用雙腳走遍世界 用真心感覺周圍

You may have noticed the lines at home-improvement stores getting longer or heard the whirring of buzz saws in your neighborhood. After years of economic recession and housing-market malaise, people are starting to fix up their homes again.

According to an April 15 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, annual spending on remodeling is expected to accelerate this year, with nearly 5% growth over 2009. "This year could produce the first annual spending increase for the industry since 2006," the peak of the housing boom, says center director Nicolas P. Retsinas.

But the forces driving today's action couldn't be more different from those during the boom. Back then, people wanted to renovate their places so that they could trade up to bigger homes, or because their home equity was soaring and they wanted to reinvest some of the spoils.

Now, the opposite is happening: Many people who bought during the boom years are accepting the reality that they won't soon be swapping up for a sybaritic spread. Their mortgages may remain above water, but after years of falling home prices, their equity is so low that the transaction costs of buying a new house would leave little for a down payment.

In short, they are stuck.

"People have seen their down payments kind of wiped out," says Harvard economist Jeremy Stein. "They are locked into their house. They can't really move, even if they thought the other house was cheap and a good deal."

So these people are making their homes more comfortable for a longer-than-expected stay. Setting aside old calculations of how much a particular improvement will add to resale value, they are making smaller tweaks that can make a big difference in livability. You might call it "psychological return on investment."

Nowadays, say real-estate agents and contractors, smaller projects like updating kitchens and baths and humble attic-bedroom conversions are more popular, while two-story master suites and $100,000 kitchen blowouts are decidedly out of fashion. Hidden improvements like insulation also are on the rise, as people realize they won't be able to pass on their drafts, leaks and other problems to the next guy. Tax credits that expire in 2010 are enticing people to make energy improvements, too.

The kitchen is still king .

LAS VEGAS -- Americans want smaller houses and they are willing to strip some of yesterday's most popular rooms -- such as home theaters -- from them in order to accommodate changing lifestyles, consumer experts told audiences at the International Builders Show here this week.

"This is a traumatic time in this country and the future isn't something we're 100% sure about now either. What's left? The answer for most home buyers is authenticity," said Heather McCune, director of marketing for Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Park Ridge, Ill.

Buyers today want cost-effective architecture, plans that focus on spaces and not rooms and homes that are designed 'green' from the outset," she said. The key for home builders is "finding the balance between what buyers want and the price point."

For many buyers, their next house will be smaller than their current one, said Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio, Texas. Large kitchens that are open to the main family living area, old-fashioned bathrooms with clawfoot tubs and small spaces such as wine grottos are design features that will resonate today, she said.

"What we're hearing is 'harvest' as a home theme -- the feeling of Thanksgiving. It's all about family togetherness -- casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces," Lavender said.

Paul Cardis, CEO of AVID Ratings Co., which conducts an annual survey of home-buyer preferences, said there are 10 "must" features in new homes.

1. Large Kitchens, With an Island

"If you're going to spend design dollars, spend them where people want them -- spend them in the kitchen," McCune said. Granite countertops are a must for move-up buyers and buyers of custom homes, but for others "they are on the bubble," Cardis said.

2. Energy-Efficient Appliances, High-Efficiency Insulation and High Window Efficiency

Among the "green" features touted in homes, these are the ones buyers value most, he said. While large windows had been a major draw, energy concerns are giving customers pause on those, he said. The use of recycled or synthetic materials is only borderline desirable.

3. Home Office/Study

People would much rather have this space rather than, say, a formal dining room. "People are feeling like they can dine out again and so the dining room has become tradable," Cardis said. And the home theater may also be headed for the scrap heap, a casualty of the "shift from boom to correction," Cardis said.

4. Main-Floor Master Suite

This is a must feature for empty-nesters and certain other buyers, and appears to be getting more popular in general, he said. That could help explain why demand for upstairs laundries is declining after several years of popularity gains.

5. Outdoor Living Room

The popularity of outdoor spaces continues to grow, even in Canada, Cardis said. And the idea of an outdoor room is even more popular than an outdoor cooking area, meaning people are willing to spend more time outside.

6. Ceiling Fans

7. Master Suite Soaker Tubs

Whirlpools are still desirable for many home buyers, Cardis said, but "they clearly went down a notch," in the latest survey. Oversize showers with seating areas are also moving up in popularity.

8. Stone and Brick Exteriors

Stucco and vinyl don't make the cut.

9. Community Landscaping, With Walking Paths and Playgrounds

Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.

10. Two-Car Garages

A given at all levels; three-car garages, in which the third bay is more often then not used for additional storage and not automobiles, is desirable in the move-up and custom categories, Cardis said.

最近科技業各界紛紛把雲端這塊招牌掛在自己開發的技術上，彷彿必須通過業者所提供的平台才可觸碰到這塊雲。究竟雲端運算是什麼東西，且看本文分曉。

雲端是什麼碗糕

雲端運算（cloud computing）這東西很妙，你拉十個人來問可能會得到十一種答案。各行各業對它的解讀不盡相同，我看到最寬鬆的定義是「使用者可無腦的經由網路得到他們想要的服務」，我相信這種對於雲端的定義肯定也相當無腦。

較嚴謹的定義為「使用底層的分散式運算技術建構出上層可透過網路提供使用者自行達到快速部署及按使用量計費的服務方式」，唸完這句話也差不多該去喝個水透個氣了。雲端這種行話（buzz word）在此我也不想多作定義，免得擋人財路。

不過大家都有的雲端服務共識分為三個層次：基礎設施即服務（Infrastructure as a Service , IaaS）、平台即服務（Platform as a service , PaaS）和軟體即服務（Software as a Service , SaaS）。簡單來說就像經由網路這條通道分別提供使用者作業系統平台、API工具或是應用程式來使用的服務。

三種不同層次的雲端運算服務，以及它們分別的例子。

雲端怎麼這麼夯

最根本還是一句話：商機啊！雲端對企業最直接的效益便是節省建置軟硬體設備及維護所需的花費，並可依所需彈性調整運算資源，反正用多少付多少，多退少補嘛。其實大家已經用得很習慣的Google相關服務就屬於雲端應用，只是Google目前所提供的層級屬於PaaS和SaaS，你只能照它的遊戲規則來玩，其餘免談。

但身為進階級的玩家怎麼可以被框架給限制住呢？以雲端服務的三個層級來看，IaaS提供的彈性最大，業者你給我我想要的作業系統平台，剩下的我自己來搞。目前地球上規模最大的IaaS供應商，則莫過於Amazon Web Services（AWS）所提供的EC2（Elastic Compute Cloud）。大家對於Amazon肯定不陌生，Amazon.com為美國最大的一家網路電子商務公司，旗下最有名的就是亞馬遜網路書店。

Eucalyptus的三層架構：Cloud Controller、Cluster Controller和Node Controller。

美國中部時間， 五月二日 ，早上八點三十分，奧馬哈（Omaha）Qwest運動場，三萬五千多名股東，正出席股神巴菲特（Warren Buffett）的波克夏‧海瑟威控股公司（Berkshire Hathaway）年會。

今年的股東會，出席人數最多，但同時也是巴菲特接掌波克夏四十四年以來，績效最差的一年：每股淨值跌至歷史新低，股價也在七個月跌掉近三○％，連波克夏自己持有二○％股權的子公司——穆迪信評也「大義滅親」，將波克夏信評連降兩級，由Aaa降為Aa2。《經濟學人》（The Economist）更指稱，「（波克夏的）信用風險比俄羅斯還高。」

投資人紛紛質疑：巴菲特不再神了嗎？針對市場質疑聲浪，股神回應的方式很幽默。

一開場，就是巴菲特自製的「自嘲」影片。片中，巴菲特不再是波克夏董事會主席，而化身旗下家具公司的床墊推銷員，他無奈的對股東說：「因為穆迪將波克夏信評降級，董事會建議我可以試試其他工作，」現場一陣大笑。

一年一度的波克夏股東會，巴菲特再度站上講台，與股東、記者進行長達七個小時的現場問答。《商業周刊》為讀者整理出股神開講的三大重點：

第一講：壞日子還沒過完

零售業將繼續衰退，房市尚未復甦

股東與媒體們最關心的問題：金融海嘯衝擊過去了沒有？

對此，巴菲特的回應是：「我想，答案是否定的。我們還在（對抗金融海嘯的）戰爭之中。『珍珠港事件』（編按：美國總統歐巴馬對抗金融海嘯的用詞）發生是在去年九月，這場戰爭重擊美國的心臟——金融系統。」

「當時，如果我們不能有所作為，我們很可能輸掉這場戰爭。我們必須給予（政府官員）正面評價，但是，這場戰爭還沒有結束。」  

【2009/05/19 經濟日報 - 記者黃仁謙】

One of the largest manufacturers of mobile homes plans to enter the market of environmentally friendly, prefab homes with a model that is seriously affordable.

It looks like a house you'd order from Ikea. It sounds like a house designed by Apple. The I-House just might be the future — well, one future, anyway — of the housing market.

Clayton Homes, based in Maryville, Tenn., is one of America's largest manufacturers of mobile homes and prefabricated housing. So when President Kevin Clayton wanted to go green, he gave his architects a free hand, instructing them to incorporate as many green products as possible and to produce a home that was super energy-efficient — the only constraint was that it had to be something that could be built in existing facilities.

【2009/02/12 經濟日報 - 編譯廖玉玲／綜合外電】

金融海嘯重創香港，失業率爬升到3.8％，第七屆「香港設計營商周」，在低迷的景氣之下，依然於2008 年12 月上旬如期展開。

儘管現場嘉賓致詞不時提及「crisis」「threat」，對於市道景氣的憂慮之情溢於言表，但是香港特首曾蔭權仍信心滿滿地指出，香港東西文化薈萃，加上居中國門戶的地利之便，受惠中國龐大的內需市場與製造基地，香港具備扮演亞洲設計樞紐的一切特質。

「不過在這波金融海嘯中，高度仰賴國際金融、港口服務與製造代工業的香港，面臨極大的威脅與考驗；我們的產業同質性太高了，更反映現在是最需要設計與創意產業的時候，設計與創意，才是聰明的解決問題、應對危機的方法！」主辦設計營商週周的香港設計中心董事會主席羅仲榮深有所感地強調。

這次香港設計營商周的伙伴國家是荷蘭，現場隨處可見亮橘色的鬱金香圖底，印著白色「open mind」字樣，正如荷蘭設計給人的鮮明印象，讓人暫時忘卻金融海嘯的沈悶。

「荷蘭設計（Dutch Design）向來以創新、前衛、富現代感與別具幽默感，在全球設計界獨樹一格。」荷蘭外貿部長法蘭克‧辛斯克（Frank Heemskerk）一語道出荷蘭設計的風格語言。他此行特別率領設計相關產業及教育領域、近280 人前來香港，據稱是有史以來，由荷蘭官方所帶領，最龐大的海外代表團。

台灣景氣低迷，與香港不相上下，若說設計是應對金融危機的最佳方案，我們能向荷蘭設計學些什麼呢？

無薪假、失業率攀升，我的下一份工作在哪裡？綠領（Green collar）可能是答案。

何謂綠領？根據聯合國環境規畫署（UNEP）和國際勞工組織定義，對於保護環境或者永續生活有貢獻的職業，都可稱為綠色工作，包含降低能源消耗、維持生物多樣性和減低碳排放量等工作。相對藍領和白領工作者，這些綠色工作者，形成一個特殊階級叫做綠領。

二○○八年十二月中，東京舉辦的綠色商品展，知名企業包含電信龍頭DOCOMO、消費電子品牌新力（Sony），還有三井住友銀行，紛紛打出綠色環保訴求。另一角，「如何加強你的綠色產業能力」座談會上，坐滿了新鮮人，大家都想進入這個正蓬勃成長的產業。

專業分析機構、船井綜合研究所商業策略諮詢部門研究員黑川智玄指出，二○一○年到二○二○年，日本綠領需求量將成長十個百分點，從一百一十一萬人成長到一百二十三萬人。

To fill jobs in clean tech and help tomorrow's business leaders solve our environmental problems, schools are ramping up sustainability programs—inside the classroom and out

By Francesca Di Meglio

At one time, business schools "greened" their MBA curriculums in response to a new wave of students for whom sustainability was more than just a catchphrase. It was a core value.

That time, however, has passed. Today, business schools are continuing to ramp up their efforts for green curricula, but for a much different reason. In a world beset by economic woes as well as environmental problems— from the scarcity of natural resources to climate change—sustainability represents one of the few potential bright spots in an otherwise dismal recruiting environment.

Job Opportunities Spur Green Coursework

"Jobs might be drying up on Wall Street," says Catherine Wolfram, associate professor of business administration at UC-Berkeley's Haas School of Business, "but not in the clean technology sector."

The result: innovations such as the Sustainable Entrepreneurship by Nature course at Babson College where students turn to the natural world to solve vexing business problems, perhaps obtaining inspiration for a windmill design from the shape of a dolphin's fin. Such an assignment would not have appeared in typical MBA syllabi just a few years ago.

Many business school administrators and faculty say that these curriculum changes are a necessity if graduates are going to find jobs in a global economy where business is increasingly expected to solve the world's problems, or at least not make them worse. "You have to use entrepreneurial thinking to solve problems without taking away from the environment," says Candida Brush, professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College. "You have to do it. It's not a choice."

地球生態失衡正加速惡化是眾所周知的事實，但是「意識明確、付諸行動」致力抗暖化救地球的，多僅限於歐美日等先進國。西雅圖就是其中一例，這個人口才52萬的都市，正是率領850個城市響應全球減碳活動的靈魂都市。

當地早已進行多種仿效大自然的治水與減碳工程，將環保以綠色經濟面貌呈現，並由市民規畫百年綠地計畫，以及提出高架橋拆除後的海岸復育計畫，11月公投表決。本刊記者實際參訪西雅圖這些綠色建設，扼要報導如下。

1997年，聯合國氣候變遷綱要公約組織（UN Framework Convention on Climate Change，UNFCCC）通過《京都議定書》，規範主要工業國家溫室氣體排放減量，希望簽約的141國在2012年時，降低二氧化碳的排放量到7%的水準，但是排放量名列前茅的美國並未簽署。

西雅圖串聯141個城市 簽自己的《京都議定書》

西雅圖市政府Climate Action Now協調員史密斯（Rachel R. Smith）指出，西雅圖市長尼可（Greg Nickel）於2002年當選，2005年遇上雨水不足，西雅圖缺水，尼可認為節能之外，必須投注綠色經濟發展。但他始終得不到聯邦政府協助，於是他串聯了141個城市簽署與上述《京都議定書》一樣內容的《全美市長氣候保護協議》（U.S Mayors Climate Protection Agreement）。

相對於美國聯邦政府的不參與，史密斯說，累計至今，全美如今已有850個城市、約8,000萬人（與德國人口相當）參與這個活動。西雅圖除了推動生態建築、建設單車道，也與企業商討可行方案，並教育民眾節能，包含最適胎壓、最適空調溫度等。在多方推動下，計畫進度已超前，西雅圖市政府最近一次向市議會報告成果已比1990年CO2排放量達到少了8%；新目標更已訂定2050年排放量要比1990年少80%。

然而深層看待西雅圖的領先行動，這絕不只是市長的個人認知，真實力量來自當地市民對環保的認知，並與歐盟國家一樣，早已投注綠色經濟30年。他們的核心價值為何？西雅圖工務局氣候變遷部門主管弗萊明（Paul Fleming）指出，不只西雅圖，全球都市都要思考如何「在人口增加及都市發展的同時，不增加不透水地表」；「未來10年，每年要做到減少1到2個百分點不透水地表。」

The 2008 StartupNation Home-Based 100 list is now in, and one thing is clear: Starting and running a business from home is more mainstream than ever.

The number of contestants in the Home-Based 100 tripled, numbering in the thousands. Votes in support of those businesses increased tenfold, up to a quarter of a million.

Part of that is because our list is becoming better known, of course. But it's also a sign that what home businesses do is of immense interest to more and more Americans, as the do-it-yourself boom expands.

Indeed, more than half of all U.S. businesses are now run from kitchen tables, extra bedrooms, basements and garages. Home-based businesses make a $530 billion contribution to the nation's economy each year.

And for many Americans, starting up at home has become a necessity. What appeared to be simply another economic downturn a year ago, when we compiled the first Home-Based 100, has devolved into a far more dire situation. Major economic giants, including Lehman Bros. (LEHMQ, news, msgs), American International Group (AIG, news, msgs) and General Motors (GM, news, msgs), have shown their vulnerability. As corporate titans lay people off by the thousands, many Americans are being forced to find new ways to make a living.

Their criteria? Inexpensive to start. Immediate results.

北京麗池卡爾頓酒店 © 麗池卡爾頓酒店管理公司

全球最知名的旅遊專家們挑選出了最好的酒店

「這種一生僅有一次的體驗為超豪華酒店設立了一個新的標準。這是一大傑作。如果你想體驗十億美元級富豪的生活--一生只要一次就行--不妨考慮這裏吧。」

「在我從事酒店設計和考察的35年裏，這是我所享受到的最棒的酒店體驗。理想的地理位置，卓越的服務品質……這真是一次奇妙的體驗。我真不捨得離開。」

「這裏不愧為全世界環境最優美的酒店之一。我還能說什麼呢？」

這些只是我們從評選出2008/2009年度全球頂級豪華酒店榜單的 Forbes Traveler 400 旅遊專家評委會那裏選取的三條評論。你一定很想知道他們所說的是哪家酒店，對吧？難就難在這兒。

在兩年前我們首次推出這一榜單的時候，我們採取了與其他十分注重從數學角度評選全球最佳酒店的旅遊雜誌和網站截然不同的方式。從統計學的角度講，按數字排名的唯一方法是找幾千人來問問他們的意見，而全球最好的酒店通常是由眾多匿名的網友評選出來的。

對於某些情況而言，集思廣益是個不錯的主意。當你想不起白俄羅斯的首都是哪里時，不妨問問車上的每一個人。有人或許會記得是明斯克（可能就是個小朋友會記得這種事情）。但是，倘若選對了酒店意味著令人難忘的旅行，而選錯了酒店則可能引起夫妻爭執，難道你不應該問問每週會在豪華酒店住上一到兩次——而不是一年一次——的人嗎？

因此，我們從各行各業請來79位豪華旅遊專家組成了一個評委會。Arianna Huffington 是一位著名的作家兼發行商，並曾是加州州長候選人，而與她同為評委會成員的 Todd English 則是一位名廚和餐館老闆。Adam Tihany 是一位有名的室內裝潢設計師與建築師，負責全球幾家知名酒店的建設；而 Tony Wheeler 是《Lonely Planet》旅行指南發行商 Lonely Planet 的聯合創始人。

【2008/08/08 聯合報】

其中，受惠最大的是所謂的新興國家。包括非洲的埃及與摩洛哥，還有亞洲準備要辦奧運的中國，以及貨幣貶值中的南韓，帶有神祕色彩的柬埔寨與尼泊爾等國家的外國旅客人次，目前為止都還維持兩位數字的成長率。另外，除了本來就是常客的德國、美國、英國與法國人，今年的世界十大旅遊大戶中，還冒出了中國人與俄羅斯人。

《經濟學人》雜誌把這波中國、俄羅斯等新興國家人民，大步走進世界旅遊市場的現象，稱為二次大戰以來的「第三波旅遊革命」。第一波，是六○年代，當時先進國家漸漸走出了戰爭，收入改善，生活穩定，航空公司紛紛成立，旅行團開始流行起來，吸引了很多人出國。第二波，則是九○年代的網路革命，顛覆了人們買機票、訂旅館的型態，也讓整個產業出現了新的面貌。 

什麼是干物女？

干物女（又稱魚干女），是日本超人氣漫畫「螢之光」創造出的新名詞，形容放棄戀愛與社交，懶散、悠哉是平日生活的重心，很多事情都很麻煩而湊合著過。因為沒有滋潤而漸漸乾枯，整個人就像是魚乾一樣，放空的晾著。

漫畫改編電視劇

日本把漫畫改編為電視劇，青春女星綾瀨遙主演的女主角雨宮螢，上班時是個穿著得體的OL，回到家卻大變身，穿著舊T恤和口袋破洞的寬鬆運動褲，懶散邋遢的攤在地板上，大口喝啤酒，累了隨手拿報紙就當棉被蓋了睡。緯來日本台譯為「魚干女又怎樣」，目前周一至周五晚間8點播出中。

事實上，干物女這個族群的確沉默又快速地擴張著，或許有人覺得這樣的生活很可悲，但是認為「這才是人生」的也大有人在，經過忙碌的一天，能找到讓自己最放鬆的方式過日子也不賴！ 

How much house can you buy for $1.5 million? Depending on where you look, it might not be very much.

Despite global economic concerns, the credit squeeze, and rising commodity prices, properties in the world's most expensive neighborhoods are still commanding ferocious premiums. While $1.5 million in Cleveland or Tampa would probably purchase a substantial house, with four bedrooms, a multicar garage, and maybe even such amenities as a swimming pool and media room, in London's Belgravia or on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, it would buy you little more than a glorified shoebox.

Using data from London-based real estate group Knight Frank, BusinessWeek.com identified the 20 most expensive markets in the world and what you can buy in those cities' prime areas with $1.5 million. In London, where at $6,191 the average price per square foot is the highest in the world, your $1.5 million would buy only a small studio in the smartest parts of town. In Venice, on the other hand, despite limited building space, your money goes a bit further, getting you a two-bedroom apartment or more near the Grand Canal. (Of course, in less illustrious neighborhoods, your money goes further still.)

永和市地狹人稠，新建地取得不易，建商紛紛另闢蹊徑，與老舊公寓或是平房地主及屋主洽談合作合建案，包括永和市長洪一平位於永和市自由街老家，以及在永和市永和路樂華夜市旁，都有拆屋重起新建個案，將陸續推出。

在兩岸三通的預期心理催化下，建商推案為了提高獲利，不論是台北市或台北縣主要人口集居的新店、中永和與板橋等區域，都朝大坪數、高單價的推案方向走，因為大坪數的商品去化較快，符合市場供需。

有巢氏房屋中和加盟店總經理張傑說，從今年開始，前兩年的建案陸陸續續完工，遇到交屋高峰期，新成屋也是一般民眾不錯的選擇，他也建議，往台北縣走，像是板橋、三重、中和、永和、新莊等，交通相當便捷，是消費者可以考慮的區域。

他指出，以中和及永和地區都屬捷運站點，及具有快速道路匝道雙重優勢區域，能同時滿足捷運族與公車、汽車族，進出台北縣市上班及上學，有相對便利及需求等優勢條件，所以一旦選定投資目標後，相信在未來在房價上，還有更上層樓的空間。

張傑說，永和市地狹人稠，以整個台北縣所轄29個鄉鎮市來看，永和腹地小，屬於彈丸之地，出現新建地取得不易的窘況，在建商看好永和市的未來發展走向，另覓他途與老舊公寓或平房地主及屋主，洽談合作共同推出合建新案。

他說，以永和市長洪一平位於永和市自由街的三合院老家，地點就位於有337年歷史的永和市店仔街福德宮旁，斜對面就是永和派出所，與附近和平街及永和路口，同樣是建商與地主合作，都已在今年初動工拆掉舊屋，準備推出新建案。

張傑說，這兩個新建案，同樣都是距離永和市最熱鬧，人潮最多的樂華夜市，都不到100公尺遠，距捷運中和線頂溪站也不太遠，生活機能佳，也是永和市區少見的新建地。

另外，在捷運中和線永安市場站斜對面，永和市中和路中油加油站旁，永和在地建商誠家興建設公司已動工興建的先建後售建案，也是預定今年底完工後推出，因鄰近有近萬坪的中和市四號公園，後勢行情看俏。

【2008/04/25 聯合報】

我們家也快了吧...

【2008/04/18 經濟日報】