Happy new years, beeches.

Im down for the count with the chest funk.
Not the Grand Funk chest funk.
Anyhoo, hope everyone has a good, safe night and that no hooker named Velvet shows up.
Unless you pre-paid for her.

Best year ever?

Feel free to add your own!

January - Party with Mr. Pennypacker (you're my boy Blue!), good times!
February - the Super Bowl wing ding, the gang gets together for the first time, people get to know people, friendships are forged, excellent times all around
March - The Voice of Reason runs her half marathon (and possibly gets impregnated, not at the same time), a return to Reynolds for the Pack!
April - V.o.R v.2.0 gets hitched, the blog almost gets an intern.
May - Cinco de Ocho, lots of 'ritas!
June - The first 300! 1.5 hours of love, followed by watching the movie at our house!
July - 5 years of marriage, each better than the last!
August -The 'guar starts his new Raleigh job! No more back and forths to/from Richmond.
September - Taking it back!
October - Bike rides on Sunday mornings, I run a 5k, and I have my funniest story of the year with the "I can't believe you're pregnant!" anecdote
November - Beating Carolina (although I was sick),We tailgate a marathon
December - Bebbee!

The best part, next year looks even better! We have another wedding, another birth, and untold surprises waiting around every turn (did I hear something about a bachelor party??).

Stay safe, have a wonderful evening, and we'll see you bitches in 2008!

Dilbert. Always Clever.

Cocoa Butter Manufacturers.... Get Ready!

The Perfect Pushup has been purchased.

I'm fairly certain

that this was in a House episode.

Very rarely do moviemakers cross the line....

and actually kill off children or pregnant women.
I have to give total mad props to the makers of AvPDeuce.
HFS.
Good times that more than made up for III, Resurrection & AvP.

Fucking baby flu. Curse you, C Monster.

You know I cant hate the cutest bebe on the whole planet, but M-F-er, did he pull a Britney Spears and hit me, baby, one more time with this nefarious dry hacking garbage.

Like being carbon neutral, only for affairs.

Doing my part to help some slimy bastard cheat on their spoose.

My baby loves me

This is what my love gives me today. I did not even know that this was out. It took about 12 minutes to set up and it is currently controlling my 360, Wega, and DVR. My woman also brought her surround sound with her but lost the remote in the move. I think that I will be hooking up the surround sound soon and programming that as well. You can customize everything. Even works with IR lighting. LINK

**********************************************************************************
Still a tard and am not understanding the CTRL+SHIFT+A thing. I highlight text then do the thing then paste address right? When I do that it just deletes my text and gives me an a

WTF!!! VH1, you're dead to me.

How in the holy hell can they rank "Freedom '90" the 102nd best song of the 90's?
F That.
#1 Beeches.
With a bullet.

Bah.
Ok, I'll give them "Smells like Teen Spirit" (Although "Alive" would be #1 if Cobain hadnt been murdered by his fucktard wife)

But "One" by U2 -- sorry boyos. Anyone who was actually alive through the 90's knows that "All I Want is You" defined them because of Reality Bites. And its was like 10 years old then. And its not #2. And since "Stay" is already on the list, RB should then ALSO have "Add it up", but thats ALSO like 10 years too old. And "My Sharona". And the shitty Frampton cover. COME ON!!! Is this Best of the 80s ???

Speaking of soundtracks that defined the 90s, WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE SONGS FROM "SINGLES" !!!!
Would?
Breathe?
Seasons?
Crown of Thorns?
State of Love & Trust ?
And to give mad props to the shitty Frampton cover, Battle Of Evermore by the band formerly know as Heart, the original Seattle sound, but they knew how shitty a cover they had made so they changed to the Lovemongers.

And as for the overall album that I will look back and say "Wow. Good shit."
You know it, you love it. TotD.

Anyone who grew up in the 90s that DOESNT have at least one top 10 favorite song of all time off of that album is probably a commie, and most likely a retard.

Anyhoo -- reading the list is like reading a Whos-Who of musical guest stars on 90210.

IMNSHO, the best of the Badger.

RttH on Expert

Favorite line -- Jews were "persecuted"

Will Smith says something stupid. Please don't be shocked.

Merry Christmas!

Dont even try to F with the Admir0l.

So this jackass at work has been busting Deez about cutting out @ 3:55. My logic was - I get here at 7:45, but ... whatever. 4 PM it is.

Well, here is the tete-a-tete via Email, and then Gee absolutely pwning him.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
From: Admir0l, Rear
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2007 9:40 AM
To: Mr. X
Subject: Heads up on my schedule

Just in case you actually wanted to get work done instead of worrying about me using the bathroom, getting ice, or going home, here is my approximate schedule for the day:
10 AM – Ice & bathroom
Noon – Ice & bathroom
2 PM – Ice & bathroom
4 PM, on the nose – going home.


Thanks

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

From: MR. X
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2007 9:41 AM
To: Admir0l, Rear
Subject: RE: Heads up on my schedule

Great! Thanks for the heads up... One correction, when did you get in?
Thank you,
Mr. X
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
From: Admir0l, Rear
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2007 9:58 AM
To: Mr. X
Subject: RE: Heads up on my schedule

This is in the mail, should be here next week.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
From: Mr. X
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2007 10:00 AM
To: Admir0l, Rear
Subject: RE: Heads up on my schedule

So you started at 10?

Thank you,
Mr. X
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

From: Admir0l, Rear
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2007 10:02 AM
To: Mr. X
Subject: RE: Heads up on my schedule

Yes, I work on the Sao Paula CMC clock. But I also follow daylight savings time.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
So, while I was back & forthing w. Mr. X, Gee was busy w. MS Paint.

Sorry its almost over.

Happy late Festivus.

Is it too late for a Festivus miracle ???

Feats of strength, anyone ?

Kenny Vs Spenny

This is a spinoff of the BBC version Ed Vs Spencer. They basically take two guys who have been best friends since childhood and put them in the same house and then have weekly competitions. So far the competitions have been:
-Who can blow the biggest fart
-Who can eat the most meat
-Who can go the longest without using their hands
-Who can go the longest without getting a boner

This week it is Who can stay tied to a goat the longest. This one comes on tonight on comedy central.
Upcoming episodes are:
-Who can make the best viral video
-Who can handle more torture
-First guy to get a stain loses (apparently they wear all white then then do weird shit)
-First guy to stop singing loses
-Who can be obese the longest
-Who can commit the most/largest crime

Seriously funny if you like this kind of stuff. Not for the squeamish. Enjoy.

Some of the past episodes are on the on demand comedy central channel 540.

Gotta love the tubes

If I were on south park this is what I would look like.

Funniest thing.... ever. Really. Truly.

Carolina football players get "sexually assaulted" - by 2 ladies & 1 dude with a knife.

Greatest Quote....Evah???

"Jamie and her mom both said this was shocking, which means one of us need to look up the term "shocking". Because I don't think they're using it the way the person who invented the term shocking meant it to be used. I think he meant it to mean like if you're sleeping and someone whacks you in the balls with a shovel. I think he meant, like, "surprising". "Unexpected". Like if you saw a unicorn. But some bony teen getting on top of a Spears girl and nervously fucking her then not pulling out and getting her pregnant? Yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right."

BTW -- the young man.... 19.
Dude.
Dude!
DUDE!
Jesus. Whats the world coming to.

Live Blogging the arrival of Kelly Hope!!!

1:00 PM 6 cm dilated, entering "hard labor", whatever that may be.

Site admin/daddy notice

4:00 PM - Quote of the day from my wife, "I can honestly say, this is truly horrible."


Some pics are up in the slideshow, for those interested.

Lame. These dudes are like 15 years behind.

And anyway, who the fuck plays Mortal Kombat anymore???

They call him... Dalton. *Not politics, just funny.

He'll solve all of our problems with a round house kick then make sweet love to his wife of the roof of the White House.

Have you been Elfed yet?

Apparently, me, Ravi, Gee & Rory have.

Why I dont waste time reading Time

NEW YORK (AP) — Time magazine on Tuesday named Russian President Vladimir Putin its "Person of the Year."

The 2007 honor went to the Russian leader because of Putin's "extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos and bringing it stability," said Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor.


Ummm.... not one to be picky, but isnt he sort of a Thug-o-crat?
Isnt there someone else who performed an "extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos and bringing it stability" ?
I know, generally you would expect this to be a posthumous award to Reagan.
But I was thinking Gen. Petreaus.

Greatest day EvAh ???

Good news -- IM from my manager !!!

BP(09:11:40): hey not sure If i gave you this note but your not required to take off next week ..you're welcome to come ..or enjoy your time off
KH(09:11:49): NICE!!!!

I was chatting with one of you tonight about pro wrestling...

and more specifically, Ric Flair...here's what 'The E' had planned for him, which would have been awesome, even at his advanced age.

The Wrestling Observer revealed the extensive plans that were originally considered for this angle, which was initially pitched by Steve Austin directly to Vince McMahon after WrestleMania 23. That would have led to Flair being brought over from Raw in the draft and the ensuing plan, primarily booked by Bauer and Vince, was to run as follows... Flair would be taken off TV for a few weeks as they ran highlights of his greatest moments to build to his Smackdown debut. He would then have challenged Khali for the World Heavyweight Title at Saturday Night's Main Event in August. It would have been built up as a major event, with numerous comments from other legends and the Flair family about his chances of winning the title, similar to the Flair/Vader match from Starrcade 1993. Flair would have arrived at the arena in a limo, cut a promo, get some offense in but ultimately lose the match. He would refuse to speak to any interviewers afterwards and no-show Smackdown the next week. The announcers would have hyped a Flair interview the following week, mentioning rumours that he was going to announce his retirement. When the time came he would say that if he could no longer be the old Ric Flair then he would indeed retire, since he wanted people to remember him the way he was rather than what he had become. He would have then challenged himself, saying that the next time he lost, it would indeed be his last match. He would then have gotten a few victories as more legends were brought in to make comments, with one of them actually criticising Flair. This would have lead to Flair challenging MVP for the US title at Unforgiven, only for the critical legend ,at one point slated to be Terry Funk, to interfere and cost Flair the title but giving him a DQ victory. This would then have lead to Mick Foley seconding Funk and building to a final Four Horsemen match at the Survivor Series as Flair brought them in to combat his foes. After that would have come Flair vs Foley at Armageddon, another legend opponent at the Royal Rumble, and then Flair entering Money in the Bank at WrestleMania. He would have then won it and challenged for the title that night. He would have lost that match, placed his robe and boots in the middle of the ring, and then walked off.

I thought of this when I was 5

Why can't I do this stupid link shit?

apparantly it does not come with plastic cover for couch nor a drain for floor.

Quit stealing my ideas


Note: I tried the whole CTRL + SHIFT + A thing and i just kept deleting my text. I think that I am retarded.

midterm hilarity

SO I've finally figured out why several of my freshman were blowing off the review days stopping short of playing cards during class.

morning of the test, I change the seats around as per usual exam order. I come back to find three clusters of kids - all around the 3 kids who do everything and do it right. There was nearly a riot when I made everyone move to more appropriate - distantly spaced from view seating.

The plan of 8 kids for exams was to copy from the kids who know the material - and I think a couple of the kids who knew were going to actively participate.

Then there was the no electronic rule to enforce (I really don't have a horse in the race, but I try to be consistent with the general feeling in the building: wanting to avoid the "mr herndon lets me, why don't you" fallouts.)

My prediction 5 passes and 10 failures of a 20% midterm. . .

yay scantron!

Merry Christmas. Beeches.

No politics? Check. No religion? Check. Fair enough. Anything goes on StRA.

Can he resist the SHINY RED BUTTON!!!!

A Sacramento County computer technician pleaded guilty today to trying to shut down California's power grid by pushing a button marked "Emergency Power Off," authorities said. Lonnie Charles Denison, 33, of South Natomas admitted in U.S. District Court in Sacramento that he went into a room at the Independent System Operator's data center in Folsom on April 15, broke a glass cover and pushed the button, prosecutors said. Denison, a contract employee at the data center, was upset with his employer, authorities said.

landscaping advice from covert and daylight gardeners?

So the drought defoliated the boxwoods in front of our porch. These shrubs provided ample cover for birds scouring feeder chaff and most importantly - cover for all the Caleb and Tom toys on the porch. (meaning Tom doesn't have to find some other place to store them :-)

Now that the fall is past and there's a little more groundwater around, the leaves haven't come back. Am I to assume that the shrubs are dead and make plans to compost them OR do I wait until spring to see if they are still viable before making plans to compost them.

Whatcha all got for me?

Iraq appears to be the new "bubble market".

[Iraq’s] $2.7 billion of 5.8 percent bonds due in 2028 returned 15.2 percent since July, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. index data. Only Ecuador’s debt gained more, rising 18 percent.” Iraqi bonds were trading at 55 cents on the dollar last August, with an 11.5 percent yield. Today, they have rallied to 64 cents, bringing the yield down to 9.9 percent. U.S. money managers are saying these are the hottest bonds in the emerging market.

Really , truly - Greatest Day ever.

Mr. Halloween was looking for hardware documentation.

bu1481(12:05:32): do we have any documentation on Adtran's?
gb4406(12:05:42): negative
bu1481(12:05:49): wonderful
kh4796(12:06:03): check the Darpa Net
bu1481(12:06:11): ok
gb4406(12:06:12): ARPANet
kh4796(12:06:36): You say ARPA, I say DARPA. Arpa. Darpa.Darpa.Arpa. Lets call the whole thing off!

After fruitlessly searching ....

Brandon(12:08:34): Gee man, you have a link to this ARPANet ?
Brandon(12:08:43): I found one but all it says is "Welcome"

Ummm... good luck to the Curser

Boston just got 12 inches of snow.
Now, some of us think getting 12 inches of anything is good - but snow isnt deer sausage, beeches.

Cops apparently dont care what white guys do

Especially @ midnight, if they are carrying a shovel and wearing a back pack.
Thats right, beeches.
Midnight gardening !!!
Scored some black eyed susans.

Uh... thats a negative Ghost Rider. Pattern is full.

So only Sweet Dee ever answered .....

the "Favorite Song EvAH" bleg.
Anyone ?
Anyone ?

Getting back to StRA roots. Toby !!!

Currently 20% through a 300.

Pull ups - check
Dead lifts - check
Push ups - check
Box Jumps - check
Floor sweepers - check
Clean & Press - check

Needless to say, on this near 1 year anniversary of buying "The Apparatus", and I am demonstrably stronger than I was at this point last December.
Or even last March.

Beeches.
Anyone who feels like bringing me some beer gets will be an angel.

***SITE ADMIN NOTE ***
HFS - umm... very, very, very sore this morning.
Alcohol fueled workouts are great at the time but payback is hell.

Love the tubes.

From the Memoirs of Marriner Eccles, Chairman of the Frederal Reserve 1934-1948

As mass production has to be accompanied by mass consumption, mass consumption, in turn, implies a distribution of wealth -- not of existing wealth, but of wealth as it is currently produced -- to provide men with buying power equal to the amount of goods and services offered by the nation s economic machinery. (emphasis in original) Instead of achieving that kind of distribution, a giant suction pump had by 1929-30 drawn into a few hands an increasing portion of currently produced wealth. This served them as capital accumulations. But by taking purchasing power out of the hands of mass consumers, the savers denied to themselves the kind of effective demand for their products that would justify a reinvestment of their capital accumulations in new plants. In consequence, as in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing. When their credit ran out, the game stopped.

That is what happened to us in the twenties. We sustained high levels of employment in that period with the aid of an exceptional expansion of debt outside of the banking system. This debt was provided by the large growth of business savings as well as savings by individuals, particularly in the upper-income groups where taxes were relatively low. Private debt outside of the banking system increased about fifty per cent. This debt, which was at high interest rates, largely took the form of mortgage debt on housing, office, and hotel structures, consumer installment debt, brokers' loans, and foreign debt. The stimulation to spending by debt-creation of this sort was short-lived and could not be counted on to sustain high levels of employment for long periods of time. Had there been a better distribution of the current income from the national product -- in other words, had there been less savings by business and the higher-income groups and more income in the lower groups -- we should have had far greater stability in our economy. Had the six billion dollars, for instance, that were loaned by corporations and wealthy individuals for stock-market speculation been distributed to the public as lower prices or higher wages and with less profits to the corporations and the well-to-do, it would have prevented or greatly moderated the economic collapse that began at the end of 1929.

The time came when there were no more poker chips to be loaned on credit. Debtors thereupon were forced to curtail their consumption in an effort to create a margin that could be applied to the reduction of outstanding debts. This naturally reduced the demand for goods of all kinds and brought on what seemed to be overproduction, but was in reality underconsumption when judged in terms of the real world instead of the money world. This, in turn, brought about a fall in prices and employment.

Unemployment further decreased the consumption of goods, which further increased unemployment, thus closing the circle in a continuing decline of prices. Earnings began to disappear, requiring economies of all kinds in the wages, salaries, and time of those employed. And thus again the vicious circle of deflation was closed until one third of the entire working population was unemployed, with our national income reduced by fifty per cent, and with the aggregate debt burden greater than ever before, not in dollars, but measured by current values and income that represented the ability to pay. Fixed charges, such as taxes, railroad and other utility rates, insurance and interest charges, clung close to the 1929 level and required such a portion of the national income to meet them that the amount left for consumption of goods was not sufficient to support the population.

This then, was my reading of what brought on the depression.

END of quote from Eccles, pages 76 to 78

George Bush hates peer reviewed journals.

And armored polar bears.

Hate to be the wet turd on the prom dress

Any updates wrt the bachelor party ?
Redeeming miles works best when done far ahead of time.

Housing Drama for Today

All along, I thought the subprime bailout was mindless BS but it turns out to be savy in a sneaky Dick Cheney kind of way.

Here's the summary:
1)Banks committed fraud to give so many sub prime borrowers a mortgage (i.e. inflated incomes or home values)
2) The banks sold these loans to others - hedge funds, pension funds, European banks, 401k, etc. - to make a profit without worrying about the effect of inflating incomes on mortgage defaults
3) The subprime mortgage transaction includes a throwaway clause that said if fraud was committed, the bank would have to buy back the mortgages at full face value
4) But due to the widespread fraud and housing bubble, these loans are worth something like 10% of the face value. If the banks had to buy back every subprime mortgage at face value, the losses would exceed the value of every major bank, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FDIC Insurance combined.
5) And for the Bush bailout plan to be followed, the current owner (hedge fund) of the loan has to recheck all the facts on the original application and then agree to change the loan terms with the home owner
6) Once the current owner (hedge fund) changes the terms of the loan, it becomes very difficult for them to force the original bank to buy the loan back based on the fraud argument. The new owner (hedge fund) got an even more recent statement about the home buyer's income and finances and then 'chose' to refinance.
7) The US banking system is saved from law suits forcing them to buy back their crappy subprime loans at a huge, huge loss. The US economy and its banks are saved but retirees in Florida no longer get pension fund payments.

The long version of this is available at the below link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/09/IN5BTNJ2V.DTL&ref=patrick.net

I know, I'm an amazing lame ass for not linking this but I just can't figure it out.

Stay classy, you British cock-knockers.

The overwhelmingly British crowd of 16,500 booed the Star Spangled Banner, all but drowning out the voice of actor and R&B star Tyrese Gibson.

That contrasted with the Brits' enthusiasm when they sang along with Tom Jones, who performed "God Save the Queen.'"

At least I have App State

Jeebus, I knew NC State's preseason ranking was overkill given that we have no point guards with even one game's worth of experience. But holy crap.

At least I have App State. And Greguar has Florida. I would rather have Florida. But one thing Florida doesn't have is a chance to win a third consecutive national championship in Football.

I'm definitely getting out to watch App State on Saturday. Anyone else want to come or make it a party of sorts?

F U, Sweet Dee. I cant believe you let it happen.

All so you could build a house instead of saving 3000 of our fellow Americans.

***Site Admin Note***
Please accept my apology for using meat-space name.

Boy we stink.

So at least Michigan State is a mildly perennial powerhouse with a couple of National Championships under their belt.
No shame in losing to them, even getting blown out.

But MOTHER FUCKING ECU!!!

Do our players need a sit down to understand that even if they weren't even conceived the last time we went all the way, they need to play with a modicum of pride.

From my non-coach POV, we turn the ball over way too much, we get scared of any inside pressure and dont have anyone that can drive in and then dish out.

All in all, we stink.

race results

taking a little more time to review the blog in the wake of the recent sweeping changes:

did the RA beat the man pushing the babies (were they babies or cabbage patch dolls)?

I was under the impression that this was an Elvis themed race, yet the RA is a lone hunka hunka lovin' in provided photos. . .

desire for beer sets of quest for border crossing

desire to dress like a pop idol sends right winger very close to the left coast?

just sayin'

Taking the Blog back to its Roots. TOBY!!!

***SITE ADMIN NOTE***
Changes have been made to the blog -- Just trying to keep it fresh & exciting.

Back on task.
So at some point in the past, Sweet Dee mentioned two things.
1) A liquor party to get a handle on what we would drink at his wedding.
and
2) A bachelor party in a certain metro area west of the Mississippi.

My question is -- is #2 going to turn out to be the Army-Navy of March '08 ???
Just want to get ahead of the curve.

As for #1, my immediate vote goes for Tequila Sunrises.
Poll added above - Enjoy!

Why did you guys hold out on me???

Years and years I have known most of you, and no one ever convinced me to microwave my bacon. Not a euphemism.

Poll

Does Tray Deee's economy rants make you want to throw a turd at him? Do you want it to stop?

One More post

For the best compilation of data and articles on this, see http://patrick.net/housing/crash.html

I guess it's time to justify my opinion:
1) BA/MA/PHD in Stats/Economics
2) Thesis in irresponsible credit use and its impacts
3) Spend 1-3 hours per day reading about this
4) Dad owns a construction business and I talk to him and his builder friends
5) I'm currently trying to refinance my house with 20% down, a 730 credit rating, and a mortgage payment less than 30% of my income. I can't get a loan and I've been trying since August (I have been accepted for loans by Citibank, Wachovia, and Bank of America but none of them have actually followed through on appraisals, etc.)
6) In May 2007, the credit industry actually let me borrow so much that my monthy payments exceeded my take home pay (I planned on that happening though)! Until the credit cruch there was no limit to how far into a hole these financiers will let you get.

This is seriously bad folks.

Housing Price Growth

It's hard to see here but the red lines are housing prices and the blue lines are GDP from 1945-2007. From 1945-1997, the two track identically with a little seperation in 1989 that was 'corrected' by 1993. But look at 2000! GDP grew at the historic rate (exponential) while housing prices doubled! For the correction, we need these two numbers to jibe again which means housing prices must return to 2001 values, or drop by 40%. This is the part of this that will be felt by builders and their employees. I don't have an exact estimate but in the tens of billions for sure. In Sourther California alone, there are 40,000 unoccupied brand new houses for sale or under construction. If they lose $150,000 each, the So Cal loses are $6billion.

My 40% is actually more optimistic than most housing bubble 'gloomers' because I think the economy will continue to grow while they think the entire financial system will collapse and the Great Depression II is starting.

But to you Raleigh residents, have not serious worries. There never was a housing bubble here so our current housing prices have tracked with local rents and income well. We don't need a correction, we just have to wait out this funk. Housing prices may slip a bit but more like 5% topps.

How long will housing correction last?

Here we have a chart of United States ARM resets as published by the World Bank. You can see that we're actually heading into sustained period of resets that will last 5 years. Housing prices can not grow until we're through this period. It will take another year for inventory to clear and then another 1-2 years for people to realize the worst is over.

When you add up all the resets, it comes to over $2 trillion in the between 2007 and 2011. The sub-prime portion of these resets is in the neighborhood of $500 billion. However, ALL of these resets will have problems because the home's value usually going to be lower than the outstanding mortgage balance. For anyone who took out a mortgage in California after 2001, it will literally be cheaper to go into foreclosure than manage to keep your house. Let's be conservative and say only 25% of these loans default. That is a hit of $500 billion to financers alone (to compare Citigroup is the largest financer worth $160 billion).

So I'm thinking $500 billion in losses to the banking industry and 1-2 major firms will collapse. All banks will suffer and the city of Charlotte will be hurt. Citibank has already declared on-the-books losses of $18 billion for Q3 & Q4 of this year. Their 2008 liabilities will be similar and they have another $41 billion in sub prime gurantees on loans they sold to European banks. The other bank that is likely to collapse is Washington Mutual.

Even if its Photoshop, it's funny

Thoughts on the "Golden Compass"

No dog in the fight. Probably wont see it.
However - that has never stopped me from espousing my NSHO.
Beeches.

So - the Church is like 1700 years old. I mean, there were actual wars in Europe over religion. Fucking Calvinists. LOL. Regardless, the only thing I can think of that will have any kind of affect is that family sizes are getting smaller, and the days of sending one son to be a cop and one to be a priest are long gone. That MIGHT be why most new priests are Hispanic or African. Whatever. My point is, the Church will adjust and survive.
Need I mention the "Black Death" and losing 25-33% of an entire continents population?

Onto this jackassery of getting huffy & puffy every time someone writes or says something that is explicitly or implicitly "bigotry" directed at Catholics.
Please. Get the fuck over yourself. Not that I would have a problem with using hippies & wiccans as an alternative fuel source, its just that we've learned to argue instead of fight. And that leads to....

Fucking insane Muslims. Redundant? Maybe. We already know that the leading edge of Islam is completely reactionary and will knife you in the street if you piss them off, or put a bounty on your cabesa for merely point out that Mohamet liked little girls.

Avante garde in America has gotten droll and boring. Until someone gets the balls to pick a fight with Islam, I see no point in getting your panties in a twist over a silly book that equates the Church with a fascist dictatorship that tortures children.
I believe we call that "George Bush's America".

Please someone spot what made me laugh...

"Among those attending were NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, 300 members of the Redskins organization, O.J. Simpson, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and actor Andy Garcia."

Apologies for my absence

Good time in Vegas.
Link to some photos - Enjoy!

Umm... and on CNN.


I THINK this link goes to the official photographer

More Economy Commentary

This is the first major deal that shows the direction and severity of housing price corrections:

Linky

Lennar Homes just sold 11,000 houses for 40 cents on the dollar (probably mostly in California & Florida). That means the vacation home that was recently purchased in Florida for $300,000 now has a fair market value of $120,000.

How does this affect us in Raleigh? Not too much; the just purchased home for $300,000 is probably still worth $290,000. But think about the macro economic effect for the million or so people that bought a home in California, Florida, Michigan, Indiana, or Ohio in the last four years.

I think this is very, very sad. Remember how badly we felt for the thousands that lost everything in Katrina? Well imagine Katrina hit five states at once and this where we're heading.

Post Instructions Again

How do I make a web link look neat & tidy?

For those interested in what the Admir0l and I are talking about...

D&D Alignments!

pool for birthdate/hour?

When our little monster was still in the oven, I split the week ahead and behind the arrival date into 12 hour blocks and had people pick a section of time. We had a sex of baby pool as well, but that's a predetermined condition in this case.

The other possible pooling of course would be birthweight. I bring this up because our OBGYN practice kept throwing out 7 pounds (and one funny-ish member put out a +/- 2 pounds line in there) Then the attending at during labor put one hand on the belly and said 9 pounds, easy.

So, these things said, the ultimate responsibility for this pool falls on someone who will be present - at least in the hospital - to keep a record of guesses and the actual events. . .

Speaking of video games

this is just ridiculous...

OK Who's Getting This?

I got vocals or drums.

Rock Band for 360