Water Heaters: Tank or Tankless?

For a really great review of the pros and cons of hotwater heaters, Taunton Press has a great article entitled Water Heaters: Tank or Tankless. The article can be found at:

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/articles/choosing-water-heaters-tank-and-tankless-options.aspx

Public Expectations

I am working the Property Desk at the office today. What that means is that I am sitting here, waiting for possible clients to phone in, usually off yard signs. My job is convert those callers into clients. Usually, they are Buyer clients. Not always, but usually. Converting those calls is one part Science and about 43 parts Art. Part of the Art is making a decision about whether or not I want the caller to be my client.

I just got a phone call from someone who gave me the following information: He is moving to Dallas as quickly as possible, someone had told him that there was a property on the market but there wasn't a sign out in front, that he wanted to see the property and he wanted to see the property in the next hour. I asked him a few questions. He was resistant. The only thing he wanted was to get into that specific property and he wanted to get in now. It was obvious that his perspective was that my only role in his life was to get him what he wanted and to get it now.

I was clearly talking with someone who mistakenly believes that the sum total of my job is to unlock doors. Period. That always tells me that the person hugely misunderstands my relationship to a real estate transaction. It also tells me that they are not going to be receptive to the possibility of a different perspective. I can change that perspective, but not quickly and almost never on the phone.

By this point in the conversation, I have already pretty much made the decision to let this fish go on down the river. However, there is no reason to not try and make it possible for him to get what he wants. He obviously has a very low opinion of real estate agents generally. There isn't any reason to actively make that opinion lower if I can avoid it.

I looked the property up for him. It wasn't even listed by our company. Where I have no obligation to show the property, the listing agent does. Part of the duty of a listing agent is the obligation to show the property to any qualified buyer who wants to see it. There is an obligation to prequalify the buyer, but that it about it.

The Caller needed to know that if he is dealing with the listing agent, he is unrepresented. I asked about his experience level. He told me that he has bought and sold real estate in the past. This guy wasn't going to listen to my lecture on the Laws of Agency. I gave him the phone number for the listing agent and wished him the best. Phone call ended.

Judith's Standard Brisket Recipe

This isn't as much a recipe as it is a technique. You make a sauce, put the sauce over the meat and then cook it. Easy. Sometimes I cook it overnight in a slow oven. Currently I am doing it in a crock pot. I portion out the meat into one or two servings containers, put those servings into the freezer. Serve as an open-faced sandwich on a nice, dark Russian rye, topped with a vinaigrette slaw or sauerkraut salad. Makes a great lunch sandwich. Very portable.

_____________________________________________________________

The Sauce: 1 bottle commercial chili sauce, 1/2 bottle Pic-a-Peppa, brown sugar (about 2/3rds cup), 1/4th cup cider vinegar.

To cook in the oven: Line roasting pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, leaving enough foil on the sides to be able to create a sealed package. Add three or 4 carrots to the bottom of the pan to act as lifters to get the roast up out of the juices that are going to accumulate on the bottom on the pan. Salt and pepper a trimmed brisket. Place it on top of the carrots. Gently pour the sauce over the brisket. Seal up the package. Cook 8-10 hours at 275 degrees.

To cook in a crock pot: Salt and pepper a trimmed brisket. Put some of the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Begin folding the brisket into the crockpot, adding sauce in between any folds created. Cook on low setting 8-10 hours.

When done (using either cooking technique), let the meat rest for at least 30 minutes. Remove meat to cutting board and remove and discard any remaining visible fat. Chop meat. De-fat the broth. Combine chopped meat and broth. Portion into individual serving containers. Freeze.

Crockpot Red Beans & Rice

I tend to cook in large batches and freeze most of what gets cooked. I portion out the results into one or two servings. That way, I have lots of main-dish meals in the freezer, in small portions, just right for one or two people! With the red beans, I cook the beans in my large crockpot. I freeze all but one or two cups of the beans.

_________________________________________________________

Pick through a one pound bag of red beans. Wash. Put into crockpot.

Add: 3 ribs celery, chopped
2 bell peppers, (one red, one green), chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
7 cup water

Cook on high setting for 5 hours.

Add: 3/4 lb smoked turkey sausage, casing removed and sliced

Continue to cook another two hours.

During last 30 minutes cooking time, cook small batch of rice. Serve beans on top of rice.