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Your How To Source: Issues of Value, Ethics, Human Needs and Deeds Edited by Heinz Dinter, PhD August 2005 |
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■ News of note
• Find out who’s
giving what to presidential candidates
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Senior
citizens |
Older women have led the charge and the gender ratio among “wired seniors” is now 50/50. The number of seniors who live in households with moderate amounts of income has risen dramatically, as has the number whose education ended with a high school diploma, but the online senior population is still dominated by whites, upper-income household members, and those with college degrees.
“As younger Americans weave the Internet into nearly every aspect of their lives, their parents and grandparents are starting to follow suit, especially when it comes to email and information searches,” says Susannah Fox, director of research at the Pew Internet & American Life Project and author of the report, “Older Americans and the Internet.”
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22% of
Americans |
There have been big increases since 2000 in the number of online seniors doing several key activities. It is important to stress, though, that even with these high growth rates, it is usually the case that online seniors have done these online activities at lower rates than younger Internet users.
66% of wired seniors had looked for health or medical information online at some point in their online life by the end of 2003. That is a 13-point jump since 2000, and a growth rate of 25%.
66% of wired seniors had done product research online by the end of 2003. That is an 18-point jump since 2000, and a growth rate of 38%.
47% of online seniors had bought something on the Internet by the end of 2003. That is an 11-point increase since 2000 and a growth rate of 31%.
41% have made travel reservations online by the end of 2003. That is a 16-point increase since 2000 and a growth rate of 64%.
26% of wired seniors had looked for religious and spiritual information by the end of 2003. That is a 15-point jump since 2000, or a growth rate of 136%.
20% of online seniors had done banking on the Internet by the end of 2003. That is a 12-point increase since 2000 and a growth rate of 150%.
Despite the significant gains among seniors, most Americans age 65 and older live lives far removed from the Internet, know few people who use email or surf the Web, and cannot imagine why they would spend money and time learning how to use a computer. Seniors are also more likely than any other age group to be living with some kind of disability, which could hinder their capacity to get to a computer training center or read the small type on many Web sites.
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God,
grant me the
Serenity to accept the things I cannot change |
However, there is a burgeoning group of Americans who are slightly younger than retirees and who are vastly more attached to the online world. In fact, older Baby Boomer Internet users (between 50-58 years old) are more like Generation X Internet users (between 28 and 39 years old) than like their older, “Mature” generational neighbors (those between 59 and 68 years old). For example:
75% of Generation X Internet users and 75% of Baby Boomer Internet users get news online, compared to 67% of Mature users.
59% of Generation X Internet users and 55% of Baby Boomer Internet users do research online for their job, compared to 30% of Internet users between 59 and 68 years old.
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Just 22% go online, but their enthusiasm for email and search may inspire their peers to take the leap. |
“The ‘silver tsunami’ of older Internet users is gaining momentum,” says Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet Project. “Internet users in their 50s who work, shop, and keep in touch with friends and family online will age into and transform the wired senior population.”
The report, titled “Older Americans and the Internet,” is based primarily on survey data collected between February 3 and March 1, 2004. The Pew Internet & American Life Project is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization, fully funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts to explore the social impact of the Internet.
Internet use booms among the golden years generation
Once largely written off as a lost cause, older Americans are now coming into their own as Internet users. They are researching their family histories, sending e-mail, running virtual book clubs, reading about religion and travel, and pursuing other interests lifelong and new.
According to a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a research organization in Washington, the ranks of Americans over 65 who use the Internet have jumped by 47 percent since 2000, making them the fastest-growing group to embrace the online world.
Despite the increases, this age group still has a long way to go. Only 22 percent of Americans over 65 go online, the study shows, compared with 75 percent of those ages 30 to 49. But as Americans who are more comfortable with computers gradually reach the age of 65, the percentage going online (or more precisely, staying online) should soar.
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Treat people as if they
were what they ought to be |
“People who are in their 50s now, once they begin on a computer, there’s no going back,” said Tobey Dichter, president and chief executive of Generations on Line, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia that provides libraries, nursing homes, and senior centers nationwide with special software geared toward the elderly. “Once they get adept, especially at the Internet, they don’t give it up.”
Susannah Fox, director of research at Pew, said the biggest factor pushing older Americans toward Internet use has been family. “Younger Internet users have probably encouraged their parents and grandparents to start communicating with e-mail, and many seniors have turned out to love it,” Ms. Fox said.
For many of those younger users, the encouragement has extended to actually setting up a computer for an aged relative. And there are other sources of help: Generations on Line is just one of several programs that have sprung up to assist older people. Senior centers and retirement communities often have their own programs to guide the uninitiated. People are continuing to learn and stay mentally active instead of vegetating. They send greeting cards, look up information and communicate with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
As more older people gain online access, there has been a concurrent rise in the number of websites geared for them. Government agencies, in particular, have patterned their sites after early models established by organizations like SeniorNet, which has been around since 1986 and has had a website, www.seniornet.org, since 1995. The United States Administration on Aging has one (www.aoa.dhhs.gov), as does the Social Security Administration (www.seniors.gov). And hundreds of general sites have a special section devoted to the elderly, like a www.Yahoo.com health site.
Sites like these are intended to make it easier than ever for older people to use the Web. Still, the barriers for an older person thinking about going online can be formidable, Ms. Dichter said. “The phrase I always hear is, ‘They’re leaving us behind,’” she said. “That’s what you hear as a constant refrain from people in their seventies.”
Physicians even prescribe computer use to older patients who have suffered minor strokes, to help them regain motor control.
Intimidation and fear still can put people off. Many older people are not accustomed to mechanisms that work so quickly and essentially invisibly.
“People over 65 grew up in more of a mechanical world and if you do something wrong things break and they can’t be undone,” said Tom Tullis, senior vice president for human interface design at Fidelity Investments in Boston, which has watched elderly people interact with computers in usability labs. “Your toaster doesn’t have an undo button on it. If you burn the toast, it’s burned.”
Ms. Dichter said that time and again, when she talks with older people who have ventured successfully onto the Internet, she is struck by the sense of independence they gain. “The first positive impact on a person’s life is that self-empowerment, that feeling of, ‘I can do it,’” she said. “Then they’re stunned and amazed at the resources available.”
In a survey of 16,000 searches performed by older Americans connected to the Internet through Generations on Line, Ms. Dichter’s organization found that those users are not fixated on disease and illness. Rather, she said, “they are curious and interested in the world around them.”
In the survey, travel, history, hobbies and genealogy were among the top search topics. Disease and illness ranked sixth. “They’ll look up Stephen Foster, Little Rascals, Billy Eckstine and Betty Grable,” Ms. Dichter said. “It’s a source of pleasure to be able to research things from the past, and they also look up hometowns and read newspapers from other languages.”
Ms. Dichter pointed out that going online was now something of an imperative for the elderly. “There are resources dedicated to seniors that aren’t available any other way but online,” she said. Many agencies and services now have far fewer operators taking calls, she noted. “Now,” she said, “everybody directs you to the website.”
Late-life lessons for computer neophytes
Many community colleges, adult education programs, assisted-living centers and other institutions offer introductory computer classes geared for older people. Several services, Web sites and tools have also sprung up to help newcomers.
Generations on Line
www.generationsonline.com
Provides a free on-screen tutorial in Internet use that is available in
many senior centers, public libraries and nursing homes nationwide.
SeniorNet
www.seniornet.org
Working with local agencies and sponsors, it has established more than 240
computer labs that offer a range of classes and programs at senior
centers, libraries, hospitals and other locations. A state-by-state list
is at
www.seniornet.org/php/lclist.php.
Folks on Line
folksonline.com
Has information and advice for newcomers to the Internet (of all ages),
including a “first day on the Web” tutorial.
AARP, the retirees’ organization, has an extensive list of tutorials at www.aarp.org/computers-howto and www.aarp.org/learninternet. The group also publishes a monthly e-mail newsletter with computing tips.
Gateway
www.gateway.com
Some computer companies offer special learning
programs for older users. Gateway, for example, sells “The Seniors Guide
to PC Basics” ($100), which includes a book, a CD and access to online
courses.
What women want most in a man and vice versa
It’s not good looks. It’s not money. It’s not a charming personality. It’s not a powerful career. What women want most in a man is fidelity.
Fully 54 percent of women responding to a Leger Marketing-Canadian Press poll cited “a faithful partner” when asked what they thought was most important when choosing a mate, reports the Canadian Press. Men also cited fidelity as an important attribute, but not surprisingly they also highly valued physical attraction and being good in bed.
Here are the results of the Leger Marketing-Canadian Press survey of 1,052 adults that was conducted in January 2003. Participants were asked to choose the three attributes they most valued in a potential mate, so the numbers add up to more than 100 percent.
What women want most in a man:
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Faithful partner: 54 percent
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Respect the other person’s independence: 40 percent
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Ability to listen: 35 percent
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Physical attraction: 13 percent
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Being good in bed: 6 percent.
What men want most in a woman:
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Faithful partner: 47 percent
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Respect the other person’s independence: 36 percent
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Intelligence: 35 percent
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Physical attraction: 26 percent
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Being good in bed: 13 percent.
The best place to meet that special someone:
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Introduced by friends: 40 percent
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Chance or luck: 17 percent
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Introduced by family: 11 percent
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Sports or social clubs: 7 percent
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Work: 3 percent
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Bars: 2 percent
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Internet: 1 percent
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Newspaper classifieds: 1 percent.
Here’s something that should gladden every heart: Fully 90 percent of those polled believe it is possible to be happy with the same person for a lifetime.
Stress and anxiety: common symptoms and coping skills
In an 1983 story, Time Magazine called stress “The Epidemic of the Eighties” referring to it as a leading health problem. And the situation has only become worse since then. We have all heard about stress and stress-related problems. Some of us have even experienced panic attacks, depression, agoraphobia, or other conditions associated with unhealthy stress. We know how it can affect us, but do you know how to recognize stress?
Common symptoms of anxiety include:
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Nervousness
·
Rapid heart beat
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Dizziness
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Panicky feelings, panic attacks
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Diarrhea & stomach problems
Irrational fears about:
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Losing control
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Dying
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Losing your mind
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Embarrassing yourself
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Having a heart attack
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Leaving the house (agoraphobia)
Personality types most associated with anxiety:
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Extremely analytical
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Emotionally sensitive
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Over reacts
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Sensitive to criticism
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Low self-esteem
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Need to appear in control at all times
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Obsessive thinking
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Inner nervousness
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High expectations
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Easily irritated
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Worrier
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Hypochondriac
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Sensitive to negative stimuli
Here are a few
guidelines you can use now
to help alleviate your anxiety:
·
Recognize and admit that you are experiencing feelings of
stress, anxiety, and/or depression.
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Become aware of your body’s symptoms and reactions to stress. Don’t let
them scare you, let them talk to you.
·
Try to pinpoint what it is you are anxious about. Where is the stress
coming from? What happened yesterday? What were you thinking about before
you went to bed? If you can’t pinpoint it, don’t worry about it and move
on.
·
Give yourself permission to feel anxious about whatever it is that is
bothering you or causing you stress. “Of course I feel anxious about this
problem, anyone would. But how much anxiety is too much?”
·
If you do know what it is that is bothering you, what can you do to
eliminate or minimize the situation in some way so that it isn’t so
stressful? How can you help yourself reduce the unnecessary stress?
·
Most importantly, how can you react differently so you won’t be so
affected by this situation?
·
Listen to the dialogue within yourself. Are you filling yourself full of
negative thoughts about a certain situation? What could you say to
yourself that would feel more comforting?
·
Listen to the dialogue of those around you. Is someone around you being
negative and dragging you down with them? If so, how could you change your
reaction to their negative attitude so that you would be less affected by
them?
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Are you overwhelming yourself with “shoulds” and high expectations? If so,
which ones would you eliminate?
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Are you blaming someone else for your stress, anxieties, unhappiness,
depression, poor health, lack of success or whatever? How can you take
responsibility for yourself and make some positive changes?
·
Give yourself positive reinforcement for even the smallest
accomplishments.
For related stories go to Depression Alert and The Internet-Depression Connection.
Shades Of Grey
One day, a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast to her brunette hair.
The little girl looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, “Why are some of your hairs white, mom?”
Her mother replied, “Well, every time you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.”
The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then asked, “Momma, how come all of grandma’s hairs are white?”
From Thoughts To Share Over The Email Transom
by Heinz Dinter, PhD
The secret life of tuna
Last month, health officials in Europe and the United States announced that certain people — particularly pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children — should go easy on the tuna. Seems that tuna and other large, top-of-the-food-chain fish contain relatively high amounts of mercury, which is not a good thing to eat.
No one can
buy their way out of the problem, either. More expensive albacore, or
“white” tuna actually contains three times more mercury than less
expensive yellowfin, or “light” tuna fish (shown swimming in non-canned
form on the right). There’s something fishy going on here. Who put all
that mercury in one of the world’s favorite fish?
Fish are mercurial creatures. Practically all of them have a bit of quicksilver in their flesh and fat. But how did it get there, and why are some, like tuna, more merc’d up than others?
We can blame geology — and ourselves. Mercury may be rarer than uranium, but hot springs and volcanoes (including undersea ones) naturally emit mercury vapor. Burning coal has the same effect. In the United States, coal-fired power plants release about 50 tons of toxic mercury into the air each year. Old American chemical plants, which use mercury to extract chlorine from salt, may release 100 tons more.
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Life is mostly froth and
bubble; |
Much of that mercury winds up in the water — some directly, some washed out of the air by rain — and the food chain takes over. Bacteria convert mercury into an organic form called methylmercury that is more easily absorbed by living things and, worse, even more toxic. Plants and microbes absorb the methylmercury and concentrate it. Little fish eat these, big fish eat the little fish, and even bigger fish eat them.
In general, the bigger and longer-lived the fish, the more the methylmercury builds up and concentrates in the fish flesh. And tuna are big fish! The largest yellowfin tuna, prior to becoming 6-ounce cans, are 400-pound behemoths — almost 7 feet long. That’s about the size of a dolphin, which sometimes school with yellowfin. Bluefin tuna, yellowfins’ larger cousins, can weigh in at 1,500 pounds and stretch 15 feet.
Of course, such big fish must eat plenty, and tuna do — schools of little fish, plus crab, shrimp, squid, lobster, octopus, and more (including, sometimes, other tuna). A typical tuna can pack away a quarter of its body weight in food each day. And that’s a lot of methylmercury, at least relative to what “small fry” like salmon can eat. It builds up.
Lots of tuna fat, however, does not. Tuna are among the fastest and most streamlined fish in the sea, calorie burners built for speed and constant motion. In fact, yellowfin can fold their fins into grooves in their bodies to reduce drag. Doing so allows them to hit speeds up to 40 miles per hour. They can cross the ocean in a month.
Yet they can’t avoid the fishing boats. More than a million tons of yellowfin alone are hauled in each year. Populations of bluefin tuna, considered a delicacy in Japan, have dwindled drastically, and fishing for them has been restricted.
The Heart of the Arts real estate boom
A real estate boom is transforming the area billed as
The Heart of the Arts
in America’s most cosmopolitan city.
Miami’s Heart of the Arts district ― a roughly 25 block
stretch along the Biscayne Boulevard corridor between the Performing Arts
Center and the Design District ― that is now the hottest real estate
market in South Florida, led by a $1 billion wave of nearly 5,000 new condos, more than 2,000
rental apartments, and an 800,000 sq. ft. upscale shopping mall.
| Condominiums: Buena Vista, 3,000 condos and 8,000 sq.ft. mall Quantum, 750 condos Blue, 330 condos Wynwood Lofts, 120 condos Ice, 100 condos The Yorker, 62 condos Platinum, 60 condos Baylofts, 58 condos Star, 53 condos |
Terminal, 42 condos Parc Lofts, 40 condos Sky, 36 condos Pinnacle View, 35 condos Rental Apartments: Opera Tower, 635 rentals Bay Parc Plaza, 471 rentals 1800 Club, 450 rentals Village on Bayside, 425 rentals Porta D’Oro, 107 rentals |
It starts with Miami’s own “Lincoln Center” ― the new $300 million Performing Arts Center that will open in 2004 as the home of the Miami city ballet, opera, symphony and concert halls.
It ends at the much-publicized center of chic known as
the Design District, where hot new clubs and restaurants neighbor the
showrooms of design superstars like Holly Hunt and Alison Spear.
In between are 25 blocks along the shore of Biscayne Bay that are now the hottest real estate market in booming South Florida.
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I think we’re in the midst of the most significant redevelopment boom in the history of the city. We could end up with one of the absolutely best cities anyone would want to live in, work in and play in. — Miami Commissioner Johnny Winton |
Welcome to “Uptown Miami,” the heart of the arts in America’s most cosmopolitan city.
With about-to-be-beautified Biscayne Boulevard as its Main Street, Uptown Miami is now undergoing a sweeping renaissance as scores of cafés, galleries and boutiques rush in to serve nearly 10,000 new residents who will be moving in to fill over 6,000 new condominiums and apartments now being planned, built and sold.
And in case you’re wondering where they’ll go for groceries and home furnishings, two blocks west is a new 800,000 square foot mega-mall, to be anchored by stores like IKEA, Publix, and maybe a Macy’s.
The new condo communities range from modest 36-loft buildings to 50-story towers ― including a varied 3,000 condo mix in the Buena Vista Yards property ― and are being designed by some of the hottest architects in the business.
With Downtown Miami now already undergoing a development boom to the south, and neighborhoods like Morningside and Upper Eastside undergoing gentrification to the north, Uptown Miami fills the gap beautifully.
’Mid pleasures and
palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.
John Howard Payne (1791-1852)
American actor and dramatist
City officials are ecstatic, pointing out that Uptown Miami’s southern gateway is the 395/Macarthur Causeway from South Beach, and the northern gateway is the 195/Julia Tuttle Causeway from Miami Beach.
Which brings up what may be the most intriguing new project in Uptown Miami — a deliberately designed “landmark” tower on the shore of Biscayne Bay flanked by the 195 Causeway.
It’s called “Blue,” and the 36-story curvilinear glass sculpture shape was designed by Miami’s heralded Arquitectonica firm to be “an icon marking the gateway to Miami.” It’s no coincidence that Blue will be seen and noted by every visitor traveling along I95 from Miami’s International Airport to Miami Beach and back.
“Blue is meant to make a statement,” says its developer, “which says Uptown Miami has arrived and here’s where it begins.” It also serves as kind of a giant design icon for the next door Design District.
And what kind of developers would be bold enough to make cutting-edge design their guiding principle when everyone else is worried about so-called luxury and price-per-square-foot?
“We’re not looking at what everyone else is building, nor do we need to compete with them. Blue is a one-of-a-kind condominium for the same sort of people who buy the best-of-design goods next door in the Design District.” they say. Even so, Blue’s prices fall mainly in the $300,000 to $600,000 range.
And “they” know a little about cutting-edge and design. Because Blue’s developers are none other than Silicon Valley legends Jim Clark and Tom Jermoluk, who founded and ran companies like Silicon Graphics and Netscape.
Together with one of South Florida’s most respected builders, Paul Murphy, they have formed Hyperion Development Group specifically to create break-the-mold properties like Blue.
And they — like everyone else — think Uptown Miami is the perfect place to build them.
Miami condominium project boosts downtown boom
A development near Bicentennial Park adds to the real estate speculation transforming a lonely stretch of Biscayne Boulevard.
|
By 2010,
Committee
Chairman |
A new high-rise condominium tower is planned near Bicentennial Park on Biscayne Boulevard, the third luxury project announced for the barren stretch of parking lots.
Developer Pedro Martin will pay $15 million for the 75,000-square-foot property on the 900 block of Biscayne and plans a tower about 40 stories tall, according to Martin and a source familiar with the deal.
The project, on which he hopes to break ground by the end of 2004, joins the planned 55-story Mist and Ten Museum Square, a condo tower and new-age spa, in a four-block stretch of Biscayne between the American Airlines Arena and the I-395 overpass. Many condos at the Mist and Ten Museum Square are priced in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, with the top-floor units running well into the millions. Martin said the lowest-priced units at his project will sell in the $200,000s.
The projects are part of a wave of real estate ventures that would bring larger numbers of affluent residents to downtown Miami. With interest rates low and suburban land scarce, developers have turned to urban projects to fuel the strong demand for housing.
Analysts remain unconvinced that the market is ready for the crush of high-end urban condos on the way. At least 15,000 condos and rental apartments are planned between Miami’s Brickell Avenue neighborhood and Northeast 23rd Street, according to a Downtown Development Authority survey. But others see the buzz of activity and reports of strong sales as proof that buyers are hungry for urban living.
Martin’s unnamed project sits across from Bicentennial Park. He plans to lure deep-pocketed buyers there: private elevators will take residents to their units, and shops and restaurants will sit street-side on the bottom floor. The developers of Ten Museum Square plan a nightclub at their project, along with a rooftop spa with aromatherapy treatments and salt-water plunge pools.
“It’s hard to imagine a lot of these things a few years ago,” said Martin, a real estate lawyer turned developer. “You’ve got to have the vision ahead of time.”
The new Performing Arts Center, under construction a few blocks north, is considered a major catalyst for the area’s real estate boom. The city of Miami also plans to transform Bicentennial Park into a more attractive and open space, with the Miami Art Museum and Miami Museum of Science hoping to move there within the next eight years.
Developers on Biscayne Boulevard say their projects will prosper without the revamped park, which will require more than $400 million in private fundraising and government appropriations.
“We look at that as a long-range project,” said Chad Oppenheim, an architect and one of the developers of Ten Museum Park. “Our project will take three years before people move in. I’m not sure about the city’s schedule.”
Added Edie Laquer, a commercial broker who represented Martin and seller Hank Sopher in the deal: “It would be imprudent for a developer to spend $100 million or $200 million on a development relying on a city or county project.”
As the euro rises, so do investments in Florida real estate
How high will the euro rise? There’s talk by analysts about €1 soon buying $1.40. Just a week ago, it momentarily tapped $1.30.
As reported in the Miami Herald (www.herald.com), European Union residents bought several condominiums in the $2 million range on Fischer Island in Miami in recent months. Director of Sales Phyllis Winick attributes these purchases to the strong euro. At a $1.20 exchange rate, the $2 million investment would have cost the buyer €1.63 million; at $1.40 per euro, the investment is €1.43 million, a significant benefit for the euro-labeled pocketbook.
Andreas Bode, Vice President for Business Development of Dresdner Private Banking (Andreas.Bode@dresdner-bank.lu) talked about “The strong Euro/USD and its impact on residential real estate investment demand from Europe in Florida — the prospective of Dresdner Bank Luxembourg S.A.”
The presentation was organized by the German American Business Chamber of Florida, Inc., Southeast Chapter (www.gabcfl.org) and sponsored by the Dresdner Bank Luxembourg S.A. (www.dresdner-bank.lu; www.dresdner-florida.de) at the Mosaic Restaurant in downtown Miami on January 28.
What are the advantages of Euro Union (EU) residents investing in Florida? Very important is the weather. And then there are the financial considerations — and they are presently astoundingly significant.
Here’s a head-turning statistic: Two hundred thousand Europeans own residential property in Florida of which 100,000 are Germans. The total investment by Germans in U.S. real estate exceeds $3 billion.
The recent 30% U.S. dollar depreciation versus the euro makes investments by EU citizens very attractive.
Dresdner Bank is utilizing the favorable exchange rate and the low interest rate environment to actively pursue lucrative real estate investments and private residential vacation homes in Florida, considered a very attractive venue by the German bankers.
Handouts offered to the attendees included a report by Dr. Reinhard Krafft, Managing Director of Dresdner Private Banking, who underlines the bank’s commitment: “That is why from our private experience and a professional point of view we believe that there are not many areas worldwide today as attractive for real estate investments as Florida.”
Without a U.S. social security number and a U.S. credit history, the EU buyer offers none of the critical prerequisites for a mortgage loan consideration by a U.S. lender. However, through utilization of European banking offers, Dresdner Bank can provide U.S. financing solutions at much lower rates and without all the normal additional closing costs — and with 100% financing.
The purchase of real estate in the U.S. with dollars exposes the European to potential currency risks. This risk is avoided with a dollar-based loan. In contrast to conventional real estate financing, this does not involve a mortgage. Dresdner Private Banking offers the dollar loan using the purchaser’s euro-based securities deposit account or fixed-term deposits as security.
Euro yields are currently higher than U.S. dollar interest rates even for short maturities. In other words, the investor can make a profit in the form of interest income of between 0.5 and 4%. In short: Taking out a loan in U.S. dollars will preserve the investor’s assets while at the same time generating income.
Dresdner Bank Luxembourg offers this interest rate forecast:
We expect the Fed, the American Central Bank, to keep the reference interest rate at 1% until summer 2004. The exchange rate is forecast at 1.25-1.35 USD/Euro on a 6-months basis (by June 2004). Depending on the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and due to the U.S. presidential election in the fall of 2004 an overshooting to 1.35-1.40 USD/Euro could not be excluded (as happened in 1990 and 1992).
A newsletter published by Dresdner Bank keeps clients and prospects up-to-date. To be placed on the email list, contact Mr. Bode at Andreas.Bode@dresdner-bank.lu. The newsletter is presently available only in German.
Dresdner Bank Luxembourg is organizing a “Florida Real Estate Investor Trip” from May 9-16 to the west coast of Florida to introduce Europeans to the real estate investment opportunities on Florida’s west coast.
Though Florida’s west coast is eyed as the retirement heaven by Germans, Florida’s Gold Coast, stretching from Palm Beach to Miami should attract significant attention. Miami — The Magic City — should be first in line for offering profitable real estate investments and cater to the discriminate European lifestyle.
|
It is
impossible to live pleasurably without living wisely, well, and justly, and impossible to
live wisely, well, and justly without living pleasurably. |
Dresdner Bank Luxembourg S.A. was founded in 1967 as the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Banque S.A. As the first German financial institution to set up business in Luxembourg and the first foreign subsidiary of any German bank after World War II, the bank has decades of experience in catering to the needs of private and corporate customers from around the world.
Since the merger of Allianz AG and Dresdner Bank AG in July 2001 and the bank’s subsequent incorporation into the Allianz Group, Dresdner Bank Luxembourg S.A. can offer its customers an even wider range of innovative products and has expanded its global business.
The bank offers its customers and business partners extensive services in deposit-banking, Euro-lending and -issuing business, as well as money-market, foreign-exchange, securities and precious-metals business. Following the restructuring of the Dresdner Bank Group, the bank was divided into the Corporate & Markets, Private Banking and Fund Services divisions in 2002.
I remember the days, some forty years ago, living in Germany with dollars in my pocket (as a member of the U.S. Air Force), I and my colleagues lived “like kings” because each dollar was worth 4.20 Deutsche Marks. Now it is our long-ago hosts’ turn. The Germans and their EU brethren can today enjoy the power of the euro investing in America.
That’s also good news for us making a living on the western side of the big pond. We can make our euro-bearing friends happy closing deals. That also makes us happy.
Grove Isle enchantment
Breathtaking location. First-class dining. Luxury Accommodations. The accolades are fitting descriptions of Grove Isle Club & Resort located in the middle of Biscayne Bay, a stone’s throw from downtown Miami.
Towering
next to this exclusive resort are three 18-story buildings housing 540 luxury condos that share
the island with the home of Baleen restaurant, a 49-room hotel with
wonderful meeting facilities, an 85-slip marina, 12
tennis courts, and the utmost in sophisticated relaxation.
An Island in a City
|
Can you imagine condo living amidst the lapping waters of Biscayne Bay, going for a morning stroll around the island (the path measures one mile), engaging in a game of tennis, a serene luncheon at the club’s poolside Tiki bar, then a quick elevator ride and short walk for an elegant five-star dining experience at Baleen? And boat owners don’t have to drive off the island to engage in their boating pleasures; the marina is just below the apartments’ windows.
If you are interested in this all-encompassing lifestyle in the two- or three-bedroom luxury condos, I urge you to call or send an email inquiry to real estate agents who specialize in Grove Isle; some even make their home there.
I also invite you to visit the Grove Isle Club & Resort website.
Around the world and calling Grove Isle home
No 80 days were set aside for a feat that’s extraordinaire for this Miami, Florida resident.
Simon Hassine
(seen on the right with wife Michele) cast his entrepreneurial eyes on the
world of travel 37 years ago. What began in 1963 as a one-man travel
agency grew into Florida’s largest corporate travel management company
with 200 employees.
Around the World Travel, Inc., founded by Hassine, is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida.
Just as the new millennium opened its doors, the Hassine family was rewarded for their many years of giving the best possible service to corporate and vacation-minded travelers. TraveLeaders Group, with a goal of reaching $1 billion in gross revenues, purchased Around the World Travel.
“I couldn’t have done it on my own,” says the humble family man speaking in the soft, French-accented voice that belies the endless energies of this charismatic man born in Cairo to French parents. “What we accomplished would not have been possible without my wife Michele and daughters Patricia, Cathy, and Jackie at my side.”
Is it possible the travel executive learned his gentlemanly ways of serving customers at home being around four lovely ladies?
Following education at a French Lycee and the American University in Cairo, Simon ran away from home at 18 and joined the French Navy.
After the war, the young lad talked himself into a job at American Express in Paris … and into the heart of a young Parisian girl.
Speaking French, English, Arabic and Italian was the ticket for landing that job and opened many doors in his remarkable career, like managing the Amex office at the United Nations in Rome, Italy, in later years arranging for the travel of UN experts around the world, and one year later dashing back to Paris to marry his love, Michele.
Michele was at her husband’s side building the travel business.
Perhaps herein lies the secret for success of Simon’s third love (after family and business — and in that order, he insists): tennis.
“I love tennis,” this energy-laden executive who doesn’t believe in retiring volunteers, giving away another secret: the excitement of challenging his Grove Isle neighbors on the tennis court.
A new passion continues to keep Simon Hassine going around the world ― the Internet.
“I am fascinated by world affairs and enjoy reading the international press, and listening to music and political commentary from around the world. And Michele is very jealous of my computer,” he adds with a sheepish smile.
He met another challenge: writing and publishing his memoirs, My Life Story. The pages of the book tell the story of his challenging upbringing as a rebel running away from home, as a successful businessman, compassionate head of a loving family, and proud friend to all who cherish peace of mind. You can meet Simon Hassine at simonh19@bellsouth.net and kibitz about the values of a successful family life, etc. … and music, news, and thoughts available from around the world via the Internet.
I had just finished reading the profiles of three Miamians honored as visionaries in the holiday issue of Lincoln Road Magazine when my email inbox beeped. It was Diane, my daughter. “Dad, you might like this one,” she wrote. Then followed a quote by General George S. Patton: “Don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.”
That brought back memories of a man I had the privilege of interviewing more than a decade ago. Lincoln Road Magazine honored that man, the recipient of Miami’s first Visionary Award for creating the Omni/Venetia complex.
The interview in 1988 resulted in my story that I would like to share again because I met a man who deserves the accolades of being the creator of today’s condo lifestyle. Here’s what I learned and wrote that long ago.
He creates. Omni. Venetia. The Brickell skyline. He philosophizes. “I perceive Miami as a truly international city.” He moralizes. “The word tri-ethnic means that there are three ethnic origins. By the end of this century, I believe Miami will be a poly-ethnic society.” But what he does best is to visualize.
He’s Tibor Hollo. Sixty-one years young. And what is not known about this man could fill tomes.
In the last thirty-two years Hollo has built much of the city of Miami without the help of deep-pocket partners. To some this may seem a foolish venture, an instant road to ruin. But to those in the know, Tibor Hollo is a man, not only of vision, but a person of great resolve, strong self-discipline, and above all, a remarkable sense of self-esteem and self-assuredness.
I LOVE MIAMI. Although Hollo was born in Europe he has embraced Miami as his own.
“I believe very deeply in greater Miami,” Hollo says. “I think the resources we find here are unique, and far excel any other part of the United States.”
He’s proud that he chose to move here. He’s prouder still that he’s been here thirty-two years.
“I’ve played my role in helping create the right fiber of downtown. I built in this area for almost fifteen years — buildings mostly visible downtown and near downtown. I am an urban developer and I feel I have made a significant contribution to this area.”
SUCCESS — LET ME COUNT THE WAYS. Hollo has his own notions about success. And they are varied. He might say, success to start with has nothing to do with material things. Or he may say, your bankbook is not in direct relation with success.
There are several successes: God, children who grow up to be honorable people. He’s even said that success is when one can realize his dreams.
But his true grit is when he defines success, thusly: success is when you are at peace with yourself.
HUMANITY. In the me-too world of the ’80s, it is customary to ask about motive. What makes a man take risks? Especially those running into the tens of millions of dollars. Suppose a venture fails? A lifetime could crumble.
“In my mind I am not taking risks,” Hollo says. “I am taking risks on humanity.”
Then, in the next breath, after a moment of reflection, Hollo says, “If I believe in something, I do it. If you are taking risks on humanity, you must expect a return.”
But what is that return?
“There are those who are pessimists — doom-mongers. They always expect the worst.
“I am sure the world will end someday,” he adds. “But hopefully, not too soon. Now me, I like to see the brighter side.”
GOOD CORN IS HARD TO MITE. How often the word ‘perseverance’ crops up in motivation cassettes. Don’t give up! Stay with the plan.
Well, Hollo believes in the affirmative. And if he has detractors, they grudgingly have to admit that Hollo has always hung tough. They simply have to look at the Miami skyline to see he had persevered.
Hollo studied to be an architect. Yet he’s more known for his expertise in financial maneuvering.
“That’s a misunderstanding,” he says. “You pay the financial institutions their due; you pay your interest and principal on time for many years, then you are a better commodity to those institutions than the United States of America. Because on treasury bills they make a few base points on a small fraction of return. On me, they make many, many points. Hundreds of base points. As long as they know that I have paid for decades my dues, my interest, my principal, they like me much better. So, it’s not skills. It’s just a long experience that many institutions have handed me.”
HANDS-ON. Hollo’s view to management is more old-fashioned than the streamlined, lean-mean businesses of today. He is a hands-on manager. When he finds an executive who is competent, Hollo lets him do the job, but keeps his nose in it.
“I want to know what’s accomplished on a more frequent basis than say a board member,” he says. “I keep after my executives. But I do let them do their own work. I let them initiate.”
THE ENVIRONMENTAL FLAP. When Hollo planned to build a marina the environmentalists commenced a battle. It was their position that a marina would stymie the spawning of the fish in that area.
“Keep in mind, a marina is an infinitesimal area in an ocean,” Hollo says. “But they did make a statement and I decided to look into it.”
The environmentalists had a valid point, but Hollo found their documentation incorrect. “I looked and studied,” he says. What he found: “In sub-tropical and tropical climates the inland fish cannot spawn unless it has shady areas because the sun rays are so strong.”
Then he smiles. “The marina piers provide a natural shade in the water. I pointed this out to all concerned.”
HISTORY BUFF. Tibor Hollo’s calling on the past has given him the key to the nation’s future. He remembers the GIs after World War II, using up their GI loans and building their little homes. This was the breaking of the agrarian hold on America. People were moving to the cities; surveying them, then coming to the conclusion that they were fine places to work, but not to live. They built their homes in small communities outside the cities and spent hours commuting back and forth. Now, two generations later, there is a migration to the inner core, as the city draws them in.
“It was the developer’s task to recreate urbia,” Hollo says.
“Not only Gropian (Bauhaus) buildings, office buildings, but also endowing those buildings with more than just one cycle of life working there.
“So I started to build by the latter part of the sixties,” he adds, “what I called, at that time, multi-use buildings. Buildings that were endowed with more than one shelter. And it started to emerge what I thought was the prototype of tomorrow.”
Hollo claims that The World of Venetia is that sort of structure. It consists of 1,800 residential units; 1,900 hotel rooms; 1,700,000 square feet of shops. More than 300 shops without ever having to walk outside. Forty-two places to eat, 15 movie theaters, a marina, and more.
“I think this will be an acceptable lifestyle for this generation and the generations to come,” Hollo says in summation of that dream.
Now, nearly 16 years later, having experienced the setbacks triggered by economic slowdowns and a bout with cancer, the now 76-year-young visionary can proudly add these major developments to his distinguished list of accomplishments: Bay Park Plaza, Quayside Townhomes, The Club at Brickell Bay, Colonnade Plaza, One Bayfront Plaza, and Opera Tower.
Points to ponder: Are you properly covered?
By James D. Wing, Esq.
Look at your personal homeowners’ condominium policy.
Does it insure you against special assessments caused by lawsuits against your association attributable to negligence by the condo board or condo officers?
If you are an officer or director on the board, does your personal policy cover you at all, or only to the extent that your negligence gets wrapped into an assessment against all unit owners?
Does your condo board have adequate officers and directors liability insurance for the board members and officers? Who reviews these policies when they are renewed to be sure that the coverage they think they have is really there?
What if the board appoints a special committee of unit owners on behalf of the board? Are those folks not insured because they’re not officers and directors?
How many condo boards have appointed folks to serve on local informal committees? Are those folks insured? What if they do something that gets them sued by a disappointed real estate developer? Will the associations who appointed them pay their legal fees? Pay judgments or settlements? Out of whose assets? Are the associations insured for this? What does the appointee’s personal umbrella insurance policy have to do with this? How many people who serve on such committees have even the faintest idea as to what kind of lawsuits can be brought, and what one should do to avoid attracting them?
I question whether condo boards focus on these issues, and they are big issues.
James D. Wing is a litigation partner of Holland & Knight LLP with offices throughout the United States and the world. Jim is based in the Miami office.
CondoLIFE is interested in following up on these issues. Please direct your questions and comments to HDinter@GrandLifestyle.com.
Lifestyles of the Renaissance rich and famous
Desperate Hollywood star-seekers sometimes dig through dumpsters to see how their favorite celebrities live. But that’s nothing compared to what a team of U.S. and Italian scientists has in store for the Medici clan, the “stars” of Renaissance Florence. In the course of a two-year project announced last week, the team will exhume 49 Medicis, CAT scan and x-ray their mummified bodies, sample any remaining soft tissues they can find, and extract DNA samples from everybody’s hair and bones — all to determine what the Medici ate and what diseases afflicted them. It’s “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” meets “CSI,” and the Learning Channel plans to film it!
The Medici family rose to political and cultural
prominence in the early 15th century, when Cosimo de’ Medici, the son of
Italy’s richest banker, effectively assumed control of the Florentine
republic. Cosimo (known as “il Vecchio,” or “the elder”), his son Piero (“il
Gottoso,” or “the gouty”), and his grandson Lorenzo (“il Magnifico,” or
“the magnificent,” the coolest of Medici nicknames), ruled Florence during
what many scholars consider the crucial years of the Renaissance. After
Lorenzo’s death, Cosimo’s direct heirs fell from power, but a different
branch of the Medici clan soon took over, and the family continued to
dominate Florentine politics for another 200 years.
History’s most sophisticated celebrity stalkers won’t have access to some of the most famous Medici bones, including Lorenzo’s, because they rest beneath fragile tombstones carved by Michelanglo. Most of the clan, however, is fair game — including Grand Duke Cosimo I (1519-74), pictured above, the first Medici to assume official power instead of ruling a “republic” from the back room. If the Medici have any more skeletons in the closet, they’ll likely be coming to light in the next two years.
“Fresh” means timely information about life in Miami
Travelers to Miami, Florida and those who make
their home in the Magic City now have the ultimate resource to consult —
Fresh Guides Miami, the city’s only quarterly-updated travel
guidebook offering tourists and residents the most up-to-date sightseeing
information, calendar of events, restaurants and more.
Published by veteran South Florida publisher Ronald Lusk and written by award-winning author and Miami native Michael Sasser, the 244-page authoritative travel resource distinguishes itself from the competition via its print-on-demand technology, the comprehensive 10-15 thousand-word detailed calendar of special events and descriptions, and the book’s proprietary distribution channel.
The book retails for $17.95 plus shipping and is available exclusively through the Fresh Guides website at www.freshguides.com. The publisher can also customize the cover for large or special interest travel groups and meetings.
“Print-on-demand technology gives Fresh Guides Miami an advantage over traditional guides found in bookstores because it assures the consumer of receiving the most up-to-date information available,” explained Lusk. “And, because it is only available via the Internet, we can keep the cost competitive.”
According to Lusk, Fresh Guides Miami was created in response to the common grievance that annual guides just can’t keep up with the motion of the city.
“Over the past year alone, we’ve seen the addition of high-end hotels such as the Four Seasons Hotel & Tower and Trump International Sonesta Beach Resort, the opening of clubs such as Oxygen, Space 34, Club NZ, I/O Lounge and Slack Lounge in the Miami Design District area and on South Beach, celebrity-driven restaurants such as Emeril’s Miami Beach, the relocation of historical attractions such as Parrot Jungle and the expansion of a favorite children’s museum,” said Lusk. “As a local publisher, we are in the center of the momentum. We can capture the changes quicker and more efficiently than an out-of-town research team and republish them at a speed basically unheard of in the traditional guidebook publishing world.”
Fresh Guides Miami editor Michael W. Sasser is an award-winning writer and third-generation Miami native who traces his roots to two Native American tribes including the Seminole and to 19th century European immigrants. He is the co-author of The Last American Heroes: Today’s Firefighters and Fire Cops and is a contributor to Predators, as well as a variety of local Florida publications that focus on politics, pop culture and the arts. He has written and edited dozens of travel books on domestic and Caribbean destinations and continues to consult for local publishers. Sasser has been honored by Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami Beach and Miami’s Downtown Development Authority for his journalistic contributions. He resides in Treasure Island in Greater Miami Beach where he continues to document South Florida’s evolution.
Fresh Guides Miami is published by Ronald Lusk, a South Florida native and owner of Delray Beach-based Native Sun Communications. Lusk is the former editorial director of Airfare Magazine and publisher of Florida Traveler Magazine. Lusk currently publishes RealtorEdge, In Touch Real Estate, Miami-Dade Realtor, and Bonded Builders News, for which he has received multiple top awards from the Florida Magazine Association, Print Media Magazine and the National Association of Homebuilders.
Stay fresh — timely information on what’s happening in Miami at your finger tips — with Fresh Guides Miami you can purchase at www.freshguides.com.
I am very impressed with the extensive coverage even I, a Magic City dweller, find very helpful in my quest of enjoying Miami’s grand lifestyle.
Read The Miami Herald online
Is the felling of trees coming to an end? The Miami Herald is offering a new service for its readers designed to arouse those connected to the World Wide Web. MyHerald.com brings the entire Herald to you via the Internet.
Now you can view the Herald as it appears in print or bring yourself up-to-date with the “Quickbrowse Edition. One Page. All the news. Read the Herald, the fast & easy way.”
A free and fully functional myHerald 14-day trial subscription is available by visiting myHerald.com. Check out how myHerald works. No credit card information is required during the free trial. Following the free trial, a paid subscription is $15 per three months.
Try it, you will like it because every page of the Herald is displayed on your monitor and, better yet, you can quickly scan the headlines and read only what interests you.
Here’s a daily and free Herald online service: visit www.herald.com to be brought up-to-date on the day’s news.
You can also subscribe to a free email service that brings you Herald Highlights, Dolphins Update, South Florida Sports Daily, and more. To subscribe visit www.herald.com, look for the heading “Services” on the left side and click on “News by Email.”
Kim Komando is great
Since all my readers are personal computer users who stay in touch with the world via the Internet, I wish to share with you a website that’s bristling with good information and offers three free electronic newsletters: (1) Kim’s Weekly Newsletter, (2) Kim’s Tip of the Day, and (3) Kim’s Cool Site of the Day. Please visit www.komando.com and sign up for these valuable information/education services.
The interview with God
Friends oftentimes pass on tips to visit this website or that because “it’s interesting,” “has good information,” or, “Heinz, you just got to see it,” they say. How can I not oblige?
There’s one website that has been recommended to me so many times, and I am grateful because it has so much meaning for those who seek a lifestyle filled with peace of mind.
Don’t let the “Believe in God” issue hold you back. You will know what I mean once you have let your apprehension take a back-seat and you have visited www.theinterviewwithgod.com/presentation.html.
If you simply wish to read and print a copy of The Interview With
God,
please
click here. I want you to know, you miss a moving experience if you do
not click on the website address given above.
Grand ideas for living
Learn to spell
Ever had trouble spelling your
name? It’s easy if you know how. Here’s how airplane pilots do it all over
the world.
| A | — ALPHA | N | — NOVEMBER |
| B | — BRAVO | O | — OSCAR |
| C | — CHARLIE | P | — PAPA |
| D | — DELTA | Q | — QUEBEC |
| E | — ECHO | R | — ROMEO |
| F | — FOXTROT | S | — SIERRA |
| G | — GULF | T | — TANGO |
| H | — HOTEL | U | — UNIFORM |
| I | — INDIGO | V | — VICTOR |
| J | — JULIET | W | — WHISKEY |
| K | — KILO | X | — X-RAY |
| L | — LIMA | Y | — YANKEE |
| M | — MIKE | Z | — ZULU |
Suggestion: Print this page, cut it out, and tape it to your phone.
You may also find it helpful when trying to communicate with controlling
authority.
The way it
was when you were born
Have you ever wondered what was going on in the world
the day you were born?
Now you can find out with the help of an online Time Capsule.
Just enter the day, month and year you were born. It
will automatically tell you interesting facts about that day and year.
Read the top headlines that ran in the papers that week. Find the top
songs, television shows and toys for the year, Academy Award winners, food
prices and more. You can also walk through a wizard to choose which events
you want displayed on your page. To visit this revealing website, go to
http://www.dmarie.com/timecap/step1.asp.
— From Kim Komando •
www.komando.com.
Put a
smile
on someone’s face
How to put extra photos
to very good use
Do you keep those extra, old and no-longer-useful photos in a shoe box where they benefit no one?
Here’s a tip. When you pay your bills, slip one of those photos of your kids, the grandchildren, your pets, any one or anything that brought a smile to your face, into the envelope along with the check.
It’s an easy, inexpensive way to bring a smile to someone’s face, even though you won’t know the recipient. It’s the thought that counts.
Let me say one more word or two
By Heinz Dinter, PhD, Editor
The grand lifestyle!
If you are wondering, Grand Lifestyle
was conceived 14 years ago, experienced an
exciting gestation period (to say the least), and was born serving my
neighbors, condominium dwellers, with news, information and challenges.
That experience, oftentimes too close for comfort for all concerned and
involved, has been close to my heart ever since. It’s been a love affair.
Love: being totally vulnerable with someone you totally trust.
I need to address a most important issue since I’m communicating with you via email on the Internet.
Spamming is ugly and does so much harm to our efforts of putting the incredible power of the World Wide Web to good, informative and educational use because the overwhelming majority of the people who wish to reach out (not necessarily hungry for knowledge, but curious to learn and become informed) are novices when it comes to hitting the computer’s keyboard and watching what’s appearing on the computer’s monitor. And then — bang — they get hit with spam, viruses and worms. It even scares me, and I have been living in the world of computers for nearly half a century (45.58 years to be exact).
Please don’t be offended if I reach you and you don’t give a hoot about what I’m saying. I apologize and ask you to click on the unsubscribe link. I will make every effort to make sure that you will not be bothered again.
You have my guaranty: If you do not wish to receive Grand Lifestyle, send an unsubscribe message (see below) and we will promptly honor your request.
I am trying to get a message across and that effort triggers a flashback to the early years of college education when the learning of a computer language became a mandatory component of graduating. That was nearly 40 years ago. My students were scared. Very scared. They saw their hopes of meeting the world with a baccalaureate degree in hand jeopardized. Frankly, I thought, that gave this new gismo, the computer, way too much power, though I was convinced computer lingo (we called it FORTRAN then) was a most important language to be learned because it gave those college graduates who became familiar with it a most valuable edge in the labor market and boosted their career immensely.
I solved the problem thusly: “You may be scared out of your wits because you hate computers (they typically also hated mathematics),” I announced to my students. “Show me that you care and make a reasonable effort, and you will pass this mandatory computer course. I guarantee it.”
Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
Robert Frost (1874-1963),
American Poet
Of the hundreds of students who went through this agonizing wringer, only one wound up jeopardizing his career. He decided to take matters into his own hands, hired a fellow student to do what I required all to do … and got caught.
He learned of his dilemma while attending boot camp as a newly contracted, professional football player. (Please don’t get the wrong impression. I love football and try not to miss any of the exciting games, college and professional.) His coach gave him a break by permitting the errant student to return to the campus at the University of Florida and make that reasonable effort. I then passed him, and with a B.S. degree in his pocket he commenced an illustrious career on the gridiron.
The opposite of love is indifference.
Eli Wiesel (1928)
American writer and Nobel Peace Laureate
Perhaps I have been carried away with my reminiscing. I just wanted you to get acquainted with me and find out what makes me tick. Get hold of me if you still have doubts. I will answer your questions.
Let’s get back to Grand Lifestyle. I am making a sincere effort to communicate with you and share with you news and information. And if I can also teach you a thing or two, that would be great and would make me very happy.
We, who are the golden years generation, though having decades of experience on dealing with life, still have lots to learn. That learning deals with taking care of ourselves physically and mentally; staying in touch with the world around us, friends, and family (children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren come to mind); not letting our know-how and experience gathered during our productive life go to waste; and — most importantly — protecting our peace of mind for the benefit of everyone.
It is impossible to live pleasurably without living wisely, well,
and justly, and impossible to live wisely, well,
and justly without living pleasurably.
Epicurus (341-270 B.C.),
Greek philosopher
I value your thoughts.
Jim Wing’s article in this issue of Grand Lifestyle (“Points to ponder: Are you properly covered?”) has triggered an avalanche of questions, thoughts and ideas.
The homogeneous nature of condominiums presents an opportunity for satisfying perennial needs of condo associations at the most advantageous cost possible: comprehensive insurance coverage and competent legal services. Reflecting positively on the unit owners’ pocketbook (reducing the monthly maintenance fee and/or special assessments) is the goal.
For example, HMOs are very popular because they offer health-related services at a reduced price and agricultural coops help farmers reduce the strain on their pocketbook.
How about following the lead of these innovative money-saving services and create a cooperative venture that offers a full line of insurance services to condo associations? And how about organizing a prepaid legal-services plan tailored to meet the needs of condo associations?
What are your thoughts? Please share them with me at HDinter@GrandLifestyle.com and we will vigorously pursue these two avenues.
One final word. I have committed myself to put Grand Lifestyle to use as follows: Help make living most rewarding with peace of mind for us and everyone involved delivering the grand lifestyle.
Wow! I register one satisfactory conclusion. If you are reading this sentence, you are still hanging on.
Will you do me and your friends a favor? Tell them about Grand Lifestyle for the Golden Years Generation and ask them to subscribe too. The subscription is free.
Thank you. Heinz
P.S.: By the way, the bits of wisdom on love I embedded here are part of ChuckleThink; it’s a page on this website you will reach by clicking here.
Facts are stubborn things;
and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations,
or the dictates of our passion,
they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
John Adams (1735-1826), 2nd United States president
I will report to you again
next month.
Heinz Dinter, PhD
Please contact me at
HDinter@GrandLifestyle.com
SOURCES
AARP www.aarp.org • ABC News www.ABCnews.com • The Baltimore Sun www.baltimoresun.com • Dresdner Bank Luxembourg S. A. www.dresdner-bank.lu; www.dresdner-florida.de • Folks on Line www.folksonline.com • Fresh Guides Miami www.freshguides.com • Gateway www.gateway.com • Generations on Line www.generationsonline.com • German American Business Chamber of Florida, Inc., Southeast Chapter www.gabcfl.org • Get Inspired Now www.theinterviewwithgod.com/presentation.html • Grove Isle Club & Resort www.groveisle.com • Kim Komando Show www.komando.com • Knowledge News www.knowledgenews.net • Lincoln Road Magazine www.lincolnroadmagazine.com • Los Angeles Times www.latimes.com • The Miami Herald www.herald.com • Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety www.stresscenter.com • The New York Times www.nytimes.com • SeniorNet www.seniornet.org • Social Security Administration www.seniors.gov • The United States Administration on Aging www.aoa.dhhs.gov • USA Today www.usatoday.com • The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com • The Week www.theweekmagazine.com • Yahoo www.Yahoo.com
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