campaigns : Campaign Archive

April 17, 2008

Web sites that will simplify your life; the Manhattan real estate market; and finally a book on how to improve business writing skills

We know you tomatoes are a busy bunch. And you really don’t have a lot of time to surf the web. So here’s The Three Tomatoes good deed this week. We’ve discovered some web sites, and other useful information that can help make your life a lot simpler. Like, a web site that texts and voice messages reminders to you; menus of restaurants that deliver (besides the typical Chinese, pizza, and delis); a web site to find people to do chores, and one that checks if politicians are telling the truth. Plus, what you need to know about the Manhattan real estate market, and how to improve those business writing skills.

Forgotten anything lately?

Yes, we know that question is like asking do you breathe and drink water. So if you’re like The Three Tomatoes and forget things like your grocery list, the dry cleaning, your best friend’s birthday, getting your favorite dress shoes rehealed before your next event, your passport, your dentist appointment, and oh my, we could go on and on, just from personal experience. So here are a couple of great web sites that can save your “you know what”. The first is called OhDon'tForget.com and it’s so easy to use. You just put in your cell phone number, type in the reminder message, and a date and time you want to be reminded, and a text message is delivered to you phone. No charge and no registration at the web site required either. The other site, rminder.com , allows you to send a voice and a text message. You have to register, and you can get 8 messages a month for free. If you need more (that would be us), then there are various fees for additional services.

Ordering in good food

We have a kitchen drawer full of take out menus from Chinese restaurants, pizza joints, and delis. And it’s not that we don’t enjoy that fare on occasion, but more often than not, the menus are less than tantalizing. But we re-discovered menuspages.com and their terrific section of NYC restaurants that deliver, along with of course their menus.. And to our surprise places like Ben & Jack’s (a very decent steak joint) and several other good restaurants, deliver. So let’s see, pizza tonight, or prime sirloin? And of course they have the menus for tons of other restaurants and links to make reservations, in cities all around the country.

Not that politicians would ever tell an untruth, but…

If you haven’t tuned out all the political rhetoric yet, and blah, blah, blahs, and are actually trying to listen and figure out the truth, then check out The Annenberg Political Fact Check . It’s a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. They monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels. The web site also debunks those “mass political emails” that get forwarded around too, the vast majority of which are inaccurate. So if you’re not totally sick of politicos right now, then check out the facts.

The World's Healthiest Foods

The World’s Healthiest Foods is a terrific web site founded by the George Mateljan Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s chock full of great up-to-date info on how foods affect our health and can boost energy. Every week a new healthy food is featured, along with great recipes that include all the caloric and nutritional info. Asparagus are featured this week, and there’s a simple and healthy recipe for steamed salmon and asparagus. You can get weekly recipes and meal plans, along with shopping lists, and all kinds of great advice on healthy eating.

Do My Stuff

DoMyStuff.com is a great idea with a simple premise of finding someone else to do your chores. You post the chore, and then accept bidders for the job. Or you can bid to do someone’s chore. You can search by zip code, so it’s easy to post and find people. Examples of this week’s postings in our zip code were someone who will do wedding invitation calligraphy, and someone who needed a person to set up a clothes rack for them in their storage room, and someone to go to motor vehicles. Just think, you can pay someone to do this stuff instead of marrying them. So much simpler, don’t you think?

Manhattan Real Estate – Buy or Sell?

Or as the song says “You gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em”. But according to real estate expert Victoria Vinokur, any attempts to pin down a specific“across the market” trend are just a waste of time. Simply put, there is no “across the market” trend. Every segment of the market seems to be performing under different rules. Factors such as room count, location, views, the ratio of monthly charges to square feet and the overall condition of the property are playing an even bigger role than usual in determining the selling price of properties. In addition to these concrete factors, there are many psychological aspects that are at play. Despite the fact that Manhattan real estate prices are stable compared to the rest of the country, the impact of the media is taking its toll. Some buyers have been waiting longer to decide on a purchase based on the assumption that more properties will be coming to market, and they will have more interesting properties to choose from. The sellers have become more realistic, however firm, in their asking prices. This psychological gap between the buyers and the sellers seems to be closing as both parties are able to come to mutually agreeable terms. To find out much more about what’s happening around town in the real estate market, read Victoria’s terrific newsletter. And sign up to receive it on a regular basis too.

A great gift for the college graduate

We hear it over and over. The complaints that smart young people, who are graduates of some very fine institutions are entering the business world with no idea of how to write. Now granted, there are certainly a lot of much older folks in the business world who also never mastered this skill. So, for the perfect graduation gift, or a hint to a co-worker, give them this terrific new book 10 Steps to Sucessful Business Writing, written by a friend of ours, Jack Appleman. Each chapter has great practical pointers, examples, and exercises. We are so glad Jack wrote finally wrote this book about a topic he is so passionate about. He is an award winning writer with more than 20 years of experience as a trainer, communication professional, and a professor. He frequently conducts writing workshops for major corporations. You can signup for his newsletter tips on better writing at his web site.

So here’s to simplifying -- your life, your real estate, your writing.

‘til next week,

The Three Tomatoes