Last year was predictable once it got underway—a Seller’s market and bidding wars were the norm. Then came the mad hatter from Moscow, inflation and interest rate hikes and we are all at sea. What we know is that, like the surf, things will keep on rolling but our compasses need calibrating. Looking at sales […]
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2022 and Beyond: Market Analysis and Marshall Fire
Photo Credit: Wildfire Today By Karen Libin, John Dabbs, and Lou Barnes We are long-time Colorado real estate and mortgage people, cumulative experience among the three of us 94 years, and we write to you with the long view. Some years, even whole decades (as 2010-2019) are reasonably predictable. However, any short-term outlook today […]
Rural Housing Help
We note the call for assistance with refugees from Afghanistan. It tears at our heart strings that the situation deteriorated so quickly to what it has become. Many of us will be in a position to assist with donations of material goods, but if we cannot even house our own struggling employees on our properties, […]
Englitch
Reading or listening to the media can sometimes give cold shivers like a fingernail scratching on a blackboard. Why are we compelled to render simple English into complicated words and redundant phrases? “Arrearages”, “return back”? What was wrong with “arrears” and “return”, respectively? Then there is the commonly misconstrued use of the possessive “your” for […]
Medical Marvels
It is scary out there in the world of surgery. Scary for those on the table, if only routine for the experts wielding the scalpels. Recently, two close acquaintances underwent major procedures only to be sent home the same day. Each was as groggy as a mortally wounded soldier but managed the stairs and came […]
Service in a Service-based Economy
The service industry now makes up 70% of the US economy. Why, then, are some of the services so poor when some are so good? In the latter category I would include the likes of Chewy.com and Amazon. In the abysmal class, a recent Saturday morning experience illustrates a problem common to the mega-conglomerates that […]
No Vacilating with Vaccinations
Covid is a year old now. The treatment regime was: shutdown, mask up and social distance until the vaccines arrived. Rollout was perhaps a little tardy, but the old US of A is leading the field. At first we were all at sea— nowhere to book and no vaccines in evidence. Well last week this […]
Serving Civilly
Many of us recall the days of loyal, traditional governmental service. My mother worked as a civil servant for a decade: ceaselessly, loyally, reliably, and relentlessly. Now here we are in the 21st Century in Boulder County. We citizens own the land, pay taxes to provide for the acquisition thereof and are then restricted from […]
Beware: Workers Ahead
Rather: work is ahead. February is all but past and soon farmers will be coming out of the proverbial woodwork—burning ditches, fertilizing, and spraying, as necessary. But will there be water? The heaviest snowfall month is ahead but the mountains are looking bare from below. Sitting on water rights is of no use if there […]
Caught with our Pants Down
I speak for myself and Texas here, but both parties were ill prepared for the Artic blast we have just experienced. In my case it was on account of pure slothfulness that had a pipe freeze, but fortunately we caught it before anything burst. Our sympathies go out to other souls who were less fortunate. […]