Gabby

Have you ever fantasized about building an island paradise? Although many people dream about creating an island, few can dredge up the money or materials to realize those inspirations except in the most unusual circumstances. But, within the past century, developers have created habitable islands where individuals can live in communities or where they can visit for entertainment and relaxation. Investors now can own a piece of man-made island paradise, all shaped from dreams and blueprints or expanded upon with reclamation efforts.

read more | digg story

After the previous article on my chances to build dreams late in life, it occurred to me that my daughter doesn’t need to repeat my financial mistakes. She has dreams, although her parents and other adults may not be privy to many of those goals. Whether or not I approve her ambitions doesn’t matter. What matters is her ability to make those dreams become reality, because empowerment isn’t grounded in magic. What it takes to succeed financially is the recognition of those myths regarding women and money and the willingness and strength to dispel them.

read more | digg story

Do you want to grow up to be a programmer? You have a choice, then. You can go off to college or you can learn the basics now at home. Whether you can learn those programming skills for free or not is the question. So, we went on a search for the most common and the most popular programming languages to see what we could find. We learned that you can learn every computer language known to mankind online through open source projects, free online tutorials, free eBooks and wikis.

read more | digg story

The Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP) turns fifty this year, and I’m about four years older than this organization. I’m happier than ever with this group, as I learned from them today I might live to see age 85, since I made it to age 50. Can you imagine? I may live to see the year 2035, much to my daughter’s chagrin.

read more | digg story

What do Web 2.0 and real estate have in common? Well, at the moment, you might say that commonality includes the various mashups of Google maps, where little colored balloons may indicate homes for sale or rent. Or, those balloons could point to rotten neighbors or even to homes you can rent for a month in an exotic location. But, that’s just the tip of the real estate Web 2.0 revolution.

Ever since Dion Hinchcliffe tried to visualize Web 2.0 through mere words in 2005, the user experience has blossomed to include blogs, shared photos, video, social networking and more. A person who wants to purchase a home today can describe his or her desires in a few written words and have that home appear as if by magic through a widget that is tuned to keywords and locations. The buyer can view photos, floorplans, videos, three-dimensional tours, learn about the neighborhood, talk with residents who live in the area, and contact the seller directly. Almost every detail that goes into a home sale or purchase can be initialized and even finalized online by the buyer or seller.

read more | digg story