Bits Bucket For October 31, 2009
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The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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AHA OHO ! I’m the first and here I GO. Good morning everyone from an extremely blustery SE Michigan.
Yeah, it’s unseasonably cold here in N AZ. Pipes freezing in October, etc.
Woah Ben!
It’s blustery here in WI - I had to pull all my wind chimes down for fear of them flying away!
Good Morning Hbb -
Leigh
Yeah!..and a Happy Halloween from Wisconsin from me too everybody. Enjoy your weekend.
Time for kids to do some “trick or treating”. It should be scary walking between empty houses, forclosures and the graveyards of “For Sale” and “For Rent” signs in the leaves this weekend.
I just hope that some of the mean old RE hobgoblins don’t capture some of the little 4 year olds and make them all …buy houses.
Toooooooooooooooo funny!
Leigh
“…and make them all …buy houses.”
That will depend on whether they qualify for the
first-timehome buyer credit.Here is SoCal it’s supposed to get up to 80 degrees, which entices me to bike down to Seal Beach where, when it comes to the economy, “it’s different here”.
The owner of the coffee shop where I hang out has has recently begun to flip out because, even though there are lots of people wandering up and down the sidewalks, nobody seems to be spending money. He’s lately been terrorizing his hired help and is now beginning to yell at passerbys who use his bathroom without buying anything.
Nevertheless, I am told Seal Beach is isolated from the economic woes the rest of the world is undergoing, that the city’s budget is balanced, that property values are holding up, etc.
We’ll see …
bike down to Seal Beach ??
Our Denver offspring sent photos of the October snowfall. Wow! With a fast warm-up, there could be some flooding.
“bike down to Seal Beach??”
Yeah, Seal Beach is about eight miles south of where I live and the San Gabriel River bikepath takes me right to it.
In the morning the air is calm (thus no headwind). The wind picks up in the afternoon and is at my back when I pedal home.
A biker’s heaven.
I’m told I will start on a project here in LA to keep me employed the next year or more. Cheers!
The morning swim was great and fast. This morning a fit bikini woman shared my swim lane (cute Asian). So it was a good scenic morning, to say the least. My 900 yard sprint time this morning (total of 3600 yards) still kicked a$$ off my race time 18 years ago in a mini-triathlon.
I’m thinking there will be a black Monday in November. I’m a Darwinist, so I hate to say it’s a superstition. I’m going to “throw away” far more money in contributing to my 401k the next then years than my current balance. Same with my IRA. So I will laugh at a 60% drop in index values.
Our Denver offspring sent photos of the October snowfall. Wow! With a fast warm-up, there could be some flooding.
The snow on the front range has already melted.
A biker’s heaven.
it sure wasn’t back in the 70s when I lived there. Shoulda stuck around..
Heaven??? River? It is a big cement gully full of filthy run-off. Seal Beach has dirty water as a result not to mention the filthy Long Beach water flowing south. I used to surf Ray Bay when a swell came in. Dirty or not.
Some people need to explore more of the world.
Do the grunion still run in the summer??
“It is a big cement gully full of filthy run-off.”
Oh. Maybe that’s the reason I bike at the top of the gully, where the paved bike path is located.
The water at Seal Beach by the jetty is always unusually warm from the factory runoff, I rode the waves in there too many times. Who knows what mutations live in my body because of it.
fecaltime!
Now I get your name, fecal. You are named after the fecal bacteria that you absorbed from the LA beaches. Eeew, but funny!
“I’m thinking there will be a black Monday in November. I’m a Darwinist, so I hate to say it’s a superstition.”
No superstition is necessary. All that is needed is a critical mass of atheistic Darwinists who believe there might be another Black Monday next month to take sufficient precautions to precipitate a crash — that is, unless the all-powerful, all-knowing PPT is able to successfully intervene to thwart the forces of financial gravity.
BTW, Darwin studied to become a Christian minister. Of course, his scientific discoveries created tremendous inner conflict for him. But if you are a Darwinist, perhaps you already knew this.
I was in The OC today. Stopped at a deli for a sandwich and had a pleasant talk with the manager. He asked about living in SD, which naturally led into a comparative discussion of whether the economic crash was worse in The OC or in SD.
It sounds like it is pretty bad in his neck of the woods. I commented on all the liquor he had stocked around the store, noting that it is probably one product that sells well even after the economy has crashed. He claimed that overall alcohol sales had dropped steeply, but the cheapest vodka in the store was selling very well.
Does the Fed’s Beige Book survey ask about what kind of alcohol is selling best?
I think you have a good point there. Trader Joe’s “Charles Shaw” sells for $1.99. It’s hit or miss though. Some bottles have good tasting wine in them, others are…oh well. But you’re ahead of the game buying eight bottles and getting four good ones in the batch. $16, as opposed to $75 at BevMo (if you do the buy one, buy the other for 0.05 more).
I guess I won’t invest in SAM or DEO stock for awhile.
Well Ben,
Down in the Valley, the valley’s low was in the 40’s.
The last few days were unseasonably cool and came right after a few unseasonably warm ones, so the effect was: What happened to Fall?
Seemed like we went from a long toasty summer directly into winter; do not pass autumn, do not collect $200 from snowbirds.
On the housing front, seeing more and more folks skipping the mortgage payment, people that I’ve known for years, squatting; and I guess just daring the lenders to push them out. Commercial RE is also in a world of hurt with dark windows along Main and Broadway side by side. The worst business conditions I can recall in Mesa.
Commercial RE is also in a world of hurt ??
You got that right…Its in free fall…Almost a death spiral…
Why not tell them to pay off the credit cards and lessen the damage to their fico score?……nice Cobalt neighbor!
people that I’ve known for years, squatting; and I guess just daring the lenders to push them out
“Why not tell them to pay off the credit cards and lessen the damage to their fico score?……”
I do, and to pay the utility bills, and to save as much as possible while they can.
Some people are big savers, some people are big spenders. The folks I know who have gone the squatting route were not big savers, that’s for sure. Two or three families could have easily lived on what these guys had; but they were all about spending on what they wanted versus what their families actually needed.
Architect
Marketing VP
Construction equipment owner
Husband and wife realty team (no kidding)
Very Sad cobalt….somebody gives them a winning lottery ticket and they pissssss it all away.
Its going to be 70-72 and raining here in the Beeg Apple..1 last chance to open all the windows bleach the bathroom, spray some carpet cleaner and vacuum the rugs and air the place out. I sure am a boring person huh?
Yep, the coffee’s on and we have a fire going. Darker than a well diggers ____ and just about as
cold. A basket of candy by the door awaits the
little rascals that will come by tonight, brings back
some nice memories of a mis-spent youth.
On my second cup right now. It’s a cool morning here in LA. Not so cold as to think of a fireplace though. Lovely day to do absolutely nothing after a brisk 2 mile swim.
Happy Halloween, HBBers!
Happy Halloween to all.
I am thinking about dressing up as a wall street Robber bankster holding a big money bag with “Your 401K money” and Government Stimulus money“ written all over it.
What do you think?
I love it. Then you can put “Thank you from Goldman Sachs” on your back, so they see it as you’re leaving.
You could also stuff all of your pockets with money or fake money. A top hat, mustache, and cane a la the Monopoly logo, maybe a cigar?
Last year I dressed up as a housing bear. Wore a bear face mask and a big picture of a house around my neck. About 90% of the time, even when I explained it, people just didn’t get it. Unless they already knew me and had heard me ranting for years.
Oh well. I am looking forward to the day I can put on a bull mask instead of a bear mask. Alas, many years to go in my estimation.
Have a wonderful Halloween! Stay safe. Keep the kiddies safe. And don’t eat more than a pound or two of candy!!!
OK — that’s it. No more Groucho glasses for me next year… It’s time to go for the full bear costume, complete with academic garb (mortar board, gown, etc.). Professor Bear will go trick-or-treating next year, and I will plan to submit a photo for the blog archives.
P.S. The Groucho glasses are not bad so far as my costume standards go. I even took the opportunity to remind no less than five of my San Diego neighbors to try not to get stucco, which got a laugh every time…
“What do you think?”
I think you should arm yourself with a pen rather than with a gun.
arm yourself with a pen rather than with a gun
Nearly a Full Moon, Halloween Eve, and turn your clocks back one hour. Do you suppose the bars will be open one hour longer?
All I can say, is that email from Nigeria with my dad’s name on it as funds being transferred to Switzerland has me freaked- or is this a halloween trick?BOooooooooooooooooooooo
lol…I think you might get SHOT !!
I will take all the fantastic suggestions. I will stuff fake money coming out of my pockets and I just finished making the thank you from Goldmansucks sign for my back.
I hope the local yokels get the political statement we are trying to make. The wifeee is dressing up like a French maid. She is looking hot gorgeous and very French. Wink Wink. !!
Well if you make it out the door (despite your wife’s costume), give us an update on how YOUR costume went over!
Did I read that correctly? 9 banks were shuttered yesterday?
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html
TX, IL, CA and AZ. This reminds me of Texas in the 80’s with the S&Ls and banks. It was like a drum roll.
8 of the 9 banks were part of FBOP corporation.
Every time banks get shut down by the FDC the assets and deposits are always given to a megabank. Does this not make Too-Big-To-Fail institutions even bigger? Why does everyone act like this is ok?
Who said it was OK? A little bank here where I live went under recently. I had an account there but closed it before. But still, if I did have money and business there I would hope the FDIC would make arrangements.
Sometimes in Texas the bank or S&L just disappeared. (BTW, people committed suicide about this stuff too). But one stat always stuck in my mind about the number of major banks that ultimately failed in Texas in the 80’s. All of them; 100%.
I remember attending a 7 day cram course in Dallas in the early 80’s…In the morning and during the evening, I think I was the only person in the Hotel Restaurant…It was a really weird
feeling..Kind of like the twilight zone…
And here we have the same idiocy, with a broader geographic distribution.
I kind of liked that bank. The new masters didn’t like me. Called me, told me to get my sh*t and get lost. Oh well. I kind of liked them.
“…number of major banks that ultimately failed in Texas in the 80’s. All of them; 100%.”
The natural questions that come to my mind are:
1) Could Wall Street Megabanks ultimately fail in New York in the 2010s?
2) Could the Fed sink along with the banks it is trying to prop up?
I saw one nice anecdote in this week’s Economist magazine which gives an indication of what the Fed considers to qualify as collateral, so long as a loan to a too-big-to-fail financial institution is involved:
‘This white-knuckle improvisation was evident across Wall Street, too. Pushed to think creatively, a desperate AIG uses bundles of dusty stock certificates from its vaults as collateral for a $14 billion loan from the Federal Reserve. With Morgan Stanley desperate for an investment from Mitsubishi, but markets closed for a holiday, the Japanese firm issues a $9 billion cheque to seal its commitment.
Just as remarkable is the combination of hubris and ineptitude of those running the most troubled firms. Lehman’s boss, Dick Fuld, sacked or sidelined those who gave warning about its dizzying debt levels and dangerous exposure to commercial property. He scuppered a life-saving deal with the South Koreans by barging clumsily into negotiations being run by a key lieutenant, which were delicately poised. AIG’s executives did not know how big the insurer’s balance-sheet hole was, and sometimes did not seem to care.
One of the best sections comes after Lehman’s bankruptcy and AIG’s takeover, as other firms struggle for survival. The remaining standalone investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, haemorrhaging cash as clients run for the exit, engage in an increasingly surreal series of mating dances with various commercial banks, before finding temporary salvation by turning themselves into bank holding companies. The book makes clear how close Goldman came to death: if Morgan Stanley went under, its arch-rival was “30 seconds behind”, reckoned its boss, Lloyd Blankfein.’
Every time banks get shut down by the FDC
…an angel gets it’s wings?
Nice.
How’s the snow up your way?
Pretty much melted in Boulder.
got a question to the board.
when a bank is shuttered by FDIC, and all the branches are picked up/sold to other bigger bank. Will the branches of the shuttered bank eventually be shutdown and lay off employees? not sure how this work out? i would think the acquired bank would close down some of those branches to reduce overall costs especially there are two in the same vicinity.
If the acquiring bank has nearby branches, eventually they “right-size” their presence by shuttering branches and laying off people.
That makes over a hundred failed banks so far this year.
This just brings tears to my eyes…. and wringing to my hands…. What shall we do? The poor banks……… sniffle sniffle.
I worry about the megabanks taking over everything.It is nice having competition.Chase is on a roll around here.
Chase is on a roll around here ??
If I could borrow money from the discount window I would be rolling too…Kind of a no brainer being able to make some kind of spread..
Yep - 115, of the nine that closed yesterday evening in one felled swoop, they had a total of 153 branches.
FDIC Press Release
FDIC Makes Public September Enforcement Actions; One Administrative Hearing Scheduled for November
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2009
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today released a list of orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in September. One administrative hearing is scheduled for November.
The FDIC processed a total of 48 matters in September. These included twenty-six cease and desist orders; twelve removal and prohibition orders; six civil money penalties; two prompt corrective action directives; one voluntary termination of insurance; and one order terminating the order to cease and desist.
Might be wise to check out the list.
Best,
Leigh
That makes over a hundred failed banks so far this year.
Drop meet bucket.
The troubled bank list has over 500 banks listed on it. That is still an understatement. Nobody can convince me that there are strong banks in Nevada, Florida, Arizona or California. Then we look at the states that have had the highest number of closings. They are states such as Georgia, Illinois and Minnesota. The python is trying to pass the pig through its body, not realizing that it just ate an elephant. That is going to sting on its way out.
NYCityBoy….
How much truth is there to media statements that I am hearing about “The Wealthy” leaving NYC because of high taxes ??
I think they are talking about people way above my status. I don’t know of anybody doing that YET. But I don’t live on Park Avenue. I think there are just less wealthy people in NYC because so many have lost their money. Maybe that’s what they meant.
I’ve seen statistics about wealthy people leaving NYC, but there’s not enough detail. Every year, large numbers of people in the Northeast retire and move to Florida and other warm places. Coincidentally, people over the age of 60 probably make up a large majority of “the wealthy”. Some newspaper would really have to interview a bunch of these people to find out why they are leaving.
There was a commentary in the 10/28 WSJ (Escape from New York) that cited some statistics from a new study on people leaving NY: “Those moving elsewhere had an average income of $93,264, some 28% higher than the $72,726 earned by those coming in.”
So I think this is about the “middle class”. Suspect the higher end people have second homes as primary tax residence and call the NYC digs a Pied-a-terre, etc. And there are CEO’s have a big suburban residence and an apartment paid for by the corporation, etc. Plenty of ways for those guys to work around it.
Worked with one person who still used the parents home address on taxes to avoid NYC taxes.
Don’t thinks there’s a big exodus because of taxes, at least not yet. I think it partly depends on how much budget cuts will reduce the quality of life, since our taxes have always been high.
just less wealthy people in NYC because so many have lost their money.
How can that be when all of GS etc and other banks got mega bonuses?
That was all poetical-like.
“Nobody can convince me that there are strong banks in Nevada, Florida, Arizona or California.”
Troubled Banker: “My depositors are in danger.”
Sheila Blair, FDIC: “Grave danger?”
Troubled Banker: “Is there another kind?”
We crossed 100 last week, going from 99 to 106. The Nine this week took us to 115. Using the past two weeks as a basis, an average of one bank a day is getting closed. And the FDIC is sending out warnings left and right - at least two in Washington and one in Florida got warnings yesterday (the reason that is “iffy” is the information is more difficult to find).
For comparison (because this comparison rules): Nine more banks were closed yesterday than in 2005 and 2006 combined. Yep. The FDIC didn’t close a single bank between June 25, 2004 and February 7, 2007.
Interesting metric. 100 failed banks. But closer to 10,000 branches.
And yet, many stores in La Quinta were jam packed.
Must have been PayDay yesterday, otherwise, snowbirds have flocked into the desert en masse.
There are rating services that a consumer can use to look at the long term viability of banks. One such service can be found at
http://www.bankrate.com
We were with a Mega-bank until about 1 1/2 years ago. We found out that our bank (that is nationwide) was on the low end of the rating scale, so we changed to a regional bank that is near the top of the scale.
When we changed, the bank personnel told us that they were being hit by a large wave of people that were moving their assets to more sound institutions for the same reason.
Bauer Financial is another
http://www.bankstars.com/
Troubled list is apparently up to 500 banks. Not sure how many banks still exist.
Reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon:
PHB: So how is it going getting a list of all the non-productive employees?
Ratbert: Good, I’m done. Here you go.
PHB: That is the company phone book.
Ratbert; Yeah, finding that was a huge time saver.
Same thing with the insolvent banks. Just find a bank. It’s probably insolvent. Close a random number and HOPE it helps.
Good morning fellow blogers.
Back in late 2007 I found this index called the “Markit ABX” that tracked all those MBS from the sub-prime boom years of 2006-2007.
Over the last few weeks that index exploded to the upside! Something must happened that suddenly made some of these BBB- securities go up 20 to 30 percent? I don’t believe the fundamentals have changed - if anything they are still deteriorating. I would bet this is FED paying out $$ for this trash.
Here is the URL:
http://www.markit.com/en/products/data/indices/structured-finance-indices/abx/abx-prices.page?
Comment by az_lender
2009-10-30 12:30:57
Just yesterday I was taking a little walk along the Hudson River at the SE extremity of Adirondack Park. And there were signs saying “vacation rental” despite great dilapidation. And there were very UNsurprising signs saying “for sale by owner.” People seem to think ANYTHING away from urban blight is in the “if you build it they will come” territory.
————————————————————————————–
The above is a repost from yesterday. I think it’s worth noting that az_lenders last sentence refers to a primary element of the bubble we discuss in many roundabout ways here. Further, I think it will continue in posterity as a means to frame the discussion about the whys and whats relating to the housing mania of the early 21st century.
This flawed speculation of “it’s ‘better’ here and everyone wants to live here” precludes the required analysis that is the foundation of sound thinking. Where will these people who want to live here work? And where will they come from? Why would they want to come here if they already have a good living elsewhere? And if they don’t have a means of earning a living elsewhere, how will they earn one here considering those already here are chronically underemployed?
I am personally familiar with 3 geographical regions where the REIC induced ignorance of “everyone wants to live here and they’re all millionares”.
1) Rural New England
2) Beach areas of Delaware, Sussex and Kent Counties
3) Deschutes and Jefferson Counties, Oregon
All three of these locations the natives were swept up into the speculative fervor of the bubble years. Many made a better living than they had in decades and now that velocity and volume of $$$$ is shrinking by the day. And of course the natives are shell shocked and presuming the good times are still right around the corner. Many are in the denial phase and insist “prices really never went up that much” so as not to admit to the declining prices. Some are in the bargaining phase with statements like “I’d sell if someone came along and made an offer I can’t refuse”. Those quotes are actual statements I’ve overheard or directed at me during conversations. Their inability to grasp the current reality speaks directly to the fact that they were told what to think and how to think during the run up years. There were no sounds reasons given for the rapidly increasing prices. Instead they were given phoney REIC driven counterfeit reasons for the spiraling prices where the rest of us couldn’t find one single fundamental to explain it. Now the natives are high and dry without any means to replace the economic activity related to the Great Housing Fraud.
I suppose I would dig in my heels too and hold onto the 2005 but I learned long ago that digging in my heels creates a larger hole. So my advice to those holding onto 2005 is……..
Let go or be dragged.
Great post. It is just sad to see how many will hold on and be left with nothing but bloody stumps for their extremities.
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away”
How wrong Mick was. The wild horses will drag away many FBs.
From this:
Wild horses couldn’t drag me away
To This:
You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub
Look mami I got the X if you into taking drugs
I’m into having sex, I ain’t into making love
So come give me a hug if you into to getting rubbed
What did we do to ourselves?
I know the builder who built the biggest house on Lake Louise Marie. He built a 5000 sq.ft house with an elevator for 1.2 million. This monstrosity is too big for a lake that pretty much looks like a large pond. He is a nice guy but still does not understand the fundamentals of housing affordability. He is still hoping to build 3 houses a year and make a very comfortable living.
Oh by the way Orange County is different especially because of Kiryas Joel village. It is a great place to get custom suites tailored made in Budapest for about $200. It difficult to believe that there are 3 and 4 generation New Yorkers who are born and raised in Orange County and hardly speak any English. It is an interesting place in a Fiddler on the roof kind of way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiryas_Joel,_New_York
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3014130855200333549#
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Education_of_Kiryas_Joel_Village_School_District_v._Grumet
hahah… The super on my current project did some big work at Kiryas Joel. His stories about that place we’re hilarious, grim, crazy, etc.
I have regular business associates “friends in KG”. I can tell you first hand how people making above the median income collect welfare benefits. I can tell you about the cash banking with Israel banks involved. The laws which are followed are non US laws and the agreements are written in Jewish laws. Truth is wilder than fiction in KG, Screw the US goobermint and the local people is the rule. In general the locals are not welcomed in KG.
Dang - test.
Apparently, according to the Toronto Star, buyers are having babies sing ‘they love your house’:
http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/newsfeatures/article/719126–home-bidders-get-personal-our-baby-loves-your-house
Why does this somehow remind me of ‘feeding the chipmunks’ from 2005/2006
Snip from article -
The Finches had lived on their quiet North Toronto cul-de-sac for 10 years. They purchased their house for $265,000 and were selling it for more than $600,000.
“It really was a fantastic neighbourhood. People would be on their porches, the kids would be out playing …”
So when a single person submitted the highest bid, the Finches decided instead to go with a young couple recently arrived from Ireland with children. The difference in price wasn’t huge, “a few thousand,” says Finch.
“Frankly, we just felt guilty that we were getting more money than we expected for the home. I think it must be awful to be in the buyer’s position, where you’re constantly competing with other people.”
This will end well.
Leigh
Yeah should have told the couple that renting was a better deal…and stick it to the wannabe trump.
Too bad they don’t read this blog…
Did they just admit to housing discrimination?
Discrimination of that sort may be legal in Canada.
That kind of thing was common a few years ago here in California. I know a couple who got a house in 2004 because they enclosed a cover letter “written by their dog” on their offer, knowing that the sellers had a dog. Gag.
The “chipmunks” are alive and well north of the border as evidenced by this article in the Globe and Mail.
Frankly, I don’t think policymakers in the U.S. or Canada learned anything from the real estate wipeout. They’re doing their darnedest to repeat history even before it’s fully played out the first time.
All they know is: easy money, high debt = good. Saving and building real wealth = bad.
Apparently the new debate on bribed TV is that if the Government can’t stop fraud with home tax incentives programs than they can’t run National Health Insurance.
The point is I don’t think Congress/Senate cared if fraud was committed
with the give-a-way .The objective is to sell homes with little skin in the game and transfer the risk to the taxpayers by government insured loans .
The powers that be made a choice not to bust the corrupt systems ,which
included the REIC ,so this is what you get .
Anybody shocked at the fall in the stock market yesterday ? The Cheerleaders acted shocked and dismayed ,but heck ,the Casino doesn’t make them money unless you get movement up or down .
Up AND down movement is the best for them. The Market Makers, thanks to insider info, computer traders, and a heaping of corruption, can rig the market and win every bet. They do this by taking the money from people’s 401k’s - people who are still thinking “buy and hold” is a viable strategy.
You know, as I grit my teeth and listen to my assorted representatives on high talk about this exciting and “-completely- unexpected” extension of the housing credit, I can’t help but get angry. But hey, they say, this is the “last time”, they won’t be extending this one again, no sir-ee, this is it. It’s the biggest sale since the last sale, prices low low values so big houses are literally flying off the lot, don’t wait, don’t hesitate, we buy from the factory and sell direct to you, through a middle man, making us thousands, the early bird gets the worm and the late worm still gets served, this deal absolutely ends saturday (this deal may be extended through tuesday)!
I am imagining a better world, a world in which every representative of our government walks around with a large robotic arm and hand hanging off their back for the sole purpose of letting American’s remotely slap them every time they do something asinine.
I am imagining a better world, a world in which every representative of our government walks around with a large robotic arm and hand hanging off their back for the sole purpose of letting American’s remotely slap them every time they do something asinine.
Oooooh, I like that. How about a speaker system too, so folks like NYCboy and FPSS could verbally abuse them while they’re getting smacked…
I like that idea. Nobody does verbal assault better than those two New Yorkers.
I can’t believe it. I’m doing this from work. I’m addicted to the HBB.
“But hey, they say, this is the “last time”, they won’t be extending this one again, no sir-ee, this is it.”
I said here a few weeks back that _every_ time they extend it, they will swear up and down that this is the “last time”.
The credit would not serve its intended purpose without the false sense of urgency.
As I left home driving down valley, there wasn’t a street that didn’t have an OPEN house sign on the corner, way away from said SFR(s)
Even on the main drag. As if, someone driving down the highway says, ‘oh george/gertrude, pull over quick this might be THE house I have been looking for’.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,570613,00.html?test=latestnews
I cannot believe the news is listing him as “murdered”. He shot at officers, he resisted….He got the result…
Here is where we as americans take a stand. We cannot let this type of Islamic idiot take over our nation.
The FBI says he resisted arrest inside a warehouse and fired a gun.
To me, he is no different than Waco or any other religious nutcase.
government describes Abdullah as a leader of a national radical Sunni group that wants to create an Islamic state within the U.S. The FBI says he had extreme anti-government views and encouraged followers to commit violence.
There’s that phrase again, “Islamic state”….
Americans better WAKE UP. The war is on our BORDERS and within our communities…..
Here is where it begins…We must stand up for our culture, our nation and OUR way of life. Political correctness will only destroy our nation and give our enemies a foothold in our nation…
I apologize as I get passionate with this and I refuse to sit and watch as our nation is infected with this disease.
Understand, it isnt Islam I am against, it is the extremist vision this man represented.
Step:
Then why didn’t we blow up Saddam ’s mosque? And kill his mullah?
Its a religious JIHAD….and we just can’t find the guts to admit it.
PS Step check on my handle…a 70 year old DJ….you would be proud.
————————————————–
Political correctness will only destroy our nation
for our culture
We can’t even seem to allow other US citizens the right to live their own lives, how can you state, ‘we have to protect our culture’?
Just asking, cause it seems cattywompous imho.
I dont’ like the extremes either, but “protecting our culture, our way of life” ..we just got voting rights for women and minorities/blacks -as history goes- Recently, and we JUST got a law passed saying that we can’t have hate crimes that go unpunished. WE still do not have equal rights for women, but we sure protect those tea bagging nut bags etc. I could go on, but I am watching the game now-distracting.
1) WTF does this pseudo journalism have to do with housing?
2) In what way does does this effect my day to day? I can assure you it doesnt.
3) What is your motivation for posting National Enquirer-like BS?
4) Are you unaware of the scores of websites better suited to this type of sanctimonious pandering?
I am going to assume the FBI is full of crap and waving the terrarist card to cover their ass. I will wait for the investigation.
I am going to assume that jim is full of cr@p.
Let me ask jim and exeter. With the Dems in control of both houses of CONgress and the WH, how come the Patriot Act hasn’t been repealed, or even amended?
(Wondering if it’s safe to hold my breath waiting for an answer.)
Well dinor, we could also ask , why hasn’t this administration gotten rid of the last adminsRW JUDGEs? ALL admins do that pretty quick. SO far, no one appointed by last admin had been given their pink slip.
We have to be very suspicious, and you have to become very suspicious too Step, of the potential to fan the flames of a big war against the “evil Muslims.” The premise will really be to bail us out of this economic depression. Barack wants so much to repeat what FDR did. Many people believe WWII got us out of the depression, although the stock market did not recover until 1953 what it lost since 1929.
In this case, I would want to be in the forests of northern New Hampshire away from chaos!
IMO, the official unemployment rates won’t come back down below 8% for a generation. We’ve Europeanized America since 2007. After socialized health care, the next item on the agenda will be 35 hour work weeks, $20 minimum wages, mandatory accumulative vacations that new employees will be able to continue accrueing at new companies, and so on. This will keep unemployment very high. The tradeoff will be high systemic unemployment or capitalism. Won’t be able to have both.
Oh, good. I can’t wait. I’m a recovering Republican. I want my universal Health care. I want my larger than life safety net. No sarcasm! Tax the rich! If they don’t like it, they can move to another country. Guatemala, or China comes to mind.
Umm…Tax the rich. Be honest and say what you really want to say: Tax the producers, ’til there are no producers no more. Then enjoy your paradise of America.
Sptn, I would be delighted to have you and your colleges return to the states and patrol the AZ/MX border. Mine it. I don’t care. Much more benefit would be accomplished.
My college cannot return to the states unless it uproots, flies over to another country, then returns back. An awesome sight that would be.
you win. I can’t spell for sh*t. Colleges, Colleagues, toe-may- toe, toe- mah -toe.
I still say mine it.
In the Waco case, he went running and into town every day. They could easily arrested him at any time. Instead, Janet Reno decided to ambush the place and burn it down, attacking it with tanks and helicopters IIRC. Big difference. The US gov’t killed all those people. On purpose.
So why don’t we have the guts to do the same to radical muslims who want to destroy america?
No matter how radical the speak is, we have to let him speak it in the name of religion.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I have to fight for his right to speak all the shit he wants. Just like I will fight if they were to ban his religion.
I never said I wanted to ban his religion just destroy his mosque. The evil is in the mosque not the person
Now do you get why we just don’t have the guts to fight a religious jihad over there?
————–
I have to fight for his right to speak all the shit he wants. Just like I will fight if they were to ban his religion.
Let me add peter
I believe your thinking (and most americans)…and that kind of tolerance has cost 4000+ lives over there.
They have no tolerance yet we don’t play by their rules and we have wars that will not end. If they want a religious jihad welll let give it to them and see how they like it.
That wouldn’t be politically correct. Which of course, is the problem.
I did a paper on Waco about 15 years ago. There was a lot of talk about BATF being disbanded / folded into FBI at the time, in the wake of some personnel scandals. BATF were looking for a big win to show their worth, and they fixated on the Davidians. Lenderoflastresort hits it on the head — there were multiple chances to take down Koresh on his runs into town…but they chose the camera-friendly dramatic raid story arc and when the little sheeple decided to fight back it escalated until the government murdered 75 people including about 25 kids.
I’m not saying this guy was or wasn’t a terrorist, I’m just saying sometimes innocent people and organizations get caught up in the machinery of the government’s obsessions.
Observation this past week, driving back from my client in Salt Lake, along 21st south -
A couple of people dressed as purple monkeys were frantically waving a sign out by the curb in front of a house converted into a business, encouraging people to sell their gold to them. I don’t know how legit the business is but it’s been there for a while.
I’m certain this says something about investor psychology and/or the general level of desperation out there, but I’m not really sure what to make of it. Thought I’d just pass it along. And no, I’m not making this up, nor have I ever experimented with the hallucinogens.
A couple of people dressed as purple monkeys were frantically waving a sign
Was it Bernanke and Geithner?
I’d expect Bernanke and Geithner to dress up as orangutans instead of monkeys. You know- red ass and all….
Sorry, Ol’Bubba. Orangutans don’t have red asses. Baboons do.
And probably Bernanke and Geithner do too! But I’d really rather not find out.
A good sign to sell gold.
Many people see the Cash-For-Gold and other buy-and-melt business proliferation as being a sign of the market top for gold; I would equate it more to the stage of housing bubble where developers were out there paying higher and higher prices for raw land.
Right now, most common people do not own any investment-grade gold. When the shoeshine boy starts discussion Krugerrands, Pamp bars, etc; then you can safely assume we have topped out.
I would agree, from a narrow market psychology point of view, this doesn’t indicate a top or near top for gold. Now if they were selling gold to J6P through these channels, in that case it clearly would.
To me, this type of operation has more in common with the “foreclosure-avoidance” industry. It’s just quick-buck artists preying on people who are in dire straits and desperate for cash.
Combotechie, call your office.
That, plus the fact that they offer about 1/3 of the melt value, and people really have no idea what its worth.
Yes, I agree 100%. There’s no shoeshine boy for miles here. But my colleagues at work are engineers and they never talk about gold. They talk stocks. One is in his early 30s and is interested in international funds.
In the 90s the talk among the cubicles was dot com stocks. That was the time to bail out and get into Series I bonds and real estate.
Far more upside for gold ahead. But hedge it with Series I savings bonds.
Bill what’s the best way to buy those? series I that is
http://www.treasurydirect.gov for electronic bonds (bonds bought on-line) of series I. There is a link on the page “Open an Account”.
I also like to buy bonds in paper form. You can do that from your bank and fill out a purchase request form. I buy both electronic and paper I bonds in the years when the fixed rate is above 1%. Maximum purchase limit is $5k for electronic form and $5k for paper form, totalling $10,000 in a calendar year.
Try this: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/indiv.htm
a funny side note: I have bought bonds here, via Mastercard, and gotten frequent flyer miles as a bonus! Don’t know if it still works, but how messed up is that?
I didn’t think that worked anymore. I use do to the same. I have to check up on that.
“A couple of people dressed as purple monkeys were frantically waving a sign out by the curb in front of a house..”
Olygal HAS been AWOL for a couple of days…
mikey — Captain of the Flying Monkeys
encouraging people to sell their gold to them ??
Full page ad’s recently here offering to buy any Jewelry, coins etc…
The gold bugs are waving signs on the street in Orlando too!
Strange, there is a small storefront in a strip mall here that has been vacant for 2+ years. It recently opened as a ‘Gold Buyer’ with one small countertop.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I posted an article about the Imam who was shot by the FBI yesterday. In my haste in posting it, I relooked at the article. Alot of what is alleged against the man is said by the FBI. I should have withheld judgement until the facts are out. We are presumed innocent, even if we fire on police first.
I stand by my statements though, radical islam is a disease that is infecting our nation, and we must wake up to stop it…
Clarification,
I posted that article today, the taliban have intercepted it from Ben’s blog. It should be up soon….
There is like 3 radical Muslims in this country, and MILLIONS of radical christian fundie wackjobs. Priorities people, priorities.
Yes, for now, i’m afraid of the Christian social conservatives. I had a run in with that type and they scared the blank out of me. I cannot explain the details. But I can no way vote for any Republican who panders to that crowd.
I had a Muslim girlfriend in the late 1990s. She was the most honest woman and kindest woman I ever met. She was not devout - she’d be executed if she was from Saudi Arabia for being with me. However not all Muslims are bad. Moderate and liberal Muslims are quiet because they are the minority and they would be executed in their countries for speaking out against conservatism.
I am happy I can speak out against conservatism in the U.S.
I am happy I can speak out against ANYTHING in the U.S.
Radical banking is a disease that is infecting our nation, and we must wake up to stop it…
Yeah,I see how theres thousands of Muslims standing out front of my house trying to forcibly convert me right now. I’m sooooo scared!!
/I hope you guys are giving the idiots trying to get evolution out of schools the same hard time as you give to your imaginary Muslim hordes. Not even gonna start on the scientologists.
How many radical christians are out there trying to forcibly convert you?
More than you’d know. Daily.
radical islam is a disease that is infecting our nation, and we must wake up to stop it…
Radical religion is a disease, islam at this point is just the most destructive strain.
Now that Nikita Kruschev, Uncle Ho, and Bad–Badman Saddam are all pushing up dasies and old Fidel Castro and his little Commie buddies are all sucking Geritol and nursing age spots, maybe the Hords of Radical Islamists we stirred up is ALL we got !
Hey…what’s AMERICA without a good Boogeyman or two…or a whole Hord of them banging at the Gates ?
Sheesh…What do you people WANT ?
Silly National Health Care or good old Endless Wars ?
How about neither?
I vote for neither. Are we America or are we a bunch of little girls who cannot handle eventual end of life?
“I want neither.”
Auh yes ..It’s great to be among the select few of the American Dream crowd of the Horatio Alger myth.
The ones, that without help from family assets, wealth, gifts or any assistance of any kind, rose at a tender age from rags to riches and earned “theirs.”
Yes, to be among the select few self-made men that can say I’m somewhat rich or wealthy without saying “I didn’t my money the old fashioned way, I didn’t GET or INHERIT a dime !” “I earned it all by myself”.
…and some, they actually…..believe IT !
I want free health care and an 80% tax on the income (Like it used to be), including capital gains, on the top earners, say over 5 million dollars. It can be like a graduated tax. I listened to these sheisters for 10 years, and I’ve come to realize that it’s time to tax them. They can move if they like, but we should protect our own. Tax the rich! Dare them to move to wherever their lawyers can’t protect them. See how they like it!
Excellent post, Lender. I had to read it twice to get the sarcasm. Done with a stiletto, not a bludgeon. Bravo!
Radical religion is a disease, islam at this point is just the most destructive strain.
You are correct…
It’s not moderate muslims I am against, it’s just that they dont reign in their extreme parts effectively enough…
they dont reign in their extreme parts effectively enough…
Oh, and we reign ours in so well? Pffft.
We’ve got really really bad drug gangs infiltrating us from Mexico, and gangs all over the big cities, and radical “christians” murdering whomever they prefer -in or out of a church, and so on.
I think we have our hands full, but no one is really focused. Just make sure we get no bids contracts for Halliburton/KBR and Blackhorn/stone/rock or whatever it is call, which is owned and run by a radical “christian” man a la Amway.
+1
2nd only to radical “christians”. Here at least.
I stand by my statements though, radical islam is a disease that is infecting our nation,
The war being waged against the constitution is our biggest threat. It is being waged by Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and Washington D.C. George Bush and now Barack Obama have been the commanders in chief for the armies aligned against the constitution. Does the constitution allow for 7 year wars in Asia where there is clearly no concept of victory? I would think no.
In an earlier post you typed, “We must stand up for our culture, our nation and OUR way of life.” In the 1940s and 1950s a bunch of guys in white sheets were saying similar things. Defend the constitution and the bad things will generally take care of themselves. The essence of the Civil Rights movement was to ensure the constitution was upheld for ALL people. We need to get back to that.
Ignore the constitution and we get to the point where we are today. Heck, just rein in the CIA and we would have a whole lot less to worry about or have we forgotten their part in the Afghanistan mess and even Iran? It is sad that people that call for living by the constitution are seen as unpatriotic. I guess my point is that this mess is all about the constitution and not about a couple religious fanatics running around in the U.S.
Well put.
Aye Aye!
It’s one thing to prefer everyone to agree to live a certain way. Morality and culture is not like a sock - one size fits all. If but the average American can be chivalrous and presume each stranger is a friend before knowing that stranger, we’d be way ahead of the game. Being chivalrous and kind is not saying you should be a victim of parasites.
It’s not just the federal level attacking our Constitutional rights. It’s being done at the state level. Many new crime laws are being made on peaceful mutual agreements between two people in states these days. These laws are made by lawmakers in both Republican and Democrat parties at the state level. This has been more frightening to me than the federal level. Some new misdemeanor laws with mandatory jail sentences are also being moved to felonies.
Naysayers can laugh all they want, but eventually laws will be made against some of their victimless activities too. This American society is oversaturated with laws. It’s a dictatorship by legislature.
+100
“The war being waged against the constitution is our biggest threat.”
Absolutely.
“The war being waged against the constitution is our biggest threat.”
You should join the Oath Keepers
http://oathkeepers.org/oath/
Muggy: after reading their website I doubt if oathkeepers is what NYCityBoy has in mind. Their top priority is guns, and I’m suspicious at their statement that they have had a spike in new members this year. Why this year?
And Zydeco music is all about being inclusive, people having fun together black white rich poor….
——————————
The essence of the Civil Rights movement was to ensure the constitution was upheld for ALL people. We need to get back to that.
All the sluts and easy money makes the radical islam pretty much like radical baptists.
Yeah. Maybe that’s what god wants, but it will have to wait till after I’ve gotten laid/stoned/declared bankrupcy/laid again/rehabed/relapsed and fathered a child out of wedlock. Possibly with a rich china girl.
Relax dude. We got plenty of christian whack jobs that want Jesus declared our national savior too.
Ease up cowboy.
There are 50 million odd islamic radicals but that is small percentage of the population. Let human nature and the FBI do there jobs.
Rents Negotiable - NOE VALLEY NEWS, SAN FRANCISCO (March 2009)
“I am getting slightly less than I used to,” said J.J. Panzer, a broker and property manager with Real Management Company on Castro Street. “I used to get euphorically great rents. Now, it’s pretty darn good, not euphoric.”
Joan Cooper of the Rental Source listed a remodeled two-bedroom flat on 23rd Street for $2,795. She dropped the price twice last month in $100 increments to $2,595–and was still awaiting a renter at press time.
Cooper said landlords today are open to negotiating with prospective tenants.
“If you have a good candidate for a rental and they want to negotiate a little bit, I say negotiate,” Cooper said. “[But] I don’t think tenants should give landlords insulting offers.”
“If you have a good candidate for a rental and they want to negotiate a little bit, I say negotiate,” Cooper said. “[But] I don’t think tenants should give landlords insulting offers.”
After all, they’re not going to give them away!
(Ok, so if the bitter renters are now demanding lower rents will that makeus the bitterer renters?)
“If you have a good candidate for a rental and they want to negotiate a little bit, I say negotiate,” Cooper said. “[But] I don’t think tenants should give landlords insulting offers.”
Insulting? Oh dear.
Present company excepted. Am I the last person alive that can do math? Just lower the rent and get it occupied!
2795×12 = 33540 (rented 12 months at original price, but not rented)
2595 * 11 = 28545 (rented 11 months at new price, but not rented)
2500 * 12 = 30,000 (rented 12 months at steep discount, rented?)
Hopefully we can get ours lowered after being such good tenants.
Keeping fingers crossed. I don’t want to pack up, but will. Been there, done that…again.
Optimism in SF. Many believe prices are trending up. In the long run, I think headed back down. No jobs = no money.
FILLMORE NEWS (SF, October 2009)
The fall market remained strong with 26
closings, up 10 percent from last month. And
with 3.8 months supply of housing inventory,
the local market continues to show signs of
recovery.
In reviewing the current sales, 3098 Pacific is
one that stands out. The home has been in the
same family for more than 45 years. It received
several offers immediately after coming on
the market, and while the sales price was not
disclosed, it is said to be over the $3.6 million
asking price.
Another home, near the Presidio
at 2851 Filbert (left), was also owned by one
family for an extended period of time. Given its
modest condition and oversized lot, it seems
likely the house will be razed and a new one
built. The property sold just over the asking
price, but it was a probate sale, thus the relative
bargain at $1.8 million.
Just up the street, 1908 Filbert, a condo, also sold at $1.75 million, considerably below the initial asking price.
So now you know: A couple of million will buy a teardown — albeit on a great piece of land — or a 3,100 sq. ft. condo.
I’ve also observed that the September numbers in the AV were pretty good, all things considered. I attribute it to last call for closing before the tax credit expires. Dollars per sqft. continues it’s downward trend.
Tax credit has to be paid back, right? Really a loan.
Only if you sell the house too soon. It was a paid back in the first iteration, but the second has no payback unless the house is sold in under 3? years.
Thanks, uptick. Those rents tell me that we still have a long way to go in this bust.
i read the health care debate on hbb pages for pst few days.
Any one has read “our daily meds” by melody petersen?
It has all inner workings of the world of patented medicines, marketing ,reseach etc. How research has become tools of marketing etc.
A must read for those who are interested in this debate.
For ex i read that till 1980s all the discoveries made using federal dollars were in public domain, no was allowed to patent and profit from their findings. it changed in 1980s when “our” govt allowed this to be patented and there goes the use of public money for private profits.
There is lot more about the how scientists, reviewers etc are being paid as consultants and thus compromising their independence when it comes to publishing research in well regarded journal.
Universities, often funded by public dollars, are now patenting more research results and enforcing them against US companies.
I know a case where Company A gave large sums of money to University B. University B used the money and patented the results, and then enforced those patents against Company A!
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
There are many reverse examples as well.
Huh? Are you saying a university donated millions of dollars to a private company?
Remind me again who was the president during the 80s and the champion of “privatization?*”
(*code for “give all my buddies and their companies the government money in the name of smaller government.”)
Let me help. Was it the gipper?
I am just doing a bunch of things around the apartment. I have Goodfellas playing in the background. The scene where they arrest Robert DeNiro and Paul Sorvino just took place. As they were arresting these guys somebody in the background said:
“Why don’t you guys go down to Wall Street and arrest some real f—ing crooks?”
That movie was from 1990 and the scene was supposed to be taking place in the early ’70s. That street has always been a crime scene.
I like the scene where they slice the garlic with the razor blade but that’s just me.
I swear I had smellOvision at that moment…cooking garlic..
I had a scare today: I was tinkering with the car when I heard two muffled gunshots in my ‘hood. I called the sheriff and they had the whole ‘hood locked down in about 5 minutes. Nobody knows where it came from, but some of my other neighbors heard it. There was only one home that they couldn’t contact anybody in… I guess we’ll see in a few days if they’re reported missing.
The sniper set up in my front yard. That kinda freaked my wife out.
That describes my former neighborhood in Fresno. One of those places where section 8 moved in and the whole neighborhood changed overnight from peace into drug wars and “break dancing,” the precursor to cRAP “music.”
racist!
Huh?
Does saying that cRap music sux make one a racist? I guess I am one too, then…
The thing is, I don’t live in a bad area, but there has been a lot of nonsense all over Pinellas lately. Some dude did suicide by cop in a beach town the other day, and an old couple did murder-suicide a few months back just around the corner. There was no explanation, but the house is waterfront and ‘For Sale’
Any word on Oldsmar? I used to live there.
Roidy
BE Safe. Keep the kidlets low, bassinette on the floor. YIKES>
Pics yet?
“The sniper set up in my front yard. That kinda freaked my wife out.”
I hope she is okay now… and I bet you’re both glad you are renters!
Halloween update: neighbor across the street set out a bowl of candy last year - we assumed he didn’t want to answer the door. This year: no candy set out and the kicker is… he completely removed his doorbell!!!!
(Why didn’t he just hang up a sign?)
Cathedral City, 111 fwy,yesterday, driving by, lots of cops, lots o flashing lights, LOTS of yellow tape for half a block.
TV news. Some guy(s) unnamed got shot at the Luxury Auto Rental dealership. News said, murder/suicide, watch for it on tv!
“uptown living villa style,” as the REsters say…
I live near “The Villas of Lost Canyon,” condos that are crammed into the bottom of a narrow urban canyon; the upper part of the canyon is wild - trees and vines and rocks. They’ve built the condos in stages over several years. Each unit has two living floors on top of a 2-car garage: bedrooms on 2nd floor, living and kitchen on 3rd.
The sign in front says “2 remaining units” - they did kind of a countdown thing, but current MLS lists all five of the 2009 units (I think they were actually completed in 2008).
#18 2927 sq ft 3/3 $1,050,000
#19 3175 sq ft 3/3 $1,250,000
#20 2790 sq ft 2/3 $1,300,000
#21 3,057 sq ft 3/3 $1,400,000
#22 2,534 sq ft 2/2 $1,000,000
(MLS 654234, 6228634, 2115355, 9521529, 2571357)
There are two older units in MLS:
#12 2,458 sq ft 2/2 $650,000
#1 2,377 sq ft 3/3 $599,950
(MLS 5288967)
The address is 1529 Barton Springs Rd zip 78704 - if you google map it, you can kind of see how jammed in these units are (remember, they are in a canyon).
Oh, and despite the address, the villas don’t actually front Barton Springs Rd - their (only) entrance is around the corner on Kinney Ave, behind the Valero gas station on Barton Springs.
If you look at the RE photo for unit 1 (after the w-s, realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1529-Barton-Springs-Rd-Unit-1_Austin_TX_78704_1103693969), on the left, behind the Tuscan wall and the Tuscan trees, you can see the turquoise roof of the Valero station that stands between these villas and their prestigious Barton Springs Rd address!
I guess the reason that these last five units are more expensive is that they are farther from the Valero station, will have less traffic, and their top floors actually stick out above the canyon a little, allowing light and views - of Zilker neighbors’ backyards.
Now if that’s not worth $1.4 million, what is?
“The sniper set up in my front yard. That kinda freaked my wife out.”
Yeah..fore sure. Nothing like one of those guys to scare off the little “Trick or Treaters”
Offer to rent it to them, or tell them they are trespassing. You paid your taxes.
I submitted a long comment about some overpriced condos in my neighborhood. It may take a while to show up. (I hope it will show up - does including MLS numbers cause problems? I am certainly not engaging in the Sisyphean task of trying to sell $1 million+ condos behind a gas station to HBBers.)
Anyway, I just noticed that the developer of those condos is also the owner of a posh self-storage business towards the south end of the same neighborhood - across Lamar from the (excellent) Kinney and Lamar auto mechanics. It DOES have a more attractive facade and signage than your ordinary self-storage.
What a plan: sell them hugely expensive per square foot properties, then rent them storage space for their stuff (and fine wine and cigars).
the demand of the upscale market in the area
For those of you who know Austin, this posh self-storage is located on S Lamar about half way between Barton Springs Rd and Ben White Blvd (what used to be the heart of Bubbaville).
Molly Ivins [RIP], a resident, called South Austin “A Great Place to Buy Auto Parts.” Also saw the changes coming:
Dang I miss Molly. What a gift, a smart chic! Funny as he ll and said it like it was, always.
Wine storage: for those unclear on the concept of “You can buy it at the local store anytime.”
I don’t know if you’re on Allena, but here are a few more (one with great-grammy!)
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab205/muggyflo/Gigi.jpg
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab205/muggyflo/Kate1.jpg
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab205/muggyflo/Grammy.jpg
You made a good looking kid Muggy .
PRECIOUS. Simply wonderful! Congrats again and again. Please take a smell of your babies neck for me! ahhh , thanks.
Looks like my baby daughter when she was new — my son made the same observation w/o prompting (another way of saying you have a beautiful baby
).
The clincher — my wife even said it looks like our daughter
You weren’t in Tampa, like, ten months ago were you?
ROTFLMAO
Awww, Muggy, thanks for sharing the sweetness of your new little girl’s arrival with the likes of us curmudgeons. Try to get into her little mind for us if you can, and see what’s still hanging around in there from the last week or two before all the intrinsic knowledge in her newborn’s mind goes sputtering off into another realm of congnizance. Mine could identify enough memories back from “the inside” to spook me out at times. Recognizing Mozart, and Bach organ werken that I’d plaid with my belly resting on the sounding board during the last trimester was a real eye opener! Not only do they hear and process what we’re saying on the outside, they remember it after birth. Have a wonderful time with your beautiful little family wherever you go!
Congrats on another beautiful little golden life!
a
Wall Streeters can donate part of their bonuses to debt relief.
The children. Why, oh why, will no one think about the children?
Because they are snotty-nosed rags that need the liberating element of a 2×4 with a nail in it.
** giggle **
Nominees for the Stupid Burglar Tricks Award:
(U.K. Telegraph)
Matthew McNelly, 23, and Joey Miller, 20 were arrested by armed police in Carroll, Iowa, last Friday after witnesses reported seeing two men trying to break into an apartment with fake beards and “masks” scrawled on their faces.
Police responding to a call about the attempted burglary later pulled over a car matching the alleged suspects’ vehicle.
When they stopped their 1994 Buick Roadmaster, bewildered police discovered the drunk hapless pair – nicknamed “dumb and dumber” – complete with makeshift disguises.
Police issued-mugshots of the pair show the black ink scribbles on their faces, in what some commentators described as “the worst disguise ever”.
“We’re very skilled investigators and the black faces gave them right away,” local police chief Jeff Cayler told CNN.
“I have to assume the officers were kind of laughing at the time.
“I’ve never heard of colouring your face with a permanent marker.”
He added: “They probably were just not thinking straight and figured we’ll go out and scare the guy or whatever.
“[They were] being dumb and combine that with alcohol and it was the perfect storm.
“I’ve been chief here almost 25 years, been with the department 28½ years and I’ve seen a lot of things that make me laugh and weird things but this was probably the best combination of the two - strangely weird and hilariously funny all at the same time.”
He had earlier told Radio Iowa: “It’s a little weird.
“I’ve been here long enough that I’ve seen a lot of things, but this one’s a little different compared to most … I mean, just the face thing is what sets it apart.”
The men may have been under the influence of alcohol when they devised the idea for their disguises.
“For what it’s worth, it appeared they had both been drinking quite a bit and maybe weren’t thinking quite rationally,” Mr Cayler said.
McNelly and Miller were each later charged with attempted second-degree burglary and released on bail after appearing at Carroll County Magistrate Court on Monday.
McNelly was also charged with drunk driving.
Lawyers for the pair declined to comment.
The pair are due back in court next month.”
You be the judge: http://tinyurl.com/ygzm86t
HYSTERICAL..
You KNOW it will be on Leno -Monday. Has to be!
Would you recognize that face?
Great. JUST great.
Another note from a Nigerian connection. Whose sicced this on me anyway, Ed? LOL
My name is David Moore newly posted to Nigeria from the international monetary fund United Kingdom because of the fraudulent activities of some of the officials at the Central Bank of Nigeria and our United Kingdom office, I have been directed to observe the payment of foreign beneficiaries of contract fund and inheritance claim fund.
I observed a floating payment in your name here where I work as a supervisor but the payment was designated to:
Bank Name:UBS SA Bank Address:CASE POSTALE 2600.1211
GENEVE 2 SWITZERLAND Account Holder:REMY BOUZARD Bank
account No. USD:777180.60G Clearing:0240 Bank S W I F
T-BIC:UBSWCHZH80A Iban :CH26 0024 0240 7771 8060G
I decided to contact you because I observed that there is a power of attorney in your file authorizing the transfer of
SXXXXXXX X.: this fund to a Switzerland bank account but the signatures in the power of attorney is different from the signature in your file which is an illegal attempt to divert the fund to an account in Switzerland.
please confirm if you have authorized the transfer of this fund to the Switzerland Bank account as we have authorization to transfer fund to all beneficiaries of fund discounting all charge attached from the sources. If you have authorized your fund transferred to the above stated bank account, please contact me urgently.
Best Regards,
David Moore
Email is Dvidmoore234@gmail.com
Let the Dawgs out.
Go for it anyone. GIT HIM.
http://www.407eaters.com
Or it might be 401 eaters…a site dedicated to the nigerian scam..