Housing Bubble, credit bubble, public planning, land use, zoning and transportation in the exurban environment. Specific criticism of smart growth, neotradtional, forms based, new urbanism and other top down planner schemes to increase urban extent and density. Ventura County, California specific examples.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Waiting For A new Post?
That's just strange. People defer gratification for years so that they can own a home with 20% down and they will again. So be it. Go fer it.
Rob Dawg, One of the reasons I love this blog is that I am not required to type cryptic and blurry letters to say anything (no matter how meaningless it happens to be). Good job.
Oh yes. Delayed gratification. God forbid I should be able to buy a house I love, that has everything I want and then some, and still be able to afford a new car and a vacation on top of that, within 6 months of buying
Delayed gratification. It works.
I am sure there is a lewd comment in there somewhere.
i'm a recent college grad at out Arizona State University (majored in Econ) and have come to the conclusion that there will be no way in hell i will be able to afford a house. I always assumed it would be like my parents who graduated 35 years ago with Masters degrees (both teachers on a 12k a year salary) that i would get a job, then a nice house. Oh well! I'll just wait for the houses to crash here.
On a brighter side, I now have money to buy tickets for the Rush concert in July. Yes, i'm 24 and listen to rush NEIL PEART ROCKS
you can buy a 2200 square foot house in Detroit MI for like 17k, don't expect beverly hills, but you CAN afford a house..just don't expect the one like you grew up in for a few years.
Schnapps, I don’t know who the f you are, but I’m ready to implode big time and I don’t give a shit about buying or getting or living anywhere. It is all bull$hit and I am very angry about it.
Hilarious note - Simpsons tonight, Marge becomes a real estate agent. She's learning the ropes from Troy McClure.
Marge: And here we have a lovely gourmet kitchen with gas range, centralcan opener, and firm under-flooring for enhanced standability.
Dr. Hibbert: Why, isn't this kitchen horribly cramped? [laughs]
Lionel: Marge, I had a lot of calls about you! Customers love your "no pressure" approach.
Marge: Well, like we say, "the right house for the right person!" Lionel: Listen, it's time I let you in on a little secret, Marge. The right house is the house that's for sale. The right person is anyone.
Marge: But all I did was tell the truth!
Lionel: Of course you did. But theres.. [face becomes unfriendly, voice deepens] the truth [shakes head, "no"], and [voice becomes chirpy, smiles] the truth [nods head, "yes"]!
[Lionel shows Marge a realty catalogue. The first featured house is extremely small.]
Marge: It's awfully small... Lionel: I'd say it's awfully.. cozy! Marge: That's dilapidated... Lionel: Rustic! Marge: That house is on fire! Lionel: Motivated seller!
delayed gratification, that's casey's problem in a nutshell
can't pay my rent, well shit I gotta go out to eat at mac grill
can't pay tuition, well I still gotta go to starbux, life ain't worth living then
don't have any cash, well I'll get some jamba juice and damn the over limit fee
House gets foreclosed on, I'll go to Utah to collect from nigel all the sex calls I've been charging him for, then I'm gonna celebrate with a seafood dinner, hey lenders kiss my ass while I eat this pathetic snow crab cluster.
Can't afford a house, then I'll buy 8 before anyone realizes that I can't afford one..
Can't afford a wife, I'll just get the first dumb gold digger I see...
Can't pay my promissory note...what promissory note wink wink.
Can't get any from Galina..well, there's always good ol Nigel, why should I suffer?
You know, I really didn't need that. Especially after he talked about "spending extra time in the bathroom" on a regular basis, and what wheatgrass does to you insides.
OK, I’ll be perfectly honest here due to the need to get it off my chest. In case anyone didn’t know already I am female and I have practiced abstinence for a couple of years for many reasons – first of which was being sick and tired of being f-ed up the ass on one level or the other. All relationships seem to deteriorate into a battle on one level or another and I’m just tired of it.
Akubi. Don't be like that. Abstinence is the lack of practice for one thing. The battle IS the relationship. Boring is worse.
Alright, I admit, all us "good ones" are usually taken and ultimately civilized but you can't give up. I just won't allow inward directed hate here when there are so many juicy targets outward. Okay?
There's nothing I enjoy more than eating a stick of rich, creamery butter straight from that little compartment in the fridge door. Sometimes I carve a little square area in the butter when it's still cold. I look at the excavation intently and imagine all kinds of stuff happening in there. Sometimes it has to do with real estate. At other times, I see grand historical sagas play out before my eyes, af it was actually happening, only different and cooler than the real thing. Like, at the doomed 1942 German attack on Stalingrad, Batman and Iron Man were there and they had spaceships shaped like moose faces. And the soldiers fought Daleks instead of Russians. And in the soldier's backpacks were sticks of rich creamery butter, into which were carved tiny square recesses, from which peered the great unblinking eye of bald-headed god...
People ask me all the time, "Nigel why are you hard on the haters?" I tell many of the fans of my award winning blog that the "realists" from Haterville (my soon-to-be award winning new term!) will get bored and move on. This will not only allow me unfettered access to Casey's world, but it will also allow my award winning blog to grow and help people. You see, I help not hate. It's not in my nature to hate anyone or anything. When you win awards like I do, I cannot stoop to the level of a hater.
I started a new blog for which I am busy spreading it's links across the Internets. Everyone will become familiar with the Nigel brand of blogging thanks to this new site. It allows me to reach out and step outside of myself to face new challenges. The haters think they can rattle my cage but they will not win. I will not let them. Casey, as you have all read on my award winning blog and elsewhere, made a gigantic mistake by allowing hate to consume his blog. I've warned him of the consequences but it's all becoming moot now. My Nigel branded sites will become more popular to the point of becoming bigger than EN and even bigger than Housing Panic. I will not be deterred in my mission to deliver the positive news to the people.
As a licensed broker and experienced web promoter, I am always going to be somebody the world can trust. You see, transperancy is all I care about. I put myself out there so the world can say, "That Nigel is a good bloke," and soak up my years of experience to buy their dream house. The haters from Haterville don't get it, housing will matter more than ever long after Casey Serin disappears into obscurity.
You Hatervillians need to realize, I will continue preaching the word and my Google rankings will only increase over time. People like me and I am a swell guy.
Regards,
Nigel
Award winning blogger Internet Hyperlink Consultant Amateur Wheat Shot Enthusiast Friend Of Casey
Speaking of haters, it's worth noting that Internet misogyny is finally getting some attention paid to it. Note the lead article on Techmeme today.... Kathy Sierra got a series of death threats and all of a sudden people are waking up to that fact that there's a ton of nasty, women-hating trolls on the Internet.
You know this Nigel character on here has all of the writing skill of timeline guy...
Is that you? You write ten times better than Nigel does. Hell if he actually did write that way we'd be interested because he had so many screws loose. Instead he's just boring. And award winning.
We would be able to find that out if he posted his site meter. He's definitely into his alexa, but from what I understand (not being the web-marketing genius he is) is that it is a little hazy in terms of accuracy.
My twit of a murse carrying twin brother contradicted himself in his latest self-aggrandizing post. He loves to rant and rave about how Casey did not cause this housing problem, yet his latest says:
"I’m going to let you in on a secret here. Those “subprime” lenders that have gone out of business because of forced buybacks are going down because of fraud".
Not interested in starting a troll thread here, but I think much of what you call misogyny in the blogosphere is tied to frustration with misandry in the MSM.
In the MSM or mainstream culture, it's not politically correct to criticize or ridicule women, but enormous fun to mock men (when was the last time you saw a man being shown as competent, perhaps even MORE competent, than a woman in a domestic situation?).
Women have an auto-pilot response to criticism: label the criticism "misognyny" and then contemptuously dismiss it. I'll bet many people didn't even know the word "misandry" exists, and that's not for lack of underlying material.
I defend gratuitous mockery neither of men nor women, but focusing on the anonymous small-minded men who periodically post diatribes fails to see the larger picture.
Wait, THE Nigel Swaby??? The same Nigel Swaby that landed the story of the year in that Yahoo press release? We are truly in the presence of greatness.
Make that 2760 unique monthly visitors, sir. I have had all of this EN nonsense that I can stand, with their logic and their reason and other such hogwash. I have a few questions on game theory that I'd like to ask you.
I just posted this on Nigel's puff fest for about the 5th time regarding his use of Rob Corrdry's photo:
What are you afraid of Nigel? This is not a hater comment - just a reasonable question for someone who touts integrity. Are you going to pay this professional actor for using his image on your web site? Yes or No?
@9:52 a.m.: If it makes you feel any better, I live and work in the D.C. area, and even with an advanced degree and working for a highly respected firm, the only thing I could realistically afford to buy would be a studio condominium, but even then would be paying out well over half of my take-home. And there's no way I can afford a down payment. When working professionals with advanced degrees are priced out of anything but bullet-ridden bad-side-of-town glorified closets, something is VERY wrong.
And yes, Rush does rock. At least I'm not priced out of their concerts :). I'll be there if they come through D.C., although I'm sure my ears will hate me in the morning.
The butter post was pure, unadulterated genius. Hats off, sirrah!
As far as deferred gratification, that's my life. I went through years of being broke, living check to check, always being late on payments, almost having the car repossesed, living on ramen and tuna, and zero luxuries - when I did have $20 extra (rarely) I felt guilty spending it - and still do!
I learned to live within my means, make and KEEP budgets, live simply, and got free of the "gotta have it" nature of our culture - not having TV for 2 years helped a lot there. I slowly over years fixed all of my mistakes (the usual credit card fiascos, ect..) and only started making headway when I admitted I had no clue what I was doing, and started from scratch.
Now I'm debt free, I buy what I want but I buy quality, and I don't buy a lot (I love the zen of no clutter), and I have reserves I can fall back on in bad times. This year or next, I'm going to slowly get into investing, in a small way, and learn my way in that field, and sites like this are proving to be my classroom.
It's so pathetic to see someone like Casey declare that life is not worth living without crap like Starbucks. He just doesnt get it. I still lived well when I was broke, because I learned to appreciate and care for what I did have, I learned to fix things, and I was never as productive as then, as I kept busy - it's shocking how much time is wasted staring at a TV or computer screen. As wierd as it sounds, I have a lot of warm nostalgia for those time, as my life was as simple as I could make it, I had a lot of hobbies that were cheap but a lot of fun, and I was in complete control (eventually) of my finances, and I slept well at night. Once you admit how much you owe, take control, and start working towards paying it all off, it's a LOT of stress off your shoulders. My next check may have been spent before I got it, but I did'nt have collectors breathing down my neck, and I knew what was going to whom for the next year, and they knew it was coming, there were no "surprises" or denial. I was broke, I accepted it, and learned to live broke. Casey will NEVER do that, which is why he will always be a sucker for the "get rich" schemes. He's too lazy to take control. He likes the distraction of his toys, like the PDA, but doesnt use them as the tools they are to manage and control his life - I'd be willing to bet he has lots of games downloaded on his PDA, and those get used more than anything. My cell phone has no games, and web access is not turned on. My bill is $45 a month, period.
To this day, I hesitate before I spend more than $50. I try to make rational purchases, with occasional splurges. Anything over $200 I wait two weeks - if I still want/need it, I buy it. Most of the time, I don't. I research prices, and wait for sales, or look for deals. I'm not cheap, but i don't throw money away either. I fired all of the $20 a month services I did'nt use, and sacrified broadband internet, cable tv, a cell phone, gas (walked to work), fast food, toys, movies, video games, books (that was hard), trendy clothes, trendy haircuts, I bought discount razors and shampoo and soap, I cut everything to the bone. Once I did that, i could manage my bills. I learned to not use the AC unless I needed it, washed dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher, learned to sew my clothes if I ripped them instead of tossing them and buying new ones, I got rid of all the junk in my life by dumping it all at St. Vincent DePaul...I got mercenary on my life, and it paid off.
I'd like to stop paying rent and settle down in a house, but the Casey's and Nigel's have made that impossible for me for a long time, but it's okay - I pay less than 1/3 of my income in rent, and it would probably be the same amount I'd have to spend on HOA fees, taxes, and upkeep. In fact, my complex is lowering prices, so I may try and negotiate a lower rent when my lease expires. I'm single, so apartment living makes sense - the convenience of no upkeep, I'm close to everything, I have no commute, and my expenses are low so I can save more - and live a LOT more. My housing gratification is definitely deferred, and it's an easy one - I want HD from Direct TV more than i want to be in the housing market right now - and I'm holding off HD because it's not quite worth the money, yet.
I sleep well at night knowing I can survive lean times, while the Nigel's and Casey's face real pain at having to adjust to a lifestyle I chose - and they won't learn a single thing from it. Casey will continue to blow every dime he gets his retarded hands on, and Nigel will still be chasing leprechauns and the mythical pot o' gold, and insisting to everyone they exist.
I sleep really well.
(Being single helps there. I'm not celibate, I just stopped dating. Wierd, I get laid more now, and have a better time without constantly having to kiss someone's ass to get a good night's sleep.)
As a local DC denizen, I'm with PV. I'd be priced out of the market too except for a studio or very small 1bdr condo. And I make a good chunk of change, but I believe in the 3-4x your yearly income base for buying a home. Thankfully, my fiancee bought years ago when the market was good, and I'll be a homeowner through her.
When I think of all the things I do to save money, and see folks flaunting it, I rest easy, knowing that in 5 years, 10 years, life will be relatively easy, and good, and stress free when I take my kids to the baseball game. Not so for other folks
I just finished re-reading P2 of the transcript. Casey's ability to pull out the answer card™ in every situation is uncanny. It's as if he's been programmed to do this. I can see the gurus starting the programming job but I think that Casey has done the rest of the work himself.
Some of the cover up cards read, "standard industry practice" and "everybody was doing it" and my personal favorite, "take my profit up front". Some of the secondary-level cards read, "and check this out" when he needs to change (reverse) the playing field of discussion and "I hear you" or "really?" or "it's all good." when he doesn't have a better card to play.
I cannot fathom an adult saying the phrase, "I decided to take my profit up front." without getting laughed out of the room. Only a criminal mind could come up with such a statement.
What will be truly interesting (to me at least) is when Casey gets into situations where he doesn't get to play his fake cards any longer. Those would include settings that involve a judge and/or the IRS, just to name a couple. My guess is that Casey is not going to be the only one that goes down in his scheme. I think that there are at least two other people that have some very dirty hands in the matter.
@R-Boy: Consider yourself lucky to be working on a seasoned mortgage. I'd be lucky to find myself a similar situation. First date: "so . . . do you have your own place, and if so, did you take out your loan before 2001 and not re-fi since then?" :D
@7:48 a.m.: My situation has some similarities, while I've never been deep in debt, for the last few years I've lived a very minimalist lifestyle as I was attending school, and am now paying off the student loans. I don't have much by way of loans, but I'd like to clear them out sooner rather than later--I know, only loosers(tm) reduce their leverage(tm), but I'm old-fashioned that way.
I really liked the comment, though, about choosing a lifestyle that others will be forced to live. Once you figure out that the best things in life are free, it gets much easier. And once your finances are solidly under control, you do sleep really well at night.
(P.S. My advice on investing--buy when everyone else is panicking. We're not there yet.)
I was talking to the economist in the adjoining section (there are two sections of the DOJ on my floor, and Im the economist in one of em)
In our conversation, we debated what the fed would do with interest rates. He's betting up, I am betting down or stagnant
We also talked about the housing issue. When a third party economist (since he is not active online) mentions S&L AND stagflation without prompting, uh, yeah. Take it for what its worth people.
43 comments:
The Turtle turd on the edge of reality.
Personally, I'll take last over first any day.
Rob Dawg,
One of the reasons I love this blog is that I am not required to type cryptic and blurry letters to say anything (no matter how meaningless it happens to be). Good job.
Ummm...any points for first to claim first?
Oh yes. Delayed gratification. God forbid I should be able to buy a house I love, that has everything I want and then some, and still be able to afford a new car and a vacation on top of that, within 6 months of buying
Delayed gratification. It works.
I am sure there is a lewd comment in there somewhere.
:)
Go fer it...?
The building across the street burned down and I didn't notice.
@Akubi
S'alright. I walked in to work 20 minutes late today because my train was delayed due to a Sunday mudslide.
Everyone knew about the mudslide except me. And it happened about a half a mile from my house.
:)
i'm a recent college grad at out Arizona State University (majored in Econ) and have come to the conclusion that there will be no way in hell i will be able to afford a house. I always assumed it would be like my parents who graduated 35 years ago with Masters degrees (both teachers on a 12k a year salary) that i would get a job, then a nice house. Oh well! I'll just wait for the houses to crash here.
On a brighter side, I now have money to buy tickets for the Rush concert in July. Yes, i'm 24 and listen to rush NEIL PEART ROCKS
you can buy a 2200 square foot house in Detroit MI for like 17k, don't expect beverly hills, but you CAN afford a house..just don't expect the one like you grew up in for a few years.
Schnapps,
I don’t know who the f you are, but I’m ready to implode big time and I don’t give a shit about buying or getting or living anywhere. It is all bull$hit and I am very angry about it.
DAMN..I got to the crapper and...bam...a new topic.
I've missed buying in the bubble.
I've missed flipping on the downturn.
I've missed foreclosure.
I've missed it all AND being first.
Like Slim Pickins said in "Blazing Saddles"....I am depressed.
It seems my life was over before it f-ing started.
Hilarious note - Simpsons tonight, Marge becomes a real estate agent. She's learning the ropes from Troy McClure.
Marge: And here we have a lovely gourmet kitchen with gas range, centralcan opener, and firm under-flooring for enhanced standability.
Dr. Hibbert: Why, isn't this kitchen horribly cramped? [laughs]
Lionel: Marge, I had a lot of calls about you! Customers love your "no pressure" approach.
Marge: Well, like we say, "the right house for the right person!"
Lionel: Listen, it's time I let you in on a little secret, Marge. The right house is the house that's for sale. The right person is anyone.
Marge: But all I did was tell the truth!
Lionel: Of course you did. But theres.. [face becomes unfriendly, voice deepens] the truth [shakes head, "no"], and [voice becomes chirpy, smiles] the truth [nods head, "yes"]!
[Lionel shows Marge a realty catalogue. The first featured house is extremely small.]
Marge: It's awfully small...
Lionel: I'd say it's awfully.. cozy!
Marge: That's dilapidated...
Lionel: Rustic!
Marge: That house is on fire!
Lionel: Motivated seller!
delayed gratification, that's casey's problem in a nutshell
can't pay my rent, well shit I gotta go out to eat at mac grill
can't pay tuition, well I still gotta go to starbux, life ain't worth living then
don't have any cash, well I'll get some jamba juice and damn the over limit fee
House gets foreclosed on, I'll go to Utah to collect from nigel all the sex calls I've been charging him for, then I'm gonna celebrate with a seafood dinner, hey lenders kiss my ass while I eat this pathetic snow crab cluster.
Can't afford a house, then I'll buy 8 before anyone realizes that I can't afford one..
Can't afford a wife, I'll just get the first dumb gold digger I see...
Can't pay my promissory note...what promissory note wink wink.
Can't get any from Galina..well, there's always good ol Nigel, why should I suffer?
Nigel, is that youuuuuu?
(Sorry, I know we were going for a new topic)
So if buying/getting/living anywhere is "bull$hit", why would you bring it up?
In all seriousness, though, I'm sorry you're having such a rough time of it. I really do hope things work out for you.
Rob: if you want to moderate any of this, I have no problem with deleting my comments.
@schnapps
To casey, delayed gratification means waiting for the turd to fall before he wipes his ass...that's about as long as he will wait for anything.
@Legion
You know, I really didn't need that. Especially after he talked about "spending extra time in the bathroom" on a regular basis, and what wheatgrass does to you insides.
::shudder::
to the guy who had an econ degree:
That means you took econ 102? You already have 100% more knowledge and understand about Economics than Nigel does. OUCH
OK, I’ll be perfectly honest here due to the need to get it off my chest. In case anyone didn’t know already I am female and I have practiced abstinence for a couple of years for many reasons – first of which was being sick and tired of being f-ed up the ass on one level or the other. All relationships seem to deteriorate into a battle on one level or another and I’m just tired of it.
Akubi.
Don't be like that. Abstinence is the lack of practice for one thing. The battle IS the relationship. Boring is worse.
Alright, I admit, all us "good ones" are usually taken and ultimately civilized but you can't give up. I just won't allow inward directed hate here when there are so many juicy targets outward. Okay?
Rob Dawg,
I've had plenty of practice, but thx for the "boring" input.
I'll sign off and avoid further inward directed hate.
Thx for the reminder.
That means you took econ 102? You already have 100% more knowledge and understand about Economics than Nigel does.
Yeah, but I have 2,759 unique visitors. And an award-winning blog.
Did I mention that I am an award winner? You guys do know that, right?
You are all wrong because I am right.
Good night you Realists in Haterville.
There's nothing I enjoy more than eating a stick of rich, creamery butter straight from that little compartment in the fridge door. Sometimes I carve a little square area in the butter when it's still cold. I look at the excavation intently and imagine all kinds of stuff happening in there. Sometimes it has to do with real estate. At other times, I see grand historical sagas play out before my eyes, af it was actually happening, only different and cooler than the real thing. Like, at the doomed 1942 German attack on Stalingrad, Batman and Iron Man were there and they had spaceships shaped like moose faces. And the soldiers fought Daleks instead of Russians. And in the soldier's backpacks were sticks of rich creamery butter, into which were carved tiny square recesses, from which peered the great unblinking eye of bald-headed god...
People ask me all the time, "Nigel why are you hard on the haters?" I tell many of the fans of my award winning blog that the "realists" from Haterville (my soon-to-be award winning new term!) will get bored and move on. This will not only allow me unfettered access to Casey's world, but it will also allow my award winning blog to grow and help people. You see, I help not hate. It's not in my nature to hate anyone or anything. When you win awards like I do, I cannot stoop to the level of a hater.
I started a new blog for which I am busy spreading it's links across the Internets. Everyone will become familiar with the Nigel brand of blogging thanks to this new site. It allows me to reach out and step outside of myself to face new challenges. The haters think they can rattle my cage but they will not win. I will not let them. Casey, as you have all read on my award winning blog and elsewhere, made a gigantic mistake by allowing hate to consume his blog. I've warned him of the consequences but it's all becoming moot now. My Nigel branded sites will become more popular to the point of becoming bigger than EN and even bigger than Housing Panic. I will not be deterred in my mission to deliver the positive news to the people.
As a licensed broker and experienced web promoter, I am always going to be somebody the world can trust. You see, transperancy is all I care about. I put myself out there so the world can say, "That Nigel is a good bloke," and soak up my years of experience to buy their dream house. The haters from Haterville don't get it, housing will matter more than ever long after Casey Serin disappears into obscurity.
You Hatervillians need to realize, I will continue preaching the word and my Google rankings will only increase over time. People like me and I am a swell guy.
Regards,
Nigel
Award winning blogger
Internet Hyperlink Consultant
Amateur Wheat Shot Enthusiast
Friend Of Casey
Speaking of haters, it's worth noting that Internet misogyny is finally getting some attention paid to it. Note the lead article on Techmeme today.... Kathy Sierra got a series of death threats and all of a sudden people are waking up to that fact that there's a ton of nasty, women-hating trolls on the Internet.
How many unique visitors does Nigel's blog have in a week?
You know this Nigel character on here has all of the writing skill of timeline guy...
Is that you? You write ten times better than Nigel does. Hell if he actually did write that way we'd be interested because he had so many screws loose. Instead he's just boring. And award winning.
Anon 4:57
We would be able to find that out if he posted his site meter. He's definitely into his alexa, but from what I understand (not being the web-marketing genius he is) is that it is a little hazy in terms of accuracy.
Transcript Pt 2 on IAFF:
"CS: You know what? Check this out; put yourself in my shoes."
What would Casey's shoes actually look like?....ballerina slippers?...do they match his murse?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I am taking a poll:
Hatervillians?
Hatervillites?
My twit of a murse carrying twin brother contradicted himself in his latest self-aggrandizing post. He loves to rant and rave about how Casey did not cause this housing problem, yet his latest says:
"I’m going to let you in on a secret here. Those “subprime” lenders that have gone out of business because of forced buybacks are going down because of fraud".
Please unload on him, all ye in Haterville.
Lennar '07 Q1 profits dropped 70% and removed guidance for the rest of the year.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/lennars-quarterly-results-plunge-spring/story.aspx?guid=%7B0CCEBE16%2DEA9A%2D497C%2D9023%2D3B889915611A%7D&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo
Profits? We don't need no stinking profits!
@ Sprezz at 3:09 (and regrets to Senor Dawg)
Not interested in starting a troll thread here, but I think much of what you call misogyny in the blogosphere is tied to frustration with misandry in the MSM.
In the MSM or mainstream culture, it's not politically correct to criticize or ridicule women, but enormous fun to mock men (when was the last time you saw a man being shown as competent, perhaps even MORE competent, than a woman in a domestic situation?).
Women have an auto-pilot response to criticism: label the criticism "misognyny" and then contemptuously dismiss it. I'll bet many people didn't even know the word "misandry" exists, and that's not for lack of underlying material.
I defend gratuitous mockery neither of men nor women, but focusing on the anonymous small-minded men who periodically post diatribes fails to see the larger picture.
Wait, THE Nigel Swaby??? The same Nigel Swaby that landed the story of the year in that Yahoo press release? We are truly in the presence of greatness.
Make that 2760 unique monthly visitors, sir. I have had all of this EN nonsense that I can stand, with their logic and their reason and other such hogwash. I have a few questions on game theory that I'd like to ask you.
Nigel, do you have a website. I can't find a link anywhere. Please post it. Thanks,
Yneone
I just posted this on Nigel's puff fest for about the 5th time regarding his use of Rob Corrdry's photo:
What are you afraid of Nigel? This is not a hater comment - just a reasonable question for someone who touts integrity. Are you going to pay this professional actor for using his image on your web site? Yes or No?
@9:52 a.m.: If it makes you feel any better, I live and work in the D.C. area, and even with an advanced degree and working for a highly respected firm, the only thing I could realistically afford to buy would be a studio condominium, but even then would be paying out well over half of my take-home. And there's no way I can afford a down payment. When working professionals with advanced degrees are priced out of anything but bullet-ridden bad-side-of-town glorified closets, something is VERY wrong.
And yes, Rush does rock. At least I'm not priced out of their concerts :). I'll be there if they come through D.C., although I'm sure my ears will hate me in the morning.
The butter post was pure, unadulterated genius. Hats off, sirrah!
As far as deferred gratification, that's my life. I went through years of being broke, living check to check, always being late on payments, almost having the car repossesed, living on ramen and tuna, and zero luxuries - when I did have $20 extra (rarely) I felt guilty spending it - and still do!
I learned to live within my means, make and KEEP budgets, live simply, and got free of the "gotta have it" nature of our culture - not having TV for 2 years helped a lot there. I slowly over years fixed all of my mistakes (the usual credit card fiascos, ect..) and only started making headway when I admitted I had no clue what I was doing, and started from scratch.
Now I'm debt free, I buy what I want but I buy quality, and I don't buy a lot (I love the zen of no clutter), and I have reserves I can fall back on in bad times. This year or next, I'm going to slowly get into investing, in a small way, and learn my way in that field, and sites like this are proving to be my classroom.
It's so pathetic to see someone like Casey declare that life is not worth living without crap like Starbucks. He just doesnt get it. I still lived well when I was broke, because I learned to appreciate and care for what I did have, I learned to fix things, and I was never as productive as then, as I kept busy - it's shocking how much time is wasted staring at a TV or computer screen. As wierd as it sounds, I have a lot of warm nostalgia for those time, as my life was as simple as I could make it, I had a lot of hobbies that were cheap but a lot of fun, and I was in complete control (eventually) of my finances, and I slept well at night. Once you admit how much you owe, take control, and start working towards paying it all off, it's a LOT of stress off your shoulders. My next check may have been spent before I got it, but I did'nt have collectors breathing down my neck, and I knew what was going to whom for the next year, and they knew it was coming, there were no "surprises" or denial. I was broke, I accepted it, and learned to live broke. Casey will NEVER do that, which is why he will always be a sucker for the "get rich" schemes. He's too lazy to take control. He likes the distraction of his toys, like the PDA, but doesnt use them as the tools they are to manage and control his life - I'd be willing to bet he has lots of games downloaded on his PDA, and those get used more than anything. My cell phone has no games, and web access is not turned on. My bill is $45 a month, period.
To this day, I hesitate before I spend more than $50. I try to make rational purchases, with occasional splurges. Anything over $200 I wait two weeks - if I still want/need it, I buy it. Most of the time, I don't. I research prices, and wait for sales, or look for deals. I'm not cheap, but i don't throw money away either. I fired all of the $20 a month services I did'nt use, and sacrified broadband internet, cable tv, a cell phone, gas (walked to work), fast food, toys, movies, video games, books (that was hard), trendy clothes, trendy haircuts, I bought discount razors and shampoo and soap, I cut everything to the bone. Once I did that, i could manage my bills. I learned to not use the AC unless I needed it, washed dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher, learned to sew my clothes if I ripped them instead of tossing them and buying new ones, I got rid of all the junk in my life by dumping it all at St. Vincent DePaul...I got mercenary on my life, and it paid off.
I'd like to stop paying rent and settle down in a house, but the Casey's and Nigel's have made that impossible for me for a long time, but it's okay - I pay less than 1/3 of my income in rent, and it would probably be the same amount I'd have to spend on HOA fees, taxes, and upkeep. In fact, my complex is lowering prices, so I may try and negotiate a lower rent when my lease expires. I'm single, so apartment living makes sense - the convenience of no upkeep, I'm close to everything, I have no commute, and my expenses are low so I can save more - and live a LOT more. My housing gratification is definitely deferred, and it's an easy one - I want HD from Direct TV more than i want to be in the housing market right now - and I'm holding off HD because it's not quite worth the money, yet.
I sleep well at night knowing I can survive lean times, while the Nigel's and Casey's face real pain at having to adjust to a lifestyle I chose - and they won't learn a single thing from it. Casey will continue to blow every dime he gets his retarded hands on, and Nigel will still be chasing leprechauns and the mythical pot o' gold, and insisting to everyone they exist.
I sleep really well.
(Being single helps there. I'm not celibate, I just stopped dating. Wierd, I get laid more now, and have a better time without constantly having to kiss someone's ass to get a good night's sleep.)
As a local DC denizen, I'm with PV. I'd be priced out of the market too except for a studio or very small 1bdr condo. And I make a good chunk of change, but I believe in the 3-4x your yearly income base for buying a home. Thankfully, my fiancee bought years ago when the market was good, and I'll be a homeowner through her.
When I think of all the things I do to save money, and see folks flaunting it, I rest easy, knowing that in 5 years, 10 years, life will be relatively easy, and good, and stress free when I take my kids to the baseball game. Not so for other folks
I just finished re-reading P2 of the transcript. Casey's ability to pull out the answer card™ in every situation is uncanny. It's as if he's been programmed to do this. I can see the gurus starting the programming job but I think that Casey has done the rest of the work himself.
Some of the cover up cards read, "standard industry practice" and "everybody was doing it" and my personal favorite, "take my profit up front". Some of the secondary-level cards read, "and check this out" when he needs to change (reverse) the playing field of discussion and "I hear you" or "really?" or "it's all good." when he doesn't have a better card to play.
I cannot fathom an adult saying the phrase, "I decided to take my profit up front." without getting laughed out of the room. Only a criminal mind could come up with such a statement.
What will be truly interesting (to me at least) is when Casey gets into situations where he doesn't get to play his fake cards any longer. Those would include settings that involve a judge and/or the IRS, just to name a couple. My guess is that Casey is not going to be the only one that goes down in his scheme. I think that there are at least two other people that have some very dirty hands in the matter.
@R-Boy: Consider yourself lucky to be working on a seasoned mortgage. I'd be lucky to find myself a similar situation. First date: "so . . . do you have your own place, and if so, did you take out your loan before 2001 and not re-fi since then?" :D
@7:48 a.m.: My situation has some similarities, while I've never been deep in debt, for the last few years I've lived a very minimalist lifestyle as I was attending school, and am now paying off the student loans. I don't have much by way of loans, but I'd like to clear them out sooner rather than later--I know, only loosers(tm) reduce their leverage(tm), but I'm old-fashioned that way.
I really liked the comment, though, about choosing a lifestyle that others will be forced to live. Once you figure out that the best things in life are free, it gets much easier. And once your finances are solidly under control, you do sleep really well at night.
(P.S. My advice on investing--buy when everyone else is panicking. We're not there yet.)
I was talking to the economist in the adjoining section (there are two sections of the DOJ on my floor, and Im the economist in one of em)
In our conversation, we debated what the fed would do with interest rates. He's betting up, I am betting down or stagnant
We also talked about the housing issue. When a third party economist (since he is not active online) mentions S&L AND stagflation without prompting, uh, yeah. Take it for what its worth people.
to Perephiral Visionary:
http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/Tourdates.htm#s&a
Rush tour dates.
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