patrick.net

"My wife was desperate to buy as we have 2 young kids."

I'm sorry she couldn't be brought around to your way of thinking. It's got to be really hard when both of you don't agree.

We have two small kids too, and I have to admit, there is a HUGE nesting instinct for women after having kids that I don't see so much with men. I mean, I'm the kind of person who could happily sell all my possessions and go backpacking around the world for years, but once I had kids, all of a sudden I was completely obsessed with settling down. I mean, OBSESSED. Ask my husband--he'll nod a weary nod.

His job keeps us moving around for now though (we'd have been renting out a house if we'd decided to buy), and part of me likes that. I've had to really step outside myself and examine the fact that this nesting instinct thing has to be bioligical, some kind of urge passed down through the ages :-), because it's not me. I still want my kids to have a house to grow up in, but I also try to reassure myself that it's pretty cool to grow up knowing the whole world rather than just one town.

"much as I don’t like it, it has at least saved me a bucketful of money."

I hope things work out well for your family.

"I’ve alway wondered how the hell techies or traders could have lost money in that boom when Joe Bagodoughnuts got so fat? I mean, talk about easy money, Jeebus."

I thought it was the doughnuts that made Joe fat! ;-) We were not techies or traders, but we did lose lots of paper wealth as many people did, out of ignorance. We weren't paying close enough attention to the market to understand it, just had some mutual funds that lost half their value. So if those fund managers couldn't figure out what the heck was going on...

We only knew one person who predicted the crash, and he did warn us to get out before it was too late. Duh, shoulda listened to him!

I left San Jose a few days before Jan. '99 after my parents got a divorce after 36 years.

I moved to Pheonix with my mom and younger brother and sister, to help them get set up. I ended up staying for a while, to wait out the dot.com/recession thingy, and decided to cook up to Northern Ariz. University for an MBA. I figured by the time I was done, the economy might start getting back to post dotcom sanity.

Then 911 hit. Half my clas was unemployed by graduation.

I scoped out the BA and watched in disbelief as the prices, contrary to the laws of economic physics, kept rising. My parents sold their San Jose house, pretty nice, for $380k. It is now upwards of $850-$900k. In other words, my dad, who supported us all with his IBM Tech Writer salary would be living under a bridge if he were to go back. You must now be a fvking surgeon or two engineer household to enter the hallowed ground of my old neighborhood.

Naturally, the crowd psychology of the dotcom hysteria came to mind. I am now, more than ever, convinced that if there is a bandwagon, the average American is more than happy to jump on it...even if it means screwing up the gig for everyone else.

entered "housing boom" or "housing bubble" in Google t try to get a handle on the situation, and happened upon this site.

I have learned much from this site. Most importantly, I have learned to hate, despise and loathe the friggen' hippy ass Baby Boomer generation for all their worth(less) for helping to really fvck this country up...with a little help from the wit and wisdom of Surfer-X...(no relationship to Malcolm X, I'm sure).

Instinctually, I knew something was cooking, but couldn't quite articulate it, or put my finger on who was actually behind the Wizard of Oz curtain pulling the strings. Surfer-x laid it out and articulated the Boomer phenomenon. Now I could point the finger or, more appropriately, give the finger to who needed to be given it.

I now nurture and cherish my disdain and disgust for the Boomers and will cheer their stupid ass demise as l play the song "Eulogy" by Tool while drinking beer and dancing on their graves when they mercifully kick the bucket!

Amen.

Corrected version...

I left San Jose a few days before Jan. ‘99 after my parents got a divorce after 36 years.

I moved to Pheonix with my mom and younger brother and sister, to help them get set up. I ended up staying for a while, to wait out the dot.com/recession thingy, and decided to cook up to Northern Ariz. University for an MBA. I figured by the time I was done, the economy might start getting back to post dotcom sanity.

Then 911 hit. Half my clas was unemployed by graduation.

I scoped out the BA and watched in disbelief as the prices, contrary to the laws of economic physics, kept rising. My parents sold their San Jose house, pretty nice, for $380k. It is now upwards of $850-$900k. In other words, my dad, who supported us all with his IBM Tech Writer salary would be living under a bridge if he were to go back. You must now be a fvking surgeon or two engineer household to enter the hallowed ground of my old neighborhood.

Naturally, the crowd psychology of the dotcom hysteria came to mind. I am now, more than ever, convinced that if there is a bandwagon, the average American is more than happy to jump on it…even if it means screwing up the gig for everyone else.

I entered “housing boom” or “housing bubble” in Google t try to get a handle on the situation, and happened upon this site.

I have learned much from this site. Most importantly, I have learned to hate, despise and loathe the friggen’ hippy ass Baby Boomer generation for all their worth(less) for helping to really fvck this country up…thanks to the the wit and wisdom of Surfer-X…(no relationship to Malcolm X, I’m sure).

Instinctually, I knew something was cooking, but couldn’t quite articulate it, or put my finger on who was actually behind the Wizard of Oz curtain pulling the strings. Surfer-x laid it out and articulated the Boomer phenomenon. Now I can point the finger or, more appropriately, give the finger to who needs to be given it. In large part, the Boomers.

I now nurture and cherish my disdain and disgust for the Boomers and will cheer their stupid ass demise as l play the song “Eulogy” by Tool while drinking beer and dancing on their graves, when they mercifully kick the bucket!

Amen.

...for all THEY'RE worth(less)…

Sheesh, I need to brush up on my English...

You guys were just investing, and got hurt. I’m talking about all of the thousands of techies, investors, and mercenaries, myself included, who came to the party just to pillage. Watching them get crushed of their own accord is something I’ll not forget. They could resist anything but temptation.

I was in school when the tech bubble burst. Some of my friends got margin calls. I was lucky enough to be most on the sideline.

Pop!, prices are usually above or below "fair" value. It all depends on market psychology.

I’ve alway wondered how the hell techies or traders could have lost money in that boom when Joe Bagodoughnuts got so fat? I mean, talk about easy money, Jeebus.

We sold out early because we knew the damn thing was a bubble. We completely underestimated the herd mentality then and now. Sometimes too much knowledge costs more than blissful ignorance.

We have two small kids too, and I have to admit, there is a HUGE nesting instinct for women after having kids that I don’t see so much with men. I mean, I’m the kind of person who could happily sell all my possessions and go backpacking around the world for years, but once I had kids, all of a sudden I was completely obsessed with settling down. I mean, OBSESSED. Ask my husband–he’ll nod a weary nod.

Hello...Are you in my head??

"Hello…Are you in my head??"

I'm terrified of what is going to happen when my wife and I have kids.

Reason, thy reign was too short...

Cheers,
prat

Reason, thy reign was too short…

Reason? What's that?

Reason? What’s that?

That wooshing sound you hear when the first child arrives? That's it, on its way out. Looks kind of like cross between a light-bulb and a greek goddess.

I am so doing the robot right now...

Cheers,
prat

That wooshing sound you hear when the first child arrives? That’s it, on its way out. Looks kind of like cross between a light-bulb and a greek goddess.

They don't called it "mommy brain" for nothing. If you don't know what that means now just ask your wife when she's pregnant. (better yet..don't)

I am so doing the robot right now…

I'm all about the cabbage patch.

It makes me think that maybe my buddies who are still buying and developing in Phoenix are doing the right thing.

No comment. My buddies are bailing out of Bay Area and boldly go into Arizona. I certainly hope that they are fine.

BTW, it looks like the market is not going to crash this Friday. So I am going to buy you guys beer...

See, now, the robot, there is a dance that guys can get behind. No rhythm required, and hands can stay hetrosexual-comfortably below the neck line. Genius. Oh, sure, it isn't always appropriate, and the club is only going to play Major Tom (Club Remix) and What's On Your Mind (High Energy Remix) so many times, so you won't get to dance too much.

But then, we are guys. That's the POINT.

Cheers,
prat

I don't think I've made a post related to housing in a couple of days. I must be getting burnt out since I am just looking for the silliest discussion possible.

Must think housing.

I don’t think I’ve made a post related to housing in a couple of days. I must be getting burnt out since I am just looking for the silliest discussion possible.

What is sillier than housing in the Silly Valley?

See, now, the robot, there is a dance that guys can get behind. No rhythm required, and hands can stay hetrosexual-comfortably below the neck line. Genius. Oh, sure, it isn’t always appropriate, and the club is only going to play Major Tom (Club Remix) and What’s On Your Mind (High Energy Remix) so many times, so you won’t get to dance too much.

But then, we are guys. That’s the POINT.

You know, that's excellent strategy. I must tell my husband and maybe, just maybe I can talk him into going dancing. Yeah right.

PeterP! You cant give up that easily!

I am not giving up on my bubble theory. It is just that the October expiration may go calmly.

Also, I would love to have bear with you guys. :)

I still maintain I am not a bad girl. :twisted:

You know, that’s excellent strategy. I must tell my husband and maybe, just maybe I can talk him into going dancing. Yeah right.

I was never able to dance without stepping on someone's toe.

Peter P

You want to have bear with us?? Isn't that sorta like cannibalism?

I'm a total sactown redneck, but damn if I'm not obsessed with Feel Good Inc. Does that make me a musico-military industrial entertainmo-plex whore?

_buries head in hands_

_taps foot_

_whispers to self_: Don't stop, get it ,get it, we are your captains in it, steady, watch me navigate, hahahaaaaa

Chewbacca,
prat

Prat needs to stop being so funny! I'll never get any sleep.

Oops...

Let's picture bears drinking beer.

Let’s picture bears drinking beer.

I'm having visions of velvet paintings with beer drinking bears....

That last comment must be a horror to your artistic sensibilities Jack.. Sorry about that.

(Do they really HAVE velvet paintings of beer drinking bears? Like on Ebay or something?)

I haven't seen it personally, but I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, card playing dogs??

I was never able to dance without stepping on someone’s toe.

Dude. The robot is your friend. You don't even have to pick your feet up off the ground. You can also try the sprinkler, although that involves a fairly egregious violation of the hetrosexual no-hands-above-neckline rule.

So, housing. Today someone had xeroxed a couple of recent articles by Bill Gross hammering on the housing bubble and left them on the coffee break table at work. Gorilla bear warfare. I like to see it.

If we are going to be consistently wrong, we may as well make ourselves feel better by distributing propaganda. Who among us, when faced with another report of housing prices being up some absurd double digit number doesn't reach down into our ruck-sack, take out our little red book and read those soothing words... "A spectre is haunting California -- the spectre of a housing bubble. All the powers of The Man have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Fed and Realtor, Senator and Representative, Media Players and, what the hell, German police-spies."

@peter: check it, for this weekend: http://www.miravista.org/ I'm jacked.

Cheers,
prat

Gorilla bear warfare

Lol

I really gotta turn in, which sucks since Prat's here. But I am seriously sleep deprived. Nite all.

Walton's good nite...
Nite Jack!
Nite Prat!
Nite Peter!

One interesting point from the articles by Gross. He asserted that the economy is too tied to asset appreciation for the Fed to ignore, and that Greenspans successor would be forced to ease, allowing for one last glorious bull run in bonds and one last gasp of housing before the whole thing collapsed in a heap.

I once was rather smug about not buying until 2008. I am less so now. Laughing gas these hazmats, fast cats. Lining them up-a like ass cracks, ladys, homies, at the track, it's my chocolate attack.

Seriously.

Cheers,
prat

"although that involves a fairly egregious violation of the hetrosexual no-hands-above-neckline rule."

Who made up these non-dancing heterosexual white boy rules? Throw them into the swamp!

"Lining them up-a like ass cracks, ladys, homies, at the track, it’s my chocolate attack."

Prat, did you just break into free-style rap on a housing bubble blog? Somebody get the boy a microphone.

Ahhh, all you friggen slackers. I finally decide "You know, sure, working like a dog is fine as far as it goes, but you have a PUBLIC to placate prat. THINK OF THE CHILDREN." So I go and get all spun out on speed (important note: *christian* speed) and start posting, and it turns out everyone was here last night, and now everyone's too tired to post.

Well, you know what I say to that? I say, did we give up when the germans bombed pearl harbor? No. But I'm giving up now.

G'night,
prat

"*christian* speed"

Huh? Is this where you read a bunch of CS Lewis and then run around the house really fast?

I had to wait until the bewitching hour to start posting.

(Of course, in reality, Mrs. Prat just threw a book at me and said it was time to go to bed. But I prefer the image of a brilliant-yet-difficult artiste storming off due to some imagined slight, don't you?)

Yes, yes, let us have our illusions.

Is this where you read a bunch of CS Lewis and then run around the house really fast?

Totally. Also, swallow pop rocks and slam a pepsi, and then jump up and down. Finish it off with Orthodoxy by Chesterton, and you too can enjoy Christian speed!

OK, seriously, bump all y'all. I'm going to bed.

Cheers,
prat