Monday, April 30, 2007

IAFF Missing Post


Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Progress":

This was up on Casey's blog but is now deleted:


April 30th, 2007 1:33 pm
After Foreclosure: Living in a Car like Anya Peters?

I have to come up with 2 months of rent money plus May’s payment by tomorrow. And there is even talk of pre-paying 2 months in advance if we are to stay here. Even though I don’t think my sister-in-law is going to kick me out, there is always that chance.

The thought of living in a car or a van has crossed my mined a few times. Apparently, I’m not the only one thinking about it. Living in cars after being priced out of housing is a growing trend according to last year’s New York Times article Keeping It Secret as the Family Car Becomes a Home:

The number of “mobile homeless,” as they are often called, tends to climb whenever the cost of housing outpaces wages, Dr. Hopper said. Last year was the first year on record, according to an annual study conducted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, that a full-time worker at minimum wage could not afford a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country at average market rates.

Now if I was to do that, I would definitely not keep it secret. I would blog every detail of it to show you what it’s like. That’s just my style.

In fact, Anya Peters did just that. She blogged her story of being homeless living in a car, developed a following and got written up by BBC and a bunch of other places, including an audio interview by New York Times.

Man, this all sounds familiar. She even has haters, like me! Here is a hater blog on Anya questioning her story: “Is Anya Peters a homeless person using technology to her advantage or just another con artist out to exploit people with her gimmick?”. I feel for her. I sure know what if feels to be questioned, criticized, misunderstood and exposed. (I’m surprised Anya hasn’t also been written up in Wikipedia like me).

I can tell Anya Peters is a true entrepreneur. She didn’t stop with the blog. She leveraged the exposure and got a book deal out of it!

Here is a quote from a BBC News follow up article on Anya Peters:

A few weeks ago, Anya Peters was homeless and living in a car, hanging around the places where she could wash and eat and keep herself looking respectable. Her contact with the outside world was through an online diary.

But this blog, published under the name of Wandering Scribe, was picked up by readers around the world and has provided a remarkable way out of her homelessness. She has written her own escape story.

The story of her homelessness and her previous life is going to be turned into a book, with a publishing deal signed and the hardback scheduled to reach the bookshops next Spring.

In the space of a hectic few days, Anya Peters was taken on by Curtis Brown, one of the biggest literary agencies in London - and the subsequent book proposal sparked a bidding battle between publishers - eventually won by Harper Collins.

Still living in her car, she found herself in the surreal position of being homeless and taking calls offering her book deals, with reports about her blog appearing in papers such as the New York Times and Le Monde.

Amazon says Anya’s book will be available tomorrow (May 1st). The title: Abandoned: The True Story of a Little Girl Who Didn’t Belong. Here is a synopsis from the UK bookstore:

Abandoned’ is the true story of a childhood full of secrets, abuse and a little girl who didn’t belong. This inspirational story is about how one woman finally overcame her traumatic childhood and adult homelessness to find a place she could call home. ‘Abandoned’ tells the heartbreaking story of a little girl’s abusive childhood and her subsequent homelessness as an adult. Born illegitimately to Irish lovers, Anya was given away by her real mother and brought up in England by her loving aunt. However, her childhood with her new family was far from happy — verbally and sexually abused for years, Anya finally cracked. She was only 11 years old. Then, a few weeks after her violent uncle was taken away by the police for questioning, Anya lost her whole family overnight. They didn’t die, although they might as well have done; they just went away, abandoning her. There was no one else to care, so Anya pretended that she didn’t either. She learnt to shut down, and not to let anybody in. She thought that she had worked through it all, overcome it. But then, several years later, through a series of unrelated problems, her life imploded again. Several things ended together: a job, a relationship, money, luck — and she ended up homeless and living in her car in a laneway at the edge of the woods.

Will I live in the car?

If I was single right now I would just go ahead and try living in the car just for the challenge and experience. It would be fun to see how practical it is and how long I can last. Living in my car would be a great way to save on money.

I was even thinking I can sell all my stuff and raise enough money to buy a cheap van and convert it into a camper or buy a ready-to-go camper van. You can pick up a camper van on cragislist for under 5 grand. (It would be sweet to get one of them VW hippie buses. Hehe!). Having a bus instead of a car would make it easier for me to sleep and I can setup my office there.

All I need is my cell phone, my laptop and wireless card for my laptop. I can park at friends and family’s driveways overnight to avoid issues with police. I can maintain a gym membership where I will shower and exercise. My blog, once properly monetized with ads and other services, can produce enough money to survive like this indefinitely. I think I can live on less than $1,000 per month. (Some guy even wrote a book on how to live in a car). In one phrase it would be the ultimate mobile freedom!

But that’s all dreams.

My wife of 3 years would never go for something like that. Yes, I sometimes feel held back by marriage. The thoughts of doing “my own thing” come quite often. But then, after I think about it, I come to my senses.

I promised to God, to my wife and to all the witnesses that I will love her, serve her and take care of her the rest of my days on earth. I need to own up to my commitments and stick to my promises (for once). I need to do the right thing and “take care of my family”. Intellectually, I know that marriage is a blessing and will make me a better person if I just submit to it. But my impulses sometimes tell me otherwise. I need to control my impulses!

So I guess no living in the car for me… (Unless the wife kicks me out or something. I doubt it.)

Facing opportunity… must focus!

What I really need to do is stop all this scatter-brain stuff, get focused, get motivated and start digging out of this mess. My problem has been that I’m NOT used to having so many opportunities coming at me all at once.

My inbox still has about 1000 emails to go through. (It’s like panning for gold. I can see the nuggets but it takes time to sift and refine into something of value). I am looking at several strategic partnerships, potential book deal(s). To complicated things many partnerships and strategies are overlapping and conflicting.

And add financial pressure and lack of stable monthly income on top of all that. It’s so overwhelming that I will sometimes shut down, sleep all day, and avoid the computer and cell phone for a while. (I apologize for those trying to reach me.)

That’s what exposure will do to you. It attracts people, contacts and opportunities. However, managing multiple competing opportunities is the tough part. To succeed I am having to learn a whole new set of skills and a whole new level of focus. By personality, I already have a hard time saying “NO” and sticking to a strategy without being distracted the next “shiny thing”. This exposure and influx is making it worse.

I have plenty of opportunities to solve my cashflow problems, pay off all the debt and become successful. Again, I just need to make a plan and focus! Tomorrow is May 1st - a nice round date to start something new.

Enough talking. Going to go get that glass fixed and after that make a plan of action for the next 4 months. Signup for my personal mailing list and watch for an announcement tomorrow.

Letsdoit!

Filed under personal / feelings, goals
Last Foreclosure… No Houses, No Money, No Stereo
29 Comments

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1. lawnmower man
April 30th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

You no longer have the luxury of wasting time and effort “panning for nuggets” amongst the bottom-feeders clogging your inbox.

You no longer have the luxury of spending hours researching fantasies like “I could make millions living in a camper van”. How much time did you waste writing this post?

You must get stable employment income *now*.

Yulia damn well should kick you out.
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2. TrainWreckWatcher
April 30th, 2007 at 1:57 pm

No worries Snowflake, you will soon not have any wife to “hold you back” from “doing your own thing” and living in a “VW Hippie van”.

I just love how you are convincing yourself already that this is really what you want and that evn after your wife kicks you to the curb “it’s all good”.

ROFL.
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3. miltons-ghost
April 30th, 2007 at 1:59 pm

Sleeps all day due to too many opportunities!

What more can anybody say?
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4. Zed
April 30th, 2007 at 2:00 pm

First! Murst! Bow down, lemmings!
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5. Livin' in a Van down by the River
April 30th, 2007 at 2:03 pm

I see motivational speaking in your future.
Teenage kids. Warning them of the dangers of where looser behavior gets them: LIVING IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!
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6. D. Nile
April 30th, 2007 at 2:05 pm

Kharma is a b**** , isn’t it?

I’m sorry that G is holding you back from living in a car.
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7. Karl Marx
April 30th, 2007 at 2:06 pm

Comrade Serin -
Thank you for recognizing the significance of 1 May in your blog. Workers of the World, Unite!
Oh - sorry… I forgot that you don’t do the W2 thing.
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8. Voice of Reason in a World Gone Mad
April 30th, 2007 at 2:07 pm

“I have plenty of opportunities to solve my cashflow problems, pay off all the debt and become successful. Again, I just need to make a plan and focus! Tomorrow is May 1st - a nice round date to start something new.”

Oh, GOD.

You haven’t changed ONE BIT.

You are doomed, chump.
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9. bob
April 30th, 2007 at 2:10 pm

“and after that make a plan of action for the next 4 months.”

Oh FFS. You ever seen the show Red Dwarf? There’s a character on there called Rimmer. He has to take an exam, an exam which he has already failed about a dozen times. So he makes himself a revision timetable for the next X months. It’s a work of art with watercolours and neat tiny handwriting. He spends so long making the timetable he then only has a few weeks before the exam. So then he dedicates a few days to creating another revision timetable that will enable him to cram X months worth of revision in to a couple of weeks. And so on. In the end he has time to do hardly any revision and fails the exam.

That’s you and your 4 month plan.

Your plan should be very simple. Get a freakin’ job. real job. Not an opportunity, a job. Somewhere you go to where you do something for X hours per day in exchange for a guaranteed monthly/weekly pay packet. That’s it. Forget chasing opportunities, you’re clearly no good at it. Admit that you’re simply no good being an entrepreneur, you very clearly aren’t, and do yourself, your wife, family and friends a favour and give up on it.

I really hope your sister in law does kick you out. Maybe being made homeless will finally succeed where so many other things have failed and act as the kick in the arse you so desperately need to get yourself sort out.
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10. Svetogorsk
April 30th, 2007 at 2:14 pm

All I need is my cell phone, my laptop and wireless card for my laptop.

You still haven’t got it, have you?

You cannot afford ANY luxuries in your current situation. And all three of those are spectacular luxuries. Sell them, and sell them now.

If you want to stay online, use a cafe or a library. Drastically cheaper for you, no perceptible difference for us. I believe the phrase is “win-win”.
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11. Property Flopper
April 30th, 2007 at 2:15 pm

> I need to do the right thing and “take care of my family”.

Got to put that one right at the top… You’ve been saying this for a long time - lots of references to this in the archives, yet you refuse to get a job or do ANYTHING to provide for your wife. Mooching off her sister does not make you a man.

Do you wonder why you attract “haters”? Less B.S., more action.

> Even though I don’t think my sister-in-law is going to
> kick me out, there is always that chance.

Don’t think it, bet on it. She might not kick her sister out, but I’m thinking the condition for her staying is you leaving.

> Anya Peters is a true entrepreneur. She didn’t stop
> with the blog. She leveraged the exposure and got
> a book deal out of it!

DO NOT think this is your future. There are millions of homeless and only one Anya Peters. Guess which side of that equation you’ll land on? You will not get a book deal, do not plan on it and absolutely do not count on the money from it, you will be disappointed when it does not happen.

This is a fantasy.

> If I was single right now

If you keep thinking this way and avoiding getting a job, you soon will be.

> I would just go ahead and try living in the car just for
> the challenge and experience. It would be fun to see
> how practical it is and how long I can last.

You’d quickly run out of friends / relatives willing to put up with you. I suspect you already are (otherwise why not move in with one of them instead of just parking there?)

You would not enjoy the “challenge” of being homeless and would not last.
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12. miltons-ghost
April 30th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

Casey,

Hope you can wake up long enough to moderate my post.
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13. Bird Dogger
April 30th, 2007 at 2:17 pm

Your impulses/instincts are telling you not to take care of your family? Please take just 10 seconds and think really hard about that.

Some people are not cut out for marriage. It sounds like you might be one of them. End it before she gets hurt any more.
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14. Benoit™
April 30th, 2007 at 2:19 pm

Dude, seriously — people have been telling you for 8 months now. Get a Job!. Earth to Casey, Earth to Casey… Do you copy that? GET. A. JOB. NOW.

Think of all the financial pressure that will be off your shoulders with a steady paycheck. You’d easily be able to afford rent with sister-in-law. Depending on the type of work, you could even have enough to rent your own place, especially if Galina works too.

Post your godforsaken resume on the appropriate job sites, go to temp agencies, and secure any kind of work. It doesn’t even matter what kind. Just do it. You won’t have to worry about “where the next $100 is going to come from”.

This is how normal people in America live on a day-to-day basis. Can you comprehend that?? Normal People. Get a bloody job now. We can’t say it enough. Kapish???
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15. Michael Cooke
April 30th, 2007 at 2:19 pm

Living in a car? Casey, I have always posted positive and encouraging comments on your site since day one but seriously - have you lost your mind?

Please do not even think about doing that. It would be beneath you, or almost anyone else. Not to mention it would be the ultimate symbol of abject failure. It sounds like you are trying to rationalize becoming homeless. This is just beyond un-thinkable.

Your sister in law isn’t going to kick you out but you need to come up with the cash. Try to get at least a month. I would set a deadline for your plans with this website and stick to it. Say - 6 months after it hits #1 on Google.

Anyways….

Casey get a haircut.
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16. Lost Cause
April 30th, 2007 at 2:20 pm

Maybe you should go camping with your wife. That way, it is like a vacation, and she might adjust better, before the real homeless thing. I am lucky my wife doesn’t mind camping, as long as I do all the cooking etc. I also watch “Survivorman,” so we already know what to do. You can stay up to 30 days in a campground, but the prices range from $14-28 per night. This is a good time of year to camp–not a lot of crowds. You may even find a free camp ground — they are out there!
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17. Svetogorsk
April 30th, 2007 at 2:20 pm

How to deal with those 1,000 e-mails in an afternoon.

Go down them systematically. Delete anything that doesn’t relate directly and unambiguously to a proper job with a guaranteed income that will be paid by a specified date.

Those are the only e-mails that matter to you right now - and I’m willing to bet they’re a tiny, tiny percentage of the total. Delete everything else.

Above all, delete anything that makes wild-eyed promises about untold riches. This crap has landed you squarely in your present situation, and the only way you’re going to get out is if you recognize it for what it is.

This should take no more than half a day. Possibly even a couple of hours if you’re as ruthless as you need to be. If you want to be polite, construct a stock cut-and-paste reply saying something like “Thank you for your e-mail. Unfortunately, given my present financial situation I am forced to prioritize messages from those offering direct financial and practical assistance.”
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18. Casey is my financial advisor
April 30th, 2007 at 2:23 pm

Good luck casey.
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19. All things Good!!
April 30th, 2007 at 2:23 pm

“Mobile Freedom” I love it.

Good thing you got that window fixed first thing Monday morning.
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20. Aesop's dog
April 30th, 2007 at 2:24 pm

I know you would love for someone to swoop down and rescue you with a million dollars. But let me tell you, completely unhatefully, but with full conviction (knowing full well that many, many people on this blog have told you this):

GET. A. JOB.

NOW.

But that’s not enough. You also must:

LEARN. TO. WORK. REALLY. REALLY. HARD.

You will feel so much better than trying to live the existence of a leech.

I know you will never understand what I just wrote because the work ethic chip is completely missing from your genetic makeup, but I had to tell you anyway.
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21. Deyl
April 30th, 2007 at 2:25 pm

Good luck Casey. Blessings on your marriage and your efforts!
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22. Virgin with the ocassional In N Out
April 30th, 2007 at 2:36 pm

Casey,
Just a word of advice from somebody that has spent many, many months living in a hippie VW bus ( 67′,69′ and 71′) it is ALOT harder than one might imagine.

Alot of comforts disappear and I can’t imagine that the Sacramento heat will be very easy on you…..I was doing it all part of a fun adventure and it still is very difficult after a couple of months.

Take it from this old hippie—get a job. Best of luck to you and Galina……………..
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23. jswap
April 30th, 2007 at 2:38 pm

Casey Serin, living in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!

http://badtree.com/Saturday_Ni.....peaker.htm

(And he’ll be a motivational speaker too!)
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24. Nadia Belemi
April 30th, 2007 at 2:40 pm

From what I read there, she’s still living in her car.

Are you planning to begin thinking about getting a W-2 job in the foreseeable future?
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25. Denise
April 30th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

Perhaps instead of selling everything you have and raising enough money to buy a cheap van, you should use that money to pay your rent? Or is that just too obvious?
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26. Van Living
April 30th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

“I promised to God, to my wife and to all the witnesses that I will love her, serve her and take care of her the rest of my days on earth. I need to own up to my commitments and stick to my promises (for once). I need to do the right thing and “take care of my family”.”

Yeah, well, from where we’re sitting, you lied to her. If you believed a word of that, you’d GET A JOB. Talk is cheap. If you really loved her you’d stop talking and DO something. And if your wife ISN’T thinking about leaving you, I feel sorry for you both. Someone who would stick by you even with all the crap you pull is exceeding special, but you’re so lost in your ’sweet deal’ dreamland that you can’t see it.

Starting things is hard. Following through is even harder. You gotta ease into this. You haven’t put any effort into anything for so long, you might strain something if you got a job right away! Don’t buy a van, just sleep on the lawn. Not like you need to hurry or anything. With summer just around the corner you’ve got a good 6 months before you need to worry about rain, plenty of time for that ’sweet deal’ to come and save you! California for the win!
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27. He's completely deluded
April 30th, 2007 at 2:46 pm

Casey I know of those fantastic opportunities you speak of awaiting you in your inbox. I have the samethings in my own. This one guy is offering me a tremendous discount on Cialis and Viagra. And another man is wanting to purchase my brothers 17 year old car that we sold three years ago for $6k over kbb. Can you believe it.

I have sent you an email with similar offers but I have one of my own. I recently became involved in the gem industry. Heard of it, diamonds and such. Not to be confused with precious metals. I have discovered a way to acquire diamonds whilst eliminating the whole mining, miner, blood diamond saga. Simply find a person with a stressful retentive personality, insert lump of coal into r***** , wait, and voila, a diamond will form. Time yes, it takes some, and casualties are likely, but diamonds baby. I am trusting the readers of this blog with this info, I have not applied for a patent yet, I am just so excited about this I havent had the time. Plus I am a big picture thinker, not small frivolous planner type.

Goodluck, and use match light, it wallops kindsford in the diamond quality department.
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28. Pop
April 30th, 2007 at 2:46 pm

“Yes, I sometimes feel held back by marriage. The thoughts of doing “my own thing” come quite often.”

Yeah, go live in your car and try to “trade up”. Let’s see how that works out for you.

Just when you think the train wreck is over, one of the cars bursts into flames. No wonder I can’t stop coming back.
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29. Richard
April 30th, 2007 at 2:49 pm

Good luck, Casey, and don’t forget that wherever you go, you’ll need a room for Dr. Pangloss.



Posted by Anonymous to Exurban Nation at 3:34 PM

Progress

Finally we are getting somewhere. As you may suspect I have less than no sympathy for the architects of this debacle. Now the LATimes reports:

Creditors eye savings of lender's employees
By E. Scott Reckard, Times Staff Writer
April 30, 2007

Gregory J. Schroeder socked away $876,721 in a special retirement savings plan during his nine years as a marketing executive for sub-prime lender New Century Financial Corp.

Now, he may have to share his nest egg with a bevy of strangers, including Wall Street firms, landlords, delivery services and others who claim the collapsed Irvine company owes them money.


The word is "disgorge." Learn it, live it.

Tell Your Fortune Mister?

Okay, okay. I get it. You need another Nigelpalloza. Here it is go wild.

If You Can't Fool Them Move Them

Everyone's favorite spinmiester is jumping ship.

David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, is leaving NAR to join Move Inc. (MOVE :4.74, -0.01, -0.2% ) as chairman and partner of a new business entity next month, NAR said Monday. Move Inc. provides homebuyers and renters with information about real estate and communities before, during and after a move, according to its web site. Lereah directed NAR's research division, regulatory and industry relations division and other activities.

Passengers of the HMS Titanic are requested to stay calm until the Captain's new gig has safely cleared the moorings. And remember; Free Ice! on the foredeck. Thank you.

And don't forget to visit: http://davidlereahwatch.blogspot.com/

Still Nothing

Temporary IAFF outage.
I-80/580 East Bay.
Ventura County foreclosure spike.
California (see above) dysfunction or signs signs or the apocalypse?
Ferris says; "nothing to see."

Sunday, April 29, 2007

HSR Rears Its Ugly Maw

[A transportation twofer this lazy Sunday]From the LATimes:

the $40-billion dream of building a Japanese- or European-style bullet train through the Central Valley may find itself stopped in its tracks.
...Schwarzenegger asked the Legislature in his 2007 budget to slash money for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The governor also wants lawmakers to postpone indefinitely a $9.95-billion rail bond issue that is slated to appear on the November 2008 ballot.
...
At stake is a 700-mile rail corridor with no potentially dangerous vehicle crossings. It would follow several routes from Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area south through Bakersfield to Los Angeles and San Diego.

Rolling along at up to 220 mph, the electricity-powered train would zip passengers between Los Angeles' Union Station and downtown San Francisco as fast as the fastest plane trip, planners say — factoring in the time to get to the airport and go through security.

...Backers say that based on ridership estimates, the train could rack up an annual operating surplus of as much as $2 billion by 2030.


Okay, a few FActs. The more than $40 billion is in public money for the first segment Los Angeles to Oakland. This hinges upon municipalities donating additional land and facilities along the route and possibly as much as $20b in private concessions/cooperation. And the CHSRA has cut back on the top speeds and increased travel time estimates.

Without saying HSR is a bad thing I can safely say this particular idea is complete bullsh!t.

Take BART? Take BART?

A transportation disaster for sure but nothing like the "advise" being given out. Two Decks of the I-80/580/+ East Bay interchange are closed after a tanker crashed, burn and ultimately collapsed several sections. This is one of the busiest interchanges in the country. Traffic is gonna be a mess. Officials are urging the use of BART. This last part is what got me. Freakin' BART? Do they have any idea? Ignoring all the commerce, goods, services, and not transit functions these roadways carry and just focusing on moving people BART is not going to do anything. Running as many trains as often as possible and not 1/10th the necessary capacity can be provided and that not in the right places.

The commute tomorrow, or should i say starting tonight shall be interesting to watch. Oh, and so much for getting any benefit from the multibillion dollar transportation improvement proposition we so foolishly approved last year.

He's Pale He's Rested


...and He's ready for another beg-a-thon. Remember, he reads ever line here. Well, probably not the asset derived Chinese dollar denominated trade pressure stuff but you know, the important stuff like "creative rent borrowing." He's made the wind up. Where's the pitch? Does anyone think he's learned enough recently to understand any begging will not work? Speaking of good things coming; not a peep about Hammar and the dirty penny stock questions that won't go away. Surely after all the trouble he's not stopping at $4500 in corporate i-vestment debt. I-vestment as in paying himself.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

The Dollar

This is the "Foriegn Exchange Dawg." Cute isn't he? This little pup had an interesting Q1 '07. Apparently things weren't so bad because the guy decided it was a good time to buy a bunch of US (Boeing) state of the art fuel efficient aircraft today and pay for them with some of the US dollars they hold now tomorrow.

I'm not comfortable with that.

Any Remaining Sympathy Has Left The Building

Ever since we learned of the great v-dubbs robbery there's been something bugging me. Tell me if you can see something different. Before:

And now the recent break-in picture:

The little f@cker bought gawdamn f@cking seat covers! The little SH!T owes hundreds of thousands, can't pay his rent, insurance, living expenses and numbnutz still goes out and buys seat f@cking covers!

Anybody still feeling a sorry for him?

Pack'em Up Move Them Out!

Poor old v-dubbs just isn't up to the task of all that Ikea furniture and some stupid jackass is left hanging. Now that's leverage.

Suggestions Anyone?

What are we going to do with all the extra real estate professionals? Clearly some of them are so idle that their hands have become the devils workshop.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Caption Time Again

Objects In The Jetta Are Stupider Than They Appear

Damn criminals. Dontcha just hate it when they do illegal things and end up costing you money?

Getting in the CLEAR

Perhaps Casey seeks salvation through spirituality. Scientology perhaps? Humanimal or overthruster? I get those confused. The important thing is to get those pesky alien haterz™ out of your head so you can think clearly.

Any Last Words?



Words of advise people. Don't be so morbid.

Nothing To See Move Along


Apparently the housing market did it. GDP 1.2% for the first quarter, murdered by the "no spillover" housing bubble implosion. Nothing to see here, move along. In fact if it weren't for consumer spending +2.6% this could have been a lot worse. In fact given the lag in housing data and the immediacy of consumer spending and the recent trends in revisions I suspect things are a lot worse. If consumer spending declines like MEW has been showing and the more recent housing data becomes the latest housing data then negative GDP growth seems a near thing very soon.

Hey. You want happy talk? Nigel is handing out sugar cookies and kool-aid. Go there. Me, I'll hold off on the celebration until it is warranted.

Good One Somebody


[Found on Craigslist]
fresno craigslist > women seeking men > Its all good

Its all good

Date: 2007-04-27, 3:30AM PDT

I need to get my hair done because it's annoying me.

Love heels; hate flats. I usually only wear sneakers when I go for a run, but sometimes, I feel the need to prance around town looking like a bum in a t-shirt, athletic shorts, and New Balances. Chances are, if I'm dressed like that, I'm stopping for ice cream or Jamba Juice too. --- WHY did they take away Ben&Jerry's??

I'm lazy. I love my bed. I hate folding clothes. I can't go to sleep if my surroundings are a mess. I sit on an exercise ball but I don't exercise with it. I eat too much. Buying new underwear makes me happy. Perfect weather, like the weather we had this past Monday and Tuesday makes me so happy that I act like a fool. I laugh at corny jokes. I'm smart AND stupid. I have an addictive personality. My laugh is contagious. My eyes make people melt. My smile gets me whatever I want. I'm ridiculously selective about with whom I choose to spend my time. And the loves of my life are my family and oldest friends.
----

Thursday, April 26, 2007

CHJTS Needs a New Name?


CHJTS (Casey Has Jumped The Shark) needs a new handle. In true haterz™ tradition he's open to suggestions. Go for it. Oh, and the picture? If you can't figure out what kind of Photoshopping I'm expecting then you ain't runnin' with the pack.

Jeff from SDCIA

Jeff from SDCIA who bought 14 houses in 14 months (all new?) in 2005.
now he's cryin. he rented them all out so his burn rate is slow.


Read it here.

Now, start off nice. After all it is entirely possible that he didn't overstate his income or misrepresent owner/occupancy or close simultaneously and perhaps he was lied to beyond any ability of due diligence to detect and...

The Penguin Says No Casey Post

Hot Tickets:

Unbuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/
FreeNAS http://www.freenas.org/
[Don't blow off Novell Linux however]

Base model MacBook with larger HD
Airport Extreme and Rendevous (802.11n/WPA2)

Watch for OpenOffice to improve.

Place Your Bets

Casey is:

- pouting

- serving time when the traffic fine check bounced

- confessing to family

- packing for a visit to the olde country

- sleeping in the v dubbs sans Galina

- [_________]

Greed Comes In Many Flavors

The Arizona Republic reports on a sort of auction.

Auction of prime acreage fizzles
N. Scottsdale land to go on block again May 24
Peter Corbett

Developers showed up, some with checks in hand, but none bid Tuesday on 125 acres of prime state trust land in the Scottsdale Airpark area.

The Arizona State Land Department was seeking a minimum bid of $549,000 per acre, or $68.5 million, for a 99-yearlease of the land northeast of Bell Road and Loop 101.

Over the lease, that would have generated nearly $1 billion for Arizona schools, a record amount for a land lease, State Land Commissioner Mark Winkleman said.

Department officials still hope to get that price or more at the rescheduled auction on May 24.


----

Anyone who didn't think AZ was going to be a poster child of the property bubble better rethink.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Nightline Tonight

Realty Check

With a phone and a laptop, one South Carolina man is able to make real estate deals around the country, buying up the growing up number of foreclosed properties on the cheap and making a bundle. The homes are then resold to Americans who never dreamed they could own their own home. The man in charge, Odell Barnes, is now a very rich man, but are his buyers as fortunate? "Nightline's"Vicki Mabrey looks into this real estate venture.

IAFF The Missing Posts #387

387. Flailing Forward
April 21st, 2007 at 9:59 am
Casey Serin returns from his grueling 3 hour expedition to Modesto, CA at around 6 PM. He is excited to be able to upload his triumphant and meticulously staged photo of himself pouring a gallon of Clorox into his wretched West Nile and Ebola infested pool.

“Wait till the haterz get a load of this,” he thinks to himself. “They’ll be falling all over themselves to be the first to donate money.”

He boots up his laptop and logs into Word Press. “Wow, 537 comments! Cha-ching!” He begins to read them. His grin relaxes and gradually becomes a grimace. “Freakin’ haterz!! I’m getting tired of you!! I don’t need your traffic! I’ll¦” He clicks on the sitemeter tracker. 27,000 unique visitors. His smile returns along with the cha-ching in his eye. Now if he can only figure out how to monetize them.

He continues reading. “What’s this about Galina jumping on a trampoline for monkey money? That’s my job!” Funny, the house was awfully quiet when he came in. “Galina? Galina, are you home?” No response.

Realization dawns on him, and he runs outside and jumps into the Vdubs and floors it. At a breakneck 35 mph he races to his parents’ house. In the backyard, he can hear the sounds of a huge party and springs creaking. Bursting through the gate, he is relieved that it is but Nigel on the trampoline in the monkey suit. He asks one of the members of the huge crowd of haterz where Galina is.

“I think she just left with Tony Soprano and some FBI guy? Something about rolling over and starting a new life with all the hater money she made tonight.” A trickle of wheatgrass juice runs down Casey’s leg. “Itsallgooditsallgooditsallgood…” he repeats over and over.

Casey rushes back to Yulia’s (passing a Cashcall van on the way) and is surprised to find that his key no longer fits in the lock. Curious. He peers in the window of his office and sees that it is completely bare and Yulia is vacuuming. “My IKEAs!!” he screams. “You back stabbing *^&@#^!!” he shouts as he beats on the window. Yulia closes the curtains.

Casey jumps the fence and runs around to the tiny back yard. There his worst fears are realized. The spot where he and Galina buried all of cashback is but a hole surrounded by freshly dug earth.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”

Casey falls to his knees, his face in his hands. “Haterz, save me,” he whimpers.

The Band Plays On

"Strong" employment and yet large declines in housing prices.

Nearly all new housing is not included in the for sale housing supply numbers.

The NAR/CAR report, if it had been produced in April 1912, would read: "The onboard managers from the accounting department of the Cunard Line are pleased to report that free ice is now available on the foredeck."

New Housing Shennigans

Dow opens at 13,000. Be vewwy vewwy quiet lest we disturb the celebration. How to do that? Easy, let the NAR report new home sales in new and creative terms. If yo've got lousy numbers then report beating analyst expectations. +2.6% 858,000. Why up? Because they revised downward last months figures. If they hadn't fixed last moths figures new home sales in march would have been lower. Sheeesh.

Photo CaptionContest


Not allof us are literary giants. Some are more visually oriented. Provide a fitting heading or appropriate cartoon balloons for these cute critters.

N.B. New home sales today at 10AM Eastern.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Is The End Nigh?

Post your answer here. Preferably in limerick or haiku form.

Haterz Rool Casey Poolz Nigel Droolz

The end times may not be pretty but they certainly are riveting.

Are You Now...

... or have you ever been a Haterz™? Do you know of any unamerikan activities such as flipping, tarding or mursing? Do you associate with algae or mortgage brokers?

[blog note: I'll go with alimited release candidate late tonight after chores. I was distracted by my j-o-b. Choices, choices; simple website $1200 or fix forums. Disloyal dawg that I am I went for the cash.]

Random Post

Same subject as the previous post just throwing a curve ball to the firstitarians. Besides I like churchsigngenerator.com

Freefallin'

How about those NAR first cut numbers 6.12m resales and 8.4% less than the previous month. Anyone ready to call a bottom?

Monday, April 23, 2007

The Abyss Stares Back

Damn, this looks like work. Galina, what do you think?

Point Counterpoint

Blue: "Hah! Hah! When I get inflated I'll be world famous and an integral support system for an internationally recognized real estate investor."

Gray:
"Wow, you sure are lucky. All I'll be is an excersize ball."

IAFF The Missing Posts #369


369. Flailing Forward
April 21st, 2007 at 8:09 am
There seems to be a difference in perceptions on your work ethic. The general consensus is that you're a lazy shiftless scammer who doesn't want to work. You of course maintain that you work as hard or harder than anybody else. Perhaps the problem is in what you reveal to us on the blog. Here are the subjects of your last 15 posts (slightly paraphrased):

1. I'm so depressed, OMG
2. My pool is dirty, this sux
3. Didn't file taxes, didn't send cashcall paperwork
4. Freakin' Haterz™!
5. Creative ideas, la lala lala
6. I was on TV
7. Ok, I'm not writing a book
8. I'm gonna make a comeback! Yay!
9. I'm writing a book!
10. Freakin' Haterz™!
11. I paid off my loan by borrowing more money
12. I was on TV
13. Idle speculation time, part II
14. Idle speculation time
15. I was in some magazines
16. I'm still married
17. Me and Nigel broke up
18. Screw you Haterz™! I just bought some stock!
19. I made $250 by answering questions
20. I made $378 by dancing like a monkey

I think the problem may be that from what you write, it doesn't look like you ever accomplish anything. Take #11 for example. You say it felt great to pay back your original lender. But you paid it back with money from another lender through your corporation. That's not much of an accomplishment. At best it's a lateral move, and at worst, it's blatantly illegal.

Anyhoo, because of the lack of progress, many of us wonder what exactly you and Galina do all day. Maybe you should do a daily entry for your activities like you were doing with Earth Mission. That would allow people to see exactly what you are accomplishing behind the scenes at IAFF. It could also be helpful to yourself to see how well you're staying on task to accomplish those goals of yours.

It could also be unintentionally hilarious. Winwin!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Ratlab's Big Adventure

Hi Rob, you may disseminate the info within this email on your blog in any way that you please. The photos are located at: Flikr.

Arriving at the Muncy property around 5pm, walked to the open side yard gate as Casey's neighbors were in the process of rebuilding the fence between the two properties. Very friendly people and we spent about 30 minutes in conversation. Here is what they revealed about Casey's pool cleaning adventure.

- Casey and Galina arrived at on property yesterday.
- Neighbors thought Galina was his girlfriend.
- Galina either drove the car there or away from the property, wasn't specified.
- There are pool hoses that could be used for pool draining in the yard, including sewer access in the backyard.
- Neighbors offered to help him drain the pool.
- Casey thought about taking the neighbors up on their offer to, but Galina convinced Casey not to do it.
- Casey met the short sale realtor at the property yesterday.
- Casey told the neighbors he is going to hire a pool guy to empty out the pool (about $400 per Casey).
- Casey bought a couple cases of beer for the neighbors for fixing up the fence.
- There is also a spa that's lovely green on the property.
- The abatement/vector control left a comply notice recently (as Casey revealed).
- The abatement/vector control dropped some lavae eating fish in the pool, some are a couple of inches long now, no larvae seen.

Additional details:
- The first contractor Casey hired LIVED on the property and didn't do much work.
- The second contractor did a lot of work quickly, but the quality was shoddy in nature.
- Casey told them the short sale should be done in 2 weeks.
- Neighbors on both sides thought the short sale offer of $300K a bit fishy.
- There are numerous houses for sale within a few blocks that are in the low and mid-$200K range
- The addition to the house that is claimed as part of the square footage is really a enclosed and enhanced patio cover.
- The second bathroom is in that addition, otherwise it's a 1-bath house.
- The tile work in the kitchen is super shoddy according to the neighbor, it's as if the contractor started laying the tile in the middle of the kitchen and had to cut all the tile near the walls.

- Casey asked the other neighbor's wife to do him a favor and mow his lawn.
- When she thought the house was foreclosed, she stopped mowing the lawn.
- Casey then told her that the bank wanted to lawn mowed and was wondering why she stopped.

- There's a 24-hour drive through Starbucks a couple of blocks away from the Muncy property!

Enjoy the story...
-ratlab

And their darned dawg too

So. How'd it go? A little hate and a little intelligence are a dangerous thing. Well I'm happy to report that rather than crush the spirit the flames have tempered the metal. Pageviews are the highest for any Sunday ever. Some people are so blinded by their own inner failings they fail to see that others are not like them. Funnier still that pageviews are not important here and that confounds doubly.

Here to Help

A reader wishes to pick our collective brains for a good used car. He started off by suggesting a slightly used PT Cruiser. That sounds okay to me. They depreciate a lot at the first and are decent products making the combination a good value. Everyone is sure to have an opinion. Just make sure you distingush value and quality and such. I love my Civic but paid a lot. I like my Expedition but only paid a little making it a different kind of good value. Clearly the Expedition has more general utility but if you are just hauling yourself 20 miles to work 0.5 gal versus 1.2 gal is $5 a day. Then again the 3rd row seat has prevented several possible fatricides and/or filicides. The PT has versatility and low operating costs I believe. The $7-$10k cost for a late model can forgive many shortcomings. What say ye dwags? Give a howl, help him out.

Life Zero Point Nine

The latest hissy fit over at IAFF got me thinking. There was genuine emotion that haterz™ were messing with his blog. He cares more about it than he does reallife™. I understand that he thinks he has some control on the blog that he doesn't have in reallife™ but talk about screwed up priorities.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Casey Drops In


Casey drops in to clean the pool. Cashcall is waiting. Thanks to "wagga."

Hide Nothing


I too am getting tired of Galina concealing her involvement.

What Is He Hiding?

Casey has disabled the Nigel_Swaby account for instant posting. Apparently misrepresenting yourself as something you are not is a violation of his personal ethical standards. Snigger.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Chart the lows

Young Sercasey,
Please. There are thousands of happy, healty, finacially sound readers with comfortable lives and bright futures. Why, oh why are you making them feel so bad by sharing your lows? Smile and the world smiles with you. Frown and you frown alone. Itsallgood.

Note to EN readers, buck up. We all knew this was coming. No time to feel sorry. He is finally understanding some small part of the consequences. His supporters are coming around to reality. Itsallgood.

2 out, bottom of the 9th


Casey Serin: "I’m really feeling down today… too much stress and pressure.

Son, you ain't seen nutin yet.

CS: "Plus I have about 753 email in my inbox (most of them unread) that have been piling on for months. I’m sorry if you’re email is one of them. With the media exposure and the traffic I get way too much email."

Son, these ain't none uv yer concern. Move past this.

CS: "Also all the different opportunities that are presenting themselves are really exciting but there are too many of them coming at me all at once and some are conflicting."

Son. this be evidence that you don't undersatand opportunity not that you are overly blessed.

CS: "At the end of the day, all this stuff is causing some serious “paralysis analysis” and lack of focused movement due to being overwhelmed."

Blame the tide for the wet. Yeah, that;s rational.

CS: "At the end of the day, I don’t have any money to show for all this activity (or lack there of."

End of the day, week, month, year.

CS: "I must get focused. I can’t afford to be scattered anymore."

Never could dandelion.

CS: "My patience with the comments, negativity and the hate is also running very very low. It would be one thing if people were respectful in how they say it. It’s OK to criticize as long as its done constructively for the persons good. I can learn from that. That’s all I ask. Be respectful. Show some courtesy."

LOL. Imagine that. Robbed and beaten the criminal is upset that the victims are negative.

Danger Will Robinson!

Okay, Casey. Understand a few things; your life isn't over, your marriage isn't over, your future isn't over. You have your health. Got it? Say it. Come on. Say it. Okay, now. Many of us understand the mania/depressive cycle. Most accept this in you. Some even understand that you need to see it before it can change. Got this? Okay, now suck it up. Nobody is gonna slash the tires on the cashcall VDubs.

Yawn. What was I thinking? Advise? Never happen. Honest? GMAFB, you won't even admit to the recent important business. Yawn.

LIRA, Inflation & Pesodollars


Even good economists are subject to a bit of whistling past the graveyard. "Once home sales and prices begin to stabilize, owners will resume their home improvement plans." This from a new index series that bears watching.
The LIRA is a new initiative from the Remodeling Futures Program to estimate future national remodeling activity with a horizon of three quarters. "This indicator is the first of its kind, from the Joint Center, to provide the home improvement industry with an accurate short-term projection," says research analyst Amal Bendimerad. "Our hope is that it will contribute to the growing body of information related to the remodeling industry." The LIRA will replace the Remodeling Activity Indicator (RAI) previously released by the Joint Center. The LIRA is released quarterly (April, July, October and January) by the Joint Center’s Remodeling Futures Program during the third week after each quarter’s closing. The next release date is July 19, 2007.

I wonder if pool cleaning supplies are tracked?