An Insider’s Guide to Living the Good Life in Naples

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 4, Election Day, and I am writing this from Wasilla , Alaska , just a few miles from Sarah Palin’s home.

I’m here because a good friend of mine, who happens to be a very good friend of Sarah Palin, invited my wife and I and several other couples from around the country to an election party.

Traveling 4,000 miles for a party may be hard to rationalize, but so is flying to the opposite coast to root for your team during an important away game. The trip seems worth it after a victory, but it feels twice as long when you return home, minus the “w.” I will soon know how long my return trip will feel. For a small town, there is plenty of excitement, hope and anticipation in air cold enough to make a

Green Bay Packer fan think twice about going outside. In spite of that, residents line the streets to support the hometown gal who is making it big. I’m sure the same was going on in three other towns across the country. Important decisions will be made today, but the most important decision for our country and its citizens will be made after the polls close. Who we elect to run our country is not as important as who we choose to run our lives. Each of us, regardless of political affiliation, should acknowledge and embrace something that is quickly disappearing from our society, and that is the art of taking personal responsibility for our lives.

Read the rest of this entry

Pairings set for the 2008 Merrill Lynch Shootout!

Tournament Host Greg Norman recently announced 12 dynamic
partnerships that will compete in Naples ’ only PGA TOUR stop!

 Greg Norman & CamiloVillegas
 Scott Hoch & Kenny Perry
  
 Woody Austin & Mark Calcavecchia
 J.B. Holmes & Boo Weekley

 Paul Azinger & Rocco Mediate
 Zack Johnson & Scott Verplank
  
 Stewart Cink & Fred Couples
 Jerry Kelly & Steve Stricker 
  
 Chris DiMarco & Fred Funk
 Graeme McDowell & Ian Poulter
  
 Brad Faxon & Scott McCarron
 Nick Price & Jeff Sluman

Tickets to the 20th anniversary Merrill Lynch Shootout are on sale now!  For the 8th year in a row southwest Florida golf fans will have five great options to see the PGA TOUR’s best in action. 

1.  A Taste of WCI – Best Value! – $110

One (1) weekly pass to the Merrill Lynch Shootout (Wednesday –Sunday)
Over 50 rounds of championship golf for cart fee only!
2.  Weekly Grounds Ticket (Wednesday – Sunday): $75

3.  Daily Grounds Ticket (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday): $25 in advance / $30 at the gate

4.  Daily Pro-Am Ticket (Wednesday or Thursday): $20 in advance / $25 at the gate

5.  18th Green Reserved (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday): $60 (limited availability)

Call 888-66-SHARK, visit mlshootout.com, or stop by
Alf’s Golf Shop, Naples to purchase your tickets today!
 
20th Anniversary Trivia Challenge
 
Enjoy the Merrill Lynch Shootout from the prestigious
Greg Norman Wine Estates Shark Club!

Compete in the MLS Historical Trivia challenge for your chance to earn two (2) tickets
to the Greg Norman Wine Estates Shark Club.  This three tiered shared hospitality venue
includes a fully catered breakfast and lunch, a hosted bar and closed circuit television.

Here’s how to play:

    1. Answer the following ten (10) questions below.

    2. Submit your answers to Dan Gomez at tickets@gwse.com by Friday November 28th.  

Please include “Historical Trivia” in the subject

    3. The winner will be chosen based on the number of correct answers.  In the event of a tie a blind drawing will be done to select the winner.

GOOD LUCK! 

Name the three courses that have hosted the Merrill Lynch Shootout?
What is the Merrill Lynch Shootout 56 hole record and which team holds it?
Who was the last team to win the Merrill Lynch Shootout in a playoff?
Who has partnered with Tournament Host Greg Norman the most?
Aside from Greg Norman, who has made the most Merrill Lynch Shootout appearances?
In what year did the Merrill Lynch Shootout’s field become 24 players?
What is the 18 hole record and how many times has it been shot?
Which two-some has paired together more then anyone else?
Who won the inaugural Merrill Lynch Shootout in 1989?
Which four players have won the Merrill Lynch Shootout three times?

Hint: Visit www.mlshootout.com for some helpful information.

Source: Naples Daily News

“See Naples and die.” The old adage has taken on a sinister meaning: Instead of the glories of what once was Europe’s third-largest city, it now evokes unhealthy sanitation and organized crime.

Mimmo Jodice, one of the grand old men of Italian photography, who was born in Naples and taught at the academy there, has often captured its haunting mix of beauty and dilapidation. His Paris exhibition, “Les Parcours de la Memoire,” (Trips Down Memory Lane) is different.

The show at the Galerie Karsten Greve, 5 Rue Debelleyme, conjures up Southern Italy’s mythical past when Capua was proverbial for luxury and self-indulgence and Pompeii a favorite seaside resort of the Roman upper crust.

Jodice’s black-and-white photographs of Mediterranean landscapes, ancient temples, mosaics and stone masks exude a wonderful stillness and purity. Prices are around 10,000 euros ($12,692). The show runs through Jan. 3, 2009.

For details, go to http://www.galerie-karsten-greve.com

Read the rest of this entry

The biggest difference between this recession and the last is the importance of natural search rankings.  Agents that rank highly for phrases that have intent to purchase have a much better chance of survival than those that do not.   Here are some tips:
Unless you have an old, established site that already ranks well, don’t try and compete with portals on 2 word phrases like “<Location Name> Property”. You’ll lose.

Use your database to create lots of pages that are very specific.  For example we just created lots of pages like this for an IFA client selling developments in Cyprus.  When this goes live they will soon rank for lots of very specific terms like “2 bed townhouse in Peyia Cyprus”.  There won’t be many of these but on aggregate there will be enough relevant traffic to generate leads.

Go niche
The internet rewards niche players. If you can become an expert on a particular location and/or genre like investment property in Poland, you will generally get more links and be seen as more trustworthy than an agent selling in 10 countries. It must be balanced against the risks of over-specialisation but it’s worth remembering.

Source: globaledge.co.uk

Read the rest of this entry

Joanna Forszpaniak of Naples is now a world record holder in fishing.

She set a world record in the 2-pound tippet category by catching a 2-pound, 6-ounce bonefish while fly fishing July 27 off Andros Island in the Bahamas.

Her husband, Dr. Jan Forszpaniak, and a guide witnessed the catch, which the International Game Fish Association approved Sept. 29, said Rebecca Wright, IGFA world record coordinator.

“It feels amazing,” Joanna Forszpaniak said. “Actually, I’m kind of a beginner. I think I got a little bit of luck. I achieved it kind of quickly.”

Forszpaniak said she has been fishing for two years. Her husband instructed her on her fly fishing technique when they practiced at area beaches.

The winning catch came on the second of three days fishing in the Bahamas, she said.

“There were so many fish, but they didn’t want to eat,” she said about how that day started.

Finally, she said, three fish went for an already bitten fly, and the smallest one got it. She submitted the fishing equipment, photographs and documentation to the IGFA, which tested the equipment and reviewed the materials.

“The line is thin as a hair,” Forszpaniak said. “To catch this fish on that line, you need to be very skillful, to catch the fish and not break the line. I gave a little drag and let the fish go. You have to be so delicate.”

Forszpaniak received a certificate, will be mentioned in the IGFA quarterly newsletter and will be included in the 2009 “World Record Game Fishes,” Wright said.

Source: Naples Daily News

Read the rest of this entry

Naples equestrian Jennifer Bate and her horse Mytoi Bask W +// traveled over 2,500 miles to Regina, Saskatchewan, to compete in the 51st Annual Canadian National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championships “The Royal Red.” Each year the Royal Red attracts more than riders from across the United States and Canada who have qualified for the premier competition.

Bate, a Barron Collier graduate who is now a freshman at the University of Florida, and her horse captured five national titles during the week-long competition. Her horse Mytoi was crowned Canadian national champion in the Arabian English Show Hack Open Championship.

Bate also rode her mount to Reserve National Champion honors in both the Arabian English Show Hack JTR Championship and the Arabian Ladies Side Saddle English Open Championship, with Mytoi making three grand victory passes all in the same day.

The due was among the best at the Royal Red competition, earning national top 10 awards in both the Arabian Country English Pleasure JTR and JOTR Championships.

More on Kid’s Sports Newe HERE.

Source: Naples Daily News

Katherine Salant, nationally syndicated columnist and author of The Brand-New House Book, says houses designed with both a master and second bedroom on the first floor have become the most popular because they appeal to all age groups. Young couples use the second bedroom as a nursery. Middle-age couples use it to keep aging parents close by, and older couples’ differing sleep patterns may make sharing a bedroom difficult, she says. Here are other home design trends, according to Salant:

• The newest variation on the home office is a completely separate office space, connected to the house by a hallway or a breezeway.
• Kitchens are getting smaller but connected to much larger dining areas, often with a center island where family members can sit for an informal meal.
• Oversized family rooms with high ceilings are giving way to smaller, cozier rooms with lower ceilings.
• Home theaters have lost some appeal because people don’t want to watch television in a separate area of the home. TV viewing is a more informal activity that people engage in while they’re doing other things like cooking or getting ready for work.

Source: The Washington Post, Katherine Salant (10/18/2008)

There has been a major rise in the number of American homes having green roofs put onto their homes.

Green roofs are vegetated layers that sit on top of the conventional roof surfaces of a building. Intensive green roofs are composed of relatively deep substrates and can support a wide range of plant types, from trees and shrubs as well as perennials, grasses and annuals.

As a result they are generally heavy and require specific support from the building. Intensive green roofs have in the past been rather traditional in their design, simply reproducing what tends to be found on the ground, with lawns, flower beds and water features.

The roofs can help to lower energy heating and cooling costs and provide sound insulation, as well as being environmentally friendly.

The survey found that there has been a rise of 30 per cent in the number of green roofs across North America in the past year, and a new pilot program in New York State is providing tax incentives to encourage people to install such roofs on private residences.

Write down all the objections to a sale you have ever come across. Look at your website. Do you address these objections? Your website is effectively another sales person. The more objections you overcome, the more leads you will generate. Waiting for your Cat to Bark is great book on this subject.

The biggest objection to overcome is, why should I use you when there are thousands of agents out there doing a similar thing? Make this obvious on your homepage and if you can in your page titles.

Appearances can be deceptive. I know a multi-millionaire who chose a well known overseas agent because they had an impressive website. As it turned out, he chose poorly, but there’s a lesson in this. Invest in web design and look professional to build trust and generate leads.

Get someone to advise you on SEO BEFORE you build your website. Building your site incorrectly can severely inhibit your ability to rank on Google.

Read Don’t Make Me Think before you next design your website. It will take about an hour and applying the lessons should radically improve your conversion rates.

Create hundreds of pages using your database. For example, combine fields like <apartment> and <villa> with words such as <for sale> in the locations you sell in, like <cape verde>. If you do this correctly, you’ll get relevant natural search traffic with very few links. Insist on your web design company doing this as part of the price.

If you are serous about targeting new markets, invest in translation services and technology.

Global Edge Marketing LTD, UK

The second half of the Colusa Catch and Release Tournament, which will end up at the the Caloosa Grand Championship. Teams compete to be among the top three for a pot of up to $15,000 plus great prizes like tournament gear, cash, open bar during the tournament, dinners, and more.