patrick.net

Computational Ecology and Computational Sociology? :)

Isn’t it amazing that a supposedly chaotic system can have some predictable and recurring patterns? (We call tham attractors?)

Linden Labs in SF, the makers of SecondLife, have sponsored a lot of such work in their virtual world. It is actually quite an interesting study. I studied it intensively more for the economic model abstractions and came away pretty depressed.

chaotic system can have some predictable and recurring patterns? (We call tham attractors?)

I call these attractors the "Ayn Rand was right even though we hate it" set.

Sunnyvale_Renter, it is only natural for first-generation immigrants to want to live close together. Not being familiar with the new country, where else would you expect them to live except close to those who speak the same language? That is the case of first-generation of Vietnamese immigrants in Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, etc., and now, the Chinese newcomers in Cupertino.

Don't worry, though. Eventually, when these immigrants' children grow up, they will get tired of living in the 'hood and will spread out. That's my preference, and I'm sure there are many other young fellow Asians sharing the same thoughts with me. Soon Cupertino will be returned to the "rightful owners", whoever those are in your mind, and there will be a new ethnic group coming in and becoming dominant. No matter what that group is, be certain you will see the same problems: overcrowding, trees chopped down, non-diversified public schools (or is it the same with private schools?), and condos sprawling. Then maybe you will wish to see Asians coming back :-)

Perhaps you should be glad that Cupertino is crowded. That means to many people, it's a pretty desirable place to live, despite the fact that you'll have to cram yourselves into the tiny places of condos, and fight for a parking spot during lunchtime in China, I mean Cupertino, Village.

intersting read

http://www.rense.com/general69/prop.htm

What’s so wonderful about immigrants from Poland, Italy or Ireland when compared to ones from Taiwan? I don’t get it.

No kidding. Population density always tends to rise in response to population pressure in an area of constrained housing supply, reagrdless of whether this is caused by net immigration (legal or otherwise) or higher-than-replacement birth rates. I'm sure no N.Y. natives back in the 19th century were singing the praises of the Eastern European ghettos.

More development is a natural result of a free market reacting to such added demand. Development doesn't cause density anymore than freeways cause traffic.

Give Sunnyvale_Renter credit where it's due. He is obviously a very skilled typist.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The right to petition the government for a redress of grievances protect the individual against bad acts of the government against the individual. Zoning is a government act that the Supreme Court recognized as such an act the affected property owner may petition and sue the acting government.

I participated in overturning a zoning decision to create a wide offramp and restructuring of a local street designed to enhance a site for a proposed Home Depot.

OT The market is tanking and TOL just hit an new 52 week low.

TOL 32.32

Sunnyvale_renter wrote:

"And while I have to agree that my ancestors from England and Germany etc also lived in some pretty crammed in places, and the first generations lived in horrible stacked-up tenements in NYC etc., and it was only subsequent generations who were able to afford to spread and out and exercise their cultural/genetic love for the land. In the human system, the human way of life, however, the goal is to cover the earth with a solid blanket of humans if possible. Look at who have been the winners and the losers in just the USA over say the last 150 years. The First Nations folks believed in being able to live on lots of land, walk/ride a horse where you like, harvest nuts and hunt etc., so their chosen density was low."

There's so much stuff factually wrong with this and other things you wrote, it's hard to even know where to start. Let's hit the basics:

Your ancestors have no more a genetic love for trees than any other people, and there's absolutely no evidence to say otherwise. For proof, look at one of the most Germanic places in the US - eastern Pennsylvania. A place almost exclusively Germanic in the past, and now largely devoid of wilderness (or in some areas, like Hazard, plant life. Damn depressing.)

As for the first nations, they didn't "choose" a low population density - they lacked the food crops which allowed them to cluster into large cities like the Asians and Europeans. They certainly stripped the Great Forest to become the Great Plains within a millenia of their arrival. (What - you thought that was always grassland?) No rice, wheat, barley, rye, or any grain except for corn, the widespread successful cultivation of which only happened a few centuries before the arrival of the Europeans and the pandemics they brought. And note that that cultivation was leading to the first large cites in the Mississippi delta at around the time that disease destroyed their culture. Learn a little history before you pretend to know it.

As for the racial drivel you're spouting about Asians, do a little research, for goodness sake. It's the same mindless crap that folks were saying about my ancestors (the Germans and the Irish) only a century ago.

I remember when y'all used to talk about housing. Now everytime I come by, it's race-baiting. I'm out of here.

I agree, my post is horrible, racist, and also true.

Sunnvale_Renter is not a racist. A "culturist" perhaps, which is understandable.

I am also kind of a "romantic" type of person. However, I understand that things change, so I do try to enjoy the moment and the flux. Only change is permanent, perhaps we can find beauty in changes?

PeterP > Soros > Bingham > Sheehan
tegtuowon

barnum, can you pick a screen name and stick to it? :)

SFWoman, I have deleted the "fake" post.

Davis renter

Beis statements on the guidance the Fed gave validates its position.

Fed to BURST HOUSING BUBBLE

Death to flippers and subprime mortgage products.

On Dec 20 the Fed published for 60 day comment a new rule:
“Interagency Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgage Products”
“Collateral-Dependent Loans – Institutions should avoid the use of loan terms and underwriting practices that may result in the borrower having to rely on the sale or refinancing of the property once amortization begins. Loans to borrowers who do not demonstrate the capacity to repay, as structured, from sources other than the collateral pledged are generally considered unsafe and unsound. Institutions determined to be originating collateral-dependent mortgage loans, may be subject to criticism, corrective action, and higher capital requirements.”

Flippers and subprime lenders are DOOMED...

Looks like the Fed is set to strangle these cancerous liquidity excesses. Starts and planets are aligning...

Aren’t permits needed to cut down trees? Are there laws restricting the number of people in a unit that are being ignored?

An unenforced law is nothing more than a paper tiger. Where the those NIMBYists when we need them? ;)

I don't want to get on *yet another* race-dominated thread tangent, so I'll just say the following:

I personally tend to prefer medium-to-low density living. In fact, as soon as I have the opportunity, I will be leaving my ultra-high density area (LA County) for greener pastures. Nonetheless, I believe my wants/desires have nothing to do with demographic trends, local population density, zoning, land prices, geography, etc., which determines what type of housing is actually built in a given area.

While the current credit-fueled Bubble has hugely skewed the demand side of the supply/demand situation (and to a somewhat lesser extent the supply side as well), when we eliminate the Bubble's effects from the equation, we still see that the long-term trend in CA (and most areas in the U.S.) is away from lower-density and towards higher-density living.

Why? Population pressure, pure and simple. Even if housing prices fully retrenched tomorrow to pre-2000 levels, we're not going to see a return to a rural/agrarian way of life that was common generations ago. That would require an unlikely collapse in the immigration and/or birth rate.

Would a much lower overall birthrate and/or more restrictive immigration policy help slow rapid sprawl and urbanization? Sure. Would this be desirable from a quality-of-life standpoint for most current inhabitants? Probably, but it's not politically/economically acceptable at this time for the powerful interests who determine the nations's policies.

@Hoss Cartwright,

I posted before I saw your response. Funny how similar they were.

My solution: tax gasoline so that it reflects the true costs of it, probably half of our military budget and lots of other expenses.

I agree. Make it $10 a gallon. We need a change.

While you are pricing to reflect the true costs, reprice AMTRAC and carpool lanes to mark to market.

I suggest:

1) A flat income tax that is collected completely from the employer only (we need a look-through mechanism for subcontracting so that the ultimate employer will be responsible for the tax payment)

2) A national gasoline/diesel tax (we need tax credit for transportation companies)

3) Privatization all public schools (vouchers should be given to legal residents)

We want to make it so that even if the border is completely open, it would still be harmless.

We should also collect a fee to use the road. Perhaps we should charge people based on the number of vehicles that are already on the road. This way, traffic flow will tend to self adjust.

@SQT,

I just read (as much of it as I could in 10 mins) your "exchange" with Polish Knight in the "Anger" thread. Wow. No one can accuse you of being afraid to debate. Too bad it was a total waste of time, though.

Yeah, I don’t know why I let myself get sucked in though. I guess I hoped for an actual exchange of ideas. But once someone get’s into ALWAYS ON TRANSMIT NEVER ON RECEIVE mode, there’s just no hope.

There is a "Delete" link, you know. ;)

And when I say green space, I don’t mean a baseball diamond, I mean a multi-use space.

We can afford more green space if we build more high-rise condos. More capacity and more space. Two birds with one stone.

Tokyo also has green space...

Which is more expensive? Central Park or the Imperial Palace?

I was surprised while watching local news here in Portland just what an impact something as "harmless" (no pun intended) bottled water has! Just a few years ago the local recycler handled a couple of tons a week. Now he has an entire sorting line dedicated to JUST bottled water. On the bright side it did provide 4 Oregonians w/full time employment!

There’s a good post at the end of the thread by PolishKnight’s innermost thoughts. You might like it. I know I did.

That was too funny. Also loved "PKIT's" email: women_scare_me@aol.com

Damnit, I missed the troll again.

"As an example of why we need change, I know many people who drive 5 to 10 miles each way to a health club to run on a treadmill or ride an excercise bike." --Hoss Cartwright

I know a lot of people that do that too and I don't get it. I bicycle commute to work every day and it actually SAVES me time (not to mention money) because it allows me to integrate my commute and work-out time into one block of time. Not trying to sound sanctimonious, I do it because I LIKE to, not just because it's more energy efficient. Still, it chafes my ass when SUV driving bastards occassionally buzz me and scream "get the fuck out of the road!" It's always the SUV drivers, no idea why...

“As an example of why we need change, I know many people who drive 5 to 10 miles each way to a health club to run on a treadmill or ride an excercise bike.” –Hoss Cartwright

I know a lot of people that do that too and I don’t get it.

Often the equipment you need for your exercise schedule is located at the club, not on the street or on a bicycle. Many people require things like ellipticals or various strength stations.

SFRenter,

What I find even more odd is when you're in traffic next to a guy (alone in a 9 passenger SUV) and you see him pull into a Hollywood Video. Dude, you need something with a 12 cyclinder engine to return a DVD?

I realize no one here is on my "payroll" but what's the word on the "qualified vs. taxable RE calculator"?

Not too-bad parody site:

http://www.fantasylandmortgage.com

I realize no one here is on my “payroll” but what’s the word on the “qualified vs. taxable RE calculator”?

Sorry, I have no idea. I cat try to look up on that.

He was a realt-whore returning Glengary Glen Ross?

LOL :lol:

"He was a realt-whore returning Glengary Glen Ross?" --Newsfreak

That's hilarious! I'll bet Alec Baldwin is the God of Realt-whores everywhere!

"Often the equipment you need for your exercise schedule is located at the club, not on the street or on a bicycle. Many people require things like ellipticals or various strength stations." --Randy H

Yeah, this is true, I lift weights in the "off-season" myself. But I ride my bike to the gym dammit!

Riding a bike on open roads is definitely outside of my risk tolerance.

The neighborhood I live in is very urban. It has bars and bums close by. I hate it. I fear for my life every day. The "kids" get drunk all the time.

The lease does not end until the end of April. :(

to whoever started that tangential thread about brokeback mountain linking to http://www.rense.com/general69/prop.htm:

"Contrast this with the scenes of marriage. Every time marriage is depicted in the film, it is shot in a tiny dark squalid hovel, with screaming children and absolute pandemonium. The house is a mess, the wife never communicates on any kind of meaningful level. Wives in fact, are portrayed as a constant annoyance, and more irritating than understanding. But children receive the worst treatment in this slanted rant against family. They are usually crying, often two at a time, or smashing things, the general feeling the film presents, is that these joyless hellions are an intrusion into life, an encumbrance and a terrible burden.

"Making sure it drums in its message in no uncertain terms, the film keeps switching back and forth between the two contrasts. The great outdoors, wild and free, close to nature, close to God, close to hot gay sex without any negative consequences. Back inside the dark little messy box of marriage, with horrible in-laws, demon spawn children, berating nagging wives, endless pressures and even the loveless, passionless sex has hanging over it the dread of producing more parasitic offspring."

absolutely right, i'm afraid - sex is nature's way of tricking people into reproduction. i'm straight, and i have no interest in reproducing and taking care of squawking babies and bringing them into a world which is full of US propaganda and will soon look like costner's apocalyptic waterworld post-peak oil. who cares what the 5% of gays in the world do? leave them alone. it's not going to spread like a disease, for chrissakes, it's a genetically hard-wired condition not of their choice. moron.

It has running trails and a couple of parks close by. I love it

Nice. I also need an local environment that allows me quick exercise. We're pretty happy to have a paved foot/bike trail leading from downtown to the ferry terminal (our commute). Then there's our waterway leading out to the bay--great place to let off steam in my kayak.

Different Sean Says:

"...absolutely right, i’m afraid - sex is nature’s way of tricking people into reproduction."

Wha-? Quit universalizing your own particularity. It's narcissistic. There are plenty of people who don't feel tricked by sex into procreation. They eagerly see the two as beautiful expressions of love: the unselfish act of giving oneself consensually, and the resulting creation of new life which brings welcomed children into the world.

"i’m straight, and i have no interest in reproducing and taking care of squawking babies and bringing them into a world which is full of US propaganda and will soon look like costner’s apocalyptic waterworld post-peak oil."

The squawking of babies is like the sound of angels. Only the US is full of propaganda, right? Don't buy the line that your lib history prof is feeding you at De Anza college. And don't be such a selfish little Dominos Pizza Noid devoid of common sense and compassion, and scared like a shivering, little, sopping-wet baby rabbit so fearful of life.

"who cares what the 5% of gays in the world do? leave them alone. it’s not going to spread like a disease, for chrissakes, it’s a genetically hard-wired condition not of their choice. moron."

I don't buy the propaganda. Maybe 1% are born that way but there are other reasons people go the other way. They should keep it in their pants and show some self restraint. I'm sick of the gays shoving their psychosexual pathology into our elementary school kids' consciousness.
Keep it in the bedroom.

Besides, I'm not really interested in movies like "Bare Butt Mountain" that glamorize this unhealthy, unnatural lifestyle.

who cares what the 5% of gays in the world do? leave them alone. it’s not going to spread like a disease, for chrissakes, it’s a genetically hard-wired condition not of their choice. moron.

Gee, that's too bad. If gayness were capable of spreading to non-gays, then that could solve the world's overpopulation problem. If birth rates declined, then population growth/illegal immigration to California would cease and there'd be no justification for NIMBY laws. Bummer :-(