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Peter P
2006 May 24, 11:03am
I respect Gates and he is giving his money away, but his pitbull Ballmer I can do with out.
No comment.
SQT Says:
> What exactly is the criteria for a McMansion?
I've always wanted to know if there is a difference between a "McMansion" and a "TractMansion"
Whenever I think "McMansion" or "TractMansion" I always picture the Belcourt neighborhood in Newport Beach (where an old girlfriend's parents lived):
surfer-x,
You are being rude and callous. I want you to take a deep breath behave properly.
I don't know what you are talking about w.r.t. Simpsons. I don't watch TV.
Regarding the pricing and sales practices by MS, can you point me to the actual links? I do not read slashdot and is incapable of navigating through the myriad of opinions.
GC-
Oh, no, I made a copy of the $999 dBase for myself. I didn't sell copies to anyone, I wouldn't have done that.
Randy H
2006 May 24, 11:10am
FAB,
I'm not sure I'd call $5M McAnything. It takes some real wealth to afford that, even with the most exotic NAAVLP loan you can imagine.
Of course, for $5M I'd just assume have some horses and land between me and the greater fool.
Randy H
2006 May 24, 11:15am
MSFT, ORCL, and earlier dBase, FoxPro, Paradox, Clipper and all the rest of them used to practically encourage developers to "pirate" their stuff (at least illegally develop for clients whether or not they bought an appropriate developers license or joined their developers networks, etc.). The thinking, which proved right, was that proliferation of their technology would yield greater licenses from the companies that hired all these ISVs and lone guns. Compare that to the likes of ParcPlace, DigiTalk or the various great Apple development platforms which took steps to prevent unauthorized development. Who remembers Argos now? But you can still find friggin Foxpro jobs on CL.
The thing is, it really is a McMansion -- look at it, it looks just like a $150k KB McMansion in Texas, albeit a well-built one.
Newport Beach is a mighty nice neighborhood, though. I'd sure love to live there, too, even if the houses look like that.
Randy H
2006 May 24, 11:18am
So maybe it's the difference between an InandOutMansion and an McMansion. Still fast food, but much higher quality.
I want you to take a deep breath behave properly.
Wow one comment about smooth skin and a person is branded a pedi......
You are being rude and callous.
From the likes of you, I consider this an honor. Godbless you tiny tim.
Jimbo,
I also like very old furniture. They are very well made (of good, solid wood). One can see excellent craftsmanship and attention to details. The furniture made these days, I mean ones in the mid range, are cheap and exhibit shoddy workmanship. The low-end stuff, you know what you are getting. The high-end stuff, you know you get excellent quality. The mid-range stuff offers the least value and is there for one purpose only: To rip off the suckers.
But you know, you can go to Asia and buy well-made furniture for a fraction of the price you would pay in US.
But if you are rich, you can get top-grade things anyway.
Randy H
2006 May 24, 11:20am
X,
I'm keeping a watchful eye, against my [probably not] better judgement.
Peter P
2006 May 24, 11:21am
So maybe it’s the difference between an InandOutMansion and an McMansion. Still fast food, but much higher quality.
I may lose all "food" credibility over this but I prefer McDonald to In and Out.
So maybe it’s the difference between an InandOutMansion and an McMansion. Still fast food, but much higher quality.
I must admit that this is a great line, even though Randy H had personal gripes against me.
Peter P
2006 May 24, 11:27am
I don’t like In and Out french fries, so I guess I lose credibility with you.
Huh? I do not like their french fries either.
I much rather have a Fillet-O-Fish.
Peter P
2006 May 24, 11:37am
I prefer McDonald’s french fries.
Same here. But I do not eat much fries.
you’re not alone, I also prefer Fillet-O-Fish to In and Out.
That is what I usually eat there after breakfast time.
How does McDonald's decide the price of their burgers? I used to head down LA by driving, and the closer you are to urban center, the cheaper the burger price becomes. If you are stuck in some main stop center along I-5, they charge you an arm and a leg for the same thing.
For example, Chicken burger (or whatever burger with chicken patty in it) costs 89-99 cents when you leave San Jose, it soars to 1.29 in San Luis Obispo, and reaches the height of around 1.59 an hour north of Bakersfield.
It's funny, the McDonald's accross from the (former) World Trade Center in NY charged close to $8.00 for a Crispy Chicken Sandwhich Value Meal in the mid-90's. The very same meal in Chicago's financial district was $4.85.
I guess they charge whatever the market will bear.
Peter P
2006 May 24, 12:37pm
You guys are so funny. You’re talking about french fries?!?!
I mean Freedom Fries. :)
I prefer all in-n-out offerings to all McD offerings (Yes, even over the precisely engineered McD fries. In-n-out fries taste more authenic because they're fresh.
However, I'm still going against that Newport Beach McMansion. No $5M estate should be placed that close to the street. It looks like a monstrous McMansion...kind of a funny concept, a McMansion mansion.
« First « Previous Comments 162 - 186 of 186 Search these comments
Readers of the FT will be familiar with the (newly expanded) Lex Column. Today's featured an interesting little bit on US housebuilders, and its relation to the US housing market.
The column goes on to mention:
Toll is considered a bellwether indicator. Why? Because it markets upscale homes to a sophisticated clientele. Sentiment has grown so negative on Toll that their recent guidance further cutting earnings forecasts actually triggered a relief rally. The market capitalization of Toll is less than the value of all its land and inventory.
Or is it? The problem is that the only potential buyers for construction projects in-progress are other builders, who are similarly depressed for the same reasons. This kind of "vicious circle" is hard to break and usually causes an overshooting of reasonable valuation.
But before you jump in to buy undervalued REITs or homebuilder stocks, keep in mind that this may just be the beginning. The entire sector is trading at about 5.5 times ever shrinking earnings estimates. But (and this is a big but), direct costs are skyrocketing, general inflation is increasing, rates are rising, and industry consolidation is probably nowhere near done. Lex's conclusion: it will be increasingly difficult for these builders to defend returns as capital costs soar. Result, more downside probably left.
Why on earth do we even care? We're sure to hear from at least one Troll that "New Home Starts" don't matter, or that homebuilders aren't relevant, or that "sales of existing homes" is the only game in town. My answer: perhaps, this time, everything is different and we've entered a great new economic paradigm where leading indicators no longer lead. Or, the correction is well underway.
--Randy H
#housing