dan collier

An update about the Money magazine “Millionaires-in-Chief” article I wrote about a couple days ago. The article is now up at CNN Money. Here is the text, and here is the more interesting part: “Where they got it… and where it goes.”

Thanksgiving Prayer by William S. Burroughs – A video of Burroughs reading his poem, directed by Gus Van Sant. Here is the text of the poem.

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Bird’s eye view of Stockholm – This is the best internet map interface I’ve seen. It is taken at about 45

For Sale By Owner – I am trying to sell my house. After trying “for sale by owner” for four months and a Realtor™ for six months, I am once again trying to sell it myself. Iggys House Realty is a new company created by early innovators in online stock trading. Similar to E*trade introducing online consumer trading nearly a decade ago, the idea is to cut out the middle man, provide the consumer the tools of the trade, and compete for customers by offering lower commissions. Iggys House provides a free listing on Realtor.com (links to my house on Realtor.com) in an attempt to earn the good will of sellers who will choose them as their buyers’ agent when it is time to buy again. And as your buyers’ agent, they claim they’ll refund 75% of their commission. If Iggys House has a weakness for sellers, it is providing the information that informs pricing decisions. For comparable home sales, market trends, and sales history information Zillow is the best site I have found.

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I heard you… YouTube… – Natalie at CommunityChannel is hilarious. Yes, I am sure. If that first video didn’t convince you, try this one. Or this one.
Tagged: realestate video links

On Torture and American Values – The New York Times published this excellent editorial a few days ago.

Once upon a time, it was the United States that urged all nations to obey the letter and the spirit of international treaties and protect human rights and liberties. American leaders denounced secret prisons where people were held without charges, tortured and killed. And the people in much of the world, if not their governments, respected the United States for its values.

Senator Ted Kennedy wrote an editorial for Salon yesterday about the same topic.

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Ayaan Hirshi Ali on Colbert Report – A Somalian immigrant to The Netherlands, Ayaan became a member of the Dutch parliament. Her criticism of fundamentalist Islam has led to death threats. She is currently a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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The Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics – Previously, the only blog on the list I read was Carl Bildt, the current Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister of Sweden. I can’t think of a modern politician I like more than Bildt. His blog is interesting because it is really a typical blog, a running conversation (in Swedish) of his thoughts on just about everything.

Iran Keeps Picassos in Basement – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, was in all the headlines today after his speech at Columbia University. This fairly recent story from the LA Times is about the great art collected in the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum seems to prevent linking to individual images, but you can browse them all by clicking on one at that link.

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Cigarette Diaries – In 1944, bombardier Second Lt. Frank Pratt was shot down by the Nazis over Poland. Newsweek published excerpts of the diaries he kept, often on the inside of cigarette packages. In the accompanying video, Mr Pratt remembers jumping out of his crashing plane.

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Slick Willie, Uncut – Comedy Central posted Jon Stewart’s interview with Bill Clinton, plus 6 minutes that didn’t air on TV. Clinton is promoting his new book. If you didn’t see the interview, it is probably worthwhile. John Stewart, as usual, asked all the tough questions:

I read the book, Giving, and while I read it I wondered… “What’s in it for me?”

Venice Art Biennial 2007 photos – Lots of nice photos. These are two of my favorite collections.

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Name the 49 Countries in Europe – I’ll give you two that don’t show up on the map: Liechtenstein and Vatican City. Also, name the 50 US states.

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Map of an Operating System – A representation of the layered approach of the OSI Model as implemented in the Linux kernel. This is a case of beauty in the details.