patrick.net

My husband loves the fact that I married him when he had nothing. See, not all women are mercenary.

Ditto for me --I was poor as a church mouse when I met my wife, and it didn't matter to her. One reason why I fell in love and married her!

I agree that it is fair for a man to watch his bank account once he has gained a certain level of financial success. The pre-nuptuial agreement has probably saved a lot of fortunes.

Agreed --actually, as women gain more $$ and power, this will work both ways. I would imagine Carly Fiorina, Martha Stewart, Oprah, etc. are in this category.

How about a digression of the digression...

NEW YORK, Nov 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks declined on Tuesday after leading home builder Toll Brothers Inc. gave a disappointing outlook for next year, raising concern that the housing sector, an important driver of economic growth, may be slowing.

Shares of Toll Brothers plunged 11.8 percent to $34.78 after the luxury home builder warned new home deliveries and earnings next year would probably fall short of its forecast.

The slide in Toll Brothers' shares helped push the Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index down 6.3 percent, its biggest one-day drop since November 2002.

Sexism relates to how one sex views the other.

Exactly....as in.....

Prince ruled the 80s, with his little ass showing and everything.

Now I ask you, does your lovely wife always agree with you?

no.

Do you value her opinions as much when she disagree’s?

yes.

SQT, I value your opinions too....if I didn't, I wouldn't even bother to continue to argue.

And if she didn’t have the “body of a venus” after having children, would you love her less? I would hope not.

Well....I'd have to find another......just kidding,..... I told you our relationship is alot deeper than that.

Good news Frank!

And sorry guys, Huey Lewis and the News?! You offend me. I can’t think of many worse bands. Maybe Starship is worse.

...and I'm not going to let Jamie off so easily...... This statement is no different than what I said that "desperate housewives is garbage". Jamie, for you to be upset with me about that statement and then to make the above statement makes you a hippocrit (never mind the tone statement)..... You obviously do not like Huey and the Starship, otherwise you wouldn't have said it....Nothing wrong with that, we all have our likes and dislikes. Your defense before about tone, stinks...here are some smileys :):):):) . BTW there were no smileys in the above statement. You getting angry at me before only proves that you didn't want to miss a golden opportunity to attack Allah.

I do think Jamie was kidding about Prince’s behind though. You have to admit he did like to put it on display.

...and SQT that is fine, but I bet that if a guy (especially me) were to make a TNA statement about someone like Britney Spears, you two would be all over him like hair on a gorilla. :):):) (some smileys to smooth the tone).

I don’t know anyone who has used one of these crazy loans personally.

There are a hell of a lot of people in this country and I know you don't know them all personally,......but there are alot of young people who are using these loans.

"…and I’m not going to let Jamie off so easily…… This statement is no different than what I said that “desperate housewives is garbage”. Jamie, for you to be upset with me about that statement "

Allah, talking to you is like talking to the wall, if this is how well you listen to me. I repeatedly bring up valid points you could respond to, but instead you ignore them. And no, I'm not going to do the work of digging up whatever you haven't responded to. You clearly don't consider my posts important enough to read and consider thoughtfully, and that's okay. Just stop talking to me--it's wasting my time.

I have already stated *exactly* what offended me about your your previous Desperate Housewives statement--probably several times--and it was NOT the judgment that any one TV show is garbage. I frankly agree that Desperate Housewives has a certain garbage-y quality about it, but I also find it entertaining and don't really care what you think of my entertainment choices.

What bothered me was that you first posted that link, and then when I responded to it seriously, instead of answering me seriously, you gave me something along the lines of whatever, I didn't know you watched that kind of garbage.

It was your argument tactic that bothered me, especially given the history of our previous conversations. You dismissed me with an insult instead of engaging me in a serious conversation. That's it. That's what bothered me.

And I cannot believe I am having to have this conversation AGAIN!

"…and SQT that is fine, but I bet that if a guy (especially me) were to make a TNA statement about someone like Britney Spears, you two would be all over him like hair on a gorilla. "

I have seen some very lascivious comments on this blog about women, and I've never been bothered by them, because they were always said in a joking way. Big deal. It's no secret what men like. It's all about the tone, and your tone is consistently so morosely serious that there's no way I could interpret what you say as a joke.

Regarding my comments on Prince's ass, really, what did I say that's sexist? Is it sexist to acknowledge that he has an ass and wore pants that exposed it completely? I stated a fact, in a joking way. I've rarely say anything to SQT or prat that isn't a joke, so I always assume they know I'm kidding them. If you were truly offended by it, then I apologize for stating that Prince has a little ass.

This is the most absurd conversation I've had in my life. (And by the way, if you want to believe I'm a sexist hypocrite, please, do so. It's OKAY.)

I don’t know anyone who has used one of these crazy loans personally.

Most of my friends are using IO or Option ARM.

"Your defense before about tone, stinks…"

See, this is why I stated in the first place that we're on such different pages, we're reading completely different books. You don't get most of what i say, and big deal. That's fine. But please in the future ignore me, and I will ignore you. I think tone is extremely important in commucating in writing. I do it for a living, so I think I can state this with some certainty.

"here are some smileys :):):) . BTW there were no smileys in the above statement. "

There were no smileys because they knew I was joking. I requested that you use some emoticons if you were joking because I've only ever interpreted your tone as earnest and serious and occasionally frustrated or annoyed.

"You getting angry at me before only proves that you didn’t want to miss a golden opportunity to attack Allah."

I never got angry at you. Please show me where I communicated anger. I was and am vaguely annoyed, but that's another emotion entirely.

BTW, tangent = sushi

hmmm maybe dim sum

Which are your favorite dim sum restaurants?

Jamie,

When we had the argument about Women having a hard time getting back into the workforce, you disagreed......and you threw it back in my face as some kind of an attack on Women...I don't know why! Perhaps just because I said it and any attempt for me to clarify it failed because you were on the defensive. I know many Women who went through this...and I told you this before...... When I saw that article, I read it and noticed it was written by a Woman describing the exact thing that I was trying to get across. I figure that if I sent you this link, I would MIGHT get across to you, but I didn't because it seemed that you probably didn't even read it.....That is why I said "whatever"..... see for yourself........

Allah, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be getting angry about here. It’s not like some big secret that mothers suffer discrimination in the workplace–it’s such common knowledge that Desperate Housewives has a whole storyline about the issue.

The article was about Mothers having a problem getting back into the workforce....The article has comments from REAL Mothers who describe exactly what happened when THEY went to interviews.....this is REAL LIFE, not phoney made up comedy script like desperate housewives...that is why I said I really didn’t know you watched garbage like that.

I’d like to drop this subject completely, because clearly I accomplished nothing the first time we debated this issue. Your thinking I’d get pissed off about the article shows that we’re on such different pages, we’re not even reading the same book.

You disagreed with me before and you got PISSED OFF....since the article explains the same EXACT thing I was trying to get across to you, I figured maybe you'd get mad since you did the last time when it came from my keyboard. I figured maybe if you heard it from the keys of another Woman, I would have made my point.

Theory: the more *off topic* we get, the more the actual topic becomes interesting!

Item! We go off on this tangent, Toll misses and the MSM really starts doom-and-glooming it!

Item! We go off on this tangent , and the MSM puts out affordability sob-stories!

Item! I got a haircut today. Very military-ish. I'm practicing for the coming aristo-landlord wars.

Item! Jamie, whatever her other wonderful qualities may be, is apparently

_makes two handeded quote motion_
mentally
_makes two handeded quote motion_

_makes two handeded quote motion_
retarded
_makes two handeded quote motion_

when it comes to taste in music.

That's the p-p-p-p-Power of Love!

Can you feel it?
prat

I have seen some very lascivious comments on this blog about women, and I’ve never been bothered by them, because they were always said in a joking way. Big deal. It’s no secret what men like. It’s all about the tone, and your tone is consistently so morosely serious that there’s no way I could interpret what you say as a joke.

I joke around just like anybody else...what is this your tone is consistently so morosely serious I don't know where you get the tone thing from...just because I don't always use emoticons? :) :) :) Allah is not allowed to joke around? :) :) :)

Regarding my comments on Prince’s ass, really, what did I say that’s sexist? Is it sexist to acknowledge that he has an ass and wore pants that exposed it completely? I stated a fact, in a joking way. I’ve rarely say anything to SQT or prat that isn’t a joke, so I always assume they know I’m kidding them. If you were truly offended by it, then I apologize for stating that Prince has a little ass.

I don't get offended by anything like this at all.....In fact I don't get offended by most of the stuff people say.....but I know that if I started mentioning something gender related it's like pulling a pin out of a grenade. :) :) :) (to smooth the morose tone) :) :) :) being labeled as a sexist when everyone who really knows me can tell you that I am not, that is what offends me. Sorry if my writing skills don't show you my emotions, I don't claim to be a professional writer.

I never got angry at you. Please show me where I communicated anger. I was and am vaguely annoyed, but that’s another emotion entirely.

Sarcasm is a form of anger...

OF COURSE, what was I thinking, I’m a woman! I should never have had any major ambitions in life, because my husband will always earn more than me and will always be less adept than me at raising kids and scrubbing toilets. Instead of getting a college degree, I should have just gone to home economics classes so I could perfect my domestic technique and therefore attract the highest-earning male who is looking for a subservient wife to dust his house, mend his shirts, fry his pork chops, and give him lady-like little blow jobs.

WHAT WAS I THINKING? I should not have the need for intellectual stimulation, challenges beyond making the floor shine, or the desire for human interaction beyond serving my Husband.

Almost forgot :) :) :)

"SQT: It goes to show that housing has a bigger impact on the whole economy than most people want to admit."

Right. Some people believe the housing market is the only thing that has kept the consumer going during the past few years.

hey Allah

chill out grab some sushi enjoy!

I am just making my last attempt to prove my point....probably will fail again though.

I need a new drug! :) :) () :) :)

"That’s the p-p-p-p-Power of Love!

Can you feel it?"

((shudder)) I need to go take a shower now.

"you, but I didn’t because it seemed that you probably didn’t even read it…..That is why I said “whatever”….. see for yourself……..:

I did read it.

"The article was about Mothers having a problem getting back into the workforce….The article has comments from REAL Mothers who describe exactly what happened when THEY went to interviews"

I know plenty of examples of women in my real life who have not suffered discrimination re-entering the work force. So I'm was speaking from personal experience. I've also dealt with businesses while going through pregnancy and having kids, and the fact that I'm a mom has not caused them to discriminate against me in any way that I can see.

And yet I don't deny that it's true women suffer such discrimination. I just believe that insisting things are ONE way and only one way--that there aren't a zillion individual examples that prove any point imaginable--is ridiculous.

"Sarcasm is a form of anger…"

I don't consider it a form of anger. I will admit it's an unfair argumentative tactic, and for being sarcastic when you find it offensive, I apologize.

shud·der

2. vibrate: to vibrate rapidly and heavily

Which one? 1. Cold, fear, disgust or 2:vibrate
:) :) :) This has been a joke and nothing but a joke :) :) :)

stop being so hard on Huey.
Yeah...Huey was very cool for his time!

"I am just making my last attempt to prove my point….probably will fail again though. "

This is why we don't get along. Because I've asked repeatedly that we just agree to disagree, and you keep trying to prove your point. I disagree with you. Period.

He basically said that if it was taken away the housing market would go bust and that would be so catastrophic for the economy we could have a full scale depression.

Yeah because he loves his huge deductions and if he can admit that there is a bubble and that it will do severe damage to the housing market as a result of losing that deduction, he will.......... When Donald talks people listen!

:) :) :) (some smileys, especially for Jamie) :) :) :)

"(some smileys, especially for Jamie)"

Please, don't bother now, not for me. Just pretend I don't exist! Please! I'm getting tired of you even mentioning my name.

Please, don’t bother now, not for me. Just pretend I don’t exist! Please! I’m getting tired of you even mentioning my name.

:) :) :) Don't be sad :) :) :)

SQT..... I am SINCERELY trying to be nice... I really am. I don't want to be known as morosely serious. I am using the smileys to show that I am not. Without the smileys, I am morose to ____, with them I am being insulting.....I can't win! I'm sorry :( but I want to break the morose habbit and make my tone a little more pronounced....I'll cut down on them ok :)

PolishKnight Says:

HARM’s point about Carly Fiorina, Oprah Winfrey and Stewart, for example, is interesting because these women as far as I know are unmarried. Overall, successful women tend to not marry or have few children which is made up through immigration or “red stater” women having more children.

Actually Carly is married, her husband is Frank Fiorina. I don't understand why marriage excludes a career (notice, I didn't mention successful). I didn't see many folks here question men who can have both a successful career and lead a happy family life?

Not Peter P, btw, just posing as him...

This is why we don’t get along. Because I’ve asked repeatedly that we just agree to disagree, and you keep trying to prove your point. I disagree with you. Period.

Just one last thing :) I never expected you to agree with everything or anything I said, just that you understand what I was trying to tell you instead of taking it like I'm making a sexist statement or sounding like a Women hater. That is all....

When searching for “bubble blog,” patrick.net is now listed ahead of Ben’s blog, does this reflect the audience is watching us more because of these verbal tangents?

Ben does not have threads with more than 2000 comments.

Wow, "bubble blog" returns this site as the first link on google!

What thread bubble?

Must be the food we serve.

Tangent = Tangerine?

We don’t make widgets any more.

_politely applauds_

Isn't it unfortunate that we reward so heartily the people who produce so little?

_shrug_

Cheers,
prat

"Jamie, you’ve been added to my roster of People Who Contribute Here That I Really Like. It’s a growing list, but I thought I’d let you know specifically just because it’s hard to do battle in the trenches of misunderstanding."

Aw, thank you, flak. I'm touched. No, really, I am! I needed some kind, non-back-handed words right about now. It's nice to know that one whole person understood me. Yay. I'm not a complete failure at communicating. You rock. We should, like, develop a secret handshake now or something. :-P

Someone will probably accuse you of being me now, posing as "flak." That happens nearly every time anyone says anything nice here. :-)

"narrow version of hypothesis: there are more engineers here (and like occupations, those who rationalize the non-social world - economists, by contrast, try to rationalize the social world) than one would expect to meet at a random gathering of overeducated, decently paid folk."

Interesting theory, and you're probably right. I've often wondered how the demographics of this blog differ from that of the everyday world. I'm not sure how many engineers we have here. Roll call? Me--not an engineer.

Jack, "naaaah"? Is that your goat impression?