Where will your children live?

What do people who already own 80% of the wealth in America buy?

Your home.

Big investors are buying up houses for the purpose of renting. After all, homes are a pretty decent investment: They get the growth from the value of the home, plus the dividends from the rent.

Unfortunately, it means that people without the cash can't outbid the investors. It means that your neighbors will probably be renters who don't care about the neighborhood or the value of your home. And it means that your children will undoubtedly rent.

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2023084679_institutionalinvestorsxml.html

Google Watch

Looks awesome. I wonder what the battery life will be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrqZl2QIz0c

http://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/2014/03/moto-360-its-time.html

"Downton Abbey" vs "Upstairs Downstairs"

[edited to remove a not insignificant spoiler]

I've only watched maybe half a dozen episodes of Downton Abbey (season 4) or Upstairs Downstairs (the reboot), and yet I've seen the exact same scene in both. I think it's interesting to analyze the 2 shows based on this similarity. I think the scene gives us something like an "apples to apples" comparison.

The scene in Downton Abbey occurred in episode 3. While the entire family and staff are listening to Dame Nellie sing, the sweetest character on the show, Anna, is attacked by Mr. Green (of Clue fame?). It occurs in a side room. Even though she screams loudly, no one hears her because they're all on the other side of the house and getting blasted by opera music.

The scene in Upstairs Downstairs occured in episode 3 of the first season. Lady Agnes is expecting her first child. She's very nervous about the pregnancy, due to some previous event (of which, I forget).

Once again, the entire family and staff are off listening to the King abdicate the throne and Agnes is privately suffering the pains of labor. She begins to "not look well." Things are getting dicey.

What happens?

The meddling Lady Maud stumbles upon Agnes moaning in the bathroom and begins administering aid like a midwife. Then, the butler Warwick comes upon the scene. You might have thought the prude would slink away and get the kitchen maid, but instead he takes over for Maud, and goes to work like a competent surgeon. It turns out, he was the equivalent of an EMT in "the War". The episode ends with the family adoring their new boy.

I think these 2 scenes pretty well distinguish the 2 series. The former is fairly gritty and unforgiving. The latter is more low key and charming. The former won't hesitate to kill off (or worse) your favorite characters, while the most the latter can muster is to have the chauffeur sympathize with the Nazis for an episode before repenting.

Correction: US does "kill off" characters, but they just didn't seem as devastating as in DA.

I've seen these kinds of differences on Masterpiece before. At one end of the spectrum was Cranford, a quirky, and amusing series that you couldn't help but laugh at. It was sweet but not sickly sweet.

At the other end of the spectrum are every WWI and WWII mini-series where our hero marries minutes before being shipped off, suffers endless tortures trying to get back to his love, and is killed just yards from safety, the picture of his love clutched in hand.

[No, I don't know any show exactly like that but the descriptions certainly sound that morbid.]

Anyways, I'm just glad we have such a great variety of shows from which to choose.

Pebble 2.0.1 (2.0.12 app) "upgrade"

By now, some of you have run into the upgrade of the Pebble app. It should say 2.0.12, requiring Android 4.x. It will want to upgrade your watch to 2.0.1. Think twice before doing this.

When I tried, I got into a reboot loop on the watch. Once you press and hold Back, Up and Select, you need to install an image until your watch can do anything but be a brick. You can't even turn it off.

Here's what I recommend. Since it's going to factory reset anyways:

• Uninstall the Pebble app
• Unpair the watch (on the phone)
• Unpair the phone (on the watch, if you haven't bricked it yet)
• Re-install the Pebble app
• While it's installing, factory reset the watch
• If pairing doesn't work, try cycling Bluetooth on the phone. It seems to help my Moto X.
• If pairing still doesn't work, 3 finger salute the watch
• Hold Back, Up and Select
• After 10 seconds, it will say "pebble". Keep holding.
• After more than 10 seconds, it will go to the "upload" screen.
• Let go.
• If pairing does work, and the app says something like, "Pebble should show code 123456.", ignore the code. Mine never showed it. As long as the 4 digit code matches your Pebble, say, "yes, that's my Pebble."

If and when (let's be positive) you get it paired, go through the normal set-up steps.

Good luck!

MacBook Pro Song by Erin K

I haven't been posting because I hadn't anything important enough to fill a whole page. I've decided to start posting smaller, light-hearted things. Here ya go.

Poignant due to a recent movie. Notice the ukulele tuning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10P44-kFkZI