patrick.net

Greenspan backpedals and yes, the wort of the housing downturn is over!

http://tinyurl.com/2bwhgq

What follows is an outburst inspired by one of my heroes, Surfer-X:

Mr. Lereah

Give me a fucking break. But then again, I guess besmirching a 26 year old who's on the shit end of this giant bubble you've danced around with your sophomoric attempts at spineconomics is about the best you can muster.

If you're a fucking economist then I'm the Fed Chairman's economics tutor. It's shits like you who make the average Joe and Jane assume all economics is just bullshit.

Your mother has good reason to cry. Her son is a shameless sellout fuck who would sell her into the REIC machine if he thought it would help erase some of the embarrassment that NAR exec Stevens couldn't even sell his own fucking homes for asking price, yet continued to claim there was and is no bubble, reading from your prepared script.

Plenty of us can easily afford our homes. Plenty of us aren't 26 year olds, as if being young were some kind of sin anyway. No. We're just smart enough to realize fucking bullshit when we hear it.

Luckily, fundamentals always win in the end. And unless golden monkey statuettes start flying out of my ass sometime in the near future, there is absolutely no justifiable, fundamental economic reason to believe today's house prices are in any kind of rational equilibrium.

But then, an economist would know that. Maybe you're not an economist. In that case, you have my apologies for all this. In that case then you're just another dumbfuck liar.

--

And pardon everyone else for my once annual X-esque outburst. Man Lereah pisses me the fuck off.

Give me a fucking break.

King Randolph is using profanity. He must be mad.

I'd have to say my favorite part is where he cons the Russian desk clerk into thinking the donkey is actually a super-rabbit.

4.2 earthquake just struck SF. When it rains, it pours.

I sit in my pathetic rental, by my cheap pine table, in awe, HARM's sweet sweet delicious hate, and Sir Randall of the Fat-Stacks using profanity, mmmmm, a big sailors hello to your Sir.

Randy,

you missed the part in which surfer-x kindly reminds DL's mom to contain her fondness for corn.

Is any one of you smarter than a fifth grader ? I am not. :-(

Fuck me sideways, the blog is getting selfspammed, my that's a clever cleaver

Just watching Randy briefly come over to the Dark Side made this post worth it!

nice brickwork behind that Madonna... what do you think that place is worth?

anyone know where i can find a good bricklayer for some renovations?

DL: "We haven't strayed from fundamentals"

DL: "Regulators and the big lenders need to get together and work out some arrangements to accelerate refinancings"

Chrissakes dude, which one is it? I'm sorry, my limited understanding of "spin-economics" preclude me from citing a precedent where regulators and "big lenders" have worked together with the urgency of a volunteer fire department?

I suppose the reason I placed big lenders in quotation marks is b/c it strikes me that he has already written off ALL of the lesser players! Evidently Mrs. Lereah had stumbled upon Mortgage Implode as well.

"work out some (arrangements?)" as in LOAN WORK-OUT?

Sandibe,

OT, but still on the general topic of profit through deception. Apparently your "notion" of HF's profiting through the use of blatant insider trading wasn't so far-fetched after all? UBS, BofA and Bear Sterns all claim that the conduct of these individuals is in direct conflict to their written policies, and I'm fine with that.

I stand corrected sir.

PAR,

Fault lines in the Portland Metro area have been more active than usual as well, relative to yourselves of course.

Trouble in the Primeland

An NBC Dateline Exclusive?

Gin? Check!

Sleeping Bag? Check!

Saved you a trip to Home Despot, no need to thank me. :)

PAR,

Herb is a good man. The notion that "home equity" has replaced savings in the consumer's mind is frankly...... shocking!

It's still good though to hear the Fed finally gets it.

PAR,

I think astrid, Robert Cote and I are the preparedness geeks. I replaced my canned goods from Costco for my earthquake/('we'll institute martial law, not let you outside for two weeks and claim it's avian flu) kit a couple of days ago. Get lots of bottled water and things in cans that you'd being willing to eat at room temperature or you'll also need a camp stove.

After watching French news coverage of Katrina (and having a dozen people ask why our government wasn't helping people) I figure you need to be able to help yourself.

PAR,

I think you can turn off the input to your hot water heater after a big earthquake and then have 50 gallons or so of water right there.

Hmm, looting. I guess I should get a balaklava for my earthquake kit.

SFWoman,

Hmm? That's a good idea! (I'd never thought of that) but can you tell us how to convert a water heater into a "still" Mrs. Smartypants? :)

trader,

That really cuts to the core of what we're confronting in equity markets right now. Just how big a bite of the REIC meltdown sh@t sandwich are "we" going to have to eat?

This is an excellent preparedness guide, extremely thorough and thoughtful. Don't be put off by the source. Liberals can be quite sensible, especially if they're actually progressives put off by Bush's antics.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/9/161748/9747

Drat - I have a bunch of money in some nice CD's with Merrill Lynch. Hope they don't go under...

trader,

Short term I'm bearish too but one astute posters here explained sometime back that ultimately it's the banks that will control the REIC. Many of these mortgage houses will be defunct anyway as banks control the entire distribution channel. NAR is ALREADY fighting it by introducing legislation to mandate "minimum service standards" to keep the discounters out, fighting this with their last die'n breath.

In the end it won't matter b/c everything is trending toward "flat rate" mortgage and RE commissions! George was so convinced of this sea change in the REIC infrastructure that he is actively seeking other employment. Stick a fork in it.

The main thing you need is water.

My wife buys everything in bulk at Costco and we have a gas grill in the back yard, so as long as we have water, we should be fine.

You can use the water in the back of your toilet (as long as Surfer-X hasn't done one of his patented Upper-Tankerâ„¢''s to you!) as long as you have a way to boil it, plus the hot water trick SFWoman described. But I still need to set aside some more water in a jerrycan or something.

I have a few cases of wine in the cellar, so it could be a pretty fun party. I was here last time (1989) and it actually was a blast, even though I lived in the hood and me and my roommate were the only white guys on the block. It gave us a great chance to meet our neighbors. We were all kind of disappointed when the power went back on.

On the other hand, I am a key member of the Disaster Recovery team at work, so I would probably have to find some way to get to the office, or at least check in. I doubt that my wife, stuck home with the baby, would think too highly of that.

Checked our water stored outside in a cupboard the other day and I guess the cold weather had made the plastic containers leak - 4 out of 7 containers were empty!

Balaklava, baklava. One is to eat, one is to rob food./i>

Huh?

Did Henry Blodget and Mary Meeker also make their mama cry?

Mary Meeker made me cry.

This is an excellent preparedness guide, extremely thorough and thoughtful. Don’t be put off by the source. Liberals can be quite sensible, especially if they’re actually progressives put off by Bush’s antics.

Is a shotgun recommended?

DinOR,

Turn off the electricity and gas to the water heater, then feel the pipes on top of it and turn off the cold intake pipe (so dirty water doesn't go in).

I should probably buy paper plates and plastic cutlery for my kit. I wouldn't be able to wash dishes if the water lines broke.

astrid,

That is a good guide, and I hadn't thought about the payphone thing before. The best man at my little brother's wedding actually found a working payphone near WTC on Sept 11th and called his mother to tell her he had gotten out.

I have a BB gun. I considered getting a shotgun when I saw a mountain lion in my drive way last year, but I've been too lazy to look into building a gun safe.

"anyone know where i can find a good bricklayer for some renovations?"

Comrad DS,

If the party thought you needed such a decadent Bourgouise service to pamper your vanity, it would be provided. Now go do your socialist duty to the utmost of your abilities, with fresh enthusiasm!

Es liebe des Dictatur des Proletariats!!

SFWoman,

Oh, I'd never thought of that either? We lived out in the country for years and usually kept plenty of potable water around anyways. A friend worked at Pepsi and gave us these really neat 14.7 gal. plastic barrels that had to be thoroughly rinsed out (Mountain Dew, Pepsi "syrup" etc.).

I went down to one of those "brew your own beer" outlets (yeah we have a lot of those in OR) and they had all the spigots, gaskets etc. Years of living in the Philippines (which is like a big "camp out" anyway) prepares you mentally as well! I swear, nothing phases me any more.

“anyone know where i can find a good bricklayer for some renovations?”

Comrad DS,

If the party thought you needed such a decadent Bourgouise service to pamper your vanity, it would be provided. Now go do your socialist duty to the utmost of your abilities, with fresh enthusiasm!

Version 2, the other got stuck in moderation, possibly because of a German DDR phrase

Why am I in moderation?

All things in moderation.

"tell us how to convert a water heater into a “still” Mrs. Smartypants?"

DinOr,

Can't use the radiator from the old Buick on blocks in the front yard?

Oh, DinOR, I get it, Sorry it went right by me. You want to use your hot water heater as a still. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that. Can't you just stockpile alcohol, it would be easier?

I have a BB gun. I considered getting a shotgun when I saw a mountain lion in my drive way last year, but I’ve been too lazy to look into building a gun safe.

Yeah, I think a gun safe is important when you have young children. You can just get a pistol, which requires only a very small gun safe.