REAL ESTATE: StreetEasy.com offers unusual feature August 6, 2008

by Sree Sreenivasan, technology reporter

There’s an interesting feature on a real estate site called StreetEasy.com (NYC and parts of NJ only). It allows you to filter the advanced search results by price changes (5 percent lower, 10 percent lower, or any increases). To see it in action, go to http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/process/sales/edit_search

Example of what I found just now:

Sales in NYC
We found 172 listings where price changed less than 7 days ago where price changed
at least 5 %

Median price: $699,000 Median size: 1,065 ft² Median price per ft²: $798

HEALTH: “Crypto” and your local pool July 31, 2008

By Sree Sreenivasan, technology reporter

Just when you thought your swimming pool was safer than the beach, there’s something new to worry about. WSJ’s Anna Prior has a piece about a parasite that’s affecting public pools across the country:

Rising infections from a chlorine-resistant parasite called Cryptosporidium are forcing pools and water parks across the country to take new measures — from ultraviolet-light water treatments to tighter swimming restrictions — to keep their water clean.

The parasite — commonly called crypto — is found in human and animal feces and is easily transmitted through water. When ingested, crypto can cause an illness of up to two weeks, with symptoms that include long bouts of diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headaches and low-grade fevers.

Read the article to get the full story. And here are some tips on how to keep safe, from WSJ and HealthySwimming.org:

KEEPING CRYPTO OUT

Here’s how to avoid spreading and getting the parasite:

• Avoid swallowing pool water or getting it into your mouth

• Do not swim if you have diarrhea

• Take a thorough cleansing shower with soap before swimming

• Wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers

• Take children on frequent bathroom breaks or check diapers often

• Change diapers in a bathroom, not at poolside, and thoroughly clean diaper-changing area

Note: For more information, check out the CDC’s healthyswimming.org site.

VALENTINE’S DAY: Some ways to celebrate that are light on your wallet February 12, 2008

Valentine’s Day is a big holiday for TV folks – lots of segments on gift ideas, lots of ads on the station, lots of gossip to be traded. I am doing three segments on this topic:

• High-tech gift ideas
• Electronic Valentine’s Day card ideas
• And, for Thursday, absolutely, positively last-minute ideas for Valentine’s Day (will add the link here shortly)

Here’s something many of you will find useful…

From SimpleDollar.com: Nine Tactics for a Frugal Valentine’s Day
Excerpts:

Take time off. If you both have some vacation time built up, put in for a day off and spend it together. Do some simple and purely fun things that you wouldn’t ordinarily get to do. Cuddle together for a big chunk of the day and just enjoy each other instead of stressing out at work.

Make an elegant homecooked meal instead of hitting the town. Put in the time and make a wonderful meal at home. Put out a nice tablecloth, use a few candles, and make it a romantic evening at home instead of fighting the Valentine’s Day crowds out and about.

If you’re going out, do something unexpected. Lots of places will be crowded on that night, so do something unusual if you’re going out on the town. Don’t go to the high-dollar place – instead, ask around for something quiet and secluded and undiscovered. Not only will the meal be cheaper, it will also be more memorable and distinctive.

Post your comments below.

WEB: New hyperlocal sites January 28, 2008

– by Sree Sreenivasan, technology reporter

A big new “hyperlocal” has just been launched and I thought it might
interest you. It’s called EveryBlock.com and does a good job of aggregating
all kinds of local news, block by block.

The main site is at http://www.everyblock.com
Only available in NYC, SF and Chicago so far.

You will find crime reports, news articles, restaurant inspection info, etc,
etc… Of course, a warning before you read those restaurant reports: You
will never eat in this town again .

Other hyperlocal sites include:
YourStreet.com: “YourStreet transforms the way you experience local news by
indexing and mapping thousands of articles, blogs, and conversations
down to the street level.”

ZIPSkinny.com: “Get the skinny on that ZIP (demographics by ZIP code)”

THE INTERNET: Helping others – another example January 18, 2008

– by Sree Sreenivasan, technology reporter

The Internet takes a lot of bashing from some folks – it’s all encompassing, it’s isolating, it’s dangerous, it’s filled with errors, etc, etc, etc. Sure, sometimes (many times?) I will see stuff online that makes me mad, but today, I ran across something that reminded me of the good side of the Internet: People helping others.

On Metafilter, a big online community you ought to check out sometime, I saw a question from a student trying to save some money. He posed a question about the risks of forgoing health insurance. He question said, in part:

What are the risks of not purchasing the school health insurance? For example, I’m not sure what would happen if I were to suffer a serious injury and be brought to a hospital other than the one where I receive my care or worse, out of state (the risk is low since I don’t go out of state often). If something like this happened I would be protected by the fact that I have no real assets that could be seized to pay for medical bills, right? Or am I missing something?

Instead of mocking him or criticizing him, a series of strangers tried, to the best of their abilities, to help him out. Now their own answers may not be all technically, legally or ethnically perfect, but I was struck by how genuinely helpful these folks were trying to be.

See the question and the answers here. See the other questions at Ask.Metafilter.com. Can you think of other places online where people are helpful? On occasion, I will try to highlight some of those spots online and in this blog.

Post your comments below, please.

TRAVEL: Get an edge over other air travelers December 23, 2007

– by Sree Sreenivasan, technology reporter

My family decided to spend this busy travel week away from the airlines, but I came across an article from a site that helps you “live the first class life… at coach prices.” I am filing it away for future use: Five ways to get an edge over other air travelers.

Among the tips:

• 1) Get serious status reports sent to you in real-time.
• 2) Know your alternatives.
• 3) Playing contract lawyer can be fun.
• 4) Pre-program airline phone numbers into your cell phone.
• 5) Check in online, and early

See them all explained, with bonus tips in the link above.