So much for Ask.com being a threat to the top 3 engines. IAC just fired a bunch of their people, and it seems Ask will go back to its Jeeves day when it was all about questions and answers instead of a search engine. Ask.com had an OK technology behind it and had made numerous moves to cut into its bigger competitor’s shares, but it wasn’t any close to being a Google or Yahoo! killer. I wonder if this actually affects the Yahoo!, Microsoft deal as the industry is now different with only 3 major players in it rather than four. On a side note, I think Ask! will be a great destination for all women around the world.

All developed countries have started taking measures to reduce their bad impact on Earth. Banning incadescent lightbulbs, cars from the city centres, or introducing laws for greener factories and industries. Greece at last followed their example by promoting a greener life in the capital.

After its apathy at Bali’s summit, where the greek spokepersons had no specific proposals or positions, Greece seems to start thinking more about the environment. Such late a start can be partly justified, as the country lacks basic means. Most people are way too indifferent and uninformed about global warming and facilities don’t meet the specifications for major changes (for instance the way buildings had been built makes it impossible to widen the roads and introduce cycle lanes etc).

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Mobile post sent by yourownpersonalgeek using Utterz. Replies. mp3

The Basic Materials Sector has acquired renewed importance of late for North American stock investors. Precious metals and energy stocks provide refuge for capital looking for ways to retain value. This company is based in Saskatoon and has its exploration as well as mining rights in Canada.

The ownership and asset structures offer protection to stock investors who worry about security in third world countries. Abundant demand for gold, oil, and natural gas within North America effectively isolates the company from adverse geo-political developments, and also from dollar depreciation. That is why the stock represents such high value for investors in search of stable small capital entry routes into the Basic Materials Sector.

2008 is off to an encouraging start for the company. The management used the last day of calendar year 2007 to announce a sale of royalties related to one of its working gold mines. The arrangement yielded income of more than $25 million, exclusive of interest for over a decade. The company has reported drilling results from the area around this mine during early February 2008. 2007 explorations have established extensive mineral deposits in the drilled area.

The management has also announced, over the last 30 days, similarly encouraging results from drilling activities at two more of its properties. These results augur well for the future of the stock. The company has a secure balance sheet with a Total Debt to Equity during the Most Recent Quarter of just 0.10.

Let us hear your thoughts below:

Who doesn’t know someone nailed by this flu or at least had it?  One thing I am hearing, and possibly feeling, is that it comes back just like the bad guy in the movie.

One agent in my office got a second hit and I am feeling a little worse for wear.  Unfortunately hit him even harder the second time.  Time for some OJ for me.

Some observations from behind the computer;

Traffic seems light lately.   I wonder if gas prices finally affected driving habits.

Our market got hot after many others did.  Will our problems come later too?

Showings have increased on some of my listings, dramatically.

I see flexibility from sellers.

FHA and VA loans are back and probably big.

And don’t forget to Spring Forward on Sunday morning..

Peter Head of the British design firm Arup. Head leads the 100-person team
behind the green city of Dongtan, set to be completed by 2050.

Dongtan is a new city planned for the island of Chongming, near Shanghai. The city should be open, with accommodation for 50,000, by the time the Expo 2010 opens in Shanghai. By 2040, the city is slated to be one-third the size of Manhattan. Dongtan is the first of up to four slated “eco-cities†to be designed and built in China by Arup, a British company. (Pics and Video after the jump)

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I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don’t know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Poem by Pablo Neruda - Love Sonnet XVII
Photo by Denis Collette

• @CaliforniaBlogN Sweet Potatos/Yams go great with marshmellows #
• @QueenofSpain Corned Beef and Cabbage! And save some for me! #

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Just a quick note: I’ll be recording and releasing episode 50 of the podcast on my nine month anniversary, this Thursday December 22nd. This will likely be the last regular episode I release before Christmas, so if you are considering sending comments either in print or by voice, please do so soon so I can include them in the episode.

Thanks,
Bob

I had a little fun to kick off my ability to participate over at seesmic today.