Hey, Mom! The Explanation.

Here's the permanent dedicated link to my first Hey, Mom! post and the explanation of the feature it contains.

Also,

Showing posts with label treehouses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label treehouses. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3745 - How Would it Be To Live Above the Clouds? Burj Khalifa Dubai



A Sense of Doubt blog post #3745 - How Would it Be To Live Above the Clouds? Burj Khalifa, Dubai

Anyone have $51 million to lend me?

Not serious. Not sure I would want to live in Dubai or spend this lavish amount on an unfurnished penthouse. The pictures of the furnishings are what it could look like not what it does look like.

In a sense, this post is for my Dad as the article originally appeared in Architectural Digest, to which he was a lifelong subscriber.

I added this post to the "treehouses" category even though it's not a treehouse. But it is up in the sky, so I felt it would be nice to see in that category next time I look. I did not have an "architecture" category, so I created one.

I loved the picture up top, an apartment above the clouds, which I think is amazing; however, I am also thinking about the children starving in Gaza. And though Gaza is 2700 some miles away, Dubai is in the same region, of what we think of as the Middle East.

I am sensitive to the plight of the Palestinian people, so I felt I needed to mention it with this post.

If I was a billionaire, I doubt I would buy this apartment. But it would be amazing to stay in it for a week or so, if appointed with the proposed furnishings.

On a side note, look at the picture of the bedroom below. I have always wondered why people need so many pillows. Stacks and stacks of pillows that have to be moved to sleep. Seems unnecessary, and I do like pillows.

Thanks for tuning in.



The Burj Khalifa Penthouse, One of the Tallest Homes in the World, Is for Sale for $51 Million

Katherine McLaughlin
4 min read


Given it’s located in the world’s tallest building, it should come as no surprise that the Burj Khalifa penthouse is among the highest residences in the world—and the home is now for sale for $51 million. “The views from the penthouse are nothing short of spectacular, and every direction offers a reminder that you’re in one of the most iconic buildings in the world,” Asad Khan, the listing agent and CEO of Invest Dubai Real Estate, tells AD. “You can watch the sunrise over the desert or see the city come alive as the sun sets, all from the comfort of a home that feels like a private sanctuary in the sky.”


Listing agent Asad Khan in the Burj Khalifa penthouse.
Photo: Invest Dubai Real Estate

Offering uninterrupted 360-degree views of Dubai, the Arabian Gulf, and the surrouding desert, the unit spans 21,000 square feet across the building’s 107th and 108th floors. It stand roughly 1,300 feet above the city, which is only slightly shorter than the Empire State Building from base to tip, and includes floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the sky-high views. The duplex is on the market as a shell-and-core unit, meaning that it’s currently unfinished and will require an additional investment from a buyer to turn it into a livable space.

Currently, the duplex includes a private elevator and indoor swimming pool. “Buyers can fit it out as they wish with no real restrictions,” Khan adds. “The only thing a buyer cannot do is add another bigger swimming pool due to weight.” In addition to the Burj Khalifa’s amenity package, which includes a lounge, fitness center, spa, infinity pool, and co-working space, the home also comes with 12 parking spaces.

History of the Burj Khalifa penthouse

Karl Haddad, the CEO of IRC Invest, is the seller. He purchased the unit in 2020 for an undisclosed amount from Mohamed Alabbar, a founder of Emaar Properties, who developed the Burj Khalifa. According to Kahn, his client is selling the unit because he doesn’t have time to undertake the renovation process the penthouse requires.


High angle view of modern city skyline and cityscape in Dubai UAE.

The Burj Khalifa was designed by Adrian Smith while working at Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill.
Photo: Lu Shao Ji/Getty Images

Since officially listing in September of last year, a number of wealthy Americans have reached out about the residence. In fact, Khan says he wouldn’t be surprised if the buyer ends up being from the United States. “We’ve had a huge amount of interest from Americans including business elite, sports agents, and Hollywood agents,” he adds.


A rendering of a bedroom shows what the penthouse could look like when finished.
Photo: Courtesy of GT&I Limited



While the residence is currently unfinished, renderings offer a glimpse at what buyers could do with the space. In any scenario, the windows remain the trophy piece of the residence. “The windows, which often span the entire wall, create an almost uninterrupted view of the world beneath,” Kahn says. “You feel like you’re floating above the city, completely removed from its hustle and bustle.”

Is the Burj Khalifa penthouse the most expensive home in Dubai?

The duplex is the most expensive unit in the Burj Khalifa, though it’s far from being the priciest in the city. According to Engel & Volkers, a luxury real estate agency with offices in Dubai, the most expensive home ever sold in the city was a penthouse at Como Residence, which sold for roughly $136 million. Other notable transactions include a home known as the Marble Palace, which listed for $204 million in 2023 and reportedly sold in early 2025 for a little under $116 million.

What is taller than the Burj Khalifa penthouse?

Though the Burj Khalifa penthouse is the tallest residence in the building, there are 50 additional floors above it. A number of these stories hold maintenance facilities and corporate offices, though there are also some publicly accessible spaces. At.mosphere, the tallest restaurant in the world, is located on the 122nd floor of the building while observation decks are spread across the 124th and 125th floor.


Even the bathrooms could have floor-to-ceiling windows, should the buyers choose to design it that way.
Photo: Courtesy of GT&I Limited


Outside of the Burj Khalifa, a penthouse in Manhattan located in Central Park Tower currently holds the record for the tallest residence in the world. The triplex unit is located on the 129th floor, standing 1,416 feet above New York City.


Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2505.20 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3609 days ago & DAD = 265 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

Saturday, November 23, 2024

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3567 - WRITING: Where and How We Do it (or Don't)



A Sense of Doubt blog post #3567 - WRITING: Where and How We Do it (or Don't)



If I had a treehouse, I would write in it all the time.

Or the blister from the Millennium Falcon jutting out of the top floor of a house overlooking the ocean.

I have written about this issue before (two posts to follow), but one of my favorite authors and people, Warren Ellis, recently wrote of where and how we write and shared his experience visiting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing shed, which I now want to visit the next time I am in England.

I also added two new categories that I hope to add more posts to soon: Writing Places and Treehouses.

I added some other writing places, including Neil Gaiman's cool writing cottage.

I wish I had a treehouse to write in.

However, since I do not, and no good tree for putting it in, I may rent one for my next writer's retreat.

Thanks for tuning in.



Wednesday, July 10, 2024



Wednesday, August 12, 2020


https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/high-end-treehouse-north-carolina-mountain-retreat-sits-above-the-clouds/



Singing And Crying

Orbital Operations for 10 November 2024


OPERATIONS

THE EXPECTATION OF WRITING

Here’s the thing. You’ve got your writing space. Your office, desk, side table, lapboard, whatever. And you have to write things today. So you sit down, turn on your writing machine, and… nothing happens. Three hours later, nothing has continued to happen. It’s just not coming out today. It’s in your head, the story, but it’s not making its way to your fingers. Or maybe the piece is just a jumble of fragments and intents and it’s not coming together in any pleasing way.

Sitting down at your writing place creates an expectation of writing. And guess what? Sometimes you’re not going to meet that expectation. But it’s the expectation that keeps you pinned in your seat, doing nothing.

Arthur Conan Doyle had a writing shed at his home in East Sussex, but it seems he would occasionally bop over to Groombridge in Kent and get some work done in the Drunken Garden there. There used to be a structure on the Groombridge grounds filled with paraphernalia from his visits. I once sat at the desk and wrote a note there myself, just to try and make a connection.

Obviously you and I don’t have friends with manor houses and a thousand acres of garden.

The usual advice is to go for a walk. But not all of us have access to that. Nipping out for a stroll is a whole different task if you need to get the wheelchair or walking aids out. And then, if inspiration strikes, you have to find someplace where you can write it down. It’s awkward ask. But underlying it is the useful notion: change where you are. Get away from the place that asks its expectation of you.

Change places. Go and sit outside. Sit in a different room. Keep a notebook to hand but keep it closed. Don’t create expectation, just keep it handy in case something comes to you. You could always get a notes app for your phone, or use one that’s baked in, but I generally find them a bit janky. You don’t have to get a notes app, though. You’ve already got one on your phone. It’s called your email app. I send emails to myself all the time. The letter I sent about nine panel grid the other week? I threw most of that down in an email, in around thirty minutes of frantic thumb-typing while sitting downstairs with a cat in my lap.

Sometimes I go and sit outside, or in a different room. I’ll clear a room, clean the kitchen, do the dishes, maintain the garden a bit, read a book. Productive, but not bound to the demands of writing. Writing will creep in around the edges.

Everyone develops their own process from escaping the expectations of the writing desk on a crap day.

And don’t treat it like a defeat. 99.999% of us have those days. Listen to Haruki Murakami:

Writers who are blessed with inborn talent can write easily, no matter what they do—or don’t do. Like water from a natural spring, the sentences just well up, and with little or no effort these writers can complete a work. Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category. I have to pound away at a rock with a chisel and dig out a deep hole before I can locate the source of my creativity. Every time I begin a new novel, I have to dredge out another hole. But, as I’ve sustained this kind of life over many years, I’ve become quite efficient, both technically and physically, at opening those holes in the rock and locating new water veins. As soon as I notice one source drying up, I move on to another. If people who rely on a natural spring of talent suddenly find they’ve exhausted their source, they’re in trouble.

 
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/06/09/haruki-murakami-the-running-novelist

That’s most of us.



https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-treehouse-writing-studio/




https://writingyourlife.org/tag/treehouse/


https://www.7x7.com/bay-area-treehouses-2452858965.html




https://www.enjoyillinois.com/explore/listing/ten-acre-treehouses-1/



https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/2014/07/neil-gaimans-writing-shed/


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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2411.23 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3431 days ago & DAD = 087 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.