Much can be said about this year.  Please feel free to send me your views and what I should include for this last year.  2006 was a strange year, to say the least. 

Real Estate
We could write a book on that topic alone but the most notable, homes country wide did not sell fast anymore, no more over-bidding and in some parts, prices falling.  Locally we saw a slow down, asking prices higher than sale prices.  Buyers refusing to stretch their limits as with previous years and some sellers did not face the truth.

When times get tough, the tough get going and the crooked surface.  New scams appeared a few weeks ago.  While some agents became increasingly civilized and sought out other agents for help, a true contrast from the last years, other increasingly stooped to low levels to snatch away clients.  That happened to me unfortunately this year.

Lenders
This side of the real estate industry also had its shares of interesting moments with creative and sometimes over-zealous mortgages, creative lending practices, less loans applications coming through, more and more borrowers in trouble and a slew of ethically challenged practices that made in the news.  All in all, these practices won’t help the overall economy of the nation and are self-defeating.

Mass Media
The news played a dirty role this year, especially in real estate.  It took headlines a good nine months to start reporting the slowdown.  We know newspapers are by nature three months late, but this was a disservice to readers.  We saw a surge in self-fulfilling prophecies when buyers actually believe headlines more than real estate professionals and when many missed out on a good September through December months.

Automobile
And if you thought the real estate market had gone crazy until a year ago, go and see what is happening to the muscle car one.  Muscle cars are going up, up, up and away.  Those who saw the crazy years of the late 80s to early 90s will recognize the trend.  Hemi Cudas selling for $1.5 million?  Yes, a reality.  And those saying this time it’s different, it’s only regular buyers and not speculators.  Here is the question.  Don’t regular buyers turn eventually to speculation when prices inflame?  Thanks to auction houses for ramping up their market.  Don’t get me wrong, I like muscle cars but for what they are.  Muscle cars are just that, muscle but not sports cars and have no  international glory.  They mainly have beefy engines, accelerate very fast, have dubious brakes, poor suspensions and don’t hold corners well.  They are limited.  $1.5 million for that?  Watch for that bubble go "poof!" next year.

I can’t say much here as I find 95% of modern cars boring, trying to please too big of a crowd and eventually losing their image.  Case in point, the big five Germans.  I find BMW less and less like BMW and adding a mix of Japanese design in order to win hearts.  Same thing applies to AUDI, Volkswagen and Mercedes.  However Mercedes does do thing a little different.  Whether or not you like their design, at least it stands out.  Same with Dodge and Chrysler.  I like the Gotham city look of their latest Teutonic inspired cars.  Would not I drive one, no but I welcome the change.

Though I am not an enthusiast of Japanese design, I have to say they are the best bang for your buck.  Our Subaru rocks in terms of performance vs price.  Quality is good and it was the best buy we made.

Finally Italian cars still have it, at least with Alfa Romeo in the design part.  An Alfa is an Alfa, unmistakably recognizable.  Models change but the overall design screams Italian flair.  Though Maserati needs to get Zagato tastes back, I think it will be nice in the longer run.

Unfortunately, modern cars are a bunch of electronic components meant to break down in sub-modules.  Is an Alfa still an Alfa when GM forced it’s V6 block on them?

Computers
It was the year of Apple.  It shown prominently in the headlines, one or two vulnerabilities, more roof of concepts but ESPECIALLY quickly patched by Apple, something Microsoft still cannot do.  The war heated up again between AMD and Intel.  Intel charged back with multi-core chips but AMD is counter back with interesting new designs.  Ever bigger hard drives and great prices.

I wonder what the Enterprise uses?  I still love Star Trek and find it has valuable messages that can only push humanity forward in a positive light.