Renaissance

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Class A Office Building - Golden Triangle, Cisco New Campus 3 Blocks (milpitas) $400

Renaissance Business Center with 176 parking spaces. 24/7 card access. Close to 880/237/680 freeways. Marble & Granite Small Private Office: from $400 Full Service. Medium & Large Offices: from $1.30 plus NNN (+35 cents). (Size available from 700sf to 3,850sf) For more Info: Annabelle at 1-888-838-8888 www.RBCOffice.com

I of 2 Bedrooms Available Oct 9 (bernal heights) $850

ready September 1. Share a sunny Bernal flat airly feng shui wifi house with a queer renaissance dyke/dog walker/social worker. But from now til early december i will be gone so you would share with a subletter for your first two months. (you could be involved in choosing that person). loadsa sun, windows, skylights everywhere. 6 pine trees, overlooking huge gardens, unlimited parking, and hellacious views of industrial wasteland, freeway (instant traffic report), bay, hills. hardwood floors, fireplace. . Small, but good for someone with not a lot of furniture. There’s some storage space.. You must have a car or really love muni or love riding your bike uphill. (2 blox from 2 different bus lines, the 24 which takes you to the Castro and the 67, which takes you to 24th and mission BART). or you love to walk. up hills. (20 minute hike to BART.) ME: i'm clean and slobber, that is I don’t party and am not down with those who do. I also like to keep the place clean. a house cleaner can be part of the house expenses if need be. i'm friendly, use healthy and direct communication skills, pay rent on time and keep the bachelor pad a sanctuary. Usually busy writing, performing, makin movies, doing social work n walkin dogs. Not a morning person. Gone two months in spring, two in fall. My girlfriend is smart, charming, gorgeous, clean, polite and unobtrusive. she will be with me in my room in August and December; she lives in Paris. i leave a lot to visit her, so be ok with a subletter and holding down the fort for two months in spring and two in fall, or you can pay the whole rent and have the place to yourself. Utilities are about $100-150 a month, including wifi, cable, pge, garbage, water, landline(optional), and cleaning lady. Call 415 574 5023

Print Your Own Money

Everyone seems to want to know about the economy these days, so we may as well go there. It's as great an example as any of a program that not only got out of control, but became so prevalent - so accepted - that we came to take it for granted. We think of the economy and its rules as given circumstances, when they are actually constructions. In brief, the money we use is just one kind of money. Invented in the Renaissance, and protected with laws banning other kinds of money, it has very particular biases that lead to almost inevitable outcomes. I just finished a book (more on that later in the week), where I make the case that our highly corporatized society was really forged during the Renaissance. Aristocrats were losing power just as a new merchant class was gaining it. So they made a series of deals through which merchants' companies were granted monopoly charters from the monarchs in return for a sweet cut of the proceeds. Merchants got to lock in their status as newly rich, while monarchs stopped their own descent. Merchants supported the monarchs whose charters granted them exclusive access to new territories or industries, and monarchs got to do colonial expansion once-removed. The invention of centralized, national currency was meant to support all this. Where localities had previously been free to mint their own currency based on the crops they had grown, now they were forced to borrow money from a central bank. This allowed the issuer of currency - the crown - to extract value from every transaction. Anyone who wanted to buy anything from anyone else had to run it through the central authority - coin of the realm - one way or the other. This engendered competition for money, which was now a scarce currency issued at interest, instead of a local currency as abundant as the year's crop. Moreover, any business wanting to borrow money for equipment or development had to pay back several times what they had borrowed. This meant bankruptcy was built into the currency system. If a business borrows $100,000, for example, they'll have to pay back $300,000 by the time the loan is due. Where does that money come from? Someone else who borrowed. Meanwhile, local currencies had the opposite bias of centralized currency. Local currencies lost value over time. They were really just receipts on the amount of grain that farmer had brought to the grain store. Since some of that grain was lost to rats or water, and since the grain store had to be paid, money devalued each year. This meant the money was biased towards being spent. That's why reinvestment in infrastructure as a percent of total revenue was so high in the late Middle Ages. It's why they built those cathedrals. They were local efforts, by people looking to invest their abundant wealth into real assets for their communities' future. (Cathedrals were built to attract pilgrims and tourism.) Unlike local currencies, centralized currencies were biased towards retaining their value over time. Capitalism (in addition to being a lot of other things) is the way people get rich simply for being rich. Capital becomes the most important component in the capital/labor/resources equation. Since the purpose of the Renaissance innovations was to keep the currently wealthy wealthy, the currency was biased to favor those who had it - and could mete it out at high interest rates to those who needed it for their transactions. What we witnessed over the past decades has been the necessary endgame of the scenario. Today, in essence, the central bank lends money to a federal bank, which loans it to a regional bank, and so on, each bank paying interest to the bank above, and charging more to the one below. By the time the person or business who needs the money gets it, they're paying an awful lot of interest - so much, that it amounts to a drag on their ability to do business. The speculative economy, rather than fueling the real economy, drags it down. The only way for banks - who run such an economy - to make more money is to lend more out. So they looked for more borrowers, as well as more places to park their cash. As a result, the things you and I depend on in the real world became investment vehicles. Homes, oil, resources...you name it. So the costs of all these things went up not because of any real laws of supply and demand, but because they had become new classes of investment. As for finding new borrowers, well, that's why Bush kept talking about "home ownership" as the right of every American, why lending standards were lowered and, of course, why bankruptcy for individuals was made so much harder. They wanted to lend more money, but didn't have any more qualified borrowers. By changing bankruptcy laws, they meant to make it impossible for borrowers to cry uncle. (This was a 150-million-dollar lobbying effort by the credit industry, over the course of an entire decade.) Eventually, the tension between the speculative economy and the real economy simply had to become too great. Lending money, in itself, doesn't actually produce anything. On the contrary, it strains those few who are still attempting to produce things. It's what turned so many companies into balance-sheet-driven outsourcing operations. Only so many bankers and investors can be supported by industry and homeownership. We're not really watching an entire economy fail. We're watching a particular program fail. Only because it's not sandboxed like a bad plug-in in Google's Chrome browser, the resource leak sucks money from everywhere. If we can adopt what we Boingers might call the "Happy Mutant Approach" to this crisis, however, this is not an entirely hopeless situation. Yes, corporations may lose the ability to keep us employed as the banking investment they depend on to operate dries up. But this corporate activity was always extractive in nature, getting (or, historically, forcing) people to buy mass-produced, and nationally distributed food and other goods that were once produced locally. The collapse of centrally controlled commerce and currency simply creates an opportunity for local commerce and currency to revive. For people to learn to work and live together on a human, local scale - as the original free market advocate, Adam Smith, actually suggested. Admittedly, this would be a painful transition for many - but it's better than maintaining dependence on a fiscal system designed from the start to turn people and communities into extractable corporate assets. (Think about that the next time you're called up to "human resources.") Whether or not we've had time to fully embrace the Craft/Maker/cyberpunk/Boing ethos, our ability to provide for ourselves and one another directly, locally, even socially instead of entirely through centralized commerce, will determine how well we can navigate the near future. For starters, check out the LETS system and other complementary currencies for how to make your own currency, Bernard Latier's book The Future of Money free online, and Local Harvest for Community Sponsored Agriculture opportunities near you. Money can be just as open source as any other operating system. It used to be. (Douglas Rushkoff is a guestblogger)...

Nuclear power and coal crucial to UK, says Hutton

Guardian: Britain needs to undergo a "renaissance in nuclear power", and coal will continue to be a "critically important fuel" for the country, the business secretary, John Hutton, said yesterday. In a speech which drew immediate criticism from environmental groups, Hutton said that the two controversial sources of energy were crucial to ensure that Britain retained a secure energy supply. The international battle for energy security poses a threat to Britain's competitiveness and its ...

Marble & Granite Building / Affordable (milpitas) $400

Renaissance Business Center with 176 parking spaces. 24/7 card access. Close to 880/237/680 freeways. Available: from $450 FS (Everything included + internet; Use your VOIP to get free phone service, too) For showing: Annabelle at 1-888-838-8888 M-F 10am to 6pm www.RBCOffice.com

Vacation in the heart of Rome $600 1bd

In the heart of Renaissance Rome, lovely one bedroom with queen size bed apartment in 17th century building. Sunny, completely remodeled and fully equipped (antique furniture), original wood beamed ceiling, Internet, air conditioning. $600 per week. $100 per night, minimum two nights stay. For availability check our website www.viadimonserrato.spaces.live.com

Akella acquires Disciples brand

Akella has signed an agreement with Strategy First to purchase the Disciples brand. Currently, Akella is knee-deep in development on Disciples 3: Renaissance. The Disciples series started in 1999. The first game was a step-by-step strategy offering that incorporated some role-playing elements. Akella says Renaissance, the next title in the Disciples series, [...]

Beautiful Apartments at Renaissance (santa rosa) $1470 2bd

RenaissanceLocation: Santa Rosa, CAAt Renaissance, you can have it all! Our serene community, located in beautiful Santa Rosa, is filled with awe inspiring views, condo styled homes with all the upgrades and amenities that are second to none.Our two bedrooms boast more than 1000 square feet of living space. A separate dining area and private balcony or patio are just the beginning. Fireplaces, walk in closets, wood flooring and plush carpeting enhance our beautiful interiors.Our luxurious amenities include a fitness center, relaxing pool and rejuvenating spa, business center and clubhouse. All available for our residents and their guests. We invite you to experience luxury living in Santa Rosa - visit Renaissance today! Amenities may be subject to floor plan. InformationContact InformationRenaissance Apartment Homes866-643-2560Pricing and AvailabilityRent: $1,470.00 per monthAvailable Date: Sept 5 2008Deposit: 600.00Minimum Lease: 9 Month Leases AvailablePet Deposit: 750.00Pet Rent (Each Pet, 2 Max.): 35.00Property Location2111 Kawana Springs RoadSanta Rosa, CA 95404FeaturesBedrooms: 2Bathrooms: 2Floors in Bldg: 3Square Footage: 1021Parking Spaces: covered parking availablePets Allowed: Cats & DogsAttributesRental Unit AmenitiesRefrigeratorDishwasherWasher/DryerFireplaceHardwood FloorsWall to Wall CarpetPatioBalconyViewMirrored Closet DoorsCentral Heating and Air ConditioningBuilding AmenitiesOn-site ManagerClubhouseSwimming PoolExercise RoomPool Side Built in BBQGaragesReserved Covered Parking AvailableOther AmenitiesGuest ParkingHigh-Speed InternetHardwood FloorsMicrowavePowered by vFlyer.com EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITYVFLYER ID: 1198849Photo GalleryPowered by vFlyer.com EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITYVFLYER ID: 1198849

One Bedroom Apartment Homes (santa rosa) $1230 1bd

RenaissanceLocation: Santa Rosa, CAAt Renaissance, you can have it all! Our serene community, located in beautiful Santa Rosa, is filled with awe inspiring views, condo styled homes with all the upgrades and amenities that are second to none.Our one bedrooms boast more than 700 square feet of living space. A separate dining area and private balcony or patio are just the beginning. Fireplaces, walk in closets, wood flooring and plush carpeting enhance our beautiful interiors.Our luxurious amenities include a fitness center, relaxing pool and rejuvenating spa, business center and clubhouse. All available for our residents and their guests. We invite you to experience luxury living in Santa Rosa - visit Renaissance today! Amenities may be subject to floor plan. InformationContact InformationRenaissance Apartment Homes866-643-2560Pricing and AvailabilityRent: $1,230.00 per monthAvailable Date: NowDeposit: $500.00Minimum Lease: 9-12 Month Leases AvailablePet Deposit: 750.00Pet Rent (Each Pet, 2 Max.): 35.00Property Location2111 Kawana Springs RoadSanta Rosa, CA 95404FeaturesBedrooms: 1Bathrooms: 1Floors in Bldg: 3Square Footage: 716Parking Spaces: covered parking availablePets Allowed: Cats & DogsAttributesRental Unit AmenitiesRefrigeratorDishwasherWasher/DryerFireplaceHardwood FloorsWall to Wall CarpetPatioBalconyViewMirrored Closet DoorsCentral Heating and Air ConditioningBuilding AmenitiesOn-site ManagerClubhouseSwimming PoolExercise RoomPool Side Built in BBQGaragesReserved Covered Parking AvailableOther AmenitiesGuest ParkingHigh-Speed InternetHardwood FloorsMicrowavePowered by vFlyer.com EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITYVFLYER ID: 1198849Photo GalleryPowered by vFlyer.com EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITYVFLYER ID: 1198849

Barcelona suite at the historic Cooperage (sonoma) $375 2bd

The historic stone Cooperage building is one of Sonoma's most distinctive buildings erected in 1911 by Italian stonemasons just one block of the main plaza. Staying in the 900 sq. ft. Barcelona suite is like traveling abroad with an eclectic mix of decor. Renaissance antiques, oriental rugs, Mid-century modern, original art, Gourmet country kitchen, along with 46" sony hd tv, cable HBO, Blu-ray player, and Wi-Fi, add up to a wonderful mix of style and modern convenience. The suite has a large living room/ dining room , 2 air conditioned bedrooms, one with king bed and the other with queen bed, country kitchen with all utensils, large bathroom with double marble sinks and a tub/shower. The suite is in the front second floor of the historic Cooperage building with private stairway, one block from the Sonoma plaza, and looks out over the city and Depot park across the street. Depot park has horseshoe pits, The largest petanque courts in the U.S., swings for children and the Sonoma bike path runs through it. Many of our guests rent bicycles delivered to the door and tour the city and close by wineries and shops and restaurants without ever getting back in their car. A nice patio area with tables, umbrellas, and a barbecue are open in the back. The rates are $375. a night as a two bedroom, and $275. a night as a one bedroom. An elaborate continental breakfast is served to the door at 8 a.m. Your hosts, artists Claudia and Ken Wagar have their studios and gallery on the first floor and welcome to look around. For more info go to TheCooperage Inn.com Please inquire by calling 707-996-7054 and we will take your reservation or give you additional info or arrange to e-mail you more photos.