Paul Towlson

I realised it was about time I had a facebook page for the Apartment at the Grove Spa Resort in Cyprus, so here is the link:

www.facebook.com/GroveSpaCyprus

Addressing a group of graduating students, Adrian Tan turned some conventional common sense on its head to make some very profound points.

... you don’t need further education because your entire life is over

Life expectancy is based on averages. Is average what you want?

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

I have to share this great youtube video from musicians who don't want the "protection" of the BPI. Its a rap, with the last line asking "who needs the BPI? The BPI needs the BPI! Bye Bye BPI"

Watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZUSn7I-zNo

More competition in the ebook business is sorely needed. A new service that is about to launch is bilbary.com

Apart from the free or heavily discounted teasers most ebooks are close to the price of paperbacks. If you take into account discounts, special offers, or 3 for 2 deals or suchlike, ebooks can often work out more costly than paper, a pricing that is far from justifiable.

If you are looking for alternatives to Amazon and iTunes for your music, take a look at emusic.com

If you missed this first time round, its well worth catching on iPlayer this week. Evan Davis manages to sustain an upbeat, and I have to say convincing tone, on a subject many of us would assume best not thought about: British manufacturing.

He has some really encouraging things to say in a time when it is too easy to succumb to despondency about the UK.

There is also a worthwhile challenge to our thinking, but more of that later.

I have been setting up a new website at www.rhemahousing.co.uk and hit a small memory problem with the server. The solution is here

I came across this video about motivation ( click here )

It is not only a very inspiring take on motivation, but in as a bonus its well worth seeing for the fabulous and entertaining animation throughout the presentation.

Of course I also appreciate the complimentary things the presenter says about Linux and Open Source software and the huge community effort that has made it the technical achievement it is today.

Is this really bad news for property owners and investors......?

The property market in the US is still in a dreadful state. Sales figures for last month are expected to show a 20% drop since last year. According to some experts cited in a NY Times article investors should stop expecting property to be the vehicle for creating wealth that it was in the years up to 2007.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research estimates that the $6 trillion in property values lost since 2005 will take 20 years to recover, and that's without taking into account inflation. You can see the NY Times article here.

Surely this is bad news? Well, for speculators and those that wish a return to the dramatic growth in property prices in the decade up to 2007 the answer is yes.

There is another perspective however....

This is just a brief comment on the Platinum Property Meet last night in Brighton. Although I've been a property investor for 5 years, I still have plenty to learn. Hearing Steve Bolton speak on property investment strategies is always worthwhile.

As an update on this weeks assault:

Despite being arrested and charged, the neighbour from hell continues to express himself. This time it was coming down while I was at the property with one of the builders and banging the wheelie bins around in the front garden, slamming the main entrance door, and stomping on the floor above.