Here we go again. Housing Bubble, Part II

Rumors are flying, although I haven't seen much on the net (yet). Apparently, there is going to be ANOTHER housing crash. I'm really not sure why few have picked up on this one yet - ok, ok, the extent of my looking for info was a Digg search. If it is not on Digg, no one knows about it.

There is another questionable mortgage product, like the ARM's that caused the first bubble crash, that is coming due for adjustment in January. I actually do not even know what this product is because the person who told me didn't want to explain it all, (He works for one of the financial institutions that is to blame for much of this, and he feels a certain sense of shame.) but it sounds like maybe the first round of inadvisable 5/1 ARM's are ready to adjust for the first time. The timing makes sense. It was about 5 years ago that the ridiculous run on real estate started, and I know that the 5/1 - the rate is locked for the first 5 years and adjusts annually after that - always looked more attractive to me then the 2/1 or straight ARM. The idea, of course, is that a 5 year fixed period gives one plenty of time to refinance into a 15 or 30 year fixed mortgage. The problem - hindsight being 20/20 - is when the mortgage market tanks and you can't refinance, or you can't afford the fixed rate because you have no job, or you are upside down on the 5/1 so no one will finance enough to cover the balance, you are screwed.

Well, the first round of people who landed in that crappy boat are now facing the adjustment of their rate. And they are still upside down and unemployed. Here we go again.

What's another trillion between bankers. And republicans. Thanks GOP, we really love getting raped by you guys.

Digg is the best site on the web

Troll through the first page, and you'll know what I'm talking about. Just today:

"I regret saying some things I shouldn't have said, like 'Dead or Alive' and 'Bring 'em on.' " Uh, how about the 1,000 other retarded comments you made?! (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)

Guess who said that? Truly, that apology speech (or implicated apology or whatever it was) should have been when the "Mission Accomplished" banner was rolled out. The mission to make GW Bush realize that he has made an ass of himself for almost a decade has finally been accomplished. Unfortunately, it doesn't help the fact that he made America look like a bunch of asses too. Of course, we brought much of that on ourselves by RE-electing that moron.

Speaking in Arabic, al-Zawahri uses the term "abeed al-beit," which literally translates as "house slaves." But al-Qaida supplied English subtitles of his speech that included the translation as "house negroes."(msnbc.msn.com)

Wait! What?!? You mean all that crap about how al-qaida is just dying for an Obama presidency isn't true? The republicans lied to America?!? Never! I refuse to believe it! Tom DeLay never took a bribe! By the way, if you are interested, I've got a couple bridges running from an obscure island in New York over to the mainland that you may want. The island is called Manhattan. You may not have heard of it.

And finally,

A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers.(chron.com)

Ok, so the indictment is a joke. But so was the Clinton indictment. So, let those of us who relish in watching scumbags sweat have some fun now. I'd sure like to see how Cheney does in a Texas prison. lol That would be funny.

The new pres on 60 Minutes

I like this guy more by the day. College football playoffs, and he is serious about it. Finally, someone who understands how to make America a better place. But seriously, I'm glad that someone is going to take the reigns on that one. And all that other stuff he said was good too.

President-Elect Obama really did have a good outing on 60 Minutes. He sounds like he is going to work with both sides of the aisle, and he seems to have a good grasp of reality ("The American people don't want to hear lots of speeches." So true). And if history is to be our guide the economy should improve rapidly, just because he is a democrat. Yes, all you money-grubbing republicans - the economy has ALWAYS tended to suck when you guys take over. If you don't believe me, check out the interest rates under Reagan. Or which party was in power to usher in the Great Depression - and which party got us out.

Not that the world economy can get much worse. This morning on the news they reported that the price of oil FELL in response to a threat from OPEC to cut production. Ummmm....wonder if the problem is on the demand side? Ya think.

Finally, the best part or the interview, for me, was that we have actually elected someone who is capable of speaking in complete, intelligent sentences - without a teleprompter or notes. Seriously, I had a giant grin on my face for the first ten minutes of the interview, just thinking that we have a president able to communicate...presidentially. It's been a long time since old Bill was out there making Americans look bright and energetic. I'm tired of watching Alfred E. Newman make us look like whatever it is that he makes us look like.

And, on top of all that, college football will soon have a true champion.

I'm slow, but here goes.

President-Elect Obama.

Sounds ok. I sort of like it. Here comes the real challenge. Americans took a major chance. I'm an Obama fan, so I feel like I have the right to say this.

#1 - This election came down to the voter's risk tolerance profile. Obama was a major risk, but he also offered a major reward. The level of dissatisfaction with the current administration, combined with the bleak direction the country appears to be taking, lead to a higher risk tolerance among voters. With all the negative questions about Obama and his personal history, one would think that this election would have been a McCain landslide. On paper, maybe it should have been. Until you factor in both Obama's personal charisma and the horrific job the GOP has done for the last 8 years. Then the risk is worth the potential reward.

#2 - Entirely too much was made of Obama's race. Young people (under 35 or so) DO NOT CARE! There are, of course, exceptions, but by and large the youth of America is exactly that - the youth of the UNITED States of America. And outside of the south, general population doesn't care either. From my personal perspective, the guy could be a martian, and if he could fix the f*cking mess that Bush has created, I'd vote for him. And I think most of America sees it that way too. Unfortunately, the black community is where most of the doubt about him being elected came from. They, still, think that this country is more racist then it is. I'm not saying racism doesn't exist, but to hear some of the black people I know tell it, they can't get a job at McDonald's thanks to the white man. And I also know black people who are extremely successful, who would tell you how ridiculous that attitude is. In fact, almost every black person I know who takes responsabilty for themseleves is very successful. The ones who blame others, aren't. Hmmm...Correlation?

#3 - Why are people so offended by the world's interest in our election? Yes, Spain ignored soccer for a few hours to watch our election results. Isn't that a complement? We ARE the largest, most powerful country on Earth, and as we go, so goes the world. They recognize that, and pay attention accordingly. Where is the problem?

Just a few thoughts. Please, pissed off people, feel free to tell me what a fool I am. Or stop and think and you might agree.

Tine Fey is going to make SNL relevent again on her own

Tina Fey is f*cking hilarious. Seriously. The original SNL crew was great, and the crew from about 1987 until 1997 or so was very funny, but since it has been generally underwhelming. Even those of you who watch religiously got to admit that you'd rather watch Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi or Mike Myers, Chris Farley, and David Spade then the crew right now. Other than Tina Fey. She is an absolute riot. Her Palin act is going to single-handedly make me watch this weekend. And I don't mean like "if I'm home, I might watch" I mean "I am going to make it a point to be somewhere to watch".

I'm not a TV guy. I don't have TiVO. In fact, the only thing I watch on TV is sports, movies, THC (The History Channel - get your mind out of the gutter), and the comedy channel quasi-news shows (The Daily, Colbert, etc.) I saw Tina Fey with a flute in the Palin get-up, and I decided to make it a point to watch.

Ok, we are governed by total fools....

So, let me get this straight. The United States of America can spend billions on a country full of people who hate us and don't want us there, and yet we cannot spend a couple months of money for Bush's windmill hunt on our own banks in our country? Are the banks at fault? Sure. But forget about who to blame for a couple minutes. Let's save the American economy first. If people broke the law, then prosecute them. Don't make all of us pay for their screw ups. Wait... Let me put it like this - We are ALL going to pay for them, but would you rather pay now, or let the economic system risk collapse to get revenge on a few guys who are rich anyway. Or, put yet another way, is America not worth $700 billion, but Iraq is worth way more?

As usual, the republicans have failed America miserably. Let me quote CNN.com

The measure, which is designed to get battered lending markets working normally again, needed 218 votes for passage. But it came up 13 votes short of that target, with a final vote of 228 to 205 against. Two-thirds of Democrats and one-third of Republicans voted for the measure.

In other words, some democrats failed the country, and most elephants did. Shocking. When, exactly, was the last time the republicans got something right? The Reagan administration? Unless you consider giving the VEEP's former employer multi-billion dollar, no-bid contacts the "right" thing to do. I know that is old news, but having worked in and around government agencies, I am aware of how wrong that is.

Everybody cross your fingers that the Senate version passes through the crew of idiots in the House. If it doesn't, not being able to get a loan may be the least of our concerns.

I suck

Yep, no excuses. Just been too damn lazy to actually post anything. I was mad at Google for not indexing this thing for like 3 weeks after I created it. All those servers, you'd think they could be faster than that. Whatever.

In case anyone missed it - the Flobots rock! Handlebars is one of the worst songs on the album. Check it out. Unless, of course, you are a neo-facist, Bush loving, moron. Then you really won't like them. And you should also quit reading this, because you won't like me much either. And I really don't care.

Another note. The Sansa e200 series player is a great replacement for the iPod, for those of us who don't like/trust all the control Apple insists on having over the device even after it has been purchased. Last I checked, when I buy something that means it is mine and I should control it. Hello...is anyone at the iTunes software department listening? Anyway, bought an e270 - great deal at Newegg - added Rockbox, and really like it. The video encoding for the Rockbox mpeg player leaves something to be desired, but at least I don't have to use the proprietary Sansa software and tie up my machine for chunks of time encoding. Online encoder sites do mpeg great. If you try it, use mpeg1 not mpeg2. The sound works better and the files are actually smaller. Go figure.

Quick survey: Does Bush go to war with Russia, or does he look into Putin's eyes again? Rememebr that quote? The former KGB chief clearly is a great guy.

So much promise.....At first.

This has got to be the most disappointing election in my lifetime. And it is still months away.

I remember a couple of years ago, thinking "Gosh, a Clinton-McCain election would be the best possible thing - I could live with either winner!" Well, the demise of Hillary took care of half of that (more on Obama in a second) and McCain is now trumpeting the Bush line, like the last 8 years have been just peachey. Is anyone better off now, than in 2000 - aside from Halliburton executives?

So, now the choice becomes: another 4-8 years of King George the II, or throwing ourselves into the total unknown. Read the Obama website before you vote. I'll be voting for Obama simply because the option is unacceptable, but if there was another option, I'd consider it.

Where do we go from here? Into the wild blue, I guess. I'm seriously considering England. Think about it. If Obama wins, the war will end, the troops will come home, and our taxes will be higher then those in Britain. If it's McCain, your money will continue to support the murder of Americans and Iraqis, all for oil - and Halliburton, of course.

Good luck. We'll need it.

Yes, I put ads on my blog - I donate enough to the military/oil complex.

I know, I know. Some of you out there erroneously believe that placing ads on a blog is the equivalent of selling your opinions to the almighty Google.

Not so. And even if it was, is it possible to support a better company. (Full disclosure: I DO NOT, HAVE NOT, and HAVE NO offer to work for Google - but I would like to) C'mon, their corporate mission statement on the IPO documents was "Don't be evil". Seriously. Haven't we seen too many corporations rattle on for 2 or 3 paragraphs about value to stockholders, shareholders, the community, and the CEO's dog - all of which then turns out to be BS when they raise all their employees health insurance premiums 500%, and only contibute to "charities" personally sponsored by the Executive Wives' club? Google's mission statement is both beautiful, right, and the hardest one is all of history to abide by. Even the attempt makes me admire the company. Who would you rather support - Microsoft? If so, you probably donate to the "Dick Chaney fund for the Kingship of America" Or your living in 1991.

Back to the topic at hand - I truly enjoy telling people what I think. I'm far from rich, and a blog isn't going to get me there. That said, if people find a service in one of Google's ads that serves a purpose for them - and the company finds a customer - who, exactly, is harmed by me making a few cents? If you don't want me, or Google, to make any money, then don't click the ads. But don't assume that the presence of the ads effects my content - it does not. Even us liberals (at least in America) believe in free enterprise.

I'm joining millions of idiots

Hi - you are one of six people who will read this. Millions and millions of people put their thoughts on blogs like this one, and somehow I'm stupid enough to think that I may stand out from the crowd. Oh, well. I'll give it a shot.

Here's what you can look forward to on this page:

1) I am a hopeless technology addict. PC, electronics, iWhatevers. Love it all. Even if it's total crap, I want to play with it and then tell everyone I know that it is crap. Unfortunatly for my freinds - and you, dear lonely reader - I tend to think that exceptionally complex, but functional, gadgets are the coolest thing since the invention of the iceberg. I like the easy-to-use, but what I consider easy tends to differ from the opinion of others.

2) I'm addicted to music. Unless it is country, I like at least some artists. I have an opinion about all of them. The arguements are the best. When I get inflamatory, please comment so I can tell you why you are wrong. I've done some production work in the past, so I'll be talking about gear too.

3) The vast majority of conservatives are total fools, idiots, morons, and - quite possibly - nazis. If you disagree, I will gladly consider you a conservative. Please see the first sentence of this paragraph for what that label intails.