Remaining Madoff Homes Already Discounted

Bernie Madoff's last home may have sold strong, but it looks like the momentum is fading. His home in the Hamptons beat the listing price and ultimately moved for more than $9.4 million. Unfortunately for his victims, interest in his Manhattan penthouse and Palm Beach estate isn't as strong. The prices for both have been cut, as the Ponzi schemer moves from news to history. Both homes have been on the market for only two months.

The Manhattan home, on the Upper East Side, offers 4,000 square feet which the broker, Sotheby's International Realty, says is "perched atop a distinguished white-glove prewar cooperative." Originally offered at $9.9 million, the asking price has been slashed by $1 million. So, if you're looking for some new digs in the city, this should be perched atop your list. A 10 percent price drop after only two months in the game means that you could probably work the price down a little bit further. If you were a Madoff investor, think of it as recouping some of what was so wrongly taken from you.

The situation in Palm Beach, Florida isn't much better. The discount is only 7 percent, with the price plunging from $8.49 million to $7.9 million according to the Corcoran Group, which is handling the sale. This home is billed as "a return to classic Florida island living ... when Palm Beach was a less manicured tropical paradise." What does that mean? Does classical Florida island living have anything to do with defrauding the neighbors?

Madoff, now a resident of Butner, North Carolina, believed that the Manhattan apartment was worth only $7 million. He pegged the Palm Beach residence at $11 million.

When both properties move, the proceeds will go to Madoff's victims. Of the $65 million, roughly, that he took, $1.4 billion is said to have been recovered. Even when compared to the investor losses identified, $21.2 billion, it's but a drop in the bucket. The auction scheduled for Saturday may help a little bit, with Bernie's Mets jacket and Ruth's golf clubs going under the gavel.

Gallery: Bernie Madoff In New York City

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Remaining Madoff Homes Already Discounted originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Fashion Statement: Waist Not Want Not

About a month ago, my sister dressed my niece in a denim-blazer-and-high-waisted-Capri set. The seven-year-old -- a Project Runway addict -- looked at herself in the mirror and groused, "I look tucked in like an old man. That's not usually how I roll."

High waists, however, are where the fashion industry seems to be going as evidenced from a few pre-fall shows this week. Above is a look from Oscar de la Renta's vision of the end of summer, 2010. And, after years and years of how-low-can-you-go jeans and pants, we might be soon hearing that's-not-how-I-roll cries from consumers.

In my experience, we'll have a little time before high waists really come back in style. A few prescient designers have and will continue to be reacting to the low-waist trend with the opposite reaction. But it will take time for most designers to catch on. And even longer still for the mainstream's eye to embrace the trend. So don't panic, you won't have to buy a pair just yet.

Even in their heyday, high-waisted pants were tricky look to pull off. In the mid-'80s, when the look was last embraced by the fashion flock, pants reaching up to the armpits completed SNL's Ed Grimley hyperactive, neurotic nerd's schtick played by Martin Short. It was the joke.

Still, pants can't get any lower. So what come down must come back up. Interestingly enough, the original low-waist culprits -- denim designers -- were the first to try out high waists a few years ago. Celebrities here and there tried it, including Fergie and Mary-Kate Olsen. Earlier this year, Jessica Simpson got skewered as much for a high-waisted denim look on her petite frame as much as her much-talked about weight gain. And, yes, I confess: Yours truly sported a pair from Radcliffe London in 2007. I put them on again this week and decided I looked positively matronly.

There's something to be said about high-waisted pants, particularly at a time when the '40s are making a resurgence. It's particularly tempting to those of us who think we have short legs. A high waist lengthens those legs. But it also lengthens the derriere, too. And there's the rub.

Sure, a super slim, high-waisted silhouette might eventually tip the scales toward becoming a full-fledged trend. In the meantime, try convincing our boyfriends and husbands this is a sexy look. I mean, they are just now embracing slim, '60's-esque suits.

What's your view?

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

The Fashion Statement: Waist Not Want Not originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: One of these things is not like the others

Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, Star Wars Galaxies, One Shots

Quite possibly one of the stranger screenshots we've gotten from Star Wars Galaxies is today's image sent in to us by Obraik. While at first glance you may think "oh, a lovely town image" it occurs to you, something isn't quite right -- you just can't help but notice the enormous mechanical monstrosity stomping its way across the scene. We'll turn it over to Obraik to explain: [This] screenshot is of a recent event that was held over a weekend or two in Star Wars Galaxies. The story was that a rogue AT-AT were attempting an escape and they'd show up in random locations around the Galaxy. The screenshot shows one making an appearance outside the Theed palace on Naboo on the Chilastra galaxy. We wonder -- did the AT-AT manage to escape for good?

If you've found something strange in your favorite land, we'd love to see screenshots of it. Just email those in to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the game it's from, and a quick note about what we're seeing! We'll post it here and give you the credit for sending it in.

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: One of these things is not like the others originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another Potential Foreclosure For Latrell Sprewell

Last year was a bad one for former NBA star Latrell Sprewell who saw his yacht, the 70-foot "Milwaukee's Best" repossessed and his $405,000 home in River Hills, Wisconsin facing foreclosure (Sprewell later settled this debt). This year doesn't seem to be bringing Sprewell much more luck. His Purchase, New York home is scheduled for a sheriff's sale at the Westchester County Courthouse on January 7, 2010.

LoHud.com reports that Sprewell purchased the 3.3-acre property in January 2000 for $2.3 million. He got a 30-year mortgage from Washington Mutual Bank for $1.612 million in 2004 and first failed to make payments starting in April 2008, around the time his other financial troubles began. The home was the site of an alleged domestic dispute in 2006. Sprewell was accused of attacking his girlfriend, Candace Cabbil, in front of their four children but prosecutors agreed in 2008 to drop the charges if Sprewell stayed out of trouble for a year.

A listing on Sotheby's Realty has the house at $3.8 million. It has seven bedrooms, a complete gym, pool and spa, basketball court, four-car garage and a recording studio. Listing pictures reveal large televisions, spiky metal sculptures and large open spaces.

Gallery: Latrell Sprewell in Purchase, New York

Filed under: Estates, Sports

Another Potential Foreclosure For Latrell Sprewell originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World of Warcraft Patch 3.3.0a deployed

A small patch that corrects some bugs has just been deployed on live realms this morning. This patch coincides with short realm restarts.

We're not entirely sure what the bug fix patch does right now, but we're looking into it and will update this post shortly. Hopefully it fixes at least a few of the problems that have come along with The Fall of the Lich King last Tuesday. If you notice in the image above a link to patch notes, well, that link doesn't work. Apparently something was or will be there, but no such luck right now.

This patch brings the game from version 3.3.0.10958 to 3.3.0.11159. The patch file is about five megs in size.

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Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.

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Filed under: Patches, News items

World of Warcraft Patch 3.3.0a deployed originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo: Mega Man 10 teleporting down in March

Though we just found out about Mega Man 10, we won't have to wait long at all before we can try it. Nintendo's new Q1 schedule gives a March 2010 date for the WiiWare run-and-gun -- just two months after Capcom starts releasing Phoenix Wright ports. What a wonderful time to have an Internet-connected Wii and enjoy Capcom products.

With the release so close, we expect more information to come out soon, starting with character art for all the bosses and the mysterious third character. We currently only know of the delightful Sheep Man and Commando Man.

Nintendo: Mega Man 10 teleporting down in March originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Device That Lets You Type With Your Mind

By placing electrode grids inside patients' skulls, researchers at the Mayo Clinic have created a way for people to type words using only their brainwaves. It's a major breakthrough for brain-computer interface research.

The experiments were undertaken on patients who already had electrodes in their brain to monitor epilepsy. Readings were taken via electrocorticography (ECoG), as the subjects were shown a grid of letters and numbers. As each symbol was illuminated, the patient was told to focus on the letter or number, and data was recorded. Once this calibration data was taken, the patients would think of a letter or number, and their brain waves would be appropriately translated to the screen. The theory is that this technique will allow people to communicate and type far more easily when they suffer from Lou Gehrig's disease, MS, or paralysis.

The lead scientist on the project, Dr. Jerry Shih, says the program is able to perform near or at 100% accuracy for the patients. While this isn't far from the results from studies using non-invasive EEG, Shih believes that ECoG has advantages, as the scalp and skull distort the information coming from the brain, which means that ECoG has potential to be faster and more accurate. Shih also said that with EEG, "the accuracy isn't terribly great, and it takes a long time for the computer system to learn an individual's brain signals and to correctly interpret."

It is early days yet, and there are still numerous hurdles for the research. The initial study was only with two patients, but they're now on to the sixth, with plans for a wider study, to ensure that this technique is universally applicable. Shih's system does require a craniotomy, which is not a surgery to be taken on a whim; and an interpreter device is required, which must be tuned to an individual user. There is also the fact that EEG based interfaces don't require the invasive surgery, and are similarly accurate, even if they are slower and not quite as precise. So in terms of market adoption, the implant is at a disadvantage. Most people would be willing to deal with the speed loss to avoid dangerous procedures.

Shih is currently working on ensuring the method's effectiveness. He believes it could be used for controlling prosthetics as well as typing. It could also possibly be trained with images instead of letters. Imagine an item, and an image or word for it would appear on your screen.

The device could be available in as little as 5-10 years.

It's just a matter of time before this technology filters down from medical to elective, and we can all live out our cyberpunk dreams of plugging our brains directly into a computer.

Via American Epilepsy Society and Mayo Clinic

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