Comments for Noel's Green (make that SUSTAINABLE) Blog

Comment on Steven Gary Susskind 1956-2010 by ellen

ellen — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:31:52 +0000

Hello
Steve was a good friend when we were together at NU, from 1997 to 1980. It has been a long time but I do remember him fondly, as do several other NU alum I have spoken to. My sympathy to you and your family.
Ellen

Comment on Macro Energy Flows and expertise by noel

noel — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 21:53:04 +0000

This approximation comes from the US Department of Energy, the International Energy Agency, and others. The chart above comes from the USDOE.

48% is a bit fudged, as I think lighting, hvac and hot water usage by themselves is only 40% of the total energy budget. They may be including some overhead in the form of sewer and water services to account for 8%.

Comment on Macro Energy Flows and expertise by bw

bw — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:41:21 +0000

ive heard the 48% statistic about building use several times. can you direct me to where you got this figure? thanks!

Comment on Macro Energy Flows and expertise by Untitled « Xeno File's Blog

Untitled « Xeno File's Blog — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:36:32 +0000

[...] Our built environment uses up lots of energy. Around forty percent of the global energy usage is for heating, cooling, and lighting buildings (http://www.noelsusskind.com/blog/archives/124) [...]

Comment on Macro Energy Flows and expertise by francis

francis — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:43:27 +0000

Spring is right around the corner-it’s a great time to look into all the latest research and benefits of clean and renewable geothermal energy-it makes a lot of sense tapping into the earth for this super efficient and sustainable answer to our energy problems.

Comment on Steven Gary Susskind 1956-2010 by Muxia Eichelsdorfer

Muxia Eichelsdorfer — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:45:00 +0000

“To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
Thomas Campbell

Steve, you have many friends. You live in our hearts.
Rest in peace my friend.
Muxia

Comment on Aha! A national MLS database does NOT exist by noel

noel — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:17:59 +0000

Well Ron,
We are taking your advice already. We will no longer sending an offer without first calling to see if its under contract. Its a learning experience for sure.

Comment on Aha! A national MLS database does NOT exist by Ron Goodman

Ron Goodman — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:58:13 +0000

Thanks for the update on the source.

As to your question / issue:

It is generally not the MLS that is at fault, but the listing agent. Or, there may be other factors in play.

Bank owned properties generally do go under contract very quickly, especially in high demand markets. Savvy investors snap them up as soon as they hit the market, sometimes the same day if the investor has a sharp agent working for them and watching the new listings on a daily basis.

Also, even if there is an accepted offer on a lender owned property, it may be several days later before the special addenda that always accompany a lender’s acceptance are signed by the buyer and returned to the lender, and the MLS status is not changed until that happens.

Short sales, where the property is not yet be lender owned, but the lender must approve any short sale offers, are also notoriously difficult. There may be multiple offers accepted by the seller, but none of them is really a binding contract until the lender also approves it. That can take several weeks, during which time the MLS status will continue to be “Active”. During that time, the buyer also has the right to terminate the offer and move on to another property, and many buyers do just that. This is extremely frustrating for all involved.

Anecdotal evidence I have heard about from agents in some other markets is that some REO (lender owned) listing agents will tell buyer agents that there is an accepted offer when there really isn’t one, knowing that the chances are good that an unrepresented buyer may come directly to them, the listing agent, to make an offer, thereby doubling the listing agent’s commission on the deal. If that is happening in your area, it is not only unethical, but may also be illegal. But it is often difficult to prove, and more difficult to get anyone to go to the effort and expense to prosecute it.

You say that you are sending in offers. I never do that for a buyer client until I have called the listing agent to check on the status. If you are working with a buyer agent, that should be the first thing they do for you, before wasting anyone’s time on submitting an offer.

Comment on Total harmonic distortion in music and taking HA’s out to hear it all by Jim Parr

Jim Parr — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:11:20 +0000

Modify “do believe” to “do not believe” in last paragraph.
Thanks.

Comment on Total harmonic distortion in music and taking HA’s out to hear it all by Jim Parr

Jim Parr — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:03:08 +0000

Well I have a problem with THD used as term for output of hearing aids. In fact, the harmonic content of any filtered sound WILL BE DIFFERENT! And when this ‘filtering’ is achieved the THD of any such processing system will be affected. I frankly think 5% quoted is actually quite good.

Further, I _do not_ believe it is possible for a person with severe hearing loss to experience the London Philharmonic as it is by those with normal hearing.

But I do believe this is practical right now. furthermore the HA boffins are mainly focused on intelligibility – not fidelity.

Regards to all,
Jim