In case $4 gas wasn't enough for you, the Metro Finance Committee has voted to increase fares by as much as 15% beginning on July 1st: http://tinyurl.com/c4v3qpl
The largest fare is increasing from $5 one way to a whopping $5.75. Many of these people also pay for parking which will go up 25 cents a day adding $1.75 to their daily commute.
The changes are meant to simplify the number of types of fares and help close the $103 million budget deficit. However, many riders are left wondering whether they are paying more for deficient service.
Many escalators are broken more often than they are working, trains can be more packed than the Tokyo subway, and repeated mechanical failures and track work snarl traffic.
Hopefully, Metro will look at ways to reduce their budget and improve service without causing further strain on the wallets of their riders.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
The Nationals Are in First Place???
It's very early in the season but the Nationals are currently atop the National League East with a 7-3 record. With their $81 million payroll they are beating the Phillies who are loaded with stars and spend $175 million annually.
What's going on? There are a couple of factors:
1) Phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg is healthy and pitching well. He's 1-0 this year with 14 strikeouts and a 0.69 Earned Run Average (ERA).
2) Manager Davey Johnson has been able to institute his system in the organization since taking over for Jim Riggleman midway through the season.
3) The whole rotation is pitching great with a combined ERA of 1.99 - Ross Detwiler and Jordan Zimmerman are pitching really strong.
4) Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond, and Jayson Werth all have batting averages above .340.
5) Most importantly they seem to believe in themselves and be having fun.
Let's hope they have a better than .500 winning percentage for the first time and bring some excitement to DC baseball!
What's going on? There are a couple of factors:
1) Phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg is healthy and pitching well. He's 1-0 this year with 14 strikeouts and a 0.69 Earned Run Average (ERA).
2) Manager Davey Johnson has been able to institute his system in the organization since taking over for Jim Riggleman midway through the season.
3) The whole rotation is pitching great with a combined ERA of 1.99 - Ross Detwiler and Jordan Zimmerman are pitching really strong.
4) Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond, and Jayson Werth all have batting averages above .340.
5) Most importantly they seem to believe in themselves and be having fun.
Let's hope they have a better than .500 winning percentage for the first time and bring some excitement to DC baseball!
Friday, April 13, 2012
3 Types of Appreciation in Real Estate
It is easy to think of appreciation in real estate as monolithic. But there are different reasons why properties appreciate:
1) Inflation appreciation: Over the long-term real estate prices have tended to rise. In fact, the median price of a house in the United States in 1975 was $38,600. In 2012, it is $171,250. Prices of all assets generally increase over time due to this inflationary effect and real estate is no exception. If it is rising for this reason alone more than the Consumer Price Index you are coming out ahead.
2) Demand appreciation: This is a localized area where the demand for housing in that area exceeds the supply, forcing prices up. These areas include those with good schools, access to mass transit, trendy restaurants that you can walk to and popular tourist destinations. Especially when there is very little possibility to add properties to that location and the reason for the demand is strong these areas are a good bet.
3) Forced appreciation: You force appreciation by improving the property and increasing the rents. You add value by making it a nicer place to rent or buy by a larger increment than it cost you to fix it up.
The best opportunities are when you can capitalize on all three types of appreciation. Find a hot area, with a property that needs some cosmetic work, at a time with some real estate inflation and you'll hit a home run.
1) Inflation appreciation: Over the long-term real estate prices have tended to rise. In fact, the median price of a house in the United States in 1975 was $38,600. In 2012, it is $171,250. Prices of all assets generally increase over time due to this inflationary effect and real estate is no exception. If it is rising for this reason alone more than the Consumer Price Index you are coming out ahead.
2) Demand appreciation: This is a localized area where the demand for housing in that area exceeds the supply, forcing prices up. These areas include those with good schools, access to mass transit, trendy restaurants that you can walk to and popular tourist destinations. Especially when there is very little possibility to add properties to that location and the reason for the demand is strong these areas are a good bet.
3) Forced appreciation: You force appreciation by improving the property and increasing the rents. You add value by making it a nicer place to rent or buy by a larger increment than it cost you to fix it up.
The best opportunities are when you can capitalize on all three types of appreciation. Find a hot area, with a property that needs some cosmetic work, at a time with some real estate inflation and you'll hit a home run.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Finalists Chosen to Re-Design Parts of National Mall
The Trust for the National Mall has announced the finalists for a design competition to make over areas near the Capitol, Washington Monument and Constitution Gardens. Here are some pictures of the proposals: http://tinyurl.com/85kvmdn
Many of these parts of the mall have not been re-designed in decades. As a result, this non-profit group plans to raise $350 million to make these proposed changes. There were entries from 32 teams and a jury has now narrowed it down to four finalists for each of the sites.
The Trust is seeking public comments to help them select the winners so make your voice heard in shaping the future of the National Mall. Just go to this website: http://www.nationalmall.org/design-competition/ideas
Click on the different proposals and you can submit your comments based on the proposals.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
This Maryland Man Really is a Superhero
About two weeks ago, there were a lot of headlines in the DC area about cops pulling over a guy dressed like batman: http://tinyurl.com/c439dmb. He was driving a black lamborghini with the bat symbol in place of the license plates. Evidently they stopped him for not having the proper tags.
Well it turns out that this guy is a real-life superhero. He's a business man who made his money so he now spends his time going to local children's hospitals dressed as Batman. He brings a ton of joy and hope to kids going through some pretty difficult times. It's simple but an extremely inspired way to make a difference.
Hats off to this caped crusader who had enough humility and unselfishness to help others in such a creative way. (Here's the video of "Batman" being pulled over by the police)
Monday, April 9, 2012
Steve Jobs and Maximizing Your Innovative Potential
Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton Christensen wrote a fabulous piece a couple years ago in Harvard Business Review called "The Innovator's DNA". They did a six year study of 25 innovative entrepreneurs and surveyed more than 3,000 executives and 500 individuals who had started innovative companies. Evidently, innovators like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page use five discovery skills to create new ideas.
1) Associating: the ability to successfully connect seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas from different fields. Pierre Omidyar started Ebay because: i) he was fascinated with creating more efficient markets; ii) his fiancee had a desire to locate hard to find collectible Pez dispensers; iii) local classified ads weren't very helpful for locating the Pez dispensers. (This quality supports the argument for exploring a wide variety of interests: botany, history, philosophy, art, poetry, etc.)
2) Questioning: Questioning the unquestionable is really important. True innovators get a real kick out of disrupting the status quo by asking Why? Why not? and What if?
3) Observing: Often the surprises that lead to new business ideas come from watching other people work and live their normal lives. You see something and ask "Why do they do that? That doesn't make sense."
4) Experimenting: As Edison said, "I haven't failed, I've simply found 10,000 ways that do not work." One of the most powerful experiments innovators can engage in is living and working overseas. "In fact, if managers try out even one international assignment before becoming CEO, their companies deliver stronger financial results than companies run by CEOs without such experience.
5) Networking: Innovative entrepreneurs go out of their way to meet people with different kinds of ideas and perspectives to extend their own knowledge domains.
What if you don't see yourself as particularly innovative? Don't worry, innovative thinking can be developed.
a) Try spending 15 to 30 minutes each day writing down 10 new questions that challenge the status quo in your company or industry.
b) Try to sharpen your observational skills.
c) Start to approach life with a hypothesis testing mindset. Attend seminars outside your area of expertise, read books that identify emerging trends.
d) To improve your networking skills, contact the five most creative people you know and ask them to share what they do to stimulate their creative thinking. Hold regular idea lunches at which you can meet new people from diverse functions, companies, and industries. Get them to tell you about their innovative ideas and ask for feedback on yours.
Innovative entrepreneurship is not a genetic predisposition, it is a an active endeavor.
Happy Innovating!!!
1) Associating: the ability to successfully connect seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas from different fields. Pierre Omidyar started Ebay because: i) he was fascinated with creating more efficient markets; ii) his fiancee had a desire to locate hard to find collectible Pez dispensers; iii) local classified ads weren't very helpful for locating the Pez dispensers. (This quality supports the argument for exploring a wide variety of interests: botany, history, philosophy, art, poetry, etc.)
2) Questioning: Questioning the unquestionable is really important. True innovators get a real kick out of disrupting the status quo by asking Why? Why not? and What if?
3) Observing: Often the surprises that lead to new business ideas come from watching other people work and live their normal lives. You see something and ask "Why do they do that? That doesn't make sense."
4) Experimenting: As Edison said, "I haven't failed, I've simply found 10,000 ways that do not work." One of the most powerful experiments innovators can engage in is living and working overseas. "In fact, if managers try out even one international assignment before becoming CEO, their companies deliver stronger financial results than companies run by CEOs without such experience.
5) Networking: Innovative entrepreneurs go out of their way to meet people with different kinds of ideas and perspectives to extend their own knowledge domains.
What if you don't see yourself as particularly innovative? Don't worry, innovative thinking can be developed.
a) Try spending 15 to 30 minutes each day writing down 10 new questions that challenge the status quo in your company or industry.
b) Try to sharpen your observational skills.
c) Start to approach life with a hypothesis testing mindset. Attend seminars outside your area of expertise, read books that identify emerging trends.
d) To improve your networking skills, contact the five most creative people you know and ask them to share what they do to stimulate their creative thinking. Hold regular idea lunches at which you can meet new people from diverse functions, companies, and industries. Get them to tell you about their innovative ideas and ask for feedback on yours.
Innovative entrepreneurship is not a genetic predisposition, it is a an active endeavor.
Happy Innovating!!!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Bold New 19-foot Sculpture Coming to Reston Town Center
By 2013, the green space between Reston Parkway and the Hyatt Regency Reston Hotel in Reston Town Center will be home to this avant-garde sculpture. It will be the work of Baltimore native Mary Ann Mears who has down similar projects throughout the country: http://tinyurl.com/7fus3qd
Her work is playful and colorful. With ideas drawn from nature, the sculptures are zany enough to excite the imagination of a child but still approachable to adults. I expect it will bring much joy and delight to patrons at Reston Town Center as well as a few quizzical remarks.
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