patrick.net

How much would the price of a gallon of gasoline be if the Dow were at 36,000?

at least 3 to 4 times more like $12 - $15 would be my guess!

No, the real question is what is the Dow going to be at when gasoline is $12/gallon?

OT: What experience do people have with people that are on anti-depressants? Say, family, friends, coworkers and so on.

I have this uneasy feeling that anti-depressant make people nasty, insensitive and uncritical of themselves, and hence big pains in the asses to deal with.

Is there any substance to my suspicion? Any stories? I realize I may be threading on dangerous ground here, given the number of people that (according to stats I have read) are on these medications, but on the other hand that means many people have seen the effects (but may or may not have recognized the connection at the time).

Any realtwhores on anti-depressants :-) ?

My experience with people on anti-depressants is that it blunts their affect, so rather than being nasty, they are indifferent. I would agree that it tends to lower empathy levels as well, but I think that is part of the intended effect of the drug.

I know a woman who is on anti-depressant. She looks fake most of the times, fake smile, fake laughter, etc. but there are these rare occasions that she completely overreacts to certain issues. It is almost as if she had this pent up emotion the entire time looking for an outlet.

I don't know why she got on anti-depressant to begin with. I suspect that it is a symptom of over-prescription of drugs in this country. It's really easy to get hold of these drugs, all you need to do is to complain to your doctor that you are not feeling happy, losing sleep, and voila, here's your anti-depressant.

I am seeing some very attractively priced homes in Elmwood, including one short sale. When is DQ going to come out with the new zip code sales numbers?

What was she like before OO? Did you know her before and after?

I knew her after, so I have no reference point of what "normalcy" should be like. I also know of a senior who is on anti-depressant, and she is exactly like what you described, complete apathy, to the extent that she didn't show any regret or sorrow knowing that her son was dying. But that could be a sign of aging too, I know old people can become really blunt in emotions.

Have you people considered the possibility that while you are waiting with fat down payments in hand, tongues hanging out and a puddle of drool on the floor waiting for prices to fall so that you can consummate your desires, the recession / depression will take out your incomes forcing you to use the fat down payments to feed your families?

I know a number of people who've been on varying sorts of anti depressants. Some temporarily as a way to cope with terrible losses, others more permanently to help with some ostensible imbalance.

It's pretty hard to broadly generalize what kind of "effect" they have on folks because everyone has a unique set of initial circumstances and responses to the different sorts of meds. And not all meds are the same. Most people on "antidepressants" are on really weak forms like Wellbutrin, which in low doses is probably not noticeable to observers. They even prescribe things like that for non-emotional sorts of applications like eating disorders and smoking or alcohol treatment.

I'm sure there is some long-term effect being introduced by all the meds. But I think you have to keep that in perspective. By far, orders of magnitude greater (and often much more terribly so), alcohol alters people and our society. And a huge percentage of the population self-medicates with copious quantities of alcohol daily, without the aid of clinical studies, pharmacy oversight and a doctor's diagnosis.

Just my $0.02 nominal.

And a huge percentage of the population self-medicates with copious quantities of alcohol daily, without the aid of clinical studies, pharmacy oversight and a doctor’s diagnosis.

Not exactly, since the effects of alcohol have been studied quite intensively. Two glasses of wine a day, help your heart but probably weaken your brain. Turns out you need your heart more than your brain :-)

But I am sure you general gist is quite correct: that alcohol has a much greater detrimental influence on society. Probably worse than all illegal drugs put together, even.

There was a time when I was dating and happened to meet a string of girls that were taking meds. It was either Prozac or Zoloff or Zanex or something. I noticed that these women had definate sexual side effects from their meds. They wanted sex but could not climax. Now, feel free to make a joke and blame it on me but I'm telling you that the most interesting thing about it was that I had a difficult time reaching orgasm too when I was with these women.
OK, sorry to be off topic.

Well, now I have another set of friends affected by the bubble. They are renters being foreclosed on. Yet another prediction coming true. I sensed something was wrong when I knew the landlord had paid 800K for the house and was renting it for $2,000 a month.

galtieri Says:
Have you people considered the possibility that while you are waiting with fat down payments in hand, tongues hanging out and a puddle of drool on the floor waiting for prices to fall so that you can consummate your desires, the recession / depression will take out your incomes forcing you to use the fat down payments to feed your families?

And have you, galtieri, while you were wanking off with your pale little willy in hand, tongue hanging out to lick your boyfriend's pucker, considered the possibility that those of us with down payments also have additional savings set aside to cover living expenses in the event of losing our jobs during the recession / depression?

You may also take the obligatory surfer-X reference to your corn-fed mother as implied.

Thatcher_whupped_yer_ass,

In a prolonged recession/depression, your "savings" will disappear like drops of water on a hot stove. Your jobs will be gone to India/China.

What seemed to go un-noticed on this site, was the rise in Libor on Thursday and Friday.

From Saturday's WSJ: The rise followed a review by the British Bankers Assoc. "amid growing concerns among bankers that their rivals weren't reporting their truly high borrowing costs, for fear of signaling to the maket they were desperate for cash".

"Libor's Rise May Sock Many Borrowers"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120856108868827857.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular

What's your point galtieri that you bought recently and are underwater? Thanks Thatcher for the sentiment. We need more of the Surfer X-type bluntness on this blog.

I didn't really sense that Galtieri was an underwater loanowner. Obviously a loanowner would be the most screwed in a depression, because they have a big liability hanging over their heads during unemployment. I picked up more on either jealousy of those with downpayment hoards, or perhaps the tone of someone recently laid off. Perhaps a tinge of the "end of the civilized world" hobbyist.

At any rate, it was lousy logic, as others have already proved.

I've got a question to the seasoned landlords and property hunters. I'm looking at some properties up by the University in Old Town. Typically these houses were built between 1900-1935. Many have a legal (or illegal) duplex in the back or basement.

What are the typical checklist points for considering necessary maintenance on these older properties? And what additional items must be considered when the house has been a long term college student rental?

Which Old Town are you talking about, San Diego's?

@ TOB

Throwing out some humor, I like that. You must have gotten lucky this weekend. :-)

@ Justme

Just for the record, I'm not sure what I think about technological singularity theory. I indicated and do think it is a very interesting and facisinating concept. I the meme when Joy did his wired piece and resigned from Sun from fear of it, subsequently read "Age of spritual Machines" by Kurzweil which I recomend. And thereafter many others. So many unknowns and so much interdisplinary complexity one might as well contend he understands our climate system.

I think it's a big fat unknown. But very interesting. Speculation on the combined future of advancing technology in bio genetics, computing, and nano tech is mind bending fun.

Also let it be known that these "ideas", the the meme, has passed the proverbial tipping point in scientific and technology circles. A majority seem to be buying in. I think its worthwhile to understand as a trend and societal influence forward.

I think you will really like this piece by Jaron Lanier in rebuttal to the meme, the man is a first rate poet thinker. He paints singularity theory as religion in same manner Marxism became a "religious belief". Excellent short read. I wish I was as smart as this guy. He may be an alien.

http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge74.html

I know a whole slew of folks on anti-depressants, and conclude it definitely changes behavior as well as sexual side effects of certain classes.

Unfortunately, there is so much of the stuff being imbibed we are all now taking them. I read awhile back that so much of it is being "excreted" through urine into the ecosystem, municipal water systems are not able to filter out the compounds, as well as being consumed by the food chain working back to the grocery isle. We all have increasing traces.

Speaking of mass medication and effects.....governments have trialed mass medication through water supply and otherwise to weight effects on propensity to aggression and revolt. Fluoride has been known to significantly reduce aggressive tendencies. Europe has banned it in water supplies, yet we still are getting this industrial waste product introduced into our water supply here. Supposed benefits to teeth. Europe’s dental health numbers show no difference from ours.

A flouride compound is a major active ingredient of prozac.

31 people were shot in Chicago over this weekend. It ain't even summer yet, what's that number look like in August?

Crime wave cometh.

Jimbo: I'm from Colorado. The university of which I speak is Colorado State.

Crime wave cometh.
Meanwhile in subprime BA (as opposed to the Alt-A Bay):
An Oakland liquor-store owner shot and injured a would-be robber who shot him, the second incident in two days in which employees have fought back, police said. At about 9:55 p.m. Saturday, a man walked into Ed's Liquors at 2700 23rd Avenue and pointed a gun at the store owner while going behind the counter, police said. The owner pulled out a weapon of his own, but the assailant shot him first in the leg, police said. The store owner then fired back, hitting the man at least three times, police said. The suspect's condition could not immediately be determined Sunday. The store owner's injuries were not considered life-threatening.
The shooting occurred two days after a similar incident at Wah Fay 8th Avenue Corner Market at East 21st Street and 8th Avenue in Oakland. At about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, a store clerk shot and wounded a 18-year-old Pittsburg man who tried to rob the business with a second man, police said.
The incidents underscore the measures some store employees are taking.
In April 2007, the owner of a pizzeria at 89th Avenue and International Boulevard in East Oakland shot and killed a would-be robber armed with an assault rifle. A month later, a clerk at a liquor store on 28th Avenue in Oakland shot and killed a 17-year-old who had fired first.
The incidents come at a time of heightened concern over robberies in the East Bay. Police in Oakland, Emeryville and Berkeley are investigating a series of eight takeover robberies at restaurants over the past month. Oakland police are also trying to identify a man they have dubbed the "Chicken Hawk" because of his tendency to rob fast-food restaurants that serve chicken. From the SF Chronicle.

EBGuy,

Oakland doesn't need your help in being identified as the crime capital of the Bay Area. OK, maybe Richmond will contest that title.

I thought Oakland is the crime capital of the West Coast if not the nation.

All under-aged robbers should be tried as adults. We should not age-discriminate criminals.

NVR,

Thanks, I'll check out the link.

Peter P Says:

> All under-aged robbers should be tried as adults.
> We should not age-discriminate criminals.

We should treat all people the same. If I get shot by a 17 year old gang member it is not any different then getting shot by a 19 year old gang member…

It is a myth that you can “rehabilitate” someone just because they are young. I’m guessing that about and 99% of the 16 year old “kids” caught doing drive by shootings at 15 are doing them again at 18 when they get out of juvenile hall…

Brand Says:

> looking at some properties up by the University

What University??

> What are the typical checklist points for considering
> necessary maintenance on these older properties?

You need to do some walk throughs with some contractors. A picture is worth a thousand words...

....and a word from a contractor is worth a thousand dollars. ;)

It is a myth that you can “rehabilitate” someone just because they are young.

When you have guilt-driven liberalism...

All of the robberys that were stopped by an armed victim sure don’t get the media time they should.

Perhaps the media thinks the victims should have been submissive. After all, they think anything illegal deserves more rights.

Brand I'm curious about something.

Buying near a college seems smart as you have a sure supply of renters in perpetuity. Given that this fact should be obvious to everyone, are these places holding on to their high (inflated?) per sq. ft. prices better than the rest of the city of Ft Collins?

or is Colorado State in Greely and not Ft Collins? I'm soory but I get them confused. Hope nobody is offended :-)

Buying near a college seems smart as you have a sure supply of renters in perpetuity.

I have never been a landlord but I heard college students are not exactly the good kind of renters.

Maybe they're not the best Peter P, but you can charge a large deposit just in case. You can also probably overcharge for rent since it's generally shared between 2-3 sets of parents ;-) - add the fact that your rental is never empty, and you should come out a winner (if you got a good price when you bought). I think.

or if you really want to be safe, don't rent to B-school or Liberal Arts students. Rent only to graduate engineering students - less partying aftereffects.

In Fremont, we were looking for a house this past week, and when we found a house that was REO, there were multiple offers,and overbidding.
We didn't buy in the end, since we still think the prices have some more ways to drop. But the psychology is crazy

All of the robberys that were stopped by an armed victim ....
Bap33, I knew I could count on you. I think that is what caught my eye about the article -- welcome to the Wild West.

Unfortunately the press does not see "good news" as being a good news story. They apparently feel the need to dwell on the negative of everything in order to stir up emotions and increase their ratings, thats why I have pretty much given up on watching the news.