex-sister-in-law, and the homeless residents of this location, who were most gracious hosts. We were there mainly seeking closure. It was 2 days after the death of Sylvia’s oldest brother Doug, whom we had not seen nor heard from in 12 years. For reasons of his own, he chose to be seperated from his family. We never knew exactly where he was or how he was getting by, except that he once drove a cab and no longer did. Now we were standing in front of his tent - his home - while his chosen family - his homeless friends - told us about him and his recent life living “on the hill” as they called it.
Married 15 Years Today!
March 9, 2006
Sylvia and I have been married 15 years today. She woke me early this morning with the tender, romantic words “sweetie, you need to get up and take out the garbage”. And so I did get up and drag the trashcan to the street. Now isn’t that what marriage is all about?!
In 1989 when Sylvia was a leasing agent in Austin, we met through mutual friends. For me, it was love at first sight (but not for her). When she learned I was looking for a place to rent, she told me about a garage apartment she had listed. I liked the place (and her) so I leased it. Meanwhile, the main house was still for rent, so she had a sign in the yard with her name and phone number. Each day as I came and went, I would see her name and phone number there next to my driveway. Finally one day I got the courage to call her.
Keller Williams Real Estate Agents Demonstrate ‘Extreme’ Volunteerism
July 23, 2005
CLARKSVILLE, TENN. (Friday, July 22, 2005)
In keeping with Keller Williams Realty International’s mission to build lives worth living, a dedicated group of associates from the Clarksville, Tenn., market center put their busy schedules on hold to ensure an injured Iraq war veteran could live a better life – in the comfort of a brand-new home. More than 60 Clarksville associates and their families worked through five days and four nights to help construct a new house for Army Master Sgt. Luis Rodriguez and his family as part of the ABC television hit show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
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