Category: Personal Reflections

I’m a bit behind on my reading, so just got done with Om Malik’s post from November 23rd:

• Some Thoughts on the New WordPress.com and Mac App

I’m excited by what WordPress incorporated. Things like streamlined viewing, being able to view stats for multiple sites in one window, the stand-alone app, and the increased speed. All in all, WordPress takes blogging seriously and has an eye towards the future.

Over the years, WordPress earned my admiration and respect. I’ve come to actually love the platform. When first striking out with blogging, my ended up choosing Blogger. For many reasons I felt it was best…at the time. The one thing I didn’t anticipate on: Google’s acquisition. When that happened, though, I was rather excited. Google has an amazing array of resources and tons of the smartest people on earth. However, as Om noted earlier, Google doesn’t get social. Google+’s lack of vigor demonstrates this quite well. (I can also add the coexistence of Google+ and Blogger within their eco-system, but I digress.) But, looking at the Blogger platform, it’s stale interface, non-open mentality, lack of customizability (in terms of templates and plug-ins…the glorious capacity of plug-ins is brilliant in it’s own right), WordPress is in a different century than Blogger. And that disappoints me greatly. I expected so very much more from Google.

I fully expect Google to either combine Blogger with Google+ or just straight out kill Blogger. So, my hope lies with WordPress. I’ve shifted more of my writing over to my WordPress sites CarlSetzer.net. I need to be where the future is.

Yesterday was an interesting one. While sitting in a clock hour class up above downtown Everett, our region’s windstorm made it’s presence well known. Quite the bluster! Even in the 6th floor of a modern high-rise, we could hear the wind. My friends and family came through reasonably unscathed, most injurious were power losses and fence destruction.

With the storm, traffic was significantly eventful and my poor instructor quite late. I took the opportunity to chat with many of the good folks at Everett’s First American Title office. Such great people! A few folks I’ve known for years, but have never met. Such is the nature of modern business!

Our class covered the Escrow Process, where we focused on several key changes and issues facing this sector. One of the biggest: cyber-fraud.

I’ve been hearing an amazing number of cases of spoofed, or near-spoofed email addresses where funds are redirected. With this, we covered ways in which our business is responding to better protect your information.

Also, we looked at the way the CFPB’s new disclosure rules are getting implemented. The mortgage industry has taken this very, very seriously and implemented (for the most part) solid processes to keep closing timelines solid. Each lender has their own process, which is complicating things. And we’re having issues with certain folks not respecting the amount of time it takes the other players to act (“yeah, it closes tomorrow, here’s our stuff at 6pm. Too bad you don’t have time to get all your work accomplished. It’s your fault, of course”).

Anyway, always trying to learn more. Real Estate is vibrant and ever changing business. It is one of the things that delights me about it.

Walking this evening, I was looking at these houses in Lynnwood. These houses from the 50s and 60s garages have itty bitty garages. Today’s cars don’t fit. And I remember those 50s, 60s, 70s vintage cars. They were a tad bit bigger than cars today. Clearly, garages were for storage, not auto storage.

Anyway, I’ve been around these houses most of my life. I’m rather fond of them, quirks and all. Actually, the quirks add delight, to me, at least.